Calvary Temple

In Isaiah 5:7 the Bible says that the Lord planted himself a vineyard and he cared for it and tended it carefully and that the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, are his pleasant planting. 

Again, using the symbol of the vineyard of the Lord, in the gospel of John 5, Jesus tells the disciples “I am the true vine and my father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that  bears fruit he prunes; that it may bear more fruit.

Those who abide in the true vine, who is Jesus Christ, will be tended and cared for by the Father, the vinedresser, who will prune the true branches—those who center their lives in him, they will bear fruit that looks like the True Vine.  Else, the branches that are not centered in the Vine, are removed and burned up. 

It really pays to remain fully centered in the True Vine.

In Ezra 1:1-11, King Cyrus was mightily used by God to accomplish his will, even though he was not a Jewish believer, but a foreign king. God blessed him greatly, and stirred up his heart to repatriate the scattered Jews, who were in exile in Babylon. Not only did Cyrus allow the Jews to repatriate back to Jerusalem, he also facilitated the rebuilding of the temple destroyed by king Nebuchadnezzar.

Sometimes, we struggle to understand God’s ways in our lives. But this prophetic story shows us that God uses whom he wills, and even blesses and equips them to accomplish his will.

A fundamental verse in the Christian faith is I John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The whole of scripture is very clear that confessing our sins or repentance, and faith in God to forgive us our sins results in salvation.

There is not a substitute for repentance and faith that can ensure salvation. Some popular statements used today completely ignore the requirement of repentance. How tragic for those who are truly seeking salvation!

We must follow the Word of God for something so important! The psalmist David said in Psalm 51:1: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me! Repentance and faith; it equals salvation!

In Numbers 15:37-41 God provided fringe benefits to the Children of Israel.  He instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to sew fringes, or tassels, onto the hems of their garments.  This accomplished two things: 1) it identified them to the world as God’s chosen people and 2) the fringe was to be used as a visual reminder for them not to follow their own hearts and will, and not to commit sin against God.

In the New Testament, the Pharisees also wore fringes—but they elongated them in order to appear more holy than others. Jesus taught against this practice—but he didn’t teach against wearing fringes in accordance to God’s instructions. And, Jesus wore fringes on the hems of his garments!  In Matthew 14:34 when Jesus came to Gennesaret all the sick were brought to him and they “implored him that they might touch the fringe of his garment, and all who touched it were healed.” 

Likewise, in Matthew 9:20, the woman who had the issue of blood for 12 years also touched the fringes on the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed.

Today, we access those fringes on Jesus garment—his spiritual garment—by faith in his work on the cross.  The Holy Spirit gives us access, by faith to Jesus’ healing power.

Today is Father’s Day, when we celebrate our fathers.  Jesus loved his father! He prayed, Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name!

Proverbs 23:24 says that, The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. The Father God was well pleased in His righteous son!

Yet, God’s heart, as well as ours, is for the fatherless.  Psalm 68:5 says that the Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation, and Deuteronomy 10:18 says He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow. 

But, God also has the backs of fathers, too.  Our text, in Psalm 121, tells us that he is a helper, a refuge, a stabilizer, and One who will never sleep nor slumber in providing his protection to those who lift their eyes to him for help. 

And finally, fathers can be encouraged as I Corinthians 15:56 tells all believers to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that IN THE LORD, our labor is not in vain. Even in raising godly children.

Romans 8:1-2 tells us that there is no condemnation—no condemnation to eternity in hell, for those who are in Christ Jesus!  Because, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, we have the Spirit of Life in us, and He has set us free from the condemnation of sin and death through the blood of Jesus, which he shed at Calvary’s cross. 

But still, we sometimes wonder, have we done enough or believed enough to make the Heavenly Team?  Further in Romans 8 we learn that there is an absolute litmus test to find out!  We can know for sure which side we are on by our mindset—either we keep our mind on the righteous right side, or our mind stays on the selfish fleshly left side.  By knowing where our minds are set to, we can determine where we will spend eternity! 

We absolutely must know this, because in Mathew 25:31-34, and Verse 41, Jesus will determine where we spend eternity by our mindset. He will send the righteous sheep to the right, and the fleshly goats to the left.  Which side are you on?

In Galatians 6:2-10 Paul admonished those who name the name of Christians to take care of one another; to bear each other’s burdens and in so doing, we will fulfill the law of Christ. The law of Christ is to love one another, just as the ultimate burden bearer, Jesus, bore our sins in his own body.

In Verse 7-8, Paul warns against becoming impressed by our own worth—for doing so brings deception! But God is neither deceived, nor mocked, for He certainly knows the source from which we sow—whether it be to the flesh or to the spirit!

And, finally, we must guard against becoming weary of doing good and giving up the fight of faith, for the harvest will surely come, if we don’t give up.

The value of our life’s journey can be seen in both natural and spiritual ways. The life experiences we have and the character that is developed, are all part of our journey. Sometimes it turns out like we expect, and sometimes it doesn't.

In the Luke 19 Parable of the Minas (about three month’s wages) Jesus tells about three different men, and how their life’s journey—their experience to handle situations, their business skill sets, and their character, prepared them for a significant test in their lives.

Each man was given an amount of money sufficient to make a profit for the master; two succeeded, but one miserably failed the test in both experience and in character.

Taking care of business is important in our Christian walk. So important that the Apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 6:2 that today is the favorable time to get things done for Christ, and today is the day of Salvation!

Have you taken care of this most important business of your life?

I John 11 Martha, Mary and the Jews each said, if only Jesus had been here, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. In other words, had Jesus done what they'd asked, when they'd asked, this wouldn’t have happened. Sounds familiar, hmmm?

Jesus was not taken by surprise by Lazarus’ death, but they couldn’t comprehend what Jesus said they would see—the glory of God, because they’d only seen Him heal sick people before now. Jesus challenged their faith to believe for something more than they already knew.

By raising Lazarus from the dead, He not only demonstrated his divinity as God, but also prepared them to believe. Believe that, just as he said would happen, he would also be raised from the dead. Jesus promised in John 5:25-29 that ALL of the dead will hear his voice and will live on that day of rapture. Those who have done good will be raised in righteousness to God, and those who have done evil will be raised to judgment and damnation.

Have you asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior? If so, you will be raised in righteousness unto God. If you haven’t done so, it’s not too late—yet! You can do so today! Praise His Mighty Name Forever!

In John 11:1-16, Jesus’ disciples couldn’t understand why Jesus didn’t go to Lazarus the minute that he heard that his good friend was ill.  They couldn’t even imagine what Jesus had planned.  A plan that was, until this miracle, yet unseen, but as Jesus said, was for their sakes—so they would believe in Him. 

Then Jesus waited until Lazarus had been dead four full days before going to him.  This was done so that God would get the glory, and to refute the superstitions believed by the Jews that a deceased person’s spirit would hover over their dead body for up to three days, hoping for resuscitation so the spirit could re-enter the body. But, by the 4th day, due to decay, it would give up hope and depart.

Sometimes, we experience delays in answers to prayer that we simply can’t understand.  But, maybe our delay is because Jesus has a better plan—a plan that for our sakes, will increase our hope and establish our faith in Him so that God will get the glory.