Sacrifice of praise

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 11-13; Psalm 30

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:15


Not only does the writer of Hebrews challenge us to continuous contentment (Hebrews 13:5,6) but to an even more radical habit. He suggests we live lives of continuous praise.

The phrase "sacrifice of praise" snags my attention. How is our praise a sacrifice? A sidebar article in my Bible gives this insight:

"The word 'sacrifice' (Greek thusia) comes from the root thuo, a verb meaning "to kill or slaughter for a purpose." Praise often requires that we 'kill' our pride, fear, or sloth—anything that threatens to diminish or interfere with our worship of the Lord" Guy P. Duffield, Hebrews commenter, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1746.

I look with chagrin at the trivialities that can quench my praise: the weather, problems with my stuff, a headache, a stressful schedule... Yes, praising God in and through the above will need a sacrifice on my part, though a tiny one. Perhaps those little irritants are meant as rehearsal for the big problems that will inevitably come along—terminal illness, catastrophe, death—so I can be praising through those things as well.

Of course our praise isn't a Pollyanna-ish refusal to look at life realistically. It is based on our thankfulness to God who, in Jesus, stepped into time and space. He sacrificed everything for me so that my eternal destiny is sure, no matter what my circumstances here on earth.

Our Bible commenter again:

"Praise will never be successfully hindered when we keep its focus on Him."

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me today to sacrifice any and all thoughts of discontent, irritation, worry, fear … substituting them with the fruit  (thoughts and words) of praise. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 30

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Final and finished

"O wretched man that I am..." Romans 7:24 (Artist unknown)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Hebrews 9-10; Psalm 29

TO CHEW ON: “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14

In today's reading we see Jesus offering Himself as a sacrifice.

The writer here is talking to people who know the code of laws and sacrifices God gave to Israel through Moses. He attempts to convince his audience of the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice over the animal sacrificial system. He begins by stating this (animal sacrifice) system is imperfect because consciousness of sin dictates we have to keep making sacrifices indefinitely (“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins” - Hebrews 10:11).

But Jesus’ sacrifice is different. His one sacrifice, where He offers His perfect life as the payment for our sin, means the need for all the animal sacrifices is forever satisfied. He has made our peace with God (Hebrews 10:12).

However, that doesn’t mean we’re perfect or the consciousness of our sin is lessened. Rather, it is the settled fact of our relationship with God – even as we are still in process – “we are being sanctified.”

[Sanctified =  hagiazo: to hallow, set apart, dedicate, consecrate, make holy.
“In the Old Testament things, places and ceremonies were named hagiazo. In the NT the word describes the manifestation of life produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit” Word Wealth – New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1463.]

What does all this mean for you and me, here and now? Here’s how I understand it.

1. By accepting Jesus’ death as applying to me, I can live guilt-free in relation to God.

2. But this doesn’t give me license to do whatever I like – to sin as much as I want because in the next instant I can say “sorry” and be assured everything is okay between God and me again.

3. Rather, my right relationship with God shows itself in my lifestyle. I am set apart (by His Spirit in me) to live a life that is hagiazo.

I ask myself, does my life show this? Are His laws and ways being written on my heart and my mind. Am I continuing in the process of “being sanctified”?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for the sacrifice of Your life for me. Holy Spirit, please set me apart for Your purposes. Write Your laws on my heart and mind. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 29

MORE: Oswald Chambers’ insights on this passage

"We trample the blood of the Son of God under foot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only explanation of the forgiveness of God and of the unfathomable depth of His forgetting is the Death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the outcome of our personal realization of the Atonement which He has worked out for us…..


"It does not matter who or what we are, there is absolute reinstatement into God by the death of Jesus Christ and by no other way, not because Jesus Christ pleads, but because He died. It is not earned, but accepted" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest - Read, December 8 reading.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Poured out versus self-directed life

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Philippians 1-2; Psalm 11

TO CHEW ON: “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Philippians 2:17


Several times in his writing Paul uses metaphors of sacrifice for his life. These are word pictures that take us back to the Jewish sacrifices. He does that in Philippians 2: “… I am being poured out as a drink offering…” vs. 17.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series explains the drink offering metaphor:

“The metaphor itself is taken from the Jewish sacrificial system. Pictured is the burnt offering (thysia, ‘sacrifice’), the service itself (leitourgia) and the drink offering poured out at the sanctuary (spendo) in connection with (not ‘on’ in Jewish ritual) the sacrifice (cf. Num 28:1-7)....

“Most likely, then, the whole clause is a metaphor for the present suffering that both he and they are experiencing at the hand of the Empire. He pictures his imprisonment as the drink offering that goes along with their 'burnt offering,' their present struggle in Philippi." (IVP Commentary accessed through the free resources at Biblegateway.com).

Our experience may not include seeing or being part of such a ritual. But even so it’s clear, I think, that Paul is talking about complete relinquishment of his life to the purposes of Jesus.  His life is some sort of liquid—water, or wine, or perfume—poured out.

A more modern voice that sounds a lot like Paul’s on the matter of living the sacrificial life is Oswald Chambers. Here are some things he says in the book Biblical Ethics (all emphases added):

“The attitude of Christians toward the providential order in which they are placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own” - Biblical Ethics, Kindle Location 554.

“The only way one can ever be of service to God is when one is willing to renounce all one’s natural excellencies and determine to be weak in Him. ‘I am here for one thing only, for Jesus Christ to manifest himself in me.’… We have to form the habit of letting God carry on His work through us without let or hindrance - Op. Cit. K.L. 3317.

“There was no ‘show business’ in the life of the Son of God, and there is to be no show business in the life of the saint. Concentrate on God, let Him engineer circumstances as He will, and wherever He places you…” Op. Cit. KL 3344.

What a contrast such a life is to Paul’s description of a group of people he calls “all” a little further down:

“For all seek their own, not things which are of Christ Jesus” - Philippians 2:21.

“For the others seek [to advance] their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ the Messiah” - Philippians 2:21 AMP.

Chambers:

“Sin is literally self-centered rule, a disposition that rules the life apart from God.” Chambers, Op.Cit. KL 4502.

I ask myself, as perhaps you do too, what sort of life am I living? A poured-out, drink offering life, or a self-centered one?

PRAYER: Dear Father, I find myself so often defaulting to self-rule. Help me to live the poured-out life, completely at Your disposal more consistently. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 11

The Bible Project VIDEO: Philippians (Read Scripture Series)





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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

The smells God loves

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ephesians 5-6; Psalm 10

TO CHEW ON: “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 5:2

Paul's description of Christ’s sacrifice as a “sweet smelling aroma” only makes sense when we put it into the context of the Old Testament.

The first instance we have of the connection between God and the smell of a sacrifice is when Noah left the ark and made a burnt offering. Then “… the LORD smelled a soothing aroma…” and determined to never again curse the ground or wipe out humanity - Genesis 8:20,21.

The Old Testament sacrifice system was full of smells;

• The aroma of sacrificed (burning) animals, animal parts (like fat), and grain (Leviticus 1:9, 8:21).

• The aroma of a specially concocted anointing oil to be used exclusively for setting  aside people and things as holy (it contained the fragrances of myrrh, cinnamon, sweet-smelling cane, and cassia) - Exodus 30:22-33.

• The aroma of incense, burned on a special altar—the Altar of Incense in the Tabernacle and in censers which only authorized people were to offer in the prescribed way (Leviticus 10:1,2).

Here, in Ephesians, when Paul speaks of Christ in His death as being a “sweet-smelling aroma,”  keeping all the above in mind, we get it.  Jesus’ death was the appeasing smell of sacrifice to God like the smell of the OT animal, grain, and incense offerings had been. (Of course we realize this is metaphorical because Jesus wasn’t burned; there was no literal smell of smoke involved in His death.)

• Paul also speaks of aroma as it applies to our witness in 2 Corinthians 2:15,16.

• In Hebrews 13:15, 16 the writer speaks of us bringing a “sacrifice of praise” (though no smell is actually mentioned).

• And in Revelation 5:8, the prayers of the saints are described as “golden bowls full of incense.”

What strikes me about the connection of fragrance with worship is what it signifies of being set apart (in the case of the anointing oil) and destruction (sacrifice, burning) of the thing being sacrificed (animals, grain, incense).

Romans 12:1 comes to mind:

“I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

I ask myself, I ask you: are we that “sweet-smelling aroma” to God in death to self, holiness, witness, worship, and prayer?

PRAYER: Dear Father, I pray that my life will be a “sweet-smelling aroma” to You today. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 10

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When should someone else's conscience rule your behavior?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 7-8; Psalm 144

TO CHEW ON: "But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak." 1 Corinthians 8:9

Are you aware of your conscience? We all have one, you know, though this part of our consciousness gets little attention in the secular world. However, writer Joe Carter believes the conscience is making a comeback among Christians. In an article on The Gospel Coalition, he describes what the conscience is and isn't, does and doesn't do for us. He makes these points:

1. Conscience is an internal rational capacity that bears witness to our value system.

He likens a bothered conscience to physical pain, alerting us to the fact that we've done something we consider wrong.

2. Conscience is a trustworthy guide only when it is informed and ruled by God.

3. Conscience is to be subordinated to and informed by the revealed Word of God.

4. To willfully act against conscience is always a sin.

5. Conscience can be suppressed by sin.

Paul here is going one further, telling his readers not to merely follow their own consciences (he assumes they already do) but to alter their behavior so as not to offend the conscience of a more sensitive brother or sister.

And why would they do that?

Out of genuine care for that more sensitive Christian, realizing that when they indulge their greater freedom, their example may encourage the person with the sensitive conscience to join in the activity and thus go against his conscience and thus sin (1 Corinthians 8:9).

The example Paul uses—eating meat offered to idols—will hardly apply to us. But many modern behaviors could. For example, if your conscience allows you to drink alcohol in moderation, would you refrain from drinking it if you were with someone who had scruples against drinking alcohol?

Jim Cymbala in the book Storm makes an impassioned plea for this kind of consideration of others exactly in this area. His dad, who was an alcoholic, didn't even attend his wedding. Cymbala says:

"That's what I always think about when I hear people flaunting their so-called 'freedom in Christ' or their enlightened view of twenty-first century ethics. One drink at one party did my dad in. And I don't know what weakness lies resident in me. That's why I forgo anything with alcohol content. Not because wine with a meal is wrong, but rather who knows where that drink might lead me? Or someone who watches me drink it? ...  Can't we all, regardless of our differing views on what's 'lawful,' put other people's welfare first?" - Jim Cymbala, Storm, Kindle Location 1576.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to put into practice the principle of caring as much about others and their spiritual welfare as I care about my own. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 144

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesus, my mercy seat

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 3-4; Psalm 134


TO CHEW ON: "...Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood..." Romans 3:24b-25a

Within the word "propitiation" we have one of the most amazing and offending aspects of the Gospel.

In English when we talk of propitiating someone, we mean that we appease, conciliate and cause them to be favourably disposed toward us.

The Greek word for "propitiation" is hilasterion  which actually means "mercy seat." It refers to the place of atonement between the two cherubim on the top of the ark. "The root meaning of hilasterion is that of appeasing and placating an offended god" - New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1738.

The idea that a loving God would personally exercise wrath against His creatures is what's offensive to some. However, the Bible makes it clear that that's the way it is (for example, see Isaiah 53:4-5; Romans 5:9; Ephesians 5:6; Revelation 6:16-17).

But that's not the end of the story. Though we deserved God's wrath, Jesus took it for us. God "set forth" Jesus as a propitiation. "...By His blood" refers to the fact that He died: "Blood is a reference to Christ's death as a substitute sacrifice for us. Christ's blood poured out is a clear evidence that His life was given for us" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1553.

And so God was able to satisfy both His holiness in its complete abhorrence of and wrath against sin, and His love. It really is the most incredible good news (gospel)!

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for being my mercy seat. May I never take my sin lightly, but keep in mind God's wrath visited on you for me. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 134

MORE: More on propitiation

"What is a 'propitiation'? It is a sacrifice that averts wrath through expiating sin, and cancelling guilt.


This...is the real heart of the gospel: that Jesus Christ, by virtue of His death on the cross as our substitute and sin-bearer, 'is the propitiation for our sins' (1 John 2:2). Between us sinners and the thunderclouds of divine wrath stands the cross of the Lord Jesus. If we are Christ's, through faith, then we are justified through his cross, and the wrath will never touch us, neither here nor hereafter. Jesus 'delivers us from the wrath to come' (1 Thessalonians 1:10)" - J. I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 173.

If you're interested in reading more, check the "Theological Term of the Week," propitiation page of the Rebecca Writes blog.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Our very costly oil

Image: debdebdeb / pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 11-12; Psalm 108

TO CHEW ON: "Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil." John 12:3

Some of the questions that come to me as I read this story are:
- What was special about spikenard oil and why did Mary have it on hand?
- What was she intending to do with it?
- Why anoint Jesus' feet?
- What would motivate her to give such an extravagant gift?

Study Bibles to the rescue!

According to my New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, "Spikenard was a valuable and fragrant ointment derived from the dried roots of the herbal plant called nard. By the first century A.D. it was already being imported from its native India in alabaster boxes because of its costliness" - Siegfried Schatzmann, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1465.

Why did Mary have this oil? According to the Quest Study Bible, she had purchased it to anoint Jesus' body when He did die (I'm sure not expecting it to be mere weeks later). "It was not uncommon for family or friends to spend enormous sums of money on strong perfumes and spices to mask the door of a decaying body" - Quest Study Bible, p. 1486.

As for anointing Jesus' feet, the custom was to wash a guest's feet and anoint his head. QSB suggests that Mary (and another woman who also anointed Jesus' feet—Luke 7:37-38) felt unworthy to anoint His head.

Recalling what had recently happened in Mary's life (Jesus' resurrection of her brother Lazarus), we can understand the gratitude and love and respect, and frankly awe, she had for Jesus. Her lavish gift (calculated to be "equivalent to the annual income of a labourer" - QSB, Op. Cit.) was her way of expressing all these feelings to the living Jesus.

As the scene played out, what started as a private gesture soon became very public as the perfume scent filled the house, leading to both ridicule and praise.

Applying this story to life, we in the 21st century have no physical Jesus on whom to pour our love and gratitude—for changed lives, hope for the future, help with our day to day living, healing (both physical and spiritual), etc. But we can still say thank you with the most precious gift we have—our lives. Paul makes the very comparison of our lives to perfume in 2 Corinthians 2:14:

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."

For most of us this is a private gift—a habitual and daily "yes" to what He asks of us. The perfume of this gift may not seem to be going anywhere. But there are sacrificed lives—which were also given in private—whose fragrance has "filled the house." people like David Livingstone, David Brainard, Jim Elliot and many others. I believe heaven will be full of the fragrance the the "very costly oil" of lives poured out for Jesus. May ours be among them!

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to continually give you my most valuable possession, my life, with words and actions that say "Yes, help Yourself to me." Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 108

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Yielded bodies

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Daniel 1-3; Psalm 55

TO CHEW ON: "Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,  who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God." - Daniel 3:28

I love the way Nebuchadnezzar spells out what these three rebellious officials have done this day. He says, in effect, 'You thumbed your noses at my law, yielding your very bodies in order to obey God, whom I now see is greater than I am.' Not only had these men  faced the possibility of giving up their positions and reputations but their physical lives to stay loyal to God.

Similar sacrifice is found throughout scripture. In the Old Testament

• Caleb and Joshua followed the Lord to the extent that their fellow Israelites were about to stone them when when they defended Moses after their spy mission - Numbers 14:10; 32:12.

• King Josiah promised and then made good on his promise to follow God with all his heart, soul and might - 2 Kings 23:3,25.

• In the New Testament Paul models that kind of surrender, facing stoning, riots, and imprisonments to spread the gospel.

Surrender to the point of physical pain—even death—is foreign to us, or to me at least. I wonder how I would have done under the pressures of Nebuchadnezzar's edict or the hounding that the first Christians lived with. No doubt the spirits of these stalwarts were first steeled in the mental, emotional and spiritual way Paul talks about in:

Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.


Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.


Galatians 5:24
And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.


2 Timothy 2:21
Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

PRAYER: Dear God, you are not asking me to yield my body to a fiery furnace, but to honour You and achieve Your purposes in my own setting. Help me to discern what Your purposes are, and to give myself, soul, spirit and body, to You. Amen.

The Bible Project VIDEO: DANIEL - (Read Scripture Series)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The "sweet aroma" of sacrifice

Offering a sacrifice (Image: Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Numbers 28-30; Psalm 49

TO CHEW ON: “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer Me at their appointed time.” Numbers 28:2

Do you have a favorite smell? Have you noticed how smells have the power to jog your memory and trigger your emotions? It’s interesting to note that apparently God too has a sense of smell, and that smells also cause Him pleasure or displeasure. At least ten times in Numbers 28 and 29 following the introduction of the idea in Numbers 28:2 (our focus verse), we read the expression “a sweet aroma to the LORD.”

This “sweet aroma” was not the scent of perfume, flowers, or the seaside, but the smell of burning. Every one of the “sweet aroma”s in our passage came as a result of a burnt sacrifice of an animal alone or offered with flour and oil.

The first time we read of God being moved by the aroma of a sacrifice is in Genesis 8:21, when Noah offered clean animals after leaving the ark. “The idea is that Noah’s sacrifice was a propitiation or satisfaction of God’s righteous requirement,” explains an article on GodQuestions.org.

The same is true of the sacrifices we read of in Leviticus and here in Numbers: “As in the case of Noah’s offering, what pleased the Lord was the commitment to offer worship in His name as He commanded” (above article).

God’s pleasure at the smell of a burning sacrifice was not an automatic reaction, however, but very much in tune with the attitude and actions of the worshiper. For when instituting this sacrifice system, God said to Moses: “And after all this, if you do not obey Me but walk contrary to Me … I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas” - Leviticus 26:27,31.

There are at least two references to that sacrificial aroma in the New Testament that help to connect us today to God’s olfactory reaction to offerings in the Old.

In 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 Paul challenges Christians to be the aroma of Christ to all. We know that Christ was the final sacrifice, the one by which we have life. Since His was a sacrifice of both His death and our life, the aroma of our lives should affect all around us (“…those who are being saved… and those who are perishing”) with reminders of life or death.

I ask, are we so dead to self, alive to Christ that our lives actually remind those being saved of life, those unsaved of death?

In Ephesians 5:2 Christ’s sacrifice to God (“for a sweet-smelling aroma”) is connected with His love. Paul challenges readers of His day and us today to walk in Christ’s sacrificial love.

Do we live with such love?


PRAYER: Dear Father, Your reaction to the smell of sacrifice challenges me to be more complete in offering myself to You in the way Paul describes it, “… present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God …” (Romans 12:1). Amen.
 
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 49

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

A shocking conclusion to a beautiful day

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Leviticus 8-10; Psalm 32

TO CHEW ON: “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.
So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” Leviticus 10:1,2


Things were going so well on this day when the tabernacle worship was begun. Just before our focus verses we read of how God’s glory appeared and His fire came down supernaturally, devouring the offering. The amazed and dazzled congregation fell on their faces at this sight of God’s presence and approval.

Even as this was going on, Aaron’s sons snatched their censers, filled them with incense and fire, and began making their own offering.

What were they up to? Was this an attempt to gain a little credit for their service? Or perhaps they were showing off. Or maybe they were experimenting to see what glorious thing God would do next.  Or could they have been confused by too much wine?

We’ll never know. But lest we leave thinking God harsh and arbitrary for judging them in this way, let’s look behind their seemingly small “sin” and think about how their actions can be a warning to us.

1. Proud ambition:
Matthew Henry’s commentary suggests they were “… proud of the honour they were newly advanced to and ambitions.” What we don’t find in the passage is God’s command that they make this extracurricular offering. It was their own idea.

2. Unlawful fire:
Their presumption included taking, not the fire from the altar that was to be used in offerings but with blatant disregard filling those censers with their own fire.

3. Impulsive:
It sounds like their act was done quickly, on impulse, while Moses, Aaron and the people were preoccupied.

4. Drunk:
They may have been drunk, for immediately after this happened God addressed Aaron with a warning about serving sober (Leviticus 10:8-11).

We take away from this incident a reminder that God is holy, other, different from us. No matter what the culture of our times says about permissiveness and how breaking rules is no big deal, He doesn’t change. From this story we can learn:

• Personal ambition has no place in God’s service.

• No matter what our status or position, we shouldn’t presume to step out on our own but wait for God’s direction.

• Obedience is important, even when no one is looking.

• God’s service calls for our best focus and concentration.

PRAYER: Oh Father God, this story reminds me that You are not to be taken lightly. Please give me a renewed realization of Your holiness and respect for who You are and what You say. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 32

The Bible Project VIDEO: Leviticus (Torah Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

The great trade-off

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:1-11


TO CHEW ON: "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8

Paul, here, could be the merchant in the story Jesus told: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. who, when he had found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).

What had Paul "sold" (Philippians 3:4-6)?
- His own efforts to satisfy the law.
- His confidence of special Hebrew-born status.
- His self-assuredness from his training, education and prestige as a Pharisee.
- Faith in his zealous religious work.

And what did he get in exchange (Philippians 3:7-21)?
- Intimate knowledge of Jesus.
- Right standing with God based on faith not works.
- Power (resurrection power).
- Suffering - to the extent of death.
- A new life-goal.
- A new final home.
- The hope of a glorified body.

A sidebar article in my Bible comments:

"This passage sums up Paul's primary pursuit in life: to know Christ. From a prison cell in Rome, Paul pens this personal letter in which he comes to terms with an accomplished past and a confining present. After his past as a persecutor of God's people and through his "superior" religious activities as a Pharisee, Paul came to the liberating conclusion that all is rubbish compared to knowing the Lord (Philippians 3:8).


Freed from the stagnation of yesterday's victories and the emotional paralysis of yesterday's mistakes, Paul knew that the only thing that ultimately counted was knowing the Lord and being obedient to His will." - Steven Fry, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p 1664.

I ask myself, have I felt the heartbeat of such a passion to know Christ? Could I readily "count all things loss," turning my back on everything that is "me"—my education, family, comfortable home, attainments—if such relinquishment meant I would get I would get to know Jesus better? What about you?

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please birth in me a deep hunger and longing for more of Jesus. Put in my heart a burning desire to know God in a greater way then ever before. Amen.

MORE: "He is No Fool" - by Twila Paris

Powerful hands

Detail from "Jesus and the Little Child" by James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 19:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray … And He laid His hands on them and departed from there." Matthew 19:13,15


I wonder what became of the little children Jesus laid His hands on that day. Was it a memorable day for them? Did their lives change after that?

The laying on of hands is powerful body language throughout the Bible, used to say a variety of things:

"I bless"

• That's what the patriarchs did to their children and grandchildren - Genesis 48:14-15.

• That's what the parents wanted Jesus to do to their children in our reading (expressed explicitly in Mark 10:16: "And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them." emphasis added).

"This animal is my substitute"

• Laying hands on the animal that was to be sacrificed was part of the Old Testament offering ritual - Leviticus 4:4, 15, 29, 33. It was the way the sinner said, "I transfer my sins to this animal. It dies in my stead."

"Receive your healing"

• In the New Testament, Jesus laid hands on people when He healed them - Mark 6:5; 7:32,33; 8:23. He commissioned His followers to do the same - Mark 16:18.

• Ananias laid his hands on Saul/Paul and he recovered his sight - Acts 9:17.

• Later Paul prayed for healing for the father of Publius with the same gesture - Acts 28:8.

"Receive the fullness"

• On one of his missionary journeys, when Paul met a group of disciples at Ephesus who did not know about the Holy Spirit, he laid hands on them and "… the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied - Acts 19:6. In other words, it opened the floodgates for all God had for them.

"I ordain you"
Laying on hands in ordination happened in both the Old and New Testaments.

• Moses was to lay hands on the Levites as part of their initiation to priestly work - Numbers 8:10.

• He also laid his hands on Joshua when he passed on his mantle of leadership - Deuteronomy 34:9.

• The New Testament has instances where church leaders laid hands on individuals prior to them being sent out to do ministry - Acts 6:6.

• For Timothy, that experience confirmed a special gift that equipped him - 1 Timothy 4:14.

We can use our warm, personal, unique hands for so many things—both bad and good. Let's use them to do less hitting, dismissing, and cursing; to do more blessing, equipping, commissioning, and healing.

PRAYER: Dear God, I present my hands to You today as part of myself—a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. (Romans 12:1). Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Voluntary praise

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:97-112

TO CHEW ON: "Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord." Psalm 119:108a

When the writer of Psalm 119 asked God to accept the "freewill offerings of my mouth" he was referring to a specific category of offerings. These were offerings that people gave to God voluntarily out of the overflow of their worship, gratitude and emotion.

In the Old Testament freewill offering [Nedabah = voluntariness, free-will offering] is first used in Exodus 35 where Moses asked the Israelites to bring treasure (most of it plundered from the Egyptians when they left Egypt) for building the tabernacle (Exodus 35:29).

Though freewill offerings were voluntary, they were to be of the same quality as other sacrifices (Leviticus 22:18-23). They were also to be offered not just any old place but at the place of worship (Deuteronomy 12:5-7; 17). It is clear from Leviticus 23:38 that they were an expected part of the sacrifice routine along with prescribed offerings, keeping the Sabbath, bringing gifts, and making vows. They were common enough to warrant a priest whose sole job it was to look after them (2 Chronicles 31:14).

It's in the context of this kind of sacrifice that the Psalm-writer asks God to accept the "freewill offerings of my mouth." It is a metaphor for volunteer praise, worship, adoration and thanksgiving that flows to God from a praising, worshiping, adoring, and thankful heart.

We don't know whether he offered these freewill offerings of his mouth only at the temple when he went to worship, or offered them wherever he was. Neither do we know whether he would have disqualified himself if he was an off-key singer or a stuttering speaker. I hope these exclusions are not implied. Rather I like to think of the invitation to bring such sacrifices as open-armed as the one in Hosea:

Take words with you,
      And return to the LORD.
      Say to Him,


      “Take away all iniquity;
      Receive us graciously,
      For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips." - Hosea 14:2 NKJV

and in Hebrews:

Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name." -
Hebrews 13:15 AMP

PRAYER: Dear God, "Freewill offerings" — what a wonderful metaphor for praise and worship. Help me to make such offerings throughout my day as I reflect on You and Your ways with me. Amen.

MORE: "Hosanna" by Paul Baloche

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Cost to a "sent out" one

"Take Up His Cross"- Pictures from 
Children's Bible Story Books.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 10:32-11:1

TO CHEW ON: "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." Matthew 10:39

Matthew 10 is mostly a set of instructions Jesus gave to His twelve disciples before sending them out to their Jewish neighbours. Their mission was to preach and demonstrate the nearness of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 10:7-8). By Jesus' instructions we can tell that the reaction to their message would be mixed. In other words this would be no sightseeing jaunt or cushy vacation.

In the end, this assignment seemed to be as much about the apprenticeship of the disciples as it was about the delivery of the Kingdom message to their countrymen. A warning that Jesus gave at least three times in this chapter was to expect opposition that would test their loyalties.

1. Their message and commitment to Jesus would get them in trouble with governing authorities to the extent of being forced to defend themselves before councils, governors, and kings. The will even be beaten (Matthew 10:17-20).

2. Their commitment to Jesus would test family ties. Jesus warned of treachery coming from even within their own households (Matthew 10:34-36).

3. Their commitment to Jesus would test their loyalty to themselves (Matthew 10:37-39). Jesus challenged His disciples to love Him more than their own lives. He couched it in the language of death — called it  taking up one's cross. Such a thing probably doesn't ring many alarm bells in our society where crosses aren't used for execution. To get the shock value of His statement let's say it differently. How about: "He who does not take with him his lethal injection and follow Me is not worthy of Me"?

Jesus' warning words are a stark reminder of humanity's default reaction to the gospel. Therefore you and I shouldn't be surprised when people respond to the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven (and all it entails of mankind's sinful state, our need for redemption and the ultimate lordship of Jesus over our life and all of creation) with incredulity, challenge, confrontation, ultimatums, anger... In fact, we're probably naive if we don't expect it.

And personally, am I ready to kill that part of me that wants the world to accept me and like me? On top of that, am I ready to put to death that part of me that wants to do as I please in choice of vocation, relationships, how I spend my time, money etc.? Am I that loyal to Jesus?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Your description of true discipleship in this chapter is sobering and startling. I don't think I've begun to be a disciple like this. Please show me what it means in daily living. Amen.

MORE: "Jesus I My Cross Have Taken"

This Bob Dylan-esque rendition of this old hymn is from the second Indelible Grace CD, Pilgrim Days. I love it! Many verses that's why it's so long. Read along with the singers by following the link to the lyrics below.



Follow the lyrics as you listen

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Secret disciples

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 27:57-66

TO CHEW ON: "Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus." Matthew 27:57

Here Joseph of Arimathea (a rich man, Matthew points out) asked Pilate for Jesus' body. John's account of the same event includes Nicodemus as Joseph's companion in this:

"After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds" - John 19:38-39.

I find it interesting that these two members of the Sanhedrin, so intimidated by their fellow Jewish leaders during Jesus' life that they didn't follow Him openly, finally showed their colours at His death. Perhaps they felt ashamed that they hadn't declared themselves sooner. Maybe they wished they had tried harder to bring about a different ending, and this was the least they could do. From their point of view it had ended badly and now showing their allegiance to Jesus was more important than staying tight with the Sanhedrin crowd. Maybe folks like they were the reason Jesus had warned so often about the danger of riches.

On the other hand, their riches and position now gave them the leverage they needed to get Jesus' body from Pilate. Joseph had the tomb, Nicodemus the expensive spices. With their resources they showed Jesus care and respect, albeit too late.

I come from this story with two thoughts.

• Riches and influence can be a trap. Fear of losing them has the power to shut mouths and change behaviour. I am reminded of Jesus' words: "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" - Mark 8:48.

• But riches and influence are also needed in the Kingdom of God. God gives the power to make money ("...for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth..." - Deuteronomy 8:18). He places people into positions of influence ("But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another" - Psalm 75:7). If we're rich and influential, let's not get caught up in materialism and power, nor be made to feel guilty by those who have given up everything. Rather, let's put our resources at the disposal of the Kingdom of God.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the example of Joseph and Nicodemus who honoured Jesus so beautifully in His death. Help me to use my influence and resources for Your kingdom. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Riding to Jerusalem—but not to coronation

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Philippians 2:1-11

TO CHEW ON: “And being in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8

Today is Palm Sunday—the day we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (recorded in Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19).

It was a symbolic ride. Matthew and John point out how this act fulfilled prophecy (Matthew 21:4,5; John 12:14,15). The people, with a display that showed they recognized what was being said (they spread their clothes in front of the donkey and waved palm branches in celebration) shouted praise to Jesus, who they thought they would soon be crowning as their earthly king (Matthew 21:9; Luke 19:38; John 12:15).

But Jesus knew that this ride was not a ride to a coronation but a crucifixion. In John the account of Him riding into Jerusalem is followed immediately by His explanation of these events to His disciples:

“‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain … Now My soul is troubled and what shall I say? “Father, save Me from this hour”? But for this purpose I came to this hour’” John 12:23,27 (emphasis added).

And so the challenge Jesus left with His disciples (us)— “‘He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life'"- John 12:25)—and Paul left with his readers (the church, us)—“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God … made Himself of no reputation” - Philippians 2:5-7)—is to look past the apparent to the real:

• The real reason Jesus came, which was to glorify His father through His death and resurrection (John 12:28).

• The real reason we’re alive, which is to bring glory to the Father (Philippians 2:11), however that will happen and whatever it means to us of life or death.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for willingly becoming that grain of wheat who died to produce much grain. I join with the kneeling, praising multitudes to confess You are Lord. Please give me Your attitude of obedience and self-sacrifice. Amen.

MORE: Palm Sunday

The Collect in the Palm Sunday liturgy:

"Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Bruised

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 52:13-53:12


TO CHEW ON: "He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon Him
And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5


Today's magnificent reading is Isaiah's final Servant Song. A footnote in my Bible describes it: "...one of the greatest passages in the Bible, the mountain peak of Isaiah's book, the most sublime messianic prophecy in the Old Testament, relating to so many features of Jesus Christ's redemptive work" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 936.

This passage is teeming with prophecies fulfilled through Jesus (listed in a sidebar article in my Bible - p. 937):

• He will be exalted (Isaiah 52:13) - Philippians 2:9.

• He will be disfigured by suffering (Isaiah 52:14; 53:2) - Mark 15:17,19.

• He will be widely rejected (Isaiah 53:1,3) - John 12:37-38.

• He will bear our sins and sorrows (Isaiah 53:4) - Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 2: 24-25.

• He will make a blood atonement (Isaiah 53:5) - Romans 3:25.

• He will be our substitute (Isaiah 53:6,8) - 2 Corinthians 5:21.

• He will stand silently, giving no defence (Isaiah 53:7) - Matthew 26:63; 27:12-14.

• He will voluntarily accept our guilt and punishment (Isaiah 53:7) - John 10:11.

• He will be buried in a rich man's tomb (Isaiah 53:9) - John 19:38-42.

• He will justify many from their sin (Isaiah 53:10,11) - Romans 5:15-19.

• He will die with transgressors (Isaiah 53:12) - Mark 15:27; Luke 22:37.

What I am most struck by, though, is the tenderness of Isaiah's writing as He depicts this Servant. There is no doubt this is God, the Holy Spirit inspiring Isaiah. It is God the Father seeing Jesus through Isaiah's eyes, describing His one and only Son through Isaiah's pen:

"His visage was marred...He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant.... He is despised and rejected...He was wounded...He was bruised... He was oppressed and He was afflicted...He was taken...He was cut off..."

At the same time, it is Isaiah's regret-filled reaction:

"And we hid as it were, our faces from Him. He was despised and we did not esteem Him... Surely He has borne out griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities..."

It's as if he is saying "What have we done?"

That is the emotional response that wells up in me as I read this. And not only what have "we" done, but what have "I" done? I doubt that I would have been much different from the people in Jesus' time who scorned and accused Him, who refused to realize He was dying not for His own sins but theirs (Isaiah 53:4-5). I too am a sheep who has gone astray in the past and still easily wanders.

I turn my eyes away. I can't look as this "tender plant" is "cut off" for me. Thank You Jesus!

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for taking my sin on You. Thank You for enduring all the pain, humiliation and undeserved blame to buy me back. Words feel inadequate to describe what You've done, and how much I am indebted to You. Thank You over and over! Amen

MORE: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - Kathryn Scott



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Poured out life

David pours out water - Caspar Luiken

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Timothy 4:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand." 2 Timothy 4:6

Paul uses the image of a drink offering to speak of his own impending death.

These liquid offerings were part of Old Testament worship.

• Jacob worshiped God that way when he returned to Bethel, the place God had first met him on his flight from home (Genesis 35:14-15).
•  A drink offering was part of the consecration of Aaron and his sons (Exodus 29:40), the Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:13), and the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:18).

We can't help but think of other pourings.

• David poured out the precious gift of Bethlehem water—his way of acknowledging God was worthy of the best and most desirable (2 Samuel 23:15-17).

• Mary poured out precious perfume, the most valuable thing she had, on Jesus' feet (John 12:1-8).

• Paul's picture of his life as a libation here implies that he may expect to be martyred (as in poured out blood).

•  He uses the drink offering image in another place as well. In Philippians 2:17 the picture is of his drink-offering-life poured over their sacrifice and service. It's as if his life and theirs work together to complete the sacrifice—a "living sacrifice" he calls it in Romans 12:1.

Can we live drink offering lives? They will seem wasted, perhaps, as David's poured out Bethlehem water and Mary's perfume seemed a waste. But in the apparent waste is new and surprising life. Read words of Jesus:

"Most assuredly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." John 12:24,25.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to live my life like a drink offering—poured out for You. Amen.

MORE: Pour My Love on You (by Phillips, Craig and Dean)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A deal in our favor

Image: pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 1:18-31

TO CHEW ON: "'Come now, let us reason together,'
Says the Lord,
'Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.'" Isaiah 1:18

In the middle of this prophecy, which is mostly a blistering scold of Judah for her rebellious ways, comes this short and dispassionate invitation: "'Come now let us reason together.'"

[Reason - yakach isn't transliterated reason very often. In other places it is rendered to decide, judge, show to be right, prove, reprove, chide, correct, rebuke. That, then, is the shade of reason here—a deal proposed by the One with the power, wisdom, and right to judge, to the one without.]

The deal the LORD sets out is simple. For willingness and obedience they will get supernatural cleansing (from sin). But refusal and rebellion will lead to death.

When we consider the price God demanded as payment for cleansing from sin—the life of a perfect lamb in the Old Testament, culminating in the life of the Lamb of God in the New, this "deal" seems highly weighted in favor of Judah, and us humans. But it does have two sides to it.

Still today the opportunity to be cleansed stands:

• "…the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all " Isaiah 53:6.

• "… while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8

• " For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works…" Ephesians 2:8,9

• "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…"1 Peter 3:18.

When we accept it, it means new life for us.

• " I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you … Ezekiel 36:25-27.

• "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" 2 Corinthians 5:14-17.

But we also have a part to play in this agreement.

• "…present your bodies a living sacrifice…" Romans 12:1.

• "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only…" James 1:22-25.

• "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me…" John 14:21.

However, even in this, God is at work to enable us.

• "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" 2 Corinthians 3:18 (emphasis added).
  

Through the centuries it's a deal that remains weighted in our favour.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for making a way out of the stench and stain of sin to purity. Even though sacrificing You our whole selves in love and obedience is no little thing, in reality, it's all You, and a very beneficial deal for us! Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesus—revealed in Revelation

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! 

"I am...the Bright and Morning Star" (Pixabay.com)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Revelation 22:6-21

TO CHEW ON: " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. … I Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.' " Revelation 22:13,16

Since back in the beginning of April this year we have been reading, from time to time, in Revelation. Today as we come to its concluding words, I recall a challenge I put out on April 4th. It was to search through Revelation to list the names and titles that describe the divine-human relationship and the redemptive work of Christ.

I started my list on that day and over the last couple of days have skimmed through the book to complete it. What an inspiring survey!

I'm going to share my list with you today (though that makes this a very long devo—sorry about that!). Several disclaimers:
- I may have missed some names.
- I included descriptive passages that were not names per se.
- I used my simple understanding of the text to compile this list (didn't go to Bible commentaries and scholars).
- Of course I found lots of repetition so didn't mention each recurrence (the name or title of "Lamb," for example, recurs repeatedly).

These titles and descriptions suggest big-picture facts about Jesus. I have organized them in this way.

In Revelation, Jesus is revealed as:

• Creator:
• "Him… who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it" - Revelation 10:6.

• Eternal:
• "Alpha and Omega" - Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13. 
• "Beginning and the End - Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13. 
• "Who was and is and is to come" - Revelation 1:8; 16:5. 
• "the First and the Last" - Revelation 1:11,17; 22:13. 
• "Him who lives forever and ever" - Revelation 5:14; 10:6.

• Omnipotent:
• "… firstborn from the dead" - Revelation 1:6 
• "Almighty" - Revelation 1:8. 
• " 'I have the keys of death and of Hades' " - Revelation 1:18 
• "He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens" - Revelation 3:7
•  "The Lord God omnipotent" - Revelation 19:6.

• Righteous:
• "He who is holy, He who is true…" Revelation 3:7. 
• "The Faithful and True witness" - Revelation 3:14. 
• "Faithful and True - Revelation 19:11.

• Lord:
• "Our Lord" - Revelation 11:8. 
• "He is Lord of Lords …" - Revelation 17:14. 
• "The Lord God omnipotent" - Revelation 19:6. 
• "Lord Jesus" - Revelation 22:20. 
• "Lord Jesus Christ" - Revelation 22:21.

• King:
• "Ruler of the kings of the earth" - Revelation 1:5. 
• "… having on His head a golden crown" - Revelation 14:14. 
• "He is … King of kings" - Revelation 17:4.

• Communicator:
• "Jesus Christ, the faithful witness…" - Revelation 1:5; 3:14. 
• "Alpha and Omega" - Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13 (I include this here because these are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and imply communication in writing or speech.)
• "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" - Revelation 19:10. 
• "Word of God" - Revelation 19:13. 
• "He who testifies to these things" - Revelation 22:20.

• Descended from God:
• "Son of God" - Revelation 2:18. 
• "He who has the seven Spirits of God" - Revelation 3:1. 
• "The beginning of the Creation of God" - Revelation 3:14.

• Human being:  "You shall call His name Jesus," the angel told Mary of the child she would birth (Luke 1:31). Repeatedly the name of Jesus occurs in Revelation.
• "Jesus" - Revelation 1:1,2,5 
• "Son of man" - Revelation 1:13; 14:14. 
• "her child" and "male child"  Revelation 12:4,5.

• Human being who was also called Messiah (Christos = anointed one):
• "Jesus Christ" - Revelation 1:1,2,5; 12:17.

• A Jew and source / descendant of David's royal family:
• "Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of Jesse" - Revelation 5:5. 
• "I am the Root and the Offspring of David" - Revelation 22:16.

• Sacrifice (Lamb):
• "a Lamb as though it had been slain" - Revelation 5:6. 
• "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world - Revelation 13:8. 
• "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them" - Revelation 17:14. 
• Said of the New Jerusalem: "The Lamb is its light" - Revelation 21:22.

• Ascended:
• "And her Child was caught up to God and His throne" - Revelation 12:4.
  

• Present with the Church:
• "… who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks" - Revelation 2:1. (The candlesticks or lamp stands symbolize the churches - Revelation 1:20.)

• Harvester:
• "Son of Man … in His hand a sharp sickle" - Revelation 14:14.
  

• Warrior:
• "… out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword" - Revelation 1:16. 
• "He who has the sharp two-edged sword" Revelation 2:12. 
• "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them" - Revelation 17:4.

• The Refined who is now a Refiner (Judge):
• "His eyes like a flame of fire, His feet like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace" - Revelation 1:15,16. 
• "The Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and His feet like fine brass" - Revelation 2:18.

• Light:
• "… and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength" - Revelation 1:16.  
• Said of the New Jerusalem: "The Lamb is its Light" - Revelation 21:22.
  

• Unpredictable and mysterious:
• "Behold I am coming as a thief" - Revelation 16:15. 
• "He had a name written that no one knew except Himself" - Revelation 19:12.
  

• Majestic in appearance and presence:
• "...and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters" - Revelation 1:13-15.

• Ruler over angels and the spirit realm: 
• "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches" - Revelation 1:20.
• "I am … the Bright and Morning Star" - Revelation 22:16. (Compare with the description of Satan's fall from heaven in Isaiah 14 where he is referred to as a "morning star" - Isaiah 14:12-15 NIV.)

• God's final word: 
• "... the Amen..." - Revelation 3:14; 22:20,21.

What an invitation and inspiration to be in awe and worship Jesus—our Saviour, the One who has invited us to call Him friend (John 15:15-17).

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I worship with Revelation's thousands and thousands:
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom
And strength and honor and glory and blessing." - Revelation 5:12.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.