The Worst Weather Ever

Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay 

Upon waking this morning, I nearly stepped on our 90-pound dog, Charlie.  He usually sleeps on his dog bed, across the bedroom.  But, when it rains (yes, just pure, old rain) or (God forbid) thunders, he gets as close to me as possible, shivering and shaking in fear.  Apparently, during the night, he came to my side of the bed...and when I found him his head was literally under it.  For a moment, I thought he was dead!

Throughout Scripture, we can find some awful geographic and atmospheric phenomena.  Examples:  the Earth opened up and swallowed an entire family (Numbers 26:10); fire and brimstone fell to the Earth and destroyed two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19); plagues of frogs in Egypt ( Exodus 7:25-8:15); the future hordes of "locusts" (Revelation 9, the Fifth Trumpet judgment).
But, the granddaddy of them all had to be the "weather" brought to bear upon the Ark, surely one of the best-built ships ever made: God-designed and God-protected.

The occupants were on the boat for just over a year.  Don't make the mistake of believing all they endured was "hard rain".  No, the Bible tells us that the very springs (fountains) of "the deep" were opened and then later restored.  In this process, there were cataclysmic earthquakes, violently tossing the Ark to and fro.  Historians tell us that, before the Great Flood, what we now know as the seven continents were more joined together into something called Pangaea (or Pangea, whichever spelling you'd prefer).  This was a "supercontinent", comprising most of the land of the whole earth.

Back in 2004, there was a tremendous earthquake in the Indian Ocean, near Indonesia, on Boxing Day, Dec. 26th.1  The resulting tsunami from this powerful quake killed over 100,000 people, in mere moments.  Now, imagine the worldwide earthquakes and tsunamis needed to break the supercontinent into seven, spreading them out around the globe.

Girls and boys, that must have been some boat ride.  It would have made the fiercest carnival attraction look tame.

But, then afterwards, what to do with all that water?  God sent strong, strong winds to dry up the Earth.  Honestly, I am convinced that, had not God supernaturally held them, the occupants of the Ark would have died from abject fear.

We read in Genesis 8:1 that "God remembered".  He remembered the humans and animals on His Ark.  This seems to indicate He had forgotten about them for some time which is, of course, ludicrous.  But, the tenor of this verse is that He cared for them, with lovingkindness, through it all, because He remembered His covenant promises to His people.2  What promise is relevant in this case?
At this time in human history, we have had the Adamic Covenant (Genesis 1:27-28) and the protevangelium, also called the first mention of Messiah.  We find it in Genesis 3:15.  Here, God promised to send a Messiah to redeem fallen man.  Obviously, by Noah's time, no Messiah had appeared.  Therefore, God preserved a remnant family through whose descendants Messiah would eventually come.  Even more relevant, God promised to keep Noah (Noahic Covenant) and his family safe through all the "bad weather" (Genesis 6:17-18).  And, He did, despite the awful ordeal.

There are times in our lives when we believe we are going through the very worst, living as a human can bring.  Our adverse circumstances can cause us to doubt the very existence of a Heavenly Father, much less whether or not He even sees our pain.  In the depths of despair we may give up hope that the Lord will remember His promises to us.  Yet, we must hold fast, because though it seems to us that he is slow to fulfill His Word, He always does and does so at exactly the right time.

9The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,^a not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

So ... don't be like Charlie.  When the torrential rains come, look up and remember God's promises to you.  Don't hide your head under the bed or shake with fear.  Trust His promises.  They will never, ever be moved, like the tectonic plates that moved to split the Earth's land into the 7 continents.  Nor will His promises or His care ever be removed from His own beloved.

Sources:

1    https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2004-indian-ocean-tsunami-facts

2    https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/god-remembered-noah/

The Two Fascinating Lamechs

One of my college roommates has four strapping sons.  She and her husband named them all "L" names.  The youngest is named Lamech.  What an interesting choice!

The name Lamech appears twice in recorded Scripture.  Prior to studying Genesis, I did not know that.  (I just love to learn something new from studying the Word!) These two very different men were cousins.

The first Lamech recorded was the great-great-great grandson of the infamous "first-murderer", Cain.  And, like his progenitor, Lamech was a murderer also.  In fact, he boasted about getting away with the murder of a young man who had (seemingly) committed some minor offense against Lamech.  He was also the first polygamist mentioned in Scripture.  I blogged about this awful dude in a recent post.

The second Lamech was a descendant of Seth, the son of promise born to Adam and Eve.  This Lamech was the father of Noah (yes, THAT Noah).  He was also the son of Methusaleh, the longest-living human, and the grandson of Enoch, the man who was apparently so godly that never died.  (More about Enoch in another post) . Meanwhile, Genesis 5:21-32 (ESV)

21When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22Enoch walked with God^b after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24Enoch walked with God, and he was not,^c for God took him.

25When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

28When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief^d from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” 30Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters.31Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Two more different men you could hardly find.  They present a juxtaposition of good vs. evil. 
We don't know much about "the good Lamech" except that he named his son "Noah".  The name means "comfort" or "rest".  We see, at the very end of Genesis 4 (vs. 26b) that "people began to call upon the name of the Lord".  Why do you think this was recorded?

The line of Cain had veered off into depravity.  But, by the grace of God, the line of Seth (and perhaps others of Adam and Eve's descendants) had remembered The Promise (Genesis 3:15, the Protoevangelium.)  Even then, names had great significance.  As a man of 182 years, Lamech had seen much - - - the evil works of most men, the ever-encroaching evil influence of fallen angels (Genesis 6), the corruption of the human blood line, etc.  It seems no accident then, that in naming his son "Noah", Lamech longed for spiritual comfort and rest in the Promise made nearly 1000 years earlier, a rest from a condemned, wasting, dying life that was the legacy of Adam to his offspring.

The prophet Isaiah expressed this same longing throughout his book - - Isaiah 40:1, 49:13, 51:3, 51:12, 61:2, 66:13.  This heart-piercing longing was not solved by the Great Flood associated with Noah who, along with the Ark he built, are "types", foreshadows of Jesus Christ.  The fulfillment of The Promise, that gut-wrenching thirst in the heart of faithful worshippers for true relationship with God Himself, was only assuaged by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the ultimate Son of Promise.  Paul speaks of how God the Father ultimately provided the final solution through Jesus, in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV)

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

Praise be, indeed.....

On a side note, can you EVEN imagine living hundreds of years?  I cannot.  Obviously, the aging process before the Great Flood was extremely slow.  Couples were fertile for a much longer period than today, possibly siring scores of offspring.  Families were huge.  Great-great-great grandparents lived to see their descendants.  For example, in this fascinating chapter of Genesis 5, we see (if I did the math right) that Adam lived long enough to know the godly Lamech, but died before the birth of Noah.  Knowledge proliferated as well, because people lived long enough to accumulate vast stores of knowledge in the course of a lifetime, presumably teaching it to their many offspring.  In this way, the earth was populated quickly.

One more comment on the lives of Adam and Eve....Every parent similarly bequeaths to his/her children the same depravity with which every person is born.  At least we can bemoan our fate but blame it on the first two parents, Adam and Eve, whose deadly disobedience in the Garden of Eden brought it all about.  But, can you imagine seeing your horrific mistake, your ghastly choice, played out in the lives of your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc., over hundreds of years?!  I grieve when I see sin at work in the lives of my sons, because I see myself in them.  (Families tend to have predispositions to certain sins, if you have not noticed that yet, lol!)  Can you imagine being Adam and Eve, and knowing that your own tragic sin brought about the extreme "fall from Eden" they lived to witness?  It is a wonder they lived as long as they did.  I think I would have grieved myself to death.

Unfortunately, along with the "advances" mankind made in the antediluvian period, aided by the influence of fallen angels, mankind slipped into extreme depravity, sort of like the bad Lamech "on steroids", to use a popular phrase.  Genesis 6 is one of the most mind-blowing chapters in all the Bible.  That's our next destination.

Sources:

https://www.esv.org/2+Corinthians+1:3%E2%80%9310;Hebrews+3:13%E2%80%9314;Hebrews+4:14%E2%80%9316/

https://www.gotquestions.org/Lamech-in-the-Bible.html

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/5-1.htm

The Fix Is In

Today I learned that one of my beloved ones received some disheartening news.  He is discouraged about it.  I wish that I could "fix things" for him in this situation.  It hurts my heart to see him suffer, even though some of it is of his own making.  Especially since that is the case...

When I was a child my daddy would sometimes get a "switch" (a small tree branch for you uninitiated out there) and give me "a switchin'".  I never wanted it, always deserved it (being quite the headstrong child) and still remember it, all these days later.  The sting of the switch was short-lived, but there is one thing about those occasions that lives on in my memory.  My daddy would almost always say, "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you."

I never believed him then.  In fact, it made me mad, because I thought it a ridiculous statement!  But, as a parent now, I truly understand.  It hurt him to see me suffer, even in that small way.  It hurt his heart more than the sting of the hickory switch hurt my little, scrawny legs.

When Adam and Eve so horribly messed things up for all mankind in the Garden of Eden, don't you know it hurt God's heart terribly, even though He knew they were going to do it?  And, don't you know that He said to Himself, "One of these days I'm gonna fix that."  In fact, He proclaimed that He would, as early as Genesis 3:15.

Many, at Christmas, find the seasonal celebrations unbearable because they have been separated from loved ones.  Sometimes a loved one has died, for instance.  When man sinned, a horrible breach occurred between God and man.  The pain we feel when separated from a loved one is only a taste of the pain God felt when our sin destroyed the fellowship He had formerly enjoyed with mankind.  Oh how He must have grieved that loss...after all, our race was created for fellowship with Him.   And, we had so broken, so blemished that relationship.  Not even "a switchin' " could fix it.

When it was time for Jesus to be born, do you think God may have said something like, "Finally, the time is now right for the ultimate, total solution to be given!"  All those centuries between Eden and Bethlehem, God interacted with mankind in various ways, knowing that only one way could fully reconcile all mankind to Him.  Jesus' birth was the commencement, in our time-bound world, of that eternal plan.

I watched a good, but weird, movie today.  A friends of many decades and I get together every now and then for a meal.  Today, it was a movie and a meal.  Anyway, the movie was weird in that there were aliens (weirdness assured when aliens are involved).  Beyond that, though, there was an aspect of the movie in which Time was fluid.  Time was not the linear, orderly, irrevocable thing to which we are accustomed, to which we are bound in this earthly life.

God is not bound by Time.  For God - - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - - the "fix was in" before creation occurred.  Before Time was created, God had decided "I'm gonna fix that."  At Advent, we celebrate The Fix that came, as we anticipate each year the birth of our Savior, Christ, the Lord.  I'm so glad He came and made things right.

4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:4-6 KJV

Hallelujah!  The "fix" is in!

In Subjection

I was joking with a Southern brother the other day about how he was pronouncing a word, in his S. Alabama drawl.  The word in question was "foothills".  My point was that if he pronounced the word "foot-heels" he was going to change the connotation for his hearers immensely!
"Foot" and "Heels" come to mind as I contemplate today's scripture passage - - Hebrews 2:5-9 (ESV)

5  For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.  6  It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him, 

or the son of man that you care for him?

7  You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

You have crowned him with glory and honor.

8  Putting everything in subjection under his feet."

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.   9  But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

In trying to think of an analogy for today's "scripture-picture" I thought about teaching.  You see, today, this "old dog" is going to learn a "new trick"!  (Or, perhaps more than one!)  Yes, I have a friend who is teaching me how to use social media to expand my little RDM (Resplendent Daughter Ministries).  We have an appointment later today for me to learn "stuff".  So excited!  Here's the thing, though:  my friend is going to have to "make himself a little lower" than his current state of understanding, in order to teach me.  All great teachers have the ability to do this.  It is not enough to merely possess knowledge, if you are going to teach.  In addition to the knowledge of the subject matter, you must be able to communicate it in a way (usually several ways) your various human pupils will comprehend!

Our scripture passage for our meditation today is the first of a "trio", which together comprise Hebrews 2:5-18.  Overall, the larger passage drills home the importance of Jesus Christ's incarnation as the God-Man, as well as His suffering, both required by Father and also the instrument by which the Son came to the place of exaltation described in Hebrews 1:1-14.

Jesus lowered Himself to put on flesh, to become a human, in ways we will never understand.  Yet, during all of His earthly ministry, still all things were under his control (vs. 8).  All things were still "subject" to Him.  (Remember Him calming the waves, stilling the storm on the Sea of Galilee in Mark 4:35-41?)  Cockerill exclaims, "No other early writer expounds both the deity and humanity of Christ more eloquently than the author of Hebrews."

I am riveted by this statement today:  (vs. 8) - - "We do not yet see everything in subjection to Him."
All is in subjection to Him, controlled by Him, obedient to Him....but we can't see it.  Now, that can be taken in two ways.
1.  It can be that we are either blinded by Satan or willfully refuse to see this truth.
2   But, an equally fascinating interpretation to consider is that we just simply have no idea of all He rules and reigns over!  Here we are on our tiny planet, in a vast universe.  How much we do not know!  All of it, we will NEVER know!  I am confident that we have an extremely insufficient view or understanding of His vast kingdom, which is eternal, which will never end.

This truth begs the question, "What about those who refuse His lordship in their lives?"  Well, they are still subject to Him, to His eternal plan, like it or not.  You can go easy by accepting Christ as Savior, the path by which you can experience fullness of joy, the abundant life.  Or, you can go ugly and rough - - rejecting Him, scrambling through by your own measly power, ever perhaps "accomplishing something", only to find at the end of your life that it has been meaningless.

Everything and everyone is under His rule NOW, His power, part of His plan, for good or for evil (our choice).  I fully recognize that this post is going to tick some people off - - those who have no desire whatsoever to accept, follow, or serve Jesus Christ.  Not my intention, but there again, these scriptures are God's words, not mine.  Don't shoot the messenger!

The final and ultimate fulfillment of Christ's rule will culminate in His return to earth to set up His earthly kingdom.  At that time the prophecy of His enemies becoming His "footstool" will be literally and physically made so.  See Psalm 110:1, 1 Corinthians 15:24 and Hebrews 10:13.  Oh, and Genesis 3:15 - - Satan's head will be utterly crushed.

"Bow now or bow later" because, eventually, ALL WILL BOW.

Lord Jesus, I don't want to merely be subjected to You; I want to serve You, in all my ways, through all my days.  And then, through forever, may my service and worship of You go on and on an on.  In Your Name, amen.

Source:

Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition.

Children of God

There's a popular phrase, passed around the secular world.  It goes something like this:  "We are all children of God."  Applying that name to everyone indiscriminately is a lie, according to the Bible.
Although the human race was created by God "in His image", we are all born with a sin taint that, uncorrected, will forever separate us from Him.

The text for this morning is Romans 9:8.

8 This means it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.

Paul was speaking to the 1st century Jews of Rome, emphasizing to them that no one is a child of God, by birth.  The reason he was emphasizing this point was that the Jews believed that merely because they were born Jews they had an automatic path to Heaven, whereas Gentiles (non-Jews) were simply "out-of-luck" in the spiritual lottery.

Unfortunately, people tend to do this today.  If we were to conduct a "Jimmy Kimmel"-style people-on-the-street interview to ask this question: "Who are the children of God?", we'd get a plethora of answers.  Some would say that all human beings are "children of God." Others would say, "those who were born into a Christian family, or were baptized as babies or "raised in church". But, I'll bet you that most people would answer "those people who live upright and moral lives, treating others with tolerance and respect".

Those qualities are certainly desirable and admirable in a person.  However, according to the Bible's definition, they do not make a person a "child of God".  The lineage of grace does not flow through a person's human bloodline.  Paul makes clear (and John makes even more clear in 1 John) that children of God are those who have become children through God's promise.  In other words, it is the "children of promise" who are God's true descendants.

What in the world does that mean?

In the Scriptures, God the Father and God the Son made many promises.  However, in Romans 9:4 and 8, Paul was primarily referring to the promises of the Old Testament.  This is because he was writing to Jews, who did not at that time possess the complete New Testament.  In the O.T., God's promises are anchored by 5 major covenants.  But, the scarlet thread that runs throughout all of God's promises, beginning with Genesis 3:15 (the protoevangelium), is the promise to send a Messiah, a Redeemer - - - one who would purchase back mankind for God.  This One would be He who would enable people to become children of God.  That One was, and is, Jesus Christ.

John, one of the 12 apostles, said it more beautifully and succinctly in John 1:12.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name:

KJV 2000

To become a child of God, a person must believe God (take Him at His word revealed in the Bible) and make a personal, intentional decision to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.   When that occurs, a person is then "a Christian", God's child through spiritual re-birth.  We grab hold of God's promises and then He keeps His promises to us.  He "keeps hold of us".

If you are or have been a parent of small children, you realize that they are yours by birth.  At times, you are embarrassed by their behavior, even though your love for them remains constant.  Many times, they do not act like members of your family should act.  However, despite their foibles and flops, they remain your child.  And, hopefully, through much prayer and God's grace, they will grow up to act like it.

This process is analogous to the Christian walk.  In our spiritual infancy and toddler and youth phases, we will make many mistakes as we "grow up" into our relationship with Christ.  Although we became children of God through God's grace and through our faith decision for Jesus, we may not always act like God's children.  That does not negate his promises to us.  He is faithful, even though we are at times wayward in our obedience.  I thank God for that.  His promises are not dependent on my perfection (which is non-existent).

We are not finished with Romans 9.  I'll return to it in my next post.

Father, thank you for extending Your mercy to me, so that I could become Your child.  I am so grateful to be forever Yours.  Please mold me more and more into the image of Your Son, Jesus, my Savior.  In His name, I pray, amen.

Cursed, Promised, Redeemed

There are some Bible passages that wrap it all up, that summarize God's story so beautifully.  One of those coming to mind is John 1:1-5, a favorite text.  Like John, Paul does a similar summary in Galatians 3:10-29, another favorite, and today's text.   It's sort of ... "the whole enchilada"!

10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one,“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[g] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

When Adam ate, it sealed his fate, and not only his, but the fate of all his offspring as well.  Oh yes, Eve ate of the forbidden fruit first.  But, it was Adam's eating that closed the escape hatch.  At that moment, their entire spiritual natures were changed. Spiritually, they died.  Their newfound knowledge of good and evil, acquired through disobedience to God, imprisoned them in spiritual death, would end in physical death.  This was and is sin's curse, the inheritance of every human born since.  But, that is only the beginning...

Even then, in Genesis 3:15 God revealed that He had a plan for redemption.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” 

(NIV)

Some believe that just gives us permission to kill all snakes.  Oh no...it's much more significant than that.  This verse is God the Father's first promise of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  Theologians in stuffy seminaries call this (from the Greek) "the protoevangelium", which means the first ("proto") proclamation of the gospel ("evangelium").  While this is a wonderful verse for study, we won't digress, but will move on for the moment.  Suffice it to be known that God declared His intention/plan to send a Redeemer, way back in the Garden of Eden, on the occasion of the first sins of mankind.

Fast forward to Abram, born in a wicked, wicked world.  Abram "believed God" (Genesis 15:6) and God credited him with righteousness because of his belief/faith.  Abram acted on his belief/trust in the One, True God and this increased his faith.  Eventually, his name was changed to Abraham, (Gen. 17:5) by God Himself.  Abraham means, "exalted father of many nations".  Indeed, Abraham was the father of the Jewish people, but wait!  He was so much more!

Paul tells us that the promise God made in the Garden of Eden was confirmed with Abraham. Children of Abraham are children of faith.  It has always been faith in God has been which has made men and women right with Him, as opposed to trusting in one's adherence to a set of rules.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

The Law was given for our benefit, to counteract mankind's now-inborn compulsion to live a life of sin.  But, it was never intended to redeem.  Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of God's promise, made in the Garden.  He is "the seed of the woman", God-wrapped-flesh, yet born to a woman.  He is the promised Redeemer.  It is through faith in Jesus that we "please God".

He bore our sin curse, in His body, as He hung on the cross, the "tree".  God laid all the sins of all mankind, both past, present and future, on Christ.  He became a curse, for us (3:13), so that we would have the opportunity to become righteous in God's eyes by accepting His (Jesus') finished sacrifice.

The blood feud that began in the Garden could only be settled by the shedding of blood.  From the moment of the first blood sacrifice, made by God Himself, when he shed the blood of the animals to fashion animal skins for Adam and Eve to wear, through the Old and New Testament Jewish blood sacrifices, to the Passover Lamb's sacrifice - - Jesus's blood spilled out on the cross - - - there is no forgiveness of sins, no righteousness attained, without the shedding of blood.

Jesus' blood covers any and all who come to Him by faith, in repentance, and acclaim Him as Savior and Lord.  That blood covering never fades or ebbs or changes that fact that those who throw themselves on His mercy, His redemption for salvation will never be disappointed.  We are sons and daughters of God the Father Himself, regardless of earthly parentage (vs. 28).

The word "redeemed" means "bought back again".  Think of a pawn shop.  People often go there to purchase items they see on display, because previous folks have sold their goods to the shop.  But, other times, items are "pawned".  That means the pawn shop owner makes a loan to an individual, while he (the owner) holds the precious item as collateral.  When the owner returns with the cash, he can "buy back" his precious item.  The item cannot get itself out of the pawn shop; only the owner can do that by paying the price.

Satan, by his deception in the Garden, imprisoned all mankind by deceiving Adam and Eve.  Yet, mankind was never truly his.  We are God's creation, and only He was willing to pay such a price to redeem us from the sin curse.  Only He was willing to John 3:16-18.  Many of you can quote it from the version in which you memorized it as a child.  Here it is from The Message version:

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

Redeemed!  And, not just merely bought back, but fully endowed with all the rights and privileges of a favored child, a favorite son or daughter.  Paul goes on to emphasize this in 4:1-7 (ESV)

3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

"Abba", the most personal form of the title "Father".  It connotes close, loving relationship, a forever relationship, one that will last, unbroken, for all eternity.

Father God, thank you for redeeming me from the sin curse.  I want to pray specifically for those reading this blog who have not made the decision to take You up on Your offer of transformation, of eternal salvation.  Some of them think it is nonsense; others think it is too good to be true.  I know that Your Spirit has to first open their eyes and their hearts to realize Your offer, to recognize the truth of the gospel, to be able to SEE Jesus as Who He really is.  Please do that, Holy Spirit, for those reading these words.  Call to them, pursue them in the depths of their hearts, and save them .  Make them the Savior's very own offspring, beloved spiritual sons or daughters, forever.  In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

For You Shall Laugh

Good morning,

Have you ever been so stunned with joy and amazement that you laughed?  Perhaps it was when you received your husband's marriage proposal or ... guys... when she said "yes".  Perhaps it was when you learned you were about to become a parent.  Or, when you learned you had received a tremendous gift - - - the laughter just came bursting out of you, like so many bubbles or so much confetti.

At first glance, laughter does not seem to be a deeply theological topic, does it?  I had sort of a what-the-heck? moment upon seeing that this was the topic for Dec. 6, in Ann Voskamp's Advent devotional book.1  Laughter? Of all things!  

Probably the most memorable Scriptures about laughter revolve around Sarah, Abraham and Isaac. When eavesdropping Sarah heard the LORD proclaim to Abraham that she would give birth to a son at age 90, she began to laugh (whether in disbelief, derision or joy, we do not know) (Gen. 18:12-15). Furthermore, Abraham laughed so hard at the news, he fell on his face!  (Gen. 17:17)  Abraham was nearly 100 at the time.  When the promise was fulfilled, about a year later, and they held their beautiful baby boy in their arms, they named him Isaac, which means ... oh yeah..."laughter".  It was to this boy God promised He would make his descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky (Gen. 26:4).

Erick Erickson used a big theology-school word in one of his recent posts, protoevangelium.  That is just plain fun to say - - seven syllables.  It means "first gospel", and refers specifically to Genesis 3:15, where God promised to send Christ, the "seed of the woman", who would crush the head of the serpent (Satan).  More broadly, it refers to instances in Scripture where the gospel of Jesus Christ is foreshadowed.  The story of Isaac's conception and birth is one such place where God gives us a peek into His gospel of amazing grace.

Abraham, Sarah and Isaac are touchstones on the path to Jesus Christ - -  forebearers in Jesus' human lineage.  They are pictures of God's miraculous grace.  The same God who miraculously kindled the womb of a much-aged woman also infused the womb of a virgin teenage girl with the One who created all things (Colossians 1:16), including His own human mother.  INCONCEIVABLE, is it not?  It almost makes you laugh!  {Okay, some puns are too good to resist...}

Laughter is always an emotional response, always.  The thing is, we can't be certain which emotion is producing it.  Laughter is often misunderstood.  Most of us have innocently found humor in a situation, yet been accused of "laughing at" another person, thereby hurting their feelings.  There are several references to laughter in the Bible - - some are negative, others are positive.

Oddly, there are no instances recorded in the New Testament, where Jesus laughed.  I had never thought about that!  He did, however, mention laughter in Luke 6:21 (ESV)

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh."

The Greek word used here is "gelesete" γελάσετε  .  It is the only time it occurs in the New Testament!  There are Old Testament mentions of God laughing, although most of those occur in conjunction with his derision over the schemes hatched by the wicked (Psalm 37:13).  But look!
Zephaniah 3:17 - -

The Lord your God is in your midst;;

He is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you;

he renews you by his love;

he shouts for joy over you."

Doesn't "shouting for joy" sound an awful lot like joyful laughter?

Here are some other OT references to laughter.

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.

Job 8:21

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Psalm 126:2

And, this last one, Proverbs 31 women:

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

Proverbs 31:25

This last one really gets me.  Often, OFTEN, when I think of the future, I don't laugh.  In fact, I have to push back my fear, like when you think you are going to vomit, and you are trying to hold it back? Or, I have to battle sadness, which wants to cover and stifle me, like those lead jackets they put on you at the dentist's office before x-rays.  Sarah laughed at the LORD's pronouncement, at "the time to come".  Could this be why she is listed in the book of Hebrews, as one in the "roll call of faith"? (Hebrews 11)

What makes joyful, incredulous, miraculous laughter in uncertain times even possible?

What makes it possible is remembering grace, His miraculous grace to you and to me.  It is remembering and believing that every, single circumstance touching our lives is an evidence of His grace to us.  Laughter is made possible by remembering His sovereignty, that "His ways are perfect", Y'all (Psalm 18:30).  PER-FECT.

Ann says it like this (so beautifully!):

"The gigantic secret gift that He gives and we unwrap, that we never stop unwrapping - - we who were barren now graced with the Child who lets us laugh with relief for all eternity.  There is nothing left to want.  There is nothing left to fear; 'All fear is but the notion that God's love ends.' And His for you never will.  So loosen up, because the chains have been loosed, and laugh the laughter of the freed.  Laughter - - it's all oxygenated grace."

"You have as much laughter as you have faith."  Martin Luther

Father, please fill our hearts and souls and minds with joyful laughter this Advent season, so that our spirits may dwell in the oasis of your generous, bounteous grace, rather than remain imprisoned in the deserts of fear, depression, worry, faithlessness.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:

1 Voskamp, Ann. The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. Print. 

2  https://abrahamsseed.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/proto-evangelium-and-the-two-seeds/

3  http://www.gotquestions.org/holy-laughter.html