December 31, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 18 - 19 [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: This is the final devotional study focusing on Christology on the final day of this year. As John MacArthur has chosen to focus his teaching to believers about Christ by using Col. 1: 15 – 19 in these last days of the year; and we read MacArthur in his Strength For Today entry, charging his readers to “… be encouraged to meditate on the glory of Christ as revealed in this passage.” He goes on to write “… doing so will help you be transformed into Christ’s image and will prepare you to behold His glory in Heaven.”
And as we enter into a new year, meditating on the glory of Christ is a wonderful and most practical resolution for next year. For, as we read in Col. 1: 18 above, Christ is the Head of His Body; and we, the Church, make up that Body. Christ is our source and/or our beginning. He is the first and preeminent One from all who have been or ever will be raised from the dead for God’s glory.
Therefore, as we close out one year and enter into another, God’s Spirit leads me in this moment to return to a 19th century hymn, … one that I have quoted several times in my devotionals this past year, with the chorus reading …
-------------
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
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As I’ve said, and hopefully practiced in my devotional life, … given the preeminence of Christ in the heart of any believer, … there can be no more powerful or practical meditation than can be found in the words of that hymn and the hope we have in Christ especially for the New Year.
Everyday this month, I’ve exhorted any who are reading these devotional entries to “stay tuned.” And the only way that I would do this for the New Year would be to say “STAY TUNED to Christ” in your life as you surrender to God’s Spirit and allow The Lord to rule and reign in your heart.
My Prayer Today: I look longingly, Lord, on You for all things in this upcoming new year. Amen
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Getting Close to Christ - Dec., 08 - Day 30
December 30, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 17 [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: Today in his Strength for Today devotional entry, John MacArthur highlights and discusses something that is a bit overwhelming in scope for many Christians (well, at least yours truly!) … that Christ holds all that He has created together to fulfill His Covenant plan for all time (see Col. 1: 17). Thinking of the vast expanse of all Christ created in the universe (see John 1: 1 – 3), little ole me would seem to be a very small part of God’s grand cosmic scheme. And one day, as we read in 2nd Peter 3: 10 - 13, God is going to fold all His former creation by fire into nothingness, creating a New Jerusalem (i.e., new Heaven) for His church; and that includes little ole me. And though God is the Alpha and Omega and was/is the great I AM (see Micah 5: 2, Rev. 22: 13, and John 8: 58), He is MY Savior and Lord, making little ole me of infinitely great importance to Him and a very real part of why our Lord will bring down His new Heaven for His Bride (as was promised in John 14: 1 – 4).
Think about this in the grand scheme of the universe. God created little ole ME (and you) for HIS glorious purpose; and so, this makes it a very BIG deal for me to live my life in accord with His purpose (i.e., His will). Meditate on this further! Just as Christ, the Alpha and Omega, will sustain the whole universe He created; so, in His purpose and timing, He will sustain me (and you) as well as part of His very special plan for His Bride.
Really, bringing this into focus makes one realize just how important it is for us to live in pursuit of and vigilance for God’s plan for our lives. That’s what Peter discussed as he referred to Paul’s teachings on this matter (in 2nd Peter 3: 14 – 18); and most certainly it’s all about what Paul was preaching/teaching in a number of his New Testament letters … that our lives are to be lived in obedience to God’s will so that God’s plan for our lives can be fulfilled in our relationship with Christ.
As we enter this upcoming new year, are we, as Christians, aspiring to and living out God’s will for our lives? If not, there is no better place and time for us to make the commitment to do so than right NOW! I pray that I do that; and I pray that you do so as well. But we have one final day this year to concentrate on Christ and what He has done for us as believers; and I would predict that you’ve already said it for me – “… stay tuned!”
My Prayer Today: Hold me, Lord; and sustain me for Your design in Your time. Amen
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 17 [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: Today in his Strength for Today devotional entry, John MacArthur highlights and discusses something that is a bit overwhelming in scope for many Christians (well, at least yours truly!) … that Christ holds all that He has created together to fulfill His Covenant plan for all time (see Col. 1: 17). Thinking of the vast expanse of all Christ created in the universe (see John 1: 1 – 3), little ole me would seem to be a very small part of God’s grand cosmic scheme. And one day, as we read in 2nd Peter 3: 10 - 13, God is going to fold all His former creation by fire into nothingness, creating a New Jerusalem (i.e., new Heaven) for His church; and that includes little ole me. And though God is the Alpha and Omega and was/is the great I AM (see Micah 5: 2, Rev. 22: 13, and John 8: 58), He is MY Savior and Lord, making little ole me of infinitely great importance to Him and a very real part of why our Lord will bring down His new Heaven for His Bride (as was promised in John 14: 1 – 4).
Think about this in the grand scheme of the universe. God created little ole ME (and you) for HIS glorious purpose; and so, this makes it a very BIG deal for me to live my life in accord with His purpose (i.e., His will). Meditate on this further! Just as Christ, the Alpha and Omega, will sustain the whole universe He created; so, in His purpose and timing, He will sustain me (and you) as well as part of His very special plan for His Bride.
Really, bringing this into focus makes one realize just how important it is for us to live in pursuit of and vigilance for God’s plan for our lives. That’s what Peter discussed as he referred to Paul’s teachings on this matter (in 2nd Peter 3: 14 – 18); and most certainly it’s all about what Paul was preaching/teaching in a number of his New Testament letters … that our lives are to be lived in obedience to God’s will so that God’s plan for our lives can be fulfilled in our relationship with Christ.
As we enter this upcoming new year, are we, as Christians, aspiring to and living out God’s will for our lives? If not, there is no better place and time for us to make the commitment to do so than right NOW! I pray that I do that; and I pray that you do so as well. But we have one final day this year to concentrate on Christ and what He has done for us as believers; and I would predict that you’ve already said it for me – “… stay tuned!”
My Prayer Today: Hold me, Lord; and sustain me for Your design in Your time. Amen
Monday, December 29, 2008
Getting Close to Christ - Dec., 08 - Day 29
December 29, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 16 [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: I think we’ve all, on a clear night, have looked into the night sky, being awe struck by all the stars we see. And then to think that there are billions of galaxies, each of which have millions or billions of stars. Wow!
And the Apostle Paul, through the message of today’s passage to believers at Colosse, wanted to make it clear to Christians who had been exposed to heretical teachings about Jesus that it was Christ who had created all we see in the heavens. However, MacArthur writes something we all need to keep in mind, “Even more amazing is, not that man [sees the stars] or has gone into space, but that God came to earth. In Christ, the invisible God who created everything and everyone became visible to man. How sad that while man looks into space, he refuses to look at the One Who came to earth.” … To any Christian who reads this, do I sense an “AMEN?”
Certainly the lost refuse to worship the God-Man, the One Who became our Savior. But I’m afraid that even Christians all too often do not worship God with the awe Christ, our Creator, deserves. For those who reject Christ’s deity such ignorance of worship is understandable; but we who call Him “Lord” should come to our Savior, before His throne of grace, absolutely and utterly in awe. Think of it! We are able, because of God’s grace, to come to the very Creator of the universe with our any/all of our needs and to petition the exalted Lord Himself.
And yes, in these waning December days there will be a little more opportunity to learn more about Him; so, as I’ve said each day this month, “Stay tuned!”
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, please forgive my pitiful worship. You are the Great I AM; and I bow before You this day. May I live for You as well. Amen
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 16 [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: I think we’ve all, on a clear night, have looked into the night sky, being awe struck by all the stars we see. And then to think that there are billions of galaxies, each of which have millions or billions of stars. Wow!
And the Apostle Paul, through the message of today’s passage to believers at Colosse, wanted to make it clear to Christians who had been exposed to heretical teachings about Jesus that it was Christ who had created all we see in the heavens. However, MacArthur writes something we all need to keep in mind, “Even more amazing is, not that man [sees the stars] or has gone into space, but that God came to earth. In Christ, the invisible God who created everything and everyone became visible to man. How sad that while man looks into space, he refuses to look at the One Who came to earth.” … To any Christian who reads this, do I sense an “AMEN?”
Certainly the lost refuse to worship the God-Man, the One Who became our Savior. But I’m afraid that even Christians all too often do not worship God with the awe Christ, our Creator, deserves. For those who reject Christ’s deity such ignorance of worship is understandable; but we who call Him “Lord” should come to our Savior, before His throne of grace, absolutely and utterly in awe. Think of it! We are able, because of God’s grace, to come to the very Creator of the universe with our any/all of our needs and to petition the exalted Lord Himself.
And yes, in these waning December days there will be a little more opportunity to learn more about Him; so, as I’ve said each day this month, “Stay tuned!”
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, please forgive my pitiful worship. You are the Great I AM; and I bow before You this day. May I live for You as well. Amen
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Getting Close to Christ - Dec., 08 - Day 28
December 28, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15b [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: Today’s verse, again from Colossians 1, tells us much about the preeminence of Christ as the God-Man. Paul was writing to the Church about heretics in his day who wanted to deny Christ’s deity, much like the Jehovah-Witness cult would today, using today’s verse as support for their beliefs, saying that the reference to “firstborn” would indicate that Jesus of Nazareth, being a firstborn human, could not therefore be the eternal God.
However, as MacArthur indicates in his Strength for Today entry for this date, such an interpretation and/or translation of Col. 1: 15b, ignores the Greek meaning for the term “firstborn,” which is “prototokos.” This term can, as Jehovah’s Witnesses contend, mean the firstborn in a family, whether human or animal. However, when it refers to royalty or positional authority, in this case referring to Christ’s position in and over creation, it takes on a broader, more encompassing connotation. In the latter case it refers to ranking by inheritance or position; and here Paul is referring to Christ’s ranking as THE ONE with the right of inheritance over all creation.
If any rational person were to study Col. 1: 15 – 17, he/she would see that the context clearly argues against any who would say that Christ couldn’t be God because of His human birth. Rather, we can declare from this text, with Paul, that Christ, though born a human, was, is, and always will be The One from Whom all creation emanates.
I don’t know about you, but this study in Christology this month has been most edifying, reminding me of Who Christ is and what He has done for all mankind in His incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, glorification, and intercession. Just a few more days; but stay tuned for a bit more about our Lord; and learning anything more about The Christ is worth the effort.
My Prayer Today: You are THE ONE, Lord! Amen
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15b [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: Today’s verse, again from Colossians 1, tells us much about the preeminence of Christ as the God-Man. Paul was writing to the Church about heretics in his day who wanted to deny Christ’s deity, much like the Jehovah-Witness cult would today, using today’s verse as support for their beliefs, saying that the reference to “firstborn” would indicate that Jesus of Nazareth, being a firstborn human, could not therefore be the eternal God.
However, as MacArthur indicates in his Strength for Today entry for this date, such an interpretation and/or translation of Col. 1: 15b, ignores the Greek meaning for the term “firstborn,” which is “prototokos.” This term can, as Jehovah’s Witnesses contend, mean the firstborn in a family, whether human or animal. However, when it refers to royalty or positional authority, in this case referring to Christ’s position in and over creation, it takes on a broader, more encompassing connotation. In the latter case it refers to ranking by inheritance or position; and here Paul is referring to Christ’s ranking as THE ONE with the right of inheritance over all creation.
If any rational person were to study Col. 1: 15 – 17, he/she would see that the context clearly argues against any who would say that Christ couldn’t be God because of His human birth. Rather, we can declare from this text, with Paul, that Christ, though born a human, was, is, and always will be The One from Whom all creation emanates.
I don’t know about you, but this study in Christology this month has been most edifying, reminding me of Who Christ is and what He has done for all mankind in His incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, glorification, and intercession. Just a few more days; but stay tuned for a bit more about our Lord; and learning anything more about The Christ is worth the effort.
My Prayer Today: You are THE ONE, Lord! Amen
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Getting Close to Christ - Dec., 08 - Day 27
December 27, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15 [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlight passage to the Colossians (and to all believers) from Paul states, “He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God.” Hebrews 1: 3 states, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” And Jesus Himself declared (in John 14: 9), “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” This was true for all those men and women who were blessed to see the live Jesus as He walked the earth. However, as John MacArthur rightfully points out, Christ has been the “image of God” from all eternity, not just from the time of His incarnation, that event of all times which we have just celebrated at Christmas.
As the God-Man, however, Jesus presented all mankind with an exact human “eikon” (Greek for “likeness” from which we get our English word “icon”) in the flesh of the invisible God. He was the invisible God in visible humanity. And now we know that Christ’s claim that He was/is the “I AM” of the Old Testament (see John 8: 58) was true. Jesus of Nazareth was/is God in the flesh, which Paul forcefully and often proclaimed, as he did in today’s text (see also Col. 2: 9 and Titus 2: 13). And that is the image that we, as Christians should reflect as we aspire/attempt to walk in Christlikeness [see Eph. 4: 1-2 and Phil. 2: 5]. When Christ commanded us to shine His light through our good (i.e., Godly) works (as He did in Matt. 5: 16), we need to look no further than to the God-Man model of Jesus Christ to see what kind of light we should be shining into this sin-darkened world so that the lost as well as sinful Christians can see Christ in our lives, glorifying the Father in Heaven.
What about you? Will you join me this day, tomorrow, and into the New Year with the goal of shining the Light of Christ in what we think, say, and do? And to that end, stay tuned as we finish our December study of Christ so that we can be brighter lights in the New Year.
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, shine Your Light through me. Amen
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15 [see highlight verse in bold/red in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlight passage to the Colossians (and to all believers) from Paul states, “He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God.” Hebrews 1: 3 states, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” And Jesus Himself declared (in John 14: 9), “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” This was true for all those men and women who were blessed to see the live Jesus as He walked the earth. However, as John MacArthur rightfully points out, Christ has been the “image of God” from all eternity, not just from the time of His incarnation, that event of all times which we have just celebrated at Christmas.
As the God-Man, however, Jesus presented all mankind with an exact human “eikon” (Greek for “likeness” from which we get our English word “icon”) in the flesh of the invisible God. He was the invisible God in visible humanity. And now we know that Christ’s claim that He was/is the “I AM” of the Old Testament (see John 8: 58) was true. Jesus of Nazareth was/is God in the flesh, which Paul forcefully and often proclaimed, as he did in today’s text (see also Col. 2: 9 and Titus 2: 13). And that is the image that we, as Christians should reflect as we aspire/attempt to walk in Christlikeness [see Eph. 4: 1-2 and Phil. 2: 5]. When Christ commanded us to shine His light through our good (i.e., Godly) works (as He did in Matt. 5: 16), we need to look no further than to the God-Man model of Jesus Christ to see what kind of light we should be shining into this sin-darkened world so that the lost as well as sinful Christians can see Christ in our lives, glorifying the Father in Heaven.
What about you? Will you join me this day, tomorrow, and into the New Year with the goal of shining the Light of Christ in what we think, say, and do? And to that end, stay tuned as we finish our December study of Christ so that we can be brighter lights in the New Year.
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, shine Your Light through me. Amen
Friday, December 26, 2008
Getting Close to Christ - Dec., 08 - Day 26
December 26, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15 – 19 … 15 He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: Okay, we move from Paul’s strong declaration of Christ’s humanity and deity in Philippians 2 to another passage where the Apostle stood strong for the reality and truth of Jesus Christ being the God-Man.
Today, in our post-modern culture, Christians are often challenged by those who deny Christ’s deity, just as Paul was when Epaphrus, the evangelist/founder of the church at Colosse, apparently wrote to Paul about the same type of ill-informed heresy we see now in our post-modern world. Paul writes, from prison in Rome, to his Christian brothers/sisters in Colosse, his spirited defense of true Christian doctrine to help Epaphrus and other Colossian believers to understand that teachings or beliefs which de-emphasize the preeminence of Christ and emphasize human knowledge/understanding are nothing but heresy, concocted by man to elevate himself and to humanize God. As we read in today’s text, Paul stood strong for the truth of Christ’s deity and authority over all things. Actually, today’s passage is a powerful exposition of God’s truth concerning Christ’s deity and preeminent authority as LORD of all.
When we, as assertive believers, witnessing our faith, are confronted by those who choose to ignore the evidence of history and reject the deity of Christ (as I did for many years, calling myself “agnostic”), we, who know and believe the truth, must stand as was exhorted by Peter in 1st Peter 3: 15 – 16, when he wrote, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have [in Christ]. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” And today in our highlight passage in Colossians 1, we have a role model presentation of such a defense of the faith.
For years I did all I could to discount the witness of Christians who tried to stand for their faith when I challenged them with my doubts and questions. I would not listen to their testimonies of how Christ had brought them to a place of faith in His deity or from their stories of His transforming grace. But finally, in 1983, one such testimony of a young quadriplegic man who found His strength in Christ’s grace brought me to a place where I could reach out and find the truth of Christ’s Lordship. But it took many Christians, standing for their faith over many years to break through my veneer of egoism. So, you may encounter those, as I was, who will discount the truth of Jesus being God in the flesh. But stand in your faith! Stand like Paul did for the Colossians, telling the truth of Christ and how He has shaped and changed your life.
There’s great power in a personal testimony. In fact, one might argue about biblical interpretations, claiming (though falsely) that the Bible is irrelevant. But no one can argue with a strongly stated testimony. My testimony is mine! And no one can tell me that my belief in Christ has not changed my life. At 39, I was a hardened and cynical agnostic, deeply entrenched in habitual sin for most of my adult life. My marriage was almost broken; and my career was near the breaking point as well because of my spiritual weakness. And then came Christ; and my surrender to follow Him as my Lord changed everything. And here I am today, writing this as an Ordained Minister of the Gospel and an Elder in my church with a wonderful, renewed marriage and fulfilling life of ministry. Only Christ, and His Lordship in my life, could have shaped the person that is Bill Berry today. A mocker or disbeliever can misinterpret Scripture or foolishly deny the deity of Christ to my face; but, no one could tell me that my story isn’t true! And I hope that you will take any opportunity you might have into this upcoming New Year to declare to those who challenge Christ in your life so that you can let your story tell the truth about Christ’s deity and how He is transforming you.
And with that in mind, we will be exploring more of Paul’s exposition of Christ’s Lordship in his letter to the Colossians; so, yes, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: I will stand for You always, Lord. Amen
Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15 – 19 … 15 He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …
My Journal for Today: Okay, we move from Paul’s strong declaration of Christ’s humanity and deity in Philippians 2 to another passage where the Apostle stood strong for the reality and truth of Jesus Christ being the God-Man.
Today, in our post-modern culture, Christians are often challenged by those who deny Christ’s deity, just as Paul was when Epaphrus, the evangelist/founder of the church at Colosse, apparently wrote to Paul about the same type of ill-informed heresy we see now in our post-modern world. Paul writes, from prison in Rome, to his Christian brothers/sisters in Colosse, his spirited defense of true Christian doctrine to help Epaphrus and other Colossian believers to understand that teachings or beliefs which de-emphasize the preeminence of Christ and emphasize human knowledge/understanding are nothing but heresy, concocted by man to elevate himself and to humanize God. As we read in today’s text, Paul stood strong for the truth of Christ’s deity and authority over all things. Actually, today’s passage is a powerful exposition of God’s truth concerning Christ’s deity and preeminent authority as LORD of all.
When we, as assertive believers, witnessing our faith, are confronted by those who choose to ignore the evidence of history and reject the deity of Christ (as I did for many years, calling myself “agnostic”), we, who know and believe the truth, must stand as was exhorted by Peter in 1st Peter 3: 15 – 16, when he wrote, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have [in Christ]. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” And today in our highlight passage in Colossians 1, we have a role model presentation of such a defense of the faith.
For years I did all I could to discount the witness of Christians who tried to stand for their faith when I challenged them with my doubts and questions. I would not listen to their testimonies of how Christ had brought them to a place of faith in His deity or from their stories of His transforming grace. But finally, in 1983, one such testimony of a young quadriplegic man who found His strength in Christ’s grace brought me to a place where I could reach out and find the truth of Christ’s Lordship. But it took many Christians, standing for their faith over many years to break through my veneer of egoism. So, you may encounter those, as I was, who will discount the truth of Jesus being God in the flesh. But stand in your faith! Stand like Paul did for the Colossians, telling the truth of Christ and how He has shaped and changed your life.
There’s great power in a personal testimony. In fact, one might argue about biblical interpretations, claiming (though falsely) that the Bible is irrelevant. But no one can argue with a strongly stated testimony. My testimony is mine! And no one can tell me that my belief in Christ has not changed my life. At 39, I was a hardened and cynical agnostic, deeply entrenched in habitual sin for most of my adult life. My marriage was almost broken; and my career was near the breaking point as well because of my spiritual weakness. And then came Christ; and my surrender to follow Him as my Lord changed everything. And here I am today, writing this as an Ordained Minister of the Gospel and an Elder in my church with a wonderful, renewed marriage and fulfilling life of ministry. Only Christ, and His Lordship in my life, could have shaped the person that is Bill Berry today. A mocker or disbeliever can misinterpret Scripture or foolishly deny the deity of Christ to my face; but, no one could tell me that my story isn’t true! And I hope that you will take any opportunity you might have into this upcoming New Year to declare to those who challenge Christ in your life so that you can let your story tell the truth about Christ’s deity and how He is transforming you.
And with that in mind, we will be exploring more of Paul’s exposition of Christ’s Lordship in his letter to the Colossians; so, yes, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: I will stand for You always, Lord. Amen
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 25
MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY [ALMOST] NEW YEAR !!!
December 25, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Everything Jesus did, through His incarnation, which we celebrate on this date, and through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, was/is for the glory of God, The Father (see Phil. 2: 11). It is true that God, The Father, declares Himself to be the One and only God (see Exodus 20: 2 – 3 and Isaiah 45: 5a). However, as MacArthur relates in today’s Strength for Today entry, both Matt. 17: 5 and John 5: 23 declare, from the majesty of the Trinity, that all who honor God, The Son, give glory to God, The Father. They are One; and our lives are lived to glorify our Trinitarian God.
Therefore, as I meditate here on Christmas, I’m drawn, with conviction, to the realization that when I confess Christ as my Lord and I live in obedience to His word, doing all I can to reflect His Light into the world, I give honor and glory to The Father (see Matt. 5: 16) just as did His Son, Jesus. And when the fruit of God [see Gal. 5: 22 – 23], the Spirit, are manifest in my life, again God, The Father, is glorified (see John 15: 8).
So, in this time of reflection and celebration of Christ’s birth, we see that Christ’s exaltation by God, The Father, was to affirm that Christ would be glorified by His Church; and in so doing, God, The Father becomes greatly glorified. And likewise, when we worship Christ as our Lord with lives being directed by the Holy Spirit, we become the “living sacrifices” described by Paul in Rom. 12: 1; and in so doing we bring glory to our Father in Heaven. It is perfect circular redundancy; and the more it becomes our life of worship, we live to be God’s glory.
That is what all of this Christology has been about this month. I pray that it has touched you the way it has me; and tomorrow we switch to another passage from Paul in Colossians to round out these last few days in December; so, stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: On this special day to honor my Lord’s birth, may my life be lived to honor You, my Father in Heaven. Amen
December 25, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Everything Jesus did, through His incarnation, which we celebrate on this date, and through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, was/is for the glory of God, The Father (see Phil. 2: 11). It is true that God, The Father, declares Himself to be the One and only God (see Exodus 20: 2 – 3 and Isaiah 45: 5a). However, as MacArthur relates in today’s Strength for Today entry, both Matt. 17: 5 and John 5: 23 declare, from the majesty of the Trinity, that all who honor God, The Son, give glory to God, The Father. They are One; and our lives are lived to glorify our Trinitarian God.
Therefore, as I meditate here on Christmas, I’m drawn, with conviction, to the realization that when I confess Christ as my Lord and I live in obedience to His word, doing all I can to reflect His Light into the world, I give honor and glory to The Father (see Matt. 5: 16) just as did His Son, Jesus. And when the fruit of God [see Gal. 5: 22 – 23], the Spirit, are manifest in my life, again God, The Father, is glorified (see John 15: 8).
So, in this time of reflection and celebration of Christ’s birth, we see that Christ’s exaltation by God, The Father, was to affirm that Christ would be glorified by His Church; and in so doing, God, The Father becomes greatly glorified. And likewise, when we worship Christ as our Lord with lives being directed by the Holy Spirit, we become the “living sacrifices” described by Paul in Rom. 12: 1; and in so doing we bring glory to our Father in Heaven. It is perfect circular redundancy; and the more it becomes our life of worship, we live to be God’s glory.
That is what all of this Christology has been about this month. I pray that it has touched you the way it has me; and tomorrow we switch to another passage from Paul in Colossians to round out these last few days in December; so, stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: On this special day to honor my Lord’s birth, may my life be lived to honor You, my Father in Heaven. Amen
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 24
December 24, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yes, … same passage as yesterday; and any time a Bible teacher, like John MacArthur or yours truly, surveys a passage repeatedly, it will be for emphasis; and this is the case here. Studying Christology this month, MacArthur wants his Strength for Today readers to see the wondrous future which lies ahead for the unfallen Angels, for all redeemed believers whose spirits await glorified bodies in Heaven, and for all the living, who, like myself, worship Christ as Savior AND LORD.
Think on it, … meditate on it, … and celebrate it in this Advent season! For all rational humans who “confess” (i.e., affirm and/or acknowledge) the exalted Christ as Lord and Savior will be able to worship our Lord in perfect and glorified closeness for all eternity (see that clearly stated in Romans 10: 9 – 13). However, for all rational beings who do not confess Jesus as Lord, there awaits the horror of bowing to worship The Christ as Lord in the eternal pit of separation, darkness, and the fires of hell.
Yes, ALL will bow the knee of worship to the risen and exalted Christ, … the King of kings and Lord of lords. And I pray that whomever reads this has completely surrendered to the Living Lord, declaring in faith that HE is your Savior AND Lord. And I pray, on this Christmas Eve, that your life joins mine in celebrating the birth of our risen Lord with our lives of sacrifice and service, which can be our only gift to Him for His gift to us, … the greatest gift of all.
No more really need be said about Christ; but there is more … so, yes, … stay tuned; we still have one more week in this current devotional study about Christ – and then a whole lifetime to get to know Him more closely!
My Prayer Today: May we all worship Your Holy and exalted Name, dear LORD. Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yes, … same passage as yesterday; and any time a Bible teacher, like John MacArthur or yours truly, surveys a passage repeatedly, it will be for emphasis; and this is the case here. Studying Christology this month, MacArthur wants his Strength for Today readers to see the wondrous future which lies ahead for the unfallen Angels, for all redeemed believers whose spirits await glorified bodies in Heaven, and for all the living, who, like myself, worship Christ as Savior AND LORD.
Think on it, … meditate on it, … and celebrate it in this Advent season! For all rational humans who “confess” (i.e., affirm and/or acknowledge) the exalted Christ as Lord and Savior will be able to worship our Lord in perfect and glorified closeness for all eternity (see that clearly stated in Romans 10: 9 – 13). However, for all rational beings who do not confess Jesus as Lord, there awaits the horror of bowing to worship The Christ as Lord in the eternal pit of separation, darkness, and the fires of hell.
Yes, ALL will bow the knee of worship to the risen and exalted Christ, … the King of kings and Lord of lords. And I pray that whomever reads this has completely surrendered to the Living Lord, declaring in faith that HE is your Savior AND Lord. And I pray, on this Christmas Eve, that your life joins mine in celebrating the birth of our risen Lord with our lives of sacrifice and service, which can be our only gift to Him for His gift to us, … the greatest gift of all.
No more really need be said about Christ; but there is more … so, yes, … stay tuned; we still have one more week in this current devotional study about Christ – and then a whole lifetime to get to know Him more closely!
My Prayer Today: May we all worship Your Holy and exalted Name, dear LORD. Amen
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 23
December 23, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Today’s passage, and John MacArthur’s teachings on the Phil. 2: 10 – 11 passage in today’s Strength for Today entry, point to the inevitable response that all created beings ultimately will have before the throne of the risen and exalted “Lord,” and that is to humbly bow in worship. The Apostle Paul’s declaration of this truth here as well in Romans 14: 11 where Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23, writing “It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " Paul’s forceful statement and quote from Scripture exempts NO ONE!
The subjunctive mood, involving the phrase “every knee should bow” means that such worship WILL take place at some point in God’s future plan for mankind as prophesied first by God through Isaiah (again 45: 23) . Some will have done so voluntarily, as has yours truly. However, some – and many more unfortunately – will come before the glorified and exalted Christ, bowing in stark terror to recognize His Lordship, realizing that God’s wrath awaits their rejection or willful apathy of Christ during their lives. And sadly these latter souls may have known Jesus as a historical figure or as a man if they were privileged to have seen Him walk on this earth. Some may have even recognized Him as the Savior of all mankind. However, unless they have acknowledged Christ as their “Lord” during their lifetime, their bowing in worship at His second coming will have been too late to receive the grace of His salvation.
That’s why Paul exhorts in Phil. 2: 5 – 11 for all believers to take on the humility of Christlikeness by choice while living, worshipping Christ as “Lord” in life so that the believer can receive His saving grace, serve the Lord in life, and worship The LORD forever in Heaven. Prayerfully, reading this, you know that you know that you know that you’ve humbly received Christ as Savior AND Lord. As I wrote yesterday … if you haven’t done so, DO IT NOW, so that when that time comes in glory you will be counted among those who humbly received the salvation offered by our Lord.
Yes, you guessed it by now – there’s even more Christology to come. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Lord, I will humbly declare it again and often – You are my Lord! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Today’s passage, and John MacArthur’s teachings on the Phil. 2: 10 – 11 passage in today’s Strength for Today entry, point to the inevitable response that all created beings ultimately will have before the throne of the risen and exalted “Lord,” and that is to humbly bow in worship. The Apostle Paul’s declaration of this truth here as well in Romans 14: 11 where Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23, writing “It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " Paul’s forceful statement and quote from Scripture exempts NO ONE!
The subjunctive mood, involving the phrase “every knee should bow” means that such worship WILL take place at some point in God’s future plan for mankind as prophesied first by God through Isaiah (again 45: 23) . Some will have done so voluntarily, as has yours truly. However, some – and many more unfortunately – will come before the glorified and exalted Christ, bowing in stark terror to recognize His Lordship, realizing that God’s wrath awaits their rejection or willful apathy of Christ during their lives. And sadly these latter souls may have known Jesus as a historical figure or as a man if they were privileged to have seen Him walk on this earth. Some may have even recognized Him as the Savior of all mankind. However, unless they have acknowledged Christ as their “Lord” during their lifetime, their bowing in worship at His second coming will have been too late to receive the grace of His salvation.
That’s why Paul exhorts in Phil. 2: 5 – 11 for all believers to take on the humility of Christlikeness by choice while living, worshipping Christ as “Lord” in life so that the believer can receive His saving grace, serve the Lord in life, and worship The LORD forever in Heaven. Prayerfully, reading this, you know that you know that you know that you’ve humbly received Christ as Savior AND Lord. As I wrote yesterday … if you haven’t done so, DO IT NOW, so that when that time comes in glory you will be counted among those who humbly received the salvation offered by our Lord.
Yes, you guessed it by now – there’s even more Christology to come. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Lord, I will humbly declare it again and often – You are my Lord! Amen
Monday, December 22, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 22
December 22, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yesterday, we briefly looked at the untenable position (at least in my estimation) of one who believes that Christ is his Savior but has not truly received Him as Lord. Today, John MacArthur in his devotional entry stresses the inability for one to call himself “Christian” and hold this position. He writes this, “Jesus is Lord; and if you refuse Him as Lord, you cannot call Him Savior.” These are challenging words and perhaps even convicting for some, especially for those who believe they have the “fire insurance” of salvation, knowing that they are sinners and believing Jesus died for them as their Savior.
But when one reads, in today’s passage (Phil. 2: 9, 11), that God, The Father, has established Christ as “LORD;” and then, if you go on to read Romans 10: 9, one must see that to be truly saved one must believe and confess, with a heart felt commitment, that “Jesus is LORD.” As I wrote yesterday, it’s a “package deal,” and one cannot have all that salvation affords without making Christ his Lord as well as his Savior.
Okay, I’m being repetitive again! But this is worthy of repetition. I’m afraid there are many who sit in church pews every Sunday, who would call themselves “Christian” if they were surveyed as to their “beliefs.” And if you ask them, “Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life,” they may even answer affirmatively. However, their lives cannot attest to the reality of Christ being their Lord because the fruit of the Spirit is not on their tree of life (see Gal. 5: 22 – 23). Rather, one finds the fruit of the flesh, growing so evidently (see Gal. 5: 19 – 21) with only token and occasional verbal repentance – but no real life transformation to give witness to the reality of Christ’s Lordship in their life.
These are those who will tragically say at Heaven’s gate, “Lord Jesus, I have always called you, “my Lord,” … to which He would say, “I never really knew you.” And these nominal “christians” thought they had the fire insurance of Heaven and they will spend eternity in hell because they had not received and acknowledged the Lordship of Christ in their lives.
To any who read this: This is serious business [!]; and though this is a time of joyful celebration of Christ’s birth, it is a most serious time of year if one has not truly given over his or her life to Christ’s Lordship. I truly pray, as I write this, that anyone reading this and needing to surrender to Christ as Lord as well as Savior will DO IT NOW! Move into the New Year with a newly established commitment and covenant with Jesus as your Savior AND your Lord. Find someone whom you respect as a Christian and confess to them, as well as to God, that you need to be in TOTAL surrender to Christ as Lord AND Savior. Ask that person to help you be accountable to Christ’s Lordship; and develop an action plan (a “battle plan,” if you will) to this new level of covenant surrender. If you do this, I could imagine Christ one day, in Heaven, saying to you, “Well, done, my friend. As your Lord, I have smiled on your service.”
And so, let us move on to grow even closer to our LORD. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: I will say it again. Dear Jesus, You are my LORD! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yesterday, we briefly looked at the untenable position (at least in my estimation) of one who believes that Christ is his Savior but has not truly received Him as Lord. Today, John MacArthur in his devotional entry stresses the inability for one to call himself “Christian” and hold this position. He writes this, “Jesus is Lord; and if you refuse Him as Lord, you cannot call Him Savior.” These are challenging words and perhaps even convicting for some, especially for those who believe they have the “fire insurance” of salvation, knowing that they are sinners and believing Jesus died for them as their Savior.
But when one reads, in today’s passage (Phil. 2: 9, 11), that God, The Father, has established Christ as “LORD;” and then, if you go on to read Romans 10: 9, one must see that to be truly saved one must believe and confess, with a heart felt commitment, that “Jesus is LORD.” As I wrote yesterday, it’s a “package deal,” and one cannot have all that salvation affords without making Christ his Lord as well as his Savior.
Okay, I’m being repetitive again! But this is worthy of repetition. I’m afraid there are many who sit in church pews every Sunday, who would call themselves “Christian” if they were surveyed as to their “beliefs.” And if you ask them, “Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life,” they may even answer affirmatively. However, their lives cannot attest to the reality of Christ being their Lord because the fruit of the Spirit is not on their tree of life (see Gal. 5: 22 – 23). Rather, one finds the fruit of the flesh, growing so evidently (see Gal. 5: 19 – 21) with only token and occasional verbal repentance – but no real life transformation to give witness to the reality of Christ’s Lordship in their life.
These are those who will tragically say at Heaven’s gate, “Lord Jesus, I have always called you, “my Lord,” … to which He would say, “I never really knew you.” And these nominal “christians” thought they had the fire insurance of Heaven and they will spend eternity in hell because they had not received and acknowledged the Lordship of Christ in their lives.
To any who read this: This is serious business [!]; and though this is a time of joyful celebration of Christ’s birth, it is a most serious time of year if one has not truly given over his or her life to Christ’s Lordship. I truly pray, as I write this, that anyone reading this and needing to surrender to Christ as Lord as well as Savior will DO IT NOW! Move into the New Year with a newly established commitment and covenant with Jesus as your Savior AND your Lord. Find someone whom you respect as a Christian and confess to them, as well as to God, that you need to be in TOTAL surrender to Christ as Lord AND Savior. Ask that person to help you be accountable to Christ’s Lordship; and develop an action plan (a “battle plan,” if you will) to this new level of covenant surrender. If you do this, I could imagine Christ one day, in Heaven, saying to you, “Well, done, my friend. As your Lord, I have smiled on your service.”
And so, let us move on to grow even closer to our LORD. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: I will say it again. Dear Jesus, You are my LORD! Amen
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 21
December 21, 2008 …
Special Introduction: If you get this PLEASE READ, especially you who receive this via auto-email, AND MEDITATE ON THIS ENTRY!!! ... Somehow I feel the tug of God's Spirit that what I journal on certain days holds more importance or power than on others. TODAY is one of those days. Hence my exhortation to pay particular attention to this one. And may God bless your meditation and the decisions that follow from it. ... <'BB><
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Today’s repeated passage again declares – for emphasis – that Jesus Christ is “LORD.” According to John MacArthur in Strength for Today, this truth is affirmed over 700 times in the New Testament, where Jesus is called “Lord;” and no more clearly than in Acts 2: 36, where Peter in his great evangelical sermon declared, “…let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord AND Christ.“ [All caps to emphasize the “AND”]
It is an enigma to MacArthur, and to yours truly, that some “Christians” can believe and teach that one can be saved by receiving and believing in Jesus, The Christ, before they receive Christ as their Lord. And I totally agree with MacArthur in today’s devotional entry when he asserts that such an assumption is “… completely unbiblical … in effect … saying Christ isn’t Lord until we give Him permission to be so in our lives.” Looking at Acts 2: 21 and 16: 31 clearly shows, as MacArthur proclaims, “… to be saved you must confess Jesus as LORD."
Salvation is a package deal, … acceptance of Jesus as CHRIST and LORD. We cannot separate out Christ, the Savior, from Christ, the Lord; because without Christ’s authority as Lord of all, Jesus could never be the saving Christ. So, as Christians, we must realize that to be saved – i.e., truly born again as believers – Christ must be our Lord to be our Savior; and as saved Christians, Christ’s authority and Lordship will rule over our lives forever! We can only be “living sacrifices” and live transformed lives, as Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1 – 2, if Christ is truly the LORD of our life.
Therefore, as we move through the Advent season, we need to ask ourselves, “Have I truly repented of my sin condition and confessed Christ as The Lord of my life in believing Him to be my Savior?” If not, NOW is the time do so – and be saved by the authority of Christ as LORD and SAVIOR. And making Jesus “the Lord” means total submission to His Lordship with all that such surrender entails. Perhaps this year is the year that you will truly bow before God’s throne of grace and make Christ the LORD of ALL THINGS in your life.
And to that end, we will see more of our LORD this month. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: O, dear Jesus, You are Lord of all!! Amen
Special Introduction: If you get this PLEASE READ, especially you who receive this via auto-email, AND MEDITATE ON THIS ENTRY!!! ... Somehow I feel the tug of God's Spirit that what I journal on certain days holds more importance or power than on others. TODAY is one of those days. Hence my exhortation to pay particular attention to this one. And may God bless your meditation and the decisions that follow from it. ... <'BB><
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Today’s repeated passage again declares – for emphasis – that Jesus Christ is “LORD.” According to John MacArthur in Strength for Today, this truth is affirmed over 700 times in the New Testament, where Jesus is called “Lord;” and no more clearly than in Acts 2: 36, where Peter in his great evangelical sermon declared, “…let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord AND Christ.“ [All caps to emphasize the “AND”]
It is an enigma to MacArthur, and to yours truly, that some “Christians” can believe and teach that one can be saved by receiving and believing in Jesus, The Christ, before they receive Christ as their Lord. And I totally agree with MacArthur in today’s devotional entry when he asserts that such an assumption is “… completely unbiblical … in effect … saying Christ isn’t Lord until we give Him permission to be so in our lives.” Looking at Acts 2: 21 and 16: 31 clearly shows, as MacArthur proclaims, “… to be saved you must confess Jesus as LORD."
Salvation is a package deal, … acceptance of Jesus as CHRIST and LORD. We cannot separate out Christ, the Savior, from Christ, the Lord; because without Christ’s authority as Lord of all, Jesus could never be the saving Christ. So, as Christians, we must realize that to be saved – i.e., truly born again as believers – Christ must be our Lord to be our Savior; and as saved Christians, Christ’s authority and Lordship will rule over our lives forever! We can only be “living sacrifices” and live transformed lives, as Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1 – 2, if Christ is truly the LORD of our life.
Therefore, as we move through the Advent season, we need to ask ourselves, “Have I truly repented of my sin condition and confessed Christ as The Lord of my life in believing Him to be my Savior?” If not, NOW is the time do so – and be saved by the authority of Christ as LORD and SAVIOR. And making Jesus “the Lord” means total submission to His Lordship with all that such surrender entails. Perhaps this year is the year that you will truly bow before God’s throne of grace and make Christ the LORD of ALL THINGS in your life.
And to that end, we will see more of our LORD this month. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: O, dear Jesus, You are Lord of all!! Amen
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 20
December 20, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 – 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red and my emphasis IN ALL CAPS] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: For emphasis and due importance, John MacArthur, in today’s Strength for Today entry returns to highlight the phrase “JESUS CHRIST IS LORD,” emphasized in all caps here and above from Phil. 2: 11. Yesterday we explored the renaming process which Jesus, the re-ascended God-Man, has assumed from God, the Father, being re-coronated as “Lord” and sitting at the Right Hand of His Father in Heaven. And from there Christ, as LORD of all, could intercede as High Priest for all whom had come to Him in faith, declaring Him to be Lord and Savior by their repentance and living worship.
As we noted yesterday, the reference to the Name for Jesus as “LORD” is the Greek term “KURIOS,” which can be a general term for a supreme ruler with all authority. However, in this context, it would refer to God, The Messiah, Whom Jews had used the Hebrew equivalent of “J@hovah,” the proper Name for the One true God. An Old Testament example would be in Isaiah 45: 21, where we read, “Was it not I, the LORD [Y@hovah]? And there is no God [Elohiym] apart from Me, a righteous God [El] and a Savior [Yasha]; there is none but Me.” Here you see [in parentheses] the various references to the supreme God; but when He refers to Himself, by Name, the Name God uses is “J@hovah,” of which the Greek equivalent was/is “Kurios” and the English is “Jehovah.” I write “Y@hovah” here in the way I do because the Jews of that day would not even write or try to pronounce that name because it was considered so unspeakably holy. Their verbal equivalent was “Yahweh,” which we see referenced in translations occasionally. In other words, names were of vast importance to those who read from the Scriptures in the Old Testament of that day.
And so, here we have the God imposed Name above all names given to the exalted One, Jesus, Who is now our “LORD,” the High Priest in Heaven, the Name to which He should be referred and given all reverence due Him. He is the Savior, J@hovah, to Whom all knees will bow and tongues confess as “LORD.” Yes, He is J@hovah, … Kurio; … he is my LORD!
Really, this matter is emphasized by MacArthur (and by myself here) to allow us all to understand and declare the reverence Christ deserves to command in our thought process, our prayers, and our witness. But as I’ve indicated in days past, I’m afraid that all too often I hear others, even so-called “Christians,” trying to humanize THE LORD, giving Him name references, like “The Big Guy” or “Papa God.” I know that the latter comes from a Scriptural reference to “Abba Father,” as we read Jesus referring to His Father in Heaven in Mark 14: 36 or Paul’s similar reference in Romans 8: 15. However, I - personally - am uncomfortable using such a personalized reference as “Papa God.” When I hear that kind of Name for God, I recoil a bit; … but only because I don’t want us, as humans, -no, more personally, I don't want me - to try to bring God down to our level. Others may feel right with such a reference to God, our Lord; but I am not.
God is not to be humanized. He is God; and we are not! He is LORD; and we are not!! He is our King of kings; and He is our Lord of lords; and we must give Him the Named authority in our lives to which He deserves. He is J@hovah … Kurios … LORD! Only then can I, thinking in this way, come to His throne of grace with the humility in my heart which He deserves as I pray before that Throne and our High Priest in Heaven. And I hope you are reading into my words the fear of God and the reverence to which I hold my “Lord” God. May I never try to Name Him in such a way as to trivialize Who He is in MY heart. Others can call our Lord whatever they are at peace to do so; but when I pray, “In the Name of Jesus,” may I always be thinking and feeling in my heart of hearts that He is my “Lord.”
Yes, we’re being redundant here; but our LORD is deserving of this repetition and emphasis; and there will be more; … so, yes, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Again, all that needs to be said with regard to Your Name, Lord, is HALLELUJAH! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 – 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red and my emphasis IN ALL CAPS] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: For emphasis and due importance, John MacArthur, in today’s Strength for Today entry returns to highlight the phrase “JESUS CHRIST IS LORD,” emphasized in all caps here and above from Phil. 2: 11. Yesterday we explored the renaming process which Jesus, the re-ascended God-Man, has assumed from God, the Father, being re-coronated as “Lord” and sitting at the Right Hand of His Father in Heaven. And from there Christ, as LORD of all, could intercede as High Priest for all whom had come to Him in faith, declaring Him to be Lord and Savior by their repentance and living worship.
As we noted yesterday, the reference to the Name for Jesus as “LORD” is the Greek term “KURIOS,” which can be a general term for a supreme ruler with all authority. However, in this context, it would refer to God, The Messiah, Whom Jews had used the Hebrew equivalent of “J@hovah,” the proper Name for the One true God. An Old Testament example would be in Isaiah 45: 21, where we read, “Was it not I, the LORD [Y@hovah]? And there is no God [Elohiym] apart from Me, a righteous God [El] and a Savior [Yasha]; there is none but Me.” Here you see [in parentheses] the various references to the supreme God; but when He refers to Himself, by Name, the Name God uses is “J@hovah,” of which the Greek equivalent was/is “Kurios” and the English is “Jehovah.” I write “Y@hovah” here in the way I do because the Jews of that day would not even write or try to pronounce that name because it was considered so unspeakably holy. Their verbal equivalent was “Yahweh,” which we see referenced in translations occasionally. In other words, names were of vast importance to those who read from the Scriptures in the Old Testament of that day.
And so, here we have the God imposed Name above all names given to the exalted One, Jesus, Who is now our “LORD,” the High Priest in Heaven, the Name to which He should be referred and given all reverence due Him. He is the Savior, J@hovah, to Whom all knees will bow and tongues confess as “LORD.” Yes, He is J@hovah, … Kurio; … he is my LORD!
Really, this matter is emphasized by MacArthur (and by myself here) to allow us all to understand and declare the reverence Christ deserves to command in our thought process, our prayers, and our witness. But as I’ve indicated in days past, I’m afraid that all too often I hear others, even so-called “Christians,” trying to humanize THE LORD, giving Him name references, like “The Big Guy” or “Papa God.” I know that the latter comes from a Scriptural reference to “Abba Father,” as we read Jesus referring to His Father in Heaven in Mark 14: 36 or Paul’s similar reference in Romans 8: 15. However, I - personally - am uncomfortable using such a personalized reference as “Papa God.” When I hear that kind of Name for God, I recoil a bit; … but only because I don’t want us, as humans, -no, more personally, I don't want me - to try to bring God down to our level. Others may feel right with such a reference to God, our Lord; but I am not.
God is not to be humanized. He is God; and we are not! He is LORD; and we are not!! He is our King of kings; and He is our Lord of lords; and we must give Him the Named authority in our lives to which He deserves. He is J@hovah … Kurios … LORD! Only then can I, thinking in this way, come to His throne of grace with the humility in my heart which He deserves as I pray before that Throne and our High Priest in Heaven. And I hope you are reading into my words the fear of God and the reverence to which I hold my “Lord” God. May I never try to Name Him in such a way as to trivialize Who He is in MY heart. Others can call our Lord whatever they are at peace to do so; but when I pray, “In the Name of Jesus,” may I always be thinking and feeling in my heart of hearts that He is my “Lord.”
Yes, we’re being redundant here; but our LORD is deserving of this repetition and emphasis; and there will be more; … so, yes, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Again, all that needs to be said with regard to Your Name, Lord, is HALLELUJAH! Amen
Friday, December 19, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 19
December 19, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 – 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Names in the 1st century and even earlier in the middle-eastern cultures in what we might refer to as “Old Testament times” were important designators of character; and changes in name, especially from persons of authority, were almost like titles of promotion or affirmation from the one who renamed a given person.
Think of how God renamed Abram to become “Abraham;” or when He renamed Jacob to be “Israel.” Jesus renamed Simon, the fisherman, to be “Peter” to designate whom Christ knew Peter would become in God’s kingdom. Certainly Simon, the impulsive, foot-in-the-mouth fisherman, who denied Jesus three times, would not be recognized at the time he bolted and ran in the garden to be “Peter,” the rock of faith who would become the steady foundation for those of faith in early Christendom. But Christ knew the character which would be reflected in the name “Peter,” and so our Lord had renamed Simon to be “Peter,” the man who would one day be transformed into one of the foundations of His Church.
If I may personalize this discussion a bit [as humbly as I can], at birth I was named “William” by my parents. I’ve since learned that my given name comes from the Germanic origin of “Wilhelm,” which in two parts means “wil,” referring to will or desire and “helm,” which refers to a helmet or protection. This name, therefore, came to refer to “conqueror” or “protector/leader” and was given to such a legendary leader as William, the Conqueror, the first peasant king of England. There was also William Wallace, the legendary Scottish rebel leader, and William Tell, the legendary 14th Century Swiss hero and warrior; and finally there was William of Orange, the famous Dutch hero/leader. Certainly, however, as I was living my early life, deeply into the dualism of hidden sexual sin, one would have never thought my name might reflect the transformed character who would one day lead a ministry like Battle Plan Ministry.
However, I find it fascinating that God would inspire my parents to dub me “William” at birth and then through a wondrous set of circumstances, I would become one whom God would lead to conquer the will of sin in my life and to lead a ministry for those who desire to likewise conquer their own self-will and live lives as conquerors in freedom from the will of the flesh. This happened because I, “William,” was willing to surrender my “will” to God’s “protection,” which is the definition of the name I was given at birth. Go figure!
In today’s passage (Phil. 2: 9 – 11), we read that God, The Father, renamed Jesus upon His exaltation, giving Him a Name that was above every other name. John MacArthur, in today’s Strength for Today devotional, points out that many in reading verse 10 (see above) of today’s passage assume that this special Name given to Christ by God, The Father, was “Jesus.” However, if this were the case, this would not be a change of names. He was already named “Jesus.” No, … a careful reading of the text reveals that Jesus’ exalted new Name upon His re-glorification was “Lord.” Verse 11 clearly exposes that the exalted Christ, once re-glorified and re-coronated, would henceforth be called “Lord” by all in Heaven and should be that to all of us who live on earth. This Name, “Lord,” which is “Kurios” in the Greek, is defined from the Greek as “God, the Messiah.” And that Name, “Lord,” for Jews would be “Y@hovah,” … the supreme God … the great “I Am.” As verse 11 declares above, no other Name can reflect glory upon God, The Father, as does ”Lord;” and it is the Name to which we should give our Savior, reflecting best His character and glory to all who Know Him.
To me this is such exciting stuff, especially contemplated here at Christmas. But stay tuned, there’s even more.
My Prayer Today: As my Savior, You are LORD forever! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 – 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Names in the 1st century and even earlier in the middle-eastern cultures in what we might refer to as “Old Testament times” were important designators of character; and changes in name, especially from persons of authority, were almost like titles of promotion or affirmation from the one who renamed a given person.
Think of how God renamed Abram to become “Abraham;” or when He renamed Jacob to be “Israel.” Jesus renamed Simon, the fisherman, to be “Peter” to designate whom Christ knew Peter would become in God’s kingdom. Certainly Simon, the impulsive, foot-in-the-mouth fisherman, who denied Jesus three times, would not be recognized at the time he bolted and ran in the garden to be “Peter,” the rock of faith who would become the steady foundation for those of faith in early Christendom. But Christ knew the character which would be reflected in the name “Peter,” and so our Lord had renamed Simon to be “Peter,” the man who would one day be transformed into one of the foundations of His Church.
If I may personalize this discussion a bit [as humbly as I can], at birth I was named “William” by my parents. I’ve since learned that my given name comes from the Germanic origin of “Wilhelm,” which in two parts means “wil,” referring to will or desire and “helm,” which refers to a helmet or protection. This name, therefore, came to refer to “conqueror” or “protector/leader” and was given to such a legendary leader as William, the Conqueror, the first peasant king of England. There was also William Wallace, the legendary Scottish rebel leader, and William Tell, the legendary 14th Century Swiss hero and warrior; and finally there was William of Orange, the famous Dutch hero/leader. Certainly, however, as I was living my early life, deeply into the dualism of hidden sexual sin, one would have never thought my name might reflect the transformed character who would one day lead a ministry like Battle Plan Ministry.
However, I find it fascinating that God would inspire my parents to dub me “William” at birth and then through a wondrous set of circumstances, I would become one whom God would lead to conquer the will of sin in my life and to lead a ministry for those who desire to likewise conquer their own self-will and live lives as conquerors in freedom from the will of the flesh. This happened because I, “William,” was willing to surrender my “will” to God’s “protection,” which is the definition of the name I was given at birth. Go figure!
In today’s passage (Phil. 2: 9 – 11), we read that God, The Father, renamed Jesus upon His exaltation, giving Him a Name that was above every other name. John MacArthur, in today’s Strength for Today devotional, points out that many in reading verse 10 (see above) of today’s passage assume that this special Name given to Christ by God, The Father, was “Jesus.” However, if this were the case, this would not be a change of names. He was already named “Jesus.” No, … a careful reading of the text reveals that Jesus’ exalted new Name upon His re-glorification was “Lord.” Verse 11 clearly exposes that the exalted Christ, once re-glorified and re-coronated, would henceforth be called “Lord” by all in Heaven and should be that to all of us who live on earth. This Name, “Lord,” which is “Kurios” in the Greek, is defined from the Greek as “God, the Messiah.” And that Name, “Lord,” for Jews would be “Y@hovah,” … the supreme God … the great “I Am.” As verse 11 declares above, no other Name can reflect glory upon God, The Father, as does ”Lord;” and it is the Name to which we should give our Savior, reflecting best His character and glory to all who Know Him.
To me this is such exciting stuff, especially contemplated here at Christmas. But stay tuned, there’s even more.
My Prayer Today: As my Savior, You are LORD forever! Amen
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 18
December 18, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yes, we’re back again in Phil. 2: 9 as John MacArthur continues to help me (us) appreciate the explanation of Christ’s exaltation, showing that God’s raising of The Second Person of the Trinity to reglorification was the reverse of the incarnation of Christ. Having become a babe in a manager, … having been a servant, … even a slave; and having died ignominiously on a cross, … Christ was raised from the grave, brought by God’s Spirit into Heaven, seated on God’s Throne, crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords, and established to His Royal Priesthood as Head of His Church.
He, Who was rejected, was accepted. He, Who had chosen obedience and humility to His Father, was once again given all power and authority (see Eph. 1: 22 – 33). And He, Who had been spat upon by the religious leaders of His day, became the High Priest for God’s Church and our intercessor/advocate forever.
Is this not the most glorious thing that one could ever contemplate – especially in this time of year when we’re so reminded of His incarnation? And John MacArthur closes his exposition and devotional on this date by emphasizing a point of enormous importance, doing so by quoting the Puritan, Thomas Walton, who wrote, “As sure as Christ is exalted, … so sure will He instate believers in all that glory … (see John 17: 22).”
What an incredible hope and encouragement this is, especially for those of us who’ve been lifted out of the tarpits of habitual sin and rebellion by His wondrous gift of grace. To be able to walk with Him and for Him in this life is truly the realization of the words of John Newton’s Amazing Grace (hum and sing those first bars with me), “Amazing grace … how sweet the sound … that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost; but now I’m found … was blind but now I see.”
But wondrously, it doesn’t stop there … there’s more! Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: All praise and thanks, dear Lord, for your exalted place in glory; and a place saved for me! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yes, we’re back again in Phil. 2: 9 as John MacArthur continues to help me (us) appreciate the explanation of Christ’s exaltation, showing that God’s raising of The Second Person of the Trinity to reglorification was the reverse of the incarnation of Christ. Having become a babe in a manager, … having been a servant, … even a slave; and having died ignominiously on a cross, … Christ was raised from the grave, brought by God’s Spirit into Heaven, seated on God’s Throne, crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords, and established to His Royal Priesthood as Head of His Church.
He, Who was rejected, was accepted. He, Who had chosen obedience and humility to His Father, was once again given all power and authority (see Eph. 1: 22 – 33). And He, Who had been spat upon by the religious leaders of His day, became the High Priest for God’s Church and our intercessor/advocate forever.
Is this not the most glorious thing that one could ever contemplate – especially in this time of year when we’re so reminded of His incarnation? And John MacArthur closes his exposition and devotional on this date by emphasizing a point of enormous importance, doing so by quoting the Puritan, Thomas Walton, who wrote, “As sure as Christ is exalted, … so sure will He instate believers in all that glory … (see John 17: 22).”
What an incredible hope and encouragement this is, especially for those of us who’ve been lifted out of the tarpits of habitual sin and rebellion by His wondrous gift of grace. To be able to walk with Him and for Him in this life is truly the realization of the words of John Newton’s Amazing Grace (hum and sing those first bars with me), “Amazing grace … how sweet the sound … that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost; but now I’m found … was blind but now I see.”
But wondrously, it doesn’t stop there … there’s more! Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: All praise and thanks, dear Lord, for your exalted place in glory; and a place saved for me! Amen
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 17
December 17, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9a [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Okay, today we’re back again in Phil. 2, with a focus on the one phrase from verse 9a, “… God exalted Him (Christ) to the highest place.” I believe John MacArthur, in Strength for Today, has taken his readers back to the theology of Christ’s exaltation so that we can gain a more complete understanding of what Christ gave up in His incarnation, life, and death on earth and what He attained in living as the God-Man.
MacArthur poses an interesting rhetorical question in today’s devotional entry, “… how could Jesus be exalted since He was (already) fully God?” However, by returning to Christ’s High Priestly prayer, we read Christ (in John 17: 5) asking His Heavenly Father to be restored to His former glory. And ultimately, as we read in today’s verse, when this actually happened, which it did in His ascension and re-coronation (as we’ve seen), Christ reacquired His former status in the union of the God-Head – but with something added!
Now, restored to His glory bound position in the Trinity and having lived out the reality of sinless humanity, the exalted Christ could – and has – become High Priest, Who can – and does – intercede and be the Advocate for God’s people (i.e., those who’ve received Him as Lord and Savior). And as our re-glorified God-Man Priest, … our Messiah, … my Lord … knows and has felt all that I am; and as my Savior-Priest, He can and does intercede for me before God, the Father, with infinite empathy, shielding my sin nature from the wrath of God and letting me wear His Robes of Righteousness to cover my rags of sin. When God, the Father, looks at me (or you if you’re saved), He doesn’t see my sin. He sees my positional purity, having been covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, His Son.
I hope you’re getting the picture of our fully restored Savior in Heaven and what He set aside to become a Man like no other man, becoming a Servant King on my (and your) behalf. But there’s more; so, as I keep saying this month, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, I praise Your Holy and Priestly Name! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9a [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Okay, today we’re back again in Phil. 2, with a focus on the one phrase from verse 9a, “… God exalted Him (Christ) to the highest place.” I believe John MacArthur, in Strength for Today, has taken his readers back to the theology of Christ’s exaltation so that we can gain a more complete understanding of what Christ gave up in His incarnation, life, and death on earth and what He attained in living as the God-Man.
MacArthur poses an interesting rhetorical question in today’s devotional entry, “… how could Jesus be exalted since He was (already) fully God?” However, by returning to Christ’s High Priestly prayer, we read Christ (in John 17: 5) asking His Heavenly Father to be restored to His former glory. And ultimately, as we read in today’s verse, when this actually happened, which it did in His ascension and re-coronation (as we’ve seen), Christ reacquired His former status in the union of the God-Head – but with something added!
Now, restored to His glory bound position in the Trinity and having lived out the reality of sinless humanity, the exalted Christ could – and has – become High Priest, Who can – and does – intercede and be the Advocate for God’s people (i.e., those who’ve received Him as Lord and Savior). And as our re-glorified God-Man Priest, … our Messiah, … my Lord … knows and has felt all that I am; and as my Savior-Priest, He can and does intercede for me before God, the Father, with infinite empathy, shielding my sin nature from the wrath of God and letting me wear His Robes of Righteousness to cover my rags of sin. When God, the Father, looks at me (or you if you’re saved), He doesn’t see my sin. He sees my positional purity, having been covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, His Son.
I hope you’re getting the picture of our fully restored Savior in Heaven and what He set aside to become a Man like no other man, becoming a Servant King on my (and your) behalf. But there’s more; so, as I keep saying this month, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, I praise Your Holy and Priestly Name! Amen
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 16
December 16, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Hebrews 1: 1 - 14 … [see highlight passage in bold/red] 1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and He will be my Son"? 6 And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship Him." 7 In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire." 8 But about the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set You above your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy." 10 He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and your years will never end." 13 To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? 14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
My Journal for Today: Today’s devotional by John MacArthur in Strength for Today, taking a departure into the first chapter from our study of Philippians 2 and moving that of Hebrews, expresses a truth that is all too absent in the world today, and is sorely wanting even among Christians; and that is a surrendered awe for the majesty of the exalted Lord, … our Savior, Jesus Christ. Certainly the so-called “secular” world shows no reverence for Christ. Rather, there is a growing disdain for even His Name to appear in our culture as we see a growing movement to have the concepts of “Christ” or “God” stripped from all public venues. And too often we find Christians trivializing our Lord with public or verbal references such as “The Man upstairs” or “the big guy in Heaven.” I even balk a bit when I hear someone pray to “Papa God,” though I know that there is some Biblical precedence for this reference in the phrase “Abba Father.”
As I read, study, and meditate on today’s text from Hebrews 1 suggested by MacArthur, I’m reminded by God’s word that Christ is the “Heir of all things” and the unique Son of God; and from Revelations 5: 1 – 7 we see that He is the “Lion of Judah” and the Radiance of God’s glory, … the One and only One Whose blood was shed as the Lamb of God so that you and I, as believers, could become Kingdom Priests to serve God as Heirs to His throne. Now is that not an image that needs to be lifted up and given lifestyle worship in our culture?
Why then do men mock Him and crucify Him socially in our culture? Why do we Christians have a tendency to humanize our Lord so much and so often. Of course, we can see how a world devised and led by Satan would be blinded to and or in antipathy of Jesus; but why do we Christians want to bring Our Lord down to human level, trivializing the exalted Name of Christ? God, the Son, was exalted and re-coronated unto His throne in Glory by God, the Father; and He has provided the way through His Spirit for our eternal glory as His heirs. The least we can do is to worship Him in the Glory and with the Name He deserves. He is our LORD!
Don’t you agree that we, as Christians, should (no, I say we “must”) elevate Christ’s image in our lives to reflect the truth of the One we serve and worship? Only by doing so with the worship of our lives, our 24/7 witness to His Name, … a worthy walk of faith, … will we reflect His radiant Light into the dark world for all to see Him in us and to be able to glorify our Father in Heaven (see and mediate on a verse that you probably have memorized, Matt. 5: 16).
I’m convicted to the bone; so I look forward to the remainder of our series to elevate the Name of Christ in my heart and mind. That’s why again I say, “Stay tuned.”
My Prayer Today: O Lord, as ever, I stand in awe and bow before Your majesty. Amen
Passage of the Day: Hebrews 1: 1 - 14 … [see highlight passage in bold/red] 1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and He will be my Son"? 6 And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship Him." 7 In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire." 8 But about the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set You above your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy." 10 He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and your years will never end." 13 To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? 14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
My Journal for Today: Today’s devotional by John MacArthur in Strength for Today, taking a departure into the first chapter from our study of Philippians 2 and moving that of Hebrews, expresses a truth that is all too absent in the world today, and is sorely wanting even among Christians; and that is a surrendered awe for the majesty of the exalted Lord, … our Savior, Jesus Christ. Certainly the so-called “secular” world shows no reverence for Christ. Rather, there is a growing disdain for even His Name to appear in our culture as we see a growing movement to have the concepts of “Christ” or “God” stripped from all public venues. And too often we find Christians trivializing our Lord with public or verbal references such as “The Man upstairs” or “the big guy in Heaven.” I even balk a bit when I hear someone pray to “Papa God,” though I know that there is some Biblical precedence for this reference in the phrase “Abba Father.”
As I read, study, and meditate on today’s text from Hebrews 1 suggested by MacArthur, I’m reminded by God’s word that Christ is the “Heir of all things” and the unique Son of God; and from Revelations 5: 1 – 7 we see that He is the “Lion of Judah” and the Radiance of God’s glory, … the One and only One Whose blood was shed as the Lamb of God so that you and I, as believers, could become Kingdom Priests to serve God as Heirs to His throne. Now is that not an image that needs to be lifted up and given lifestyle worship in our culture?
Why then do men mock Him and crucify Him socially in our culture? Why do we Christians have a tendency to humanize our Lord so much and so often. Of course, we can see how a world devised and led by Satan would be blinded to and or in antipathy of Jesus; but why do we Christians want to bring Our Lord down to human level, trivializing the exalted Name of Christ? God, the Son, was exalted and re-coronated unto His throne in Glory by God, the Father; and He has provided the way through His Spirit for our eternal glory as His heirs. The least we can do is to worship Him in the Glory and with the Name He deserves. He is our LORD!
Don’t you agree that we, as Christians, should (no, I say we “must”) elevate Christ’s image in our lives to reflect the truth of the One we serve and worship? Only by doing so with the worship of our lives, our 24/7 witness to His Name, … a worthy walk of faith, … will we reflect His radiant Light into the dark world for all to see Him in us and to be able to glorify our Father in Heaven (see and mediate on a verse that you probably have memorized, Matt. 5: 16).
I’m convicted to the bone; so I look forward to the remainder of our series to elevate the Name of Christ in my heart and mind. That’s why again I say, “Stay tuned.”
My Prayer Today: O Lord, as ever, I stand in awe and bow before Your majesty. Amen
Monday, December 15, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 15
December 15, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9a [see highlight passage in bold/red] …
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: With the help of John MacArthur, I (we) have seen that Christ’s exaltation involved four elements; and yesterday we looked at two of them: RESURRECTION and ASCENSION. However, it was the latter two, CORONATION and INTERCESSION, which allowed believers to have freedom from the condemnation of our sin condition; and this was due to the establishment of Christ’s Heavenly Priesthood.
Both Mark 16: 19 and Ephesians 1: 20 – 22 document that upon Christ’s ascension into Heaven, He was seated at the Right Hand of God, The Father, on the Throne of Glory with all power, authority, and dominion restored to Him. And besides this re-coronation to His Throne, our Lord was given the role of our eternal High Priest to be our advocate, interceding on behalf of saved believers forever. Both Hebrews 4: 15 and 7: 25, as we read two days ago, clearly declare Christ’s Priesthood and intercession in sending His Spirit to minister to the lives of declared Christians; and that process has granted believers like me (and prayerfully, you) faith, repentance, forgiveness, and God’s grace to become completed in Christ from sanctification in our lives on this earth and glorification in the next life in Heaven. I would charge you to do a deep reading through Ephesians, Chapters 4 – 9, to get the full picture of the importance and outcome of Christ’s coronation and intercession. And having just done it, I would also charge my followers here to go back and read Christ’s wondrous prayer for His disciples in John 17: 6 – 26, His intercession having begun even before He ascended into Heaven.
And how can a Christian meditate on that John 17 prayer, what is really THE LORD’S PRAYER, and not come away in wonder at the Savior, Who was about to go to the Cross on our behalf, praying this prayer for His Father’s children? In the prayer, in John 17: 5, we read Jesus imploring His Father, “…Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” And that is what our focus on this day has been, … Christ’s re-glorification and re-coronation into His eternal Priesthood.
Oh glory upon glory, our High Priest lives and ever moves to intercede for His subjects; and I pray that you, as I am, are one of those subjects. And tomorrow we leave Phil. 2 for a day to delve into another wondrous passage about Christ’s glory. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: O Lord, all I can say from my meditation today is HALLELUJAH and Amen !!!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
A Berry Patch Chrismas Greeting
To any who read here, above you see why we in the Berry Patch feel so blessed in this Advent Season. These four are our Berry Blessings; ... and first above are the Colorado Cuties, ... the littlest, Alexandra, now a terrific two year old (or "terrible" when caught mostly being herself); and sister, Amanda, who is five, going on fifteen. Next are our local Cordova Cuties, Sydney and Brooklyn, with their friend, Frosty. Brookie is always on stage; and Syd was born to mother her little sister.
They are special, special, special; and no two grandparents could feel more blessed by God than Elly and I could or would at this time of year. So, we pray that you are having wonderful family times, relishing what we all have in the family of God.
MERRY CHRISTMAS ... and ... HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
And much love from Bill and Elly
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 14
December 14, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: If you’ve been following this month as I dwell with John MacArthur on the subject of Christology, and even more specifically on Christ’s character of humility, it may seem like MacArthur and I are lingering with redundancy on certain elements of the Apostle Paul’s passage in Phil. 2. Well, this may be so; but I can see that MacArthur is doing so because of the importance of the subject matter – and that is CHRIST.
Here we are again, looking at Christ’s exaltation after His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven; and I must admit that if Strength for Today not lingered on this subject, I would not likely have seen how important and wonderful this matter of Christ being exalted is to our knowing our Lord. Yesterday MacArthur mentioned – in passing – four components of Christ’s exaltation that we need to understand: resurrection, ascension, coronation, and intercession. Today our author/shepherd elaborates on the first two of these; and the first is RESURRECTION.
In Acts 13: 32 – 39 [be sure to read this!], we read Dr. Luke’s account of Paul preaching to the Jews (and some Gentiles present) in a Synagogue in Antioch. There Paul gave the people a history lesson, preaching the good news of Christ being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies, Christ having been raised from the dead to save God’s people from their sin. In this passage in Acts, Paul’s preaching quoted from Ps. 2: 7, Is. 55: 3, and especially from Ps. 16: 10 [best to see NASB version] where David had prophesied that The Messiah would never decay in the ground [a prophesy of Christ’s resurrection]. And MacArthur emphasizes this wondrous lesson where he writes, “Christ’s death and resurrection provided forgiveness and freedom from sin, the law, and death.” And we Christians, especially in these days of commercialized Christmases, need to take time to dwell on this gift of amazing grace to all mankind. And we need to recognize that without the truth of the resurrection, Christianity falls into nothingness.
Next we read from Acts 1: 9 – 11 and 2: 33 an exposition of the second component of Christ’s exaltation, … His ASCENSION, where our Messiah and Savior was lifted up to sit at the Right Hand of God, The Father, on His Throne of Glory in Heaven. And my beloved, we need to dwell on this! We will be exalted as well; but not until we live out this Spirit-enabled life as Christ’s witnesses (see Act. 1: 8) and we are either resurrected after our death or we are transported to Glory when Christ comes again. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wrap my finite mind around this latter truth … that God would think so much of ME that He would humble Himself as a man, walk on earth displaying His deity, die in humiliation on a cross, be resurrected by God’s Spirit, ascend to Heaven, be re-coronated by God, the Father, into His former Glory, and now to intercede for ME in Heaven. No, I may not completely grasp these truths; but I believe them as THE GOSPEL truth!
And tomorrow we’ll go into more of Christ’s exaltation … so, (yes), stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: And with Your charge, Lord, to witness in Your name, I go forth. Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: If you’ve been following this month as I dwell with John MacArthur on the subject of Christology, and even more specifically on Christ’s character of humility, it may seem like MacArthur and I are lingering with redundancy on certain elements of the Apostle Paul’s passage in Phil. 2. Well, this may be so; but I can see that MacArthur is doing so because of the importance of the subject matter – and that is CHRIST.
Here we are again, looking at Christ’s exaltation after His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven; and I must admit that if Strength for Today not lingered on this subject, I would not likely have seen how important and wonderful this matter of Christ being exalted is to our knowing our Lord. Yesterday MacArthur mentioned – in passing – four components of Christ’s exaltation that we need to understand: resurrection, ascension, coronation, and intercession. Today our author/shepherd elaborates on the first two of these; and the first is RESURRECTION.
In Acts 13: 32 – 39 [be sure to read this!], we read Dr. Luke’s account of Paul preaching to the Jews (and some Gentiles present) in a Synagogue in Antioch. There Paul gave the people a history lesson, preaching the good news of Christ being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies, Christ having been raised from the dead to save God’s people from their sin. In this passage in Acts, Paul’s preaching quoted from Ps. 2: 7, Is. 55: 3, and especially from Ps. 16: 10 [best to see NASB version] where David had prophesied that The Messiah would never decay in the ground [a prophesy of Christ’s resurrection]. And MacArthur emphasizes this wondrous lesson where he writes, “Christ’s death and resurrection provided forgiveness and freedom from sin, the law, and death.” And we Christians, especially in these days of commercialized Christmases, need to take time to dwell on this gift of amazing grace to all mankind. And we need to recognize that without the truth of the resurrection, Christianity falls into nothingness.
Next we read from Acts 1: 9 – 11 and 2: 33 an exposition of the second component of Christ’s exaltation, … His ASCENSION, where our Messiah and Savior was lifted up to sit at the Right Hand of God, The Father, on His Throne of Glory in Heaven. And my beloved, we need to dwell on this! We will be exalted as well; but not until we live out this Spirit-enabled life as Christ’s witnesses (see Act. 1: 8) and we are either resurrected after our death or we are transported to Glory when Christ comes again. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wrap my finite mind around this latter truth … that God would think so much of ME that He would humble Himself as a man, walk on earth displaying His deity, die in humiliation on a cross, be resurrected by God’s Spirit, ascend to Heaven, be re-coronated by God, the Father, into His former Glory, and now to intercede for ME in Heaven. No, I may not completely grasp these truths; but I believe them as THE GOSPEL truth!
And tomorrow we’ll go into more of Christ’s exaltation … so, (yes), stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: And with Your charge, Lord, to witness in Your name, I go forth. Amen
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 13
December 13, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yesterday we considered and saw the perfect evidence of God’s law of reciprocation, the wondrous balance of God’s justice for God, the Son, Who humbled Himself for mankind that we might be lifted up to Glory with Him. However, this law worked first and foremost – and perfectly - for Jesus; and what a wondrous sequence it is to contemplate the exaltation of Christ, following the kenosis [i.e., emptying] of His glory and majesty in the incarnation, … that He, having died for mankind, would be resurrected by God, the Holy Spirit, ascended to Heaven to the Right Hand of God, The Father (see Acts 2: 32 – 33; Acts 5: 30 – 31) and then to be honored above all by His Coronation so that He might serve eternally in intercession for you and me and His Church as our High Priest (see Hebrews 4: 14 and 7: 25).
As John MacArthur puts it in his Strength for Today entry today, “He (Jesus) rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Then He was seated on the throne of God to intercede as High Priest of His people.” And I hope you are as much in awe as I am to meditate and contemplate the truth that as believers who have received Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will one day be resurrected (should He not come again during our lifetime), and we will be exalted to sit with Him and to rule in eternity with Him. Is that not mind-blowing in its implications!!
Think about the spirit of Christmas. Is it not a small, small gift to be able to serve our Lord on this earth for the gift of exaltation He has given us? But that’s all our Lord wants from us – the gift of our surrender and service to Him. And really it’s all I have to offer Him. He has everything! And, as one of our staple exhortations from Christ, Luke 9: 23, documents, what Jesus asks of me (and you) is for me to give up myself and follow Him. It’s really not too much to request for me to contemplate giving my all for Him during this Advent season (and beyond in my life).
What about you who might be reading this? Are you giving our Lord enough of yourself for Christmas [and for life, for that matter]? Well, there will be more time to mediate on this during the rest of December; … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: May I always be diminished, Lord, that You may increase! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Yesterday we considered and saw the perfect evidence of God’s law of reciprocation, the wondrous balance of God’s justice for God, the Son, Who humbled Himself for mankind that we might be lifted up to Glory with Him. However, this law worked first and foremost – and perfectly - for Jesus; and what a wondrous sequence it is to contemplate the exaltation of Christ, following the kenosis [i.e., emptying] of His glory and majesty in the incarnation, … that He, having died for mankind, would be resurrected by God, the Holy Spirit, ascended to Heaven to the Right Hand of God, The Father (see Acts 2: 32 – 33; Acts 5: 30 – 31) and then to be honored above all by His Coronation so that He might serve eternally in intercession for you and me and His Church as our High Priest (see Hebrews 4: 14 and 7: 25).
As John MacArthur puts it in his Strength for Today entry today, “He (Jesus) rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Then He was seated on the throne of God to intercede as High Priest of His people.” And I hope you are as much in awe as I am to meditate and contemplate the truth that as believers who have received Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will one day be resurrected (should He not come again during our lifetime), and we will be exalted to sit with Him and to rule in eternity with Him. Is that not mind-blowing in its implications!!
Think about the spirit of Christmas. Is it not a small, small gift to be able to serve our Lord on this earth for the gift of exaltation He has given us? But that’s all our Lord wants from us – the gift of our surrender and service to Him. And really it’s all I have to offer Him. He has everything! And, as one of our staple exhortations from Christ, Luke 9: 23, documents, what Jesus asks of me (and you) is for me to give up myself and follow Him. It’s really not too much to request for me to contemplate giving my all for Him during this Advent season (and beyond in my life).
What about you who might be reading this? Are you giving our Lord enough of yourself for Christmas [and for life, for that matter]? Well, there will be more time to mediate on this during the rest of December; … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: May I always be diminished, Lord, that You may increase! Amen
Friday, December 12, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 12
December 12, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
9 Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: In today’s entry of Strength for Today, John MacArthur helps those, like myself, who pursue God through his devotional to see from God’s word (in the highlight passages from Phil. 2 above) that Christ’s humiliation in His incarnation, life, and death on the cross as well as His exaltation (see today’s passage) are very powerful and practical examples of God’s economy of justice. It’s really a straightforward formula; but it’s also an infinitely challenging message for all mankind to accept and implement. THE FORUMULA is that when one humbles himself, he will be exalted. Jesus was our earthly model of humility [Phil. 2: 6 – 8]; and in today’s passage [Phil. 2: 9 – 11] we read of Christ becoming our heavenly and perfect example of God’s exaltation out of His earthly and perfect humility.
MacArthur reminds me [us] that the Apostle Peter [in 1st Peter 1: 10 – 12] had pointed to Christ fulfilling the prophesies of the ancient Prophets concerning the Messiah. And the Author of Hebrews wrote of Christ [in Heb. 12: 2], “… Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” So, the Apostle Paul’s purpose in our passage from Phil. 2 was to illustrate, not only Christ’s humble emptying of His majesty in His Incarnation; but also to document His re-entry into heavenly glory as a result of His humiliation on the cross. So it’s worthy of repeating, … Christ, therefore, is not only our human example of humility, He is also our heavenly example of God glorifying anyone who is willing to humble himself and receive God’s Son as Lord and Savior.
That economy and balance of justice is also documented in James 4: 10, where we read, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” As I’ve documented before, that is the message that was also laid out by Solomon in Prov. 3: 34 and 1st Peter 5: 6 … that God gives His grace to the humble but resists the proud. So, Jesus was God’s model of His scale of justice; and His word repeats the lesson often. BUT, do we get it?!
Unfortunately, all too often I’ve had to learn the lesson of God’s economy with regard to humility the hard way. I know the lesson in my head; but my deceitful heart [see Jer. 17: 9] brings me often to a place where God has to teach me humility in the face of my pridefulness. I have to be brought low because I’ve chosen to exalt myself. When will I see - from the heart - that it’s so much better for me to CHOOSE to be humble and let God exalt me for being like Christ?
Just like Christ, one day as a believing Christian, I (and all Christians) will be lifted up to be with my (our) Lord in Heaven, … not because of anything I will do in humility, … but because of what Christ has already done for me (us). Oh how I (we) need to meditate on this at this time of year, especially letting this message encourage us in our trials. But as we do so in reading this, we can look forward this month to even more about our Lord; so, … yes, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Blessed am I by Your exaltation, Lord. Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
9 Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: In today’s entry of Strength for Today, John MacArthur helps those, like myself, who pursue God through his devotional to see from God’s word (in the highlight passages from Phil. 2 above) that Christ’s humiliation in His incarnation, life, and death on the cross as well as His exaltation (see today’s passage) are very powerful and practical examples of God’s economy of justice. It’s really a straightforward formula; but it’s also an infinitely challenging message for all mankind to accept and implement. THE FORUMULA is that when one humbles himself, he will be exalted. Jesus was our earthly model of humility [Phil. 2: 6 – 8]; and in today’s passage [Phil. 2: 9 – 11] we read of Christ becoming our heavenly and perfect example of God’s exaltation out of His earthly and perfect humility.
MacArthur reminds me [us] that the Apostle Peter [in 1st Peter 1: 10 – 12] had pointed to Christ fulfilling the prophesies of the ancient Prophets concerning the Messiah. And the Author of Hebrews wrote of Christ [in Heb. 12: 2], “… Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” So, the Apostle Paul’s purpose in our passage from Phil. 2 was to illustrate, not only Christ’s humble emptying of His majesty in His Incarnation; but also to document His re-entry into heavenly glory as a result of His humiliation on the cross. So it’s worthy of repeating, … Christ, therefore, is not only our human example of humility, He is also our heavenly example of God glorifying anyone who is willing to humble himself and receive God’s Son as Lord and Savior.
That economy and balance of justice is also documented in James 4: 10, where we read, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” As I’ve documented before, that is the message that was also laid out by Solomon in Prov. 3: 34 and 1st Peter 5: 6 … that God gives His grace to the humble but resists the proud. So, Jesus was God’s model of His scale of justice; and His word repeats the lesson often. BUT, do we get it?!
Unfortunately, all too often I’ve had to learn the lesson of God’s economy with regard to humility the hard way. I know the lesson in my head; but my deceitful heart [see Jer. 17: 9] brings me often to a place where God has to teach me humility in the face of my pridefulness. I have to be brought low because I’ve chosen to exalt myself. When will I see - from the heart - that it’s so much better for me to CHOOSE to be humble and let God exalt me for being like Christ?
Just like Christ, one day as a believing Christian, I (and all Christians) will be lifted up to be with my (our) Lord in Heaven, … not because of anything I will do in humility, … but because of what Christ has already done for me (us). Oh how I (we) need to meditate on this at this time of year, especially letting this message encourage us in our trials. But as we do so in reading this, we can look forward this month to even more about our Lord; so, … yes, … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Blessed am I by Your exaltation, Lord. Amen
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - Dec., '08 - Day 11
December 11, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8 [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
My Journal for Today: John MacArthur begins his Strength for Today devotional on this date by reminding his readers (that’s me!) of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11: 33, writing (from the NASB), “Oh, the depth … of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” And Paul was agreeing with David, the Psalmist (in Ps. 36: 6) who wrote, “Your judgments (are like) the great deep.” And we also read God say, through the Prophet in Isaiah 55: 8 – 9 [NIV] , “ 8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
When we consider the passage we’ve been studying this month in Philippians 2, certainly no human would have ever scripted God coming to mankind in the way His Incarnation unfolded from God’s plan. And even Christ’s Disciples had trouble recognizing their Messiah, even though they knew of the Old Testament prophesies and walking with Him as they saw Jesus fulfill so many of those prophesies.
Who would have thunk it ?! A babe, born in a manger, not a palace … a boy raised as a carpenter’s son, rather than as a powerful prince ... and the King of kings, living out his adult years with a ragtag group of itinerants, rather than leading an army against Rome in deliverance of God’s people. And yet, this was the wild and wondrous plan which God used to redeem mankind, culminating in the horror and humiliation Christ endured to shed His blood in atonement for Man’s sin.
As MacArthur states for this date, “God’s ways ARE unsearchable; His truths profound. And His plan to redeem us was accomplished by Christ’s humiliation.” As the kids would say today, “Go figure!” … However, for the one who does figure it out, or at least seeks it out (i.e., reasoning in faith from his/her heart), he/she will plumb God’s incredible plan for eternal life from the depths and treasures of the very mind of God [so beautifully summarized in John 3: 16].
That’s where one finds The Good News and gets a glimpse personally into the most incredible display of humility ever fashioned for us to follow. Yes, God’s heights are so incredibly high; but they must be scaled. They are so vastly deep; but they must be plumbed. That, to me, is the essence of any Advent season; and as we move on into this Christmas Season, there will be more; … so, again, stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Too high and deep are Your ways, Lord; but I find them as I seek to know my Savior. Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8 [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
My Journal for Today: John MacArthur begins his Strength for Today devotional on this date by reminding his readers (that’s me!) of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11: 33, writing (from the NASB), “Oh, the depth … of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” And Paul was agreeing with David, the Psalmist (in Ps. 36: 6) who wrote, “Your judgments (are like) the great deep.” And we also read God say, through the Prophet in Isaiah 55: 8 – 9 [NIV] , “ 8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
When we consider the passage we’ve been studying this month in Philippians 2, certainly no human would have ever scripted God coming to mankind in the way His Incarnation unfolded from God’s plan. And even Christ’s Disciples had trouble recognizing their Messiah, even though they knew of the Old Testament prophesies and walking with Him as they saw Jesus fulfill so many of those prophesies.
Who would have thunk it ?! A babe, born in a manger, not a palace … a boy raised as a carpenter’s son, rather than as a powerful prince ... and the King of kings, living out his adult years with a ragtag group of itinerants, rather than leading an army against Rome in deliverance of God’s people. And yet, this was the wild and wondrous plan which God used to redeem mankind, culminating in the horror and humiliation Christ endured to shed His blood in atonement for Man’s sin.
As MacArthur states for this date, “God’s ways ARE unsearchable; His truths profound. And His plan to redeem us was accomplished by Christ’s humiliation.” As the kids would say today, “Go figure!” … However, for the one who does figure it out, or at least seeks it out (i.e., reasoning in faith from his/her heart), he/she will plumb God’s incredible plan for eternal life from the depths and treasures of the very mind of God [so beautifully summarized in John 3: 16].
That’s where one finds The Good News and gets a glimpse personally into the most incredible display of humility ever fashioned for us to follow. Yes, God’s heights are so incredibly high; but they must be scaled. They are so vastly deep; but they must be plumbed. That, to me, is the essence of any Advent season; and as we move on into this Christmas Season, there will be more; … so, again, stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Too high and deep are Your ways, Lord; but I find them as I seek to know my Savior. Amen
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - December '08 - Day 10
December 10, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8b [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
My Journal for Today: As Christians, all of us aspire to grow in Christlikeness. In the Phil. 2 passage from which we’ve been studying this month, verse 5 says that our attitudes as Christians should be the same as that of our Lord. So, as individuals, and collectively as the Body of Christ, we should be doing all we can to capture and live with the attitude of Christ. And here in this wondrous passage, the Apostle Paul tells believers that the #1 attitude to which we ought to aspire is that of humility; and I’m here to tell you that this is one of the toughest lessons I have to learn as a disciple of our Lord.
You may already know that humility, along with meekness, are the only two adjectives Jesus ever used to describe Himself (see Matt. 11: 29); and we learn from passages like 1st Peter 5: 6 and James 4: 6, as well as Prov. 3: 34, that God honors humility by pouring His grace into those who humble themselves in obedience to God or His word. However, when it comes to the Phil. 2: 8 comparison test, all too often I come up short with my ego exhibiting pride, falling way short of the humility modeled so perfectly by my Savior.
And what a model of humility we have in Jesus, especially as He fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophesies concerning His passion and death on the cross. He was totally humbled to the will of His Father by dying on “the tree,” the most ignominious and humiliating form of capital punishment ever devised by man, and one which was hated by the Jews (see Deut. 21: 22 - 23). During all of His unjust trials before His crucifixion, He spoke not a word; and we see our Lord totally surrendered to the will of His Heavenly Father … that He be would become the Lamb of God to save ME! Me, of all people; but that was our Lord’s humble mission in life, … to serve me and you and all who would receive His humble and graceful act of atonement … that we might have eternal life. Is that not THE model of humility?
And now, in His word, I read from the inspiration of His Spirit, that I am to have His humility (again Phil. 2: 5); and Christ’s own words from Luke 9: 23 with regard to discipleship ring in my heart/mind as well … that I am to deny my self … and follow Him. So, the lessons of life in this regard continue; and I will enter my thoughts here today, doing all I can to humble myself to my Lord and to others. It’s a daunting task; but it is one I must learn and live.
So, I (we) move on … and there’s more to come. Yes, you’re getting it by now; … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: It is my humble prayer, Lord. Again I pray, Lord, help me to be humble! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8b [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
My Journal for Today: As Christians, all of us aspire to grow in Christlikeness. In the Phil. 2 passage from which we’ve been studying this month, verse 5 says that our attitudes as Christians should be the same as that of our Lord. So, as individuals, and collectively as the Body of Christ, we should be doing all we can to capture and live with the attitude of Christ. And here in this wondrous passage, the Apostle Paul tells believers that the #1 attitude to which we ought to aspire is that of humility; and I’m here to tell you that this is one of the toughest lessons I have to learn as a disciple of our Lord.
You may already know that humility, along with meekness, are the only two adjectives Jesus ever used to describe Himself (see Matt. 11: 29); and we learn from passages like 1st Peter 5: 6 and James 4: 6, as well as Prov. 3: 34, that God honors humility by pouring His grace into those who humble themselves in obedience to God or His word. However, when it comes to the Phil. 2: 8 comparison test, all too often I come up short with my ego exhibiting pride, falling way short of the humility modeled so perfectly by my Savior.
And what a model of humility we have in Jesus, especially as He fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophesies concerning His passion and death on the cross. He was totally humbled to the will of His Father by dying on “the tree,” the most ignominious and humiliating form of capital punishment ever devised by man, and one which was hated by the Jews (see Deut. 21: 22 - 23). During all of His unjust trials before His crucifixion, He spoke not a word; and we see our Lord totally surrendered to the will of His Heavenly Father … that He be would become the Lamb of God to save ME! Me, of all people; but that was our Lord’s humble mission in life, … to serve me and you and all who would receive His humble and graceful act of atonement … that we might have eternal life. Is that not THE model of humility?
And now, in His word, I read from the inspiration of His Spirit, that I am to have His humility (again Phil. 2: 5); and Christ’s own words from Luke 9: 23 with regard to discipleship ring in my heart/mind as well … that I am to deny my self … and follow Him. So, the lessons of life in this regard continue; and I will enter my thoughts here today, doing all I can to humble myself to my Lord and to others. It’s a daunting task; but it is one I must learn and live.
So, I (we) move on … and there’s more to come. Yes, you’re getting it by now; … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: It is my humble prayer, Lord. Again I pray, Lord, help me to be humble! Amen
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - December '08 - Day 9
December 9, 2008 … [You know ... yesterday they begin to call me 65 ... two days ago I was 64. I don't feel a year older. Oh well ... moving on!]
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8a [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/red] ... 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
My Journal for Today: The most important question anyone will ever confront and answer in this life is “Who is this Man, Jesus?” For years I was a fool and pretended the answer to that question was unimportant. But finally I came to recognize the ultimate importance of answering that question correctly; and I was brought to a place by God so that I could see Him for Whom He really was and is.
Today’s verse in the Phil. 2 passage (i.e., verse 8a), in the context of the verse immediately preceeding, i.e., verse 7, shows the degree to which Christ was willing to experience the humiliation of humanity to reveal His deity in a way that mankind could identify and see Who His is. But having been one of those blinded to His deity, I now wonder how mankind, including myself, could not see Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, … the Savior of all mankind. The “fools” of Christ’s day, even most of the ones who saw Him physically, saw only his “appearance” as a man. That word “appearance” in today’s verse is the Greek term “schema,” from which we get our word, “scheme.” It means the “outer form” of anything … that which we can see or perceive with our senses.
In other words, as Christ walked the earth, even doing incredible miracles that only God could do, most of those around Him only chose to only see His “schema,” … His humanity; and most could not – or would not – see God in the God-Man. That even included the twelve chosen disciples who were closest to our Lord during His three years of earthly ministry. And, as I said above, I was that way for 39 years of my life. I would have been like those in John 6: 42 or 8: 48, rejecting Jesus for Whom He really was/is. Our human, selfish logic often only allows us to see the outer “schema” of a person, not being willing or able to see inside to perceive the real person – or in the case of Jesus, being blind to His deity. Though I must admit that it’s tough for me to see how his twelve disciples, who had seen Jesus feed thousands from a few fishes and loaves and who saw Him walk on water, could bolt and run when he was taken by the Romans and Jews to be crucified. But truth be told, had I been one of His inner circle, I probably would have been one of the cowards myself.
Take it from one who knows; … it’s so easy to humanize God or to rationalize His truth, rather than to deal with Christ or His word personally. Jesus and His truth demands that we accept Him for Whom He is … in faith. Jesus of Nazareth was/is God! And His Gospel is truth, the real message of the Advent Season in which we find ourselves at this time of the year! We must accept it and deal with it … from the inside out – totally – not just the outer skin.
I pray that we’ve all done that … but stay tuned … we will get to know this Jesus even further during the rest of this month. >>>
My Prayer Today: Lord Jesus, You are my King and my Lord! Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8a [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/red] ... 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
My Journal for Today: The most important question anyone will ever confront and answer in this life is “Who is this Man, Jesus?” For years I was a fool and pretended the answer to that question was unimportant. But finally I came to recognize the ultimate importance of answering that question correctly; and I was brought to a place by God so that I could see Him for Whom He really was and is.
Today’s verse in the Phil. 2 passage (i.e., verse 8a), in the context of the verse immediately preceeding, i.e., verse 7, shows the degree to which Christ was willing to experience the humiliation of humanity to reveal His deity in a way that mankind could identify and see Who His is. But having been one of those blinded to His deity, I now wonder how mankind, including myself, could not see Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, … the Savior of all mankind. The “fools” of Christ’s day, even most of the ones who saw Him physically, saw only his “appearance” as a man. That word “appearance” in today’s verse is the Greek term “schema,” from which we get our word, “scheme.” It means the “outer form” of anything … that which we can see or perceive with our senses.
In other words, as Christ walked the earth, even doing incredible miracles that only God could do, most of those around Him only chose to only see His “schema,” … His humanity; and most could not – or would not – see God in the God-Man. That even included the twelve chosen disciples who were closest to our Lord during His three years of earthly ministry. And, as I said above, I was that way for 39 years of my life. I would have been like those in John 6: 42 or 8: 48, rejecting Jesus for Whom He really was/is. Our human, selfish logic often only allows us to see the outer “schema” of a person, not being willing or able to see inside to perceive the real person – or in the case of Jesus, being blind to His deity. Though I must admit that it’s tough for me to see how his twelve disciples, who had seen Jesus feed thousands from a few fishes and loaves and who saw Him walk on water, could bolt and run when he was taken by the Romans and Jews to be crucified. But truth be told, had I been one of His inner circle, I probably would have been one of the cowards myself.
Take it from one who knows; … it’s so easy to humanize God or to rationalize His truth, rather than to deal with Christ or His word personally. Jesus and His truth demands that we accept Him for Whom He is … in faith. Jesus of Nazareth was/is God! And His Gospel is truth, the real message of the Advent Season in which we find ourselves at this time of the year! We must accept it and deal with it … from the inside out – totally – not just the outer skin.
I pray that we’ve all done that … but stay tuned … we will get to know this Jesus even further during the rest of this month. >>>
My Prayer Today: Lord Jesus, You are my King and my Lord! Amen
Monday, December 08, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - December '08 - Day 8
December 8, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7c [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Journal for Today: About today’s highlight phrase in Phil. 2: 7c, in his Strength for Today devotional on this date (BTW, my fleshly birthday), John MacArthur quotes from a book entitled Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge, who wrote, “The Scriptures teach that Christ had a … true body and a rational soul … a material body which in everything essential was like the bodies of ordinary men. ... He thought, reasoned and felt [as a man].” MacArthur totally agrees with Hodge, as do I. However, as MacArthur points out, Jesus was more than God in a body. He was The God-Man, born as a babe, Who developed into a man, and was a man Who experienced the effects of man’s fall into sin. No, He didn’t sin; but he experienced, as a human, the temptations and the effects of sin upon mankind. He suffered sorrow, pain, thirst, hunger, and yes, … even death, all of which resulted because of the sin of man in the garden.
And if you read and meditate on Hebrews 2: 14 – 17 below, you will see why He had to do all of this.
--------------
Hebrews 2: 14 -17 … 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.
--------------
No, Jesus, The Christ, didn’t sin; but He experienced, even with more intensity than man, the pain and anguish of temptation of sin out in the wilderness, confronting Satan (see Matt. 4 and/or Luke 4). And He experienced all of humanity as He walked the earth in his ministry years as well as in the Garden of Gethsemane, and, of course, on the cross. And as the passage from Hebrews above (and in Heb. 4: 17), we see that Jesus, the God-Man, becoming fully human allowed for Christ to become my High-Priest and my Savior. Yours too … if you have received and declared His saving grace by faith [see Rom. 10: 9 – 13]. Oh, right now, how I pray you have don’t that!
Without being fully man, but sinless, Christ could not have shed His perfect blood as the Lamb of God, for my (our) sin. So, we must remember and celebrate (at least in our Eucharist worship) Christ’s sacrifice of His spotless body and perfect blood so that He could be our Redeemer and we can have everlasting life in our faith in that very human, but God-ordained, sacrifice on my (our) behalf. And now we have a Savior, who has been re-coronated and re-glorified into the Godhead, … One Who intercedes for us as born-again believers … and One Who has sent His Spirit to minister to our every need.
Is that not good stuff! But there’s more! Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: On my birthday, Lord, I declare, “HALLELUJAH!!” Oh, how you know the depths of my being as well as my gratitude for making my re-birthday possible. Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7c [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Journal for Today: About today’s highlight phrase in Phil. 2: 7c, in his Strength for Today devotional on this date (BTW, my fleshly birthday), John MacArthur quotes from a book entitled Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge, who wrote, “The Scriptures teach that Christ had a … true body and a rational soul … a material body which in everything essential was like the bodies of ordinary men. ... He thought, reasoned and felt [as a man].” MacArthur totally agrees with Hodge, as do I. However, as MacArthur points out, Jesus was more than God in a body. He was The God-Man, born as a babe, Who developed into a man, and was a man Who experienced the effects of man’s fall into sin. No, He didn’t sin; but he experienced, as a human, the temptations and the effects of sin upon mankind. He suffered sorrow, pain, thirst, hunger, and yes, … even death, all of which resulted because of the sin of man in the garden.
And if you read and meditate on Hebrews 2: 14 – 17 below, you will see why He had to do all of this.
--------------
Hebrews 2: 14 -17 … 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.
--------------
No, Jesus, The Christ, didn’t sin; but He experienced, even with more intensity than man, the pain and anguish of temptation of sin out in the wilderness, confronting Satan (see Matt. 4 and/or Luke 4). And He experienced all of humanity as He walked the earth in his ministry years as well as in the Garden of Gethsemane, and, of course, on the cross. And as the passage from Hebrews above (and in Heb. 4: 17), we see that Jesus, the God-Man, becoming fully human allowed for Christ to become my High-Priest and my Savior. Yours too … if you have received and declared His saving grace by faith [see Rom. 10: 9 – 13]. Oh, right now, how I pray you have don’t that!
Without being fully man, but sinless, Christ could not have shed His perfect blood as the Lamb of God, for my (our) sin. So, we must remember and celebrate (at least in our Eucharist worship) Christ’s sacrifice of His spotless body and perfect blood so that He could be our Redeemer and we can have everlasting life in our faith in that very human, but God-ordained, sacrifice on my (our) behalf. And now we have a Savior, who has been re-coronated and re-glorified into the Godhead, … One Who intercedes for us as born-again believers … and One Who has sent His Spirit to minister to our every need.
Is that not good stuff! But there’s more! Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: On my birthday, Lord, I declare, “HALLELUJAH!!” Oh, how you know the depths of my being as well as my gratitude for making my re-birthday possible. Amen
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - December '08 - Day 7
December 7, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7b [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Philippians 2: 7b [NASB] … 7b …, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
My Journal for Today: John MacArthur ends his Strength For Today devotional on this date, while focusing on today’s verse, but also by quoting the words of Jesus in Matt. 20: 27, where our Lord said, “…whoever wants to be first must be your slave [or ‘bond servant].” And then MacArthur asks his readers if we, who call ourselves Christians, really pursue that model of Christlikeness by serving others in lowliness as we have also read in Phil. 2: 3 – 4.
Today’s highlighted verse (Phil. 2: 7b), uses the Greek term “morphe” when it refers to Jesus taking the “very nature” (or “form” in the NASB) of a bond servant. That, of course, is the Greek word which is the base from which comes our word “metamorphosis” or the more modern term “morph,” which refers to something changing its essence, from one form to another. And as we’ve been studying thus far this month, Christ did this by His “kenosis,” or by emptying Himself of His claims to Trinitarian majesty as He was incarnated into a babe and lived for 33 years, finally dying as the Lamb of God on a cross for all of us. So, as MacArthur points out, Christ, fully God, “morphed” into a servant to live His life as a man on earth; and we read Paul’s exhortation in Phil. 2: 5, that our attitude, as Christians, must MORPH from our basic sin nature to become that of Christlikeness as we aspire to live like Him. So, above all, the logic and truth of today’s verse would point us to become bond servants of God as was our Savior; and our servanthood to Christ, in our surrender to His Spirit, is our status as bond-slave to Him as we live our lives for His purposes.
Jesus was the ultimate servant, totally “bonded” to the will of His Heavenly Father and also to the needs of all of mankind as He ultimately served us by dying as the suffering servant that we might have eternal life (see John 3: 16). In fact over 700 years before Christ came among us, He was depicted as the One who would become almost unrecognizable on the cross, serving mankind [see Isaiah 52: 13 – 14]. What we’re reading in Phil. 2, is how Christ’s fulfillment of those prophesies plays out in the lives of those who come after Him … those who serve Him as His disciples; and in doing so, those who serve God’s Kingdom by serving others.
Christ’s servanthood is our model as we strive toward Christlikeness; and it again begs the question, “Are we, in fact, living out this mandate for servanthood?” I, for one, have far to go; but I’m bolstered by God’s promise (in Phil. 1: 6) that He is doing a work in me to shape me into His image – and this most certainly leads me to become more of a bond servant to His Spirit in this process.
But stay tuned; … there’s even more to come about our Servant and Lord.
My Prayer Today: Transform us, Lord, into Your likeness … as a true servant. Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7b [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/red] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Philippians 2: 7b [NASB] … 7b …, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
My Journal for Today: John MacArthur ends his Strength For Today devotional on this date, while focusing on today’s verse, but also by quoting the words of Jesus in Matt. 20: 27, where our Lord said, “…whoever wants to be first must be your slave [or ‘bond servant].” And then MacArthur asks his readers if we, who call ourselves Christians, really pursue that model of Christlikeness by serving others in lowliness as we have also read in Phil. 2: 3 – 4.
Today’s highlighted verse (Phil. 2: 7b), uses the Greek term “morphe” when it refers to Jesus taking the “very nature” (or “form” in the NASB) of a bond servant. That, of course, is the Greek word which is the base from which comes our word “metamorphosis” or the more modern term “morph,” which refers to something changing its essence, from one form to another. And as we’ve been studying thus far this month, Christ did this by His “kenosis,” or by emptying Himself of His claims to Trinitarian majesty as He was incarnated into a babe and lived for 33 years, finally dying as the Lamb of God on a cross for all of us. So, as MacArthur points out, Christ, fully God, “morphed” into a servant to live His life as a man on earth; and we read Paul’s exhortation in Phil. 2: 5, that our attitude, as Christians, must MORPH from our basic sin nature to become that of Christlikeness as we aspire to live like Him. So, above all, the logic and truth of today’s verse would point us to become bond servants of God as was our Savior; and our servanthood to Christ, in our surrender to His Spirit, is our status as bond-slave to Him as we live our lives for His purposes.
Jesus was the ultimate servant, totally “bonded” to the will of His Heavenly Father and also to the needs of all of mankind as He ultimately served us by dying as the suffering servant that we might have eternal life (see John 3: 16). In fact over 700 years before Christ came among us, He was depicted as the One who would become almost unrecognizable on the cross, serving mankind [see Isaiah 52: 13 – 14]. What we’re reading in Phil. 2, is how Christ’s fulfillment of those prophesies plays out in the lives of those who come after Him … those who serve Him as His disciples; and in doing so, those who serve God’s Kingdom by serving others.
Christ’s servanthood is our model as we strive toward Christlikeness; and it again begs the question, “Are we, in fact, living out this mandate for servanthood?” I, for one, have far to go; but I’m bolstered by God’s promise (in Phil. 1: 6) that He is doing a work in me to shape me into His image – and this most certainly leads me to become more of a bond servant to His Spirit in this process.
But stay tuned; … there’s even more to come about our Servant and Lord.
My Prayer Today: Transform us, Lord, into Your likeness … as a true servant. Amen
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Getting Close To Christ - December '08 - Day 6
December 6, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7a [ NIV - see highlight passage in red/bold] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Philippians 2: 7a [NASB] … 7 but [Christ] emptied Himself, …
Philippians 2: 7a [NKJV & KJV] … 7 but made Himself of no reputation, …
Philippians 2: 7a [ESV] … 7 but [Christ] made Himself nothing, …
Philippians 2: 7a [The Message] … 7 When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity …
My Journal for Today: Today I (we) return to the theological doctrine of Christ’s “kenosis,” by focusing on this one short phrase in Phil. 2: 7a; and when looking at a short phrase of Scripture like this sometimes, it helps to use tapestry of the Scripture weaved by looking at several versions of God’s word in the one passage. In this case I’ve provided four reputable/scholarly translations and Peterson’s popular rendering, The Message.
And as we began discussing this topic yesterday, we see the extent of Christ humility as He set aside – BY CHOICE – His infinitely powerful glory and His oneness in the Trinity to become a man. As we read in The Message version, Peterson says, “… He (Christ) set aside the privileges of deity.” And this is helpful in understanding that Christ did not set aside His deity. No, He voluntarily became human; and in doing so, He had to “empty Himself” of His majesty (that’s the Greek term “kenoo,” from which we get our theological term “kenosis.”)
It may be a rather anemic word picture to describe this wondrous process of Christ’s kenosis; but it might be seen in human terms if Bill Gates disguised Himself in some way so as not to be recognized and decided to go in among the worker bees at Microsoft and work as a new programmer, setting aside his privileges as CEO. He would still be the CEO; but as long as he was not recognized as Bill Gates; and set aside his position, to practice the function of programmer, he could function as a Microsoft staff worker. However, at any time he desired he could step back into the role of CEO and become the Top Dog again.
Yes, I know that comparing Bill Gates to Jesus Christ is about as ludicrous as it gets; but I hope you see that Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, chose to humble Himself, not being recognized as God in the flesh until He decided to begin to reveal the essence of His deity to His disciples and followers. And over time we see Christ, during His ministry walk on this earth, taking on some of the POSITIONhood of God as well as the PERSONhood as He followed the Father, utilized the power of His Spirit, and performed many miracles, doing things that a mere man could never imagine being done.
Jesus, becoming the Messiah and a man, gave up His independent authority in the Godhead, completely being submitted to the will of the Father and becoming a bond servant for mankind (see Phil. 2: 8 above and Matt. 26: 39). In this self-chosen position as bond servant, Jesus only exercised the power of His Deity when God, the Father, required it or when it was necessary, utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit to highlight Whom He was as the Son of God. We see this in reality (in Matt. 24: 36) when Jesus was not able to say when His second coming would occur, indicating that only God, the Father, knew that.
Not only did Jesus empty Himself of authority in the Godhead; but He also set aside His access to His personal riches (see 2nd Cor. 8: 9), becoming poor as a man so that mankind might become rich with Him forever in glory.
Finally, and this is the most touching of all losses Christ incurred in His kenosis; He left behind His favored and glorified relationship in the Trinity to become a man who would become hated, spat upon, and crucified. We read of this horrible voluntary loss in Christ’s words from the cross, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (see Matt. 27: 46) And all of that, He did for me (and for you).
No, I don’t think we will ever truly comprehend Christ’s loss as He emptied Himself; but because of it, we had the God-Man on earth to be written about in God’s word and so that we might be able to see more clearly than ever the character and person of God walking in our midst. And because of that, mankind can come to know Him in faith and to receive His saving grace for eternal life with Him. And to that all one can say is, “HALLELUJAH!!!”
But there’s more … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Lord, You emptied Yourself that I might be filled in You. Amen
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7a [ NIV - see highlight passage in red/bold] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Philippians 2: 7a [NASB] … 7 but [Christ] emptied Himself, …
Philippians 2: 7a [NKJV & KJV] … 7 but made Himself of no reputation, …
Philippians 2: 7a [ESV] … 7 but [Christ] made Himself nothing, …
Philippians 2: 7a [The Message] … 7 When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity …
My Journal for Today: Today I (we) return to the theological doctrine of Christ’s “kenosis,” by focusing on this one short phrase in Phil. 2: 7a; and when looking at a short phrase of Scripture like this sometimes, it helps to use tapestry of the Scripture weaved by looking at several versions of God’s word in the one passage. In this case I’ve provided four reputable/scholarly translations and Peterson’s popular rendering, The Message.
And as we began discussing this topic yesterday, we see the extent of Christ humility as He set aside – BY CHOICE – His infinitely powerful glory and His oneness in the Trinity to become a man. As we read in The Message version, Peterson says, “… He (Christ) set aside the privileges of deity.” And this is helpful in understanding that Christ did not set aside His deity. No, He voluntarily became human; and in doing so, He had to “empty Himself” of His majesty (that’s the Greek term “kenoo,” from which we get our theological term “kenosis.”)
It may be a rather anemic word picture to describe this wondrous process of Christ’s kenosis; but it might be seen in human terms if Bill Gates disguised Himself in some way so as not to be recognized and decided to go in among the worker bees at Microsoft and work as a new programmer, setting aside his privileges as CEO. He would still be the CEO; but as long as he was not recognized as Bill Gates; and set aside his position, to practice the function of programmer, he could function as a Microsoft staff worker. However, at any time he desired he could step back into the role of CEO and become the Top Dog again.
Yes, I know that comparing Bill Gates to Jesus Christ is about as ludicrous as it gets; but I hope you see that Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, chose to humble Himself, not being recognized as God in the flesh until He decided to begin to reveal the essence of His deity to His disciples and followers. And over time we see Christ, during His ministry walk on this earth, taking on some of the POSITIONhood of God as well as the PERSONhood as He followed the Father, utilized the power of His Spirit, and performed many miracles, doing things that a mere man could never imagine being done.
Jesus, becoming the Messiah and a man, gave up His independent authority in the Godhead, completely being submitted to the will of the Father and becoming a bond servant for mankind (see Phil. 2: 8 above and Matt. 26: 39). In this self-chosen position as bond servant, Jesus only exercised the power of His Deity when God, the Father, required it or when it was necessary, utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit to highlight Whom He was as the Son of God. We see this in reality (in Matt. 24: 36) when Jesus was not able to say when His second coming would occur, indicating that only God, the Father, knew that.
Not only did Jesus empty Himself of authority in the Godhead; but He also set aside His access to His personal riches (see 2nd Cor. 8: 9), becoming poor as a man so that mankind might become rich with Him forever in glory.
Finally, and this is the most touching of all losses Christ incurred in His kenosis; He left behind His favored and glorified relationship in the Trinity to become a man who would become hated, spat upon, and crucified. We read of this horrible voluntary loss in Christ’s words from the cross, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (see Matt. 27: 46) And all of that, He did for me (and for you).
No, I don’t think we will ever truly comprehend Christ’s loss as He emptied Himself; but because of it, we had the God-Man on earth to be written about in God’s word and so that we might be able to see more clearly than ever the character and person of God walking in our midst. And because of that, mankind can come to know Him in faith and to receive His saving grace for eternal life with Him. And to that all one can say is, “HALLELUJAH!!!”
But there’s more … stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Lord, You emptied Yourself that I might be filled in You. Amen
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