Righteous

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1 John 2:1

Absolute zero in minus 459.67 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale - that sounds pretty precise, but no one has ever been able to ever get something that cold, because it is the total absence of all heat. It would make atoms completely stop moving. 

To be totally free from sin is to be righteous. Living in a sinful world with all the lusts and evil thoughts that abound here, righteousness is a concept that is  approached rather than obtained. The Christian life is the process of working with God to crucify the sinful human nature by working with God to live righteously (Galatians 5:24-25). This may be an impossible-to-reach goal this side of heaven, but each believer is encouraged to get as close to it as he can.

Christ is the only one who is truly Righteous. He never had a bad attitude, flew off the handle, made poor choices, nor snapped under pressure. Everything He thought, felt, or did was totally right. As God, He could not do wrong, but even in His human capacity, He chose to be sinless.

Believers become more and more righteous as they progressively conform to the image of God's Son (Romans 8:29). It's not easy to keep one's thoughts on everything that is true, noble, just, pure, and lovely (Philippians 4:8), but Jesus certainly did. When Christians have the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:16), they are able to do that also. They begin to be righteous even as He is Righteous. 

Redemption

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

1 Corinthians 1:30

To modern Americans redemption is little more than buying back a wedding ring or set of power tools from the pawn shop. There is not a lot of risk involved and losses are not disastrous. However, in past history, failure to pay off a debt could result in years in prison, a lifetime of slavery, or worse. 

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, a cash-poor but wealthy ship owner cosigns a loan with a businessman who holds deep resentment towards him. The loan is without interest, but if the loan isn't paid back in full by a certain date, the adversary demands a "pound of flesh." Antonio loses his ships in a storm and has nothing with which to pay on the day of reckoning. Even when others offer double the original sum, the lender is not satisfied and demands that the contract be followed to the letter. 

Satan wants far more than a pound of flesh from every man, woman, and child. He wants their souls to suffer the torments of hell along with him forever. Sinful man is the property and the redemption price is unimaginable torment and suffering. When Christ was rejected by His nation, betrayed by a friend, mocked, and beaten by thugs, whipped until His back was raw and then nailed to a cross to die, He redeemed the whole human race. Our freedom from hell and the bondage of sin wasn't cheap.

People blame God for eternal judgment in the lake of fire, but He is not the one responsible. Sinners are debtors to Satan and he is the one that demands the wages of sin be paid in full. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, on the other hand, who offers to be their Redemption. 

Second Man

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:47

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the theory of the evolution of living organisms cannot be seen occurring today, nor can be demonstrated in the fossil records. However, where an evolutionary process is clearly evident is in the automotive industry. 

I was in college in 1967 when the Chevrolet Camero first came out. It was a muscle car that immediately became popular, but the demands of consumers changed over time and so did the Camero. Today, the "Fifth Generation" of this car is available in showrooms which means that the original design has gone through five major engineering overhauls at General Motors. That included hundreds of thousands of tweaks and adjustments. The hundreds of engineers that worked on the project would argue that it was all accomplished by intelligent design and nothing was left to mere chance. 

God did an excellent job when He created human beings. Adam was the first man and that same make and model is still available everywhere on the planet today. However, there is one major problem with the design - the sin problem. The good news is that the product has been recalled and each one needs to go back to their Creator for an upgrade.

People are put together exclusively with dust, atoms, and energy that come from a sin-cursed world - Earth. What is needed is a complete core exchange that doesn't come from around  here (i.e. it needs to be heavenly). 

Christ Jesus is the Second Man and He is the Lord from Heaven. He came to this world with the express purpose of fixing the problem and making a permanent upgrade available to everyone who requests it. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

Judge of Israel

Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the Judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.                  

     Micah 5:1

         This title is exceedingly sad. I wish it wasn't there. But, the prophesy is there and the Jewish people who have rejected their Messiah will be condemned by the Judge of Israel whom they struck down with a rod.

Today, if you disrespect a sitting judge, he could throw you in jail for a week and hold you in contempt of court. What would he do if you threatened him with physical force or actually hit him? It certainly wouldn't be good. 

The Jewish people have suffered greatly because they crucified the One that God made both Christ and Lord (Acts 2:36). Soon and very soon the Lord Jesus will come again to this planet and at that time many of His titles will be fulfilled. Many sons of Israel will look upon Him Whom they Pierced (Zachariah 12:10) and acknowledge Him as Savior. He will finally be received as the "Mashiach" (Messiah) and as Shepherd of Israel. Those who still harden their hearts at His coming will find Him to be the Judge of Israel. 

Yes, it is true that on that day, Satan, the Antichrist, and the unbelieving Gentile nations will also be judged, but I don't feel sorry for them. Israel and the Jewish people have always been the apple of God's eye and God longs to re-establish fellowship with them.

Christ wants to be the "Shalom" (peace) of Israel not the Judge of Israel. Please pray for revival to come to the Jewish people.

Shepherd of Israel

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

Psalm 80:1

The Lord Jesus is the Shepherd of Israel. The chief priest and scribes said so much when the wise men came to King Herod seeking the Christ child: "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel” (Matthew 2:6). 

Even though the Savior healed the demon-possessed daughter of the Canaanite woman, He first stated, ""I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24). Coming as the Root of David, He came to shepherd the flock, before He could reign as king. But the flock of Israel refused to follow the Christ. Even so, this Good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11). 

With less than a week before the crucifixion, the Lamb of God still desired to lead His flock although He used a different metaphor: "...How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings...” (Matthew 23:37). 

Before the Shepherd of Israel could lead His sheep to the still waters, He was struck down and the flock was scattered (Matthew 26:31). That means that the title has yet to be fulfilled. Before the Jewish Messiah can bring peace and reign over Israel, the children of Jacob must acknowledge the sin of rejecting the Shepherd who came to save them. 

450 years of idolatry led to 70 years of the Babylonian captivity. But rejecting the promised Messiah resulted in nineteen and a half centuries without a Temple or means for atonement. The nation of Israel today still rejects Yeshua (Jesus) as Maschiach (Messiah) so lasting Shalom (peace) is not possible. 

Please pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and that the Jewish people can finally receive the promised Shepherd of Israel. 

He who has the Seven Spirits of God

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

Revelation 3:1

This is a hard one. Although indisputably a name of Christ, I've never seen this one in any other listing of the titles of the Lord. That's probably because it is difficult to explain. 

The Apostle John reminds his readers of his vision of the Triune God in chapter one of Revelation. "...Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ..." (1:4-5). Here, the Trinity is portrayed: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The imagery is repeated in chapter four where the throne room of heaven is in focus. The four living creatures chant, "Holy, holy, holy" to "the Lord God Almighty" who is seen as the One who sat on the throne (Father), the Lamb (Christ), and the "seven lamps of fire [...] which are the seven spirits of God" (Holy Spirit) (Revelation 4:5). Here again, the threefold nature of God is revealed.

Yes, it is understood that Jesus is the second person in the Trinity, but there is another problem. Does the phrase, "seven spirits of God" mean that the Holy Spirit is a committee formed by several lesser spirits? That is certainly not the case. 

The idea that comes across is the fullness of the Spirit. Seven is the number of completeness and gives the idea of everything that is there. Seven days are one full week. When a sailor boasts of having sailed the Seven Seas, he's claiming to have been everywhere in the one great worldwide ocean. 

When Christ is presented as He who has the seven Spirits of God, He is linked to the Holy Spirit and His deity is affirmed. 

The church of Sardis had a name that was alive but was actually spiritually lifeless. Such churches certainly exist today. They go through the formalism of religion without ever having been born again. They desperately need the Spirit of life to indwell them, but first they need to come to Him who has the Seven Spirits of God.

Blessing

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3

           "Blessing" has been defined as God’s favor and protection, but it’s more than that, even though it’s really hard to understand in this sin-cursed world. Sometimes, when I don’t understand something well, I look at its opposite and if I can comprehend that better, I just turn it around.

          A curse is the opposite of a blessing and after the fall, all of creation was cursed. Cancer, sickness, aging, and violence didn’t exist in paradise. Plants and animals were re-created to show the effects of the curse and since then, it’s been hard to focus on blessing.

          The jungle is a beautiful place with hundreds of species of orchids and a menagerie of colorful birds, but it’s exactly where I’d go to demonstrate the effects of the curse. There, most plants are poisonous, parasites are numbered in the thousands and all the bugs are big, and bite.

          In my opinion, the Bullet Ant is the personification of the curse. These terrible predatory creatures are just under an inch long and inflict a sting that is comparable to being shot with a bullet. On the 4 point Schmidt sting pain index, they are rated 4+. Someone on the internet described it as, “Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3 inch nail in your heal.” This description is a little melodramatic, but they nailed what it feels like.

          These ants are common in the jungle and wander alone so they are really hard to spot. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I really dislike these critters. One crawled up my pants leg and bit me three times before I could kill it. I hurt so bad that I couldn’t walk and had to crawl back to my house just using my hands.

          The extreme opposite of that is blessing. It is something planned for and perfected by God for the creation He formed in His own image. This is a far cry from having good luck or good fortune; it is everything good that God has given to a repentant sinner. The bottom line is this: Jesus Christ did not come into the world to bring us blessing …He is Blessing.