“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. ‘Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus *said to them, ‘Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.’” (Mat 21:28-31 NASB)

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Journal,

In this entry I want to follow two closely related tracks. One will concern itself with those who have a self-righteous religious attitude. The other track will address the Church that Jesus established, that is, the church made up of prostitutes and tax collectors. The tracks will run together.

To appreciate what Jesus had to say about prostitutes and tax collectors entering the kingdom of God before the religious authorities of that hour, we need a bit of background. The day prior, Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple area. When He returned to the temple the following day, He was confronted by the authorities:

“…the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.’” (Mat 21:23-24 NASB)

When Jesus asked them if the baptism of John was from heaven or from men, it caught them completely off guard. They were unable to respond. The crowds saw John as a prophet, and were being drawn to Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. They were calling Him, ‘Son of David.’ (This term had regard to the promised Messiah.)

It is how Jesus ends this parable that is so interesting. He simply says that the prostitutes and tax collectors would enter the kingdom of God, ahead of these Jewish leaders?

Think about it. The Lord was in the temple complex speaking to the recognized leaders of world Judaism. Included in this group would be those who would have Him crucified.

Yes, you guessed it. Religion crucified Jesus.

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The gospel of the prostitute

But why did Jesus draw attention to prostitutes and tax collectors? After all they were considered the very dregs of Jewish society, the very worst of sinners. For one reason they were utterly detested especially by the Pharisees. And so you have the dregs of society versus the high and mighty. You have those who know they are sinners, and you have the religious bigots, the very epitome of the self righteous, those who look down their noses at everyone not of their sort.

Yet it is in the prostitutes and tax collectors that we see the true gospel story.

Strangely enough the verity of ‘the prostitutes entering first’ can be seen of a sorts in Biblical form. In the very genealogy of Jesus Christ, only four women are recorded. Three of the four women were non-Hebrew in ancestry; Tamar the Canaanite, Rahab the Canaanite, and Ruth the Moabite. Two had prostitution written in their lives, Tamar and Rahab. One was an adulteress, Bathsheba. (Bathsheba was the only Hebrew of the four. She was from the tribe of Judah.)

All four of these women were in the direct lineage of Jesus Christ. Does that tell us anything at all? Why were these the only women recorded? Perhaps it is because in these women we see the very heart of the gospel story and of God’s love for all of humanity.

Here is a brief rundown.

• Tamar dressed herself as a temple prostitute in order to deceive Judah. Through Judah would come King David, and thus Messiah. (Story in Genesis 38)
• Rahab was a ’harlot.’ [Hebrew is 'zanah' which means to be a harlot or to commit fornication.] The two spies were to sent spy out Jericho. Rahab protected them. She believed in the Lord God of Israel. (Story in Joshua 2)
• Ruth’s story is one of the most beautiful in all the Bible. She was a Moabitess. Once again we have a non-Israelite woman preserving the seed of Messiah. (See the book of Ruth.)
• Finally we have Bathsheba. She was married to Uriah the Hittite. David paid dearly for his sin of adultry with Bathsheba. And yet this is another of the four women who are written into the genealogy of Jesus.

It is important to understand that this is not an issue of lifting up immoral sexual behavior. If we knew the times well enough, we would know how much the women were at the mercy of the men. A woman was born under complete control of the father. This went to the husband. And as a rule, she received no inheritance from her dead husband. It passed to the sons. The sons were to care for the mother. If she did not have sons, her situation was not good. The sons were the social security system of the time. (There are variations on this, so I’m not being technical.)

Now back to the prostitutes entering the kingdom of God first. What is Jesus speaking to with the story of the two sons. One thing it tells us is that religion in itself can become the very destroyer of faith. Sometimes we exalt our religion to the extent that we’ve become ‘religion worshipers.’ This is what had happened in Israel’s religious establishment.

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We say stone her! What do you say?

We see religious blindness in the gospel story of Jesus. When the men wanted to stone a woman caught in adultery, Jesus diverted the attention of the men to their own sins. He spoke nothing but kindness to the frightened woman. Jesus said two things to her that we must never forget. First, He did not allow her to remain under the bondage of condemnation. And secondly, Jesus simply told her to free herself from the sin that she was involved in. He Himself would be her freedom.

The woman at the well is another classic example. This lady had been married five times and was then living with a guy. How did Jesus handle her? He began by helping her process her life. He spoke to her heart. He awakened something in her. Jesus Himself would be her answer.

But notice that the woman has a final argument. It had to do with religion. She said,

“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

There it is. See how our religion can get in the way. All she knew was religion. She had a pain in her heart and couldn’t do anything about it. The Lord took it out of the hands of religion. He said,

“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”

He goes one to say,

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Now we know the primary reason the temple authorities hated Jesus. He was dismantling their power over the people.

Jesus was telling the lady at the well that there wasn’t going to be any more special mountains she needed to go to. There will be no anointed places you need to seek out. There will be no great religious figures you will need to bless you. True worship will be a matter of the heart. It will be as personal as a kiss. (The Greek for worship, proskuneo, literally means ‘to kiss.’ It is a very intimate word. True worship is deeply personal.)

Paul later expounded on this, in saying,

“Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.” (Phil3:2,3)

This brings us full circle back to the high priests, the elders, the prostitutes, and the tax collectors. We need to stop looking at the religions of the world for answers. This includes all the hype you see on the television tube. Jesus is present with every one of His people. He is in their hearts. He is in their mouths. He is in their lives. You see, religion stopped at the cross. It was nailed there in the body of Christ.

What does all this mean? It means the door to heaven has been flung open. The curtain has been ripped. No one can ever again stand between you and the Lord God. There is no prophet that you need to go to. Just listen with your heart. Jesus said,

“I have other sheep also, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one Shepherd.”

Does this do away with the Church? May it never be. It establishes God’s true Church. The Church has never been a building. Christ Himself builds His Church, and He flocks His people as He wills. We just need to find out where we need to be.

Jesus dismantled religion

Did the Lord not say,

“Heaven is my throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me?” (Isa66:1)

Well, God did build a house to contain His glory. He built it out of fallen humanity. The apostle said it well enough;

“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts (this is the glory shining) to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face [exact presence] of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels…” (2Co4:6,7)

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The flock of God

So, whence went religion? If the glory is shining in our hearts, why would we need an outward system of symbols and rituals, with vestments and forms, to tell us what God is like? Well, we don’t need any of that. The Messiah of God said,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Jn10:27,28)

Now another question – What need do we have for flocking together as a Church?

The need is great. God has ordained that each of His people be assigned to a particular flock for their care and safety.

There are hundreds of thousands of gospel believing churches with the same hundreds of thousands of godly pastors who care deeply for their flock. We just need to look to the Lord to place us in our proper flock.

It should go without saying that we aren’t in heaven yet. Nor are we secured from the presence of evil. And so God has decreed that He will meet with every flock, regardless of how tiny it may be, and in these flockings, He will make Himself known in special ways. (This does not preclude the fact that we have the glory in our hearts.)

There is another reason for God flocking His people. The young lambs need a place of security so they can grow properly, and be taught the ways of the Lord, and not have to worry about harassment by wolves. Mature believers are a safe guard against spoilers of the flock.

Paul warned us about them. Wolves are sly. They often try to enter the flocks disguised as sheep. But you can recognize them after a bit. They emit an order that is unpleasant to the sheep. Besides that, wolves are really stuck on themselves. They can’t hide it. On the other hand, sheep are humble creatures and non-threatening.

But even here we need caution. Systems of worship are not necessarily wrong. Neither are they necessarily right. The problem is that God does not deal with us according to our systems of worship. He deals with us one on one on one. He deals with us family by family. He deals with us flock by flock.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that you don’t have to worry about which system is right. None of them are right. The question is whether we are right with the Lord.

I have been a pastor for a long time. My greatest joy is to look at those who have been made part of God’s church. All I can say is…

“Thank you Lord, for every prostitute and every tax collecter. Thank you for all these beautiful people. They were once sickened in sin, but you have glorified Yourself in them. Thank you Jesus.”

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Well, I must not leave this entry without a song. Here is the story of the believer’s faith in Jesus Christ. Please take time to listen. The Lord wants to speak to your heart. It is titled, ‘Through It All.’ (By the Booth Brothers)

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Much love in Jesus,
Buddy

“Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.” (Gen 22:7-8 NASB)

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Readers,

In Bible hermeneutics (Bible interpretation) there is a rule that is called ‘the law of first mention.’ This rule has to do with doctrinal studies or Bible teachings. The emphasis of this rule is that whenever a doctrine or Bible teaching first appears in the Bible, the fundamental meaning in that occurrence will carry through to its ultimate fulfillment in Christ Jesus.

A good example for the law of first mention is where we find the term righteousness first used in the Old Testament. The first time the word righteousness appears has to do with the Lord appearing to Abraham. Here are snippets of that encounter as found in Genesis 15:

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great … And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look towards the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’

“Then he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him asrighteousness.”

Notice that Abraham’s right standing with God depended on one thing alone, the fact that he truly believed in the Lord. How then does this find its fulfilling in the new covenant? Listen to Paul:

“Therefore [Abraham’s believing in the Lord] was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (Rom4:23,24)

And so the fact of how a a believer attains righteousness before God never changes. Righteousness has always been a matter of faith. It is now perfectly fulfilled in a person’s faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul again draws attention to this faith factor by calling it ‘the law of faith’.

“Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified [declared righteous before God] by faith apart from works of the Law.” (Rom 3:27-28 NASB)

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This doctrine of the Lamb

There are many other new covenant doctrines that can be found in embryo form in the Old Testament. The one I want to draw special attention to has to do with the term ‘Lamb.’

The very first time the word Lamb is used in the Scriptures also has to do with Abraham. It is where Abraham says to Isaac,

“‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

The doctrine of the Lamb is at the very heart of the Christian experience. What makes a Christian a Christian has to do with an intrinsic love factor. This love factor encompasses itself around Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

The doctrine of the Lamb is the underlying truth of what redemption entails. This doctrine speaks to the faith of the Old Testament saints, to the spiritual freedom of the new covenant children of God, and to a redemption love that becomes the outflow in a believer’s heart.

The Lamb becomes the whole of our life. Love for the Lamb fills out the heart of that one who has come to personally know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The apostle said,

“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1Cor 6:17).

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The Lamb is called the Father’s glory.

Not only is the doctrine of the Lamb a doctrine of progressive revelation, but the doctrine of the Lamb is also about the people of the Lamb. The doctrine of the Lamb is about  ’beholding.’

The apostle John wrote,

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Joh 6:40 NASB) — Beholding Jesus is an activity of the heart. We behold Him with our heart.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:10).

To discover life is to discover the Lamb.

To discover the Lamb means that you belong to the Lamb. To discover the Lamb is to fall deeply in love with Him. But it isn’t a love that is common to man. It is actually the Father’s love filling out our hearts.

The discovery element is a key issue in the Christian walk. This is why Paul said that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

In another place he says that as we gaze upon the glory of Christ through the Scriptures, our inward man experiences spiritual transformations. It is the glory of Christ that fills our hearts. While this may sound mystical, it is a spiritual reality to those who are partakers of the new covenant.

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The testimony of the blood.

The clearest picture of the redemption Lamb in Genesis is when God directs Abraham to the mountains of Moriah. The ‘testing’ of Abraham was to reveal God’s real purpose in the test. The test was about the Lamb. On the Mountains of Moriah we are given our first composite picture of God’s redeeming program.

When it came time for Israel to be formed as a nation there were two particular sacrifices to be offered on a daily basis. The Lord’s instruction to Moses was,

“The one lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.” (Exo 29:39)

The lamb offerings were to be perpetuated throughout their generations. Their minds were to think on the lamb offering every morning and every evening.

In the minds of the Old Testament saints the picture of God’s Lamb was being painted, or, as our metaphor goes, they were seeing the sculpture as it was being sculptured.

The Exodus out of Egypt was based upon the lamb sacrifice and its blood placed upon the homes. Moses wrote his song, which is referred to in Revelation as, “The song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.”

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A voice crying in the wilderness.

Then we hear a voice crying in the wilderness,

“Make way the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”

The cry gets louder, and the peoples come by thousands to be baptized by John. Then one day, they hear him shout,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Cf. Rev 15:3; John 1:29)

Listen! Do you hear the voice still crying in the wilderness. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world is with us.

The apostle Peter said it this way,

“For He [the Lamb] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God.” (1 Pet 1:20,21)

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The Lamb upon the throne.

But just who is this Lamb of God? No less that twenty-nine times the phrase ‘the Lamb’ is used in the book of Revelation. In all these references the Lamb is directly associated with God. As Revelation begins its closure we are looking at a picture of God fully manifest as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It says,

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life (Holy Spirit), clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God (the Father) and of the Lamb (Son of God).”

John is using archetypal images found through the Old Testament to describe God in His awesomeness. Notice carefully that there is only one throne.

The Father’s throne has become the Son’s throne.

John’s gospel draws attention to the vision of Isaiah, in which the prophet writes,

“In the year of King Ussiah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with His robe filling the temple.”

John tells us that Isaiah actually saw King Messiah, that is, the Lord Jesus Himself. (Cf. Isa 6:1; John 12:41)

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For love of the Lamb

And so to love the Father unseen, is to love Jesus the only begotten Son. He is called the image of the invisible God. In fact Jesus was very plain in saying to one group,

“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” (John 8:42)

But how can we possibly love someone we have never seen? When we embraced the cross, that is, when we truly believed in Jesus Christ, it was then that the Father pours His own love into our hearts. Jesus simply said,

“The Father loves the Son.”

Here it gets quite mystical. We love the Son with the Father’s love. Jesus said,

“So that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

The mystery doesn’t stop here. Out of this we can actually call God our very own Father because the Spirit of His Son cries in us, ‘Abba! Father!’ Thus all believers carry in themselves a Father consciousness. Jesus said,

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:1)

It is the Lamb of God who gives us our freedom.

Every person born from above is made alive in the Lamb. And because our lives have been perfectly joined to God’s Christ, this allows our hearts to overflow with themes of life. (By the way, this is what the Spirit filled life is really all about.)

The Spirit-filled life is about the power to show ourselves as a testimony to Christ. We witness to Him by our love. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they would become His witnesses. He wasn’t simply speaking of them giving verbal testimony. He was speaking of what they would become. They would become the people of the Lamb, out of whose hearts would flow a love that was not common to man. It would be God’s love.

This love for the Lamb is so powerfully felt in believers that Christians through the ages have literally given their lives for Him. The Scriptures take note of this, in saying,

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Rev 12:11)

How about you – Do you love the Lamb? Would you really like to behold the Lamb? You can, you know. Just open your Bible. The Holy Scriptures wrap themselves around the Lamb of God.

Take time to listen to ‘Ancient Words’ by Michael W. Smith. (Thanks Linda.)

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I have one more song for this entry. At times a song will do more to preach the gospel than anything else we can do. Let the Lord speak to your heart. Its about the Lamb Upon the Throne.

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Much love coming your way in Jesus,
Buddy

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Journal,

John chapter 13 through 17 is a stand alone portion of the gospels. There are no crowds. No blind men. No lame men. No woman at the well. No John the Baptist. No debates with Pharisees and Sadducees. There are only a handful of Hebrew men chosen to be the apostles of the Lamb. It is now time for the Lord to pour His heart into these men. His journey to the cross is near at hand.

It is in these chapters that we hear the heart of the new covenant. Thus when we read John 13:1, we hear, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

Did you catch it? “He loved them to the end.” Did you know that this statement applies to every believer. The apostle said that nothing would ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is found in Jesus Christ. Let’s talk about it.

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What began as a fledgling movement…

… in a tiny country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea mushroomed into the largest in-gathering of people this planet has ever known. Even in all its diversity, there is one thing that makes Christianity unique in the world. The love of God is the secret to the phenomena of Christianity. To discover Jesus Christ is to discover God’s love.

Most believers can quote John 3:16, which says,

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

But John 3:17 is equally important. It says,

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

But can we leave it there? John 3:18 continues with,

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

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The apostles were given a message.

So the apostles were given a message to carry into all the world. The message was a message of love. This is why the subject of ‘love’ is found so much in their writings. Paul says it best when he wrote,

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom8:38,39)

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So the great mystery of the Christian faith is really the mystery of God’s love.

He loved us before we ever knew Him. He never stops loving us. This is why our faith can rest firmly on John 13:1, which says, “He loved them to the end.” God’s love is an eternal love.

We catch a tiny reflection of God’s love when we think of our love for our children. Stop and consider. Did you love your baby the first time you saw him or her? Why? The love was in your heart. This baby belonged to you. Did you love your baby before it was actually born? Sure you did. And how about when you and your spouse were talking about having a baby? Did you love the very thought of having a baby? The answer to all these questions is ‘yes.’

These thoughts are miniature reflections on God’s love for us. The Bible says that God is love. The apostle said that we were not saved because we loved God, but because He loved us. All of this belongs to the mystery of God’s love.

When Paul said that nothing can separate us from the love of God, he may have been reflecting off of something the prophet said. The prophet Isaiah gives us a glimpse into the very heart of God. The Lord said,

Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will never forget you.” (Isa49:15)

Notice that the Lord said His love far exceeds the love that a mother has for her nursing child. There is no greater picture of love than that of a mother for her child. In fact it is so strong a picture that it eventually evolved into a form of worship among many. (Mariolatry)

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Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

The more you study the gospels the more your understanding will be opened to the love of God and to the wonders of redemption. Not only were we chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, but our entire life was set before God at that time. And not only that, but our times on earth – where we would be born, what our nationality would be, and many many more factors – were determined beforehand. And behind all this stands the love of God.

The Lord gave David insight into this awesome area of spiritual realities. What is said by David is to be said by every child of God. David said,

Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (Psa139:4-6)

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A love that is incomprehensible.

Paul concurs in saying that God’s love for us is incomprehensible. Incomprehensible simply means that the mind cannot grasp it. Believers soon come to realize that there are things we can perceive with our hearts, that cannot be fully expressed to others. Why? They are things of the heart, incomprehensible things. Paul said,

“Who knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”

Things of the heart are things that God opens our hearts to perceive. They are instilled within us by the Holy Spirit.

But what is it about God’s love that is so incomprehensible? We know the answer to that only so well. We have all found that God’s love is not static. His love surrounds us. God’s love reaches into our pits and draws us out. How often have we been ashamed of a misdeed, wondering how God could ever love us still, and yet, in our turning to Him, we found Him ever there.

I have never met a Christian who could not look back on their childhood, and say, “Lord, You were there even then.” Not even the prophets understood this. And even when they were issuing stern pronouncements, in a moment of time a love song would burst forth. This song was about God and His children.

A good example is with the prophet Micah. After dealing with issues of judgments, the prophet writes,

“Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love … You will give truth to Jacob and unchanging love to Abraham…” (Micah 7:18-20)

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God’s unchanging love in Christ Jesus.

Unchanging love to Abraham is the catch phrase. All true believers have been made children of Abraham through our faith in Jesus Christ. Paul says that we are the children of promise.

Then we have this from Jeremiah, which again speaks of God’s love for His people;

The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.’” (Jer31:3)

Again we hear a call of eternity. Jesus expresses this eternal call in saying,

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you, abide in My love.” (John 15:9)

Did you know that the single greatest testimony that God is your very own Father is the testimony of your love for Jesus Christ? Jesus said to certain of the Jews,

If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” (John 8:42)

Now couple this with how the apostle Peter described the heart of a true believer;

And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” (1Pet1:8)

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The greatest love story ever told.

And so the gospel is actually the greatest love story ever told. This is why Christians sing love songs to Jesus. We sing love songs to the Father. We sing of His love to us. We sing, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.” We sing, “Love lifted me. Love lifted me.” We sing, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

But why? Why do we Christians have such passion over the love of God. After all, you don’t hear Muslims singing, ‘Mohammed, lover of my soul.’ It can be summed up in the cry of the human heart. This cry can only be met in an encounter with Jesus. Paul describes it as the ‘Abba! Father!’ cry. We have found our Father.

Abba, Father, is an expression of true sonship. It speaks of intimacy. It is a cry of recognition. It is a cry that goes far beyond religion. It is the cry of a child’s whose heart has been filled with ‘Father consciousness.’ But it is a cry that goes both ways. We say, “My Father.” God says, “My beloved child.”

Did you know that more and more Jews are discovering the Father’s love in Jesus.  I must not leave this journal entry without a song from the heart of the Hebrew believer, Jonathan Settel. Listen as he sings,  ’Amen.’ It carries the heart of the gospel in Hebrew. (Subtitled in English.)

So we ask, ‘How much to you love us, Jesus.’ He stretches out His arms, and says, ‘This much.’ So, does He love us to the end?

I believe that with all my heart. What say you?

Blessings,

Buddy

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Greetings from Heaven

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God’s love for His people is eternal. He made that very clear when He sent His Son to bring redemption to planet earth. Paul said that there was nothing that could ever separate us from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus.

God’s love for the fallen family of Adam cannot be measured. Listen to the apostle:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:4-7 NASB)

The love of God is the Story of Jesus

As Jesus is facing the cross, we hear this statement concerning those who belong to Him:

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (Joh 13:1 NASB)

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And God’s Word was made Flesh

The apostle John said that the Word of God came to tabernacle among us. Jesus is the very embodiment of God’s message from heaven.

The moment you open the Bible you begin to sense that there is an underlying message. The message starts with these words: “In the beginning God…”

Then we read, “And God said, ‘Let there be Light’; and there was Light.”

Here is where we begin our journey of discovery. God spoke and His Word went forth. When God said, ‘Let there be Light’, according to the ancient Hebrew belief, this was the Light of Life, also known as the Wisdom of God. It was the Light that Adam was to walk in.

When Adam turned from God’s Word, the Light of Life was taken away. But the sages said that the Light would return with Messiah. Any Jewish person would have understood what Jesus meant when He said,

“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.” (John 8:12 NASB)

And so the discovery continues. What we begin to realize in the discovery is that the Light of Life had to do with God’s love.

The Light of God and the Love of God cannot be separated. The apostle nailed this down when he said, “God is Love.” Then he also said, “God is Light.”

John went further in saying,

“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1Jn 4:9-10 NASB)

Remember…

There is much love to be had in Jesus

May the Lord richly bless you in your discovery of Him.

Buddy

Journal,

The subject of speaking in a foreign tongue is one of the most controversial and often one of the most contentious subjects to be found today. Hopefully I can share some things that will help give understanding to the Biblical subject of speaking in other languages.

First let’s consider the above Scripture where the prophet Isaiah calls attention to speaking in a foreign tongue. Here are the terms we need to note:

1. ‘He will speak to THIS people.’ This people had respect to the Jewish people.
2. “He who said to them, ‘Here is rest, give rest to the weary.’” Jesus called attention to God’s rest to be found in Him.
3. ‘But they would not listen.’ Reflects on the leaders rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Messiah of Israel.

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Which brings us to Pentecost, 33 a.d.

Jews once again gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish pilgrim festivals. They came from many cultures and nations. They spoke many different languages.

However, this Pentecost would be different. It would be the ushering in of God’s new eternal covenant in Christ.

Suddenly a sound like a rushing wind filled the temple complex. A band of 120 men and women began speaking of the glory of God in the varied languages of the multitudes.

A question stirs through the crowd of worshippers, “How is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?’

Thus we see the miracle of speaking in foreign languages with the prophecy of Isaiah coming to pass. The speaking in tongues on that day of Pentecost had a defined purpose. The Rest Giver had come.

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The Promised Rest Giver.

From long ages past there had been a deep hunger in the hearts of God’s people to find the promised rest from their painful labors. This longing is described in the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament as, ‘the desire of the nations.’

When Noah was born, they wondered if he was the Rest Giver.

Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. Now he called his name Noah, saying, ‘This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.” Gen 5:28-29 nasb

But Noah was not the Rest Giver. Only God could do that. We catch just a glimpse of this when Moses was speaking with the Lord God.

‘Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.’ And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.’”

Why is this language of, ‘I will give you rest,’ so hauntingly familiar? It is because we are hearing the voice of the Rest Giver. Now hear it from Jesus:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30

And so the speaking in other languages on the day of Pentecost was to call attention that Jesus Christ was the promised ‘Rest Giver.’

This day of Pentecost was a fulfillment to what had been written by the prophet Isaiah. The Messiah had come, died on the cross, was buried, resurrected, and ascended into heaven. When Peter stood up to preach, he drew attention to the ancient prophets in declaring that Jesus was the Christ of God.

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Additional Background on Speaking in Tongues

It should be understood, however, that through the centuries the Church has placed little attention on speaking in tongues. The early church accepted tongues as one gift among many. But this still leaves us with unanswered issues concerning speaking in other languages. Here is where we can take time to understand some Greek terms that relate to speaking in foreign languages.

• The term glossolalia was introduced into English in 1879. It comes from glossais lelein, a term used in the New Testament, meaning “To speak in [with or by] tongues.” From this comes the expression, ‘the gift of tongues.’ The precise term ‘gift of tongues’ does not occur in the Scriptures.
• One early Christian writer used the Greek term glossomania to describe the insane speech of Greek philosophers. The philosophers would jabber and babble in a way that made no sense whatsoever.
• The Greek ‘akolalia’ had to do with the perceived hearing of another language even when one was not spoken.
• Echolalia speaks of an agitated repetition of the words of another.
• Idiolect refers to a glossolalic dialect peculiar to an individual. Televangelists made this term popular by calling it a ‘prayer language.’
• Then we have ‘exnoglossia.’ This word was coined in 1905, to describe a spiritualist medium, who, in a trance, wrote in modern Greek, without having knowledge of that language.

Now we see that there is a problem that has to be addressed. The problem is that ‘speaking in tongues is not peculiar to certain Christian groups. Speaking in tongues is a known phenomenon from around the world. You find it in Mormon history. You find it with Hindus and Muslims. It is found it in African occultic religions.

Here is a quote from the Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, page 336;

“Spiritualistic glossolalia and related phenomena among spiritual mediums were among the first studied by psychologists near the beginning of the twentieth century. … Pathological glossolalia is known to medicine and psychiatry, the result of such causes as organic neurological damage, effects of drugs, or psychotic disorders. Schizophrenic disorders have furnished examples of glossolalia. Most relevant to Christian glossolalia are clearly reported cases of pagan glossolalia, both ancient and modern…. [Glossolalia] was used sparingly among American Indians but was widespread in African tribal religions.”

Paul likely ran into some of this pagan speaking in tongues. When he wrote the Corinthian Church, some of the background for the problems of this Church actually was pagan glossolalia. Less than 50 miles from Corinth, was Delphi. An inquirer would be brought into the presence of a young woman, a priestess of Apollo, who was said to possess a “pythonic spirit.” The priestess would speak in tongues and a male prophet would interpret. Paul may have had this in mind when he said, “You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.” (1Co12:2)

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Let’s consider the Biblical position.

There is no question that speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost was a supernatural act of God. There have also been documented cases in Church history where missionaries have found themselves able to speak in the language of a primitive tribe, having had no knowledge of their language.

It is also possible that the Lord intended to bring this gift forward at different points in history to meet a purpose at the time. Paul seems to indicate such may be the case. He said, “Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.” (1Co13:8)

The Greek word for cease is pauo. This is where we get our English word pause. Pauo means to make cease, or to no longer be stirred, or to idle or unemployed. In context, Paul is using terms that point to a maturing factor.

Some say Paul is speaking of heaven. This may be the case, but it is odd that Paul’s entire teaching takes its center on ‘maturity.’ He may have been telling the Corinthian believers not to overly concern themselves with the Delphic oracles. He also tried to place speaking in tongues as a less important gift in comparison to other gifts. He says, “When I was a child, I use to speak as a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (1Co13:11)

My encouragement for any child of God is not to take speaking in tongues beyond Scriptural precedents. When the apostles preached the gospel, they saw no need to put an emphasis upon speaking in tongues. The Acts of the Apostles is conclusive in this regard. The three recorded times that people spoke in other languages, were all sovereign acts of God. They were in a group setting. And each time it was unexpected. And Acts covers over 35 years of early Church history.

In all this each believer needs to reach their own conclusions.

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Finally a call for caution

I have seen that when an undue emphasis is placed on speaking in tongues it can cause mental and spiritual disturbances in a person that is not healthy. Paul tried to warn the Corinthians about putting too much stress on the supernatural.

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by is craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” (2Co11:3,4)

What are we left with? Perhaps the way to deal with the gift of speaking in other languages is to make sure that we are following clear Biblical instructions. Paul said, “All do not speak in tongues, do they?” He then went on, “But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you still a more excellent way.” (1Co12:30,31)

What did he mean, ‘a still more excellent way?’ Paul went on to outline the walk of love. He said that when everything else fails, love will stand the test of time. He said, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Just some things to think about

Here is your song. ‘The Love of God’ by Mercy Me.

Buddy