Unclean

Unclean

• Acts 10:28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

The Book of Leviticus primarily focuses on responsibilities of the Levites, instructions for the Priests, and guidelines for the Jews to live a holy life according to God’s Law. The word ‘unclean’ appears in the Book of Leviticus 109 times! The primary meaning of unclean is defiled, polluted or contaminated. Leviticus exhaustively details what things are unclean, how someone or something can become unclean, and the implications of or resolutions to (when possible) becoming unclean.

 

Whether dealing with eating certain foods, touching certain dead animals, contacting someone with leprosy, or any number of other restrictions/conditions, becoming unclean was very serious. In Acts Chapter 10, Peter is dealing with the view of Jews that associating with Gentiles (anyone who is not a Jew) was a means of defilement. But God revealed to Peter that these prejudices were inappropriate.

 

 

Through salvation in Christ, by God’s grace, we are all cleansed, purified and joined as one family, one church, the body of Christ.

• Acts 15:8-9 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
• John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
• 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
• Galatians 3:28-29 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. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
• Romans 12:5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

 

So who do you consider unclean?

• The church member whose spouse has just left?
• The person visiting the church whose very casual dress offends you?
• The homeless man standing on the corner asking for food?
• The person on the news just convicted of murder?

Is God asking you to comfort or greet a brother or sister in Christ who may need a word of encouragement or a welcoming smile? Has God convicted you of giving money or sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone in need?

 

How did we get ‘clean’ anyway? It was nothing we did or deserved!

 

 

Prayer

 

 

Father, You are building a Holy Church with those You have cleansed with the Blood of Christ. Forgive me when I judge others. Forgive me when I forget the filth You washed out of and off of me. May Your Church be obedient by treating everyone with love and by leaving the judging to You. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.

 

  

Why Are We Here?

Why Are We Here?

Why

The ‘why’ we are here is really quite simple; we are here to bring glory to God!

• 1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
• Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
• Everything we do should directly glorify God and/or cause others to do so.

What

The ‘what’ we do to bring glory to God is also pretty straightforward.

• Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
• James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
• We are to make disciples of Christ by sharing the truth about Jesus, serve those in need by showing the love of Jesus, and maintain our purity as Christ did.

 

How

The ‘how’ of all this is really amazing! The power and purity that enables us to accomplish these things comes from the truth of God’s Holy Word and the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

• Psalm 119:140 Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it.
• Acts 1:8 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.”
• Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
• 1 Peter 1:16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
• The Word of God guides us to the truth about Jesus Christ. Then, when we surrender to His Lordship, Christ Himself, through the Holy Spirit, indwells and empowers us to become and to do all that God has commanded.
• However, because of the weakness of our flesh, this side of heaven we always fall short of the perfection of Christ. But this is according to God’s plan. Our failures keep us humble and dependent upon God.

 

Who

There is no grey in 'who' we are.  Bottom line, we either serve God or Satan. Who do you serve?

• Matthew 12:30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
• John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
• Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
• Only those saved by God’s grace are capable of fulfilling their true purpose in life, to glorify God!

Find your purpose in life in Christ!

Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, please use Your Words to convict the hearts of all believers in Christ to fulfill their ultimate purpose in life, glorifying You. I also beg You to draw unbelievers to a saving knowledge of Christ so that they may also bring glory to Your Name. In Christ name I pray, Amen.

Immersed

Immersed

For Christians, experiencing God in every aspect of life is a wonderful gift.

To See You in Your Creation

• Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
• Romans 1: 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

 

To Hear You in Your Word

• Deuteronomy 4:1 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you.
• Matthew 11:15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

 

 

To Know You by Your Spirit

• Ezekiel 11:19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,
• John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

 

To Experience You in My Life

• Deuteronomy 5:33 You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
• Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

 

Being immersed in God brings truth, meaning, passion, purpose, peace, persecution and so much more to life. But in the weakness of our flesh, our intimate relationship with God can lead us to become judgmental of those who are not followers of Christ. ‘Why won’t they believe?’ ‘How can they be so blind?’ 

 

Shame on us when we forget that once we were ‘blind’.

• John 9:25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

Unbelievers are blinded by Satan. Instead of judging and condemning, we should be loving and serving.

• 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
• John 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

 

Prayer

 

Father, thank You for the undeserved blessing of salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ. May Your children, which are saved by Your grace, shine as lights of love and resonate as voices of truth to those who do not know You. Help us to refrain from judging and to steadfastly continue in prayer for those who need Your saving grace. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Paradox

Paradox

 

A Paradox of the Christian Life

• Psalm 70:4-5 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, “Let God be magnified!” 5 But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.
• Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified and then resurrected to free those who accept His free gift of salvation from the curses of sin and death. As children of God, we are empowered by His Word, the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit, and His promises to live a victorious life that glorifies and honors Him. Yet all the while we agonize through countless struggles and temptations that seem to constantly surround and sometimes engulf us. We are pilgrims and ambassadors living in a lost and dying world that hates us.
• We move forward in faith:
• Celebrating Our Salvation and Contemplating Our Suffering.

Though we feel the tension as we walk the path between these two opposing mindsets, we should walk with peace and purpose. For we know that within this paradox is the truth of God. The foundational events that establish this paradox are found in Genesis.

• In Genesis 3:14-19, God pronounces the curses for Satan, Eve and Adam as punishment for disobeying His command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17).
• God’s curse resulted from Adam’s sin and established the stipulations for human suffering on earth (sin requires punishment).
• In Genesis 12:1-3, God declares His covenant with Abram (Abraham) and states that all the families (nations) of the world would be blessed through him.  
• This promise of blessing, a clear proclamation of the gospel of Jesus (see Galatians 3:8), is God’s guarantee of victory over sin and death through Christ (salvation brings victory and peace).

 

Our Instruction and Example

• Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• As we look at some Biblical examples of those who lived a life of faith (Hebrews 11), we are instructed to endure in hope the path that God has set before us (taking the struggles with the blessings). 
• Christ endured the cross, temporary separation from God, death and resurrection to fulfill His role as redeemer and advocate.

 

This Paradox is Temporary

• 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
• The paradox of salvation and suffering for the Christian is real; but it is also temporary. No matter how bad things may seem, the temporary struggles of today don’t compare with the eternal blessings for all those who have surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ (John 3:16, Revelation 21).

 

Prayer

 

Heavenly Father, the blessing of salvation in Christ and the sufferings that result from living in a fallen world are no surprise to the serious student of Your Word. May Your Truth and Your Faithfulness provide the strength and perseverance to those who believe and obey. In Christ’s name, Amen.