Month: May 2018

99. Know

 John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

 Jesus knows me; that’s a promise. He knows my sins and forgives them; He knows my needs and meets them. Even though He knows me and how bad I really am He loves me anyway; He also knows my problems and promises to solve them in answer to my prayers. His intimate knowledge of me is both threatening and comforting: threatening, so that I repent of sin; comforting, so that I am forgiven.

Knowing involves intimate relationship, a close connection and bond, so close that the Hebrew word for “know” can also mean sexual intercourse, the ideal closeness that two humans can share with one another.

We know that He knows us inside and out, even though we don’t even know everything about ourselves that He does. Trusting His complete knowledge of me induces me to want to know Him as much as humanly possible, although we cannot actually know much about the infinite God; but I know Him as much as He wants me to know of Him. He has revealed Himself to me to the degree that it is enough for me to love Him.

We know His voice and we hear it: He calls us through the Gospel and we follow Jesus. We know enough about Jesus so that we can love Him and trust Him above all things. There are many mysteries about the Lord that we as human beings cannot understand, but He has revealed enough about Himself in His Word that we will not have enough time in a lifetime to know everything that can be known. But we know Him intimately enough to follow Him; we want to think His thoughts, desire His desires, and do His will. To know Jesus is to love Him; to love Him is to follow Him, because He is the Good Shepherd. We know where He is leading us and we trust Him to take care of us all the days of our life. Jesus knows me.

100. Eternal Life

 John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Eternal Life is a certainty: Jesus promised to give it to us; He promised we would never perish; He promised that no one would pluck us out of His hand. Eternal life is promised again and again as a gift earned for us by Jesus. The opposite of eternal life is perishing, which will never happen; perish means to be destroyed and never come to life again; perish is more than just die; perishing is the Second Death, an eternal death from which one will never return; perish means no hope, no life and no God.

The further guarantee of the eternal life promise is that we are in the hands of Jesus, and no one will be able to pluck us out of His hand. We cannot be more secure and assured; being securely in the hands of Jesus is the safest place we could ever be. No person, no demon, no devil, no sin and no death can take us out of such certain security. Eternal Security is real and it is solid. We can face life and death with the guaranteed promise of eternal life. All the power of God is keeping us. From God’s point of view we cannot lose that Life.

However, it is left to each saved person that it is still possible to reject that life and intentionally lose or give up that salvation; God leaves it up to us to jump out of His secure hands if we so choose. God does not force us into anything; nor does He override our own sinful self-will to prevent us from making a bad choice. It is possible to fall away, but the fall is caused by willfully jumping, not being pushed. It would seem impossible that anyone would reject such a great salvation, but the option is there. For this reason, the Bible has many warnings about falling away.

The short answer to the “eternal security” question: from God’s point of view it is impossible to lose eternal life; from the saved human’s point of view we still have the option of rejecting salvation and losing eternal life should we so choose. The simple promise: you have eternal life, and you won’t lose it.

98. Life Abundant

 John 10:10 I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.

 Jesus came to our earth to give us life, and that life that He gives is more abundant, that is, we live life more abundantly. What does more mean? Apparently, life is not just an on or off switch, that one is either alive or dead, but there are degrees of living, more life or less life. He gives a fuller life than we had before He came, or a better and fuller life than living without Jesus.

One understanding of a more abundant life is that the life He gives is eternal; it is without death and without end. If life is without end it is fuller and richer and more abundant. But “abundantly” must mean more than that it is simply eternal. It does mean fuller, richer, more satisfying and being more alive. It means that in spite of the devil and sin and death stealing and diminishing life we will enjoy life to the full anyway. Death with its diseases, sin with its guilt, and the devil with his demons cannot rob my life of true joy and inner peace. The inner man grows stronger and gets renewed day by day.

This is a promise from Jesus that I have and can claim daily; nothing and no one can take it away or make it less abundant. The life of God that resides within my spirit is rich and full and powerful and continues to make my spirit and body smile and sing and whistle. The inner life is stronger than the attacks on body and mind; the Gospel repels these attacks and continually gives abundant life. I believe the promise and apply it to the present need and situation.

97. Be Saved

 John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

 The shepherd lies at the door of the sheepfold to let the sheep in and keep the wolf out. The fence keeps out the wolf, but the gate is the vulnerable spot where the wolf or the thief can enter to steal and kill and destroy the sheep. Jesus Himself promises to position Himself at our weak spot; if we go through Him we shall enter into the safe place and be saved. From that safe pace we may safely go in and out, graze in the pasture under the Shepherd’s watchful eye during the day and sleep safely in the fold at night.

The metaphor of the Door is a visual symbol that everyone in Jesus’ day will have no trouble understanding and making the application. Even those of us who don’t experience shepherding can understand the picture and how to apply it to our own life. Wherever we go and whatever we do, day or night, we may feel safe and secure from the Devil’s prowling about like a roaring lion.

The condition: if you enter in through the door (believe in Jesus); the promise: then you shall be saved and find pasture. The believer is saved from the Enemies and he is protected behind the Door; the Door delivers from Evil. The believer also goes in and out through the door and finds pasture. While he grazes and relaxes on the verdant pastures the shepherd is constantly, all day long, watching and guarding. We who believe can confidently and securely work and play in pleasant places trusting that the Shepherd is always with us; His goodness and mercy follows us all the days of our life and we will dwell in His house forever. Oh, how we love the Door!

96. Never See Death

 John 8:51 If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

 This is a conditional promise: if you keep my saying, then you will never see death. “Keep my saying” means “believe in me.” “Never see death” simply means that you will pass right through death and come out into life, eternal life. The “death” here means eternal death, or the Second Death. Life is God’s life; death is separation from God. The one who believes in Jesus will never be separated from God = he will never see death.

Death, and the fear of death, confronts us all the time during our sojourn on earth away from Home. The promise that we shall not see death is astonishing, and it runs contrary to human experience and empirical evidence; but faith unshakably knows the truth: I will never see death. Nothing can separate me from the love of God. God’s Love is life and has no death in it. Death is defeated; Death is powerless; Death, in its power and effect, no long exists. Death is a nothing.

Death and the threat of death pervades the human condition: wars and rumors of wars, epidemic pestilence, torture and murder, famine and hunger, grinding poverty, pain and suffering; all of it is a major part of human history. Although death is always around us the believer will never see death. Faith often must triumph over sight and experience. What we believe is more real than what we see. Faith overcomes. Once the fear of death is removed there is really nothing left to fear

95. Free

 John 8:31, 32 If ye continue in my word, than are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

 You shall be free! Everyone in the world wants to be free. Revolutions, uprisings, resistances, rebellions, civil wars and many wars were waged partly on the desire for freedom. The First War, incited by Satan, was based on the false promise of freedom. All people since Adam also want to be free of authority. We basically don’t want anyone telling us what to do. Children can’t wait to grow up unto the age when they can be free of parental authority. Rebellion is inherent in the sinful heart of original sin. Rebellion is driven by the desire to be free. Rebellion is the essence of Sin.

Free to do what you want, however, is not the freedom promised by Jesus in the Gospel. False teaching and misunderstanding of the Gospel leads to license, which means one is free to do what he wants, or whatever he feels like. The Promise of Freedom involves the promise of freedom from our Enemies, the tyranny of Sin, Death, and the Devil.The Enemies seek of hold us in bondage. In the context of John 8, Jesus is talking about slavery to sin. John 8:34: “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” This is not the freedom we want, but it is the freedom we need.

Part of our problem is that we don’t want to be free from sin; we like to be free to sin. The sinful heart does not see Sin as a problem, as a tyrant, as a slaveholder, or as the Enemy from which we need to be freed. This slavery problem needs to be revealed by the Word of God as a problem, a problem from which we cannot free ourselves; and it is a problem from which we do not really want to be free unless the Lord is working on our heart to convict of sin and its consequence. When the Holy Spirit convicts of sin through the Word, then He points us to Jesus in the Gospel, which makes us free. He makes us free indeed.

True freedom is having the desire and the power (the power that comes from the Gospel) to turn one’s life around and do good works. We are free to forgive; we are free to love unconditionally, we are free to do good for others; we are free to love God and neighbor; we are free to keep the moral commandments. Before we knew Jesus and outside of Christ we do not really have the holy desire to live morally, to die to self, to give our lives for others, to trust in God above all things. When Jesus promises freedom He is promising conversion, a total life change.This change happens from the first moment we believe, but it needs to happen every day with repentance and faith. Therefore, we continue in the Word and Truth (Jesus) so that we can be free indeed. Now we have the proper desire to be free, free to love.

94. Light of Life

 John 8:12 I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

 Darkness is a description of the human condition controlled by Sin, Death and the Devil. Darkness is both inside and around us: darkness inside means we do not know who we are, what to do, or where we are; darkness around us means we cannot see a way to go even if we knew the right way. We, as humans, can only grope our way through the dangers and threats of this world, and we usually are led by our enemies into stormy seas.

Darkness is synonymous with Death, sadness, grief, loss, despair and hopelessness. Walking in darkness is the picture of the walking dead. Darkness is living without God, and that means living without life, or anything meaningful. “Outer darkness” is Jesus’ description of hell, an existence totally without God or life or light or hope. Spiritual darkness is oppressive and stifling against living life enjoyably. It is not easy to see that we live in darkness, until it is revealed by the Word of God. Only when the light shines can we know that we were in darkness and under death’s control.

Jesus is the light of the world and those who believe in Him will have the light of life. Light has absolute power over darkness. Darkness has no power of its own and it cannot push away the light. Light penetrates darkness and overcomes it. When the Light has come into this world it drives darkness away and He brings light and life into us and around us.We have the light of life; life is light; Jesus is the true God and eternal life; we have Him and so we have light, the light of life. We know who we are, where we are, where we are going, how to get there, and we know Him who is the Way. The Word of God (Jesus) is “a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105).

When the light shines in we are truly alive; when the light shines out we truly live.

93. Rivers of Living Water

John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.)

The promise of living water for believers in Jesus is the Spirit(so John, the writer, defines the metaphor). Rivers of living water is a life-giving and life-refreshing never-ending flow of thirst-quenching nourishment and strengthening of real life. Living water means a continual flow of life that prevents stagnation, boredom and a pooling of poison. That the Spirit is constantly flowing tells us that He never gets boring and stale. Life is always changing and moving and the source that gives life and refreshment must also be changing and moving.

New and fresh ideas continually flow from the Spirit within to meet changing circumstances and make life worth living. Water is needed for almost every living thing on earth; without water living things get weak and die. The metaphor shows us that without the Spirit the eternal life, the spiritual life, inside us will dry up; it is even possible that eternal death, at least spiritual death, will result. Spiritual life, like physical life, exists on a continuum of health and vigor. Waning spiritual life leads to boredom and unhealthy living, or thirst; spiritual life is continually nourished and strengthened and made healthier when the Spirit continues to flow.

The Spirit flows upon the Word of God; He particularly rides upon the Gospel when we hear and receive it; Word and Sacraments are the means of grace through which the Spirit comes into and moves in our spirits. From that inner place, the human spirit, the soul and body are affected for good and for abundance. The Spirit flows when we believe in Jesus; and faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of Christ (the Gospel). The more we hear the Gospel, the more faith comes, the more the living water flows, and the more life is lived. This is the promise.

Since the King James Bible says, “Out of his belly,” some think that it is very possible that the human spirit, and the soul, is located in the abdomen. Regardless, the belly surely means the inner center of our being. There the Holy Spirit resides and from there He influences.

92. Live Forever

 John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

 John 6:57, 58 He that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

 Living Forever is the dream and hope of all people everywhere and at all times. Life after death, the afterlife, is the unquenchable hope within the heart. As the King James Version says in Ecclesiastes: “Eternity is in their hearts.” It takes a heap of unbelief and denial to disbelieve in life after death. And no matter how oppressive the worldly empire ruling over us it is difficult to suppress this hope.

The amazing Good News of Jesus is that you will live forever. All men yearn to hope such a thing could be true, wish it could be true, and want to believe it; but that hope is disappointed until they hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, when what they could only wish were true, they find out it really is true an overwhelming sense of awe and gratefulness washes over the soul. On hearing from Jesus they say, “What I always hoped were true is true: I will live forever.”

One of the implications of life forever is that what happens during our lifetime is vitally important, for every event, every word, and every deed has meaning. Forever makes each passing moment pregnant with meaning. Every little thing affects eternity. It is valuable enough to drive us to desire to keep Jesus in our focus every minute.

91. Not Die

 John 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

 The bread, which comes down from heaven, is Jesus, who entered the physical world from the invisible world. He who eats (believes) this bread (Jesus) will not die. We eat of this bread whenever we hear and believe the Gospel. The world next to us invades our lives in this world with spiritual bread and life. In this physical world, without help from the spiritual world, we are without nourishment and without life and we will surely die.

The promise given here is that we will not die. Humans, along with the world, are under the sentence of death; but with bread from outside we are given life and all the sustenance we need to sustain and develop that new spiritual life. In fact, that life is so strong that it will never die. Believers have within them both life, and the promise of life forever, and death, the certainty of death forever. One life will die and the other will not. The “not die” promise refers to the life from heaven that has no death within it at all. The “not die” promise also applies to the physical life, in that, although it will certainly die, death becomes a gate through which it passes into a new and resurrected life. Death is changed into life after death; death is defeated and life wins. This promise defies the experience of all people, the empirical evidence all people see, and the science  that seems to contradict the Word and Promise of God. Science says: “You are dying and you will die.” God says: “You are living and you will not die.” Faith eats the bread and lives.