Posts

Our Redeemer Lives

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Job 19; Mark 1-2   “I know that my Redeemer lives; and that in the end he will stand on the earth. After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Job 19:25-27 Job’s tribulations heightened his anticipation of heaven. He longed to see God and he believed in the bodily resurrection of the dead. He believed that his Redeemer lived and that God would redeem his life from the grave. Is this living hope at work in us? Do these truths give us hope in the midst of our tribulations, sickness, tests, and trials? When life is good, we become distracted and maybe even forget that we need a Redeemer. If this earth becomes our home, our hope of heaven can fade. However, when sickness, disease, plague, or economic crisis comes, we remember this life is short. Are we yearning for God, for heaven, and for our eternal home? Are we anticipating the return of Jesus? Do we know that our Redee...
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He Will Proclaim Peace

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Zechariah 7-9; Luke 13   “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.” Zechariah 9:10, 11 The Lord Jesus Christ will proclaim peace to the nations. What message of peace did Jesus bring? He offered his life as a covenant-sacrifice for our sin. Jesus offers us peace with God through his blood of the covenant. This offer of peace with God is now made through the Church to all nations. The word used for peace here is ‘Shalom’, which means safety, wholeness, well-being, and contentment. This is a much broader reality than just the absence of conflict. It is Shalom with God, ourselves, with our neighbour, and with creation. Jesus came to reconcile all things to God through his blood shed on th...
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Seek the Kingdom

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Zechariah 4-6; Luke 12   “’For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.’” Luke 12:30-32 What we pursue in life, defines our life.   If someone were to examine our lives today, what would they say we are pursuing? What has captured our attention and become our focus? Jesus said the pagan world runs after clothes, food, and material possessions. Their focus is clear. But, what about the disciples of Jesus? Jesus’ call to us is to seek his kingdom which is righteousness (in Christ), peace (in Christ), and joy (in Christ). To seek first the kingdom is to first seek Jesus the King. He will give us what we need to live. Fear will rob us of our focus on Jesus, while faith in Jesus will strengthen us. The Father has given us the kingdom. We have an eternal inheritance. Let’s seek Jesus...
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Bold Asking

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Zechariah 1-3; Luke 11 “…’Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come…yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you…how much more will you Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’” Luke 11:1, 2, 8, 9, 13 When Jesus’ disciples asked him to pray like John’s disciples, Jesus gave them the disciples’ prayer. However, he went beyond merely a prayer outline; he gave them the key to authority in prayer. Jesus taught his disciples to ask, seek, and knock on the throne room of heaven for the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the key to bold, sustained and Word-centered praying. 120 disciples remembered this invitation from Jesus and they prayed ten days in an Upper Room for the Holy Spirit.   We receive/have the Holy Spirit at conversion, but does the Holy Spirit have us? A...
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Doxa

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Haggai 1-2; Psalms 129; Luke 10   “’…the desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” Haggai 2:7-9 Our attention is often on the silver and gold, while the Lord’s attention is on Doxa, his glory or presence. With silver and gold we can build beautiful structures; but with Doxa they are filled with the presence of the Lord. The desired of all nations has come; his name is Jesus, the Messiah. He calls our bodies the new temple of his Spirit. We are now the temples to be filled with his Doxa, or glory. Those filled with God’s Doxa go from glory to glory as they invite Christ’s presence to daily fill them. To be filled with God’s Doxa is to know his peace at the core of our being. Are we ...
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He Raises the Poor

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Ezra 4; Psalms 113, 127; Luke 9   “The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens…He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people.” Psalm 113:4, 7, 8 “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the least among you all - he is the greatest.’” Luke 9:47, 48 The most powerful and exalted being in the universe is also the most humble and he loves humility in the lives of his disciples. Justice requires humility because we must see the intrinsic value of people, regardless their station in life. The Lord God loves to break the cycle of poverty and elevate the poor and needy. He loves to give honor to the least, the last, and the lost. His disciples argued about greatness and competed (they still do), w...
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Ezra 2-3; Luke 8   “’For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.’…He replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice.’” Luke 8:17, 18, 21 Listening to the Word is not enough. We must put the Word into practice in our lives each day. Jesus, the living Word, knows our heart and nothing is concealed from him. He knows how much or little of what we hear we are applying. Jesus’ family isn’t composed of people who have prayed a prayer to avoid the consequences for their sin. This is a family that chooses to stop sinning through the power of the Holy Spirit as they hear God’s Word and put it into practice. They actively join Jesus in his daily mission-assignments in their homes, community, and place of work. As we c...
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