What Does Jay Say???

¹ Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
² Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
What is the greatest blessing of all? When we think about being blessed we are automatically brought to think about things such as health, wealth, prosperity, and a vast array of material things. However, the psalmist makes a bold and tremendous statement when he states “blessed is the person whose sin the LORD does not count against him”. Can it be that the greatest blessing in life is the blessing that our sins are forgiven and are not counted against us anymore? I say YES! This is the greatest blessing of all!
It is hard to come to realization without first understanding the tremendous result of sin in our lives. The Scriptures teach us that (1) we are all guilty of sin (see Romans 3:23) even though we do not want to admit it. Here is why we have trouble admitting to the realization of guilt; we use worldly standards to measure ourselves and our lifestyles. We measure our lifestyles with that of others and we reason and justify in our minds that we are not as bad as so-and-so, or we are not as bad as the guy that the news people are talking about. The world and other people are not the standard by which we are measured, we are measured up to the holy and perfect standard found in God Himself! When measured up to that great of a standard, then and only then, will we behold the fact that we “have all sinned and fallen short” of His glorious standard. Thank God that He did not leave us in our guilt to face the punishment due to our sin, yet because of His love for us He sent His Son to pay the price that we could not afford to pay!
If we are going to join with the psalmist in being thankful for the greatest blessing of all, having our sins forgiven, then we must KNOW WHO JESUS IS; WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US; AND RECEIVE IT! I believe that we have been saved to be a blessing to others. We can bless others with money; we can bless others with stuff; we can bless others by listening to their cries or offering them advice; we can bless others by praying for them; but the greatest blessing we can bestow on somebody else is to share with then how they can receive the greatest blessing of all! It is a blessing that we cannot give, it is the blessing that only Jesus can give; having their sins forgiven!

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was
there alone, ²⁴but the boat was already a considerable distance^[a] from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. ²⁵During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. ²⁷But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ²⁸“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”—Matthew 14:22-31

God has created you to do great things well beyond your imagination!
Think about what transpired that night on the boat; the disciples were scared out of there minds because the little boat that they were in was quickly losing the battle with the storm that was bashing in on them. Then out of nowhere, Jesus appears to them walking on the water! Peter, the first to speak for the group, tested the water walking visitor to see if it really was Jesus after all. To Peter’s surprise, Jesus called him to step out of the boat and walk on the water. Could you imagine what must have been going through Peter’s mind when he took the first step on the water and did not sink?
I believe that there are many great things that God wants to do in and through us but the question is, “do we have the faith to step out of the boat?”. Peter knew that something special was happening right here in his life and it was all because he followed the command of Jesus. He had the faith to step out of the boat because he trusted in his Lord whole-heartedly. We hear stories of people who do and experience great and miraculous things and hopefully you wonder as I do, “do we not serve the same Jesus as those doing and experiencing great things in their lives?” and if so, “why am I not experiencing these great things as well?”
I think that it is all a matter of faith and trust. Peter had the faith that Jesus could command the water to be as solid as concrete while he walked on it and trusted Jesus to protect his life in a seemingly dangerous circumstance. When we begin to whole-heartedly trust Jesus in all aspects of our lives and follow His lead, then, and only then, will be begin to do and experience great things well beyond our imagination. Let us never forget, however, that when Peter took his focus off of Jesus he began to drown. When we give it all to Jesus then we will find ourselves in new and exciting situations in our lives and if we lose focus, we too could begin to drown.

¹ When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” ² Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”—Exodus 32:1-4

Isn’t it funny how quickly things change? God’s people were passionately in love with Him and His servant Moses while everything was going well and were exciting, but as soon as the “excitement” settled down their hearts quickly showed their true self. Sometimes it is hard to believe that God’s people would so quickly and easily turn to idolatry; whatever form that may take (in this instance it was a little golden cow!!!).

Today is Valentine’s Day (if any of you men are reading this and have forgotten until just now, then YOU ARE WELCOME!); a day we celebrate our love for that special someone in our lives. All day long men and women will be giving and receiving gifts from their loved ones; the restaurants will be booked full this evening; the movie theatres will be busier than usual; and many couples will rekindle that romantic fire that hasn’t burned in quite some time. It is a great day and I am happy that we celebrate it but what about tomorrow when all the “excitement” of Valentine’s Day is over? Why can we not express our love for one another as if it is Valentine’s Day everyday???

When all the excitement begins to calm down, we have a tendency to fall back into the rut that we were once in. God’s people had done just that! I pray that you have had some awesome and exciting experiences with Jesus, however when it seems that we are just going through the ho-hum of life remember that Jesus is still with you. Many times in the life of the church people will complain that they are not getting anything out of the service. Soon their devotion to the corporate gathering of believers loses priority in their life and Sunday mornings become time when we decide to sleep, watch TV, engage in our hobby, shop, etc…

When we intentionally let other things take priority over God in our lives, are we guilty of idolatry like the Israelites???

⁵ Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.

⁶ Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

⁷ How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

How big is your God??? The psalmist had experienced the love, righteousness, justice, and faithfulness in his life and when he began to ponder on the greatness of his God he realized that God is too big for him to comprehend. My prayer is that everybody that reads this message has experienced God in their life and realize that He is a BIG God; too big for our comprehension.

Many times Christians like to put God “in a box”; if that is really possible! God’s love cannot be measured by the standard of worldly love. God’s justice cannot be measured by the standard of worldly justice. God’s righteousness cannot be measured by the standard of worldly righteousness. God’s faithfulness cannot be measured by the standard of worldly faithfulness. If we have a “small” view of God then we will never life with a BIG God! My prayer is that all of us will ask God to reveal Himself to us in a BIG way. My prayer is that God will blow open the “box” that contemporary Christianity has tried to put Him in. When God shows up in our lives, in our churches, in our homes, in our families, in our marriages, and in our hearts in a BIG way then BIG things will happen. Are you ready to live your life with a BIG God????

…an aroma pleasing to the LORD.—Leviticus 3:5b
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.—2 Corinthians 2:14-15
What do you smell like to God? This may seem like a really weird question to answer but after reading chapters 1-4 of Leviticus this morning I realized that when a sacrifice was brought to God it was burnt on an altar and the aroma that was emitted by the sacrifice was pleasing to God. Paul, being a good Jew and knowing the sacrificial system very well, picks up on this idea of the aroma or fragrance of our lives.
God is doing a work in you and I in which we are continually being re-made into the likeness of Christ in our actions, thoughts, and speech. As we are continually being changed into His likeness our lives emit to God the “aroma” of Christ in our lives. Notice something else that Paul states in 2 Corinthians; he states that not only is our lives emitting the aroma of Christ to God, which God is very pleased with, but our lives are emitting a fragrance among our fellow people the knowledge of Him. What do you smell like to God? What do you smell like to others?

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

³ He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

It is an amazing thing to know that when we cry to the Lord He hears us. If we recall the life of David we will recall that David was no perfect saint. Sometimes we tend to put people, like David, on a pedestal and fail to realize that they struggle with the sin nature as much as we do today. David gives us the perfect picture of what happens when we turn to God in repentance. First, we must realize the power of conviction. When a follower of Christ has sin in his/her life conviction will come because of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. When the Spirit convicts us, the natural response is that we feel miserable about our sin; like being stuck in a slimy pit full of mud and mire (as David put it). Second, when we come to the point that we become aware that something is wrong with our walk with the Lord it will [hopefully] drive us to seek the solution. In David’s case it was sin in his life that he needed to confess and receive forgiveness for. There are several things that can hinder our walk with the Lord, un-confessed sin, holding a grudge, apathy, contentment, etc… These things will cause us to feel as if we are in a “slimy pit.” Third, when we confess and cry out to God, He will set our feet back on the path of righteousness; the path where we find our true joy, peace, hope, and security. God promises that if we will confess our sins He will forgive us of our sins (see 1 John 1:9)! How great it is to have our feet set back on the solid ground!

²⁸Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” ²⁹Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”—Acts 26:28-29
I was really convicted when I saw Paul’s response to King Agrippa’s question. Short time or long!!! There have been times in my life when I would go and knock on a stranger’s door and share the gospel with a person and they would receive Jesus right then and there as their Savior and Lord. However, there has been many more times where I have seen people come to Christ after sharing the gospel with them and praying for them over the course of months or even years. Paul stated that he did not care rather it took a long time for a person to come to Christ or a short time; his passion was just to see people come to Christ! There are times in the family where parents wonder if their children, wives, or husbands will ever come to the point of receiving Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. It is in those times of questioning and wondering that Satan will cast despair and hopelessness upon us and seek to shut us up and shut us down. I believe that we all have people in our lives that we love dearly that need to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord—DO NOT GIVE UP! It might take a long time! We must be strong in continuing to share Jesus with them over and over and over again! If we give up who will pray for them? If we give up who will tell them about Jesus? If we give up then who will show them the love of Jesus with their life? “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am… [forgiven, redeemed, saved, a Christian, bound for heaven, etc.” This is Paul’s cry; may it be ours as well.

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord you God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord you God.”—Leviticus 18:1-5

So-journ: to live somewhere temporarily, as on a visit; stay for a while. A brief or temporary stay; visit. [Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4^th Ed.]

The term sojourner, or wanderer, popped up a couple of times in Leviticus 18-20 and it brought to mind the fact that we are now sojourners. Did you realize that you are a sojourner? It is a wonderfully hopeful reminder that, as followers of Christ, we are just sojourners on this earth. We are just here for a short time, just visiting because our home is not this earth: our home is with Jesus Christ in eternal bliss, that which we call heaven. The moment a person receives Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, that person becomes a sojourner; they are just passing through this world on their way to their eternal abode. How will others know that this world is not our home? How will others know us as sojourners? It is by our lives.

In the passage above, God’s people were to lives life unlike any other. They were not to live like those in Egypt where they used to live. This teaching is applied to us as it reminds that when we become followers of Jesus our lives are not like they used to be. When Jesus invades your reality, things change! Our desires are not the same as where we used to live [before following Jesus]; our thoughts are not the same as where we used to live; our motives, our speech, our purpose, etc… are not the same as where we used to live. When Jesus invades your life things change and all that was in the past is to be left in the past!

Not only were God’s people to not live like those in their past, but they were not to live like those in their future. The Scriptures teach that we, as followers of Jesus, are called holy. The term holy literally means to be set apart, or called out. God has called you and I out and set us apart to be a people whose lives reflect His glory and love among a people who live otherwise. We must be ever mindful that the philosophies of the world threaten to make us conform to its standards. To live by the ways of this world is to make this world your home. This world is not our home, we are just visiting. Live your sojourn like there is not tomorrow! Somebody is watching to see if you live what you say you believe. The world needs to see sojourners!

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God;
Psalm 46:1-3, 10
Imagine what it would be like if we walked out the door of our office/school/home only to discover that there is a wall of water headed your way. That is exactly what happened a couple of years ago when the largest tsunami in recorded history hit Indonesia and the surrounding islands. What would you do? How would you respond? Would you freak out? I think that we all would. It is absolutely amazing to hear the stories of people who experienced this natural disaster and lost absolutely everything yet still wake up everyday thankful for something. Many tell that they wake up everyday thankful that God is still there when everything around them is gone!
David said, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” David may have never experienced a wall of water coming to destroy everything in sight but he did experience throngs of soldiers surrounding him and threatening his welfare and the welfare of the people of whom he was king. We have all experienced times in our lives when we look around us and everything seems to be in shambles: a relationship is failing, our health is failing, our finances are failing, our loved ones are suffering, etc… We may never see a wall of water heading our way. We may never see an army surrounding us threatening to destroy us and everything around us. But we do face things in our lives that absolutely devastate us. It is in these times that everything seems to be turned upside down and we get all stressed out trying to figure out a solution to our problem.
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD! Here is the solution to devastation and turmoil in our lives. Be still! When everything seems to be crashing down around us, the Bible says be still. The greatest place we can be in life when devastation hits us is exhausted and at our wits end. When we realize that we cannot fix our problems, we come to the point where we can truly “be still and know that He is God.” This is a great promise of the Bible! When we get still and seek God, He will be found! When we stop trying to fix our own problems with our own abilities and power and rely on God we begin to experience what David had experienced time and time again. We will experience what it means for God to be “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

²⁸A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.—Romans 2:28-29 (New International Version)
28 For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise* from God, not from people.—Romans 2:28-29 (New Living Translation)
I LOVE PAUL’S THOUGHTS HERE! Paul had a heart for his people the Jews and longed for nothing more than to see their eyes opened to the fact that Jesus is the promised Messiah. When Paul was writing to the church in Rome (hence the name of the book “Romans”) he was addressing a diverse group of people. Some whom he hoped his letter would reach was Jews who rejected Jesus. The fact of the matter is that many of the Jewish people during Jesus’ time relied on their heritage and ritual practices for their salvation and right relationship with God. Because of Paul’s great love for the Jews, he wrote to dispel the misunderstanding of what it meant to really be a child of God. He wanted them to know that their heritage and rituals was of no value for them any longer. The practice of circumcision was instituted in the Old Testament as a way to show that a person is of the lineage of Abraham and therefore a member of the family of God. Paul stated that the physical act of circumcision no longer determines whether a person is a child of God or not but the circumcision of the heart is what is important. At the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord our hearts are changed. In an act of spiritual circumcision the rebellious desires of our hearts are “cut” away from us and are replaced with a desire for the righteousness of Christ. This work is done by the Spirit that takes up residence in our hearts when we become followers of Jesus Christ. Being a real child of God is evident in the fact that our hearts are changed!
I love what Paul says here so much because sometimes we who participate in the life of the church can fall into the same error that the Jews had fallen into: relying on something other than the life-changing power of Jesus Christ, and Him alone, for our salvation. It has been my experience when doing door-to-door visitation that many people depend on many different things for their salvation whether it be coming from a Christian family, just going to church, trying to be good enough and live “right” enough, being baptized, etc… Our enemy loves to trick us into thinking that salvation comes by anything other than faith in Jesus Christ because if he can get us to believe in a false salvation then he is victorious in claiming us. A false salvation will never result in a real change of the heart; a real relationship with Jesus Christ results in a changed heart.