Tag: Grace

Days of Grace- Day 19

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The Rest of the Story

     Yesterday we looked into the life of Stephen. When we paused the story, he was going before the Sanhedrin on trial for false accusations  and trumped-up charges despite the fact that Stephen was a man with a good reputation, wisdom and full of the Holy Spirit.  In Acts 6:8 we saw these words about Stephen: “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.”(NAS)  There were those who could not stomach the things Stephen spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and plotted against him. Now he has been imprisoned and the trial has begun.

     When asked if the charges against him were true, Stephen answered in a very unusual way. He told the history of the Hebrew people beginning with Abraham and how God called him to leave his home country and go to a land God would show him, a land his descendants would one day have as an inheritance but first they would be in bondage in a foreign land. Stephen then retold a little about the patriarchs and how Jacob’s sons would sell their brother Joseph into slavery and how God would rescue him, deliver him from his afflictions and give him favor with the Pharaoh. Joseph grew to be second in command.  When famine hit his hometown, he eventually was reunited with his family as they sought food from Egypt.  He continued by telling how the Hebrews were growing in number and then were held in bondage to a foreign king.  He explained about Moses and his fleeing to the desert and God’s call for him to return to Egypt and bring the Hebrew people out of bondage. Stephen then spoke of their gaining freedom and wandering in the desert, the building of the wilderness tabernacle.  Finally, he ended with:  “David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.  However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:  ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet; What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord, ‘Or what place is there for My repose?  ‘Was it not My hand which made all these things?’ ” Acts 7:45-50 (NAS)

      Imagine what the Sanhedrin are thinking! Perhaps they wondered where this was going or what this had to do with the charges against him. Our fellow has not once answered the question of the validity of the charges and I am pretty sure they never expected where Stephen would go next. Take a look:  “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.  Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” Acts 7:51-53 (NKJV) These were Stephen’s next and last words to these leaders.  The leaders were outraged and sentenced him to be put to death.

     God’s grace is an amazing thing. It enabled Stephen to see to  the heart of the matter and instead of answering the bogus charges he was able to see the true problem. Their problem was not with him but with God. He understood God’s Word, His grace and God’s call on his own life. He stayed true to his beliefs and remained strong. I believe Stephen knew beyond a doubt his God was bigger than anything that the opposition could do and if he had any doubt I am sure it disappeared the instant he looked to the heavens and saw first hand the glory of God and Jesus seated at His right hand. Stephen journey appears to be is ending with this declaration: ” and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (verse 56) because they took him out of the city and stoned him. In reality, it was just the beginning for as Paul says to live is Christ, but to die is gain. God has a plan and purpose for every one of us and want us to live life and live it to the full. John 10:10 His desire is for us to live grace filled lives and lives that extend that grace He gives us to all those around us. It was the Grace of God flowing through this amazing man, Stephen, and the example of Jesus Himself that made it possible for Stephen’s last words to be “Lord, receive my spirit,” and “Lord do not hold this against them.” What an example of one who had great peace, wisdom and grace through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. In his greatest trial grace abounded, Lord, may it also abound in our lives whether in good times or in trials!

Days of Grace- Day 18

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     As the early church grew, so did the needs among the people as they would in any growing population. This group of like-minded believers were made up of both Hebraic Jews and Hellenistic Jews, the difference being their language and their culture. The Hebraic from Hebrew and the Hellenistic from Greek language and culture.  The Hellenistic people were concerned that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution and brought it to the attention of the Twelve.  They summoned all the disciples and held a discussion as to what to do in order to more effectively serve the needs of the widows and those who had needs.  Clearly this was very important, but so was the continuance of ministering through prayer and the Word. One should not be neglected for the other, so they gathered together to choose seven men full of the Holy Spirit, with a good reputation, and full of wisdom.  They would be put in charge of food distribution, serving and making sure those in need were no longer neglected.

     The disciples selected Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas. Now they were set apart for this purpose by going before the Apostles for prayer and the laying on of hands. With this concern now addressed, the Word of God continued to be taught and the number of followers continued to grow in Jerusalem.

    Today’s grace verse focuses on one of these men, Stephen. We know that Stephen was one of the men chosen to oversee serving by the disciples which indicated that he was of good reputation, wise and full of the Holy Spirit. The first we hear of Stephen is in Acts 6:5 and we are told Acts 6:8: “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.” One would look at this and believe that Stephen was a good man, living his life, serving God and the people around him, and he was. There was just one problem, some men from the Synagogue of Freedom could not bear the wisdom and Spirit of what he was speaking. They not only stirred up an argument against Stephen, they incited some people against him, drug him before the Sanhedrin and encouraged false witnesses to testify against him. Press pause on Stephen’s story…

     “Where is the grace in what happened?” I am tempted to ask. Maybe you have been tempted to ask that same question. We all have times in life when we are living the best life we know how; juggling maybe, but keeping it balanced and steady, then out of the blue a “suddenly” moment happens. One minute all seemed perfect…ok maybe that should be all seems normal and then suddenly it’s not. If we live long enough, we all have these “suddenly” moments. Some are small; others much bigger. The question is what do we do with those moments? How do we survive false accusations? How do we get past a betrayal? What do we do with a big loss; when we feel as if the world is against us; when hopelessness threatens us?  The questions are endless when a “suddenly” moment happens and the answers in that moment are few. Often we either go on blind instinct or shut down for a while until we begin to be able to process what has happened.

     Personally, I have experienced a number of “suddenly” moments, some were unexpected losses. I would love to be able to say I have handled them well  but it wouldn’t be true. What is true, however, is there was always grace because whether or not I realized it at the time God was always there with me! His Word says He will never leave us or forsake us, and His Word is truth. I might not “feel” Him there or that His grace is with me but that doesn’t change the reality. Looking back on those times, the ones best navigated were the ones that I neither shut down, nor acted on instinct, but those that I hit my knees and immediately turned to God in prayer.  There grace met me. It was the times that I immediately turned to Him being totally helpless in the situation that I found the strength to take the next breath; the next step.  Being told that my Mom had died suddenly when she was in good health and still young; seven years later to the month, my Dad gone suddenly-no major known illness-just gone in a moment; still I will say… He has never left or forsaken me.  Where He is there is grace and His grace is always sufficient!

     Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.  Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Days of Grace-Day 16

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Grace and peace to you! I hope you are blessed with sunshine on this first day of spring.  It is beautiful here but still pretty chilly. Today we will be exploring the first chapter of John as we continue our grace journey. It is my prayer that you are enjoying observing all the different ways grace manifests in people, their lives and in their different circumstances as we have walked through the scriptures. Because of grace, God did not completely wipe out the earth; we saw a family taken out before a city was destroyed; God continued with the Israelites because one man, Moses, found God’s favor; we saw Gideon hiding out become the mighty warrior that God knew he could be; we have seen the redemption and restoration in Ruth and Naomi’s life; and we have seen a barren woman’s greatest desire realized just in our first six days together. What a difference a little grace can make in our lives! Today, we will look in the book of John.

John starts from verse one with the powerful declaration: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:1-5 NASB. Before telling Jesus life purpose and story, John wants to make His deity and who He was clear making sure his readers know that Jesus was at God’s side when the world was created; when the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters in Genesis 1:2, Jesus was there! It says He was the Word (logos- spoken word uttered by a living voice), the Word was with God, and He was God.

Let’s peek at today’s passage. John 1:14-18 tells us:  “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:14-18 NASB)

Four times in today’s passage we see the word grace (Charis) and in two times it is pared with the word truth. For anyone joining us for the first time, here is a link defining this Greek word Charis:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/charis.html.

First, Jesus is described as being full of grace and truth. Jesus came full of grace and truth and of His fullness, the fullness of who He was(grace and truth); we have all received  grace upon grace. Moses gave the law, but grace and truth are realized through Jesus. Alrighty, so what exactly does that mean to us, or for us? I really can not say, but I can explain what it means in my heart and to me personally. Jesus came to earth carrying that which brought joy, delight, good will, loving-kindness, favor, and merciful kindness of God to us and truth. His purpose was to restore all that was lost or stolen in the Garden of Eden at the fall of man. Enmity came between mankind and God when Adam and Eve disobeyed. There was a division, a separation, sin entered because of man’s disobedience and mankind could no longer coexist with God’s Holiness. Did God stop loving mankind? No! It was His desire to be in relationship with man. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, we still struggled keeping them all. Israel was given additional laws, not to punish or hinder their fun, but for their protection. Things that were for their best interest for having a blessed and satisfying life. Yet, man struggled with obedience.

Jesus came to earth to bridge the gap between God and mankind. It had been God’s plan from the beginning. He came and fulfilled every single bit of the law, something we could not accomplish.  He came because of the loving-kindness, mercy, favor and compassion of His Father, to bridge the gap; to do what we humans could not, to restore that which had been lost at the fall of man and due to the sin of man throughout the ages. He set the example of living a sinless life full of grace and goodwill. Jesus also set an example of love and speaking the truth in love. He was gentle yet firm with people as He taught them the way to walk. Because He loved, He corrected and taught. He did so in a loving way, always direct but only getting harsh with those who were religious leaders; who knew the law and the prophets; expected the people to follow but thought themselves above it. Jesus lived in a manner that completely pleased the Father, knowing at the end of His time here on earth that He would be betrayed, beaten and killed for our sin, sickness, shame, and deliverance.  This gracious man came from His gracious Father to walk a perfect path to the cross. He took for us all our iniquity and traded His life for ours; His right standing for our failures. It cost Him everything and us nothing! That is grace! Then He arose defeating the last of our enemies, death and the grave. Grace accomplished the work, it is done.  Grace is available to us and freely given. We are free to choose Grace or reject it. Jesus is Grace and when we choose Him, our lives are transformed, never the same!

 

Days of Grace-Day 15

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     Today’s scripture portion comes after Jesus earthly ministry was in full swing. At first glance, I was very curious where we were going to find Charis in this one because it is one of the most challenging teachings of Jesus for most people. In most of our scriptures it has been pretty obvious and easy to find.  For context, we will start a few verses before our main verse.  Let’s take a look.

      “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks you, and from one who takes your things, don’t ask for them back. Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Luke 6:27-36 HCSB)

      Ok, be honest, do you bristle just a little at this one? I love that Jesus takes a time out right in the middle of the thought He is expressing to explain His thinking. He tells us to love our enemies, by the way the Greek word for love here is agapao. If loving your enemy seems hard, imagine when in it’s fullness it means: to welcome; to entertain; to be fond of; to love dearly. Many describe it as the God kind of love; others use the term unconditional as it’s definition. Agapao is a love that costs us something.  It is a love that gives, one that sacrifices. It is the same word used for love in the great commandment that Jesus gives us: 

     “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Matt. 22:36-40 (NET)

     Jesus challenges us to love everyone, even our enemies. He asks us to love them; pray for them. The word enemies in this passage means exactly what it does to us in our English language, just to clarify, it means:  hateful; odious; hating; hostile; opposing another or in our example one who treats us in these ways. Not only are we told to love our enemy, we are supposed to go the extra mile. “If they ask for our coat, do not hold back our shirt”… If they smack us on one side of our face, turn the other… Jesus said in our scripture for today, “if you love those who love you, what credit (Charis) is that?” Likewise, He asked if we lend to those who we know will pay back, “what credit (Charis) is that? His point is what? Anyone can be nice to those who are nice to them; love those who love them; and be generous to those who treat them generously but it takes a special person to be used; abused; or taken advantage of and continue to show love. It takes great strength and character to continue to love someone and be respectful towards them when they have said or done unkind things, have taken advantage or perhaps betrayed you. To respond lovingly, in spitein spite of being mistreated is very counter culture especially in America in 2014! In our humanness we may ask, “why should we continue to care after they ________?” (You fill in the blank)  

      It takes extraordinary grace, strong character and an even stronger will to put the incident behind you and continue to show love. Jesus modeled exactly that kind of love, character and grace for us on His journey to the cross. He loved when we/they mocked Him, He loved despite the beatings, betrayal, and abuse. He pleaded, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do!”  The obvious question, “what credit is that?”.  It was credited to Him as righteousness. It accomplished His mission. It made a way for us to have right relationship with our Heavenly Father through the righteousness of Jesus Christ if we will only believe and follow Him.  It made it possible to be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God to live a life of love, mercy, compassion and grace that is like a magnet making others wonder why and how we are so different than most.  The challenge is: will we? 

Preaching to myself! Grace to you my friends!

Days of Grace-Day 14

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      Let’s take a look today at the days leading up to Jesus’ ministry, Luke chapter four will be our primary source. Here we will find the period just before His ministry began. Jesus was recently baptized in the Jordan by His cousin John the Baptist, to which God had responded, “this is My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased!” In chapter four we learn that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and lead around in the wilderness for forty days. During this time Jesus was fasting and He was being tempted by the devil. When the days were completed He became very hungry! At this time, Luke records three very distinct temptations the devil laid out before Jesus and each and every time Jesus responded with the Word of God rather than answering based on His own thoughts, feelings and desires. Jesus was fully submitted to His Father and the Word.  Because of this, Jesus was victorious over the temptations and returned to Galilee and began teaching in their synagogues and found favor and praises among the people.

     Jesus was in Nazareth and as usual, he entered the synagogue where they handed Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus opened it to the section that we recognize as Isaiah 61 and He began reading:  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them,“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  Luke 4:18-21 (NIV)

     My very first thought is how much I love this prophecy written by the prophet Isaiah about the coming Messiah; my second is how did those listening respond to Jesus’ reading and the claim “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”?  The very next verse tells us: “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.” Luke 4:22. The word used for gracious is the Greek word Charis which we are tracing through the New Testament. Surprisingly, as Jesus continued teaching, the crowd grew enraged and drove Him out of the city; planning to throw Him off a cliff and giving credibility to His words, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.” Verse 24   Entering Capernaum, Jesus continued on His journey teaching, healing, delivering people all along His way.

How interesting that those that had known Jesus longest and should have known Him the best were so quick to turn on Him, run Him out of town and threaten His life. Something’s never change in life unless we make an intentional decision to address them. You’ve no doubt heard the old saying “you always hurt the one you love”, this should not be!  All of our words should be gracious, seasoned to be palatable and kind especially to our loved ones but to all others as well. Can you just imagine the difference that it would make in our world if everyone intentionally chose to speak graciously (that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech, good will, loving-kindness, favor) to our loved ones, friends, acquaintances and even strangers? Like many in generations past, my Mom used to say, “If you can not say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Sadly, too many things are said hastily or harshly, out of fear, anger, panic, or some other untamed emotion. Once spoken, they can’t be retracted. Even if they are forgiven, seldom are they forgotten! Words are powerful, may God teach us to use them well; to bring life and healing rather than death and destruction!

May grace season our words and be found upon our lips!

Days of Grace-Day 12

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     I can not believe that we have spent the last eleven days, tracing the cord of God’s wonderful grace throughout the entire Old Testament! What a journey it has been so far and we have not even gotten to His greatest grace gift!

     Let’s begin our time in the New Testament first by exploring the word used for grace. Primarily, our New Testament has been translated from Greek. Charis is the word from which grace is translated into English. Charis, according to www. biblestudytools.com is defined in Strong’s #5485, as (get ready, it’s long):

grace; that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech; good will, loving-kindness, favor; of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues; what is due to grace the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace; the token or proof of grace, benefit; a gift of grace; benefit, bounty; thanks, (for benefits, services, favors), recompense, reward

     Wow, that is a wealth of meaning! For a definition of our English word grace, try: http://mobile.webstersdictionary1828.com                  

It is very thorough as well.  Just reading the definitions has my mind popping. Songs come flooding into my mind like rapids rush in a river. Songs like:  Amazing Grace-the Hymn; Amazing Grace-My Chains are Gone; Your Grace is Enough; This is Amazing Grace; Scandal of Grace; Grace like Rain; Rhythms of Grace; Your Grace Still Amazes Me; Love is War.                                                        

These are just a few of the more recent ones, there are scores of songs and hymns that tell of God’s great and marvelous grace. 

     If you will humor me,  I will share my personal definition of grace. Grace- the Son of God giving up His place in the heavenlies, leaving the side of His Father, coming to earth in the form of a baby conceived of a virgin girl by means of the Holy Spirit of God. Fully God and fully human, something that is impossible to fully comprehend, He grew up. He faced every possible trial and problem that we would ever face and walked through it without sin. He was hated, despised, misunderstood, mocked, falsely accused, betrayed by  family and friends alike.  Yet, in the middle of this He served people: the sick, blind and lame were healed; captives were set free; there was healing for the broken hearted; freedom for those imprisoned; the mourners were comforted and their joy restored. He brought God’s favor to those who had been separated from God by sin since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.  Jesus brought beauty for ashes and reconciliation of man to God all through His life, death, burial and resurrection on the third day. Jesus Christ is the definition of grace and the more that we learn to walk as He walked the more the whole world will benefit, grace will thrive and more and more people will come to know His love, grace and mercy in their lives.

     Many have said down through history, Jesus I respect. Many times where it breaks down is in His followers.  We can become so caught up in the should’s and shouldn’t’s; the can and can’s; the rights and wrongs; getting rid of the spec’s in other’s rather than the planks in our lives that we forget to love and serve, show mercy and compassion. As we start looking at the New Testament we will see Jesus. We will see great love, great mercy and great compassion. We will see an innocent man on the way to Jerusalem to be mocked, falsely accused, beaten almost beyond recognition and killed knowing before He ever entered the city that this would happen. The One who carried this heavy burden, knowing one friend would betray Him and others would turn their back on Him still took the time as He approached the city to heal two blind men and to teach His followers. Grace is this man Jesus, knowing the brutality of what He was fixing to face in order to restore right relationship between fallen man and God, being human and asking that He be spared, yet loving and compassionate enough to put any fear, pain and suffering aside and say to His Father, “not my will but Yours” and then follow the necessary path to accomplish God’s eternal plan. That is true grace!

Days of Grace-Day 11

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     We  have now spent ten days focusing of the Grace of God. I don’t know about you, but His grace never ceases to amaze me! Sometimes it seems to show up at the very last possible moment, just when you think you can not make it another day or another step. Other times it comes suddenly and unexpectedly. Sometimes it comes before you even realize you need it; or right in the midst of something; then He reminds you… remember, I have already made provision for that.  I don’t know about  you, but sometimes for me grace can be as simple as a glimpse of a rainbow that brings a big smile to my face and child-like joy and wonder in the middle of an ordinary or complicated day. “Why is that grace?” you might ask. These are just a few examples of things I just delight in: a rainbow; a beautiful cardinal or blue bird that lands on the rail of my back deck unexpectedly while I am studying or writing; a child’s laughter or children running and playing; a beautiful sunrise or sunset; a beautiful blue sky filled with fluffy clouds that form all kinds of shapes gently blowing over my head. Again, “why?” You see, I am one of those people (you might know one or be one,too) whose mind runs constantly full speed ahead and  rarely slows down or  takes a rest from thinking. Seriously the wheels are always turning! Even in my sleep, I have vivid dreams. It is always nice to get unexpectedly surprised by one of these grace moments when the glory of God shows up and my mind just takes a few moments to pause and relish in the moment of glory rather than rushing around and missing them. His glory is  all around us if we just take the time to notice!

     The scripture for grace today is a prophetic word from Zechariah found in chapter twelve. It is a prophecy for a future time. Commentators aren’t completely in agreement or completely convinced when it will take place but let’s look at it anyway and then we’ll talk about it just a little.

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced ; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.  “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.  “The land will mourn, every family by itself ; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves. Zechariah 12:10-14

     I don’t know about you but the Spirit of grace and supplication seems to refer clearly to the Holy Spirit because He is the one Who draws into belief in Jesus, the One they pierced. This gives us a good indication that the prophecy takes place in the future and after the time of Christ’s birth, death, burial and resurrection. Other than that, it could be hard to pin point. Many believe that this referred to the time in AD 70 when the Romans sieged Jerusalem and the second temple of the Jewish people was destroyed. Still others believe that it is a future event, and some believe it is a double prophecy depicting both.

     Since our focus is on grace and the Spirit of grace (Chen, meaning grace, favor, charm, elegance and acceptance) and supplication ( Tachanuwn, meaning supplication, supplication for favor with God or man); I think we can say for certain that this prophecy would take place after Christ’s return to Father God’s right hand and after the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to all believers in Christ. AD 70 seems like a definite fulfilling of this prophecy, because there certainly was great mourning in the land over the loss of their homeland and the loss of their temple. Will we once again see it fulfilled, in our lifetime or the future? Who can say but our gracious God.

     This I do know, both from personal experience and based on the history we have traced over the last week and a half: God has this and He will provide His people every ounce of grace and mercy needed if there is yet another fulfilling to come!  His grace is sufficient for everyone; His love is unending; His mercy endures forever; and He is enough for any and every situation that we face in our life! Skeptical? Just give Him a try! He is who He says He is! He is faithful even when we doubt Him and when we are not faithful. His promises are true even when they are not in our timing and His timing is always right on time because He sees things from a much bigger perspective than we do. In every trial, difficulty or loss that I have experienced in my life, He has proven this true. It may have taken more time for me to see it than I would have liked, but never-the-less it is true!

Grace and blessings to you, my friend! Until next time…

Days of Grace-Day 10

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     In yesterdays, post I briefly mentioned the rebuilding of the second temple in Jerusalem. The rebuilding of the temple was authorized by Cyrus the Great, who was a Gentile king.  He was at that time in charge of the land where the Babylonians had once ruled. An interesting thing to know about Cyrus is that the prophet Isaiah foretold his kingdom 150 years before Cyrus was born! Let’s look:

     This is what the Lord, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb, says:  I am Yahweh, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens by Myself; who alone spread out the earth; who destroys the omens of the false prophets and makes fools of diviners; who confounds the wise and makes their knowledge foolishness; who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers; who says to Jerusalem, “She will be inhabited,” and to the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,”and I will restore her ruins; who says to the depths of the sea, “Be dry,” and I will dry up your rivers; who says to Cyrus, “My shepherd, he will fulfill all My pleasure” and says to Jerusalem, “She will be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Its foundation will be laid.” Isaiah 44:24-28 (HSCB)

     Just as the Lord had spoken, Cyrus was born, grew up and became king. Cyrus wrote the following decree:  ” In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem:  Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its original foundations be retained. Its height is to be 90 feet and its width 90 feet, with three layers of cut stones and one of timber. The cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.  The gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried  to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem where they belong and put into the house of God.” Ezra 6:3-5 9 (HSCB)

     So the building began.  Can you just imagine how elated the Israelites were to be allowed to return to their land and start this rebuilding process? Not to mention they had the blessing and support of Cyrus. They had mourned for a long time over the destruction of their temple. Construction for the foundation was said to take about two years and then the delays began.  Because of opposition and delays, it took many years for the Israelites to rebuild the temple.  In fact, it was not finished until after Darius had become the king. He also had a decree written about the temple. He echoed Cyrus’ decree and added to it a directive about what should happen to anyone who interfered. You can find this in verses 6-11 in Ezra 6.

     This leads us to today’s verse on grace. As Zechariah 4 begins, an angel is speaking to him about things pertaining to the temple. The angel asks him what is it that he sees. Zachariah describes the golden lamp stands and two olive trees and asks “what are these, my lord?” The angel responds “don’t you know?” and he responds, “no.” Next, we find today’s verses in the angels reply:  “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.  ‘What are you, O great mountain ? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain ; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!””Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,  “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. “For who has despised the day of small things ? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb-line in the hand of Zerubbabel – these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.” Zechariah 4:6-10 (NAS)

     The angel is speaking to the prophet Zechariah with a message to Zerubbabel, who was the civil head of Jerusalem. The message is that the work will be completed and the top stone will be placed but it will not come by the might or power of the people, it will come by God’s Spirit! The mountain which stands before them delaying the building will become as a plain, the obstacles removed and the top stone placed. Then there will be shouts of “Grace, Grace”. Then you will know God has sent me. What an incredible message of hope and encouragement for Zerubbabel and the people. Not only would the obstacles be done away with but the temple would be completed, and in Zerubbabel’s lifetime. Those who began the work would see it to completion even though right now that looked impossible to them. Now that is grace, it is the promise of God’s favor to accomplish that which He had begun! Grace that He announced through the prophet Isaiah 150 years ahead of schedule that though they are taken captive and away from their homeland, the temple destroyed, He will send Cyrus and they will find favor and return to rebuild their beloved Jerusalem. That my friend, is God’s grace and His favor! No matter what we are going through, He sees our struggles and our pain. Even when we are not rescued from them or spared, He has a plan. We may not understand but He is working to redeem our hurts and pain and in His timing restore us and bring us to an even greater place.

Http://www YouTube.com/watch?v=_5AR5b8EOxU

Days of Grace-Day 9

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     Speaking of grace, I hope your day is as beautiful as it is here today! The sky is gorgeous and sunny! It is absolutely wonderful even though the cold has returned and it is a bit breezy. Alas, I do miss those seventy degree days; thankfully, Spring is near!

     Today, our scripture portion on grace is found in Jeremiah 31:2 but we will look at a few other verses for context, and it is a bit longer than those we have looked at before. We will begin in verse one:  “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”  Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace (chen) in the wilderness – Israel, when it went to find its rest.”  The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness (checed).  “Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! Again you will take up your tambourines, and go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.  “Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the planters will plant and will enjoy them.  “For there will be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim call out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.’  “For thus says the LORD, “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations ; Proclaim, give praise and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel.’ “Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, and I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; a great company, they will return here.  “With weeping they will come, and by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”  Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare in the coastlands afar off, and say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”  For the LORD has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. “They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD – Over the grain and the new wine and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; and their life will be like a watered garden, and they will never languish again. “Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together, for I will turn their mourning into joy And will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow. “I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the LORD.  Thus says the LORD, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”  Thus says the LORD, “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD, “And they will return from the land of the enemy. “There is hope for your future,” declares the LORD, “and your children will return to their own territory.”  Jeremiah 31:1-17 NAS

     Notice the highlighted words. The first, chen, is the Hebrew word that we have seen most so far and is translated most often grace or favor. The second, checed, is the Hebrew word for loving kindness, goodness, and faithfulness and it is also translated mercy in one hundred forty-nine scriptures. In this text Jeremiah is speaking to the people of Israel, the Hebrew people. They have had a long history with God already. They have shared times of great prosperity and times of captivity by other nations. In our text, we are at a time in history where they have been scattered and separated. They are dispersed among the nations. Jeremiah is a prophet to the Hebrew people and has spent much time warning them about their ways and urging them to turn back to God.  Many commentators believe that this was a two-fold prophecy, one for the short-term when the Israelites would return from captivity to Judah and that the second fulfillment would come much later in the end times.

     A remnant of the Jewish people did return and the walls of Jerusalem, the city and the temple was rebuilt. This began during the reign of Cyrus and rebuilding the temple took many years to complete because of those who continually tried to stop the progress. It was the early fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah.  Eventually their land and the city of Jerusalem came under Roman control. The temple stood until AD 70, when it was once again destroyed and the surviving Jewish people were once again dispersed and displaced no longer having a country of their own. This continued to be true until Israel became a nation in May 14 of 1948.  Also, in 1967 Israel fought the Six Day war and recaptured Jerusalem as their capital.  I will post a couple of links below in case you would like some modern history pertaining to Israel’s rebirth.

http://www.examiner.com/article/after-1-878-years-israel-becomes-a-nation-again-may-14-1948

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/state-of-israel-proclaimed

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths3/MFroots.html

Days of Grace-Day 8

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     For those just joining us on our pilgrimage, we are searching out the thread of grace that is woven through the Bible. I have grown to love exploring the Old Testament and learning the many lessons that it has for those who study it. Today is a favorite story of mine. It is about a young lady named Hadassah, better known to us as Esther. Hadassah lived in the fortress of Suza with her uncle Mordecai. Mordecai had takn Hadassah in and adopted her as a young girl when she was orphaned. He along with many others from Jerusalem had been taken captive when the King of Babylon had conquered Jerusalem and had captured the King of Judah and taken him into exile.

      In those days, the King Ahasuerus was over the region of Suza. He and his queen had recently parted ways because of a request that the queen did not obey. The King had decreed that she not be allowed in his presence and another be given her royal position. A search began throughout the entire kingdom for young women who were candidates for her vacated position. These women were gathered into a haram at the fortress of Suza where they were subjected to beauty treatments and eventually one who found favor with the King would be chosen to be his queen.  Hadassah was one of the young women chosen and taken to the harem quarters at the palace. At this point, Hadassah became known as Esther.  Her uncle had instructed her not to reveal that she was Jewish or where she was born. 

     Esther, along with the other young ladies was placed under the care of the king’s eunuch, Hegai. In Esther 2:9, scripture tells us that Esther found favor with Hegai.  “The young woman pleased him and gained his favor so that he accelerated the process of the beauty treatments and the special diet that she received. He assigned seven hand-picked female servants to her from the palace and transferred her and her servants to the harem’s best quarters.” (Esther 2:9 HCSB) This was nothing less than God’s unseen hand of grace upon Esther as we will see further in the story.  Each of the contestants for the queen’s position underwent one full year of beauty treatments in preparation for meeting the King.  When one of them went before the King, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the palace. After a night with the King, she was taken to a second harem and remained there as a concubine. She would not go before the King again unless he desired her and called for her by name.

      When Esther’s night came, she didn’t request anything to take with her but only took what Hegai suggested. “The king loved Esther more than all the other women. She won more favor and approval from him than did any of the other young women. He placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. The king held a great banquet for all his officials and staff. It was Esther’s banquet. He freed his provinces from tax payments and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.” (Esther 2:17, 18 HCSB)  The lovely young woman, who had been through the tragedy of loosing both of her parents and had been raised by her loving uncle was now the queen of Suza, though she did not yet know what God’s plan in all of this was for her.  God’s hand was also on Mordecai. Not long after Esther became queen, Mordecai overheard a plot to kill the King. He was able to get word to Esther in time and the plot was thwarted and the persons responsible caught. 

   So, what purpose could God possibly have for this young woman? There was a man who was second in command to the King, his name was Hamen. Hamen hated Mordecai and all the Jewish people. He was set on their destruction! Because of Haman’s position, people were expected to bow to him, as they would the King. Mordecai refused, he bowed only for his God. Hamen went before the King with a false tale about the Jews, citing their differences, and accusing them of disobedience to the King. Haman was able to convince him of the danger and arrange a decree to have the Jewish population destroyed. Mordecai got word of the news and got word to Esther asking her to speak to the King. Esther had not been before the King in some time and she knew not even the queen went before him without an invitation; to do that could cost her her life. Mordecai was quite convincing. He sent this message to Esther:  “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace. If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:13, 14 HCSB)  Esther called for a fast among all the Jewish community and she and her servants also fasted for three days and nights there would be nothing to eat of drink.  She said, “After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16 HCSB)

     Esther went before her husband, he lowered his scepter allowing her to approach. He accepted a dinner invitation for himself and Hamen. They enjoyed a nice dinner and Esther again invited them the following night at which time she would make her request for her people to the King. When they met again, Esther revealed her ethnicity and the plot against her people. Hamen receive his deserved punishment and lastly a new decree was made allowing for the Jewish community to defend themselves against Hamen’s evil plot. Because of Esther’s courage and faith many lives were saved. 

     One of the interesting facts about the book of Esther is that God is not mentioned by name once in the entire book. However, though He is unidentified in the Book of Esther, His hand of grace is there woven beneath the surface throughout the entire book. There is certainly no coincidence that a young girl who is orphaned, adopted by her uncle and living in this kingdom at this time marries the King without his knowledge of her ethnic background and is placed in a position of favor in order to save her people.  Only the grace, mercy and plan of God could accomplish such a thing! 

He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend. Proverbs 22:11

Grace and blessings to you!