Sanctified by the Cross

Matthew 1:18-25 (ESV) 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a s...

John 6:66-69 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” The scene here in John 6 comes right after Jesus proclaims himself to be the bread of life. One would think that after he says something as seemingly innocent as claiming to be the Bread of Life, there would not be the kind of reaction we see in vs 66. They turned back and no longer walked with him. Why? He has just said in vs 47-48 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. That seems pretty straightforward. So why did many turn away? It is when Jesus outlines what believing really means. He compares himself to the manna that came down from heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness during the time...

Psalm 2:1-4 1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. We live in interesting times, to say the least. It is especially a strange time to be a believer in Jesus Christ and hold on to the high and exalted nature of God as described in the Scriptures. As I have mentioned before, though the unbelieving world would deny God, the world actually does know Him. They know he exists, that He created them and that one day He will hold them accountable and yet they suppress, push down that truth so they don't have to deal with it (Romans 1:18-20). They, and we before we trusted Christ are rebels. This explains, to a great extent why the world is the way it is today. Rebellion. One look at the news and all that...

John 15:5 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. Both as a church and as individuals. One of the things we must do as Christians and as a church is to periodically check to see if we are doing what we do in our own strength or if we are rightly abiding in Jesus and doing out of the strength He provides through the Spirit. If we try to do the things we are called to do in our own strength, one of two things will eventually happen. The first thing that can happen if we do things in our own strength is great frustration and obstacles. God wants our hearts to be His. And knows that reliance on His Son is the only reliance that is ultimately good for us. Where we are the most frustrated in our Christian life or in ministering to others is usually the place that we are trying to do it in our own power. If we are not abiding in Christ the vine we t...

Romans 7:18-20  18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Ever feel like this? We all go through times where we know what the right thing is to do and yet we struggle to do it. It is no less sin in the eyes of God. Sadly many have used this set of verses as a "Get out of Holiness Free" card. But for the believer in Jesus Christ we are told that sin's power over us has been broken (Romans 6:6, 6:14) We are now "Alive to God" (Romans 6:11), and are to walk in "Newness of Life" (Romans 6:4). So why does Paul speak just a chapter later about having the desire to do what is right, but not having the ability to carry it out? Has he contradicted himself? Are there time...

Colossians 1:3-5 (ESV) 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, Thankful to Spurgeon for bringing this passage back to mind this morning. We are reminded here that one of the great motivations for us as believers is the hope laid up for us in heaven. Often we don't think of the eternal life we have with God in heaven because we are so deeply invested here. The problem with being so deeply invested here is that we will suffer from shortsightedness. Everything must be accomplished here and we find ourselves not needing or desiring the there of heaven. So our hearts are called by the gospel to desire the there of heaven more than we want the here. Why? What is the hope laid up for us in heaven? Because it is only there that ...

Galatians 5:1 (ESV) 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. To say that we are free can mean many different things. In fact there are maybe as many different kinds of freedom as there are people to think about different kinds of freedom. And because of that we want to make sure that we are living in the right kind of freedom. The kind of freedom God intends. When anyone talks about freedom it is always in terms of being free FROM something. Something that at one point we were enslaved to: free from debt, free from guilt, free from prison, free from bad memories. Being free from some sort of enslavement. So when Paul says here it is for freedom that Christ set us free, what does he mean? In Galatians this freedom all centers around Christ, His work for the believer, not the believer's work for God, and therefore it is freedom from all sorts of things. Freedom from the Law - The unattainable demands of the law. When...

Proverbs 3:3-8 3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Normally we focus on vs 5-6, And rightly so. Trusting the Lord, fully and acknowledging Him, and in that He will direct us. 100% true and the bedrock for us as to wisdom and guidance from the Lord. But this is not all that is here. Namely this passage also answers the question of how. How do we trust the Lord? Look at the verses before and after these famous verses. First vs 3-4 call us to focus on steadfast love and faithfulness, never letting them depart from you, having them at the ...

Psalm 46:1-4, 10-11 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah God in his great kindness has given us a place to run in times of trouble. And in the midst of everything around us falling apart or His great power being displayed, the God who is exalted over the nations calls us to "Be Still, and know that He is God" -to remember his sovereignty, power, and strength. For us to remember that he is the LORD of hosts, commander of God's angel armies, He is with us, near us and ...