Category: Weekly

Jn 1:12,13
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

I’ve spent some time meditating on the above verses over the last few weeks. I don’t think I’ve ever realized just how powerful the thought is concerning the new birth. Jesus told Nicodemus in Jn 3:3-5 that a man must be born again if he is to see or enter the kingdom of God. The above text is not only clear as to the source of this birth, but it’s also clear as to where this new birth does NOT begin, explicitly naming three things. Over the next few weeks, I’d like to consider these three, beginning with:

1) Not of blood
These three little words undermine a lot of religious teaching today. It makes it very clear that you do not become a son of God based on your bloodline. No one gets a free pass into heaven because of their nationality, not even a national Jew! I have to bold that statement because, again and again, I hear religious leaders set the national Jews above the rest of humanity, which I think is a misunderstanding of who the true Israel of God is. For anyone that thinks the phrase “true Israel of God” to be strange, they must also find Rom 9:6 to be equally peculiar:

“For they are not all Israel who are of Israel…”

I wonder how many people today read right over this verse! A distinction is made here that reveals there are two Israels. Rom 2:28-29 sheds further light on the matter by explaing the difference between the two.

“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”

So we have natural, outward Jews and inward, spiritual Jews, and if you jump up and read a few verses above this text, it’s clear that the uncircumcised Gentiles that obey God through faith are included in the category of spiritual Jews (Rom 2:25-27). There are numerous times in the New Testament where we read plainly that God has torn down any wall that separated Jew and Gentile. Just consider the following (I’ve added the underlines for emphasis):

Rom 10:11-13
For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Gal 3:26-29
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

1 Cor 12:12-13
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

If God’s made all believers one, assembling believing Jews and Gentiles into one body, why are so many making divisions between the two? The fact is, both are born with the same problem in Rom 3:9: “both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.” We’re all sinners, and thus we all need a Savior! If we get into the kingdom of God, it happens to all the same way–through faith in Jesus Christ!

Rom 3:21,22
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference…

If God says there’s no difference, then let’s make sure we don’t make one! We need to declare to Jew and Gentile alike that Christ is their only hope of salvation. Lord willing, we’ll consider the second way in which a man is NOT born into the kingdom of God next week–the will of the flesh.

Jamie

Ecclesiastes 7:13,14
13 Consider the work of God;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

We’ve got a lot of problems these days. Morality is in decline while open sin abounds. Unspeakable crimes happen across our land. Our economy is struggling. The value of the dollar is down, and unemployment’s up. Most people for various reasons would say we’re experiencing a day of adversity, and everyone’s got a solution. This party says we need to do this while this party says the opposite. Fingers point here and there. “It’s their fault!” What I don’t find are fingers pointed in the opposite direction. No one’s saying, “It’s my fault!” And, where are the voices declaring, “God has appointed this day!”

In Deut 28:47-48, the Israelites were warned about the consequences of refusing to obey God. “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you…” The Lord will send them against you! We’ve enjoyed days of prosperity as a nation, but somewhere along the way, we forgot where that prosperity came from. We quit serving God with joy and thanksgiving “for the abundance of everything” He provided. Somewhere along the way, churches quit preaching messages that convicted men of sin. Some of them quit preaching altogether and became merely houses of entertainment. We became so politically correct, so concerned about offending, that we were like the prophets in the day of Judah’s captivity in Lam 2:14: “Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives…” If they had declared the truth, sin would have been exposed and the captives would have been released, but instead, they comforted the people, “Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there [was] no peace.” (Jer 8:11)

So, now we’re in a mess. Things that used to be straight have been made crooked, and we’re not going to be able to fix it because it is the work of God! We can’t legislate it! We can try to blame it on the present or past government, but have we forgotten Dan 4:17?

This decision is by the decree of the watchers,
And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the lowest of men.

God’s in control! Until we realize that we can’t straighten what He’s made crooked (Ecc 1:15) and that only He can, we have no hope! What America needs is a heart of repentance toward the God that made her! What we need to do is examine our own hearts (2 Co 13:5), get in step with God ourselves, and faithfully declare His word in its entirety! God’s word is called “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” If we would faithfully declare the truth, it would be a light that would expose the hidden things in the darkness. Iniquity would be uncovered, and men would be released from their captivity because “the truth shall make you free!” (Jn 8:32). I pray that we will return the simplicity of declaring the word of God in a land that so desperately needs it. Our job’s not to explain God or make excuses for Him. It’s simply to be witnesses of who He truly is. Just tell them what He said! “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Ac 1:8)

In Christ’s love,

Jamie

“…his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” Ac 17:16

When I look around today, I find a people wholly given to idolatry, and I’m disturbed that my heart is not stirred to the extent Paul’s was above. I’m not just talking about idolatry in the form of temples of various world religions that are becoming more and more prevalent in our nation, but I’m talking about a general spirit of idolatry where men and women are worshipping and serving the creature more than the Creator (Rom 1:25). I’m talking about idolatry we may discover to exist in our own hearts!

In Paul’s day, the Athenians had their gods that were in essence super-humans. Though they were more powerful than men, they were subject to the same shortcomings–they fought among themselves, were susceptible to various lusts, were captive by pride, etc. We may not build temples to Zeus or Apollo today, but we do build arenas and stadiums where thousands flock to praise the super-human of their choice that can throw the ball harder, sing a higher note, or look better on stage than the other super-humans. As the people argued over which gods were greatest in Paul’s day, we find men doing the same today, and we call it team spirit! Now, I enjoy a good sport’s game just like the next guy, but are we maintaining a proper perspective?

I’ve been meditating on the Lord’s Prayer lately, and the phrase “thy kingdom come” has stuck with me. Perhaps some of you recite this prayer regularly, but do we say these words, not because they’re in the prayer, but because they are the cry of our hearts! Do we want to be with the Lord NOW, or do our lives declare, “Lord, wait a little longer.” How comfortable are we here? Is there anything we’d like to check off our list before our Lord returns? Do we want to see are kids grow up first, take that vacation we’ve been planning, or find out who wins the big game next week? The Scriptures tell us that no man, even the Son of man, knows the day nor the hour that the Lord will return (Mk 13:32). What will that day be like? I think it will be a day when we won’t have to be taught to pray “thy kingdom come” but a day when the saints of God can’t help but cry continually, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20) When the Israelites’ cry for deliverance came before the Lord, then He sent forth the deliverer! (Ex 3:9,10)

Jamie

Colossians 3:23-25

23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

I like the word “heartily” in this passage. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). In the past, I’ve considered the passage as an exhortation to do our very best in everything with the expected outcome being that our work would stand out as a step above what someone would do that was merely pleasing man and not the Lord; however, that may not always be the case.

More often than not, it seems that the one standing in the spotlight is one that’s only interested in soaking up the glory for himself. After all, he worked hard. He may have spent many sleepless nights in pursuit of his accomplishment. There’s no doubt that many unbelievers have set their sights on goals and given all they could to attain them. Just think about what Olympic athletes sacrifice! But, here’s the question–why did they sacrifice like they did? What did they hope to obtain? If it was the praise of men, then their pursuit was one of vanity. The fact is that many times it is the wicked that are exalted among us. The world may ignore the efforts of the righteous, but that’s okay…we aren’t instructed to labor for their recognition anyway.

Doing whatever we do “heartily, as to the Lord,” means that even if the boss doesn’t recognize our diligence and faithfulness, we continue to work hard anyway. It means that when our labor will never even be known by another living soul, we do our very best anyway. We labor honestly, diligently, and faithfully not because another human being is watching but because God Himself is paying attention! And, as our text reminds us, He’s going to reward both right AND wrong appropriately. Who cares if a worldling gets the spotlight? That will never compare to hearing God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Mt 25:23) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God! (1 Co 10:31) He alone is worthy…

Jamie

Eph 4:11-16

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Aren’t you glad that the church is not an organization but is rather an organism? The analogy used in the verses above is that of a body. It has life! Even when a non-biological object is used to describe the church, such as a house in 1 Pe 2:5, the fact that there is life is still emphasized as we see this house is constructed of “living stones.” Living things can adapt. They can respond differently to circumstances depending associated factors. They grow. Isn’t life amazing! Cut a gash in a stone, and it will simply remain that way. Cut a gash in flesh, and it will begin to repair itself!

What a treasure we have in the body of Christ! Its design is unique and perfectly fitted for what is required of it. Why is that so? Because God made it that way! As our text begins above, “And He Himself gave…” God did it! He’s chosen each member, and set each one in its proper place. He hasn’t left this to chance. The body is His design. He is the Potter that has power over the clay, and He shapes it and fashions it according to His purpose. (Rom 9:20-21) Aren’t we thankful it’s that way? We don’t always understand it. Sometimes we, like Moses, are sure God’s picked the wrong man for the job (Ex 4:10-11), but can you imagine anyone else leading the Israelites out of Egypt? God knows what He’s doing. Our job is to do what He told Moses in Ex 4:12, “Now therefore, go, and I will….” In other words, “Obey Me, believe me, do what I said, and I’ll take care of the rest!”

And just look at what our text above tells us God is going to accomplish by this design that He has chosen for His church: “…for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Eph 4:12,13) Wow! I’d say God’s got a pretty good plan, and we’d do best to not second guess Him! He’s designed the body for these purposes, and if He says it will work this way, then it will work! Don’t question. Don’t doubt. Just believe and obey. Look Who’s leading this work. The natural body’s controlled by the brain which is in the head, and the head of this spiritual body is none other than Christ Himself! Now therefore, go, and He will…

Jamie