The Salvation of the Body – Life in the Age (Part 4)
The body was the first part of man God formed.[1] It will be the last part of man He will …
The body was the first part of man God formed.[1] It will be the last part of man He will …
Salvation, the born-again experience, happens when we believe Jesus’ dying proclamation from the cross that, “It is finished.”[1]
Somehow, once saved many of us forget that we could never earn it. Somewhere on discipleship road, we find ourselves in the cul-de-sac of works. Having recognized Christ love for us and accepting it in gratefulness at our salvation, we soon turn to trying to earn it. This performance trap leaves us open to the fear of being disowned by our Father and cast out by our Lord. Thankfully, neither is possible.
God’s relationship with mankind is unique. Before the creation of this world, the Almighty was thronged with sentient, free-will, moral …
Fear, anxiety, and worry are normal challenges in our daily lives. They are part of our fallen nature and grow …
Our Father’s default setting is dynamic progression. Life moves forward from seed to body, blades of grass to fields of green, trees to forests, fish to schools, fowl to flocks, heifers to herds, one flesh to families, families to tribes, and tribes to nations. His blessing brings increase in quality and quantity.[1] Conversely, wicked disobedience brings the curse of caustic decay. Though many other examples of this principle can be found, Genesis 1-3 and Deuteronomy 28 are sufficient to illustrate the point.
Onward, forward, and go are imperatives intrinsic in the kingdom of God; flinching, backsliding, and turning away win no commendations from the King.[2]
God speaks to Moses from a thorn bush. The holiness of God has invaded the curse of the ground and commands Moses to bare his feet in the presence of the Almighty. The Lord has plans for this prince-turned-shepherd, this child of Jacob from Egypt. He is to be a prophet, a savior. He will have mastery of snakes, power over leprosy, and call the wind to divide the waters. This encounter deals with who Moses was, what God intends him to be, and who he would foreshadow.
“Immediately” is the spice-word of the miraculous. Any healing Jesus does is exciting, but the instantaneous ones carry exponential weight and wonder. To illustrate what I mean, let me begin with one that lacks this powerful adverb.
Luke 17:12-16
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
Almost two decades deep into the exponentially increasing digital heights of the twenty-first century, I still wear an analog watch. I wake, sit on the edge of my bed, rub my eyes, and reach over to strap time to my wrist. This ticking machine keeps me partially bound to the illusion that the act of wearing a time ruler grants me some measure of control over its domain. With it, I can confidently push to be “on time” to meet my obligations or accomplish my desires. But the reality is that even as I press and discipline myself to be on time, I never truly am. Time is actually on me.