Worship God

Our Father has always wanted to be worshipped. Throughout the Old Testament, God gave specific instructions to His people as to how He wanted to be worshipped. This started in the time of Adam and Eve and continues to this day. The ways have changed through the ages, but this was always at the direction of Him, not us; i.e., we are to do it His way.

In the New Testament, the pattern of worship changed. In Acts 20:7, we read, "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight." Here we see the example of worship on Sunday by the church. We also learn that they were taking the Lord's Supper, communion, on Sunday.

When we realize that Jesus loved the church, died for the church, we must realize that we must be a part of the church. The book of Acts and the letters to follow are full of instruction regarding the church. Many of the New Testament books are written to the churches, not to specific individuals.

Another instruction in the NT regarding worship is that we come to worship Him. We often think about our worship as being good for us. We are edified, encouraged, built up, get to be with other Christians. But really, it is about worshipping Him; not about us. Jesus, giving us the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 said, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done...." This is about Him. Yes, the prayer addresses us as well, but it begins and ends with Him. We must focus our prayers, our worship on Him. If we give Him our worship, our devotion, it will be as James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

In conclusion, we must worship our Lord as a part of His church. We must follow the pattern given to us in the NT by worshipping on Sunday with other Christians, and we must (and surely we want to) partake of the Lord's Supper to commemorate His death.

Thanks for reading! Have a good week.

Jesus' Blood

Blood plays a major role in the Bible. As Jesus was hanging on the cross, He had blood flowing from the wounds of the nails. (As an aside, did you know that there is no reference in the Bible to nails being driven through the hands and feet of Jesus? The only way we know that nails were used is in the story of Thomas, sometimes called "doubting Thomas", where he said he would not believe unless he saw the scars on Jesus from the nails.) Jesus also had a bloody back where He had been whipped and scourged. His head was bloody from the crown of thorns. He had lost a lot of blood.

Looking back into history, we recall from Exodus 13 that God instructed His people to put blood on the doorposts so that when God brought a plague against the Egyptians, His people, the Israelites, would be passed over in the plague; hence, the Passover feast of the Jews. Blood had a major role in the people of God being saved.

Blood is significant to the Christian being saved today. We read in Romans 6, that just as Jesus died, we die through the act of baptism; and just as He was raised from the dead, we are raised in newness of life to be a new creature. Thus, we are saved through the death of Jesus.

The Bible even gives a look into the future in regards to blood. In Revelation 19, starting with verse 13, it describes a view into heaven, "He was clothed with a blood dipped in blood, and His name is called 'The Word of God.' And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses." This is His followers, all in white with no stains, all because Jesus has blood on Him, our blood. We are saved by the blood of Jesus.

Thanks for reading. See you next week.

Luke Warm

Jesus taught the importance of a real commitment to Him. He says in the letter to the Laoticean church, Revelation 3:15, 16, I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." That is strong language, but it shows how strongly our Lord feels about being in the middle somewhere, half-hearted, half committed.

This reminds me of a cup of coffee. Most of us like our coffee hot. Some like it cold. But nobody wants lukewarm coffee; there just isn't anything more useless than that. If we hired a lawyer to represent our case, we would insist that he be firmly committed to our cause; nothing lukewarm.

Jesus, over and over again, taught the lesson that full commitment was all that would be accepted. Early in the sermon on the mount, Matt. 5, He said that we must let our light shine, not hide it under a basket. He taught that a tree must bear fruit; if it is fruitless, cut it down. In Luke 9, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. " And when He called His apostles to come follow Him, He did not let them go take care of a lot of loose ends and chores. He wanted commitment right then.

We must make sure that our commitment and service to Him is not "lukewarm." He wants us; our hearts, our love, our whole self. Thanks for reading....and have a blessed week!

"Any Other Gospel"

The word gospel just means good news; and there is no other gospel than the one brought to us by Jesus Christ and taught by the apostles.

Note the words of Paul in his letter to the Galatians, Gal. 1:6, "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said to you before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." We can see from this that there are people who want to pervert the true gospel. And the sentiment here is so strong that he repeats the warning.

These verses are followed by this: "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ."

The gospel then is special. It came to us by Jesus Christ. And there is only one. Note these verses from 2Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

We must treat the gospel of Jesus Christ as special, live by it, and teach it; spread the good news! Thanks for reading. Have a blessed week!

The God Directed Life

James chapter 4 is a very practical lesson in how we should direct our lives. You should read it all, but here are some selected passages: "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously'? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

This passage is typical of all of the New Testament in that it mentions many of the wrongdoings that we should avoid. But more than that, it is saying that we should draw near to God. If we set the direction of our lives toward Him, the rest will work itself out. In the middle of this passage quoted above, He says, "Adulterers and adulteresses!" He isn't just talking to people who have committed physical adultery; He is talking about people who turn away from Him. The OT and NT talk about God being the husband and His people being the bride (note Isaiah 54;5 and Ezekiel 16:32). He wants a faithful bride, faithful people; not just in matters of physical adultery, but in the direction of our life.

God wants us. He wants our heart. James 5:7,8 says, "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."

We must "establish our hearts" and "draw near to Him." Thanks for reading...and for caring about Spiritual things. See you next week.

The Kingdom

"The Kingdom" is a major theme that runs throughout the Bible. The Bible begins with God being the leader of his people. But as time goes on, the people aren't satisfied and want to have a king like their neighbors have (I Samuel 8). This displeased God, but He allowed it, the first king being Saul, then David, then Solomon, David's son. Saul turned away from God; and while Solomon was a rich and wise king, David is portrayed as the greatest of all Old Testament kings.

As the Bible follows the history of God's people, the people are reminded, through prophets, that someday a Messiah will come who will establish a kingdom that will never end, never be destroyed (Isaiah 2, Daniel 2, Joel 2 and other places). The people of God, having been oppressed by the nations around, longed for this coming kingdom. They wanted a king again like David; powerful, dominant, and successful. They waited and they waited........

And then came Jesus, born in a stable of poor parents; grew up with no fanfare, giving no real sign that He was the projected king. He wasn't the kind of king that the people, the Jews, were looking for. As Jesus stood before Pilate in final judgment, Pilate said, " 'What have you done?' Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.' Pilate therefore said to Him, 'Are You a king then?' Jesus answered, 'You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born....' " Here was the king, the rejected king by the Jews, His own people.

Before this final trial, Jesus had said in Matthew 16:28, "Assuredly I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man (Jesus) coming in His kingdom. This makes it clear that the kingdom will start as soon as Jesus leaves the earth. Some people are waiting on Jesus to come back and set up an earthly kingdom, powerful like David's. But Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this earth and that it would start during the lifetime of some of the people who were standing there hearing Him. And throughout His life, Jesus talked about the coming kingdom; it was of greatest importance. Now we get to be a part of that by following Him. Let's do that! Thanks for reading; see you next week. May God bless you.

Beginnings and Endings

I love beginnings and endings. Pardon me for starting with Peanuts, but Snoopy is a perfect example. He would sit on the top of his doghouse with his typewriter and begin a new novel: "It was a dark and stormy night..." Any book with a great beginning has great promise.

The Bible has lots of great beginnings and endings. Verse one of the Bible is, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.." That is such a powerful statement. It puts to end right there any debate over the creation. Then in Genesis 2:9, right at the beginning of the Bible, there is a reference to the tree of life: "The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden..." We read about it again at the end of the Bible in Revelation 22:2. Heaven is being described, "In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits...." Among other things, this shows how the Bible relates, ties together, from beginning to end. It begins with the Garden of Eden, and the tree, and it ends with heaven, and the tree.

Then there is the beginning of the New Testament. It begins with the genealogy of the family of Jesus. It shows the development of Jesus' family through the Old Testament, beginning with Abraham, and comes right on down to Jesus himself. And because the NT begins this way, it hints at the importance of the OT, bringing us to the New.

And finally there is the end of the Bible. Note Revelation 22:19-21, the very last verses: "..and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." How is that for an ending?!

Thanks for being a reader. See you next week. May the Lord be with you.