Glory of the Lord

Num 14:21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

Wow! The glory of the Lord is going to fill the earth. This isn't merely an expression of "someday it might" or "wouldn't it be wonderful if" or even a statement of fact that it will happen someday. No, this is part of an oath. God is declaring that the certainty of his glory filling the earth is the certainty that the currently living Israelites wouldn't enter the promised land. He also equates this certainty with the certainty of his existence. God lives, so we can be assured his glory will fill the earth. Do you want historical proof that God's glory will fill the earth? The Israelites wandered the desert until they all died...

God spoke

Heb 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

"Our fathers" - The Old Testament was written as a message to our fathers, not us. We can learn much from it, but we always must remember we are not the primary audience. When Jeremiah relays "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope," we must know that was not written as a promise to us but to our fathers. We can learn valuable lessons about God's character that apply to us, but we can't apply the promise to us directly.

Tense

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. -Heb 10:14

The tenses in this sentence are worthy of meditation....

"has perfected"

• The perfection Christ purchased 2000 years ago continues. He bought it in the past, but it continues to apply every day in the present.
• The perfection was completed--it's not "is perfecting" where he is still working, but that the perfection was completed in the past, yet it is ongoing.

"are being sanctified"

• Our sanctification is not complete. Christ is still working our sanctification out in us (even though we have been perfected already).
• This is a passive voice--we aren't the ones doing the sanctification; rather, Christ.

I certainly haven't wrapped my mind fully around this one. How can we be perfect yet still need sanctification? Clearly, I'm missing something in my understanding of Christ's work and the differences between perfection and sanctification.

Obsolete and Growing Old

In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. -Heb 8:13

It's so wonderful that Christ did not come just to enhance the Old Covenant. He didn't come to help us keep the Old Covenant. He didn't even come to say, "Keep the Old Covenant as best you can, and when you fall short pray to me and I'll make it better." No he came to fulfill all the Old Covenant's requirements on our behalf and give us a New Covenant. He fulfilled the demands of the Old Covenant--living sinlessly and bearing our punishment of death. Now, what hold can the Old Covenant possibly have on us? Oh, it's a wonderful New Covenant, where God has written his laws on our hearts and minds, and he makes this covenant with anyone who calls on his name.

What's in a Man

But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. - John 2:24-25

We would all be better off if we knew what Jesus knew: Humans are not trustworthy. Oh yes, most of us are trustworthy to a degree. But every one of us lets others down from time to time--some more frequently than others. We are selfish, shortsighted, and finite. Trusting other completely is a guarantee of disappointment. Only God can be trusted completely.

Young Jesus

Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

Joh 1:26 John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,

Joh 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Joh 1:31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

Joh 1:33 I myself did not know him...

Why don't we have much written about Jesus between his birth and when he was about 30 years old? From these verses, it's clear that nobody knew who he was. I wonder what happened to the wise men and shepherds who knew he was God as a baby. Maybe an angel told them to come back in 30 years, but clearly they weren't following him all over the place.

So nobody knew who Jesus was. They saw him as Joseph and Mary's son. Even John the Baptist, his cousin didn't know. Then one day while John was out baptizing as usual, he saw Jesus, and God revealed to him that Jesus, his cousin, is the Messiah. What was the purpose of John's ministry? To reveal Jesus as the Messiah to Israel.

Have a Good Day

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. -Psa 118:24

When I pray, "Lord, make today a good day," what should that really mean? What I usually mean when I say that is for God to remove all trials, difficulties, and challenges and give me blessings, riches, luxury, and ease. I don't think it's wrong to pray for these things, but I also don't think we should expect to receive them frequently. God has revealed his will, and (unfortunately for how we usually think) God's definition of blessing usually involves trials and persecution.

What I should mean by this little prayer is for God to make today good, like he makes all days good. I should be praying that God change my spirit to see the day as good, regardless of any trials and persecutions, and rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad because he is the Lord. I should mean, "Lord, let me see how good you are today."