Tag: His Kingdom

But now

Re:Verse reading–Romans 3:21-31 (day seven)

“But now a righteousness from God. . .has been made known. . . [which] comes through faith in Jesus Christ”–v 21-22.  For three chapters, Paul has described what “was”.  A sad picture.  Honest.  Hard to hear.  The fair judgement of God on the human race.  Gentiles.  Jews.  “But now” he says with great energy and excitement!  Something new.  The righteousness of God.  That righteousness that God intrinsically has.  That righteousness that He requires of all who would be part of His Kingdom.

The riddle is solved!  (Mercy offered) How could God be merciful to people who did not deserve it?  How could He love those who had not loved Him and, at the same time, maintain His own Holy standards?  Christ is the solution to this problem that no human could have imagined.

Christ became our redeemer.  Christ became our propitiation.  His blood paid our debt.

In ages past, this wasn’t clear.  BUT NOW it is!

An Exact Representation

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 35:4-10; 20-35; 36:2-7 (day four)

Who would have ever known that the atonement of man would look like gold, silver, bronze, fine linen, and acacia wood?   When God plundered the Egyptians as the Israelites left Egypt, gave Moses very detailed design instructions, and placed understanding, knowledge and craftsmanship in Bezalel and Oholiab…He had a specific plan for worship.  The Tabernacle was to be the place of worship for Israel, but more importantly, it was a picture of Christ and His work of atonement.  It was to be an exact picture…a shadow…of the true Tabernacle in heaven.  To give an inaccurate picture of God’s plan for redemption was not an option.  God rightly demanded an exact representation so that mankind would know the singular plan for redemption.  God’s instructions are for a purpose…when He gives us directions in Scripture it is for a purpose.  Our obedience is required to give an exact picture of the reality of heaven.  Christianity is not just a list of rules…it is a relationship.  We are to be a picture of our Creator God and His Kingdom work!

The Best Gift

Re: Verse reading–Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 17:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day five) This Sunday we will celebrate the accomplishment of 30 High School Seniors.  We will encourage, we will cry, we will cheer, we will remember our own youth, and be reminded of our own mortality.  Perhaps the BEST thing we will do for these young men and women is give them a Bible from ALL of us at FBCSA.  It really signals the best things about this church:  our love for the Scripture and our hope (God will continue to grow His Kingdom now in a downtown church, and in future generations).  This gift really is from all of us since we have held each Bible and highlighted hundreds of verses that have given us hope, life, strength, peace, and joy from our collective experiences and wisdom.  And Sunday, we will pray that by these scriptures they will find the Lord and then the Life He has promised.  Psalm 71:18 “O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”