From a Harlot to a Grandma!

Joshua 2:1-24

The story of the conquest of Jericho would be incomplete without the salvation of Rahab the harlot. She lived on the town wall, strategically located to bring success in her line of work! It also provided a great stopping point for the spies that were sent in to access the strength of Jericho. We know how the story ends, with Rahab hanging a scarlet thread out of her window, and the army of Israel sparing her and her family. What we don’t think about often enough is that this woman was saved long before the thread came out the window.

Hebrews chapter 11 lists Rahab in the New Testament’s Hall of Fame of faith: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace” (Hebrews 11:31). Did you notice when she “perished not”? It was not when she obediently put the scarlet line in the window, but rather when she received the spies with peace. Her placement of the scarlet line was to save her physical life, and it was a testimony to all who would see that she had placed her faith in the army of God.

Rahab displayed her faith before the spies had even laid down on her roof, to hide from their pursuers: “I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you…as soon as we heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Joshua 2:9, 12).

What a profession of faith she had. Her actions afterward were the sign of an inward change (James 2:25). It was her initial faith that brought the spies to stop in her house, as they could have stopped anywhere, but the Holy Spirit had found a household of faith. Notice how our Father’s provision covers everyone. The spies found safe shelter and the harlot found a new life and a new hope.

After her rescue from Jericho, we do not know what she does from day-to-day within the camp of the Israelites, but she obviously adopts their ways and becomes a part of their society, because we do see her again, this time as one of only 4 women listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). She becomes the matriarchal head of the line that produces Boaz, king David and eventually, the Lord Jesus.

Whatever your lot in life, remember that every moment is another chance to change it all. You may have ruined many things and burned many bridges, but God is not looking for scarlet lines of obedience, just open hearts of faith. Don’t get me wrong, the obedience will come, but let us walk in the faith of Jesus Christ first, and all of us can change from who we are and become known by who we become.

Go in His peace and prosperity, with the abundant favor and blessings of God upon you in Jesus’ name.

When God Crossed His Hands

Genesis 48:8-20

The time had come for the old patriarch Jacob to die, which meant that the time of the blessing upon his children and grand-children was to begin. Now 147 years old, his eye-sight almost gone, and the sickness upon him that will end his life, Jacob begins the process of doling out words of blessing and wisdom by starting with the sons of Joseph. This picture, nearly 4000 years old is a type and shadow of what Jesus would do for all of us on a dark day at Calvary.

The Israeli way was for a man to lay his hands upon his children and pass a blessing down to them. He could lay his left hand upon any and all of his children and prophesy on them promises and goodness, but his right hand was placed on one son alone. This blessing was normally reserved for the firstborn son, as he was to be the legal heir of the family fortune and the father’s name. Jacob had disturbed this trend when he had cheated his older brother Esau out of the blessing as a young man. So powerful was the right-hand blessing that once given, it was considered irreversible (Genesis 27:35).

Joseph marches his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, toward his father so that they may receive blessing. Since Manasseh is the oldest, Joseph desires for him to receive the best of his father’s blessings so he guides him towards Jacob’s right hand. When the boys arrive in front of Jacob, the text says that he guided his hands “wittingly” (Genesis 48:14), meaning that he placed them on purpose. He crossed his arms, laying his right hand on the youngest boy, Ephraim.

Joseph saw the apparent mistake of his father, and thinking that it was done due to Jacob’s inability to see properly, he grabs his father’s hands and tries to uncross them (48:17, 18). Jacob is well aware of what he has done and he explains to Joseph that while the eldest son will be great, the younger one will be greater. This entire scenario is our redemption in shadow.

Israel is God’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22), while the church of Jesus Christ, compiled predominately of Gentiles is the second choice of the gospel (Acts 13:46). Israel rejected the gospel message, so God turned His love and favor towards all that will accept His Son Jesus. Jesus prophesied that the first will be last and the last will be first (Matthew 19:30), meaning that Israel was first called but will be the last saved, while the Gentiles were the last called but the first saved.

The firstborn son was the deserving son by all legal rights and privileges while the last children were considered blessed just to be involved. At Calvary, Jesus Christ saw both the firstborn and the last and crossed His hands for us, offering salvation and redemption to the less deserving, younger born, Gentile world. Because God crossed His hands at the cross, you and I rest beneath the right-hand, best blessings of God.

You can hold your head high today, not because you are the best but because Jesus crossed His hands for you. Due to that crossing (and that “cross”), you are greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved.

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 Less is Blessed of the Better

Hebrews 7:7

Any time that someone blesses someone else, the Bible says that without contradiction, the person doing the blessing is better than the one being blessed. When you become the blesser, you place yourself in a position of superiority over those who you are blessing, making it the premium position to be the one doling out the blessings rather than the one always looking to receive them.

This principle begins when Abraham pays tithes to the priest Melchisedec in Genesis 14. Melchisedec was, “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God” (Hebrews 7:3). Actually, Melchisedec is the Old Testament incarnation of Jesus Christ. Without being prompted to do so, Abraham gives a tenth of all that he has gained, establishing the principle of the tithe, prior to the giving of the law. In response to Abraham’s generosity, Melchisedec blesses, “him that had the promises” (Hebrews 7:6).

We see another example of this when the old man Simeon, who had it revealed to him by the Holy Ghost that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ, comes into the temple to meet Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus (Luke 2:26-34). He takes the infant in his arms and blesses God. His blessing of God was not him giving a blessing to God but rather praising him for allowing him to see the Messiah in his lifetime. Notice however, that Simeon does not bless the child, which is an odd thing to leave out. He will not bless the baby, for the less is always blessed of the better, and he realizes that he is not better than this child!

To further the principle, Simeon then blesses Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:34), while still not blessing the child. It is as if the Holy Spirit draws attention to the fact that the parents receiving the blessing but not the child. When we realize that God puts such a premium on the one doing the blessing, it is no surprise to see Simeon’s reluctance.

When you speak blessings into someone’s life, you are placing yourself in a greater position than they are in. Why deny someone blessings when you know the benefits that you receive by being the minister of grace into their life? I am ashamed to admit that I used to say that you should be stingy with whom you say “God bless you” to, for they may be undeserving. Of course they are undeserving, aren’t we all? Now, I am quick to give blessings out, knowing that if the less is blessed of the better, I want to be the better one.

There is a difference in giving your peace out to everyone that you see and in blessing those around you. Jesus gave His peace to His disciples and thus to us (John 14:27), but He also told us to give that peace out to those who are worthy (Matthew 10:13). They are worthy if they receive us and our words (verse 14). In other words, if they are receptive to the message of God’s grace and goodness, leave them a bit of your peace, speaking that into their lives; but if they are closed to it, “shake off the dust of your feet” (Matthew 10:14).

Find someone to bless today, and remember that when you do, the less is always blessed of the better.

When God Crossed His Hands

Genesis 48:8-20

The time had come for the old patriarch Jacob to die, which meant that the time of the blessing upon his children and grand-children was to begin. Now 147 years old, his eye-sight almost gone, and the sickness upon him that will end his life, Jacob begins the process of doling out words of blessing and wisdom by starting with the sons of Joseph. This picture, nearly 4000 years old is a type and shadow of what Jesus would do for all of us on a dark day at Calvary.

The Israeli way was for a man to lay his hands upon his children and pass a blessing down to them. He could lay his left hand upon any and all of his children and prophesy on them promises and goodness, but his right hand was placed on one son alone. This blessing was normally reserved for the firstborn son, as he was to be the legal heir of the family fortune and the father’s name. Jacob had disturbed this trend when he had cheated his older brother Esau out of the blessing as a young man. So powerful was the right-hand blessing that once given, it was considered irreversible (Genesis 27:35).

Joseph marches his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, toward his father so that they may receive blessing. Since Manasseh is the oldest, Joseph desires for him to receive the best of his father’s blessings so he guides him towards Jacob’s right hand. When the boys arrive in front of Jacob, the text says that he guided his hands “wittingly” (Genesis 48:14), meaning that he placed them on purpose. He crossed his arms, laying his right hand on the youngest boy, Ephraim.

Joseph saw the apparent mistake of his father, and thinking that it was done due to Jacob’s inability to see properly, he grabs his father’s hands and tries to uncross them (48:17, 18). Jacob is well aware of what he has done and he explains to Joseph that while the eldest son will be great, the younger one will be greater. This entire scenario is our redemption in shadow.

Israel is God’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22), while the church of Jesus Christ, compiled predominately of Gentiles is the second choice of the gospel (Acts 13:46). Israel rejected the gospel message, so God turned His love and favor towards all that will accept His Son Jesus. Jesus prophesied that the first will be last and the last will be first (Matthew 19:30), meaning that Israel was first called but will be the last saved, while the Gentiles were the last called but the first saved.

The firstborn son was the deserving son by all legal rights and privileges while the last children were considered blessed just to be involved. At Calvary, Jesus Christ saw both the firstborn and the last and crossed His hands for us, offering salvation and redemption to the less deserving, younger born, Gentile world. Because God crossed His hands at the cross, you and I rest beneath the right-hand, best blessings of God.

You can hold your head high today, not because you are the best but because Jesus crossed His hands for you. Due to that crossing (and that “cross”), you are greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved.

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 Less is Blessed of the Better

Hebrews 7:7

Any time that someone blesses someone else, the Bible says that without contradiction, the person doing the blessing is better than the one being blessed. When you become the blesser, you place yourself in a position of superiority over those who you are blessing, making it the premium position to be the one doling out the blessings rather than the one always looking to receive them.

This principle begins when Abraham pays tithes to the priest Melchisedec in Genesis 14. Melchisedec was, “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God” (Hebrews 7:3). Actually, Melchisedec is the Old Testament incarnation of Jesus Christ. Without being prompted to do so, Abraham gives a tenth of all that he has gained, establishing the principle of the tithe, prior to the giving of the law. In response to Abraham’s generosity, Melchisedec blesses, “him that had the promises” (Hebrews 7:6).

We see another example of this when the old man Simeon, who had it revealed to him by the Holy Ghost that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ, comes into the temple to meet Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus (Luke 2:26-34). He takes the infant in his arms and blesses God. His blessing of God was not him giving a blessing to God but rather praising him for allowing him to see the Messiah in his lifetime. Notice however, that Simeon does not bless the child, which is an odd thing to leave out. He will not bless the baby, for the less is always blessed of the better, and he realizes that he is not better than this child!

To further the principle, Simeon then blesses Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:34), while still not blessing the child. It is as if the Holy Spirit draws attention to the fact that the parents receiving the blessing but not the child. When we realize that God puts such a premium on the one doing the blessing, it is no surprise to see Simeon’s reluctance.

When you speak blessings into someone’s life, you are placing yourself in a greater position than they are in. Why deny someone blessings when you know the benefits that you receive by being the minister of grace into their life? I am ashamed to admit that I used to say that you should be stingy with whom you say “God bless you” to, for they may be undeserving. Of course they are undeserving, aren’t we all? Now, I am quick to give blessings out, knowing that if the less is blessed of the better, I want to be the better one.

There is a difference in giving your peace out to everyone that you see and in blessing those around you. Jesus gave His peace to His disciples and thus to us (John 14:27), but He also told us to give that peace out to those who are worthy (Matthew 10:13). They are worthy if they receive us and our words (verse 14). In other words, if they are receptive to the message of God’s grace and goodness, leave them a bit of your peace, speaking that into their lives; but if they are closed to it, “shake off the dust of your feet” (Matthew 10:14).

Find someone to bless today, and remember that when you do, the less is always blessed of the better.

Old Wives's Fables

1 Timothy 4:1-7

In writing to young Timothy, Paul told him, and us, that “the Spirit speaketh expressly” or ‘pointedly’, “that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils”. Someone asked me recently if I felt that the church was entering a period that could be defined as “the falling away” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) or “the latter times”. I responded that I believe that we are certainly in the latter times, but that we have been in them for nearly 2000 years on God’s time clock. As for the falling away, I do not believe that we are entering that period now; I believe that we are already in it!

When Paul wrote of the falling away from the faith, he was writing it from the perspective of his gospel. What was it that Paul preached? He preached pure grace with salvation coming by faith alone in what Jesus had finished at the cross. Paul never preached the law as a means of salvation or as a means of maintaining or improving one’s salvation. Paul advocated a complete separation of the law from the preaching of grace, claiming that the law would inflame sin (Romans 5:18) and cause saints to fall from grace (Galatians 5:4).

To envision a church that would fall away from the faith, Paul sees one that no longer preaches pure grace. It should be obvious that we are not entering this period of church history, but are already there. The gospel of pure grace has all but vanished from many pulpits, with the hybrid message of law and grace being so prevalent as to be considered the only true gospel. In my part of the world, preachers that scream and yell and condemn people to hell are praised as preaching the “unadulterated gospel”, while they are truly instruments of condemnation and death. Paul would be hard pressed to find the comfort and exhortation being ministered that he personally worked so hard to foster.

He warns of “old wives’ fables” while not actually giving us one. However, the Word does share one with us that is of particular importance. The word of the LORD came to Ezekiel and this “wives’ fable” was confronted:

“What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?’ As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:2-4)

This old proverb in Israel stated that if a man ate sour grapes, his child’s teeth would hurt. In other words, if a man sinned, his son would be punished. This teaching of generational curses passed back from God’s teaching Moses on Mt. Sinai that he would “visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto he third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:5). God states that it can no longer be used, but why? The answer is found at the cross.

Jesus is thirsty at Calvary, so he asks for something to drink. They fill a sponge with “vinegar” or “sour wine” and lift it to Jesus. After he had received it, he said “It is finished”. At Calvary, Jesus drank the sour wine so that you will never have your teeth set on edge. He was punished so that you can go free. Remove the old wives’ tales and rejoice in a New Covenant!

The Preventing God

Psalms 21:3

This verse takes on a new meaning when we can clear the hurdle that the word “prevent” causes. We see “prevent” in a negative light, not a positive one, which causes us to see God as keeping us from the “blessings of goodness”.

In Hebrew, the phrase is “qadam” and it means “to come before, to anticipate”. In other words, it is something good if God is “preventing” because it means that God knows what is coming before it gets here and if He is preventing with the blessings of goodness then He is bringing us good things before we even know that we need them!

It is now, and always has been, God’s heart to function in this ‘preventing’ manner. Like the Father, standing at the end of the lane, watching for the return of the Prodigal, antsy to kill the fatted calf, God is waiting to do great things in our life.

“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24).

This promise is a promise of victory before we even face the battle. When we rest in this sort of promise we have joy unspeakable and peace that passes all understanding. These emotions will spring not from our circumstances but from our knowledge of the Lord’s preventing love and goodness.

Notice that David not only mentions that God prevents with the blessings of goodness but that He also puts a crown of pure gold upon his head. The crown is a symbol of royalty and victory. So confident is David that God is going to make good things happen to him that he believes for the victor’s crown before the battle is waged.

David had this attitude when he faced the giant Goliath. He never claimed that he was going to kill Goliath with his superior sling-shot skills, but rather that the LORD was going to deliver the giant into David’s hand to prove that “the LORD saveth not with sword and spear:” (1 Samuel 17:47). David was bragging of the victory before it ever came because knew that he served a covenant God.

Lay hold of this promise today that the Lord is going to “prevent” with blessings of goodness. Place your trust and confidence in His ability to provide the victory in the face of defeat and then prepare yourself for the miracle of God’s prevention.

The Desire of All Nations

Haggai 2:7-9

With the worsening of economies, the rising prices and the instability in the markets, the world feels a level of insecurity that it is unfamiliar with. Believers rest in their Savior, knowing that God has it all under control, but the unbeliever has no such faith. What can be shaken, is being shaken, as God said that He would do (verse 7). The things that are of Him, namely the gospel of His grace and goodness, cannot be shaken so they will remain in this final hour (Hebrews 12:25-28).

The thing that every believer looks forward to, and most unbelievers think is a joke, is the arrival of Jesus Christ. Haggai called Him, “the desire of all nations” (Haggai 2:7). What a wonderful description of our Lord Jesus. Even those who do not realize that they are seeking for Jesus are doing so every time that they try to find happiness in the things of this world. All of these things shake and fade away, and man must replace the joy that went with them. They are seeking after what Jesus offers, whether they realize it or not. As Simon said to Jesus, “All men seek for thee” (Mark 1:37).

God gives a further promise in the next verse of Haggai, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts” (2:8). Everything belongs to the Lord. This world has its system of finances and government, but it all belongs to God. Even the silver and the gold, which is the monetary system of this world, is all in the hands of God. His desire is not only to bless His people with spiritual things, but to bless us financially as well. Some try to argue that this silver and gold is symbolic, but there was actual silver and gold in the temple and it is the temple that God is speaking of.

Finally, a great promise that is being fulfilled even now: “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:9). Paul declared that as believers, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The glory of the great temples of yesterday cannot compare to the glory of having the Holy Spirit reside within the heart and life of a child of God.

You do not find the presence of God in a church building, you find Him in your heart. The desire of all nations is Jesus, and He lives within each believer. The latter is better than the former because in the past, prior to Calvary, the only place where God could be approached was within the walls of the physical temple. Now, because Jesus has provided a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20), we can draw near to God because of His residence within our own body. We are not “little god’s”, but we belong to a “big God”!

If you find yourself lonely today, or bogged down with the cares of this life, remember that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He lives and dwells within you and He is ready to provide His temple with whatever it takes to bring it glory and honor.

How to Be Cursed

Galatians 1:6-9

Everyone wants to be blessed, but I have never met anyone who wants to be cursed. There is much advice to be found floating about the Christian community on how to be blessed and to be a blessing, and considering there are very few people lining up to be cursed, there is a surprising amount of information on why so many Christians are living under a curse.

First of all, there is no curse to be found on or around those who have accepted Jesus Christ. Paul wrote that Jesus became cursed at Calvary, so that we would be free from the curse (Galatians 3:13). Yet, there are many preachers breathing out threatenings against God’s people, warning that sin will curse them, or not giving in the offering will curse them, or their grandfather’s addictions have cursed them. Stand firm in the liberty that Jesus paid for at Calvary, and know that He took the curse so that you do not have too.

However, some may be infatuated with curses, so the Bible does provide them with a sure-fire method to operate under the oppression of a curse. Paul wrote to the church in Galatia that he was amazed that it had taken so little time for them to abandon the gospel of grace in favor of some other message (Galatians 1:6). He then announced that if he himself, or an angel from heaven were to preach anything other than the original message of God’s grace and goodness, then “let him be accursed” (verse 8). He is so adamant about this, that he says it again, in the very next verse, nearly word for word.

Paul never shows this type of vehement anger in any other of his 14 epistles. To the very intelligent church at Galatia, he shows little patience. In chapter 3, he calls them “foolish”, and not for some act of atrocious sinful behavior, but rather for the fact that they are teaching that men are saved by grace and go on to growth by the works of the law (3:3). If this angered Paul, nearly 2000 years ago, when the church was small and young, how would he react in our massive churches today?

Remember, Paul received the message of the New Covenant directly from the lips of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:12). He was not taught his doctrine by any man, but he relied on the identification of the Spirit to show him what was to be the way of living for this new church of Jesus Christ. Never once does Paul threaten believers with eternal damnation, not even using the word “hell” in any of his writings. An edifier of believers to the very end, it is remarkable, in light of this, that Paul gets so upset with the church at Galatia.

He took the perversion of the gospel of grace very seriously. So important was pure grace to Paul, that he evokes the Greek phrase for “eternally condemned” when he uses “accursed” in Galatians 1. So important is pure grace to God, that this letter makes it into the canon of scripture, as a warning to all who dare preach a gospel of mixture, combining the beautiful grace of heaven with good deeds and works to achieve sanctification and wholeness.

What man calls balance, God calls mixture. Paul wished to see no one living or operating under the threat of a curse, but he was not afraid to call one down on those who did not take the gospel of grace seriously.

Rest today in this good news of God’s grace and know that the same message that Paul preached 2000 years ago is still alive in your heart.

Waiting For the Dead

Judges 5:24-28

Sisera was the captain of the army of Canaan, an army so strong that he had amassed 900 chariots of iron. However, his strength came to naught when the prophetess Deborah told General Barak to take the armies of the Lord into battle against the heathen general. He fled on foot into the tent of a supposed friend, who killed him by driving a spike through his skull (Judges 4:17-21).

The song of Deborah and Barak encompasses the fifth chapter of Judges, and Deborah sings of Sisera’s mother looking out a window in her home, waiting for him to return. She is waiting for someone who is not coming back, because unknown to her, Sisera is dead. Her want for “knowledge of the truth” has deceived her.

Paul told young Timothy that there would be many in these final hours that were, “ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). In many cases, people are waiting for things to come to pass or hoping for answers, but they have little knowledge of the truth. These things are like waiting for the dead; wait all you want, but they will never happen.

If you are waiting for peace without turning to the prince of peace, Jesus Christ, then you are waiting for the dead. No peace comes without the peace that Jesus gave to His disciples (John 14:27). Accept by faith that Jesus has made peace with the Father concerning your sins and trespasses (Romans 5:1).

If you are waiting for salvation to come from your labor, then you are waiting for the dead (Galatians 2:21). Jesus said that salvation comes from believing on the Son, and that if your faith is not on the Son (Jesus), then you have God’s wrath abiding on you (John 3:36).

If you are waiting on promotion to leadership without first learning to follow, then you are waiting for the dead. Jesus spoke to His disciples, who twice could not resolve the issue of who would be the greatest among them (Luke 9:46 & Luke 22:24-27), telling them that if they wished to be great they must first learn to serve. Remember that the less is always blessed of the better (Hebrews 7:7), so be ready to be the blessing if you wish to be the truly blessed.

Finally, if you are waiting for Jesus to return, then you are NOT waiting for the dead; you are waiting for the living. “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Wait with all patience on Christ to do His great work in you today. Go in His blessings and His kindness, with a full assurance that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

From a Harlot to a Grandma!

Joshua 2:1-24

The story of the conquest of Jericho would be incomplete without the salvation of Rahab the harlot. She lived on the town wall, strategically located to bring success in her line of work! It also provided a great stopping point for the spies that were sent in to access the strength of Jericho. We know how the story ends, with Rahab hanging a scarlet thread out of her window, and the army of Israel sparing her and her family. What we don’t think about often enough is that this woman was saved long before the thread came out the window.

Hebrews chapter 11 lists Rahab in the New Testament’s Hall of Fame of faith: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace” (Hebrews 11:31). Did you notice when she “perished not”? It was not when she obediently put the scarlet line in the window, but rather when she received the spies with peace. Her placement of the scarlet line was to save her physical life, and it was a testimony to all who would see that she had placed her faith in the army of God.

Rahab displayed her faith before the spies had even laid down on her roof, to hide from their pursuers: “I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you…as soon as we heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Joshua 2:9, 12).

What a profession of faith she had. Her actions afterward were the sign of an inward change (James 2:25). It was her initial faith that brought the spies to stop in her house, as they could have stopped anywhere, but the Holy Spirit had found a household of faith. Notice how our Father’s provision covers everyone. The spies found safe shelter and the harlot found a new life and a new hope.

After her rescue from Jericho, we do not know what she does from day-to-day within the camp of the Israelites, but she obviously adopts their ways and becomes a part of their society, because we do see her again, this time as one of only 4 women listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). She becomes the matriarchal head of the line that produces Boaz, king David and eventually, the Lord Jesus.

Whatever your lot in life, remember that every moment is another chance to change it all. You may have ruined many things and burned many bridges, but God is not looking for scarlet lines of obedience, just open hearts of faith. Don’t get me wrong, the obedience will come, but let us walk in the faith of Jesus Christ first, and all of us can change from who we are and become known by who we become.

Go in His peace and prosperity, with the abundant favor and blessings of God upon you in Jesus’ name.

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.