God Has A Gift For You

I Corinthians 12:4-13

Everyone likes receiving gifts.  Especially ones that are “just right” for you, where the giver has taken special thought as to what would be just perfect for you.  The Lord God has given all of His born-again children just such spiritual gifts, called Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to each Christian are unique to them, each according to their talents and skills.  Also, each of these gifts that God gives believers are to help the Body of Believers, the Church.

Some of you may say that you have not been given any special spiritual gift, talent or ability to benefit and bless God’s body of believers.  “I have nothing to offer, nothing to give in order to help the Church.”, you might say.  That is not the case.  God did not say that the Spirit only gave some or a few.  No, He said that the Spirit gave to each of us.  Verses 7 and 11 say that the Holy Spirit gave His spiritual gifts to “every man” (or woman).   Likewise, Scriptures do not say that He gave to some all of the gifts to do everything in the ministry.

In each local church there is usually a broad spectrum of different people, each with different skills, personalities, and abilities.  God has given to each believer the spiritual gift that He feels is best suited to them.  And though there are many with different skills and gifts, they will all fit together through the guidance of the Holy Spirit (vs. 4-6).  When everyone is submitted to Him, we will all work for the same goal, which is to glorify God and lead others to salvation.

When we are saved we are each given at least one spiritual gift to bless God through, and to help edify the Church (vs. 7).  These spiritual gifts are distributed as the Holy Spirit sees fit (vs. 11).  He will enable us to do what He has called us to do.  If God has called you to a ministry He will equip you.

The “Word of Wisdom” in verse 8 is the ability to understand God’s Word and will, and to skillfully apply it to life.  The “Word of Knowledge” is to understand and speak God’s truth, with insight into the mysteries of His Word that could not be known except by His revelation.   These two spiritual gifts, along with the gifts of preaching and teaching require diligent study of Scriptures, God’s Word.

Every Christian must have faith in Christ in order to be saved.  However, the spiritual gift of Faith is an unusual measure of trust and faith in the Holy Spirit’s power for a specific need (vs. 9).  The gift of Prophecy (vs. 10) is not just predicting the future.  More specifically, this means the gift of preaching God’s Word with great power.  In the writings of the great Old Testament prophets only a very small portion was given to predicting the future, namely the rise, fall, and judgment of various world kingdoms.  Most of their writings were preaching and telling forth God’s Word with great power.

Verse 10 speaks of the spiritual gift of Discernment of Spirits.  Satan is a deceiver and a counterfeiter of God’s message and works (John 8:44).  This gift is a God-given ability to recognize lying spirits, and to identify deceptive and erroneous doctrines.  The early Christians at the church in Berea made use of this gift to see if what Paul was preaching was really the truth of God (Acts 17:11).  The Apostle John warned the early Church, and us today, to use discernment and be wary of Satan’s use of false teachers and doctrines (I John 4:1).

In the final verses of this passage, verses 12 and 13, the Apostle Paul compares the Church to the human body.  Each part has a specific function, and each part is different for a purpose.  All of the parts of the body must work together in order to properly function.  What is the purpose of the Church?  The Church has a goal here on earth, which is to glorify God and to spread the message of salvation.  If you do not know yet what spiritual gift God has given you, pray and ask Him to reveal that to you.  And once you know, be sure to put that gift to use in your local body of believers to further the goal of the Church here on earth.

Praise To Our Creator

Psalm 104

Psalm 104

Today’s Psalm is a song of praise to God, our Creator.  All of creation is God’s masterpiece.  Just as you can tell something about an artist through the work he creates, we can see how wonderful God is through looking at all of creation.

Psalm 104 is laid out just like the days of creation.  Verses 1 and 2 are Day 1 of creation, found in Genesis 1:3, where God creates the Light.  This was not the light from the sun that we see every day, which was created later, but the brilliant light of heaven, which God clothes Himself with like a garment.

Verses 2 thru 4 are Day 2, found in Genesis 1:6.  Here God creates the heavens and waters.   Heaven here is the sky, the visible heaven or outer space, where we see the stars and planets, not heaven as in where we go after we die.  I enjoy looking at the clouds in the sky, and the image of the clouds as God’s chariots, and Him walking on the wings of the wind is a special image.  Verse 4 is referenced in Hebrews 1:7, which pictures the angel’s swiftness and destructiveness when they are used by God for judgment.

In verses 5 thru 18 of our Psalm we see Day 3, found in Genesis 1:9-13, where God creates the land and vegetation.  From the second half of verse 6 thru 11 in our psalm, the psalmist speaks of springs and streams coming down from the mountains to give refreshment to all of creation, both animals and plants.  God directs where the rivers and streams go, the paths that they take (vs. 9).  It is God who provides the grain and crops for both man and animal to eat.  We may work hard in the fields planting and harvesting, but it is God who provides it all for us (vs. 14-15).  

Verses 19 thru 23 we have Day 4, found in Genesis 1:14-16.  Here God creates the sun, moon, and stars.  In an earlier psalm, Psalm 8, which King David wrote, he had gazed out into the night sky and praised God for the creation of all he saw, the stars in their constellations, the moon.  Here in this psalm, the anonymous psalmist echoes the praise for the creation we see in the skies.  Whether it is by day as with the sun, or at night as with the moon and stars, they all follow the pattern which God has set for them as they cross the sky.

Verses 25 and 26 is Day 5, from Genesis 1:20-23, where God creates the fish and the birds.   The number of different types of birds and fish is truly amazing.  They come in all different colors, and all different sizes.  Each species of bird has their own unique bird call, all singing their praises to God.  There are some species of fish living in the very lowest depths of the ocean that were completely unknown to man until recently.  It was not until we had the technology to build a craft that could go down to the very bottoms of the ocean that we first saw them.  God knew about them, though, as He was the one who created them.  The Leviathan in verse 26 is probably a large, giant sea creature who could overpower man, but certainly not God.

And in verses 21 - 23, and 27 - 30, we have Day 6, found in Genesis 1:24-31, where God creates the animals and man.   God’s creation is so vast (vs. 24), from the hugeness of the universe, to the smallest particle of an atom.  We can never comprehend it all.  In verses 28 thru 30 we see that God has complete and unlimited power over the entire universe.  He created it, He preserves it, and He governs it.  Our very breath depends on God (vs. 29).  There is no place for us created humans to show arrogance against God!

In the final verses of the psalm, verses 31-35, the psalmist closes with a brief description of some natural events that occur on earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes (vs. 32).  He knows that God is master, and He is in control of everything.  He alone is worthy of praise (vs. 31 and 33).  The Lord God is the Creator of all things.  As seen in this psalm He is greater than all of His creation, and He alone, not His creation, is deserving of our devotion.  Worship Him alone!

Pentecost - The Coming Of The Holy Spirit

Acts 2:1-11

This Sunday the Church celebrates the day of Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit descended from God the Father upon the disciples in the Upper Room, filling them with His power.  Our reading today is the account of this event, for all practical purposes, the birthday of the Church.

About ten days earlier Jesus had taken the disciples to the Mount of Olives and had ascended into heaven.  Right before He left, one of His last words was that they were to return to Jerusalem and wait for God to send the Holy Spirit upon them with power (Acts 1:8).  It is this event that the Church celebrates today.  This day occurred on the Jewish festival of Pentecost (from which we get the name for Pentecost Sunday).  The Jewish festival was also called the Feast of Weeks, and was the 50th day of the Jewish harvest.  It was a celebration of God’s provisions to His people.  Jews came to Jerusalem from all around the known world to bring offerings of the first fruits in the Temple.  So on this day there were multiple thousands of pilgrim visitors in the city.

As Jesus had instructed, the disciples had been gathered together in prayer, waiting upon the Lord.  Then on this day, the festival of Pentecost, they heard the sound of a mighty wind, and the appearance of flames of fire upon each of them (vs. 2-3).  God used visible phenomena (the wind and tongues of fire) to illustrate to the disciples what was happening, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them.  This was a fulfillment of John the Baptist’s words about the Holy Spirit baptizing with fire (Luke 3:16).  It was also a fulfillment of the Prophet Joel’s words about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).  When God’s Spirit comes upon us, He purifies us, burning away anything that is not of Him, and setting our hearts and lives on fire for Him.  

In the Old Testament times the Holy Spirit only came upon a few, and then only temporarily.  Now the Holy Spirit comes upon everyone who is born-again, on every believer in Jesus Christ, and remains with them forever.  Once someone is saved, the Holy Spirit indwells them.  The “filling” of the Holy Spirit is a repeated reality in believers, when they yield themselves to Him by having a Spirit-controlled life.  God desires us to maintain that life, but often that is not the case.

On this Pentecost Sunday at this time, fifty days after Easter, the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the ability to speak in languages they had not learned before.  These were real languages and dialects spoken by the Jewish visitors to Jerusalem that day.  This was not babbling, nor made-up talk.  At the time of the destruction of Jerusalem several hundreds of years earlier, the Jewish people had been exiled and dispersed throughout the Middle East, some even going into North Africa.  At the time of King Cyrus, many Jews returned to Israel, but by no means all of them.  Many remained where they had lived, some even traveling throughout all of the Mediterranean region.  That day there were present people who spoke many dozens of different languages, all people whom God wished to reach with the Gospel message of salvation through His Son, Jesus.  To accomplish that, God gave the disciples the power to speak His message to them in their native language (vs. 4-6).

Salvation is not limited to only a select group or nationality.  It is offered to all, no matter where one is from.  The Parthians were from what is now north-east Iran.  The Medes were part of the Persian Empire.  The Elamites were from what is today south-west Iran.  Mesopotamia was between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.  Judea encompassed the land that David and Solomon reigned over.  Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, and Pamphylia were all regions and dialects from what is present-day Turkey.  Egypt, Libya and Cyrene were all in North Africa.  God worked this miracle of tongues at that time to spread His message to the crowds in Jerusalem that day.  

Later in the chapter, in verse 41, we see that many thousands came to saving faith in Jesus.  They would be returning home to the people of their own native language, and spread the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  Salvation is for everyone.  The door is open for you.

Christ's Prayer

John 17:1-11

The 17th chapter of the Gospel of John contains what many have called the “real” Lord’s Prayer.  The Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6 is really a pattern for prayer that Jesus gave us, not a prayer that He prayed Himself.  Chapter 17 of John, though, is a record of a prayer that Jesus actually prayed to God the Father.  Prayer was an important part of Jesus’s life.  He regularly prayed, especially before important times in His life and ministry.  This is also the longest prayer of Jesus recorded in the Bible.  In this chapter He prays both for Himself, and also for the disciples and for future believers.   He prays that God will keep the believers pure, and give them joy, peace and unity.  Jesus also prays that God will protect them from Satan.

In verse 1 Jesus was praying that God would glorify Himself.  How would He be glorified?  Jesus was glorified by His death and resurrection for the sins of the world.  His death would bring worship and love to God from those whom He died for, and the Father was glorified for the plan of redemption.  Jesus’ death brought redemption to us from our sins, and this brings glory to both the Father and the Son.

Verse 5 is another verse that speaks of glory.  Here Jesus was looking forward to what lay beyond the cross.  He knew that the next 24 hours would be most horrific, with the torture and agony of the crucifixion.  Jesus kept His eyes on what lay beyond that, to His return to heaven and the glory He shared with the Father since before time.  Jesus was one with God the Father since before time began, long before He came to earth as the Incarnate Son of God.  In this verse He expresses looking forward to returning to His place of honor in heaven.  When we are going through some very trying and difficult times, we can look beyond it as well, looking forward to when we will be with Jesus in glory.

Verse 10 continues the theme of glory.  Jesus says that we, the believers, bring glory to Him.  How are we doing with that?  Are we glorifying Jesus?  Do our lives bring Him glory, or do we bring Him shame?

In verse 11, Jesus again lifts His disciples in prayer.  After Jesus will return to heaven at His Ascension, in approximately a little over 40 days, the disciples would have to face trials and temptations without His immediate presence.  Before then, Jesus was always physically present with them.  Now, though believers have the Holy Spirit actually residing inside them, Jesus was not bodily present with them.  He prays that God will keep them through His Name, a Name that is a strong tower, a Name that we can run to and be safe (Proverbs 18:10).   The world we live in is a battleground between Satan’s forces and God’s forces.  What a comfort to know that Jesus prayed for us then, and continues to do so now (Hebrews 7:25).

Verse 3 is a very key verse in this passage.  Here Jesus says in what way we can have eternal life.  Eternal life is only through the God of the Bible, Yahweh, and only through His Son, Jesus Christ.  It is not through any other religion, religious leader, or philosophy.  Jesus said that eternal life is only through Him.  Many religious leaders today will say that there are many roads that lead to heaven, and that one is as good as any other.  That may be politically correct, but that is not what Jesus said here.  Salvation is only through the Lord Jesus Christ.  The eternal life that we get when we have accepted Jesus as our Savior isn’t just after we die.  It begins the moment we are saved.  This eternal life is a living and growing relationship with God, and continues on even more gloriously after we die when we enter His Kingdom.

Have you accepted the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior?  Do you have this eternal life He gives to us?  If you have, is your life bringing glory to Jesus, just as His does to the Father?   As we strive to live lives that glorify Him, we can rest in the knowledge that Jesus is praying for us.

I pray that you have enjoyed and benefited from these Bible meditations that I have written for this blog.   I hope you will prayerfully consider donating as the Lord might lead you.  This blog is not run through a large ministry with a wide funding base.  I am an individual with limited financial resources.  Thank you and God bless.

Understanding Our Suffering

I Peter 4:12-19

This week’s epistle reading from the lectionary continues readings from the First Letter of Peter, and his encouragement and practical counsel to Christians who were being persecuted during the very early years of the Church.  Following God’s Word and clinging to Him will help us face difficult trials ahead.  There are four things to remember when facing trials and to help us through persecutions.  The first is to expect trials to occur (vs. 12).  Then secondly, we are to rejoice through it (vs. 13-14).  Thirdly, we should evaluate the cause of the trials and persecution, whether it is because of our own bad behavior (vs. 15-18).  And lastly, we need to trust God through it all (vs. 19).  Let’s take a closer look at what God, through Peter, has to teach us here.

We often think that if God loves us, we won’t have to go through anything difficult, and He would stop any trials.  God is all-wise, and He uses these trials, hardships and sufferings He allows to come into our life to draw us closer to Him.  God uses them to strengthen our relationship with Him, and to bring Him glory.  God allows our trials to help test us, and to purge and cleanse us.  If we are yielded to Him, He will use these painful circumstances to cleanse and purify us.  We need to allow them to drive us to the Lord, not drive us away from Him.  Then when God brings us through a trial, and we give Him thanks and praise, that glorifies Him, and will also encourage others.

When a Christian is being persecuted for his faith and is doing and living right, he will have joy in heaven, when Christ’s glory shall be revealed (vs. 13).  That is a cause for rejoicing, in spite of how difficult things may be at the time.  Verse 14 is reminiscent of Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:11.  The Holy Spirit will strengthen us when persecuted for the faith.

Not all of our suffering is necessarily because of being a Christian.  Sometimes it could be because of our own bad, obnoxious, or ignorant behavior.  If we get reprimanded at work, or even lose our job, it might not be because the boss is persecuting us for being a Christian.  Could it be that we were slacking off at work?  Is it because we are a Christian that our neighbor doesn’t like us, or is it because we act obnoxious?  Peter admonishes us to be sure that if we are persecuted that it is not because we are doing something to deserve it (vs. 15).

Peter and John suffered for obeying God and for preaching the Word, as we see in Acts 5:40-41.  God had not abandoned them.  He still was watching over and blessing these apostles.   Keep on obeying God regardless of the suffering (vs. 16).  Are our actions and behavior worthy of the name Christian?  Or do we bring Him shame and dishonor?  Let’s be sure that our life brings Him only glory.

In verse 17, Peter isn’t speaking about the final judgment, but of God’s refining discipline to help shape us into better Christians (Hebrews 12:7).  We need to obey God and His Word no matter how difficult the trial.  He will reward obedience and faithfulness (vs. 19).  Commit our soul to God just like we “commit” our money to the bank for deposit.  We trust them to handle it well.  How much more should we trust God?

All of our trails and problems are temporary.  God will deliver us, either here on earth, or when He brings us to heaven.  Our future is secure in His hands, either way.

Praise To A Generous God

Psalm 68

Our psalm for this week is Psalm 68.  This psalm includes just about everything - praise and thanksgiving to God (vs. 3-4, 26, 34-35), reminders of God’s help and deliverance (7-12), and even calling upon God to deliver us from enemies and Him to deal with them (vs. 1-2, 21-23).  We need to praise God for all of the things He has done for us - for His provisions and His protection.  Our prayers of request need to be balanced with prayers of praise.

This psalm, which has listed King David as its author, has many references from the children of Israel’s past.  Verse 1 is taken, almost word for word from what Moses would say when the Ark of the Covenant was picked up and moved from location to location, in Numbers 10:35.  Verses 7 and 8 would remind the readers of the days in the wilderness, particularly when they were camped by Mt. Sinai, where Moses went up to meet with God, and received the Ten Commandments.  Mt. Sinai has always played an important role with God’s children.  It was at Mt. Sinai that God first called Moses (Exodus 3:1-10).  After their rescue from slavery in Egypt, God brought them to Mt. Sinai and gave them His commandments (Exodus 19:1-3).  At God’s presence there, the whole mountain trembled, which is referenced in the verse here in this psalm.

Further verses, (vs. 9-14), speak of God’s provision for His people as they traversed the wilderness, providing food and water for them each and every day.  It also speaks of the victories He gave the people over kings and nations when they entered to take possession of the Promised Land.  As King David speaks of this, he is praying that there will be further victories over other nations, as they will come and bring their offerings to the Lord God in His Temple (vs. 28-31).

The land of Bashan was situated north-east of the nation of Israel.  It was a very mountainous and hilly land, and included Mt. Hermon, one of the highest mountains in the area.  God did not choose that mountain for the site of His Temple (vs. 15-16).  He chose, instead, Mt. Zion, which is much smaller in comparison.  God does not always choose the greatest, the strongest, or the most beautiful, for His purposes.  When He wants to get something done, He rarely picks the biggest and physically strongest man around for the job.  God certainly doesn’t pick the most physically beautiful for His servants.  And neither does God only pick the most intellectual and the ones with the most university degrees to proclaim His message.

Verses 5 and 6 contain some very precious promises for some believers.  There God has promised to be a father to those who have no earthly father, and a defender or advocate for widows, women who have no husbands to care for them.  I don’t think this is strictly limited to those whose fathers or husbands have literally died.  God will also care for and protect children and women whose fathers and husbands have abandoned them, walked out and no longer care for them, as well as those whose fathers and husbands may be physically present, but who do not love or care for them like they should, who have been abandoned in the heart of those who should love and care for them.  For those who are alone, God has promised them a whole new family.  When we give ourselves to the Lord when we have become born-again, we have a whole new family of fellow believers.  Even if we are physically all alone and lonely, Jesus is always with us, His Holy Spirit indwelling us.

We can praise God for His provisions.  We can trust Him that even though we might not see His answers immediately, He will fulfill His promises.  We should not take God’s blessings for granted.  He gives us life, food, shelter, friends, and family.  As verses 32 - 35 say, when we look at all that God has done for us, we must sing His praises and proclaim them to all creation.

You Shall Receive Power

Acts 1:1-14

A few days ago I wrote about the Ascension, when Jesus ascended into heaven.  Today in our reading from the Book of Acts we will study what Jesus’s very last words to the disciples were before He returned to heaven.  This book was written by Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke, and is a continuation of that book, picking up right where that Gospel left off.

Before the resurrection the apostles were afraid and disillusioned, hiding from the Jewish leaders for fear of their lives.  Now, after being with the Risen Savior for forty days, they were filled with hope and courage, ready to go out and spread the Gospel, in spite of attacks, imprisonment, beatings and even death.  They knew that Jesus was risen, and that He was the Messiah (vs. 1-3).

As Jesus was walking to the Mount of Olives, from where His ascension would take place, He tells the disciples what will happen to them in just a few days (vs 5).  He tells them of the upcoming day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit would come upon them.  Before the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit only temporarily would come upon any believer.  Now, though, from Pentecost forward, through this present day and until the Rapture, the Holy Spirit is present, indwelling every believer from the moment of their salvation.  We receive the Holy Spirit the moment we are saved, and we belong to Christ.  We become His adopted children, and are a part of His Body.

As Jesus and the disciples were walking along, enroute to the Mount of Olives, the disciples were still hoping that Jesus would now be that military leader to restore the kingdom to Israel again, delivering them from Roman rule (vs. 6 - 7).  They still hadn’t completely realized what Jesus had come to earth for, to spread the Gospel of salvation to all of mankind.

Verse 8 is the key verse for this passage, and the main message of Jesus’s last words to the disciples.  Here He tells them that they will receive power from the Holy Spirit, which will come down on them in a matter of days, and they are to be witnesses both locally where they currently live, and on throughout all of the world.  It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to be witnesses to the Gospel.  His power gives us courage, boldness, confidence, insight, ability and authority.  

All of our work for Jesus must be done in and through the power of the Holy Spirit, not in our own power.  When we try to do something for God in our own power, most likely we will fall flat on our face and be a failure.  When we yield ourselves to Him, and pray for His wisdom, strength and ability, then His Spirit will work through us and bless our efforts.  A wick in an oil lamp that has been blown out is smelly and smoky.  Let’s not be like that.  Let the Holy Spirit keep us burning brightly for Him.

Jesus told His disciples that they were to be His witnesses to the ends of the world, to every country, every race and nation of people.  They were to be His ambassadors, leading people to salvation through Him (II Corinthians 5:20).  Being Jewish, they were very reluctant to witness to and include Gentiles, people who were not Jewish.  Jesus, though, had made that very clear here in this passage that the Gospel was to be shared to all people, and slowly but surely Gentiles were witnessed to, and began making up the Church.

In verses 13 and 14 we read a list of the apostles and some of the other people who made up the group of people who were waiting in the Upper Room for the Holy Spirit to come upon them.  None of these people had any special qualifications for carrying out the ministry that Jesus had for getting the Gospel message out to the world.  They were ordinary folk, most who had had plain, working class jobs.  They did not have any advanced education or fancy theological degrees.  Most would have had just the equivalent of a grade school, or at best, high school education.  Yet they were the ones chosen by Jesus, and they got the job done as they yielded themselves to the power of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t let your seeming lack of “qualifications” stop you from doing a work for God, and don’t let others say you can’t do anything for Him if you don’t have a string of theological seminary degrees.  He can use anyone who is yielded to Him.

In verses 9 - 11 we read of the promise of Jesus’s return.  History is not merely a random happenstance of events.  It will culminate in the specific event of Jesus’s return.  We should be working and waiting for that great day.