At the beach

In Matthew 26:57 the Bible says, “Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, …”

Here we are reading about JESUS and CAIAPHAS.

A question: “What is the meaning of this verse, when it comes to our SALVATION?”

Jesus is a high priest and Caiaphas is also a high priest. Both of them are representatives of a covenant and here they are facing each other.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Caiaphas is representing the Old Covenant (Sinai).

The Lord Jesus Christ is representing the New Covenant (Grace).

Think Old Covenant, when Caiaphas is mentioned from now on and New Covenant, when the Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned.

FIRSTLY

The Bible says that Caiaphas wore beautiful garments. He governed from his palace.

And the Lord Jesus Christ? He was very low, in chains and he was poor.

SECONDLY

Caiaphas was a sinner himself, and before he could bring an offering for others, he had to bring an offering for himself.

The Lord Jesus did not need to do that. He was without sin.

THIRDLY

Caiaphas had to bring offerings again  and again. His offerings were only good for a certain time.

Not so the Lord Jesus Christ; his offering is valid forever. He offered himself.

The Lord Jesus Christ is high priest and sacrifice. Everything is complete.

No more priests and offerings are necessary.

The Lord Jesus Christ reconciled us with God and we must only receive his reconciliation by faith.

That they can powerlift people onto the property ladder, advertises a law firm. (Northern News, October 14, 2015)

The ad begins with the question: “Want to live the Kiwi dream?”

Ready to trim the bushes

The Lord Jesus Christ lifted me onto the property ladder more than ten years ago when I retired without having to borrow money. I have so much to thank the Lord for, and I hope that I never take things for granted.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart,” is the promise of the Lord in Psalm 37:4.

“But Zion said, “‘The LORD has forgotten me.'” You find that in the Bible in Isaiah 49:14.

OUR FORGETFULNESS.

We are on our journey, we left home about half an hour ago, and we are wondering what we have forgotten to take with us this time. I don’t want to bother you with all the things we have forgotten on past journeys.

Forgetting umbrellas and toothbrushes is easily remedied, but there is a forgetfulness with eternal consequences.

That’s why Isaiah says in Isaiah 17:10, “You have forgotten God your Saviour.”

And Jeremiah cries full of pain in  Jeremiah 2:32, “Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.”

The Apostle Paul writes, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from  the dead, descended from David.” ( Second Timothy 2:8 )

And the Bible continues, “Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not his benefits.” ( Psalm 103:2 )

BUT HERE IN OUR TEXT WE READ ABOUT THE FORGETFULNESS OF GOD.

Can God forget something? Yes, the Bible says that God can forget.

God can forget the sins, the sins that are covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Micah 7:19 says, “You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depth of the sea.”

And God is going to forget the lost. We can get so lost, that the Lord is not thinking about us any longer.

Psalm 1:4 “Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” That is hell.

Everything else the Lord cannot forget.

So Israel was wrong in saying, “The LORD has forgotten me.” Psalm 115:12 says, “The LORD remembers us and will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel, …”

Seen not long ago on a numberplate:

“OLD AND NASTY”

THE CROSS

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land,

Numbers 33:55

Intr.:

those you allow to remain

A.  will become barbs in your eyes and

B.  thorns in your sides.

C.  They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.

End:

And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.”

“If you have success, give the glory to God. But if you feel you have failed, don’t give up!”

That is written on the placard displayed in our spare room as a reminder. It is beautifully done by my father in law. I heard the advice for the first time  when a principal of a Bible college spoke to his graduates.

“If you have success …”

And it was only yesterday that I was reminded again of those words.

I was out in town trying to take a picture of a certain street sign. While taking the picture difficulties presented itself and I gave up thinking nothing good is coming out of this undertaking.

But when arriving at home and looking at the images I was really surprised that two images were so to speak to my satisfaction and I used one for my purposes.

Now I am glad that I looked at the images before deleting them and I thank the Lord for helping  me under difficult circumstances.