Intercession

Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25 ESV)

Intercession

Have you ever had someone stick up for you?  I know of folk who have received help with Passport troubles, speeding tickets, warranty issues, concert tickets, job applications, school admissions, and special Christmas presents. 

It helps to have someone ‘upstairs.’

And Christians have someone Upstairs!  Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven, He know intercedes for us! 

He is on every Christians’ side!

This is why God inclines His ear toward us (Psalm 116:2 et al).  Because He is really inclining His ear to Jesus.

When Christians pray, our living brother, our resurrected redeemer, our precious Savior, our beloved (and loving) friend is talking to God on our behalf.

Remember that when you pray.  Jesus is helping our prayers!

Because He lives again, He can intercede for us!

-=-

Justice

…because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:31 ESV)

Justice

Attempting to garden is frustrating for me.  When I see a problem in the garden, and apply a remedy, I somehow expect the solution to work almost instantly.

Perhaps some of us have the same frustration with justice in the world.  We see unrighteousness increasing in society and we desire to have it stomped out NOW.  And it is frustrating when we see more and more unrighteousness, instead of less and less unrighteousness.

Jesus was Resurrected to give assurance, though, that Justice will happen… and in fact, IS happening.

The resurrection assures us that judgment is coming.  The One who understands righteousness more than any other, because He accepted all the unrighteousness of His people on His scourged back is the perfect judge.  But He could not judge in any way at all if He remained in the tomb. 

And that judgement, when applied to rebellious mankind, drives us to the only hope we have.  Judge Jesus Himself, alive and gracious, will absolutely stomp out all unrighteousness.  Either by taking unrighteousness onto Himself, or by finishing the threat of death made to Adam, as the result of sin.  But HE does it.  HE accomplishes it.  HE completes the sentence.

And that judgement, when applied to His people, is covered with grace, peace, and hope.  Because whatever that Living Judge deems us guilty of, He has already paid the penalty that He imposed generations ago… prescribing death as the just dessert of every sin.

The ONLY difference between how Judge Jesus deals with the sin of His people, and the sin of those not His people, is Himself.  All of us deserve condemnation.  But clinging to Him, loving Him, following Him, changes the judgement itself.

Because the Resurrected Lord is applying judgement to Himself, instead of us.

That is wonderfully sobering, yes?

New and Improved

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23 ESV)

New and Improved

Sins’ effects on our physical bodies comes both gradually, and at times suddenly.  We usually call such decline the effects of age, or the result of our environment, or the result of bad decisions that we made at some point.

But the effects of age, the imperfections of our bodies, and our physical inabilities are nothing more nor less than the effects of Sin.  Adam’s sin, Adam’s descendants’ sin, and our own sin.  Sin has led to the groaning of creation, and the groaning of our bodies.

But the Resurrection will fix that.

Jesus’ Resurrected body was perfect, glorious, and amazing.  And so will ours be.  It’s not just a matter of walking through walls, or not ‘needing’ to eat, or even glowing in a halo-like way. 

He was, and we will be perfect.  Without any more sin.  Without any more of sins’ effects. 

That is what the redemption of our bodies means.

Because of the Resurrection, groaning will be finished!

The Gospel

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (I Corinthians15:14-17 ESV)

The Gospel

What if you labored all week, but your boss decided to pay you in kale, instead of dollars?  What if you travelled for hours, but your GPS misdirected you to a hardware store instead of the amusement park you expected?  What if you studied for a degree, but instead of a diploma the school gave you a gift certificate for a tire rotation?

All of those things would be frustrating, disappointing, and useless.

But even worse, what if the salvation God offered and promised led to nothingness, eternal death, and darkness?

But it does not!

Because Christ arose, our salvation’s result is shown.  God is glorified and we have eternal life! God promised both as the result our Christ’s life, and death, and life. 

His resurrection paves the road for us, enables the gift to us, and displays the result of God’s salvation.

The Gospel ends in Resurrection!

Enough

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, (Hebrews 10:12 ESV)

Enough

On a very few occasions I have run out of gas exactly when arriving at a gas station.  While not condoning the procrastination implied in this type of event, there is something pleasurable about having JUST the right amount of gasoline in the tank.

Who has not finished the repair job exactly when the duct tape runs out?

Who has not finished making grilled cheese for the family exactly as the bread runs out?

Who has not, like Fred Flintstone, finished the job exactly when the whistle blows?

Christ was resurrected at the exact moment when His people’s deaths were paid for.  His death lasted from “He gave up His spirit,” on the cross, until “He is risen!” on Sunday morning.

I do not know the exact mathematical formula.  But God does.  And Jesus remained in the tomb for the exact amount of time needed to pay our penalty to God for our sins… our deaths.

We do not know much about what Jesus did during those three days.  But Jude mentions that He visited the dead. (I Peter 3:19, 4:6)  Which means He died.  And He was there for the exact amount of time to cover all of our debts.

This is a grand thing, because it shows us that God was satisfied with Jesus’ sacrifice.  The resurrection was God saying, “It is finished.” 

Every sin of God’s people; past, present, and future.  Every little sin.  Every big sin.  Every sin of commission.  Every sin of omission. 

Jesus was resurrected when His death was exactly enough.

Reliable

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. (Psalm 16:10 ESV)

Reliable

I am often wrong.  Sometimes I am inaccurate.  Often I do not communicate clearly.  And at times I lie. 

And I am not alone.

But God is never wrong.  He is never inaccurate.  He always communicates clearly.  And He never lies.

And the Resurrection proves it.  God’s word, in numerous passage similar to the one quoted above, promises the Resurrection.  Probably it was not understood until after it occurred.  But I reckon at least a few of Jesus’ listeners were not really surprised when the tomb was emptied.

Because God is reliable.  When He promises something, it happens.  Even when the promise is beyond normalcy, expectations, and our senses.

And He promised that death and decay would not defeat the Messiah!

He actually promises the same thing to all of His children.  Death will not hold us, either.  We, too, will rise again.

We can count on it because God showed that He is reliable.

Union

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. (Romans 6:8,9 ESV)

Union

When my wife and I married, we stopped being separate people.  From the moment of, “I Do,” we shared everything.  Money, possessions, land, and relationships.

Everything that was mine became ours.  Everything that was hers became ours.

In an even better way, the Resurrection, called by Paul here, “Living with Him,” gives His people unity with Him.  Our very lives become His.  As His resurrected life becomes ours.

We do not simply live for Him in life (although we do), we also live in Him.  And that, eternally.

His return to life after dying for us knits us with Him. 

Our lives have been changed.  Our lives have been improved.  Our lives have been fixed.  Our lives have been made like Him. 

We live forever, because He lives forever.

But only because of Him.  His life, His death, and His life again.

Death Loses

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2:24 ESV)

Death Loses

The Resurrection of Jesus was God’s victory over death.  Death for humans happens because of sin.  The wages of sin is death.  Death was part of the curse that God put on us because of Adam’s sin, our ancestors’ sin, and our own sin. 

But God did more than simply remove death when the curse was removed by Christ’s work.  Instead God turned death from merely a curse into the entrance to heaven for His people.

If death were a person, he would have thought he had won after Eden.  And then when God Himself died willingly on the cross, death would have danced with joy.

But then three days later death was defeated, defanged, depowered, and destroyed.

Because of the resurrection, our bodies will still die.

But death has no power.  Death is toothless.  Death is a sign of Christ’s victory.

The Resurrection makes death lose.

Justification by Resurrection

What Did the Resurrection Do?

 It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:24,25 ESV)

Justification

For the past weeks we have looked at what Jesus does for His people.  For the next couple of weeks, we will narrow it down to consider what particularly the RESURRECTION of Christ does for Christians.

Paul here writes that Jesus was crucified for our trespasses, and resurrected for our justification.  This seems an odd concept.

Does not Jesus’ death justify us, in God’s sight?  We are made righteous because of Christ’s obedience on our behalf, and His payment for our sins.  But there are two fantastic aspects of this.

First, the resurrection can be seen as God’s stamp of approval on Jesus’ sacrificial death.  Not quite a reward, it is God showing that Jesus’ dreadful death was absolutely a part of God’s plan.  He shows this by undoing the terrible part, death itself.

Second, the resurrection completes the deal.  It was not only Christ’s death that accomplishes salvation  It is also Christ’s perfectly obedient life prior to His death.  He obeys, which allows God to exchange His obedience with our disobedience. 

But it is also Christ’s life after death that completes our salvation. If Christ had remained in the grave, our justification would have led to nothing beyond death, either.  We would be forgiven, but dead. We would be made right in God’s eyes, but dead.

But now Christians are justified!  Redeemed fully.  Forgiven for an eternal purpose.  Justified completely.

Sympathy

Jesus wept. (John 11:35 ESV)

Compassion

Sympathy has gotten a bad rap, lately.  Empathy seems to be more popular and desirable.  Sympathy is derided as not REALLY caring.  Empathy is praised for being stuck right alongside the sufferers.  But perhaps we have misunderstood what those two traits actually are.

Imagine you are stuck in a bog of quicksand.  I am an expert on quicksand because of Gilligan’s Island.

You are, of course, sinking.  And the more you wriggle and thrash, the further down you are sucked.

And two people offer their hands to help.  One stands on the edge.  He understands the danger, appreciates the danger, and cares about you.  He grabs a coconut tree branch, extends it to you, and pulls you to safety.

The other jumps into the quicksand with you.  He, too, understands the danger, appreciates the danger, and cares about you.  He is now just as stuck, just is threatened, and just as desperate. He tries to help you out, but ends up sinking right along side you.

The first person has sympathy.  He cares, he knows, maybe he has even BEEN there, himself.  But he is not encumbered by the quicksand at the moment.  Maybe he has other troubles and threats… maybe he is also afraid of something… he is not perfect.  But he is helping from a non-quicksand position.  He can actually help.

The second person has empathy.  He cares, he knows, and maybe he has been here before, too.  But while it might feel good to have someone to talk to in the bog, he is just as stuck as you.  Stuck without hope.

True sympathy (not a fake, arrogant, superior-attitude type of thing) cares deeply.  But is actually able to help.

Jesus has sympathy.  He cries for Lazarus, for Lazarus’s family, and for the horror of death. 

He understands death.  He hates death, ever since Adam’s time. He is about to experience death completely. 

But He is not stuck in death.

He weeps in sympathy instead of empathy, and that sympathy is necessary for our salvation.

Rest in His sympathy, whatever quicksand you are sinking in today. 

Fixing the Past

Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.” (II Chronicles 34:21 ESV)

Fixing Yesterday

Recently I woke up early and watched a manned space capsule burn cross the night sky on reentry.  The capsule blazed, the fiery trail lit up the sky, and my imagination was kindled.  Just in time, I lifted my camera and pressed, ‘record.’

But I had not adjusted the filter for the nighttime lighting.  And while the pictures will help me remember the event, overall, the quality of the video was terrible.

As I watched the memory, I wished I could go back and fix my thoughtless and ill prepared errors.  But of course, I could not.

We cannot fix the past, merely by wishing we can.  Whether the past that needs fixing is camera related, paths traveled, words miss-spoken, sinful desires acted out, or decisions to hate instead of love.  It is beyond our reach.  We cannot fix it.

When young King Josiah became aware of the terrible apathy and rebellion that his nation had towards God in recent generation, he grieved.  He did one of those Biblical ‘tear his clothes and put ashes on his head’ kind of things.  He understood how much his nation had sinned against God, and how deserving of His wrath they all had been, and in fact still were at that moment.  The sins of the past DO weigh on the hearts of the present.

But Josiah did not attempt to fix it in any of the ways we moderns might recommend.  He did not pass legislation condemning his fathers and fore-fathers.  He did not declare HIS regret for THEIR sins.  He did not put extra money today in the temple coffers for the past shortcomings. 

He called on the Lord.

And that is the only option that actually can fix the past.

Our nation, our church, our family, and we ourselves have sin debt accumulated in the past.  Lots of it.  But Jesus is THAT amazing.  When we, like Josiah, call on HIM for forgiveness, for grace, for mercy, and for change, He answers as only He can.

The past is wiped clean as clearly as the sins of the present.

But not by something WE do.

Only by Jesus’ life, wherein HIS perfect sinless obedience is attributed to the past just as much as to the present.  Only by Jesus’ death, wherein HIS sacrifice is attributed to the past just as much as to the present.  Only by Jesus’ resurrection, wherein HIS transformation gives new life to the past just as much as to the present.

However atrocious and regrettable yesterday’s sins are, Jesus is more gracious and merciful.

Wow, He even fixes the past.

Depth

Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. (Job 11:7-9 ESV)

Depth

These words are preached at Job by one of Job’s friends: Zophar.  It is popular to discount the words of Job’s advisors, but we should probably take their advice more seriously. 

Here, for instance, Zophar is ALMOST correct.  God is far beyond our comprehension.  He is more, and better, and in fact, incomprehensible. 

But the story does not end there.

Zophar asks, “Can you find out the deep things of God?”  And we might think the answer is simply and resoundingly, “NO!!!!”

But the answer is actually, “YES!!!”

But only by clinging to the mystery of Christ Jesus.  Only by believing Christ Jesus’ words.  Only by the insertion of God Himself into Humanity, in other words, Immanuel. 

Only by knowing Christ Jesus can we know God Himself.

And actually, EVERY mystery, every bit of incomprehensibility, every unknown part of the infinite, immortal, unchanging, unchangeable God is made known to us in Christ Jesus.

Put Jesus joyfully into every equation that puzzles you.  Put Jesus firmly into every unsure aspect of God.  Put Jesus, through faith, into every fear, every sorrow, every part of life you do not understand.

And He solves all of it.

No, every mystery is not made intellectually clear in this moment.  But we WILL “see Him as He is.”

No, every mystery is not made intellectually clear in this moment.  But more IS knowable than is left unknown.

No, every mystery is not made intellectually clear in this moment.  But the depth of what we can know in Jesus, gives us faith and patience to wait for the rest.

Jesus is the necessary code-breaker for the Mystery of God Himself.

=-=-

Mercy

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” (Genesis 4:13 ESV)

Mercy

Cain deserved to die.  The punishment for sin is death, and Cain sinned.  He was the first murderer, the first to commit fratricide, the first to physically hate.

But God did not treat Cain as Cain deserved.

That is mercy.

And while it might be encouraging to see that side of God, the mercy of God is not a broad, generic, generous, easy-going mercy.

God’s mercy is because of His Son, our Savior, the Redeemer, the Messiah.

God’s mercy is only through Jesus Christ.

God continues to be merciful.  But not because God is a softie.  It is not because God hates sin less than we thought He did.

God is merciful because He punished Jesus instead of sinners, the sinners who believe in Him.

The only way to mercy is through Jesus.  He is necessary for mercy.

The End

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.  For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (I Thessalonians 5:1,2 ESV)

The End

There are more end-time theories than books in a book-lover’s library.

Lots.

And while I, of course, am convinced that my understanding of eschatology is the best, correct, reliable, and FULLY Biblically-based… the rest of you are pretty sure, too.

Tomorrow is not known to the human mind.  Not with absolute confidence.  Not if we are being honest.

But Jesus knows.

That ‘end’ that scares so many, worries so many, confuses so many, and causes so many arguments is confidently known by Jesus.

And if He has not made it absolutely clear to us, it is because He chose to reveal what He has revealed.

I am not saying we should not study God’s Word in this area.  I AM saying we should not worry.  We have nothing to fear.  And that future, for God’s people, is shiny, joyful, peaceful, and bright.

Only He lets us relax.

Exchange

Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. (Job 8:20 ESV)

Exchange

Two things Jesus does for us in this verse.

First, it sounds great that God will not reject blameless folk.  Sometimes we think we are not blameless, in a particular situation.  So this might make us feel safe, at peace, and encouraged.  BUT we are not blameless.  Every thought, word, and deed we have, say, and do are tainted by sin.  Even if only a little tiny bit.  We MIGHT be blame-less (as opposed to blame-more).  But we are not blameless. 

But Jesus is blameless.  And God will not reject Him.  Or forsake Him.  Or abandon Him.  And when we are His redeemed ones, that non-rejection of Jesus is broadcast to us!

Second, when we hear about those evil-doers out there, it sounds great that God will not take their hand.  The problem is, we do evil, too.  Maybe not as bad as THAT liar, thief, blasphemer, or member of the OTHER political party… but we do evil.  Every time we are selfish.  Every time we ignore God.  Every time we forget Him.  Every time we put ourselves over our spouse, children, parents, neighbor, or stranger.

But Jesus never does evil.  And God takes His hand.  And holds it, and lifts it, and nailed it to the cross in the place of God’s children who HAVE done those evil things.  So when we are His redeemed ones, that hand-holding is broadcast to us!

Only in Jesus do those two parts of this verse become good news.

Amazing

For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the Lord.  (II Chronicles 28:19 ESV)

Amazing

Ahaz was a terrible King.  He took advantage of those he was called to serve as King.  He disobeyed and ignored God’s Word.  He turned to SO many other solutions… including other nations, other powers, and his own cleverness. 

And God not only looked with anger at Ahaz, He also humbled Judah, the remnant of Israel.

For those who were faithful at that time, despair must have been common.

They could see Ahaz and the entire nation slipping further and further into unfaithfulness.  Not merely in actions and deeds… but in words, and thoughts, and beliefs.

They might have thought they had no hope.

But there was One hope.

The Messiah was coming. 

And Jesus had Grace enough to purchase the forgiveness of all who would call on Him.  And Jesus had Mercy enough to help all who would call on Him.

The exile of God’s people into Babylon was the immediate effect of Judah’s fall.  But even there they were not forgotten.

The shadow, or the light, of the cross gave them hope even then.

And Christ brings that same light today, to His people.  We, too, might feel despair, hopelessness, and doubt.

But the cross, and He who died on it, wins.

Jesus is the only hope of God’s people.  Lean on Him, rather than fear.

Winnning

I’m declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel. (Genesis 3:14,15 The Message)

Winning

God says these words to the serpent.  And it was bad news for the snake.

Even if the snake has a mild success, biting the woman’s offspring’s heel, the snake will lose the big fight.

The fight for mankind, for creation, for the universe.

Bad news for the snake, but good news for God’s people.  Because when the snake loses, Christ wins.  And when Christ wins, so do we.

At stake are the eternal souls of God’s beloved children.  But at stake also is creation itself.  At stake also is the past, present, and future.  At stake also is every fight, every battle, every contest between God’s people and God’s enemies.

And Jesus won.  Because only Jesus can win.  Because only Jesus won.

When we think we are losing because we are not seeing the universal or personal results we yearn to see… remember that Jesus won. 

When we think we are losing because we are aware of our failures, our mistakes, and our sins… remember that Jesus won.

When we think we are losing because the newspapers spit venom, fearful hearts seem poisoned, and the heel seems bitten… remember that Jesus won.

As only He could: with His life, His death, and His life, again.

Work

Is not this the carpenter?  (Mark 6:3 ESV)

Work

Jesus was a carpenter.  He was also God’s Son, the second person of the Trinity, the Messiah, the Salvation of the Universe, and completely divine as well as completely human.

But note, He was a carpenter.

It seems that we modern Christians have this idea that there is holy work, and mundane work; Godly work, and human work; regular work, and sanctified work.

Jesus, though, was a carpenter as well as the Savior.

And that makes our work sanctified, too.

Jesus sanctifies (makes holy)  enables us to do our mundane, apparently un-Spiritual, earthly work, transforming it into Holy work.  Spiritual work.  True work. Sanctified work.

He does this by sanctifying US.  He does this by changing us to be like HIM.  He does this because He created work, works in the Trinity, and is the cause for our adoption into His family.

He will fix whatever is wrong with our work… first of all by bringing us into His work.

The Choir

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,       “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!”  (Revelation 5:11, 12 ESV)

The Choir

I reckon that heaven is a pretty noisy place. 

That choir of singers… including people who before heaven couldn’t carry a tune… including people who lived on faith mountains, and people who lived in faith valleys… including people who did not get along before heaven… including people from antagonistic political and economic views… including people who died ancient… including people who died unborn… including people who laughed a lot… including people who wept a lot… including people who are mechanically minded… including people who are poets… including people of every shape and size… including people who love the old hymns… including people who enjoy rap music… including people who have multiple college degrees… including people who never read a book… including people who thought they knew everything… including people who knew they knew nothing… including people who hurt others… including people who were hurt by others…

But Jesus brings them all into that choir.

He is the only way to join.

And He is the only reason to sing like that.

Learning

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.  The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. “ (John 7:14-16 ESV)

Knowledge

Learning is complicated.

Lately I have been memorizing things.  My brain fights me.

I recently had the opportunity to pick up the mandolin, the banjo, and the bagpipe.  My fingers fight me.

Last week I installed a kitchen cabinet for the first time. Even with internet directions, it was tedious, intricate, and clunky.  My physical limitations fought me.

But Jesus knew everything.

And more than that, Jesus is intertwined with our learning.

He is Truth, so learning is always, on some level, about Him.

He is the Teacher, so He enables our learning.

He is (and is the source of) our strength, our endurance, our perseverance, and empowers our learning.

I am learning that learning is impossible for me without Him.