You will see at least two common threads here: Christ the judge and Christ the king. We will be considering both, but focusing on Jesus' role as King. The fact that Jesus will one day judge the quick and the dead provides one kind of motivation to get right (pretty much, "get right or get left"). But there is a second, more powerful motivation here, and that is the recognition that Christ is our King, who loved us enough to die for us, and serves us now as our Shepherd. As we look forward to considering Jesus' many roles in our lives this coming Sabbath, spend some time today considering the fact that Jesus is your King, and how well you are doing as His subject.
Tracing a thread of a different color – it’s all about Jesus. Our Inheritance: Preparing for our Inheritance: Psalm 100: Come before His presence with singing. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Gathered together for our Inheritance: Ezekiel 34:11-16: 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
Claiming our inheritance: Matthew 25:31-46: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Some of the benefits of our Inheritance: Ephesians 1:15-23: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding[a] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
The idea of inheritance is a powerful one, Vic, and it speaks both to Jesus' role as the one who bequeaths those benefits to us and to our role as the receiver of those benefits. How wonderful it is to be adopted into God's family, and to enjoy the inheritance promised to us through His Son not only here on earth, but for all of eternity! Thank you for your insights.
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 1:18-20) Imagine that. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that you and I have access to as we do the work set before us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That power makes it possible for you and I to effectively fulfill our calling to "go, teach and baptize." It makes it possible for us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. It makes it possible for us to live according to the will of the Father, and to do that will as His loyal subjects. There is no need for us to mope about as if we have no strength to accomplish God's will; we have all the power we need and more! How will you harness that power today?
I found myself moping about this morning from something that took ahold of me over the past two days. Because of what had happened, old feelings of "your worthless" and "you don't matter" was coming back to me. I was clearly under attack ! I cried this morning and asked God to first please forgive me for my bad thoughts, and then asked Him for His strength to endure. Once again, God has binded the injured and strengthened the weak (Ezekkiel 34:16) and through Him, I shall share His power by witnessing what He does in my life and if other's allow it, what He can do in their lives !
“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep." (Ezekiel 34:11-12) As I read through Ezekiel, I am struck by the realization that the prophet was addressing not only the people of his time, but all of God's people for all time. Which is a long-winded way of saying that Ezekiel was talking to me. I was the sheep that was sought after. I was the sheep that was looked after. Even though I had wandered far from God (even though I wander far from God), He came looking for me, and will always come looking for me. I belong to Him, and there is no price He will not pay, no suffering He will not endure, in order to look after me. That is God's promise to you and I, and as He binds our wounds and gives us strength, our best and only response is gratitude. Rejoice today, and give thanks, for that which was lost is found (see Matthew 15:1-7).
"Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?" It is remarkable that both those who did not serve the Lord and those who did respond to Him in the same way. Those who are judged for their inaction provide an answer that reveals that they do not know Jesus not because they did not recognize Him among the needy, but because they did not obey His command to provide for those in need. Those who are praised for their actions reveal that they were not idly waiting for Jesus to show up "in the flesh," so to speak, but instead went to work where they were, doing the work of serving those in need. As we prepare for Jesus' return, one of the things we must do is obey His commandments. And the greatest commandment is: “'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NASB) If we live by that commandment, we will be ready when Jesus returns.
Tolstoy’s story of Martin, the cobbler, familiar to many, illustrates the point well. Impressed by the Lord in a dream that He would visit him that very day, Martin prepared a clean house and a special meal for Jesus. Through the day people came by his street: 1 – a mother with a small, sick, poorly clothed child, on her way to a clinic for help; He provided them with warm milk and food and some money; he had some children’s soft shoes he’d just made – gave them for this baby; 2 -- a mail person came by, cold and shivering; he provided him with some hot coffee, bread, and brief shelter from the cold; 3 – he saw a young man stealing from an old lady; he went outside, settled their argument and extended love to them. At the end of the day, It seemed that the Lord had not come by. Discouraged, that night he had another dream – the three folks he had helped appeared in his dream and reminded of this passage: “As you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto Me.”
A great story, Dr. Vic, that does a perfect job of communicating Jesus' message to us regarding our responsibility to find our opportunities to serve Him by serving those around us.
You will see at least two common threads here: Christ the judge and Christ the king. We will be considering both, but focusing on Jesus' role as King. The fact that Jesus will one day judge the quick and the dead provides one kind of motivation to get right (pretty much, "get right or get left"). But there is a second, more powerful motivation here, and that is the recognition that Christ is our King, who loved us enough to die for us, and serves us now as our Shepherd. As we look forward to considering Jesus' many roles in our lives this coming Sabbath, spend some time today considering the fact that Jesus is your King, and how well you are doing as His subject.
ReplyDeleteTracing a thread of a different color – it’s all about Jesus.
ReplyDeleteOur Inheritance:
Preparing for our Inheritance: Psalm 100: Come before His presence with singing. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.
Gathered together for our Inheritance: Ezekiel 34:11-16: 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
Claiming our inheritance: Matthew 25:31-46: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Some of the benefits of our Inheritance: Ephesians 1:15-23: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding[a] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
The idea of inheritance is a powerful one, Vic, and it speaks both to Jesus' role as the one who bequeaths those benefits to us and to our role as the receiver of those benefits. How wonderful it is to be adopted into God's family, and to enjoy the inheritance promised to us through His Son not only here on earth, but for all of eternity! Thank you for your insights.
Delete"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 1:18-20) Imagine that. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that you and I have access to as we do the work set before us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That power makes it possible for you and I to effectively fulfill our calling to "go, teach and baptize." It makes it possible for us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. It makes it possible for us to live according to the will of the Father, and to do that will as His loyal subjects. There is no need for us to mope about as if we have no strength to accomplish God's will; we have all the power we need and more! How will you harness that power today?
ReplyDeleteI found myself moping about this morning from something that took ahold of me over the past two days. Because of what had happened, old feelings of "your worthless" and "you don't matter" was coming back to me. I was clearly under attack ! I cried this morning and asked God to first please forgive me for my bad thoughts, and then asked Him for His strength to endure. Once again, God has binded the injured and strengthened the weak (Ezekkiel 34:16) and through Him, I shall share His power by witnessing what He does in my life and if other's allow it, what He can do in their lives !
ReplyDelete“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep." (Ezekiel 34:11-12) As I read through Ezekiel, I am struck by the realization that the prophet was addressing not only the people of his time, but all of God's people for all time. Which is a long-winded way of saying that Ezekiel was talking to me. I was the sheep that was sought after. I was the sheep that was looked after. Even though I had wandered far from God (even though I wander far from God), He came looking for me, and will always come looking for me. I belong to Him, and there is no price He will not pay, no suffering He will not endure, in order to look after me. That is God's promise to you and I, and as He binds our wounds and gives us strength, our best and only response is gratitude. Rejoice today, and give thanks, for that which was lost is found (see Matthew 15:1-7).
ReplyDelete"Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?" It is remarkable that both those who did not serve the Lord and those who did respond to Him in the same way. Those who are judged for their inaction provide an answer that reveals that they do not know Jesus not because they did not recognize Him among the needy, but because they did not obey His command to provide for those in need. Those who are praised for their actions reveal that they were not idly waiting for Jesus to show up "in the flesh," so to speak, but instead went to work where they were, doing the work of serving those in need. As we prepare for Jesus' return, one of the things we must do is obey His commandments. And the greatest commandment is: “'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NASB) If we live by that commandment, we will be ready when Jesus returns.
ReplyDeleteTolstoy’s story of Martin, the cobbler, familiar to many, illustrates the point well. Impressed by the Lord in a dream that He would visit him that very day, Martin prepared a clean house and a special meal for Jesus.
DeleteThrough the day people came by his street: 1 – a mother with a small, sick, poorly clothed child, on her way to a clinic for help; He provided them with warm milk and food and some money; he had some children’s soft shoes he’d just made – gave them for this baby;
2 -- a mail person came by, cold and shivering; he provided him with some hot coffee, bread, and brief shelter from the cold;
3 – he saw a young man stealing from an old lady; he went outside, settled their argument and extended love to them.
At the end of the day, It seemed that the Lord had not come by. Discouraged, that night he had another dream – the three folks he had helped appeared in his dream and reminded of this passage: “As you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto Me.”
A great story, Dr. Vic, that does a perfect job of communicating Jesus' message to us regarding our responsibility to find our opportunities to serve Him by serving those around us.
Delete1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
ReplyDelete2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Happy Sabbath! I eagerly anticipate worshiping together with you on this day!