From worm to butterfly

Romans 12:1-2

12 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.  2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. AMPC

Romans 12 is a well quoted verse and we most probably are very familiar with it.  However, I do wonder how long we really stop and deeply ponder these verses.  Sometimes, when we are over familiar with a particular scripture, we think we know what it says and we probably do with our heads, but do we really KNOW what it says with our hearts?  

When Paul admonishes us to give our bodies as a living sacrifice - he calls it our reasonable service and spiritual worship.  Do we even think about the fact that our bodies and what we do with it - or do not do with it - is spiritual worship?   Definitely food for thought...

In verse 2 Paul explains to us that we should not be conformed to this world, but that we should be transformed by the entire renewal of our minds, so that we can know what the perfect will of God is.  We so often ask ourselves and others the question, what is the will of God for us in this or that situation.  I think when we ask that question we somehow expect some hyper supernatural revelation (which of course God gives to us in many instances), but after nearly 35 years of walking with God, I also see in this verse that Paul teaches us that the more we are transformed into the image of Christ and the less we are conformed into the image of the world, the more we will know what the will of God is for us.  It's sort of a given.  We get to know Him and His character and then there are just moments where we will know it is not the will of God for me to drink that beer or cheat on my wife or be impatient with my child.  I just know that simply because I know it is not part of God's character, and I have discovered His character, and I am not conforming to the world anymore but I am being transformed into the image of Christ.  The word transformation really means a metamorphosis - the process during which a worm becomes a butterfly.  It is an utterly complete transformation to the extent that the worm is not recognizable anymore.  That is the kind of transformation God has in mind here.  There is a stage in this transformation where the worm has been completely dissolved into a kind of soup and out of that the butterfly develops.  You see the worm had to die to itself completely before the butterfly could be born and develop and mature.  So it is with us.  We need to die to self so that we can develop into the image of Christ.  

Look at this short video of this process of metamorphosis as it just illustrates this process so beautifully..

From worm to butterfly  

 

Point to ponder

 Let us ask Jesus to show us this week which area of our mind is not entirely renewed yet and allow Him to then transform that area into the image of Christ.  

I surrender

Found by those who do not seek Him

Romans 10:20-21

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, I have been found by those who did not seek Me; I have shown (revealed) Myself to those who did not [consciously] ask for Me.

21 But of Israel he says, All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people unyielding and disobedient and self-willed [to a faultfinding, contrary, and contradicting people].

We are largely a gentile nation.  So when Isaiah boldly said that God has been found by those who did not seek Him, and that God has revealed Himself to those who did not consciously ask for Him - He is referring to us.  Gentile believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Gentiles who came into the Kingdom on grounds of grace and faith in Jesus.  Think about this for a moment.  Gentiles, who had no background nor concept of a God of love, Who chooses to take the sin of man upon Himself, instead of letting man die in his own sin.  Mostly this is a complete foreign idea to any gentile.  However, 2000 years later, I am afraid that what is increasingly true of the so-called Christian gentile nations, that used to be found by Him Whom we did not seek, is rather the same thing as what verse 21 says of Israel.  We have come to a place in history where God is saying "All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people unyielding and disobedient and self-willed [to a faultfinding, contrary, and contradicting people]. This is what we have become.  A faultfinding, disobedient and self-willed people. There is but one hope for us:  Humble ourselves before God, repent and ask for His mercy.  Return to God with all our hearts, minds and strength.  Lay down our self-willed-ness and yield our prideful hardened hearts before Him in humility and in faith that He loves us so much, that He is still the God Who will let Himself be found by a people that do not seek Him.  That He still will reveal Himself to a people that do not consciously ask for Him!

Point to ponder

Am I an unyielding, disobedient and self-willed human being?  Then let me humble myself and ask the God of the Bible to reveal Himself to me, even though I am not seeking Him as I should and even though I am faultfinding and contrary to God.  

How great is our God - Chris Tomlin (world edition)

Without speech their voice go out... have you heard?

 Romans 10:14-17

14 But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?

15 And how can men [be expected to] preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! [How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of His good things!]

16 But they have not all heeded the Gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed (had faith in) what he has heard from us?

17 So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

In these verses Paul says it is necessary to hear the Word of God and thus for someone to preach, or bring the good news, but sadly in the same breath He quotes Isaiah, who asks the question of the Lord, saying, "who has believed what he has heard from us"?  I can hear Isaiah's despondence while he was  preaching and bringing the Word of God to the people - they mostly did not listen or had faith in God. Paul then continues in verse 18 with the question, "Have they not heard?" and then he answers that question by quoting Ps 19

Romans 10:18

18 But I ask, Have they not heard? Indeed they have; [for the Scripture says] Their voice [that of nature bearing God’s message] has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the far bounds of the world.

Psalm 19:1-4

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork.
2 Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor spoken word [from the stars]; their voice is not heard.
4 Yet their voice [in evidence] goes out through all the earth, their sayings to the end of the world.

Paul's point is that even without words, nature declares the glory of God. We should be able to look at nature, the heavens, and see, recognize and believe in God because without human words they cannot do anything less than declare the glory of their Creator. Every starlit sky, every sunrise and sunset, the vast expanse of our universe - speaks of our almighty, all-powerful, omniscient God.

In other words we have no excuse, we have the heavens declaring the glory of God, we have the Word, the prophets and the good news - this message has gone out to all the earth in different ways and in different keys of music.  Do you believe? How much evidence will be enough evidence to believe?  What kind of evidence do you need?  There's plenty of evidence - just ask God to open your spiritual senses, so that you will see, hear, feel, taste, smell the greatness of our Lord God, Jesus Christ.  

Creation Calls - Brian Doerksen  

You will be saved

There are certain scriptures in the Bible which I think need no explanation and one cannot say it better or in easier words than how it is written.  The following is such a scripture - it just says it all. Lets just read it this week until it drops from the head to the heart.  

Romans 10:8b-11 NKJ

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

You will be saved

No shame or disappointment

Romans 9 is one of the chapters in the Bible that can easily be misunderstood if we do not read it in its context. I do not want to profess that I have a perfect interpretation or understanding of what Paul is saying in this Chapter, so I am just sharing what makes sense to me if I keep context in mind. I do think that Paul’s letters have to be read as a whole and in the context that He and his readers found themselves in at the time of writing the letter.

In verse 1 Paul tells us who he is addressing in this chapter – His fellow countrymen – in other words the Jews. We need to keep in mind that Paul has never been to Rome when he is writing this letter and therefore, He needs to explain the gospel to both Jew and Gentile, as both these groups are represented in Rome. In Chapter 9-11 he turns his focus slightly more to the Jewish reader. He is speaking to a nation that believes they are the chosen nation and keeps the law to the extent that they believe that they are saved because of that. Paul explains to them that they – even if they are chosen and keep the law – still needs faith in the completed work of the Messiah to be saved. Likewise, are the Gentiles saved by grace through faith.

When Paul appeals to the sovereignty of God and makes his infamous ‘What if” statements he is purposefully creating doubt in the mindset of the day which was the belief that they are saved because they have been chosen and keep the law. The doubt he creates here is meant to open the door for his fellow countrymen to start to consider their need for faith in a Messiah that was crucified and resurrected. I don’t think His ‘what if’ statements are at all meant to say that God chooses some to be saved and others not to be saved. I really think God’s heart is for everyone to be saved, and that we have free will to respond to His love for us.

Let’s read 1 Timothy 2:4-6

4 (God our saviour) Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth.

5 For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

6 Who gave Himself as a ransom for all [people, a fact that was] attested to at the right and proper time.

This is but one of the verses that confirms the fact that God’s heart is for all people to be saved and He gives everyone an opportunity to be saved. I believe the explanation of what Paul was saying in the whole Chapter is found in the following verses 30-33 of Chapter 9:

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not follow after righteousness [who did not seek salvation by right relationship to God] have attained it by faith [a righteousness imputed by God, based on and produced by faith],

31 Whereas Israel, though ever in pursuit of a law [for the securing] of righteousness (right standing with God), actually did not succeed in fulfilling the Law.

32 For what reason? Because [they pursued it] not through faith, relying [instead] on the merit of their works [they did not depend on faith but on what they could do]. They have stumbled over the Stumbling Stone.

33 As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations.

Both Jew and Gentile are saved through grace by faith. He who believes in Him shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations...

Point to ponder:

What have you chosen to believe about Jesus the Son of God?

Lets worship with Kathryn Scott that the King has chosen us when we were still sinners

The Spirit of Adoption

Romans 8:15-17

15 For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!  16 The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.  17 And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.

The Holy Spirit is given many names in the Bible.  He is called the Spirit of Truth, our Advocate, Helper, Companion and many more.  The Spirit of Adoption is one that I have only recently discovered.  I suppose that I must have read this scripture before, but I certainly did not pay enough attention to it.  Adoption is a legal process whereby an adult has to make an active choice to adopt a child.  That adult does not have to adopt the child, normally they do so because they really want to.  When the process is finalized, that child is regarded to be the legal child of that adult in exactly the same manner as a naturally born child.  They are fellow heirs. No difference. The child is legally not regarded as illegitimate or an orphan, and has the same rights and responsibilities as a naturally born child.  

Friends of mine adopted a little boy. The day the adoption was finalized, they explained to him that there is a law written that says nobody can take him away from them anymore and they cannot give him back either.  He is now theirs forever.  I think this is what God says to us.  He says there is a law written in heaven that says we are His and nobody can take us away from Him.  This scripture is written from God's perspective.  If He has adopted us we are regarded to be 100% legal, legitimate children of God in every way and aspect necessary and possible.  In God's grace though He knows that we  - like many adopted children - are struggling to receive that reality into our spirits.  From our human perspective we often continue to see ourselves as illegitimate, orphaned or add-on family members of God.  We need a new perspective.  We need to accept and receive the fact that we are heirs of God just as Christ is.  Our human hearts are just not able to do this on our own.  Therefore, God gives us the Spirit of Adoption.  He does not give us a spirit of bondage to fear but the Spirit of Adoption by whom we can cry out "Abba Father". 

Point to ponder this week:

Have that conversation with God - the one about exchanging the orphan spirit, the spirit of bondage to fear and illegitimacy, with the Spirit of Adoption. 

Our song of the week celebrates the safety that this Adoption into the family of God brings for us

Safe - Alisa Turner

No Condemnation

Returning to our devotions from the book Romans after the recent diversion into the feast season, our Monday devotions come from Romans 8:1 today.

Reminding ourselves that Chapter 8 follows on Chapter 7, where Paul has just made the point that the law teaches us what is right and wrong. At the same time he makes the point that while we are dead to sin, yet in the flesh, in other words, out of our own strength and sheer willpower, we are unable to keep the law and therefore we are condemned by the law and 'wretched men'.

However, in Romans chapter 8:1-2 he then makes the glorious point that even though we are 'wretched men', Christ has taken the condemnation for us. Thus, its not like sin is not condemned, it's just that Christ has taken the condemnation in our place and therefore...

 

Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. AMPC

Let us listen to this song and let it sink in - and the short explanation that follows after it - I don't think I can explain it better.

No Condemnation

A Passover celebration

This past weekend we celebrated Passover, or what some of us know as Easter, weekend. However, in Biblical times the Feast of Passover is comprised of three feasts consisting of Pesach (Passover), Unleavened Bread and First Fruits – the whole feast lasts seven days. There is some overlap in time between these three feast days during that week. You can read about this in Ex 12 and Lev 23. To remind us of the significant symbolism of these feasts, I share with you the following summary.

The feast of Passover

The first Passover was held the night before Israel as a nation was redeemed from Egypt. It was the night when all the firstborn of Egypt died. God told Moses and the people to put blood on the lintels of their doors and when the angel of death came that night, he would pass-over those houses where he saw the blood on the doorposts. However, he would enter those houses where there was no blood on the doorposts. They had to make a meal of lamb and unleavened bread and be ready to move out the next day. I can imagine that there might have been Israelites that did not believe and did not put the blood on their doorposts, it was a choice. They had to act in faith. They had to apply the blood. We know there were Egyptians that moved out of Egypt with the Hebrews - by then they must have believed. Faith is always a freewill choice.

We know that Jesus was our Passover lamb. In 1 Pet 1:18-19 He is described as the Passover lamb without blemish or spot. He was inspected and found to be innocent by Pontius Pilate, who declared Jesus' innocence and washed his hands as a sign of not being accountable for the death of an innocent man. Jesus was crucified at the exact hour that the Passover lambs were sacrificed in the temple. They never broke the bones of the lambs that were sacrificed, Jesus’ bones were not broken either – he was already dead when the soldiers came to do that. This happened in fulfilment of the prophesies we find in Ps34:20 and John 19:34. He fulfilled every aspect of this feast in every way.

Just like the blood of the Passover lamb caused the angel of death in Egypt to pass-over the houses of those who applied it to their doorposts, so does the blood of Jesus cause the angel of death to pass-over those who believe and apply the blood of Jesus to the doorposts of our hearts. When we celebrate Passover, we celebrate Jesus who took our sin upon Himself and made us free of the slavery of sin.

The feast of unleavened bread

Unleavened Bread starts the same day of Pesach but lasts seven days. With the first Passover the people had to eat unleavened bread with the Passover lamb. Partially because there was just no time to leaven the bread as this takes time and they had to be ready to move, so everything had to be done quickly, but also because it symbolized the fact that sin had to be purged from their midst. In this context leaven carries the symbolism of sin that permeates our whole life and therefore we need a redeemer.

The opposite is also true - in Math 13:33 Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to leaven: “He told them still another parable: The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.” In other words, the important thing we need to see here is that both the kingdom of darkness (sin) and His Kingdom of Light permeates everything and everyone. It ‘takes over’ the whole being of the person, spirit soul and body. This feast reminds us that Jesus was the unleavened bread (the sinless one) who purged us from sin and gave us a new beginning when He was resurrected - a life where our sin has been dealt with on the cross and we can receive the the Spirit of God who now wants to permeate our whole being with the Kingdom of God. Nothing of my old life in sin needs to go into the new life I have in Christ.

The feast of first fruits

This feast was initially a feast where Israel celebrated the first fruits of their harvest.  Giving praise to God for His provision to them. This feast is celebrated on the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Paul says the following in his letter to the Corinthians:

1 Cor 15:17-24  17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him”. Paul says that Christ is the First Fruits of those raised from the dead. Because Jesus was the first fruits of those that were raised in victory over death we can now rise with Him not only into a new life here on earth but also into an ultimate new life in heaven.

I think this should help us to understand more clearly why Jesus, in Luke 22, when He celebrated the last Passover with His disciples, taught them that the wine is symbolic of His blood and the bread symbolic of His body. He was the Passover lamb that made atonement for our sin, He was the unleavened bread - the sinless One who purges all sin from our life so that the Spirit and Kingdom of God can permeate us body, soul and spirit, and He was the first fruits of those raised in victory over death and sin. Because He rose in victory, we can raise with Him into a new life.

Lets celebrate this with Kari Jobe in her song Forever

©2020 HG Venter "Celebrate to Remember" All rights reserved.  

Hosanna to the King on the donkey

I am deviating from Romans this week and next week Monday in favour of celebrating what we know as Palm Sunday and next week Passover with some thoughts and quick facts:  

Jesus enters Jerusalem

To understand the fuller picture of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem, we must backtrack a bit into history and look at the customs of welcoming kings into the city.  In 1 Kings 1:39-40 we read of such an example when Solomon was anointed as king.  David had Nathan the prophet and Zadok the priest anoint Solomon and then they brought him into the city to sit on David’s throne.  Noteworthy in this piece of scripture is that David told them to let Solomon enter on his mule.  Not a horse but a mule.  In verse 40 it says: “…and all the people went after him and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy so that the earth seemed to split with their sound”. It was customary to accompany the king’s procession with great jubilation. However, it seems that if a king were to enter on a horse or with horse and chariot, it meant that he either came from a war or he was on his way to make war.  When the king came riding on a mule he came in humility and peace.  It is highly likely that the people  knew that Solomon entered the city on a mule and would also have remembered that the Messiah would come from the house of David.  Thus, when they welcomed Him into the city, they welcomed Him in similar manner as to how Solomon was welcomed, with great enthusiasm, because in their minds the new great king, the Messiah, was being welcomed. 

The One who would liberate them from Roman rule and Who would establish the great Davidic empire once again.  In their minds this king would establish a great Hebrew kingdom that would last forever.  Without doubt they expected and welcomed Jesus as their earthly Messiah.

In addition, this moment was fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9-12. 

In this prophecy we have:

·         The crowd’s jubilant rejoicing in welcoming the King.

·         He is a King that is just, having salvation, humble, riding on a donkey.

·         He will cut off the chariots, horses, and the battle bow. (i.e., violence).

·         He will speak peace to the nations.

·         He will have dominion.

·         The blood of His covenant will set the prisoners free from the waterless pit.

·         He invites them to return to His stronghold and calls them prisoners of hope.

·         Promises to restore to them double what was stolen from them if they do.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and got a King’s welcome, the crowd would have known this piece of scripture very well.  And in Math 21:9 we read the words with which they welcomed Him: “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  And then they quoted a scripture from Ps 118:26 saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” They knew the scriptures and the prophecy from Zechariah.  They knew Solomon came riding on a donkey, they knew the custom of welcoming a king and they knew the Messiah would come from the house of David.  They welcomed Him – but they welcomed Him as an earthly king.  With the expectation of liberation from the Roman government.  There were also those (vs 10) who just had no idea Who He was, they even asked “Who is this?”

Jesus new all this too and He was very intentional with His actions.  Regardless of the crowd’s expectations, Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10^th of Nisan.  It is the day that the Passover lambs were brought into the city to be inspected.  They had to make sure that the lamb had no spot or blemish, for only a spotless lamb could be sacrificed.  Of course, for us it symbolizes that Jesus was brought into the city and inspected as the Lamb of God.  He was found to be spotless and worthy of being the Lamb of God.  He was legally declared innocent by Pontius Pilate who even washed his hands in an act of absolving himself from guilt over shedding Jesus’ innocent blood.  (1 Pet 1:18-21 and John 19:4.)

On the 10^th of Nisan we remember that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey.  A King that came in humility and peace.  To bring peace to the nations.  But many did not recognize Him as such.  Many asked, “Who is this?” The church of the day was indignant and incited the people to choose a different Jesus. Yet He was God’s chosen Lamb without spot or blemish.  He was inspected, found innocent and was crucified four days later in Barabbas’s place.  In my place and in your place.

In Luke 19:41-44 Luke describes what happened directly before Jesus cleaned out the temple.  He wept about Jerusalem; he prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem uttering these words:

“… because you did not know the time of your visitation.” 

Will we recognize Him in this time and season of His visitation?

Hosanna - Kari Jobe

©2020 HG Venter "Celebrate to Remember" All rights reserved. 

The God of my choices

Against the backdrop of Paul's reasoning in Romans 1-6, where he repeatedly explains that we are saved by grace through faith, that we are set free so that we can choose to sin or not, he ends Chapter 6 with the following thought:

Romans 6:21-23

21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now this is quite a profound thought when we carefully think about it.  He explains that the wages of sin remains death - even for us who believe and put our faith in Christ for our salvation.  When we choose to sin we are still going to reap death as the fruit thereof.  Even though our souls are still saved by the grace of God from eternal death, the fruit of sin in this life still remains death.  In other words on a Monday morning it looks like this:  

If I choose to cheat on my wife or husband, the fruit of that will still be death to the trust and possibly the relationship.

If I steal from my employer, I may still loose my job.

If I commit fraud, I may still end up in jail.

If I cheat on my tax return, I may still end up with a criminal record,  fine, or a prison sentence.

And so I can carry on with examples, the wages of sin is death, we cannot continue to make sinful choices and think we are going to reap good fruit and blessings.

However the opposite is all the more true.  If we make good choices, the fruit of those choices will be holy and bring life to our relationships, our finances and every area of our life where we apply those principles.  Our good fruit will be rewarded by God and those choices lead to everlasting and eternal life, blessings and holiness - starting already in this life and culminating in our eternal life with Christ.

It really is such a simple principle - so why do we continue to make wrong choices?  I think this is the point to ponder this week.  Why do you and I still continue to make the wrong choices while God gave us the opportunity to make the right choices?  Can it be that we continue to give ourselves permission to sin with an attitude of 'it does not matter because we are saved?' Point is, it does matter because choices produce fruit - either for death or for life.  

Which choices do you and I have to revisit this week to perhaps change them for the better?  To change them into life-giving choices that bear holy fruit into eternity?

Perhaps we can ask the Holy Sprit to become the God of our choices?  

JJ Weeks - Choices