Category: Blessings

Did Jesus Abolish the Law?

4/30/2016

Today I am reading Jeremiah 11:1-8. The Lord is reminding Israel through the prophet Jeremiah, about the terms of their covenant. Right away I wondered what those terms were and for about the last two hours I have been making a blessings and curses list, (based on Deuteronomy 28) of what would happen to the Israelites if they obeyed God and what would happen if they didn't. And I have to say, the blessings were awesome! But the curses? Let's just say that I am more appreciative of Jesus' sacrifice for me because these curses are terrifying. They amplify the fact that the Jews would have to be completely ignorant of the laws of God, or a fool to willingly break them. I have created a list of all the blessings and curses for you to download if you like. It is available at the end of this post and it is fascinating.

Reading the list clearly shows the supremacy of God, His authority and His holiness. It also shows us how serious God was about the Jews being His people. They were to be an example to the nations of how people were supposed to live before a Holy God. In a day when other nations surrounding them worshipped idols of wood and stone, the "Jewish" God would be magnified and exalted above all false gods due largely in part by how His people were living and obeying Him. That was the original plan, but unfortunately God's chosen people disobeyed Him, broke their covenant with Him and the consequences were severe. But God had a plan for their redemption and ours by sending Jesus. Which leads to this question:

Did Jesus Abolish the Law?

This is an argument that never seems to go away amongst Christians. One group says, "We are saved by grace through Jesus' blood so we no longer need to obey the laws." The other group says, "Jesus never stopped obeying the laws, so they still apply to us." Which one is right? They both are. Jesus made it very clear that the Laws of God still stand. However, He also made it very clear that He fulfilled them.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20, NIV).

Jesus made it very clear, the laws God gave the Jews have not been abolished. In fact, He said that if anyone teaches others to set aside even the least of the commands, that person will be called "least" in the kingdom of heaven. An example of this kind of disobedience is when the Catholic church changed the Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday and encouraged others to obey. They were deliberately breaking one of the ten commandments. Since that time the entire church body, both Catholic and Protestant, have followed in disobeying God by not keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day. However, some might say that if we were truly going to honour the Sabbath then we should also honour all the rules (laws) that the Sabbath brings with it. Changing the Sabbath to another day was a deliberate act to disobey God. Which requires repentance on the part of the church. Stumbling in the law or unintentionally sinning is completely different.Yet Jesus knew that whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10). Deliberately sinning is not stumbling. It is a conscious decision to act against God. Stumbling implies not knowing all 613 laws. This is why Jesus said our righteousness had to surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to be able to get into heaven. Which would be impossible. This is why Jesus' sacrifice fulfilled the law and made it possible for all people to be saved (not just those who followed Jewish laws). Ephesians 2:14-16 explains it this way:

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

There are approximately 613 laws in the Torah. A majority of them are commandments for priests, but there are laws on purity, cleanliness, how to come before God with an offering, what to eat, what not to eat, and because God knows the heart of a person, He even included laws on what to do if you sin unintentionally against Him. Sin is serious to God. The Laws help us to remember that and show us how holy God is and why He is to be revered. They also show us why Jesus' death was needed. We cannot on our own keep and remember 613 laws, only one man has ever done that and it is why He was the perfect sacrifice. Jesus never sinned and He obeyed all of God's laws thus becoming the fulfillment of them all. So are the laws abolished? No, they still stand and are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

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Monday Meditations - The Love of God

2/3/2016

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“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

Did you know that the number one Bible verse of 2015 was John 3:16? That did not surprise me at all as it is the one verse in the Bible that perfectly describes how much God loves us. Last week I shared a poem on being still enough to hear God. This week, by looking at John 3:16 closely, I think we can accurately know the heart of God.

For God So Loved the World

World in Greek is translated as "kosmos" and there are eight different meanings for its biblical usage. Below are three meanings that really stood out for me:

The inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family.
Ornament, decoration, adornment, i.e. the arrangement of the stars, 'the heavenly hosts', as the ornament of the heavens.
The ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ

God's greatest creation is not just us, but the entire universe that surrounds us. We know from the first chapter of Genesis that everything created by God was deemed "good". He loves this world He created. So we should take care of it.

Earth is just one of the ornaments that decorates the heavens in this vast universe God created, but we have the incredible privilege of being the only planet where the human family was created. A family that God loves. A family devoid of colour, sexual orientation, religion - anything divisive. You see, to God we are all the same, because despite what we might look like on the outside, on the inside we all have the same parts. And He sent His son for the ENTIRE human family because He loves ALL OF US.

GOD'S LOVE IS SO VAST AND SO DEEP THAT HE CARES EVEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE HOSTILE TOWARD HIM.

That He gave His one and Only Son

This is the single reason why we can be confident that God loves us. He sent His only son into this world because of His divine love. How vast is His love? The Apostle John makes it very clear in the following verses:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

WHO WAS THE WORD?

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

JESUS WAS THE WORD!

In other words God came down to earth in the form of a man - Jesus - and walked among us. Why? Again - His love was so great for us that He gave up His heavenly abode in order to walk among us - to teach us the right way to live. This is like the stories of old, when a King desired to walk among His subjects to find out how they really felt about him and to grasp what they were going through. Now think about that for a minute. GOD DID THAT FOR YOU AND ME!

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-7, NKJV).

That Whoever Believes in Him Shall Not Perish But Have Eternal Life

Let's keep this in context - God gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him - in Jesus - shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 4:24 says, God is spirit, and it is because of the gift of the Holy Spirit that we are able to have communion with the King of the universe. But, those who reject God's gift of eternal life with Him, are making a conscious decision to lose access to God. To die in their sins. To reject God's saving grace. To reject His very promise to save them from themselves. These are people God loves and they are the reason He came to earth, so that no one would perish.

THIS IS THE HEART OF GOD!

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

So rejoice in that love! Never doubt that God loves you because you are the reason He became a man. You are the reason, He took your sins to the cross. You are the reason He forgave those sins. You are the reason God rose again from the dead and you are the reason He is coming back again, to receive you unto Himself. God's love, His central focus, His heart - has always been you and me!

YOU ARE THE HEART OF GOD!

Today is Monday Meditations – Please link your posts below.
Let's encourage one another.. Sign up with Inlinkz below by adding your website/blog link that focuses on the Word of God. It will help bring more traffic to your blog.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Monday Meditations - Be Still

1/25/2016

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This week I am starting a new thing I like to call Monday Meditations. I invite you to add links to your website/blog that are devotional in nature, so that we might all encourage one another. Today's meditation or devotional is a poem I wrote some years ago during a time when I was purposely being quiet before the Lord. Rather than coming before Him with all my worries and prayer requests, I deliberately sat still and just listened - waiting for Him to speak. This poem is the result of that time of quiet reflection.

Be Still

If I close my eyes and remain perfectly still
will I be able to shut out the noise of the day?
The barking dog across the street?
My neighbour's children yelling?
The drone of the dishwasher?

Be STILL and know that I am God.

How can I be still enough to hear You, O Lord?
My mind is always racing.
Thoughts pop into my head,
random ideas that beg to be chased down.
I am still, but there is too much noise.

How do I HEAR you O Lord?

Do I keep repeating Your name like a mantra?
Will humming work, or scented candles?
Do I search the Scriptures looking for signs
that You are speaking only to me?

How do I HEAR you?

BE STILL and know that I am God.

Is it in the waiting?
How long do I give you before You will speak?
One hour? Two?
I have waited, yet I do not hear.

BE STILL and know that I am God.

I stepped outside and my ears were overwhelmed
with noise from cars, children, dogs and lawnmowers.
It is hard to focus inside my house.
It is equally hard outside.

And then I heard You.

A still small voice.

A gentle breeze that caressed my face.
The leaves rustling in the trees,
blowing a sweet sound of praise.
A sunbeam piercing through a cloud,
landing on my face with a warm, gentle kiss.
Subtle touches that fill my heart
till it is close to bursting with joy!

No audible voice, but a presence that is unmistakable.

It is not the stilling of my mind or the sounds around me
that enable me to hear you.
I hear You because I have pursued You
and You love to be pursued.

So, I will seek you in the morning and in the evening.
I will talk to you throughout my stress-filled, noisy, busy days.
And I will hear You because
I am Your child and You are my God, my Father, my Saviour.

My Friend.

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

Please share your devotional website/blog links below. Let us encourage one another in the Lord.

An InLinkz Link-up

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God Has a Special Blessing For You Today

1/5/2016

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“The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26, NKJV)

The above verse is probably the most familiar verse in the Bible. On Sunday mornings in many churches it is the final benediction or blessing before people leave the service. On the Sabbath (Saturday) in synagogues around the world, this particular blessing is also used as a way to end the service. However, it doesn't stop there, but is also carried on into the home. For example, on Friday night when the Sabbath starts, parents say this blessing over their children. Today, Jews who are in attendance for morning prayers will have this blessing said over them by the rabbis.

Do you remember when Spock would say, "Live long and prosper" when addressing someone in the Star Trek universe? Leonard Nimoy (the actor who played Spock) was Jewish, and it was from the rabbis in his synagogue that he first saw the sign of the spread fingers. In fact, he told a story where, as a young boy, he was admonished never to look at the rabbis while they were saying this prayer. Why? According to Jewish tradition, the Divine presence would shine through the fingers of the priests as they blessed the people, and no one was allowed to look out of respect for God. Interestingly, the symbol of the spread fingers is the letter Shin in the Hebrew alphabet, which is the first letter in Shaddai (El Shaddai means the All Sufficient God) and it is the prayer above where the priests/rabbis would spread their fingers.

But what is so special about this blessing in particular? This blessing is said in Jewish traditions a number of times. For example, besides being used as a benediction, it is used during Jewish weddings when the couple stand under a chuppah (a canopy), where they would be blessed by their parents or the rabbi in attendance. It is also used during the circumcision ceremony (brit milah) when a baby boy is eight days old. So there are many ways the blessings is used, but it began with a command from God to Aaron (Moses brother) that it was to be a blessing from God said over the people of Israel. Originally, it was said only by the priests (the kohanim) of God, but nowadays it is accepted that people will use it as a blessing on their loved ones.

So let us look at this verse closely, because I want you to be able to grasp the important significance of such a blessing. One thing I want to stress is that the priests were not giving their own blessing. This was a blessing from God Himself. The priests/rabbis were merely the means in which to transmit this blessing. This is confirmed by the verse immediately following the blessing. "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them" (Numbers 6:27).

There are three parts to this blessing:

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

What does it mean "to bless"? The word bless in Hebrew conveys the idea that our weaknesses are strengthened by God's strength. In fact, the root word for bless is barukh and means to kneel, or humble ourselves as an act of adoration. So in our weakness we kneel before God and He blesses us, or strengthens us through His mighty power. The blessing above when said as a benediction at the end of a service is meant to convey the idea of sending us out into the coming week with the strength of God resting on us. To accomplish what we cannot do on our own, because we are weak.

Most Hebrew prayers begin with Barukh atah Adonai, "Blessed are You Lord," which reminds us of God's power and strength, at the same time humbling ourselves before Him. So, Numbers 6:24-26 does not mean that God is humbling Himself, it means He is imparting His strength to us by passing on His blessing of strength. And the first verse goes further. Not only is God blessing us with His strength but He is "keeping" us within His care. 'Keep' in Hebrew is shamar and means to "keep, watch over, guard or protect." So these first words of blessing from God mean, quite simply, that God is blessing us with His strength and watching over us. This does not mean we will never experience tragedy. It simply means God's eye is upon us, watching over everything we do and blessing us as we carry out His work here on earth.

The Lord Make His Face Shine Upon You, and be Gracious To You

The Lord said in Exodus 33:20 that no one could look at Him at live (survive). So what does it mean when He wants to "make His face shine upon us"? This is an incredible statement from the God of creation to His children. 'Face' in Hebrew is paniym and it has a variety of meanings, like "favour, countenance, presence or person". So in this blessing from God, He is making His presence or favour shine upon us. God's Holy Spirit, is an ever present light within our hearts that searches out and knows us intimately. Nothing can be hidden from Him. 'Gracious' in Hebrew is chanan and means "to show favour or mercy." So, the second half of this blessing is God bestowing His light or presence upon us and showing us His mercy or favour.

The Lord Lift up His Countenance Upon You, and Give you peace

The same word for face is also the same word for countenance. So what is the difference here? Picture a father lifting his child up into his arms and gazing lovingly upon him. That is what God our Father is doing here. He is lifting his face, his countenance upon us with that same kind of love. And what does a father who loves his children want for them above all else? Peace, contentment, joy, good health. This blessing from God is an amazing example of how He views His children. How can anyone who believes in God therefore, not reciprocate with complete adoration and praise to the One who blesses us so freely? The next time you hear this benediction in church let the importance of who this blessing is from wash over you. It is not just something the minister or priest says as the end of the service. This is a blessing from God above, meant for His children. Receive it with joy and thanksgiving and take it with you throughout the week, remembering that God will never leave you, nor forsake you. You are His child and He loves you very much.

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When the Shepherds Saw Angels

12/22/2015

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   All was quiet for a while and Joseph was about to go and see how Mary was faring when the door to the inn flew open and several bedraggled looking men entered.
   “Is this the place?” they cried. “Is this where the child lies?”
   “Child?” Joseph sat up straight, the rising hairs on the back of his neck signalling his alarm. “He has come!” he whispered to Heli, and then quickly, before Heli could react, he exited through a side door that led to the stables.
   Intrigued with the men who entered, Heli asked, “What child?”

   One of the men stepped forward and spoke for them all. “We are shepherds. My name is Josiah, and these are my friends. We were watching our sheep tonight and we saw … we saw …” he looked at his friends for support and they nodded their encouragement for him to continue. “We saw an angel!”
   “BAH! What good is the word of a shepherd? You are either lying or drunk,” one of the patrons said, dismissing him with a wave of his arm.
    “We are neither drunkards nor liars. I tell you, we saw an angel of the Lord! I am not lying. He actually appeared to us and it was terrifying. The angel said to us, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the city of David, a Saviour has been born to you – he is Christ the Lord.’
     “Then he said, ‘This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Then if that wasn’t enough to shock us, there were all kinds of heavenly beings that appeared in the sky with the angel and they were praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests.’”
     Josiah looked at the faces around him and seeing he had everyone’s interest, he continued. “What I am saying is the truth. When the angels went back into heaven, we decided to come to Bethlehem to see for ourselves this event which the Lord had told us about. So, we have gone to every inn and home around Bethlehem to see if any babies have been born. We ask again … is this where the child lies?”
      Heli knew at once that his grandson (God’s son) had been born. He turned to the men and said, “Follow me.”

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Learning God's Word
One Verse at a Time

Did Jesus Abolish the Law?

Did Jesus Abolish the Law?

Monday Meditations - The Love of God

For God So Loved the World

That He gave His one and Only Son

That Whoever Believes in Him Shall Not Perish But Have Eternal Life

THIS IS THE HEART OF GOD!

YOU ARE THE HEART OF GOD!

Monday Meditations - Be Still

Be Still

God Has a Special Blessing For You Today

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

The Lord Make His Face Shine Upon You, and be Gracious To You

The Lord Lift up His Countenance Upon You, and Give you peace

When the Shepherds Saw Angels

Archives

Categories

Learning God's Word One Verse at a Time

Did Jesus Abolish the Law?

Did Jesus Abolish the Law?

Monday Meditations - The Love of God

For God So Loved the World

That He gave His one and Only Son

That Whoever Believes in Him Shall Not Perish But Have Eternal Life

THIS IS THE HEART OF GOD!

YOU ARE THE HEART OF GOD!

Monday Meditations - Be Still

Be Still

God Has a Special Blessing For You Today

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

The Lord Make His Face Shine Upon You, and be Gracious To You

The Lord Lift up His Countenance Upon You, and Give you peace

When the Shepherds Saw Angels

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Archives

Categories

Learning God's Word
One Verse at a Time