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Devotional

Prayer (Part 1): Does it work?

I recently heard a sermon in which the preacher said God always answers prayers in one of three ways: Yes, No, or Wait. As I considered his sermon points, I began to think about how all the times I felt that I wasn’t getting an answer to my prayers. I know that prayer works because I can recall several times when something happened, which I know was an answer to prayer. Skeptics would attribute this to happenstance or that maybe I acted in such a way that my prayers came to fruition. Skeptics would point to the fact that some prayers seemingly go unanswered, but do they? I understand that to address this subject completely would take more than just a simple blog post such as this. There have been whole books written on the subject. I am sure there have been series of books written on the subject of prayer. My purpose in writing this post is not to address all aspects of prayer but maybe invoke some introspection about prayer and perhaps garner some answers from those more experienced in this subject.

LA LA LA LA LA LA

Have you ever tried to talk to a child who did not want to hear what you said? They might cover their ears and try to block out what you are saying. They may make nonsensical noise like the title for this section. Are we like that child trying to block out the answer we don’t want to hear? Jonah didn’t like what he heard from God and ended up in the belly of a whale. You might say that you aren’t like a petulant child. Are you any better than Jonah, who behaved like a petulant child? Before you get sanctimonious about me comparing Jonah to a child, read Jonah chapter 4.

We would be wise to remember Proverbs 28:9: He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. When we try to turn our ears away from God’s instruction, our prayers are an abomination. So when you decide you don’t want to hear what God has to say about how you live your life, why should you be surprised that he doesn’t answer prayer how you desire? Don’t despair, though; God gives us the promise that he is merciful:

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

The same mercy that God showed to Nineveh can also be ours. We need to humbly confess that we have been like that petulant child and repent (turn away from the sin and turn to God), and he will show us the mercy he wants to show. We may not like the answer or God’s instruction for us, but we need to realize that His will is the best course for our lives.

Looking for Spectacular Answers

Sometimes we expect God to act in miraculous ways in answer to our prayer. I think of Elijah when he was in a cave depressed because he thought he was alone following God’s will, and Jezebel sought his life. If you think that you can’t get depressed remember, a lot of God’s prophets suffered from bouts of depression. God sent a great wind, but was not in the wind; He sent an earthquake, but he was not in the earthquake; He sent fire, but he was not in the fire; ” and after the fire a still small voice. ” (1 Kings 19:11-12) We often look for God’s answers in some spectacular form. However, God moves in ways that we do not see. We are not always the center of God’s solution. God had preserved another 7,000 faithful in Israel. We don’t always see how God will answer our prayers.

We don’t have to be the ones to accomplish His will. We often want to see the results of our prayers immediately. That is the consequence of the immediate fulfillment we experience in the modern world. Remember, though, God’s timing is always perfect and is not always accomplished through a fiery display. I dare say that sometimes we want to be able to say that we accomplished something. Perhaps that is why God chooses not to use us at times: We would become puffed up with pride over what WE did instead of recognizing that God is the one who accomplishes His will. What is more important: that God’s will is done or that we are the ones who bring it about?

I would also include in this section that sometimes we ARE how God wants to accomplish his will. But, do we do anything to fulfill our prayer? You want a job, but are you doing everything that you can do to get a job? You want a relationship, but are you open to all the possibilities for a relationship? You want somebody to be saved, but when is the last time you were a witness to them? Sometimes, we need to put some legs on our prayers to see them come to fruition. We pray for our daily bread, but does that preclude us from doing anything to get that food? We need to take action in faith to see the answers to our prayers.

Better not to ask

I watched a Christian movie in which one of the characters confessed that he did not ask God for anything for himself when he prayed. He had suffered a great disappointment in his life where God did not answer the prayer as he wanted. As a result, he was angry with God. He reasoned that you couldn’t be angry with someone who doesn’t exist. So, he decided rather than be disappointed with God’s answers; he would not ask for anything for himself. I could pull out James here and say, “ye have not because ye ask not.” However, I think it is more practical to point out that God desires to answer our prayers.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Sometimes, the only thing that we have in answer to our prayers is peace with what happens. Once again, we don’t always get the desired answer, but God gives us what we need. I recall when my mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, passed away. A brother in Christ noted how quickly she passed. Those of you familiar with the disease know that many times the people with Alzheimer’s linger for a long time suffering from the effects of diminished capacity. I did take her to church for a while before she became too incapacitated to go at all. I could have lamented how unfair it was that she suffered from the disease at all. However, I choose to look at the mercy God showed through her passing. Though it was quick comparatively, it was paced sufficiently to allow us to come to terms with her passing. She did not suffer needlessly, and she is now in a much better place.

If we look beyond what our own desires might be in a situation, we can sometimes see the mercies of God working in our lives. If a Christian person is healed, it is only temporary because we all will die one day. If a person survives a horrific accident, will that person become embittered by the injuries and debilitations they endure as a result? We might wish to see them survive, but what if their survival means an estranged relationship as a result? We don’t know why God allows things to happen, but we should look for His mercies in every situation. We should still make our supplications known but accept the mercies that He does grant to us.

Ye ask amiss

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (James 4:3)

This verse points out that sometimes we ask for something that God does not give because it fulfills our lust. Lust is an overwhelming desire to satisfy our flesh. Typically, lust is sexual in nature. However, in this context, it could be any fleshly desire. Too many times, people equate prayer with rubbing a bottle and being granted a wish from a genie. How many people pray to win the lottery every week? If they won, what would they do with the money? Some might do some good works with a little bit of money. However, the vast majority of the money would be consumed in “riotous living.” Lottery winnings finance dreams of cars, mansions, boats, and exotic vacations, usually with an entourage of “friends” willing to help spend money.

“God, if you would just let me have that girl/guy for a mate, I would be happy.” How many times has that prayer been sent toward heaven? This is simple carnality. Often, when the desired relationship begins through no intervention of the Holy, lives are destroyed because the basis was not holy at all but purely sensual. We might protest that we are lonely and want companionship. However, how many times have eyes been turned aside by another pretty face or strong shoulder?

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  (Matthew 6:33)

We need to put God first. Before we start looking for satisfaction through the world, we need to satisfy God with our lives. The Bible does say that a man who finds a wife finds a good thing. (Proverbs 18:22) A wife, or husband, should not be the object of our desires. When a marriage helps both be better Christians, then God has blessed the couple with a fulfilling relationship under His design. The objective should be to serve God better.

I have listed several reasons that we might not hear or see an answer to our prayer, but there are others. These are just some that I was able to reason out in this short blog posting. I don’t have all the answers as to why God allows some things but not others. His wisdom is greater than ours. Does that mean we should not pray? By no means. We should share our lives with God. We need to share our thoughts and desires with him and ask him to help us bring those thoughts and desires in line with His own. I do ask you include me in your prayers. Ask Him if it is His will that I continue with this blog that he might bless my efforts and allow me to see some fruit. My desire is to communicate what I think He would have me share in a thought-provoking and reassuring way.

May God bless and keep you.

Prayer (Part 2): The Model Prayer

The Importance of Fatherhood

I have prayed over this post for quite a while. I have been considering how to approach this topic since I posted about Mother’s Day well over a month ago. There are many things that I could write about what Biblical fatherhood entails and how it applies to our society today. We know that fathers are important to the long term well-being of children. Those children with biological fathers in the home are less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse. They are less likely to run afoul of the law. They experience lower levels of violence in childhood. Simply put, fathers are very important. I could also decry how our modern feminist culture vilifies the role of the father in the home likening him to a toxic influence on children and society as a whole. I could do a whole series of posts about these and other topics. However, today, I choose to focus on what Paul wrote in Ephesians:

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."  Ephesians 6:4

This verse of instruction from the apostle Paul gives concise instructions on how a father is to raise their children. The first instruction is an admonition to not provoke your children to wrath. Why would Paul lead with this instruction? Due to our nature as protectors of the home we sometimes give dictates even from a well-meaning place of protection that rubs or irritates our children to the point of defiance. We also might, with fleshly short-comings, favor one child over another which might invoke a feeling of resentment in other children not so favored. We all want the best for our children and sometimes we are guilty of pressuring our children down paths in life that have more to do with our own wants and desires than with what is best for our children. Yet another way of provoking a child would be to minimize their achievements. We are human and sometimes we are even jealous of the gifts and abilities with which God has blessed our children. Finally we might also selfishly lash out at our children through verbal and even in some cases physical abuse. Of all the many ways that we can provoke our children, this is the most obvious and perhaps the most telling of the condition of our own hearts. The leading admonition to not provoke our children to wrath is meant like all of the law to be a mirror to our own shortcomings, or sins. As a father, we should carefully examine ourselves daily in how we treat our children and place this behavior under God’s sovereign will for our lives.

The second, part of this verse tells us to bring up our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Now we typically think of nurturing as a characteristic of a mother, but Paul clearly states that we are to be nurturing toward our children. To nurture is to care for and encourage the growth or development of our children. When coupled with the last part of the phrase, “of the Lord,” we see that we are to care for and encourage the spiritual development of our children. Wow. What a responsibility that has been laid upon us. We are responsible for the spiritual development of a relationship between our children and our heavenly father. We are to act as God’s representative in our children’s lives. Admonition is to give authoritative counsel or warnings to our children. It is not our own authority that we wield, but that of God’s authority. I don’t know how else to take such weighty responsibilities as these but to do it with care and prayer. The first position that person, who is exercising the authority of God, should be on our knees before Him sharing that burden with Him. We may be exercising His authority, but we will be answerable to Him of how we exercised that authority. We need to seek His wisdom through the scriptures and reflect what we learn through the scriptures in our lives with our children. We are to show God’s love in our hearts to our children.

I often state that love is not just an emotion, but it is meant to be an action that we take. We choose to love. We choose through our actions to show love for others. What is love, but wanting the very best for those that we love. Forgiveness, caring, encouraging, showing affections, supplying needs and sometimes the desires, providing affirmations, being attentive, all of these are loving behaviors we should engage in with those that we love. Love is reflected not in how we feel, but what we do and how we act. Anyone can say those 3 words: I love you. However, the truth of those words are born out through our actions. If we are to show God’s love to our children, we must engage in those loving behaviors that allow our children to know that there is love beyond what this world can show. This is what the Biblical standard of fatherhood is and what we should strive toward. We may fall short (and we will), but nevertheless we should always strive forward.

Thank you for taking the time to read this meager reflection on fatherhood, and may God richly bless you.

What is a mother?

Mother’s Day is May 9th this year. Just a heads up for those of you who realize keeping up with dates is a shortcoming. (I include myself in that number, so don’t be offended.) What is a mother? We often recognize a mother as a woman who has given birth to a child. While that is true, I think the definition should be broadened a bit. We attribute motherhood to those women who give birth to a child because of the characteristics we associate with those blessed women. Mothers demonstrate love for their children through their caring devotion to the needs of their offspring. They nurture those children to be the best person that they can be. They make sure that the children are well fed and promote their health by making sure they are clean and have good hygiene. They listen attentively to the stories that their children tell of their days. They give a comforting hug when there is pain. They give a smile when encouragement is needed. Sometimes they express disappointment when a child does not behave in a manner that is acceptable, sometimes with the “look,” sometimes with sterner discipline. They can be staunch defenders of their children (hence the saying don’t come between a mama bear and her cub). These are all characteristics with which we associate motherhood. Do only mothers exhibit these characteristics?

My answer to this question is no. There are many women who exhibit these characteristics for children who are not their biological offspring. How about those women who are not able to have children of their own, but exhibit these behaviors toward nieces and nephews? I know of several examples of these types of women. How about those women who choose to teach little ones? Don’t they also demonstrate the mothering instincts when fulfilling these roles? I have heard of many instances where a nanny demonstrated greater mothering attributes than the biological mothers. What of the grandmother who cares for a grandchild because the mother is unable to do so whether because of emotional, mental or physical issues? How about the mother of adopted children or foster children? What about women who work with children who are placed in group homes? Motherhood is more a role in life than a biological function and we should honor all the women who have played this role in our lives when we celebrate Mother’s Day.

Do all mother’s meet the ideal standard that we recognize as motherhood? Sadly, no. Some struggle to fill that role. Should we think less of the struggling mother? No, we should encourage her and celebrate what she is able to do. If you have a “mother” who has failed to fulfill that role for you sufficiently, don’t blame her for her shortcomings. Be forgiving, and give grace to her. Love her. Recognize those women who do step into that role in your life and honor them for that effort they put forth. The fifth commandment and the first that is not directly about your relationship with God is to Honor your father and mother. It is also the first with a promise: “that your days may be long….” How do we honor mothers in our lives? We give them respect by listening to them. We show our love and appreciation for them by doing what we can to ease their burdens. This Mother’s Day show your appreciation for these women in your life by taking the time to give her a hug, calling her to say thank you, send her a card, take her out to dinner, maybe bring her some flowers, clean a room for her, go to church with her, sit down and watch a movie with her.

Why should you wait for Mother’s Day to do this? After all, there are many days between today and May 9th. Truly, every day should be Mother’s Day. As a person whose mother has already passed on to heaven, I choose to honor her by doing these things for those women I see filling the role in our society. Our church is having a Mother’s Day potluck and I will be doing my best to prepare some dishes for the women in our church with all the love and care as I would for my own mother. Maybe you don’t cook. What can you do to show your appreciation?

I welcome any feedback that you have for my blog post. If you wish to make a comment below, or if you wish to send me a private message through Facebook messenger, I would appreciate it. If you think I have missed any characteristics of a mother, or if you just want to celebrate those women in your life who you see filling this role, please feel free to post in the comment section. I welcome you to share this post with anyone you think would appreciate it. If you feel the need to make a negative comment about motherhood, I invite you to keep it to yourself or send it in a private message. I want these comments to be positive and honoring for mothers.

Thank you, God Bless.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Part 3: An Empty Tomb

In the previous two posts, I covered the truths that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and that he died on the cross not only for our sins, but as our sin. In this post I will relate the last aspect of the three truths of the Christian faith: the risen Savior. As I write this post millions around the world are celebrating the Easter holiday. Some will have Easter egg hunts, others will be enjoying a long weekend, still others will decide that it has been a while and that they should attend Easter services whether in person or online. But what is Easter? Non-Christians will point to many pagan celebrations of spring and lump Easter with those celebrations as something backward ignorant people engage in to assuage their “gods.” However, Easter is not a celebration of the new season. It is the celebration of our hope. It is the celebration of our faith. It is the celebration of the proof that our sin has been forgiven. Note I use the word “sin” and not “sins.” The singular is appropriate here because what estranges us from God is our sin of unbelief. We sin because we don’t believe or we choose to “forget” (even if only temporarily) that God has given us His Son to reconcile us to him. Jesus was made sin on the cross and suffered God’s punishment for sin. The proof that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on that cross comes to us through the empty tomb. Easter is the celebration of God’s mercy and grace.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." I Peter 1:3

I had extended the proposition in the last post that we can know that we are saved and that we can know that others are saved. How? If we examine the letters of the apostles they give us many clues and methods to examine ourselves and even others as to whether a person is in fact a saved person. My favorite example of this is in I John, chapter 2: “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.” This passage reflects what was recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 13, where Jesus said this to his disciples: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” Jesus gave us a commandment that we love one another. Where there is hate there is no love. He also told us that if we love him then we will keep his commandments (John 14:15-31). Love is the primary indicator of a person’s spiritual condition. Not just love for God, but a love for others. Some might want to restrict this admonition to love to fellow believers but is that in keeping with what Jesus taught? When the pharisee asked who his neighbor was, Jesus gave him the parable of the good Samaritan. Jews had a hatred for Samaritans, even taking a longer route to avoid going through their towns. Yet, Jesus chose those people to provide an example of what a neighbor was for the self-righteous pharisee. So Love is an indicator of a Christian.

Now Love is more than just a description of our attitude. Love is more than that. John once again gives us what true love is : “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” We are to love not in word, but in deed and in truth. Love is not just how we feel, but is borne out by our actions. James also gives us an indicator of what it means to be a true follower of Jesus in his epistle:

"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled; but you do not give them those things which are needed for  the body; what does it profit?  Thus also faith, by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.'  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." James 2:14-18

If we say that we believe in Jesus and by extension God and yet we don’t demonstrate that belief through our actions, do we really believe? The empty tomb showed that Jesus’ is the Christ, the one to reconcile us to God. He is as much a part of God as the Holy Spirit. This faith, this belief, is what saves us. We must place our faith in Jesus because he is the only way to God. “We love him because he first loved us.” (I John 4:19) We demonstrate our faith and belief in Jesus by our actions. A lot of people might say that is works salvation, but I agree with James that it is a demonstration of a living faith, a living faith in the Gospel: that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that he rose from the dead. A faith in something so great should necessarily change our actions.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, part 2

The second aspect of the gospel is that Jesus died on the cross. Since Good Friday is but a week away, I feel that this is a timely post. I hope you find it to be timely as well. In my last post I posed a few questions: Why did Jesus die on the cross? Was it necessary for him to die? If so, why? In this post I propose to answer these questions in a way that reflects the truth and glory of what it meant for Jesus to die on the cross and maybe challenge my readers to reflect personally on the last question: What does it mean to take up your cross and bear it?

So, why did Jesus die on the cross? Some people would say that he died because men were jealous of him; others might point to the cruelty of the Roman occupation; some might even say it was because he was so revolutionary in his way of thinking that the world could not tolerate his message. While all of these explanations might point to some human reasoning to explain how men can be cruel, it does not really answer why Jesus chose to die on the cross. Notice I used the word chose. We find that he chose the cross in Philippians 2: 

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Verse 6 references the fact that I alluded to in the previous post that Jesus has always been. In verse 7 we find where Jesus took “the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” In verse 8, Jesus humbled himself was obedient to the father to suffer death on the cross. Jesus also told his disciples how he would die many times. (Mark 8:31; Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:18-19, 26:2; Luke 9:22; John 12:32) If these aren’t enough because they were written after Jesus’ death how about this one from the book of Isaiah, the fifty-third chapter:

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Remember this prophecy was written over 700 years before Jesus died on the cross. We also see in this prophecy the answer to my question of why Jesus died on the cross: “it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin….” Jesus was an offering for sin. This chapter also refers to our iniquities (sins) being laid upon him. When you compare this prophecy with the accounts of Jesus’ final day you have to stop and wonder at its accuracy. Jesus died for our sins.

A lot of people dismiss the account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as mere myth, but that account contains the first prediction of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. In Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Here God tells the serpent (Satan) that he would “bruise” the heel of the woman’s seed (Jesus, who was born of the Virgin Mary). As I referenced in the previous post, if Jesus had not been born of a virgin, but naturally, then he would be man’s or Adam’s seed not the woman’s or Mary’s seed.

Jesus’ death was predicted even from the Fall of man (when man first started sinning in the Garden of Eden). Satan “bruised” Jesus’ heel when he inspired Judas to betray Jesus, High Priest Caiaphas to try Jesus in court, Pilate to wash his hands, and the priests to ask for the pardon of Barabbas instead of Jesus leading, ultimately, to Jesus being crucified. I say “bruised” because Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, but that is for the next blog post.

So Jesus died for our sins so we could be reconciled to God (I Peter 3:18a: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God). God is holy; and a holy God cannot tolerate our sin. Our sentence for sin is death (Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death;). Not just the natural death that we suffer, but damnation in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire).

The night before his passion Jesus did not ask if it was possible for the cup to pass from him (Matthew 26:39) because he feared the suffering at man’s hands but because he knew to pay our penalty for sin meant to suffer under the cup of God’s wrath for our sin. We see the indications of God’s wrath being poured out upon Jesus in the accounts of the crucifixion: darkness over all the land for 3 hours (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44), Jesus crying out to God: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34), the rending of the veil and an earthquake (Matthew 27:51). All these elements indicate that a great work was taking place on the cross. Jesus was suffering for sins that were not his own. He was suffering for our sins. He suffered the agony of estrangement from God and felt the wrath against our sin that we deserve.

Jesus is referred to in the Bible as the Lamb of God, because he was the true sacrifice that was necessary to reconcile us to God. The sacrifices in the temple were just a picture of the true sacrifice that took place on the cross. This is what is called the Doctrine of Atonement. Our sin debt to God demands a payment or atonement and Jesus’ self-sacrifice on the cross was the only payment that could reconcile us to God (Hebrews 10:1-18).

So, does a person need to understand this doctrine of atonement to be saved? I don’t think it is necessary to understand it beyond this: We are sinners; God is holy; we are separated from God by our sins; Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we can be reconciled with God.

The cross is precious to a Christian because the cross represents the great work that Jesus did to save us from our sins. Jesus actually told his disciples if any would follow him that they should deny themselves and take up the cross daily. The cross is a reminder that Jesus gave himself for us, not so that we could be what we desired but so that we could follow after him and do his will. What is his holy will? I will delve into this more in the next post on the resurrection.

I leave you with these questions for today: How and why do we deny ourselves? How do we know that we (or others) are saved? What does it mean to be saved? What is the significance of the resurrection?

I also ask for your prayers for me and for our world. I hope that you get some spiritual satisfaction from reading these posts. If you feel that these posts might be of some benefit to others, please share a link to my blog. God bless.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Part 3: An Empty Tomb

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

I think it is of utmost importance that everyone know this truth: Jesus is the only begotten son of God, He died on the cross, and that he rose from the dead. (I Corinthians 15:1-4) This may seem simple on the surface, but it involves a lot of truth which needs to be understood. Over the next several posts, I will humbly attempt to explain this truth in a way which reflects salvation in a valid and understandable fashion.

Firstly, Jesus is not just a son of God, but the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16 KJV*) I place this emphasis on the begotten aspect of Jesus’ nature intentionally here just as I believe it was placed by the Biblical writer of this truth with intention. What does it mean that he was begotten? There are two different dictionary meanings to this word. The first is to bring into existence a child through the process of reproduction. The second is to give rise to or bring about. We could choose to look at this in the terms of the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary and conceiving Jesus in her womb. Many people would accept this as the simple meaning of this truth. However, we read in the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” When we realize that the Word here is none other than Jesus himself, we realize that Jesus existed before even Mary did. What then could the meaning of begotten be? Some would resist more meaning than what was first presented here of Jesus being the conception of the Holy Spirit with Mary. However, I propose here to present what I believe gives greater meaning to this condition of Jesus of being begotten.

As a Christian, I believe in the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three aspects of the Godhead which exist concurrently. God is eternal. God is outside of time. The aspect of begotten that I think best describes is the second: to give rise to or bring about. God the Father begot Jesus the Son before the world or anything else was. Jesus is as much a part of God as the Holy Spirit is a part of God. As His Son, he has all the attributes of God and is in perfect accord with God the Father. If we look to Genesis, we read God referring to himself in plurality. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….” (Genesis 1:26) So, Jesus’ attribute of being even before his conception within Mary does not lessen his glory but gives us a glimpse into just how glorious his coming really was.

Not included in the presentation of the gospel was the aspect of the virgin birth. Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. Now I am not like our Catholic friends who propose that Mary was eternally a virgin. After all, Jesus did have earthly brothers and sisters. (Mark 6:3) Why is the virgin birth important? I will get into this more in the next post, but if Jesus was only a man, then he could not be the Christ. For those of you that have trouble believing in the virgin birth then how will you ever believe that Jesus rose from the dead?

In my next post, I will continue my view of the Gospel as outlined above with His death on the Cross. I will leave you with these thought provoking questions: Why did Jesus die on the cross? Was it necessary for him to die? If so, why? What does it mean to take up your cross and bear it as Jesus instructed his followers?

*Note: The King James Version has the word begotten in the text where others leave the word out. I think the word begotten is significant and leaving the word out constitutes a watering down of the truth. Be careful of those that would seek to lessen the strength of the Bible.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, part 2