Revelation - Galatians 1:11-12

"Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought. For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation from Jesus Christ."

In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul refutes those who add or change the original message of the gospel he preached to them, particularly those who were teaching the Galatians to keep the requirements of Jewish law, like circumcision, to be justified before God.

Notably, Paul points out that he himself was well advanced in the teachings of Judaism and was once more zealous for the Jewish traditions than most Jews.

Yet, all his learning and all his zeal didn't seem to matter to Paul any more when the Lord Jesus Christ was revealed to him.

No Bad Behavior in Heaven - Romans 13:11-14

"Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires."

In my book, The Kingdom Order: Living for the Future in the Present, I contend that Christians today face a dilemma they have faced for the last two thousand years since the first generation of Christians died—that of living in an age in which an anticipated future has erupted into the present reality.

Biblical scholars often refer to the era in which we live as “between the times,” meaning that period in time between the beginning of the end of the world as we know it and its actual consummation—what Christians would define as the time between Christ’s first coming and His second coming.

While the first generation of Christians, the New Testament believers, were closely connected to Christ’s first coming, all Christians since have had to address the ambiguity of living in the time between His first and second comings.

Heavenly BreakThrough - 2 Samuel 5:19-21

"Then David inquired of the Lord: 'Should I go to war against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?' The Lord replied to David, 'Go, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.' So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated them there and said, 'Like a bursting flood, the Lord has burst out against my enemies before me.' Therefore, he named that place the Lord Bursts Out. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off."

In a previous post entitled, God's Outbursts from I Chronicles 14 and 15, I wrote about this interesting phenomenon described as an outburst by God. First, God "burst out" against the Philistines (or empowered King David to burst out against them) and then God burst out against His own people when the Ark of the Covenant was improperly handled as it was transported to a new destination.

We see these same stories of God's outbursts recounted in the life of King David in 2 Samuel 5 and 6.

Wrath Versus Mercy - Romans 9:22-24

"And what if God, desiring to display His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath ready for destruction. And what if He did this to make known the riches of His glory on objects of mercy, that he prepared beforehand for glory--on us, the ones He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?"

These verses do not mean that God desires to show His wrath on those who deserve it.

It means that God desires to show His mercy by saving those who deserve His wrath.
     It means that God can best show His love by having mercy on those who deserve His wrath.

So God's wrath begets God's mercy! "In Your wrath remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2).

God Did! - Romans 8

"What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did." (vs. 3).

Some consider Romans 8 the greatest, most theologically eloquent chapter in the New Testament. Certainly, some verses from Romans 8 are the most often quoted, often taught, and often preached of any in the Bible. Here's just a few examples:

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose" (vs. 28).

"If God is for us, who is against us?" (vs. 31).

"In all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us" (vs. 37).

Romans 8 describes the new way of life we have in Christ, particularly in regard to the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. It teaches us that in Christ we have become people of the Spirit, people who live "according to the Spirit" ( vs. 4, 5).

So, Romans 8 tells us how to "be spiritual!"

The Normal Christian Life - Romans 5:1-5

"Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Commentators differ as to whether Romans 5 belongs thematically with Chapters 3 and 4 where the Apostle Paul argues for the imputation of righteousness through Christ or with Chapters 6-8 where Paul describes the new life in Christ.

I see it as a transition from one theme to the next because it summarizes Paul's case for righteousness in Christ and then briefly describes how this new life of righteousness in Christ is applied in our personal lives.

It's a concise narrative of the normal Christian life.

What's In a Name? - Isaiah 56:5-6

"I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give each of them an everlasting name that will never be cut off. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord minister to Him, love the name of 'Yahweh' and become His servants."

The Shakespearian character, Juliet asked Romeo: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

When Juliet asks what's in a name, she means that what really matters is not what someone is called but what someone is.

While undoubtedly true, the Bible indicates that one's name is actually closely associated with what one is or will be.

The View from the Balcony - 1 Samuel 16:7

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.'"

In 1 Samuel 16:1 God told Samuel to go and anoint David as the new king over Israel. From biblical descriptions, David and Saul had contrasting appearances. Saul was tall and striking in appearance while David was likely shorter and smaller and had a ruddy appearance.

King Saul had turned out to be completely untrustworthy as king. Samuel had anointed Saul as the first king over Israel and he was saddened by the fact that Saul had not been obedient to God and was irresponsible in his duties as king.

God told Samuel to put it behind him because He had rejected Saul as king. God wanted Samuel to go and anoint a new king.

Prime Directive - 1 Samuel 14:12-14; 36-37

"'Follow me,' Jonathan told his armor-bearer, 'for the Lord has handed them over to Israel.' Jonathan climbed up using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer behind him. Jonathan cut them down, and his armor-bearer followed and finished them off. In that first assault Jonathan and his armor-bearer struck down about 20 men in a half-acre field... Saul said, 'Let’s go down after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until morning. Don’t let even one remain!' 'Do whatever you want,' the troops replied. But the priest said, 'We must consult God here.' So Saul inquired of God, 'Should I go after the Philistines? Will You hand them over to Israel?' But God did not answer him that day."

At the beginning of 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan, King Saul's son, and his attendant attacked a Philistine garrison. Meanwhile, Saul remained encamped on the other side of the pass with about 600 Israelite troops. In that assault Jonathan and his attendant killed about twenty Philistine soldiers.

Then panic erupted in the Philistine camp. Saul and his troops noticed the commotion among the Philistine troops.

How To Be Led by the Spirit - 1 Samuel 10:6-7

"The Spirit of the Lord will control you, you will prophesy with them, and you will be transformed into a different person. When these signs have happened to you, do whatever your circumstances require because God is with you."

In these verses the prophet Samuel is giving king-designee Saul instructions on what to do shortly after he had been chosen as the first king of Israel. But one of the first things that happened to Saul upon his selection as Israel's king was that it was confirmed by the anointing or being filled with the Spirit of God.

It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit that validated Saul's kingship!

This infilling of the Holy Spirit not only empowered Saul to prophesy alongside a group of prophets, but this infilling would change his life so much that he would be a different person!

When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, he or she is transformed into a different person--an agent of God's will.

Truth Management - 2 Corinthians 13:6

"For we are not able to do anything against the truth, but only for the truth."

The Apostle Paul is telling the Corinthians that regardless of their opinion about him, the truth of the gospel will prevail.

Paul said that as an apostle he had exercised no power over those who received the truth of the gospel. And any apostolic power he had exercised was to defend the truth of the gospel by instructing, reproving, or censuring those that opposed, denied, or contradicted it.

As followers of Jesus we are in the truth business. Therefore, we should approach the handling of truth of the gospel, and any truth for that matter, with great care.