“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).

Most of America and, indeed, most of the world is in seclusion. Self-isolating and social distancing are phrases that were meaningless a few months ago, but are now heard everywhere. Today we cannot stand closer than 6’ from another human being, face masks are encouraged, and we are told to stay home unless there is a real need to be out and about. I never dreamed of a time like this.

I’m very happy staying home, but I have to admit that I’d rather have it be a choice. What about you? I’m sure everyone has activities they miss. School kids miss being around friends, sports fans miss their favorite sports teams fighting for the championship, young people are unable to date, and many more social activities are no longer available. This virus will pass and life will return to some sort of normalcy, but what lasting affect will it have?

Maybe we need to take a look at life before COVID-19 and see how our priorities were out of whack.

People are now forced to stay home. Many people, Christians included, have lost their jobs. With no sports activities, clubs, and slumber parties to shuffle the kids to, there’s a lot of time in a day to fill. With no other options, do you stay home and watch TV or play video games? For all of you who have said you don’t have time to study your Bible, you now have the time. Why is it so hard to pick up the Bible and start studying? Unfortunately, many Christians will opt to get hooked on a soap opera rather than open their Bible. Instead of instilling God’s word into your heart, do you listen to news report after report telling you one contradictory story about COVID-19 after another? Rather than that, it would be better to use this time to get to know Jesus better and examine your walk with Him.

Go ahead, search the Scriptures. Use this time for good.

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few” (Acts 17:11-12).

We can’t do anything to change what’s happening around us, but we can change our own thinking. Scripture is good for that. Draw closer to Jesus in this time of trouble.

Where do you start when studying Scripture? That depends upon where you are in your walk with Christ. Are you a babe in Christ? I don’t mean did you just come to know him recently. No matter how long you’ve claimed to follow Him, if you haven’t grown in your walk with Him, then you’re still a babe. Most Christians have a Bible but seldom open it, so they have no real knowledge of what they believe or what Scripture says about how we are to live. A good place to begin studying is always the Gospel of John. It’s not a race, so don’t rush through it. Stop and really think about what you’re reading. This Gospel opens with a very revealing statement:

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John1:1). Compare that verse to Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). So, logically, if the Word was in the beginning with God and was God, then the Word, Jesus Christ, is the Creator. John confirms that: “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3).

Yes, Jesus was the Word made flesh and Creator of all creation. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). 

Can you imagine what else you might learn as you read through John’s Gospel? Have a note pad and pencil with you as you read. Take notes and make comments. If a question comes to mind or something is unclear, write it down and research it. There are wonderful surprises in Scripture, and you won’t find them unless you study.

Another way to study is to choose a subject, such as God’s love, or the Rapture, or did Jesus ever claim to be God. Then, find Scriptures that talk about the particular subject. You would be wise to get a concordance and use it to find other verses where a word or phrase is used. Be sure to look at the context of each verse. It’s not a bad idea to also look up the Hebrew or Greek words to give you a deeper understanding. English translations are good for those of us who speak English, but unless you can understand the meaning in the original language, you miss a lot. For instance, the New Testament talks about love, but there are many Greek words that are translated “love” in Scripture. Each one has a different meaning. There’s the love of God, but there’s also the husband/wife love and brotherly love, etc. Love isn’t the only word like that.

Scripture is full of wonderful discoveries, and God gave us Scripture in order that we will come to know Him better and mold our life to His will.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

You might also begin a study of prophecy. Prophecy is being fulfilled rapidly, but many Christians argue about things like the Rapture, or whether Christians have replaced Israel. There are many opinions, but the only opinion that matters is God’s. God spoke through prophets of old about events of today.

“That ye be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:2-4). 

Scoffers only scoff because they haven’t studied Scripture and don’t have a clue as to what it says. Many say that the word Rapture isn’t in the Bible so it isn’t a valid belief. It’s true that the word isn’t found in Scripture, but no English word is found in the original language. We say “Rapture,” but the Greek word is “harpazo.” Paul spoke of the Rapture/harpazo many times.

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). 

The phrase “caught up” is translated from “harpazo,” which means to be “snatched out or away.” In this case, we will be caught up/snatched away before God’s wrath of the Tribulation. Not only that, but God gave a “picture” of the Rapture way back in Genesis. Enoch was Raptured prior to God’s judgment by the Flood, just like Christians will be Raptured prior to God’s judgment. When Paul first visited Thessalonica, he was there three weeks and taught them about Jesus, how to find salvation, and about the Rapture. Most Christians can sit in a pew every Sunday for many years and never hear of these things. That’s a sad comment on pastors.

As for Christians replacing Israel, that’s just wrong. God will never replace Israel with any people group. Many Old Testament prophets talk about Israel returning to their land and much more that we see happening today.

Another wonderful book in the Bible to study is Ruth. It’s a beautiful love story, but it also is filled with symbolism. Naomi was a Jewish widow who needed to redeem her land. She had a Gentile daughter-in-law, Ruth, who was also a widow, but loved Naomi and learned about God through Naomi. Then, there is Boaz, who was Naomi’s next of kin and eligible to redeem her land. He did that by marrying Ruth, a Gentile bride, just as Jesus, our Kinsman Redeemer, will marry His Gentile Bride and redeem all of Israel. It’s a wonderful book to read and study.

With so much time on your hands, now might be a good time to study about sin. What is sin? Where did it originate? When you study sin, you’ll begin to see things in your own life that you need to change.

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:3). 

Too often we can see the sin of others but then justify the sin in our own life because “everybody does it.” Instead of comparing your life to world standards, compare your life to God’s standards. Then, when we are allowed to venture out into society again, we can be better ambassadors for our Lord. People will see a change in us, and we can share the Gospel. Many Christians talk about how we need a revival, but they just don’t want to revive their own love for Christ.

Brothers and sisters, we are living in the end of days (study about that in Scripture). There should be nothing more important to us than serving Jesus and spreading the Gospel. Instead of stuffing your head full of the latest COVID-19 news story, stuff your heart, mind, and soul with Jesus. His love is eternal.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). 

When you’re trying to decide what to do with the extra time you have on your hands, try spending time with Jesus.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Ron and Nathele Graham’s previous commentaries archived at https://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html

All original scripture is “theopneustos”— God breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

 

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:11-12).

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

In a few short words, God tells us that He created everything. No evolution, no aliens leaving crumbs from a picnic. The word “created” comes from two Hebrew words, “bara’” and “’eth.” When used together, these words take all doubt away as to the fact that it was God who created, not an accident of evolution. It’s hard to wrap our human minds around the fact that at one time nothing existed but God. No sun, moon, or stars. No trees, flowers, or animals. Certainly, there were no people. Then God spoke.

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

The creation of light was just the first day. For five more days, God was busy speaking everything into existence. He separated light from darkness, then made the firmament, which He called Heaven, and divided the waters above it and below. That was the second day. On the third day, God gathered together the waters under Heaven, and dry land appeared. Then it was time to create life in the form of grass, herbs, and trees. The fourth day was when God created the sun, moon, and stars to be signs for seasons, days, and years. On the fifth day, He made the sea creatures and birds. The beauty of creation kept getting more and more spectacular. On the sixth day, He made the land animals. He made the cattle, the rabbits, the elephants, and everything that lives on land. Then He created man.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).

Creation was done; and on the seventh day, God rested. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31).

It must have been breathtaking. Verses in the New Testament tell us that it was Jesus, God the Son, who spoke everything into existence. Of course, this all happened prior to Adam’s sin. We only know the world as it is after Adam’s sin, so we miss much of the perfection of creation. That sin separated Adam and Eve from God, and every generation since then has suffered from that separation. There had to be reconciliation, and God had a plan.

How was that reconciliation to come about?

When Adam sinned, God taught him about blood sacrifice. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

Blood was shed from an animal, and its skin made coats for Adam and Eve. The skin covered the sinners, but the sin wasn’t taken away. Many years would pass before God’s plan was fulfilled. It would be revealed to people slowly, but the ultimate reconciliation would be perfect reconciliation.

First God called Abraham in order to separate a special group of people from others. Even though idol worship was everywhere, Abraham came away from that way of life and placed his trust in God Almighty. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and through many generations, people looked forward to the perfect fulfillment of God’s plan. Even Job looked forward to that perfect solution to sin.

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19:25-27).

Job looked forward to his salvation. Because of his faith he will surely see His redeemer in the latter day.

God had made it clear that animal blood was to be shed as a sacrifice for sin. It was a covering over the sin, not the perfect sin offering to take sin away. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

Seeing blood can turn a person’s stomach, but that is only a small picture of the stomach-turning ugliness of even the smallest sin. The blood of animals is just that, animal blood. It cannot bring salvation to humans, yet God doesn’t require human blood to be shed for any reason. How, then, did He plan to take sin completely away?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Jesus Christ is God, and He created everything. He entered His creation and was fully human and fully God. This is another concept that’s difficult to understand by human terms, but must be understood in order to grasp what God actually did. You see, in order to redeem us from our sin, the blood which was shed had to be human and untainted by sin. Mary was a young woman who was a virgin. She wasn’t a goddess or anything except a normal human. An angel appeared to her and said she would bear a child. Confused, Mary asked how that would be accomplished since she was a virgin.

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

In this way, the baby which was conceived would be fully human, because Mary was human, and fully God because the Father was God. Therefore, Jesus was able to shed His own blood, untainted by sin, to redeem humans because He was born to a human.

God’s plan to redeem mankind was for Him to be our Sacrificial Lamb. He was born in a manger in Bethlehem for that very purpose. He led a small band of men, who learned from Him and saw miracles. They documented what they saw, and we have their accounts in Scripture. They knew He was God incarnate, and they came to understand what that meant to humanity.

“For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:19-20).

The blood of the cross, the blood Jesus shed, brought reconciliation.

John the Baptist had proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God, but the full meaning of his statement wasn’t made clear until Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be crucified. He was beaten to a bloody pulp, then nails were driven into his hands and feet. His blood ran down, and His body was drained of human life. Only His love for you and me held Him there. The nails were man’s way of shedding blood, but it was within Jesus’ power to step down from that cross at any time. Love kept Him there. He was sinless but took upon Himself the sin of all humans. At that moment, for the first time ever, He felt separation from God the Father which is caused by sin. That separation brought anguish to Him. His cry echoes down through the ages.

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).

Can you feel His pain…feel His emptiness? Humans have always felt the separation from God. We are born with sin within us, and we’re somewhat numb to it. This was the first time that Jesus felt the separation. Then, it was over. The means of reconciliation was accomplished.

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).

His blood was shed, and the only means of reconciliation was accomplished. His body was removed from the cross and placed in a tomb. His friends’ grief was deep. All they had hoped for had died on the cross. Unbeknownst to them, God’s greater plan was accomplished. Redemption.

Before Jesus shed His blood for our redemption, the Jewish High Priest would sprinkle the blood of a sacrificed animal upon the Mercy Seat. That yearly ritual only foreshadowed what Christ accomplished for eternity.

“But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:7-10).

The Jewish priests were sinners just like anyone else. Nothing they did could take sin away. The same is true of priests today. From the pope to the lowliest priest, they are merely human and therefore sinners. Nothing they do can ever take your sin away. Only the blood of Jesus can make you clean.

“For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:13-14).

It wasn’t the blood of animals that Jesus sprinkled, but His own blood. It wasn’t a tabernacle on earth where He sprinkled it, but the true tabernacle in Heaven. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24).

We are only fully reconciled to God by the blood of Jesus.

God did all He could. He entered His creation and shed His own blood for our redemption. His free gift of eternal life is offered, but if you don’t accept it, then you choose eternal death. Every person has to make the decision for themselves. Many people believe that infant baptism brings salvation. If they were baptized as a baby but never make the confession of faith for themselves, they haven’t accepted God’s gift for themselves. Baptism doesn’t bring salvation; only individual faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ will bring eternal life. Baptism is obedience.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).

A baby cannot confess with his mouth, nor can he believe in his heart. If you’ve never made that confession for yourself, do it now.

You may celebrate Easter by hunting eggs and eating chocolate bunnies, but that isn’t why Christ died. He didn’t stay in the grave, but arose on the third day.

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). 

Rather than celebrating Easter, celebrate the Living Christ. Celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Ron and Nathele Graham’s previous commentaries archived at https://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html

All original scripture is “theopneustos” – God breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.