Author: pastortravislv

Genesis 38:27-30 (ESV)

27 When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. 28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

                It is always fun to come across the weird passages of the Bible. What are we to make of these sorts of odd events? Here we have the story of a woman who bore twins. At the time of their birth, one twin got a hand out, but the other was born first. Why in the world would the Bible record this? What are we to do with it?

                Remember that the Book of genesis is telling us the story of the beginnings. It is the book that tells us of the beginning of our world as God created it. It tells us of the beginning of humanity. It tells us of the beginning of sin, the fall of man. And it tells us of the beginning of God’s promise to send a Rescuer into the world to make things right between himself and his people.

                In the more recent context, we have seen the beginning of the nation of Israel. Abraham was chosen by God to carry God’s promise. Abraham’s son, Isaac, was chosen over Ishmael to carry God’s promise. Isaac’s son Jacob was chosen over Esau to carry the promise. Now we see the story of Judah, Jacob’s fourth son, and Juda’s twins.

                Just like we have seen in the two sons of Abraham and of Isaac, what we are witnessing is God selecting the particular line through which is promise will be carried. You see, Judah will be the one to carry the promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But which of Judah’s twin sons would carry it? God chose Perez.

                How do we know God chose Perez? In this instance, it is a miracle more than a simple pronouncement. Perez’s younger brother should have been born first. His hand came out first, after all. Yet, somehow, by the power of God, the order of the two children was switched. God moved the children. God had Perez be born first, but only after showing us that it could have gone the other way. God marked Perez as the one to carry the covenant promise.

                What do we learn from this stuff? I mean, sure, it is interesting that God chose one child to carry the promise, but so what? God is in control. God is sovereign. God selected one child and not the other to carry his blessing. This was not based in any way on the deeds of the children, but simply on God’s sovereign plan. This was true of Jacob and his brother as well. God is in control. His purposes will stand. Nobody will thwart them.

                Thus, an odd story like this one reminds us that God is in control. He is in charge. He will do that which he intends. He can change circumstances if he needs to in order to make things happen in the way he has chosen.

                God also chooses the instruments of his will. God can use any of us he wishes. We do not have the right to demand to be used by God. However, if God so chooses, he can put us in a position to serve him in any way he pleases.

                Rest in the truth of God’s sovereignty. Praise him. Trust him. Know that he has accomplished his will. He brought his promised Rescuer in to the world. And now that Jesus has come, no person will stop God’s will from being done. 

Matthew 6:33-34 (ESV)

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

                As I read this passage this morning, I am reminded by God to set aside worry about things in the future. I cannot control it. I cannot shape it. God knows my needs, and he will not leave me.

                It is interesting to think about the truth of the command above. It leaves us in a bit of a quandary. We do not wish to become irresponsible. We dare not be lazy. We must not become so blasé about the future that we fail to do that which God commands. Yet, do we overdo our planning, our preparation, our scheming, and our strategy?

                Let me set aside a thought quickly. I am not in this consideration, assuming that we need not plan, strategize or work. I understand quite well that we need to be people who think wisely, set goals, and put plans into motion. I will not assume this is not the case.

                Yet, how often do we, even in ministry, cross the line into worry about the future. Rather than knowing that God knows our needs, how often do we assume that it is completely our job to meet those needs. We assume that we have to be the ones who come up with the strategies that will reach our people, reach the community, or reach the nations with the gospel. Yet, God is the one who must do the work. Only he can bring a dead heart to life. Only he can cause the increase. Only he can bring people to himself. Only he can change a church, a town, a state, a nation, or the world.

                So, what do I do with this? I think there is a delicate balance that must be kept in check. We work. We plan. We do not ignore the future or become lazy. Yet, we also trust. We rest. We know that God is the one who will accomplish his will for his glory. We dare not think that we are the ones who will get this done. We dare not think that the world will be won through our efforts. But we also do not stop putting forth effort for God’s glory.

                In fact, perhaps it is the issue of God’s glory that is most helpful here. Perhaps the motivation for our mission needs to be reevaluated. Perhaps we need to remember that it is our purpose in life to bring honor to the name of the one who made us. Perhaps our mission needs to be to bring God honor in every way that we can. Then we will not be filled with stress and worry. Then we will not assume the accomplishment of the work is on our shoulders. At the same time, we will also not stop working and striving. But the purpose of our striving will be to magnify our Lord. We will share the gospel because that honors Christ. We will plant churches to bring him praise. We will help people because that shows the world God’s character. We will learn the word of God out of a desire to see more of God’s glory. We will love one another in order to display that self-sacrificial love of Christ.

Psalm 11:5-7 (ESV)

5 The Lord tests the righteous,

but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;

fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

7 For the Lord is righteous;

he loves righteous deeds;

the upright shall behold his face.

                In the psalm above, we see a very clear contrast. God looks upon the righteous in one way, and he looks upon the wicked in an entirely different way. We see that the righteous shall stand before him, beholding his face. Thus, the picture is simple: The righteous will live and be rewarded while the wicked will be judged.

                On the surface, that kind of view of God and man is by no means strange. Almost every world religion in existence argues that, if you are good enough, you make it in with the deity of the religion. If you are bad, those religions go onto argue, you are in deep trouble.

                The difference in the view that I just mentioned and of Christianity, however, is vast. Yes, God welcomes the righteous into his presence. Yes, God curses and judges the wicked. But the problem is, we are all guilty before him. We are all the wicked. When our lives are measured against God’s holiness, we cannot stand. We are hopeless if left alone.

                What makes biblical Christianity different is that the righteousness that we have that will make us stand before God is a righteousness given to us. It comes to us from outside.

Romans 3:20-27 (ESV)

20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

                In Paul’s letter to the Romans ,we learn something about ourselves. None of us can be right with God by obeying any set of laws or rules. No, we are all sinners. But God has chosen to grant favor to those whom he has brought to himself through faith in Christ. It is Jesus who was put forward as a propitiation, a sacrifice that turns God’s wrath against us to favor on us. But, as we see in verse 27 above, we have no grounds for boasting. Our boasting is excluded because our salvation is not because of our righteousness, but because of God’s righteousness given to us in Jesus.

                So, the above Psalm is truly accurate. There is no person who can stand before God as a wicked person. It is also true that we are all wicked. But God accepts the righteous. None of us is righteous on our own. But God will grant us righteousness if we will simply come to Jesus in faith. We are given credit for the perfection of Jesus, not because we are good, but because we have placed our trust completely in the One who is actually righteous.

                It is good, then, to let passages like the psalm above remind us of the gospel. God welcomes the righteous, but we are not righteous on our own. Jesus paid for our wickedness and grants us his righteousness. The psalm reminds us that Jesus has paid our debt and granted to us a record of goodness that we could never have lived out. Thus, the gospel shows us the love of God and the mercy and grace of Christ. These concepts should lead us to joy-filled worship as we express gratitude and amazement to God for his kindness given to unworthy sinners.

                A passage like the psalm above should also remind us with great clarity of what God thinks of us now. He does not see us as the wicked any longer. Though we can never fully live out the righteousness we have been granted, we are not in danger of having God crush us for our failures. He has already punished our failures when he poured out his wrath on Jesus, our propitiation. Now we experience only God’s favor because of Christ’s perfection. We do not need to grovel and fear his anger, because that anger has already been satisfied. This should never embolden us to sin, but it should help us to live in joy, knowing that our God accepts us as his children because of –and only because of—the work that he accomplished through his Son.

Genesis 24:67

Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

                Sometimes we can learn something important about what a word means by seeing how it is translated in other settings. I’m not a scholar here, so understand that I do not consider myself to be an expert. Yet, I do think there is something that we can learn here that will help us in our understanding of a biblical concept.

                In the verse above, the word “comforted” is a Hebrew word that is used multiple times in the Old Testament. In fact, that word is often translated “repent” in other settings

                In context, this verse tells us of how Isaac and Rebekah met and were married. The overall passage shows us how God, by his sovereign power, preserved his promise to Abraham and his family. But, most immediately, the verse shows how marrying Rebekah comforted the heart of Isaac after his mother’s death.

Why then would a word that means “repent” be used here? It is because part of what it means to repent is to have a genuine change of heart. Your heart feels one way about what you are doing. When you repent, that changes and your heart feels completely different. If one were to “repent” of grief, one would be comforted. This is at the heart of what it means to repent.

                Why cover all this here so inexpertly? I want us to see a key to the word “repent” that we do not often grasp. Repentance is more than a change of direction. Repentance includes a change of thinking and feeling that leads to a change of direction. Genuine, biblical repentance includes a heart change. When you repent, you do not merely stop doing something, your heart changes toward that thing.

                Consider, as you look at your own sin, what it would take for your heart to genuinely change. Consider what it means to actually feel differently toward the evil that your heart used to love. Repentance requires the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart to make you feel genuinely differently than before. And this must be a major part of our pursuit of sanctification for the glory of Christ.

Acts 4:10-12 (ESV)

10 “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

            The truth about Jesus in these brief words of Peter is wonderful to behold. In context, we find that Peter is being questioned as to how he healed a beggar. According to verses 5 and 6, this interview was conducted by the most important Jewish leadership: “Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.”

            The audience who heard Peter’s claim is the first thing that got my attention with this passage. Consider that this group, all enemies of Jesus, all heard Peter claim that Jesus was raised from the dead. This was a serious claim, and it was made very briefly after the resurrection, only a few months if my reckoning is correct.

            Now, were Jesus not alive, what would these leaders have done? They would have laughed, sent out a few solid men, and brought out Jesus’ body. It’s just that simple. In a period of a few months, the Jewish leadership would not have lost track as to the whereabouts of a body that they themselves demanded be guarded by Pilate. The only way that Peter could make this claim in the faces of Annas and Caiaphas and not be humiliated by those two powerful men would be for Peter’s claim to be incontrovertible. Peter spoke the truth, and Annas and Caiaphas and all the other important leaders knew it. This is why they could do nothing to silence Peter.

            And let me simply add that, if Peter’s words in verse 10 are true, then his words in verses 11 and 12 must also be true. If Jesus is really alive—a claim which the most ardent opponents of Christianity could not disprove—then it is also true that he is the prophesied cornerstone and the one in whose name salvation is to be exclusively found. Jesus is the prophesied Messiah, the promised rescuer sent to earth by God. He is also the only way that any human being is ever made right with God. These follow from the miracle of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Psalm 5:4-7 (ESV)

4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not dwell with you.

5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;

you hate all evildoers.

6 You destroy those who speak lies;

the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

will enter your house.

I will bow down toward your holy temple

in the fear of you.

            How do you feel about the fact that God hates evil? Does this comfort you? It sounds right. We should like it, shouldn’t we? But, does it make us a bit uncomfortable too?

            Why would I suggest that words like the ones above might make me uncomfortable? It is not that I believe that there is anything wrong with God hating evil. There is not anything wrong with God hating evil-doers as the Bible states in verse 5. His judgment does not offend me. He is holy. He should judge.

            No, what makes me uncomfortable is the fact that I realize that I deserve to be on his hit list. I’m not good. Two of the character qualities of those abhorred by God in the above verses are liars and the boastful. I am quite certain that I have been both. God’s righteous hatred of evil, if left only to itself, would equal God’s righteous hatred of me.   

            Psalms like the portion above make me uncomfortable, because I am still not used to owning alien righteousness. What do I mean? In 2 Corinthians 5:21, God tells me that Christ places upon me a righteousness that is not my own. Because of his death and resurrection, I possess, no, according to the verse, I become the righteousness of God. That is an alien righteousness, a perfection foreign to me. It is brought to me from outside of me, not from my own character.

This is indeed a strange thing to think. I know the ugliness of my heart, at least as much as I can know it, yet God calls me righteous. I have earned the hatred of God as the psalm declares, yet God has chosen to give me love. I deserve hell. He gives me heaven. I’m not good. He calls me perfect. This is all because of the kindness of God and the powerful work of Jesus. I bring nothing to the table. Yes, I believed and, to the best of my ability, surrendered control of my life to Christ. Yet, even in that, it was the work of Christ that first moved me.

            Verse 7 points out that the psalmist, through the abundance of God’s steadfast love, will enter God’s house. This is likely pointing to the fact that David will enter a place of worship like the tent of meeting. But the truth is, for all who are in Christ, though we should be considered part of the wicked, God will bring us into his eternal house, his forever dwelling place.

            What does this do to my heart this morning? It humbles me. I remember my failings. I see what I deserve. I confess my sin again. And I at least try to remember that I do not deserve the goodness that I have been given. I’m certainly not better than others. I’m not good if that goodness is not the gift of God.

            I also find myself very grateful. God has given me a new label: perfect. I cannot imagine that being true of me. Yet, God will work as long as I live and to the point of my death in order to make it true of me. Eventually, when I die or Christ returns, I will be finally and irreversibly transformed to match the label of righteousness that God has placed upon me. I have hope, joy, comfort, and gratitude because of this fabulous truth.

Matthew 2:16

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

                They have said that history repeats itself. But then, they’ve said that before. It’s an old joke, but a very true statement. And I see it this morning as I look at Matthew’s telling of the gospel.

                After Jesus was born and had been worshipped by the wise men, Joseph fled with him and their small family to Egypt. They remained there for a time in order to be safe from the murderous intentions of King Herod. Herod, for his part, took out his wrath on the children of Bethlehem, ordering the deaths of children who fit the age profile of the king the wise men had sought.

                What hit me this morning is that this is a repetition of God’s story of his people all through the Scriptures. Time and time and time again, we read stories of an attack being made on the people of God. Time and time and time again, we see that the attack fails. Sometimes, we even see that the failure of the attack results in the attacker raging against others because he cannot destroy God’s plan.

                From the beginning, Satan has wanted to interrupt and derail God’s plan. He entered the garden, deceived Eve, and tried to put an end to God’s plan before Adam and Eve had ever had children. But he failed. God had a plan to show mercy and to judge sin that Satan could not have imagined.

                During the time of Esther, Satan used Haman to attempt to destroy the people of God. But God used Esther and her uncle to thwart Haman’s plan of genocide.

                How about one more? If we look to the book of Revelation, chapter 12, we see the curtain pulled back on the drama of the ages. Satan, depicted as a dragon, prepares himself to devour the child to be born, the child who would rule, the Christ. But Satan cannot devour the child. Instead, the child is snatched up, and the dragon can only turn his rage against the people of God.

                If we looked through history, we could see this story replayed over and over again on a grand scale as well as in minor confrontations that never made the history books. But the outcome will always be the same. Satan will fight against the people of God so long as he is around. But God will provide for his people, preserve his church, and ultimately be victorious. Satan cannot win. He is a defeated foe. Yes, he makes our lives miserable from time to time, but he will not win. God’s kingdom will come. God’s will is to be done. Nothing can stop it. Our god is sovereign and supreme.

                What do I do with all this? I remember two keys. Life will not be easy. There is a real enemy of my soul who would love to destroy me and to who would love to destroy the church of God. I should not be surprised about this fact.

                However, I also have great cause for hope and joy. Satan could not defeat Christ. Jesus accomplished the will of his Father through is death and resurrection. Jesus also will return and finally bring the Kingdom of God to this earth. Satan cannot win. God will win. This gives me the hope I need to press on, to trust God, and to live for his glory.

Acts 2:4-13

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

           The events of the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early church are fascinating, and I fear, often misunderstood. The verses above show us the miraculous work of God. Sadly, if we are not careful, we will miss the glory of God in a desire to dig deeper into the issues surrounding the charismatic movement.

           Let’s look at the basic facts. First, we see that the followers of Jesus were filled with God’s Holy Spirit. This, in itself, was a new thing. While we have seen in the Old Testament that God’s Spirit had, from time-to-time, filled individual servants of God, it is unusual to see a whole people filled with the Spirit in this way. Later in the New Testament, we will discover that all believers in Christ are indwelt by God’s Spirit, a glorious and comforting truth.

           When these first believers had the Spirit of God come upon them, they began to speak “in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Remember that the word behind the word “tongues” is the word for languages. These people spoke in real languages that were foreign to the speakers. God was empowering them to speak real languages that others could understand but which they did not know.

           What did they do with this gift? Why was it given? At the end of verse 11, the people from other nations who heard the disciples said, “we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” Thus, it does not appear that this gift was given for ecstasy or for general novelty, but it was for the purpose of the spread of the gospel. God was empowering the Jewish followers of Jesus to speak in such a way as to communicate the truth of God to others who would not have understood it otherwise. God was empowering his fledgling church to take the gospel to the nations. God was showing people who might not have known about Jesus both the truth of the gospel as well as offering an evidence of the gospel’s truthfulness in the miracle of the gift of languages.

           Yes, some people were skeptical. Some people made fun and accused the disciples of being drunk. This is no surprise. The world has always been opposed to the things of God. The world has always been skeptical of claims of the miraculous, even when the miraculous is right in front of them. Truthfully, people do not come to Jesus because they are impressed by miracles. People only come to Christ when God changes their hearts and enables them to believe. So we ought not be surprised by verse 13.

           What, then, do we do with all this? God is mighty and kind. He loves his people and has blessed us all with his presence. The same holy Spirit who came upon the disciples that day lives within all of God’s children in Christ. This is glorious. We should be overjoyed at this fact.

           Second, the Spirit of God has come upon us and enables us to accomplish God’s will for God’s glory. Could he gift a missionary to speak a foreign language so as to communicate the gospel to someone who might not otherwise hear it?  Why not? Though we need not expect that this gifting would look the same as it looked on that very special day in early church history. But we should learn from what we have seen that the gifts of God given to the people of God are about the glory of God. They are not for us to exult in a personal experience of the amazing. The gifts of God empower us to do his will. And every believer has been gifted by God to serve him. Paul will later tell us that spiritual gifts are about the building up of the church. They are certainly not for show. They are certainly not chaotic. And, I would argue that they are not what many would claim as the gift of tongues in the modern sense. I mean no disrespect here to those who disagree with me, but I believe that this passage shows us that this gift in Acts 2 is a special outpouring of God’s Spirit which enabled the church to begin her mission of honoring God by taking the clear truth of the gospel to others in such a way that this truth could be understood by them.

           Finally, we should expect that the world is going to think we are nuts. They always have, and they always will. We need not think that we will be able to somehow make the world think that we are wonderful and the claims of Christ are just what they have been waiting for. It does not work like that. The cross is an offense and a stumbling block to the lost. Until God makes someone alive to his truths, they will think that we are crazy. Even if God grants us the ability to be a part of something miraculous, the world will have no trouble scoffing at it and pretending that we have somehow been hitting the sauce. So do not be surprised. Do not be discouraged. Do not try to shape your ministry in such a way as to gain the worlds approval—you won’t get it. Just honor Christ. Share the genuine gospel. Rest in God’s word. Trust that God can and will perform the miracle of bringing dead hearts to life just as he brought yours to life. Love Jesus. Live for his glory. And thank God for his Spirit living within you.