WHO SAYS THAT?!

                                        

Many who have set out to silence Jesus have said in the end, “No one ever spoke like this man!” (John 7:46). One reason is the incomparable wisdom and knowledge of Jesus.

The Queen of Sheba was so stunned at the wisdom and knowledge of Solomon that when she had seen all his house and heard his answers to her questions, “there was no more breath in her” (1 Kings 10:5). It took her breath away. What then does it mean when Jesus says, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and con- demn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew12:42)?

Not even the wisest of all kings spoke like this man. Someone had come onto the scene of history unparalleled in knowledge and wisdom. Up to a point Jesus was willing to dialogue with the wise men of his day. But when the hour came, and he was ready, he spoke the decisive sentence that ended the conversation (“If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son?” [Matthew 22:45]). “And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:46). His knowledge and wisdom made him master of every situation. One reason to admire and trust Jesus above all other persons is that his knowledge and wisdom are unsurpassed.

He knows all people thoroughly, our hearts and our thoughts. John paid tribute to this vast knowledge when he said that Jesus did not entrust himself to men because “He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25). He knows all our thoughts before we express them. He sees where no one else can see. Nothing is hidden from his eyes. “But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts?’” (Matthew 9:4). Thus it was the con- fession of the early church: “You, Lord . . . know the hearts of all” (Acts 1:24).

There is no one who perplexes Jesus. 

No thought or action is unintelligible to him. He knows its origin and end. The most convoluted psychotic and the most abstruse genius are open and laid bare to his understanding. He understands every motion of every mind.

Jesus not only knows all of us as we are today, he also knows what we will think and do tomorrow. 

Let that sink in. 

He knows all things that will come to pass. John’s Gospel stresses this,  because John sees it as part of Jesus’ divine majesty. “Jesus [knew] all that would happen to him” (John 18:4). On the basis of this knowledge he foretold numerous things that his friends and enemies would do. “Jesus knew from thebeginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him” (John 6:64).“From now on,” he said, “I am telling this you now, before it takes place, that when it does take placeyou may believe that I am” (John 13:19, my translation).

                                              

In other words, the reason he foretold these things is so that we might believe that “he is.” 

Is what? 

That he is the divine Son of God. “I AM” is the name for God in Exodus 3:14 and the designation of deity in Isaiah 43:10. This, very likely, is the way Jesus understood it when he used the words absolutely: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Jesus wants us to believe that he is God. That is why he says, “See, I have told you beforehand” (Matthew 24:25). His foreknowledge is essential to his divinity.

The extent of Jesus’ knowledge is a compelling warrant for faith in his divine origin. Thus his disciples said, “Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God” (John16:30). 

At the end of his time on earth, Jesus queried Peter three times, “‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you’” (John 21:17). Peter did not conclude from Jesus’ knowledge of his heart that he knew all things; rather he concluded from the omniscience  of Jesus that he knew his heart. “You know everything” is a general and unqualified statement of John’s Gospel— Jesus knows all that is and all that shall come to pass.

The closest thing to a contradiction of this claim is Matthew 24:36 where Jesus says, concerning the Second Coming, “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” I take this to mean that in his human nature, but not his divine nature, Jesus did not know the time of his Second Coming. How the two natures of Christ cohere as human and divine in one Person is one of the greatest mysteries of the universe.

The greatest thing that can be said of Jesus’ knowledge is that he knows God perfectly. He knows God perfectly, because he is God. 

We know God partially and imperfectly. Jesus knows him like no other being knows him. He knows him the way an omniscient person knows himself. “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).  Our knowledge of the Father depends wholly on Jesus’ gracious revelation; our knowledge is derivative and partial and, because of our sin, imperfect.

Nothing greater can be said about the knowledge of Jesus than that he knows God perfectly. All reality outside God is parochial compared to the infinite reality that God is. 

What God has made is like a toy compared to the complexity and depth of who God is. All the sciences that  scratch the surface of the created universe are mere ABCs compared to Christ’s exhaustive knowledge of the created universe. And even this knowledge of the created universe is a dewdrop on a blade of grass compared to the ocean of knowledge that Jesus has of the being of God himself. While the universe is finite, God is infinite. Complete knowledge of the infinite is infinite. Therefore to know God as Jesus knows God is to have infinite knowledge.

Therefore, let us bow down and worship Jesus Christ. Even if we are impressed with the scholarship of man and the achievements of scientific knowledge, let us not play the fool by trumpeting the wonder of these tiny chirps while ignoring the thunderclap of Christ’s omniscience. 

Jesus alone is worthy of our highest admiration. Jesus alone is worthy of our trust. He can show us the Father (Matthew 11:27). He can give us irresistible wisdom (Luke21:15). He can see how to make all things work together for our good (Romans 8:28). Not one of his judgments about anything is ever mistaken (John 8:16). He teaches the way of God with infallible truthfulness (Matthew 22:16). Trust him. Admire him. Follow him. For “in [him] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). 

                                    

Pray with me: 

 Father, we say with the psalmist, such knowledge is too wonderful for us, it is too high, we cannot attain it. We stand in awe of your infinite knowledge and wisdom. We are filled with questions. But you are filled with answers. There are no mysteries for you. There are no facts you do not know, no problems you cannot solve, no events you cannot explain, no hypocrisy through which you do not see. Oh, grant us to see and feel that your all-knowing mind, together with your power and grace, makes you utterly trustworthy. Your counsel takes everything into account, including the past and the future. Your good plan will never be altered owing to unforeseen events. We can count on you. And as we do, Father, share with us, we pray, enough of your great wisdom and enough of your great knowledge that we may live and love and, finally, die in a way that brings life to others, satisfies our soul, and honors you. The lips of the wise are a fountain of life, and oh, how we long to bring life to the perishing. Grant us your wisdom in the measure we can bear. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 Casa Cielo....coffee served in the finest restaurants. See and Savor the flavor of Christ in this Coffee Cup. 

Robbs 

I'M DEAD TO THAT

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans6:11, ESV).

Are you weary of sinning yet?

When Paul wrote Romans 6:11under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he did not say sin is weakened in us. Nor did he say we’re distanced from it or that we’ve grown cold toward it. He said we’re dead to it!

The phrase “consider yourself dead to sin” is also translated“reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin” (NKJV) and“count yourselves dead to sin” (NIV). No matter the translation, this verse is the absolute centerpiece of Christian victory in the whole of the New Testament. More and faster transformation can happen in your heart when you are willing to take this verse seriously than through any other verse in the entire Bible.

The incredible, transforming power here is that the potency of sin is broken in your life. Now you have a choice. Before you were in Christ you had no choice; you were a slave to sin. In Christ, you may still choose to be a slave, but you don’t have to be. You can choose to do what is pleasing to the Lord. Say it out loud by faith: “Sin does not have power over me! I am in Christ and I am dead to the power of sin.”

I know what you might be thinking. If I’m dead to sin, why do I feel so alive to it? Dead is the last word most of us would use to describe our experience with sin. Forgiven, maybe. Or cleansed—even changing. But dead?

First consider what dead to sin does not mean. It doesn’t mean sinless perfection or that our old nature is gone. And it doesn’t mean we’ve merely identified theoretically with the death of Christ.

It means that because Christ died in our place, we are dead to the power of sin. It’s as if we used to live in an apartment with an awful landlord who would burst in whenever he wanted, but now we’ve moved to a new apartment with a new landlord. We have new locks; we owe the former landlord nothing. He can’t get into our new apartment unless we open the door and invite him in.

Unfortunately, some Christians still open that door and listen to the old landlord. But he’s no longer in control. In Christ, the power of sin is broken and defeated. Sin is not in charge. You have a new Master.

For life change to happen, you must apply the power of your identification with Christ at the specific point of temptation. In that moment, you must exercise your faith and consider yourself dead to sin by believing it in your heart and speaking it out.

Whether you feel dead to it or not doesn’t matter. If you exercise your faith, you will experience victory. Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, “I’m dead to that.” Your behavior, speech, attitudes—whatever you are working on—will be increasingly changed.

God is not content to simply forgive you. He wants to change you! The day you came to Christ the power of sin was broken in your life. Isn’t it time you start living like it?

JOURNAL

• Why is it important for you to affirm, visualize and believe this truth even when you don’t feel like it?
• List one or two areas where you will practice praying and proclaiming, “I’m dead to that!” Then start now!! 

PRAY with me: 

O Master of the Universe, thank You for the powerful truth that I am dead to sin because of my faith in Jesus Christ. His death was sufficient for You to forgive me. I believe that through His power, sin’s power is broken in me. Please bring that truth to mind every time sin rears its ugly head. Give me faith to believe I can choose against sin, (my fleshly desires) and courage to speak the words, “I am dead to that.” I know, that I know, that I know, I have victory in Jesus’ heart cleansing and sanctifying name. Amen.

Bold Roast. No cream. No sugar. No artificial flavoring. 

Robbs

The GRACE Card

       

I have friends who like to ensure that they are constantly reminding themselves and others about the grace of God. The way they do this is to append a simple phrase to many of their sentences. What was at one time a deliberate decision has, over time, become a habit. A good habit, I think.

“How have you been lately?” “I’ve been doing well, by God’s grace.”

“How did you do with your personal devotions this week?” “By God’s grace, I read and prayed every day.”

“You asked me to pray about your battle against sin in this area. How did it go last week?” “It went really well, by God’s grace.”

It’s easy to overlook a little phrase like that. It’s easy to let it be little more than background noise, quickly filtered out. But a couple of weeks ago it was like I heard it again for the first time: “By God’s grace.” It’s a beautiful thing! It is an acknowledgement that without the sweet grace of God, the very opposite would be true. It is an acknowledgement of utter dependency upon God.

I am healthy today, instead of deathly ill today, only because God has extended grace to me.

I was able to spend time in the Bible this week, and I was able to be committed to prayer this week, only because God reached out to me in his grace. Without that grace I would have run far and fast.

I did not succumb to that ongoing temptation this week, and instead was able to do those things that honor God, and only because God gave me the grace to put off sin and put on righteousness.

Without God’s moment-by-moment grace I would be this way, but with the existence of God’s constant, powerful grace, I am this way instead.

By God’s grace.

Robbs

"HEY YOU! YEAH YOU!"

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:17, ESV).

Can God’s Word get your attention? 

That verse should have you reaching for your Bible. Ephesians 5:17 is basically saying, “Hey! Pay attention and don’t be foolish! Understand the Lord’s will.”

We can be sure of this: If God tells us to understand something, He will provide what we need to understand it. That’s the reason He has given us His Word.

Understanding God’s will means knowing what He wants from us. Too often we think His will is either a mysterious secret we will never know or some detailed, predetermined path from which we dare not deviate. Too many of us live in quiet desperation because we assume we’ve violated God’s will when we understand so little about it.

And just as God promises to provide the understanding we need, He helps us live out His will in ways we can’t do on our own. God’s will is less about what we can do and more about what He wants to do in and through us. What He wants from YOU is YOU. 

The way of wisdom that sets you free first requires you to know God better.

Ephesians 5:17 points to the life of wisdom that results when we let the Scriptures instruct us about His will. Here, Paul exhorts us to take enough time to understand the concept of God’s will before we attempt to personalize it. Let God’s Word focus your attention on Him before you focus on yourself. The more intimately you know the Lord, the better prepared you will be for all He has planned for your life.

Getting to know the awesome Creator of the universe will humble you in a healthy way and drive you to worship—which, in turn, prepares you to grasp His will more firmly. As you are released from worrying about God’s will, you can focus on letting Him work through your life for His glory. 

This is walking in the way of wisdom.

Keep your Bible close at hand, every day.

We think foolishly and act unwisely when we don’t let God speak directly into our lives. In fact, today’s verse is in the fifth chapter of Ephesians. It begins with the word therefore, implying, “If you really want to understand the Lord’s will, start with the previous four chapters.”

So, are you serious about getting a better grasp on God’s will? 

Start by taking the time to know Him better in His Word. 

This is.....well, a cafe VIA....instant coffee to go....no cream or sugar, cause black is the new "lightish brown!" 

Robbs