IT IS FINISHED + Daily Devotion + Tuesday, April 3, 2012

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012

John 19:30  “It is finished…”

SCRIPTURE READING: JOHN 19:30

 ³⁰When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

REFLECTION: 

What was finished?  

When our our Lord Jesus perfectly obeyed and completed all of His Father’s will—it was finished!

When Christ fulfilled the sacrificial types and prophecies of the Old Covenant—it was finished!

When Jesus satisfied the demands of Divine Justice to redeem every repentant—it was finished!

When the Savior’s suffering was sufficient to destroy the works of the devil—it was finished!

When the way to the Holy of Holies and access to the Mercy Seat was opened through Christ’s shed blood—it was finished!

When Spirit answered to the blood—it was finished.

What was not finished?

Was the need for sinners to repent “finished?”  God forbid.

Was the need for men to turn from idols to God “finished?” Not hardly.

Was the necessity for faith in the blood of Christ absolved? No way.

Was the need for a holy life annulled at Calvary? Certainly not.

Was our need to be sanctified wholly in spirit, and in soul, and in body “finished” at the cross? No.

Was the requirement that men be separate from the world “finished” when Christ died? Impossible.

Too many have been lured into a false sense of eternal security by a gross misunderstanding and misapplication of these last words—“it is finished.”  They suppose that though they are disobedient, untruthful, and unfruitful, they can “rest on the finished work of Christ.”  A. W. Pink’s indictment of these antinomians (people who oppose God’s law) is right on: “The fear of God is not upon them, the commands of God have no authority over them, the holiness of God has no attraction for them.  They are worldly-minded, money-lovers, pleasure-seekers, Sabbath-breakers, who think all is right with them because they have ‘accepted Christ as their personal Savior.’”

Reader, lay it to heart.  The “finished work of Christ” is of no benefit until you acknowledge that you are a sinner only one heart-beat away from hell for eternity.  The “finished work of Christ,” is of no avail unless you have that victorious faith that saves from the power and the pollution of sin.  (Matthew 1:21) The “finished work of Christ” is of no use so long as you still love the world (1 John 2:15).  The “finished work of Christ” is only efficacious for those who by thorough repentance and living faith have been made “new creatures” in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Christ met and finished the requirements that the holiness of God demanded of Him. Now this same Holy God has one demand for us: “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16). 

If Christ had not finished, we could have never started this walk of faith. And there is more! He finished so that He might be both the “author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2).

Thank God Christ finished.  Thanking Christ, we will too.

PRAYER: Our Father in Heaven, We praise you today for finishing the work of redemption at the cross.  With your blood you saved us!  To God be the glory!  We pray that the great “Finisher of our faith,” would have free right of way in our lives today.  Bless us Lord and make us blessing in a world that desperately needs to see living, active, sincere faith.  Keep Thy cross before us.  We pray in the name of our wonderful Lord and Savior, Amen. “Our Father, &c.”

WATCH AND PRAY... + Daily Devotional + Monday, March 20, 2012

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2012

Mark 14:38  “Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation…”

SCRIPTURE READING: MARK 14:32-41

32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;

34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.

35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?

38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.

40 And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.

41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

REFLECTION:  It wasn’t the first time that Jesus had to wake up His disciples.  Luke tells us that they fell asleep on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Both Matthew and Mark tell us that they fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane. At our Lord’s invocation and at His benediction the disciples couldn’t keep their eyes open. Why are these disciples so drowsy?

Jesus seems disappointed as he stirs them in Gethsemane, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”  He explains their failure, “The spirit is ready, but the flesh is weak.”

Physically worn from the Passover preparations, emotionally drained by all that they had experienced that evening, Jesus explained their sleepiness, “the flesh is weak.”

It would be imprudent to assume that the Lord had reference only to the disciples’ physical exhaustion.  This was more.  This was a spiritual weakness of the flesh that the Apostle Paul identifies as our carnal disposition that lusteth against the spirit. (For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Galatians 5:17).

Dr. Benner observed, “It is this condition in the hearts of professing Christians today that produces, sleepy, stupefied, apathetic, disciples.” (Herald of Holiness, 1955)

All around us we see challenges and opportunities but too many disciples have been anesthetized by the carnal impulse within and the distracting din of this world without.

The Apostle Paul urges the Christians at Rome, “It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us cast off the works of darkness, and up on the armor of light…Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:11-12,14)

He exhorts the Ephesians, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:14-16)

To the Corinthians he simply says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not.” (1 Corinthians 15:34)

How tragic that at the precise moment when the people of God need to be “watching” and “praying” for themselves, for their families, for their churches, and for their nation, the Savior finds us sleeping.

Benner’s prayer is our heart’s cry: “May the Church of this day hear the clarion call of the prophet, “AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST!” Shake off the temptation to lethargy, let the burning Spirit of God cleanse from every disposition to spiritual drowsiness, and face the tremendous challenge of these times with energy, courage, resourcefulness, and full devotion to our Lord!” 

PRAYER: Father in Heaven, It thrills our souls to know that “He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”  Whenever, wherever, and for whatever, we know that our help “comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”  What assurance and comfort we find in the awareness that you are there even now for us.   Our hearts are challenged and convicted by your Word. Oh Lord, wake us if we are sleeping, rouse us if we are drowsy, and may we be fully awake to your Word, to your Will, and to your High and Holy calling for us today.  In the name of Jesus, Amen. “Our Father, &c.”