Hashem – So Now You Know

Beloved…

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Romans 1:7

Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8) Abraham was called the friend of God. (Isaiah 41:8) The Lord passed before Moses and proclaimed His Holy Name. (Exodus 34:5-6) We are told, “Among many nations there was no king like Solomon who was beloved of his God. (Nehemiah 13:26) The Prophet Daniel was told by the angelic messenger: “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” (Cf. Daniel 10) Indeed, the people of Israel were beloved of God, for He again declared through the Prophet Jeremiah: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love!” (Jeremiah 31:3)

We can relate to these great men of faith, and countless other men and women who have lived extraordinary lives of faith. We honor and esteem them as great examples; and yet, none of them were without sin in their lives. Indeed, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) I believe that is why many Christians struggle with the idea that any of us could be loved by God. We know our inner selves. We know the thoughts of our hearts. There is an inward shame that our holiness … our innocence has been marred with sin – even when unintended….

Paul dealt with these feelings as well. In the ignorance of his religious fervor, Paul persecuted the church of God. And in remorse, Paul referred to himself as the chief of sinners and noted: “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-16) And, “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:9-10)

I laid this foundation of scripture to emphasize this point: The love of God is not dependent upon our hearts, our deeds, or our degree of righteousness or holiness! Rather, consider this truth:

Romans 5:6-10 (ESV)

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.

1 John 4:9-11 (ESV)

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

My friend, if you have received Jesus, the Beloved Son of God, as Lord and Savior, you too are in the Beloved. Do not allow unbelief to make you forget that you are greatly loved by God. You are so loved that you were bought with the precious blood of Christ! (1 Peter 1:18-20) For all the time you lived in sin and indulged in it, you must have been beloved for God to have been so very longsuffering with you. Yes, His grace and lovingkindness brought you repentance, reconciliation, and adoption. When you received Jesus, when you believed in His Name, you were given the right to become a child of God! (John 1:12-13) Indeed, all of this proves that God has lavished His unmerited love upon you! And there is nothing that will ever separate you and I from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! (Romans 8:38-39)

Ephesians 1:3-8 (ESV)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us….”

Have a Blessed Day!

See…

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” ~ Mark 10:51

In our text, a blind man named Bartimaeus, was sitting by the roadside begging. He had located himself near the city gate of Jericho where passersby would be frequent as they came or left the town. When he heard a large group of people along the road, Bartimaeus learned that Jesus of Nazareth was among the crowd. He cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And as I read this passage, I paused, and thought about the time that Jesus encountered me along the wilderness road of my life. It was 35 years old to this day….

It is evident that Bartimaeus knew about Jesus. No doubt he had heard about the miracles Jesus had been performing … the deaf could hear, the lame could walk, and the blind could see. Oh, I can feel his heart pounding even now with the incredulous wonder … Jesus was passing right by him. Yes, Jesus was so close! He thought, “If only Jesus would stop for me.” And then his heart burst forth in great hope as he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

I, too, knew about Jesus. I had been raised in a Christian home. We went to church every Sunday. I went to Sunday school as a child. Indeed, I had learned quite a bit about God and Jesus. And yet, at 28 years of age, I still did not know Him … not in a personal way. I intently wanted to know Him like those around me at the small-town Assembly of God my wife and I had started attending. I was being drawn to Him week after week, but I was still blind – spiritually. I could not see Him or accept that He would ever love someone like me – the worst of sinners….

But it happened! During a revival in October 1989, the visiting evangelist shared the Word of God … preaching about a point of no return if we (I) continued to reject the free gifts of atonement and eternal life.

John 3:16-19 (NIV)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

The gates of hell would not prevail that night as I went to the altar and confessed my sin and my desire to experience the peace that I knew only Jesus could give me. Jesus gave me the hope and the answer I was so desperately looking to find. Indeed, I am a witness to the testimony that Jesus gave to Nicodemus when He said: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3) In that moment, I was born again of the Spirit! I was finally able to see Jesus! Hallelujah! Praise be unto Him forevermore! Amen!

Yes, Jesus Son of David, had mercy upon me. He opened the eyes of my heart so that I could see Him. And, oh, how beautiful He truly is! He is the Son of God. He is Messiah … the Holy One of Israel. He is Root of Jesse, the Son of David, and the Lion of Judah. He is the Ruler of Nations … He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is Hashem … the name above all names! He is Redeemer, Deliverer, and Savior. He is Jesus … the One I could not see until He healed me.

My friend, if you are like Bartimaeus and want to see Jesus, I invite you to take another look into the Word of God. The Apostle Paul taught: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) And it is only through faith that you will be able to intimately see Jesus and know Him. Likewise, Paul informed, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

I believe these are the two greatest spiritual obstacles that each human soul is challenged to overcome. But the Apostle John reminds and encourages us with these words: “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5)

Have a Blessed Day!