The Author and Finisher of Faith

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud
 of witnesses surrounding us,
let us also lay aside every encumbrance
 and the sin which so easily entangles us,
and let us run with endurance
 the race that is set before us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God.

For consider Him who has endured
such hostility by sinners against Himself,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
[Hebrews 12:1-3 NASB95]

I recently memorized these verses of Hebrews and have been considering Jesus...
"so that I will not grow weary and lose heart.”

But my dilemma is this...How can I run with endurance the race that is set before me? Do I have that kind of faith?

This morning the answer came...Jesus writes the law of faith on my heart, and He will finish it according to His will, not mine! I can rest on this promise:

For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 

[Romans 9:15-16 NASB95]

It does not depend on my will or on my willingness to run, nor does it depend on my speed or endurance. God will accomplish His perfect will in me - in His time and according to His purpose.

All I have to do is continually open my heart to His penmanship!

Power Perfected in Weakness

Like anyone who would contemplate the power of God and the suffering of mankind, I have often thought about the question of why God allows suffering in this world.

Many people turn away from God when they are confronted with suffering because they cannot (or don't want to) find an answer to this question.

There are many reasons why people suffer, mostly because we live in a world broken and cursed by sin. The apostle Paul understood suffering more than most, first by causing many saints to suffer in his brutal pre-Christian zeal, then by suffering the same fate from his fellow Jewish zealots and their merciless Roman rulers.

Paul also understood the grace of God and the power that comes through suffering for Christ's sake.

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Why is power perfected in weakness? Because our testimony is polished by turmoil, and shines brighter against the dark backdrop of tribulation and distress. As a follower of Christ, suffering can be a Force Multiplier for our testimony. God is glorified and his righteousness is demonstrated even more fully when we develop and maintain our testimony through trials and the death of our flesh.

The suffering and death of Christ is the ultimate foundational testimony of God’s mercy and righteousness, through which we are reconciled to God and introduced to grace.

To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 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 3:8-10

Who sees this testimony? Not only those on earth but “the rulers and authorities in heavenly places!” 

My conclusion is this:

Whether we stand before kings or walk before kids, whether we preach to multitudes or suffer alone, our lives testify to the host of heaven against the forces of darkness!

“So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.”” ‭‭Hosea‬ ‭6‬:‭3

The Foundation of God's Throne

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

Psalms 89:14

There is a chapter in the New Testament that completely changed my understanding of the Bible. I first encountered these verses as I was memorizing Romans in my first year of college.

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?

Romans 3:5-6

The third chapter of Romans presents God's perfect righteousness in human terms as a prerequisite for Him to execute judgment. Without God's righteous judgment all creation would be lost to the domain of darkness.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

Romans 3:21-26

The backdrop of the gospel is that God is righteous, and His righteousness requires judgment and condemnation of evil. This righteousness in God's terms is much more than judgment and condemnation. The perfect righteousness of God is His self-sacrificing unconditional love, which extends mercy and forgiveness in response to an unjust and ungrateful world.

Jesus said that God's Law is based on two commandments, both involving sacrificial love.

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 

Matthew 22:37-40

God's righteousness means that He is always faithful and true; His faithfulness is the expression of His perfect love and mercy.

The Bible records promises that God made to great men of faith like Noah, Abraham and David. The promise to Abraham shows how people can become part of his family, not by flesh (birthright) or by keeping the Law of Moses, but by faith in God. This promise remains certain today for all who believe and confess their faith, because God is faithful. The Law of Moses did not nullify this promise (Romans 4:13-15), nor does Faith nullify God's Law (Romans 3:31), nor does Faith nullify the requirement for perfect righteousness to enter into the kingdom of heaven (Psalm  24:3-4).

The apostle Paul spends several chapters explaining this apparent conflict of Law and Faith in his epistle to the Romans. The conflict is resolved by a promise that took precedence over the Law of Moses and the nation of Israel. This promise was given to David when he was king, in which God promised to establish his Son as the ruler of an eternal kingdom that would be for all people of all nations, who are born not of flesh but of spirit, because of His own blood that is poured out on the altar of God to atone for all sin of all time.

If you are following this (and this may be hard to really grasp at first), you will begin to understand how fundamentally important it is for the Body of Christ to proclaim and demonstrate God's righteousness. This is why Paul said in his epistle to the Corinthians "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes." This is why Paul said to the Galatians "may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." We remind ourselves and the world that God so loved us that He sacrificed His Son for us, so that our sins could be forgiven and washed away. 

This is the righteous, faithful, merciful and self-sacrificial God of the Bible, the one true God that we serve by receiving the Spirit of His Son into our heart. Because Jesus our Messiah is seated at the right hand of God we are empowered to put on His robe of righteousness and enter boldly into the throne room of God.

Understanding the foundational nature of God's righteousness has helped me understand many truths of the Bible, such as the meaning and purpose of creation, the nature of spiritual warfare, the foundation of a righteous government, and many questions non-believers pose in rejecting the Bible. I hope to share these truths in related posts, so if you're interested please subscribe to my blog or bookmark this page. Many blessings to you!

Deplorable Politics

I found the recent comments of the Democratic presidential nominee, lumping millions of people into a "basket of deplorables", to be extremely troubling. Her explanation and "apology" was even more troubling.

Certainly racism and xenophobia are deplorable attitudes, but Clinton's comments went beyond that to call millions of people themselves deplorable. That is the closest thing to hate speech I have ever heard from a presidential candidate. And this was not just a slip of the tongue or momentary lapse in judgement - she had obviously used that term repeatedly and was comfortable including it in a public forum, albeit one that was friendly to her agenda.

The terms "sexist", "homophobic" and "Islamophobic" are even more troubling, especially in the context of her highly-publicized speech, because they are highly subjective terms depending on the perception of the audience. I suspect many of those agreeing with her sentiment would consider those with traditional views of marriage and concerns about the rise of Islamic radicalism to be in that "basket".

Mrs. Clinton tried to minimize the political damage by suggesting that it was a mistake to say "half of Trump supporters are in that basket". The number is irrelevant; what is troubling is the idea that anyone could be lumped into this category of "deplorables", as if they could just be carted away and society would be better off without them.

How long does it take to turn a "basket of deplorables" 

into a "boxcar of deplorables"?

The elitist attitude that certain groups of people are "deplorable", combined with a consensus that certain difficulties are caused by these "deplorables" soon results in attacks, social stigmas, and sometimes acts of genocide. Thank God this has not happened in America, but the direction of politics in this country is certainly pointing down this dark path, arguably on both sides of the aisle.

Can this country be healed of its deep divisions? I'm pretty certain the answer will not be found in politics, though politics can certainly make it worse. No, the answer can only come from God, through the love that only the presence of Christ can impart in our hearts toward one another.

We should each ask the question, am I infected with hatred toward others based on their political views? Can I forgive my brother, even as I need forgiveness daily myself? God have mercy on us and revive our spirits to call on the Name of Jesus for deliverance!

Dancing in the Fire

I'm wearing a pair of shoes that don't match any more. One shoe is almost new; the other is worn out and blackened, with holes in the nylon mesh and crusty shoelaces. Let me explain...

Saturday was a very windy day in Katy, and much colder than the day before. We had four grandchildren at the house along with their parents, and we had a charcoal grill ready to go. I had cleaned the grill with some paper towels soaked in cooking oil while the fire was hot, and tossed these in the trash bag in the garage. After dinner we wanted to have a fire in the fire pit and enjoy what would probably be the last cold day before summer, which starts early in this part of the world.

Hurriedly I put the grill away and got out the fire pit. In my rush I dumped the fire pit ashes in the trash bag, thinking they were cool. You can probably guess the rest of the story, or not.

About ten minutes later, while I was watching the grandkids madly running around the back yard, my younger son looked in the garage and shouted, THE GARAGE IS ON FIRE. I bolted to the garage to see a nine-foot-tall blaze reaching to the ceiling and quickly filling the garage with smoke. The fire was starting to engulf the front of my wife's car and spreading across the indoor-outdoor carpet in all directions. The only thought that crossed my mind was to keep the flames from getting under the car, and without really thinking clearly I decided to try to stomp the fire out with my right shoe. The first step or two were wildly risky, but thankfully the flames were quickly reduced to knee-high flames and my other son came to the rescue with the garden hose just in time to save me from setting my clothes on fire.

When all this commotion finally came to an end, I was a nervous wreck. It didn't take long to realize what a miracle had just occurred. That flame could have easily brought down our house if it had gone unattended for even one more minute. Only a few feet away I had a gasoline can with a gallon of fuel mix in it. When I looked around I realized that NOTHING had been damaged except about ten square feet of indoor-outdoor carpet, and one almost-new sneaker. I was deeply humiliated about my hurried decisions that led to this conflagration. I could not believe the grace of God that spared me the terrible damage it could have caused.

For just a few moments it might have looked like I was dancing in that fire. I thought about the story in the book of Daniel where the Hebrew children were walking around in the flames unharmed. I know the Son of God was with me because not a single hair on my body was singed. Yes my right shoe was partially melted, but that's just a reminder to me of God's protection and mercy that was extended to me absolutely undeserved. As King Nebuchadnezzar said,

"Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,

who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!"

Daniel 3:28

Seventy Times Seven

Thoughts regarding the seventieth Jubilee, the kindness and patience of God, and the end of sin...

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

II Peter 3:9 NASB

Just how patient is God and just how long will he wait for us? In Noah's generation it was many years from the time Noah began to build the ark until the flood came. After the prophecy of Jonah, God waited more than 100 years to destroy Nineveh and the kingdom of Assyria. After the crucifixion of Christ, the church endured 38 years of Jewish persecution before Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish nation was scattered. None of these time periods indicate a time limit for sin, but they do prove that there is a limit to God's patience and that an end of sin is coming. A clue can be found in Matthew 18:

Peter came and said to Him,

“Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Matthew 18:21-22 NASB

In this passage and the following parable, Jesus indicates that we must always be ready to forgive, since we have each been forgiven an unimaginable debt to God ourselves. The condition in the parable that triggers God's wrath is not a number or a time limit, but rather the unmerciful behavior of the one who was given great mercy. (Note that Jesus commands heart-forgiveness; to do less is to leave our debtors in prison.)

There is another "seventy times seven" in the Bible, an interesting coincidence or maybe something more:

Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city,

to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity,

to bring in everlasting righteousness,

to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

Daniel 9:24 NASB

Those weeks (Hebrew "shabuim") are generally interpreted by Christian scholars as periods of seven years, thus the prophecy primarily refers to the 490 years from that time until the final atoning sacrifice of Christ and the anointing of the body of Christ for world outreach. This prophecy was to be sealed and only released after it was fulfilled. If the math seems strange, consider that seven years is the time designated by God for the remission of debt. The last year of this shabua is known as a "Sabbath year" (Hebrew "shemittah"). Seventy times the shemittah would be observed in the land of Israel, seventy times seven times the high priest would offer the yearly atonement for their sins. After this time God would turn his face away from the Jews and send his Jewish church to the Gentiles. (Remember that after God lifts his hand of protection, there may be years before the natural consequence of sin causes the inevitable disastrous effects.)

The question remains how long before the "times of the Gentiles" is fulfilled and the Messiah returns to reconcile the Jews to himself. There is another type of "shabua" or period of seven known as "Jubilee" (Hebrew "yobel"). Jubilee occurs after seven shemitta periods, or every 49 years. Jubilee is a year when Jews are to return to their tribal homeland, and when the land of Israel should revert to its original tribal allotments. Thus Jubilee has a special relationship to the promised return of Messiah and the establishment of his kingdom on earth.

It turns out that, according to many who have studied this subject, we are in the seventieth Jubilee since the promised land was first given to the tribes of Israel. There are two possible implications regarding this time that we live in now. First, that the seventy times seven prophecy of Daniel applies also to the second coming of Christ, and that the time has come for sin and transgression to end and the promised everlasting righteousness to be established on earth. Second, that the grace of God extended to mankind may have a limit of "seventy times seven" after all, as alluded to by Christ in the book of Matthew.

I'm not suggesting that there is a time limit on God's forgiveness, or that Messiah must come within a certain known time window, but rather that now is a special time and should be treated with utmost diligence to seek a right relationship with God through the mercy offered to us in Christ.

Jubilee is a season of liberation, and a time of spiritual renewal. Though the land may sit idle (i.e. we should not focus on material gain), it is a time when we should use our storehouse of spiritual treasure to reach those in need. Here's a good article on the positive aspects of this Jubilee year:

http://www.johnnyandelizabeth.com/blog/2016-true-year-of-jubilee.

If this Jubilee is bringing the kingdom of Satan to an end, let's consider what that could mean. The One speaking in Daniel 12 says this:

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.

There will be a time of distress

such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.

But at that time your people

—everyone whose name is found written in the book—

will be delivered.

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake:

some to everlasting life,

others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens,

and those who lead many to righteousness,

like the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel 12:1-3 NASB

The final jubilee will be a time when all property returns to its rightful owner (God). Such a financial catastrophe will lead to a time of great distress for those who don't have faith, but in the midst of this trouble the people of God will be delivered, and will shine like the stars of heaven. Stars shine at all times, but they can only be seen in darkness. People will be drawn to the light, or they will run to the darkness, so that the fruit will be evident and the harvest can begin.

The true church will stand and grow, while the apostate church will descend with the reprobate culture. At some point this apostasy will exhaust the patience of God, and then the end will come. Truthfully, I don't know how or when this will end, but I know The One who will end it. I'm sure it will be crystal clear at that time, as clear as the glassy sea around His throne. Until then we must work while it is called today, so that Christ may present us to himself as his spotless bride.

Refining Fire

Today I visited a church in Ingram, Texas with a good friend and brother-in-Christ. I was blessed because of what the pastor spoke about - seeking and seeing God's face.

He started with Exodus 33:20:

"But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

The pastor asked if that were true, why did Exodus 33:11 say "The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one would speak to a friend?"

I had been studying Exodus 24 just this past week where it says that the elders of Israel "saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank."

As the pastor pointed out, why is the Bible full of admonitions to "seek God's face" if seeing God would bring death? His point was that the verse in Ex 33:11 only applied to that one time. But I saw a larger point.

I also studied the meaning of the word "fire" last week (at a friend's request). I found some interesting things about fire. Fire consumes the sacrifices laid on the altar before God. The Bible says God himself is a "consuming fire". In that same chapter of Exodus 24, "to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top."

Moses and the elders of Israel passed through this consuming fire and returned alive. If this can be the case, why does the Bible say that no man can see God and live? Put another way, what dies in the presence of God?

The Greek word for fire is "PYR" or "PUR". This Greek root is found in English as "pyre" and "pyromania" for example. I believe it is also at the root of the word "purify", as when a refiner purifies metal in a fire.

If it's not obvious by now, being in the presence of God will destroy our flesh and energize our spirits. This is why we are admonished to seek God's face, to allow his intense glory to burn away the dross in our lives and expose the precious mettle of Jesus! Glory to the God of heaven whose burning majesty will consume his enemies! Jesus said "he who loses his life for my sake will find it." Paul said to "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice" to be consumed by the blaze of his glory on the altar of this earthly life. It is a terrible wonderful thing to come into God's presence: terrible if we come in the flesh, but wonderful to know that what separates us from God is dying there in His presence just the same. If we dwell in His presence, one day we will "shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven" when there is no more flesh to burn away.

Mercy and Atonement

Reading Psalm 136, you can't help but notice that every verse ends with "His steadfast love endures forever". (It would help if we also had the original tune to go along with this "praise chorus"!)

So being overly analytical I wanted to see what those words are in Hebrew.  Ki le'ovlam chasdow - Because of His eternal mercy.  The Hebrew word for "steadfast love" or "mercy" is chasdow or Chesed (start by snoring backwards, then add "hess-said").  Chesed is one of the core attributes of God.  It refers to how God treats those in need - to care for them and help them.  A Chesed organization in Israel would be called a charitable organization in America.

So I got curious if this word was used in the "mercy seat" of the Torah.  Not at all.  Actually I was surprised to see that the "mercy seat" is really mistranslated and would be more accurately translated "the covering" or "the atonement cover".  The Hebrew is "Hakkaporet" or simply "The Cover".  The root word "kopher" (KPR) in Hebrew has several meanings, most often translated "ransom" or the price one must pay to redeem a life from debtor's prison or slavery.  I think this must be where we get the usage of "covering a debt" in English.

OK, so step back for a moment and consider what the the Kopher is covering.  It's the lid on the ark of the covenant.  Inside the ark of the covenant is the Law of Moses, which is the law of sin and death.  We could go back one more step and note that "kopher" also means "pitch" or "bitumen" which was used to seal and protect another ark - Noah's ark.

So, why does the ark need a covering?  In Noah's case the ark needed to be sealed so it could float for a year without leaking or getting waterlogged.  The "kopher" kept the creatures inside the ark separate from the water outside the ark.  In that sense it stood between the redeemed and judgment.

In the case of the ark of the covenant, the cover was to stand between man and the law of sin and death. This is the concept of atonement.  Yom Kippur - the day of atonement - would ensure that the sins of the people were covered for another year.  Why is this translated "the mercy seat"?  "Seat" because the cover is seated on the top of the ark (an artifact of King James English I suppose).  "Mercy" because it is only by God's great mercy that we are not consumed by His wrath.  The law requires death as the penalty for sin, and all of us stand in need of His mercy to save us from the just sentence of death.


So now we come to what covers our sins as Christians.  It is the righteousness of Christ. Unlike the black tar used to cover the ark of Noah, the righteousness of Christ is a white linen garment, fine and clean.

Genesis 3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

Isaiah 61:10 For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.

Galatians 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Revelation 19:18 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Yet there is something more than atonement available for followers of Christ.  Atonement is temporary, and our sins are covered by the blood of Christ while we are in the flesh, but we are also:

Redeemed (all our debts under the Law are paid by Christ's sacrifice),

Reconciled (brought back into the presence of God),

Saved (delivered from the power of sin and spared from the wrath of God),

Reborn (resurrected to a new life in Christ),

Justified (imputed with the righteousness of Christ),

Sanctified (purified from sin and re-formed into the image of Christ),

Anointed (filled with the Holy Spirit of God),

Appointed (sent into the world to make disciples of all men), and

Glorified (together with Christ) when our earthly bodies are exchanged for heavenly bodies in the world to come.

Now that I think about this list, I think I will memorize it for a time of thanksgiving and praise!

Heavenly Accounting

God is not a bookkeeper, but there are certainly books being kept on each of us, and not just by Google and the credit bureaus.

The book on me contains everything I've done, which is basically a book about my sin, because everything I do (including my righteousness) is as "filthy rags" before God.  There is absolutely nothing I could do to zero out this book.  There is nothing you could do, or all of us could do together to zero out these books.  Add to this debt the infinite debt incurred by all of us, when we rejected His Son and put Him through a most painful and unjust death on the cross.  That's a pretty heavy load of debt.

On the other side of the ledger is only one act that can balance the books.  That is the sacrifice of the pure and spotless Lamb of God.  His blood can cover every line in your book.  The good new is - Jesus  lives and He forgives.  You know in your heart that you could not stand and account for your life before God.  Without Jesus we are toast.  Only Jesus can get us out of this jam.

Let me share one of my favorite Psalms 130 with you in music.


In this Psalm, verse 4 says "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.."

God doesn't want to read my book, He just wants to see my heart pumping the blood of Jesus through my veins, giving me new life. Live in me LORD, and pour out your blessings through me to others!  In Jesus name...