A New Song for Today
Psalms 98:1:
O sing unto the LORD a NEW SONG; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
What is the most loved Christian hymn of all time? A beautiful heart declaration by an old slaver and sea captain.
Christ is at the Father’s right hand. We have more than “his works” as the foundation of our lives. We have his very existence as God’s ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON who is now raised and seated in the heavens FOR US. He is the ACTUAL HEAD of the spiritual body that we are members of. We belong to him as much as we do to each other. Paul warned people of not falling prey to Bible teachers who would minimize who and what Christ is for us today.
Our “heart” is who we are. We want to give ALL that we are to love and serve our heavenly Father. That’s what Jesus showed us to do.
Jesus taught his disciples about faithfulness in daily living and our hope of eternal life with him. Matthew 25 has three parables [1-13; 14-30; 31-46] we should examine and understand. They show that we should get born again of God’s spirit, use all our spiritual abilities given by God for good, and treat others as if they were our Lord and Savior.
Last night Sherry and I gave away a jigsaw puzzle we had enjoyed to our kids. A few hours later, a friend said she had a jigsaw puzzle she wanted to give us. That’s an example of a great principle in life. We are designed to give and to receive. To hold on and to let go.
We saw in Part 1 that the gospel of Matthew shows Jesus as a shepherd king who brought God’s kingdom to earth. In Part 2: we will look at the gospel of Mark: where Jesus is a Servant humbled below all. We will also see how we can give our lives in service today in the body of Christ. And we will see God’s faithfulness to remember our service done in love.
During a very challenging time in my life, I moved to a new city for a fresh start. When I got there, I found a loving Christian couple who taught me the Bible in their home. But it wasn’t just their words that made an impact on me. When I first arrived, Brenda showed up at my front door with a mop and bucket and started cleaning my bathroom. I didn’t even ask; she just showed up and began to serve me. And that inspired me to want to help others.
Today a friend was ordained to the Christian ministry. Paul told his beloved disciple and friend, Timothy, what it means to truly serve God through His Son.
While working on the structure of the gospel of John, I saw a scripture verse that astounded me.
John 18:2:
Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
Just before God graciously helped the children of Israel reach the promised land, he gave Moses amazing truth. This revelation included one of the key areas that we, even today, can grow in–God’s love. We find 16 references to God’s love. Biblically, the number 8 shows a new beginning and the number 2 establishes a thing. Here in Deuteronomy, love [8 x 2] establishes a new beginning for those believers. Let’s look at the 16 places where the English word “love” is used in the King James Version of Deuteronomy to see what we can learn about God’s love then, and how God’s love can help us live His promises today.