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Showing posts from January, 2021

Jesus: The Believer’s Inheritance

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  It is fascinating to observe when people talk about inheritance, ones mind would immediately cater properties, wills, houses, jewelries, and other material things. All of which are centered on material temporal things.   In 1 Peter 1:4 , although The Apostle Peter used the term “inheritance” once in his letter, Apostle Paul on the other hand, mentioned this term in his letters several times. ( Eph_1:14 , Eph_1:18 , Eph_5:5 , Col_3:24 ,) But what is so significant about this particular emphasis of Peter? After all, he made a brief description of the inheritance (verse 4-5) a believer will obtain now that he is part of God’s family.   The term “inheritance” is not something new among Jewish ears. Going back to the OT, when God divided the promised land among the 12 tribes of Israel, every tribe received a portion of the land as their inheritance, except for the tribe of Levi…”the priestly tribe”. They were the only tribe that didn’t get one. God’s reason for doing so is interesting. Th
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"Pray in Faith" - Notes on James 5:16-18

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  We will focus first on James' statement that "the prayer of a righteous man avails much." The word "righteous" in the original means "approved of." As Scripture is clear that "none is rghteous " ( Rom. 3:10-11 ), it follows that it is the prayer of those who have been MADE righteous THROUGH Christ that is at point here. The prayer of the redeemed is that which is powerful and effective. Such prayer is possible because of Christ's finished work at the cross. Through Christ, believers can freely enter into God's throne. Whether one is new in the faith or has been a saint for decades, the privilege of calling God, "Abba," our Father, is the same. All believers have the same Mediator, the same Intercessor-- that is, Christ who died, was buried, and risen again! In Him we have forgiveness of sins; and, God's wrath is no longer upon us. He reconciles us to the Father, unto whom we make our prayer, our requests, our heart&#
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"Enter the Place Where Nothing is Impossible" - Notes on James 5:13-16

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  James addresses very specific needs in this passage: personal suffering, physical illness, and the need for forgiveness. Indeed, James' closing words simply reiterate the reality of trials in the believers' life, the same reality of which he spoke in the beginning of his letter.      Observe how James directs the brethren's thoughts to two vital needs in the life of a believer: to praise the Lord and to pray.      With respect to prayer, two ways are encouraged: personal and intercessory. First, pray directly unto God if you are suffering. Holocaust survivor, Corrie Ten Boom, gives insight as to the importance of personal prayer. As a Dutch believer who suffered severely in a Nazi concentration camp as a result of hiding Jews during WW2, she could personally testify as to the wonderful privilege of prayer, as it allows the believer to "leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God's realm where everything is possible....Nothing is too great for H
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Our Ultimate Deliverance - Daniel 3:8-18

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The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is a very familiar one. As a result, we sometimes fail to appreciate its historical and doctrinal significance. These three young men were taken captive by the Babylonians. They were educated in the ways of this foreign power and appointed over its affairs.   In Daniel 1:7, we find that the Hebrew or original names of these three young men, respectively, were: (1) Hananiah,  which in Hebrew means, "the Lord is gracious;" (2) Mishael, which means, "who is like the Lord;" and, (3) Azariah, which means, "God is my help." Why did the parents of these young men name them as such? And why did the Babylonians change their names?  Observe how that these three young men stood their ground along with Daniel, the beloved of God. They determined in their hearts to please God, despite their being under a foreign power (Daniel 1). Given the meaning of their names and the resoluteness of their hearts and actions, one cannot he
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