"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (NIV)
Christians are often reminded of the need to be humble, but we are also reminded that we have special calling from God to be His people to the world. We are all that the text says, not to boast about our position in Christ, but to be His witnesses in the world. The text declares that we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God." That is heady stuff, isn't it? But the very last lines in this verses tells us why we are all of this. It is certainly not to give us bragging rights, but "to declare the praises of Him Who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light." First, we are told what to share with people. We are to share "the praises of Him..." We have a lot to praise God for. We have been called out of a life of sin and degradation to a life of joy and satisfaction in Christ. We need to share this verbally, but we also need to declare it with the way we live our lives and in the way that we treat people. We have the promise of eternity with God in heaven. That is something that a lot of people do not think about, because they are so busy with life, making a living, etc. But we need to call their attention to the fact that there is a life beyond this one and that it is all-important for them to receive Christ as their Savior. I know that sounds quaint today, and is the source of a lot of jokes, but it is, nevertheless, true. These are just two examples of all that we have to praise God for. Second, we are told why we should declare His praises. It is because we have been called out of darkness into light. I consider myself a positive person, but as I look around me, I see a lot of darkness. I see the possibility of darkness in my own life. Satan always calls us back to the earthly pleasures of sin, and we have to be on guard about that. I see the darkness of the world all around me in the newspaper, on television, on the radio, etc. I do not wish to join that darkness. I remember living in a dark world and it was not satisfying. But we are not called to shun this dark world but to encounter it with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember we are declaring that we have been called out of darkness into light. We do not need to be self-righteous about it, because that would be counter-productive.But it is true, nevertheless, and we are to declare it humbly, being thankful that we are in Christ. Bro. Joe
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God's first two commandments were pertaining to Himself: (1) We are not to put any god ahead of Him, (2) We are not to make an image of any kind to worship.
These are the two main commandments that God warned Israel about, and the two main commandments that they broke. In fact, when they/we break those two the other eight are easier to break. God knew that Israel would want a god that they could see. The temptation is always there. That is the appeal of idolatry - it gives us a god that we can see. You might be thinking that we have that whipped today, because we have not set up idols to worship. Oh, really? One of the main problems in our world today, and particularly in America, is materialism. We want more and more "things," as if these "things" will bring us greater happiness. In our quest for more material things we can forget the unseen God who has revealed Himself to us in Jesus. We can read about Jesus, but we can't see Him. There is nothing in this world that can replace Jesus as Savior and Lord. But if we are not careful, we will make material things the Lord of our lives. There are many people who have made their bank accounts the lord of their lives. They think that the more money they have the better off they will be in life. I'm not saying that money is not important; I am saying that money is not all-important. God has given us money and material things to enhance our lives and to use for our benefit, but He never intended for us to bow down to them. We might say that we do not bow down to money and material things. We might not physically bow down to them, but when we put them ahead of God in our lives, we are doing the same as bowing down to them. This is the same appeal that idolatry had to the Israelites. We are prone to prefer the things that we can see to the unseen God. He wants us to put our faith in Him, not in what we can see. After Thomas had rectified his mistake of not believeing that Jesus had arisen from the grave, Jesus said to him: "Thomas, because you have seen, you have believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Do not understand me to be saying that it is wrong to want and need material things. Understand me to be saying that it is wrong to put these things ahead of Jesus, and make them masters of our lives instead of Him. God has given us material things because he knows that we need them, and He wants us to be good stewards of them. Let's make sure, however, that we recognize Him as the source of these things and worship Him and not the material things. Bro. Joe "See to it that you do not refuse Him Who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven? 26. At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27. The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29. for our God is a consuming fire."
We are caught in the tension between "things," which we need, and eternal things which we need even more. If we are not careful, we will put too much emphasis on "things" instead of eternal things. We need to remember that there is nothing on this earth that is eternal, that is "created things." We are proud of our stately buildings and great institutions, but they will all vanish when God removes the "things that can be shaken." We are proud of our possessions, e.g., cars, houses, jewelry, etc., but they will vanish too. We think that there are things that we cannot do without, but that is not true. We are warned not to be possessed by our possessions. That was the problem with the "rich young ruler" in the New Testament. He wanted eternity, but he wanted to hold onto that which was not eternal. Jesus was trying to teach the young man, and us, that the greatest thing that we can do is to serve God, even if it costs everything that we have. There is nothing that we possess that can save our souls. There is nothing that we possess that can take us to heaven. It is only through the unseen God that we can be saved and go to heaven. I'm not saying that our possessions do not count. In fact, we are told to be good stewards of what we possess. We are not to keep them only to ourselves for our own aggrandizement, but to share them as best we can. What I am saying is that our possessions are not eternal, and will vanish. Let me use the example of trading cars. We get "trading fever" and that car seems to be the greatest thing in all of the world and we just have to have it. We buy it, drive it and smell it's newness. Before we know it, time has gone by and we relegate that treasured possession to the used car lot, or the junkyard. The joy that it brought was only temporary. Everything on this earth is only temporary. One day God will "shake" the heavens and the earth, and only what is eternal will remain. I want to hitch my star to that which will not fade away. I have done that by trusting Jesus as my Savior. I hope that you have too. Bro. Joe "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple."
By now, you can probably guess that I am reading through Psalms again, along with Hebrews and Numbers. This verse caught my attention this morning and I will share my thoughts on it with you. First, the temple had not been built when David was king of Israel. He was referring to the place where the Ark of the Covenant was, because without that there would not be a place of worship. He was probably referring to the tabernacle at Gibeon. Second, a modern reader might think that David wanted to live all of his life at the tabernacle. One might think, "I sure wouldn't want to spend all of my life at the church building." (I know that the temple and our present church buildings are not the same, but that would be our thinking.) One could hardly serve the Lord in the world if he or she stayed at church all of the time. Third, David was writing about the presence of God. In the Old Testament, God lived among His people at the tabernacle, specifically where the Ark of the Covenant was. The "Mercy Seat" atop the Ark of the Covenant served as a throne for God when He was among His people. What David wanted was to be in the presence of God all of the days of his life. In Psalm 23:4, David celebrated the presence of God: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me." David's knowledge of the Divine Presence helped him get through all of the tough battles that he fought and through the many troubles that he faced as the king of Israel. Fourth, there is a lesson here for us. If we belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ, we have the presence of God inside of us. One of Jesus' main promises to His disciples (as well as to us) was that when He ascended to the Father, He would send the "Comforter," the Holy Spirit, to dwell in them (and us). Paul reminded us that because of the presence of the Spirit of God in our lives, we are God's temples. God's presence is not necessarily at a certain place anymore, it is within us. Indeed, we can live in the presence of God all of the days of our lives. Let's pause just now and thank God for the privilege of His presence in our lives. Bro. Joe . |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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