Only One Sign For Eternal Life

"And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red
and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky,
but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." Matt 16:3 NIV

I was very young when my mother began teaching me some pretty cool things; especially if you live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She taught me how not to get lost in the woods when picking wildflowers by observing the position of the sun or the moon and what side the moss grows on a tree. She taught me how to track, at least well enough to follow my own trail back out of the woods. She also taught me how to forecast the weather by watching the leaves on the trees or the color of the skies. She taught me "red skies at night, sailors' delight; red skies in the morning, sailors take warning."

When the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven he told them there would be only one sign for them. That sign would be the sign of Jonah. The prophet Jonah, you might recall, had spent three days floating around in a watery abyss in the belly of a big fish. He had thought at the time that this would be his grave; his final resting place.

The sign that Jesus was referring to was that he, himself, would repeat the sign of Jonah. But, this time it would be for the salvation of all people; for all who would believe him. Three days he spent in the grave. He descended into hell. (1 Pet 3:18-20) And... just as Jonah was spit from the mouth of the fish to go and proclaim God's message to those nasty Ninevites that they might be saved and live; on the third day Jesus rose from the grave so that all who believe him would be saved and inherit eternal life.

God gave us many signs in creation to assist us in our daily lives. But, Jesus, is the only sign that we need for eternal life.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Hebrews 2 - Pay Attention; What Is Mankind?!

Hebrews 2 NIV
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    a son of man that you care for him?
 You made them a little lower than the angels;
    you crowned them with glory and honor
    and put everything under their feet.” (vs 6-8)

What indeed is mankind that God would so favor us? Why would God do that? Rest assured there is nothing so great about us. We are favored simply because God chooses to favor us. He chooses to bestow His grace and mercy upon us.

He chose to send His only begotten Son, born fully human, to live among us. He chose to send Jesus to die so that we might live. It was not for His sake or even the sake of the angels that this was accomplished. It was that mankind might inherit places as children of our heavenly Father; as brothers and sisters to Christ. We have done nothing to earn this family status. In fact, we have turned our backs on our Father; our brother, Jesus; and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ a multitude of times.

He invites you to a family gathering. Come and hear the stories of all that our marvelous Father and brother have done for us. When was the last time you joined your brothers and sisters in Christ at the table our Father has set for His children? Come and eat at the table that He has prepared for us. Don't miss the family reunion at your local congregation. By His Word, He calls you to be reconciled to Himself; to live as a member of His holy family.

May we all pay attention to our heavenly Father so that we would not neglect His Word that He has given us in Jesus Christ; so that we will not reject our Father's will for us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Hebrews 1 - Ministering Angels

Hebrews 1 NIV

One of my most often used prayers for little children is that the Lord would send his warrior angels to guard and protect them. As I lay my hands on their heads and pray for them, I can see their little faces just light up with hope. Their parents' faces usually light up as well. You see, the world can get pretty yucky for adults; but, for many children it can be most horrendous. Children need protection. Many live in fear, sometimes in fear of their parents. All it takes is to watch or read the local news and we see verification for their many fears. Most of them probably do not even understand the whole reality of the dangers that are out their lurking for them. Am I a pessimist when it comes to the world? In some regards, most probably. But, I have hope in the Kingdom of God and the one who rules that Kingdom, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

There is hope. We have hope and salvation, spoken to us by God's firstborn Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Included in that universe are the angels, whom He made to be ministering spirits, sent to serve all who would inherit salvation.

First and foremost we have the Son who lives and reigns at the right hand of the Father. He is with us always, overseeing all that goes on in our lives. He sends his angels to minister to those who believe. And... by the looks on the faces of the little children, they believe. Even as the angels ministered to Jesus (Matt 4:11), they are sent to minister us. We do not pray to them. Our trust is in not in the angels; rather, it is in God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus the Christ who has directed them to minister to all of God's children.

May all God's little children be protected from the evil, harm and trouble that surrounds them as they are filled with the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Acts 3:11-26 God Will Provide The Opportunity

Acts 3:11-26 NIV
Peter used the healing of the blind man as a spring board to proclaim that the prophecies of old had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

I sometimes hear from people that they are too timid or too shy to share the Good News of the Kingdom for all who believe in Jesus Christ. They say that they wouldn't know how or what to say. Listen for it. Watch for it. God will provide us with the words to say. God will provide us the opportunities. Those opportunities are all around us. So often we are not afraid to share bad news. We are not so timid when it comes to that. Do not be afraid to share Good News with one another so that others may hear that even though we are deep in sin, God our Father loves us and has forgiven us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Do not be afraid to share the Good News of the Kingdom so that all will hear; believe, and be reconciled to God the Father, through God the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in His Kingdom. After all, there are none whom we would not wish to see inherit eternal life, are there?

God's Peace - Pr. J

Ezekiel 18 - Sins of our Parents

 “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
 “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die." (Ezekiel 18:19-21 NIV)

“You shall have no other gods before me.

 You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:3-6)

 

Whether the children are punished for their parents sins comes up every time we discuss the ten commandments in confirmation classes. Yes, sometimes, the young people, discuss their parents sins! They are not as secret as you might think or hope. Your children know and others know as well. The youth are concerned about your sins; for your sakes as well as for their own. They become especially worried when they hear that they might be punished for something they have not done. I always reassure them that they will not be punished, according to the word we've received through Ezekiel. But, what we have to be careful of is that we do not inherit, by learned behavior, that which is wrong. God has given us His Spirit of Truth, by which we can discern the difference between what is right and what is wrong. We do not have to follow in our parents' footsteps if they have chosen a path which leads us away from God's will for us.

 

Likewise, I think we often tend to blame parents for the sins of their children. Sometimes, the case may be that they have learned these sins from their parents. But, just as often, they may have learned them elsewhere. In today's society there are a lot more adults than parents that children are learning from.

 

Be careful then what we teach our children and our neighbor's children. 

 

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—  “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Eph 6:12)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 37 - The Meek Share!

More blessings and curses...

Those who demand of others will see their own end.  "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity." (vs 11 NIV)

I have been considering something that I witnessed quite often lately.  Greed and selfishness abound and for no reason that I can quite put a finger on, except maybe a lack of empathy or compassion for others.  It has to do with table manners.  It is most recongizable in children, although I see this example in adults, from time to time, as well.  I first started recognizing this behavior in a few of our past foster children and I've seen it in some of our adult foster childen from time to time.  With them, I usually recognize it as a symptom of mental illness or previous abuse or neglect.  Some of them had so little to eat in their previous homes, they are afraid if they don't fill up now they may not get another meal for some time.  However, I don't know what to think about people who are mentally healthy (or at least appear so) and don't have a history with childhood neglect who do this. 

You've probably seen it.  It's the habit of some who have to have the biggest portions and then while others do without, they decide that they weren't that hungry and throw it out.  You see, some people (at least I was) taught that you take no more than you can eat and if there is not that much on the table to go around, you take less so that those whom you love will have more. Maybe, that's it.  Maybe, we don't know how to really love these days. 

I just don't get this concept of having to have the best and the most and leaving the crumbs to those whom we claim to love.  What was it that Jesus told Peter?  "If you love me, feed my sheep."  (JOhn 21:17) Consider the plight of those whom you love - consider the plight of those whom God loves - give generously - share generously. 

By the way, taking from the rich to give to the poor is not exactly the way those who will inherit the kingdom do it.  Scripture tells us:  "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)  A gift given under compulsion is a tax, not a gift.  It was the meek widow who put her last penny into the offering, because of her love and faithfulness, that Jesus commended.  (Mark 12:41-43 and Luke 21:1-4)

"The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed." (vs 21-22)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 15 - Jesus is our Righteousness

From the reading today, I think we might be in a bit of trouble.  Who is blameless?  Who does what is righteous and speaks the truth from their hearts, all of the time?  Is there any one of us who does these things all of the time?  The last few days, we've thought a bit about our sinful natures and hopefully we all understand that none of us our righteous if the thoughts of our hearts and minds, if the work of our hands are what are counted toward our righteousness.  If we depend on our own righteousness to dwell in the LORD's tent, upon His holy mountain, His Kingdom, then we are lost.

Thanks be to God, that we are found righteous, not because of our good works, that is the works o the law, but by faith in the One who is righteous, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and LORD.  As Paul wrote to the Romans: 

"But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."  (Romans 3:21-26 NIV)

We shall indeed dwell in the LORD's house, not because we are so good, but because the LORD who loves us is so good and was willing to shed His blood as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins.  It is by faith, in Him, that we are saved from ourselves and inherit our place in His kingdom.  Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J