1 Corinthians 13:12 – Through a Glass, Darkly

1 Corinthians 13:12
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

-There is so much we don’t know.    The Bible teaches here in 1 Corinthians that we see as though looking through darkened glass.  That means there are many things we can’t even see and even on the things we do see many of the details are hidden.  There is coming a day however when we will know even as we are known.  By whom are we known?  God.  What does God know?  Everything.  One day we will know the Lord as He knows us.  One day we will understand what it really means to be saved from the condemnation of Hell.  One day we will look on Jesus Christ Himself and really understand what it means to die on a cross for the sins of mankind.  Despite whatever insight the Bible gives us on God and Heaven one thing is certain, the half has not been told. (1 Kings 10:7)

James 4:17 – Sins of Omission

James 4:17
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

-Sins of omission.  Just when we think our hands are full enough with abstaining from the things we shouldn’t be doing, James comes along and reminds us that it is also sin if we fail to do the things we should be doing.  So the million-dollar question becomes, “what should we be doing?”  Luke 10:27 is a good place to start: “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”  How about Mark 16:15?  “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”  The Bible makes it perfectly clear what we should not be doing, but it makes it just as clear what we need to be doing.

2 Peter 1:5-10 – Add To Your Faith

2 Peter 1:5-10
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

-Have you ever cranked your car and without realizing it was running, tried to crank it again?  When we get ready to drive, our first instinct is to crank our car; if we don’t recognize any evidence of having already completed that step, our instincts kick in and we turn the key.  I’ve noticed that this mistake is easier to make in cars that have quieter engines because they are unable to provide that constant, audible feedback when cranked.  I often come across Christians making this same mistake in regard to salvation.  At a point in their life, they followed the Biblical command and wholeheartedly committed themselves to the Lord; but if they fail to see any evidence of having completed the first step, their instincts tell them that they need to start the process over from the beginning.  Hence, people make professions of faith and “get saved” multiple times throughout their spiritual journey.  The problem (in most cases, not all) is not a lack of salvation; the problem is a lack of spiritual growth.  Just like a quiet car won’t give you many signs that it’s already fired up, a Christian without signs of sanctification, increased knowledge of God’s word, and spiritual maturity may appear to be someone who never got saved in the first place.

Deuteronomy 31:6 – Be of Good Courage

Deuteronomy 31:6
6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

-Do you have confidence?  Do you have confidence for today?  What about confidence for eternity?  On what is that confidence based?  Here in Deuteronomy, Moses instructs the people to be confident for one reason- the Lord God is standing for them.  This is the same God who has the power to never fail us (Romans 8:38-39) and the same God who has made the choice never to abandon us (Hebrews 13:5).  Those who belong to the Lord never have to be afraid because the Lord is never afraid.  “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

John 3:16-17 – For God So Loved The World…

John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

-As I’ve looked inside myself over time I have found many worthwhile qualities- zeal, diligence, compassion, integrity. (I’ve found even more bad things, but I’ll forego mentioning those. ) However, even with any “good” I’ve found in myself and maybe even more that I’ll discover in the future, I’ve never found a single thing that explains why God loves me.  God’s love defies understanding and reason. Logic dictates that God would have been better off all around if He’d simply forgotten about us and left us to die.  But God didn’t do that; rather, He chose to bear the awful burden of sin and save us because… I don’t know how to finish that sentence.  He did it just because He loves us that much.

Hebrews 12:2 – The Author of Faith

Hebrews 12:2
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

-It takes an amazing kind of faith to believe in a God who is, quite literally, beyond belief and too good to be true.  You may wonder how humans are able to generate such faith.  The answer is- we can’t.  No, it’s actually God Himself who puts the faith in us, to begin with.  In case you’re keeping score, that means the Lord not only provided us with the mercy of not just putting us all straight into Hell; and not only did He provide us with His own Son as an atonement for our sins; but He also gives us the faith to believe that it is all possible.  Say what you will about God, but never let it be said that He is not fully invested in the salvation of our souls.

Hebrews 2:10-11 – He Is Not Ashamed

Hebrews 2:10-11

10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

 

-Verse 11 tells us everything we need to know about how great Salvation really is; we who are sanctified are made the same as the One who sanctifies us.  So completely are we removed from what we were and changed into what Christ is, that He has no hesitation in claiming us in front of anyone.  Think about every nasty, ungodly thing you’ve ever done and then think about what it would take for a Holy, Holy, Holy God to look at you and be pleased with what He sees.  Jesus Christ became sin so that you would never have to feel the weight of sin and He became shame so that you would never have to feel true shame.

1 Kings 12:26-28 – Too Hard to Serve the Lord?

1 Kings 12:26-28
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

-At this point is Israel’s history, the nation has been split.  The nation of Israel under King Jeroboam and Judah under King Rehoboam.  Jeroboam is afraid that if the people go back to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, they will decide not to return.  Look how he decided to deal with that possibility.  He creates a false religion in the form of two idols and tells the people that it is okay to stay in Israel to worship.  This is the same problem we have in the modern age.  Blind leaders have peddled countless false religions out to the people under the premise that “it is too hard to worship the Lord”.  They say His laws are too strict and His standards too high.  That may be true; Jesus Himself taught us that “unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48), and you may find many other “religions” that are easier to follow.  But think about what you are getting.  If you take the ‘easy’ way and get an empty religion, how does that compare to taking the ‘hard’ way and getting the God of all creation?  “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

2 Peter 1:20-21 – Freely Given, Freely Proclaimed

2 Peter 1:20-21
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

-In an effort to extract maximum profit from our works in the modern culture, ideas are regularly patented while literature and compositions are copyrighted.  We try to keep good ideas secure so that we can personally benefit from them.  How comforting that the most important ideas and compositions in history come from One who is more concerned with our good than His own.  The Lord could have kept a tight seal on the wonder and glory contained in Scripture, but instead, He made it known to chosen servants so that they could, in turn, pass it to the rest of us.  Moreover, He commands that His word should never be kept private but is freely available to everyone.

Hebrews 12:2 – The Author and Finisher

Hebrews 12:2
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

-It is evident in scripture that there is nothing any of us could do in order to secure our own salvation; that was wholly a work of the Lord.  Here the Bible reveals that we aren’t even responsible for generating our saving faith and that the Lord Himself ignited that spark of belief.  God’s great plan furnishes us with the Love to send a Savior, the Blood to wash away our sins, the Grace to extend salvation to whosoever will, and even the Faith to believe it’s all possible.  Let it never be said that the Lord is not thorough or that His love for us is incomplete.  Let it also never be said that the Lord stops at simply igniting our faith; for it is also made evident in this very verse that Jesus is the Finisher of our faith.  We can be confident “that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)