“While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
“’But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.’” (Luke 11:37-44 ESV)
So, this morning I was sitting in the living room of mine and my husband’s apartment, and I was looking out our double glass sliding doors out to the woods behind us, when I saw in one of the trees the shape of a very large V, which is symbolic for victory. So, I took a picture of it, and then I discovered that on the other side was some tree limbs of another tree which were in the shape of a snake, and the snake was facing the direction of the V. We also have tassels which hang down from our short curtains above, and a tassel is usually a symbol of victory, too, as in graduation from school (learning), and the tassel appeared to be hanging from the very large V. Wow!
After this the Lord Jesus put the words of a secular song in my head which has religious connotations. It is called, “The River of Dreams,” by Billy Joel. In the song Billy described himself as someone who was looking for something, something sacred he had lost. But he saw the river ahead as wide and too hard to cross over into the Promised Land, although he claimed that he had tried to cross over to the other side. And then he admitted that God knows that he had never been a spiritual man, and so he came to the conclusion that he was not sure about life after this.
Both the photo that I took and this song “The River of Dreams” fit with this passage of Scripture in Luke 11, so I believe the Lord Jesus led me to take that picture, for I didn’t even see the snake in the picture until after I saw the big V for victory! And I find that part very encouraging!
Basically, the Pharisees are being represented both by the snake and by Billy Joel and his search for something, both of whom are opposed to the victory that is ours in Jesus Christ, our Lord, when we choose to accept God’s invitation to God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ and we do cross over that river into our promised land (our salvation from sin and eternal life with God). And it is interesting, too, that the photo was taken through double doors and so that there was a division between the side with the snake and the side with the big V (for victory).
The caricature of Billy Joel standing and looking at the river he knows has to be crossed for him to enter into the promised land, and all of his own human efforts to get there, which all failed, also fits with the caricature of these Pharisees and with all people who are trying to get into heaven by their own good works and by the works of the flesh which are not of God. But the Christian life is not absent of good works, for we read in Ephesians 2:10 that we who believe in Jesus with God-persuaded (not of the flesh) faith in Jesus Christ “are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (cf. Titus 2:11-14).
So, the message here is quite clear. Not one of us can be saved from our sins and have eternal life with God via our own human effort and our own fleshly good works. The good works of our flesh will never outweigh the sinful lifestyles and the rebellion against the Lord and the refusal to submit to him as Lord. No amount of “church going” and giving offerings and serving in ministry will ever get us salvation from sin and heaven as our eternal destiny. For our salvation is not outward only. It has to do with the transformation of our inner being – with dying with Christ to sin and living to God and to his righteousness in the power of God, by his Spirit.
So, there are many people who appear religious on the outside, who go through the motions of religious practice, but who are still on the side of the snake because they are trying to earn their salvation through human effort but while they are still filled with all sorts of wickedness and evil within their hearts. And the Scriptures teach us that from out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But the good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good (Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:17-20).
So, please understand that our salvation comes from God, not from us, and even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ comes from God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man. For Jesus Christ is the author and the perfecter of the faith that saves, and we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first draws us to Christ, i.e. unless he first persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness and of our need to turn from our sins to follow the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands. And we must be those who walk in obedience to our Lord and not in sin, or we’ll not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 1:21-23; Colossians 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70
Caution: This link may contain ads
No comments:
Post a Comment