Tag: Savior and Redeemer

Do Not Love This World

Do Not Love This World

The Bible gives us some helpful information about the world that we live in, and we do well to pay attention to it.

No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other.  (Mt 6:24 ISV)

The wisdom of the Scriptures is apparent here in reminding us that no one can serve two masters.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, then we serve only Him.  To try to do otherwise is folly.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  (1 Joh 2:15 NIV)

We’re advised that we should not love the world or anything in the world.  This is not speaking about people, but about material things and the world’s way of valuing what is important. 

The most important thing in life is to serve the Lord and to maintain a vital and living relationship with the Lord Jesus.

. . . for whoever is born of God overcomes the world, and the victory that overcomes the world is our faith.  (1 Joh 5:4 MEV)

We’re reminded that we who have accepted Christ as our Savior are born of God, and we are overcomers!  Glory to God!  What do we overcome?  The world and its systems and its empty values.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  (Joh 16:33 NIV) Jesus is speaking to us in this verse above in John 16.  He says that in this world we’ll have trouble.  But He reminds us that He has overcome the world.  It is Jesus’ victory that makes His followers overcomers.  Rejoice in this truth today.

The Just for the Unjust

The Just for the Unjust

Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, suffered ONCE for the sins of mankind even though He was completely without sin.  His purpose in doing this was to reconcile us to His Father God, and Jesus completed the task that He was given.  (see Joh 19:30)  Praise God! 

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit . . .  (1 Pet 3:18, underscoring added)

Jesus was made alive by the Spirit because the Holy Spirit’s power raised Jesus from the dead.  (Rom 8:11)  And the same Spirit also dwells within each and every believer.  Think of it!  Resurrection power abides within every believer!

. . . so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.  (Heb 9:28)

As I mentioned above, Jesus completed His assignment when He lived a sinless life, suffered and bled and died, and was resurrected from the grave. Jesus was offered, by His Father even as Abraham offered his son, Isaac, on the altar in Genesis 22:9-13.  Since Jesus dealt with the sins of mankind already, He NEVER needs to have anything more to do with sin. 

God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.  (Rom 4:25 CEV)

Through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, all who accept Him as their own Savior and Lord have been justified and made acceptable to God.  Glory to God! Now, since we have been born again and made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, we may joyously look forward to seeing Jesus face-to-face in heaven when our life on earth has been fulfilled.  Or a praiseworthy alternative to that will be when Jesus returns to earth to rapture His church.  (Dan 12:1-2; Mt 24:30-31; Mk 13:24-27; 1 Cor 15:51-53; 1 Thes 4:16-18; Rev 3:10)   Hallelujah!

My Shield and My Glory

My Shield and My Glory

The Scriptures tell us about the depth and blessings of our relationship with our Savior and Redeemer.  God tells us that He is our shield (armor, defense, protection) as well as our glory.  Any praise, appreciation, exaltation, or credit that we receive in life is thanks to His life and presence within us.

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.  (Ps 3:3 NIV)

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.  (Ps 119:114)

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”  (Gen 15:1 ESV)

In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  (Ps 62:7)

According to these passages from the Bible, God is present in us and with us in these capacities:

  • He is the One who enables us to lift up our heads without fear or shame,
  • As our Hiding Place,
  • As our Reward,
  • As Savior,
  • As our Strength, and
  • As our Refuge.

Glory to God!  We have reason to rejoice and to praise and thank our God continuously.

Jesus Fulfilled Prophecy

Jesus Fulfilled Prophecy

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.  For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.  7 The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water . . .  (Isa 35:5-7)

This passage of Scripture has beautiful, poetic language in it.  This is a prophetic passage about the ministry of God’s anointed Savior and Redeemer.

We can recognize that a number of the things mentioned in this passage occurred in the ministry of Jesus Christ when He was on earth.  And many other miracles took place in addition to these.  Glory to God!

  • Blind people were healed (Mt. 9:27; 11:15; 12:22; 15:30; Mk 8:22-25; Lk 7:22)
  • Mute peoples’ tongues were loosed and they glorified God with their voices (Mt 12:22; 15:30; Mk 7:37)
  • Deaf people received their hearing (Mt 11:15; Mk 7:37; Lk 7:22)
  • Lame and maimed people were healed (Mt 11:15; 15:30; 21:14; Lk 7:22)
  • Lepers were cleansed (Mt 11:15; Lk 7:22; 17:11-14)
  • People were raised from the dead (Mt 11:15; Lk 7:22; Joh 12:1, 9)

The last part of the passage in Isaiah at the top of this article is looking toward the end times, after Jesus returns to the earth.  Here is a teaching pertinent to the 2nd coming of Jesus from another website:

Peter called the time after Jesus’ return the times of “refreshing” and “restoration of all things” (Acts 3:19-21). Isaiah painted this beautiful word picture: “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. … For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water” (Isaiah 35:1, 6-7).  ~ Source:  https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/end-times/water-in-bible-prophecy/

Jesus fulfilled many of the prophecies concerning the Savior, but there are still some that are going to be fulfilled in the future.  Those of us who follow Jesus and serve Him need to recognize the nature of the times in which we live, and to share the Good News of salvation as widely and lovingly as we can.  God bless you.

Jesus, the Root, Destined to Reign

Jesus, the Root, Destined to Reign

These various passages of Scripture referring to Jesus as a “root,” “root of Jesse,” and “root of David” are all referring to one Person:   Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. 

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”  (Rev 5:5) 

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.  (Isa 11:1)

“And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.”  (Isa 11:10)

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.  (Isa 53:2)

And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope.”  (Rom 15:12)

These various designations signify that Jesus is a descendant of both Jesse (David’s father), and of King David. 

Jesus is also a member of the tribe of Judah, which is why He is referred to as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”  Judah means “praise,” and it is also the tribe out of which Kings were born.  The Bible reveals Jesus’ bloodline dating back to Jacob, of the House of David. 

In Romans 5, the Bible clearly states that “the root of Jesse” who rises up to reign over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.  We acknowledge that we have a Covenant-keeping God who is committed to drawing all people to Himself through Christ and His cross! (John 12:32)  The Lord is drawing all people—not only Jews, but Gentiles as well—to Himself.

The Lord is reconciling all people to Himself through His cross! (Col.1:15-20)  The Father God will unite all people under Christ’s loving authority when the eras have reached their fulfillment! (Eph. 1:9-11)  Hallelujah!

The 7 Redemptive Names of God

The 7 Redemptive Names of God

Here are the seven redemptive names of the Lord, their meanings, and where they can be found in the Bible.

  • Jehovah-Rapha, The Lord our Healer – (Ex 15:26; Isa 1:5-6; Jer 17:9; Lk 5:31)
  • Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord our Banner [or Refuge] – (Ex 17:8-15; Ps 20:5)
  • Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord (who) is Present – (Ezek 48:35; Ex 33:14-15; 1 Chr 16:27; Ps 16:11; 97:5)
  • Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness – (Jer 23:5-6; Ps 11:7; 89:14; 1 Cor 1:30)
  • Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord our Peace – (Judges 6:24; Isa 9:6; Lk 1:78-79)
  • Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord our Provider – (Gen 22:8-14; Joh 1:29; Gal 3:8; 1 Cor 2:7)
  • Jehovah-Ra’ah, the Lord our Shepherd – (Gen 48:15; Ps 23:1; 80:1; Isa 40:10-11; 1 Pet 2:25)

As our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ operates with mighty power in each and every one of these offices of salvation and redemption.  He is the Lord who never leaves us and never fails us.  Hallelujah!