Sonsofthesea has moved to our new location! We’re in the midst of unpacking and will return on Saturday, February 8th, at 12:00 p.m. Until then, we continue to lift you up before His Throne of Grace. May you continue to follow us as we follow Jesus…
Category: Uncategorized (Page 8 of 9)
They did this, it’s true. Yet, they didn’t do it alone. God had safely hemmed them in as they walked across this parted sea on a dry seafloor. It was so dry, in fact, that neither carriage wheel nor full-grown man was lost to its once sopping, sandy, sea bottom. We can read the account of their crossing over and the subsequent death of their captors in the Scriptures —Exodus 13:17-22;14.
As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. –Exo. 14:16.
There’s a Word of confirmation for someone in today’s verse: Just take that next step regardless of how things might look to you. Even though your flesh may be screaming, “this is crazy!” Choose to believe instead, that God’s got your best interest at hand. Just as the Israelites had the choice to cross over or to stay put; so do you. Even when the path He’s chosen for you looks both frightening and unappealing, just keep moving in the direction He’s led you and trust Him; in spite of your fears.
If I were to stop here, life and hope and confirmation have been tossed out like a life ring to that one soul that was in jeopardy of going under. Yet the Holy Spirit isn’t finished speaking with us…
Their prayers had been answered. God sent them a man to help deliver them from days of brutal oppression and unalleviated struggles. God had sent Moses to free His people from Pharaoh’s tyrannical grip. How apt that this man who had gone from freely strolling the opulent halls of Egypt’s palaces, to spending 40 something years in Midian’s wilderness as a shepherd, be called to return to the very place and people he’d fled from; in fear for his very life. This same man who knew well the deadly ire of Pharaoh was being used to deliver and lead a people he was born kin to, out from under Pharaoh’s despotic grip.
Here’s a lesson to us all: God can send the very one that once hung out in your enemy’s house to save you. Not that Moses was such a one, mind you. Nevertheless, don’t judge who or how God has chosen to save you. – Exodus 14:2-4; Isaiah 45:1–8.
And so they stood, leader and followers; much like a ship that has gone aground. Momentarily hemmed in before this outwardly impossible path which led to their safety. Moses at the fore, the lion’s share of those following him at the aft. Each facing the near mile divide of salty sea that separated them from the safety they so desperately longed for, there on its other side. (To put this in perspective, safety loomed some 17.6 football fields across a seemingly impassable sea!) All the while behind them, a demented Pharaoh with his army of Egyptian fighting men were rapidly closing in. Doggedly eating up the ground that stood between them both. This blood-thirsty band of despots locked onto them, like some weapon of mass annihilation, determined to land a swift and deadly blow.
Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward –Exodus 14:12;15.
As it was with Moses and the Israelites, so it is with us. Our enemy Satan seeks not to simply destroy us rather annihilate us –John 10:10.
Yet when all appeared hopeless, when the scent of defeat rose thick above any other scent in the very air they breathed, God did what only God can do. He made a way where, just a nano-second before, one simply had not existed.
And, He’ll do the same for you and me!
Now God may have used Moses to lead His people to the very edge of their deliverance, but He alone would save them from certain death. This is simply who our God is. He alone is mighty to save! God will use any man He so chooses to take us so far. But He will not share His glory with another…
It is at the end of Chapter 13 that we begin to catch a glimpse of God’s perfect plan of deliverance for His people. In His Sovereignty, God chose to lead these people to freedom via the long way home, when a much shorter route was available. But why? Why would God place these worn and weary people He had sent Moses to free in such a seemingly indefensible position?
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt –Exodus 13:17-18.
Here is where we clearly see that God’s ways are so far beyond us. And, also, why we are instructed to walk by faith, and not by sight. Not allowing ourselves to be led, like one with a ring through their nose, by our fickle feelings. God knew that His people would be weary from wear after leaving Egypt. He also knew a formidable enemy lay in wait for them. Being tried in the wilderness would help to prepare them for the fight that lay ahead— for those events just beyond their knowing. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it –1 Corinthians 10:13.
So, now, seeing the sea parted some mile wide before them, these frail, frightened souls numbering 2-3 million, men, woman, and children, had each to decide whether they would take their chances walking between these walls of towering seawater, or stay put and do battle with a known and deadly enemy.
And so will we…
Friends, there will be times in our walk with the Lord, when, in His leading us towards the fulfillment of His promises for us, in His shaping and reshaping of us, we, like these Israelite’s, must decide if we’ll also take that next step of faith. In spite of how things around us might appear. Even though our flesh may be screaming, “this is crazy!” We must choose to believe instead, that God has our best interest at hand. Just as the Israelites had the choice to cross over or stay put; so do you and me.
Even when the path He’s chosen for us looks both frightening and unappealing, just keep moving in the direction He’s led you and trust Him; despite the walls of water that surround you. In spite of all your fears...
But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant –Exodus 14: 29-31.
Friend, if you’re here today and have not yet met the One who will never leave you alone in your wilderness. Never abandoned you to fight one single battle on your own; won’t you ask this Jesus to come into your life and show Himself real to you, now? Ask Him to take up your fight for you. He will if you’ll but sincerely ask…
It’s that time of the year…
Cold and flu season are upon us! And, one them has caught me! Sonsofthesea will not be posting this week. It seems as though I’ve been bitten by a bug! And no, it’s not the love bug. Prayerfully, I will return next week. Thank you in advance for your prayers and your understanding. Until then, may God continue to bless you and keep you.
In His Adventure,
MaryEllen
“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.”
To my faith-full friends,
Sonsofthesea will not be posting this week due to a sudden medical issue within my family. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. And, please let me say how grateful to God I am for you and time He so graciously allows us to spend together each week, via these blog posts. Thank you for continuing to meet with me weekly, I so look forward to sharing all that God has placed on my heart with you!
In His Adventure!
MaryEllen
“John called two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else?”
Nothing was turning out as John the Baptist had hoped. He had some questions…
He has been imprisoned by Herod Antipas. Roman reign is still as exacting as August’s humidity despite all the good that this Jesus was doing. And, more, Jesus—his relative, the one he once pointed towards and declared to be, “the Lamb of God” has yet to deliver their people from their enemies. How could this mild man who instructs all those who follow him to, “love their enemies” be their long-awaited Messiah? He is no David. No mighty warrior. And where is his army? How does he plan on crushing Rome and freeing his people?
John’s discouragement has blinded him to the Truth he’s recognized since he was in his mother’s womb. A Truth that had wooed him into the Judean wilderness then, inescapably, to the banks of the murky waters of the Jordan where he’d baptize his people—and Jesus.
He has done everything he knows to do and yet nothing has changed…
Have you ever felt like that?
Have you ever waited and waited for Jesus to move in a specific way in your life; all-the-while nothing is happening the way you expected it would? You place check mark after check mark on your proverbial calendar—marking the passing of days so similar that if not for the big red checks next to each—you wouldn’t be able to distinguish one from the other. Vanilla days that run into vanilla nights—day after day after day. Rather than moving forward, you feel as though you’ve gone backward! Your feelings of discouragement—disillusionment, and frustration are as near to you as the air of your next breath. Take heart beloved, you’re in good company…
This man John was exactly that—a mere man. Fragile. Sinful. One minute on fire the next wrestling with his doubts. We forget that. After all, he was John the Baptist. Yet, his deep questioning, his wresting with his faith reveals a certain fragile humanity to us. This same one who would later humbly confess that he wasn’t even worthy to untie the straps of Jesus’ sandals though a prophet, and Jesus’ forerunner, was nonetheless a man like you and me. Though he avowed that he must decrease that Jesus may increase—nevertheless, he was a man. Bold in his doubt. He too had the same sinful predispositions as you and I. He faced the same temptations. He too lost patience, and he, like us, acted inappropriately at times also. Yet, this reverential mere-man is the one to whom the honor of recognizing Jesus as Messiah was given!
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” 1 Corinthians 1:27-29.
Yet despite all of this, John had momentarily lost sight of who this Jesus truly is. Something that’s easier to do than we’d care to admit. It is for me at least. If I take my eyes off Him for too long, wham, I’m underwater! We who follow and serve our Lord often have the propensity to take ourselves a bit too seriously…
In reading Luke’s biblical account, it’s obvious Johns disciples had told him all about Jesus having healed a Roman Centurions valued slave, saving him from near death. And, then, how He did in fact raise a widow’s dead son back to life in the village of Nain. Add this knowledge—these miracles, to everything else John had seen and heard tell of Jesus and one must wonder if Johns question wasn’t meant to force Jesus into declaring publicly what John himself believed, yet wanted assurance of; is Jesus Israel’s Messiah? John appears to have lost sight momentary, of this sure knowledge, a fixed Truth he had openly professed not so long ago… “Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One” –John 1:32-34.
John had openly testified that this Jesus he’d baptized—this same one he’d declared to be the Lamb of God is in fact, God’s Chosen One. Israel’s Messiah. Yet, even in his knowing, disillusionment had momentarily stolen this truth from him. Sound familiar? Have you, like John, become so disillusioned with how Jesus has chosen to move in your life or circumstances, or, in the events of the world in which we live, that you’re trying to force Jesus’ hand? Are you trying to spur Jesus along too, challenging Him to “show Himself? Are you trying to force Him to move as you think He should? Expected He would?
Johns provocative question concerning Jesus’ being Israels Messiah is in essence saying, “if you don’t do things the way I believe they should be done, then I think I may have to start looking toward someone else, following after another.” Things just weren’t lining up for John. Jesus was not acting anything like what John anticipated a warring deliver should. From the onset of his ministry he’d been proclaiming Jesus would come in judgement of the world—bringing fire with Him. Yet this Jesus spoke mostly of forgiveness and love. John didn’t realize that this judgement would in fact come later on–at Jesus’ Second Coming. For now, Jesus was here to offer the world salvation. John had quickly forgotten the prophecies of the Old Testament. He’d forgotten Jesus couldn’t announce Himself as their Messiah. Only the Spirit of God could make that pronouncement —not flesh and blood. Jesus’ works and Words would do the testifying as to who He was. These would be His proofs… “If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me. But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father” — John 10:37-38.
We must remember that, as it was with John so too it is with you and I…
The most devout among us is a mere man. And, at any moment we will fall to our fears and doubts if we aren’t watchful. We mustn’t allow ourselves to become blinded by what we know to be right or true. Rather, we must keep our eyes fixed on the One with whom God declared He was well pleased. Jesus, the author, and finisher of our faith. When we, like John, allow ourselves to become disillusioned and disappointed, blinded to the Truth of who Jesus is—and who we are in Him, when we confuse feelings, and opinions with faith, and, it will happen somewhere in our walk with Him, then we too will question His Truth living inside of us. On that day may He have the same great mercy and compassion He showed towards John on us—on me. May God always send us a messenger, One who will re-mind us of all that He has done in our lives. “So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” –Luke 7:22.
In plain speak, “Johns been momentarily blinded. Go, remind him of what He already knows. And, remind Him too of the blessing that comes to those who are faithful until the end—despite their challenges, disappointments, and set-backs.”
“Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me” –Luke 7:23.
I have been sent today to remind you beloved brothers and sisters of what it is you already know. Trust Gods ways and His timing. They don’t have to make sense to you. You are Gods chosen. He has not forgotten you. He sees you and is on His way. Hang on just a little longer. You’re not forgotten. Gods got you! Look up, look up, your time is at hand…
And friend, if you’re here today and have yet to ask Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior, then I’m believing that today is day God has ordained for that to happen! Won’t you ask Jesus to come into your life as Lord and Savior? Confess your need for Him; your sins to him. He is faithful and waiting for you…
And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Go from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan [River]. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to sustain you there [with food].”
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord” –Isaiah 55:8
We see the evidence of this Scripture when God tells Elijah to go and rest by a brook for a while. But wait, in the previous chapter, didn’t Elijah just tell Ahab that God said it wouldn’t rain again for the next few years; until he commanded it to? So how is that brook God is instructing Elijah to drink out of going to keep flowing if there’s no rain?
Has God ever done this to you? Called you to a meanwhile place? A place of complete reliance and trust? I mean above our daily reliance and trust in Him as Creator, provider, and sustainer of us all?
Into something deeper…
Have you experienced a moment of great revelation from God? Been flooded with a sense of divine power and purpose, certain you’re about to have a Mount Sinai moment, only for God to say; Nope. Not yet. First, I need you to go hang out in the wilderness for a bit.
If you’ve been walking with the Lord for any time, you’re probably shaking your head in agreement. Yup, I’ve been there! I’m there now!
And if not, trust me, it’s on the way!
Often, right before the Lord leads us deeper into our calling, revealing more—the next step of His plan and purpose for our lives and ministries—He’ll first test us. Will we follow Him even when where He’s calling seems to be going in the exact opposite direction of what He showed us—told us?
Will we be—will you be, as obedient as Elijah was? “So he went and did in accordance with the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.” –verse 5
God did not need Elijah to carry out His divine plan any more than He needed Moses or Abraham, Joshua, or King David. And He doesn’t need you and me either! He chooses us—as He chose them, to partner with Him. To be the hands and feet and hearts and minds and voices He used to carry His message of Love into a lost and dying world—His warnings and corrections too. As Elijah did…
“What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.” –Psalm 8:4-5
Jesus asks us to trust Him in all things—always. Trust is the very life-breath of our faith. Without it, there is no amount of “service” we can offer God that will please Him. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him…” – Hebrews 11:6.
Elijah trusted God. Period. Was he perfect, no, Scripture reveals that Elijah was a bit full of himself, full of fear at moments—and cheeky, like many of us. But He loved the Lord and desired to do His will. And it is this heart—this willingness, that delights God. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…” –2 Chronicles 16:9
If God has called you into a ministry, a season, school, a new job—asked you to leave all that you know and cross the state, country, or the world and follow Him, do it. Just do it. Trust that He loves you with an everlasting love—a love far deeper, wider, stronger than any love you’ve ever known. And, as it was with Elijah, there’s a purpose in this call you too may not yet see. Just trust God and go. Trust too, that He has already made the way for you. He has already provided your daily Bread. Both physical and spiritual. He is with you in this secret place—this stage, season, time of preparation and transformation.
His Word is burning and alive in you—feeding your Spirit man—strengthening you for what is yet to come. “He would feed them also with the finest of the wheat; And with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee” Psalm 81:16.
Though you can’t yet see them, know too, that your ravens have been dispatched…
Your needs provided for you. The water is fresh and cool and running freely, the bread and meat is at hand, the grass soft, and the tree strong—offering you both protection, and the shade needed, just for today…
Long before He led Elijah to the brook, God had already set the limits, and made the provision for Elijah’s time in the secret place.
And He has set yours as well…
There was a set time (a season).
There were basic provisions given for that time (bread, meat, and water).
There was divine protection assured (it was a hiding place).
And God was ever present…
Everything that Elijah needed was provided by God that He might be refreshed, built up, strengthened for what lay ahead of him. God was about to show Himself mighty and crush the powers of darkness on Mount Carmel. The Baal’s (idols—false gods), and those who worshiped them, were about to be exposed for the powerless, frauds—the false gods and prophets they were. Elijah needed to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually ready for what would his greatest call in ministry. A spiritual battle unlike any other he had or would face…
He would stand before not only his enemies—these false prophets, but in front of his own people, the Israelites. Those now steeped in idolatry and rebellion who had forgotten the Lord. –1 Kings 18:20-40
With such a mighty work set before him, is it any wonder he needed a time set apart with the Lord? A time to allow God to do the deep work necessary (building Elijah’s trust and reliance in Himself) to prepare him for this pivotal battle? And yet, the very provision God had provided would dry up.
Elijah would be forced to follow God deeper still… (1 Kings 17:7-9).
Perhaps this is where you find yourself? Being called by God to go from one deep place into another? One place of trust and faith to another? Maybe this is the point in the story when you say, “Wait, she’s talking about me!” If so, congratulations! You’re in excellent company. Read the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, and check out the long list of all those who have been in your shoes.
Those who God also called and said, “Just trust Me…”
“The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.”
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.” —Leviticus 17:11
Before we get into this Word, let’s pray:
Spirit of the Living God, illuminate your Word, breath your Ruach Breath on it, that it may come alive in us, and through us, feed may. In Jesus’ matchless name we pray, amen.
The law was clear. In order that God’s righteous anger regarding sin be satisfied, blood must be shed. Now before you lose your mind over that Truth, try to understand the Righteous anger of God in this context: J.I. Packer summarizes: “God’s wrath in the Bible is never the capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, morally ignoble thing that human anger so often is. It is, instead, a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil” (Knowing God, 151).
So then, how can a sinful man offer a pure blood sacrifice in an attempt to satisfy God’s Righteous anger?
The answer is—he cannot. Only one who is sinless—a pure substitute, can stand in the place of a sinner to make atonement. And so, we see God’s plan of redemption from the beginning of man’s existence unfolding through His merciful covering of the sin of Adam and Eve with bloodied animal skins. Substitution. It’s a murky shadow of what was yet to come; not only for Adam and His wife, but for all mankind.
The covering of our sins started in a garden. It is here we get our first glimpse of The Babe in the manger. The Most Precious Lamb of God…
Come with me into that garden. It’s okay, we’ve been invited. Quietly though, so not to interrupt—let’s watch what’s unfolding between God, Adam, Eve, and a serpent…
Adam and Eve have sinned. They have each knowingly done what God commanded them not to do! Adam explicitly heard God say not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—and, that if he did, he would surely die! “But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”—Genesis 2:16-17 But Adam was not alone! Scripture clearly shows that Eve knew not to eat the fruit also. Scripture points out that God had instructed her, as He had Adam. “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die”—Genesis 3:2-3.
So, now their hiding—as people do, or try to, when they know that they’ve sinned by disobeying God. It’s a carnal proclivity all have inherited from our original parents—a knee-jerk reaction. Don’t believe that? Catch any three-year-old doing something they know they have no business doing and watch how quickly and how easily they’ll lie when confronted! We are each born with a sin nature. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”—Romans 3:23. And, simply because some refuse to accept this Truth—In no way voids it reality…
Just ask King David. He will tell you all about what happens when we to hide our sins (2 Samuel 12).
But more on that next week…
Thankfully, God wasn’t then, nor is He now—caught off guard by our propensity to lie and cover up our sins. In fact, He had, unbeknownst to Adam and Eve, implemented a permanent solution for their, and our, sinful condition…
But first—a foreshadowing of God’s all-inclusive plan…
From the time God’s first image bearers—Adam and Eve sinned, God grieved the loss of communion with His people. He went to extreme lengths to restore our relationship by sending His one and only Son “to seek and to save the lost” —Luke 19:10. Without the birth of Jesus, and without His unconditional willingness to die on His Cross, to shed His Innocent Blood as payment for our sins, thus offering us the hope of restoration back to God, we each would be eternally lost. Dead in our sins…
God called. Adam and Eve hid. Let me ask you, are you hiding also? Has the Holy Spirit been convicting you—calling you? And has your response, like Adam’s, has been; “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” (3:10) Has that sin you committed left you feeling exposed—guilty, shameful? You’re not alone. But might I urge you to come out of hiding—confess to God what He knows that you’ve done! Don’t follow Adam and Eve’s lead by playing the blame game with God. We, each, are responsible for our actions and responses (Genesis 3:12-13). Rather, go to God and confess your sins and ask His forgiveness. You may not escape the consequences of your sin—that is something only God will decide, but, you will be forgiven…
However, to do this, to be forgiven, you first must have a relationship with God…
So, if you are feeling something inside of you that’s telling you to ask Jesus for forgiveness—it’s the Holy Spirit doing what He does—the will of God! God wants you for Himself! Won’t you stop here, now, and simply say yes to Jesus? Ask Him to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior. He wants you, loves you, He died for you—
but, He won’t force you…
Little did Adam and Eve know, that God knew they would fall—would sin. And, little did they know that He had predestined a way—the only way—for all who sin to be forgiven. And yes, that means you too! He’s made a way just for you. As surely as He did for Adam and Eve, for Abraham and Moses, for Rahab the prostitute, and, for all those who will…
How? Through the Blood of Jesus. His Only Son…
He would be born to a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38). Wrapped in milk rags and laid in a manger (Luke 2:7). A king would try to kill Him (Matthew 2:16). He would be despised by those He was sent to save. And in the end, His own would betray Him and demand He was handed over to those who would crucify Him (Luke 23:21). He’d be nailed to a cross (Luke 23:26-43). But not before they beat Him so severely His insides were literally hanging out (Isaiah 52:14). His innocent Blood shed. He would be hung high and naked on that cross—innocence between two thieves (Matthew: 38; Luke 23:32). And, He’d be buried in a tomb not His own (Isaiah 53:9). He’d be left alone—abandoned by those whom He loved, who’d promised to follow Him always (Mark 14:50). But, early on a Sunday morning the stone they’d used to seal Him off—shut Him up, be done with Him, was rolled away!He was not there (Luke 24:1-12). Had anyone been listening the prophets of old, as well as to Jesus Himself, each had foretold of these events. How they must happen and why (Isaiah 53; Psalm 22; Psalm 16; Luke 9:22; Matthew 17:23). An animals blood was never meant to be a lasting substitute. It was only a foreshadowing— for The One yet to come.
Jesus—the One who would come in the fullness of time (Hebrews 10).
Animal blood could never fully quell God’s righteous anger caused by man’s sin and rebellion. Sin is so grievous to God that only death would be its just payment…
But, now, standing here in the garden, we witness God’s first hint of a love that is far too big for any of us to take in this side of eternity. We watch as God’s great love and mercy for His own, His children, gives birth to His killing innocent animals in place of Adam and Eve—that His justice be served. Even though their sin warranted their death. And, then, God lovingly covers their bodies with those bloody sacrificial skins—signifying their sin was forgiven.
Blood must be shed for atonement—for the forgiveness of sin. It’s the law…
Yet, though they were forgiven—the consequences of their choices followed them (Genesis 3:13-23). God is loving, yes. But He is also Just. We forget that, or try to…
Again, we need only look to King David as an example, both of God’s forgiveness and His justice ((2 Samuel 12:16-18).
And, while all this was happening in the garden, Jesus was there, watching. Knowing He’d be next. He was—willingly, patiently, waiting. So, in God’s perfect timing, His sacrificial death would atone for our sins—once, for all.
Love came in the form of a babe wrapped in milk rags and laid in a manger—
His Atoning Blood would come later…
“For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17)?
Before we get into this Word, let’s pray: Spirit of the Living God, illuminate your Word, breath your Ruach breath on it, that it may come alive in us, and through us feed may. In Jesus’ matchless name we pray, amen.
“Punishments never come into the world unless the wicked are in it; but they do not begin unless they commence first with the righteous.”—Writings of the Rabbi’s
We read last week that the world today, our society—is more spiritually polarized, that is, more divided, than at any other time we’ve witnessed in our collective recollection. Save that of the days of Noah. Clear lines of demarcation have been drawn in the proverbial sand. Those who acknowledge the One True God—Jesus, on the one side, and those who are doing their level best to eradicate Him, and anything to do with Him—out of our consciousness, our world, our way of life—on the other.
Last week we read also that a great sifting is occurring in the world. Now I don’t profess to know what ‘stage’ of that sifting we are in—I leave that to the far more learned and discerning for comment. But, the evidence I see in my life, the ‘pressure’ of the Potter’s Hands on me—doing the work of extracting whatever impurities He has found in me, bringing me to the place where I must make a bold, a certain, and a pure stand for Him—no matter what happens, is clear. I am being broken that I may be built back up. Sifted, that those impurities that serve no purpose in my life—be taken away, removed, that I might be ready—prepared.
God is starting this sifting—as our Scripture indicates, with His Church; His children. He must— in order to purify us, prepare us, for Who and what is yet to come…
He is turning up the heat of the refiner’s fire—burning off our dross, those sins that linger and cling—cleansing us of our impurities, as with gold. He is trying—testing, our faith. Albert Barnes says it this way: The word “judgment” here (κρίμα krima) seems to mean “the severe trial which would determine character.” Scripture describes it this way in 1 Peter 1:6-7: “In this you rejoice greatly, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested and purified by fire, may be found to result in [your] praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
When Peter makes this statement, he is speaking to the Church of some impending calamity that is about to come upon all. Jesus too had foretold of a calamity that would come to His disciples prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. We find His Words within Matthew’s, Mark’s, and John’s Gospels. “For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again”—Matthew 24:21. “Brother will betray brother to [be put to] death, and a father [will hand over] his child; and children will rise up and take a stand against parents and have them put to death”—Mark 13:12 “They will put you out of the synagogues and make you outcasts. And a time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God”—John 16:2. This ‘general punishment’ spoken of will fall upon the just and the unjust alike. But if on the just—it is for our strengthening, not our destruction.
For our refining, our building up. It will shake loose all who profess Christ with their mouths—but whose hearts are far from God. Here, Peter is assuring all Jews, believing, and unbelieving alike—a guaranteed outcome is coming. He is affording those who don’t believe time to choose. To return to the One True God. And that same offer is being made today both to the Jew and to the gentile. Whether you believe Scripture as you read it or not—it is Truth, and what it says—will happen. Just as the Jews of Peter’s day had a choice, so too, do we—do you. “For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”—John 6:39 (Emphasis my own).
The sentiment is, that if God deals thus strictly with his people; if there is that in them which makes the visitations of his judgment proper on them, there is a certainty that they who are not his people, but who live in iniquity, will in the end be overwhelmed with the tokens of severer wrath. —Albert Barnes
The mind-blowing fact that God so loved His creation that He sent His Only Son to die in our place, your place, his, her, and their place—that all might be re-united, re-membered, with Him, for all eternity—is both a mysterious blessing, and a free gift. And none, no not one, is worthy of such grace—such mercy, and, neither can we earn it. “For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].” —Ephesians 2:8-9
So, that this judgement, this sifting, and refining, is occurring—should not be a source of fear for the believer. Neither should it be catching us unaware—as we each share the same Spirit who is only ever able to tell us The Truth. Our garments are being washed—we are being made ready to be received by The Bridegroom—Jesus! Receiving all that we have hoped in—and for (1 Thessalonians 5:5)! However, if you’re reading this and you have not asked Jesus to come into your life as your Lord and Savior, today—right now, is the time for you to stop all that you’re doing and ask Him in. Time is short, and He is waiting just for you! Believe it or not…
If you are a believer, rest assured that your trial, your refining is not meant to harm you. It is simply that, a refining, and not a punishment like that visited on those who refuse to humble themselves before God. Remain confident in the knowledge shared with us by Paul—one who has finished his race—has gone before us, and leaves behind these words of encouragement for us to hold tight to: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Be encouraged today my brothers and sisters! What we must experience— is simply our preparation for Who and what is yet to come! But, God is faithful and True to keep us until His coming. After all, it’s only a trial, and though by fire, an you have lived thus far through many—besides, look how a fiery trial turned out for Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego! “…He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”—Daniel 3:25
“When power is given to the destroyer, he observes no distinction between the righteous and the wicked; not only so, but he begins first at the righteous.” But God limits the destroyer ‘s power over His people. —Rabbins
The fulfillment of this Scripture is happening. This is, ‘that time’, that season, spoken of in the Bible. Whether we are experiencing birth pangs only, or the world is further along, is something too deep for me—again, I leave that to the more learned…
Yet, the same Spirit that was in Peter, in Jesus, is also in me. And it is through His revelation that I am confident in writing, in sharing with you today this simple Truth… (John 16:13-15).
We are being sifted. We must choose to acknowledge God or we deny Him. And, He will return for all that belong to Him—soon and very soon. “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds” (Revelation 22:12).
Solomon assures us that there is nothing new under the heavens. And, as our Scripture points believers towards the day Peter spoke of —the impending destruction that was to come—and of the suffering that would befall all those who loved God and held firm to His Truth and commands—as in the days of Noah, what was, is happening again. And, it will continue to come full circle in ways unimagined…
Yet, so long as it is still today. As long as there is breath in your lungs. It’s not to late! There is still, as John the Baptist heralded, time for all to repent! Because the Kingdom of God is at hand…
It seems only fitting to leave you all, believer and those yet to believe, with the final Words spoken in Revelation Chapter Three by the One who was, and is, and is to come… “Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me. He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant to him [the privilege] to sit beside Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down beside My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’”—Revelation 3:20-22.
I urge you friend to ask Jesus into your life today!
And Saints— repent of every sin that so easily entangle us, now, while it is still today…
“And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Some may furrow their brow when looking between the title of this post and the Scripture verse. The question may arise, What does the Parable of the Sower, more specifically, seeds sown into thorny ground have to do with staying under the water? On the surface, the answer is, “nothing.” But, if you’ll permit me a bit of latitude, prayerfully, I will connect the dots given me by The Holy Spirit…
When a Believer chooses to take the next step of obedience in their faith walk with Christ they’re baptized—immersed in water. This holy act of obedience is an outward profession that demonstrates—if done with an upright heart, the believer’s public acknowledgement of their faith in a crucified, buried, and resurrected Savior. They too are signifying the end of their right to hold onto a life lived in bondage to sin and death as they welcome in the beginning of a life lived for Jesus and the hope of being a part of the final resurrection of those who believe in, live for—have given their life to, Jesus Christ (Matthew:6-8; Luke 3:3-16). Jesus Himself was baptized, not to denote His need for forgiveness—He was without sin, but rather to set an example for those of us who would come to believe in Him. In allowing Himself to be baptized, Jesus was pointing us towards his own death, burial, and resurrection, and the power He has over both.
The very foundation of the Christian’s hope…
And, unless you go into the baptismal waters a dry devil and come up a wet one, (with an unclean heart, being showy, with no true desire for surrender and change) any true Blood bought believer knows that once you walk out of that water, satan is there to greet you with every conceivable challenge and trial he is allowed to throw at you! He will challenge you from that moment forward, until the Lord takes you home. He was there in the wilderness to try Jesus after His baptism; surely, we, as Jesus’s followers, will not escape being met by satan’s temptations and trials also (Matthew 4:1-11).
So here is where I’ll pivot. Taking us up from under the water, onto dry land, and, into a thorny place.
In our Scripture today, Jesus is teaching on the parable of the Sower. The third condition He speaks of in this parable is that of the seed (God’s Word) falling among thorns. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, (also known as the Synoptic Gospels) each speak of this same parable—and each expounds on it to a greater or lesser degrees. It is here that Jesus makes plain to us that those who have received God’s Word can easily loose it. They can literally allow God’s Word to be choked out of them—syphoned out of them, Word by Life-giving Word. All Seemingly unawares…
How?
Jesus teaches that if we let the cares of this world—the ‘thorns’—the worries of this life (our responsibilities), the deceitfulness of wealth (the lusting after earthly wealth, possessions), and the desire for other things (the pleasures of this life, sinful or not, to choke out what God has planted in us—through the hearing of His Word, we will not only cease to grow in Him, we will eventually fall away from Him. We’ll end up turning towards the true desire of our heart, our wants—our gods. Anything that we allow to crowd Jesus out, robbing us of time spent with Him—time seeking His will, putting Him above all that we may want or desire, is a thorn that, left unchallenged, can easily become a god…
And, in the end, if our thorns are not pulled up by their roots and made to die—they will overshadow and destroy our walk with Christ. “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).
Mind you—Jesus is by no means suggesting that a Christian should live a joyless life. And neither am I. Nor is He suggesting that one not have passions or interests. Or, that the talents He gave not be applied to our work. His Word tells us that: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17) He created both our passion and our interest—and then put them in us, His creations, for His use and purpose.
Jesus, when talking about these thorns, is referring to both the condition of the heart as much as the external circumstances that are coming up against it—threatening it. They—these thorns, speak to the Who and what a person has chosen to make a priority in this life. Said Scripturally: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
Now that I’ve covered the thorny ground, one final pivot to head back into the waters of Baptism and unite them both in closing. In baptism, when we rise out of the water, our old man—our life as we’ve known it is left in there, a dead thing. We’ve relinquished our rights to self in our surrender to the Will of God…
In today’s Scripture, Jesus is teaching us how these thorns enter into our lives and their ramifications if left unchallenged. Unlike our Spirit-man, who experiences instant transformation ( becomes new) the moment we accept Jesus, our flesh and soul must be put on the Potter’s wheel to have their habits, those thorns we’ve developed, worked out of us through submission to God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s not instantaneous. The outer man, our flesh and soul, is a work in progress until Christ calls us home. Christ must work out of us those habits, hurts, and, hang-ups we’ve been carrying around with us, the residue of our bad choices—our selfishness and self-reliance, our me-isms. Those desires, even those that are good and pleasant, that distract us from going after Him with all we have must go. We must choose, daily, often moment by moment, to surrender to His Hands. To say yes to Christ and no the lure of this world.
Friend, do all that you’re able to keep your thorns in the water where they belong. Stay pliable, submissive, and pray, always, that God will strengthen you to choose Him and not the thorns…
“And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Let me ask you friend, what do you need to take back to the water and leave there? Jesus is just waiting for you to give him your thorns, those things that hinder you drawing ever closer to Him. He’s always near, we do the moving. His promise of grace to Paul is yours as well. Grab hold of it today. Don’t let the world choke out—rob you, of your relationship with God.
Don’t let the cares of this world rob you of all that He has planted in you through the hearing of His Word…
If you haven’t asked Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior, then do it now, today. No man is promised tomorrow. Pray this simple prayer wherever you are… Lord, Come into my heart. I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe you died and rose again, and will come to bring us to yourself. I give you my life in full surrender.”
If you just prayed that for the first time, welcome into the family! Pray that God now lead you into a church home that is steeped in His Word. But you must do your part. You have to go. Trust that He’ll direct you but remember, He can’t take you where you refuse to go!
Blessings Friends…
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