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At the conclusion of my previous blog, I included a quote from T. Austin Sparks (1888-1971). I was wondering if anyone spent some time musing over his words and coming to a conclusion agreeing or disagreeing with him?

The quote was, “Christianity now is very largely a built up thing with many Jewish features in it; i.e. outward orders, forms, vestments, titles, buildings, and rigidly fixed boundaries of apprehension of truth.” What do you think?

Before you dismiss this observation by TAS, consider what characterizes a denomination, a mega-church, celebrity pastors and/or their ministries.

Question: Is the Christian church exhibiting the same type of characteristics that TAS was recognizing decades ago in the Church? How do these types of characteristics gain a foothold in the Lord’s Church?

Let me put forth this possibility. Is the Church being governed by the dictates of man or by the Spirit of God? Is the Church energized by the soul of its leadership or by the Holy Spirit? Is the Church moving forward to please man and his agenda at the expense of seeking the Lord for direction for His Church and to be governed by the Spirit of God? In short, who is at the center of the Church? the Lord or the ‘self’ of mankind. Strong words, but are they applicable to what is going on the Church in the United States? the world?

There are places in the world where the Church is growing–on the continent of Africa, in Asia, and in South America (lifewayresearch.com)

Question: Is the Church in the United States more dependent upon ‘self-centeredness’ for its growth, than on the Holy Spirit for its growth and outreach? Do the letters of Paul address this type of Church growth?

In I Corinthians 3, it appears that Paul is addressing a type of religious growth centered in self and not in the Spirit. As he states in I Corinthians 3:1, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.” (NKJV). Why?

They were saved, but immature, believers, who were pursuing a carnal (soulish) walk with Christ, and not a Spirit led relationship. The were centered on people and personalities, and not centered on Christ, or the gospel that Paul preached. (I Cor. 3:2-11)

In I Corinthians 3:12-15, Paul explains that how a person, or local Church, who builds upon the foundation of Christ Jesus, will be tested on the Day of the Lord’s return. This is not speaking about one’s salvation, which is a free gift. Paul is speaking about a believer’s rewards based upon how a believer builds upon their foundation of Christ Jesus. Why is this important even before the Day of Christ’s return?

In Hebrews 12:25-29, the writer expounds about a day of shaking that is coming. I personally believe that there is going to be a great day of shaking before the Lord returns. This warning, by the writer to the Hebrews, exhorts them to remain steadfast, “…looking unto Jesus…” (Heb.12:2); to remember those who have walked before them (Heb. 11:1 – 12:2); to embrace the discipline of God in their lives, as a father disciplines his son (Heb. 12:3-17); and to reflect on the difference between the two covenants, and their meaning to a believer (Heb.12:18-24). [Historically, all of this is written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.]

Keeping all of this in perspective, what has any of this got to do with me in 2021? I believe that God is going to ‘shake’ things up before the Day of the Glorious Return of the Lord. This will include heaven and earth. For what purpose? First, to manifest His Presence in such a way to give every opportunity for mankind to be saved; second, to sort out the defective elements in the Church so that the Church can minister to those who will be saved; and third, to prepare the Bride, for the Groom’s glorious return.

What are the defective elements? Those defective elements are those things that the Lord of the Church will need to speak to each individual congregation, just as He did to the seven Churches in the Book of Revelation. The Lord, Himself, will point out what needs to be removed, anything that is man-made, and not founded in Christ. This is what the writer to the Hebrews is saying in Heb. 12: 27, “Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” (NKJV) The things that are made are spoken of, [in my Study Bible (pg. 1745)], as “…the removal of all that is earthly and temporal, in order that only heavenly and spiritual realities my remain.”

I submit, that this is essence of TAS observation. He was commenting on how much there was in the Church that was man oriented and not Holy Spirit inspired. Is the same true today? How much in the Church today is not of the Lord at all and will crumble with a violent shaking, or will be blown away as chaff by a violent wind? Or going back to I Corinthians 3:12, how much in the Church has been built on the foundation of Christ Jesus, but the building materials have been hay, wood, and straw and gold, silver, or precious stones?

Or, thinking back to the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus concluded with this summary. Matthew 7:24-29, when “the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and the house (which house? the one not even built on the right foundation, not built on a solid rock but on sand) , and it fell. And great was its fall.” (NKJV)

Yes, when the shaking comes, and it will come; the foundation must be correct or catastrophic will be its fall-Christ is not its foundation; and then again, a Church may have the right foundation, but its life is man-made, not Spirit built, and great will be their fall. This is what the shaking is for, to reveal what things are made of in our lives and in the life of the Church.

The point, is, when the shaking comes what will be left of the Church as we know it? What about the local congregation that you attend? Is it Christ centered, Holy Spirit empowered, or going forward with man at the center, pursuing their own agenda. It may be hard to tell; but when the shaking comes, the results will be revealing. And when the shaking comes, what will be left in my own walk with the Lord? How strong is my relationship to Him? I am not questioning my salvation; I am asking if I am building on the right foundation with the right building materials.

Question: What did the pandemic reveal to your local community of believers? The pandemic was a ‘shaking’. How did you survive? How did your Church community survive? What do you think it will be like for the Church that you attend as the Pandemic quiets down and things return to ‘normal’? What is the NEW normal, have OLD things passed away? What are you grappling with? What is the Spirit saying to you? your local Church community? What is Lord of the Church saying to the Church in the United States? the world?

I think the Church is being prepared for a NEW season in its relationship to Christ. One totally centered upon Him, His Word, and the leading and working of the Holy Spirit. But, isn’t that how the Church began in Acts 2? Yes, but are we still centered in the Apostle’s Doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayers? I ask myself, what does that mean in my walk with the Lord?

Do I Get It Yet? or is it still fuzzy?

TBC

Little did the disciples, the Jewish nation, or the Gentiles understand what was going to be the consequences of Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and His ascension back to His Father. The Jewish leaders were wrestling with the two things they feared. The first was that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God; and the second was that He did rise from the dead on the third day just like He had said that He would. Their problem was that Jesus wasn’t making Himself public and speaking boldly in their presence like He had before they had Him crucified. The ‘rumor’ was that Christ was alive. They could go to the tomb and find it empty. They could ask around and try to find out what was the ‘word on the street’ regarding Christ. I wonder what they did.

We know what Christ did. Luke writes, Acts 1:1-3, (NKJV), “The former account I made O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandment to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Christ’s attention was focused on those He had chosen; those who would be instrumental in the NEW. He was teaching them to let go of the OLD and embrace the NEW.

Christ’s resurrection fulfilled the OLD covenant and established the foundation of the NEW covenant. The Ekklesia lives on resurrection ground, the other side of the cross.

In the previous blogs, I shared that on our 2021 calendar, the Day of Ascension is May 13, forty days since we celebrated Easter. And in another ten days, Sunday, May 23, it will be fifty days since Christ’s resurrection. On that day, the Jewish nation celebrates the Feast of Pentecost in remembrance of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. The church remembers this day as the day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Holy Spirit is “the promise of the Father, which, He said, you have heard from Me.” (Acts 1:4b, NKJV).

In the forty days between Christ’s resurrection and His Ascension, the Apostles are, in effect, in a transition period. The OLD covenant has been set aside and the Jesus is instructing them regarding the NEW covenant and the Kingdom of God.

While the Apostles are going through their indoctrination about the NEW, the Jewish nation, and the Gentiles are, I assume, returning to life as normal. Things are quieting down in Jerusalem, and their routine is being re-established. The Feast of Pentecost is over, and people have returned home. In a way, this is like what is happening in our nation. The pandemic is quieting down, and lives are slowly returning to normal, or are we?

On the Day of Pentecost, normal is going to be ‘shaken’ in Jerusalem.

The Holy Spirit is going to be outpoured as prophesized in the OLD covenant by the prophet Joel, and the Apostles are going to be thrust into the ministry with authority given to them by Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

And the Church will be born.

At the church, where Christine and I attend, the Pastor has been teaching/preaching through the Book of Exodus. Currently, his teaching has been about Moses receiving the details for the building of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. Where did that take place? On the top of Mt. Sinai. How long was Moses on the top of the mountain with God? 40 days. Interesting. What was the nation of Israel going through? A period of transition. Out of the OLD in Egypt, and into the NEW in God.

In Exodus 31, he entitled his sermon, Work Wisely. His emphasis was that, we as a believer, need to “work wisely regarding the work God has given me to do for Him.” His text was Exodus 31:1-11 (Dr. Kent Dresdow, North Creek Church, Walnut Creek, CA, 4-25-21).

Highlighting his teaching, God says to Moses, “I have called (chosen), [my insert] by name Bezalel…and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship…to design…to work…in cutting…in carving…and to work in all manner of workmanship.” Exodus 31:1-5.

God continues, “Indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab…and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans (other individuals to help)[ my insert], that they may make all that I have commanded you…” ( Exodus 31:6)

The point is that God chose individuals, filled them with His Holy Spirit, and equipped them to build the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, exactly according to the pattern He showed Moses. Remember, Moses was on Mt. Sinai for forty days receiving from God the plans for the Tabernacle and God, also “gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone written with the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:18b NKJV) What was on the two tablets of stone? the 10 commandments.

I would like to suggest the following: God summoned Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai to give him the information the nation of Israel needed, to live, as the people of God, no longer under the OLD (Egyptian government), but now under a NEW ( God in their midst). They were under a NEW government. He also gave him the details of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, where God would meet with His people in their midst.

Fast forward to the forty days between Christ’s resurrection and His Ascension. Jesus is talking to the Apostles, whom He has called/chosen to follow Him. He is instructing them about the New covenant and the Kingdom of God, a NEW government. On the Day of Pentecost, these Apostles, and other individuals, were filled with the Holy Spirit. Why? To carry out the work that the Lord has given them to do. In Christ, we, as the people of God, are under a NEW government. Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God. We, as believers, are citizens of that Kingdom. We need to learn how to live under the NEW Covenant of Grace in Christ. To fulfill Christ’s direction for our lives, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to ‘Work Wisely’.

Being repetitive, that is what a teacher does; let us go back over the narrative in Acts 1,2. (NKJV)

Acts 1:3, “To them He showed Himself to be alive after His suffering through many convincing proofs; appearing to them for forty days, speaking to them about the Kingdom of God.”

Acts 1:5b, Jesus said to them “…but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus ascended, the Apostles waited. Acts 2:1, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting…they were filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Consider the following: The Tabernacle in the Wilderness was built by men chosen by God. God filled them with the Holy Spirit. God gifted them with the wisdom and abilities needed to build the Tabernacle as Moses was shown.

On the Day of Pentecost, the Ekklesia, the Church began. Jesus had said, “I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail it.” (Matthew 16:18)

To do this, Christ chose individuals. He called them to follow Him. He taught them; He instructed them; He corrected them; He mentored them until the time of His departure back to His Father. On the Day of Pentecost, these individuals and others were filled with the Holy Spirit. These individuals were gifted by the Lord to build His Church under His direction, according to His specifications.

What about today?

Ephesians 4:11,12 “And He, (Jesus) [my insert], Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

[We are the temple of the living God. We are the dwelling place of the Most High God. We are the living stones that comprise the church of the living God. Where two or three believers are gathered together, Jesus is in our midst.]

In Romans 12:1-8, Paul instructs us that God gives gifts to the Lord’s Church according to “the grace given to us…”; and in I Corinthians 12:1-31, Paul instructs us that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to the Church. The Trinity has gifted the church, the Ekklesia, the Body of Christ to function as the people of God bearing witness to the Gospel of Christ in the nations of this world.

Question: Is the Church functioning as the Body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of God?

Today, in order for the Church to function properly, it must be have individuals, called and chosen by God, submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, set apart with gifts to equip the people of God, “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man , to the measure of the state of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13

For what purpose? to witness in our “Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8b

Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus, exhorts them to put off the OLD, and put on the NEW.” Ephesians 4:17-32 [Please read and reflect]

Re-asking the question from above, Is the church functioning with chosen individuals filled with the Spirit.?

If not, then it is functioning carnally. This means that the leadership of the church can be ‘saved’ (born of the Spirit) but not leading the church ‘filled with the Spirit’. Such a church is under the direction of individuals seeking to please themselves, and fulfill their own agenda. Their center is not Jesus Christ; their center is self.

The more I read the letter to the Galatians, the more I am coming to the conclusion, that this was the issue Paul was addressing to this church. The leadership in the church was born again; but the church was not centered on Christ; and growing by the Spirit. See Galatians 5:1-25. Paul was entreating them to refocus on Christ, and follow after the Spirit and not the flesh.

On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came and filled those chosen by the Lord, and the other individuals assembled in the upper room. The Holy Spirit gifted these individuals with power from on high. And who was the first person stand up and speak? Peter.

Peter stands up and explains what is going on? He explains that this is what the prophet Joel was talking about. This is what you are seeing, hearing, and experiencing. Do you remember, when Peter answered Jesus’ question about who do men say that I am? Peter, responded, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16b). It was upon this confession, that Christ said that He would build His Church, and indicated that Peter would have a role in it’s formation and function.

So, the Holy Spirit descends, and Peter arises. and he preaches Jesus, as the Christ, the Son of God, whom God had raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter preached what the Jewish religious leadership feared. Christ is the Son of God, and He was raised from the dead. Now what? It’s out in the open.

Outside in Jerusalem, the OLD is being celebrated; Inside, in an upper room, the NEW is being proclaimed. It’s all about Christ. We know that the Old Testament, too, is all about Christ; but the religious tradition that celebrated the OLD has been put to death by the Cross. Jesus has completely fulfilled the Law and the New has been been resurrected to life in Christ. The Church is standing on resurrection ground. The OLD has passed away, and all things have become NEW. Do we get it?

Today, the church must continue to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” or else it will succumb to being like Judaism, following it’s traditions, being led by individuals who are saved, but are self-centered. The Church must be Christ-centered; Gospel-centered, and Holy Spirit-empowered. The Church must have leaders chosen by God, gifted by the Trinity, and centered on the work of the Lord.

The Book of Acts is a testimony of a Christ-centered, gospel-centered, Holy Spirit enabled church, going forward according to the Spirit of the Living God, and not the dictates of man.

What did the NEW covenant look like with Jesus as Lord, who is the Head of the Church, and who is the King of the Kingdom, and functioning under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, who guides and directs the affairs of the Church?

Acts 2:42-47 is what it looked like in it’s the beginning. Yes, it did have issues; but the leadership under the anointing of the Holy Spirit handled those issues.

The Church continued in the Apostle’s Doctrine, and Fellowship, in the Breaking of Bread, and in Prayers…and they were in community[see Acts 2: 43-47].

Question: Is the Body of Christ functioning like that today?

Agree or Disagree: “Christianity now is very largely a built up thing with many Jewish features in it; i.e. outward orders, forms, vestments, titles, buildings and rigidly fixed boundaries of apprehension of truth.” T. Austin Sparks

TBC

Jesus is risen from the dead.

Forty days later, Jesus ascends back to His Father in Heaven.

Ten days after His Ascension, the Holy Spirit descends from Heaven; the promise of the Father occurs.

Acts 2:2 begins with these words, “And suddenly…”

There are a group of the followers of Jesus who have been waiting in an upper room as Jesus told them to do.

Outside in Jerusalem, away from those in the upper room, the city is bustling with activity. It is the Feast of Pentecost. The Feast of Pentecost is the second of the three mandatory annual feasts to be celebrated each year. The city is a bee-hive of activity. God’s people have come to make offerings and sacrifices, according to the Law, honoring and worshipping God for His goodness and mercy to them under the OLD covenant.

But, in an upper room, a small group of Israelites are not celebrating the mandatory Jewish festival according to the Law. They are being obedient to Jesus’ words.

Outside, the nation is observing the OLD; inside, the assembled followers of Christ are observing the words of Christ which are going to usher in a startling experience in the NEW.

Let me reiterate again, OLD things have passed away, behold all things have become NEW.

The same Holy Spirit that descended from Heaven like a dove upon Jesus at His water baptism at the Jordon River is now going to descend on this gathered assembly in an upper room in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. However, His entrance is not going to be in the likeness of a dove (John 1:32) that descended upon Jesus; but the Holy Spirit is described as coming as “divided tongues. as of a fire, and sat upon each of them.” (Acts 2:3 NKJV)

Let’s reflect upon the whole scene. The text is Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV) I am not a theologian. I want to encourage you to set aside your presuppositions and doctrinal teaching regarding the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.

“And suddenly…”

Today, as I compose these thoughts, it is the last day of April, 2021. Counting 50 days on our calendar since the celebration of Easter, the Day of Pentecost is scheduled for May 23, 2021. That means if we move backwards ten days, then the recognition of Christ’s Ascension would be on May 13. So, in type, we are in the forty day period between Christ’s Resurrection and His Ascension.

Question: Has the Lord been dealing with anything in your walk with Him during this forty day period? Has there been any direction for the future or significant understanding regarding changes that may be imminent?

The Day of Pentecost is coming.

Question: What is the significance of the Day of Pentecost in your life? Is it just an historical event to keep, just like the nation of Israel, a mandatory annual festival? Is it a celebration of the birthday of the Church, a matter of tradition? or, Is it a remembrance of the third Person of the Trinity sent by God to empower Christ’s followers in a NEW way?

Question: Is it possible that most of Christianity reverently remembers to celebrate Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost as three annual festivals on the Church calendar?; but the significance, application, and meaning of the three events are more obligatory than worshipful.

If that is true, then our experience as the believers might be no different than the Jewish nation keeping the OLD, and not experiencing the NEW. What do I mean? We are bogged down by the traditions of men. We are satisfied with the ways of the world. And we do not worship God in spirit and in truth. Strong words, but I believe that they are worthy of our consideration.

If the Church were truly filled with the Spirit of God, what would the Church look like, and how would it be different than what many are experiencing today? I am not trying to create a New Testament Church. That has been attempted many times down through the ages.

At this point, I would like to ask you again to lower your radar concerning your doctrinal beliefs regarding ‘being filled with the Spirit’.

Jesus had told them in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witness to Me, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. “

Most of us, when we hear and/or read this verse we concentrate on the word power. I would like for us to take our minds off that word regarding being ‘ with the Spirit’. I have just recently been reminded that the Holy Spirit is a Person not a power. I think many of us have forgotten that , or have not been taught that the Holy Spirit is a Person .

Does the Holy Spirit enable us with His power? absolutely. But what is the purpose of that power? Jesus said that “…you would be My witnesses to me…”.

So! How your witness. Doctrine is not a witness. Recently, I read the following quote by T. Austin Sparks, “It is all argument if its doctrine, theory, teaching, interpretation of truth; but a living witness–you cannot argue that. Your mouth is shut when you have a person standing right there in the good of things.” [We are headed there in a later blog.]

Think back over your past year. The year of the covid pandemic. Many Christians, in fact, most of the entire Church have been in their own upper rooms. Has Jesus been there with you? The world outside was not bustling; it was shut down because of the pandemic. It appears that at this time, the restrictions are being lessened and there is more freedom of move.

What has the Church learned during this waiting time? What has the Lord been saying? What adjustments have been made in your life? When you return to assembling yourselves together as the Church, will the gathering be the same or will it be different? Will you be the same or will you be different because of changes that the Lord has made during this ‘down’ time?

Let me ask it again using different words. What took place in your upper room experience? What adjustments have been made in your walk with the Lord? Has the Lord processed out OLD things in your life and made things NEW?

SELAH

Let me challenge you in a specific direction.

The celebration of Pentecost is coming May 23. What if God initiated a fresh outpouring of His Spirit upon His Ekklesia? What if there was an outpouring of His Spirit upon the whole world; not just a few, not just one church building, one community, township, state, region, nation, or continent? What if God shook things up? Remember the Epistle to the Hebrew details the comparison of the OLD with the New.

Hebrews 12:18-24 compares the OLD covenant with the NEW covenant.

Hebrews 1:25-27 sets our focus on Christ, the embodiment of the NEW.

Hebrews 12:28-29 tells us that God is going to ‘shake’ this world

When this shaking occurs, doctrine about the Holy Spirit will be meaningless.

The question will be: What kind of witness will the Ekklesia be in their own ‘Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and unto the end of the earth.

Matthew 24:12-14 states things clearly for us, the Ekklesia.

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of man will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come.”

Is the Ekklesia ready? Are you ready? Am I ready? The Father is ready. Jesus is ready. The Holy Spirit is ready to empower the Lord’s Church to be His witness in the earth.

For some of us, we may need to reflect and heed the words of Hebrews 13:1-25.

Read and meditate on this chapter. I especially commend to you Hebrews 13:13.

“Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what these words mean.

the Lord richly bless you, a brother in Christ, deo

Jesus is risen from the dead. At the end of 40 days, Jesus will ascend back to His Father; and 10 days later the Holy Spirit will descend from Heaven on the Day of Pentecost.

Acts 1:1-3, Luke says, “The former account I made O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the Apostles He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” (NKJV)

In Acts 1:9, He ascends into Heaven as they were standing there watching. I think they were mesmerized with wonder. The passage says, “He was taken , and a cloud received Him out of their sight”(NKJV). Some say this cloud was the same cloud that was in Israel’s camp in the wilderness, that represents the Shekinah glory of God.

Acts 1:10,11 (NKJV) continues describing what happens next. Two men, in white apparel, suddenly appear and say, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into Heaven.”

This brings them mentally ‘back’ to earth, and Acts 1:11,12 (NKJV) tells us “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying.” I cannot categorically say that this was the same upper room where they ate the Passover meal with Jesus the night of His betrayal. But an upper room would certainly generate a lot of memories. Let’s proceed with that in mind.

It was in an upper room, one which Jesus had chosen to eat the Passover supper with His disciples. It was in that upper room that He had washed His disciples feet. It was in that upper room that Jesus told Peter he would deny Him. It was in that upper room that the betrayal of Jesus was finalized in Judas Iscariot’s heart, and he left to go to the Jewish leaders. It was in that upper room where Jesus spoke of a new commandment being given to them. It was in that upper room where Jesus told His disciples of His departure and the about the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit, it’s work and purpose. It was in that upper room where Jesus during the Passover meal, instituted the New covenant. It was in that upper room where Jesus had prayed to His Father about His return to His Presence; where He prayed for His disciples; and where He prayed for those who would believe in Him. A lot had taken place on the evening of the Passover meal. A lot of drama. A lot of instruction. A lot of passion on Christ’s part. A lot of wonder in the minds of the disciples. Note: In the sequence of events, Jesus had washed Judas’s feet prior to Judas leaving that upper room.

Let’s revisit some of the memories. After Judas leaves the upper room, Jesus says to His disciples, John 13:31-34 (NKJV), “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately (compare those words to Jesus’ prayer in John 17:1-5). Little children (sounds like John in in letters), I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come, so now I say to you. A NEW (emphasis mine) commandment I give to you, that love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

A NEW commandment. A NEW covenant What are the implications on the OLD?

Well, this excursus must end, and we need to come back to the present moment.

I can imagine that in the recesses of their minds and also at the forefront of their thinking, thoughts are swirling. Now what?

I suggest that Acts 1:14 gives us an insight into a great mental, settling down, a quieting takes place. (NKJV) “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…”. My New Life Study Bible says that ‘accord’ means , ‘purpose of mind’. Prayer brought them into one purpose of mind. Based upon Acts 1:15-26, their united ‘purpose of mind’ moved them forward to fill the vacancy left by Judas’ departure from the 12. What I find interesting is what took place as result of their prayer and supplication. I am not questioning what they did his wrong. I want to point out that they were in transition from the OLD to the NEW. Casting lots was part of the OLD. It is perfectly appropriate to expect them to do this. This was their upbringing under the Law. They do not have a grasp of the meaning of Jesus’ words regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit and the implications of the government of the Kingdom of God in their lives.

We can understand their mindset reading Acts 1:6. When Jesus was speaking His closing words about the coming of the Spirit and their need to wait, they reveal their understanding, (NKJV) “Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?”

They are enveloped in the OLD. Their presuppositions and understanding are steeped in their heritage. The reality of the NEW has not penetrated their beings. Yes, Jesus is alive; Yes, Jesus has told them to wait for the Spirit; but that has not been fleshed out yet in their daily lives. The Spirit has not come, yet!

In Acts 1:14, they are “in one accord in prayer and supplication”. Peter stands up and says we needs to choose one to fill Judas’ vacancy; let’s cast lots. Remember, that’s the OLD. In Acts 2:1, it says (NKJV), “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come (10 days after Jesus’ Ascension), they were ‘in one accord in one place’. (They had done what Jesus told them to do.) Fast forward to Acts2:14, Peter stands up, and preaches Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, raised from the dead. What’s the difference? What’s NEW? The Spirit of God has come. OLD things have passed away, all things have become NEW. The Holy Spirit has ignited a controlled fire storm in an upper room (Acts 2:3-4,NKJV) “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.) What happens next? Peter preaches. He explains what is happening; and He preaches Christ crucified.

The foundation of the message proclaimed by Peter is that Jesus, is the Christ, the Son of God, whom God has raised from the dead. (Acts 2:33 NKJV) “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He (Jesus, emphasis mine) poured out this which you now see and hear.”

It’s not the same. Remember, OLD is out, NEW is in. What does the Lord want?

TBC

If you are under the impression that it was easy for the followers of Jesus to make their transition from their former way of life to a new way of life, you are wrong. The Law was imbedded in their beings, the promises were part of their heritage, the Temple was an important part of their existence.

John Owen wrote a book entitled, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. What does that title convey? When Christ rose from the dead, He had put to death the power of death. Hebrews 2:14,15 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death–that is the devil–and free those who all their lives were hold in slavery by their fear of death.” Continuing in Romans 6:5-10, the Apostle Paul writes, For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our OLD(emphasis mine) man was crucified with Him , that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who had died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him , knowing that Christ, has been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God, Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive (NEW, insert mine) to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NKJV)

In the Old Testament, we are able to read the history of God’s people, see His love for His people, and hear His heart break for them when they forsake Him and follow after the gods of this world, and want to live like the nations around them.

God had made a Covenant with their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was their God. They were His people. He had made them special unto Himself to be a witness to the nations around them. He loved them with an everlasting love. They were a Kingdom of Priests unto the Most High God.

The Apostle Peter said it this way in I Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV) (comparing the followers of Christ to the nation of Israel). “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

As Peter says, in I Peter 2:8b, God’s people stumbled walking out this relationship to God under the OLD Covenant. Is it possible that the Lord’s Church, today, too, is stumbling, walking out their relationship to God?

The nation of Israel had the Ark, the Presence of God in the midst; in the Wilderness they were guided by the Cloud by Day, and Fire by Night; and eventually, they had the Tabernacle in the midst of their camp.

All of this foreshadows the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

John 1:14, the Apostle writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacle) among us and we behold His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The (OLD) Tabernacle in the midst of Israel became a (NEW) Tabernacle in the midst of Israel when Jesus was born in human flesh. But He came unto His own and they did not received Him.

The finished work of Christ, the second Adam, perfectly completed the OLD covenant, and His resurrection validated that a NEW covenant existed.

Jesus, on the night in which He way betrayed, instituted the NEW covenant.

Matthew 26:26-28, “And as they, were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take eat, this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.” For this is My blood of the NEW covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (NKJV, emphasis mine)

It isn’t said directly up front to the disciples, but the implication of what Jesus has just said and done is: Gentlemen, the OLD covenant is no longer relative, there is a NEW covenant in the making. It will be ratified in My death, burial, resurrection and ascension back to My Father. Jesus is making transition from out with OLD and into the NEW. (emphasis mine)

The Epistle to the Hebrews was expressly written to deal with this transition. The nation of Israel had a very difficult time relinquishing their OLD way of worshipping God and transitioning to a NEW relationship of worship. Remember Jesus’s dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-26). Just before Jesus revealed to her that He was the Christ, He said to her, (John 4:21-24, NKJV) “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the our is coming, and now is, when the TRUE (emphasis mine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him MUST WORSHIP (emphasis mine) in spirit and truth.”

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, directs our thoughts to the overwhelming superiority of Christ over all that the Jews had experienced under the Law. As the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches, Jesus is ‘better’ in every respect to the OLD covenant. The OLD covenant pictured the coming of the Messiah. Jesus is the complete fulfillment of that picture. Can you imagine, being on the Emmaus road, walking dejectedly with remorse, pondering the events you have witness the previous few days as a follower of Jesus? There you are discussing what had happened with your companion, and you are joined by an individual who apparently has no knowledge of the what has happened, what you have experienced, or what is going on? After a time of inquiry and back and forth conversation, the stranger tells them, “…beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27 NKJV), Jesus gave to them a complete detail of the OLD testament picture.

Regarding this complete picture of Christ, the Jewish leaders are faced with two facts that are the consequences of Jesus’s resurrection. These two facts they believed were deceptions voiced by Christ, Himself. The first deception was that Jesus was the Christ, the son of God. The second deception, which they deemed to be a greater issue than the first, was that He asserted that He would rise from the dead in three days.

As I shared in Part I, “Now the religious leaders of the Jewish nation have to absorb what they feared.”

Three days. after His crucifixion< Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God was alive, He had risen from the dead.

Let us now consider the time after His resurrection, prior to His Ascension, and then the Feast of Pentecost.

As I compose this BLOG today, it is a 40 day period from our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus to His Ascension to the Father. I believe that it is day 26.

On the morning of the Resurrection, the stone that had sealed Jesus’ tomb had been rolled away; some of Jesus’ followers have seen the empty tomb and others have been told about it; and the word is, ‘He is Risen’.

Let’s revisit the story. How does one fathom the reality of what some have seen and others have been told.

A few days prior to the Resurrection, on Friday, Jesus had been nailed to a cross and died. Before sundown, Joseph of Arimathea had requested the body of Jesus from Pilate. Joseph had seen to it that Jesus was entombed in a grave prior to the keeping of the Sabbath. A stone had been rolled across the face of the entrance to the tomb, the sun had set, and the Sabbath began.

You would think that all would be quiet among the religious leaders. Jesus is dead and buried; end of story. But things were not tranquil. In fact, the Jewish leaders, on the Sabbath Day, went to Pilate to ask him to post a guard at the tomb. Why? What are they concerned about? What is so important that they defile themselves going to Pilate on the Sabbath?

The problem is something that Jesus said. The religious leaders knew that Jesus had said that He would rise from the dead on the third day.

They petitioned Pilate to secure the tomb, and Pilate denied their request. He tells them to post their own guard since they are so concerned about what Jesus had said.

What exactly is going on? Matthew 27:62-66 (NKJV) tells us, “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember , while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, “After three days, I will rise”. Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, “He has risen from the dead.” So the last deception will be greater than the first.” Pilate said unto them, “You have a guard, go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.”

The entrance to the tomb has been secured, the stone sealed, and the guard posted. The Sabbath comes and goes. No reported incidents. Now it’s early Sunday, the morning of the third day.

Jesus has spent the remainder of Friday in the grave; He has spent all of the Sabbath in the grave; and He has spent some amount of time on Sunday, the third day, in the grave.

It’s early Sunday morning, Matthew 28:1 (NKJV) records, “Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary came to see the tomb.”

Where are the guards? I assume that they had left prior to the women arriving. There orders were to make sure (Matthew 27:64 NKJV) the “…tomb be secure until the third day lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away and say to the people, He is risen from the dead. So that the last deception will be worse than the first.” ( I know these words have been repeated but they are important.) Evidently, they believed they had completed their task; maybe, they were told they could leave; or maybe they had been given instructions that at a designated time they could stop guarding the tomb. Whatever the reason, they appear to be gone.

Question: What was the first deception? The first deception claimed by the religious leaders was the one they ‘cried’ before Pilate to have Jesus crucified. Jesus had said that He was the Christ, the Son of God. He had also confirmed that He was a King. Whose king? the King of the Jews.

Matthew 26:33, Caiaphas the High Priest had directly asked Him, “I put you under oath by the Living God (my note: how ironic is this statement? God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.) Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.” (NKJV) In the next verse, Matthew 26:34 (NKJV), “Jesus said to him. It is as you said, Nevertheless, I say unto you hereafter you will see the Son of Man, sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

The first deception in the eyes of the Jewish leaders is Christ’s affirmation that He is the Son of God. This response precipitated their accusation before Pilate that Jesus claimed that He was the King of the Jews. All of this led to Pilate relenting to the Jew’s demands that Jesus, the Christ, the King of the Jews, be crucified. Matthew 27:37 says that the following accusation was placed over His head. It read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS”.

After His death, burial, and entombment, as I mentioned before, they became anxious and troubled over His claim that He would be resurrected. You, remember, that is why they had gone to Pilate on the Sabbath to have the tomb guarded. But now, the guards have left, and the women have arrived with their spices to anoint Jesus.

In Mark’s Gospel, it is recorded that the women pondered how the stone might be rolled away from the entrance of the tomb for them. (Mark 16:1,2)

Mark 16:3 says, “But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away –for it was very large.”

The women had come to the tomb.

The women had found the tomb open.

What did they experience? A composite of their experience can be gleaned from reading the Gospels: Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-8; plus John 20: 1=18. ( A personal observation, each of these references end with the number 8. I, personally, find that interesting because 8 is the number of resurrection. )

In each instance, Jesus has been declared Risen from the dead.

Now the religious leaders of the Jewish nation have to absorb what they feared. The second deception which they believed would be worse than the first.

The first deception was that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who is the King of the Jews; the second deception is that He has Risen from the dead, just as He said He would in three days. What the Jewish leaders fear will soon be heralded all over “…Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

During the 40 days between Christ’s resurrection and His eventual Ascension to the Father, Jesus spends His time revealing Himself to His followers individually and collectively; but He does not reveal Himself to the world or to the religious leaders.

One thing is for sure, OLD things have passed away, and behold all things have become NEW.

Pentecost is coming. In fact it is less than 20 days away on our church calendar.

Shortly, Jesus will instruct His followers what to do in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Then things will really change!

TBC

It has been a while since I sat down to put together my thoughts.

Several weeks ago, I posted that I was going off Facebook at least until after Easter. And so, here it is, after Easter.

I trust that you had a blessed Easter.

For those who may be new to this BLOG site, I would like to encourage you to search out its inception to catch a glimpse of who I am and what I have been sharing.

What I am attempting to do is to get back into the flow of sharing what I believe is important for the Body of Christ to hear at this time. I know that sounds somewhat presumptuous; but I trust that you will read my words, comtemplate their significance and ask the Lord to make them relevant to your life and walk with Him.

I am not out to sound my own horn or to pontificate on the issues of the hour; but I do desire to communicate what I believe we need to hear as Lord’s Ekklesia.

Having reknewed myelf to this BLOG site, let us go forth Building Lives On Grace.

A few weeks ago, the Christian community of believers and many non-beleivers celebrated or recognized the day of Easter. I have a new acronym. It’s for EASTER: Eternal Assurance Secured Through Emmanuel’s Resurrection.

In preparation for Easter, Christine and I read Tim Chester’s book, An Ocean of Grace, a journey to Easter with Great Voices from the Past. It was a daily devotional.

Beginning with Ash Wednesday, and on each subsequent day until Easter, we read a verse of scripture, a short paragraph referencing the author and the content of his/her written words of prayer that we were about to read. Their words were deeply moving, very profound, and penetrated our souls.

Some additional personal reflection: since the beginning of 2021, I have been keeping a daily journal (as best I could). It is interesting to go back and read what I wrote, especially, during the time prior to Easter, and more significantly during Passion Week.

For example, during Passion Week, on Thursday, April 1, April Fools Day, which corresponded to the day Jesus ate the Passover meal in the upper room with his disciples the night he was betrayed: which lead to His arrest, trial, scrouging, crucifixion, death and burial, I wrote, “the Atonement is no April Fools joke”. I also found written in my journal on that day these words, “It’s time to draw the line”.

If I recall correctly, this was penned out of concern and frustration concerning what had been going on in our nation and was continuing to go on, on a daily basis. I was reacting to the social, cultural, and continued political unrest, just like many of you are feeling, because of this nation’s unsettledness. I was particularly concerned about HR 1, HR 5, and listening to people who were continuing to blame our current ills upon our former President.

Parallel to all of this, (and this is fuzzy in it’s timing), Christine and I were reading a book entitled, God’s Battle Plan for the Mind. It is written by David Saxton and is a study of The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation. The bottom line is that my mind was being turned to meditating upon God’s Word. Thinking about God’s Word is not new to me; but I (we) are learning alot from the Puritan writers, pastors, and theologians.

The following day, April 2, was Good Friday. I wrote in my journaal, “Thank you Father, it’s Good Friday, (and) the reason I can say thank you Father is because it took place”. Yes, Good Friday, is a somber rememberance of Christ’s death on the cross. Isaiah 58:14(NKJV) graphically says, “As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of man” [in essence as horrific as you can envision how mauled He looked, it was worse than that] The Tree of Life Version (Hebraic translation) says, “…Just as many were appalled at You–His appearance was disfigured more than any man.”

The day after Good Friday is the Sabbath, Saturday, the second day that Jesus has been entombed. In my journal are recored two passages of scripture. These passages were not written there to meditate upon Christ’s burial ( I see now they could); but they were written there because I was upset about what was going on in our nation.

The first passage is Psalms 27:13-14, (Tree of Life Version): “Surely, I trust that I will see the goodness of Adonai in the land of the living, wait for Adonai, Be strong, let your heart take courage, and wait for Adonai”.

The second is the entirity of Psalms 37. Psalms 37 begins (Tree of Life Version), “Do not fret because of evil doers, nor be envious of them who do wrong, For like the grass they soon wither.” As you move on in Psalms 37, the verses encourage you to trust, dwell, delight, commit, trust, do not fret, put away, do not fret, wait–wait for who/what? Adonai, because those who wait “will inherit the land.”

And so, in my journal, it’s day two of Christ’s death, the nation in which I am living is in turmoil and chaos, and as I read, reflect, and meditate on God’s Word, I find that I have written the following: “Father, you are my hope, my strength, my life, my health, my rest, my salvation. Bless You, Holy Trinity.”

Then I find these words that are part of a chorus I used to sing, “my life is in You, Lord…”.

The irony of these journal entries is that Christine and I had been spending a well deseved rest up near Mendocino, CA. It was gorgeous, peaceful, and restful; yet now as I look back and reflect, my devotional time was not totally peaceful; but God…

Bringing this to a conclusion, there is a very large stone that has been rolled across the entrance of the tomb; but in the words of Rev. E.V.Hill, “Sundays Comin”.

TBC

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This is a continuation of my previous blog in which I reflected upon the words of the mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser, who set up an advisory group to evaluate the “monuments, memorials, and facilities” in D.C. that had ‘disqualifying histories’.

I confessed to you that upon my initial reading of the commentary that I was reading by Joseph Loconte, I had not read his article completely. Since completing my previous blog I have read his article in its entirity.

And so, I proceed to finish my thought.

In the previous blog, it was shared that God flooded the earth because mankind had a disqualifying history; but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because its inhabitants had a disqualifying history; however, Lot was saved because of the intercession of his uncle Abraham; and at the end of this age, God will destroy the heavens and the earth because humanity has a disqualifying history; but those in Christ will be saved from the wrath of God.

All of this is ‘bad news’. All humanity has a disqualifying history. It is because of our sin nature.

Psalms 14:1-3 says, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works,There is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, They have all together become corrupt; There is none who does good, no not one.” (NKJV

If one would like to define the term ‘disqualifying histories’, I would suggest that Psalm 14:1-3 contributes to that definition.

To what do we ascribe the origin of humanity”s ‘disqualifying history’?

The answer to that question is found in the pages of God’s Holy Word, the Bible.

Simply said, when God created Adam and Eve neither one possessed a ‘disqualifing humanity’ because they were created in the image and likeness of God. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command. God had said to Adam, “…Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16b-17, NKJV); but they ate of the fruit of the tree.

Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s command, the ‘image and likeness of God’, in which they were created, where there was no ‘disqualifying history’ was tragically affected. Because of their sin, they took upon themselves the consequences of their sin-“you shall surely die”. They now possessed a sin nature. In short, their sin, is the beginning of mankind having a ‘disqualifying humanity’ in the sight of God. They are the fiat parents of all humanity born with a nature to sin.

The Apostle Paul brilliantly addresses this situation in his letter to the Romans. In Romans 5:12, he writes, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (This is Paul’s statement saying that all mankind has a disqualifying history.)

[So one might think that God was ‘ticked off’, highly insensed, and put out of sorts; but that is far from the truth. What took place in the garden did not take God by surprise. I recommend that you read carefully Ephesians 1,2,and 3. It is a revelation of God’s heart toward His creation which is completely centered in Christ which began before the creation of the world.]

John 3:16 is the most succinct verse in the Bible that summarizes God’s heart for humanity in its sinful condition and the means by which that humanity can have its ‘disqualifying history’ forgiven, forgotten, and replaced by a ‘qualifying history’.

John 3:16, says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosover believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He (God) made him (Jesus) who knew no sin (He possessed a qualifying history) to be sin (to bear our disqualifying history at the cross) that we might become the righteousness of God” (in Christ with no disqualifying history).

Returning to Romans 5, Paul writes, vss. 17-21, “For if by the one man’s offense (Adam) death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man’s offense (Adam’s) judgment came to all men (all humanity), resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s (Jesus) righteous act (His death on the cross) the free gift came to all men (humanity) resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience (Adam’s) many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience (Jesus) many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, GRACE ABOUNDED MUCH MORE [emphasis mine], so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (NKJV)

How did God, the Father, provide for His creation of mankind to be reconciled to Himself? Paul writes in Romans 5:6-11, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners (humanity with a disqualifying history), Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were recconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be save by His life. And not only that but we also rejoice in God through our Lrod Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (NKJV)

In Acts 4, the Apostle Peter boldly declares in vs 10-12 “…let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given aboung men by which we must be saved.”

The essence of Mayor’s Bowser’s purpose for setting up a task force to look for ‘disqualifying histories’ in D.C. was for the identification of those memorials, monuments, street names, etc should be torn down, dismantled, and/or renamed to blot out their rememberance because of their ‘inappropriate’ lifestyle, beliefs, behavior and/or words deemed offensive. This change was to be part of our ‘cultural cleansing’. Can you visualize with me that the death of Christ is tantamont to tearing down a statue that is deemed inappropriate because of its ‘disqualifying history’? The truth is that Jesus allowed his life to be ‘torn down’ because He identifed with mankind’s ‘disqualifying history’. The good news of the Gospel is that God raised Him from the dead conquering death. In doing so, Jesus died for our sin, our disqualifying history,, and God raised Him from the dead so that having put death to death, we can now receive eternal life through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and be given the gift of salvation which is based upon Christ’s ‘qualifying history’ of having no sin. That’s a mouthful, but it is the truth of the Gospel.

All of humanity is disaqulified before God because of sin; however, God, because of His love for His creation, has provided His only Beggoten son, to be our qualifier for eternal life through His death, burial and resurrection just as the Gospel declares.

Are you qualified in Christ for your eternal salvation or are you still in your original state with your disqualifying history of sin? Without Christ our qualification separates from an eternity spent with God to an eternal existence apart from God, that the Bible calls Hell.

Romans 10:9-11, 13 says, “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame…for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you know the Lord, rejoice in His goodness, mercy, and love for you.

If you do not know the Lord, then I encourage you to re-read what has been shared and consider the good news of the gospel. God loves you, He sent His Son to die for you, that you might have eternal life.

Eternal Life is a free gift that one receives when they confess the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Savior and Lord, asking Him to forgive them of their sins, and to come into their life personally to cause them to be born again by the Holy Spirit.

Blessings to all, a brother in Christ, deo

The text: The Daily Signal, a publication of the Heritage Foundation, September 3, 2020.

A commentary written by Joseph Laconate entitled, “The Mayor, the Monuments, and the Mayhem”

I read the opening tease and it perked my attention. I decided to read the article. However, I didn’t get very far. For purposes of establishing the context of my thoughts, I will quote the opening paragrpah of the commentary.

“When D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser earlier this year created an advisory group to scrutinize the city’s monuments, memorials, and facilities for their “disqualifying histories,” the outcome of its feverish deliberations was utterly predictable. It would launch an assault on the most cherished and unifying symbols of American deomocracy.”

I realized as I was typing this paragraph that I did not even read the entire paragraph. I pulled up short when I read the words, “disqualifying histories”.

The purpose of my blog is to share a fourth ‘M’, retitling it “The Mayor, The Monuments, the Mayhem, and A Message”

I confess that on my initial reading of this article, I did not finish the entire opening paragrpah; in fact, I have not, as yet, read the entire article, as of this composing.

I was abruptly halted by the words ‘disqualifying histories’. My first reaction to the reading of these words was that all of humanity has a disqualifying history because “…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23, NKJV)

Who among us does not have a disqualifying history? How can we dismantle history, remove a name, call into question something someone has said, or overturn what we perceive to be wrong, or even tear down a statue or monument because we render what was said or done as being disqualifying? But, for the grace of God, I have things in my history that disqualify me from writing this blog; but thanks be to God, they are forgiven and forgotten because of the blood of Christ.

The Bible is a record of ‘disqualifying histories’ of humanity; but it is also a history of God’s salvivic plan to undo our disqualifying histories.

Question: Why did God flood the earth? because humanity had a disqualifying history.

Genesis 6:5,6 (NKJV), “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart.”

Genesis 6:7,8 (NKJV), “So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” In 2 Peter 2:5, Peter writes that God “…saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungoldly.”

We, too, can find grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Ephesians 2:4-9 (NKJV), “But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that now of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Question: Why did God destroy Sodom and Gororrah? because the inhabitants of the cities had a disqualifying history.

Genesis 18:20-21 says, “And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gormorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come up to Me, and if not I will know it.”

The prophet Ezekiel compares Jerusalem to Sodom’s and Samaria’s sinful lifestyle. Ezekiel 16:48-50 says, “As I live, “says the Lord God, “neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. Look, this was the inquity of your sister Sodom. She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness, neither did they strenthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abominations before Me, therefore, I took them away as I saw fit.”

In the New Testament, Jude writes in verses 5-7, “But I want you to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode (Genesis 6:1-4), He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day, as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similiar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengence of eternal fire.”

The Apostle Peter, who I quoted earlier regarding the saving of Noah, continues with this thought regarding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 2 Peter 2:6-9, says, “…and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot (those words have always amazed me when you read about Lot’s life. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. It was the grace of God who initiated a conversation with Abraham because of their relationship, that prompted Abrahman to intercede for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, asking God to not destroy the cities so that Lot might be saved. God did save Lot and his two daughters; but He destroyed the cities.), who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, tormented his soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) [I have a thought-is this happening to us, as we see and hear the lawlessness in our midst?], then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under purishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.”

I would like to consider one more question. Why is God going to destroy the heaven and the earth? because humanity has a disqualifying history. The Apostle Peter speaks to this event in his second epistle outlining God’s coming judgment upon humanity.

In 2 Peter 3:1-9, he writes, “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistic (in which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of HIs coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation., For this they willfully forget that by the word of God the heaven were of old, and earth, standing our of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But tthe heaven and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly (one’s with disqualifying histories) men.” B.U.T., Believers Understand This) “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” [I submit that is love and grace.]

The following commentary is written for 2 Peter3:9 in my Study Bible.

“A positive explanation of the temporary lack of fulfillment…is found in the chaarcter of a merciful God. Although the wickness of humankind calls for immediate action, God withholds His rightous wrath and delays judgment. (New Spirit Filled Life Study Bible, NKJV, Nelson, 2002, pg. 1778)

Peter assures the believers that there will be a new heaven and a new earth after the destruction of this present heaven and earth.

2 Peter 3:10-13, “but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heaven will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

All of humanity has a disqualifying history because of our sin nature. But God has a redemptive plan to deal with the disqualifying history. I have eluded to it in this blog. I will continue my thoughts in Part 2, TBC

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” (NKJV)

Study Bible makes this comment, “The Book of Judges concludes with a restatement of the apostate condition of Israel when they had not king (17:6, 18:1, 19:1). [New Spirit Filled Study Bible, Nelson, 2002]

In these three passages of scripture, we find the words, “In those days there was no king in Isreal, everyone did what was right in his own eyes”; “In those days there was no king in Israel”; and “And it came to pass in those days when there was no king in Israel…”.

This begs the question, what went wrong? How did God’s people who were miraculously delivered from Egypt under the leadership of Moses and the Hand of God; who had received the Law of God at Mt. Sinai; who were watched over, protected, and provided for in the wilderness; who were promised and received their own land of promise, despite their disobedience in the wilderness, end up a few generations later in a state of complete lawlessness, ignoring the Lord God that had delivered them from Egypt.

The answer to that question is more than adequately answered detailing Isreal’s history in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, selected Psalms recounting the history of Israel, and the Apostle Paul’s use of Israel’s behavior in I Corinthians 10:1-13 to remind the Church at Corinth what happened to their ancestors who sinned in the wilderness.

As you read the prophets, they constantly remind Israel of their covenant relationship to God and the necessity of not forsaking the Lord and ignoring His commandments.

A year ago, on July 1 ,2019, I read a devotional reflecting upon Judges 21:23 in a Billy Graham devotional entitled, “Wisdom for each Day”.

The devotional began asking the question. “Is our society today any different from the ancient society reflected in this verse?” Continuing, it said, “Sadly not different enough. Too many people today feel that the old moral standards are useless and out of date and they ought to be free to make up their own minds about what is right and what is wrong”.

My question to you is, do you agree or disagree with the assessment of the devotional? [Selah]

using the next sentence in the devotional, I am going to reword in the form of a question. Have we honestly faced the logical results of “everyone doing what is right in his own eyes” ? What will the results of this lifestyle look like, if in actuality “there is no such thing as right or wrong” ? And should we be “free to decide how we want to behave?”

What do you think? How would you respond? What do you envision?

The irony of all of this for me is that I composed these thoughts originally on July 1, 2019. As you and I reflect on what has taken place in our nation over the past year, and especially in the past several weeks of June 2020, we have seen, heard, and witnessed answers to these questions. But, then, this awareness is not really new, it has been coming to fruition in the United States in the past 100 years.

As our curent turmoil and unrest escalated, I decided to revisit a book (this month, June 2020) that I read a number of years ago. Christine and I are rereading it together. I want to quote from that book:

“The problem always was, and is, What is an adequate base for law? What is adequate so that the human aspiration for freedom can exist without anarchy, and yet provides a form that will not become arbitrary tyranny? In contrast to the materialistic concept, Man in reality is made in the image of God and has real humanness. This humanness has produced varying degrees of success in government, bringing forth governments that we more than only the dominance of brute force.”

The author quotes John Bracton, De Legibus et Consuetudinibus (c.1250): “And that he [the King] ought to be under the law appears clearly in the analogy of Jesus Christ, whose vice-regent on earth he is, for though many ways were open to Him for His ineffable rdemption of the human race, the true mercy of God chose this most powerful way to destroy the devil’s work, he would not use the power of force but the reason of justice.”

The author continues, “In other words, God in His sheer power could have crushed Satan in his revolt by the use of that sufficient power. But because of God’s character, justice came before the use of power alone. Therefore Christ died that justice, rooted in what God is, would be the solution. Bracton codified this: Christ’s example, because of who He is, is our standard, our rule, our measure. Therefor power is not first, but justice is first in society and law. The prince may have the power to control and to rule, but he does not have the right to do so without justice. This was the basis of English Common Law.”

These thoughts are a sampling of our foundation for government. 300 years later the Reformation “refined and cleared…the encrustations that had been added to the Jedeo-Christian world view and clarified the point of authority–with authority resting in the Scripture rather than church and Scripture, or state and Scrpture. This not only had meaning in regard to docrine but clarified the base for law. That base was God’s written Law , back through the New Testament to Moses’ written Law; and the content and authority of that written Law is rooted back to Him who is the final reality.”

The problem is that we, as a nation, have departed from this foundation. Many in our nation do not believe that God is the final Reality. As such, we have no absolutes; we have no standards; we have no reality except that which is resident within our self. Therefore, we too, are becoming, or should I say, have become a nation in which everyone (that is probably a bit strong), many are doing what is right in their own eyes.

The book that I have quoted from is, ‘A Christian Manifesto”, Copyright 1981, by Francis A. Schaeffer, Crossway, pages 27,28,29.

Schaeffer’s book, written 40 years ago, accurately described what was taking place in our nation at the time of its writing in early 1980, identifying the seeds of humanism that had been planted years before, that were now showing signs of being very healthy in our system. Since then, the world view of humanism has grown and permeated our nation, choking out the Biblical world view. As pessimistic as that may sound there is a remnant of God’s people who are praying and interceding for this nation and for the Church to rise up and be the strong influence that it needs to be in our nation. Let us cry out to the Living God who Alone is Reality. Our God reigns.

The reason I chose to revisit Schaeffer’s book is because it outlines and discusses the topic of Christian civil disobedience. Many in our nation today are wrestling with that topic. Are you?

Thoughts for the time in which we are living, a brother in Christ, deo