The TreeHouse Blog

Pray that we would live out the inner reality of our salvation.

We are no longer condemned. For millennia, the chains of the law cut deeply into you wrists, sin and death weighing down your mortal soul. The Law came to teach you how to follow God -- to show you His heart. But in Adam’s rebellion, you participated. The requirements of the Law were broken and through the generations mankind has been searching for an answer.

That answer came in God’s own Son. He closed the handcuffs of sin around His own wrists and took the burden of sinful flesh upon Himself. He lived the perfect life and broke the chains that held us down. Now, those who believe in Christ participate in that freedom. Before, we were incapable of pleasing God. Our sinful existence reeked, we were a stench in His nostrils. Every thought was bent toward sin, we were on the slippery slope toward sin. But now, we have been set free from our SIN! Our minds have been renewed, recreated to be free to serve God. We are characterized by life, not death. Our mortal bodies which were destined for death have been given the promise of life.

We know that Christ was the firstfruits, that in the same way His body was raised from the grave so our bodies will be given new life. We are not destined to eternal death, but are given the privilege of new life.

These are the benefits of our salvation. This is who we are, a new heart and a new mind. But we live in tension between who we were and who we are. We still have phantom attachments to the sinful nature, our mind has been changed, but it needs to establish new patterns of thinking.

Let’s rejoice over what God has done. Just meditate on it for awhile.

We discover another facet of the character of Jesus Christ in this story.  Jews and no associations with Samaria.  They hated them.  They were the half-bred race that intermarried with foreigners.  They had lost their distinction as God's people.  They had abandoned God and so the Jews abandoned them.  

But Jesus "had" to go through Samaria.  Most Jews circled all the way around.  (Imagine going to Target down 95th...and to get there you head all the way down to 111th on Western, and back up Kedzie so that you don't have to pass the evil Walmart.  Now multiply that by walking and going 20 miles out of your way to do it).  But Jesus had an appointment with a Samaritan. But it wasn't just a person of another race and culture.  It was a woman.  He crosses the line of gender here as well.  But it doesn't stop there.  This wasn't just a woman, this was a man slaying, gold-digging serial wife of 5 different husbands.  To a Jewish person, she was worse than the scum on your shoe.  They went all the way around to avoid precisely HER.  And here Jesus sits down.  He asks for a drink.  

When you get to the end of the story, you find this woman is FIRST human that Jesus has told he is the Messiah.  THE FIRST ONE!  A scum of the earth adulteress Samaritan, given that amazing privilege.  Does that tell you something about Jesus?  He doesn't care about your past.  He doesn't care about what sin you have done.  Like David says in Psalm 51, God desires a broken and contrite heart.  This woman was ready to receive her Messiah, moreso than the Jews to whom He was sent.  

Let me ask you -- how would you treat this woman?  Would you be like the Pharisee, circling around to avoid any contact with her sin soaked garments?  Would you whisper about her in the cafeteria, wondering how anyone could be SO BAD?  Would you berate her over her sinfulness?  Or would you, like Jesus, get down on our knees and offer her living water?  

What a beautiful thing to see the wrath and love of God intertwined.  He loves Israel, promising to protect them through every trial.  He shields them from fire and water, bringing them through the most dangerous circumstances.  As God says at the end, "Review the past for me."  Look back at how God has saved Israel, He regularly delivers them from certain death.  They were oppressed in Egypt, they were a new nation in hostile Canaan, they were surrounded by the Philistines, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans.  Yet no kingdom could wipe them out.  The Nazi's tried to exterminate them -- and through that horrible period God brought them through.  Now the Arab's want to push them into the Sea.  But God will protect them still.  He's a jealous lover, and will not abandon His people.

But look at the other side -- Israel's rebellion.  They constantly turn away from Him.  He sends them into exile and trouble BECAUSE of their sin, and then saves them when they turn.  His wrath is withheld from them, seeing their future repentance.  

That's our God.  He loves us like He loves Israel.  He'll protect us.  He'll discipline us.  And He's saved us from His wrath through His Son.  

Preface to the passage in front of us -- this is one of my favorite parts of the entire Bible.  Strange?  Yes -- but true.  My life verse is here. 

John the Baptizer is in a tempting situation, one which we all find ourselves at some point.  We have been given a calling, and we are working faithfully in our calling when we see over our picket fence someone else.  They are working at their calling as well, but God is "blessing" them far beyond anything He has done for us.  The pastor across town has twice the congregation as me.  The other teacher has students excelling way past my own.  The other guy in school is doing twice the work better and faster than I am.  The other soccer player is WAY better than I am.  I'm faithfully fulfilling the mission God has given me and yet someone else is getting all the fame for it.  

John's response floors me everytime.  He's had a HUGE ministry.  People from around the nation are coming to hear this man speak.  Lives are being changed, social justice is happening, this is a GOOD THING!   But then Jesus comes.  And each week, the crowd dwindles further, and further, until it is just a few disciples left.  All the people have run after the next big thing.  And surely John struggles with the question, am I doing something wrong?  Am I living a "Purpose Driven Life"?  He answers brilliantly.  "A man can only receive what he is given from heaven."  Translation:  God let me speak to big crowds for awhile, now it's just me and my pals.  It's all about Him anyways.  "The bridegroom's friends rejoice when they see the bridegroom"  Translation:  You never understood why I was here to begin with.  My job wasn't to speak to crowds, it was to wait for the Messiah and prepare that road. I have done my job and I will rejoice that no one follows me.  "He must become greater, I must become less."  Translation:  It's not about me, it's all about God.

I struggle to see that kind of humility in myself.  I admit, I like having a lot of people listening when I speak.  I like having that attention.  I have to constantly remind myself, IT IS NOT ABOUT ME!  I am here, working at the job I have to serve Christ and His Kingdom.  I preach His Gospel and let God worry about the rest.  It's all about Him.

How can you reflect John's attitude today?  How can you deflect praise from yourself to God, glorifying Him?

Read Isaiah 42 

We find another "Servant Song" in Isaiah 42.  Here's the question you're trying to answer -- who is the servant?  Is it Jesus, the Messiah?  Or is it the collective nation of Israel?  It's hard to answer...trust me.  But with some prayer and deep thought, I believe in you :).  

Verses 1-4 paint a curious picture.  We see the servant empowered by the Holy Spirit.  Much like Samson was in the book of Judges.  But the power of the Spirit led Samson to violent acts.  It led him to crush his enemies and exalt in "his own" strength.  The servant is different.  He won't even break a bruised reed.  He's gentle, kind and compassionate.  He's not going to wipe out the weak with his strength, but instead lift them up.  He will be the giver of justice -- the perfect king, strong and compassionate.  

So far it looks like this is Jesus!  Kind, compassionate, opening the eyes of the blind and releasing prisoners!  The picture bears a striking resemblance -- until verse 19.  "Who is blind but my servant?"  Jesus wasn't blind, physically or spiritually. How could he be  this blind servant/messenger?  But the nation of Israel wasn't exactly the embodiment of kindness and compassion either.  The picture being painted just doesn't seem to fit ANYONE!  Who could it be?  

Think about this -- when David sinned in 2 Samuel, the entire nation of Israel was punished for it.  When he prayed, the plague stopped.    Davidic kings stand in the place of the nation.  

Good work yesterday - I love to see the wheels in your heads turning :).  It's a difficult question, but I think Paul is just trying to say that death is required for a release from the Law.  He wasn't too concerned with WHO died, just that one of the sides dies.  So yea, we were bound to the Law and when we "died" in baptism, we were released from the obligation.  And just so you don't get confused, by "Law" I mean the Old Testament Law, not the US Constitution or our culture.  

Today, read Romans 7:7-25.  Sin, following its age old pattern, takes the beautiful thing that God created (Law of the Old Testament) and twists it, and uses it for evil.  It's not the LAW that is evil, its sin using the Law to bring condemnation.  This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture -- can you FEEL the anguish in Paul.  I want to do what is good, but then I don't do it!  Now some people have said this describes Paul's fight for purity BEFORE coming to Jesus (saying this kind of a struggle shouldn't be there for those with victory in Christ), but I disagree.  I think every Christian has had this struggle with sin.  You desperately want to live for Jesus, you want to do what is right, but it seems every time you turn around the phantom sin nature rises up and pulls you to evil.  

For the rest of your life, recognize that there will be a battle waging within you.  You have a new nature in your inner being -- the Holy Spirit.  Working together with you, the Spirit is fighting against the remnants of the sin nature that has been in you since...well, Adam and Eve.  It takes a LOOONG, hard fight to eradicate that nature.  So you can rejoice with Paul in verse 25, victory is in Jesus Christ our Lord!  

2 TImothy 4:8 -  "There is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award me on that day."  Our reward in heaven isn't a jewelled crown, it's not a mansion, it's RIGHTEOUSNESS.  For those of you struggling with me to live a pure life, you feel a HUGE sense of relief with this truth.  Finally, we will be righteous.  We won't have a spiritual war over our souls.  The battle will be over.  Righteousness will be given.  And we'll have eternity to rejoice with our Savior.

Short one today!  If you think the book of Romans has been complex up until this point, just wait.  It's getting dicey here real fast ;).  

The basic idea of this passage is that we are transferred from our obligation to the Law through our union in the death of Christ.  Dying to our sins, being entombed with Jesus, is of the utmost importance to our salvation.  Without death, we are still bound to the law, like a woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive.  

But we have a problem in Paul's argument here.  Who's the one who dies?  The husband or the wife?  As you extend the analogy to our own faith, who dies?  The "husband" (Law) or the "wife" (you and me)?  Did Paul screw up his argument?  

 Talk to me.  What is the point Paul is trying to make, and does the point still work if the person dying is changed?  

Let's rejoice in the fact that we can serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.  When God declared us righteous because of our faith in Jesus, we were united with Christ.  The working power of that union with the Holy Spirit, living within us to challenge us and move us forward in our "Christification" (becoming more and more like Him).  Our death opened up a new way of life for us.  

Throughout the rest of the book of Isaiah, we are going to come across several passages where God speaks to Israel, His servant.  It'll be fascinating to look at all of them, trust me.  This first one shows us the privileged position that Israel has in the sight of God.  He has called them from the corners of the earth.  He chose them.  He did not reject them despite all of their rebellion and wickedness.  Now think of that in light of what we watched on Sunday.  The God who made trillions of stars, breathing them out of his mouth, who holds the universe in the span of his hand...that God chose Israel specifically and continued to love them through their betrayal.  God is huge, and yet God is personal.  

It's such a contrast to the gods made out of wood and stone and silicon.  They need to be nailed down so that they won't fall over (I love the sarcasm).  They are weak, petty, useless.  Put that next to God, the star-breather.  Our manmade gods are insignificant.   We trust in them and they let us down, but God never fails.  

This second half of Isaiah I believe was written to the Jews in Jerusalem as Assyria was on the march (that is, before Isaiah 38-39).  It was written to comfort them and to show them that God would never abandon them.  As they followed they Lord, they could be sure that He would watch out for them.  These people watched the prophecy of God become a reality.  So why did it get included in the book of Isaiah, especially AFTER the written events of 38-39?  To show us that the intervening power of God is not limited to 730 B.C.  The intense love that YHWH has for His children is not reserved for that group of people, but expands to all who call upon His name.  Isaiah was written to the Jews in Jerusalem as Sennacherib was on his way to level Jerusalem, but they recognized the truth about God is timeless.  No matter what difficult situation run into, God will be there to see you through...more, God's servant will be there to deliver you.  

Keep up the hard work.  Your daily devotion to the Lord is worth it!

Day 44 is always the hardest day.  The day after the mountaintop experience, the day after you made your commitments to God, stepping out against the evil one and His schemes.  It's hard to wake up on Day 44.  It's hard to keep our commitments.  

I can tell you personally this is true!  I've been on a lot of retreats in my life, and I've been encouraged and challenged on every single one.  But it's always when I came home, when I went back to school, when I was put back into the familiar setting of friends and family that the change that seemed so necessary yesterday, seemed impossible today.  God's repeating theme through the Old Testament was REMEMBER!  Dont' forget what God has done.  Don't forget the commitments that you have made.  Follow through with the decisions you have made.  

There isn't a new challenge being started right now.  I'll be posting daily (here's my commitment :)).  I hope by now you've seen the value in daily reading the Word.  Keep that up.  Sacrifice your temporary ease and comfort for eternal reward.  

Love you guys.  Praying for you always.

Today we are heading off for Michigan!  Reflect on what God has taught you as you daily reflect upon His Word.  Get ready for God to move and change lives this weekend.