April 20 Esight, 2008

And the Word was God…—John 1:1The church that I belong to provides a Bible study guideline for the study time that takes place during their weekly service. It seems as though the subject of last week’s lesson was the Divinity of Jesus, because I received no less than 10 emails or text messages from friends who teach these classes in their respective churches. The emails and messages asked nearly identical questions regarding this subject.

Rather than debating whether or not Jesus was God, let’s assume that Jesus was God. Let’s assume He was Divine and look rather at how He defined Divinity. What does Divinity mean? Who was Jesus? Well, He was God! But what does that mean? What is God? One verse immediately comes to mind: “God is Love” (I John 4:8).

Paul states that Jesus is God’s own self-revelation:

God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Jesus is referred to as “the radiance of [the Father’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature.” (Hebrews 1:3)

Jesus himself stated, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me . . . He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father ‘? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” (John 14:9-10) Did you catch that? Jesus was the express revelation of what type of a person God truly is, because during every moment of Jesus’ life, he was not merely Jesus, but the Father within Jesus living out His love.

A friend once questioned me, “If God loves us so much, why did He send His Son? Why didn’t He just come Himself?” That’s an excellent question, but the truth is this: He did come Himself. God did not send someone else, He came Himself in the person of His Son! God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. (2 Corinthians 5:19)

Consider these statements:

“Christ was the medium through which He could pour out His infinite love upon a fallen world. ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.’ 2 Corinthians 5:19. God suffered with His Son. In the agony of Gethsemane, the death of Calvary, the heart of Infinite Love paid the price of our redemption.”- Steps to Christ, p. 13

“God gave Himself in His Son that He might have the joy of receiving back the sheep that was lost.”- Christ Object Lessons pg. 190

“Every gift is stamped with the cross and bears the image and superscription of Jesus Christ. All things come of God. From the smallest benefits up to the largest blessing, all flow through the one Channel–a superhuman mediation sprinkled with the blood that is of value beyond estimate because it was the life of God in His Son.”- Faith and Works pg. 22

I would like to encourage you to spend some time this week simply writing down one-word descriptions of what you see in Jesus. Then ponder the list. Ask the tough questions. Consider: had the Father come instead of the Son, not one note would have been different. The song would have remained the same. The story would be left unchanged. . .

April 12 Esight, 2008

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no changing or shadow of turning.—James 1:17Do you know what one of my favorite things about God is? It is the fact that you can tell Him anything, you can let Him in, so to speak, and He is never going to change in reference to you. He’ll never pull back, never will the expression on His face change. In our darkest moments, He does not withdrawal, but presses in even closer with His eternally loving embrace to heal, help, and cause us to grow. He wants you to let Him into your deepest darkest secrets. He wants an intimate relationship with you. He promises not to condemn, but to help. He will always be honest with us, but it will be in kindness and love. He’s not afraid to tell us where we are wrong. And where we are not in the wrong, He will come “to our defense with the wrath of a God.” He will stand by us through it all. And, after all, no matter what you tell Him, no matter how deeply you let Him in, doesn’t He already know anyway? This leads us to today’s passage, on which I would like you to meditate this week.

James tells us that with God there is no changing or shadow of turning. What does he mean by shadow of turning?

Have you ever just sat on your front porch and watched the shadows turn as the sun moves across the sky? Why do the shadows turn? This happens because the position of the sun to these objects is constantly changing. God is whispering to us in this passage, “tell me anything, let me in, my position toward you, my relating to you, will not change! No matter what you could tell me, I will not pull away, I will remain.”

C.S. Lewis stated in his book The Problem of Pain “Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently? And this difference, so far from impairing, floods with meaning the love of all blessed creatures.” Yes God loves each of us infinitely, but each of us is different and, thus, God wants a unique and individual, intimate relationship with each of us, as well. (This thought is also reflected in John’s statement in Revelation 2:17.)

Dear friend, do you need a God that knows everything there is to know about you and still loves you nonetheless for it? I give you my God. He truly is the most beautiful being I have ever encountered….

April 1 Esight, 2008

Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.—1 John 2:28Thank you, most sincerely, for your patience over the last two weeks. We just completed filming 17 one-hour presentations to be released soon on DVD. But, rest assured, I’m back now, and thus this week’s E-sight. Thank you for understanding.

Over the course of the last two weeks I had the chance to interact with a young man who was quite distraught. He has heard so much about faith, God’s mercy, love and grace, but it had made no difference to him in a practical way. His fear, or rather lack of assurance, was still rooted and grounded. His question to me was, “Yes, all that is fine and good, but I’m still going to be judged by my works.”

I immediately understood his dilemma. And, yes, you cannot deny the plain, clear teaching of the scriptures that “we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Romans 14:10) and, yes, Paul is clear, “each one of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12), and, yes, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

My friend was quick to also quote this well-known statement: “The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,–just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,–perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized” (Ellen White, Steps to Christ, p. 62).

Where my new friend failed was in the fact that he did not continue reading to the next paragraph. The very next paragraph states, “It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God’s law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God. But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned” (White, p. 62, emphasis added).

Did you catch that? Yes, the judgment is based on works, but whose works would you rather be standing in, yours or Christ’s? It is not your own righteousness that saves you, but the righteousness of Christ which saves you both now and in the judgment. This is exactly why eternal life is a free gift given to all. Jesus has given His righteousness, the condition of eternal life, to all.

Jeremiah is clear:

“In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness’” (Jeremiah 23:6).

“In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16).

Paul unequivocally states, “We shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10). Not by our own. On that day, whose life would you rather answer for, the one you’ve lived–or the life that Jesus lived and has given to every man, woman, and child as a gift? There is not the slightest reason why each and every person should not pass through the judgment with all hope and joy, save the single fact that they themselves would not have it that way. Christ’s “works” have been given to all, whether any person receives them as their own is another question.

Be at peace, my friend, you’ve learned the fear of God, now learn to love Him. Begin to see yourself not as you are in and of yourself, but according to what you are in Christ. This is His gift to you.

“By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:17-19).

March 17 Esight, 2008

noneThere will be no weekly E-sight this week due to filming.

March 10 Esight, 2008

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.—Matthew 6:10The Bible clearly states that God is an omnipotent¹ and sovereign² Creator who is confidently guiding the world toward his desired end. Yet, because of this all important truth, many Christians have gone a step further, and assumed that because God is omnipotent, sovereign, and has a plan that He is carrying out, that everything that happens in this world must somehow fit into His sovereign plan. This assumption has permeated much of Christian theology. It is also expressed in some of the clichés we often use in the face of suffering. We attempt to console others and ourselves by saying such trite statements such as “All things happen for a purpose,” “God has his reasons,” and “His ways are not our ways.” Popular hymns have also carried this message, such as Day by Day. The words to this familiar hymn read “Help me then when toil and trouble meeting, E’er to take as from a father’s hand…”

Augustine, arguably the most influential theologian in Church history, wrote “Nothing happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen.”³ This view of God’s relationship to the world takes many different forms, some saying that God ordains all things, others saying that He simply allows all tragic events to occur. But each one shares a common assumption that there is a specific divine reason for every tragic event, for, if God had wanted to prevent the event from taking place, He could have done so. Since He did not, He must have had a good reason for not doing so.

This teaching has done almost irreparable damage to the character of God in the hearts of many who have experienced great horror in their lives. It has led some to abandon their belief in God altogether.

Much to many people’s surprise, the scriptures do not support the view that there must be a specific and divine reason behind all tragedies. It is, rather, rooted in an imbalanced reading of the Bible. Although the scriptures do teach that God is sovereign, they also emphasize that there are agents who God has created who are free and can and do resist His will. Scripture does not teach that God controls all behavior of free moral agents, whether human or angel. Humans and angels are able to act contrary to God’s designs and purposes. While God’s general will for this world cannot fail, His particular will for individuals often does fail. Notice the following passages:

Genesis 6:6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them.

Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.

Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Hebrews 3:8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness.

Hebrews 3:15 While it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Hebrews 4:7 Again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

Certainly God’s will is for everyone to be saved, yet, at the same time, He has created agents who are morally free, and with the potential to thwart His will.

1 Timothy 2:4 Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

According to the Bible, all the events of this world need to be understood against the backdrop of a spiritual warfare between God and free moral agents who have rebelled. ⁴ Therefore, when we look at the events that transpire here on earth, we are to remember that we are in the midst of warfare during which God’s will is not always carried out. The Bible pictures God as warring against opponents precisely because their will is working against His will. According to the Bible, we would not wonder about the specific reason God might have had in allowing a rape, murder, or child molestation. Rather, we would view these individuals as “victims of war” and assign the blame to either human or demonic beings who are opposing God’s will.

It seems, therefore, that we have one of two deductions to make: Either God does not prevent things because He chooses not to or because He is unable to. If we decide that He does not prevent evil events because He chooses not to, we are put in the position of a child who has two parents, one abusing and the other knowing about the abuse and doing nothing to stop it. In the heart of the child, then, neither parent can be trusted. If God knows that free moral agents are about to cause another free moral agent pain, and yet He makes a conscious choice not stop it, can God still be trusted? On the other hand, if you say that God does not prevent evil because He is unable to prevent it, how do you reconcile that with His omnipotence? The answer to these dilemmas, I believe, can be found in a closer look at the nature of love, the necessity of freedom, and the logical possibility that if God is to have His ultimate will carried out for His creation, as a God of Love⁵, He also risks the possibility of war breaking out in His creation. Yet, as we study the scriptures with the aim of understanding these three themes, we do begin to see that the ultimate explanation for the evil that transpires in our world is the purpose that a genuinely⁶ free moral agent had in freely carrying out his, her, or its particular deed. We need not look for some higher reason in God for a specific tragic event, but, rather, we need to find the ultimate reason for the atrocity in the free moral agent from whom the tragic event found its source.

Notice that when we look around on this planet, it is not God’s will that we see carried out.

Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Jesus’ prayer makes sense when we realize that God’s will isn’t yet taking place on earth as it is in heaven. David also seems to hint at this idea.

Psalm 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.

It is a grave injustice to the character of God to state unqualified that “Nothing happens on this planet unless God allows it to happen” Paul and Jeremiah add clarification to the nature in which God allows evil. God does not specifically allow each particular tragedy, but, rather, He has generally allowed for the possibility of love between Himself and His creation; therefore, He has generally allowed us freedom of choice. Therefore, God has generally allowed the possibility of suffering to exist. Free moral agents themselves are the once who specifically choose whether or not to use their freedom of choice to bring hurt or to bless.

Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;

God unwillingly subjected the creation to futility. He did not desire us to suffer; rather, we choose to plunge this creation into futility. Yet, if we were ever truly free not to sin, then we must be truly free to sin. Having made that choice, God, against His will, was forced by our choice to allow us to have what we had chosen.

Lamentations 3:33 For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men.

When people do things that they are unwilling to do, we call that being “forced against their will…”

6. If God prevented us from doing what we freely choose to do, are we truly ever free to commit those actions in the first place?

March 7 Esight, 2008

“Whom God set forth to be a reconciliation through faith in His blood . . .” (Romans 3:25, Geneva).Please forgive my tardiness with delivering this week’s e-sight devotional. I was on my way out of town for two weeks, and I desired to spend the three days I had at home with my lovely wife and three children. I’m sure you understand.

The above verse, which we are pondering this week states two of the greatest central themes from the everlasting gospel. First, the gift of Christ was initiated by God Himself, and second, it was for the purpose of reconciliation. Reconciliation is defined by the dictionary as “The ending of conflict or renewing of a friendly relationship between disputing people or groups.”

However, notice that this gift, with the end result of reconciliation in mind, was made by God. We, therefore, have two options to explain why God desired to reconcile with us. The first option is that God is the offended party, and out of duty, He gave us His Son because He felt it was the right thing to do. The second option is that God is the misunderstood party, and we are the offended; we declared civil war against heaven, and Christ came forth to reveal to us the truth about the Father in an effort to win back our love and allegiance.

This week, I would like to point out what is not said in John 3:16.

The passage does not say that God was “So angry with the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” nor does it say that God was “So offended with what this world did that He gave His only begotten Son.” No, no, dear reader, it states, too clearly to be misunderstood that God “So loved this world that He gave His only begotten Son.” He took all that was precious, and He gave; He gave all.

God appears to be whispering to us, “Your sin is against me, but I will bear it” (1 Peter 2:24); “Your debt is to me, but I will cancel it and nail to my cross” (Colossians 2:13,14); “Your grievances are against me, yet I will frankly forgive them all” (Luke 7:42); “I know, even if when you do not, that in regards to me, you have believed a lie” (Genesis 3:1-6); “You are under a delusion. Will you not let me show you the truth?” (John 8:32); “Will you let me show you who I really am? “

These are the questions all of heaven is asking. When all is said and done, of how many others, like Abraham, Lot, Daniel, Moses, and Paul, will it be said, “Behold one who was once lost, but whom once again has become My Friend.”

Listen, O heavens, and hear, O Earth, for the LORD speaks: “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know [Me], My people do not understand [Me]” (Isaiah 1:2-3).

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 18-20).

(For more on this topic please listen to Who Do You See?)

February 27 Esight, 2008

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.—Colossians 2:13–14.I meet many people who are confused regarding what God’s thoughts and feelings toward them truly are. I find that much of this confusion is the result of a common misunderstanding regarding God’s forgiveness.

As in the above texts, the Bible states that God, through the cross, has forgiven every man, woman, and child of every sin he or she ever has or ever could commit. God is not harboring any ill feelings toward any of his children, faithful or wayward.

And yet, I hear many say, wait Herb, what about repentance, confession, and faith. Aren’t these necessary? Yes, absolutely! But here is the rub. The Bible speaks of two very different—related, but different—truths. They are different, but in English we have only one word to describe them both. That word is Forgiveness.

What are these two truths? First, that every person has a conscience. Thus, when they sin, they set in motion the effects of shame and guilt, the full weight of which, if they were left to bear it alone, would crush out their life. The Bible calls this cleansing of the shame and guilt transpiring in us forgiveness or, in the Greek, apheimi. And this change in us takes place through repentance, confession, and faith.

But the second truth is that God, in His heart, is not harboring any ill feelings toward any member of the human race. He has taken all our “debt,” “all” our “transgressions,” and nailed them to His cross. From His perspective, because of the cross, all charges have been dropped for every person who has ever lived or ever will live. The Bible calls this glorious good news of what is truly in God’s heart toward every person, repentant or rebellious, by the same word—Forgiveness or, in the Greek, Charizomai.

One experience takes place through faith and repentance; the other, called by the same word, has taken place in God’s heart toward all regardless of whether they repent or not.

The question arises, “Well, if God has forgiven everyone, then why will some be lost?” That is the million-dollar question.

“There is not the slightest reason why every man that has ever lived should not be saved unto eternal life, except that they would not have it. So many spurn the gift offered so freely” (Waggoner on Romans, p. 102).

“”What! Do you mean to teach universal salvation?” We mean to teach just what the Word of God teaches—that “the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men.” Titus 2:11, R.V. “God has wrought out salvation for every man, and has given it to him; but the majority spurn it, and throw it away. The Judgment will reveal the fact that full and complete salvation was given to every man, and that the lost have deliberately thrown away their birthright possession” (Waggoner, Glad Tidings, p. 23).

“The common idea is that when God forgives sin the change is in Himself, and not in the man. It is thought that God simply ceases to hold anything against the one who has sinned. But this is to imply that God had a hardness against the man, which is not the case. God is not a man; He does not cherish enmity, nor harbor a feeling of revenge. It is not because God has an angry feeling in His heart against a sinner that he asks forgiveness, but because the sinner has something in his heart. God is all right, the man is all wrong; therefore God forgives the man, that he also may be all right” (Waggoner, The Power of Forgiveness).

Meditate on these themes this week and see whether God’s great forgiveness not only sets you free, but also awakens in you that same Forgiveness toward others as well.

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

Have a great week!

February 18 Esight, 2008

“…Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day…”—Colossians 2:13-23Let the full impact of the following statement rest upon your heart.

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through the cross.” (emphasis added)

The above is quite possibly one of the most profound statements ever made by the apostle, Paul. It is as though God is saying to this world, through the medium of the cross, that all charges have been dropped. And it is on this basis that Paul wrote the very next statement.

“Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.”

What does “food,” “drink,” “festivals,” “new moons,” or the “Sabbath” have to do with the great accomplishments of Calvary? With our being forgiven of all our transgressions? With having all our debt cancelled out?

The answer is quite astonishing.

First, the Sabbath is a holy day (Exodus 20:8-11). And holy days in the Old Testament were to be kept much like we celebrate holidays in our modern culture. “Then he said to them, ‘Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). This is the same spirit in which the Sabbath is to be celebrated. The Lord’s Sabbath is commemorative of not simply creation, but Redemption as well, along with all its accomplishments. (For more on this subject, please listen to A Rest That Remains from our sermons/downloads page at https://renewedheartministries.com/resources.asp?t=sermons)

Second, the situation in Colossia was much different than in Galatia. In the Galatian church, Judaisers were secretly stealing from and seeking to defraud the Galatians of their assurance by trying to add certain requirements of the law in addition to their receiving the grace of God through faith as conditions for their salvation. However, here in Colossia, it was not the Judaisers stealing, but the early Gnostics. The Gnostics believed in many things, yet one of their central beliefs was that the body was evil and a person’s soul was immortal and holy. In order to free or redeem his or her soul, a person needs to abase his or her body through severe treatment. They believed that any sensory pleasure, for any purpose, was wrong. This would strike right at the heart of celebrating Calvary. How could a person eat the fat and drink the sweet every Sabbath in celebration of the cross if all sensory pleasure was forbidden?

Paul continued, “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

This week, stand fast in the glorious accomplishments of the cross. Let no one be your judge in regards to:

Food;

Drink;

Festivals or New Moons;

but especially, the Sabbath.

This Friday evening, when Sabbath roles around, be like those early Colossian believers who, having received the blessings of the Cross, longed to celebrate their Savior. Set aside that holy time to eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and remember, the God of this universe has forgiven you all of your transgressions, having cancelled every last debt, having nailed them to His cross. May the meditation and celebration of these great themes truly set your heart free to run in the expanse of His grace.

February 11 Esight, 2008

“And I said, ‘I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it . . . also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side’ . . . Then he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.’”— Zechariah 4:2,3,14In Zechariah chapter 4, Zechariah sees a lamp stand with two olives trees standing on either side of it—”standing by” the lamp to provide oil for its light. The imagery here is striking!

First, there is the lamp stand. Anyone familiar with sanctuary imagery recognizes at once that this is an appropriate symbol for Christ, who is the light of the world (John 8:12), disseminating the light of truth about who God is and about His love, dispelling the darkness of lies that abound regarding God’s character.

But what are those two olive trees? Notice first that it’s through the trees, through the fruit (olives) they bear, that oil is provided for light. This is a fitting image to represent what God wants from each of us. He desires that we would give Him our life, so that He can provide “fruits” (Galatians 5:22), so that through those fruits He can shine forth the light of His love to this darkened world. Jesus taught this ever so clearly.

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works [the fruit of God’s love being awakened in each of us], and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Yet in the context of the book of Zechariah there is more. The sanctuary had been cast down, God’s people oppressed, and truth trampled in the dust. Yet there were two men, two olive trees, that responded to God’s call to return to Jerusalem, restore the sanctuary, and lift up the truth of God’s kingdom of grace and love once again. Who were they? Joshua and Zerubbabel.

I challenge you this week to go back into the Old Testament and read the stories of Joshua and Zerubbabel. Let the stories of these two great men inspire you. According to Daniel 7–12, we too are living in a time when God’s heavenly sanctuary has been cast down, God’s faithful oppressed, and the truth of His character of love cast down to the ground. But this is not where the story in Daniel ends.

“And he said unto me, Until two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings: then shall the sanctuary be vindicated.”—Daniel 8:14

God is calling you, dear reader, to be an olive tree for Him! To rise up from your everyday routine. To let Him produce in you the fruits through which the light of His love is shed abroad. We are being called from our day-in, day-out monotony, to live for something greater than ourselves! To be part of something greater than ourselves! God is desiring that through our encounters with His love in a deeply relevant way, the fruits of that encounter can be produced in our lives, so that through those fruits, He might shine forth both to our world here and to the entire Universe the truth of who He really is.

The call of the ages is sounding. Will you choose to be “an anointed one who stands by the Lord” in this late hour of earth’s history? Will you be willing to spend and be spent for Him? I pray you will, for in no other pursuit will you ever find greater happiness, meaning, or fulfillment.

February 3 Esight, 2008

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. — 1 Corinthians 4:9In the above, Paul chose to use an interesting word in his letter to his fellow believers in Corinth. In most versions, the word is translated as “spectacle.” The Greek word that Paul chose was theatron. It is found only one other time in the New Testament (Acts 19:29&31), where it is translated as “theater,” a place for dramatic performances.

How appropriate! You and I are a theater of God’s grace before men and angels, fallen and unfallen. Our lives are bound up in the greatest drama that the universe has ever witnessed. For it is the story of the slander and vindication of the Character of our God before the on-looking eyes of all.

But we are not play-actors, my friends. This is real life! Not only is God holding us up as a display of His grace and love, which is poured “on” sinners (Ephesians 2:7), but he is holding us up as a theater where His grace and love are poured out “through” sinners to others, as well (Ephesians 3:10). What a testimony to the power of love, the power by which God is endeavoring to govern the universe.

“The church, being endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is His depository [a person with whom something is left in trust], in which the wealth of His mercy, His love, His grace, is to appear in full and final display” (CET 209).

“The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to “the principalities and powers in heavenly places,” the final and full display of the love of God” Ephesians 3:10 (Acts of the Apostles, p. 9).

This was this same method that God used with Christ. “Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven” (Desire of Ages, p. 57).

To this same dispensing of God’s unfathomable grace, we too are called.

“So that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).

May the work that Jesus began be finished in our lifetimes. May the church in these final moments cry out to this world and the unfallen universe above, “Behold your God” (Isaiah 40:9).

Have a blessed week!