The Lamb of God

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:29

Never has a declaration been made whereby the reader was convinced that the times had changed. Contained within this one statement written by the apostle John are three separate declarations which John the Baptist makes concerning the beloved Son of God. Contained within these three declarations is the wonderful fact that things will never be the same. So may the Lord help us a we gaze upon these truths.

The first declaration is seen in John’s words, “Behold the Lamb of God.” For century’s preceding John’s life, the prophets of old declared that the Messiah was coming. Moses declared that a Prophet would arise. David saw the Great Shepherd imminent. Ezekiel saw the wheel inside of the wheel turning about. Malachi declared that the Sun of Righteousness was about to rise with healing in His wings. And now John the Baptist declares from the shores of the Jordan River that the Lamb of God, which was prophesied to come, was now here.

The second truth proclaimed which indicated to mankind that life would never be the same is found in the statement “which taketh away.” From the Passover in Egypt, to the Sinai Peninsula, to the hills of Israel, the blood of lambs and bullocks drenched the sands of the land as it merely covered the sins of the people. The blood of those animals was insufficient to wash away the sins of the people because it lacked the power and purity of God. Oh, but now John declares that the Lamb of all lambs has come and His blood has the power to cleanse and wipe the record of their sins clean. Never again would the people have to select a lamb to slaughter because God himself had selected the perfect and premier Lamb, which was slain since the foundation of the world.

The third statement of truth is found in phrase, “of the world.” It is true that God loved the people of Israel. They were His people, called after set apart for His good pleasure. But, deep within the heart of God was a love for the entire world. Until John’s declaration, the world had been cut off from the commonwealth of Israel and alienated from their promise. But now through the Lamb of God, salvation was made available to the entire world. Bless the name of God for His precious Lamb that gave us the ability to cry with the angels, “Glory to God in the Highest.”

The Doubt of Nathanael

And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
John 1:46

The statement here spoken by Nathanael renders to the reader the obvious opinion of the public in the day of Jesus towards the city of Nazareth. Evidently this city had become a place of wickedness, depravity, and foolishness. The city, whose name implied “the home of the guarded ones”, had become the home of the “guilty ones.” The reputation of the city was so pitiful that when Nathanael saw Jesus coming, he was immediately prejudiced against him, even though he had been informed of the goodness and glory of Jesus, because of the place which he lived. How sad it is when a place falls into sin and carries a reputation of wickedness and uselessness. But that is not the end of the story for the city of Nazareth. For what the world meant for evil, God turned for the good. When the world looked at the city of Nazareth and said nothing good can come out of it; God flipped the story upon its head. The world may say it was useless, but God knows nothing that was useless. He took Nazareth, a city that was viewed as good for nothing, and raised up the great Messiah from within its city limits.

Many times our lives are viewed much like the city of Nazareth. We are viewed as useless and good for nothing. Men look upon the shell of our lives and say, “Can any good thing come from them?” Maybe we are viewed that way because of where we were born or the family we were born into. It may be our social standing or even sinful decisions that cast the light of uselessness upon our lives. Living with this fortune is depressing and hopeless. But I stand thankful today because what the world sees as a problem, God sees as potential. There is no problem too great for our God. God can take our lives, which are full of defects, deviance, and deformities, and clean us up to make our lives a vessel worthy of His service. God answers the question, “Can any good come from that city?” with a resounding, “Yes!”

Spiritual Anorexia

I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word
Psalm 119:16


Entering the One Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm, we find the longest chapter in the holy, word of God. One would think that a psalm of this length would have many topics and stories; but they would be incorrect. The topic of this psalm is singular. It has one theme and melody; it has one purpose and goal and that purpose is to magnify the word of God. Looking at this psalm, we see more clearly than ever that the writings of the Bible are from the hand of God. How do we know? No mortal man would write a book that would condemn his lifestyle and lift up the word of a higher power. Man’s sinful pride would not judge his own heart and doom him. No, these truly are the words of God contained in the word of God.

As the psalmist writes, he casts a light upon the importance of God’s word in the life of the child of God. As I read the entire chapter, I cannot help but see the significance, yea the necessity for the believer to fill and encompass his heart, mind, and life with the scripture. Is it any wonder as to why the longest chapter in the Bible focuses on one topic, the word of God? It is no accident or coincidence. God spent valuable time exalting His word because He expects His child to spend valuable time examining the Word.

My humble question today is this, how much of your time is spent in the Holy Scripture? How much time to you take feeding at the table of God? How much of your day is spent nurturing your soul from the bread of Heaven? Can it be said of you that you are a student of the word of God? Or would it be more correct to say that you are a spiritual anorexic? Sadly, I believe many of our souls resemble the children of the African countryside we have seen on late night infomercials, bony, emaciated, and starving. We have depleted our souls to the point where we will eat anything the world feeds us. Whether it is filth or slop, we feast upon it as if it had been prepared in a gourmet kitchen. Dear friend, I beseech you as a fellow child of God to lay aside the slop of the world and go back to the table of God. Let today be the day you feast upon the riches of God’s word.

The Sights of That City

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:2

I once heard the story of an old gentleman who fell asleep one night and had the most wonderful dream. As he opened his eyes he saw a majestic city spread as far as his eyes could see. The city was so bright and fair that no mortal man could have constructed it with his own hands. As he stepped closer to the city limits, he began to notice “Welcome” signs. As a well traveled man, he had seen sign saying, “Welcome to London”, “Welcome to Paris”, and “Welcome to New York.” There as he gazed upon the sign to this city, he immediately knew where he was. The sign said, “Oh, Weary Pilgrim, Welcome to The City of God.” Could this be the city he had long read about in the pages of God’s word? Was this the place his mother and father told him of when he was just a boy? Now his feet were drawn to the gates of the city like a child drawn to a shiny toy. This had to be it. This was the City of God. As drew near, the angel which stood watch at the gate said, “Welcome home, ye soldier of the cross. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” Oh, the sights of the city were memorizing. The precious stones decorated the city as the golden streets glistened off of the crystal sea.

As the gentleman walked along the streets of the city, it was not what he saw that was notable; it was what he did not see that caught his attention. He did not see streetlights, because the Lamb of God was the light of the city. He did not see any Kleenex or handkerchiefs because God had wiped away all tears from their eyes. He did not see any funeral homes or cemeteries because death had passed away. There were no bars or street corner sins because all things had been made new. He didn’t see any churches because the Lord Almighty was the Temple. He did not see any dead leaves littering the ground because the tree of life was always living. And he did not see any wedding planners because God the Father had been planning the wedding of the Lamb since the foundation of the world.

As the man awoke from his dream, he realized it was not just a dream that would fade away, but one day, his faith would become sight. For God himself is preparing a city for His people, and soon we shall rise to be with Him.

The Looking Lord

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:61-62

Here we see a dramatic end to an emotional day for the apostle Peter. He has gone from the glory of the upper room fellowship to the grief of his rejection of the Christ. Peter would have never guessed that morning that by the end of the day he would have denied the Lord and stooped down into sin’s dread sway. Now the night has come and Peter finds himself warming by the world’s fire instead of walking by the Lord’s side. This fellowship with the world leads him to do something he never thought possible. As he watches Jesus being carried through the crowds, someone looks at Peter and says, “This man was also with him [Jesus].” The apostle, fearing for his own life adamantly denies knowing Christ. Three times in the matter of a few minutes Peter does something he had never done before. His fall was swift and it was severe.

As I read the story of Peter, I am reminded of my own life and the years of my youth. How foolish I was and how tragic the end of the story could have been. How true it is that sin can take you farther than you care to go and deeper that you care to be. The most treacherous part of sin is that it can happen so fast. I recall in my own life how quickly my slide began. It started, as I was spiritually warming by the world’s fire instead of walking by the Lord’s side. I fell in a spiritual sense. It was severe and it was sudden.

If the story had ended there for Peter or myself, it would have been a catastrophe. Oh, but thanks be the God, the scripture records after the third denial of Peter, the Lord looks at him, which leads to Peter weeping and ultimately his repentance. The Lord would have been justified to destroy Peter right there on the spot, but he didn’t. Instead, Jesus looked at him with a look of compassion and heartbreak, which led to Peter’s repentance. Oh, how I am reminded of the day the Lord gave me that look of compassion and heartbreak. The day he saw me warming by the world’s fires. Much to my surprise, he just looked at me instead of destroying me. He would have been justified to kill me, but instead he loved me. And it was that look that brought me back into His arms.

What about you my friend? Have you felt His eyes peering through you like a beam of light? He is standing at the doorstep of your soul just looking. He sees you and His heart is breaking. Will you respond to His looking?

The Scars of Job

So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal…
Job 2:7-8

If men and women in our day could have looked upon the being of Job as the boils oozed with infection all over body, I’m sure our stomachs would have turned. The shear pain and agony Job went through was enough to make even the strongest man bend over in torment. Sadly, the physical pain of the boils was not all Job dealt with; he dealt with the appearance of the boils for many days. Every man that walked by Job saw his deplorable state and distasteful form. I believe it’s fair to say, Job had his share of suffering. But, thanks be unto God that the story doesn’t end there. The end of the book of Job tells of his deliverance from the very hand of God. Every thing that had been taken from Job was returned two-fold. He had twice the cattle, twice the houses, and ten more children. God also restored unto him his health. Job’s restoration was a story of God’s deliverance and grace.

There is one area of Job’s restoration that the Bible is silent about and I believe it is a purposeful silence. This silence deals with the issue of Job’s physical appearance. We remember that his entire body was covered with boils that racked him with pain. The pain and pressure from the boils was so severe that he took a broken piece of pottery and scraped over the boils in order to gain some relief. If you have ever had a boil, you can imagine some of the pain he was in. Surely after he raked over his sores, they scabbed over and most definitely left scars from the top of his head to the soles of his feet from which I do not believe God regenerated. Till the day he died, those scars bore the story of his downfall, suffering, and his deliverance. Everywhere he went, his scars told the story of God’s grace.

My friend, we all have scars. Some scars are emotional while others are physical, yet all tell a story. Yes brothers and sisters, God did permit the trial to come into your life even though He knew it would tear and scratch your body and soul. But God was not being cruel or harsh, for God knew with the tearing and cutting would come the scars. And the scars on you would tell the world the story of God’s grace and deliverance. May we praise God for the trials and storms of life, even though they leave scars. For with our scars we tell the world God’s narrative of grace, mercy, and restoration.

The Sufficient Savior

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psalm 91:2


The Psalmist speaks with full assurance and confidence here as he pens these words under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There are two expressions of sureness that catch the attention of the reader. He says, “I will say of the Lord” and “in him will I trust.” Both leave the indelible mark that the psalmist is unshaken to the fact that he can truly trust not only upon the Lord, but also in the Lord. Dear friend, as you read, do not be taken with the attitude that the psalmist was a lunatic, that he had no idea what he was talking about, or the fact that didn’t have the problems like you or I have. Charles Spurgeon gives authorship of this psalm to Moses and we know Moses was a man acquainted with burdens, sorrow, and grief like no other man. He saw the pitfalls of sin upon his people and his own life. He had known the pain of friends and family who abandon. But he still writes and says, “in him [God] will I trust.”

The Psalmist does not leave the reader inquiring as to his faith because he gives the reasons as to why he can say with full assurance, “I will trust God”. He uses three adjectives to describe the Lord. First, he says, “He is my refuge.” This speaks to the serenity found only in the Lord. God is the one who grants peace. No wonder it was Jesus who spoke peace to the storm as the waves crashed upon the disciples. He was the one who was not overtaken by the storm but rather He walked on the water. Are you worried and weary? He stands ready to be your refuge.

The author continues by saying, “He is my fortress.” This phrase speaks to the security of the Lord’s sovereignty. Oh how badly we need the security of the Lord in our day. Is there any wonder why Noah felt safe inside the ark built to God’s specifications? It was a vessel that could handle the pressures of the outside. We need to remember that God is still the solid foundation upon which our life is built. My friend, though the winds and storms are howling, we will endure because we are safely settled in the fortress of God’s power.

The last phrase used by the Psalmist to describe the Lord is, “He is my God.” This is not a phrase of identification, but rather of attribution. The psalmist is speaking to the sufficiency of the Lord. Moses could trust in the Lord because he saw the manna fall faithfully every morning. He drank from the water that came from the rock. He watched God preserve the clothes on his back through forty years of wilderness wandering. My friend, if this man of God can put his trust in the Lord, surely you can too.

The Hurting Soul Is Welcome

Then the master of the house... said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
Luke 14:21

Never has there been a parable that so encompassed the passion, love, and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord came to seek and to save that which was lost. As the lord of this parable speaks to his servants, we can quickly see the symbolism between the lord of the parable and the Lord telling the parable. As the lord of the parable sends out his servants to invite men and women to the grand supper he is preparing, he is not partial or particular in his invitation. He simply says, Go. Go wherever the people are. If they are in the streets, go there. If they are in the lanes of the city, go there. But quickly we realize that there is something different about the invitation from this lord. He does something out of sync with the norm. His bidding is not just to the rich, but it is to the poor, maimed, halt, and blind. His mission was not to feed those who were fed, but to feed those who were hungry. He didn’t come to cover the rich, but to clothe the poor.

Oh, can we not see the love of God through this passage? The Lord of the harvest cares deeply about all men and women. He doesn’t look at the thickness of a man’s wallet. He cares for the hurting soul. He doesn’t care about the baggage a person brings with them to the feast. Emotional and physical issues are no drawback to God. If you are poor, you are welcome. If you are maimed, you are welcome. If you are halt or blind, you are welcome. The Lord of Glory bids all who will, draw near to Him. He will take your brokenness and loneliness and turn them into wholeness and companionship. He has the ability to turn your disease and sickness into wellness and health.

Also within the confines of this passage we see a mandate to God’s servants. The Lord of the parable told his servants to go where the hurting people were. Oh how often do we turn our heads from broken people in order to find a fat cat to pad our offerings? We look for the socialite who will bring notoriety to our congregation. May we turn our eyes away from the size of a man’s pocket book and turn to the need of his heart. May God show us to go where the hurting people are and may we usher them to the hospital of God’s hope.

This One Thing I Do

...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before...
Philippians 3:13

The world we live in is fast-paced to say the least. There are bills to pay, yards to mow, jobs to work, and children to feed. In the day and hour we are in church is normally put on the back burner for most people. It goes something like this; “I’ll have life, with a side of God.” Over the years, this has become a motto and lifestyle for many people who profess the name of Jesus Christ. Until recently, men in the ministry were somewhat immune to this motto. The ministry and the service of Jesus Christ were their lifestyle. They lived to pray and prayed to live. They sought God through meditation in His word. But it seems more and more across the board that we are so distracted with the hustle of life that God has been pushed to the side. The disregard for God has become so prevalent in these dark hours that our pulpits are powerless and our churches resemble mortuaries. Something is wrong and needs to change quickly.

My mentor in the faith was and still is a man I admire. Often, during our formal meetings and even during our casual conversations he would say, “this one thing I do.” I always knew what he meant. He was reminding me that as an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ, I have one goal and aim. Event though there will be many distractions that come along my path, I must always remember that I have one purpose in life. Everything else is secondary to “this one thing I do.” The apostle Paul had a similar perspective on life, which is why he wrote, “this one thing I do” to the Philippians. Never did he want to forget why he was placed on this earth.

Often we stumble in our Christian walk and work. We retrace our steps to see what it was that caused the slip and many times we find that our failure was due to our losing sight of “this one thing I do.” Has God called you to sing? Then sing for His glory. Have you been called to preach? Then preach solely in the power and authority of the Holy Ghost. Have you been called to serve? Then serve with your whole heart. We were not placed here on earth to make money and build castles. God did not save us so that we could build our kingdom. We are to heed the command of Jesus when He said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God. When we are tempted to forget, may God always help us to remember, “this one thing I do.”

Take Heed To Yourselves

Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them... And then the LORD's wrath be kindled against you...
Deuteronomy 11:16-17

I am drawn to the book of Deuteronomy for in this book we find the final sermons of Moses. As he peered from his tent and looked upon the children of Jacob, he saw the failures of their past and surely he felt fear for their future. As we look around the world in which we live, we quickly see the same things Moses saw: failure and fear. Our nation is deplorable and our churches are dead. Oh how quickly things can change. Moses had the same thought for he had seen with his own eyes how quickly a nation could go from spiritual awakening to spiritual apathy. He saw how rapidly the people’s hearts were turned from worship to whining. Oh how quickly the people took to the wicked idolatry of the surrounding nations. Moses recalled how the people longed for the words of God at the foot of Sinai and forty days later they were perversely dancing around a golden calf made by their own hands. That is the reason Moses told the people to “take heed”. That phrase, “take heed” is a phrase of constant remembrance and action based on that remembrance. Every step the people took, they were to “take heed”, lest they feel into the trap of sin. Every meal they ate, they were to “take heed”, lest they took a blasphemous bite. Every transaction they made, they were to “take heed” lest they prostituted the land of promise. Oh but how the disregarded this simple command, “take heed”.

It is easy to glance over the sin of the children of Israel and brush past the command of Moses to “take heed”. It seems like such a cliché so we haphazardly look past it just as Israel did. Sadly, we are just as fickle as the children of Israel. One day, we are weeping over sins forgiven, and the next day we are full of debauchery and lasciviousness. One day we are hugging our parents simply because we love them and the next day we are cursing their name. One day we are “in love” with God and His word, the next day we can’t even be pulled from our bed in order to attend our local church. Oh yes, how often we should “take heed”. How often we should remember the consequences of past sins lest we fall into the snare of them once again. My dear friend, if only you could feel the burden which the Savior has for you. He longs for you to “take heed” of your actions. Don’t fall into the sin of Balaam. Don’t go in the way of Cain. Don’t slip into the sayings of Korah. “Take heed” of thy steps, lest you slip down the slopes of sin into the hands of the living God.

Because He Loved Me

The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people… But because the LORD loved you- Deuteronomy 7:8-9

The Bible is full of reminders to the child that is on the verge of something great. God never ushers you into something new until you have remembered the path that has brought you to where you are. Here in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is delivering his last address to the children of Israel. The entire book is a great study as you look at the last words of this great man of God. For you can truly see what is of the utmost importance to a man from what he concentrates on in the concluding days of his life. It is no wonder that Moses makes the statement here to his recipients. He never wanted them to forget why it was that God brought them to the door of the Promised Land. It was not because they offered great military strength to conquer the land. It wasn’t because there were a vast number of them because when God spoke the promise to bring them into the land of promise, He spoke it to one man, Abraham. God did not set His face upon them because He knew they would yield wonderful praise and adoration for many years to come because the fact was God knew they would go astray to idols and false gods. Moses told them that the reason God brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, was because the LORD loved you. It was all because of love.

Sometimes arrogance and pride come upon us like it did the children of Israel and we forget the real reason God came to us. He made the journey to your soul not because you had vast wealth to offer Him. He owns the cattle upon a thousand hills. He did not come to you because you had grand numbers to offer Him. Friend, He would have come if you had been for only person. No the truth of the matter is that God came to me and to you because He loved us. Because He loved you He walked the path to Calvary. Love was the only reason He stood silently while they stripped the flesh from His back. It was all love that held him fast to the cross. It was for love He died to set you free. May we cast our arrogance and pride at the feet of the crucified Savior and remember the only reason God does anything for us is because the LORD loved you.

The Cry Of The Crowd

But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him
Luke 23:21

There as Jesus stood, He heard the words that He dreaded to hear since the foundation of the worlds were laid. He knew they coming, yet they were still startling. As He stood there silently, he heard the chant of the crowd as they yelled over and over again, Crucify him, Crucify him! I am sure He thought in His mind, is this not the same crowds that were waiving palm branches less than a week ago? Are these not the blinded eyes that I have touched? Are these not the withered hands that I have healed? Yet, the Lamb stood silently before His shearers.

As I sit here and ponder this thought, it is easy to cast judgment upon those people that yelled, Crucify him! It is easy on this side of Calvary to see their wrong. It is easy to hurl accusations at them. It is easy to pile charges against them. But in my heart of hearts, I wonder; If I had been there that day among the crowds that stood in front of Pilate’s judgment hall watching Jesus of Nazareth being tried, what would I have said? Would I have stood up and declared Jesus’ innocence? Would I have run past the Roman guards that stood by and attempted to set this Healer free? Would I have walked down the Via Dolorosa in an attempt to give the Water of Life a sponge of water to drink? Or would I have been like the rest of the crowd that day and jeered, Crucify him! Would my voice have rung in the ears of the Savior as saying, Crucify! Would my mortal voice have spoken hatred into the ears of the everlasting God?

My heart cannot help but wonder about that as I sit here. I can but hope that I would have been different than the rest of the crowd. I shall never know. But I do know that I have been saved by His marvelous grace. I am a recipient of undeserved mercy. When my voice was raised in animosity toward the Savior, He still loved me. Oh what wonderful love that will not leave me. No wonder Paul wrote, Who can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus? It is a love that goes beyond our cry to Crucify. It is a love that forgives our past failures. Oh what love divine that saved a soul such as mine.

Is There A City Too Strong For The Lord?

From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us- Deuteronomy 2:36

As Moses is coming to the end of his life, he is recalling to the people of Israel all the victories the Lord had wrought for them. He is rehearsing these events for the sake of the new generation that will be the one to inhabit the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses wants to reassure this new generation of Israelites that God is more than able to escort them into the land of promise no matter how large or great the heathen inhabitants are. He assures them that there was not one city too strong for us in the past and there will not be one city too strong for you in the future. There was no enemy too strong or too bold. There was no city too impregnable or any people unconquerable. They were able to cross every obstacle the enemy threw into their path. Moses declared with confidence in his voice, there was not one city too strong for us.

Moses, the man of God was not boastful in his statement. He knew the reason why the enemies fell and the way was opened. He knew why the water flowed from the rock and the manna fell from the sky. He says, the LORD our God delivered all unto us. The God of glory was on their side. The Lord of heaven walked in their midst. He was the one that destroyed the Midianites. He was the one that delivered the heathen kings. He arranged their defeat. He organized their fall. He was the one who had the power to make the way open. Moses was careful to instruct the new generation to the fact that they could conquer the land, but only through the power of the Lord.

Have you a mountain that is too high? Have you a valley that seems too dark? Is there a river that is too rough? Do you feel your situation is too difficult? Dear friend, ask David as he stands in front of the giant, is there a city that is too strong for the Lord? Ask Elijah as he is on top of Mount Carmel, is there a city that is too strong for the Lord? Question the disciples after Pentecost, is there a city that is too strong for the Lord? My brother and sister, stand tall in the face of adversity. Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.