Edtucner, Author at Creation Beckons

Rejoice Gentiles

Romans 15:9-12 Rejoice Gentiles

“He came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: ‘For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.’ And in another place it is written, ‘Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.’ And yet again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.’ And in another place Isaish said, ‘The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.’”

Israel may be God’s chosen people, but He didn’t forget about the rest of us. Anyone not a member of Israel is a Gentile. That’s a whole bunch of us. Yes, it includes everybody except the people of Israel—red men, white men, black men, yellow men, Hindus, Muslims, Catholics, Lutherans, Taoists, Amish, Schwenkfelders, Quakers, Confucianists, Communists, atheists, and yes, even satanists. Look at what today’s Scripture says about us. We “might give glory to God for his mercies” to us. God has mercy on all peoples, but some of us reject it. We will sing praises to His name. Maybe this one isn’t all exclusive, but all those who finally accept Jesus Christ will sing praises to His name. We will rejoice with the people of Israel. Again, maybe this one is not all inclusive, especially today. But the day will come when all peoples will rejoice with God’s chosen nation in Jerusalem. We will praise him, “all you people of the earth.” We will place our hope in the “heir to David’s throne.”

God certainly does care about the Gentiles. He sent a savior, not just for Israel, but for all the people of the earth. He sent the Savior through His chosen people, Israel, but the Savior was sent for everyone, and God sent His special messenger, Paul, specifically to the Gentiles: Galatians 1:15,16 says, “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being”

God has gone so far as to graft us into the tree of Israel. In Romans 11:17-19, we are told, “But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special Olive tree” (NLT). We are now actually part of the tree of Israel. We are fed from the root that has nourished Israel throughout many centuries. Yes, we Gentiles have much to be thankful for, and multiple reason to praise, honor, and love our God.

Jesus Is Lord and Savior

Romans 10:9 Jesus Is Lord and Savior

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (NIV).

The great part of this verse for us is “you will be saved.” We will be saved from sin and its consequences, which are, living without the blessings of God while on earth and living throughout eternity in hell with satan. We often say, “It’s easy, just ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins,” and then you will be saved, you will spend eternity in heaven. Let’s look again at Romans 10:9. It does list two conditions for being saved. First we have to use our mouth to say, “Jesus is Lord,” and second, “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.”

We must recognize Jesus as Lord. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “lord” as, “a person having great power and authority; ruler; master.” If I declare that Jesus is Lord, then I must recognize Him as the one who has authority in my life, the ruler, the master. Wow, then I have to obey all the Ten Commandments given by Moses, and obey all the rules and laws listed in Leviticus? Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment, and His answer, in Matthew 22:37-40, was, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” It sounds like we need to pay attention to these two commandments as given by Jesus, and if we do, we will satisfy all the Ten Commandments and the rules of Leviticus; we will be satisfying the heart of God.

God realizes that none of us is free of sin, so we will not be keeping His commandments all the time. And that’s why Jesus is our Savior, to gain God’s forgiveness for our sins, to reserve our place with Him in heaven. Even though we fail and are forgiven, it should be our heart-felt desire to abide by the Words of Jesus.

Do I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead? Yes, I do. The Bible tells of several times that Jesus met with His followers after His resurrection. The tomb was empty, and our souls were filled by the love of Jesus Christ. The important part of “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead” are the words, “in your heart.” I think we all understand the difference between belief in the head and belief in the heart. The belief in our heads can be changed by circumstances, but nothing will change the belief we hold in our hearts. That sounds like a commitment on my part. Well, it is. If I desire for Jesus to save me from my sins, I must be willing to commit myself to believing Him and following Him for the rest of my life.

So, salvation is free, but we do have a part to play: Declare Jesus as our Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. Welcome to a wonderful life that begins now and lasts for eternity.

Trust and Peace

Philippians 4:6,7 Trust and Peace

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God , which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (NIV).

It was very peaceful to look into this scene of calm blue water surrounded by snow-capped peaks from the deck of a large and stable ship. All I had to do at that moment was to look on the glory of God’s creation, appreciate it, and thank Him for it. It brought great peace to my mind, my heart, and my spirit. That God would create all this just for our enjoyment, speaks volumes of His love and care for us. The amazing beauty and grandeur of God’s creation, from the stark dryness of the desert to the sweeping beauty of Alaska, cause joy and peace to rise within me and draw me closer to the one who created all this. When I consider the great variety of the animals and the plants, in addition to all the landforms, I am overwhelmed.

Even though the beauty and magnificence He created are mind-boggling, they pale in significance when compared to the most loving, most sacrificial act of our God. He left His place in heaven and came to earth as one of us and offered His body to purchase salvation, the forgiveness of sins, for us. He allowed men to nail Him to a cross where He hung until His body died. Satan may have considered this to be His great moment of victory, but it was just the beginning of satan’s humiliation in front of his minions when Jesus roared forth out of hell and brought our salvation with Him. With salvation, He also brought peace for those who will accept Him, trust Him, and live for Him.

Thank you, Jesus, for the beauty of creation that I always enjoy, but I thank you most for bringing me victory over sin and its contract with satan. Thank you, Jesus, for providing a place for me with you for eternity. I have trusted you, and You have given me peace.

You Are Valuable to God

Matthew 6:26 You Are Valuable to God

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (NIV)

God knows each of us much more thoroughly and intimately than this mother duck knows her chicks. And yet these baby ducklings trust their mother enough to follow her to a place they have never been, that blue stuff called water. Have you ever wondered how a duckling feels the first time it steps off solid ground onto something that moves, water? Is the duckling concerned or excited? Whichever it is, he trusts momma enough to follow her. He instinctively knows that she will not lead him into any danger. Our trust of our Lord has to become instinctive, making us willing to follow Him wherever He leads, without any concern, but with excitement for the journey He has prepared for us. We have to know in our “knowers” that He will not lead us into any danger that He is unable to guide us through. Life with our Lord is not necessarily always calm and quiet. He can and He does lead us into places where we need to stretch our wings and fly for the first time, to get our feet wet in the sharing of the Gospel with a stranger or perhaps a friend that is not a churchgoer. We need to trust Him enough to know that He knows that our wings can hold us in flight, and that we can speak His Word to others. We will never know unless we trust Him when He presents opportunities that we might think of as challenges. He will never put us in a position where He does not “have our backs.”

The ducklings also know that their momma will do everything in her power to protect them if anything threatens them. Is not our God more powerful that a mother duck? Does He not care for us more than the mother duck cares for her chicks? We need to take encouragement and comfort in knowing that the creator of the universe knows our situation every moment of every day, that He is watching out for us constantly. He does ask that we ask Him for help when we need it. We need to acknowledge that we need His help, that we are dependent upon Him. He is eager to give us all the good things He has in store for us, but we have to realize that we need them, that He is the source, and that we have to make our requests to Him.

Even His Shadow Is Mighty

Psalm 91:1 Even His Shadow Is Mighty

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (KJV).

Please disregard the name and the words in the picture above. I use the picture because of the sharpness of the shadow. Is the light shining from the lower left or from the upper right? Hard to tell, isn’t it? The shadow matches the original exactly and is just as sharp.

The verse above tells us that we are safe even in the shadow of the Almighty. His strength and protection are available wherever God sends them, even in a place where they are made up of nothing we can touch. That’s true of our God; we can’t physically touch Him, and that makes it difficult for some to believe that He even exists. Talk to someone who has had a personal touch from Him, someone who has been healed from a deadly disease, someone who has been set free from drugs, someone whose life and marriage have been restored, someone who has been brought safely out of a horrendous automobile or plane crash. I’m pretty sure that he will gladly tell you of the real existence and spiritual touch of Jesus Christ. A shadow proves that something real has caused the shadow; it exists, so if we can “abide in the shadow of the Almighty,” then He, the Almighty must exist. Thank you, dear God, for providing for us, the Shadow of the Almighty.

Bread of Eternal Life

Matthew 4:4 Bread of Eternal Life

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”’” (NIV).

My wife and I were fortunate one day while we were hiking, to see this butterfly feeding. God provided this plant for the butterfly for food, and he provided the process by which the butterfly turns this plant into vibrant animal life.

God has done the same for us. He provided all the food we need. And he provided the processes by which our bodies turn the food into vibrant life. But that speaks only of the physical food and the physical life. Satan tempted Jesus by telling Him to turn the stones into bread that He could eat. Jesus’ answer to satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” is the solid rock on which our spiritual lives grow. We can grow physically by eating the physical food provided around us, but that provides only for the physical life, the life we live here on earth. Our bodies can survive for a limited time on those foods. Then life is done—not really, we do live forever after we leave this earth. Where we live forever depends upon the spiritual food we have consumed during our physical lifetime. Jesus tells us in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (NIV). Jesus provides us a constant supply of spiritual food that is available through the written Word, through prayer, and through the Word taught by God’s ministers. The spiritual food we consume during a day provides for the spiritual needs of that day, but also for all the days of eternity to come.

I like to think of the spiritual food that I consume as ingredients for my daily spiritual bread. That daily spiritual bread can be “whole wheat,” “sourdough,” “rye,” “pumpernickel,” or even “cinnamon-raisin” bread.” Whatever it is, it is right for that day. I also like to think that all the spiritual food I consume is being gathered into one grand recipe that will be baked on the day I leave this earth and will be available for me when I reach heaven. I don’t know what that glorious food will look like, but I can’t wait to taste it. If it were a bagel, I suppose it could be called an “everything” bagel.

The Church United

Ephesians 2:19-22 The Church United

“You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God’s own Spirit to live” (CEV).

This may not be the most photographic picture I have ever taken, but it has importance. First of all, it’s easy to see that the church is part of the community it serves. People’s homes are right next door. This church is unique in that it serves as the meeting place for the Catholic Church and the protestant church. They share the facility. There is an altar at each end, a pot belly stove in the middle, and pews whose backs can easily be switched so the congregants can face either the Catholic altar or the protestant altar. Since they share the building, they also share the costs and the upkeep, so cooperation is a must. What a good example this is of the Scripture quoted above. Each church and each congregation is built with “apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone.” We would do well to remember the common foundation and the common cornerstone we all share. The Scripture is a call for unity in the Spirit. I have been reading a book by David Jeremiah, “Belief That Behaves.” I was intrigued with a section that describes an international meeting of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. At one point the attendees gathered in small groups for prayer. The international group included students from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, entities not known for their friendly or even peaceful interaction. But these three groups came together for prayer, breaking the walls that separated them. One of the leaders said, “In Christ we are all one family. And Christ breaks down political boundaries. In Christ, we have the desire to make the first steps to connect.” Unity in Christ was paramount to these students.

Dr. Jeremiah also related the following story. A young American girl on a mission trip to Quito, Ecuador, was seriously injured. While she was swimming in deep water, a boat didn’t see her and rode right over her. The propellor caught her on the lower back. Several young Ecuadorean men swam to her and carried her back to shore where an ambulance took her to the hospital. Over the next few weeks, her Christian friends in the U.S. contacted people they knew in Ecuador, who began to visit her and offer help. A retired missionary doctor took personal responsibility for her care, and she received many cards, letters, emails, flowers, and gifts. She said, “I just can’t believe it . These people loved me for no other reason than that I needed to be loved.” Her father responded, “It’s the church, When the church is functioning at its best, there is simply no community on earth that can rival it.”

God calls us to Christian unity, and it is to our advantage to do what we can to foster unity. If someone says, “Jesus is Lord,” he is my brother.

Sing His Praise

Psalm 96:12 Sing His Praise

“Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy” (MIV).

This Psalm is a song of praise, and, to me, these beautiful flowers are singing praises to our Lord and to their creator. I had lots of ideas for this posting, but I think David says it best, so here is the totality of Psalm 96.

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord, glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord, the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound and all that is in it.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.”

AMEN!

Persevere and Shine

Hebrews 12:1-3 Persevere and Shine

“Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne! So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up” (CEV).

The desert is a hard, dry, rocky, inhospitable place, but grand beauty can be found there in the plants that endure and persist until beautiful blossoms appear. They endure times of immense heat with sporadic rainfall that may come in cloudbursts one day and white-hot skies for extended times after the rainfall. It is interesting to note that the beauty of these flowers stands out in stark contrast to the land around them. They are easy to spot. The eye is drawn to them.

Jesus appeared on the scene two thousand years ago with a message that disturbed the existing religious leaders. The leaders had drifted from the belief they had on the day that the walls of Jerico fell. Jesus reminded them of that strong faith and pointed them to the Holy Scriptures that prophesied the appearance of the Messiah. He announced that He was that Messiah, and He showed it by the miracles He performed, by the words of peace and love that He spoke, and by the words written in the Holy Scriptures that He, and He alone, fulfilled. He certainly stood out from the crowd. It wasn’t hard to see Him and to follow His journey. The religious leaders wanted to kill Him, but several times while He was in their midst, He walked right through the crowd, escaping their murderous plots. He endured opposition from the religious leaders; He endured being ignored by the people from His home town; He endured betrayal from one of His closest associates; and He endured being hung on a Roman cross. On resurrection day He shined brighter than anyone ever did throughout history. His beauty was amazing, and it remains so today.

As for us, we can learn from the cactus flowers and from Jesus. We have been battered by sin, some that continue to attack even after we have accepted Jesus as Lord. Even now, even here, we endure implied, if not actual, persecution. Our statements about our Lord are derided by many, and some people even think we are deluded fools for the trust and faith we have in our Lord. Our stands on many aspects of life are derided, and we are marginalized in some parts of the communities where we live. But, we, like Christ, must persevere and run our race to its completion, and then like Him, we will shine brightly with His beauty for eternity.

Peace

John 14:27 Peace

“Peace I leave with you, My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge]” (AMP).

Jesus was speaking with His disciples at the last supper. By this time, He had told them that one of them would betray Him, and Judas had left to commit the betrayal. His disciples certainly sensed that something serious was about to happen, although they did not know how serious. He had also told them the Father would be sending them the Holy Spirit, who would remind them of all the things that Jesus had said to them. It wasn’t long until they needed this peace, for when they left, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed. They scattered, and Peter was soon to deny that he even knew Jesus. The crucifixion was just a few days away. The disciples had good reason to be afraid, for their leader had been arrested and crucified. They could be next. A reading of the Scriptures leads me to believe that Jesus’ disciples did not have the peace He had left them until after they saw Him after His resurrection. Some might say, “But they should have had peace because they had been with Jesus for three years, had seen Him perform many miracles, and had heard Him preach the Gospel.” If I had witnessed, what they had witnessed at Calvary, would I have had peace? Would you have had peace?

But I wasn’t in their situation. I know that He arose. I should have the peace that Jesus has given us. Right? Sometimes it takes us a while to receive the peace that Jesus has given. Sometimes I have to reread this passage before I truly have peace. And when I reread it and contemplate it and remember that Jesus said it and remember that Jesus never told a lie, then I receive His peace. Then His peace calms me as I thank Him and praise Him. Thank you, Jesus, for giving us your peace, and thank you, Father God, for sending Jesus and for sending the Holy Spirit.