Tag Archives: Jesus

Yes HE is!

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The Holy Lord, the God of Eternity who has made this place, is risen from the dead!   He has been given all authority over heaven and earth.  He sits at the right hand of the sovereign God of Glory.

If a man accomplishes a great task we can say with confidence he was always able to do it.  And we must admit we were wrong to doubt. 

If the man told us he would do it we were wicked to call him a liar.  And now the proof of our folly stands before us.  Who, in his right mind, would stand before what the man has built and say it does not exist?

From eternity the Lord Jesus was able to attain this Great position.  Doubt and accusation has reduced the evil one to less than he was.  And this was done long before the world was created.  So he went about perverting.

And even when the Great Holy Temple of our Lord Jesus was completed the devil has not ceased his perverting. 

I do not say this to cast accusation against the devil.  I say this to shine a brilliant light on all who would speak evil of the Holy Lord of life.  I say this to all men who observe the holy place in which they live yet cast aspersions on the One who made it.

Am I wrong to call creation a holy place?  Does the Sun rise over millions of years without failing?  Do the seasons cease or become disordered?  Does heat and cold fail to be?  Then how do men assail the Holiness of God who made this place?

The Lord Jesus has risen from the dead as was prophesied by the Holy Lord God Almighty.  Let men doubt as they will.  Let them mock Him with their own parade of wickedness; even on this day of celebration for His glory.

His holy ways are before us day and night.  They are like the fool who stands before the finished building and says it is not there.  They are the ones who have blinded their own eyes because they live in derision, rebellion and lies.

We are born in sin.  Yet all our life we observe what is holy and consistent.  Where is understanding?  How does it evade the fool?  How can man love ignorance,  while the proof rages a torrent against his unbelief?

The Holy Lord Jesus is risen from the dead!  And now the accusations against The Father’s enemies become His.  Let the nations rant and rage against the Holy Lord Jesus!  They are the ones who will suffer.

The Holy Lord Jesus is risen from the dead!

For now, but then

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For now we suffer a little.  How shall our suffering compare to that of Christ?  Where is our righteousness that the nails should pierce so sharply, releasing Holy blood?

For now we live in confusion.  But how does that compare to, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  how should we say our questioning is just?

For now we look to die.  But how does our death compare to that which was foretold; Not a bone will be broken.  He will make no complaint as he is led to slaughter.  And, to rise into immortality in three days?

We worship the Son of God for he is a utterly unlike us.  His faithfulness to the Holy Father is without fault.   Our righteousness is by faith alone.  But the righteousness of the Son of Man has been from the beginning, unblemished.

For now we have nothing to offer that belongs to us.  Every good thing we have is given from above, full of Mercy and Grace.  How shall that compare to the sacrifice of our Lord?  He has given that which has belonged to him from eternity, and that for the sake of his enemy.

For now we see as through a glass darkly.  But then we will know fully and be perfected by the strength that is Jesus, the Christ of God and our Lord.

Let us free ourselves from all that is unrighteous.  For now, let us worship Him in all that is true that he may then receive what is rightfully his.  Let us renew an earnest heart, for the sake of our appearing before Him.

By His Holy promise we shall be perfected.  Even though, for now, we stumble about as blind men in a freshly plowed field.  We trust, and rightly so.  For Christ Jesus has earned the right to sit as King of Kings!

Mount Sinai

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Every man has witnessed Mount Sinai.  It stands tall enough for everyman to see.  It is a Holy place.  The peak of which burns intensly with Holy Fire.  Many are drawn to it because of its blazing glory. Do not desire to climb it!

God has called one man to stand near its peak.  He delivered to that man the things he desired to give.  If you climb it you will die.  For the LAW of God makes no room for even a shadow of wickedness.

Read what Moses has brought back.  Consider yourself carefully; can you do the entire law?  Have you done what is perfect from birth?  Can you assail Mount Sinai without failing?  If not you will die.  Everyone who lives by the law will also die by the law.  And no one of blood alone will fulfill the entire Law.

We are of wayward desire.  But the desire at the top of Mount Sinai is perfect, unblemished, without fault, eternal and Holy.  Those who attempt to climb will be destroyed along the way.  You will be chared to fine ashes before you arrive at the Holy Fire.  And the torrent of Holy Wind will blow you away.

There is One who has assailed the height.  There will not be another.  He is the Holy Son of God.  He was with God from the beginning and has known his Father’s ways forever.  Though he is a son of man, he was not so by the will of man.  He alone has performed the law of God perfectly.  And now he sits enthroned at the right hand of God forever.

Without him we are but animals.  With him we become immeasurably more.  And we remember that it is written, “If even an animal touches the mountain it must be stoned or shot with arrows.”  The rock of God’s salvation will crush him.  Or he will die for the piercing guilt he wears. 

Therefore do not attempt to climb Mount Sinai.  Rather approach the mount at its base and plead with he lives above.  He is full of mercy, but he will test every heart.  Leave what is Holy to he who is Holy forever.  Do not presume that you can grasp what is far beyond your reach.  Do not insult the Most High God.

In time, if you persist in service to him, he will grant you the holiness his wisdom dictates for you.  Revere the Lord Jesus!  Humble yourself before him in his Holy Place.   In due time he may lift you up.

Climb the mountain of humility.  Its base has roots in the grave.  Pride is of the grave.  Therefore this mount suits us perfectly.  It is sufficient for a man to climb this mountain. 

This mountain of humility is often unperceived by man.  Pride and desire cloak the eyes.  And there is no blazing glory visible at its peak.  It is not desirable to the eyes and pride of man.  It’s base begins in darkness.  And its peak is in but shadows.  Though it is not perceived by many, it remains the will of God for man.

This mountain is the Mount of Olives.  Here a man comes to prepare himself for death.  Here a man comes that he may be stripped of all that he owns.  It is here that pride is beaten, humiliated, scourged and murdered.  Here a man comes to proclaim the glory of God in Christ Jesus.  Here a man comes to say, “May your Holy you will be done.”  Here a man comes to learn that God alone is good.

Mount Sinai will kill you; soul and body.  The Mount of Olives will burn away your sinful nature, while setting fire to your soul.  It is here that faith finds blazing life.  It is here that man has no glory.  It is here that we find the will of God for all men.

May God grant wisdom to those who read, according to his excellent purpose.

Rise up and consider

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He stands enthroned beautiful and lifted up.  Holy and true, the singular word of God.  Tested, he is approved.  He has loved righteousness and hated wickedness therefore God the Father has made him first of all.

Meek and humble, he works, diligently and without ceasing, for the sake of those who call on his name; that they may learn to love him and do the will of his Father. Trustworthy is one of his names.  Anointed with the oil of joy he rules with righteousness, wisdom, compassion, truth and justice.

He is forever standing ready to do the will of the Father.  In the twinkling of an eye his obedience is absolute.  Perfect!  And at the appointed time he will receive the command of his Father to put an end to this place.  He will not delay.

He alone has walked this place in which we live and succeeded in obeying every command of the Sovereign God.  He is, therefore, to be called Faithful.  In every way he is the perfect representation of the Most High God.

What then is to be said of how the world treats this magnificent Lord?  They give him no praise or Glory.  Instead they use his name in jokes, wicked exclamations and derision of one another.  They create their own religions for the exclusive purpose of blotting out His Majesty.  Though many adore the celebrations of his name they give him no honor, for their lives are a reflection of his enemy.

He will judge his people.  He will purify and teach.  No one will come to the Father but by him.  His people are taught to obey his every command. While the world treats him as the worst of possible men.

What has he done that you hate him so deeply?  Have you even asked that question?  Why do you use his name as an expression of disbelief?  Why do you dishonor God by dishonoring the Son?  All the while you think you are a good man.

Where is holiness?  You say you love him.  Where is the proof in your heart that you have had communion with this Son of Heavenly Royalty?  You will think that I judge you simply because I asked.  But examine yourself and give answer to He who lives forever.

Where is the deep and abiding  desire to do what is right and holy and pure and true?  Examine yourself.  For you will surely be examined.   And the examiner will examine you with absolute truth.

Do you retain the right to be a minister of your life?  Are you your own judge?  Are you satisfied with the perfection you have attained?  Will the Most High God be satisfied with your compromise?  Is your temple of holy service constructed of rotten cardboard?  Will such a structure stand the torrent of Holy Fire on that fearful and terrible day?

Cease your heckling.  Clamp shut your lips lest you are called before God.  Put your pride to death by the power of Jesus the Son of God.  Submit to his rule and learn what is true.

Consider the majesty of Christ Jesus.  This day, and what days you may have left in this place of testing, are the only moments you will be given to come to terms with God’s chosen salvation.  Before you accept the Lord Jesus you are already condemned to death.  The choice belongs to you. 

Rise up and consider.

Choose to do right

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A couple of decades ago I was sitting in a college classroom.  The topic of discussion must have been effects or morality.  And I remember telling my classmate that, “If a man knew the full punishment for his wicked behavior he would choose to do what is right.”

My classmate disagreed with me.  He was sure that the wickedness of man could not possibly do one good thing for the right reason.  I knew when he said that that he had not understood my statement.  But it would have been a useless argument.  For I confess I did not fully understand it myself then.

But with years behind me I have come to understand it more clearly and still agree that, “If a man knew the full punishment for his wicked behavior he would choose to do what is right.”

Isn’t that what we experience when we really give full credence to the sacrifice of Christ Jesus?  To the measure we understand we are compelled to serve Him righteously.

And I understand my classmate’s position.  Man is wicked to the core and hopelessly destined for death.  But my statement did not say the man would be righteous.  It said he would choose to do what is right.

The only resource I have to prove my statement is true is what is found within myself.  It was so with the Apostle Paul also.  We cannot look at others and divide this quandary.  For when we look at them for this reason we find ourselves judging them.

I do find that I choose to do what is right.  And my desire to choose finds the sacrifice of Christ for its engine.  So I strive all day to choose what is right.

Come nightfall however, assessment directed backward shows me I failed miserably.  Many times a holy depression encompassed my heart.  “How can I find myself so desirous to do what is good for the sake of my Lord,yet fail so horribly as if on purpose?”  Isn’t this the very question so many of us ask?

While the world will not even recognize that there is such a thing as sin, Christians come to know it as a Being.  To the Christian, who struggles so desperately to do what is right, sin is a living breathing animal within us.

What is the answer to this?  It is that the law of God is righteous.  It is that we are the ones rightfully condemned to death.  It is that the hope of the gospel is all the brighter because of this understanding.  And the glory of Christ is unsurpassed.

Only he has conquered sin.  He is the mercy of God in which we can fully trust.  We can trust no man nor even ourselves.  But we can put complete trust in the one who has overcome.

Choose to do what is right.  By all means make your choice and obsession.  But recognize that you fight against a living organism of rebellion. 

This brings up an interesting topic that I am not worthy to address.  We are commanded to be holy, as he who calls us is holy.  Yet we find ourselves living in far less. 

What shall be done, what shall be said?  I smell the answer.  I perceive there is a conclusion to this difficulty.  But I have not yet laid hold of it.  If I address this now it will not be complete any more than my statement 20 years ago. 

For now I rest, as should be for all, in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.  I rest in his ability to save me.  I rest in His promise that there is a place where this living and breathing wickedness will be stripped away never to rise again.  All the while I will force myself to choose to do what is right.

The following is from Romans chapter 7.  I thought it would be good to include the transcript of the Apostle’s understanding.  May the Lord grant us mercy that we can understand this personally.

14 “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am not spiritual since sin rules me as if I were its slave. 15 I do not understand the things I do. I do not do what I want to do, and I do the things I hate. 16 And if I do not want to do the hated things I do, that means I agree that the law is good. 17 But I am not really the one who is doing these hated things; it is sin living in me that does them.”

Above it all

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Twelve disciples, a little fishing boat, a raging sea, and a Lord who is above it all.

No one has ever witnessed such a thing before.  Not only did the Lord walk on top of the sea, he walked on top of a raging sea!  It happily resided in his heart to show his disciples something from heaven.

The disciples of Christ, a boat of grace, a ragng sea of wicked men, and the Lord is above it all.  Who could guess?  Even angels longed to look into these things.

The people of God, tiny piece of wood in the shape of a cross, a raging torrent of holy law, and the Lord Jesus who is above it all! 

How could this be?  He was crucified by those who kept the treasury of law.  Dressed in blood among a murderer and a thief.  The righteousness of God murdered as a law breaker.  For this reason Jesus is above it all.

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  (Matthew chapter 14)