The Supremacy of Christ

I didn’t have an extended time of prayer yesterday… and I paid the price. When I pray, the day seems longer and my attitude can handle whatever happens. Not so yesterday. I was constantly dropping things, crabby, and didn’t get much done.

Today’s devotional tells me why. It is about the supremacy of Christ. He rules over illness, the weather, evil spirits, and all created matter.

And standing over her, [Jesus] rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them. (Luke 4:39)
They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. (Luke 8:24)
While [his father] was still approaching, the demon slammed [the boy] to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. (Luke 9:42)

When Jesus speaks, He has not only the will to change things but the power to do so. Illness may have to do with chemical reactions in our body cells, with molecules and electrons and the laws of physics and chemistry, yet Jesus designed those laws ages ago and sustains them each day…

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16–17)
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high... (Hebrews 1:3)

… but His Word is above all these laws, reversing them by rebuking them. As Piper points out, when Christ thinks a thing with sufficient intentionality, it materializes. All matter is utterly dependent for its origin, existence, and stability on the thought of Christ.

What about the other minds besides Christ’s? For example, unclean spirits? The NT clearly shows that the mind of Christ rules them too. One thought from Him and whether matter or mind, He sustains. He governs or it can also be altered, healed, cherished forever, or extinguished. All that exists hangs on His will. This is amazing and faith-building!

PRAY: When I pray and give myself and my day to You, this is not mere sentiment or even a yielding of my will. It is asking You to do what I ask (or even more) by the power of Your will. When I pray, it requires humility as well as faith in Your all-encompassing, all-sustaining, all-governing power. If I do not pray, who or what am I trusting? This is the Gospel repeated again. I cannot save myself and I cannot keep myself in Your will and expect great things. Only You, in Your enduring and faithful grace, can do that. I’ve no excuse for neglecting prayer, only a confession of the sin of it.

Good In, Good Out?

 

An app gives me access to library e-books. I started to read one but it began with descriptions of horrible attacks and murders. Within three chapters, I returned it without reading the rest. I’m not sure my mind is like a computer, but I’m not willing to risk that “Garbage In, Garbage Out” maxim.

Aside from the book, we went for an early breakfast because we check-out today. Normally I don’t eat early but we will be a long time in the air. Anyway, on the way for a small bite to eat, we talked to a very friendly young hotel liaison person about how to grow old in a good way. I told him that the main thing we focused on was listening to God and doing what He says. He received that well. Had I read any of that book, thoughts like that may not have entered my head.

Being like Jesus is a daily challenge. Jesus would not have read explicit books, nor would He focus on exercise, health food, or any of the other usual recommendations for a long life. He may have quoted the OT commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12) yet I doubt it. He knew that a long life is not guaranteed by what we do. He may also have quoted Psalm 90 that includes the words: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

Why listen to Jesus? Some say He was merely a Jewish teacher. Others say He was an idea, like a myth. However, the Bible and His own words declare a most marvelous truth:

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3)
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. (John 14:10)
I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. (John 12:45)

Jesus is not a mere teacher, a mere wise man with good advice. He is the Creator God, the Word made flesh who came here so we could know what God is like, but so we could also have a relationship with Him through faith, experience forgiveness of sin, and be certain of eternal life as the result.

For all of that and more, I want to do His will, not the will of the world, my old nature, or the devil. 1 John 3 begins with the statement that those who hope in Him purify themselves as He is pure. God’s goal for me is to be like Jesus. I cannot claim the same identity but because of His saving power, I can claim to know God and to advance in purity. Reading a crappy book does nothing toward those realities.

PRAY: Jesus, thanks for giving this book-lover the gumption to toss a book – even one that is part of a series that seems otherwise okay – to instead prefer to read about You and Your incredible goodness. You reveal the Father, holiness, purity and grace so I can occupy my mind with  “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable” and if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, I can think about those things (Philippians 4:8) and share them with others.

What is sin?

 

Someone once said that the person who controls the definitions then controls the argument. This may not work in every conflict but it certainly applies to the human need for salvation from sin. It is not the salvation part that needs clarity, but the definition of sin. The OT says this about it:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

This flies in the face of those who consider sin as murder, robbery, and other externals seen in human behavior, and who consider those who do not do those things as ‘good’ people. However, those two verses alone define sin as doing our own thing rather than following the leading of God in faith. Furthermore, our so-called ‘good’ deeds done apart from faith in the Lord are unclean in the sight of God. That explains why the NT says things like:

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10–12)

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— (Romans 5:12)

Sin defined makes the gospel a non-argument. That is, no one can rightly say, “I don’t need that.” However, anyone that is convinced of their own goodness must answer to the Word of God because it says that will not save us. Imagine trying to swim from the west coast of California to Hawaii. Some would get farther than others, but no one would make it. We all fall short of God’s standard of righteousness.

The Bible is clear also that “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

The Bible makes it perfectly clear that “the wages of sin is death” but also that there is a lifeboat, a way out of the death that sin incurs. Jesus Christ went to the cross, died the death we deserved, and consequently frees us from the penalty of sin when we put our faith in Him.

The NT says: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3)

Hebrews goes on to say that Jesus did not need to offer daily sacrifices like the OT high priests who offered up sacrifices first for their own sins, then for the sins of the people. Jesus made only one — as both the High Priest and as the sacrifice.

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. (Hebrews 7:27)

Then, when the sacrifice was complete, He declared, “It is finished” and died, only to rise from the dead and “sit down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” doing what the OT sacrifices could not do — covering all sin for all time. God exalted Him to His right hand where He continues to care for His own:

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34)

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)

PRAY: Jesus, at dinner last night with two of Your children, one of them was firm in saying that we may not always figure out the will of God but one thing is certain: our eternal life is secure and certain. How could we ever think that we could accomplish such a thing by our own efforts? You made the sacrifice for my sin and opened my access to God. In You, I have life forever more, made secure by Your great grace and power. Thank You.

PONDER Hebrews 9:1–10:18 to be reminded again of what Jesus did for me and for all who fall short.

 

 

God’s Job Description

 

In science fiction, worlds collide, fall apart and fly off into space. In real life, the universe is not totally predictable, but creation holds together. Even the atoms that make up elements are held together by electromagnetic and nuclear forces. Some might call this the laws of nature, but the Word of God reveals the reality behind these bonds:

He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3)

Christ holds together all creation by His almighty power and if He did not, even sci-fi could not describe the chaos. As today’s devotional says, we would go out of existence, our atoms scattering throughout the galaxy.

My very life depends on the constancy of physical laws, laws created and upheld by the power of Jesus Christ, the Word of God. We get a glimpse of the importance of this when earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and the like disrupt what we call normal conditions and have heart-breaking results to human life. Is this God’s was of showing us the importance of verses like this: “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together”? (Colossians 1:17)

Imagine life without the laws of gravity. Those who enter outer space are trained to deal with all things floating about, bouncing off walls and each other. Without their special suits and equipment, they would immediately perish. If this happened here on earth, our food would disintegrate and we would drift into space or be overwhelmed by the instability of seas and rocks and all other things.

Yet the universe is not falling apart or unbalanced. The One who created it sustains it, keeps all movements in control. He is not the God that some think created the world and started it working then sits back with folded arms and watches it (or not). Instead, the universe is orderly, reliable, not erratic and unpredictable. While we don’t always have an explanation for some things, we are assured that Jesus Christ governs the universe.

If we look in faith and with open hearts, we can see His wisdom and power. It delights me to read that “God said” — for God spoke, and it happened. The following words also delight my heart:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:1–6)

It follows that since God rules the sun and all the universe, I can trust Him with all the issues of my life. His power is sufficient to both start and finish my walk with Him. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6, personalized) That holds true for all sinners that He calls to Himself. No one will fly off into unbelief when Jesus Christ is holding on to them.

How amazing that a God who is occupied with such a huge job description also cares about sparrows and about every human life. He knows the number of hairs on our heads and prays for His people continually. Jesus is worthy to receive all honor.

PRAY: Jesus, You are also worthy of my trust, no matter what is going on. All my life You have been faithful, treating me with care and kindness, proving Your power but also Your great love. Eternity with You will be seeing the wonder of You — and enjoying You forever and ever.

PONDER: Job said, “The Almighty — we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore, men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.” (Job 37:23–24) Read Job 38–39 and see how the Lord responds to Job’s words by sharing His job description!