New Testament

We are all living in a really good time right now. I’m not referring to the amazing technological advancements we’re able to enjoy, the freedom to share Christ openly in America, or the leaps and bounds we’ve made over the past few decades concerning equality in the United States. No, I’m referring to the past 2,000 years where we’ve enjoyed living within the new covenant. When Jesus came to earth and died for our sins, a new set of rules were put in place - well, it was more of a revision on the old rules. This new covenant; this new way of connecting with God, changed everything for us - so much so, that the Bible needed to be divided into two parts: the Old Testament, and the New. God says this through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah, chapter 31, verses 31 through 34: 

“‘The time is coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’”

This new covenant isn’t only for the Israelites and the Jewish nation, it is for everyone. God said that he will be our God and we will be his people. This was the plan from the very beginning before the fall of Adam and Eve. But once man fell, this utopia wasn’t to be. So God gave us the old covenant with its laws and commands, the most famous of which are the ten commandments. But today, we live in the new covenant; a time where we do not rely solely on the rules and ways of the old covenant; a time when we can know him through the Spirit. From the least to the greatest, we all have access to the Father. We can all be in relationship with him. Through Jesus, a way was made. God said “for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” That is good news - no, that is great news! We live in a time that those who walked the earth before Jesus’ arrival could only dream of. I hope you can appreciate that today.

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Today, we live under the New Testament - the new covenant. No longer is there a need to sacrifice animals for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus paid that price. And at that moment, a new covenant was made; one where we are truly able to know God. When Jesus left the earth, he sent the Holy Spirit. Now, every believer has him living inside of us. He can guide us, teach us, encourage us and heal us. I encourage you to allow your heart to be sensitive to him. Listen to his promptings, obey his leadings, and though him, walk in close relationship with our creator. Today is indeed a good day to be alive. We have the New Testament. I encourage you to read it. If you do, and I’m not one to usually give away spoilers, but you will learn that Jesus is coming back for you, me and every believer.

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A Mother Comforts

So many times in the Bible we find that the characteristics of our Heavenly Father are compared to the characteristics of a good earthly father. God is often times described as strong, a protector, and a husband to his bride - the church. And like a good father he carries us, disciplines us, trains us and rewards us. But did you know that he is also compared to a mother in the Bible? In Isaiah, chapter 66, verse 13 God says this about himself through the prophet Isaiah: 

“As a mother comforts a child, so I will comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” 

I believe that God compared himself to a mother because it is a mother’s natural instinct to comfort her child. When I think of a good mother I conjure images of her kissing a child’s boo-boo, making sure that her child is dressed warmly for the winter, nursing her child back to health when sick, and holding her child close as she sings them to sleep. It is true that fathers have a loving nature as well, but when I consider the roles of my mother and father, it was always my mother who did the lions share of the comforting. So when God compares himself to a mother who comforts her child, I would encourage you to consider why he decided to chose a mother over anything else. The Holy Spirit, one of the three persons of the trinity, is described as the comforter. Even before I was aware of this verse in Isaiah, I automatically thought of a mother’s arms wrapped around me, providing comfort. And it seems that God may have had a similar idea when choosing the comforter to describe the Holy Spirit as well.

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Isaiah says, as a mother comforts a child, so God will comfort you. When you hear that, I hope your mind is flooded with images and memories of when your mother comforted you. I hope that it stirs a feeling of peace, warmth, protection and love because that is what I believe God wanted to inspire by this verse. If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to appreciate your mother today. If you are one who was raised by a loving mother, honor her with how you live and how you show love. And if thoughts of your mother conjure thoughts that are negative and hurtful, I would encourage you to reflect on the kind of mother God envisioned for his children - one who is kind, loving, supportive, and proud of you. Only then can you truly appreciate the sentiment behind the saying; as a mother comforts a child, so God will comfort you.

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Character of God

To effectively please God we need to understand the character of God. Jesus was God in the flesh, and I’m so happy that the account of his time here was recorded in the first four books of the New Testament. Within Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we are able to read the actual words of Jesus. This provides a powerful way for us to connect with the heart and mind of God. But there are 62 other books in the Bible. Within them, we are also able to hear the words of God through the prophets, and we are able to understand the character of God by how he treated his people and by how he was spoken of by them. In Deuteronomy, chapter 10, verses 17 and 18, we find these words: 

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.” 

God has a soft spot for those who are marginalized, ignored, weak, innocent and those who are considered “less than”. It says that God “defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing”. This is God’s heart. It helps us to know his heart so that we can please him by reflecting his heart in our words and actions. Knowing that God defends the orphans, the widows, and cares for the foreigner should encourage us to do the same. Because in many cases, he uses people like you and me to act on his behalf. So I encourage you to read the Bible, not only to know the commands of God, but also to understand the character of God. Because understanding his character allows the Holy Spirit to give us a clear roadmap for how to please him.

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When was the last time you’ve given serious thought to the mind and the character of God? Have you ever considered ways to help the orphan and the widow? Do you take into consideration God’s heart when discerning your thoughts about foreigners and strangers? If not, I encourage you to start. Deuteronomy isn’t the only place where we can see this facet of God’s heart. His thoughts about he orphan, widow and foreigner are peppered throughout the Bible. And there are many other facets of God’s character to explore as well. So, if you want to be like Christ and if you want to please God, it helps to know his heart. And to know his heart means we need to know his word. So I encourage you, as I encourage myself, to take note of when God’s heart is displayed in scripture. Because we can’t be like him if we don’t really know him.

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Greed

When I consider the fleshly temptations that we pursue in this brief and simple life, I can only identify a few that dominate us. Each of them are temptations common to mankind, and it only takes a few years after we’ve been born to become susceptible to them. They include power, drugs, sex, fame and money. In the American culture, I would argue that out of these, the most chased after is money because money, though it is a pursuit unto itself, is also a gateway into these other fleshly pursuits. The Bible has much to say about the sinful pursuits common to mankind. And as a human species, it can be difficult to look beyond these desires; to understand the kind of hold they may have on us. And even if we become aware they are still very difficult to shake or abandon. But Jesus said this about money in Luke, chapter 12, verse 15: 

“Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’” 

Sinful pursuits are deceiving. We believe that if we acquire our fill of power, drugs, sex, fame or money we will be satisfied; that our hearts will be content. But the Bible, as well as life, teaches us otherwise. A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions, yet, we pursue them nonetheless. We pursue them to our detriment. And like anything we choose to indulge in, with healthy moderation and with godly constraints, they can be permissive. They can even be good. Power can be good if it is used to serve. Drugs can be good if they are used to heal. Sex can be good if practiced within the confines of marriage. Fame can be good when it is encouraging to our self-esteem and doesn’t elevate itself to pride. And money can be good when it is something we use, not something we pursue. Jesus tells us to be on guard against all kinds of greed. I believe he says this because he knows the hearts of men, and he knows how we can allow things like greed to rule over us. So I would encourage you, as I encourage myself, to pursue those things that will last; to pursue what is good; to pursue what Jesus pursued, which is our God and the life that follows this one.

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In Luke, Jesus said that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”. If not, then what does a man’s life consist of? Righteous pursuits are love, sacrifice, service, and selflessness to name a few. And when these righteous pursuits are chased through the filter of our faith in Christ, they are amplified and are able to garnish treasures in heaven; treasures that will last for eternity. Why would we want to pursue that which is temporal when we can pursue that which is eternal? The pursuits of the flesh are enticing. They are tempting and will ultimately lead to destruction because they are sinful. Jesus said: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Now that we have been warned, we need to pursue that which leads to life… life eternal.

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Duty Fulfilled

Part of being human is that we make mistakes, we can get tired and lazy, and sometimes we start things without finishing them. But when it comes to our dedication to the Lord, we should exert extra effort and diligence, making sure that we don’t drop the ball. It would be nice if every believer, regardless of how long we’ve have walked with Christ, could look back on our life and say that we’ve done everything we could to fulfill our duty of following Christ, being an ambassador for him and being a good neighbor to our fellow man. It would be wonderful if we could say that we’ve made the most of every opportunity and that we didn’t shrink back when he asked us to do something difficult. I suspect that some of us can, but most of us can’t. Not if we’re being honest with ourselves. But Paul could. It says in Acts, chapter 23, verse 1: 

“Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, ‘My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.’” 

Have you fulfilled your duty to God in all good conscience? What is your duty? What has God called you to do? If you are unsure, I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with the scriptures to understand his hearts desire and to pray that the Holy Spirit reveal his calling for your life. Though we are all believers, none of our paths are identical. God may be calling you to do something different than what he is calling me to do. But the point is to obey; to fulfill our duty to God. When Jesus walked the earth, he came to serve, not to be served. And if he is a model for us, then we should have that same mentality. Jesus said that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourself. What does that look like for you? Are you doing it? Paul said to the Sanhedrin that he has fulfilled his duty to God in all good conscience to this day. Even if you and I aren’t able to declare that today, maybe we can make it our goal for tomorrow, and the future to come.

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Have you fulfilled your duty to God in all good conscience to this day? If not, I would encourage you to be about it; to purpose in your heart to pursue it. To some, that might mean that we need to pray to God and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal his plan for our life. To others, it might mean that we are to take meaningful steps toward accomplishing what God is calling us to do. And yet, for others, it may mean that we are to step out of our comfort zone in faith in order to fulfill our duty. Wherever you are in the plan God has for you, it is my prayer for you, and for myself, that we will be able to say that we have fulfilled our duty to God in all good conscience to this day.

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