The Sword of the LORD

"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.  And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself.  After that He poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded." (John 13:1-5).   This act of our Lord's was meant to be much more than merely an example of humility for His disciples.  Jesus was not just proving to them that He wasn't afraid to get His hands dirty.  No, this was something far beyond that.  There was a more elemental lesson that the Lord needed to...

In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul expresses an important principle about acceptance.  He tells us, " He [God] hath made us accepted in the Beloved [Jesus] ." (Ephesians 1:6).   We all crave acceptance in our lives.  We want to be accepted by our parents, our boss, our co-workers, our friends, our classmates, our fellow church members, our spouses, or the world in general.  The approval that we seek, however, is all based on our own efforts and accomplishments; and the measure that we use is someone else's expectation of us, and not God's.  Instead of allowing ourselves to be transformed into the image of our Lord and Savior, we become conformed to what others (or the world in general) thinks we should be, and it is all based on our own merits and not Christ’s.  There are also those who, no matter how hard one tries, can never be pleased.   Later on in his letter, Paul makes a distinction between being men-pleasers and doing the ...

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his ." (Hebrews 4:9, 10 NKJV).    It is very rewarding, after spending hours mowing and trimming the grass, edging around the walkways, and mulching the flower beds, to sit down with a cold drink in hand and rest from one's labors.   It is good also, after feeling the stress and activity of one's job all year long, to just get away on vacation and relax for a time.   Such times of rest are all the sweeter to us because we feel that we have earned them by our labors.   God’s view of rest is not the same as our view of rest, however.   God has a different rest that He has promised to His people.   In the Old Testament (under the old covenant), God commanded the Israelites to cease from all their work and rest every seventh day of the week.   "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LOR...