Obeying the Gospel

KNOWING GOD, ETERNAL LIFE (MAY 14)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/knowing-god-eternal-life-may-14/"And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3).IT IS FASCINATING TO CONTEMPLATE WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR ADAM AND EVE TO KNOW GOD. Prior to their tragic decision to rebel against His will, they would have had a perfect relationship with their Creator: knowing Him, revering Him, and loving Him. But once that relationship was broken, the knowledge of God would have become an increasingly distant memory.In John’s record of Jesus’ prayer on the night of His betrayal, we hear the Son of God praying: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” (John 17:1,2). And then we have this remarkable statement: “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (v.3).To “know” God means more than knowing about God. The devil has a good bit of information concerning God, but that doesn’t mean he knows God. And it means more than having feelings of closeness to God, for many people feel that way, even quite passionately, while still being outside of Christ and lost in their sins.One thing is for sure: there is no knowing God apart from the knowledge of Him made possible by Jesus Christ. In Jesus alone is the truth about God made accessible to mankind (John 14:6). But God cannot be known apart from the Scriptures, even if we seek Him through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures contain the only objective information we have about Jesus’ revelation of the Father.Obeying the gospel, then, we begin to partake more and more of God’s true nature, anticipating the time when we will meet Him face to face (Revelation 22:4). In Christ, we have what might be considered a foretaste of eternal life — or a down payment on it (Ephesians 1:14) — but the fullness of that life is something that will be ours only in eternity (Titus 1:2; 1 Peter 1:3,4). When it is finally ours, however, it won’t be eternal just in duration — it will be a quality of life no one has ever known before except Jesus, the Son of God, who will graciously share with us the life He has always had."[Christianity] is a revelation of the true way of living, the way to know God, the way to live life of eternal quality" (J. B. Phillips).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

DON’T WE REMEMBER WHAT WE SAW? (MAY 13)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/dont-remember-what-saw-may-13/"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified" (Galatians 3:1).THERE IS NOTHING THE HUMAN MIND IS NOT CAPABLE OF FORGETTING, EVEN THE THINGS WE NEED TO REMEMBER THE MOST. Sometimes surprisingly quickly, we get to the point where even the most vivid experiences no longer have any impact. So when the Galatian Christians began to waver in their faith, Paul was amazed. “It was before your eyes,” he said, “that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” Paul himself had preached the cross to them, and they had understood what Jesus’ death meant. How could they now be drifting away from what they knew?The problem the Galatians had is one most of us are familiar with: we forget things we need to remember. The truths that should keep us faithful to God slip away from our conscious awareness.Yet the problem goes deeper than mere forgetfulness. All of us “know” that Jesus died for our sins — but in too many cases, the significance of what we know hasn’t really sunk in. The devil is perfectly content for us to “remember” Christ’s death as long as it never dawns on us what the implications of that event really are.Even worse, however, we don’t see the personal significance of the cross. We may, on some level, grasp that Jesus’ crucifixion was a monumental event in human history, but rarely does that truth come home to us individually. Do I see that Jesus bled and died for MY sins? Do I understand the personal consequences of really believing that?Clearly, we need to take two steps. First, what we know of the cross must be constantly deepened. If we don’t understand what happened at the cross more deeply today than we did last year, our love for God is probably not growing and we may be headed in the same direction as the Galatians. But second, what we know must constantly be refreshed. The Lord’s Supper each first day of the week is a public memorial that Christians share, but we need to ponder the cross in our private devotions as well. Every day of the week is not too often to remember what Jesus suffered and feel anew the full, shattering impact of His death. We must make up our minds that having seen Jesus crucified for our own sins, we will not forget what we saw.O my Savior, make me seeHow dearly thou has paid for me.(Richard Crenshaw)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

SOUL HEALTH (MAY 12)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/soul-health-may-12/"Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul" (3 John 2).IN JOHN’S PRAYER FOR GAIUS, HIS BROTHER IN CHRIST, THERE IS AN INTERESTING ORDER OF PRIORITIES. Whereas most people would think first about a friend’s physical state and then also hope they were doing well spiritually, John prays that “you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” In other words, John knew that Gaius was doing well spiritually, and that was the main priority. If he was also healthy physically, that would be a nice extra.There is such a thing as “soul health,” and it is a much more important issue than most people acknowledge. In these days of emphasis on holistic health and wellness, many people do pay attention to “spirit” and “mind,” but in the New Testament, the health of the soul goes a good bit deeper than peace of mind, tranquility, emotional balance, and a sense of oneness with the universe. If the gospel of Christ is true, we are not in good spiritual health if we are not in a right relationship with the God who created us — and that requires the objective, actual forgiveness of our sins through obedience to the message of salvation in Christ.The evidence of a right relationship with God is not to be found in our feelings but in the text of the Scriptures. If there is consistency between our commitment to Christ and what the New Testament teaches must be true for us to have eternal life, then our soul is in good health. The hope — and therefore the joy — we have is based on the objective promise of God in the Scriptures, and not on the feelings of peace generated by meditation or mindfulness.This is not to say that the neurological and psychological kinds of tranquility that come from meditation are of no use at all. They can be extremely helpful in many ways — and this writer is a devoted practitioner of mindfulness. But tranquility should not be confused with rightness of relationship to God. And if, not having been saved from our sins by the gospel of Christ, we do not enjoy justification with God, all the tranquility and wellness we might have achieved by worldly means will come to a screeching halt when we die. Bodily health, including emotional serenity, is well enough. But of far greater import is how well our souls are faring."Body:  not a home but an inn — and that only briefly" (Seneca).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

RESPONDING RIGHTLY TO GRACE (MAY 11)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/responding-rightly-grace-may-11/"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).OBEDIENCE TO THE GOSPEL IS A RESPONSE. We do not initiate the process; God does. Whatever we do, we do in response to what His love has done to make our salvation possible. And surely, God wants our response to be wholehearted. That is, each of the three components of our hearts should respond rightly to the gospel.INTELLECT. Sin resulted from Satan lying to Adam and Eve about the character of God (Genesis 3:1-6), and ever since then, untruth has been at the root of mankind’s broken relationship with God. The gospel wants to put truth back in its proper place, and if our intention is to respond to God rightly, we’re going to have to study, learn God’s truth, and conform our intellects to that truth.EMOTION. This part of the gospel is emphasized nowadays, almost exclusively, but even in our emotional response to God we are sometimes dangerously imbalanced. God created us with a very wide range of emotions, all of which are healthy. As we see in the Psalms, we are to respond to God with all of our emotions — not just the warm and fuzzy ones, which most people like the best.WILL. In its most basic sense, sin is the rebellion of our will against God (1 John 3:4). The gospel proposes not only to forgive our past disobedience but to transform us back into persons who submit to the will of their Creator. So there can be no rightful response to God’s grace without obedience. As Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46).There are, in fact, many ways our response to God might be less than wholehearted, but most of these come down to one thing: a response that is merely passive rather than active. In other words, we do not really respond to the gospel; we are content just to bask in the glow of thinking about how gracious God is. But that was not the response of the apostle Paul, and we need to ponder his words frequently: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”"Those things, good Lord, that we pray for, give us also the grace to labor for" (Anonymous).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE SCRIPTURES (MAY 10)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/scriptures-may-10/". . . just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:15,16).IN THIS TEXT, PETER, WHO WAS ONE OF THE APOSTLES OF CHRIST, ALLUDES TO THE LETTERS WRITTEN BY PAUL, ANOTHER ONE OF THE APOSTLES. As a Jew, Peter makes an astonishing claim. He classifies the letters of Paul as a part of the “Scriptures,” a Jewish expression referring to the documents accepted as having originated in the mind of God. Peter would have known the Pentateuch, the Hebrew prophets, and certain other books to have been inspired by God; but he also recognized Paul’s writings as a part of this canon, the authoritative collection of books that, taken together, constitute God’s written word to the human race.Just the other day, I happened to be reading in Deuteronomy where Moses was anticipating the day when Israel would have a king. The king would need to be, above all else, a godly man, faithful in his adherence to God’s teaching. But being a godly man would depend on his attention to the writings that contained that teaching. These writings could not be neglected. “He shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law . . . it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them . . . so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).We have to stretch our minds to accept that there could be books written in human language that ultimately came from God’s own spirit (2 Peter 1:21), but that is exactly the claim made for “the Scriptures.” Yes, human writers were involved. They were the agents through whom God brought these books into the world, but somehow, the writings are from God Himself. If we “twist” them, as Peter puts it, we do so to our “own destruction.” The Scriptures are given to us by God’s grace. They can make us “wise for salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15) — but since they are a communication from our Creator, we dare not bandy them about carelessly."The Bible is a supernatural book" (A. W. Tozer).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

LISTEN TO HIM (MAY 9)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/listen-to-him-may-9/"And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 'This is my beloved Son; listen to him'" (Mark 9:7).WHEN GOD SPEAKS, WE OUGHT TO LISTEN. Other people may say things we have little interest in, but surely, when the Creator of the universe is addressing us, as He does today through the Scriptures, the least we can do is sit up and take notice.It was an extraordinary claim when Jesus said that His teaching was authoritative because He was God in the flesh (Matthew 11:27; 28:18; John 5:18-27; 8:28; etc.). This was not merely the claim of a prophet, a human being whom God was using as a spokesman; this was an assertion of equality with God and ultimate authority, a status far greater than Moses or Elijah ever had. “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus . . . And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is my beloved Son; listen to him’” (Mark 9:2-4,7).It is sobering to realize that our destiny depends on how we listen to God’s Son. Jesus pointed to the problem of those who have heard but not obeyed when He said, “If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day” (John 12:47,48). In the end, it will be a painful recollection if we have to remember that we closed our ears to the words that could have saved us.These days, it would be a rare person anywhere in the world who has not “heard” the gospel. Printed Bibles are everywhere, and digital copies of the Scriptures are even more universal. So for most of us, the main question is what we’ve done with what we’ve heard, however much or little that may be. Or perhaps we could put it another way: the question is not whether we’ve heard; it’s whether we’ve listened. We’ve heard enough truth to save the whole world. But are we paying attention? Is the truth sinking in?"Hearin’ is one thing and listenin’ is another" (William Frend De Morgan).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE SPACIOUS FIRMAMENT ON HIGH (MAY 8)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/spacious-firmament-on-high-may-8/"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Psalm 19:1-4).THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD. So said David, a man who would have pondered the sky on many occasions, especially in the days of his youth as a shepherd. Every part of the world is full of wonder, obviously, but there is something special about the sky. We need to admire it more — and think more deeply about why it is that the sky moves our hearts as it does.The heavens do not just declare the existence of God (although that is a point of immense importance in itself); it is His “glory” that is proclaimed. The word “glory” literally means “brightness” or “splendor,” but I want to propose an idea. When we are speaking of God, might we not think of glory as the joining of beauty and power? I think so, and I suspect that the blending of these two is why God’s creation has such an undeniable impact on us.There are those who are not much moved by beauty. For them, power is of more interest. And then, there are those for whom beauty has more appeal than power. But whoever you are, I predict that in the presence of something equally beautiful and powerful, your heart would melt. If you don’t shut it down, your heart will tell you the truth: the heavens declare the glory of God. God is real.I used to doubt it, but I doubt it no more. Even though, for me, the “days of trouble” have come (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NIV), my heart has been ravished with Beauty and Power. The Beauty is too powerful, and the Power too beautiful, to resist. The truth is not only true; it is a glorious, magnificent reality. And when I shall have been mended and made whole by the God who became Man, I will thrill to the joy of being a part of His rescued people, forever.The Spacious Firmament on high,With all the blue Ethereal Sky,And spangled Heav'ns, a Shining Frame,Their great Original proclaim:Th’ unwearied Sun, from day to day,Does his Creator's Pow'r display,And publishes to every LandThe Work of an Almighty Hand.(Joseph Addison)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE HAND THAT MADE US IS DIVINE (MAY 7)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/hand-made-us-divine-may-7/"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made" (Romans 1:19,20).HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE EXPRESSION “PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE”? It’s a cumbersome string of words, I’ll grant you, but it contains a useful idea. The preponderance of the evidence means “the greater weight of evidence.” Disputed questions are (or should be) settled in this way. When all the evidence has been heard and all the arguments made, on which side does the evidence weigh more heavily? In which direction do the scales tip?The existence of God is a disputed question, to say the least. And it seems that disbelief is the “trending” position right now. Yet the evidence has not changed; it is what it has always been. And no matter what the social, cultural, and political pressures may be, our task also remains unchanged. We must decide whether the evidence is heavier on the side of belief or disbelief.Now, it is one thing to sit safely in Starbucks and debate the existence of God. But what if your life depended on it? Suppose you were going to be asked whether God exists, an envelope would be opened revealing the truth of the matter (“May I have the envelope, please?”), and if your answer was wrong, you would be taken outside and shot to death. What would you do? You would ignore the opinion polls and hang your hopes on whichever position had the greater evidence. With your life on the line, you would disregard even your own prejudices. Only one thing would matter: the actual evidence.Paul argued that God’s “eternal power and divine nature” are clearly seen “in the things that have been made.” Many have agreed, including Joseph Addison, who was no fool when he wrote, “The Hand that made us is Divine.” It is reason (based on thoughtful observation and not childish simplicity) that urges this conclusion.What though, in solemn Silence, allMove round the dark terrestrial Ball?What tho’ nor real Voice nor SoundAmid their radiant Orbs be found?In Reason’s Ear they all rejoice,And utter forth a glorious Voice,For ever singing, as they shine,The Hand that made us is Divine.(Joseph Addison)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

MEMBERS OF HIS BODY, NOURISHED AND CHERISHED (MAY 6)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/members-body-nourished-cherished-may-6/"For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body" (Ephesians 5:29,30).HUSBANDS ARE EXHORTED TO NOURISH AND CHERISH THEIR WIVES “JUST AS CHRIST DOES THE CHURCH.” As the head of the body, Christ is deeply concerned about the body’s healthy functioning. It is more than a minor interest of His. He died to make the church possible, and having done that, there is nothing He wouldn’t do to provide for the ongoing needs of the church. His nurturing of those who are His special people is without measure.Paul made this point in Romans 8:32 also. Speaking of God the Father, he wrote, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” As the CEV words it, “If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?” The cross proves everything we need to know about our Lord’s benevolent intentions toward the saved.As those who have obeyed the gospel and been saved from our sins, we are, as Paul says, “members of his body.” This is one of many ways that Christians are described in the New Testament. In other passages we are spoken of as a kingdom, a household, a vineyard, and so forth. Even “church” is a metaphor, comparing the Lord’s people to an assembly or gathering. But to speak of the Lord’s saved ones as His “body” is a very special way of speaking. Every time we Christians partake of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week, we are reminded that His body was broken for us in order that we might become His body. And again, if He would make such a difficult sacrifice, should we doubt that He desires to nourish and cherish the body that He has brought into being?Christians have been saved in order to serve. Whatever blessings we’ve received, we are to view those as resources to be used rather than treasures to be hoarded. Similarly, we can say that the “nourishing” and “cherishing” of the church by Christ are not meant to be enjoyed selfishly but evangelistically. How could a cared-for people not care for others? How could they fail to serve — and sacrifice for — the spiritual needs of those around them?"The church was not designed to be a reservoir, ever-receiving and retaining for itself God’s spiritual blessings, but rather a conduit, conveying them on and out to others everywhere" (Robert Hall Glover).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

CHRIST GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR THE CHURCH (MAY 5)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/christ-gave-himself-up-for-church-may-5/"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25).HERE, WITHIN THE SPACE OF JUST A FEW WORDS, WE HAVE ONE OF THE PROFOUNDEST STATEMENTS OF THEOLOGY EVER MADE. Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Here is the heart of the truth about Jesus Christ and also our main motivation for obeying His gospel. And since the statement is part of Paul’s discussion of husbands and wives, we should add: if husbands are to love their wives with anything close to the love Christ had for the church when He went to the cross, they’ve got their work cut out for them.CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH. When Jesus said to His disciples, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18), He spoke of a future event. Even when He died, the church He said He would build did not yet exist. So how can it be said that He gave Himself up because He “loved the church”? We can say that He loved the church prospectively, knowing it would soon come into existence, but it was not the church in the aggregate that He died for. He died for individuals who needed to be saved. So when Christ died, those whom He loved were the individuals who would obey the gospel and receive the forgiveness His death would make possible. We all need to see ourselves in this picture. Even if I am one who has not yet obeyed the gospel, I need to envision myself coming to be a part of the church that Christ loved so much. How could I not want to do so?AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER. None of us could have been saved without Christ’s sacrifice. It was His death that atoned for the guilt of our transgressions and opened up the door of God’s grace to us. Surely no one in the history of the world has ever made a greater sacrifice for others than Jesus made when He put Himself in our place and was executed. And for whom did He do this? His church.When all is said and done, it is sacrifice that shows the extent of love. Christ did more than speak words of love; He gave Himself up for us. So let’s celebrate Christ’s sacrifice. And let’s not be reluctant to celebrate the church which, by His love, became His bride.For Christ, our dear Redeemer,For Christ, the crucified;For the church His blood hath purchased,The church, His holy bride.(E. E. Hewitt)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

CHRIST AND THE CHURCH (MAY 4)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/christ-church-may-4/"For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands" (Ephesians 5:23,24).THESE VERSES OCCUR IN A PASSAGE THAT SEEMS TO BE ABOUT THE HUSBAND-WIFE RELATIONSHIP. There is certainly an analogy between this relationship and that of Christ to His church, but Paul is clear that the Christ-church relationship is the primary idea, and the other is the one serving as an illustration. “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (v.32). So while we could profit from studying God’s will for the marriage relationship, let’s think today about Christ’s relationship to the church, which is His bride (Revelation 19:7; 21:2,9; 22:17).First, Paul emphasizes that Christ is the “head” of His church. In fact, He is its only head. He has no vicar on earth. His will for the church was recorded in the New Testament writings, and if His headship is to be respected, those writings cannot be disregarded.Next, notice that the church is the “body” of Christ. Many practical lessons can be drawn from this, but one is that if the body ever becomes disconnected from the head, it dies. In John 15:5, He used a different analogy (vine and branches), but the point is still the same: “apart from me you can do nothing.”Finally, meditate on Christ being the “Savior” of the church. In its universal sense, that is what the church is: those who have been saved by Christ. But the danger is that the church will forget that it has been saved, or even that it needed to be saved. Surely, we ought to sing more often the great hymn “Hallelujah! What a Savior!”All of this should impress us with Christ’s preeminence in all things relating to His people. He is “first” in every sense of the word. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). But it is in grace and benevolence that Christ’s authority is exercised, at least toward those who have laid down their rebellion and received His amnesty. To those individuals — His church — His rule results in their highest good. If we are “in Christ,” there is no rightful need that He does not gladly supply."Christ is full and sufficient for all his people. He is . . . a Foundation to support, a Root to quicken, a Head to guide, a Treasure to enrich, a Sun to enlighten, and a Fountain to cleanse" (John Spencer).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

GOD’S GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS (MAY 3)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/gods-glory-church-christ-jesus-may-3/"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20,21).PAUL’S WORDS HERE CONSTITUTE A “DOXOLOGY.” From the Greek doxa (“glory, honor”), a doxology is an expression of praise to God. To God be glory, Paul says, throughout all generations.IN CHRIST JESUS. Everything about Christ results in God’s glory. On the evening before He died, Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (John 17:1). So we may certainly pray that God will be glorified in Christ.IN THE CHURCH. Because it deals with human beings, this part of the passage is hard for some to understand, and yet it is no less true. The work of Christ in accomplishing the Father’s purposes resulted in a people saved from their sins. God is glorified by the very existence of these people. Even prior to their perfection in heaven, those saved “in Christ” are those by whose redemption God is greatly glorified.Our prayer should be that God will receive glory “in the church and in Christ Jesus.” Yes, we do need to resist sectarian, institutional, and “party” concepts of the church, but we must not be so preoccupied with false doctrine that we fail to emphasize important truths that should be preached positively. I fear that some can’t even hear the mention of a passage like Ephesians 3:21 without hastening to remind hearers of what it does not mean. But surely, what the passage teaches is extremely important, and we shouldn’t be hesitant to proclaim it. May God be glorified in Christ Jesus. And may He be glorified in the church, as Paul teaches us.God chose that Christ’s glory would be closely related to the glory of His people, people who have been saved from their sins by His own blood. These people — broken, fallible, but forgiven people, growing in holiness as they learn from their mistakes — are the people who “embody” Christ and glorify God the Father. If you have obeyed the gospel of Christ, you are a part of Christ’s body, His church. In your new relationship with God, you are not alone. You are part of a people, each of whom it glorified God to rescue.In Your church, Lord, be glorified, be glorified.In Your church, Lord, be glorified today.(Bob Kilpatrick)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

WHAT GOD HAS GRACIOUSLY REVEALED TO US (MAY 2)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/god-graciously-revealed-may-2/"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deuteronomy 29:29).THERE ARE SOME THINGS WHICH GOD HAS NOT REVEALED TO THE HUMAN RACE. In fact, it seems likely that only a small portion of what God knows has been revealed to us. We can think of many reasons why God has not spoken of some things. Some would be beyond our ability to understand even if He should tell us. Others are none of our business, which is to say, we have no need to know them. Other things are more than we could bear — it is in mercy that He has not spoken to us of these. But whatever the case may be, “the secret things belong to the Lord our God.”Yet the main point of Moses’ statement in Deuteronomy 29:29 is about the things that have been revealed. These, he said, “belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” God would surely be pleased if we paid more attention to the “do-able” and “obey-able” aspect of His revelation. He has not revealed Himself merely to inform us or to satisfy our curiosity. It is, instead, for the purpose of our obedience. If the problem of sin boils down to our refusal to obey God, that problem can’t be corrected until we’re brought back to a wholesome sense of the goodness of God’s law. Even in the revelation of His character, God is wanting not just to correct our intellectual misunderstandings of His nature or improve our emotional responses to Him. He is wanting to bring us back to the blessings of a creaturely will that is conformed obediently to its Creator (as reflected in Psalm 19:7-14).Blaise Pascal made a good point when he said, “Instead of complaining that God has hidden himself, you should give him thanks for having revealed so much of himself.” Given our rebellion against Him, the wonder is that God has spoken to us at all. And if we are thinking rightly, we will drink in every bit of truth about Himself that God has shared with us, eagerly wanting not only to know it but to act on it, hoping always to respond to God with a more perfect blend of reverence and gratitude."Faith instructs us in the depths of God. Faith stands above any human system, no matter how valid; it is concerned with the revealed data, with that glory which cannot be named by any human name, yet has desired to make itself known to us in words which all may understand" (Jacques Maritain).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

EZRA’S GODLY SORROW (MAY 1)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/ezras-godly-sorrow-may-1/"O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens" (Ezra 9:6).EZRA DID NOT DOUBT GOD’S READINESS TO FORGIVE, BUT NEITHER DID HE DOUBT THE REQUIREMENT OF REPENTANCE. His grief was an indication of his deep reverence for God, coupled with a recognition that sin is never a trifling matter. It must be dealt with boldly, bravely, and with a commitment to return to God’s will.In 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul contrasted “godly sorrow” with the “sorrow of the world” or mere self-pity: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (NKJV). While selfish sorrow will certainly produce misery, it does not produce repentance. Only godly sorrow does that. When we recognize the seriousness of our transgressions against God and how much He loves us, we are strongly moved to lay aside our sin and come back to obeying Him.A lack of godly sorrow is one reason the “repentance” of many people disappears so quickly. Never having pondered how seriously their sins affected their Heavenly Father and His work in this world, they are not powerfully motivated to repent. If they make any commitment to repentance at all, it is little more than “I guess I’ll give it a try.” But godly sorrow is a more potent force. It produces, as Paul says, “repentance leading to salvation.”In an age when feeling good is the highest priority, the process of godly sorrow is often short-circuited. Many of us know the value that God places upon “a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17), but we rush past that stage pretty quickly. Eager to be happy again, we fail to grieve our sins in a way that would put us on the path to a true and deep reformation of our character.If repentance is an essential part of God’s plan of salvation (and it certainly is), then the godly sorrow that leads to repentance is critically important. It requires humility, certainly. But if we are willing to bow before God in the honest recognition of our sins’ seriousness, we may be sure that He is ready to help us and heal us."It does not need to be a formal prayer: the most stumbling and broken cry -- a sigh, a whisper, anything that tells the heart's loneliness and need and penitence -- can find its way to God" (Phillips Brooks).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE GOSPEL: WORDS AND POWER (APRIL 30)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/gospel-words-power-april-30/". . . our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction" (1 Thessalonians 1:5).PAUL’S ENEMIES IN THESSALONICA WERE PROBABLY SAYING THAT HE WAS A FAKE. The gospel of Christ was false, they would have said, and what is more, Paul knew it to be false. He was deceiving people deliberately, for reasons that were purely selfish. So Paul was anxious about those who had obeyed the gospel in Thessalonica. Knowing of their persecution and that they were hearing hateful charges against him, Paul was concerned — not about his reputation but about their steadfastness. The last thing he wanted was for their faith to be overthrown by doubts about him personally.To these brethren, Paul wrote, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers . . . For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5).Paul wanted several things to be clearly understood. (1) Although the gospel is communicated by words, it was far more than the reasonableness of the words that had moved the Thessalonians to believe. (2) In addition to the words, there had been “power.” This is a reference to the miraculous powers by which the apostles guaranteed the truth of their message (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:4,5; Hebrews 2:3,4). (3) The Thessalonians also needed to remember that the gospel had come to them “in the Holy Spirit.” This may be a second way of referring to the miracles, but it probably also points to the source of the gospel. The message had come from the Holy Spirit and not merely from Paul’s intellect (1 Corinthians 2:11-13). (4) Finally, the gospel had been presented “with full conviction.” Paul believed the gospel deeply. He and his coworkers might be many things, but they were not charlatans or liars. “You know,” he said, “what kind of men we proved to be among you.”This text merits our careful attention. Even though the apostles are no longer preaching in person, the foundation has been laid and the record stands firm. The gospel, as preached and confirmed by the apostles, is just as powerful for us as it was for the Thessalonians!"The world has many religions; it has but one gospel" (George Owen).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

YOU WILL BE MY PEOPLE, I WILL BE YOUR GOD (APRIL 29)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/my-people-your-god-april-29/"I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians" (Exodus 6:7).AFTER ISRAEL WAS DELIVERED FROM CAPTIVITY, WHAT THEN? That is a question God answered even before He liberated them: “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.” Having rescued them from four centuries of servitude, God would enter into a “covenant,” a special two-way agreement, with them. He would be their God in a unique sense, but as His people, they would have some responsibilities along with their blessings. “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine” (Exodus 19:4,5). Israel would have to keep their part of the agreement.In Leviticus 26:12, God said to Israel, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Surrounded by the moral and religious corruption of Canaan, they would need to keep themselves free of those influences, so that they could truly be God’s people, in practice as well as in name.Paul quotes Leviticus 26:12 in the New Testament and applies it to Christians living in environments like Corinth: “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people’” (2 Corinthians 6:16). If it was true of Israel, it is also true of Christians — if God is to “walk among” us, we must do more than rely on the privilege of a special status; we must maintain a purity in our actual lives that identifies us as belonging to God. God said then the same thing He says now, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16).For here is the truth of the matter: we haven’t really been liberated or “saved” if, for all practical purposes, we continue to live in “Egypt.” God requires that we leave our chains behind, not only as a group, but also inwardly, privately, and individually.O Thou, to whose all-searching sightThe darkness shineth as the light!Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee.Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!(Gerhard Tersteegen)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

REPENTANCE FROM THE HEART (APRIL 28)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/repentance-from-heart-april-28/"Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:41).IN HIS COLLECTION OF SORROWFUL SONGS FOLLOWING THE DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM BY THE BABYLONIANS, JEREMIAH CAPTURES THE PENITENT SPIRIT THAT ISRAEL SHOULD HAVE HAD AT THIS TERRIBLE TIME. “Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven,” he says. Although God had brought judgment upon Israel (just as He had said He would if they did not cease their idolatry), their future could still be bright with hope if they would repent.Repentance is a sincere turning of the heart back to God. In our outward actions, repentance involves ceasing to do what is wrong and starting to do what is right, but these outward results of repentance proceed from a heart that is sorry for the sins that have been committed against God (2 Corinthians 7:9-11). Theoretically, a person might change his ways for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with God. Repentance, however, is the reformation of one’s thoughts, words, and deeds because of godly sorrow. It has to do with God and it requires a certain kind of heart (Acts 26:19,20).This doesn’t mean that the outward aspects of repentance are optional or unimportant. There are some individuals who, when they hear that something depends on what is in the heart, conclude that as long as their heart is right it doesn’t matter what they do in their outward life. But if that is ever true, it certainly is not true with regard to repentance. John the Baptist rebuked the Pharisees, all of whom would have said their hearts were deeply devoted to God: “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (Matthew 3:8 NLT).Any honest person who has been a Christian very long will confess that repentance must be engaged in continually. Yes, it is one of the initial requirements for becoming a Christian, but to become a Christian is to enter a process of godly growth that will require repentance anytime we see that we’ve failed to trust and obey God. In fact, one of the evidences of spiritual maturity in Christ is that we live with a penitent frame of mind, instantly going to God in prayer the moment we see that we’ve not responded rightly to His love. It’s a new and better way of thinking."Repentance is an attitude rather than a single act" (Richard Owen Roberts).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

A BAG WITH HOLES (APRIL 27)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/bag-with-holes-april-27/"You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes" (Haggai 1:6).DESPITE OUR DILIGENCE IN THIS WORLD, SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THE RESULTS OF OUR WORK ARE NOT COMPLETELY SATISFACTORY. In our more honest moments, we recognize the existence of yearnings and aspirations that show no signs of going away. This is true collectively (in societies), and also personally (in individuals).In Haggai 1:6, God used the analogy of a man putting his wages into “a bag with holes.” This man may believe in the power of positive thinking, but if his bag has holes in it, pouring more coins into it is going to be futile. And it is God who determines whether any particular bag will have holes in it or not. It is simply not within our power to reach every goal we set (James 4:13-16). At any time, God can withhold the profit we intended from our goals (putting holes in our bags), so that, despite our energy and optimism, we are left with the feeling that we didn’t really get what we were after.Now think carefully. What is true of specific activities in life is also true of life in general. When mankind rebelled against Him, God subjected the world to “futility” (Romans 8:20,21). That is, God set limitations that would prevent the human race from controlling everything it wanted to control, and having everything it wanted to have. These limitations should be a constant reminder of man’s need for God. The fact that, in this world, our “bag” will always have “holes” in it does not mean that God is cruel. Rather, He lets us experience this earthly unsatisfaction in order to draw us back to Him.In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses reminded Israel about the hunger God had allowed them to suffer in the wilderness: “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”The sooner we grasp this point, the sooner we’ll be ready for the gospel. It will be a huge step forward when we come to see the human race — and ourselves — as being empty rather than full."We are all beggars, each in his own way" (Mark Twain).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

WE HAVE TO BE TAUGHT WHAT WE NEED (APRIL 26)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/taught-what-we-need-april-26/"And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:2,3).IN THE WILDERNESS, GOD KEPT ISRAEL FROM STARVING TO DEATH, BUT NOT WITHOUT LETTING THEM FEEL THE EXPERIENCE OF HUNGER. The purpose of this was to teach Israel their need for Him, especially their need for His truth. Moses said that God “humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna . . . that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”It is a fact that we need our Creator. He created us to need not only Him but a right relationship with Him. Yet we forget this, living most of the time as if no notice need be taken of the God who made us. On Thanksgiving Day we may say grace before we eat, but more often we live as if what we need is going to come from marrying well and making smart career moves — matters that “we control.”So if it was said to Israel that “he humbled you and let you hunger,” the same might be said of us. Food might not be the thing we have to do without, but there will be some deprivation, some unmet needs. God will see that this happens. He will grant us the gift of “need” — to teach us that we are not self-sufficient.The fact is, we have to be taught what our greatest needs are. We think we know what these are, but our priorities can become dangerously disordered. We have to be taught (sometimes the hard way) that it is by God’s word that we live, not by bread alone.All of this relates to the gospel in a powerful way. There is no greater barrier to a person’s reception of the gospel than the sense of not needing what the gospel offers. If we don’t need God at all, we certainly don’t need His forgiveness, least of all by yielding ourselves to some plan that He might have for our “salvation.” But there is coming a day of reckoning. If our doom ends up being that of those who have disregarded God, it won’t be because He did not try to break through our hard shell of self-sufficiency."God's restrictions were given to show us more keenly our need of him" (Erwin W. Lutzer).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

DO WE REALLY MEAN OUR NICE-SOUNDING WORDS? (APRIL 25)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/really-mean-nice-sounding-words-april-25/"Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments" (Deuteronomy 5:29).GOD’S STATEMENT IN THIS VERSE CAME AFTER ISRAEL HAD SAID THEY WOULD OBEY THE LAW THAT GOD WOULD GIVE TO MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI. “Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say,” they had said, “and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it” (v.27). That was a fine statement, which God acknowledged (v.28), but God knew that Israel would end up not keeping the Law, so He said, “Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments” (v.29). Although some of the people may have been sincere in what they said at Sinai, the fact is, it was easier to say those nice-sounding words with their lips than it was to keep them.This is not an argument against saying the words that express our highest ideals and best intentions. There is value in verbalizing these things, even when we know our performance is going to be imperfect. Often our words serve the purpose of saying what we want to be true. Yet we still need to be careful. Surrounded by other religious people, it’s easy to say nice things. But talk is cheap, as the saying goes. We need to mean every promise we make to God.Finally, I wish to suggest another aspect of this topic. All of us have had the experience of saying things nonchalantly that turned out to be far more “real” than we imagined at the time. A similar thing happens sometimes when we speak of God. For example, we might casually and superficially talk about God being “a consuming fire.” Those are true words, as we find in Hebrews 12:29, but if the time ever comes when we actually experience the wrath of God that we spoke about so glibly, we will tremble to realize that, whether we really meant it or not, we spoke far more truth than we knew. All of which is to say: words are powerful things. And if the words we speak are about God and they happen to be true, their truth may come crashing down on us eventually — even if we didn’t really mean them when we said them."There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion (“man’s search for God”) suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?" (C. S. Lewis).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

SETTING APART CHRIST AS LORD IN OUR HEARTS (APRIL 24)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/setting-apart-christ-lord-hearts-april-24/"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).ONE WAY TO DEFINE THE CHRISTIAN’S UNIQUENESS IS TO SAY THAT HE HAS MADE CHRIST THE “LORD” OF HIS HEART. When he turned away from his sins, confessed his faith, and was baptized into Christ, the Christian began to follow a new leadership. Whatever may have directed his life before, he now looks to Christ as the deciding factor in every aspect of his character and conduct.This is what Peter had in mind when he said we should “set apart Christ as Lord” in our hearts. While not as familiar now as it was in the first century, the concept of “lordship” is critically important. The word “lord” means “master” or “one who has authority,” but in the case of Jesus Christ the term is all-encompassing. For the Christian, Christ has all authority. There is nothing about the Christian’s life that the will of Christ does not govern — from the innermost thoughts of his heart to the outermost aspects of his behavior. No step is taken unless he is confident that Christ approves.Paul put it this way: “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). And this principle does not just apply to the “religious” aspect of life or “church” activities. It applies to everything the Christian does, publicly and privately.Peter said Christ is to be set apart as Lord “in your hearts.” The Christian fights a losing battle against sin if he has not first given his heart to Jesus Christ. It is only when Christ has been given control of our most private thinking that progress begins to be made.This decision to “set apart Christ as Lord” is the main ingredient in conversion to Christ. The changes that occur on the “outside” of our lives are the result of a change on the “inside”: our thoughts are now under the rule of Jesus Christ. But living consistently under Christ’s lordship requires growth. We have to learn to yield our hearts completely to His direction. At our baptism, we’re just getting started in learning how to let Christ be our Lord."If you desire Christ for a perpetual guest, give him all the keys of your heart; let not one cabinet be locked up from him; give him the range of every room and the key of every chamber" (Charles Haddon Spurgeon).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND SOUL (APRIL 23)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/all-your-heart-soul-april-23/"But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29).THE BASIC IDEA CONTAINED IN THIS TEXT IS FOUND THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES. I have not counted them, but if you took all the occurrences of “with all your heart and soul” (and all the variations thereof) and put them together, it would be an impressive list. Clearly, what God wants is for us to seek Him wholeheartedly.In our text, however, Moses was not just speaking of a generic seeking of the Lord; he was talking about Israel returning to God after having forsaken Him. His point was that God would be willing to forgive them and bless them if they returned with all their hearts. No hypocritical or apathetic return would be accepted.Wholeheartedness may be thought of in various ways. If we said somebody did something “with all his heart,” that would mean his effort was diligent, passionate, focused, and committed. All of these, and more, are involved when God said that Israel must return “with all your heart and with all your soul.”If a person has not yet obeyed the gospel (Acts 2:37-41), the idea of wholeheartedness should be given careful consideration. To seek God’s forgiveness of our sins is a serious matter, as is committing ourselves to lifelong faithfulness after we’ve been forgiven. Jesus urged us to “count the cost” of discipleship (Luke 14:25-33). If we’re not willing to throw the doors open and give God access to every room in our hearts (even the “secret” ones), it is doubtful that our intentions are as serious as they should be.There is a sense in which becoming a Christian is always a “return” to God. We were born into this world innocent of any sin and in a relationship with God that was beautifully right. It was only when we first went against what we knew to be God’s will that our fellowship with Him was broken and we found ourselves, somewhat like Israel, banished to a foreign land, spiritually speaking. The gospel of Christ offers restoration to those who return — but only to those who come back with a commitment befitting the majesty and love of God. Our loyalty must be absolutely unconditional. Surely, our Heavenly Father — our Merciful King — deserves this."To my God, a heart of flame; to my fellowmen, a heart of love; to myself, a heart of steel" (Augustine of Hippo).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

GOD WILL NOT BE TRIFLED WITH (APRIL 22)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/god-not-trifled-with-april-22/"Then Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the Lord has said: "Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified."' And Aaron held his peace" (Leviticus 10:3).WHEN NADAB AND ABIHU DISRESPECTED GOD BY FLOUTING HIS INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE TABERNACLE WORSHIP, THEY PAID FOR IT WITH THEIR LIVES. These men having offered “unauthorized fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them . . . fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them” (Leviticus 10:1,2). And in the aftermath, God clearly stated the point He wanted the people to take from the event: “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified” (v.3). What does this statement mean, especially the part where God says, “I will be sanctified”? Two interpretations are possible, and both of them involve truths that are clearly taught in the Scriptures:(1) The NIV words it this way: “Among those who approach me I will show myself holy.” If this is how the Hebrew is to be taken, it means that those who come near God (the priests) will be vessels through whom He will exhibit His holiness. The NLT translates it, “I will display My holiness through those who come near Me.”(2) But the NKJV renders it: “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy.” This means, as the CEV tersely puts it, “I demand respect from my priests.” Today, every Christian is a priest (Revelation 1:6). To come near God is a serious thing. Disrespect and disobedience will not be tolerated in our approach to Him.As we’ve said, both of these lines of thought are true. Either way, the main point is that God is holy. He must be treated as holy — with deep respect for His commandments — and He will also display His holiness in His dealings with those who come near — even if that means punishing those who play fast and loose with His instructions and “worship” Him presumptuously.When it comes to God’s plan for our salvation, only He has the right to decide the terms of our forgiveness. In the matter of obeying the gospel, as in all else, it is He who writes the rules and not we. So we need to dispense with the popular notion that we can “love” God with a “positive” (and wholly subjective) theology that pays little attention to the requirements of His holiness."Saying yes to God means saying no to things that offend his holiness" (A. Morgan Derham).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

A TRAGIC DISREGARD FOR GOD’S REQUIREMENTS (APRIL 21)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/tragic-disregard-gods-requirements-april-21/"Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them" (Leviticus 10:1).BEGINNING WITH ADAM AND EVE’S BOLD EXPERIMENT WITH INDEPENDENCE FROM GOD, EVERY MEMBER OF THE HUMAN RACE HAS STRUGGLED WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. Somehow, we just can’t believe that God really means business when He reveals His will for the way things are to be done. We can’t resist the thought that His requirements are arbitrary, unreasonable, and legalistic — and that no harm will come if we choose to do things differently.The story of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 is one of the most striking examples of how displeased God is with the human desire to do as we please, regardless of His instructions. Sons of Aaron, the high priest, Nadab and Abihu put fire in their incense burners that was “unauthorized.” The text does not say specifically in what way their fire was in violation of the Lord’s command, but they surely would have known. They deliberately did that “which he had not commanded them.” And because the Lord could not allow such disrespect to stand on such a great occasion, “fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (v.2). In a manner that was no doubt shocking to everyone, especially Aaron, their father, God demonstrated to His people that His instructions are to be taken utterly seriously.Like it or not, there is a link between the character of God and the commands of God. When God has given any instruction to regulate our behavior, we cannot disrespect His word without disrespecting Him. There is no such thing as “reverent disobedience.”In our thoughts on obeying the gospel, we’ve pointed to the importance of the question, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). That is the one question we must be the most willing to let God answer. Whatever our preferences may be as to what God should require, the only thing that matters is what He does require — and the only way we can know this is by the Scriptures. We may not understand God’s rationale for setting things up as He has, but we must respect His right to do so. It is to be hoped that we’ll honor Him more reverently than Nadab and Abihu did."Understanding can wait, but obedience cannot" (Geoffrey Grogan).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE RETURN OF ELIJAH (APRIL 20)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/return-elijah-april-20/"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes" (Malachi 4:5).MALACHI IS THE LAST BOOK IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. After this oracle was delivered, God did not speak prophetically to His people again until John the Baptist appeared preaching in the wilderness of Judea over four hundred years later. When John began to preach, his message was simple: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1,2). The Messiah was soon to appear, and to be ready for Him and the kingdom He would inaugurate, the people needed to turn away from their sins.In the days when John the Baptist began his ministry, the Jews were familiar with this text in Malachi, and they were expecting the return of Elijah. Yet it was not Elijah himself that Malachi was pointing to; it was John the Baptist. By preaching the message of repentance with the same power as Elijah, John prepared the people’s hearts for the Messiah.Jesus, on more than one occasion, identified John as the Elijah who was to come. For example, in Matthew 11:13,14, He said, “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” There is in the Old Testament no prediction that is explained any more clearly and specifically than the one in Malachi 4:5 about the return of Elijah.But we miss the point if we fail to see the importance of what Elijah, John, and Jesus preached. If there was to be a kingdom populated by those whose sins had been forgiven, the first thing that obviously had to take place was for people to recognize their need for forgiveness — and then to actually repent of those sins as they sought God’s forgiveness. The only preaching that could have prepared them for this kind of Messiah was the message that John (and before him, Elijah) preached.But who are the people who will repent of their sins? It is those who are humble enough to do so. If it is pride that produces sin in the first place, then getting rid of pride — returning our hearts to a posture of humility before God — must be the first thing that happens in the process of our salvation. And frankly, there is nothing harder for the modern reader to hear than this."Humility is a necessary prerequisite for grace" (Bernard of Clairvaux).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

BAPTISM IS IMMERSION (APRIL 19)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/baptism-immersion-april-19/"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).WHEN A PERSON IS BAPTIZED, WHAT IS THE PHYSICAL ACTION THAT TAKES PLACE? If we’re seeking a biblical answer, there is no evidence that baptism was ever anything other than complete immersion in water. Of John, the prophet sent by God to prepare the way for Christ, it was said that he “was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there” (John 3:23). We are told that “when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him” (Matthew 3:16). In Acts, in the account of the Ethiopian official’s baptism by Philip, the text says that “as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:36-39).In the New Testament, baptism is a representation of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ — a physical act which shows that in obeying the gospel a person is dying with Christ. Paul reminded the Colossians that they had been “buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (2:12). And to the Romans, he used this analogy in an even more extensive way (Romans 6:3-5). So if we let the Scriptures decide the issue, we’ll have to conclude that baptism is immersion.In practical terms, this burial and resurrection in baptism marks the beginning of a new life, so much so that it can be said that a new person has come into existence, one whose allegiance is now to Christ and not the world. And more than all the other blessings combined, what this new person has now that he didn’t have before is hope — the hope of life eternal (Titus 1:2; 3:7).Buried with Christ, my blessed Redeemer,Dead to the old life of folly and sin;Satan may call, the world may entreat me,There is no voice that answers within.(T. O. Chisholm)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

FAITH AND TRUST (APRIL 18)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/faith-trust-april-18/"And the Lord said to Moses, 'How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?'" (Numbers 14:11).ONE MEASURE OF THE MATURITY OF OUR FAITH IS HOW MUCH WE TRUST GOD. If we believe in the existence of God, that is a good thing. But as believers, do we trust Him enough to do things His way when that path looks dangerous and difficult?In Numbers 14, when the spies came back from their reconnaissance of the land of Canaan, all but two of them reported that it would not be possible for Israel to occupy the land. Discouraged, the nation wanted to reject Moses’ leadership and return to Egypt. That is when God pointed to the real problem: the people’s lack of trust in Him. “How long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?” They had not gotten the point of the miracles God had done to prove His dependability.GOD’S CHARACTER. If all we mean is that Israel accepted God’s existence, they were “believers.” But they showed, when the going got tough, that they were not believers in the sense of trusting God. In fact, God said, “How long will this people despise me?” Having thrown away everything God had demonstrated to them about His trustworthiness, they had little confidence in God’s character.GOD’S PROMISES. We call Canaan the “Promised Land” for a reason: God had promised it to Israel and powerfully confirmed His promise. They had seen God’s power in the plagues in Egypt, heard His thunderous voice from Sinai, and received His provision of manna in the wilderness. Nevertheless, they had no confidence that God would actually keep the promises He had made.GOD’S COMMANDMENTS. Worst of all, Israel showed a lack of trust by refusing to obey what God had commanded. Here, perhaps, is the main area where we find out whether our faith has matured into trust: will we or won’t we do what God has said? We can deplore the lack of trust that caused Israel to back away from God’s command, but do we do any better? When it comes to obeying the gospel of Christ, do we trust the God we believe in enough to do what He has told us, confident that His wisdom is always best?"Trustfulness is based on confidence in God, whose ways I do not understand. If I did, there would be no need for trust" (Oswald Chambers).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

FAITH AND REASON (APRIL 17)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/faith-reason-april-17/"But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand" (Acts 4:4).BETWEEN “HEARING” THE GOSPEL AND “BELIEVING” IT, A PROCESS OF REASONING HAS TO TAKE PLACE. Contrary to the popular notion that faith and reason are incompatible, reason is necessary in the creation of a genuine faith in God. Without the solid foundation of reasonable thinking, faith is nothing but a feeling that is subject to the winds of ever-changing circumstances. Tried by persecution, a merely emotional faith would not stand the test.EVALUATING THE EVIDENCE. Anyone who has sat in the jury box in a criminal trial knows that in order to reach a decision as to the defendant’s guilt or innocence, your reason has to evaluate the evidence provided by witnesses. The same is true with the New Testament. No faith in the deity of Jesus is possible without making a rational (“reasoned”) decision as to the quality of the evidence.REACHING RIGHT CONCLUSIONS FROM THE EVIDENCE. Going back to our courtroom analogy, it is one thing to get the facts straight as to what happened, but it is another to see clearly what is implied by those facts. Both of these — What are the facts? and What do the facts mean? — require reasoning. In the New Testament, the witnesses claim that they found Jesus’ tomb empty, and we have to decide whether the record is believable. If the tomb was empty, we have to decide whether its emptiness means that Jesus was resurrected. Finally (and most importantly), we have to decide whether, if Jesus was resurrected, that means “God has made him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Reason is required at each step.DECIDING TO TRUST GOD. Ultimately, our faith must be in the character of God — and that, like everything about the gospel, requires that we reason carefully from the facts to the meaning of the facts. What the gospel aims to produce is not simply a person who participates in a certain religion and keeps the right commandments. It is a person who, believing the facts of the gospel, is willing to stake his whole life on God — the very God whom the gospel is about."Faith and sight are set in opposition to each other in Scripture, but not faith and reason . . . True faith is essentially reasonable because it trusts in the character and the promises of God. A believing Christian is one whose mind reflects and rests on these certitudes" (John R. W. Stott).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE LORDSHIP OF DAVID’S LORD (APRIL 16)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/lordship-davids-lord-april-16/"The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool'" (Psalm 110:1).IN PSALM 110, DAVID SPOKE OF THE RULE OF A PERSON HE REFERRED TO AS “MY LORD.” Who was this person? Whoever it was, Yahweh is pictured as saying to him, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” Some have said David was speaking of himself, but there is no other place in the Scriptures where a king spoke of himself as “my Lord.” And David would not refer to any of the later kings on the throne in Jerusalem as “my Lord.”(1) Jesus argued in Matthew 22:41-46 that David was speaking of the Messiah. The Pharisees had agreed that the Messiah would be “the son of David” (v.42), but Jesus countered, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” (vv.43-45).(2) Peter, in his sermon on Pentecost, quoted from Psalm 110 and applied it to Jesus: “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:34-36). (On this point, read 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 with Daniel 7:13,14 in mind.)(3) That Psalm 110 is messianic is also seen in v.4 where Yahweh says to the one at His right hand, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Unlike the Levites, the Messiah would be a priest-king, like Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18-24. Hebrews 7:1-28 argues that this “priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” is Jesus.Psalm 110, then, is one of the most powerful prophecies of the Messiah — and every part of it meshes seamlessly with the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that the New Testament writers saw in the language of this great Psalm clear and forceful references to the identity of Jesus as the Messiah, the One who is now seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3,13; 10:12,13)."There are in fact strong reasons to conclude that the original author of the psalm intended to speak of a divine lord. David, Israel’s most exalted king, was looking forward to the coming of a future ruler even more exalted than himself" (Michael A. Rydelnik).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM (APRIL 15)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/keys-kingdom-april-15/"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19).WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF CHRIST’S “KEYS OF THE KINGDOM” STATEMENT? If Roman Catholics have read too much into this text, Protestants may have read too little. Jesus’ saying is of fundamental importance, and it should impact our thinking significantly.To Peter, and by extension the rest of the apostles, Christ said that the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” would be given to them. Obviously, they would not have the authority to legislate the law of the kingdom, for God alone can do that, but to the apostles would be given the role of communicating that law authoritatively. The terms of entrance into the kingdom revealed by the apostles, and also the rules for living in the kingdom, would be those which God had decided on. When the apostles taught (or wrote), you could no more disregard what they said than you could disregard Christ Himself. (Ponder the implications of 3 John 9, for example). The keys of the kingdom had, by God’s design, been placed in their hands, so the normative nature of their work must be taken seriously. We are the church of the Lord today only to the extent that we conform to what the apostles directed the church to be in the first century.The apostles, therefore, played a pivotal role in the New Testament period. No one since then has possessed Christ’s authority as they did, and their teaching will always be the benchmark against which everything must be measured. So are we free to “develop” the apostolic teaching in order to make it more relevant to our times? Paul, the thirteenth and last of the apostles, left no doubt: “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). And what did John say to brethren being disturbed by the advocates of a more enlightened gospel? “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you” (1 John 2:24)."Christian theology is anchored not only to certain historical events, culminating in the saving career of Jesus, but to the authoritative apostolic witness to, and interpretation of, these events. The Christian can never weigh anchor and launch out into the deep of speculative thought. Nor can he forsake the primitive teaching of the apostles for subsequent human traditions" (John R. W. Stott).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE KING’S UNPROMISING BIRTH (APRIL 14)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/kings-unpromising-birth-april-14/"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days" (Micah 5:2).THIS TEXT IS ONE OF MANY FROM THE HEBREW PROPHETS QUOTED OR ALLUDED TO IN THE WRITINGS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. It foretells that the Messiah (“Anointed One”) would be born in the village of Bethlehem — just one of the numerous details about the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Matthew 2:1-6).If you had lived in the first century and were looking for the coming of the Messiah, you probably would have been looking for a kingly figure more majestic than Jesus. Bethlehem was an unpromising place to begin, but Nazareth, the village where Jesus grew up, was even more lowly. He was a peasant. How could He be the king who would lead Israel in its freedom-fight against Rome?But what was the “territory” Jesus promised to reclaim and rule over? It was the human heart. His was a mission to defeat Satan, the great usurper. And He did exactly that. In Jesus Christ, God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).There is a marvelous irony in Jesus’ humble birth in a place like Bethlehem. If the God of the Old Testament and the New is indeed real, and if in fact He entered the world and took upon Himself human form, who would have expected that it would be in such lowly circumstances? Yet when we think about it for a moment, it seems altogether appropriate. If it is our pride that is the root of our sin, there can be no deliverance for us if we won’t humble ourselves once again before our King. But are we not beautifully moved to do so when we see the humility of the King Himself? Although He is unimaginably powerful and glorious, He was willing to accomplish our rescue by sharing our weakness. He conquered the consequences of our pride not by arrogant command but by the ultimate act of submission.Breath, mouth, ears, eyeshe is curtailed who overflowed all skies, all years.Older than eternity, now he is new.Now native to earth as I am,nailed to my poor planet,caught that I might be free.(Luci Shaw)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

A CHILD IS BORN, A SON IS GIVEN (APRIL 13)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/child-born-son-given-april-13/"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).IN THIS MEMORABLE TEXT, ISAIAH PORTRAYED THE MESSIAH’S DOMINION IN MAJESTIC, SWEEPING LANGUAGE. He would rule as God’s sovereign King (“the government shall be upon his shoulder”), and He would be entitled to the most exalted praise. “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” are epithets that could apply only to a divine ruler, receiving both the love and reverence that are reserved for God.The words “to us a child is born, to us a son is given” should remind us of the “Immanuel” prophecy in Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Indeed, our text for today in Isaiah 9:6 should be seen within the context of the entire section of chapters 1-12, a section filled with messianic hope. The messianic King who was to come would be no ordinary king. He would be even greater than David: a descendant of David physically, but one who would be miraculously born and nothing less than the Son of God — Immanuel (“God with us”).The King in Isaiah 9 would rule “from this time forth and forevermore” (v.7). This is exactly what Gabriel the angel told Mary about the Son that she would bear: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31-33). And when the Child was born and taken by His parents to Jerusalem for the required sacrifices, an aged man named Simeon took Him in his arms and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32)."The point of Isaiah 9:1-7 was to alert the house of David that the virgin-born King for whom they were to look would only come after a long period of darkness. Nevertheless, He would indeed come, possessing a divine nature, to establish a righteous and eternal kingdom" (Michael A. Rydelnik).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

KINGDOM OF PRIESTS, HOLY NATION (APRIL 12)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/kingdom-priests-holy-nation-april-12/"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5,6).IN THIS AGE OF THE WORLD, “KINGDOM” AND “PRIEST” ARE NOT EVERYDAY CONCEPTS, LET ALONE “HOLY NATION.” But what did God mean by these terms in speaking to Israel at Sinai, and what relevance do they have to us in thinking about the gospel of Christ?MY TREASURED POSSESSION. This is what physical Israel was then, and it is what spiritual Israel is today. Those who have been reconciled to God are uniquely His people, His “special property” (BBE).A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS. In the Law of Moses, the priests were to represent Israel to God, but they were also to represent God to Israel. By extension, then, Israel was to be “a kingdom of priests” — that is, they were to represent God to the rest of the world. Today, it is Christians, coming from both the Jewish and Gentile races, who represent God before the watching eyes (and listening ears) of the world. So, for example, the Book of Revelation begins with this doxology: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1:5,6).A HOLY NATION. God wanted Israel to be what His people in Jesus Christ would later be: a group of people who were “holy.” In other words, they would be devoted exclusively to Him, set apart for His use and reserved for the accomplishment of His purposes. Writing to Christians, Peter used all of these ideas: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).Much more could be said about being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, but I want to end with the most important way in which those who are God’s people represent Him to the world: we are to be those who speak God’s truth to the world. And the ultimate goal is always the same: people who, based on God’s truth, come to share His likeness and enjoy His presence in eternity."We are called to be God’s transmitters, to be completely separated from all thoughts which are contrary to his thinking, so that we may transmit his thoughts to others" (Hannah Hurnard).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

GOD’S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM (APRIL 11)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/gods-promise-abraham-april-11/"Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3).THIS TEXT RECORDS GOD’S FAMOUS CALL FOR ABRAHAM TO LEAVE HIS HOME IN UR. It also summarizes the remarkable promises that God made to Abraham concerning the future of his family.First, God was going to lead Abraham to a land that would be given (over four hundred years later) to the family of Jacob, one of Abraham’s grandsons. Next, God said He would make Abraham’s descendants so numerous that they would constitute a great nation. And finally, God said the whole world would be blessed “in you,” i.e., “in your seed” (Genesis 22:18 NKJV). Since “seed” here is singular rather than plural, this refers to the Messiah, the Savior who descended from Abraham, as Paul points out in Galatians 3:16.Of these three, only the Seed promise was universal and ultimate in its scope. The land that God gave to Abraham’s descendants has fulfilled its purpose in the history of salvation, and so has the physical nation of Israel. The Messiah having come and God’s plan now being complete, the preliminaries have been laid aside (Galatians 3:24-26). Consequently, the people of God are those from every tribe and tongue who have been justified by faith, the same kind of trust that Abraham was known for. Of course, not even Abraham could have been justified by his faith without the sacrifice of Christ, so Christ’s sacrifice works backward in time just as it works forward (Hebrews 9:15; 11:1-40). Every person who inhabits heaven will have gotten there on the same basis as Abraham: the obedience of faith, based on the sacrifice of Christ. Abraham, then, is the prime example of how salvation works; he is the forefather of all who trust in God’s promises enough to actually walk by faith. And when the whole host of Abraham’s spiritual family gets together in heaven, what a reunion that’s going to be!"The physical aspects of God's promise to Abraham were but a means to the far more important and eternal end of salvation from sins for all mankind. 'There is neither Jew nor Greek . . . you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise' (Galatians 3:26-29)" (Robert F. Turner).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

A NEW PROPHET LIKE MOSES (APRIL 10)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/new-prophet-like-moses-april-10/"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers — it is to him you shall listen" (Deuteronomy 18:15).TOWARD THE END OF MOSES’ LIFE, HE TOLD ISRAEL THAT IN THE FUTURE GOD WOULD RAISE UP ANOTHER PROPHET LIKE HIM. At Sinai, Moses had received God’s word and brought it back down the mountain to the people. So the time would come, Moses said, when another spokesman would act as God’s representative, revealing things about God that the people could not have known if God had not spoken to the prophet, and the prophet, to the people.We see here the meaning of “prophet”: a spokesman or mouthpiece (Exodus 7:1,2). We often think of prophecy as a prediction of the future (and sometimes it is), but the basic idea is that of one who represents God and speaks in His name. The prophet is one through whom God reveals His word to the people.We should not miss the importance of this point. The will of God cannot be discovered by human efforts such as divination, mystical experience, subjective emotions, or philosophical effort. Anything true we may know about God will have been revealed to us by Him — using an authoritative spokesman. The prophet could say, “Thus sayeth the Lord . . .” and not simply, “I feel this to be true.”By the Roman era, the Jews were expecting the coming of the new prophet who would be like Moses. When John the Baptist began preaching, some thought he might be this prophet: “When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No’” (John 1:19-21). It was John’s mission to prepare for the One who was the coming Prophet, Jesus the Messiah.“It is to him you shall listen” is what Moses had said in Deuteronomy 18:15. And when Jesus was transfigured and seen by His disciples talking to Moses and Elijah, God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him” (Mark 9:7)."Moses predicts that the Lord will raise up another prophet like to himself . . . This promise received its complete fulfillment when God finally spoke through His own Son. Such was the definite assertion of Peter concerning Christ: 'Moses said, "The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers"' (Acts 3:22)" (Charles R. Erdman).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE BLESSINGS OF THE BROKEN HEART (APRIL 9)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/blessings-broken-heart-april-9/"But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2).WHO IS THE PERSON WHO RECEIVES GOD’S SPECIAL CARE? To those who worship self-confidence, the answer is surprising: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at God’s word.A text very similar to Isaiah 66:2 is Psalm 34:18, where David said, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” When we hear this perspective expressed, we can’t help but think of the “Beatitudes” of Jesus in the New Testament: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3,4). While these words sound almost absurd to modern ears, the truth is still the truth. When it comes to the most important parts of life, the broken heart is not a problem; it’s a blessing. As long as sin is a reality in our lives, we will need to see it for what it is and, in godly sorrow, seek God’s forgiveness.What we see in both the Old Testament and the New is that the door to God’s blessing is opened not by satisfaction with our lifestyles or a sense of our own fullness, but by a sense of how empty we are. If we humble ourselves before God, what we see is that in the presence of His holiness we are not wealthy; we are bankrupt. Especially in the so-called “developed” nations of the world, we need hearts that are more broken. To the self-satisfied, James put it clearly: “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:9,10).It is true — and what a wonderful truth it is — that joy comes from God’s forgiveness (1 Peter 1:3-6). But who are the forgiven? It is those who come to God with their hearts broken (2 Corinthians 7:9,10). And we see no better illustration of this than the description of Saul of Tarsus grieving because of his new awareness of the need for God’s forgiveness. He had fasted for three days before the Lord knew he was ready to be told what he must do to have his sins washed away (Acts 9:8-19; 22:11-16). In this world, even in Christ, it will always be the penitent who are able to find true joy."The only things that are improved by breaking are the hearts of sinners" (Anonymous).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH (APRIL 8)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/jesus-author-finisher-faith-april-8/". . . 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" (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV).IF WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, WE MUST NOT GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. We must never fail to appreciate the magnitude of what God has achieved in His Son, Jesus, who is the “author and finisher of our faith.”THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH. Faced with persecution, the original readers of Hebrews needed to fix their eyes on Jesus and His faithfulness in hard circumstances. He is the supreme example of faith: both the archegos (“leader, pioneer”) and the teleiotes (“completer, perfecter”) of faith’s endurance. As far as “the faith” is concerned, He is both the Originator and the Consummator of it.HAS SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD. Following His resurrection and ascension, Jesus took His place at the right hand of God, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah (Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:32-35). He rules today over the kingdom of God as the King of kings. “And he is the head of the body, the church . . . that in everything he might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:18).All of these great things are leading up to a climax that will occur at some point in the future. Concerning our resurrection at the return of Christ and the ultimate victory that will then have been won over Satan and his forces, Paul wrote, “Then comes the end, when [Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).So when we say, as we often do, that Jesus is our “Savior,” we are saying a great deal. If we don’t see the magnificence of that, it is because we don’t see the horror of what we had to be saved from or we don’t appreciate the wisdom, love, and power that it took to rescue us. After we cut ourselves off from God, we could never have gotten back to Him. To be delivered from death, it took more than a Great Teacher or even a Courageous Martyr. It took a Savior."God has set a Savior against sin, a heaven against hell, light against darkness, good against evil, and the breadth and length and depth and height of grace that is in himself for my good, against all the power and strength and subtlety of every enemy" (John Bunyan).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE (APRIL 7)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/resurrection-and-life-april-7/"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?' She said to him, 'Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world'" (John 11:25-27).LAZARUS HAD DIED SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE, AND MARTHA, ONE OF THE SISTERS OF LAZARUS, RAN TO MEET JESUS WHEN SHE HEARD THAT HE HAD ARRIVED IN THE VILLAGE. “Your brother will rise again” (v.23), Jesus said, and she expressed confidence that he would indeed rise again in the resurrection at the last day.But Jesus had something more in mind than what Martha was thinking of. He intended to raise Lazarus from the grave, then and there. But He wanted Martha to understand something. Any resurrection from the dead, now or at the end of time, would always be by His power. “I am the resurrection and the life,” He said. “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Jesus’ own resurrection would prove Him to be the Son of God (Romans 1:4) — and as God, the Giver of life, Jesus held the power of life and death. In John 5:21, He had made this momentous claim, at once sobering and hope-giving: “As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.”Martha not only saw the force of what Jesus said; she believed that He was telling the truth. “I believe,” she said, “that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” She saw that the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament was not to be an earthly ruler over a restored kingdom of Israel; He would be nothing less than God Himself, breaking the power of sin and death — founding a kingdom where the redeemed people of God could enjoy a life that was eternal in every sense of the word. This life, then, is our great hope, as Jesus promised: “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40)."The resurrection of Jesus is our hope today. It is our assurance that we have a living Savior to help us live as we should now, and that when, in the end, we set forth on that last great journey, we shall not travel an uncharted course, but rather we shall go on a planned voyage -- life to death to eternal living" (Raymond MacKendree).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE MESSIAH’S HUMILIATION (APRIL 6)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/messiahs-humiliation-april-6/"I can count all my bones — they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots" (Psalm 22:17,18).ALL FOUR OF THE GOSPELS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ALLUDE TO THIS PART OF PSALM 22. In Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; and John 19:24, there are references to the dividing of Jesus’ garments by the soldiers at His crucifixion. John specifically mentions that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. Yet this is only one of several details in Psalm 22 that describe Jesus’ death. Let’s look at some of the others, and as we do, ask yourself how these could have been fulfilled so vividly and specifically in the death of Jesus if He were not, in fact, the person being pictured in this Psalm.(1) There is, as we saw yesterday, Jesus’ cry of agony from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (v.1), which is quoted in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. (2) The mocking that was hurled at Jesus, recorded in Matthew 27:39-43, is powerfully depicted in vv.6-8 of Psalm 22. (3) The devastation of the body of a person being crucified is pictured realistically in v.14. (4) The thirst described in v.15 is emphasized in John 19:28. (5) In v.16, there is the saying, “They have pierced my hands and feet.” This wording, while controversial, is supported by the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translations and is attested by the earliest manuscript of Psalm 22 discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. (6) Finally, there is in v.18, as we saw above, the gambling for the garments of the one being executed. This point is included in all four of the gospels.In addition to these points, there is the general impression in Psalm 22 — an absolutely profound impression — that one is reading an actual description of what happened when Jesus died. If it was only a vague resemblance, one might argue that the similarity was just a coincidence. But an account with this many specifics, and corresponding so closely to the death of Jesus, can be explained in only one way: David was enabled by God’s Spirit to predict what he could not have known about in any other way.So we come back to the point we began with yesterday. How can it be that the Messiah, of all people, would die such a death? It is simply that His death was required for our atonement. He reigns in glory today, but the cross had to come before the crown."It is suffering and then glory" (Robert Crawford McQuilkin).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

IT WAS FORETOLD THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD SUFFER (APRIL 5)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/foretold-messiah-would-suffer-april-5/"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?" (Psalm 22:1).PSALM 22 IS A PROPHECY OF THE MESSIAH’S SUFFERING. The familiar words of v.1 were spoken by Jesus while He was in the throes of death, as recorded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. Among those expecting a personal Messiah, many would have been horrified at the very thought of the Messiah being killed — but that is exactly what David, as a prophet (2 Samuel 23:1,2), had predicted. Psalm 22 ends on a note of triumph (vv.21b-31), indicating that the Messiah’s death would not be the end of the story, but it is v.1 that Matthew and Mark single out. Their quotation of Jesus’ cry of agony on the cross showed God allowing Him to suffer, exactly as David had said in Psalm 22 that the Messiah would suffer.When Jesus began to tell His disciples what was going to happen to Him, they did not comprehend it (Luke 9:43-45; 18:31-34). After it happened, however, Jesus explained that His suffering had to take place. “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled . . . that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:44-47). The Messiah’s death was not an unexpected interruption of God’s plan. It was the most important part of the plan, foretold in the Scriptures long before.We will look at some of the details of Psalm 22 in tomorrow’s reading, but for now, I ask you simply to get a Bible and read the Psalm. It is the gruesome, heartbreaking picture of an innocent person being tortured to death. Death by crucifixion was intended to be torture, and Jesus was certainly not the only man to be put to death in this way by the Roman government, but as you read Psalm 22, just contemplate what it means that the Son of God was subjected to a death like this — and that even the particulars of it were foreseen ten centuries before it took place."Psalm 22 makes it clear that Messiah was first to come and die for the sins of the world. It is a picture of the crucifixion, years before crucifixion was a method of capital punishment. The parallels between this Psalm, written nearly 1,000 years before Jesus, and the Gospel account are uncanny" (Mitch Glaser).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

THE UNSEEN GOD IS NOT UNREAL (APRIL 4)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/unseen-god-not-unreal-april-4/"At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill'" (Zephaniah 1:12).THROUGH ZEPHANIAH, AS THROUGH THE OTHER HEBREW PROPHETS, GOD PROMISED SURE JUDGMENT UPON THOSE WHO LIVED WITH NO REGARD FOR RIGHT AND WRONG. Then, as now, there were many who had declared independence from God, for all practical purposes. Perhaps still believing in His existence, they saw no need to take Him into daily account. He could be disregarded. “The Lord,” they said, “will not do good, nor will he do ill.”Might not this “practical atheism,” as I call it, have been partly the result of God’s unseen nature? The people of Jerusalem could not see Him with their eyes, so eventually their minds drifted into a lazy disobedience. “If He expects us to obey Him, why doesn’t He show Himself openly?” is what they might have been saying.There is no denying that the things our physical senses can experience — right now, in the present moment — seem much more real to us than intangible realities. Even things that can be experienced physically don’t seem as real if they are in the past or the future. What is here and now has such a powerful pull on our minds, it sometimes blots out everything else. We know full well that the here and now is not all there is, but it has such a strong gravitational force that its orbit is very hard to break out of.Yet God expects us to use the powerful minds He gave us. We are able to deal responsibly with unseen realities, and if we do not, there will come a day of reckoning. The foolish man who “says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1) is not necessarily the philosophical atheist. He may be the man who simply disregards God in his daily affairs. “Out of sight, out of mind,” as we say.Yet we do not diminish God by disregarding Him. He created us, and it is He “to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). He continues to be a benevolent Father whose promises have never failed to be fulfilled when the time was right. So let us not suppose that a mere “never mind” on our part will make Him disappear."Were every man on earth to become an atheist, it could not affect God in any way. He is what he is in himself without regard to any other. To believe in him adds nothing to his perfections; to doubt him takes nothing away" (A. W. Tozer).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

KINGDOM AND CHURCH (APRIL 3)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/kingdom-church-april-3/"But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women" (Acts 8:12).STUDIED TOGETHER, THE WORDS “KINGDOM” AND “CHURCH” HAVE A GREAT DEAL TO TEACH US. The first emphasizes authority, and so the expression “kingdom of God” has to do with God’s rule or authority as King (1 Timothy 1:17). The second conveys the idea of an assembly of persons “called out” from the world to belong to Him (Matthew 16:18). Perhaps we might say that “kingdom” focuses more on God and His sovereignty, while “church” looks more specifically at the people — those who have answered the call to come back to God, be forgiven, and live under His rule.As far as the citizens of the kingdom are concerned, one cannot be a member of the Lord’s church and not be a citizen in His kingdom. The reverse is also true. To be in the kingdom is to be in the Lord’s church (with some responsibilities to other “called out” ones). This is an important point because of the popularity of the “spiritual but not religious” concept. Many who speak favorably of the “kingdom of God” would quickly say they have no desire for anything that could be called “church.” However, in the New Testament, those who were members of God’s kingdom were the same people as the members of Christ’s church, and vice versa. They weren’t two different groups; they were the same group.In regard to kingdom and church, there is another confusion we need to avoid. The Scriptures do not teach that we are in the “church age” now but the “kingdom age” will begin when Christ comes back and establishes a government on the earth. The kingdom age is right now, and so is the church age. In fact, the very thing that defines the church is that God has “transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). That’s what a Christian is: a loyal subject in God’s kingdom, joyfully accepting all that Jesus taught about how God’s rule should govern our lives. Jesus Christ did not fail. He began His kingdom, as He said He would. We can accept the gospel — and the kingdom — right now."As saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae were delivered from the power of darkness and “translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:12-14), so the true people of God today are citizens in Christ’s kingdom and a manifestation that His power is yet very much alive" (Robert F. Turner).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

A DIFFERENT KIND OF KINGDOM (APRIL 2)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/different-kind-kingdom-april-2/"Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world'" (John 18:36).IT TOOK A LONG TIME FOR JESUS’ DISCIPLES TO UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF KINGDOM HE CAME TO ESTABLISH. They assumed that the Messiah, when He came, would lead His people in throwing off the shackles of any earthly empire (like Rome) that might be ruling over them and reestablish the Davidic dynasty of kings in Jerusalem. We see this misunderstanding in the disciples’ question in Acts 1:6, even after Jesus’ resurrection. But we shouldn’t be too quick to criticize them. If we had been in their shoes, we wouldn’t have understood things any better than they did.Today, many people still strongly desire for Jesus, as the Messiah, to be the king of some sort of earthly government or nation-state. That, however, was not His aim. “My kingdom is not of this world,” He said. We would do well to consider how His rule is different from the kingdoms that are of this world.It does not have a capital city. David had a physical throne situated in a particular city, but Christ’s government does not have a home office anywhere on the globe. He does indeed rule, but He does so from His seat at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).It does not have a territory defined by geographical boundaries. In political science, we can hardly think of a “kingdom” without thinking of the physical “territory” it controls. But the kingdom of Christ is not defined by the boundaries of any earthly territory — nor are its citizens defined as those born inside a certain territory.It does not grow by means of military conquest. Earthly kingdoms have armies that fight, either to defend their territory or to expand it, and Jesus was being honest when He said, “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting.” But it is not territory that Jesus wishes to rule over — it is the hearts of men and women, no matter where their earthly citizenship is. His kingdom exists wherever there are people who have truly given their hearts to Him, so that their “citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20)."Jesus made clear that the Kingdom of God is organic and not organizational. It grows like a seed and it works like leaven: secretly, invisibly, surprisingly, and irresistibly" (Os Guinness).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

AN EVERLASTING DOMINION (APRIL 1)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/everlasting-dominion-april-1/"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13,14).THE KINGDOM THAT GOD WAS GOING TO ESTABLISH THROUGH THE MESSIAH WAS REVEALED TO DANIEL IN VARIOUS WAYS. He was enabled by God to interpret a dream of Nebuchadnezzar’s in which four earthly kingdoms were envisioned, but in the days of the fourth kingdom (which was the Roman Empire), “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people” (Daniel 2:44).Later, we hear very similar language in 7:13,14. During the reign of Belshazzar, Daniel saw a vision in which “one like a son of man” came with the clouds of heaven and was given by God, the Ancient of Days, “dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.”This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus ascended back to heaven after His resurrection and was seated at the right hand of God (Acts 2:32-36). It is the coronation of the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, predicted in Psalm 2:7-9, where we hear the Messiah say of God, His Father: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.’”The kingdom of the Messiah is now a reality. It was established in the days of the Roman Empire, and as Daniel had said in 2:44, it shall not “be left to another people.” That is, there will never come a time when it falls apart and its place is taken by some other kingdom. This kingdom is permanent. It is indestructible. In fact, not even the end of this world will bring it to a close; it will continue in eternity. When we become members of this kingdom, our “citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20,21) — and we need not fear the rise and fall of any of the kingdoms of this world.The kingdoms of earth pass away one by one,But the kingdom of heaven remains;It is built on a rock, and the Lord is its king,And forever and ever He reigns.(Henry R. Trickett)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

COME, ONE AND ALL (MARCH 31)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/come-one-and-all-march-31/"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come'. And let the one who hears say, 'Come'. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price" (Revelation 22:17).HAVING SEPARATED OURSELVES FROM GOD, WE NEED TO COME BACK TO HIM. By His grace, in the death of His Son on our behalf, He has made it possible for us to come back. By accepting the gospel, we can be baptized into Christ’s death and receive the forgiveness of our sins (Romans 6:3-5). And as Paul said, “if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (v.5). But the question is: will we do this? Will we make the decision to receive what God is offering? He invites us, but what will we do?All that stands between us and God’s mercy is our stubborn will, our persistent refusal to accept His invitation. The Book of Revelation, the last book in the Scriptures, ends by emphasizing the desire of God for everyone to come and partake of the salvation He has provided. The fifth-from-the-last verse in the last chapter of that hopeful book says, “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”We accept this invitation when we repent of our sins, confess our faith, and are baptized into Christ. As a child, I heard Charlotte Homer’s hymn sung often as an “invitation song,” inviting people, at the end of a sermon, to come and obey the gospel. “Hear the invitation, come, whosoever will; praise God for full salvation, for whosoever will.” Powerful words, these. And we are the losers if we have heard them so often they have lost their appeal.In its most far-reaching application, Revelation 22:17 is an invitation to drink of the “water of life” in eternity. There is no conflict of meaning here — we drink of this water now, as a foretaste, but it will also be ours to enjoy in eternity, in an even greater sense. But we need to bear this in mind: only in the here and now can we accept God’s invitation. When this life is over, it will be too late for us to decide that, yes, we would like to enjoy the water of life.Hear the invitation,Come, whosoever will;Praise God for full salvation,For whosoever will.(Charlotte G. Homer)Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

IS JESUS THE ONLY WAY? (MARCH 30)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/is-jesus-only-way-march-30/"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).WHEN JESUS WAS BORN, THE CHILD WAS NOT MERELY ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. He was God in the flesh, come into the world to “save his people from their sins.” This is an astonishing claim.Several years later, after Jesus had ascended back to the Father following His death and resurrection, His apostles were directed by the governing authorities in Jerusalem not to preach anymore in His name. Respectfully, they refused to comply with this order. “This Jesus,” they said, “is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11,12).The idea of Jesus being the only way makes a good deal more sense when we consider the nature of the problem that has to be fixed. If all we needed was a little moral instruction or the example of a noble life, there might be many teachers and many paths to the goal. But if the problem is actually sin, then we have a very different situation: this problem will have only one solution.GOD. If we have, in fact, alienated ourselves from our Creator by rebellion against His rule, only He has the right to set the terms of our return to Him. Reality is an objective fact, and facts are stubborn things. We need not expect that the path to reconciliation with God will involve anything less than the real truth about God — and that truth will inevitably exclude everything except itself.SIN. A part of our problem is our insistence on writing our own rules. But if sin is the objective violation of the will of a God who truly does exist, the rectification of that problem will require letting God define exactly where we have gone wrong.SALVATION. If the gospel is about sin, that means “salvation” must be seen from a different perspective. Various proposals by the world’s greatest teachers will not be enough. What we need is a grace that only our God can supply, and it is God who has said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35)."Anyone can devise a plan by which good people may go to heaven. Only God can devise a plan whereby sinners, who are his enemies, can go to heaven" (Lewis Sperry Chafer).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.comFor more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com