RE Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day seven) “They brought [Him] a coin, and He asked them, ‘Whose IMAGE is this?’ ‘Caesar’s they replied.’ “–Mark 12:16. With a Mayoral election coming up on Saturday, my mind is on this story. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, but RENDER TO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD’S.” These are unforgettable words and wisdom from Christ. The backstory is from Genesis 1. Jesus knew, assumed we would know as well, that God stamped His likeness on us, His image in us. Like a Roman coin, we are marked off as God’s property for God’s purpose. While we owe something to the state, and should gladly return to it attentive and informed involvement, we owe everything to God, our very lives! So, go vote on Saturday, but come worship on Sunday (and every day of the week). All of us have two loyalties. One should always be higher than the other. We belong to God!
Tag: Jesus
Peace
Re: Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day Six)
Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “God is seeking worshippers who worship in Spirit and truth.” (John 4:23) We are those worshippers, and not of our own making, but God’s. In Jesus’ death we have forgiveness of sin for all time, but in the resurrected life of Jesus we find our righteousness. In other words God required more than forgiveness for us to be at “peace” with Him; He required a righteousness that forgiveness alone could not provide (Romans 4:25). God transferred the infinite and beautiful righteousness of His resurrected Son onto us, those who by faith rest in the Son. So our slate was not only wiped clean from past and future sin, but our sin was replaced with the righteousness of God’s Son! That jaw-dropping transfer gives us “peace” with God, giving us the privilege to come to God as worshippers.
And by the way, this is no tenuous peace, but a true peace. It is not like King Saul, who changed his relationship with David on a dime. David never knew what Saul he would encounter. An angry Saul? Friendly? Ally? Enemy? Not so with God. The resurrected life of Jesus affords us true everlasting peace with God; we can “boldly approach the throne of grace!” (Hebrews 4:16) God made that happen; He sought after you and made a way!
Past and Present
Re: Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day five)
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”
Ever notice the 2 verb tenses in this verse? Past (Christ died) and Present (God demonstrates). Jesus’ death on the cross was a “once and for all” moment, yet God still uses it in the present as a reminder of His never-ending love. We remember Christ’s death and are immediately filled with a flood of emotions (thankfulness, joy, sorrow). It is the work of the Holy Spirit that constantly/presently points us to the death of Christ to prove and pour out the Love of God. God’s past love (Christ’s death) can be understood as a present reality. As believers we have the privilege each day to remember back and rejoice now in God’s Love. When we do this, the result is a deep and daily Hope of the Glory of God.
Created…Restored
Re: Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day four) “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” God’s creation was good…for just a short time. It did not take long for sin to enter the world. Then, the rest of history has been God’s working to bring about the redemption of man. We were created in God’s image and only after Christ came to redeem mankind, could we again have a relationship with God. Once God has poured His love into us through the Holy Spirit, we are able now to seek to become more like Christ. A lot of big words describing the character of Christ…perseverance, character, hope, atonement, redemption, reconciliation…we are once more being created into the image of God through His Son Jesus Christ. We could not restore the relationship with God ourselves…it was only through the work of Jesus. He is our only hope. A relationship with our Creator God? Absolutely…but only through Christ!
Real Image
Re: Verse reading–Exodus 35:4-10; 20-35; 36:2-7 (day six)
And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. Exodus 35:21
God’s all-sufficiency is not in question. At first glance it would seem that God is in need; that He needs their stuff, along with their time and energy in order to build the tabernacle and its furnishings. This simply isn’t true, after all God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. God was quite able to fashion a tabernacle of his liking in the blink of an eye. So what was God doing if he didn’t need anything from the people?
I think we find the answer all throughout Exodus 35-36. Moses reminds us over and over that the people gave because their hearts were stirred to do so, and they were able to do the work only after the filling of the Holy Spirit. I believe God was calling them back to their deepest nature, being fashioned in the image of God. God not only was invested in establishing a symbolic and tangible presence among His people, but also was doing the work of restoration. This whole business of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the new covenant with an enslaved people has everything to do with God restoring all things unto himself. This restorative work began in the earliest days after the Fall and ends with Jesus’ return, but God is clearly working towards that end in building the tabernacle.
Could it be that the giving of ourselves, whether things or time or skill, taps into our truest nature? Could it be that both the inspiration to create with artistic skill, and the work itself is the reflecting of God’s image in us? After all who gives like our God? Or who creates like Him? When we give out of the stirring of our hearts, or create with our hands by the power of the Holy Spirit we begin to realize what it truly means to be human, men and woman made in the image of God.
Effectual and fervent prayer
Re: Verse reading–Exodus 32:1-19, 30-33; 33:12-17; 34:1-7 (day seven)
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”–James 5:16 (KJV). It is a burden. No way round this truth. Real prayer is eventually a relief and a blessing, but before that it is hard and holy work! It is also an expression of love. When we love people, we pray for them. Not in an easy, casual, convenient sort of way. With passion and perseverance. Like Moses in Exodus 32. Having received just a hint of hope from God, “let me alone so that my anger may burn against them”–32:10, Moses discerns an opportunity to intercede. Not for himself. Not even for them, I think, but in pursuit of the higher purpose of God. Reminds me of Jesus in Gethsemane. Reminds me also of God’s unchanging invitation. “Call unto Me and I will show you great and mighty things that you do not know.”–Jeremiah 33:3. The highest purposes of God come only when we pray.
Epic fail
Re: Verse reading–Exodus 32:1-19, 30-33; 33:12-17; 34:1-7 (day one)
“He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf.”–v 32:4. It was an epic fail! How could it happen? Just weeks before (in Exodus 24) these same people had promised full obedience to the Lord and His commandments. “No other gods. . .no images.” With sincere hearts (we assume) they entered into a covenant of obedience with God. How, then (by chapter 32), could they stumble so badly, so publically, as to make a golden calf and represent it as Jehovah God? Those of us who have made promises to God know the answer. So long as we count on ourselves and our own resources to do God’s will, we fail every time. “The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” said Jesus to Peter. “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it” we sing in confession of this truth. We need God in order to obey God.
Presence
Re: Verse reading–Exodus 25:1-11, 17-18, 23-24, 31-32; 26:1-2, 7-8; 27:1-2; 29:43-46 (day six)
For a brief season when Emma was a toddler, she needed a visible reminder of my presence in order to fall asleep. She needed to know that I was in the room. Every so often she would open her eyes to find me, and the moment she laid eyes on me she would rest her head and go back to sleep. My presence brought her peace.
The Tabernacle served the people of God in the same way. It was to be a constant reminder of the presence of God. The Tabernacle also provided tangible symbols of how God would relate to his people. He would listen to them, speak to them, provide for them, and most importantly, make atonement for their sin; all of that was communicated through the Tabernacle and its furnishings.
The Tabernacle also instructs us as to our new covenant relationship with God. Through Jesus we experience the presence of God in the truest sense, one that the Tabernacle could only allude to. Jesus made it possible for intimate renovations of the heart; transforming us broken cisterns to temples of the Spirit of God. As followers of Jesus we can be at peace that God is always present with us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit powerfully teaches us, intercedes on our behalf, puts sin to death for us, gives gifts to us, all on the basis of our faith in Jesus. As believers we can rest in the presence of God; he will never leave us or forsake us.
Trust and Obey
Re: Verse reading–Exodus 24 (day five)
3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!”
7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”
As the Israelites enter into covenant relationship with God in Exodus, their response is a sincere and bold confession of understanding, trust, and dedication.
The new covenant through Christ requires similar understanding, trust, and dedication. 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Rewind to the confession made in Exodus 20. Are we just as determined to trust and obey?
God’s Glory
Re: Verse reading–Exodus 24 (day four) God is initiating a covenant with Israel. It is a covenant based on all of the words of the Law that He delivered to Moses. Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders of Israel saw the God of Israel. What an awesome sight! Yet, He did not stretch out His hand against them. When Isaiah received his commission (Isaiah 6), he too saw the Lord. He was afraid for his life. It pleased God to give these leaders a glimpse of His glory to inspire them to lead. What will it take for us to lead? We have the written Word of God…thousands of years of His working to redeem mankind. We have the Gospel message…Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave…paying the full price for our sin. When we obey the Gospel, we have the Holy Spirit, living within us to give us understanding and power. We may not have seen the Lord physically, but we have seen His hand at work. Are we going to lead?