Whom Shall I Fear?

I made this in light of the song “Whom Shall I Fear” by Chris Tomlin. Have you heard it yet? I inserted it at the bottom for you to listen to it if not! It’s such an incredible reminder and encouragement for anyone who is feeling that maybe they are defeated or struggling with something they can’t handle or deal with. I was going to pair this photo with Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps,” but I couldn’t get these lyrics out of my head.

I heard this song on the radio this afternoon for the first time while I was listening to Air1 on my way to an appointment. As a recent college graduate, life’s been tough (get a helmet, right?). Like many of you might know, coming out of college and going “out into the real world” is a bit intimidating, and to be honest it’s been a bit of a struggle emotionally. Not being able to find a job, and as it happens to be for me, feeling like you have no near future goals or direction, is really tough. I feel like I know where God is calling me in the future, but as far as reaching that future and for the means of doing something now has drawn a complete blank in my mind. I’ve been struggling on and off with feeling discouraged from time to time not having “much to do” apart from spending awesome quality time with God and my family.

Sometimes I feel like this discouragement can lead to disablement, or feeling a sense of defeat.

Similarly, at times we feel like perhaps we are living with a sin that we are continually struggling with and can’t defeat, or we’re constantly being attacked verbally (or physically) by someone or something in our lives and we have no help, or there is no way to stop them/it.

This song is a reminder to us that God is by our side. I can’t explain it better than the Word, so I just wanted to share a few of my favorite encouraging verses for those of you who might be feeling discouraged or feel defeated by the world!

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” –Romans 8:37-38

“”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.”” – John 16:33

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31

“The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?The Lord is with me; he is my helper.I look in triumph on my enemies.” – Psalm 118:6-7

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28

“”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”” – Jeremiah 29:11-13

“”Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” – 2 Kings 6:16-17

The last verse is what came to mind immediately when I heard this song. It gives me the chills (in a good way) to think that first, God created us all so so specially with a plan and a purpose, and that He gave us His Son out of mercy and grace that we might come before Him, and gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and help us here on earth, and that even more, His angels are fighting for us as we are in this world with spiritual battle going on all around us. God loves us so much and He is always with us.

Don’t let the things of this world discourage you or make you feel defeated. The enemy is constantly filling us with these lies to make us feel disabled and unable to do the will of God. Keep your eyes on the Lord and focus on the Truth, friends! :)

Here’s the song if you haven’t heard it yet!

Happy Sunday!

Grace & Peace,
Margarette

Light Of All Mankind

I came across an interesting study about John 1:1-5. John perhaps makes one of the most interesting observations even before he begins writing about Jesus –

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

If I could just bold every word, I would of.. but for the sake of readability I wont! Amazing passage that we may or may not have heard, but wow what bold statement just came from John. Let’s break it down:

In the beginning was the Word,

Now, you could say that the Word was God’s spoken Word, or perhaps the Bible, but in this case, it is actually Jesus represented! How do we know this? If we just fast-forward a little to verse 14 we see that is says:

 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

But why not just say it straight then? Why not say Jesus became flesh or In the beginning was Jesus? To modern readers this would make more sense, but in John’s time, he was writing the people of his time. Now in Hebrew, Word is translated to logos.  In the ancient world, logos had a broad range of meaning such as “word, utterance, declaration, discourse, or reason.” John, however, uses the term in a very technical sense as a title for the Messiah in a preexistent divine state. But again, why not use the name Jesus? John wanted his readers to understand that Jesus equates God. From an article I read here,

The ordinary reader of John in the 1st century would have been familiar with the Aramaic Targum paraphrases of the Bible, since these Targum translations were frequently read in synagogues because of the large numbers of non-Hebrew speaking Jews. It is likely that most Jews in Palestine were familiar with the Aramaic Bible, not the Hebrew Bible.

In Aramaic, a standard term for word is memra. The Aramaic Targums, however, often use memra as a technical term referring to a personification of divine power and presence. The Targums consistently add the phrase “Memra/word of God” to passages in Genesis 1describing God’s creative acts. For example, while the Hebrew Bible reads “And God said, let there be light” (Gen 1:3), the Aramaic Targum reads “And the Memra/word of God said, let there be light.” Variants on this pattern continue throughout Genesis 1. Other allusions to creation in the Targums follow a similar practice. Genesis 14:19 in Hebrew reads “Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth,” while in Aramaic it reads: “Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, who by his Memra/Word created heaven and earth.” The Isaiah Targums likewise often add the phrase “by my Memra/word” when describing God creating the world (Is 28:13; 44:24; 45:12). Thus, in the Aramaic Bible—the translation of the Bible with which most Judeans at the time of Jesus would be familiar—the Memra/Word is consistently described as being with God in the beginning, and creating all things. This is precisely how the Logos concept is described in John 1; where John replaces the Aramaic term memra with its Greek equivalent, logos. Thus, for Aramaic speaking Jews of the 1st century, John’s Word theology would not have seemed like a radical new idea at all, but a standard way they had already heard creation by the Memra/Word described. What would have been a very radical new idea for most Jews, however, was that John equated this Memra/Logos/Word with Jesus the Messiah, who became flesh (Jn 1:14).

Woah! Heavy explanation but it makes more sense now as to why John describes Jesus as the Word! So now our understanding is coming to sense of just the importance of how John describes Jesus! Let’s continue:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

So wow! Before creation Jesus was there! He was with God, in fact Jesus equates God! Many of you heard about the concept called the trinity. Although I won’t explain it here, I want to note that although it makes no sense to us that 3 things can be 1 yet 3, bear with me and think on the idea that Jesus and God are separate in the roles they play, yet are God in one whole. Let’s read on:

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Jesus plays his role in that through Him all things were made! This is talking about creation and the beginning of the world! Jesus was there and in fact John makes it even more clear. Without him nothing was made that has been made. Jesus’s distinct role is being the means by which all things came to be! To explain more thoroughly, I got from this commentary,

the phrases “through Him” and “without Him” mark Jesus, as the Agent of creation. In this verse the context of the term Word is as the Agent of creation, a person, and not just a commanding word from God to create. So through Jesus, a person, all things were created. He Himself was not created because the verse states, “without Him nothing was made that has been made.” He could not create Himself, He is the Creator Who by virtue of this is the uncreated, eternal God.

Jesus is eternal and everlasting! And lastly,

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John writes upon how Jesus becomes our life source! “In him was life” – It is amazing to the see the connection as Jesus, the agent of creation, as the provider of life! It includes every sense and source of life from creating all things from the beginning of all time and creation to sustaining the life of all things to being the source of eternal life in which anything that was created exists in Him and is sustained by Him. The Word is the Creator, Eternal God. Also noted, is that it says was life, as even before life existed, Jesus was there, the eternal being! “that life was the light of all mankind” –  Again, drawing from the commentary,

Notice that author John used “was the Light of mankind” and not “is the Light of mankind” to describe the Word in whom was life. Although it is true that the Word is Life and Light today and forever because He is the eternal Creator God, the fact that the verbs are in the past tense makes it likely that author John is speaking of Old Testament times – from the beginning with Adam and Eve ongoing throughout the ages wherein the Light of the Word, the truth about God through the Word Who is life Who is the Light of men has always been available for men to see, receive and believe in unto eternal life.

It is amazing that even in these few simple verses, John has thought of and impacted so much into these verses! Talk about an ultimate summary of who God is! “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus is the light of this world! Jesus says in John 8:12,

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Those who follow Him will never be separated from His glory! And I leave you with this from Romans 8:38-39,

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Grace & Peace,
John

Our Two Halves

Recently, I have been just encountering this main idea of life through the Spirit! In Romans, the apostle Paul pretty much lays out the theology of salvation over 16 chapters. Specifically in chapter 8, Paul pulls out this amazing image of living within the Spirit. Starting right off in verses 1-2:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

For believers who know Christ, we are set free! Free from sin and death! Amazing already right?? But now you are all like, “Wait a second John, if I’m a believer, then whats up with this sin that I still have in my life?”

Well let me explain the concept of the what I like to call our two halves before I answer the question. Let us continue in verses 3-4,

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Woah man. Deep stuff. The law, which was God’s command before, required that people atone their sins through the sacrifice of animals. However as also stated in Hebrews 10:3-4,

But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

It was powerless. So how could God allow us to be sinless? He sent his own Son, both man and God as an offering for all sin of mankind. Thus, Jesus gave his life to fulfill God’s requirement of the law – that is the atonement of all sins through sacrifice for all who believe! And Paul says,  we do not live according to the flesh as believers, but according to the Spirit! This is the two halves I am talking about. We don’t live by the flesh, or in more practical terms, by the world’s standards, but according to the standards of Christ! Let us continue in verses 9-11,

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

And now to answer your question, “Why do we still have sin in our lives?”, we can see that if we are believers in Christ, we are in the realm of the Spirit, yet still happen to live in the world!  Because we live in a world full of sin, we have sin and will be subjected to death because of sin. Yet as believers of Christ, we are renewed on the inside because of Christ’s righteousness! Thus as a believer of Christ we are given life because of his Spirit who lives within us! Paul explains it clearly in the next verses 12-13,

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Wow! Such powerful words! If we live according to the flesh –  to the ways of this world, we will die. And this death, Paul talks about isn’t the death that everyone experiences, but rather an eternal death, one spent forever away from the presence of God. So take courage! Take hope! There is still hope that we may live by the Spirit and live in God’s presence! As it says in 2 Peter 3:9,

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

What a wonderful God! Are you willing to come into repentance for Him?

In our struggle of battling between our two halves that control our body, in sight of perpetual sin everyday remember that  the law of the Spirit has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Grace & Peace,
John