Sunday

Christians worship on Sunday.  It is interesting to see how the day of worship changed from Saturday, under the Jewish system, to Sunday as Christianity began.  And the timing of this change is also telling.  So we will look a bit further in this brief study of worship.

It is noteworthy that Jesus was a good Jew.  He kept the Jewish Law during His lifetime, including worshipping on the seventh day of the week, Saturday.  Emphasis on Saturday worship was instituted by God, setting this day aside to remember that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh day.  During Jesus' ministry He never taught His followers to change from this day of worship, or really to make any change in following the Jewish Law.  But a big change was coming....

Jesus left the beginnings of the Christian Way to His apostles and other disciples.  Jesus was crucified on Friday and raised on Sunday.  He instructed His apostles to wait in Jerusalem for power to come to them from the Holy Spirit.  This occurred on Sunday.  Then as the apostles begin their work, they bring a total new Way.  A part of this Way is the beginnings of Sunday worship...and the putting away of all Jewish worship and following the Jewish Law.  We see Christian worship after Jesus left the earth always being on Sunday.  An example of this is shown in Acts 20:7, "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread....." (take the Lord's Supper). 

Today there are still people trying to hold on to parts of the Jewish Law as Christians.  But the NT is clear that the Old Law, the Jewish Law, has been fulfilled, has been replaced by the Christian Way.  If anyone tried to serve God by keeping the Jewish Law, they could not keep it perfectly anymore, making it ineffective.  The only way to God now is through Jesus; and Jesus made this clear through His teaching. 

There is a trend today to worship God on Saturday instead of Sunday.  Many do this on Saturday night out of convenience, freeing up Sunday for other things.  This is not following the NT pattern.  There was a reason that the Christians in the Bible made a point of worshipping on Sunday, the first day of the week.  We need to follow this pattern to be pleasing to our God.

Thanks for reading again.  Feel the love.

Prophesies of the Messiah to Come

The Old Testament is full of prophesies about the Messiah, the Christ, to come.  It would be impossible to cover all of these in this short blog.  But we will mention a couple to give examples.

Psalm 22 was written by King David many hundreds of years before Christ, yet it refers to the words that would be spoken by the Christ as He approached His death.  "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?  ...dogs have surrounded Me; The assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me.  They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones.  They look and stare at Me.  They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."   This, of course, is exactly what happened as Jesus was about to die, as we read in the NT. 

Another good example of the OT prophesies is Isaiah 53.  Isaiah was a prophet, spokesman, for God approximately 700 years before Christ.  He may not have understood what he was writing, but listen to his words about the coming Christ:  "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief......He was despised and we did not esteem Him.  Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.....and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

In the NT, we find an Ethiopian nobleman reading this passage from the book of Isaiah, (Acts 8), and asking Philip, 'who is this talking about?'  Philip proceeds to explain that this is Jesus.  And he preached to him about Jesus.  As they rode along on the nobleman's chariot, he asked to be baptized.  Then it says that they "went down into the water, and he baptized him."

These passages show the continuity of the Bible, the continuity of God's plan, the fulfillment of prophecy that only God could accomplish....and it gives us increased faith that our God is real; and as Hebrews 11:6 says, "...and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." 

Now that is Power.  God is Powerful.  Jesus is real.  And we are blessed.  May God bless you this week as you continue to fight the devil and serve our God and Savior.  Praise be to Him!

Paul's Farewell Talk

A very touching occurrence in the book of Acts is where Paul calls a meeting with the elders of the Ephesian church.  Paul is in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the time of the Jewish feast of Pentecost.  He wasn't observing the Jewish feasts or keeping any of the Jewish Law.  We know this from his other teachings.  But he felt he needed to be there then.  He knew that he could be going to his end.  "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there." (Acts 20:22) 

Paul points out several things to these men.  And what he says is of great importance for he knew that he would never see them again.  He tells them to keep watch over themselves and over the flock, the church there in Ephesus.  He calls them overseers and shepherds.

He then warns them of "wolves" that will come in among them and "will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth..."  This has always been a problem and continues to be so today.  We must always be watchful. 

He concludes by telling them "to help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

This touching farewell of Paul was a most emotional event for these men.  But it was words that they needed to hear.  And it was important enough for Paul to ask them to travel to meet him.  The words are as true today.  We should note carefully, appreciate Paul for his goodness, and hold fast to the truth, living it out in our lives.

Have a great week!

Direct Commands of Jesus

It would be difficult to cite all of the direct commands that Jesus made as recorded in the New Testament.  But we will mention a few in this blog to demonstrate the nature of His teaching.

"I tell you: Love your enemies.."  Matthew 5.  This was a tough command for anyone to do.....but He had no problem making this a direct command to His followers.

"I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear..."  Matt. 6.  He certainly knew how hard this was for us mortal humans.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."  John 15. 

"..Stay in the city (Jerusalem) until you have been clothed with power from on high."  Luke 24.  Said to His apostles before He left them.

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved..."

" 'Who are you Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' He replied.  'Now get up and go...."  Acts 9.  This is the account of Saul's conversion, later to be called Paul.

While this last verse is taken out of context, actually they all are, the teaching to "get up and go" might be a good one for us all.  There is a need to follow all of these teachings, but certainly we need to get up and go, get to work, do it now, serve Him, for the time is short on this earth.  I need to heed this as much as anyone.

Ok, thanks for reading.  Serve the Lord.......feel the love.