Thursday, July 31, 2008
Dwelling with His People
I was reading in Revelation 21 and in verse 3 we read, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." My thoughts immediately went to the Tabernacle and one of the purposes of the Tabernacle was to show the people that God was dwelling with His people.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Cities of Refuge - Part 2
This is the conclusion of yesterday's snapshot of grace from the Old Testament. Take time to read yesterday's post first.
First, the cities were accessible. The elders were not to choose cities that were difficult to reach but rather they were cities that could be reached quickly and easily from anywhere in the land. The Jordan River acted as a barrier so there were three cities on each side of the Jordan. The elders had to make sure that the roads to the cities were well maintained so that the one fleeing would not be delayed by improperly maintained roads.
The picture for us is that Jesus is our city of refuge and He is accessible to anyone who is accused and under the sentence of death. We are all accused by Satan and our only refuge is in our Lord Jesus Christ. He did not make it difficult for us to come to Him but we can call upon Him at any time or in any place. The pathway is always free from obstacles and barriers when we desire to flee to Him.
Second, there was safety within the city but that safety was only guaranteed when the accused stayed within the city. Jesus said that we were to abide in Him and as we abide in Him we have safety from the enemy of our souls. When we think we can stand alone against Satan then we are vulnerable to his attacks. We cannot stand against the accuser of our souls unless we stay within the gates of our refuge, Jesus Christ.
Finally, the city of refuge was available to anyone whether they were citizens of Israel or foreigners. Jesus, our refuge, does not make any distinction between people. He will welcome anyone who comes to Him. He will not turn us away.
First, the cities were accessible. The elders were not to choose cities that were difficult to reach but rather they were cities that could be reached quickly and easily from anywhere in the land. The Jordan River acted as a barrier so there were three cities on each side of the Jordan. The elders had to make sure that the roads to the cities were well maintained so that the one fleeing would not be delayed by improperly maintained roads.
The picture for us is that Jesus is our city of refuge and He is accessible to anyone who is accused and under the sentence of death. We are all accused by Satan and our only refuge is in our Lord Jesus Christ. He did not make it difficult for us to come to Him but we can call upon Him at any time or in any place. The pathway is always free from obstacles and barriers when we desire to flee to Him.
Second, there was safety within the city but that safety was only guaranteed when the accused stayed within the city. Jesus said that we were to abide in Him and as we abide in Him we have safety from the enemy of our souls. When we think we can stand alone against Satan then we are vulnerable to his attacks. We cannot stand against the accuser of our souls unless we stay within the gates of our refuge, Jesus Christ.
Finally, the city of refuge was available to anyone whether they were citizens of Israel or foreigners. Jesus, our refuge, does not make any distinction between people. He will welcome anyone who comes to Him. He will not turn us away.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Cities of Refuge – Numbers 35:6-15
The Israelites did not have prisons. The other nations around them did but not the Israelites. The prisons of Egypt were an integral part of how the descendents of Jacob ended up in Egypt. However, when God made a covenant with the Israelites He made other provisions to deal with wrong doers.
God’s way of dealing with wrong doers was to set up a number of cities which were known as the cities of refuge. These cities belonged to the Levites and the elders of those cities became the judges of the accused. If the elders found the person accused to be guilty of the capitol offense of which he was accused then they turned him over to the family of the victim and they carried out the punishment. However, if the accused was found to be not guilty then the accused had to stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. If the accused left the city then they were no longer under the protection of the elders and the elders were not responsible for what happened to the accused.
The cities of refuge are a wonderful picture of God’s grace. In our time of trouble we have a refuge that we can turn to and that is our Lord. We are all guilty and condemned to death but we are all free to flee to the city of refuge. God has made a way for our safety. There are some important lessons for us in this picture of grace.
Continued tomorrow - LW
God’s way of dealing with wrong doers was to set up a number of cities which were known as the cities of refuge. These cities belonged to the Levites and the elders of those cities became the judges of the accused. If the elders found the person accused to be guilty of the capitol offense of which he was accused then they turned him over to the family of the victim and they carried out the punishment. However, if the accused was found to be not guilty then the accused had to stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. If the accused left the city then they were no longer under the protection of the elders and the elders were not responsible for what happened to the accused.
The cities of refuge are a wonderful picture of God’s grace. In our time of trouble we have a refuge that we can turn to and that is our Lord. We are all guilty and condemned to death but we are all free to flee to the city of refuge. God has made a way for our safety. There are some important lessons for us in this picture of grace.
Continued tomorrow - LW
Sunday, July 27, 2008
How Shall we then Live?
This past week I talked to a lady who was confused by what she had read in the Scripture and what she had heard in a sermon at her church. Her question related to whether or not one could lose their salvation. I sent her the following that I wrote earlier.
The Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by faith and not by anything that we do and that we are to live our lives by faith. Paul in Galatians makes it clear that after we have begun in the Spirit that we cannot live by our own wills.
However, we are also told that we are to preserver the end and we shall be delivered or that we are to overcome as we read in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation.
However, there is one problem. If how we live depend upon our own efforts to keep ourselves in the faith then it becomes man’s effort and not God’s grace. So what is the answer? Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:3-4 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” Then the next verse he says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith.” Peter clearly saw that the Christian live is not by our strength but then there is something that we must do. IF this is confusing it is because we are trying to understand an infinite God with our finite minds.
How shall we then live? First, we must realize that we are saved by God’s grace and we are kept by God’s grace and we must rest upon this truth. Second, we must live as though our eternal life depended upon how we live even though we know that it does not.
The Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by faith and not by anything that we do and that we are to live our lives by faith. Paul in Galatians makes it clear that after we have begun in the Spirit that we cannot live by our own wills.
However, we are also told that we are to preserver the end and we shall be delivered or that we are to overcome as we read in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation.
However, there is one problem. If how we live depend upon our own efforts to keep ourselves in the faith then it becomes man’s effort and not God’s grace. So what is the answer? Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:3-4 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” Then the next verse he says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith.” Peter clearly saw that the Christian live is not by our strength but then there is something that we must do. IF this is confusing it is because we are trying to understand an infinite God with our finite minds.
How shall we then live? First, we must realize that we are saved by God’s grace and we are kept by God’s grace and we must rest upon this truth. Second, we must live as though our eternal life depended upon how we live even though we know that it does not.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Acts or Ephesians
Some of the Biblical scholars say that Joshua has it parallel in Acts in the New Testament as it speaks of the growth of the kingdom. I don't see it that way. I see more of possessing our possessions, what is ours in Christ Jesus. That is why I find the parallel in the book of Ephesians. What do you think?
Friday, July 25, 2008
"Just for me"
On Sunday we sang the the Thank You song. However, this song has one line in, no one word in it, that bothers me. It is the line "Thank You for giving Your life just for me". Now it is not that I am not grateful that Christ gave His life for me, but is it just me? I know and I believe that if I was the only sinner that Christ would have died just for me but I am not the only one. There is a subtle way in which we turn the focus from God to ourselves. There will be those that will argue with me that is not the case but more and more I am convinced that we are finding ways of keeping ourselves as the most important. My wife likes to change the line to "Thank You for giving Your life up for me".
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Snapshots
I have always enjoyed taking pictures. Pictures tell stories and when you look back in an old photo album you find many wonderful memories. I have been including snapshots of grace from the Old Testament in my blog this summer. Too many people look at the Old Testament as harsh or legalistic but miss the many wonderful pictures of grace that are included. God has always extended grace to His people and we need to remember that He is a God of grace.
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