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Progressing Toward Heaven

Luke 20 -21

Once again, several passages jumped out at me in today’s reading.  One of them concerns what we will be like in the resurrection.

Luke 20:34-36

“And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”

The words above were spoken in response to question posed by the Sadducees intended to trap Him.  The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection.  They believed that once you were dead you were dead.  Their question revolved around marriage in heaven.   The Law of Moses required an unmarried brother to take as a wife the spouse of a brother who died without leaving any heir.  The Sadducees created a hypothetical scenario where seven brothers married the same woman prior to death.  Their question was “Who is the woman’s husband in heaven”.  Jesus straightened them out by telling us that we won’t be married in heaven.

But here is what really caught my eye.  We know that once we get to heaven we won’t die anymore and that is a wonderful affirmation of something we tend to take for granted but what about being “equal to angels” and “sons of God”?  Wow!  Equal with angels and sons of God!  How does any of that compare with the best of what this fallen world has to offer?  To my eyes it makes what this fallen world has to offer appear shabby and worthless.  The kingdom of God glimmers in my eye; it reflects the glory of God and makes me aware of true wealth.

That kingdom, that wealth, will be gained by the followers of Christ, but not without a period of travail in this realm of man and the prince of darkness.

Luke 21:12-19

“But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.  Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.  You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.  You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.  But not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your lives.”

Is your relationship with Jesus and the challenges you will face on His behalf settled in your mind?  Are you prepared to endure to the end?  Some will be put to death for their faith in Christ but by endurance we each will gain our eternal lives.

How long will it be until Christ returns?  We understand that Christ will return when the Gospel has been preached to the entire world.  In fact, the Gospel has been traveling west since the death of Christ and now circled all the way around through China.  The Gospel is approaching the end of the circle – Jerusalem.  Christ will return when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Luke 21:24

“They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

This verse refers to the fate of the Jews between the crucifixion of Christ and His return.  The Jews have indeed suffered greatly and been lead into “captivity” and exile across the world.  What intrigues me, however, is the “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled”.  This reminds me of the prophecy God gave Abraham in which He said that his descendants would spend an extended period of time in Egypt before taking possession of the Promised Land because “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete”.

Genesis 15:16

“And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

You see, the Promised Land was to be given to the Jews but only after those that possessed it, the Amorites, had gone past the point of no return.  God is righteous but He is also full of grace and mercy.  He prepared the Jewish people for their inheritance while giving the Amorites time and opportunity to repent and return to Him.  God knew they wouldn’t do so but He did not rush the matter.  He let the time of the Amorites be fulfilled before destroying them and turning over the Promised Land to His Chosen People.

This is a picture of the return of Jesus Christ.  The Gentiles have been given their time.  God in His mercy is giving plenty of time for those that will come to Him to do so.  The Gospel is being preached to all the world, and when all have heard it the time of the Gentiles will be fulfilled.  At that time Christ will return and those that are not His will be removed from the Promised Land – the New Heaven and New Earth.  In the mean time we, His Chosen People, are being prepared for our inheritance.  How marvelous is God’s wisdom and provision!  He has shown us in history what the future holds!

Continue to endure to the end brothers!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Servanthood

Luke 15-17

There is much in today’s reading concerning the behavior of a faithful servant.  The Parable of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin both concern individuals that searched for what was lost.  We tend to think of the shepherd and woman in these parables as analogous to God and the lost sheep and coin as analogous to us.  This is an accurate analogy on one level, but there is another analogy that is routinely missed.  Once we ourselves have been found, or saved, our role in the analogy changes.  You were called by God through the instrument of another human being.  The servants of God are the ones God sends to find the sheep and the lost coin.  The shepherd and the woman are the servants of God searching for what was lost.  As a saved person, you are the seeker after the lost in these parables.

These two parables immediately precede the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  We usually focus on the foolish son who represents the lost.  We recognize in that wayward son our selves prior to salvation.  This is accurate with regard to that time in our life, but the story isn’t really about the wayward son.  Oh, he is an important part of the story but let us remember what scripture came before immediately prior.  We had a shepherd searching for a lost sheep and a woman searching for a lost coin.  Who went searching for the lost son?  We hear nothing of the brother of the lost son until the end of the story when we learn that he is angry that there is a celebration for the return of his brother.  He did not go searching for his brother.  He was content to remain where he was and simply claim his inheritance.  He was blind and indifferent to the longing of his father for the return of his lost brother.

We seem so focused on the condition of our own souls.  The condition of our souls is important, but once we are saved, that issue is settled.  Having been saved we are to be about our fathers business.  We are to be concerned about the condition of the souls of those around us.  You are no longer lost.  You are no longer the lost person in these parables.  You are now the searching servant in these parables.  Are you the one who diligently searches for that which was lost or are you content to receive your inheritance with no concern for your lost brother?  Do you care about that which your Father cares about?  He longs for the return of His wayward children.  Are you blind and indifferent to the desire of His heart or are you prepared to search for that which was lost?

These first three parables are followed with parables and statements by Jesus concerning our behavior as servants of God.  There is the Parable of the Dishonest Manger, which I must admit has me scratching my head a bit and requires a bit of further study on my part.  There are the statements concerning divorce, temptation, faith, thankfulness, and hardship; all lessons for the servant of God.

There is one verse, one sentence really, on divorce.  It is dynamite.  If I am not careful with this verse I envision igniting a conflagration; an explosion of controversy, debate, and angry feelings.  I am addressing this verse only and specifically in terms of servanthood.  I have no desire to get into anything more about this verse than that specific topic.  The verse is this:

Luke 16:18

“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

When we marry we become one flesh with our spouse.  God never intended for one flesh to be torn asunder.  I believe scripture is clear; God HATES divorce.  Still over 50% of American marriages suffer the catastrophic consequences of divorce.  I suspect that if any of us have not experienced divorce ourselves, we have loved ones or friends who have.  It is a painful, destructive, tearing of that which was never intended to be divided.  The pain from divorce is rarely limited to the less than happy couple.  It also affects children, family, and friends and continues on for each as a dull ache for the rest of their life.  I hope our feelings toward those that have suffered this pain are of compassion rather of self-righteous contempt.

That said, this sentence on divorce from Jesus can teach us something about being His servant.  The trouble with humanity is self-centeredness.  This malady, which is the driving force behind sin, is the poison that destroys marriages.  In today’s reading Jesus makes it clear that following Him means we are servants.  If you are His servant, and you acknowledge that all that you have belongs to Him and is placed in your care to manage for Him, then your attitude toward your wife is completely different from that of the rest of the world.  Most people look at their spouse as a source of fulfillment and happiness for themselves.  When our spouse doesn’t provide that fulfillment or happiness we become angry and resentful.  Eventually we feel we deserve better and start looking for “greener pastures”.

All of this comes from an attitude of self-centeredness.  If we belong to Him we should view ourselves as servants.  We should not view our spouse as a source of fulfillment and happiness but as one we must serve as faithful followers of Jesus Christ who gave our spouse for the purpose of protection and provision.  This does not simply refer to meeting their physical needs of protection and provision but their spiritual and emotional needs as well.  What would marriage be like if both individuals put the well being of their spouse before their own?  Do disagreements disappear?  Does resentment and anger disappear?  Does happiness and fulfillment in marriage re-appear?  I believe the answer to all of the above is YES!

Now you may say, “I’m willing to serve my wife but she isn’t willing to serve me.”  There you go again, focusing on yourself.  Whether your spouse is faithful to the expectations of Jesus in your marriage or not, is between Jesus and your spouse.  The “sins” of your spouse are no excuse for you to sin.  Frankly obedience on your part may over time be used as an example by the Holy Spirit to convict your spouse to follow suit.  This is part of what it means to be the spiritual leader of your home.  You must do right before you can expect others under your leadership to do right.  Even if this desired change in your spouse never occurs, however, you still owe obedience to your master Jesus Christ.

We must learn the attitude of servanthood in our daily walk and interactions with others.  I think Jesus communicates the appropriate attitude pretty well in the following verses from today’s reading.

Luke 15:7-10

““Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’?  Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’?  Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?  So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

We don’t really like the idea of being that kind of servant do we?  Work hard and then work some more while others sit back and enjoy the fruit of our labor.  That rankles doesn’t it?  It does so because we want to be the master.  Guys, we aren’t the Master; we are the servant.  Jesus provided the example.  He could have come in His power and glory and forced every head to bow and knee to bend; but He didn’t.  He came as a servant.  He came to sacrifice for our good.  He turned His back on being served and came to serve.  How can we do anything less?

We need an attitude adjustment in our daily walk.  We need to be good stewards of all that Jesus placed in our care.  If we wish to hear “well done good and faithful servant” upon our entrance to His throne room then we must start putting the needs of others first.  We must take on the attitude of humble servant in our relationship with God, our spouse, and others.  Let us meet the expectation of our Master with joy and thanksgiving for our reward will be exceedingly great!

Have a servant like day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Sex, Love, and Marriage

Ecclesiastes 11 – Song of Solomon 4

Well guys, we’ve arrived at the Song of Solomon.  I thought Ecclesiastes was challenging but the Song of Solomon has given me fits.  There are a lot of theories about why this book is in the Bible and what it means.  There are a lot of scholars who see this book as some kind of allegory for God and Israel, or for Christ and the believer or church.  Some think it is some kind of play with two or three actors.  I’m going to share with you some of what “The Bible Knowledge Commentary” has to say about the Song of Solomon.

Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

“The Song of Songs (called the Song of Solomon in some Bible versions, e.g., kjv, nasb) is perhaps the most difficult and mysterious book in the entire Bible. A cursory glance at the Song’s history of interpretation reveals a diversity of opinion unequaled in the study of any other biblical work. The Song has been interpreted as: (a) an allegory, (b) an extended type, (c) a drama involving either two or three main characters, (d) a collection of Syrian wedding songs (a view held by E. Renan, J. Wetzstein, Umberto Cassuto, and others) in which the groom played the role of a king and the bride played the role of a queen, (e) a collection of pagan fertility cult liturgies (held by Theophile Meek), and (f) an anthology of disconnected songs extolling human love (held by Robert Gordis).

Viewed as an allegory, the details of the book are intended to convey hidden spiritual meanings, with little or no importance attached to the normal meanings of words. Jewish tradition (the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the Targum) viewed the book as an allegorical picture of the love of God for Israel. Church leaders, including Hyppolytus, Origen, Jerome, Athanasius, Augustine, and Bernard of Clairvaux, have viewed the book as an allegory of Christ’s love for His bride, the church. Origen, for example, wrote that the beloved’s reference to her being dark (Song 1:5-6) means the church is ugly with sin, but that her loveliness (1:5) refers to spiritual beauty after conversion. Others said the cooing of the doves (2:12) speaks of the preaching of the apostles, and some have suggested that 5:1 refers to the Lord’s Supper. These examples show that the allegorical approach is subjective with no way to verify that any of the interpretations are correct. The Song of Songs nowhere gives an interpreter the suggestion that it should be understood as an allegory.”

I think that last sentence is important.  “The Song of Songs nowhere gives an interpreter the suggestion that it should be understood as an allegory.”  The Bible is full of allegory but I think it tends to be fairly clear when allegory is being used.  Perhaps I am wrong about that but I find it hard to believe that an entire book of the Bible is some kind of allegory with no way for us to know for sure.  While I believe the Bible can be understood on many different levels, we should never ignore the most obvious and basic meaning of the text.  The Song of Solomon is about the beauty of marital love.

Any boy of 12 or 13, and maybe even younger these days, can tell you about sex.  Far too many grown men have no understanding of true, God-ordained, marital love.  Every living creature has sex.  If you believe the humanist, we are no better than animals.  I could not disagree more.  The union of man and wife is a spiritual matter; we are to become one flesh.  Marriage is of such a spiritual make-up that it is itself used in the Bible as an allegory for Christ and the church.  When we look at the opposite sex as simply a receptacle for our sexual desires, we are no better than animals; but that is not what God intended.  He did not create women to be your receptacle.  He created women to be a partner to man; one man, one woman to become one flesh.

Why are we to become one flesh?  Brothers, it is my contention that we are not complete without a wife.  I realize I’m going out on a limb with that statement and I stand ready to hear opposing views but here is why I believe that.  When God formed man out of the dust, in His own image, and breathed life into him (something He did not do with the other creatures He created, by the way) man was one complete being.  Let me repeat myself; this complete being was made in the image of God.  Realizing that it was not good for man to be alone, He brought various animals forward to be man’s companion.  None were suitable.

At this point God put this original man to sleep and divided him.  Woman was taken out of man.  The image of God was split.  A man is not complete, in terms of the image of God, without a woman.  When we view women as objects, we are not only demeaning them, we are demeaning ourselves.  We are also rejecting the sumptuous banquet that is marital love for the scrapes under the table that are animal sex.  Let me continue the commentary from “The Bible Knowledge Commentary”.

Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

“The purpose of the book is to extol human love and marriage. Though at first this seems strange, on reflection it is not surprising for God to have included in the biblical canon a book endorsing the beauty and purity of marital love. God created man and woman (Gen. 1:27; 2:20-23) and established and sanctioned marriage (Gen. 2:24). Since the world views sex so sordidly and perverts and exploits it so persistently and since so many marriages are crumbling because of lack of love, commitment, and devotion, it is advantageous to have a book in the Bible that gives God’s endorsement of marital love as wholesome and pure.”

OUTLINE

I.        The Superscription (1:1)

II.       The Courtship (1:2-3:5)

A.       Introduction: The expressions of longing, insecurity, and praise (1:2-11)

1.       The theme of longing (1:2-4)

2.       The theme of insecurity (1:5-8)

3.       The theme of praise (1:9-11)

B.       The growth of love and its intensity (1:12-3:5)

1.       Mutual praise (1:12-2:6)

2.       The refrain (2:7)

3.       A visit to the country (2:8-17)

4.       The beloved’s fear of losing her lover (3:1-4)

5.       The refrain (3:5)

III.      The Wedding (3:6-5:1)

A.       The wedding procession (3:6-11)

B.       The wedding night (4:1-5:1)

1.       The beauty of the beloved (4:1-7)

2.       The king’s request (4:8)

3.       The king’s praise of his bride’s love (4:9-11)

4.       The king’s praise of his bride’s purity (4:12-15)

5.       The consummation of the marriage (4:16-5:1)

IV.      The Maturation of the Marriage (5:2-8:4)

A.       Indifference and its resolution (5:2-6:13)

1.       The problem: The wife’s indifference and the husband’s absence (5:2-8)

2.       The attractiveness of the lover (5:9-16)

3.       The lover in his garden (6:1-3)

4.       The reconciliation: The lover’s praise of his beloved (6:4-13)

B.       Praise of the beloved and her love (7:1-10)

1.       The beloved’s charms (7:1-6)

2.       The lover’s desire (7:7-9)

3.       The refrain of mutual possession (7:10)

C.       An invitation from the beloved (7:11-13)

D.       The beloved’s desire for a greater intimacy (8:1-4)

V.       The Conclusion: The Nature and Power of Love (8:5-7)

A.       A picture of love (8:5)

B.       An explanation of love (8:6-7)

VI.      The Epilogue: How Love Began (8:8-14)

Brothers, as we consider this book let us consider our wives, our partners, our help-meets.  Let us put sex in its rightful place.  It is a glorious blessing from God when it is viewed and enjoyed as God intended.  It is sin when we do otherwise.  God has much to teach us.  I pray we will learn our lesson well!

May your thoughts today be on the blessing of your wife!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Yet another day of Bible reading, Genesis 13-16, where so much is going on that I hate to be restricted to one topic.  Let me make this clear.  I am restricted to one topic for the sake of your time and allowing others to comment on any topic they wish from the days reading.  Just because I’m going to talk about the Abram, Sarai, Hagar, Ishmael deal doesn’t mean you can’t throw out a comment on Lot’s choice of settlement, or Abram’s subsequent rescue of Lot and the meeting of Melchizedek, or God’s promise of the land of Canaan to Abram’s descendants.

To make your comments just click on the orange “Comments” link in the upper right-hand corner of this post.  If no one has yet made a comment the link may read “no comments”.  Come on now guys – I know you have a lot to say so let’s hear from you!

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

So, let’s talk about being the man of the house, Godly manhood, and sex.  I thought that last bit would get your attention!  In Genesis 13:16 God promises Abram that his descendants will be as the dust of the earth.  That’s a lot of descendants by the way.  By Genesis 16:2, seeing as she still is childless, Sarai decides to take matters into her own hands.  “God has kept me from having children so I’ll just have children through another woman!”

How often do we feel as though God has promised us something but since it’s taking a while to be fulfilled we assume we must be meant to take matters into our own hand.  Now don’t get me wrong I’m not the type that believes we should sit around waiting for God to do all the work.  That’s not the way the Big Guy operates.  He does indeed expect us to take action.  The issue here is that Sarai’s choice of action is clearly against God’s intentions.  God will not fulfill a promise by having people violate His law.  Granted they didn’t have the Mosaic Law but they knew God’s intention for monogamous marriage as was illustrated when Pharaoh had unknowingly taken a married Sarai to be his wife.  Even Pharaoh knew it was wrong to violate the marriage relationship and that God was incensed.

So, in Genesis 16:2 Sarai says to Abram “Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her”.  She actually says “Please” go have sex with this other woman!!!  In response, does Abram say “Now dear, I know you are anxious to have children and God has indeed promised many descendants but this is just something we are not going to do because God wouldn’t fulfill His promise by having us breaking His code of conduct”?  Does He stand up as the spiritual head of the house and say no?  No he does not, and I wonder what each of us would say if our wives encouraged us to do the same.  “Well honey, if you say so.”

This is a recurring problem throughout the history of manhood; manly passivity; a lack of spiritual leadership.  The serpent offered the fruit from the forbidden tree but did Adam say “No dear, we are not going to do this”?  Nope.  He didn’t speak up to stop the snake in his tracks and when his wife told him to eat the fruit he did.  Did God say “Okay, you’re off the hook since your wife told you to do it”?  Nope.

I’m a big believer in trying to keep peace in the house but that can never be an excuse for behaving in a sinful way.  And by the way, does Abram not see the train wreck that is coming by having a second wife?  He doesn’t think there will be a problem between Sarai and Hagar?  You know why he doesn’t think there will be a problem?  Because he isn’t thinking with his head.

You know what I’m talking about.  We can allow our desires for sexual adventure to shut down our brain and compel us into behavior that is corrupt and depraved.  And I can hear the excuses now.  “But honey, you told me to do it!”  “I was just following your orders!”  “I just wanted to keep peace in the house!”  Let’s get real guys.  What would we do in that situation?  Do you think any of those excuses would wash after the fact?  It didn’t for Abram.

Guys, to be a godly husband and father, to be a godly man, we must, as Christ told us, deny ourselves and follow Him.  Our decisions can’t be about what we want, but about what God would have us do.  The over commercialized WWJD, what would Jesus do, has never been more pertinent than when faced with making the right decision.  Abram thought with something other than his brain.  He did not follow God’s obvious will.  As a result, great turmoil and trouble was introduced, not only into his life, but the life of his family and the life of his descendants to this day.

Your actions have consequences.  Say no to pornography. Say no to lusting after women not your wife.  You cannot just pursue your own personal desires.  God has made you His steward of your marriage and your children.  I say “your marriage and your children” but they are not yours.  They are His and you have been given the job of putting yourself second and the care and feeding of them first.  You are not your own.  You were bought at a price.  Stop acting like you’re the boss.  You aren’t.  Start acting like the saved, blessed servant you are.

May God continue to bless you.

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!