Call on His Name

Do you know the name of the Lord?  His name is Jesus.  In fulfillment of two thousand years of promises to ancient Israel beginning with Abraham, Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth in the early 1st Century A.D.  As an adult, He lived the most virtuous human life ever recorded.  For His trouble, He was cruelly executed.  Upon being raised from the dead three days later, and contrary to all we know of human nature, He commissioned His followers to tell the world that He was willing to forgive everyone of everything.  He then ascended into heaven and from there He rules the universe just as He had before He came to be born in Bethlehem.  Jesus is the name of the Lord.

Names are very practical tools.  For one thing, they enable us to connect to the spiritual world – that dimension of creation that we cannot reach with our five physical senses.  For example, if you were to go looking for God, where would you go?  He dwells in that spiritual dimension you cannot navigate in your customary way.  If you call His name, however, He will hear it and come to you.  That’s how you find Him.

A name also informs you about the nature and character of the one named.  Just like any other person, Jesus established a reputation by the way He lived His life.  That reputation is now wrapped up in his name, just as we might say of good person today, “Let no one tarnish his good name.”  Therefore, if you call upon the name of the Lord you can not only know that He’ll hear you but you can also have some sense of how He’ll respond and what His attitude is likely to be as you call on Him.  That is, He’ll live up to His reputation.

Now you could call out to “the one true God of the universe” and He would respond to you just as quickly as if you called out “Lord Jesus.”  However, you would have a vaguer notion of His disposition.  By that I mean that while God has revealed Himself in many ways and through different means, He has never revealed Himself more fully and more comprehensively and more clearly than He did through the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Bible documents how God has progressively revealed Himself to humanity, with each successive revelation adding to the portrait we have of Him.  Throughout time, men have called upon the name of the Lord.  Over time, however, our view of who we were calling on became clearer…until finally our eyes were almost blinded by the extent of His wisdom, power, righteousness, and forbearance as revealed in Jesus Christ.

This name of the Lord on which you call, therefore, is very revealing.  It also reveals the nature of His Holy Spirit whom He pours out on everyone who calls on Him in sincere hope of forgiveness and with determination to repent.  Through His Spirit in you, you can hear His thoughts, sense His closeness, and express His nature.  This will change your reputation.

The name of the Lord is first and foremost…Lord.  Thus we should be His servants and do His will.  Otherwise, why call Him Lord?

For more context, see this overview.

Postscript:  Among the comments below, you will find links to specific names of the Lord about which I have written.  For example, the first three below are “the Runner and Forerunner,” “the Example,” and “the Lawgiver.”  Many others follow (over one hundred in all).  Christ has many names – because there is so much He wants us to know about Himself.  Pay attention to His names and you will continue to learn more about Him – because He is true to His name.

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

Whose Approval Do You Want?

All of us want to impress somebody.  All of us are looking for approval, but we can look for that approval in different places.  For some, it’s in a hard-to-please parent.  For others, it’s in the adulation of the masses.  For some of us, it’s merely in the handful of our friends that we most respect.  Occasionally, someone is just trying to please himself.  And then there are the people who want to impress God, who want His approval.  This last category has what the Bible calls “the fear of God.”  All the previous categories practice what the Bible calls “the fear of man.”  Perhaps needless to say, the Bible takes a dim view of “the fear of man” but highly commends “the fear of God.”  We are told to expect negative consequences to fearing man and positive consequences to fearing God.

There is a rational basis for this difference in views: human beings can only hear our words and view our actions, while God can see our hearts.  Therefore, to be a “people-pleaser” can never be fully satisfying, either for us or for the person or people we’re trying to please.  They can’t see our motives and therefore can never fully understand why we do anything we do.  For that matter, we often can’t see the fullness of our own hearts and don’t fully understand why we do everything we do.  God, however, is able to look on the totality of who we are and make reasonable and fair assessments of our thoughts, words, and deeds.

In addition to being the wiser choice, pleasing God also has the benefit of, generally speaking, making us more pleasing to people.  That is, in seeking God’s approval we become better parents, more industrious workers, kinder neighbors, and so on.  Yet there are times when pleasing God will actually make us displeasing to people.  What will you do when that happens?  For, believe it or not, pursuing God’s approval could bring you more hostility from the world than you have ever before experienced.  What will you do when people criticize you, judge you, and condemn you…all just because you’re doing the things God wants you to do?  It will please God even more if you bear up under that unfair suffering and don’t return evil for evil.  In fact, He would have you give a blessing instead.  For this is just the sort of thing that He does with His critics all the time.

The other good thing about seeking the approval of God is that He will never unreasonably withhold it.  That is, He is always willing to be pleased.  You can’t say as much for people.

Most of all, keep in mind that seeking the approval of others will distract you from seeking the approval of God.  Seek the approval of God and let the chips fall where they may regarding everyone else’s opinions.

For more context, see this overview.

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

Why the Bible Can Be Trusted

The Bible is the product of the ancient nation of Israel and has stood the test of time.  As the United States of America has its Declaration of Independence and Constitution with amendments, so Israel’s national documents began with what Moses wrote and was added to by what its prophets wrote over the ensuing years.  When a nation treasures documents, there is no doubt about what those documents say.

Even what we call the New Testament was written about a Jew, by Jews, and in fulfillment of all that had been written by Jews (specifically, Israel’s prophets) to that point in time.  Jesus Christ was Israel’s last and greatest prophet, and His apostles were sent out by Him with the message of salvation for the world.  As ancient documents go, you don’t get more reliable than the Bible.

What kind of people were these prophets and apostles who wrote the Bible?  They were people “of whom the world was not worthy” (to quote a biblical phrase).  They typically suffered persecution for speaking in the name of the Lord.  In the case of the apostles, history tells us that all but one died as martyrs – and in several cases by torture.  Think about this:  Here are people speaking and writing to us on behalf of the Lord.  They are not doing it for money.  They are not even doing it merely for people they know and love.  They are doing it even for their persecutors.  That is, with their dying breaths they testified that God loved even those who were killing them for saying so.  What possible reason would they have for acting this way unless they had actually seen a resurrected Man whom they were determined to not disappoint?

Some will protest that all sorts of religious fanatics are willing to die for what they believe, even today.  Such an objection overlooks two distinguishing facts about the apostles.  First, the apostles were willing to die for their faith but were unwilling to kill for it.  By contrast, today’s suicide bombers are murderers, and their willingness to murder themselves in the process of murdering others in no way exonerates them.  The apostles did not kill themselves and they did not kill others.  Second, compare the testimony of the apostles to that of religious fanatics and see that the apostles spoke as sane men, deeply in love with the human race as well as with God.  Religious fanatics, by contrast, seldom demonstrate either sanity or love – and certainly not both – in their speech.  Read the words of the apostles and see that they are a breed apart – indeed, they are those “of whom the world was not worthy.”

Since the apostles are entirely credible, what of their testimony about Jesus?  Did these eye witnesses say things hard to believe?  Hardly.  Their testimony says God raised a man from the dead.  If God can raise spring from winter every year, what is so hard for Him in raising the dead?  Moreover, their message is that we have sinned and need a Savior.  That shouldn’t be hard to believe at all.  Have you sinned?  Why should you find it strange that the Bible says you have sinned?

The Bible says that if  you confess your sins to Jesus Christ, He will forgive you.  More than that, however, He will give you the power to stop sinning.  He will give you His Holy Spirit who will lead and guide you through your conscience to live a better life.  Surely you can trust the Bible because it accurately describes our problem with sin and provides the prescription to deal with it.  If we are willing to do God’s will, He will bear witness to our hearts that the Bible is true.

For more context, see this overview.

See also: Everyone Is Going to Heaven 

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Changed Everything 

Spiritual Christianity versus Social Christianity

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

It’s a Salvation of the Soul…Not Circumstances

The great salvation God grants us through Jesus Christ is not of our circumstances whereby everything in life goes the way we want.  Unfortunately, some people never get over the notion that their peace and joy are a function of having money, or friends, or great achievements.  Therefore, when they turn to God they want Him to improve all these aspects of their lives so they can have peace and joy.  Somehow, it escapes their notice that there are always people in the world who have lots of money, plenty of friends, and have accomplished great things…and yet are miserable.  The story of the world is the story of the heartbreak that comes when people chase fame, fortune, and beauty thinking these things will bring them lasting happiness.  When we turn to God, we should not think He is going to act on such a demonstrably-failed principle.

Jesus famously asked, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?”  He knew that life is lived in the soul.  The soul is the intersection of our spirit and our body, the place where our thoughts and feelings are experienced.   Jesus also knew that true inner happiness comes, not from living selfishly, but rather from living unselfishly.  Therefore, He points out the great irony of heaping up worldly goods only to lose possession of one’s own soul to the greed that drove the process.

By His earthly life, Jesus demonstrated to us the power that comes from living selflessly.  Jesus did not try to live this way under His own power.  Instead, He trusted His Father in heaven.  Since Jesus now reigns in heaven Himself, He is able to be a Father to you as you seek to live selflessly.  As you live your life for Him, instead of living it for yourself, He will fill your soul with peace and joy no matter what your earthly circumstance.  And He will continually supply all you really need in life.

When you trust in God and do the right thing, you feel good in your heart.  It’s just that simple.  You don’t have to worry about running out of patience or running out of kindness because He will always give you more.  In any and every circumstance you now know the secret of having an abundance or suffering need.  That is, you can do all things through Jesus Christ who empowers you to do the loving thing in the moment.  Yes, selflessness is just another word for love.  And God is love.  Therefore, God is selflessness.

Therefore, we do not look to our circumstances for the peace and joy we seek in life.  Rather, we look to Him who is able to give us peace and joy in any and all circumstances as we seek to let Him show His selflessness through us.  As you do so, you will hear His encouraging voice in your heart, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

For more context, see this overview.

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

Do You Love What Is Right?

Do right and wrong matter to you?  Do you love what is right and good,  and hate what is wrong and evil?  If so, I have good news for you:  Jesus Christ rules the universe and He loves righteousness and hates lawlessness.  That is, He feels the same way you do about good and evil.  In fact, He feels even more strongly about it than you do.  Therefore, you can feel a certain affinity with your Creator on this most essential point.

I should quickly add, however, that while we may be similar to God in this regard there is also a major point of departure: He lives up to His standards and we don’t.  That is, while we may hate evil we can still find ourselves engaging in it – whether seldom or frequently.  This is an unpleasant fact.  And it gets worse.  For the more we sin, the more it takes the edge off of our love for what is good.  So, while it’s a good thing that we love righteousness, we have difficulty achieving it.

What about the world we live in - how helpful is it to our pursuit of righteousness?  Well, frankly, it is altogether unhelpful.  Today’s culture is largely decadent and growing worse.  How do we raise children in the minefield of schools with their peer pressure, television, movies, and so on?  If, as some say, it “takes a village to raise a child,” the village is not doing a very good job of it.  The village of today’s world is doing a very poor job of encouraging those who love righteousness.

Your love for righteousness, therefore, must find some source of nourishment other than the world.  This takes us back again to the ruler of the universe: Jesus Christ.  I told you before of the good news that He loves righteousness and hates lawlessness.  The even better news is that He is willing to forgive those who practice unrighteousness, and give them the power to live according to His righteousness.

The process for achieving His righteousness is to look to Him every day.  He is God and can see all that you think, say, and do.  Build this awareness into your thought life.  Carry with you through the day the knowledge that He is watching even the secrets of your heart.  If you love Him, you will want to please Him and you will find yourself doing the things that are pleasing in His sight.  If you forget Him, your heart returns to darkness where it’s much easier to do evil.

Even when the village does what it thinks are great things – buildings, achievements, arts – God is not impressed.  He cares about good and evil, and how each villager lives day by day.

All of us do better when someone we love is watching us.  God is loving and watching all of us.  The fact that the village is choosing to ignore Him does not mean that you have to do the same.  Live for Him, and your love for righteousness will grow.

For more context, see this overview.

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Changed Everything

The key event of Bible history – and of all human history – is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  It is impossible to overstate its importance.  If Christ was not raised from the dead, declared the apostle Paul, then we who believe in Him are “of all men most to be pitied.”  But Christ actually was raised from the dead – a fact to which over five hundred persons were eye-witnesses in the forty days between His resurrection and ascension.  These witnesses were chosen with care, for testifying to Christ’s resurrection was quite dangerous in those days.  In fact, tradition tells us that of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus, only one died from natural causes and not persecution – and that one only because he had survived being boiled in oil.  That these witnesses would have suffered and died for such a lie is inconceivable.  Thus we may count it as fact that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead and now reigns in heaven.

Ancient Israel had long cherished a hope for the resurrection of the dead.  They had also long cherished hope in a coming Messiah.  What they had not understood until the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, however, was that the two hopes were inextricably woven together – like two puzzle pieces that had been kept separate until the moment when they were shown to be interlocking.  Moses’ prophecy that God would one day “raise up a prophet like me” took on for them a staggeringly more vivid meaning.

With the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension into heaven, in fact, the entirety of the Scriptures took on a completely new hue.  What was previously written to describe earthly matters was now shown to have a spiritual dimension as well.  Of course, while Scripture had been penned by humans, these documents were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God who had both dimensions in mind all along.

Here is what makes the resurrection of Jesus Christ not just important, but pivotal: through this event God means to turn our attention to the unseen world.  Though we have known Jesus according to the flesh (i.e. He lived an earthly life in first century Palestine) we now know Him according to the spirit (i.e. He reigns invisibly in heaven).  This shift in the focus of our attention takes us into the realm of faith – for faith is the conviction of things we cannot see.  By faith in Him, we can build a new life, drawing on God’s goodness and power.

A mind focused only on those aspects of creation that can be seen can never perceive God – for God is unseen.  This has been the problem for humanity since the garden of Eden:  We have tended to trust and make judgments upon only what we can see.  Through Jesus Christ, God lived a perfect life in this seen world so that we could have confidence about how He thinks and acts in the unseen world.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Live your life in the light of His eyes.

For more context, see this overview.

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

Seeking the Kingdom of God Instead of Church

Jesus said that we should seek the kingdom of God.  He never said anything similar about church.  In fact, He spoke very little about church, only mentioning it by name two times in the gospel accounts of His life.  On the other hand, He spoke repeatedly about the kingdom of God (sometimes calling it “the kingdom of heaven” or even just “the kingdom”) and urged His followers to seek it and to prepare to enter it.  From time to time, someone will make the argument that the church is the kingdom, but that flies in the face of the rest of the New Testament which depicts the church as preparing for the coming of the kingdom, not thinking it is the kingdom.  For this reason, and others, the idea of the church being the kingdom gets dropped pretty quickly.

If the church of the New Testament wasn’t the kingdom, then today’s church, with its thousands of denominations, certainly cannot be.  Jesus said any kingdom divided against itself could not stand.  Today’s church is nothing if not divided.

None of this is to criticize those who attend church in search of the living God.  It is merely to say that attending church is not something God requires.  Moreover, attending church often leads people away from a personal relationship with God because the needs of the church as an institution take precedence over the commandments of God.  For example, a church has to collect an offering to be able to pay its bills, but if all its members are serving the poor and giving them money instead of coming to church and putting the money in the offering plate then the church will go bankrupt.  Thus, the church member is forced to choose between obeying God and supporting the church.

It’s easy when you’re a church leader to think that you’re serving God when you try to grow your church.  I know I fell prey to this thinking when I was a pastor years ago.  I wanted people to serve God and I saw their serving church as a way to do that, not realizing that I was adding to their burdens by needing their time and money.  Additionally, I was unconsciously conveying to them that they were serving God when they were coming to church when God was wanting them to serve Him in all their daily activities – not merely add a weekly activity to their already overburdened lives.

If you want to grow in your personal relationship with God then you’re simply going to have to go to…God.  God came in the flesh, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, to put a face on God.  So, you don’t have to relate to God as some ethereal, inscrutable Being.  Just relate to God as if He’s Jesus – because He is!

Keep His commandments, the most fundamental of which is to love:  Him first, others second, self last.  Be His disciple day by day.  If someone wrongs you, turn the other cheek.  Above all, follow Him.  Not church.  Not me.  Not anyone else.  Him.  This…is the kingdom of God.

For more context, see this overview.

See also:  Spiritual Christianity versus Social Christianity

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Changed Everything

Why the Bible Can Be Trusted 

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

The Kingdom of God Is Here and Now

Anyone familiar with the New Testament would acknowledge that the kingdom of God (sometimes called “the kingdom of heaven”) was the main theme of Jesus’ public teaching ministry.  Both He, and John the Baptist before Him, came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”  This message of repentance in preparation for the coming kingdom was accepted by Jesus’ apostles who, after His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, carried it throughout the world.  Ancient Israel had long cherished the hope of God’s reign (or rule) in place of ungodly worldly powers.  That is, the Old Testament had often anticipated when God Himself would indeed be King; the New Testament witness was that the time had come.

Assuming both testaments of the Bible are trustworthy, and since two thousand years have come and gone, we can safely assume the kingdom has long since come.  And since it was described as a kingdom that would never end, we can safely assume it is still here in our midst.  That its coming was not chronicled at the time is no surprise since Jesus had said He, the King, would come like a thief in the night.  That we cannot see it now is no surprise since Jesus said this kingdom was not coming with signs to be observed.

We should not be shocked that the kingdom of God is invisible, for God Himself is invisible.  As for visible kingdoms, ancient Israel (glorious as it was at times) amply demonstrated their inability to adequately serve God.  Even the New Testament church, glorious as it was (and it was indeed populated by some of the finest human beings Israel, or humanity, has ever produced), would become corrupt and apostate just before the kingdom came – thus demonstrating most dramatically how inadequate were kingdoms governed by men.

The kingdom that God has brought to us certainly cannot be shaken.  Its incorruptible head is Jesus Christ Himself.  Having demonstrated His nature and His power on the earth, He has come again – this time in spirit – to reign in every human heart (for more on this, see Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again).  This is the kingdom that ancient Israel in the Old Testament foreshadowed, just as the church of the New Testament further foreshadowed it.  Those shadows, however, cannot fully reveal the glory of God in His kingdom which is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

In its simplest formulation, the kingdom of God is this: King Jesus reigning in your heart.  He told us that we should love Him and love one another.  And He made clear that love means not even thinking negatively toward your brother.    If you obey Jesus in all that you think, then everything you say and do will take care of itself.

One of the parables Jesus told about the kingdom depicted the smallest of seeds becoming the largest of trees.  A single person – Jesus of Nazareth – has become King of the greatest of kingdoms.  If you submit your heart to His rule, the glory of His kingdom will be reflected in your life.  What is the main law of His kingdom?  That we think, speak, and act as He did.  That is to say, according to love.

For more context, see this overview.

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

Church Is Not the Answer; Christ Is

Organized religion displays more interest in drawing you to organized religion than to God.  Therefore, if you are interested in God you have to be cautious about organized religion.

God is everywhere.  He doesn’t need a building or shrine or official group.  In fact, He doesn’t even want those things.  Instead, He wants to be enthroned in your heart.  Someone will say, “Didn’t God tell the Israelites to build Him a tabernacle in the wilderness after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt, and didn’t King David build Him a temple in Jerusalem to replace it?”  Indeed these things are so, but those were temporary arrangements foreshadowing the day when He would dwell among us all as the resurrected Christ.

The last religious grouping we saw God supporting were the Jews and Gentiles of the church we read about in the New Testament.  That New Testament church was different from any church we see today.  For one thing, it was not a divided church.  Today we have thousands of Christian denominations, each of them claiming to be the one true church.  How could that be of God?

God wants you to relate to Him, not to a church.  God wants to make you a better person and redeem the relationships you already have – not distract you with a whole new set of relationships with a new group of people.  Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead so that He could have a very personal relationship with you.  There is no need for an intermediary between you and Him.  In fact, wouldn’t the insertion of a third-party only distance you from Him?

If going to church regularly drew people closer to Jesus then churchgoers would be the most righteous people on earth.  However, we can plainly see that churchgoers are subject to the same human failings as the rest of us.  To the extent that churches preach Jesus Christ and help the poor, they are doing good; but there is much they do that doesn’t have anything to do with either of those two activities.

The church does not have redeeming power, but the Christ it preaches – He does have redeeming power!

Thus, there actually is a true church today, one that truly belongs to God, but it doesn’t have a building and doesn’t post meeting times.  The true church consists of all those people who love the Lord Jesus and serve Him.  The Lord Himself keeps its membership roll.  This church has no hierarchy of leadership because He is all the hierarchy it needs.  It doesn’t go to church; it is the church – the church of the living God.

Are you in His church?  Is He your pastor?  The word pastor means “shepherd” so when Psalm 23 begins, “The Lord is my shepherd,” it can have particular meaning for you.  This is the one true church.  Join it…and never leave:  How to Be in the One True Church.

For more context, see this overview.

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.

All Bible Prophecy Has Been Fulfilled in Christ

All prophecy in the Bible looked forward to “the day of the Lord,” the day when Israel’s Messiah would rule the nations in righteousness – the days of “the kingdom of God.”  In the Old Testament these prophecies were understood to have a fulfillment far into the future.  In the New Testament that time was deemed to have come, and therefore all the prophecies were said to be ”at hand” for that generation.  As that generation advanced, the time was said to be ”nearer.”  And finally, with the book of Revelation, the time was said to be ”soon.”  Given the diversity of the Bible’s authors and the consistency of their timetables, combined with the work of the Holy Spirit who inspired them all, it would be foolish to declare them wrong about the timing.  All these prophecies centered on the person of Jesus Christ – the long-awaited Messiah.  As He was faithful to fulfill all prophecies in the physical dimension where we could see Him (as Jesus of Nazareth), we can trust He was just as faithful to fulfill all prophecies applying to the spiritual dimension where we could not see Him (in heaven where He went after His resurrection).  Therefore, we conclude that all these prophecies were fulfilled long ago, no later than the end of the 1st Century A.D.

Therefore, we are living in the promised “day of the Lord” – the days of “the kingdom of God.”  Consequently, you should not be led astray by anyone or any group who would tell you that any Bible prophecy is yet to be fulfilled.  Most common are those groups who excitedly warn of the imminent physical return of  Jesus.  Even in the last hundred years there have been many cases of churches or cults using scraps of Scripture to build a following.  Then when the predicted event does not occur when promised, they invent some new prophecy or explanation to hold on to the people and their wallets.  By the false expectations these groups raise, they damage the faith of those who join them, and cause the name of the Lord to be blasphemed among those who do not.

None of this, however, diminishes the value of the Bible for helping us understand the ways of God and how His judgments are executed in the earth.  On the contrary, because the Bible is a trustworthy record of how people were judged in the past, we can follow its patterns recurring in life today.  As a result, we are better able to learn from it.  The Bible’s subject matter is righteousness.  It is filled with examples of right and wrong behavior.  Its moral lessons help us know how to live.  Nations still rise and fall today for the same reason they rose and fell in biblical times: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”  The Bible is not less valuable because its prophecies have been fulfilled, it is more valuable for this very reason.

The purpose of the Bible is to testify to Jesus Christ.  Its prophecies have been fulfilled in Him.  He is the Lord in “the day of the Lord;” He is the King in “the kingdom of God.”  Live for Him, whether anyone else does or not.

For more on this topic, see Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again.  For broader context, see this overview.

The purpose of this blog is to provide information about Jesus to those who want to hear about Him without having to join something.