Passing the Torch
We left off with Moses teaching the second generation of the Israelites, at the end of their exodus through the wilderness. He was imparting to them all that God wanted them to know for living a godly life. This was Moses’ last sermon before they leave him behind in their trek to the Promised Land.
As Moses continues to speak for God, he tells them that Jehovah will visit their descendants ‘face-to-face’ through a ‘Messiah’, (Jesus would come to the Israelites approximately 1400 years later):
“I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.” Dt. 18:18 NKJV
Jehovah is saying that the Messiah will be of Jewish descent and that He will speak for God Himself.
Moses then shifts his focus and tells the Israelites how God shows up for them in the present moment – just like He shows up for all His children throughout time. Why? Because God cherishes you:
“Yes, He loves the people; all of your saints are in Your hand…” Dt. 33:3 NKJV
[Anyone seeking a ‘right relationship’ with God is a saint (holy one). Nowhere in the Bible is their anyone who holds a formal title of ‘Saint,’ e.g. St. Peter, St. Paul, etc. These are false titles that are conferred by man].
“Now not with you alone am I making this covenant and this oath, but both with those who stand here today in the presence of the LORD our God and with those who are not with us here today…” Dt. 29:14, 15. NASB
God both nurtures you and protects you:
“Who is a people like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, and the Sword of your triumph!” Dt. 33:29 ESV
“And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” Dt. 31:8 NKJV
“…you are advancing today to battle against your enemies. Do not lack courage. Do not be afraid, or panic or tremble [in terror] before them, for the LORD your God is He who goes with you to fight against your enemies, to save you.” Dt. 23:3, 4. ESV
Moses then wraps this final sermon up:
And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take heart to all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is not an empty word for you, but for your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Dt. 32:45 – 47. ESV
[We all have a ‘Jordan’ (our former life) that we need to cross over, to grab hold of Jehovah’s promise of eternal life with Him. We make that journey by living by His word.]
If you read my previous post Are You a Child of God, you might recall that Moses dishonored God through his angry outburst to the Israelites. Subsequently, Jehovah barred Moses from leading them into Canaan. In addition, Moses was instructed to lay his hands upon Joshua (one of the spies sent into Canaan to check out the land), so that God could transfer His Spiritual leadership authority from Moses to Joshua:
Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Dt. 34:9 NLT
Moses was passing the torch. Then, he ascended a mountain next to the river Jordan, and God showed him all of the Promised Land, and He told him that the Israelites would possess it. It was a gesture of His vast compassion.
Moses was 120 years old when he died – still of sound mind and body. God had to punish him for his transgression, but He loved Moses so much, that he was the only person in all of history, that was personally buried by his Creator:
There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. Dt. 34:10.
Moses made his mark. He was a mighty warrior for God, a steadfast reflection of His righteousness and he allowed himself to be God’s Spiritually-inspired vessel for writing the first five books of the Bible, (which by now, I hope, that you too are intimately familiar with), called the Torah in Hebrew, and the Pentateuch in Greek. They collectively make up the foundation of the entire remainder of the Bible…
Spiritually-enhanced, and with God on his side, Joshua led the people over the Jordan River, (of which Jehovah miraculously stopped the river flow, to make the crossing possible., He was granted victory after victory as he settled all of the people in Israel. At the end of his life, Joshua also tries to inspire the people with the value of passing the torch:
“Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them have failed.” Jos. 23:14 NASB
Unfortunately, after Joshua’s generation passed, the Israelites turned their backs on God and began pagan idol worship. Why? Because no one passed the torch after Joshua.!
Don’t shut your eyes or cover your ears. Every one of us is commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to pass the torch. If not you, who? You are saved because somebody passed it on to you:
“Only pay attention and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your grandchildren [impressing these things on their mind and penetrating their heart with these truths]-“ Dt. 4:9 AMP
“If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life…” Dt. 4:40 NLT
“You shall teach them diligently to your children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.” Dt. 6:7 AMP
“…we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.” Dt. 29:29 NLT
God holds us accountable for passing His torch. However, we can’t pass it if we don’t learn it first, understand how to communicate it, and actively pass it on to our children and to as many other ‘potential children of God’ as possible.
What happens if we don’t?
My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Hos. 4:6 NKJV
That doesn’t sit well with God, because all children of God have a duty to bring His message of salvation hope to all people:
“…I am making you a watchman for the people…Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent, and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.” Ezek. 33:7 – 10. NLT
All of this is wrapped up part and parcel with our Savior’s ‘Great Commission’:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you…” Mt. 28:19, 20. AMP
So, we know our task; and it is a vital one, because we are saving lives. To be the most effective, we have to know our message and have faith in it. This only comes about through reading the word, and praying to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, to strengthen us in that area.
We let the gospel make its own case, but we can help by sharing how it has changed our own lives, because the hearer wants to know the ‘why’ that caused you to embrace Jesus, in order to gauge what is in it for them.
Look to teach and invite, not to make wrong and divide. You are trying to help facilitate a love relationship between them and God.
Tell them that God put an innate knowledge of right and wrong in everyone. This is made evident when we make wrong decisions; and we feel it in the remorse that follows.
We can also say, ‘As a Christian, we believe that there is a God who both created and directs this universe; and who takes a great and loving interest in the behavior of the people living in it. Furthermore, He left us a plan for having a great life, now and forever – In the Bible.
We must make a daily choice as a Christian to obey what is in it, to have that right relationship with Him. Also, we believe that God gave us a good world. Unfortunately, some people choose bad paths – usually because they entertain the suggestions planted in their conscience by an angel gone bad. This ‘devil’ is the author of lies and chaos and stands in direct opposition to the followers of Christ.
Yet, we don’t have to worry about him, as long as we use our free will to cling to Jesus – to choose good over evil.
At this point, you could explain the when, who, how and why of Jesus Christ and how salvation works. (We’ll look at that in detail in a future post. To get more detail now, look at my two archive posts: Speaking God’s Promises and Speaking God’s Promises part 2, from which I mined a few jewels for this post.
In order to be a beacon for Jesus, we must choose daily to promote goodness and righteousness – through kindness, fairness, honesty, love, helpfulness, respect and by being amiable and reasonable. It’s time to pass your torch to others, so that they too can pass theirs.
Share your light…
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Mt. 5:16 NASB
Goodnight and God Bless
Speaking God’s Promises – part 2
The center of our faith is Jesus Christ. It is Him – who that He is and what He came to do, that we must convey to others:
He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation. Col. 1:15 AMP
All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. Jn. 1:3 ESV
Christ is part-man and part-God in ways that we can only scratch the surface of in our understanding; and He was with God at the beginning of time, as co-creator of this universe and everything that is in it.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance the is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Pt. 1:3 – 5. ESV
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Jn. 3:16 NKJV
God loves us so much that He has given us a chance for a ‘do-over,’ an opportunity to return to God’s grace, by placing our faith in the salvation made available through the death and resurrection of His Son. Jesus took on all of our sins and paid the price, so that we wouldn’t have to.
In order to position ourselves to receive this remarkable gift, we must surrender our will to God’s will. As a Christian, we do that first by confessing our transgressions, and then repenting of these ways that we behaved, that run contrary to God’s ways. ‘Repent’ means to express true regret to God for our actions and to turn away from our transgressive behavior to the best of our ability.
God loves us up close and personal. That’s why He sent His Son – to gain the greatest empathy for His children living in the spiritual battlefield that envelops this earth. Jesus was the only sinless man in history, making Him the perfect sacrifice for the saving of all peoples willing to embrace His salvation. After we accept Him as our savior, the faith-building journey begins:
…Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity]… Heb. 12:2 AMP
As we live in godly ways, we become the mouth and arms for Christ, helping others come into the fold, to feast on our Father’s love. We do that because we believe that there is a finite point in time, that if you have not accepted Christ before it arrives, your chance to do so will have run out – definitely not a good thing.
In order to be a beacon for Jesus, we must make the daily choices that promote goodness and righteousness. We accomplish that with kindness, fairness, honesty, love, helpfulness, respect and being amiable and reasonable.
A Christian also keeps his or her own house in order by practicing moderation in their desires and passions. They must also be purveyors of charity, truth, forgiveness and fairness:
“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” Lk. 6:31 AMP
God judges our behavior; and there will be an accounting for everyone. God loves us so much. Christians know that if they do their best to work God’s will, He will work with them – setting them up for eternal life:
…we will all be [completely’ changed ‘wondrously transformed], in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. 1 Cor. 15:52 AMP
…He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return]. Phil. 1:6 AMP
We can’t go to heaven by ourselves. We can’t earn our way, work our way, or get there by our best efforts to be godly. We’re human, we will always come up short. That’s okay, because Jesus closes that gap. So, we have to set our pride aside and lean on God. (That’s a good thing, because all sin is rooted in pride, i.e. the practice of self-worship.)
A Christian is thankful for his or her life, yet places their greatest hope on the Day of the Lord, when heaven and the new earth awaits. Until then, they walk by faith and gather with other Christians to strengthen that faith. That’s why they attend church, study the Bible, do good works, and pray – all of which are faith-builders.
Even when we fall, we use that faith to talk to God and be reconciled with Him through confession and repentance. He promises to take us back. Faith-building faith.
A Christian knows that God lives within them, as well as surrounding them, which also includes the persons of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. It is a great source of strength, comfort and hope; and it helps keep us accountable. At that point, you are already poised for eternity – sons and daughters of God.
God is waiting for those who do not know Him, to invite Him in. It’s our job to inform those people who are willing to hear, about this invitation and why it’s so important. They need to know that Jesus lives, and is ready to take them into His arms and seal them in His love.
The Christian life is not an easy one. You have to continually sublimate your old worldly self that still cries out for wanton self-satisfaction; and you have this ‘devil’ on your left shoulder, who is always berating and enticing you, so that he can berate you even more. He wants you dead.
However, God never asks anything of us that we could not accomplish (with His help). When we step up to obey God, we are demonstrating our love for Him, and He pays that back in limitless abundance, readying you for a future that is indescribable.
Are there poor examples of Christianity out there? Of course. They just haven’t fully embraced their transformation. We all have potential. When we fully put on the mind of Christ, it will be the moment when we finally realize who God made us to be.
We know we walk a wondrous road even now, whose terminus will be breathtaking. That’s why we have and confess our faith…
Goodnight and God bless.
Speaking God’s Promises
After accepting Christ as our Savior and doing our best to live a godly life, the most important directive Christ gave us, was to spread the gospel to as many people as we possibly can. (Mt. 28:19, 20.)
The only way to be the most effective in that endeavor, is to have faith in what it is that you are preaching / teaching. Moreover, you must also be able explain to the hearer (layman, agnostic, atheist, follower of false religion, etc.), why you have embraced your faith.
The gospel is no different than mathematics, physics, or any other kind of study, with regards to relating it to others; i.e. you must begin with the ‘basics.’ Look to teach and invite, not to make wrong and divide. You’re helping facilitate a possible love-relationship between them and God, by relating how you got one, what that has meant for you and what it can bring to them.
We can begin this conversation towards salvation by talking about cause-and-effect. For example, there are universal laws that we cannot break. Oh, we can try, but calamity usually follows. If we leap from a plane without a parachute, the law of gravity is merciless. SPLAT!
Physics tells us that a force is created when a mass is accelerated. Thus, if we stand in the face of an oncoming train, we are going to have an intimate exposure to its force. MORE SPLAT!
The same holds true when we violate the laws of God. He implanted the laws of right and wrong within each and every one of us, so that we could avoid transgressing them:
“For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not [a secret hidden] in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and obey it?’…But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.” Dt. 30:11, 12 & 14. AMP
Thus, in our discussion with an unsaved individual, we can point out that everyone has an innate knowledge of right and wrong, and that bad things happen when we make the wrong choices. In fact, we are sure of it, because everyone makes the wrong choices at times – some more than others.
If this innate law of right and wrong transcends our behavior, who set the standard and why do we feel remorse when we transgress it?
We can interject at this time, that as a Christian, we believe there is a God who both created and directs this universe, and who also takes a great and loving interest in the behavior of the people that He put here. He left us a plan for getting the most out of our lives:
“…I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore, you shall choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding closely to Him; for He is your life [your good life, your abundant life, your fulfillment] and the length of your days…” Dt. 30:19, 20. AMP
We make the choice for life or death on a daily basis. And so, as a Christian, we believe that it is imperative to choose life, by obeying that power (God), through doing the things that He deems as right. It is our desire to be living in His favor rather than being in enmity with Him.
Some people don’t believe in a ‘god.’ If that’s the case then, they must believe that the universe and everything in it occurred by happenstance. In that scenario, life really has no meaning, and this short span of years that we have on this planet is all we’ve got.
However, a great majority do believe in a God (e.g. Jews, Christians, Muslims), who is righteous, loving and long-suffering with regards to the inhabitants of this planet, and is concerned when they go astray.
We as Christians believe that God gave us a ‘good’ world, but that some people in it have chosen bad paths, contrary to His will. We attest that God is good and all that He creates is good.
Furthermore, we hold it to be true that some people rebel against God, because the have fallen prey to an evil influence. This influence is a good angel gone bad – Satan. So, God did not create evil; it is a perversion of HIs goodness.
“He was a murder from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him When he lies, he speaks out of his own character; for his is s liar and the father of lies.” Jn. 8:44 ESV
We believe that all the chaos in this world stems from that angelic rebel and his followers, and that this condition will persist until God puts an end to time.
Why does the all-powerful Jehovah God that we profess, allow such a state to persist? Because the world’s condition is a result of a gift that He gave us – free will. We have the ability to choose between good and evil.
Given that God knows evil is persisting, why did He give us free will? Because God loves us; He created us and the only thing He asks of us is to love Him back. Of course, real love must be expressed voluntarily.
We love, because He first loved us. 1 Jn. 4:19 AMP
The problems occur because of those who choose not to love God, but instead to deify themselves – a lesson that they learned from the devil himself. There is no peace or happiness in the end for them.
We were actually created to consist and coexist with God:
“I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.” Jn. 15:5 AMP
God spent centuries driving these messages home to His children, but evil persisted and many people were (and are) headed for death with no escape. Because He loves us so much, He sent a part of Himself, dressed up as a human, to deliver His children from themselves.
To be continued…
Goodnight and God bless.