In His Image

In Genesis 1:26 God says that He will create humans in His image. He then creates humans in His image in verse 27.

In Romans 8:29 Paul says that God predestined those who know Him to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

So, what happened? If humans were created in God’s image, why is there a need to conform them to the image of Jesus? Aren’t they already formed in the image of Jesus?

No! Sin happened.

What has to happen for the image of Jesus to be formed in us?

First, we have to be regenerated.

In John 3:3 Jesus tells Nicodemus that he has to be born again. Nicodemus is confused and asks Jesus how it is possible that a grown person can born again. Jesus tells him that you have to be born of water (physical birth) and the Spirit (spiritual birth). Jesus also tells him that he should not be surprised at this.

Regeneration is experiencing a new spiritual birth by God’s Spirit.

In the 1980’s it became trendy to talk about being a “born-again” Christian.

The reality is that the only kind of Christian that really exists is a born-again Christian. Jesus makes it clear that to enter the kingdom of God you have to be born again.

Regeneration or being born again is a work of God alone. It is not something that we can do for ourselves. It is not something that God needs our help with.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being born again and thus experiencing a spiritual rebirth.

Second, there is sanctification.

Sanctification is the process of being transformed into the image of Jesus and being separated for God’s sole use.

For us to become like Jesus, we have to have a new birth and then enter into the lifelong process of being made like Him.

They are both essential.

They are connected.

They are different.

Regeneration is solely a work of God.

Sanctification is a work of God plus our cooperation.

Regeneration happens in an instant.

Sanctification is a lifelong process.

Regeneration is the beginning.

Sanctification is the rest of the story.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting God form in you the image of Jesus.

God is a very wise and practical God. He gives us in His Word a model of that a regenerated and sanctified person can follow.

In 1 Peter 2:21 we are told that we have been called because Jesus suffered for us and He is our example so we can follow in His steps.

The word translated example means the underwriting.

In New Testament times a teacher would write a word in wax and the student would trace or follow the letters in the word in the wax to learn how to write.

The student would follow the example of the teacher.

In the same way, Jesus is our teacher and we are His students or disciples and we live out our regeneration and sanctification by the Spirit giving us the understanding, desire, and enabling to follow Jesus’ example.

In Ephesians 5:1 Paul tells us that we are to be imitators of God. We are to follow the example of God.

In Ephesians 5:2 we are told that two of the ways we are to follow God’s example are in love and sacrifice.

We can see that love and sacrifice in the person of Jesus.

So, Peter and Paul agree that we are to follow the example of Jesus. That can only happen when God has regenerated us and the Spirit is sanctifying us.    

God’ Word shows us how Jesus lived, how He dealt with life’s issues and temptations. His Word also shows us His love for us shown by His death for our sin.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is following the example of Jesus, empowered by the Spirit.

Following Jesus’s Example Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                                   Joe

LIfe or Death?

In Deuteronomy 30:15 Moses presents before the people of God a choice between life and death. In a few more verses, verse 19 to be exact, Moses encourages the people to choose life.

In 2 Peter 1:3 we are told that in Jesus we have all we need for godliness and for life.

So, in reality, Moses was telling God’s people to choose God because it is only in God that we have life.

We depend on many things, both good and bad, to bring real meaning to life.

Things like:

Family

Sex

Money

Religion

Material Things

Achievements

Good Deeds

The problem with any of those things is that they will let you down and not fulfill you. Again, it is only in Jesus that we find what fulfills us and will never let us down.

The thing that many look to for purposeful life is religion.

Romans 8:2

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

2 Corinthians 3:6

Who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

If we try to live by the letter of the law, it brings death.

There are two reasons that the law brings death.

First, we as humans are incapable of perfectly following the law, and that is what God requires if we are going to depend on the law.

Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned because we have not met the standard that God has set. That standard is perfection and only Jesus has ever perfectly fulfilled law by living it out. We are thus not capable of perfectly following the law because of our fallen nature.

Second, even if we could perfectly follow the law, the law cannot impart life. God is life and only He can give us life.

The choice is life or death.

God → Life

Law → Death

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is choosing Jesus and receiving life.

This truth is illustrated in the comparison of the Old Testament celebration of the Feast of Weeks and the New Testament celebration of Pentecost.

The Feast of Weeks comes fifty days after Passover and it marks when Moses received the law from God. When Moses came down from the mountain after receiving the law, the people had made other gods for themselves and were worshiping them. When Moses saw what was going on, he threw the stones tablets with the ten commandments and they broke. God then instructed Moses to have the Levities take their swords and go into the people and kill whoever they encountered. The result was that three thousand people died.

Pentecost, which is the Greek name for the Feast of Weeks and thus comes fifty days after Passover, was when the Spirit came to dwell in the lives of the followers of Jesus. When the Spirit came upon the believers, they went out among the people and spoke the Word of God with boldness. The result was that three thousand people came to new life in Jesus.

These two celebrations show that the law leads to death, but that the Spirit leads to life.

I tried for years to please God by trying to do all the right things that the Bible tells us that we should do. I experienced nothing but frustration and failure.

When God’s Spirit showed that I could not do it based in my ability and on my resources, I totally surrendered the authority and reasonability of my life over to Jesus. I had trusted Jesus as Savior and now I understood that I needed to let Him be the Lord of my life. Jesus, not me, needed to run my life. That is when I experienced freedom, peace, and fulfillment.

The law shows us our sin.

The Spirit bring forgiveness from sin and freedom to live in the reality of Jesus.

Picture it this way:

The law is like a stop sign. When we run past it without stopping, it shows us that we have broken the law.

The Spirit is like the judge who declares us guilty and then comes down from the bench, takes off his robes, and pays the fine for us. 

I pray you will choose the Spirit and thus choose life.

Choosing the Spirit, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                          Joe

The Bridegroom and the Bride

The names that the Bible gives the people of God are always relational in nature. We are called the church, which means a gathering of the called-out ones. We are called the family of God.  We are called the body of Christ. We are also called the bride of Christ.

Revelation 19:7

Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.

So, if we as the people of God are the bride of Christ, then the bridegroom is Jesus.

The Jewish wedding began with the groom going to the home of the bride.

Jesus, as our groom, made a trip from heaven to our home on the earth. He had to go one step further by also becoming a human.

Philippians 2:6-7

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Jesus (the groom) loves His bride (us) so much that He gave up the glories of heaven and became a human being and traveled to our home to be united with us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving Jesus as our bridegroom as He comes to us.

We as the bride cannot travel to Jesus our groom. We have to wait and be ready when He comes for us. We can never reach God by our own effort. We can only be united with Him through Jesus.

This all occurs because of God’s grace.

I have had many people kid me about marrying way above me. I cannot argue with that. When we unite ourselves with God through Jesus, we truly marry above ourselves. It is only because the groom invites us to be united with Him and the Father that we can.

John 6:44 says that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws the person to Him.

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that it is by grace that we are saved.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging that it is the grace of God that draws us and unites us to Jesus.

What does the bride do when the groom comes? She opens her house to the groom.

When Jesus comes and invites us into relationship with Him, what are we to do? We open our lives to Him. We make Him the sole love of our lives. We love Jesus because He first loved us.

To the church at Ephesus Jesus writes that they had left their first love. They had abandoned their passionate devotion to Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living with a passionate devotion to Jesus.

When the groom comes to the bride and she lets him in, what do they do? They get married.

What does it mean to marry Jesus?

It means joining every part of your life and being – your deepest parts, your heart, your soul, your wounds, your longings, your desires, everything - to God. He is the only person who can make you complete. Only then can your deepest needs and longings be fulfilled.

The best picture of that is found in Psalm 42:1-2. It says, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is making Jesus the One you look to for fulfilling your life.

I love this picture of Jesus as the groom and us, His people, as the bride. I know how I love my wife and desire to meet her needs and fill her life with joy. I also know how much she loves me and desires to meet my needs and fill my life with joy. If we are who are fallible humans can do that, then God who is prefect can love me with a perfect love that casts out all fear.

With Jesus as Our Bridegroom Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                          Joe

Evil Is Real

I apologize for the devotion being late, but we have recently bought a new house. The house has an awesome deck which needed to be stained. Oh, did I mention that the deck is big and it took us more time than we anticipated to finish. (Even as I am writing this it is not finished.)

I believe that in every circumstance of our lives as followers of Jesus there are reasons for the circumstances. I realized Sunday night why God had delayed me in writing the devotion at my usual time.

Just as we were finishing staining the deck on Sunday evening, our neighbor asked if we had heard about the shooting at the church in Texas. She gave us the basic details. We watched the story that night on the news and my heart broke for the church and the community. And my heart broke for that pastor.

I know how I feel about my church. It is truly my family. These people who were killed are just names to those of us who are physically removed from that community. They are friends and family members to those who live in the community. They are family and part of the flock that God had entrusted to that pastor to shepherd. I can feel the intense hurt and pain in this man’s life and the loss he feels.

1 Peter 5:1-3 says, “So I exhort elders among you, as a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”

That church was the loving responsibility of that pastor and the brokenness he is experiencing is huge.

I realized as I listened to the story of the shooting that as I taught my faith family on Sunday morning that Satan is a murderer, that murderer had placed in the heart of a person focused on hate and evil to go and kill some of my brothers and sisters.

I listened to the story of the shooting and I realized something else. I realized that we as a nation are still not getting it. We are not comprehending the truth.

This is not about gun control.

This is not about mental illness.

This is about a culture, the American culture that is a fallen culture.

All cultures are fallen. And the only solution to the evil, hatred, and violence in our culture is a spiritual awakening in our country.

America needs a spiritual revolution. We need to turn from man-based ideas, man-based principles, and man-based solutions to Jesus-based ideas, Jesus-based principles, and Jesus-based solutions.

For America to experience that type of radical change, the church in America has to experience revival.

In 1 Peter 4:17 we are told that judgment begins with the house of God, the people of God. The change that has to occur in this nation, if it is to last as a nation, will also have to begin with the people of God.

I have been praying for revival and encouraging my faith family to pray for revival for about 20 years. I have to admit that I was not real sure what revival would look like as I began to pray. But over the years God has given me five things that I believe revival will do for the church, God’s people.

First, revival will bring a passion for Jesus to His people. The early church taught Jesus. They were fiercely focused on Jesus and His kingdom. They did not teach conservative values, they did not teach hope in a human based government, they did not teach self-help philosophy. They taught and lived out Jesus.

Second, a commitment to the Gospel. In Romans 1:16 Paul says that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The Gospel is the good news that God became a human, Jesus. That Jesus lived a perfect sinless life, that He died for every human being’s sin, that He rose from the tomb, that He ascended to the Father and is alive and making intercession for us right now. That Jesus is the only way that we will be saved, experiencing eternal life and knowing peace and freedom on this earth. That will be interpreted as narrow and exclusive. It is not, but some will try to make it look that way. The Gospel will also be offensive to some. But we are to still be absolutely committed to the Gospel and proclaim it.

Third, a love for each other and for the lost. In John 13:35 Jesus says that love for each other as His followers will be the mark that shows the world we are His followers. We need to quit fighting among ourselves. We need to stop declaring denominationalism and come together united in Jesus as the Savior and Lord. We need to stop fighting over trivial things and love each other as Jesus loves. We also have to stop condemning those who are not followers of Jesus. They are not the enemy but are victims of the lies of Satan. We are commanded to love and pray for those who hate us and who would persecute us. Loving others, not judging and condemning them, will draw them to Jesus.

Fourth, an excitement over what God is doing. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. Being excited and joyful over what God is doing demonstrates that God’s Spirit is working in our lives. Anyone can find things that are wrong or bad. A negative spirit and view of life does not reflect the truth and love of Jesus. I am convinced that God is doing a lot more than we as His people are giving Him credit for.

Fifth, a total surrender to the will of God. We have been created and live for the glory of Jesus. We are not here to seek our preference or our comfort or our will. We are here to seek out and live out Jesus’ will.

Revival is coming!

Spiritual awakening is coming!

The desire of my heart is for you and me to experience revival and see Jesus bring spiritual awakening to this nation.

I have been praying for the community of Sutherland Springs and for First Baptist Church two scriptures.

Philippians 4:6-7: That they would not be fearful or hopeless, but that God would guard their hearts and minds and give them a peace through Jesus that blows the world away.

Romans 8:28: That God would bring something out of this circumstance that would bless First Baptist and bring not only healing but an extraordinary work of God.

I want to encourage you to pray also for revival for God’s church and for spiritual awakening for our nation.

Prayerfully Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

It All Works Together

I love the way God links the things of scripture together to point us ultimately to truth. I am also grateful that God is faithful to fulfill scripture.

The coming of the Messiah is one of those things that all of scripture points to. The first mention is in Genesis 3:15.

The truth of scripture is that Jesus is the Messiah and that He came to take our sins and do away with them through His death on the cross.

In Leviticus 16 we read about the scapegoat.

Leviticus 16:6-10

Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats – one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.

Two goats were chosen. One as a burnt offering and the other as a scapegoat. Aaron would take the scapegoat and place his hands on its head and place upon it all the sins of the people. The goat would then be escorted out into the wilderness and let loose to carry the sins of the people far from them. It would remove the sins from the people.

The reality of what this was doing is shared with us in Psalm 103:11-12.

Psalm 103:11-12

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

When we confess our sins and repent of them, Jesus then forgives us and remove our sins as far as the east is from the west.

Our sins are not just forgiven. The penalty of our sin is removed and the reality of our sin is removed.

God doesn’t say that He has put our sins as far as the north is from the south because north and south meet at the poles. He has put them as far as the east is from the west because they never meet. God’s forgiveness means that our sins are removed forever from us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being forgiven and having your sins removed from you forever.

In Isaiah 53 we see another thing that Jesus did as our scapegoat.

Isaiah 53:8

By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

The scapegoat, Jesus, was cut off from the land of the living and stricken.

Jesus not only died for our sins but He suffered great physical, emotional, and spiritual pain as He died.

The Father could have had Jesus die for us in any way that He chose. The Father chose for Jesus to die by crucifixion. It is one of the most painful ways to die. The Father had Jesus die in a way that was shameful both in the eyes of the Jews and Gentiles.

The goat that was chosen to be the scapegoat had done nothing wrong to be made the scapegoat. Jesus was completely innocent. He had committed no sins.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that Jesus was sinless and died for our sinfulness.

Then in the New Testament we see the fulfillment of these things in the life of Jesus.

Matthew 27:46

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi lama sabach-thani” – which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”

The Father had, for the first time in all eternity, moved away from the Son. Our sin had cause the Father to separate Himself from the Son. Just as the scapegoat had been separated from God’s people and was completely isolated from the living.

Then in John 19:42 we read, “Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

The tomb where Jesus was laid was not inside the city of Jerusalem. The tomb was outside the city. This reminds us that the goat which was sacrificed for the people’s sins was disposed of outside the camp and the scapegoat was released outside of the camp into the wilderness.

Jesus was viewed as a condemned criminal. He was innocent but viewed this way because of our sin.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being accepted by the Father because Jesus was rejected because of our sin.

Jesus as our scapegoat bears the reality and guilt of our sin and we receive the reality of His righteousness.

That is a beautiful and gracious exchange for us because of the Love of God the Father.

With Jesus as Our Scapegoat Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                       Joe

Clean and Open Vessels

I love music. I am in awe of people who can play musical instruments. I have tried but just don’t have the ability or commitment to learn and develop any musical ability. In all my love of music, I have never given a compliment to a musical instrument. I have complimented a musician. It is the musician who makes the instrument sound beautiful and moves us emotionally.

The Bible refers to us, followers of Jesus, as vessels. Vessels are containers. They contain or hold something. As followers of Jesus, we contain the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit dwells within us and contains or should contain or control us.

The things that make a good vessel are twofold.

2 Timothy 2:20-21

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

The first thing that makes a vessel or instrument noble or honorable is whether or not it is clean.

No one would choose to drink out of a dirty glass. No one would choose to eat off a dirty dish. The truth is that we would rather drink out of a glass or eat off a dish that was ugly but clean over a glass or dish that was beautiful but dirty.

A person can look great on the outside. They can have a great appearance and even a great personality and not be clean and thus not usable to God.

A person can be very unimpressive to the world but be clean and be usable to God.

What cleanses us?

According to 1 John 1:9 when we agree with God or confess our sin God not only forgives us, He also cleanses us.

Confessing our sins or agreeing with God over what we did being sin allows God to cleanse us.

Then in 1 John 1:7 we are told that the blood of Jesus is the actual component by which Jesus cleanses us.

When we are cleansed, we are then:

Made Holy

Made Useful to Jesus

Prepared for All the Good Works God Has for Us

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being clean vessels usable to Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:7

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 

The second thing that makes a vessel or instrument usable to God is that it is open.

To be able to see this power of God, the jar or vessel has to be open so that others can see in.

When a vessel is closed, it can only contain what is its own size, nothing larger.

When a vessel is open, it has no limitations.

When we are open, we can contain the Holy Spirit and the power of God is flowing in our lives.

We as human beings are finite. We cannot contain the infinite if we are closed. We can only contain the infinite if we are open.

If we are to be open vessels for Jesus, we have to turn the authority of our lives over to Jesus and let Him be the sole authority of our lives.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being open vessels under the authority of Jesus.

A vessel is only as good as what fills the vessel.

When I open my life to Jesus and let Him clean me, then I will be a vessel that will bring honor to Him.

I pray that you will be a clean, open vessel filled to the very top with the Holy Spirit, thus bringing great honor to Jesus.

As an Open and Clean Vessel Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                     Joe

Faith Over Fear

I apologize for the devotion being late. We are in the middle of a four-day study on spiritual strongholds and yesterday was a that day literally got by me without having time to write the devotion.

As I have studied strongholds, I have come realize three things. First, we all have some spiritual strongholds. Second, they are not easy to get rid of. Third, Jesus has already defeated them through the cross and the resurrection.

The spiritual stronghold that has been strongest in my life is fear.

I grew up conditioned to fear things. Fear had a grip on my life for a long time.

One of the parts of God’s Word that has helped is Joshua chapter 1.

Four times in the eighteen verses of Joshua 1 God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous. God never commands us to do and be something that He does give us the resources to do or be.  

Each time God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous, He also gives him a reason to do it.

Joshua 1:6

Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.

The first reason is because God will use Joshua to fulfill His promise to the people.

Notice, God does not say that Joshua might or could. He says Joshua will lead the people to the promised land.

God is an all-powerful God who can do things that to humans is impossible. God is telling Joshua I have the power to accomplish this through you so trust Me.

God says that this is the land that He has sworn to give the people. God is a faithful God. He always fulfills His word. He always comes through with what He promises.

You and I don’t have to live fearfully because God is all-power and faithfully fulfills His Word.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about believing God and knowing He will fulfill His Word.

Joshua 1:7-9

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; mediate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

The second reason is that when we obey God, He will bless us.

Obedience brings the blessing of God. That doesn’t mean you won’t face some difficult times. But in the midst the difficult times we don’t have to fear because God will bless us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is obeying God in every circumstance and receiving His blessings.

The third reason is that God will be with you and I wherever we go.

Joshua was going into a land filled with enemies. The different people that the Israelites would encounter would have one goal, to destroy them.

We live in a fallen world and our enemy, Satan, wants to destroy us. We will face enemies, but just as Joshua did not have to fear because God was with him, so we don’t have to fear because God is with us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing God is with us all the time and living based on that knowledge.

Joshua 1:16-18

Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.

The fourth reason is that God gives us His authority as we obey His call on our lives.

Joshua may have worried a little when the people said they would obey him as fully as they had obeyed Moses. Joshua could remember plenty of times they rebelled against Moses’ leadership and had not obeyed him. But Joshua knew that Moses had operated under the authority of God and that he had been appointed the Israelite leader and that as he operated under God’s authority God would guide and protect him.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is operating under the authority of God.

These four reasons that God gives us for be strong and courageous and thus not being fearful have something in common.

They all are centered in God not us.

They are based on God’s Word.

They are based on God’s faithfulness.

They are based on God’s power.

They are based on God’s authority.

Courage is not, not being afraid.

Courage is not letting the fear control you, but letting God control you.

When I came to really believe that God loved me and that He was willing and able to handle everything I would ever face in life, I started living based on faith not fear.

In Faith Not Fear Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                               Joe