April 2017 – Page 2

Your Lamb

In preparation for the Lord’s Passover (Ex 12:11), we’re to choose a spotless lamb to represent our house and keep it for four days, a lamb for each household. (Ex 12:3) At this stage it’s any blemish free lamb, a generic lamb.

Once a lamb is selected, a determination is made as to which household(s) it represents. Then a lamb becomes the lamb (Ex 12:4), the one lamb to represent the household(s) for which it is chosen.

Once the lamb-to-household relationship is established, the lamb becomes your lamb. The family spends time getting to know their lamb, verifying that it has no blemish. (Ex 12:5) They inspect it, and become deeply familiar with it. Then, in place of their own firstborn, they kill their lamb on the 14th day. (Ex 12:6)

As in all God’s feasts, He’s giving us a window, a picture, a hint of how to walk with Him.

Jesus Christ is not just a passover lamb; He is not just the passover lamb. It’s not enough to know that Jesus is a savior, one among many. Neither is it enough to know that Christ is the savior, the one and only. Yeshua, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Jewish Messiah, must become our passover (1Co 5:7); until He is our savior, whom we have chosen for ourselves, to represent our souls in the day of judgment, getting to know Him, and He us, we have nothing. (Mt 7:21-23)

Let’s choose Christ deliberately and deeply, giving diligence to make our calling and election sure (2Pe 1:10), getting to know everything about Him that we can (Php 3:10), personalizing His work and connecting with His nature and character. Let’s behold the beauty, feed in the majesty, and enjoy the unfathomable riches of Christ! (Eph 3:8)

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The Wicked Flee

How do we react when someone accuses us of wrongdoing? Do we welcome the opportunity to grow, or do we become defensive, retaliatory and evasive? Do we engage and listen patiently looking for righteous closure, or do we immediately flee, departing moral grounds without seeking proper resolution? (Pr 28:1)

When the wicked are blamed they don’t stop and prayerfully search their hearts. They justify themselves (Lk 16:15) without hearing their accuser out (Pr 18:13), they blame-shift and/or retaliate to turn the focus away from themselves, or they ignore accusation as unworthy of their time. (Ps 50:17) Not wanting to actually be upright, but only to appear so on the surface (Mt 23:28), they feel vulnerable and weak on moral grounds, so they turn tail and run when approached for inspection.

The righteous are in the habit of asking God to help them search their own hearts (Ps 139:23-24) and cleanse them of faults they don’t yet know about (Ps 19:12), so they approach accusation entirely differently: as a win-win. Confident God is seeking their good and that He loves them unconditionally, they hope to find some merit in their accuser’s claim, as if in a gold mine looking for gems. (Pr 8:10) If they can find any truth at all in it, they see a precious source of instruction to enable them in the way of life. (Pr 6:23) Otherwise, knowing God’s their defender, when they find accusation entirely groundless, the wise see an opportunity to help free another soul of confusion, misunderstanding, lies and deceit. (Ja 5:20) The righteous have nothing to lose and everything to gain; they remain in moral ground bold as a lion. (Pr 28:1)

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Of Man’s Judgement

Our ability to intimidate through accusation is stunning; it puts metaphysical reality on display real time. When accused of wrongdoing we’re troubled, so the enemy’s often falsely accusing us (Re 12:10), sometimes in our spirits and often through others. It makes most of us instinctively defensive, for living under unwarranted or excessive guilt or shame can damage us. (Ps 123:3-4) Why is it so powerful?

Evidently, this is one of the primary ways we reflect God’s image; He’s the ultimate Lawgiver, Accuser and Judge (Ja 4:12), and He’s designed us with similar power to create shame in others, even through unjust criticism. (Ps 119:22) Perhaps it’s a hint at what’s to come.

God will ultimately invite saints to preside in judgement over the angels; He empowers believers in community to judge between each other even now. (1Co 6:3) It’s unfathomable authority. In the end, the elect will join with God in condemning all outside Himself. (Lk 11:31-32)

While we all have this power, our judgement is often clouded and biased, limited in wisdom, understanding and justice. (1Co 4:3) When others accuse us we should humbly search our hearts (Ps 119:51) while looking to God for help (Ps 119:39), and comfort ourselves if we can’t yet see how we’re missing God’s standard. (Ps 119:52) Knowing His righteous decree will ultimately prevail and that He faithfully afflicts us (Ps 119:75), we trust He will teach us how to align ourselves with Him. (Ps 119:66)

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Seducing Spirits

Our spiritual enemy loves to mix his people in with God’s, especially those in leadership. (2Co 11:13-15) This should come as no surprise, and it shouldn’t alarm or frustrate us; we should be aware of how darkness works, and be on our guard lest we also become his tools. (2Co 2:11)

One of the enemy’s tactics is to deploy evil spirits to seduce us, to make us feel good, holy, righteous, as though we’re living for God even while we’re trampling His ways and laws underfoot. (1Ti 4:1) We can appear to be blessed of God (Ps 119:70) while we live a lie, thinking nothing of destroying others, having our conscience seared, no longer able to distinguish between good and evil. (1Ti 4:2) This is how the most destructive, evil people in the world are deceived into thinking they’re serving God. (Jn 16:2)

It doesn’t matter how good we’re feeling about ourselves, or how often others commend us: all who turn aside from the Way (Ps 125:5) will in the end be cast away. (Mt 7:23)

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, in truth, taking heed to our ways, not comparing ourselves with others but aligning ourselves with God’s standard the best we know how, we can be sure we’re in fellowship with God and that He’s cleansing us from all our sin. (1Jn 1:7)

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As the Heaven Is High

We’re prone to comparing ourselves with others, wanting to make ourselves look good by looking down, one soul to another, evaluating, judging. Thinking we’re six foot tall we look for someone that’s five or four, unable to see the little stools we’re standing on. It’s pride, and it’s nonsense. (Ja 4:12)

We’ve no idea how bad we really are, or anyone else for that matter. (Job 15:16) Even if we could evaluate our relative goodness at ground level, it’s pretty much irrelevant looking down from heaven. God’s mercy for the very best of men is infinite. (Ps 103:11)

When God comes to judge, and He’s the only One that’s worthy, He’s not going to be comparing us with each other, but with Himself, with His perfect standard. (Mt 5:48) And He’s so far above us it isn’t funny. (Is 55:9)

As we esteem others better than ourselves we acknowledge that we don’t know enough to be comparing, and that even if we did it wouldn’t matter; we’re all hopeless when it comes to measuring up. On our very best day, we’re absolutely nothing. (Ps 39:5) Without Christ we’d be facing the indignation of the Lord alone. There’s no more dreadful place to be. We should be feeling compassion for God’s enemies (Php 3:18-19), not contempt.

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