Mar 3, 2022
God gave the prophet Jeremiah a revelation of his name Jehovah Tsidkenu(pronounced Je-HO-va Sid-KAY-noo) in a time of crisis similar to the one we face today. “Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is his name by which he will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’” (Jeremiah 23:5–6, NKJV).
What does this mean for us, in practical terms? What is this righteousness he’s the Lord of, and how are we to know and understand Jesus in this role?
Paul gives us some insight into God’s definition of righteousness in several passages.
• “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Romans 4:3).
• “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness” (Romans 4:9).
• Therefore he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” (Galatians 3:5-6).
Each of these verses refers to one thing that Abraham did to attain true righteousness: he believed.
Finally, Paul provides the Lord’s definition of righteousness. “[Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Romans 4:20–22).
The Bible could not make this matter any clearer. Righteousness is believing the promises of God, being fully persuaded he’ll keep his word.
Mar 2, 2022
As Jesus stood at the highest point of the temple, Satan whispered to him, “Go ahead. Jump! If you’re really God’s son, he’ll save you.”
“Then the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give his angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” (Matthew 4:5-6, NKJV).
Do you see Satan’s deviousness in this? He isolated a single promise from scripture, and he tempted Jesus to cast his whole life upon it. He was suggesting, “You say God is with you. Well, show me the proof. Your Father has already allowed me to harass you. Where was his presence in that? You can prove he’s with you right now by jumping. If God is with you, he’ll provide a soft landing, then you can base your confidence on that. If not, you might as well die rather than go on wondering if you’re on your own. You need a miracle to prove the Father is with you.”
How did Jesus respond? “Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” (Matthew 4:7). What exactly does Jesus mean here by ‘tempting God’?
Ancient Israel is an example. Ten times the Lord has proved himself faithful to the Israelites. God’s people received visible proof that their Lord was with them. Despite this, the people asked the same question every time, “Is God among us or not?” God calls this “tempting him.” Jesus uses this same phrase—“tempting God”—in his reply to Satan. What does this tell us? It shows us it is a grave sin to doubt God’s presence; we’re not to question whether he’s with us.
As with Israel, God has already given us an entire body of evidence. First, we have in his Word multiple promises of his closeness to us. Second, we have our own personal history with God, a testimony of his many past deliverances in our lives. Third, we have a Bible full of witnesses to God’s presence in past centuries.
The Bible is clear: We’re to walk with God by faith and not by sight.
Mar 1, 2022
God has given us an ironclad promise for life on this earth. He says that when our enemy attempts to walk over us, “Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am he who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’” (Isaiah 52:6, NKJV). In other words, God says, “When you’re in your darkest trial, I will come and speak a word to you. You’ll hear me say, ‘It is I, Jesus, your Savior. Don’t be afraid.’”
In the gospels, the disciples were on a boat in an awful storm, being tossed about by torrents of wind and waves. Suddenly, the men saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. Scripture says, “When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear” (Matthew 14:26).What did Jesus do in that fearful moment? “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’” (Matthew 14:27).
I’ve wondered why Jesus used these particular words, “Be of good cheer.” Why would he say this to men who thought they were about to die?
The word ‘cheer’ means “to be relieved, happy, released from fear.” Here in the disciples’ time of distress, Jesus tied the word to his identity. Remember, these men knew him personally, and he expected them to act on his word by faith. He was saying, “The Father has promised I’ll come to you in your storm. It is written, ‘But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior’” (Isaiah 43:1-3).
Now I’ve come to you in your storm. It’s me, Jesus, here with you in the midst of it all. So, cheer up.” Likewise, our Savior expects the same faith reaction from us, in our distressing times.
Feb 25, 2022
God took the little nation of Israel and isolated them in a wilderness. He was placing them in a school of testing to produce a people who would trust in him no matter the circumstances. He wanted Israel to testify, “I can go through any test, any difficulty, even those beyond my abilities. How? I know that my God is with me in every trial. He will always bring me through.”
Consider Moses’ statement to Israel: “So [God] humbled you, allowed you to hunger…that he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3, NKJV).
One of the worst trials any human could undergo is recorded in Job. He lost all of his children in a tragic accident, and then he lost his possessions. Finally, he lost his physical health. All these things happened in such a short time that they were utterly overwhelming.
God had put Job on this path, and the Lord alone knew where it eventually would lead. It was a plan so divinely orchestrated that God even allowed Satan to afflict Job. That’s why Job couldn’t see God in any of it. “Look, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him; when he works on the left hand, I cannot behold him; when he turns to the right hand, I cannot see him. He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:8–10). Here is an incredible statement, especially considering the context in which Job spoke it.
Job was saying, “God knows everything I’m enduring. He knows the way through it all. My Lord is trying me right now. I’m confident he’ll bring me through with a stronger faith. I’ll come out with a faith more precious than gold.”
God has always wanted a people who would be totally reliant on him before the eyes of the world. The Lord is telling us, “I orchestrated your trial. I am waiting for you to come to the end of all your self-reliance. I’m allowing you to experience a place of human helplessness, and it will require a miracle of deliverance from me.” Today, the Lord is still looking for people who’ll rely totally on him. He wants an unsaved world to see that he works mightily for those who love him.
Feb 24, 2022
No one on earth can place you in ministry. You may be given a diploma by a seminary, ordained by a bishop or commissioned by a denomination; but the apostle Paul reveals the only source of any true call to ministry: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12, NKJV).
What does Paul mean here when he says Jesus enabled him and counted him faithful? Think back to the apostle’s conversion. Three days after that event, Christ placed Paul in the ministry, specifically a ministry of suffering. This is the very ministry Paul refers to when he says, “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:1).
Paul is telling us Jesus gave him a promise for this ministry. Christ pledged to remain faithful to him and strengthen him through all of his trials. A transfiguration is taking place in all of our lives. The truth is that we become like the things that occupy our minds. Our character is being influenced and impacted by whatever has hold of our hearts.
I thank God for everyone who feeds his mind and soul with spiritual things. Such servants have fixed their eyes on what is pure and holy. They keep their gaze fixed on Christ, spending quality time worshipping him and building themselves up in faith. The Holy Spirit is at work in these saints, continually changing their character in the image of Christ’s. These believers will be ready for the hard, explosive sufferings to come. Slothful, lazy, prayerless believers will suffer heart failure or breakdowns. They’ll be crushed by their fears because they don’t have the Holy Spirit at work in them, transfiguring them. When the hard times come, they simply won’t make it.
Here is Paul’s final word on the matter: “We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings…. as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (2 Corinthians 6:3–5, 10). By shining with the hope of Christ in the midst of our sufferings, we display true riches to the world.
