Messiah: Exalted by God

“May His name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through Him, and they will call Him blessed. Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. (Psalm 72:17-19, NIV). “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’ “ (Matthew 2:1b-2. NIV). “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11, NIV). [Read Psalm 72].

All of Psalm 72 is a Messianic hymn. The Psalm is attributed to King Solomon. Did he know when he wrote the psalm, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that he was writing about the coming Messiah? Jesus Himself and early Christians understood this psalm as prophetic of the Messiah. Although it is not quoted directly in New Testament writings, some very important Christological passages are based on the psalm, such as portions of Ephesians 1, Philippians 2. Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1. And how we thrill to the words of the beloved hymn, “Jesus Shall Reign” written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748) who composed his lofty poem of praise based on this psalm, and in particular verse 8: “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

“Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom spread from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.”

Does it thrill you to read about how people in many lands celebrate the birth of Messiah? I am working now on some games for a Sunday School class Christmas fellowship. I want it to be fun, but at the same time reverent and meaningful, a means whereby participants may come away from the evening with a better understanding of why it was necessary for Jesus to come to earth and sojourn among us. The Magi of eastern lands studied the heavens and realized that a special King was born, and went to worship Him. God exalted Jesus, even to eastern astrologists. Shepherds on a Bethlehem hillside heard the angels’ songs and went to Bethlehem to worship Jesus.In our towns and countryside, centuries from the time of Advent, we meet together and worship the newborn King. When we think about the magnitude of this knowledge and celebration, we can hardly take it in! The time will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord! Better to join the throng willingly, with our own faith intact, than to wait until that day when this prophecy, too, will be fulfilled!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, December 5, 2010

Parable of the Speck and the Plank

“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” (Luke 6:41-42, NKJV)

The parable of the speck and the plank is preceded by the admonition, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37, NKJV). In Matthew’s account of the same parable (Matthew 7:1-6), Jesus is delivering what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. He touches strongly on the subject of judging and how careful we should be as we point out what we consider faults in others. We ourselves may have a greater fault. He compares this fault-finding as a speck in another’s eye while the one who judges has a plank (log, beam) obstructing his own vision. He is addressing a major flaw in relationships: that of noticing other’s flaws to the exclusion of our own faults. Christ uses a strong term for anyone who thus judges. “Hypocrite!” He says. One who pretends one thing while being another; one who puts on a false face, especially of virtue or who play-acts at being religious and devout. The comparison of a small speck of sawdust in the other person’s eye while the judge has a blinding beam or plank in his own eye is using the literary device known as hyperbole, or extravagant exaggeration. This is an attention-getter. And when we imagine a log or beam in comparison with a speck of sawdust, we can immediately see that the one who has the log in his eye is certainly blinded and incapable of judging. And the teaching here is that we will be judged with the same measure with which we judge others. It’s far better to “judge not…for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:37-38).

What is the difference between judging and discerning? We might say a thin line exists. Jesus said in another teaching, “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). One of the definitions of the verb discern is “to detect with senses other than vision.” We are urged not to judge the faults of others. Instead, we are to use discernment, which is a matter of knowing with the heart as well as with the eye and mind, what is right and wrong. And with this sort of “judging,” we have a close relationship with the Lord and see others in the spirit of love and forgiveness. In using the beam, log or large plank as the “blinder” of the one judging others, Jesus is emphasizing the often-quoted Jewish proverbs on judging. One judge said to another: “Cast out the mote out of your eye.” The other replied, “Cast out the beam from your own eye.” The roof-beam of the house as a blinder is used in a context of judging without love or compassion. Unkind and frivolous criticism has no place in the Christian’s evaluation of others. But discernment, and judging what is right and wrong, sound and false, are all part of a Christian’s responsibility. Note the very solemn charge given the Christian in Paul’s writing to Timothy: “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5, NIV). Max Lucado in his book A Gentle Thunder sums up judging by writing: “Look before you label. What is the work of God? Accepting people. Loving before judging. Caring before condemning.” Remember the parable of the speck and the beam. It has a lot to do with how we consider each other in love: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3, NIV). This is a hard parable, and worthy of deep consideration and practice.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Take not the name of the Lord in vain.

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7, KJV).

The first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” has to do with the identity of God, who He is, the Great I Am, Sovereign, Lord, Creator, Sustainer, the Ultimate in Godship. The second commandment, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images,” has to do with God’s Nature, so omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient it cannot be represented by any visual image or artistic rendering from nature. He is Spirit, and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth, not by some representation we see or make and conceive it to be in His likeness. The third commandment has to do with God’s Name and how we reverence it above every name and do not take it in vain (as in a curse) or dishonor it. Paul wrote about Jesus, the name above every name, who came to show us the Father: “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11, NIV). Now or later, every person shall bow to the name that is above every name. Is it not far better to voluntarily honor, adore, and hold in reverence that Name now than to come in due time to acknowledge it, at a time when the opportunity for salvation may be past?

Name has a deep meaning. “To name the name” is to appropriate and command the power of the person named. When we take God’s name in vain, as in a hasty curse or a thoughtless, “My God!” for mere exclamation, we dishonor the Name of God and the Person of God whose name we have used wrongly. And then there are those who, in the name of God, seek to bring under their use the power of Deity to bring credit to themselves. This is another wrongful way to use the name of God.

The third and most important aspect of taking the name of the Lord in vain is with our own identity to His name. We are told in Acts 11:26: “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” To be identified with the name of Christ by being called Christians (little Christs) puts a heavy weight upon our own identity. We take the Lord’s name in vain any time we conduct ourselves in an unChristlike manner. To discredit Christ’s name, which we bear by our relationship to His saving grace in us, is to deny his Lordship in our life, to bring shame upon Christ. When we dishonor His name, we dishonor His person. Let us be true to His name in us!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, August 7, 2010

The Lord, a Strong Tower

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10, NKJV).

Moses fled Egypt because he had killed an Egyptian. He wanted to help free his enslaved people there but he began it in the wrong way. He took refuge in Midian. He married a wife, Zipporah, there and they had a son whom Moses named Gershom, meaning “stranger in a strange land.” Moses was minding his father-in-law Jethro’s sheep. God got Moses’ attention through a burning bush. God gave Moses a command: “Bring my children Israel out of Egypt.” Moses asked God, “Who shall I say is the name of the God who sent me?” And God replied, “I Am.” The name, “I Am,” the One who was and is and evermore shall be. The Name above all names. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower.”

Throughout the Bible, much emphasis is placed upon the name of the Lord. He is called by many names, all descriptive of his omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. In Psalm 20:1 we read: “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee.” Verily, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower.”

When Isaiah gave his Messianic prophecy of the coming of the Lord, he gave many names to Him: “and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). As a mighty tower his name would stand among the nations, for “the government shall be upon His shoulder.”

The name of Jesus is above every name: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven , and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the gory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11). Like a tower on a hill, easily seen, so that people can run to it, the Name above every name invites all to come and be secure in the Tower. His protection extends to all who willingly take refuge.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, July 17, 2010

Pleasing God

“. . .because God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases Him.” -Philipppians 2:13 (NCV)

This week has not been an easy one in the Christian journey. I have only to read the past two days’ journal entries to remember the pain, but yes, even the gain, for God’s work in my life to be revealed. Philippians 2:13, then, takes on new meaning.

I have several friends I’ve made at Georgia War Veterans’ Home since Grover has been there. I try to see them almost every day, too, as I visit Grover, and seek to encourage and cheer them. Wednesday, I told these friends about the latest medical news about Grover. It was hard to tell them, and I didn’t want to upset them. But amazingly, they were the ones ministering to me, seeing and sensing my needs.

I went by Bill, seated in his wheelchair in the hall. He assured me he would pray for us, and I know he will. He removed his baseball cap, being the gentleman he is, and with tears in his eyes said: “Tell my friend Grover to go on to Heaven and wait for us. We will be there soon to join him!”

I told Lt. Col. Roark. Right on the spot, he said, “Ethelene, I want to pray for you and Grover, right now.” And, as we joined hands, this “tough” Colonel bowed his head and offered up a sincere prayer to God whom we both love and serve.

Cynthia was with me. Murrell had said to her, earlier this week on the elevator, that “You look more beautiful than a movie star.” Cyndi didn’t know until Wednesday that Murrell (“Big Man”) is one of my special prayer partners at GWVH. He invited us to go see his room, and he took a beautifully framed picture of the Lord’s prayer and said, “Mrs. Jones, I want to give this to you. It will comfort you as it does me every day.” It was perhaps one of his most treasured items in his room, for the men can’t keep much in their small spaces called their “home” now. When I said, “No. You keep this. It is one of your prized possessions.” He shared that he had the framed poster 12 years, since he turned his life around and surrendered to the Lord. And now, in my grief, he was moved to give it to me so that I could be reminded visibly that the Lord, indeed, walks with me through the Valley of the shadow of death. I was so touched. The framed picture with beautiful mountains in the background, and the Lord’s prayer superimposed thereon, has found a place on my bedroom wall where I can see it as each day begins and ends. And I will think, too, of Murrell, and pray for him.

“Pleasing God.” It’s not hard to find out what pleases God. He’s ready to show me how to please Him if I merely ask, seek, knock. And He’s also there ahead of me, working out the details before I am even aware of what will happen. God is so good, all the time, all the time, and He is pleased when his children want to please Him.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Friday, January 15, 2010

Work Out Your Own Salvation with Fear and Trembling

“My dear friends, you have always obeyed God when I was with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am away from you. Keep on working to complete your salvation with fear and trembling, because God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases Him.” -Philippians 2:12-13 (NCV).

Taken alone and not in context, verse 13 of Philippians 2 can be a perplexing verse of scripture. We believe that salvation comes from repentance of sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He made the sacrifice for our sins through His death on the cross. “It is finished,” He said. Our salvation results through our sincere acceptance of His forgiveness and freedom offered freely to anyone who comes to Him in faith, believing. Assuredly, I have done that.

Why, then, am I to “work out my salvation with fear and trembling?”

Do any works grant me salvation? The idea grows more complex as I think about it.

In context, though, we begin to see that Paul is speaking to the church at Philippi. He is away from them—in prison, as a matter of fact. Here he is teaching them to CONTINUE be obedient to God and SHOW their salvation through fruits of this obedience. They are Christians in the midst of a pagan and unaccepting society. “In fear and trembling,” or with great effort to remain true and obedient to God, they are demonstrating by their different lifestyle (that is, separated from paganism and ungodliness) that they belong to God, they are obedient to God. This pleases God.

How can I do this—remain faithful to God? Be in awe of His presence and power in my life. Pray without ceasing. Seek His will and his way in all that I do. Does this not inspire “fear and trembling”? The very God of the Universe, the one who created, sustains, saves and motivates is keeping on dwelling in my heart. Certainly that inspires “fear and trembling”—a sense of His presence at all times. It’s somewhat akin to Isaiah’s vision in the Temple when he saw God “high and lifted up.” God is to keep on being reverenced and obeyed as long as my life on this earth lasts. It has nothing to do with what I, myself, must do to obtain salvation; it has everything to do with my faithfulness to God.

Today, I have seen this “fear and trembling” demonstrated. Yesterday, as I described in “My Daily Devotional Journal,” I had such a heavy, heavy heart as I heard the not-unexpected news of Grover’s worsening condition. I had been anticipating that announcement, but when it came it was like an unbearable weight.

I’ve done much praying in the last twenty-four hours. I shared my burdens with praying friends. That weight has been lifted. Am I sad? Certainly I am. But the grief does not stifle me now, weigh me down, threaten to overcome me. In its place is the wonderful assurance that both Grover and I are in the will of God. We have worked out this phase of our salvation (being saved by God even to walk through this valley) with fear and trembling
(make that awe and acceptance).

Today I have, in my mind, seen Grover borne upon the mercy and love of God. I spent over five hours beside his bed today. He, I think, was conscious of my presence. Holding his hands, I even told him I was committing Him to God’s care and released him to go to Heaven, promising Him that I would meet him there when God was ready to receive me up to glory. It was a solemn and sweet time, and I felt a great sense of deep-seated joy and victory.

Bethia Lee came today to get us signed up for Hospice again. Grover had this same service over two years ago when he had hip replacement surgery. This fine group of Christian hospice workers will help us through this period of death, dying and transition. And everyone, from the wonderful housekeeping staff to the aides, the office workers, the social services director and the Nurse Practitioner at Georgia War Veterans’ Home put their arms around me when they saw me today and told me they are praying for me. And so many people have called or e-mailed to tell me they are praying for Grover, me and the family. And I know they are. I feel the results of their prayers!

Yes! “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Keep on trusting God, regardless of circumstances! Sometimes we come to places in life that can only be approached with fear and trembling, but God is there to assuage the fear and calm our trembling! Selah!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, January 14, 2010