Abba, This One Is Mine

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32 NIV

Back in the olden times for me, maybe not quite so long for you, each of us probably had a new friend whose parents we had not yet met. The afternoon went along well after school and we played at something with this new friend. However, sooner or later, the father came home from work and sensed something different in his domain. "Who are you?" suddenly became the main focus as the authority inquired of the newcomer his or her place in this world. A name, parents' occupation, or even a confession of total worthlessness to occupy your tiny bit of space in his house might help, but your new friend could save you all of that with one quick admission. "Father, this is my friend." What came after did not matter nearly so much as that one acknowledgment. Even at a tender age, we could face the Authority with much less fear when we had a friend.

Therefore, we see in our relationship to Jesus our friend a way to stand before the Father in Heaven. We can see how much it means to each of us that the Lamb was found worthy before God to open the scroll of the Revelation. When we stand before the Father, we hope in faith that Jesus our Lord will say, "Abba, this one is Mine." And we have His assurance of that if we acknowledge Him before others here today.

Great is our Lord!

Bucky

Then The Testing Begins

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2,3

When first introduced to salvation and faith we may wonder that it is too easy. Surely, that cannot be it, we ask, eternal life simply for belief in the Son? Yes, the senior disciple thinks, soon the testing of that tender faith will begin. Indeed, as we grow in the faith of our Lord Jesus we will find those tribulations He promised, the trials He foretold, and of course the opposition we are to expect. And a lot of that opposition comes, to our surprise, from that part of us that was in us from the first birth. Didn't that just go away when we were saved? And then we come to know that the walk with Jesus to the end is not so easy after all. If it were easy, then He wouldn't need to walk with us and even carry us part of that difficult way.

The production of patience by testing is not always easy to see. Trust in the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Withdrew From Them?

But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. Acts 19:9

They won't believe me, no one listens to me, and other observations may fill your heart on a particular day. "Even the Apostle Paul couldn't get through to these folks," one was known to say. Well, yes, we see in our verse for today how Paul withdrew his disciples from a hardened and unbelieving group. As God does not force belief on anyone, even Paul must at times withdraw from the unbelievers. So, even you and I may run into those we must let go their way. Trust them to God because even in the end times when the terrible judgments of the Revelation are poured out, we read of those who refuse the call to repent and believe.

We believe in Jesus, today let us rejoice in Him!

Bucky

Keep Him In Your Heart

Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.  Leviticus 26:1

The Law! We naturally recoil a bit from it as there is a lot of it in the Bible and the penalties are to our eyes quite severe. From this command we also have no images of our Lord Jesus to use in making a statue. "But wait," the stranger from a foreign land asks, "aren't there rather a lot of images of Jesus in a great many forms in your land?" Well, we must admit that there are, but can we know that any are accurate to His face as He walked the land of Galilee in about 30 AD? If one reads the prophecy of Isaiah at about chapter 53, then the images tend to be too beautiful for that description. So, for us there is no bowing down to carved rocks or pretty paintings, but we keep the Lord Jesus in our respective and respectful hearts. Faith, after all, does not need a graven image, especially when it is unlikely to be a true representation. 

Have a faithful day in Christ Jesus, and keep Him in your heart!

Bucky

Fasting Secretly

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. Matthew 6:16-17

Those hypocrites in this case wanted to be known by their fellows to be on a fast and to gain recognition and sympathy for their efforts. Jesus assures us that they gain their reward. As today begins the traditional season of Lent, I wanted to remind us that if we participate in the fasting to do it for the Lord in secret as Jesus says in verse 18. For it seems to me in this age that when Lent begins there is a curiosity that overcomes some and we will be asked what we are giving up for Lent. Of course, you and I do not have to go along with this thing at all, but Lent seems to be having a resurgence in the church. As with all ceremonies, methods, and observances from tradition, the Lord looks into the intent of the heart. If we do it for a show to be seen by our friends and neighbors, then we will have that reward. Quietly, secretly, we avoid the desire for attention and fast, or don't, with our Lord as we prepare for the celebration of His resurrection.

Trust in the saving work of Jesus!

Bucky

Transformers?

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:15

If a wooden plank door transforms itself into a powerful machine then we might be impressed. (Sorry, there was this odd dream.) However, there is a far more awesome transformation coming for those who believe in Jesus. Here in our verse for today Paul speaks of a transformation often seen among politicians during their election runs. The opponent will of course paint a slightly different picture for us. Which one is correct is often up to the voters to determine. That most of our past few presidents have been elected by small margins speaks to how difficult it is for us to determine the real from the transformation presented to us. And with such little observations we are off down the bunny trail. But that transformation promised in the Word though? Here was a man who had lived, been scourged and beaten, crucified, and checked with a mortal stroke of the lance, and lived again. What did He tell the doubter, Thomas? Stick your hand into my side and believe. That dreadful wound was still there, and yet He lived! 

As His Spirit renews our minds daily, and as He will do when we exit this earthly corruption, be ye transformed by our Lord Christ!

Bucky

The Queen Of Sheba

“Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 1 Kings 10:9

A story of a monarch traveling to test another monarch, but it was a biased test. She confessed to Solomon before our verse for today that she did not believe the reports she had heard about him. And we can understand her reservations as stories do tend to grow with time and distance. However, in this case God had provided the wisdom of Solomon, and the riches and power, which so impressed the Queen of Sheba. The queen admitted that this time the story fell short of the legend. This queen was no dummy though, for she praises the source, the LORD your God. As it was with Jesus, it is the outsider who sees more clearly than the children of the Lord's chosen people. And this queen from a far country praises the love God has for Israel and the delight He has in Solomon. 

There ya go, do not let an outsider see what you or I refuse to see. God loves us and delights in each of us. 

Bucky

Lawful (to do!) Good

Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Matthew 12:12

Back in ancient times when I tried to play a particular role-playing game, I always wanted my characters to be lawful good. Later deeds would prove that I had a rather higher opinion of my moral and ethical performance than was the case. In fact, if I were a character in the game during that period of my young adult life, the dungeonmaster would have drawn me aside to advise me to change my alignment or start suffering damage. After I returned to the fold of our Lord Jesus a few years down the road, I with my brothers and sisters in Christ began to see the importance of two little words in there - to do. Those words have become as lovely as lawful and good to us. For we are not players in a game, but disciples of our Lord who desire to do good. And yes, praise our Lord Jesus, it is lawful for us to do good even on the Sabbath.

Thank You, dear Lord, for Your guiding hand this day,

Bucky

Enough Of The Past!

For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 1 Peter 4:3

A message takes me back to ancient times, at least ancient in my little life on this Earth, and the time comes to pull back from reminiscing and take up the mantle of the present. As for Brother Peter's list: yes, there was some of that in my past and it is at times difficult to not dwell on it. In the present such things still tempt and beckon to me, and it requires an effort to stay with my Lord Jesus in the present. Whether past or present though, all sin is remitted by the sacrifice of Jesus. That sin is atoned, paid for, no longer on the books, or the more literal definition of remittance - sent back. Do I deserve such grace? Not by my works to be sure, but there was this man who loved in that perfect definition He gave of the greatest love (John 15:13). Jesus gave His life to save me and all who will believe from our sins.

Let us believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

On A Frosty Morn

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  Luke 22:7

And thus we see the end of poor Passover, and why we now celebrate Easter. Hold up there, Hoss! This is one where we need to dig into the original text notes to see what is translated as simply, "Passover". As we suspect, it does not refer to the killing of a holiday or the feast set down for Israel to observe so long ago, but the lamb of the Passover itself. The word, pesah, in Hebrew became pascha in Aramaic, and referred to the sacrifice, the lamb killed and eaten at the Passover celebration. As we know, Jesus was referred to by John the Baptist right at the start of His ministry as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29). This was no accident of course. God gave John the revelation that at Passover, Jesus our Lord would be our Pascha atoning for the sin we have in us. Even in the Revelation given by our Lord Christ to a different John, we see the only one found worthy to open that revelation is the Lamb who was slain. Again, no accident, but the plan of God at work!

The frosty morning nears dawn, and the hope of our Lord Jesus comes soon!

Bucky

The Pages Of This Time

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

In our verse for today, Peter gives a reason why the Lord has not yet returned and brought to a conclusion the history of this world. We take comfort from that as we suffer and rejoice during this time. And what is this time? Some have called it the church age or the age of faith, others are just living day by day. In each case we are in that time between the ascension of Jesus and His imminent return, by some called the Second Coming. However, the pages of this time in history are not blank pages in His book. Jesus assured us that even the giving of a cup of water to one of His little ones was noted and rewarded. The times and each of us do matter to our Lord Jesus and we rejoice to be in His book. Therefore keep on doing even the smallest of good deeds from a generous heart.

May our Lord God bear you up in faith this great day!

Bucky

Rejoice With Me!

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!" Luke 15:6

That time He came to us in weakness was over and our resurrected Lord Jesus rose up out of their sight to go home to the Father. And let us imagine as best we can His homecoming. Gabriel, Michael, and many other angels whose names we do not know, gather around the throne of God. Jesus says those words, "Rejoice with Me!" Our Lord told the disciples that any time a sinner repents and believes in Jesus there would be the same celebration in Heaven. Your time or mine, or when the neighbor in church prayed to be saved, and many other newly reborn saints throughout the ages have brought on that same statement of rejoicing, "For I have found My sheep which was lost!" Why then do we linger here for a brief time? For all those sheep who have not yet turned from themselves to be found by the Savior. May all of our Lord's lost ones come soon.

Pray for the lost ones in the name of Jesus,

Bucky

A Guarantor

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. Hebrews 7:22 ESV

Some verses in the Bible seem to say everything we need at once, such as John 3:16. Other verses, such as our verse for today, cry out for further explanation. We recognize the truth in our Lord's name, but immediately want to know, "Better than what other covenant?" And also, what is this new covenant, if we have not yet read the gospels and the epistles. We can find all we want to know and more about the former covenants in the Old Testament. For the new covenant, that better covenant, that Jesus guarantees, we have this in verse 25 of the same chapter of Hebrews:

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Draw near, children, to the God of our salvation!

Bucky

And Yet, He Lives!

For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.  2 Corinthians 13:4

The great verse we have studied several times in the past couple of weeks has that one thing we must do, believe. This faith begins with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus in that we believe the testimony of those who saw the risen Lord. As He rose up to be with the Father until that time of His return, we are to wait in faith for His return. Central to that waiting is faith in His living. How could we live with Him, as Paul promises to us in our verse for today, if He did not live? And how could we believe in His return, such as we find in the first part of John 14, if we did not first believe in His life after the tomb? We must believe in all of Him, or we have a chain that falls apart. Fortunately for us, Paul shows that our weakness is not the central factor here, but the power of God. As Jesus lives by the power of God, so we live with Him by that same force. We live with Him because He lives! 

God's power and grace lives in you this day!

Bucky

Believe His Word

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Perhaps the strangest concept in this verse is not that God loved His creation, but that anyone can have eternal life by believing in the Son of God. Believe? That's all I have to do? One might ask in reading this verse. The start of believing, or perhaps both happen at the same time, comes when we believe His word. Jesus spoke these words in this verse, and those in the context all around it. We believe those words about believing in Him and we have eternal life. We believe His word and the Word of God comes to live in us.

It seems too simple! I need to say more about it. Ah, beware the danger of over-analyzing it, dear self, and just believe in Him!

Love to you on this Friday!

Bucky

Because We Don't Know

Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”  John 20:13

There are moments when it seems that, like Mary here in our verse for today, we do not know where they have laid Jesus our Lord. In just one scriptural moment, Mary will meet a joyfully living Savior, but in the moment she sorrows as just another lost sheep of the Lord. We too find times and days to weep because we do not know where they have laid Him. And yet, He stands at hand waiting to be seen by us as the living Lord Jesus! Whatever our sorrows and pains on this day, we have only to open our heart to the Lord at hand. In Philippians the Apostle Paul writes, "The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing." Yet we do spend time refusing to look up from our sorrows and blinded by tears when the Lord waits there, just right there, right there at the hand of prayer to be noticed as the Living Lord Jesus! 

Have a little faith in the Lord this day,

Bucky

Take His Word For It

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  John 3:8

They found it! You may have read the news reports of the 1/4" radioactive pellet lost along an 850-mile route of desert road in Australia recently. Of course any of us with some knowledge of radioactivity immediately knew that the search would not be done by looking with the eyes for a relatively tiny capsule in such a vast distance. It was found by a vehicle with detection equipment traveling at 43 mph, a much different sort of search than walking the 850 miles while searching the ground with a pair of human eyes. 

In a similar vein, if we were to search for our rebirth in the Spirit by looking around we would only see people who look more or less like us. It is by faith that we know of our rebirth in Christ, and then the fruits of the Spirit will show in time. Faith is, after all, taking His Word for it. 

Believe in the Word God gave to us!

Bucky