Messiah - Son of Abraham, Son of God

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post in the archives, dated November 12, 2008, where I introduce myself and the blog. As you read, I encourage you to add in any reflections or comments you may have.

Blessings and best wishes,
Dr. Will

Thursday, January 28, 2010
Devotions: Ps 50, 118; Gen 16:15-17:14; Heb 10:1-10; Jn 5:30-47

The Mighty One, YHWH Elohim, speaks; He summons all creation; from Zion, beauty’s perfection, God shines forth! Our God comes; He does not keep silence. Before Him is devouring fire; around Him roars a mighty tempest. He commands: ‘Gather My faithful ones to Me, who have joined Me in covenant by their sacrifices.’ The heavens declare God’s righteousness; God Himself is Judge! God sees our offerings, but needs them not. All life, all creation, is His. God demands instead a sacrifice of thanksgiving; we offer God our very best. He declares, ‘Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me!’ God rejects the wicked. Let us rein in our tongues; leave aside slander; accept God’s rebuke. Whoever brings thanksgiving honors God, and to all who order their ways rightly, God will show His salvation. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever—let all God’s people share in this declaration. In my distress, I call upon YHWH; He answers and sets me free. With the Lord on my side, I do not fear—for what can humans do to me? It is better to trust God than any mortal, any human leader. YHWH is my Strength and my Song; He has become my Salvation. Let there be songs of celebration among God’s people; I will live, and recount the awesome deeds of my Lord. YHWH has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death. By God’s grace, I come through His gates to offer myself and my praise before Him. Lord, I thank You that you have become my Savior. The stone rejected by the builders has become the chief cornerstone; this is God’s doing, marvelous in our sight. This is the day YHWH has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. Blessed is He Who comes in God’s name; YHWH is God, and has given us light. You are my God, and I give all thanks and praise to You! Let all thank God, for His steadfast love endures forever.

When Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, Abram was 86 years old. When he was 99, YHWH appeared to Abram and said, ‘I Am YHWH Elohim, God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. I will make covenant with you and multiply you exceedingly.’ Abram fell facedown before the Lord. God said, ‘You will father a multitude of nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and kings will be among your descendants. I will establish my covenant between Me and you, and with your descendants, as an everlasting covenant. I will give you and your offspring the land of your pilgrimage—all Canaan as an everlasting possession. And I will be their God.’ And God said, ‘Your part in our covenant is this: you and every male among you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins; infant males on their eighth day, throughout the generations to come—males born in your household, and foreigners you purchase or capture as servants. Any male not circumcised will be cut off from his people, for he has broken My covenant.’

The law has only a shadow of the good things to come, so by its repetitive sacrifices, it cannot perfect those who draw near. In these very sacrifices is the reminder that sin is perpetual; it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Therefore, when Messiah came into the world, He said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired; instead You prepared a body for Me; You take no pleasure in burnt or sin offerings. So I declared, “Lo, I have come to do Your will, O God’—just as it is written of me in the roll of the book.”’ Saying this, Jesus abolished the first covenant in order to establish the second. By that covenant we have been sanctified through the once-for-all-and-always offering of the body of Jesus the Messiah.

Jesus continued speaking about His relation to God: ‘I can do nothing on My own authority; I judge as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will but the will of Him Who sent Me. If I bore witness to Myself, My testimony would not be valid; but there Is Another Who bears witness to Me, and I know that His testimony is true. You sent to John, and he also bore witness to the truth. Not that human testimony concerning me is received; but I say this so that you may be saved. John was a burning, shining lamp, and for a while you rejoiced in his light. But the testimony I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has granted Me to accomplish, these things I Am doing, bear Me witness, that the Father has sent Me. And He Himself, the Father Who sent Me, has witnessed to me. You have never seen His form or heard His voice; and you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe in Him Whom the Father has sent. You search the scriptures to find eternal life in them; and they bear witness to Me, yet you refuse to come to Me and thereby to gain eternal life. I do not receive glory from mortals; but I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me. If another person comes to you in his own name, you will receive him. How can you have godly faith, you who accept glory from one another and do not seek the true glory that comes from the only God? Don’t think that I accuse you to the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you truly believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you won’t accept and believe his writings, how will you believe My words?’