Alpha & Omega (6/18/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Rev 22:12-17.

Jesus is exclusively the Alpha and Omega of the Bible. He's the beginning and the end of the Word of God. It's his blood which confirms all things and how all virtue is passed along to mankind. Our Risen Lord is not only the ruling and directing power of his Church, but also the source of all physical and spiritual life. There are lots of way we describe his being the ultimate. He's the End All and Do All. He's the completeness of all Yahweh has done. Without him there would be no hope or salvation.

Jesus himself said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He's the only-begotten Son of the Father, truly and exclusively God Almighty's Son. He's of the same nature, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He's not just figuratively or secondarily God, he is as sovereign and all-everything as Yahweh. The Father, Son, and Spirit are so united there's no separation in them. The only separation ever was when Jesus become sin on our behalf.

When we say Jesus is the Alpha and Omega we're actually stating that he has no beginning or end. It actually refers to the fact that we have our beginning and end in him. The same Lord who started creation will also finish it. And being eternal, he's unchanging, which should give us confidence in all he's shared with us in the Bible. Yes, this is difficult for our finite humans minds to grasp and understand. But that doesn't make it false. We, the changeable, must trust that the unchangeable One is exactly what he said he was: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8).

God, the Father and the Son and the Spirit, stands above history. He's not limited by time and space. He's not limited by anything. The same Jesus who came into this world to save us is the one who first made our world and everything in it. To deny any of this is to reject the revelation of the Creator of humanity. Belief in "god" should be an almost automatic action for every human being based on the evidence Yahweh has presented. Rom 1:20, "Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Atheism is philosophical illiteracy. If there is a God, eastern mysticism and pantheism and other philosophies don't work - logically or spiritually. If there is a God, wouldn't he decree a single path to himself? Why would the all-knowing (omniscient) Creator be schizophrenic and offer many ways to reach him? It's only man in his rebellion and selfishness who demands that there must be more than one way to reach our heavenly Father. A Creator with any intelligence wouldn't give his error-prone creatures the option to do it their own way.

If there is a God, he must by definition be sovereign. Because if Yahweh isn't truly sovereign, he isn't God Almighty. For example, if there's one subatomic particle which he isn't aware of, then he isn't all-knowing and completely sovereign. Then his authority breaks down and his Kingdom crumbles. If those things happen, he's no longer Lord of All Creation. Yahweh set everything in motion and sustains everything by his absolute power (omnipotence). If he's unable to do that, he's not God Almighty.

To say Yahweh is sovereign is to say that he rules sovereignly in all the affairs of mankind. The idea of some grandfatherly old windbag sitting up there on a throne just passing the time and without the power to touch men's lives is ridiculous. It's spiritually ignorant and extremely shallow-minded. To call that being "God" would be an oxymoron, and I believe only a moron could believe such a thing. Our Creator God can do anything, anything he wants and any way he wants. It's petty and arrogant for us to demand that he do things our way. He has the right to interrupt what we're doing. He has the right to judge and condemn. He has the right to save us the way he chooses, and not according to all our man-made forms of religion.

Therefore, if Yahweh rules sovereignly, then once again it necessarily follows that he would provide the way to carry out his purposes. This would then logically produce an implementation plan by which he would reveal himself - because in order to carry out his rule and reign, he must show us his character. And the Bible clearly fills this prescription, giving us exactly what we need to learn of him and also to enable us to learn his ways. He decides what works and what doesn't concerning salvation and eternal life. He determines who's been a good person and deserves his mercy and grace. No matter what we think or believe, Yahweh always has the final say. No matter how many people agree with us, Yahweh's decision is the majority one.

So, if you're prepared to admit to a belief in Yahweh God, then you must conclude that he's unique in his being, sovereign in his will, and singular in his purpose. Those claims take us directly back to John 14:6. Only the Sovereign King of Glory could give us such precise instructions without being presumptuous. Yahweh doesn't presume to do anything. Whatever he does is always true and just and good because that's who and what he is.

When we reach this conclusion, we must realize that Yahweh has chosen a means by which to reveal himself to his creation. In order to rule and reign he must reveal himself to us so we can acknowledge him. Since his character is solid and is the rock upon which all truth rests, then the revelation of his character demands that he himself be of singular and unalterable definition. He's not a human who bounces up and down with emotion and indecision. He's not even an exalted human who's "evolved" into something better. He is the Lord God Almighty, who is and was and is to come.

You do realize that we have a major tendency to relegate "God" to the fictitious inventions of mankind. This is what most people and most religions unwittingly do. So it still comes down to faith. Even though in the minds of many faith is only imagination, it's still absolutely necessary in approaching the Eternal and Almighty God. The most compelling argument in the world about the existence of "God" can't overcome a lack of faith. No matter how concrete the evidence we offer, a person must still trust in something beyond his ability to humanly perceive.

The call of Yahweh is to depend on him for our beginning and end, to offer a complete trust in his ability to take care of our needs. Everything we do must begin and end in the Holy Spirit. Anything else takes us into the realms of the flesh and out of the eternal. When we attempt to approach Heaven in our own strength, we're imitating Satan and his attempt to put himself on Yahweh's throne. To use a spirit guide or meditation or any other occult method is to enter the spirit realm is spiritual adultery. It's a corruption of Yahweh's plan and purpose and will leave us spiritually empty because it's an evil deception designed to turn us away from our Creator's Truth. Allowing Jesus to be the Alpha and Omega in our lives prevents this deception and is vital to our spiritual health.

We must return to a worshipful and reverent fear of Yahweh. To see him as the Great God and Savior, the one who will sit on the Great White Throne of judgment, is to be faithful to the revealed Word of our God. Prov 1:7 says, "Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge." The beginning here means the principle and choice part, the starting point and essence of everything. To clearly see the revealed God of the Bible we must follow his instructions and directions. We must stop making adjustments based on our faulty human logic and trust that our Creator, the one who designed us, knows what's best and never lies to us.

In general, the American Church has lost the sense of the power of Yahweh, the overwhelming sense of his presence. We're the creation. We should be in awe of our Creator. If we're following his instructions we should be having times of this overwhelming closeness happening because of our dedication, worship, and praise. Our heavenly Father is too big for us to minimize and trivialize. Yet far too many people believe far too little about the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator God. You've heard it said that some people put "God in a box." Actually that's impossible because he's much too big for any container to hold him.

Psalm 8:1 says, "O Yahweh, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens." To be majestic is to have supreme power and authority, to display great splendor and dignity. His glory being above the heavens means we can't perceive or understand it all. But we don't have to. He's already shown us enough to keep us in awe and wonder forever.

Yahweh is God. We're his creation. We need to hear his call and respond to the salvation he offers. We need to remember he is God and he makes the rules. He's given us the Bible for our good. If we deny what's written in it, or say that it's less than the revealed Word of our Creator, we speak against the Sovereign God and place ourselves as his enemies. Don't go there. Seek after his Truth, humble yourself and draw near to him. Psalm 2:1-5 lays out what's going to happen to those who think they can replace him. "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against Yahweh and against his Anointed One. 'Let us break their chains,' they say, 'and throw off their fetters.' The One enthroned in Heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath."

Follow Yahweh's design and plan and you'll find that the world will think you're crazy. Let them, they're the ones on the wrong path. Try to help them understand what you've learned about your heavenly Father. Do your best to show them the way of mercy and grace. Your sovereign God expects that you'll share the eternal seed of salvation you received when Jesus came into your life.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

It's All HIs Stuff (6/11/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Deut 8:10-18.

The word satisfied in verse 10 goes much deeper in the Hebrew language than we English-speakers take it. It means to fill to satisfaction, to have plenty of, to have in excess. The Israelites were a very deeply blessed people. Yahweh was extremely kind and generous with them. They felt a privilege in their abundance, much like Americans do. But we must never forget where all this good stuff comes from.

Humans have a tendency to get complacent and forget where their blessings come from. Somehow we work hard to build something or we get blessed by Yahweh and are able to accomplish something great. The generation involved in the hard work and toil are normally much more appreciative of the good they've received. But then later generations forget the blessings, and many don't think they need God anymore. It happens all around the world. When people are abundantly blessed, they have a tendency to forget the blesser.

Look at your own situation. Are your needs being met? Do you have plenty to eat, a home to live in, and peace to enjoy it all? Don't let your comfort make you think that you don't have to work hard at spiritual warfare and Kingdom building. Don't let your abundance cause you to forget that the Lord has blessed you. We know many people who take their good condition for granted. They don't offer thanks for what they have because they expect that they should have it. It seems too many people only acknowledge Yahweh when things are going wrong.

We often lose our hunger for the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit when we're comfortable. Our desire to pray and seek them for a deeper relationship somehow fades when things are going good. When we don't have a pressing need driving us to our knees, our fervency tends to die out. This is what Yahweh was trying to warn the Israelites about. Don't forget the source of your good stuff.

Prov 30:8-9 is a prayer we should all take a good look at. "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is Yahweh?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." Money and stuff are pretty popular all over our world. Many people are striving to get more of each. It's seldom that a human is not caught up in money and stuff in some way.

Captain Jack Sparrow said, "Take what you can get, and don't give anything back." This pirate code was a way of life for some people. Unfortunately, it sounds a lot like our current society. I can cheat, but no one better try to cheat me. I can scam the system, but I'm upset that so many others do, too. We also have the problem of too many Americans sitting with their hands out looking for someone else to sustain them. All that's doing is stagnating their souls and causing them to lose the ability to care for themselves. The more they live with this entitlement attitude, the more they come up with expectations of what others should be doing for them.

A body of water which has no outflow will eventually become nasty. The water becomes no good for drinking or much else. It's only use is to become a haven for scum, bacteria, and weird creatures. But a lake or pond with fresh water flowing in and out is home to many good things. Christians are supposed to have "streams of living water" flowing out of them.

The law of nature is that whatever receives and gives back will be beautiful and useful. The Law of Yahweh agrees. The biblical truth is that receiving and giving keeps us fresh and the promise is we'll stay well-supplied. Hoarding and selfishly guarding our possessions leads to a stagnant spirit. We'll end up with nothing good to give anyone because it's all poisoned by our greed. According to Jesus, all Christians are branches on his tree. We need to receive his nourishment and pass it along to remain spiritually healthy. Don't become a "devil branch." This is a branch that doesn't bear fruit, it only takes nourishment away from the rest of the tree.

Prosperity was the first danger Yahweh spoke of in this passage. Our Creator knows that prosperity is a major threat to a grateful heart. As we get richer in worldly goods we all too often begin to believe it's because of something good about ourselves. Our intelligence, our abilities, our good fortune, our whatever. The Father said, "Your heart will become proud and you will forget Yahweh your God." He knew how easily we can take our eyes off the source of all our goods. He tried to warn us so we wouldn't fall into this trap.

As we possess more and more stuff, and please remember it's all just stuff, we somehow become immune to gratitude. Instead of being thankful, we often have an expectation that only good things will come our way, that somehow we deserve all this good stuff. The more stuff we have the busier we seem to get. Affluenza, being overly affluent, makes us lose sight of the provider of all good things. We begin to think in terms of privilege instead of responsibility, claiming our rights very loudly and denying any duties.

You would think our generation would have more leisure time than any in the past, yet we can't seem to find the time to spend with friends and family. Prosperity can cloud out our gratitude and steal our time. Yahweh was warning his people not to fall into that pit of self-satisfaction and contented delusion. Our Father has always spoken to us of being grateful for all he provides. When we let the stuff become more important than the giver of the stuff, we're heading for trouble.

Pride is the second issue Yahweh warns them, and us, about. Pride emerging out of prosperity will cause us to forget what our great Provider has done for us. He even points out in verse 16 that he gave them "manna to eat in the desert... to humble and test" them. They didn't starve because of their Lord God Almighty. They didn't have to plant and cultivate fields. They didn't have to work the harvest. They only had to take a basket or bowl out and collect enough manna to feed their families. They received millions and billions of quarts of this food while they were in the wilderness. And they weren't very grateful.

When we begin to have an abundance of goods and stuff, it often brings out a feeling of self-reliance. We begin to have a sense of spiritual satisfaction and think like so many other humans. I must be good because I'm so blessed. Because of this we gradually become numb to our constant need of walking with Jesus every day. None of us has anything because of our own doing. All that we have comes from Yahweh no matter if we're Christian or pagan. Pride says "By my hands." Gratitude thanks Yahweh for giving to us from his hands.

Personal accomplishment is the third thing Yahweh warns them about. This overlaps with the pride and prosperity areas. Verse 17 says, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced wealth for me." The words for power and strength are also used for Yahweh's power and strength. The word for produced is the same one used for "Yahweh made" throughout Genesis Chapter 1. We all too easily claim an almost supernatural power and strength when things go our way. It seems that instead of becoming more grateful, too many become more greedy. And their greed will also take credit for the good rather than thanking our Father.

How are we often defined in our society, by our jobs and possessions. The stuff we accumulate becomes the defining factor of our worth. We get ranked by our income or our neighborhood or by the size of our home. Because of this, things become overvalued and Yahweh is set aside. What we have or own isn't going to be the deciding factor of where we spend eternity. Who we belong to is what really matters. Being overly attached to or dependent on worldly goods will cause us a lot of pain and anguish. Trusting in and being thankful for all that Yahweh provides is the way of peace and joy.

We too easily forget that our hard work is directly connected to Yahweh's abundant provision. Scripture clearly points out that the farmer works the ground and plants the seed, but Yahweh sends the rain and sunshine causing the seed to grow. The farmer harvests the crop, but there would be no crop without Yahweh. Our skills and efforts are nothing without the one who provides the market to use them, without the one who makes us able to get a return for our efforts.

Hopefully, the work we do is worth recognition. Hopefully, we're doing our best to lift up our Lord's name and working to glorify it through our efforts. But when we take the credit for the good things that come our way, we're blind to our Father's sovereign hand. He's the one who "gives you the ability to produce wealth" (verse18). We must never ever forget that.

It says Yahweh does this to "confirm his covenant." He's not afraid of being forgotten. He wants his people to prosper and know abundant joy. He also knows that if they lose their sense of gratitude, they'd become miserable and unsatisfied. Yahweh wants us to experience joy and fulfilment. To attain to that we must be obedient and follow his ways and commands. Yahweh knows how easily our hearts wander. Don't let that happen to you.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Destiny Spoiled (6/4/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Gen 16:1-4.

Since we know the outcome of this story, we can praise our extremely gracious Father in Heaven. Yahweh is the source of all destiny. Destiny is the inevitable outcome of our lives based on power outside of our control. Too many Christians lose heart for their destiny after making a mistake or failing in some way. Somehow they figure they've blown their one and only opportunity to align themselves with their Creator. With all the teaching on the mercy and forgiveness of our Father, how can we accept this lie so easily? If we can ruin Yahweh's destiny for us, how could Abraham and Sarah still give birth to the child of promise?

Many of us have, or had, dreams and aspirations that were never realized. This doesn't mean we necessarily failed in anything, just maybe like many humans we had some dreams that weren't very realistic. Many young boys dream of playing professional sports, but there's only a limited number of positions to be filled. Many young girls dream of being a world-famous pop star, but most fall far short of that level. It's fairly common for we humans to dream bigger than what we're meant to do. It doesn't mean we shouldn't dream big, but it does mean we must inject some realism into the outcomes.

Christians first need to seek their Lord and ask for his guidance and direction. He has a calling for each and every one of us. If we can find it and invest ourselves in it, we'll find true and lasting peace. If we can work in conjunction with the leading of the Holy Spirit we're likely to end up feeling very fulfilled and satisfied in the work we do accomplish for our Lord's Kingdom.

Some people feel, especially after falling short in their vision, that maybe they could do better in their own strength. This is like Abraham and Sarah. She was frustrated at not having children even with Yahweh's promise. In her mind she must have felt that Yahweh had waited too long and that now she must act or nothing was going to happen. It seems Abraham was willing to go along with scheme to make his wife happy. There's no indication that he went and asked Yahweh what he felt about Sarah's plan. But they both obviously disregarded Yahweh's ability to make her barren womb fruitful. They would both eventually see that nothing is impossible for the Almighty God.

We have to be careful that we don't end up trading our destiny for a delusion. Destiny is Yahweh's plan and purpose for our lives. Delusion is based on a deception which overwhelms us through our pain and disappointment. A dream which hasn't come true often turns into a perverted vision. We can end up making bad choices in our frustration. When we make adjustments to Yahweh's plan and purpose, we can expect bad results. We're an imperfect human adjusting the perfect Creator's agenda. It's not going to be an improvement in any way.

Delusion caused Moses to kill a man, thinking he could help his destiny come to pass. Abraham allowed a delusion to cause him to bring Ishmael into the world. Israel fell to the delusion that having a king would make everything better for them, but in it was actually pushing aside the One True King.

The main reason people lose their dreams is because they allow deception to blur their focus. How many Christian singers have fallen from grace because the delusion of fame and fortune caused them to walk a dangerous path? How many became preachers because of someone else's dream, and eventually burned out because of the deceptive vision which led them to accept human advice over Yahweh's direction and call? How many have felt the call of their Lord and ended up missing it by trying to make it happen according to their own will or timing? Our trust in what our Father will do in and through us must be complete and allow for him to form and fashion us as he pleases - and according to his timing.

Yahweh wants us to see his vision. He wants us to perceive what he sets forth as our destiny. Maybe we need our perceptions healed, or we just need to squelch the power of our own willfulness. We can't control our own destiny. Our destiny is in much bigger hands than our own. It's in the hands of the all-powerful, all-knowing, Sovereign Lord God Almighty. It's a delusion to think that we can control our own futures. The way we bless and help our futures come to pass is by being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We can't control our futures, but we can certainly align ourselves with our Lord God and keep the hindrances minimal.

We're delusional when we think that we can help Yahweh through our human efforts. Remember, Yahweh has a calling for each of us. We have an individual task to perform, an obligation to fulfill for our Lord. And it may not be a "spiritual" occupation that he has in mind. If you're called to be a plumber or carpenter or technician or politician or anything else, do it with all your might while trying to please your Father in what you do. Whatever our job or task, we should be working to do what's pleasing to our Father.

Yahweh has given all of us gifts and talents which we're to use for his glory and for our ultimate happiness. Satan would love it if we would use those gifts for ourselves, or for his world system. His demonic plan is to remove our dignity and cause us to usurp Yahweh's position of sovereignty. He wants us to do what he tried to do, to proclaim that we're going to sit in the seat of honor and control our own destinies. Then after we've rebelled and sinned in this way Satan will use our disappointment to keep us away from the love of the Father. He'll use our guilt to keep us from seeking forgiveness.

Yahweh loves us just as we are. He sees the truth of who and what we are, and doesn't have unrealistic expectations for any of us. People in our lives can do us great harm by either over or under appreciating us. Some ruin us by making us feel overly "special," and others do it by not making us feel "special" enough. Some fail to achieve their Lord's desire because they feel overly privileged and unwilling to accept anything but the topmost positions. Some fail to achieve their Lord's desire because they've been so trampled on by others that they feel totally unworthy of any honor. But if our identity is wrapped up in Jesus, our Father is actively helping us walk the true path of his destiny for us.

If Abraham and Sarah had been more patient and trusting, we might not have some of the conflict that's so prominent in our world. But I'm sure if we evaluated our own lives we'd find our own lack of trust has caused major conflict, too. The great news is that Yahweh can redeem every failure and bad choice or decision. His promise is found in Rom 8:28. "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Notice is says "works for the good," not makes everything good. He'll bring out the best in every situation if we continue to seek and trust his guidance.

If we're going to fulfill our destiny, we're going to know who we are in Jesus. If our identity is based on Jesus within us, low self-esteem isn't going to rob us of anything. Low self-esteem pushes us toward delusion and deception. Knowing who we are in Christ empowers us to fulfill our Yahweh-ordained destiny. Low self-esteem has us grabbing at pipe dreams and unrealistic expectations instead of trusting that Yahweh really has given us precious gifts to use for his Kingdom. There is no low self-esteem in Christ, because we know we're greatly loved and redeemed and enabled to be vessels fit for our Master's service.

When we feel like we're not pleasing our Father, we begin to be filled with self-doubt. When that happens our vision becomes distorted because we're trying to improve our value as humans through our own efforts rather than believing Yahweh values us just the way we are. Yes, he's looking for ongoing improvement, but he's also always encouraging us toward that improvement. He never tells us to go away and get our act together. He calls us to come to him and learn from him.

The doubt in Sarah came from the idea that Yahweh "kept" her from conceiving a child. Kept means held back, restricted, or stopped. Her thought was that Yahweh, even though he'd promised them a child, was stopping her from getting pregnant. When Abraham heard her plan about using Hagar as a surrogate, he "agreed." This means he listened carefully and understood her position. So he also had some doubts and he let his empathy for his wife move him to try to help Yahweh accomplish his plan and purpose.

We all need to remember that Yahweh's promises are true and sure, even when the time frame isn't working for us. Our God never lies, so we need to trust him even when time seems to be slipping away from us. And make sure the dream you're holding on to really came from him, not your own heart or head. When all your senses and thinking tells you things aren't working, obedience is still necessary. Don't let your human senses cause you to turn away from what Yahweh is leading you to do.

Don't let your fear of failure keep you from fulfilling your destiny either. Don't let your doubts about yourself cause you to deny that you're truly gifted. Don't waste time living in delusion and heartache, trust in your Father's love and grace. Only he can be trusted to change our circumstances and bring us to the fulfillment of our destiny. Keep saying yes to your Lord and eventually you'll find that you've accomplished a lot more than you could have ever dreamed or imagined.

Don't let the devil keep you away from your Lord Jesus. Shame is a tool he uses to cause us to shy away from intimacy with our Master. If something is wrong, fix it. If you've sinned, confess and receive forgiveness. Trust Jesus and live out your destiny so the devil can be the one who ends up ashamed and embarrassed. Don't settle for less than Yahweh's best. You haven't lost the ability to fulfill his destiny for you, no matter what the devil says.

Blessings & Peace, Mike