Behold the Lamb!

 

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

—John 1:29

References to Jesus as “the Lamb of God,” come up often in the New Testament Scriptures—from His baptism by John, all the way to Revelation, the last book of the Bible. Most often the image of the Lamb refers to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and His disposition as He made that sacrifice.

The challenge for us, who follow the Lamb during this Season of Lent, comes when we humbly acknowledge how far we fall from His standard.

The British evangelist and author, Roy Hession, refers to an address he heard in London in the 1940’s by a Mr. Marshall Shallis, who spoke of Jesus as:¹

1. The simple Lamb—helpless and dependent.
   
   
2. The shorn Lamb—of His rights, His reputation, His position.
   
   
3. The silent Lamb—never defending Himself or explaining Himself.
   
   
4. The spotless Lamb—no resentment, no grudges, no bitterness.
   
   
5. The substitute Lamb—carrying our sins, the scapegoat for us, scarred and humble.

If we make it our goal to be like Jesus, we need to consider how the Holy Spirit continually urges us to allow Him to accomplish more of these characteristics of the Lamb in us. We should accept the challenge during this Season of Lent to join in meditating on the love that led Jesus to become the Lamb for us. Then, let us listen as the Holy Spirit urges us to ask what qualities He would like to see blossom in our lives.

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1 Hession, Roy, The Calvary Road. London: Christian Literature Crusade, 1950. Pp. 60-64.

 

 

Welcome

 

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

—Matthew 11:28 KJV

I know that plenty of children do not find their fathers approachable—especially when connecting with their dads means reporting on some bad news. Having borne the brunt of numerous angry, abusive responses, they shy away from intimate relationships with their fathers.

This phenomenon is not limited to childhood. Even approaching people with whom we work, or with whom we volunteer, or to whom we are related can produce the same kind of reticence. If the individuals we intend to approach have rebuffed us in the past, we may stew a bit before we try to connect with them. I think of two Bible stories that clearly demonstrate this kind of fear:

• In certain chapters of Scripture—Genesis 27 - 33—we read the stories of Jacob and his first-born brother Esau. Due to Jacob’s deceptions, he received the blessing of his father instead of Esau. This resulted in anger and hatred from Esau and a plan to kill his brother. Jacob eventually moved to Hiran, to get away from his brother and with the intent of finding a wife.
  
  After leaving Hiran many years later, richer and blessed with sons and daughters, he struggled when he considered whether or not to arrange a meeting with Esau again after all the intervening years. Jacob prayed and wrestled with God all night before the confrontation with Esau the next day.
  
  God heard his prayers and Esau greeted Jacob with a warm welcome. However, because Jacob feared that his brother would seem unapproachable, Jacob suffered great fear of that meeting.
  
  
• As recorded in the Book of Esther, the queen feared the king because of the edict he had issued that no one could come into his presence without his invitation. Anyone violating this decree would be killed. But, Queen Esther had agreed to approach the king on behalf of her people, the Jews. So, Queen Esther prayed and fasted, asking God to preserve her as she approached the king. God heard and answered her prayers.
  
  

Our God does not treat us in such a way that we need to fear coming to Him with our requests. A. W. Tozer writes: ¹

God never changes moods or cools off in His affections or loses enthusiasm. His attitude toward sin is now the same as it was when He drove out the sinful man from the eastward garden, and His attitude toward the sinner the same as when He stretched forth His hands and cried, “Come unto me.” … He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one.

When it comes to approaching God in our times of need, His open arms will always greet us. Yes, He welcomes us, just as various Scripture records that He did in both Old Testament times and in New Testament times—as He welcomed the beggars and the sick, and as He welcomed the children in Mark 10:13-16.

We must never consider that we are interrupting God to come to Him. We must never consider that our needs are too small for Him to meet. Instead, we must accept His gracious welcome and know that He never changes.

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1 Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1961. p. 53.

 

 

Our Tent Pegs

 

“From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg.”

—Zechariah 10:4

The nation of Israel certainly knew about tent pegs. In their forty years of wandering the desert, and until the “permanent” temple in Jerusalem was built, they worshipped in a large tent or tabernacle, which from time to time they had to pick up and move to a different location in the desert.

In the Book of Exodus, we read that these tent pegs were crafted of bronze. They were mentioned throughout that Book and into the Book of Numbers. These tent pegs had a significant purpose in maintaining the stability of the tabernacle.

We all have our “tent pegs.” Our “tent pegs” consist of those things we have crafted, or more likely received as a gift of God’s grace, that help us feel stable in the unfolding of our daily lives.

As a child, I felt secure because I had loving Christian parents and large Christian extended family. I lived in the same house until I left for college. I went to the same church, to the same school, and so forth, all through those years.

As an adult, I may not think I rely so heavily anymore on “earthly” tent pegs, but I guess that I do. I get stability from my home, my husband, my family, my church, my friends, and from even more.

Furthermore, each of us has likely suffered loss of something we have relied upon as a “tent peg.” The circumstances of our lives have caused us to lose something or someone we held dear that provided stability in our lives.

Even as God did with the Israelites, He sometimes asks us to pull up our tent pegs because He has a new venture for us. We may be thrust into a new situation that feels so different and unstable to us. Yet, God wants to show us that He is the unchangeable “tent peg” of our lives—the One on whom we need to rely. He provides the rock-solid stability upon which we need to depend.

Though the Psalmist used somewhat different images, in Psalm 46:1-7 we read the similar sentiment:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Whether we want to think of God as a refuge and a fortress in the storm when everything falls around us, or the stable “tent peg” who keeps the tent of our lives upright and stable, we do our best when we consciously and consistently rely on Him, rather than on any earthly tent pegs, of which we tend to expect too much.

 

 

Priorities

 

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

—Matthew 6:33

With what do you concern yourself the most? I can honestly say that I spend most of my thoughts on those things that I can do nothing about except to pray. Jesus knew we tend to suffer the most over things that would actually take a miracle of His grace to resolve.

In His Sermon of the Mount, Jesus used as His illustration the worries about food and clothing—something we would all commonly worry about, if we didn’t have them. But, rather than telling His disciples to pray about those things, or giving them solutions to the potential problems the lack of those things might present, He tells them—and us—to put our minds first on the requirements of His Kingdom and also on the righteousness He expects of us.

Sometimes, in order to get our lives straightened around after a deeply embedded sin and its consequences, we think most about the consequences. Instead, Jesus turns this idea on its head and tells us to first take care of the sin problem. He is the very embodiment of righteousness. And, He has graciously made a way, through His death on the cross, to make us righteous, too. He speaks peace with the words, “I will take care of the other problems.”

Do we put His Kingdom first? Are we anxious about living righteously throughout each new day of the year 2024, at the beginning of every new venture, and particularly whenever we are faced with new or old troubles?

I was interested to see that in James 5:13-16, where the Apostle teaches us about praying for a sick member of a congregation, he admonishes those praying to confess their sins one to another. Would we consider that important when a man’s or woman’s life hangs in the balance? Certainly God does.

As we continue into the year 2024, whatever worries we may have, if we start by first dedicating ourselves to the work of His Kingdom and His righteous requirements for our lives, we can remain assured that God has the power to act in our behalf. I love the way that Charles Spurgeon addresses the verse at the beginning of this blog post: ¹

What a promise this is! Food, raiment, home, and so forth, God undertakes to add to you while you seek Him. You mind His business, and He will mind yours. If you want paper and string, you get them given in when you buy more important goods; and just so all that we need of earthly things we shall have thrown in with the kingdom.

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1 Spurgeon, Charles H. Faith’s Checkbook. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980. p. 150.

 

 

A Spoonful of Sugar

 

“For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.”

—Lamentations 3:31-33

You have undoubtedly seen the Disney character, Mary Poppins, in the movie with that name, trying to get the Banks children to clean the messy nursery. She finally sings a song to them with the lyrics: “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.”

An account records ¹ that after an unsuccessful struggle to come up with a song for the movie, lyricist Robert Sherman went home one evening to find that his children had just taken the Sabin polio vaccine. In asking if it hurt, his son explained that he had felt no pain because the nurse had given him the vaccine on a tiny sugar cube. This gave Sherman the inspiration he needed for the lyrics to the now-famous song.

When we suffer various problems and afflictions in our lives, I truly believe that God devises all kinds of “sugar” for us, His dearly loved children. Though our troubles may cause us great pain and anguish, God consistently sends His grace to help us bear the suffering. Our God pours into us as much—or even more—mercy, even as He may pour into us His discipline.

When I read the Old Testament Book of Judges, it always amazes me. Over and over again, God gives Israel a judge with His special Word for them to follow. Once the judge dies, they begin to increase their sin and things go awry again.

The author of the Book of Judges records the length of time the children of Israel have to deal with their disobedience. Then, God calls another judge. Each time, I read the words, “So the land had peace for ?? years,” I take particular note that the years of peace always exceed the years that they suffered war and turmoil. ²

As we look back over the years of our lives, and as we move forward into the future, we must search for the very evident signs of the grace that God sends us during our trials. We then must write the instances of His grace down in some form that we can later review and remember. This little exercise will encourage us to see that God really does care, that He walks with us, and that He gives us gifts beyond our imagination to help us through the pain.

The Puritan writer, Thomas Watson, says it this way: ³

He [God] will not over-afflict. He mixes mercy with all our afflictions. If he gives us wormwood to drink, he will mix it with honey. In every cloud a child of God may see a rainbow of mercy shining.

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1 Sherman, Robert. A Spoonful of Sugar Online Disney Wiki.

2 For example: Judges 3:11, 3:30, 5:31, and 8:28

3 Watson, Thomas, as quoted in Rushing, Richard, editor. Voices. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 228.

 

 

All Things Hold Together

 

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

—Colossians 1:17

God has gifted some people with the ability to put things together well and to even maintain them in proper working order. For me, things rarely work as I envision them. And, they certainly would not hold together through years of use and possible misuse.

Do you ever wonder how God keeps the runners’ legs from falling off in an Olympic race? Or, how He keeps a person’s heart from exploding, when he or she gets overly excited? What about the way He can keep a child’s “feet on the ground” at Christmas time? The Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post tells us that not only does God create everything, He also holds all things together!

At this time every school year, I used to teach the song, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” I did so because history tells us that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. loved this particular spiritual. The song also certainly touches on the sovereign power of our God in holding everything in our world together.

Sometimes it feels like our personal “world” will surely blow apart. In response to such feelings, God speaks through the Psalmist Asaph in Psalm 75:3 and tells us:

“When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.”

Ahh! What an assurance that verse brings. We can likewise say:

“When my world quakes, it is God who holds its pillars firm.”

We should say that sentence over and over, until we realize that the Sovereign Lord holds us in His hands! Because He does so, we will not fall apart.

 

 

Infinite

 

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

—Romans 11:33

We humans get stuck on measurements. We describe our world that way. We compare and make sense of things with numbers. From the measuring rod and the scale or tape measure in the delivery room to our obsession with our weight and an obituary giving our age at death, we describe and understand ourselves by the numbers.

Yet, numbers alone do not apply to God. In fact, He simply cannot be measured. He is limitless in His being, in His power, in His understanding, and in His love. I like the way that A. W. Tozer explains it: ¹

Is it not plain that all this [measurement] does not and cannot apply to God? It is the way we see the works of His hands, but not the way we see Him. He is above all this, outside of it, beyond it. Our concepts of measurement embrace mountains and men, atoms and stars, gravity, energy, numbers, speed, but never God.

We cannot speak of measure or amount or size or weight and at the same time be speaking of God, for these tell of degrees and there are no degrees in God. All that He is, He is without growth or addition or development. Nothing in God is less or more, or large or small. He is what He is in Himself, without qualifying thought or word. He is simply God.

This understanding of our God, calls for worship of Him and a renewal of our faith. The One who has called us to Himself can capably care for us. He can see us, understand us, have compassion for us, and send help to us when we have no stores of our own.

Like those gathered at Cana, we may be out of wine at a wedding. But, with Him in the room, we have all the resources we need to fulfill our responsibilities. (See the Parable in John 2:1-11.)

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1 Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1961. Pp. 45-46.