Easter 2010 (Pt. 3) | “Woman, behold, your son!”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Third Word

²⁵but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:25-27)

Meditation on the Third Word

Of all the words that Jesus spoke that afternoon this is the one that stands juxtaposed against the others. In the midst of all the suffering and pain that was being experienced and seen, none could have been more devastated than Mary, Jesus’ mother. Mary, was the beneficiary of the single greatest revelation of God that God has ever given. It was to Mary that the Messiah was sent. And it was from Mary that the Messiah that was conceived in her womb and born. And even now as Jesus is dying He thinks of her and entrusts her into the hands of his dear friend John. Jesus’ exemplifies for us that our earthly responsibilities are not something to be dismissed as life draws to a close. Have you thought of your family and friends in light of your mortality? What would you have them remember? Jesus loved Mary to the end.

Easter 2010 (Pt. 2) | “Today you will be with Me…”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Second Word

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

Meditation on the Second Word

The promise of eternal life is not something we have to wait for. At the moment that we put our trust in Jesus, He promises that we have entered into the family of God. Too often we make the terrible mistake of thinking that it is our knowledge of Jesus that will matter. No, dear friends. It is not whether you remember Jesus in those moments of fear, confusion or despair. What will matter when we are confronted with our own mortality will be if He remembers you. The only thing that causes Jesus to remember us is faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6) and when Jesus returns Luke tells us that there will be a question asked. It is this, “…When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). Do you want to be remembered? Than place your faith in Jesus.

Easter 2010 (Pt. 1) | “Father, Forgive them…”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The First Word

³² Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³ And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. ³⁵ And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸ There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” (Luke 23:33-38)

Mediation on the First Word

From the vantage point of the cross Jesus’ perspective was crystal clear. He looked at the throngs that encircled Him and the thieves that hung with Him and spoke the words that only someone who sees the truth of the situation could. It was here on the cross that God’s wrath was meted out with the full weight and fury that Sin deserved. But as God’s wrath landed upon Jesus, what emerged from Jesus’ mouth were words of love. Our ignorance does not remove our responsibilities of our past, but our ignorance will not disqualify us from believing in the future. When you wonder, “How can God possibly continue to love me when I fail so badly?” I say to you look to Jesus and hear these words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

<a href=”http://christiandojo.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/easter-2010-pt-1-father-forgive-them/”>”Father, Forgive them…”</a>
<a href=”http://christiandojo.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/easter-2010-pt-2-today-you-will-be-with-me/”>”Today you will be with Me”</a>
<a href=”http://christiandojo.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/easter-2010-pt-3-woman-behold-your-son/”>”Woman, behold, your son!”</a>
<a href=”http://christiandojo.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/easter-2010-pt-4-my-god-my-god/”>”My God, My God…”</a>
<a href=”http://christiandojo.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/easter-2010-pt-5-i-thirst/”>”I Thirst”</a>
<a href=”http://christiandojo.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/easter-2010-pt-6-it-is-finished/”>”It is Finished!”</a>
<a href=”http://christiandojo.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/easter-2010-pt-7-father-into-your-hands/”>”Father, into your hands…”</a>

Romans Series (Pt. 10) – Romans 3:19-24

The World is Accountable to God (Romans 3:19-20)
Paul draws some very stark conclusions regarding the evidence that he has cited in verse 10-18. Not only will the every mouth be stopped, but because of what Paul has said the whole world is not accountable to God. Nothing has been missed and no one can escape. Paul’s understanding of the law is refined. He is not speaking in some general or generic way. The law for Paul is the means that God uses to do two very important things. First, the law stops “every mouth” (v. 19). The law leaves us without any excuse. God is not trying to win an argument, there is no argument. Any attempt to deny the reality of our sin is useless and affront to God Himself. The law is unyielding. Any deficient view of sin will lead to a distorted view of God. Paul will hit on this in other portions of Romans, which I will attempt to point out.

Second, and not of any lesser importance is that the law makes sin known (v. 20). This is interesting and Paul will address this last phrase in more detail later (Romans 7:7-25). However, the way that we come to an awareness of sin is important for theological and evangelistic reasons. If we as Christians are not out to tell the world around us that sin is real and must be overcome, grace will not appear so amazing. I have alluded to the theological reason above, but I would like to speak to the evangelistic reason here. If the Gospel is proclaimed in a way that the depth and damage of sin is not seen in its totality, then the hearer will not fully understand how impossible it is to attempt and earn what only God can freely give. Paul gives us a hint to this in Ephesians 2:8-9. As sinners and even as adopted sons and daughters we must never forget what we have been saved from. This leads us to Paul’s next thoughts on sin.

All have Sinned (Romans 3:21-24)
Paul’s phrasing here seems somewhat confusing, but we have to think about what he is saying within the context of that time. What references did Paul use to support his argument? He used two similar references from David, in the Psalms and one from Jeremiah in Ecclesiastes. Now, Paul says that apart from the law the righteousness of God is revealed. Paul is making a reference here to the wisdom literature within the Jewish canon. The whole of God’s word points to His righteousness and man’s sinful nature.

Within the second half of this section we find that Paul is touching on, ever so lightly, upon the divinity of Jesus. This too will play an important role in the overall theology of Romans. Paul is also arguing against the two forms of works doctrine ^[1]. The first was prevalent among the pagan religions (that most of the Romans were used to) and the second was a Jewish form of works teaching that many Jews had adopted because of Pharisaical influence. Also, since Paul has already “proven” the sinful nature of man he reminds the reader and hearer of this again here.

Footnotes:

Back to Post ¹ By “works doctrine” I mean any attempt that men and women undertake to earn or appease God or gods. The Romans offered sacrifices to keeps the gods happy. The Jews on the other had believed that by trying to live up to the standard of the Law they would please God. These and any variation of these will only demonstrate the futility of works.

Romans Series (Pt. 9) – Romans 3:10-18

There is None Righteous (Romans 3:10-18)
Verses 10-18 are Paul’s biblical proof for why both Jew and Gentile have equal standing in the eyes of God. Paul quotes from various places in the Old Testament to make his case. He uses the Psalms because of their ability to capture the truth at the heart level. David was a man who spoke, sang, and wrote from his varied experiences. It was because of this that as you read the Psalms a kinds of emotions are written about there. From joy to anger; love to revenge; faith to impatience; jubilation to repentance. We will look at this next, but without the law, there is no knowledge of sin (v. 20). But before Paul gets to that he wants to make it plainly clear that that there is already sufficient cause for God to hold us guilty of sin.

I have provided the quotations and their references below. Paul is paraphrasing from these passages, but the essence of this is the same.

Paul’s Quotation	Old Testament Reference
Romans 3: 10-12 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”	Psalm 14:1-3 (cf. Psalm 51:1-3) 1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Romans 3:13a “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.”	Psalm 5:9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
Romans 3:13b “The venom of asps is under their lips.”	Psalm 140:3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of asps.
Romans 3:14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”	Psalm 10:7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
Romans 3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;”	Proverbs 1:16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
Romans 3:15-17 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.”	Isaiah 59:7,8 7 Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways. 8 The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.
Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”	Psalm 36:1 Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.

The apostle does not hold back on his description of the state of man. While this may appear tame and mild to some, pull is not pulling any punches. It is through these verses that Paul puts forth a detailed, and nearly comprehensive, wrecking ball to any argument for justification, salvation or righteousness apart from God and His Son Jesus. To seek any of these three attributes independently of God’s presence and intervention is to step away from what God has revealed in Scripture. What Paul is saying in this section is not something that can be, or should be taken lightly. The indictment upon humanity is equal to the remedy that God has provided in the Cross of Christ. But, if man’s understanding of sin does not agree with the price paid for that sin there will remain an inconsistency in any theology/doctrine that we try to claim is genuinely Biblical.

It is worth noting that sin must be understood from the perspective of the offended rather than that of the offender. The value of the one wronged determines the just compensation. As we look at the price that God paid for our redemption, i.e., the Blood of Jesus, we can see that sin is far worse than we could ever comprehend.

Carrie Underwood | “Temporary Home”

I have always found music to be such an interesting medium for communication. In the span of 3 to 4 minutes so much can be said. The combination of words and images, the symbols, comparisons and illusions all helping to tell a story. Then you add the musical component and you have something that will bring together the mind and the heart, sometimes in ways that can’t be explained.

I recently came across this song by Carrie Underwood that speaks to the temporary nature of life on this globe. One of the realities of life is that there will be times when we think we have it all figured out. We put off the wonder of living for the hope of life. We must never forget the unchanging truth that there will come a day of reckoning. We will be confronted with our own mortality. The sooner we face this truth the more likely we will be to make the necessary changes to look not just death, but also ourselves in the face and find that living happens right now. Life is not something that waits. It flows like raging rivers past us. Yes, there are moments to get to the banks and enjoy the sun, but don’t tarry too long or you will find time spent doing things that satisfy for a moment rather than sustain us during our entire lives, especially the difficult times.

Chorus:
“This is my temporary Home
It’s not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I’m passin’ through
This was just a stop,on the way to where I’m going
I’m not afraid because I know this was
My temporary home.”

Words of Wisdom from my Mother-in-Law…

Disclaimer: If you don’t have a sense of humor don’t watch this video.

In the words of the great southern philosopher Larry the Cable Guy: “That’s funny right there!”

John Piper | Why do you love God?

[su_audio url=”http://cdn.desiringgod.org/audio/events/20100228.mp3?1319778153″%5D

Dr. John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching & Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. He is also the Chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary an extension ministry of the church providing training for pastors within the local church setting. He is the founder of Desiring God Ministries which serves as the source of everything Piper. You will find 30 years of sermons to read, listen to, watch or download. You can also find many of his books free for download as well. Dr. Piper is one of the finest expositors and proclaimers of the Scriptures in general and the Gospel in particular.

For those not familiar with Dr. Piper, his theological orientation is that of Calvinism. This, however, should not deter you from gleaning from the depth and breadth of Dr. Piper’s wisdom and insights into the Word of God. Even if you don’t agree with Calvinism as a theological system, there is no doubt that the Scripture and the God of the Scriptures is the most important thing on his mind.

This video is rich in its content, which means you may have to watch more than once. It’s about an hour long, but it will challenge you to consider your motivation for loving God. I hope you invest the time to hear this message. I am the better for doing so.

Source: Why God Makes Much of Us

Romans Series (Pt. 8) – Romans 3:1-9

First in Time (Romans 3:1-5)

Paul helps the Roman hearer, and the all Gentile readers of this letter, understand that the primacy of the Jew in God’s plan had nothing to do with some intrinsic worth that they had as people. He will point this out in verse 28 of this chapter. What Paul is trying to make clear is that because God has chosen to work through human affairs someone had to be selected for the purpose of being the instrument of God’s will ([reftagger title=”Romans 3:2″]v. 2[/reftagger]). This people were the children of Abraham. Why Abraham? I don’t know, but that becomes a moot point because it is not something that can be undone or reversed. God picked Abraham and worked out His will through Abraham’s progeny, both the physical and the spiritual (look at Galatians 2:18-21, 3:10-14) . Look back at Romans 2:25-29. Paul has just finished removing any privilege that may have existed for the “circumcised”. The true heart of the matter is what is going on in the heart.

But there is something else at work that Paul wants to address. A teaching had become popular among the Jews that God would overlook and not punish unfaithfulness on the part of the Jews. God’s faithfulness is not, should not, and must not be called into question just because a frail humanity is unable to comply with its end of the bargain. God remains faithful. God’s reputation is not tarnished because of our failures. This however, had become the mentality of the Jews. They believed that their “unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God” ([reftagger title=”Romans 3:5″]v. 5[/reftagger]). This is the epitome of putting God to the test. And it must be avoided at all costs.

Sinning for the Glory of God (Romans 3:6-9)

But not only were the Jews putting God to the test. There rose up in the Jews’ mind an indignation that they were being punished as they served as examples of God’s faithfulness. Paul writes about the total arrogance of the Jews in this regard, “But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?” ([reftagger title=”Romans 3:7″]v. 7[/reftagger], emphasis added). There is never an appropriate time to sin for the Glory of God. This is an attempt and make God a fool and to take the grace that has been given to us and misuse it for our own fleshly desires (Galatians 5:13).

The poor example of the Jewish people as a whole was inexcusable. But Paul understood that he himself had been among them. His errors may have been on the side, the side of piety and total devotion, but that is only exchanging one extreme of misunderstanding for another. Paul recognized that his extreme devotion and other Jews’ extreme infidelity both missed the point and mark of God’s character ([reftagger title=”Romans 3:8″]v. 8[/reftagger]). And because of this both were rightfully condemned ([reftagger title=”Romans 3:9″]v. 9[/reftagger]).

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven

Have you ever wondered what Heaven would be like? I know I have. It is so hard to describe a place no one has ever been to. I have often wondered what we would do in Heaven? Will I get bored? Will I spend all of my time singing to God? That is great, and God is worthy of it, but that seems less interesting than the time I have now, here on Earth with my family and with my friends. I don’t mean to for this to sound like Heaven will be a great let down because it won’t be. But how can I have joy about a place I will never experience or can clearly understand until I get there?

I came across this sermon by Dr. Sam Storms. He is the pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, OK. He is also the founder of Enjoying God Ministries which exists “To Proclaim the Power of Truth and the Truth about Power.” Enjoying God provides Biblical Studies, Theological Studies, Historical Studies and even Recommends books, sites and other personal reflections for reading. It is a useful site.

The following sermon was given during the Desiring God National Conference in 2003. It takes a look at how Jonathan Edwards understood Heaven. This is probably the best (to date) exposition and explanation of what Heaven will be like and possibly is like. Dr. Storms argumentation and presentation is quite passionate and has made looking toward Heaven something wonderful.

You can download the audio, but I would recommend watching the video. It’s about an hour-long and will be worth every minute. The first one-third of the sermon is about Jonathan Edwards himself and then Dr. Storms jumps into Edwards understanding of heaven. Hope you enjoy! I did.

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven.