Holy Desires (Part Six)

2 Timothy 2:22

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (NIV).

At an event, I once had dinner with Bobby Knight, the well-known former Indiana Basketball coach. He was the speaker that night and shared numerous stories about coaching. His theme went something like, “To win, you must eliminate what causes you to lose.” It was the typical motivational speech that coaches and athletes love to bring at events.

I mention this because, sadly, this is the impression many Christian teachers give when speaking about the believer’s way of life. It seems they’re saying, “To be sanctified, you must keep the moral law,” meaning in their view, the Ten Commandments. As we said in the last article on Holy Desires, this promotes a wrong view of sin. It also gives the idea that “holiness” is basically about not doing things.

However, a godly way of life is much more than forsaking prohibited behaviors. It requires faith, hope, and love for God and people, as well as the practice of positive Christ-like living. So then, we see in this verse that the Lord wants us to replace youthful desires with holy desires.

In Colossians three, we can learn the larger view of the New Testament pattern for the Christian way of life into which 2 Timothy 2:22 fits.

  • Since we are new in Christ, have Christ-focused, heavenly attitudes and aspirations (Colossians 3:1-4). Everything begins with our union with Jesus Christ and seeing our identity in him.
  • Since we are new in Christ, put off the ways of your former sinful way of life. Occasionally this is stated forcefully: “put to death” (Colossians 3:5-11). Yes, it is necessary to get rid of ruinous behavior.
  • Since we are new in Christ, put on ways of life that are consistent with our new life in Jesus Christ: “clothe yourselves with…” (Colossians 3:12-17). This is what is too often neglected. We must replace destructive attitudes, words, and actions with godly ones.

To say this graphically, God expects his people to wear “new clothes”. Don’t walk around spiritually naked! Dress like the children of God ought to dress. A suggestion is to memorize (or try to memorize) this “dress for success passage” (Colossians 3:12-17).

The four godly qualities set forth in our text counteract and are intended to replace youthful desires in God’s people.

  • Righteousness – conform to God’s instruction with a desire to see righteous behavior established (cf. 2 Corinthians 7:11)
  • Faith – trust in God or faithfulness to God – in either case we will reject human self-sufficiency and continually confess our need of the Lord. Faith is necessary for every step in the Christian walk.
  • Love – replaces selfishness with the desire to seek the honor of God and the good of other people. This turn from oneself to God and others must occur. We are nothing without love.
  • Peace – the striving for harmonious relationships among people, which God intends as one of our chief activities (Matthew 5:9; Ephesians 4:3; James 3:17-18)

So then, the Holy Spirit presents the overview of a truly Christian way of life, and specific matters to change, eliminating the old and developing the new. In our text, Paul directed his friend Timothy to replace the evil desires of youth with four specific ways of godliness. Which one ought to be a priority in your life?

Grace and peace, David

Holy Desires (Part Five)

2 Timothy 2:22

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (NIV).

This verse gives wise counsel. However, we must understand wise counsel wisely. Good and godly teaching can be misunderstood and misapplied. We see that every follower of Jesus Christ is to avoid the evil desires of youth. Here is the necessity of an ongoing repentance. If you think that you are going to make an “once for all turn” in this matter, you are deeply mistaken. Sin must be put to death continually. Occasionally, we hear testimonies of people who were involved in outward, socially unacceptable, life-dominating sins. After coming to Christ, they profess that they have never fallen into that sin again. All right, we know that such conversions happen. But we need to make a few clarifications.

  • They are not delivered from all sins. Listen to the apostle John. If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:8-10 CSB). Being freed from one or a couple life-dominating sins is not the same as escaping from the influence of every sin. Spiritual warfare is not against one sin but all sins.
  • Failure to realize how extensive are the effects of sin in us can produce pride that can devastate a person spiritually. Supposing themselves free from a few sins can blind them to the seductions of many others. Free people in Christ must offer themselves to God as servants to righteousness (cf. Romans 6:14-22).
  • Part of the problem is that many have a “short check list” view of sins. This develops through an overemphasis and misunderstanding of the Ten Commandments, which are exalted over many other parts of the Bible. They are not the ethical summary of the Bible, but the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 4:13; etc.) This wrong view also develops the consequent wrong assumption that sin is mainly a breaking of a few prohibitions.
  • There is no “instant godliness”, though we all wish that it was that easy. We must seek help from the Lord on a daily basis (Matthew 26:41). The life of faith involves a daily reception of grace from the Lord (John 15:1-8).

Part of the growth process involves self-control. By the Spirit, we must shun youthful desires. For example, there are countless internet sites and phone apps, but there are many that we should never go to. Taking the apps off the phone and unsubscribing from certain YouTube channels is part of self-control. Some places simply fuel wrong desires, and I do mean only wrong sexual desires. Shopping apps can fuel greed in anyone’s heart.

Another important matter is how we view ourselves. While we realize how easily sin can entangle any follower of Jesus Christ, God’s people should not view themselves as “sinners”. We are in Christ, and we ought to find our identity in him. (Read Ephesians about ten times!) We flee the evil desires of youth, not as “sinners” but as “saints”, as those already set apart for the enjoyment of God and his glory. We are new in Christ. How can we get involved in the evil desires of youth?

Grace and peace, David

Holy Desires (Part Four)

2 Timothy 2:22

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (NIV).

Every adult ought to take children into toy stores and candy stores. After hearing that statement you’re probably thinking that Pastor David is out of his mind! But having helped raise three children, I’ve thought it through, and I still think it’s a good idea, if the parents are self-controlled and in control of their children. Why? I think we can learn a lot about ourselves by watching children in toy and candy stores. We ought to learn something about our hearts when we hear them say, “I want this and this and this,” which is basically everything in the store!

God has given us the good gift of desires, but since the human heart has been twisted by sin, human desires do not naturally seek what is holy and good. This is true even of those who follow Christ. Those who have been saved by grace feel two competing sets of desires. For example, consider the words of a song written by Eric Grover. In the first verse he writes:

In my heart there is a stirring
One that did not start with me
A love to worship my Creator
To show His love for all to see

But in the second he brings out what is also in our hearts:

In my heart there is a treason
One that poisons all my love
Take my heart and consecrate it
Wash it in Your cleansing blood

While we are on this earth, our hearts will struggle with the pull between these two desires—one to glorify God and the other to walk away from God and live like he doesn’t exist.

In previous articles, we considered the desire that we should have for the law of the Lord, the Holy Scriptures. Now, let’s think of another holy desire—the desire for a godly way of life.

In the words from 2 Timothy, the Lord urges us to flee from the evil desires of youth. What is meant by these words?

This is the only time that this word occurs in the New Testament Scriptures, so we cannot determine its meaning by seeing its usage in other passages. However, since the word is used in a negative sense, we can safely conclude that there are various spiritually immature attitudes and cravings to avoid. We can learn what they are by examining other passages where spiritual immaturity is presented (1 Corinthians 1-3; Ephesians 4:15-16; Hebrews 5:11-14; 2 Peter 1:4-9). To summarize:

  • A spiritually immature person evaluates things based on worldly standards—eloquence, strength, influence, human wisdom and selfish ambition.
  • A spiritually immature person is easily moved from one set of ideas to another; he or she likes to hear something new (cf. Acts 17:21).
  • A spiritually immature person has trouble distinguishing good from evil. This comes from a lack of experience with God and his ways.
  • A spiritually immature person is not spiritually productive.

What areas of spiritual immaturity do you see in your life? We all have some. All of us need to ask the Lord for grace to examine ourselves according to the Scriptures. Perhaps you are struggling with a delight in human wisdom or selfish ambition (pride and jealousy). Ask God to show you.

Grace and peace, David

The Holy Spirit (Part Twenty-eight)

John 7:37-39

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified (NIV).

Presently we are investigating what God says in the Bible about the Holy Spirit. As Spurgeon said years ago, “the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father. There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity” (New Park Street Pulpit, Number 1). So then, with this good purpose in mind, we will continue with this study about the Holy Spirit.

Every pastor or teacher should explain the direction of his teaching ministry from time to time. This allows people to grasp the larger context of his presentations, or to use a common illustration, it enables them to see the tree and the forest. Our method of approach in this study about the Holy Spirit is primarily that of Biblical theology—viewing God’s revelation of his person, words, and saving activity from the standpoint of God’s progressive opening of his truth to his people in redemptive history. So then, starting with the pivotal text of Acts 1:1-9, we have studied the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament Scriptures, the work of the Spirit in giving the Scriptures to us, the Holy Spirit and salvation, the Holy Spirit and Christ, and now Christ’s promise of the outpouring of the Spirit, which will lead us, God willing, to the Pentecost and its meaning. Then we will be in a position to study the new covenant ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The setting of these verses is a response by the Lord Jesus to the events of the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. That festival was a happy time for God’s old covenant people—a time when they remembered their journey to the Promised Land. During the festival, there was a ceremony when a priest poured out water from a golden flagon, while a trumpet sounded joyfully. It seems that the people also sang Isaiah 12:3 in connection with that ceremony. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (NIV). On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus called out to the assembled people these memorable words that are recorded in 7:37-38. These verses are his promise of the Holy Spirit to all who believe on him. Notice the typical context. Christ’s people will be on a journey to the eternal Promised Land. As God guided them with the cloud, so the new covenant people will receive the Holy Spirit.

Regretfully, believers have not thought much about the promise of the Holy Spirit in its connection with God’s storyline in the Bible. (Remember, God’s word is the true story of God’s glory in Jesus Christ.) What did God the Father promise about the Holy Spirit? What did Christ promise? Here will see that Jesus promised that he would give the Holy Spirit to all those who come to him. The Holy Spirit would then live in each one. And we will learn about the power of this ministry. For now, read the above promise and meditate on its significance. What does the Lord Jesus want us to learn? What ought we to learn about the greatness of our God? Let our minds be stretched as contemplate this promise.

Grace and peace, David

Holy Desires (Part Three)

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers (NIV).

God urges us to delight in his counsel. The happy person delights in God’s law. What is meant by the law of the Lord? Perhaps the word law would be better translated as “instruction”. Here the psalmist intends the Scriptures; that is, God’s written revelation. They are law in the sense of binding instruction for us, since God’s instruction is not optional, but the word means more than precepts and regulations. In God’s law you find commands, narrative examples and testimony to God’s nature, plans and actions. God teaches us who he is, what his plan for his glory is in history, how to know him and draw near to him, and how to fellowship with him.

To delight is to feel great pleasure. Joy and satisfaction combine in an intense, heart-felt experience. “Wow! I like this! I can’t stop myself from wanting more.” This is what many religious people are missing. They may worship because they feel they must, but it is the wrong kind of “must”, flowing from fear or obligation and not from joy and love. Suppose I asked my wife in a melancholy or reluctant way, “Must I kiss you?” She’d probably say, “No!” But what if I said to her with desire in my voice, “I must kiss you!” That’s a far different matter!

Delight develops from experience. Delight does not happen from a legalistic prescription. It does not come from forcing yourself to read three or four chapters a day. Approaching the Bible with that attitude is more likely to produce pride in your heart than delight in God’s law. Delight occurs as the Spirit uses God’s word with his grace and causes you to sense its value and sweetness. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold… How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth (Psalm 119:72, 103)! Like coming to know God, we taste it and by grace find out how good it is (cf. Psalm 34:8).

The delight in God’s law leads the happy person to meditate on it. The word translated in verse two as “meditate” is the same word translated as “plot” in Psalm 2:1b. To meditate is to have deep reflective thought on the ideas of God’s word and to plan how those ideas can transform our character, ideas, attitudes, words, and actions. Yes, we need to apply God’s instruction to every facet of who we are and what we do. This requires a more active reading of God’s word than most Christians are accustomed to. We need to read carefully, understand fully, think intently, and then apply wisely. All of us will profit more from the Bible, if we make longer investments of time and concentration when we read it.

In other words, meditation is for people who are active, like Joshua. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8 NIV). People who want to accomplish tasks for the glory of God need to meditate on the Scriptures. “How can God’s ideas change my world?”

Let us look intently at ourselves. In what ways are we thinking about how God’s message can transform our lives, our family, our churches, our neighborhoods, our nation, and our world? As we read the Bible this week, let’s look for ideas that will change our lives and think about how to put those ideas to work.

Grace and peace, David

Holy Desires (Part Two)

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers (NIV).

Since the Lord desires our joy, he urges us to turn from every path that would ruin us. The Lord tells us that the happy person does not delight in close companionship with people that he describes as wickedsinnersmockers. People so described do not manifest love for God or godly people in their attitudes, words, and actions. They must be avoided as close friends, because close friends become our “counselors”. They advise us not only by their words, but also by their way of life that they want us to share with them.

The psalmist sings of the importance of the mind. The struggle for our lives begins with our minds. Let’s think a little about how our minds get “tied” up in things. Our minds meditate on various thoughts of differing degrees of truth and value. A running back for the Eagles needs to know the offensive playbook thoroughly; it would be a waste of time for me to learn it, if I could. No one needs to know how to tell a lie, because we all are supposed to tell the truth. However, everyone should know how to be right with God through faith in Jesus Christ. From our thoughts, we form ideas—about God, ourselves, morals, etc., which control our viewpoints on life. Out of our ideas come our feelings or emotions, whether love, fear, joy, hope, etc. Our ideas and emotions join to determine the decisions we make

Everyone is giving and taking advice from others through various channels, such as friendship, books, movies, magazines, TV and radio talk shows, web pages, blogs, social media, schools, churches, and so on. Have you ever mistakenly said to someone, “I’d like to lose a few pounds.” What do you instantly hear—a ton of advice about diets and exercise, especially if that person has actually been successful about losing some weight! Giving advice is okay. Christians are called to be counselors. I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another (Romans 15:14). However, be sure that the advice you give is true and workable.

The Lord warns us about evil counsel. Sinful advice will affect your life in three ways. First, it will provide you wrong ideas to think about (“counsel of the ungodly”). Second, it will shape your behavior (“the way of sinners”). And third, it will change whom you feel you belong to (“seat of mockers”). Your attitude toward people will change. Where you drop your anchor is where your boat is going to end up.

To consider this a slightly different way, the psalmist paints of a picture of what happens to a person. If you listen to ungodly advice, you will shift to an ungodly lifestyle, which will result in attitudes that are far from God. A mocker is a person farthest from the point of having a change of mind (repentance). Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character (1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV).

Grace and peace, David

Holy Desires (Part One)

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers (NIV).

As I write, we are in the second week of preseason football. In our locality, that means the Philadelphia Eagles, and I’m sure that every Eagle’s fan has a great desire to see them win. There is certainly nothing wrong in becoming a little enthusiastic about a sporting event, provided that you don’t let that control your life! Hopefully, the Eagles will have a successful season, although they face determined opponents; if they do, we will celebrate their victory.

God has given us many desires. The desire for victory is just one of them. God has made us to enjoy many things—food, water, beauty, rest, and so on. Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17 NIV). Our problem is not that we want to enjoy what God has given us for our enjoyment, but it is that we have too narrow an interest in what we want to enjoy, and far too often, we want to enjoy forbidden pleasures—things and activities that distract from God’s glory and ruin us—what the Bible calls sin. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

In a few articles, I want to direct our attention to holy desires. I call them holy desires, not to give the impression that some good things and actions are sacred and others secular, but because this psalm presents a desire for what is good in contrast to what is wicked. The First Psalm provides a series of contrasts between those who follow the Lord by faith and those who reject him and live according to human wisdom. What we want to focus on is the contrast between the godly and the ungodly regarding counsel or advice.

God wants us to live happy lives. We need to give an important clarification. When I say that the Lord God wants us to live happy lives, I am far from suggesting that the worthiness of a thought, word, action, or thing is determined by whether or not it makes you and me happy. Worthiness and holiness is always determined by God’s holiness and glory, whether we happen to like something or not. We know what God’s glory and holiness is from the Bible, God’s message. I am sure that the apostles totally disliked the experience of being flogged, but they came to know a greater joy in suffering for the glory of Jesus Christ. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5:41 NIV).

The correct nature of this statement is revealed through the many times that God in the Scriptures marks out for us what a happy life is.

  • Many statements in the Psalms – 1:2; 2:12; 32:1-2; 34:8; 40:4; 41:1-2; 65:4; 84:4-5, 12; 89:15; 94:12; 106:3; 112:1; 119:1-2; 128:1
  • The teaching of Jesus – Mt 5:3-12; 16:17; Lk 6:20-23; 11:28

Do we have a correct understanding of God? He really wants what is for our good. God knows where human happiness can be found, since he knows everything, he designed us to rejoice in God’s glory, and he tells us how we can have happy lives. Will we believe God?

Grace and peace, David

The Attributes of God (Part Fifteen)

The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:8 CSB).

To be loved by the Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, is truly awesome. For this reason, we ought to know as much about it as possible. Next, let’s consider the characteristics of God’s love.

  • God’s love is uninfluenced or uncaused by motives apart from God himself. God’s love is spontaneous, flowing out from his loving nature. God traces his love for his creatures, not to their goodness, but to his (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Anything that he does proceeds from his purpose and grace (2 Timothy 1:9). The expression of God’s love toward his people came from his decision to make the riches of his glory known to them (Romans 9:23-24). In fact, our love for God comes from his love for us (1 John 4:19).
  • God’s love is eternal. God did not develop love when he created. No, God has always enjoyed love within the Persons of the Trinity (John 17:24). But what is even more amazing is that God from eternity set his love upon his people (Jeremiah 31:3) and predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4-6).
  • God’s love is infinite. It is not measured by our puny ability to calculate or imagine its true glory. Instead, it is as great as God himself (Ephesians 3:18-19). It is a love of such power that it can overcome the greatest obstacles (Ephesians 2:4-5) and move God to give the greatest gift, his one and only Son (John 3:16).
  • God’s love is immutable (Romans 8:35-39). As it springs forth from eternity, so nothing can stop God’s love. It keeps a strong hold on all those on whom God sets his heart (John 10:27-29). This ought to produce great confidence in Christ’s followers, even during the darkest hours and in the face of the worst evil. At all times, we are “brothers loved by God” (1 Thessalonians 1:4). Since God’s love comes from his loving nature, it cannot be changed by our failure to love or trust or obey God.
  • God’s love is sovereign. We have yet to consider God’s sovereignty, but we must know that God loves whom he will. He is under no obligation to love any. All that any human deserves is justice. If we receive mercy instead of condemnation, it is not something that we can control or force God to extend. It is completely a gift of free grace, proceeding from God’s good pleasure (Luke 10:21). A clear example of this is God’s declaration about Jacob and Esau (Romans 9:10-13). “There was no more reason in Jacob why he should be the object of Divine love, than there was in Esau. They both had the same parents, and were born at the same time, being twins; yet God loved the one and hated the other! Why? Because it pleased Him to do so” (Pink, The Attributes of God, p. 93] “God set his love upon Jacob purely as an act of his sovereign will… To most people this is an unpopular teaching, but it is the only way things can be if God is truly to be God. Assume the opposite: God’s love is regulated by something other than his sovereignty. In that case God would be regulated by this other thing (whatever it is) and would thus be brought under its power. That is impossible if he is still to be God. In Scripture no cause for God’s love other than his electing is ever given” (Boice, God the Redeemer, p. 217]

Someone once thought about John 3:16 and the greatness of God’s love and wrote about “Christ—the Greatest Gift”. I have modified a few words to present the idea more accurately.

God: the greatest Lover
so loved: the greatest degree
the world: the greatest wonder
that he gave: the greatest act
his one and only Son: the greatest gift
that whoever: the greatest offer
believes: the greatest simplicity
in him: the greatest attraction
shall not perish: the greatest promise
but: the greatest difference
have: the greatest certainty
eternal life: the greatest possession

Grace and peace, David

The Holy Spirit (Part Twenty-seven)

Acts 10:37-38

You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him (NIV).

In recent articles about the Holy Spirit, we have considered how the Spirit of God anointed Jesus to carry out the work the Father gave him to do. After Christ’s baptism, the Spirit led him into the wilderness to overcome the evil one in the temptations hurled against him. He succeeded where both Adam and Israel failed. Next, we see that Jesus did his mighty works by the Spirit of the Lord.

The Holy Spirit filled Jesus with power to carry out his ministry. We rightly believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He could easily have done all his miraculous signs through his personal power. But that was not the course the Father had designed for the glory of God. Jesus’ life was one of humble submission to the Father. Listen to the words of Philippians two. Christ Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:6-7 NIV). This course required him to do his mighty works by the power of the Spirit, as he himself said. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19 NIV).

The Spirit of God empowered Jesus to do good works (Acts 10:38). This was to undo the chaos of the devil (cf. 1 John 3:8b). Jesus demonstrated that the kingdom of God could set up a new way of life, one free from the ruin of sin. His actions also would bring glory to God (cf. Matthew 5:16; 9:8). Think for a moment. Has the Lord Jesus touched you in your soul with his healing power? Perhaps you need the Healer to heal you spiritually. I have good news for anyone reading who remains spiritually blind. Cheer up, hear his voice, he’s calling you (cf. Mark 10:46-52)!

Jesus received power to set up the new age the new age of the Spirit. The saving reign of God had arrived. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15 NIV) The year of the Lord’s favor, the new year of Jubilee, had come (cf. Lk 4:14-21).

Are you in the new creation? Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV) You may have new life in Christ today! It comes as the Lord Jesus acts by his saving grace when you have a change of mind and trust in him for salvation. Call on him by faith.

Grace and peace, David

Blessing and Encouragement (Part Two)

Genesis 48:8-22

Next, we see Jacob’s prophetic action: the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh (48:12-20). This was more than a godly grandfather’s concern for his grandchildren. Jacob communicated a message from the Lord. And so, he blessed them in the name of the God who had blessed him. Two aspects of this blessing:

  • Jacob blessed them by the Lord of providence. God had blessed him by caring for his physical needs. When we are old, we will do well to express our thanks to God for his provision for us before others that they might be encouraged.
  • Jacob blessed them by the Lord of redemption. The Angel mentioned is not a mere created angel but the Angel of the Lord. See Genesis 16:7; 31:11; 32:24. Jacob confessed his need for deliverance. Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name—is the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 47:4 NIV).

Jacob blessed them according to the covenant of promise. He included them with those already blessed by God, Abraham and Isaac. This renewed the promise of being part of God’s great nation through Abraham’s seed. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing (Genesis 12:2 NIV).

Jacob blessed them contrary to human expectations, for the younger was blessed before the older. Since every blessing is unmerited, the Lord is free to give to whom he pleases. To one he gives more, to another he gives less. God is free and sovereign in the exercise of his grace. What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Romans 9:14-16 NIV). God often gives to the least likely (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

Jacob’s prophetic has been fulfilled, because many years later the northern kingdom of Israel came to be called Ephraim. But let us notice this: Joseph was not very happy about this reversal of human expectations (48:17), though he himself had advanced higher than his older brothers. In this he was inconsistent. Let us not criticize God’s sovereign grace when we have benefited by it. One of the many exercises of faith is calmly to trust the holy and wise God to do what is best for his glory in our lives. This is not easy, especially when the Lord’s actions are contrary our comfort, our plans, and our preferences. Trust in God. He knows what is best for his dearly loved children.

Grace and peace, David