7/28 Atonement

God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.

~ 2 Corinthians 5:19

The apostle Paul declared that he was determined to know nothing save Christ and Him crucified. This was the apostle's way of emphasizing the extreme importance of the Cross to Christianity. The doctrine of the Atonement is central to all Christian theology. Luther called Christianity a theology of the Cross. The figure of a cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. The concept of atonement reaches back to the Old Testament where God set up a system by which the people of Israel could make atonement for their sins. To atone is to make amends, to set things right.

Both the Old and New Testaments make it clear that all human beings are sinners. As our sins are against an infinite, holy God who cannot tolerate sin, atonement must be made in order for us to have fellowship with God.

A key phrase in the Bible regarding the Atonement is the phrase, “in behalf of.” Jesus did not die for Himself, but for us. His suffering was vicarious; He was our substitute. He took our place in fulfilling the role of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

While the Father's wrath is real, it should be noted that the atonement Christ made was not a case of the Son working against the Father's will. It is not as if Christ were snatching His people out of the Father's hand. The Son did not persuade the Father to save those whom the Father was loathe to save. On the contrary, both Father and Son willed the salvation of the elect and worked together to bring it to pass. As the apostle Paul wrote, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.”(2 Corinthians 5:19).

• Atonement involves a payment to make amends for a debt.
• Human beings cannot atone for their own sins.
• Jesus' perfection qualified Him to make atonement.
• Christ fulfilled the curse of the Old Covenant.
• Christ's atonement was both a work of substitution and satisfaction.
• The Father and Son worked in harmony to effect our reconciliation.

Lord God, I thank you for paying the price to redeem me from my sin. Amen.

7/25 "Calling Back"

 

Calling Back

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:33-34

I receive so many calls from sales people and scammers that I grow tired of the ringing phone. Most the time I do not answer, however the ringing can become annoying. On one such morning, I was trying to work on a devotional, and as I could see, by the caller identification, I was receiving one of these calls.

I picked up the phone and immediately hung it up without answering. Usually this technique works, however this time the caller called right back. I was very annoyed by this time, and answered the phone with, “Why do you keep bothering me?”

The caller was looking for someone I did not know. With slightly less rude tones, I said my goodbye and hung up. As soon as I did, the Lord immediately spoke to my heart and said, “Was that a good example of me?” I knew it wasn’t and felt ashamed.

I was getting ready to call back when the phone rang again; (the same caller). This time when I answered, I said, “I am so sorry for how rudely I answered the phone. I get so many calls that it becomes an aggravation. I know that is not an excuse for my behavior. Would you please forgive me?”

I think the caller was slightly stunned. He told me that he understood fully and that he was just trying to locate someone who drove off their lot with a vehicle and did not return. After going through several names and assuring him I did not know any of these people, he told me that this would help in narrowing the search.

I took this opportunity to witness. I said, “As soon as I hung up, the Lord spoke to me and convicted me of not being a good representation of Him. I know I was rude and did not speak as Christ would have me to speak. I am so glad you called back, because I wanted to apologize.”

He told me, “Every day, I get on my knees, before I leave for work, but it doesn’t always mean that I do what I am supposed to. It’s then I have to get back on my knees. Don’t worry, I understand, and I forgive you.”

When I got off the phone, I made my call back to Christ. I asked for forgiveness and asked for an erasure of my behavior so that I could start over, with my clean-slated day. As we call back, over and over again, God in His mercy, loves and forgives us. He wipes out every blot and stain, remembering them no more.

Dear Father, Thank you for forgiving me over and over again. Thank you for your mercy. Amen

Reverence

 The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

~ Proverbs 15:33

The New Testament, like the Old, exhorts us to live in the fear of God (see Matt. 10:28; Acts 10:35; 2 Cor. 5:10-11; 7:1; Eph. 5:21; Col. 3:22; 1 Pet. 1:17). Yet the Apostle John tells us that “God is love,” and that “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:8,18). “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are” (1 John 3:1).

When we placed our trust in Christ, God gave us the right to become members of His family (John 1:12). Now nothing can separate us from our loving Father because we are His children (Rom. 8:38-39). As believers in Christ, we need not be afraid of God. The fear of God, then, does not mean that we are to be terrified of Him. Instead, it refers to a particular attitude that we should develop.

Part of this attitude is a reverence and an awe of God. We should daily remind ourselves of who He really is: the Creator of the hundreds of billions of galaxies; the sovereign God who inhabits the future as well as the present and the past; the almighty One who dwells in all places, and from whom no thought is hidden; clothed in power, glory, and dominion, He reigns over the cosmos in the beauty of holiness.

Another part of this attitude is humility before our King. “The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor” (Prov. 15:33). The walk of wisdom is the conscious recognition that all we have and are come from God, and that every aspect of our lives needs to be under His dominion. The fool arrogantly vaunts an attitude of independence and autonomy, but the person who is wise lives in dependence and radical trust in the Author and Giver of life. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We will grow in wisdom as we daily cultivate the attitude of awe and humility in our walk with God.

“He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of
you but to do justice, to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”

(Micah 6:8)

Lord, let me always place humility before honor, out of respect and love for You. Amen.

"The Promises of God: Are they for me?"

 There are literally hundreds of God’s promises in the Bible. How can we know which promises apply to us, which promises we can claim? To frame this question another way, how can one tell the difference between general promises and specific promises? A general promise is one that is given by the Holy Spirit to every believer in every age. When the author penned the promise, he set no limitations on the time period or recipient.

An example of a general promise is 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This promise is based on the forgiving nature of God and is available to all believers everywhere. Another example of a general promise is Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This promise is made to all believers who, refusing to worry, bring their requests to God (v. 8). Other examples of general promises include Psalm 1:3; 27:10; 31:24; John 4:13-14 (note the word “whoever”); and Revelation 3:20.

A specific promise is one that is made to specific individuals on specific occasions. The context of the promise will usually make clear who the recipient is. For example, the promise of 1 Kings 9:5 is very specific: “I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever.” The preceding and following verses make it clear that God is speaking only to King Solomon.

Luke 2:35 contains another specific promise: “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” This prophecy/promise was directed to Mary and was fulfilled in her lifetime. While a specific promise is not made to all believers generally, the Holy Spirit can still use a specific promise to guide or encourage any of His children. For example, the promise of Isaiah 54:10 was written with Israel in mind, but the Holy Spirit has used these words to comfort many Christians today: “my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.”

As he was led to take the gospel to the Gentiles, the apostle Paul claimed the promise of Isaiah: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). Isaiah’s promise was originally meant for the Messiah, but in it Paul found guidance from the Lord for his own life. When claiming one of God’s promises from Scripture, we should keep the following principles in mind:

1) God’s promises are often conditional. Look for the word “if” in the context.

2) God gives us promises to help us better submit to His will and trust Him. A promise does not make God bend to our will.

3) We cannot presume to know precisely when, where, or how God’s promises will be fulfilled in our lives.

We See God Too Small.

 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

~ Psalm 34:3

Worship rises or falls in any church altogether depending upon the attitude we take toward God, whether we see God big or whether we see Him little. Most of us see God too small; our God is too little. David said, “O magnify the Lord with me,” and “magnify” doesn't mean to make God big. You can't make God big. But you can see Him big.

Worship, I say, rises or falls with our concept of God; that is why I do not believe in these half converted cowboys who call God the Man Upstairs. I do not think they worship at all because their concept of God is unworthy of God and unworthy of them. And if there is one terrible disease in the Church of Christ, it is that we do not see God as great as He is. We're too familiar with God.

So I said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” —Isaiah 6:5

I have said it before and I will say it again: This low concept of God is our spiritual problem today. Mankind has succeeded quite well in reducing God to a pitiful nothing! The God of the modern context is no God at all. He is simply a glorified chairman of the board, a kind of big businessman dealing in souls. The God portrayed in much of our church life today commands very little respect.

We must get back to the Bible and to the ministration of God's Spirit to regain a high and holy concept of God. Oh, this awesome, terrible God, the dread of Isaac! This God who made Isaiah cry out, “I am undone!” This God who drove Daniel to his knees in honor and respect. To know the Creator and the God of all the universe is to revere Him. It is to bow down before Him in wonder and awesome fear.

Lord, I'm struck this morning with a sense of awe in Your presence. I bow before You myself in 'wonder and awesome fear.' Amen.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

~ Acts 4:13

In the aftermath of Pentecost and the initial preaching of the Apostles in Jerusalem, there was an outpouring of extraordinary events. Jesus’ closest followers, fishermen and laborers for the most part, began humbling the Sanhedrin with their knowledge of scripture and powerful public speaking. These were not fleshly accomplishments, but accomplishments of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostles chose seven men to oversee the ministry of serving widows with food. Stephen was among them, a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” He did great wonders and miraculous signs. The religious leaders resorted to old tricks to counter this work of God – bogus charges, false witnesses. Stephen didn’t back down. Instead, he explained from their own scriptures how the Jewish people had rejected God time and again, ultimately rejecting the coming of the Righteous One. In their rage, they stoned him. Stephen responded with mercy as he died, begging God’s forgiveness of his persecutors.

Saul was there, assisting the ones who threw the stones. After Stephen’s death, he embarked on a vicious persecution of the church. But a couple of chapters later we see another extraordinary thing – the risen Christ appears to Saul and blinds him. God uses another believer, Ananias, to share the gospel of Christ and to heal Saul’s blindness. Saul not only believes, but becomes a preacher of the gospel to the point that his former allies now sought to kill him as well.

Meanwhile, Peter received a vision demonstrating that the gospel is for the Gentiles as well. A righteous Gentile names Cornelius also received a vision, and God put these two men together, radically expanding the limited Jewish vision of Christ’s church.

I believe that these extraordinary things and the Spirit who brought them are available to us today if we are willing to listen, believe and obey.

Lord God, give me strength, knowledge, and conviction in your Holy Spirit. Amen.