Posts

Being Made Holy

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Hosea 2-5; Hebrews 2   “’Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord. Israel’s arrogance testifies against them;…’” Hosea 5:4, 5 “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes holy and those who are made holy are of the same family…” Hebrews 2:10, 11 A spirit of prostitution is still leading many of God’s people astray. Pride and arrogance keep us from confessing our sins and finding freedom. Yet, it was for this spiritual war that Jesus suffered so we could be free. The process of recognizing we are under the influence of a spirit of prostitution, repenting for our lust, pride, and fear, resisting this spiritual power in the name of Jesus Christ, and then actively renewing our minds – all of these steps are what the writer of Hebrews calls “being ma...
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The Name

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2 Kings 15,16; Hosea 1; 1 Hebrews 1   “So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father’? Or again, ‘I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.’?” Hebrews 1:4-6 Jesus has been given a name above every other name and that name carries with it authority. Those adopted into God’s family are called sons and daughters, brothers and sisters of Christ. We, too, have been given God’s name to establish our identity and authority in his kingdom. We have been baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This new identity in Christ must transform us from any other identity we carried prior to knowing Christ. Our spiritual authority has been given to us by our Father and is essential in resisting Satan and his temptations, lies, and deceptions. Do we know our name in God’s family? Are we living into our new identity as sons and dau...
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I Saw the Lord

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Isaiah 6,7; 2 Chronicles 26,27; Philemon   “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of his robe filled the temple…And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’” Isaiah 6:1, 3 Isaiah saw the Lord Almighty, seated on a throne, with a robe that filled the temple. Do we desire to see the Lord? The angels in God’s presence were calling out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Without holiness no one will see the Lord. It is Jesus and his atonement for us that makes us holy. It is the Holy Spirit within us who are saved, who sanctifies us and calls us to repentance. Peter the apostle saw the Lord and his own sinfulness in Jesus’ presence. He later wrote, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15, 16). Those who want to see God, p...
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Lord, Save Me!

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Isaiah 4,5; Psalms 115,116; Jude   “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord; ‘O Lord, save me!’ The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.’” Psalm 116:3-7 The Psalmist described depression, distress, and sorrow to the point of fearing for his life. In the lowest place, he cried out to the Lord to save him and his testimony is of God’s compassion and grace drawing near to him. How do we respond when the pressures of life seem too great to bear? Where do we turn? Do we cry out to the Lord, “Save me!”? The result of the intervention by the Lord in the Psalmist’s life was rest for his soul. He experienced the goodness of the Lord in lifting the weight of anxiety, fear, and death from his soul. That is a testimony w...
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The Lord’s Table

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Isaiah 1-3; Titus 3   “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among mountains; it will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths…Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.’” Isaiah 2:2, 3, 5 Jesus called out the moneychangers for desecrating the temple because it was to be a house of prayer for all nations. At Pentecost, many nations were present and received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the living presence of God. Paul described the body of each disciple as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Collectively, we, the Church, are a temple that God indwells by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:21). Are we living in the ways of God so that the nations are drawn to the light of the Lord and his ways of peace? When the Church quarrels and fights we lose ou...
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Sovereign Lord

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Amos 7-9; Psalms 104; Titus 2   “This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried out, ‘Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!’ So the Lord relented. ‘This will not happen either,’ the Sovereign Lord said.” Amos 7:4-6 Amos knew the Sovereign Lord as a friend who shared his plans with him. As one who knew God, Amos had the boldness to ask God to relent in sending judgment. Why? Amos knew the love of God through his mercy in saving and calling. While God is Sovereign, he is also merciful. Amos appealed to this aspect of God’s nature and God listened to his friend Amos. God listened to Abraham as he interceded for Sodom and to Moses as he interceded for Israel. God listens to his friends today who have been purchased by the blood of Christ and boldly approach the throne of grace. “Lord God, you are sovereign and you are merciful. Heal our land ...
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To the Pure

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Amos 4-6; Psalms 86; Titus 1   “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” Titus 1:15, 16 Our heart births motives and thoughts which shape our actions and then our character. To the pure, all things are pure. Rather than a list of ‘do’s and don’ts’, the pure are focused on living in unbroken fellowship with God. Each day, they see God at work in their lives and the world around them. However, when our heart is corrupted, we might say we believe, but our actions and secret disobedience tell the true story. Sanctification is not just a reformation of behavior, but a transformation of the heart.   Will we ask God to replace our divided heart with a heart that is pure and seeks his face each day? It will change how we see others and the wo...
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