Will He know you?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 7-9; Psalm 15

TO CHEW ON: "'And like their bow they have bent their tongue for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from evil to evil
And they do not know Me,' says the Lord." Jeremiah 9:3

These chilling words from today's focus verse snag my attention: "And they do not know Me." Why does God claim these people — citizens of Judah and members of His chosen race -- don't know Him? In this case the peoples' lies show that they don't know God in any life-changing way.

These words set me on a search to find other places God talks about our estrangement from Him and His from us.

Jesus echoes the sentiment from Jeremiah in Matthew 7 when he says that those who do the will of God are the ones God recognizes:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23 - emphasis mine).

Jesus also talks plainly about not knowing those who try to come to God in any but the given way - the "narrow gate":

Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”

And He said to them, 'Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ "(Luke 13:23-27 - emphasis mine).

There is a disturbing trend in modern Christianity to dilute Christ's claim that He is the only way to God. Perhaps it seems too narrow, exclusive, and intolerant. Or maybe it comes from a desire for novelty and finding a new and improved way to connect with God. The result is a tendency toward syncretism, a blending of our worship of God with the practices of other religions. It borrows from various faith streams to make a hybrid way to God, which includes Christ and/or a little meditation, asceticism, mysticism etc. These practices are rooted in Gnosticism and eastern religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism etc.

In this context the warning words of Moses ring across the ages. They apply to the church today:

“When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way..." (Deuteronomy 12:29-31a - emphasis mine).

In our quest for a new and improved way to connect with God, to experience spiritual thrills and chills, let's be ever aware of Jesus' words: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

PRAYER: Dear God, at the end of my life I do not want to hear You say, "I do not know you." Please alert me, by Your Spirit, to disobedience and wandering in me. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 15

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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.

Back to God's perfect default

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 35:1-10

TO CHEW ON: “A highway shall be there and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for other…
But the redeemed shall walk there.” Isaiah 35:8,9


Glorious Chapter 35 of Isaiah falls at the end of Part One of Isaiah—a section titled in my Bible “Prophecy of Denunciation and Invitation.” It is definitely an invitation—a chapter of “Joy and Blessing to God’s People” - New Spirit Filled Life Bible - Introduction to Isaiah.


In it, nature has a party. The desert and the wilderness bloom. They take on the characteristics of the area’s beauty spots of Lebanon, Carmel and Sharon (Isaiah 35:1,2). It’s a time doctors are no longer needed, for the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the mute talk (Isaiah 35:5,6). Everything that is desolate comes alive (Isaiah 35:7). And there is a broad way back to God (Isaiah 35:8-10).

What stands out for me is a snippet from verse 9. After listing who will not walk on that highway (nothing unclean, no hungry wild beasts) is a statement of who will “But the redeemed shall walk there.” I like how the NIV shades it: “But only the redeemed walk there.”

[Redeemed - gawal: Ransom, redeem, repurchase, to set free by avenging or repaying. Refers to the custom of buying back something a person has lost through helplessness, poverty or violence… The biblical view of redemption is extremely wide for God has pledged to redeem the whole creation, which currently groans in bondage” - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 935.]

That’s what I see here—a redeemed creation (humans included) bought back and reset to the default of God’s original creation perfection.

This passage is for me an expression of longing and faith, the “already / not yet” that we live in, knowing Christ has already redeemed all by His death, but not yet seeing the completion of that redemption in real time. May it be soon!

PRAYER: Dear Father, I long for the day when these things come to pass. May it be soon. Until then, help me to be Your faithful servant in this fallen world, helping others find their way to You. Amen.
 
MORE: Feast of St. Luke

Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Luke the physician and gospel writer. The day’s liturgy begins with this Collect prayer:

Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your Church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for 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.

Jesus—our way

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 14:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6

Jesus’ statement here is rich with meaning. Today let’s drill down into just one part of it. How is Jesus the way? To what? To where?

Jesus is the way through…

In the Old Testament an Israelite priest went into the Holy of Holies once a year. He entered through a protective veil that separated the Holy of Holies (where the ark was kept) from the rest of the tabernacle and later the temple.

This was a dangerous place to enter, for it was the very presence of God and His holy righteousness. No one but a priest could enter. He went in with the blood of an animal yearly to atone for the sins of the people. He entered only after he and the other priests had fulfilled all the rituals needed to do this ceremony correctly.

The book of Hebrews explains how when Jesus died, He passed through that veil the final time. His blood (death on the cross) was the final sacrifice needed to atone for the sins of all mankind past, present, and future. At His death the literal temple veil tore (Matthew 27:51). Because of Jesus and through Him we can come to God without blood and without fear (Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-21).

Jesus is our way, through the veil, to God.

Jesus is the way in…
John 10 records Jesus describing his followers in picturesque language as a flock of sheep. Any legitimate shepherd entered a sheepfold by the door. The sheep knew his voice and followed him (John 10:1).

Then Jesus declared Himself the door to that fold. Any sheep who wanted to be part of His flock must enter by (or through) Him. That person would be in His flock and under His care (John 10:1,7-9).

Jesus is the way into His flock.

Jesus is the way to…

In our passage, Jesus talked about going to His Father’s house. There He would make ready a place for His followers to join Him.

He told them (and us) plainly that He was (and is) the way there - John 14:4,6.

Jesus is our way to heaven.

We need to ask ourselves...

• Have we trusted Jesus’ sacrifice as our way through the veil that separates our sinful selves from a holy God?

• Are we in Jesus’ flock, under the care of and following our shepherd?

• Are we anticipating the place to which we’re headed—the Father’s house where we will join our Sacrifice (the Lamb of God, John the Baptist called Him - John 1:29), our Shepherd?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for passing through the veil between God and me with Your blood as the sacrifice for my sin. May I never take this lightly. Help me to live each day listening to Your shepherd voice and in anticipation of joining You in the Father’s house. 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.