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Those Whom God Keeps Alive
(Jn15:1-18)
God is the only God (1Ti1:17).
For Himself He made all things (Ge22:8; 2Ki19:15; Col1:16) and
He can freely put to death or let live whomever.
He keeps alive those who remain in Him.
Faith is fully acknowledging this and
The life of this faith is in order to be kept alive by Him, striving to become a man after God’s own heart (Jn15:4; Ac13:22).
The only God (Potentate) refers to the one who holds absolute power.
God who created all things by His word (Ge1)
Also burns up all things by His word (2Pe3:7),
Like a gardener who works for his profit
Freely cuts off branches or prunes them to be more fruitful (Jn15:1-2).
The Bible records a repeated history of expansion and contraction for God’s purpose.
During the creation God blessed the man and the woman so
They multiplied and the earth became filled with people (Ge1:28).
To one man among them, God breathed the breath of life, making him a living being (Ge2:7),
Adam, who sinned and was banished from the Garden.
So he returned to the ground from which he was taken (Ge3:23)
Living with the created people (Ge6:1-2).
The deluge was a vast work that only spared Noah and his family who were
In accordance with God’s dispensation.
In other words, it kept only the descendants of Adam (the living being) alive (Ge6:9-9) and
Wiped out all those who were only flesh (Ge6:3-7).
For their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were blessed to multiply (Ge17:2),
The Israelites who were only 70 when entering Egypt (Ex1:5)
Grew to about 700,000 males 430 years later at the time of the exodus (Nu1:46).
After 40 years in the wilderness, however, only two of them crossed the Jordan.
Furthermore, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed in 722 BC and
The Southern Kingdom of Judah collapsed in 587 BC;
After their exile of 70 years, only a tenth returned.
Nevertheless, they longed for the restoration of Israel (Ac1:6)
As the Temple that had the name Jehovah there
Reminded them of God’s promise of the growth of their people and kingdom stood.
So when Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days” (Jn2:19),
He was hated by them but through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would make His people not in Jehovah’s name but in Yeshua the Father’s name (Jn5:43, 17:11)
Not only a selective group but the souls of all nations (Rm9:25).
He called those whom He wanted so they can be with Him (Mk3:13) and
He taught them in details (Mt13:11) regarding
The relationship among the Gardener—the vine—the branch as
One among the Father—the Son—souls, that is,
The inseparable, vital relationship (Jn15:1-8).
However, one of the 12, Judas Iscariot left (Jn6:70-71) to do
His predestined part, the work of betraying Yeshua (Jn13:26-30).
As Yeshua died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Willingly surrendered His life to the Father who can raise Him back to life (Jn10:17-18; He5:7), as a seed falling to bear much fruit (Mk4:30-32; Jn12:24), a man after God’s own heart (Ac13:22);
2) Judged the devil who challenged the absolute authority (Is14:12-15; Ge3:4-6); and
3) With His redeeming blood, the Spirit that gives life, brought back to life the living spirit (Jn6:54-56; 1Co15:45; Eph1:7).
After He resurrected, He ascended to heaven and
Became the only Sovereign and Lord (Jude1:4).
The Holy Spirit came in the name Yeshua
First to the 120 believers by whom the gospel spread from
Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth (Ac1:8).
A disciple is a soul brought back to life by the blood of Yeshua.
He is called in the name Yeshua into the church His chosen body where
He attaches as a member (1Co12:12; Eph5:30) for
He longs to remain attached to the vine the church and bear fruit,
Becoming one whom God keeps alive.
When the Lord returns he longs to be taken up to the Father’s house as
One of the few with faith (Jn17:12; Lk18:8; Rm9:27).
O Lord,
How You called us and
Let us remain attached to the church to this day and
Finally allowing us to return to Your house to worship together with Your church —
All this is Your grace!
Let us become simple-minded, listen closely to the word (Ac17:11),
Fear the Lord (1Sa13:14) and be faithful to death (Rev2:10) so
We can become those after Your own heart.
Hold us fast and keep us alive until the end! Amen.
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The Light of the World
(Mt5:14-16)
God is the God of revelation (Mt11:25).
He reveals Himself in His time, according to His ways and
Receives glory from those who reveal Him and invites them to His glory.
Faith is believing according to the way He reveals Himself and
The life of this faith is about becoming the light of this world through one’s good deeds and
Glorifying God (Mt5:14-16).
While Christianity has a mysterious side, it must never fall into mysticism for
Since the beginning God planned to reveal Himself and
Accordingly the Word was revealed as light in the world (Jn1:1, 4).
The revelation of God developed in stages:
The general revelation — through all things that began with light, the glory of the Creator was revealed (Rm1:19-21); and
The special revelation — through the Son, the glory of God the One and Only was revealed (Jn1:14, 16, 18),
For all men became spiritually blind because of the sin of their ancestor Adam.
There were events in the history of the Bible where
Through the change in the natural principles God was glorified:
Starting with Abraham who at the age of 100 gave birth to a son (Ge18:10, 21:2) to
The exodus of Israel by the power of God (Ex15:6-11).
The curtains of the tabernacle, made of finely twisted linen,
Bronze bases and silver hooks (Ex27:9-19, 38:16)
Reflected the light in the wilderness so
The people could see the glory of God through it even from afar.
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would reveal the glory of the Only Son for
He was with the Father and appeared (1Jn1:2) as the light of the world (Jn8:12).
As such he showed His face and clothing transfigured brightly to the disciples (Jn17:1-5).
In His public life He did good (Ac10:38),
Healing the sick, rescuing those in need (Jn2:11), and
The crowds who followed Him glorified God (Mt9:8).
As He died, Yeshua said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) As the temple veil tore fully revealed the attribute and the heart of God (1Jn4:9);
2) Judged the devil who disguised himself as a bright angel (Ge3:4-6; 2Co11:14); and
3) Gave His life as an atoning sacrifice to all men (1Jn4:10).
He resurrected and ascended to heaven where
The Lamb is the lamp shining the glory of God forever and ever (Rev21:23).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent
Lets the believers do the work of revealing Yeshua to the world.
For the disciple is the light of the world,
He cannot hide himself (Mt5:14-15) so
Wherever he goes he clearly reveals his identity.
He corrects his past deeds of darkness (Eph5:3-8; 1Jn1:6-7) and
Through the word trims away any dullness so
The light continues to burn brightly (Ex25:37-38; Pr13:9).
He puts effort to glorify the Lord Yeshua
Through this transformed life as now children of light and
Through good deeds (Gal6:9-10; Tit2:14, 3:8, 14; He13:16; 1Pe2:12).
In order to enter the wedding banquet of the Lamb
He prepares the bright and clean linen (Rev19:7-8).
O Lord,
In the past we were all
Lazy, selfish, greedy, proud, covetous, violent, excessive, uncontrollable…
We were a complete mess.
Now, through my changed life
I want my beloved Lord to be glorified.
Truly, let my life be changed! Amen.
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The Salt of the Earth
(Mt5:13)
God is the true God (1Ch17:21; Jn17:3).
He does not change (Mal3:16; Jas1:17) and
He does not violate His covenant or alter what His lips have uttered (Ps89:34).
Faith is believing Him and
The life of this faith is even if one is to die, never changing in his faith or the word.
While the main uses of salt are preservation, flavoring and purification,
Its most distinctive characteristic may be its salty taste regardless of the form.
Likewise, it would have been better for the disciple of Yeshua who was
Called to be the salt of the earth but changed, if he had not been born (Mk14:21).
Through Adam, sin and death came to all men (Rm5:12):
Although God said if he ate the forbidden fruit he would surely die (Ge2:17),
Adam listened to the serpent who said he would not surely die (Ge3:1-6).
The Bible is written of God being true, His word and promises being true.
According to God’s promise, Abraham had a son (Ge18:10) and
He saw from afar his descendants becoming strangers in a country not their own and
Returning to the land (Ge15:13-14).
While running out from the destruction of Sodom, however,
Lot’s wife disobeyed the word and looked back, becoming a pillar of salt (Ge19:26).
According to His covenant with their ancestors,
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt (Ex12:41) and
Gave them the Law, an everlasting covenant of salt (Nu18:19).
They received blessings and curses
According to the covenant written in the Book of the Law (Dt29:18-21).
The fragrant blend of incense, the grain offerings, and the burnt sacrifices
Given in the temple were sprinkled with salt and purified (Ex30:35; Lev2:13; Eze43:24),
To remind them that the covenant of God does not change.
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,”
Because through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would reveal that He is the truth and His word is true. (Jn14:6),
He was sent by the true God (Jn7:28-29, 8:26),
He only spoke what the Father commanded Him to speak (Jn14:24),
For His command is eternal life (Jn12:49-50).
The night He was arrested Peter disowned Him three times,
Just as Yeshua had said (Mt26:34, 75),
Testifying that heaven and earth will pass away but His words will never pass away (Mk13:31).
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets and testified that the Father is true (Mt5:17-18), and
believing the Father’s word obeyed to death (Jn10:18; Php2:8; He12:2);
2) Judged the devil the traitor (Is14:12-15; 1Jn3:8); and
3) With the blood of the covenant redeemed all men (Ex24:8; Mt26:28).
He resurrected in three days and before ascending to heaven
Commanded the disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them (Mt28:19).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent came
To protect and keep the disciples by His word and in His name (Jn17:12, 17)
The Bible written by them is salt.
A true disciple is he who
Prays and drives out demons to heal in the name Yeshua (Mk16:17-18) and
Experiences His unchanging word so bets his life on it.
He preserves and delivers the word, not distorting it (2Co4:1-2).
He puts effort to live a purified life (1Th4:7; He12:14; 2Pe3:11) and
Keeps the faith until the end (2Ti4:7; Rev2:10) by
Dying everyday (1Co15:31) and enduring patiently (Rev14:12), for
When the Lord comes back,
He longs to be found as faithful, the salt of the earth (Lk18:8).
O Lord,
Like our beloved brother Ho Young Lee whom You called up to be with You,
We want to never lose our saltiness and keep the faith until the end.
We want our saltiness to be absorbed into others around us.
Let us all here at the Church of Jesus be salts and
Keep, defend and teach the truth until the next generation! Amen.
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Those Who Are Persecuted Because of Righteousness
(Mt5:10-12)
God is the Rewarder (He11:6).
What He promises He surely fulfills (Nu23:19) and
He rewards those who believe Him with the kingdom of heaven.
Faith is believing Him and longing to receive the kingdom of heaven.
The life of this faith life is willingly being persecuted because of righteousness.
As righteousness is non-compromising and exclusive,
inevitably those who oppose will clash or persecute.
While many people in the world have been persecuted for social justice in their times,
All men were labeled as unrighteous, however, since
Their ancestor Adam was deceived by the devil and disobeyed the word of God (Ge3:4-6).
The Bible is written of what righteousness is and how
Those who tried to live righteously were persecuted (2Ti3:12).
Righteousness refers to God (Ex9:27), the word of God (Ps119:138),
The law and the commandments (Rm7:12), and those who obey the law (Rm2:13).
The history of Israel is one of suffering and persecution (Ex1:7-22; Nu25:18).
As a chosen people of God and
Promised of the land of Canaan by Him (Ge17:7-8),
Having circumcision as the sign of the covenant (Ge17:11),
Their exclusive and closed life due to the Law given by God made them
An object of gentiles’ hatred.
While they suffered because of the word of God (Ps119:153, 157) and
So had an extraordinary obsession with the temple where the stone tablets were,
Ironically they persecuted and killed the prophets who rebuked them (Mt23:33-35).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise again in three days,” because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He Himself would become the righteousness to judge and reward (2Co5:10).
But His deeds on Sabbath (Jn5:6) and rebuking of the teachers of the law (Lk11:47-51) made Him
The target of the persecution from the Jews and thus was passed over to death.
As He died, however, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Obeyed the Father’s command in order to receive resurrection, being confirmed as the righteousness (Jn10:17-18);
2) Condemned the devil the unrighteous one (1Jn3:8); and
3) Redeemed the sins of all men so they may be made righteous (Rm5:18-19; 2Co5:21).
His resurrection is the proof of the righteousness and
He ascended to heaven and became the King of righteousness (He7:2).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent convicts the world
Concerning sin, righteousness, and judgement (Jn16:7-11):
Righteousness is Yeshua, the word of Yeshua and faith (Jn12:48, 16:10; Rm3:21-22).
Christianity is the history of persecution and oppression
By those in political power, religious power and families.
Thus for Yeshua and the gospel and faith,
Without compromising with unrighteousness,
Countless true Christians received severe punishment, refusing to be released from it
In order to receive a better resurrection (He11:35-38; Rev20:4-6),
The great reward in heaven (Mt19:28-29; 2Co4:17-18).
O Lord,
We are all for the Righteousness that came from heaven!
We all want to be disciples of Yeshua
Persecuted willingly and
Persecuted joyfully and gladly. Amen.
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The Peacemakers
(Mt5:9)
God is the God of peace (Rm16:20; 1Co14:33).
He wants to make peace with all things (Col1:20) and
He meets face to face with those who make peace (He12:14).
Faith is having peace with God (Rm5:1), and
The life of this faith is, with the Father’s heart, making every effort to do what leads to peace (Rm14:19).
While every nation, tribe and family all want peace (Pr17:1)
On earth at any time there never was a time of perfect peace for
The rebel the devil has taken his position on earth (Rev12:7-9).
For the divider, the devil, deceived the ancestor of men Adam to sin (Ge2:17, 3:4-6),
Adam was driven out from the Garden of Eden which became shielded by a flaming sword (Ge3:24).
Consequently, trouble emerged between God and man,
Man and fellow man, and man and all things (Ge3:17, 4:8).
God commanded Israel whom He chose as His people (Ex3:7)
To obey circumcision and commandments and He was on their side (Ex23:22).
While God forbid them from marrying gentiles (Ge34:14; Nu25:14-15) who were called
“Uncircumcised,” without covenant, and without God (Eph2:11-12),
When they marched up to attack a city, they were to first make an offer of peace (Dt20:10-13).
In spite of their continuous battles
They continued to give a sacrifice of peace offering in the sanctuary (Lev3:6-11, 16) so
They waited for the promised peace.
The prophets spoke of the day when
The Prince of Peace would come and reign on David’s throne in Jerusalem (Is9:6-7).
Furthermore, the LORD will turn the hearts of the fathers their children, and
The hearts of the children to their fathers (Mal4:6).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would become the sacrifice of peace offering (1Jn4:10)
Prepared since the beginning (Jn1:1, 14).
He broke the false peace in the world and let there be feud for
Only after then He would give true peace (Mt10:34-36).
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn10:30), declaring that He:
1) Through the death of Christ, the Son of Man representing all mankind, waived the white flag to offer a sign of peace to the Father (Mt20:28; Php2:6-9; 1Ti2:5);
2) Condemned the devil the separator (Ge3:4-6; 1Jn3:8); and
3) Revealed the love of the Father who first sent the Son as the peace offering for all men (1Jn4:8-10).
He resurrected and sat on the heavenly throne as the King of peace,
The Lamb who has the marks of making peace (1Jn2:1-2).
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of peace, comes to those who
Believe in the name Yeshua and have become children of God (Jn1:12; Gal3:26), and
Lets them know the deep things of God (1Co2:10).
A disciple is a son who knows the Father’s broken heart for the lost children (Lk15:11-32).
So he climbs mountains and crosses rivers to
Seek souls who follow the enemy for they do not know (Is52:7; Rm10:15),
To deliver the gospel of peace (Ac10:36) and
Implore them to be reconciled to God through Christ (2Co5:18-21), and
He does the work of making peace between brothers (Pr6:12, 19; Rm12:18).
For the heavenly Father is a peace-loving and peacemaking God,
He loves his enemies and prays for those who persecute him (Mt5:43-48), so that
On earth he brings all things under him (Col1:20) and
In heaven he will be a son who sees the face of the Father (He12:14; Rev21:7).
O Lord,
Father!
Because of Your great love, You gave Your only Son,
Everything was done so we would come…
We just want to weep before Your heart…
Though we are going through this difficult time from the pandemic,
Let us not worry or fear for the future,
For we have the blood of our Father who reconciled to Himself all things!
Rather, let us, Your children, become more like our Father and
Work and make sacrifices to make peace! Amen.
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The Pure In Heart
(Mt5:8)
God is holy (Ps22:3).
His nature, His word are all holy (Ps105:42) and
He meets with those who are holy (He12:14).
Holiness refers to purity, which in color would be white,
Clean, unstained, guiltless, separated.
As a person becomes older, his eyes and his heart become dull and
His eyes seeing the world also become distorted, forming prejudices and biases.
Faith is believing that one has been cleansed by God (He9:13-14) and
The life of faith is putting effort to be pure in heart in order to see God (Mt5:8).
Although after taking the forbidden fruit, Adam hid
When he heard the voice of God looking for him, he came forward (Ge3:4-10).
Even though after killing his brother Cain pretended to not know (Ge4:9-14),
He eventually acknowledged as he could no longer avoid God, because of his conscience.
Conscience is shaped by what one is born with and also his environment, and
General conscience is what people share and it varies by times and regions (Rm2:15).
While people in general consider themselves to have “good” conscience or “good” heart,
The Bible defines otherwise (Ge6:5; Pr6:18; Ecc9:3; Is32:6; Eze6:9; Da11:27; Mt15:19).
The conscience of God, however, is the righteousness of God given through Moses,
Consisting of statutes and commandments.
For it is holy, if they obeyed, they were also called holy (Lev20:7-8),
But the more they tried to keep the more sin sprang up (Rm7:12-13).
God instructed them to place the stone tablets and the altar inside the sanctuary
For the guilty could bring a sin offering and be forgiven (Lev5:9-10) so that
They may meet with God albeit indirectly (2Co3:15).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would purge away the dross and remove all impurities (Is1:25).
As such, when those who, by the conscience of Moses wanted to kill the sinful woman,
Heard the word of Yeshua, they felt guilty in their conscience so disappeared (Jn8:2-11).
While He did not condemn sinners but rather set them free,
He condemned the Pharisees whose conscience was numbed (Mt23:25-26) and
Called them blinds who claim they can see for which their guilt remains (Jn9:39-41).
As He died, Yeshua said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) With His flawless blood cleansed the true heaven (Lev4:16-17) and appeared before the Father (He9:13-14, 21-24);
2) Judged the devil the origin of sin the unclean (Eze28:18; 1Jn3:8); and
3) Sprinkled the redeeming blood and cleansed souls (He9:22).
He resurrected and revealed His holiness and
Sat on the heavenly throne as the Lamb who was slain.
The Holy Spirit comes inside the soul cleansed by the blood of Yeshua and
Lets them enjoy the freedom from conscience (Rm8:1-2).
A disciple of Yeshua is he who has
A clear conscience, a secret eye (1Ti3:9) to
See the Lamb on the throne (Ac7:55-56; Rev1:10, 17-18, 5:6), and
See men made in the image of God and souls purchased by the blood of Yeshua.
He condemns his own heart for
Being polluted by the world (Jas1:29), the lust of the eyes (1Jn2:15-17),
But he has lost the power to condemn others.
To those who are oppressed by their own conscience
He delivers the truth that sets them free, gladly accepting any loss in so doing (Mt5:40-42), for
He longs to see the face of the Lord in the Holy City (Rev22:4).
O Lord,
Give us all
The heart of Yeshua.
Let us go out and seek those who do foolish things for they do not know, and
Before it is too late, let us deliver them the true freedom! Amen.
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The Merciful
(Mt5:7)
God is merciful (Ps86:15).
He has mercy on whom He has mercy (Ex33:19; Rm9:15) and
To those who return to Him He has mercy (Dt30:2-3).
Faith is desiring to receive His mercy until the end and
The life of this faith is showing mercy to brothers, for mercy triumphs over judgments (Mt18:21-35; Jas2:13).
Mercy is the heart of the highly towards the lowly,
Like a king does towards his ignorant people,
Like a parent towards his young, ill, foolish, poor child,
Like a judge towards a defendant who shows a sign of remorse.
While the angel who sinned once God repays with eternal judgment (2Pe2:4; Jude1:6),
Adam who sinned God clothed in garment of skin (Ge3:4-6, 21) for
He knows man is dust and has mercy on him (Ps103:14).
The history of the chosen people Israel is the history of vessels of mercy (Rm9:23):
While through the wonders that God performed
They were delivered from Egypt and lived in the wilderness for 40 years,
They rebelled to return to their slavery, worshipped a golden god,
Killed His prophets in the land given to them, committing awful blasphemies.
So God delivered them into the hands of their enemies who oppressed them.
But when they cried out to Him, in His mercy God delivered them time after time for
He did not put an end to them or abandon them (Neh9:17-31).
The mercy seat in the depth of the Most Holy Place reminded them of this and
The prophets pleaded them to return to God for
He desires mercy, not sacrifice (Hos6:1-3, 6) and that
He would return to Jerusalem with mercy (Zec1:2-3, 16).
According to the prophecy, Yeshua came and
He said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would have mercy on sinners whom He came to call and save (Mt9:13).
While He had compassion on the crowds of people who followed Him (Mt9:36, 14:14, 15:32) and
Healed those who had various kinds of sickness (Mt20:34; Lk17:13; Jn5:5),
He warned woe to the Pharisees who tie up heavy, cumbersome loads on others (Mt23:4; Lk4:23).
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that:
1) The Father alone has mercy on Him who was lonely and afflicted (Ps25:16);
2) He judged the devil (Eze28:12-17; 1Jn3:8); and
3) He forgave all men who sinned not knowing (Lk23:34), so that they can return to Him to be healed, revived and restored (Hos6:1-2).
He resurrected and sat on the heavenly throne.
He is the Lamb of God (Rev5:6, 22:3),
The Son of Man who bears the marks of the Father showing mercy on mankind.
The Holy Spirit whom He sent
Came in the name Yeshua to believers and
Lets them have a merciful heart deep inside their souls (1Co2:10),
Overflowing with deeds of mercy.
Therefore, a disciple of Yeshua is he who puts effort to:
Snatch from the fire souls who are hell-bound for they do not know (Jude1:22);
Teach the truth to ignorant believers;
Infinitely forgive those who sin against him (Mt18:21-35); and
Look after the poor, the sick, and the neglected (Mt25:31-46)
For he hopes to find mercy from the Lord on that day (2Ti1:18; Jude1:21)
When his soul leaves this world and goes before the throne of mercy, and
Receive mercy and have his prayers answered while he is alive on this day (He4:16).
O Lord,
Kyrie Eleison!
Lord, have mercy on us!
Let us all know the heart of the Father who had mercy on all men and
Let us be merciful towards one another.
And let us see souls with a merciful heart and preach to them! Amen.
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A Witness of the Resurrection of Yeshua
(Lk24:1-12, 36-49)
God is the Lord of life (Ac3:15).
In Him is life (Jn1:4) and
With life He becomes the Ruler.
Buddhists believe in reincarnation,
While Jehovah’s Witnesses argue for “resurrection into spirit.”
In three days after His death, Yeshua was raised back to life and
Revealed for the first time in the history of mankind (1Co15:20)
The resurrection of the spiritual body (1Co15:44).
Faith is believing Him and
The life of this faith is, to be resurrected to life, that is, the first resurrection (Jn5:29; Rev20:6),
Testifying the historical fact of the resurrection of Yeshua (Lk1:1-2).
When God breathed the breath of life into the man made from dust,
He became a living being, the spirit that has flesh (Ge2:7; 1Co15:45), which means that
When he dies the flesh returns to dust (Ge3:29) and the spirit to God.
However, deceived by the devil he sinned (Ge3:4-6) and
The spirit with sin became destined to resurrect to be condemned, that is,
To be thrown into the second death (Jn5:29; Rev20:6), the fire of hell (Rev20:14).
The God of the Old Testament was known as life, length of days (Dt30:20):
Abraham, though his body was as good as dead, was given a son (Rm4:19);
Death passed over the houses with the blood of the Passover lamb (Ex12:12-13);
When dead bodies touched the prophets, the men of God,
They came back to life (1Ki17:22; 2Ki4:34, 13:21); and
Aaron’s staff placed before the LORD inside the Most Holy Place budded (Nu17:7-8).
The sanctuary reminded the Israelites all this as
The name Jehovah, the God of the life of all flesh (Nu16:22) was there and
The stone tablets inside the testimony reminded them that
If they obeyed the commandments, they would live a long life
But if they did not, they would be put to death (Ex20:12, 31:14).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” for
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would reveal that He is the resurrection and the life (Jn11:25)
Through the spiritual body that cannot die again.
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Sowed His life like a kernel of wheat, in order to receive it back (Jn10:18, 12:24, 50);
2) Destroyed the devil, the ruler of death (He2:14; 1Jn3:8); and
3) Sprinkled His redeeming blood, sowing the seed of life in souls (Eph1:7; 1Pe1:23).
He resurrected and to the doubting disciple
He showed His resurrected body that has flesh and bones and scars (Lk24:39) and
Let him touch it so he could believe (Jn20:24-28; 1Jn1:1).
He ascended to heaven and sat on the throne.
He is the Lamb who has the marks of being slain (Rev5:6) and
As the living One He reigns for ever and ever (Rev1:18).
The Holy Spirit comes to those who
Received life (1Jn5:12), the Spirit of Christ (Rm8:9) and
Gathers them into Church.
For He is the Spirit who witnessed the conception-death-resurrection-ascension of Yeshua,
The disciple made by the Holy Spirit testifies the resurrection of Yeshua (Jn15:26-27; Ac4:33),
In spite of suffering, persecution, and even death.
He set his mind on things above, on spiritual things, and has life and peace (Col3:1-4).
For the word of Christ is living, it moves his body, soul and spirit (He4:12), so
He obeys and grows as
He longs to have the seed of life growing inside of his soul
To be transformed into a glorious body (Php3:21)
When the Lord of life appears in the air.
O Lord,
To the Father’s house where
We will live in spiritual bodies that have nothing to do with flesh and blood, with the past,
Let us all go!
Until then, let us testify the resurrection of Yeshua! Amen.
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A Witness of Yeshua, the Son of Man
(Mt26:31-46, 56)
God is living (Ps42:2).
His existence, His person,
His word and His blood are all living.
Faith is believing Him and
The life of this faith is risking life to testify what one has experienced.
A witness offers deciding evidence for a judicial decision.
If anyone does not give statement according to what he saw and heard
He is penalized under the law and
Anyone who gives false testimony receives grave punishment (Lev5:1; Dt19:19).
Yeshua called disciples to be with Him (Mk3:14)
To secure them as witnesses for Him who came as man,
For He is not a ghost (Mt14:26) and
His life cannot be demoted to godless myths (1Ti4:7).
Although the ancestor of mankind Adam heard the voice of God (Ge2:17),
He sinned with Eve, who heard the voice of the devil louder (Ge3:4-6), and
Thus was banished from the Garden (Ge3:24).
No one saw God in the Old Testament times (Jn1:18) for
God showed Himself indirectly through angels:
The God Abraham saw was an angel appearing as man (Ge18:1, 16, 19:1);
The God Moses spoke with (Ex3:2, 4, 6, 33:11, 21-23; Nu12:8) was
An angel at times appearing as flames of fire and at others times as man (He1:7); and
The visions and the dreams of the prophets were all appearances of angels (Nu12:5-6; Mt2:13).
The sanctuary where the name of the LORD Jehovah was (Ex3:14),
Where the atonement cover was, the meeting place with God (Ex25:22),
Instilled in them the consciousness of the chosen people.
So when Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,”
The Jews were upset and passed Him over to death.
However, through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would directly reveal the living God (Jn14:6) for
He is the Word in the beginning who became flesh, the God who came in the flesh (Jn1:1, 14),
In the Father’s name Yeshua (Jn5:43) to reveal Himself to men (Is7:14; Mt1:21, 23).
For three years, He showed how at times He had divine supernatural power (Mt14:25-33),
While at other times He had the same humanity as man (Mt26:26-28; Mk11:12-14, 14:38), and
This is because He is 100% man and He is 100% God (Mt16:16).
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), He poured out water and blood (Jn19:34) for He: 1) Gave glory to the Father who is living (Jn10:18; Php2:6-11);
2) Judged the devil who forgot that he is a creature (Eze28:12-17; 1Jn3:8); and
3) By grace sprinkled His redeeming blood on souls (Eph1:7).
He resurrected and sat on the heavenly throne and
He is the Lamb who was slain and has scars (Rev5:6-12).
The Holy Spirit lets the disciples who witnessed His total death to testify it (Jn19:34-35) and
Lets the souls who believe in the testimony
Know that they have the living blood of Yeshua in them (Rm8:15-16).
The witness of Yeshua is he who
Bears the marks of His death in him (Gal6:17).
Therefore, he risks his life to testify (Ac20:24)
How he himself experienced what Yeshua bore in His flesh (Is53:5; 1Pe2:24; 1Jn4:1-2)
Through healing, peace, riches (2Co8:9).
O Lord,
This great event of God coming as man in history!
How the Son of Man with the same senses and emotions as human endured that horrible suffering!
That I have His blood in me!
How can I express this emotion?
The one desire I have is
To one day see with my very own eyes
The Lord who to this day is living with the marks of His death in His body. Amen.
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The Holy Spirit Will Be With You Forever
(Mt28:20; Jn14:16-20)
God is eternal.
From everlasting to everlasting He is (Ps90:2, 93:2) and
He will take the faithful in the land to dwell with Him forever (Ps101:6).
For eternity is not a long “time” but rather “all times,”
Faith is longing for Him and for eternity (Ecc3:11) and
The life of this faith is being with the Holy Spirit in every moment while dwelling on earth.
The difference between being with someone and being alone is night and day,
So all human beings feel being alone as the most painful thing.
Yet, at times being alone is better (Pr21:9),
As it was because of the woman whom God made, Adam sinned (Ge3:12) and
So all men became hell-bound with the devil (Mt25:41).
For God appeared to Abraham, blessed him, and was with his offspring (Ge12:7):
He appeared in Jacob’s dream and promised to always be with him (Ge26:28-29);
He was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did (Ge39:21-23); and
He was with the mouth of Moses (Ex3:12, 4:12) who then
Led the Israelites out of Egypt and in the wildness for 40 years,
As the staff in his hand and his radiant face (Ex32:28-29) testified that God was with him.
For God was with Joshua (Jos1:5), he conquered Canaan whom Israel feared (Nu14:9; Dt31:6),
But they lost battles when God was not with them (Nu14:41-45).
As such, the sanctuary where the ark of covenant was
Reminded them all this as an important marker.
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-21),
He would be with men forever (Jn14:16) for
He is the Word who was with God in the beginning (Jn1:1, 14), who
Became Immanuel, “God with us” (Is7:16; Mt1:21), to be with them like “1x1=1”
Unlike the past when God was with Israel at times,
While at other times He turned away from them (He8:9), as in “1+1=2.”
Although many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him (Jn6:66),
Yeshua was never lonely or afraid for
The Father never left Him alone (Jn8:16, 29).
He willingly went to death in haste for
Only when the Son of Man goes away, the Advocate would come (Jn16:7) and
Only when when the Advocate comes, He would be with believers forever (Jn14:16).
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Through His faithful death entrusted His soul to the Father (Jn10:18);
2) Judged the devil the divider (Ge3:4-6); and
3) Sprinkled His redeeming blood on souls, cleansing them to make them a place of dwelling with God (He9:13-14).
He resurrected and He is in the Father (Jn14:20; Rev22:3) and
Sent the Holy Spirit in the name Yeshua to
Those who received His blood into their souls,
So that the Spirit is with them forever (Jn14:16) and
The church bought by the blood of Yeshua (Ac20:28).
The man of the Spirit is he who is
Never lonely even if he is alone, and
Never fears whatever he faces, whether hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or
Danger or even death (Mt10:35; Rm8:35).
For every moment of his life he is living with the Spirit of the Lord,
In the name Yeshua He prays (Jn16:23-24) and overcomes the world (Rev14:1-5), and
Preaches boldly by the signs accompanying the word (Mk16:20),
For when the Lord comes back he longs to be taken up to the air and
Dwell with Him forever (1Th4:16-17; Rev21:2-4).
O Lord,
Even if we are with our family and friends now,
One day, we will all be separated to never see each other again.
But we will be with our beloved Lord forever!
In this difficult time when we are separated and isolated,
Let us never forget Immanuel, Yeshua is with us!
Let us be with the Spirit of the Lord every hour, every minute, every second of our life so that
We can finally go where You are and live with Your forever! Amen.
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Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness
(Mt5:6)
God is the God of righteousness (Ps4:1).
His word is righteous, His deeds are righteous (Ps119:123; Da4:37) and
He lets those who delight in His righteousness be glad (Ps35:27).
Faith is longing for His righteousness (Ps42:1) and
The life of this faith is working for His kingdom and His righteousness (Mt6:33).
While those in the world try to fill their hunger and emptiness with things of the world,
God does His work, His righteousness by
Satisfying those who hunger for righteousness as
He does the hunger of the lions (Job38:39; Ps81:10).
Righteousness refers to God Himself, His word;
When it is opposed it is called wickedness, that is, sin.
When Adam disobeyed the commandment regarding the fruit (Ge2:17),
Sin and death entered all mankind.
For all the commands of the Law that Israel received were righteous (Ps119:172),
If they obeyed, they were called righteous (Dt6:25)
While if disobeyed, condemned as guilty (1Ki8:32).
Even if they were called righteous by keeping the Law, however,
By their righteousness they could only save themselves but not their own children (Eze14:14-20) for
The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them and
The wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them (Eze18:20).
Yet the meaning of the Temple was important for
It was the righteous dwelling which reminded them of the commandments (Is33:5; Jer23:6),
But it was also the place where the sacrifices of the righteous were offered (Dt33:19).
Nevertheless, the people eventually forsook their LORD and
Sought to be filled with other gods (Is55:1-3),
Digging their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jer2:13).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because
Though the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
With the righteousness He will fulfill, He would save those who believe Him for
He came as a righteous Branch from David’s line (Jer33:15; Mal4:2).
His public life that began after He was baptized
Started early in the morning and continued throughout the day until late into the night,
As He did the work of the Father who sent Him (Jn4:31)
For He came to fulfill all righteousness (Mt3:15).
As He died, Yeshua said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) According to the Father’s command, the sinless very nature of God died (Jn10:18; Php2:6),
confirming the righteousness surpassing that of the Scribes and the Pharisees (Mt5:17-20);
2) Judged the origin of sin the devil (Ge3:4-6; Is14:12-15); and
3) With His righteousness, saved all men from sin and death (Rm3:25-26).
He resurrected and sat on the heavenly throne and
He is the King of righteousness (He7:2).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent
Lets it be known that
There is no difference in the righteousness by faith in God and Jesus Christ (Jn16:10; Rm3:21-22).
And He lets those who delight in this do His work.
Blessed is he who hungers, thirsts and longs for righteousness
As a deer pants for flowing streams (Ps42:1).
To receive the crown of righteousness when the righteous Judge appears (2Ti4:1-8),
He lives for righteousness (1Pe2:24).
Whether it is the work of an evangelist or duties in the church (Col1:24)
He does not refuse the Lord’s work but does it with gladness and zeal,
Thus receiving an abundance and has his fill (Mt6:33-34, 25:29).
O Lord,
This amazing righteousness by faith alone! Sola fide!
Let us all be like Epaphroditus who was ill and almost died
But continued to do the Lord’s work (Php2:25-30).
Without being recognized or even noticed,
Let us work for Your kingdom, Your righteousness! Amen.
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The Meek
(Mt5:5)
God is meek (Ps18:35).
With His meekness He brings the world on its knees before Him and
He lets the meek inherit the land (Ps37:11).
Faith is kneeling before Him and being taught His way (Ps25:9) and
The life of this faith is infinitely yielding in order to inherit the land.
The meek, the gentle are those who
Even when disagreed, generously yield and
Thus make friends expanding their domain.
The rigid, on the other hand, cannot tolerate or let go even the smallest thing and
Thus make enemies and are not welcomed.
Adam was deceived by the devil (Ge3:4-6), that is,
Lucifer who sinned in heaven and was cast into Hades (Is14:12-15).
Because he sinned, Adam was cast out of the Garden, losing the land that he ruled (Ge3:24).
By allowing his nephew Lot to choose a land (Ge13:9)
Abram received the land of Canaan which
God promised his descendants as their eternal inheritance (Ge13:15).
The land of Sodom which Lot chose, however, was burned down to ashes (Ge13:10-11, 19:24).
The Israelites who were slaves in Egypt
Later conquered the stronghold of Canaan for
The LORD gave the land that He swore to their ancestors into their hands (Dt2:36).
He drove out their enemies (Ex23:28; Nu32:21) and
Let them possess every place where they set their foot (Jos1:3, 6) and
The inhabitants of the land were subdued before them (Neh9:24).
Even though the Temple where the name Jehovah was reminded them this,
As they mingled with gentiles and worshipped their idols,
Israel became subdued by gentiles (Ps106:34-38).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because
Though the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would conquer not the land of Canaan but a new heaven and a new earth (Rev21:1).
Although He came to His own land, since He came as the Son of Man (Jn1:9)
There was neither anyone welcoming Him nor a place for Him to dwell (Mt8:20).
Even as He was passed on to death He did not resist (Lk22:48-53; Jn18:10).
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Yielded all even His life and fulfilled the Father’s will (Jn10:17-18);
2) Judged the devil who left his proper dwelling (Is14:12-15; Jude1:6);
3) By giving His life as a ransom brought all men to their knees before Him (Mt20:28; Rev5:9).
He resurrected and sat on the heavenly throne.
Through His meekness He subdued the whole world to its knees before Him (Php2:6-11).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent
Comes to the souls, as a spiritual land, who receive Him and rules over them.
A disciple of Yeshua is blessed who has a meek heart.
He receives the Word with meekness (Jas1:19-21),
Quick to hear but slow to speak, slow to anger.
While on earth he does not resist the evil one (Mt5:38-48):
If anyone slaps him on his right cheek he turns to him the other also;
If anyone forces him to go one mile, he goes with them two miles.
He infinitely yields and loses but
Never revenges (Ps37:5-11)
So that he might save more men (1Co9:19-22).
O Lord,
Let us not commit a folly of
After having zealously evangelized, cared and served selflessly,
By having hair triggers or lashing back at the smallest thing and
Then losing the big reward…
To the end, let us lose, submit, give and give…yielding
To gain, to win souls.
When we enter the new heaven
Let us all be welcomed!
This is the prayer for our lifetime! Amen.
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Those Who Mourn
(Mt5:4)
God is the God of comfort (Ps86:17; 2Co1:3).
Comfort comes from Him and
He comforts those who mourn (Mt5:4).
Unbelievers refuse God’s comfort and
Rather comfort themselves by drinking, smoking, using drugs etc and
Seek to be comforted by their descendants even after their death.
Their outcome, however, is hell where there is not even an ounce of comfort (Lk16:25).
Even for believers, unless they pass through the valley of tears (Ps84:6),
After death, they will be thrown out in the darkness where
They will be weeping and gnashing teeth (Mt22:13).
Faith is being comforted by the comfort of God (2Co1:4) and
The life of this faith is receiving God’s comfort by looking at oneself and mourning, and comforting others.
For the mother who lost her only son in a combat and grieves in extreme sadness
The comfort she receives from the head of the state means a great deal.
The Bible shows the blessing of those who received comfort from God:
They were those who looked at themselves and wept and wept.
The Law that God gave Israel was
A mirror which led those who looked into it to mourn (Jas1:23-25) for
It revealed sin and the price of sin, death (Rm5:12-14).
The prophets cried out for the wicked people to turn from their ways for
God would bind up the brokenness of the people and heal the inflicted (Is30:26).
David wept and wept for the sins he committed (2Sa12:1-33; Ps6:6),
Longing to pass through the valley of tears to the highways to Zion (Ps84:5-7) for
The comfort of God came only from the Temple where the atonement cover was.
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,”
Because though the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He came as the Son of Man to comfort all mankind as the Comforter (1Jn2:1).
While with His hands He healed many (Mt8:15),
He denounced the towns where He performed signs yet they remained unrepentant (Mt11:16-20).
To the sinful woman who poured her tears at His feet
He promised forgiveness and told her to go in peace (Lk7:37-50) for
He knows sorrow and tears (Is53:3; Jn11:35).
As He died, Yeshua said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
Waited for the comfort of the Father who alone can save Him from death (He5:7);
Condemned the devil the archangel who sinned (Is14:12-15; Eze28:12-17; 1Jn3:8); and
Through the weakness of His flesh redeemed all men who sinned (Mt20:28).
He resurrected and sat on the heavenly throne as the Lamb.
Eternally He receives comfort for His scars of death (Rev5:6, 22:3), and
He sent another Comforter,
The Holy Spirit who comes to those who repent and comforts them (Jn14:16; Ac2:38).
He who looks into the mirror of the gospel (Jas1:23)
Weeps and weeps for his wickedness, ugliness, lowliness, faithlessness, laziness,
Knowing but not doing, impatience, and unloving.
So without tears he cannot worship for
The Lord’s throne is His bottle of tears (Ps56:8).
The qualification to becoming a disciples of Yeshua is
Not someone who is flawlessly perfect
But rather someone who weeps and mourns over his mistakes (Lk22:60-62).
So he receives comfort from the Lord and
Once turning back, he strengthens his brothers in similar situation (Lk22:32; 2Co1:6),
Becoming a pillar of the church where the comfort of the Holy Spirit is (Ac9:31).
O Lord,
Let me and all You have given me
Never run dry of tears in our eyes.
Give us the Spirit of mourning, a broken and contrite heart.
Let us have the joy of being before the Lord’s throne, Your bottle of tears!
Amen.
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The Blessed Ones
(Mt5:3)
God is the beginning of blessing.
Blessings come from Him.
He blesses and brings wealth (Pr10:22),
Gives spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph1:3) and
Inherits the kingdom prepared before the creation (Mt25:34) to those who long for His blessings.
Faith is knowing that there is no blessing apart from the Lord (Ps16:2), and
The life of this faith is emptying oneself in order to be filled up with
His blessing and be found as blessed on that day (Rev19:9, 20:6).
While everyone seeks blessing and happiness
By filling themselves up with the things of the world,
They can never be satisfied because blessings only come from God.
The blessings of the Old Testament were expressed as
Prosperity, longevity, land conquest, and
They were given to the fish, the birds and humans (Ge1:22, 28; Dt30:19-20).
For Abram became the beginning of blessing (Ge12:1-3),
According to the word he left his land and set for a wandering path, and
According to the word he gave his only son as a burnt offering (Ge22:16-18).
As such, he received the blessing of many descendants, longevity and land (Ge15:15, 17:8).
While running from his brother whom he cheated, Jacob ran taking only a staff (Ge27:35, 32:10),
When returning after 20 years, there were two companies of family and livestocks, whom
He sent over the river and risked his life to seek blessing.
What he received was the name Israel (Ge32:22-29) -
The guarantee to receive God’s help (Is41:13-14).
Thus, even though he and his descendants went into Egypt only with empty sacks,
When they left after 430 years, they took possession of great wealth (Ex12:36).
The sanctuary which they built with the materials they brought out of Egypt,
The sacrifices and the feasts they were to observe (Ex23:15, 34:20), and
Walking all the way in the wilderness for 40 years (Dt8:1-17) were all
For God to bless them to enter the promised land (Dt6:3) and remember.
However, because they eventually forgot, curse fell on them (Mal3:7-10).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would bless the hearts of men for He is the beginning of blessing.
He blessed and there was the sign of multiplying bread and fish to feed many (Mk8:7-8).
The disciples of Yeshua were the blessed (Mt5:3).
When they were called they left everything and followed Him.
They experienced lacking nothing with Him (Mt10:9-15; Lk22:35) for
They were blessed to know who He is (Mt16:17),
While those who only saw His appearance and stumbled (Mt11:6) passed Him over to death.
As He died, Yeshua said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Emptied Himself completely, laying down His life to receive it back (Jn10:17; Php2:7; He1:2);
2) Condemned the devil who coveted the throne (Is14:12-15; 1Jn3:8); and
3) With His blood purchased souls and took possession of them (Rev5:10).
He resurrected and ascended to heaven and
Received the inheritance of the Father’s kingdom.
The Holy Spirit whom He sent in the name Yeshua
Came to those who have no righteousness of their own and
Lets His blessing be known (1Co2:12).
The disciple of Yeshua is
The blessed one, the poor in spirit.
For apart from Yeshua, there is no pleasure, no joy, no hope,
He sends ahead treasures to heaven (Mt6:19-21; Lk12:33; Ac2:44, 4:32).
For apart from the name Yeshua, there is no solution, no method, no way out,
He clings on to prayer and petition (Php4:6; 2Ti2:1).
Even if he is insulted he blesses in order to inherit a blessing (1Pe3:9, 4:14).
O Lord,
Rather than those who lived richly with their families in palaces
I admire those who wandered in the wilderness, the hills, and the caves (He11:37-39)
For they were truly blessed.
I rather have You, Yeshua, the kingdom of heaven, than silver or gold (Mt13:44-46).
For I am like a little worm, totally helpless without You,
Help me… Help us all! Amen.
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The One Taught By Yeshua
(Pr1:1-7; Mt5:1-2)
God is the true Father (Jas1:18).
By the word of truth He gives birth to children and
By the word of truth He teaches His children.
Faith is longing to be taught by Him and
The life of this faith is listening to His word and being disciplined.
While there may be many teachers of information today,
True education for the character is becoming rare to find for
There is no teacher who does not spare the rod to develop the character
As in the past when the king, the teacher and the father were considered as one.
The Bible warns that there is no other teacher except God and Christ (Mt23:8-10), for
Adam was deceived by the devil, the father of lies who
To this day deceives the world (Jn8:44; Rev12:7-9).
God gave Israel the statutes and the laws
To teach them the way they must walk and what they must do (Ex18:20; Dt5:31).
The stone tablets inside the sanctuary were their discipline (1Ki8:36):
He who knows that to fear the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (Pr1:7)
Does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or
Sit in the seat of scoffers but meditates on the law of the LORD day and night (Ps1:1-2).
There emerged the teachers of the Law who
Adorned themselves with Scriptures, loved the place of honor at banquets and
Loved to be greeted and called “Rabbi” by others (Mt23:1-7).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days” (Jn2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would show how according to the way the Father instructed
He would walk the way and do accordingly (Jn6:38), and
Carry with all men their burden (Mt11:28-29).
Because He cursed the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, however,
He was passed over to death.
Since they reinforced the Law,
They loaded people down with burdens while they did not lift a finger to help them (Lk11:45-46).
They took away the key to knowledge, allowing neither themselves nor others to enter (Lk11:52-54).
As He died, Yeshua said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) According to the Father’s command, He completed the way He had to walk and what He had to do, also fulfilling the Law (Mt5:17; Jn10:18);
2) Condemned the devil the teacher of sin, the father of lies (Ge3:4-6; Jn8:44; 1Jn3:8); and
3) Bore the sins of all men in His body (1Pe2:24) and gave birth to children through the word of truth (Jas1:18; 1Pe1:23).
He resurrected and ascended to heaven and
He is the Father seated on the heavenly throne.
He became the model for the children born again in His blood would follow, for
By the Lamb the scroll was opened (Rev5:1-10).
The Holy Spirit is the Father who came not to leave the children as orphans (Jn14:18).
He reminds them the words that He spoke (Jn14:24) and the life He lived.
He corrects their words and behaviors.
A disciple of Yeshua is he who,
Even if chastised he wants to be disciplined (He12:5-13) for
He wants to be treated not as an illegitimate child but as a son,
The man of God equipped to do every good work (2Ti3:16-17).
O Lord,
Even if it hurts or stings
Do not let me remain unruly, untamed.
But chastise me, rebuke me, and teach me until the end! Amen.
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The One Who Knows Yeshua
(Jn15:15-27)
God is the God of revelation (Mt11:25-27).
He reveals Himself in His time, according to His way, and
He lets Himself be known to him whom He chooses.
Faith is knowing according to what He reveals and
The life of this faith is risking one’s life to testify what is known (Jn15:27).
God revealed Himself in stages:
First, the former revelation — the natural revelation — through all things (Rm1:19-20);
The latter revelation — the special revelation — through the Son (Jn1:14, 16, 18).
The Israelites were the servants of Jehovah (Ps113:1).
While He spoke to their ancestors through the prophets at many times in various ways (He1:1),
The revelation they received was an indirect one.
As such, Moses could not see the face of God but only saw His back (Ex33:23).
His face was radiant because He spoke with God, because of which
He had to put a veil cover His face (Ex34:29).
Inside the tabernacle of the testimony were
The tablets of the testimony which reminded them this for generations (Ex31:18; Rev15:5).
In spite of such, the priests gave blemished sacrifice there (Mal1:13-14).
So the prophets warned them that
God desired the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings (Hos6:3-6).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would reveal Himself to reveal God (Mt11:27) for
He is the Word in the beginning who became flesh to reveal God (Jn1:1, 14; 1Jn1:1-2),
To display Him in His face (Mt17:2, 5; Jn14:6-9; 2Co4:6).
When He called disciples, He chose those who were
Like little children (Mt11:25) to be with Him (Mt3:13).
Calling them friends (Jn15:15),
He gave them the secrets of the kingdom of heaven (Mt13:11) for
They had been with Him from the beginning as witnesses to testify Him later (1Jn1:1-2).
Judas Iscariot, however, ended up doing the work of betraying Yeshua (Jn6:70-71)
Fulfilling the Scripture (Jn13:18, 17:12) and ending his life wretchedly (Ac1:17-18).
This showed the fate of being called as a disciple but never knowing Yeshua (Mt26:24),
For knowing Him is eternal life (Jn17:2-3)
Yeshua was stripped, His flesh torn, and also the temple veil was torn (Lk23:45), and
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that:
1) As the Father knows Him He knows the Father, He willingly laid down His life according to the Father’s command and completely revealed the love of the Father (Jn10:15, 17; He10:20; 1Jn4:9);
2) Judged the devil who deceived himself (Is14:12-15; 1Jn3:8); and
3) With His blood redeemed all men (Eph1:7).
He resurrected and He is seated with God on the throne in heaven (Rev22:3).
The Counselor Holy Spirit whom He sent testifies Yeshua and
Lets believers become His witnesses (Jn15:26; Ac1:8).
He who is made a disciple by the Spirit
Knows that knowing the mystery of God, Yeshua (Col2:2) is
The great surpassing knowledge (Php3:8).
Therefore he counts as rubbish all his knowledge, philosophy, argument etc and
Loses them for His sake (Php3:8), and
To not be cut off from the Spirit of revelation (Eph1:17),
He resolves to know nothing except Christ (1Co2:2),
Demolish all else that sets itself up against the knowledge of God (2Co10:5), and
Spread everywhere the aroma of the knowledge of Christ, an aroma that brings life (2Co2:14-17).
O Lord,
Let us all crush, trash, and demolish our rubbish knowledge!
And like little children
Let us soak up the word of revelation.
Let us be those who only know Yeshua! Amen.
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He Who Is One With Yeshua
(Mk3:13-15)
God is one (Dt6:4).
His existence is one and
His will, His way and His truth are all one.
Faith is longing to become one with God and
The life of this faith is putting every effort to do all things worthy of His calling, in order to
become one with Him (Eph4:1-6).
While the world becomes more globalized and unified in
Politics, economics, culture, religions etc
The Bible forbids believers from being yoked with unbelievers (2Co6:14-16), since
The like-minded (“the kindred spirit”) who share the same will can go with each other until the end
But being with someone who does not share the same will can only go so far together.
Deceived by the devil, the ancestor of all men Adam (Ge3:4-6)
Fell to the temptation to be like God, because of which
All men became enemies of God (Col1:21).
To the chosen people of Israel,
God gave a monotheistic faith as commandment (Ex20:3).
After the exodus He had each man kill his own son and brother as enemies for
Worshipping the golden idol (Ex32:23-31).
The prophet Elijah risked his life and
Faced off alone against 450 prophets of Baal,
Ultimately testifying that Jehovah alone is God (1Ki18:22-40).
Referring to the temple where the stone tablets were which reminded them this,
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days” (Jn2:19), and also
Said, “I and the Father are one” (Jn10:30), because of which
He was hated by the Jews steeped in monotheism and passed Him over to death (Mt26:61).
Nevertheless, what He meant was that
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
As the Father and He are one (Jn17:22),
He would let those who were with Him through His trials (Lk22:28-30)
Become one with Him and sit on the thrones in His kingdom,
By becoming the only way to the Father (Jn14:1-6).
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Died according to the Father’s will and became one with Him (Jn17:21);
2) Judged the devil who wanted to be like God (Is14:12-15); and
3) Sprinkled His redeeming blood on souls and became one with men (Jn17:22; Eph1:7).
He resurrected and ascended to heaven.
He sat on the throne, where He is one with God (Rev22:3).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent lets it be known that
Those who are not with Yeshua are
Against Him (Mt12:30) and that
The calling to become His disciples is
The calling to the cross (Lk14:25-33).
The man of the Spirit is he who puts effort to be with Yeshua to the end.
For one Lord, one body the Church, one faith, one baptism — that is, one truth (Eph4:1-6) —
He chooses isolation and solitude over compromise.
He hates his parents, brothers, wife, children and even his own life,
Denying himself until the end and rather delighting in being alone (1Co7:26-31).
The world recognizes that he has been with Yeshua (Mt26:69-73) but he does not fear (Ac18:10).
He longs to be alone with the Lord and prays (Mt6:6), and
Preaches the gospel and the Lord works with him (Mk16:20).
For the Church, the gathering of the like-minded,
He gladly shares suffering (Rm12:15; 1Col12:26; Col1:24).
O Lord,
Let us all know that Your calling is to the cross, that is, self-denial.
Let not even one of us be against the Lord
But rather choose to be alone, isolated and suffering
So that we could be one with the Lord in the end! Amen.
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The One Who Is With Yeshua
(Mk3:13-15)
God is gentle (Ps18:35).
He lowers Himself and
He is with the lowly (Is57:15).
Faith is considering it as happiness and honor to be with Him and
The life of this faith is crushing one’s ego, self-centeredness, self-righteousness etc, in order to be with Him forever (Jn14:3, 17:24).
While humans are happy when they live with each other,
Because of family troubles, social divisions, ethnic conflicts etc
The chasms in human society cannot be closed.
Inevitably, superiority and inferiority emerge from
Different ranks of nation, ethnic group, gender, age, education, profession, income etc.
This is because, in spite of the fact that
Their ancestor was made in the image of God (Ge1:28) and
Became a living being so that he may live with God forever (Ge2:7),
He was deceived by the devil and sinned and was separated from God (Ge3:4-6, 24).
Delivered from their slavery in Egypt
The Israelites became a stiff-necked people because of
Their status as the chosen people (Ex19:6).
Consequently God became angry (Dt9:6-7) and
Humbled them and let them walk through the desert for 40 years (Dt8:2-3), and
He gave them the Law that was severe.
While the Book of the Law that testified this was inside the temple (Dt31:26),
Those who considered themselves righteous had appeared: the Pharisees.
Even though they were praised by men (Mt23:2-7),
They were called “brood of vipers” by John the Baptist (Mt3:7) and
Rebuked as “hypocrites” by Yeshua (Mt23:25).
But to those who were weary and burned by the yoke of the Law,
Yeshua said that His yoke was easy and light and that they would receive rest (Mt11:28-30).
Because He said,“Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days” (Jn2:19),
Yeshua was hated by the Jews who passed Him over to death (Mt28:61).
However, through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would fulfill righteousness for
God came as the Son of Man (Mt16:13; Jn1:1, 14).
As He died, He said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) In the very nature of a servant successfully humbled Himself to the point of death, revealing the Father’s meekness (Job11:5; Is57:15; Php2:6-11);
2) Judged the pride of the devil (Is14:12-15; Eze28:17); and
3) Became a ransom for men and became lower than them (Mt20:28).
God raised Him back to life and lifted Him up and
He sat down on the throne where He is with God (Rev22:3).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent
To this day calls those whom He wants:
The foolish, the weak, the lowly and the despised (1Co1:26-27).
Everyday the believers were together and
Worshipped, praised and prayed together (Ac2:44-47).
Furthermore, as they shared their joy, sorrow, bread and even possessions (koinia),
The news of the abundant freedom and happiness from this new community spread,
Increasing the number of those who were saved.
However, those who have superiority and inferiority complex, that is, the proud ones,
Finally leave the community and that is
Not because they do not want to be with those who are “not good enough”
But rather they do not want to be with Yeshua,
They forget His calling for them (1Co1:26) and
Forsake being yoked with the Son of Man.
O Lord,
Crush our ego, break our pride, and smash our self-righteousness!
Let us all be humble and gentle!
By building a happy community
Let our church be naturally fruitful and
Ultimately become those who are with Yeshua. Amen.
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The One Yeshua Is With
(Mt1:21-23, 28:16-20)
God is the Protector.
He brings those whom He chooses to live near (Ps65:4) and
He guards the humble like the apple of His eye until the end of the world (Dt32:10; Ps31:23).
Faith is clinging to Him and following Him (Ps63:8) and
The life of this faith is never fearing regardless of the circumstance.
“With” has a meaning of being “accompanied by” or “of companionship”
In regards to place, direction and level —
As the president is under the 24-7 protection by the secret service agents and
The baby is under the constant watchfulness of his mother.
God protects men from the enemy the devil who in heaven
Left his proper position and was
Contained in Hades until the great day judgment (Is14:12-15; Jude1:6).
Their ancestor Adam, however, was deceived by the devil (Ge3:4-6) and
All men became his slaves and hell-bound with him (Mt25:41).
For God was with Moses (Ex3:2, 4:1, 12)
Moses brought out the Israelites from Egypt and
In the desert they were guarded and protected by God (Dt32:10).
Joshua conquered Canaan where their protection was gone (Nu14:9).
God who was with Moses, Joshua, the judges, Samuel, David, Solomon etc was
With the ark (1Sa5:7) and
The Temple of Jerusalem where the ark settled was
Expected to never budge (Is33:20-22).
So when Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days” (Jn2:19),
He was hated by them and passed over to death (Mt26:61).
However, He is the Word who was with God in the beginning,
The Son of God who came to the world in the last days to be with men (Mt1:21-23; Jn1:1,14).
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would call those whom He wanted to be with Him (Mk3:13).
As such, He saved the disciples who were
With Him in the boat during a storm out in the sea (Mk4:37-39) and
Performed many signs (Jn3:2; Ac10:38) for
The One who sent Him was always with Him (Jn8:16).
Although the disciples scattered once He was arrested,
He boldly said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), for
The Father was with Him (Jn16:32):
1) From Hades He entrusted His soul to the Father (Lk23:46; Ac2:31);
2) He condemned the devil (1Jn3:8; Jude1:6); and
3) With His blood He redeemed souls (Eph1:7).
He resurrected and ascended to heaven where
He is in the Father (Jn14:20), and from there
He sent the promised counselor Holy Spirit,
The Guardian who is with believers forever (Jn14:16).
The man of the Spirit is he who
Never fears
Even if poverty, tribulation, persecution, chains, death or any danger comes.
Rather, he boldly proclaims the gospel (Ac4:13, 29-31),
Prays in the name Yeshua,
Drives out demons and heals in the name Yeshua (Mk16:17-20) for
He creates the site the Lord is with (Mk16:20) so that
The world will see and recognize that the Lord is with him (Ac4:16).
O Lord,
In the past, even at the smallest thing
I would tremble and become anxious.
But now I am changed.
Even if I appear small
I am one Yeshua is with!
Let the world see it and recognize it!
If the Lord is my Helper, what can mere mortals do to me (Ps118:6; He13:6)?
Amen.
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He Who Is Called By Yeshua
(Mk3:13-15)
God is the Lord of glory (Ps29:3).
For His glory He summons by name and calls (Is43:1, 7), and
Those who consider His calling as glorious
He invites to the heavenly banquet in the last day (Mt22:2-14; Rev19:9).
Faith is knowing who called me and knowing the glory of His calling.
The life of this faith is to consider as honor whatever He demands and thus carrying it out, even the cross…
Depending on who calls whom for what
The content and the glory of that calling varies.
As such, the glory of the guests invited to the king’s banquet and
The soldiers called by their nation is extraordinary.
God called Adam who had been deceived by the devil and sinned (Ge3:9), and
After Adam responded, God put on the garment of skin on him (Ge3:21),
Revealing the sign for His calling in the future.
Through Moses who was called by the self-existent One (Ex3:4, 14),
The Israelites were delivered from their slavery in Egypt (Ex3:10) for
Among many peoples they were summoned by name and called (Is43:1).
Consequently, it was only natural for them have a sense of superiority as a people.
The Tabernacle of Meeting that He commanded them to build was
The meeting place between the One who called and the one who was called (Ex25:22).
It was where, even at a young age, Samuel was called by God (1Sa3:4),
Becoming a prophet, a priest and a judge (1Sa3:20, 7:15-17).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,”
Because through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-22),
He would call not only Israel but whomever He wanted (Mk3:13) for
He is the One from the bosom of the Father in the beginning (Jn1:1, 18)
Called Adam, Moses, Israel, Samuel etc.
The disciples who, once called by Him, immediately followed Him (Mt4:20; Mk2:14) for
They were overwhelmed by His authority (Mt4:19; Lk5:4-11) and
They considered it an honor to be those whom He wanted.
For the content of His calling was the radiance of His glory Yeshua Himself (He1:3),
Even the dead walked out fo the tomb (Jn11:40, 47).
Those blinded by the splendors of the world, however, rejected Him (Mt11:17; Lk18:22-23).
Yeshua warned that, there will come a day of weeping and gnashing teeth (Mt22:2-14) for
Those who reject the invitation to the heavenly banquet would be put to the fire,
While those who dismiss the glory of the calling will be thrown outside the city.
As He died, Yeshua said, “It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Submitted to the Father who appointed Him as His Son in the beginning (Jn10:18; Rm1:3,
He1:2, 5;5) and gave glory to Him (Php2:11);
2) Judged the devil who challenged the glory of God (Is14:12-15; 1Jn3:8); and
3) With His blood redeemed all men and made them His (Eph1:7).
He resurrected and ascended to heaven becoming the Lord of glory (Jas2:1).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent
Lets Him be known as Lord and Christ (Ac2:33, 36) and
Sends out believers to the world and to call men (Ac2:38)
To the Church which Christ called, gathered and chose,
It is the presence of the One who called and the current address of the one who is called.
He who is invited before the throne, that is, the worshipper,
Puts every effort to give worship in spirit and in truth (Jn4:24), that is
Worthy of that glory in offerings (Dt16:16; Ps96:8-9; Lk21:1-4), praise (Ps100:4, 150:3-5),
In holiness (He12:4) and faith (He11:6).
For the calling is the sovereign choice of the One who called and not my choice (Jn15:16),
In response to His calling
The disciple willingly goes under His sovereignty and
There is only following, obedience and dedication.
O Lord,
What am I that You have called me?
It is my honor, my greatest honor!
O Lord,
I will follow You to death! Amen.