2020-05-08
Good Morning Dear Ones,
It isn’t hard to picture Charles Schultz’s Charlie Brown dressed in the robes of the time when the Romans occupied Israel shouting, “Good grief! What are we going to do now?!” In his usual predicament, he is referring this time to escaping spiritual death. Jews in that time knew, in their usual legalism, mankind was on a path to certain physical death, and they may have wondered about escaping spiritual death. Okay, I need to define spiritual death. We all know what physical death is, the stopping of the body’s organs and the changes that happen just before burial or cremation with disposal of the ashes. On the other hand, what about the spirit? What happens to it? God tells us we have a choice! If we genuinely profess faith in Jesus Christ and make the effort to live according to His teaching, we are saved for eternity. JN 3: 16 has told us that. We are also eternally forgiven for the sins we’ve committed, including ones we confessed and stopped-especially those. Real faith in the Lord Jesus Christ invites us to join Him in heaven when the Father feels we are ready. That’s glorification. And what about people who refuse to profess faith in Jesus Christ? That can be a sad story indeed. They will not be saved or even remembered. These are the people who serially reject the Lord and continue their sinful ways. They have a different fate in store, as they end up in hell, suffering forever without a way to escape it. And that is spiritual death, a fate that none of us should want for ourselves and those we love. Now, let’s get to why my Charlie Brown above knew to even ask, “What are we going to do now?”
Remember, there were plenty of prophesies in the Scriptures of the OT that a Messiah, Who could save us from spiritual death would come. Those people who knew the writings of the past could know about these prophecies. PS 2 begins with our frustrated Father expressing his ire at the rebellious disobedience of His human creation. The kings and leaders have issued their rules and regulations without regard for God’s will. The Father is brought to the place where He exclaims, in PS 2: 3, 5-6, “Free yourselves from these rules and regulations…On Zion, My sacred hill, I have installed My King!” (This is a clear reference to Jesus Christ). Yet, even with this statement, the people ignored its meaning and impact. They didn’t recognize God’s omnipotence in any way. Still, the people looked to other humans for the solutions to their problems. IS 11: 1, ”The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new King will arise from among David’s descendants.” What follows in IS 11: 2-8, tells us this King will know the Father’s will and will rule with wisdom and skill. IS 11: 9, “On Zion’s sacred hill, there will be nothing harmful or evil.” Today, traditional Jews either reject, misinterpret, or in some way, devalue, IS 53. It’s the clearest description of Who our Lord Jesus is in the OT. Here this King is described as One with a servant’s heart. We’re told He looks like an ordinary person, but there is nothing ordinary about Him. IS 53: 4-6, “But He endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. All the while we thought that His suffering was punishment sent by God. But because of our sins He was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment He suffered, made whole by the blows He received. All of us were like sheep gone astray, each one going his own way. But the Lord made the punishment fall on Him, the punishment all of us deserved.” His humility and obedience to the will of the Father brought salvation, forgiveness, and justification to us. The Father refers to the suffering Servant as devoted, One Who will have a place of honor among the great and powerful, One in Whom He was well pleased. “He willingly gave up His life and shared the fate of evil men, taking the place of many sinners” [IS 53: 12b].
In metaphorical terms as a part of Nebuchadnezzar’s (Babylonia’s king) giant statue dream, the prophet Daniel, gives us a view of this King’s power and goodness. DN 2: 34-35, “While we were looking at it, a great Stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it, struck the iron and clay feet of the statue and shattered them. At once, the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold (representing human kingdoms) crumbled and became like the dust on a threshing place in summer. The wind carried it all away, leaving not a trace. But the Stone grew to be a mountain that covered the whole earth.” If we wonder about Christ’s authority to judge, even that is spoken of in DN 7: 13-14, again in metaphorical language. “During the vision in the night, I (Daniel) saw what looked like a human being (Christ). He was approaching me, surrounded by clouds, and he went to the Ancient of Days (the Father) and was presented to Him. He was given authority, honor, and royal power, so that the people of all nations, races, and languages would serve Him. His authority would last forever, and His Kingdom would never end.” These are not the only prophecies that are in the OT, a clear message that a Savior would come.
PRAYER: O Lord, we approach Your mighty throne in reverence and awe. You are such an awesome God, that we must offer You praise and thanks for the blessings You give us every day. You have taken our proud, ambitious, and greedy spirits and brought us to humility and acknowledgement of Your superior power, presence, and knowledge. You never lie and have consummated most of the prophecies of the OT with the coming of Your Son, Jesus. As we study the Scriptures discussed and cited here, we can only conclude that You intend in Your own perfect time to consummate every prophecy given as Biblical truth. We ask You to open our minds, hearts, and spirits to faithful obedience and gratefully receive the undeserved grace that You extend. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we offer up these prayers. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit leads me to give a partial timeline of events and books of the OT. I am writing to my readers at a very peculiar time in our lives, this is the time of self-quarantining due to a danger most of us can’t see, although its virulence can be experienced. I’m referring to the Corona or Covid 19 virus outbreak. It’s my hope that I’m not being foolhardy or unrealistic by saying that despite this danger, I feel safe. My faith tells me that God will protect Peter and me and provide for our needs. Our community has provided ways for people to keep apart by at least 6-10 feet and to pick up essentials (food and medication) without contaminating ourselves. We keep our home clean and have been told grocery stores and pharmacies have shorter hours, so that those good people who are working in them can scrub down shelves etc. Our first responders deserve our cooperation and eternal gratitude. My own daughter and son-in-law are among them. Please join me in praying for their safety and for this crisis to be over soon. In the meanwhile, we are obeying recommendations to take the precautions necessary. I have pledged to write these devotions for as long as I am healthy enough to do so. Peter and I send each of you our love and share with you our devotion to the Lord Who loves us. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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