The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Consider

  • Don’t Quit

    “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

    Galatians 6:9

    God stirred the heart of Cyrus to send His people home (to Jerusalem) to rebuild the house of the Lord. The first group to return to Jerusalem was led by Zerubbabel, a descendant of David.

    Once they reached Jerusalem, Zerubbabel remained a leader, and Joshua was the high priest. These two men led the people to rebuild the altar of the Lord. They then began to rebuild the Temple. However, when they completed the foundation, the troubles began.

    Do you remember what happens when God’s people begin to serve God? The adversaries make themselves known. “1. Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; 2. Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do…” (Ezra 4:1-2). Adversaries means “one who troubles; an opponent; or an enemy.” Once the work of God had begun, the adversaries made themselves known. However, Zerubbabel recognized that they were not for God so he would not allow them to help. Although they declared they wanted to “help”, they were not trying to help the work of God. They were trying to stop it. This was not a one-time trouble. They caused difficulties for years and years, stopping the building of the Temple – which was the ulterior motive (see Ezra 4:3-5). The adversaries’ purpose had been accomplished, and the building had been stopped (see Ezra 4:23-24).

    When the adversaries came and the building stopped, God sent His prophet, Haggai, to encourage the people to build the house of the Lord. First, he scolded them for living in their nice houses while the Temple of the Lord was not completed. He reminded the people to “consider your ways”, and that God was to come first (see Haggai 1:4-8). Haggai then encouraged the leaders to complete the Temple. Once the people began to obey, God encouraged them. “I am with you, saith the LORD” (Haggai 1:13b).

    After the people decided to obey God, and God encouraged them that He would be with them, recognize what else God did for His people. “And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God” (Haggai 1:14). God did not leave His people alone. He stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel and Joshua to lead the people. He even stirred the spirit of all the remnant. God understood that His people needed to have physical leaders that they could see, hear, and with whom they could communicate.

    God gave them the encouragement they needed. “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:4). Three times God said to be strong. This is the same encouragement God gave to Joshua when he was preparing to lead the people into the promised land years earlier. The secret of Joshua’s successes was his faith in the Word of God (see Joshua 1:7-9), its’ commandments, and its’ promises. God’s Word to Joshua was “Be strong!”. This is the same message for His people today! See the following:

    • “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).
    • “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).
    • “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).

    God had specific words for the leaders. When the leaders acted upon those words, the people followed and the work began again. Zerubbabel, Joshua, the high priest, and the remnant of the people stepped up and began working on the Temple again – and God kept the enemy from stopping them.

    Just as the adversaries stopped the building of the Temple, even today, Christians have an adversary who is set about to stop the work of the Lord in this world. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

    Knowing Satan wants to defeat (and destroy) Christians, how can we survive his attacks? “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). When we submit to God and His will in our lives, we can defeat Satan.

    “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). We are to never quit serving God as the Israelites did when the adversary opposed them. We must not only recognize who the adversaries are that try to stop God’s work, but we must continue with what God has for us to do. God will also encourage us through His Word (the Bible) just as he encouraged the Israelites through His prophet, Haggai.

    Have you chosen to ignore your adversary, be encouraged through God’s Word, and complete the work God has for you?

  • The Preaching of the Cross

    “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
    1 Corinthians 1:18

    Many times in the Old Testament, we read of the promise of Jesus. No one knew His name, yet God’s people were to be looking for Him the same. At times, God revealed specific things He wanted the people to understand. “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high” (Isaiah 52:13). “Behold, my servant” is speaking of Jesus. God said Jesus would “deal prudently” meaning Jesus would succeed in completing what God expected Him to do. Continuing through that verse, see that it says that Jesus will be “exalted and extolled” which means “to raise, or lift up; to carry off; take away; it is the idea of one who is a substitution bearing the guilt or punishment of sin.” So just from that one verse we understand that God told Isaiah that He would send Jesus who would complete the task of being lifted up as the one who would take away the guilt and punishment of sin by becoming the substitute – the one who took sinful man’s place. This is what God had promised Adam and Eve in the garden (see Genesis 3:15).

    They were to be aware of the suffering death that this One would have to endure. Remember that when Jesus came, He was scourged and delivered to be crucified (see Matthew 27:26, 29-30). Why did this happen? “So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider” (Isaiah 52:15). Understand that this verse tells us that Jesus’ death would enable Him to “sprinkle” many nations. “Sprinkle many nations” means “to cleanse from sin; the Servant of the Lord came to make an atonement for the sins of even the Gentiles.” In the Old Testament, the people understood the high priest had to sprinkle the blood of the ram upon the altar to cover their sins for another year (see Exodus 29:20). God sent His Son to take away the sin (not cover), and allowed the entire world to “see” and then to “consider.” “See” means “to gain understanding”; and “consider” means “to observe; to pay attention to; to gain insight or understanding.” Each person has to see and decide (believe) for himself.

    Immediately after Jesus death, burial, and resurrection, there were still many who did not understand what had happened, and many did not believe Jesus had even risen from the dead. There were two in particular who were on the road to Emmaus, not far from Jerusalem. On the evening of Jesus’ resurrection, they were walking and discussing all they had heard. Jesus joined them, walking and talking with them, yet they did not recognize Him (see Luke 24:15-16). When He asked what things they were discussing, they explained, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done” (Luke 24:19b-21). They were trying to “consider” but did not yet understand. After walking with them, listening to them as they continue their discussion, Jesus responded: “25. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27). They needed to believe, by faith. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).   

    It is almost amazing to those today, who are Believers, to understand how they could not have recognized Jesus. However, many times in the Old Testament people should have understood and recognized what God was doing, yet they most of the time, they did not. All throughout the Old Testament, the people were taught of God, but they had a hard time understanding that He had been speaking of Jesus, who was to come. They lacked faith.

    “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). See the following to help understand what this verse means: 

    • preaching means to speak intelligently about the word of the cross 
    • cross means the whole passion of Christ and the merit of His sufferings and death 
    • them that perish means exposed to eternal death 
    • foolishness means foolishness or absurdity
    • saved means those who have obtained salvation through Christ and are kept by Him 
    • power means a person in whom the power of God is manifested  

    The “power of God” was revealed when Jesus came and finished what God had for Him to do. Jesus came to pay the penalty for sin, taking it away from any who would only believe.

    Have you believed the preaching of the cross, becoming a Christian?

    How to be Saved