WOG: The Sea Is Healed

Waves of Grace:
The Sea is Healed

Ezekiel 47:8
Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

While meditating on a scripture, I thought about this chapter in Ezekiel. It’s the one where he is called into the river; up to his ankles, then up to his knees, then up to his loins and then to a point where it was deep and able to swim in.

In consideration of Ezekiel’s vision, the waters came out from under the Temple, which stood facing to the East.

In the time of Ezekiel, the Temple was either destroyed or soon to be destroyed. In any event it isn’t normal for waters to be coming from the Temple, not physically anyway, but the idea I sense from this passage takes me in a direction I’ve never conceived.

As usual, I need to build up to what I need to show you, so give me a little time.

The Temple Waters

“…He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water…”
John 7:38

Initially, we find in 1 Corinthians 3:16, where Paul says that we are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in us.

This is one of the prospects in my heart to recognize the holiness we are called to. Not just to be clean and pure, but for the reality of God living in each of us. It is for a purpose and for our necessity that God chooses to live in us. We are his temple.

Jesus tells us that out of our belly shall flow rivers of living waters. It’s a parable that speaks of the way we will speak the life of the gospel that has been committed (put into) us by the Holy Spirit.

The reference, I believe, in the several measurings that Ezekiel wrote about may refer to the growth of our understanding of scripture, at least to my perception.

Each of us are given a measure of understanding (that we may walk in), when we come up to that measure another one is set up to strive for.

In the past 25 – 30 years I’ve seen my own personal growth. I’ve seen it like changing gears. Who wants to drive everywhere in first gear, how about neutral?

I, like everyone else, learned the basics of the gospel, how to find the scriptures, how to relate them in conversation (witnessing) and how to be led by the Holy Spirit for direction.

Over the years I’ve seen the progression: I’ve learned to recognize parables in scripture and in the world. I’ve learned how to investigate the New with the Old Testaments. I’ve learned how to listen to the Holy Spirit. It’s hard for those who don’t have any idea what I’m talking about to learn it. But there come those “milestones” in personal life, and there are those “milestones” in our spiritual lives as well.

Jesus, telling us that out of our bellies shall flow rivers of living water, refers to the gospel in you, it must become more than a simple relay of scripture, but something you are deeply, heavily invested in.

Because your water must grow more than ankle deep.

Into The Desert

“…19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen…”
Isaiah 43:19-20

One of the prospects of the gospel is that it is made available to all men of all nations and languages. God means to claim his people from among the people of the world. Everyone is invited, but we are the curriers.

It’s one of the values given into us by the Holy Spirit to be the vessels of this gospel.

Paul calls it treasures in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7), Jesus said it was like a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14).

God desires for us to participate with him in bringing the lost into his light, to invite them into the Kingdom that they also should become these rivers in the desert.

One of the qualities of a river is the way it can cut into the land to become broader and stronger. The way that the Holy Spirit has affected us is to make us thrive in knowledge and understanding that as we also learn we can also teach. We are broadened by his knowledge and direction, to take the gospel wherever he leads us. He only needs our willingness to be led.

It is into the desert, where there is life, but not so rich or full, but they’re out there.

We don’t think of it this way, but the world as we know it is in darkness, they have a sense of life but it isn’t a life that gives; it takes and steals, it keeps you blinded and broken. The people trapped in it are in bondage, they’re in grief and they’re joyless.

Their happiness is temporary and costly.

The gospel is the chain breaker, it is the balm to their wounds, it is the salt to their lives for meaning and healing.

And we’re the carriers of this life.

Life for the World

“…Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea…”
Daniel 7:2

I’m going to use this verse out of context.

Aside from the rise of the former empires of the past and the one left to be, there is a larger element involved in this passage and it is the Sea.

Daniel saw in the vision the prospect of four future (to his time) empires that would rise. Empires rise from among people, nations, societies. There is no question that this great sea represents the presence of mankind from all time.

The Sea is mankind.

Mankind is broken. There are wars over territories, resources, and other things. There are wars for supremacy; one nation to rule them all, and there are wars of and for deception. I don’t believe we are told everything.

Aside from that, we have wars among ourselves; families, gangs, drugs, human trafficking and anything that can be used to sell for money.

The darkness of humanity is the symptom of deeper wars, the ones that keep you in your bondage, depravity, always struggling to be free while you think you already are.

This is what the waters are meant to heal.

Ezekiel saw…

“…which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed…”

The waters that came out of the Temple came through the desert and went towards the Sea, and being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

Healed; from what? Healed from death.

My perspective of the sea takes a literal form of death for man. Man can swim in it to a point, but man cannot breathe in it. If he goes down with no one to rescue him, he will die.

The sea is salty water, not able to drink, and if you are stranded in the middle of the sea you will die of thirst.

All of the sea is a representation of death, and one of the ultimate ends of it in Revelation 21:1 is the new world with no more seas.

Now remember Ezekiel’s vision of the seas being healed:

The prospect of the river as the gospel, is that when it touches the sea, the sea will be healed.

So, here’s what I see: if the sea represents the people of the world; lost, condemned, broken, left for dead, then what do the waters of the river represent?

The waters represent us, believers in Jesus Christ, the redeemed, the called and sent, the vessels of living water, the streams of living water in the desert filled and prepared with the knowledge of the Word of God for the world.

Otherwise, why did Jesus gives us a well of living water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14)?

Why did he tell us that out of our bellies shall flow rivers of living water if not for all to hear?

We may never fill stadiums like Billy Graham, we may never pastor big churches, or any size of church, but we all know people, or meet people who need your gospel.

Even if we don’t all agree on the same details, if you believe Jesus saves give them what you have, it’s your living water. The Holy Spirit will work out the rest in his time.

We are the Waves of God’s Grace to the world.

Just give them Jesus.

Blessings
Pete

WOG: The Blood

Waves of Grace:
The Blood

Exodus 12:7, 13
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it…
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

In considering a song I heard at our church service, there was a line in it that reminded me of the event of Israel’s very first Passover.

The words were, “the blood on the doorframe of my heart”.

With that thought my thoughts went to the actual application, as if to paint with a brush; up and down on the side posts, and side to side on the above board: kind of a wave of sorts.

To read here in Exodus 12, the sense of the word, “strike”, it gives me a sense at first glance as if to hit it, almost the image of the strikes Jesus endured with the torture of the whips (John 19:1).

But, in Exodus 12:22, Moses tells them that they will use a bunch of hyssop; blue flowered plant to “strike” the doorframe above and sides.

The word “strike” translates into a wide variety of ways of saying to “put”, so all of the other versions give it its proper context.

The reality of the hyssop is that it is a fragile flower, not one that could stand the pressure of being used as a brush. It is used as a simple applicator, to take the blood of the lamb and simply apply it to the doorframe on its sides and top.

So my original thought could not be used in the “Waves of Grace” topic.

Yet, I do see a wave of sorts, it is in the blood of the lamb.

And I’ll get into that thought as I move on.

The Blood of the Lamb

“…And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening…”
Exodus 12:6

This verse tells us that on the 14th day of the month they would kill the lamb.

We might assume that they were to cut the throat of the lamb, collect its blood in a container and then they would roast the lamb.

When I was a young boy we had neighbors that would occasionally kill a pig or a goat to roast it for their party. I don’t think I ever witnessed them killing the animal, but I know they collected the blood and cooked it to eat it. Yuck!

My thought is that as a living creature, its blood is under pressure, and I might assume again that it pulsed in spirts until all of the pressure was gone.

I don’t mean to be gory, but it was the first of the many following sacrifices and passovers they would have for generations, like waves.

It was about the blood, its shedding for sacrifice for the people.

When it was time for atonement, each family would have their sacrifices; animal after animal, seems like a line without end, what would they do with all of the blood?

Blood and the Altar

“…And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar…”
Exodus 29:12

In Leviticus 4, God tells Moses about the particular sacrifices or offerings that ended with taking its blood with his finger to put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offerings, then to pour out the blood beside the bottom of the altar.

What kind of stream would that have made? Blood in excess.

My thought is that it will resemble the blood of Christ; the Lamb of God at the foot of the cross.

We don’t really think about it do we? We don’t like to think of the harsh reality of the crucifixion and torcher Jesus went through so that we could have our joy, and happiness with a mediocre existence of coming and going to church with no real investment. Is that what Jesus died for, so that we could just exist?

No, we must endeavor to move forward in our faith with the same passion and devotion Jesus had in life and in death. To proclaim the gospel of salvation and be ready to lay down or lives for it like he did. It may come to that sooner than later.

Where are the waves of grace that once pulled us under and wrapped us up in the tenderness of God?

The demonstration of endless sacrifices that continued until there was no more remorse became a ritual, just like religion, and God was tired of it.

Blood in Vain

“…11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?..”
Isaiah 1:11-12

At some point, the natural mind of man, of the believer begins to drift away from his relationship with God because of the worldly distraction. When that happens you are no longer in fellowship or relationship with the Father, then it becomes religion. It becomes empty.

This is what God wants you to be aware of. We began to come with joy, expectation of his presence, that relish that we longed for, that breath of fresh air. But somewhere along the way we began to drift.

How would you like to be driving somewhere with anticipation of getting there when your car goes into neutral! It’s still moving forward but there is no more acceleration, you’re showing down, and it doesn’t matter what you do you can’t get it back into motion.

Well then, that’s you, you’re the car that won’t engage. Time for repair, or would you like to be traded in?

Don’t worry, God isn’t as easy to give up as you are. It’s why he speaks to us this way.

In Isaiah chapter one, God sent them a Word for them to know what he sees. They had gotten into the ritual or religion of the seasonal sacrifices. They were just coming with no real thought of why.

The worst part of it is that to read chapter 1, there is an obvious decay of their relationship with God. They had become sinners without remorse or care.

God compared them to being wounded with own sores, putrid and untreated. To compound their condition, it was from the top of their head to the soles of their feet. And, they didn’t care.

That’s why their sacrifices were in vain, that’s why God was tired of their motions, they meant nothing.

There were countless sacrifices, all meant to point to the crucifixion of Jesus and what it is supposed to mean to us, but I think we have let it fall away.

We weren’t paying attention, we weren’t maintaining that precious gift, and look at where we are today.

I don’t want to leave it this way, but it needs to soak in.

The waves of Grace are there for you, but do you want them?

Blessings
Pete

WOG: Turn The Page

Waves of Grace:
Turn the Page

John 5:39
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

In John chapter 5, Jesus had healed an impotent man, someone with no power (strength).

We might suggest that he was lame, or that he had become weak, but we don’t exactly know what it was. It is likely that he was lame since Jesus told him to rise, take up his bed and walk.

Later when the Jews saw this man carrying his bed on the Sabbath, they questioned him because that was against the law on that day. They asked him why and he told them that the man who healed him told him so.

The long and the short of it is that the man confessed it was Jesus.

The Jews then questioned Jesus. Jesus told them in so many words that he works because his Father works, to which they wanted to kill him because he made himself equal with God.

I won’t get into everything Jesus said, but the sense is that if these Jews knew and understood scripture, they should have been expecting that Messiah would come and this is what he would look like.

The idea I had has to do with what you know and understand about who Jesus is, what we should expect from Messiah, and what the significance of his appearance and arrival is.

Only in scripture can we find the expectation to cling to.

Waves of Grace

It’s like the turning of the pages of the Bible.

For me it has become a turning back and forth from the Old to the New Testaments, again and again like the coming in and going out of the ocean’s tide.

The Book of the Law

“…This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success…”
Joshua 1:8

God had given Joshua a perpetual command to always come back to the written Word.

Moses had written the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy: Deuteronomy, likely added to by Joshua himself (at least suggested by some students of the Bible).

No other person in their history had such a benefit: Abraham had no written Word, Noah, Jacob, Joseph, not even Moses himself. Moses was the first to record the words of God that were given to him of God.

Now Joshua has the original manuscript, the instructions for a life to live in righteousness, and to lead the people of Israel in the ways of the Lord.

“…but thou shalt meditate therein day and night…”

Meditating on the Word of God is the returning in your thoughts to what has been read or told, to consider with intent and investment those things on your mind.

In this case, God intends for you to keep his Word on your mind, to give conscious thought to his Word.

Joshua did not have the benefit of the New Testament, he didn’t have the benefit of all of the prophets to follow. He only had the work of Moses. And it was sufficient to the life God expected from him.

Today, we have Bibles; Bibles of various translations. We have different applications: for men, for women, for children, for youth. It’s like some have discovered the many ways to highlight scripture to particular needs. And, to a degree I think it’s a great thing, but the ultimate beauty of it is the abundant availability of God’s Word.

I think the tactile feeling of a book in your hands to study from is of greater benefit than the apps now available on our phones.

Why? Isn’t it better to have the Word of God available at our fingertips? Yes, it is, but the muscle memory that you develop in turning the pages gives you the context of where to go, where you’ve been, and how you found it.

Apps are great when you already have that physical contact in your heart. There’s nothing better than that tactile feel of the pages as you turn them one at a time.

Our forefathers didn’t have these apps, they had Bibles.

My grandmother had a stroke back in the 80’s, I was just a young man, and I remember seeing her while she was recovering. She was holding her bible in her hands. She could not make sense of the letters and symbols, her mind had lost the way to read.

I asked her why she held her bible if she couldn’t read it. She told me, “I know there is life in here, and I will read again.” It wasn’t long before she was able to continue her lifelong pursuit of scripture.

Taking Heed

“…Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word…”
Psalm 119:9

What’s the best difference between a physical copy of the Bible and an app?

A bible is a book, a library of books made of pages bound together. It has one cover to encase together, meant to be read over a lifetime, again and again.

An app isn’t so tactile.

Preachers say that if your Bible is falling apart because you read it so much, your life isn’t falling apart.

Why is that?

We experience life in different ways from one person to another, but there are answers for every walk of life among men. Many turn to scripture for those answers, others turn to the world for their answers, but the world has more problems than it has answers, and the majority of those answers need to be adjusted consistently.

No, the world does not have answers, the Word of God does.

I heard Joyce Meyer once ask a question in the title of her message.

“What in the “L” are you looking for?”

The idea has to do in the spelling of the words, “Word” and “world”; it’s the letter “L”.

Answers. But, I think the “L” is a counterfeit, a false “Leader”.

As a letter in the alphabet it is useful for all the words it helps to make up, but in the answers that you need for life, it’s only in the way.

Psalm 119 is a veritable treasure of the Word. Every verse in here makes some reference to God’s Word. Whether it be, “word”, statutes, commands, ways, every way it refers to God’s Word gives us clarity.

And, if we’re talking about a young man, then there is no better answer to life than the Word of God.

Remembrance

“…Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance…”
2 Peter 1:15

Peter, a disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ. He knew his limitations in the world he was living in. He knew he would die and wanted to give the church something they could remember.

It wasn’t to remember him by, it was to remember the things he taught them, to live in the holiness that we’re given through Jesus Christ.

No, Peter doesn’t want them to forget how far they’ve come in their faith, but he was going to die, he could not continue on with them. So he wanted to find a way to go on in their walk with Christ without him.

We find in scripture that Peter has two letters (epistles) contributed for all generations. God made it possible for that church and all of the church to have access to the urgency of Peter.

These are the “waves of grace”, the flowing of the scriptures, the remembering again and over again throughout our lifetime.

Just like you can expect the ocean’s tide to come in again and again, it’s the same way for us to come back to scripture again and again, to go through the pages, back and forth, over and over, never ever finishing, because it’s more than words on pages.

They are mysteries, revelations are like nuggets of gold, learning to hear the sound of the voice of the Holy Spirit as he teaches us new things throughout.

You can go to school and get a degree and you come to the end of that degree, but the degrees that the Holy Spirit gives keep you coming back for more.

I could go on, but I will close here.

Blessings
Pete

WOG: Cast Into The Sea

WOG:
Cast Into The Sea

Exodus 14:27-28
27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

Have you ever heard of this event, when God drowned the Egyptian army and Pharaoh in the Red Sea?

If you have been in church for any portion of your life I’m sure you have.

I see a prospect in this that uses actual water to express God’s Waves of Grace towards his people, and it is in and through the Sea where we see an example of God’s favor upon his people.

Israel had been in bondage to Egypt for generations; some 400 years, now it was time to bring them out. God called Moses and sent him to deliver them from bondage.

There was a series of plagues that leveled Egypt, leaving them all disheveled and destroyed. One last plague would convince Pharaoh to release Israel, and it was the deaths of all the firstborn in Egypt.

Now the Israelites have made their journey away from Egypt, and it’s like God turned a screw in Pharaoh’s brain to awaken him to his mistake of letting the Hebrews get away. So he mounts a chase with his entire army, with all the chariots and captains, all of them, to go and overtake Israel to bring them back into bondage.

When Pharaoh catches up to them he finds them “trapped” between him and the Sea, convinced he can take them easily he moves forward with haste.

This is when God moves in between Israel and the Egyptian army. God, in the pillar of fire is light to the Hebrews, but to the Egyptians he is a cloud and darkness.

All of my life when I’ve heard this it sounds like Pharaoh is in his right mind, fully conscious of his position in the Red Sea with walls of water on either side of him and his army, but I see something more reasonable to my perception than that.

But let me build up to that.

The Standard

“…So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him…”
Isaiah 59:19

Standard
H5127
Hebrew word: NOOS
Strong’s Concordance
“…noos; a primitive root; to flit, i.e. vanish away (subside, escape; causatively, chase, impel, deliver):—× abate, away, be displayed, (make to) flee (away, -ing), put to flight, × hide, lift up a standard…”
BLB

(“…And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them…” Exodus 14:19)

“…When the enemy shall come in like a flood…”

If you’ve read my posts for the past year you might remember the comparisons I’ve made about the people of the world in reference to “the sea of humanity”.

With this reference try to picture the army of Pharaoh coming towards the Hebrews as if they are a flood.

For God to “raise up a standard” at them represents the verse I attached saying that God went from standing before the Hebrews to standing behind the Hebrews between them and the Egyptians.

Can you see that?

Firstly, it wasn’t a surprise to God that the Egyptians were coming, God gave Pharaoh that inception, he bated Pharaoh.

Secondly, the Hebrews needed to see this. Today is the last day you will see these Egyptians.

So many believers are unaware of the dangers of the world and it’s allure because they grew up in church, sheltered, brought up in the Bible stories that they know better than the patterns of the world. These are less appreciative of the wonderful salvation and grace available to us.

Then there are those who were caught up in the chains of sin: drugs, alcohol, lust, hatred, violence, so many kinds of perversions; a darkness they needed to be rescued from. These are grateful, these can appreciate the depth of God’s love and favor.

Jesus said…

“…Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little…”
Luke 7:47

I mention these because without a visual record of what you are saved from, will you be able to appreciate your salvation with much gratitude?

So…

“…the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him (the enemy)…”

The prospect that I see in this verse has more to do with seeing how God puts your enemies on the run.

Pharaoh’s problem, on the other hand, was that he was blinded, and it wasn’t with determination, but again, I want to build up to that.

God draws out your enemy with the intention of showing you your victory.

Now he will confound your enemy.

Confounded

“…But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty…”
1 Corinthians 1:27

Confound
G2617
Greek word: KAT-AHEE-SKHOO’-NO
Strong’s Concordance
“…kat-ahee-skhoo’-no; from G2596 and G153; to shame down, i.e. disgrace or (by implication) put to the blush:—confound, dishonour, (be a-, make a-)shame(-d)…”
BLB

It’s a Greek word that describes putting someone to shame, showing someone dishonor, or to dishonor.

Egypt was a powerhouse, a mighty nation with a strong army; captains, commanders, leaders and soldiers. They could take on any opposing force.

Israel, on the other hand, was a nation of slaves who lived in bondage, they were in constant restraint and kept down from any possible uprising. They were not a trained military, they had no weapons or experience in war.

To Pharaoh they were easy pickings, chickens to be plucked, lambs for the slaughter.

But God…

Like I said, it was like God turned a screw in Pharaoh’s brain to draw him out, to bring him and his army out to the desert to destroy them in the sea.

We see Israel today, they are far from defenseless, from the time they came out of Egypt they learned to go to war, they have great names to their credit, great victories to recount, and time after time they showed that they were not to be trifled with.

But not at the Red Sea, they were defenseless, they were like a baby needing to be protected.

God began his assault on Egypt, it was methodical and it was for the visual Israel would need, to remember what God did, it was for their witness. Otherwise he would have crushed them like you crush a grape under your boot.

Israel had already seen the plagues that wiped out Egypt, they needed to see this too.

Subdued

“…He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea….”
Micah 7:19

Before I get into what I see here, let me explain a little of what Micah is saying in chapter 7.

Micah talks about injustice from those who are the faces of justice. There is a definite lack of righteousness, that the most righteous of them are as sharp as a thorn; meaning that even the best of those people are no better than thorny weeds.

Micah expresses that there is no one that could be trusted, not even those who are closest to you; even your own family.

So, Micah declared that when there is no justice to look towards he will look to the Lord, he will confess that he has sinned and wait for God to bring him to the light.

Then his enemies will approach only to be put to shame. Micah says “she”, but she will be put to shame and trampled into the mud. For this prospect, “she” is Egypt.

Going forward from here, Micah prophecies of a time when the people of God will own it all, all the enemies of Israel, all the enemies of God will look at you with awe and be terrified of you because of your God.

There is so much to look at just in that one chapter of Micah, but the long and the short of it is that God fights for you.

Now, this is what I see when God comes between the Hebrews and the Egyptians:

We see that to the Hebrews, God is a pillar of fire giving them light in the darkness. To the Egyptians he is a cloud and darkness, not a cloud of darkness, but a cloud “and” darkness (Exodus 14:20).

It’s reasonable to me, that, in those hours of the night as the Egyptians kept moving forward in the darkness that they unknowingly came into the middle of the sea.

In verse 20, the cloud and darkness came upon the Egyptians.

In verse 21, Moses lifted his hands to begin the process of dividing the Sea.

It’s reasonable to me that the Egyptian didn’t ever see the opening of the Red Sea. As far as they were concerned they were on dry ground the whole time. They were blinded to the entire event. They moved forward never realizing where they were.

In the morning, the Bible says, God looked at the Egyptians through the cloud. The whole time that they were moving forward they were in the cloud and darkness.

The Hebrews were on the other side and the Egyptians were still in pursuit.

This is when they saw where they were and realized that God was fighting against them, and God “troubled” them, their chariots began to come apart, they had no escape.

That’s when God told Moses to stretch out his hand over the Sea and it came back to its full strength. Pharaoh was done for, the Egyptian army was destroyed, and all the Hebrews saw it in the day light with full clarity that their enemy was dead.

The more I look of this event the more I see.

It’s why study is better than being instructed. Being instructed is great, but your own investment, your own time investigating is more valuable.

I’m confident I didn’t read into this more than there is, it is just a new concept that I hope you will look into for yourself.

Don’t take my word for it, never take any ones word for it. It’s your soul, it’s your conscience that you answer for. Give it your undivided attention.

Waves of Grace, huh?! God used actual water in this one, didn’t he?

Blessings
Pete

WOG: Called to Glory & Virtue

Waves of Grace:
Called to Glory & Virtue

2 Peter 1:2-3
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue…

I have a thought about what God is wanting to make of us who believe in salvation.

My prospect here is to express that God loves you as you are, but desires to imprint his character on and into you, thereby transforming you into his image and separating you from what you have always been.

He desires that you will become a holy, blameless people who gives him glory when the world knows what he can do with someone like you, someone like me.

“…According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness…”

There is an element here called, “divine power”, it’s the amplification of God to you to become holy, to live in godliness, to walk a life that will bring glory to him by your example.

If it seems like a tall task, don’t worry, he is the one giving you the ability to achieve it.

Still, it requires your effort to desire to become what he can do with you.

Will you still make mistakes, wrong choices? Yes, but that happens when you separate from him and go off on your own.

There are building blocks for believers by grace.

Partakers of Divine Nature

“…Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust…”
2 Peter 1:4

The great and precious promises are the incentives given to us to pursue this divine nature. The Divine nature comes attached with the Holy Spirit when he comes into your life. He brings up the red flags in your spirit to alert your conscience of the dangers in your path. He is the Divine Nature, or at least the driver.

He invites you to “partake” with him, to participate.

Did you get that? To participate, to be actively engaged in the pursuit of this holiness he wants to build into you; that you need him to build into you.

How will you “partake” in a pizza when you are invited if you don’t lift your hands, take a slice, raise it to your mouth and bite into it?

Ok, it’s not that tactile, it’s only an example. But, consider it, action takes place with participation.

Salvation is the free gift, grace is poured onto you, mercy is generous, life is restored, but now alive takes your energy to “walk” in the life God desires for you.

With your life restored, there is the unfortunate presence of sin and your will to participate with it. That’s where the danger is for you; your old nature.

With freedom comes the cost to fight for it, only don’t fight against the Holy Spirit or his efforts to bring you into holiness.

Pioneers in the old days had no way of navigating their path. They could not foresee the impassible rivers ahead, they could not know about the wide open canyons they would have to cross. They had no maps.

We have come to an age of satellite tracking, we have GPS that tells us turn by turn navigation. The hard work has been done for us.

In the eyes of the Spirit the are no surprises, he has no hindrances to see our way. It is why we need his direction; our internal GPS, or HPS (Holy Positioning System)

Besides this, we have been given the tools we need to grow into holiness.

The building blocks of your life in Christ.

Building Blocks

“…5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2 Peter 1:5-7

“…add to your faith…”

G4102
Faith
Greek word: PIS’-TIS
Strong’s Concordance
“…pis’-tis; from G3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity…”

Faith has been explained as belief in God, in Christ, a persuasion, and conviction of the truth.

I don’t think faith defines what you believe, it confirms “that” you believe.

It is the gift of God given to you to commit with full assurance your profession of faith.

In 1 John 2:27, John writes about the anointing. It is the bedrock understanding in you that no one can convince you that you are saved, and no one can convince you that you are not.

Put simply, the Holy Spirit will give you the evidence that you are saved if you are saved. Any doubt that you are not saved does not come from him. If you doubt your salvation, find a preacher, and listen well.

So, Peter tells you to add to your faith. I would like to explain these in detail, and perhaps I’ll create a series expressing each of these “blocks”.

The long and the short of it is that God desires to make you truly into his image; in likeness, in behavior, in action.

Virtue – that quality that seeks goodness.

Knowledge – continued study in scripture, to grow into wisdom.

Temperance – Self control, gentleness and humility.

Patience – the capacity to build up one another again and again with the understanding that they may need you again.

Godliness – the opposite of worldliness, but with the drawing to holiness.

Brotherly kindness – towards mankind.

Charity – affection for one another.

I think that none of these blocks can go up without first the foundation of faith.

That’s because without faith, none of those attributes will glorify God.

We are called to Glory and Virtue, and the Waves of Grace will carry us there.

Blessings
Pete

WOG: Accepted

Waves of Grace: Accepted

Ephesians 1:6
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

How often have we as believers so casually taken for granted this wave of grace?

My prospect in this series of “Waves of Grace” is to broaden our perspective of grace so that we may further appreciate this “gift”; this opportunity; this “welcome” from the Father Himself into his family as his children.

It is in this grace that we are “made accepted”, which is the definition of this word, “to grace”, to indue with special honor, to be highly favored.

G5487
KHAR-EE-TO’-O
Hath Made Us Accepted
(Phrase)
Strong’s Concordance
“…charitóō, khar-ee-to’-o; from G5485; to grace, i.e. indue with special honor:—make accepted, be highly favoured…”

In this prospect, there is an element of humility on our part to receive with awe and wonder, to fearfully accept that we’ve been accepted and made to be kings from paupers; to nobles from servants; to be children of the King from being orphans and unwanted.

But we so casually hold our heads up in near expectation that we have this honor with lack of gratitude and less humility. We have shed the clothing of the servant and have forgotten what we were when he found us.

Impudence

“…And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD…”
Ezekiel 16:14

Ezekiel 16 tells a story about Israel, the people of God as though they are one single woman. If you have the courage to read it, you will find the description of a baby who was abandoned, forsaken and left to die cast out in the field.

The story continues that she has grown into a beautiful young woman, and God has lavished upon her, beautiful clothes, expensive jewelry, and food for her needs. He has prospered her for himself; having taken responsibility for her, he loved her and very well expected that she would love him.

But she did not.

Instead, she takes the wonderful gifts that he gave her and she runs after lovers to satiate her lusts and she gives away God’s gifts for payment.

If you want to get into the rest of the story, just read Ezekiel 16.

Ezekiel was a prophet of the Lord to the cast aways, the bondaged people of Judah in the land of Babylon. Having been taken there himself, he is chosen by the Lord to continue to speak to his people in the desire that they will turn their hearts back to him.

Ezekiel’s ministry is nearly contemporary with Jeremiah, that is to say that they overlap where Jeremiah is before him in the land of Judah, and Ezekiel is already among the captives in Babylon before the end of Jeremiah’s ministry.

In the book of Jeremiah, God has been sending Jeremiah to give them the opportunity to repent from their idolatrous lifestyle and remember the one true God, but they rejected the word of Jeremiah. They rejected the Lord.

Even in their rebellion God is still giving them the opportunity to return to him.

Even then, he still wants to accept them.

Aliens

“…That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world…”
Ephesians 2:12

Aliens: people not of the chosen ones: Israel.

The Greek word speaks of estrangement, being shut out; alienated.

Israel, because of Abraham, is the chosen people of God, and always will be.

Paul had written this letter to the church in Ephesus, composed of mostly Gentiles, there were likely some Jews in among them, because the gospel is for them first, then to the Gentiles.

Paul’s wording expresses their lack of community because they were born from a different race than the Jews –

“…aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise…”

The commonwealth, citizenship of Israel, were the beneficiary of the covenants of promise. They were not only the gift of God to Abraham, they were the recipients of the generations to follow who were given the laws of God for their instruction to be led into righteousness that they would be a pleasure to the Lord and to receive his blessing on them.

Now, Paul included the Ephesians, and all Gentiles who will come to the knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ, that they / we will become fellow heirs together with the Jews, but more to the point, fellow heirs together with Jesus.

We have received the instruction of being led by the Holy Spirit.

We have received “the Spirit of adoption”, with all of the rights and privileges of children of God for the price of redemption that Jesus gave for us.

We are accepted and granted ownership with the stocks and treasures of Christ himself.

Glorified Together

“…15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together…”
Romans 8:15-17

At this point, I realize that it looks a lot like salvation. Wouldn’t you think..?

But here’s the reality.

If you are an orphan, what do you really deserve?

You deserve the opportunity to try to make it in this world on your own. In all reality, you are owed nothing but the chance to survive.

But, we’re not talking about this world alone, but about spiritual terms. In these terms you have no chance, you have no opportunity, because in the spiritual realm you are already dead with no power to begin to try.

It is because of God’s desire, “to grace” you with the status of “children”, so that you can become heirs of God and co-heirs together with Christ.

Again, do you deserve that? No, and it’s not being harsh, it’s the difference between being dead or alive in the presence of God.

It’s yours because God desires it for you, because he loves you.

Accept that you are accepted, remember the awe and wonder of what you have been brought into, and learn to be humble, to submit to the idea that it is given, not earned.

Blessings
Pete

WOG: Jesus Full of Grace

Waves of Grace:
Jesus Full of Grace

John 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

I believe anyone who has ever heard the name of Jesus knows that he loves them.

I think we have sufficiently “John 3:16nd” them to the degree that they expect to find Jesus is love.

I mean no disrespect to the Word or to those who have this sole path of witness.

What does the church really know about this “grace” Jesus is full of?

I may be wrong or misinformed, but I sense that the majority of the New Testament church hangs around the doctrine of grace more than we understand why we have grace.

In one of my recent posts, I wrote that since Jesus is the Word of God, he is both condemnation and he is redemption. My point was that as the Word of God he was the sacrifice that was given in place of us, so that we can know the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

I would like to express to you a few of the ways that Jesus is full of grace.

I tend to look for discovery, but for this lesson I would like to express the simplicity of my thought.

The Woman in Adultery

“…10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more…”
John 8:10-11

It would be reasonable that most of the church remembers this story. It is one that has literally brought a tear to my eye because of the tenderness of Jesus in the face of such sin and sinner.

On one hand, Jesus told us that he did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it.

While those Pharisees wanted to expose Jesus as a fraud, they were right. This woman was to be stoned, but they waited for his answer completely unaware of his grace and truth.

On the other hand fulfilling the law meant that he was the only one who could. Even the Pharisees were guilty of breaking the law, and he let them declare it on their own.

Remember? He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone.

Romans 3:19 tells us that the law is given to those who are under the law, in this way they should understand their own guilt, the same as hers.

We find that one after the other they dropped their stones and walked away. The “righteous” ones!

POW! What a punch of grace!

No one of us can hold another person responsible for their sin unless we can answer for our own.

Men of Samaria

“..55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village…”
Luke 9:55-56

Looking at this passage I can see a redeemed church still in the cross hairs of the law trying to live in grace, which one best defines your character?

Jesus wanted to come through a region of Samaria, but since the Samaritans and the Jews were devoted enemies, they wanted nothing to do with Jesus, so they denied him passage through their territory.

To Jesus is was an opportunity to go somewhere else. To the disciples it was an excuse to unleash the awesome power of God on them.

Yep, we always like some kind of confrontation, huh?

We love grace so long we are the ones receiving it.

But when punishment is due we even pray for it over someone else.

I know, I know, I don’t know what they did to you, and how horrible it was, but in reality, do you really deserve grace?

There are some who have been terrible wronged, yet somehow they see the offender as a victim, and know how to offer forgiveness and the path to salvation.

How bad was it really that those Samaritans did not allow Jesus passage? They were the ones who lost out on the way he wanted to bless them, but not even God will force his goodness on anyone.

Is There Grace In Your Eye?

“…And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?..”
Matthew 7:3

It’s often difficult to see our own failures. We often focus on the good we are doing and somehow think God is pleased with us, even when we’re trying to do someone a favor by pointing out their disqualifications.

But, it’s not that simple, I think. Jesus said…

“…why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye…”

I mean, that’s some intense observation, man, you’re really looking for something wrong in that other person. They must be a better character than yourself for you to look that deep.

I’m being sarcastic!

Of course you don’t think someone else is better than you.

Jesus wasn’t concerned about how much wrong you can fix in someone else, he was interested in knowing if you could see your obvious wrongs; at least obvious to yourself.

The title of this segment is a question.

Is there grace in your eye?

If your observation of someone else is a measure of grace, don’t tell them, pray for them, pray for their discovery of it. God has a way of giving them what they need.

But, pray for yourself too. We need to see what he sees in each of our selves.

This is why Jesus is full of grace, that we as his disciples may learn how that grace blesses so many others.

I didn’t mean to offend you in my sarcasm, I am guilty as well, I needed to hear that, perhaps you may have as well.

Blessings
Pete

WOG: Law Empowered Grace

Waves of Grace:
Law Empowered Grace

Romans 5:20-21
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

To read Romans 5:12-21, you would need a few other translations to get through because it is kind of hard to read.

Basically, sin is inherited because Adam sinned, and that sin has been passed on from generation to generation.

The language of this passage resembles a kind of wave like a wave of the sea. It renders all mankind helpless and unable to escape its undercurrent.

Alongside this idea, Paul reveals a parallel to the inheritance of sin like waves of grace: he shows us the way sin has overrun the human race, yet grace races across humanity with greater speed and effect.

Paul paints us a picture of the effect of sin, like darkness that seems to cover everything it touches, but when light comes in it overpowers the darkness in an instant. Paul doesn’t use this analogy, it’s an image in my mind to express how grace overpowers.

Death has been here since Adam; every man dies regardless of the acknowledgement of sin or not.

Then Paul says…

“…Moreover the law entered…”

Until the knowledge of the law sin was like a shadow, death was a regular thing.

It’s not until the law comes in when we understand why we die. We know the physical death more prominently, but we never knew about the spiritual death which was already all over us.

Because of the law we understand.

Law and Discovery

“…What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet…”
Romans 7:7

The law defines sin, it is a spotlight on that darkness that has been killing you and me

Paul said…

“…I had not known sin, but by the law…”

The law “entered”, and sin became visible.

The effect of the law then rendered us dead spiritually.

Remember that Paul had said earlier in chapter 5, that sin was not imputed without the law. Well, when the law came in, now sin is imputed; chargeable.

Inputted

“…18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation…”
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

The presence of the law and sin is always within reach, but it’s like God wants to carry us over the power of the law to safety within his reach.

So Paul uses this word…

Reconciled
Greek word: KAT-AL-LAS’-SO
Strong’s Concordance:
“…katallássō, kat-al-las’-so; from G2596 and G236; to change mutually, i.e. (figuratively) to compound a difference:—reconcile…”
Blue Letter Bible

BLB gives an impression like exchanging coins for equal value.

The majority of the time we have ever used this word, it’s like we understood it like a reunion of sorts, coming back into favor, but now this perspective expresses what we’ve known all along about the sacrifice of Jesus in place of ourselves.

It wasn’t just a calling back into favor, it was the equal exchange.

I remember a movie scene that comes to mind, where there was an exchange made. One of the “Indiana Jones” movies, maybe “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.

There’s a scene where he finds the artifact he’s looking for, but he realizes that it’s on a pressure plate so he makes a makeshift counterweight to put in its place when he lifts the artifact. He makes the exchange, then he runs for his life through a gauntlet of traps and a giant rolling stone; I haven’t seen it in a very long time.

Fortunately for us, Jesus went through the gauntlet first and made the exchange for us with himself.

We didn’t get off without a cost, it was paid by Jesus and the cost was his life.

“…not imputing their trespasses unto them…”

What then is the effect of the “inputted” sin?

It isn’t readily expressed unless you can apply…

“…who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ…”

Remember my “Indiana Jones” movie scene reference, the exchange? That’s what I’m talking about; he had to leave something behind in its place.

Jesus stayed behind in our place, and God outruns the punishment for sin with us safely in his grasp. That may be what grace looks like.

Empowering

“…Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Romans 7:13

“…Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound…”

The entering of the law was like a child with a coloring book, the page is white, with lines and figures all over it. What the child does is to choose the colors and fills in the spaces with the different colors to give more declaration to the image in the page. When we can see the finished product it becomes apparent that it is more than a figure but a reality.

I know, it’s a simple illustration, but God uses simple illustrations to give us a grasp of what he wants us to understand.

The law isn’t just present to make our lives hard and miserable, it’s present to teach us what sin looks like and what sin has been doing to us all along.

We don’t fault doctors who tell us about high blood pressure or high blood sugar, they’re only telling us what we’ve been doing to ourselves. So, they provide instructions to help you to overcome your problem, so you can live longer.

Paul wrote…

“…that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful…”

So if your doctor tells you everything is fine when it isn’t, your doctor is not doing you any favors, you’re going to die in ignorance.

But you’re doctor will give you the gravity of your condition to give you “light” and insight into your condition for clarity – your clarity.

It’s not going to affect your doctor how you respond to the information, that’s up to you. How will you take the knowledge, how will you respond?

Your health is important to God, your spiritual reality is even more so, it is eternal.

The law is “light”, don’t turn it out or away from it. Learn from it, take your lickings, understand why it needed to be dealt with. Jesus didn’t just die for your sins, he died in your place to raise you into the waves of grace.

Blessings
Pete

Waves of Grace

Waves of Grace

Ephesians 2:5
…Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)…

I remember a conversation I had with my son many years ago when I thought I was about to teach him some great truth.

We were talking about the grace of God, and I was trying to tell him that it is like being overboard in the sea and facing death by drowning, when suddenly there is a ship nearby and they throw you a lifeline to bring you on board.

What my son said to me changed my whole perspective. He said…

“… No that’s not what grace looks like…”, he said to me, “… It’s being drowned and dead at the bottom of the sea, but Jesus came in and pulled you out and revived you; that’s what grace looks like…”

Since then I have come to realize that there is no power in me at all to save myself. There are no lifelines, no works I could ever do to effect my salvation – I was an inanimate stone which he chose to bring to life.

It’s what you are too.

Grace is near indescribable. It isn’t time on loan, it isn’t just “favor”, it isn’t even the love of God, it is like waves of the sea that continue to wash away your imperfections to carry away your failures to give you a fresh start again and again.

When I read this verse I saw something that I need to build up to to describe.

A Human For Death

“…7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross…”
Philippians 2:7-8

There are some great theological terms locked up in these verses, but I want to keep it simple.

What you might see if you read between the lines is that Jesus, the Son of God became a man for the purpose of death.

This is important because mankind is a sea of sorts. From the first man Adam throughout the history of man and moving forward into the future, there are waves and waves of humanity.

Somewhere in there is you, and there is me. We’re not insignificant, not without a name or purpose, but known and loved by God.

You and I, and every single human being are / were dead.

So it’s like Jesus diving into the depths of the sea just to find “thee” (you).

I wrote a post last year about baptism in which I compare it to the event of Jonah being cast into the sea.

I’ll bypass the lesson, but let me give you a piece of that.

Cast Me Forth

“…And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you…”
Jonah 1:12

In that lesson, I gave my thoughts of his birth as a baby, a human. His origin is heaven, but to become one of us required him to be born like we are born.

The parables in Jonah are meant to bring us to seek out the nature and ministry of Christ.

There are scriptures that tell us that Jesus needed to become a man like us for us, scriptures that tell us why we needed him to become a man like us.

All that said, it was Jesus’s purpose to come into the sea of humanity and to be overcome by the waves and waves of humanity’s sin. It was for us.

(“…For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me…” Jonah 2:3)

Jonah said…

“…so shall the sea be calm unto you…”

The “raging of the sea” is a very real thing. No one of us can steer humanity in the right way. Governments try to dictate policy to their citizens, law enforcements try to keep the population safe from the violent, wars come and go, but one thing is consistent, the “raging of the sea”.

There is a sense of darkness when we talk about the depths of the sea, with all kinds of strange life, odd looking creatures. Are we so different with all of our own darkness? Murders, sexual deviance, thefts and dishonoring those of our own kind, mankind?

Can you see the depravity of the whole of mankind? This is what Jesus is cast into.

Earlier I said…

“…When I read this verse I saw something that I need to build up to to describe…”

What I saw is that, yes Jesus was crucified and we are crucified with him. Also, we are buried with him in baptism.

It’s not like we were ever alive to be crucified with Christ, we were already dead needing to be buried, except we are given a burial in the death of Christ through baptism.

I’m not going to get into the doctrine of baptism, it will take me in another direction. But that is the long and the short of baptism – burial.

Depths of the Sea

“…18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea…”
Micah 7:18-19

As I close out this lesson, try to get an image of what Micah is saying here.

God is righteous and holy, he is the judge of all the earth. Were he to judge us prior to the cross we would all be lost.

So he passed over (Passover) the transgressions of his people, of all mankind because he would rather have mercy.

Still, the judge of all the earth must bring it to a close and set the penalty for sin. That’s where Jesus comes in.

God has forcefully taken our sins from us to cast them upon Jesus, effectively casting our sins into the depths of the sea.

I have a couple of thoughts about this.

1st:
On the cross, Jesus is all of mankind. He represents you and me, but also, your mother, father, siblings, children, neighbors, countrymen, and all of mankind. Jesus is the sea.

2nd:
On the cross, all of mankind is Jesus. But, for the believer, it’s the way God looks at us under the blood of Jesus.

The waves of grace will overwhelm the waves of humanity’s sin, grace is amazing that way.

Blessings
Pete

Four Horns: Apostle Paul

Four Horns: Apostle Paul

Ephesians 3:8-9
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ…

I find the apostle Paul to be the one most prominent minister in the entire Bible, although he says of himself…

“…who am less than the least of all saints…”

Not only modesty, but in memory of his former life apart from Christ, but I won’t get into that.

For me, it’s not to elevate him above Moses, David, or John the Baptist, as much as it is to say that Paul holds the key to unlocking the mysteries of scripture.

The Bible is a language in itself.

Although we can read it in English, Spanish or whichever language you read, it holds mysteries that remain hidden even though it is completely legible.

Paul was given access into these mysteries, secrets which have been in there since before the world began, literally.

There is a language to scripture, and Paul helped to bring it into view.

Where Moses brought the law to the Hebrew people, Paul brought understanding of that law to all of us.

Paul’s contribution to scripture is in the New Testament from the book of Romans all the way through Philemon, 13 letters to the churches, and many scholars believe he wrote the book of Hebrews, but there is no definitive proof.

“…And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God…”

Fellowship of the Mystery

“…2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words…”
Ephesians 3:2-3

What is fellowship?

Fellowship is communion, association, community.

We have a Kingdom, a nation within nations, we have a language of our own, one that stumps the worldly. Our fellowship is in the revelation of the mysteries of God.

But, this fellowship isn’t only between believers in the Kingdom, but in the mysteries that come to light by revelation. That comes by the Holy Spirit who reveals the fellowship we can have with the Word of God.

Paul speaks of a “dispensation” which is a sense of management; that responsibility to share the waterfall of revelation with all who will come to the knowledge of Christ.

This is where the fellowship of the mysteries takes life within us.

I dare not compare myself with the apostle Paul, but the reality of scripture has become available to me. It is why I can see parables in everything, like the four horns of the altar and everything I’ve shown you since then.

In this way, I also have been given a dispensation, the management to share what I’ve been given.

The apostle Paul is the greatest missionary the world has ever known, not because he was among the first, but for the honor God has poured into him – to be able to expound the glorious revelation of scripture, and has recorded them for Paul, forever.

Things Gained, Things Lost

“…7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…
Philippians 3:7-8

Today’s church makes much demand for the necessity of education in terms of the doctrine, and I get it, we don’t want to let everyone who has something to say, go off and say things contrary to the unity of the doctrine.

That said, not everyone anointed has a seminary or bible degree, and vice versa.

Aside from that, we know that Paul had a “religious” education having studied under the noted teacher, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).

In Philippians 3:3-8, Paul gives us a sort of credentials of the former life.

He was a Pharisee, a teacher of the law.

If anyone had the respect of God, it was this “Pharisee”, but this new man in Paul knew better.

And this new man knew that what he had was worthless. I don’t mean any offense to Jewish students, but in Paul’s own words, he says…

“…for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung…”

Dung! If you don’t know what this is, it is feces. If you don’t know what that is, check a dictionary.

Whether Paul meant it as an insult or not, the point he was making was that he decided to leave it behind because he had learned something of far greater value.

There was a fellowship he had come into with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and it was what motivated him to pursue Christ and everyone who had not yet known Christ.

Those things he lost were traded for the things he had gained in Christ, knowledge, wisdom, understanding of the mind of Christ.

It is a reflection for us to look within ourselves. What things have you counted as dung to leave behind to win the knowledge of Christ?

Appointed Vessel

“…But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel…”
Acts 9:15

“…that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ…”

When Jesus revealed himself to “Saul of Tarsus ” (aka: apostle Paul), Saul was blinded, I won’t go into the rest of the event, suffice it to say that Saul needed someone to pray for him.

God sent a man who reluctantly went to Saul.

Saul had a reputation of being the fierce persecutor of the church. So this man reminded God, like God didn’t already know, who Saul was.

Paul became a church builder in this new role appointed to him. He is one Jewish teacher armed with the gospel of Jesus Christ, who’s near entire purpose is to reach the Gentile world.

Gentiles are everyone not of Hebrew or Jewish origins.

But I think we forget, that Paul was also appointed to the children of Israel.

Wherever Paul went he came across Jews, some he won over, others he had to walk away from, but he was instrumental in the lives he touched.

He would establish a church, settle them with a pastor and teacher, and would move on to the next place he was sent to.

He made it a point to stay in contact with them, it’s where we get some of the letters he sent to them, and he desired that they would circulate them among each other.

(“…And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea…”
Colossians 4:16)

Paul desired that they would build each other up knowing that they would share their letters with each other.

With the recorded scriptures that we have from Paul, surely there are others that were either lost or destroyed, but God saw the value of preserving these forever in scripture.

Paul is the fourth of the Four Horns as I see it.

No greater nor less than the previous three.

Blessings
Pete