He Is Knocking

Revelation 3:20

Following the messages to the seven churches of Asia, which are types of the seven church ages since Pentecost, Christ changes from addressing the churches directly to “any man” in verse 20. Until this point He has ministered directly to the church but now shows us that the last great push before the rapture of the church will be answered by individuals, if not the entire church.

For what cause is Christ standing outside of the heart’s door in this verse? What has caused the church to push the Master to the front porch of our lives instead of allowing Him to dwell freely in the living space of our heart? This final invitation is directed to the individuals within the church at Laodicea, and I believe that we are seeing this fulfillment even now.

In this final hour there is a mixture of covenants in the modern pulpit. The cold tablets of the Law are being preached with force in most sermons, teaching people to work for their righteousness and sanctification. If that was the only message being preached then perhaps some would grow so miserable beneath works that they would long for Christ. Unfortunately, there is just as much preaching on the grace of God along with the ministry of the Law. I say that it is unfortunate because this mixture says that all are saved by grace but then maintain their salvation by individual works of righteousness. This is often referred to as “balance” in many churches, but Christ calls it “mixture”.

He tells Laodicea that because they are “neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Faced with a message of the heat of God’s grace and the coldness of God’s law, the end result will be a lukewarm Christian message. It will be attractive to the sinner because of the grace of God offered freely, but it will quickly become a bondage to the one who is born again.

This combination forces the beautiful presence of Jesus to the front porch of the church, where He then knocks on the door of the church, seeking permission to come back inside. His invitation is extended to “any man”, denoting that in these last days there will be individuals within the modern church system of Laodicea who will answer the call of Jesus Christ and will open up to His wonderful New Covenant.

I see people opening up to the message of pure grace every single day. Individuals who have grown weary beneath the message of works and progressive sanctification are finding rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. They are opening up to the simplicity of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and they are experiencing the wonder of supping with Him and He with them. This mutual relationship, in which they speak freely to Jesus and He ministers freely to them, has rejuvenated their Christian walk, and there are more and more rising up every day who say as Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ!” (Romans 1:16).

If you have mixed grace with law and are floundering beneath a sea of dead works, listen carefully for the knock of Jesus. He awaits perfect fellowship with you once again. Won’t you open the door today?

God Honors Covenant

2 Samuel 9:1-13

Every time that David looked at his hand, he saw a large scar that covered his palm. This scar did not occur in the battlefield or as a result of an accident, but it was a self-inflicted wound. Years earlier, David had entered into a voluntary covenant partnership with his best friend Jonathan, and every glance at the scar reminded him of his end of the deal.

The ritual of cutting covenant involved the slaughter of several sacrificial animals, the pouring of their blood onto the ground and the passing of the two covenant parties between those pieces. The parties would also cut their hands and then clasp the hands together, causing a slight mixing of their blood together. This act was followed by a covenant meal in which both parties ate together and spoke of their terms of covenant.

Whatever had been agreed to in the covenant was binding for life. If one party was to break their end of the covenant, by passing through the dead pieces of animal they were symbolically saying, “May this happen to me”. Only the death of both parties could annul a covenant, not just the passing of one. As long as you lived, you saw the scar and you were reminded of your pact.

Following the death of Jonathan, David enquired if there were any remaining of the house of Saul (Jonathan’s father) that he may show kindness to “for Jonathan’s sake” (2 Samuel 9:1). There was one man, Mephibosheth; son of Saul who had went into hiding since David had ascended to the throne. Mephibosheth was “lame on his feet” (9:3), which meant that he could walk but not very well. This was due to an accident that occurred on the day that his father was killed in battle. At the age of 5, he was dropped by his nurse while trying to escape from the king’s palace. Fearing that David would slaughter all that were left of the house of Saul, she caused irreparable damage to the young boy. She did not know of the covenant between Jonathan and David. Much damage has been caused to our next generation in the church due to parents and pastors not understanding the covenant that has been cut between Jesus and His Father.

Just as David, (a type of God), showed kindness to Mephibosheth, (a type of you and I), for Jonathan’s sake (a type of Jesus), God does all that He does for you and I because of the death of His Son. We are forgiven because of the Covenant that Jesus entered into with His Father. God honors it, “for Christ’s sake” (Ephesians 4:32).

When David brought Mephibosheth into his house he told him that he was to eat at the king’s table for the rest of his life and that the king would always protect him. The way for David to honor his covenant with Jonathan was to provide for Mephibosheth with no pre-conditions. The way for Mephibosheth to honor David was to simply feed. His feet would be under David’s table forevermore, and he would not have to look at his crippled legs.

When we accept Christ by faith, we are honoring what He did at the cross. When God accepts us in our crippled state, He too is honoring what Jesus did at the cross. Jesus bears the nail scars in His hands as a constant reminder of Covenant to His Father. When the enemy comes to accuse you and me, our advocate need only hold up His hand to the Judge, who sees the scar and remembers the Covenant. Thank God for the blood!

Don't Peek Into the Ark

1 Samuel 6:19

The Philistine’s stole the Ark of the Covenant when Israel brought it out of Shiloh onto the battlefield to stop the invaders. It did not work, for Israel was under punishment of God for the filthy lifestyles and practices of the high priest Eli and his two sons Hophni and Phineas. The two sons were killed in the battle and Eli died when he fell and broke his neck upon hearing that the Ark was gone (1 Samuel 4:18).

With the Ark of God in their possession, the Philistines fell under a terrible curse with all of the men in whatever the Ark entered being struck with “emerods in their secret parts” (1 Samuel 5:9). These were terrible sores and are believed to have possibly been hemorrhoids. Other men were simply killed by the hand of God. It became clear to the Philistines that God wanted His Ark back!

To test and see whether or not the curse that was upon them was from God, they placed the Ark on a cart and yoked “two milch kine” to it (1 Samuel 6:7). These were two cows that had just calved, and it would take an act of God to force these cows to walk away from their calves. An act of God is exactly what they got as they watched in amazement as the two cows walked straight to the Jewish village of Bethshemesh, “lowing as they went” (1 Samuel 6:12).

When the Ark arrived in Bethshemesh, which means “house of the sun” in Hebrew, the men of the city lifted the lid off the Ark and looked inside. Perhaps they wanted to make sure that the Philistines had not taken anything, but whatever the reason, God killed 50,070 of them. Numbers chapter 4 had warned that no one was to touch the holy things of God, so the act of touching the surface of the Ark was bad enough, but to pear inside was to lift the mercy seat which was sprinkled with sacrificial blood. To see the contents of the Ark you had to move the blood out of the way, effectively ignoring the fact that a lamb had lost its life to keep what was covered hidden from view.

Hebrews 9:4 tells us that there were three items in the Ark: a golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the 10 Commandments. All three items were a result of man’s rebellion against God. The manna came when Israel complained about God’s provision. Aaron’s rod budded as a result of an insurrection that was against God’s priest, Aaron. The Ten Commandments were a result of Israel bragging that whatever God told them to do, they were capable of doing it (Exodus 19:8). God wanted all signs of man’s rebellion and sin to be covered by blood so that when He looks at them, all that He will see is the sacrifice.

God told Israel in the land of Egypt to mark the door posts and the door mantle with the blood of a spotless lamb and that when the angel of death came over to kill the firstborn of all of the land, the blood would cause him to “pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). The precious blood has always caused God to “pass over”. While the blood of bulls and of goats could not take the sin away (Hebrews 10:4), Jesus came for that very reason. Now that all of our sins are beneath the shed blood of Jesus, may we never lift the lid again! He does not see your sin, so why should you?

No Matter What, I Will Rejoice

Habakkuk 3:16-18

Everyone imagines what they would do if they had unlimited money or time. They fantasize of trips that they would take and shopping sprees that they would go on. Then reality kicks in and we see more bills than we do income, and not nearly enough hours in the day. We keep waiting for circumstances to change and for that golden opportunity to come along and make everything better. In short, we have no time to rest, for there is too much to do.

In light of these things, when we hear someone teaching or preaching on resting in the Lord, we often tune out because rest seems impossible. Jesus fell asleep in the boat with His disciples, and seemed content to snooze right through a terrible storm. It was not the circumstances that woke Him, but the panic of His beloved disciples. When He calmed the storm with a wave of His hand and a simple command, He asked where their faith had gone. The reprimand has more to do with their lack of rest in terrible circumstances than it does anything else.

Jesus knew how to rest, even when life was pressing Him. Habakkuk wrote of how believers should, “rest in the day of trouble” (3:16). If we are always waiting to rest in Christ until circumstances are perfect, then we will always be waiting. In the world we find rest when the waters are calm. In Christ, you rest and that calms the waters. Christ is not a responder; He is a Creator!

It takes a resolve to rest. The author of Hebrews encouraged the church to “labor therefore to enter into that rest” (Hebrews 4:11). When you arrive at this place, you can rejoice in God’s goodness no matter what happens around you.

Habakkuk writes that though the fig tree stop producing; though the vines yield no grapes; though the olive tree give no oil and the crops refuse to grow, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17). This is quite a resolve, to give God praise and glory even if everything around you fails. In troubled economic times, you and I can have a peace in our heart, for we know that all else may fail, but Christ Jesus cannot fail.

Notice the word ‘LORD’ and its capital letters. The author is using “Jehovah” in Hebrew, which means “covenant keeper”. It is his way of pointing the reader back to the one who drew up the Covenant. God is faithful even when we are unfaithful. God is good, even when things are not.

As you look around you today, you may not see much reason to rejoice. Rejoice anyway! God is good and His love endures forever. Your salvation is in Him, and when you labor to enter into His rest, the storm and the waves cease for you.

You Got the Wrong Man!

Genesis 20:1-18
Abraham and his wife Sarah were perpetually on the move, heading toward God’s promise of an inheritance. Their journeys took them to Gerar which was a righteous nation, headed by King Abimelech. When they arrive, Abraham tells the king that Sarah is his sister, fearful that they would kill him and take her for their own if they thought that she was his wife. This rationale doesn’t make much sense. Wouldn’t her being his sister just free them to take her for themselves? This is precisely what happens as the king takes Sarah to join his harem.

During the night, the Lord visits Abimelech in a dream and warns him about laying a hand on Sarah. Abimelech is afraid and vows that he was innocent in the deed, thinking that Sarah was an available woman. I imagine that as the story of what happened was rehearsed in Abimelech’s mind he began to wonder if the Lord had come after the right man. Shouldn’t Abraham be visited by God for lying about his wife? Shouldn’t God have judgment and revenge on Abraham for loving his own life so much more than his wife’s?

It is not God that confronts Abraham either that night or the next morning; it is Abimelech. When he asks why Abraham would do such a thing, Abraham admits that he was scared for his own life. There is no deep spiritual answer, nor noble reason why he has lied. His sin is obvious, so surely his punishment will be swift.

This story is very important when it comes to understanding how God views covenant. God had cut covenant with Abraham back in chapter 15, but during that ceremony of covenant, God had put Abraham to sleep. By taking Abraham out of the ceremony, God Himself passed between the pieces of the covenant animals (Genesis 15:17), sealing the deal with Himself, so that Abraham would be incapable of breaking it. Now, there were no pre-conditions on Abraham’s part; God was obligated to make him the father of many nations, independent of his actions.

When Abraham lied to Abimelech about Sarah, he showed a lack of faith, a presence of self-love and a serious need for affection towards his wife; yet in all of these things, God never curses Abraham. Abimelech, who has done nothing wrong, faces the brunt of God’s wrath, while Abraham sleeps like a baby through the night. Is God condoning lying by not cursing Abraham? No way; instead He is honoring covenant by not cursing Abraham. You see, covenant is more important to God than anything else.

Jesus and the Father cut a covenant at Calvary, and you and I were asleep so to speak. Therefore, when we accept the price that Christ paid on the cross, we enter into the covenant free from our own works or efforts. When we fail, God does not punish or judge us because He honors covenant first and foremost, and the greatest clause of His covenant with Jesus is this glorious statement:

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:16, 17).

Hallelujah!

The Blessings of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 28

Notice that I do not list a verse in this devotion, but rather an entire chapter. The reason for this is that this chapter is God’s conditions of blessings and cursing in the Promised Land for Israel. The first 13 verses are what God promises that He will do to bless Israel if they are obedient, while verses 15-68 show God placing curses upon them for disobedience.

The 27th chapter ends with 12 verses beginning with “Cursed”. These curses precede the great blessings of chapter 28 and they are representative of the curse coming before the blessing. Jesus bore our curse so that we could bear His blessings, thus our curse has been accounted for while we rest in His goodness.

When we read the 28th chapter we are reading conditional promises. If we do what is good and right then “these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee” (Deuteronomy 28:2), but then if we fail to do what is right, we get curse upon curse. This is typical language for the Old Testament as much of it is built upon the principles of God’s Law, which is founded upon a covenant between God and Israel. They were responsible for their end of the deal, and their end was to keep God’s Law entirely. When they failed, they received punishment for their breaking of covenant which are the multiple curses.

Jesus came and lived a perfect life, born of a virgin. His lifestyle, one of perfection and absolute stainless righteousness met every demand of God’s law. He stated, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). By living the law to perfection, Jesus could lay His life down as a sacrifice for others, and present His life as an example of law completed.

When the Father smote Jesus at Calvary, He was killing Christ as a sacrifice for everyone else. This was not possible merely by stating it to be so, but rather Jesus had to first qualify as a sacrifice. With no stain of sin in His life, He was deemed acceptable and then given the opportunity to walk away from the task. In Gethsemane, Jesus agreed to drink of the cup of God’s wrath, thus taking into Himself at the cross all of the sins of the world.

By fulfilling the law, Jesus was given all of the blessings of that fulfillment with none of the subsequent curses for breaking it. However, Jesus changed places with us, knowing that we could never fulfill the law. His fulfillment brought Him God’s blessings which He traded to us for all of our law breaking. Thus, Jesus bore the curse that should have been placed upon humanity, so that humanity could bear the blessings that Jesus had earned by His perfect lifestyle.

Now, when we read Deuteronomy 28, we receive all of the blessings of the first 13 verses because we have placed our faith in the finished work of Christ, receiving all that He paid for. No Christian should ever study the curses that are listed in this chapter and fear that they may be living under them, for what has been blessed cannot be cursed (Numbers 23:20). Why do some Christians insist on telling others that they might be cursed because of things that are going on in their lives? It must be because they do not understand just how finished Christ’s finished work is.

He Is Knocking

Revelation 3:20

Following the messages to the seven churches of Asia, which are types of the seven church ages since Pentecost, Christ changes from addressing the churches directly to “any man” in verse 20. Until this point He has ministered directly to the church but now shows us that the last great push before the rapture of the church will be answered by individuals, if not the entire church.

For what cause is Christ standing outside of the heart’s door in this verse? What has caused the church to push the Master to the front porch of our lives instead of allowing Him to dwell freely in the living space of our heart? This final invitation is directed to the individuals within the church at Laodicea, and I believe that we are seeing this fulfillment even now.

In this final hour there is a mixture of covenants in the modern pulpit. The cold tablets of the Law are being preached with force in most sermons, teaching people to work for their righteousness and sanctification. If that was the only message being preached then perhaps some would grow so miserable beneath works that they would long for Christ. Unfortunately, there is just as much preaching on the grace of God along with the ministry of the Law. I say that it is unfortunate because this mixture says that all are saved by grace but then maintain their salvation by individual works of righteousness. This is often referred to as “balance” in many churches, but Christ calls it “mixture”.

He tells Laodicea that because they are “neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Faced with a message of the heat of God’s grace and the coldness of God’s law, the end result will be a lukewarm Christian message. It will be attractive to the sinner because of the grace of God offered freely, but it will quickly become a bondage to the one who is born again.

This combination forces the beautiful presence of Jesus to the front porch of the church, where He then knocks on the door of the church, seeking permission to come back inside. His invitation is extended to “any man”, denoting that in these last days there will be individuals within the modern church system of Laodicea who will answer the call of Jesus Christ and will open up to His wonderful New Covenant.

I see people opening up to the message of pure grace every single day. Individuals who have grown weary beneath the message of works and progressive sanctification are finding rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. They are opening up to the simplicity of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and they are experiencing the wonder of supping with Him and He with them. This mutual relationship, in which they speak freely to Jesus and He ministers freely to them, has rejuvenated their Christian walk, and there are more and more rising up every day who say as Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ!” (Romans 1:16).

If you have mixed grace with law and are floundering beneath a sea of dead works, listen carefully for the knock of Jesus. He awaits perfect fellowship with you once again. Won’t you open the door today?

God Honors Covenant

2 Samuel 9:1-13

Every time that David looked at his hand, he saw a large scar that covered his palm. This scar did not occur in the battlefield or as a result of an accident, but it was a self-inflicted wound. Years earlier, David had entered into a voluntary covenant partnership with his best friend Jonathan, and every glance at the scar reminded him of his end of the deal.

The ritual of cutting covenant involved the slaughter of several sacrificial animals, the pouring of their blood onto the ground and the passing of the two covenant parties between those pieces. The parties would also cut their hands and then clasp the hands together, causing a slight mixing of their blood together. This act was followed by a covenant meal in which both parties ate together and spoke of their terms of covenant.

Whatever had been agreed to in the covenant was binding for life. If one party was to break their end of the covenant, by passing through the dead pieces of animal they were symbolically saying, “May this happen to me”. Only the death of both parties could annul a covenant, not just the passing of one. As long as you lived, you saw the scar and you were reminded of your pact.

Following the death of Jonathan, David enquired if there were any remaining of the house of Saul (Jonathan’s father) that he may show kindness to “for Jonathan’s sake” (2 Samuel 9:1). There was one man, Mephibosheth; son of Saul who had went into hiding since David had ascended to the throne. Mephibosheth was “lame on his feet” (9:3), which meant that he could walk but not very well. This was due to an accident that occurred on the day that his father was killed in battle. At the age of 5, he was dropped by his nurse while trying to escape from the king’s palace. Fearing that David would slaughter all that were left of the house of Saul, she caused irreparable damage to the young boy. She did not know of the covenant between Jonathan and David. Much damage has been caused to our next generation in the church due to parents and pastors not understanding the covenant that has been cut between Jesus and His Father.

Just as David, (a type of God), showed kindness to Mephibosheth, (a type of you and I), for Jonathan’s sake (a type of Jesus), God does all that He does for you and I because of the death of His Son. We are forgiven because of the Covenant that Jesus entered into with His Father. God honors it, “for Christ’s sake” (Ephesians 4:32).

When David brought Mephibosheth into his house he told him that he was to eat at the king’s table for the rest of his life and that the king would always protect him. The way for David to honor his covenant with Jonathan was to provide for Mephibosheth with no pre-conditions. The way for Mephibosheth to honor David was to simply feed. His feet would be under David’s table forevermore, and he would not have to look at his crippled legs.

When we accept Christ by faith, we are honoring what He did at the cross. When God accepts us in our crippled state, He too is honoring what Jesus did at the cross. Jesus bears the nail scars in His hands as a constant reminder of Covenant to His Father. When the enemy comes to accuse you and me, our advocate need only hold up His hand to the Judge, who sees the scar and remembers the Covenant. Thank God for the blood!

Don't Peek Into the Ark

1 Samuel 6:19

The Philistine’s stole the Ark of the Covenant when Israel brought it out of Shiloh onto the battlefield to stop the invaders. It did not work, for Israel was under punishment of God for the filthy lifestyles and practices of the high priest Eli and his two sons Hophni and Phineas. The two sons were killed in the battle and Eli died when he fell and broke his neck upon hearing that the Ark was gone (1 Samuel 4:18).

With the Ark of God in their possession, the Philistines fell under a terrible curse with all of the men in whatever the Ark entered being struck with “emerods in their secret parts” (1 Samuel 5:9). These were terrible sores and are believed to have possibly been hemorrhoids. Other men were simply killed by the hand of God. It became clear to the Philistines that God wanted His Ark back!

To test and see whether or not the curse that was upon them was from God, they placed the Ark on a cart and yoked “two milch kine” to it (1 Samuel 6:7). These were two cows that had just calved, and it would take an act of God to force these cows to walk away from their calves. An act of God is exactly what they got as they watched in amazement as the two cows walked straight to the Jewish village of Bethshemesh, “lowing as they went” (1 Samuel 6:12).

When the Ark arrived in Bethshemesh, which means “house of the sun” in Hebrew, the men of the city lifted the lid off the Ark and looked inside. Perhaps they wanted to make sure that the Philistines had not taken anything, but whatever the reason, God killed 50,070 of them. Numbers chapter 4 had warned that no one was to touch the holy things of God, so the act of touching the surface of the Ark was bad enough, but to pear inside was to lift the mercy seat which was sprinkled with sacrificial blood. To see the contents of the Ark you had to move the blood out of the way, effectively ignoring the fact that a lamb had lost its life to keep what was covered hidden from view.

Hebrews 9:4 tells us that there were three items in the Ark: a golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the 10 Commandments. All three items were a result of man’s rebellion against God. The manna came when Israel complained about God’s provision. Aaron’s rod budded as a result of an insurrection that was against God’s priest, Aaron. The Ten Commandments were a result of Israel bragging that whatever God told them to do, they were capable of doing it (Exodus 19:8). God wanted all signs of man’s rebellion and sin to be covered by blood so that when He looks at them, all that He will see is the sacrifice.

God told Israel in the land of Egypt to mark the door posts and the door mantle with the blood of a spotless lamb and that when the angel of death came over to kill the firstborn of all of the land, the blood would cause him to “pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). The precious blood has always caused God to “pass over”. While the blood of bulls and of goats could not take the sin away (Hebrews 10:4), Jesus came for that very reason. Now that all of our sins are beneath the shed blood of Jesus, may we never lift the lid again! He does not see your sin, so why should you?

No Matter What, I Will Rejoice

Habakkuk 3:16-18

Everyone imagines what they would do if they had unlimited money or time. They fantasize of trips that they would take and shopping sprees that they would go on. Then reality kicks in and we see more bills than we do income, and not nearly enough hours in the day. We keep waiting for circumstances to change and for that golden opportunity to come along and make everything better. In short, we have no time to rest, for there is too much to do.

In light of these things, when we hear someone teaching or preaching on resting in the Lord, we often tune out because rest seems impossible. Jesus fell asleep in the boat with His disciples, and seemed content to snooze right through a terrible storm. It was not the circumstances that woke Him, but the panic of His beloved disciples. When He calmed the storm with a wave of His hand and a simple command, He asked where their faith had gone. The reprimand has more to do with their lack of rest in terrible circumstances than it does anything else.

Jesus knew how to rest, even when life was pressing Him. Habakkuk wrote of how believers should, “rest in the day of trouble” (3:16). If we are always waiting to rest in Christ until circumstances are perfect, then we will always be waiting. In the world we find rest when the waters are calm. In Christ, you rest and that calms the waters. Christ is not a responder; He is a Creator!

It takes a resolve to rest. The author of Hebrews encouraged the church to “labor therefore to enter into that rest” (Hebrews 4:11). When you arrive at this place, you can rejoice in God’s goodness no matter what happens around you.

Habakkuk writes that though the fig tree stop producing; though the vines yield no grapes; though the olive tree give no oil and the crops refuse to grow, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17). This is quite a resolve, to give God praise and glory even if everything around you fails. In troubled economic times, you and I can have a peace in our heart, for we know that all else may fail, but Christ Jesus cannot fail.

Notice the word ‘LORD’ and its capital letters. The author is using “Jehovah” in Hebrew, which means “covenant keeper”. It is his way of pointing the reader back to the one who drew up the Covenant. God is faithful even when we are unfaithful. God is good, even when things are not.

As you look around you today, you may not see much reason to rejoice. Rejoice anyway! God is good and His love endures forever. Your salvation is in Him, and when you labor to enter into His rest, the storm and the waves cease for you.

You Got the Wrong Man!

Genesis 20:1-18
Abraham and his wife Sarah were perpetually on the move, heading toward God’s promise of an inheritance. Their journeys took them to Gerar which was a righteous nation, headed by King Abimelech. When they arrive, Abraham tells the king that Sarah is his sister, fearful that they would kill him and take her for their own if they thought that she was his wife. This rationale doesn’t make much sense. Wouldn’t her being his sister just free them to take her for themselves? This is precisely what happens as the king takes Sarah to join his harem.

During the night, the Lord visits Abimelech in a dream and warns him about laying a hand on Sarah. Abimelech is afraid and vows that he was innocent in the deed, thinking that Sarah was an available woman. I imagine that as the story of what happened was rehearsed in Abimelech’s mind he began to wonder if the Lord had come after the right man. Shouldn’t Abraham be visited by God for lying about his wife? Shouldn’t God have judgment and revenge on Abraham for loving his own life so much more than his wife’s?

It is not God that confronts Abraham either that night or the next morning; it is Abimelech. When he asks why Abraham would do such a thing, Abraham admits that he was scared for his own life. There is no deep spiritual answer, nor noble reason why he has lied. His sin is obvious, so surely his punishment will be swift.

This story is very important when it comes to understanding how God views covenant. God had cut covenant with Abraham back in chapter 15, but during that ceremony of covenant, God had put Abraham to sleep. By taking Abraham out of the ceremony, God Himself passed between the pieces of the covenant animals (Genesis 15:17), sealing the deal with Himself, so that Abraham would be incapable of breaking it. Now, there were no pre-conditions on Abraham’s part; God was obligated to make him the father of many nations, independent of his actions.

When Abraham lied to Abimelech about Sarah, he showed a lack of faith, a presence of self-love and a serious need for affection towards his wife; yet in all of these things, God never curses Abraham. Abimelech, who has done nothing wrong, faces the brunt of God’s wrath, while Abraham sleeps like a baby through the night. Is God condoning lying by not cursing Abraham? No way; instead He is honoring covenant by not cursing Abraham. You see, covenant is more important to God than anything else.

Jesus and the Father cut a covenant at Calvary, and you and I were asleep so to speak. Therefore, when we accept the price that Christ paid on the cross, we enter into the covenant free from our own works or efforts. When we fail, God does not punish or judge us because He honors covenant first and foremost, and the greatest clause of His covenant with Jesus is this glorious statement:

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:16, 17).

Hallelujah!

The Blessings of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 28

Notice that I do not list a verse in this devotion, but rather an entire chapter. The reason for this is that this chapter is God’s conditions of blessings and cursing in the Promised Land for Israel. The first 13 verses are what God promises that He will do to bless Israel if they are obedient, while verses 15-68 show God placing curses upon them for disobedience.

The 27th chapter ends with 12 verses beginning with “Cursed”. These curses precede the great blessings of chapter 28 and they are representative of the curse coming before the blessing. Jesus bore our curse so that we could bear His blessings, thus our curse has been accounted for while we rest in His goodness.

When we read the 28th chapter we are reading conditional promises. If we do what is good and right then “these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee” (Deuteronomy 28:2), but then if we fail to do what is right, we get curse upon curse. This is typical language for the Old Testament as much of it is built upon the principles of God’s Law, which is founded upon a covenant between God and Israel. They were responsible for their end of the deal, and their end was to keep God’s Law entirely. When they failed, they received punishment for their breaking of covenant which are the multiple curses.

Jesus came and lived a perfect life, born of a virgin. His lifestyle, one of perfection and absolute stainless righteousness met every demand of God’s law. He stated, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). By living the law to perfection, Jesus could lay His life down as a sacrifice for others, and present His life as an example of law completed.

When the Father smote Jesus at Calvary, He was killing Christ as a sacrifice for everyone else. This was not possible merely by stating it to be so, but rather Jesus had to first qualify as a sacrifice. With no stain of sin in His life, He was deemed acceptable and then given the opportunity to walk away from the task. In Gethsemane, Jesus agreed to drink of the cup of God’s wrath, thus taking into Himself at the cross all of the sins of the world.

By fulfilling the law, Jesus was given all of the blessings of that fulfillment with none of the subsequent curses for breaking it. However, Jesus changed places with us, knowing that we could never fulfill the law. His fulfillment brought Him God’s blessings which He traded to us for all of our law breaking. Thus, Jesus bore the curse that should have been placed upon humanity, so that humanity could bear the blessings that Jesus had earned by His perfect lifestyle.

Now, when we read Deuteronomy 28, we receive all of the blessings of the first 13 verses because we have placed our faith in the finished work of Christ, receiving all that He paid for. No Christian should ever study the curses that are listed in this chapter and fear that they may be living under them, for what has been blessed cannot be cursed (Numbers 23:20). Why do some Christians insist on telling others that they might be cursed because of things that are going on in their lives? It must be because they do not understand just how finished Christ’s finished work is.

The Dividing Point

2 Timothy 2:15

What would you consider the dividing point of the Bible? You could accurately place it into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the understanding that all that the Jews of Jesus day would have had were the writings of Genesis through Malachi. However, if this is the only dividing point, then we must assume that the New Covenant begins with the first word of the first book of the New Testament. If that be the case, then the New Covenant begins with the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth and with the Virgin Mary receiving the news of the impending birth of Christ.

Something is not quite right with that assumption. In reality, this theory makes the dividing point of the Bible the blank page between Malachi and Matthew. When Paul tells the young pastor Timothy to rightly divide the word of truth, he surely means more than “figure out how to find that blank page Timothy”.

The division of the Word of God must hinge upon some great event. Something cataclysmic, which is foreshadowed in the Old Testament and expounded upon in the New Testament, must be the dividing point of everything that is preached. That one event is the death of Jesus Christ. The cross is the introduction of the New Covenant, thus it is the division point of all that happens in God’s Word. Everything prior to Calvary is pointing forward to the event, while everything afterwards is hearkening backwards.

Jesus called Himself, “the truth” (John 14:6). When you preach or teach of the truth, you are preaching of Jesus. His day of division came when He was smitten of God on the cross. His punishment was for the sin of the whole world, and He was torn asunder by the righteous anger of God. As Jesus was divided at Calvary, so the preacher should always divide the Word with the cross on the horizon.

When we read the Old Testament, we must read it with the cross in our hearts. No statement or verse should ever again be read as if the cross did not happen. Anytime that you read something that is Old Testament, thus Old Covenant, you should make a habit of asking yourself, “What did the cross do to change this?” To read the Old Testament any other way is to read it out of context and to make a mockery of Christ’s finished work. It essence, to read the Word without taking the cross into account is to say that the cross made no difference at all.

The way to make this sort of interpretation come about is consistent study of God’s Word. When we study we make ourselves knowledgeable of Christ’s finished work and we have no reason to be ashamed of ourselves. As Paul investigated the Old Testament, he saw Jesus, just as Jesus had done on the road to Emmaus, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). When Paul saw Jesus in these Old Testament scriptures, he made a determination, and it is one that we should all determine in our own hearts:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

God Honors Covenant

2 Samuel 9:1-13

Every time that David looked at his hand, he saw a large scar that covered his palm. This scar did not occur in the battlefield or as a result of an accident, but it was a self-inflicted wound. Years earlier, David had entered into a voluntary covenant partnership with his best friend Jonathan, and every glance at the scar reminded him of his end of the deal.

The ritual of cutting covenant involved the slaughter of several sacrificial animals, the pouring of their blood onto the ground and the passing of the two covenant parties between those pieces. The parties would also cut their hands and then clasp the hands together, causing a slight mixing of their blood together. This act was followed by a covenant meal in which both parties ate together and spoke of their terms of covenant.

Whatever had been agreed to in the covenant was binding for life. If one party was to break their end of the covenant, by passing through the dead pieces of animal they were symbolically saying, “May this happen to me”. Only the death of both parties could annul a covenant, not just the passing of one. As long as you lived, you saw the scar and you were reminded of your pact.

Following the death of Jonathan, David enquired if there were any remaining of the house of Saul (Jonathan’s father) that he may show kindness to “for Jonathan’s sake” (2 Samuel 9:1). There was one man, Mephibosheth; son of Saul who had went into hiding since David had ascended to the throne. Mephibosheth was “lame on his feet” (9:3), which meant that he could walk but not very well. This was due to an accident that occurred on the day that his father was killed in battle. At the age of 5, he was dropped by his nurse while trying to escape from the king’s palace. Fearing that David would slaughter all that were left of the house of Saul, she caused irreparable damage to the young boy. She did not know of the covenant between Jonathan and David. Much damage has been caused to our next generation in the church due to parents and pastors not understanding the covenant that has been cut between Jesus and His Father.

Just as David, (a type of God), showed kindness to Mephibosheth, (a type of you and I), for Jonathan’s sake (a type of Jesus), God does all that He does for you and I because of the death of His Son. We are forgiven because of the Covenant that Jesus entered into with His Father. God honors it, “for Christ’s sake” (Ephesians 4:32).

When David brought Mephibosheth into his house he told him that he was to eat at the king’s table for the rest of his life and that the king would always protect him. The way for David to honor his covenant with Jonathan was to provide for Mephibosheth with no pre-conditions. The way for Mephibosheth to honor David was to simply feed. His feet would be under David’s table forevermore, and he would not have to look at his crippled legs.

When we accept Christ by faith, we are honoring what He did at the cross. When God accepts us in our crippled state, He too is honoring what Jesus did at the cross. Jesus bears the nail scars in His hands as a constant reminder of Covenant to His Father. When the enemy comes to accuse you and me, our advocate need only hold up His hand to the Judge, who sees the scar and remembers the Covenant. Thank God for the blood!

Don't Peek Into the Ark

1 Samuel 6:19

The Philistine’s stole the Ark of the Covenant when Israel brought it out of Shiloh onto the battlefield to stop the invaders. It did not work, for Israel was under punishment of God for the filthy lifestyles and practices of the high priest Eli and his two sons Hophni and Phineas. The two sons were killed in the battle and Eli died when he fell and broke his neck upon hearing that the Ark was gone (1 Samuel 4:18).

With the Ark of God in their possession, the Philistines fell under a terrible curse with all of the men in whatever the Ark entered being struck with “emerods in their secret parts” (1 Samuel 5:9). These were terrible sores and are believed to have possibly been hemorrhoids. Other men were simply killed by the hand of God. It became clear to the Philistines that God wanted His Ark back!

To test and see whether or not the curse that was upon them was from God, they placed the Ark on a cart and yoked “two milch kine” to it (1 Samuel 6:7). These were two cows that had just calved, and it would take an act of God to force these cows to walk away from their calves. An act of God is exactly what they got as they watched in amazement as the two cows walked straight to the Jewish village of Bethshemesh, “lowing as they went” (1 Samuel 6:12).

When the Ark arrived in Bethshemesh, which means “house of the sun” in Hebrew, the men of the city lifted the lid off the Ark and looked inside. Perhaps they wanted to make sure that the Philistines had not taken anything, but whatever the reason, God killed 50,070 of them. Numbers chapter 4 had warned that no one was to touch the holy things of God, so the act of touching the surface of the Ark was bad enough, but to pear inside was to lift the mercy seat which was sprinkled with sacrificial blood. To see the contents of the Ark you had to move the blood out of the way, effectively ignoring the fact that a lamb had lost its life to keep what was covered hidden from view.

Hebrews 9:4 tells us that there were three items in the Ark: a golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the 10 Commandments. All three items were a result of man’s rebellion against God. The manna came when Israel complained about God’s provision. Aaron’s rod budded as a result of an insurrection that was against God’s priest, Aaron. The Ten Commandments were a result of Israel bragging that whatever God told them to do, they were capable of doing it (Exodus 19:8). God wanted all signs of man’s rebellion and sin to be covered by blood so that when He looks at them, all that He will see is the sacrifice.

God told Israel in the land of Egypt to mark the door posts and the door mantle with the blood of a spotless lamb and that when the angel of death came over to kill the firstborn of all of the land, the blood would cause him to “pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). The precious blood has always caused God to “pass over”. While the blood of bulls and of goats could not take the sin away (Hebrews 10:4), Jesus came for that very reason. Now that all of our sins are beneath the shed blood of Jesus, may we never lift the lid again! He does not see your sin, so why should you?

Blood on the Altar

Leviticus 17:11

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood”, is a foundational statement of evangelical Christianity. It is the fulcrum on which the message of blood atonement rests, for it answers the question, “Why must something die for sins to be atoned?” It is life for life, and one being losing its life can buy as a ransom the life of the other.

This concept brings great importance to blood in the Christian faith. Although an important aspect of sacrifice, it was not just blood that fulfilled the task of atonement. The blood had to come from a spotless host, which was inspected thoroughly to ensure its perfection. The blood was also useless in a basin or on the ground. It was only considered worthwhile when it was placed, “on the altar” (verse 11).

The fact that blood had to be placed on the altar shows us that salvation could not be found in the sheep or the bull, but in their blood placed in the position of sacrifice. For this cause, there is no salvation to be found in copying the life or the lifestyle of Christ. I have heard it said that true Christianity is trying to be as much like Jesus as possible. That is not Christianity; that is the basis for all other religions. They try to be as much like perfection as they can, hoping to slowly but surely transform into that ideal perfection. Christians do not emulate Jesus’ life; they let Jesus live His life through them.

Many philosophers and great minds of the world will quote Jesus alongside other intellectuals of yesterday. Confucius, Aristotle, Gandhi and Jesus will be used to promote everything from world peace to inner healing. The world of intellect seems to have no problem with the statements of Jesus, but they rarely mention the cross of Jesus. Paul called the crucified Christ, “to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). The blood on the altar puts the life of Jesus on the back-burner in relation to the death of Jesus. The blood on the altar makes Jesus into “Christ”.

It was absolutely necessary for Jesus to die at Calvary. The constant sacrifice of bulls and goats could never make the giver perfect (Hebrews 10:1). If the sacrifice of animals had done the job in taking away sin then, “the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:2, 3). The reason that the conscience was not wiped clean by the animal blood was, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

Some may say, “Paul, that is well and good, but I still have consciousness of my sins”. The reason that we remain aware of our failures is because we forget that Jesus’ work is a finished work. “But his man (Jesus), after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). Jesus is now seated, not constantly offering up sacrifice for your sins. Just in case you need a reminder, He sent the Holy Spirit into your heart to make you aware of the great price that Jesus paid, for the Holy Spirit was there when it happened, and He was an eye witness:

“Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:15, 16).

His blood is still on the altar, and you are no longer guilty. Go in the grace of our Lord Jesus today.

No Matter What, I Will Rejoice

Habakkuk 3:16-18

Everyone imagines what they would do if they had unlimited money or time. They fantasize of trips that they would take and shopping sprees that they would go on. Then reality kicks in and we see more bills than we do income, and not nearly enough hours in the day. We keep waiting for circumstances to change and for that golden opportunity to come along and make everything better. In short, we have no time to rest, for there is too much to do.

In light of these things, when we hear someone teaching or preaching on resting in the Lord, we often tune out because rest seems impossible. Jesus fell asleep in the boat with His disciples, and seemed content to snooze right through a terrible storm. It was not the circumstances that woke Him, but the panic of His beloved disciples. When He calmed the storm with a wave of His hand and a simple command, He asked where their faith had gone. The reprimand has more to do with their lack of rest in terrible circumstances than it does anything else.

Jesus knew how to rest, even when life was pressing Him. Habakkuk wrote of how believers should, “rest in the day of trouble” (3:16). If we are always waiting to rest in Christ until circumstances are perfect, then we will always be waiting. In the world we find rest when the waters are calm. In Christ, you rest and that calms the waters. Christ is not a responder; He is a Creator!

It takes a resolve to rest. The author of Hebrews encouraged the church to “labor therefore to enter into that rest” (Hebrews 4:11). When you arrive at this place, you can rejoice in God’s goodness no matter what happens around you.

Habakkuk writes that though the fig tree stop producing; though the vines yield no grapes; though the olive tree give no oil and the crops refuse to grow, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17). This is quite a resolve, to give God praise and glory even if everything around you fails. In troubled economic times, you and I can have a peace in our heart, for we know that all else may fail, but Christ Jesus cannot fail.

Notice the word ‘LORD’ and its capital letters. The author is using “Jehovah” in Hebrew, which means “covenant keeper”. It is his way of pointing the reader back to the one who drew up the Covenant. God is faithful even when we are unfaithful. God is good, even when things are not.

As you look around you today, you may not see much reason to rejoice. Rejoice anyway! God is good and His love endures forever. Your salvation is in Him, and when you labor to enter into His rest, the storm and the waves cease for you.

Jesus: The Power to Get Wealth

Deuteronomy 8:17, 18

An undeniable, and beautiful part of God’s goodness is “the power to get wealth”. In Paul’s great description of the gospel of grace, he says that the gospel is the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). The Greek word used for “salvation” includes all deliverance, preservation, safety and wholeness. When you enter into a relationship with Christ, it is no more by your own power, but by the power of Jesus Christ.

Notice that God is not emphasizing the wealth, but rather, within context, He shows Israel that their inevitable blessings did not come at their own hand. They will see their herds and flocks multiply, and their silver and gold as well (verse 12), but it will be God that does all of the providing.

For you, the blood-bought, covenant child of God, the blessings of heaven are just as inevitable. As a son, you have all rights to the shoe, the ring and the best robe that your Father has to offer (see Luke 15 for the story of the Prodigal). It is always Him that gives the increase and then gets the glory. Not because He is a glory hog, but it is so that all of your blessings will reaffirm covenant, “that he may establish his covenant” (verse 18).

Christ’s work at Calvary has entered you into a better covenant, with a whole new set of better promises. Jesus has taken the wrath of the Father against sin and thus you have righteousness imputed to you. Walk free today in this provision, knowing that it is your Father’s good pleasure to give to you the kingdom and that every blessing that He affords is His way of reminding you of His covenant of grace.

May you see covenant blessings all around you today, paid for in the abundant grace of God.