We all know “The Wizard of Oz” phrase that Dorothy uses when she clicks her ruby-shoed-heels together, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
Isaiah 44:22
Home is where the heart is. It’s where we are comfortable; familiar; at ease. When something is comfy we think of it also as “homey.”
This is probably reflected more during the Christmas season than any other time in songs like “There’s no place like home for the holidays” and “I’ll be home for Christmas.”
But for the Christian, “Home” is often misunderstood. Our home isn’t here. Our Home is with our Lord and other believers in the New Creation.
Isaiah gives us a glimpse of this in Isaiah 55:1-5.
When we long for home, we should be longing for our heavenly Home. We should be looking forward to our Father’s House, which has many rooms which Jesus is preparing for us (John 14:2-3).
And we get to picture and long for this Home because of what Jesus – the child-King coming for us – on the cross and through the empty tomb.
Looking to Him, we see our Home.
There is no place like it!
Thank you, Lord!
“Gracious God, you invite the thirsty to drink and the hungry to be filled without cost. Teach us to turn from empty pursuits and to delight in the rich food of your grace. Keep us secure in your covenant love, that we may both rejoice in your feast and share it with those who hunger. Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”
For most, home is a place of comfort. A place of sanctuary. A place where you can be yourself. Home is the place where you wake up in the morning, the place where you live, the place you get to retreat to after work. It’s where you group with family. It’s where life – joyous and messy – happens.
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
Isaiah 44:22
Leaving home can be tough. Leaving for school, or work, or even vacation can be difficult. This is especially true when leaving when leaving either is because you must go somewhere you don’t want, or to do something that is difficult, or perhaps isn’t even by choice.
Isaiah was letting Israel know that they would be leaving their home – their Promised Land – and be taken into exile because of their rebellion and sin. They would have to leave the safety, the security, and the comfort of their home and life because they choose (constantly) to worship other gods, live other ways, and follow other paths than God’s.
This, of course, wasn’t entirely new. We see that this pattern happened in other places in Scripture as well – all the way back to Adam and Eve, who had to leave their home in the Garden of Eden because of their rebellion and sin.
But there is another One – promised back to Adam and Eve, prophesied in Isaiah, and fulfilled in Jesus – who would leave His heavenly Home willingly to cover our rebellions and sins, so that we could be with Him in His Home forever!
Our rebellions and sin meant exile for us from God and our home. Jesus exited His throne and home to save us from our sin and open His home to us forever.
Amazing!
“Lord Jesus Christ, You left Your throne in glory to enter our exile, so that we might be welcomed home to the Father. Keep us from seeking refuge in the false shelters of this world, and anchor our hearts in You, the shoot from Jesse’s stump and the King of all kings. For You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”
“As long as you live under my roof, you’ll live by my rules.”
Many parents have likely said something to this effect at one time or another.
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
Isaiah 44:22
And yet we live under God’s reign yet often do not follow His rules.
The Israelites didn’t either. And the consequences would be a devastating exile and loss of the Temple, worship, and God’s presence.
Because Jesus has come and fulfilled all of God’s rules on our behalf, we who believe in Him need not worry about the loss of God’s presence or love, but we are still under the rules of His “house” and domain. We are to remove our evil ways and cease to do them; learning instead to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widows cause. We are to love one another and not live in the ways of darkness but put on the armor of light instead.
These are the good, life-giving rules of God’s house and, as long we are His children, we are to live by them. Not out of fear, but out of love. Not as an option but as our motivation.
Jesus has saved us and we, out of the joy and gratitude of our hearts, get to live under Him and His kingdom in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Our joyful duty being to love, serve, and obey Him every way we can.
Our God reigns! And through Jesus, we get to live in that reign under Him and His good and gracious rules.
Praise God!
“Thank You, Lord Jesus for perfectly fulfilling all the rules of our Father’s Home for us. Forgive us when we have strayed and broken them and bring us back Home to You and Your good and loving Home. Send us Your Spirit and let us “put of Christ” so that our walk in in Your ways of light and not ours of darkness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Today is the last Sunday of the Church year. Today’s Scripture is from Malachi 3.
There were those who neither feared the Lord nor saw the value in it. They mocked God and following the way of righteousness.
They shall be Mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares His son who serves him.
Malachi 3:17
This, of course, is nothing unique to that time. We see it all too often – and we expect it among unbelievers, but the fact is that it is common many times among believers as well!
If we believe in God and know Him to be our God and Savior; if we worship Him as Lord; if we claim to be His disciples, we must act as He dictates and live as His Word prescribes. We must show in our actions the righteousness that sets us apart in our Faith. We must live out our distinction.
This is not a blasé matter as many Christians take it; but rather a fundamental Truth: Faithful people must produce faithful fruit. If our fruit stinks, we must examine the state of our hearts and our faith. And when we find rot, confess and receive a new, righteous heart, focused on Him.
God says that when we fear the Lord and esteem His name, we shall be His treasured possession! And we fear and esteem Him when we put our faith and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior!
We are His treasured possession! How wonderful!
May our fruit reflect that reality in Jesus!
“Lord, we love You. We fear You. We esteem You. We believe in You. We trust You. And we want to live in the fruit of our righteousness through faithful living by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Help and move us to produce good, righteous fruit that reflects our status as Your treasurer possession so all we meet may be drawn to You, too. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
“Good things come to those who wait.” Or so the saying goes. That’s not always the case, but there is occasional truth to it.
There are some things that are worth the wait; worth the effort; worth the suffering and pain. Some things that you can endure when you know what the end result will be.
Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Luke 21:28
Building a home; working out; extra hours at work for the promotion or uprooting your life for a big move to accompany a new job; enduring surgery and recovery for a now-working knee or chemo so you can ring a bell; years of intense study for that degree and accompanying job in your selected field; or the big one, the pain and suffering from pregnancy and childbirth for the precious baby that comes from the result.
Our text for today gives us another, bigger picture one: some of the things that will take place in the End Times. Pain, suffering; betrayal; war; death. So many terrible things that are a part of the Last Days.
Are we are in the “now and not yet” times. The things prophesied exist now and will continue until Christ returns.
These are not things to look forward to, but they are things that we can and will endure because we know what the End is: utter and complete consummation of the victory of Jesus and a New Creation where pain, suffering, crying, mourning, and death are no more. Ever!
When Jesus gained the Victory on the Cross and through the empty Tomb, that victory was and is real for all time – but the full realization and consummation of it is not yet. There will still be more pain and suffering. There will be more crying and pain. There will be more war and death.
But those will end!
Forever!
And that’s what we look forward to! That’s why we can endure and do all things through Christ Who strengthens us!
We can see all the bad that is and will happen and still, as God’s redeemed and save, “straighten up and raise [our] heads, because [our] redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).
We can (and should be) bold and confident facing all the challenges and sufferings now and to come because we know the End of the story. The End because of His story. The Beginning through what He finished on the Cross and in the empty Tomb.
“Straighten up and raise your heads” because He’s got this and will get you through! Jesus’ victory is proof. His victory is key. His victory has already happened over all these things to get us through all these things.
Eyes forward. March on. Bring it!
“Thank You, Lord, for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant us to remember the End is certain so when we endure trials, temptations, and sufferings we can not only endure them, but straighten up, knowing the consummation of our redemption is drawing near! In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
You kinda gota feel for those that God calls. Whenever He does, whole lives change.
One minute you’re simply living your life, and the next you’re building an ark; or going to Pharaoh and demanding the release of the Israelites. One minute you’re attending sheep and the next made a king; or in a field and then made a prophet.
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Exodus 3:11-12
This is for certain: when God calls, things change; and usually in big ways.
When God called Moses he was living his quiet life with his father-in-law. He had had an and privileged, exciting youth and then had to flee for his life. And now things seemed finally at peace. Things had settled. This was a nice life. This was a comfortable life. This was a life to get on board with.
But it wasn’t the life which God had in store for him.
Moses was just doing his daily duty and sees a burning Bush and hears the Lord. God has a call for him: Go “to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10).
Seems ridiculous. Comical. Beyond understanding or belief.
Me? Lead Your people.? I can’t even speak correctly and You want me to go and address Pharaoh; whose family tried to kill me, and get him to release the people of Israel, his slaves?
This has to be a joke.
And yet it wasn’t. Moses tries to get out of this several times. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” But God answered him in the best way, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). This is who I am and I will be with you through it all. It’s not just you going, it’s Me going. It’s not you speaking, it’s Me speaking. You ask, “Who am I?” I’m telling you who I Am. “I Am that I Am” (Exodus 3:14). I am YHWH. I am God. And I will be with you.
What more do you need? What more could you possibly want?
When God calls you to something, know that He will be with you too.
And not just for the huge life changing things, but for all the things that you are enduring. And the proof? Jesus! “Lo, I Am with you always, even to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I Am with them” (Matthew 18:20).
God’s promise to be with us is true; now, for us, every day. And Jesus is the proof.
When we believe in Jesus; when we trust Him; He makes sure to accomplish everything that He has planned. It may disrupt our lives in little ways and in huge ways, but when they’re disrupted in His ways, nothing is ever the same; things are always better. When God is involved, everything changes. We who were sinners has been changed into Saints through faith in Jesus. We who only seemed to know how to rebel, when filled with the Holy Spirit, accomplish great, godly things.
It’s not because we are so great in and of ourselves. For we can do nothing in ourselves outside of the Vine, Jesus. But because He promises that He is with us, all things are possible; all things are done; all things are blessed. All things that He desires.
What a blessing that is!
“Thank you, Lord God, for calling us to things that are greater, even if they are not as comfortable; and for making sure they are all accomplished because You are with us; because You accomplish; because You do. Remind us that You are with us through every aspect of life from the small to the life-changing; and let us rely on You and Your Spirit in every case. Through faith in Jesus and in His name. Amen.”
We have nice China and silverware. When we were engaged we were told that’s what couples register for so they can entertain properly.
I think we may have used it 2-3 times in our 34 years of marriage.
So [Zacchaeus] hurried down and received Him joyfully.
LUKE 19:6
You may have noticed, we are not China and silver folks. Paper plates and paper towels for “napkins” works just fine, thank you very much!
Our home is small, but warm. It is clean, but not we don’t keep it in a perpetual state of readiness.
We’re just not the “entertaining type” of people.
Not knocking, of course, those who are! I am amazed by those who do – and enjoy it!
It makes me wonder what type of person that “wee little man,” Zacchaeus was.
We know he was a man of means and wealth due to his career. We know that he was despised because of it, too.
But was he an “entertainer”?
Probably? I wonder.
What we do know is that this man wanted to see Jesus and when Jesus invited Himself to his home, Zacchaeus was excited and “received Him gladly!”
Did he worry about the state of his house? Did he wonder what he would serve the Lord? Did he fret about what Jesus would think of him when he welcomed Him into his home?
I don’t think so.
He “received Him joyfully!”
The heart of Zacchaeus was joyful and glad to have the Lord come to him! His heart received Him before his house did. His heart was prepared, whether or not his house was.
Indeed, the Lord wanted Zacchaeus’ heart, not his home; his mind, not his meal; his soul, not his stuff; his strength, not his station.
Jesus wanted salvation for Zacchaeus and when that was accomplished, others were blessed through Zacchaeus as well!
What would we do if Jesus invited Himself into our home; into our lives; into our hearts?
Would we be concerned about all the preparations that need to be made; worry about the state of it all, or would we set those aside and “receive Him joyfully” regardless of how much of a mess everything is. How much of a mess we are?
Here’s a newsflash: Jesus knows the state of your heart. He is fully aware of the mess that is there.
And because of His love for you invites Himself into your mess anyway!
We may be horrified by the thought, rightly disgusted with how bad we are and unprepared for the Holy One to enter; but He wanted to come anyway.
So receive Him joyfully through the power of the Holy Spirit; for when He comes, lives are transformed! Through faith in Jesus, your life is already transformed! You are already saved! You are already able to see all the areas of your life that are wanting and seek ways to correct and improve through Him!
You are forgiven through the Cross! You are saved through faith in Jesus! He wants to come to you in every way – mess and all! Because of Him we can receive Him joyfully – always!
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving us and pursuing us; inviting Yourself into the mess of our hearts and lives. We receive You joyfully and recommit ourselves to a life transformed by You through the Holy Spirit so that our sanctification can also be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
The day we remember the importance of Scripture as the only source for knowing God and the Way of salvation in Jesus.
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
The foundation for faith. The cradle for comfort. The lamp for living. The Word and the Way.
Ok, I’ll stop.
But it’s important.
Through Scripture we learn about Jesus who sets us free from sin. Free from the Law which condemns. Free from death itself.
All of us were slaves to sin and the Law.
In Jesus we are free and saved.
That’s not just “a big deal,” it’s the only deal that matters!
Jesus is the only Way of freedom and salvation. If we “abide in [His] Word, [we] are truly [His] disciples” (John 8:31) and He sets “us free indeed” (John 8:36).
Believe in Jesus. Follow Him. Trust in Him. Abide in Him. Be free in Him.
A truly reformed life and eternity follows!
“Thank You, Jesus, for setting us free from the law of sin and death. Thank You for that Truth of eternal life and present living. Help us to hold tightly to You in our lives and share You for the lives of others. In Your precious name do we pray. Amen.”
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.”
2 Timothy 3:14
Today’s Scripture is one of my favorites. From the Scriptures “which are able to make wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15) to “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16) to people accumulating “for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (2 Timothy 4:3).
So much good stuff.
And so applicable for today.
False teachers who lead people astray are everywhere. “Pastors” and “preachers” who teach what they want instead of what God says. They align themselves with the culture instead of with the Christ; with the world instead of with the Word; with the secular instead of with the sacred.
And people follow them instead of Him.
This is a travesty. This is idolatry. This is heresy.
It does not lead people to paradise but to perdition.
We are called to “continue in what [we] have learned,” – i.e., continue in the Holy, inerrant Word of God and nothing else.
But to “continue” in something means we also need to have learned it in the first place.
We need to constantly and consistently be in the Word, for It is the only rule and norm for living and the only Word that leads to Christ Jesus, the Savior.
Everything else is just for “itching ears” to satisfy sinful hearts and a fallen world.
Continue in the saving Word of God, through faith in Jesus!
Every day. In every way.
“Thank You, Lord, for Your precious, holy, perfect Word, which makes us ‘wise for salvation through faith in Jesus.’ Grant us to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest It daily, so we may dray closer to You, know how to live holy lives, and be ready for all that comes our way. Help us identify false teachers and teachings and instead cling to You, live You, and teach You. Every day. In every way. In Jesus name. Amen.”
Today we hear a lot of closing greetings from Paul to the people at the church in Colossae. Greetings from folks who are with the Colossians and ones who are with Paul.
Some typical stuff there.
But with those greetings come some closing exhortations that are important: “Continue steadfast in prayer…Walk in wisdom…Let your speech be gracious.”
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
Colossians 2:8 (CSB)
Pray, walk, and talk.
He has preached the Good News to them, countering heresies and false teachers and philosophies. He has addressed these people – who he did not know – in a fatherly, pastoral way on the full divinity of Jesus (and why that is essential). He has shared that they are dead to sin and alive in Jesus. He has has reminded them to set their “minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” He has given them practical reasons to deal with all relationships in love, honor and respect, as serving the Lord.
And now it is time to close his letter with “pray, walk, and talk” like the redeemed people they are. A loving reminder to both “walk the walk” and “talk the talk” as a praying Christian.
As we conclude our journey through this beautiful book of the Gospel, may we see Jesus in and through every page. For everyone. Forever.
So we pray, in Jesus. We walk, in the wisdom of Jesus. We talk with the graciousness of Jesus.
Jesus.
Always.
For everyone.
Forever.
“Thank You, heavenly Father, for sending Your Son, our savior, Jesus, in whom the fullness of the deity dwells, to accomplish everything for us and our salvation. Let all our thoughts and actions be based as ones who respond to Your gift of mercy and grace in Him through our relationships, our philosophies, our actions, and our prayers. Grant that in every way, we are pointed to Him, dependent on Him, share Him, live Him, and love Him. Always. In His precious name do we pray. Amen.”
Today’s lesson is a tough one. It has a lot in it that, albeit short, is not easy to hear or do.
There is a list of what seem to be directives that can go against our desires, sensibilities, and culture.
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
Colossians 2:8 (CSB)
They deal with wives, husbands, fathers, bondservants, and masters.
It seems so out-of-date and out-of-touch. So cringe. So wrong.
But that’s because we are still viewing things through earthly, cultural lenses, not on God’s “higher things” lens.
If we view our earthly duties and relationships merely in the context of this world, they will be twisted and distorted; adulterated; out-of whack.
The way to view any and all the relationships God has given us is through His lens and His example.
Jesus came and gave everything for us. He sacrificed. He endured wrong and humiliation. He turned His cheek. He gave His very, innocent life for us and our sins.
He humbled Himself. For us. Forever.
That’s the example. That’s the mindset we should have in dealing with those we interact with all around; those who we serve under and those who we serve in positions of authority.
And even further, we should view our service as serving Him in all things!
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23).
He came to serve and sacrifice for us, who were completely unworthy, because of His immense love for us.
We respond by serving Him as best we can in love and heart-felt gratitude by serving others in every relationship we have.
We have salvation through what Jesus did. We get to respond to that everlasting Gift of mercy and grace through our service of, to, and with others.
What a blessing!
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming to serve and give Your life as a ransom for many; for us; for me. Grant me the will and desire to respond to Your Gift in my service to everyone You have placed in my life in the same way of sacrificial love. In Your previous name do we pray. Amen.”
We’re now moving from a time when Paul was preaching the Word and teaching the Colossians about some theological aspects of the faith to a time when he is going to instruct and exhort them in how to live; what to do and what not to do; what is godly and what is not.
Today he gets to the heart of the matter of setting our minds on “things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.”
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
Colossians 2:8 (CSB)
That’s good advice for Christians, especially when our culture seems to be going in all the wrong directions. We can get so tied up in the news and the issues of the day; so many worries and concerns that we forget that we are dead to this world and way of doing things and are united with Christ. We forget that we should be clothed with Him, and so should set our minds on things above where He is, instead of all of these things that are around us. We should be putting off those things of the world, those concerns, those issues. Things like “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness.” We should look at things that divide us and put them off as well because they are a part of this world. We are to set our minds on higher things, on things Above. Because if we are dead in Christ, then we should be dead to this world.
Certainly those things will still affect us and touch us, and we will be hurt by some of them. That is the reality of being still on this side of eternity. But the reality for Christians is that our Home is above and our mind should be on what is Above; not stuck here, not worried here, not concerned with anything here.
We look to Christ and what He has already done for us. That He has already conquered all of these things here – even death itself. So since we are dead to these as well now, let us look to Him. Let us look Above. Let us look on the godly, holy things, the higher things, and not on the things here.
Christ has already accomplished it all for us, for all, forever.
“Thank you, Lord, for conquering all of what is down here on earth, all of the bad that affects us each and every day. Thank you for letting us die to them as well through faith in You. Help us now, Lord, focus not on the things here, but on You and the things above; on how to act in a spiritual way; in a way that is holy; in a way that is pure; in a way that is honorable; and not in ways of our culture and world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
