From: dlampel@dlampel.com Date: Thu, 5 Oct 1995 14:35:39 -0400 To: gsb1@cornell.edu (Gary S Bogart) Subject: Aspects #12 (complete) A S P E C T S - a monthly devotional journal For subscription information on receiving Aspects every month via e-mail, or the laser-printed edition by mail, see NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION near the end of this file. Aspects is written by David S. Lampel. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #12, November 1991 (Internet Edition) " . . . H O W D O W E K N O W T H E W A Y ? " ----------------------------------------------------------------- In this issue: Perspective 1 - I Am Perspective 2 - The Way Perspective 3 - The Truth Perspective 4 - The Life ----------------------------------------------------------------- Once again the disciples were thoroughly befuddled.(1) Jesus had just told them that He was about to leave to do some advance work on their behalf, and while they could not go with Him, they could follow shortly thereafter since they already knew the way. Now we know the twelve to be a mostly pedestrian lot. Yes, there was the scheming Judas Iscariot, but he had just moments before been removed from the assembly. There was also the tax-collector, Matthew, whom we could assume to be in possession of well-exercised gray matter, but financial genius is not always applicable to Spiritual matters. Mostly the disciples were pragmatic souls who took events and statements at face value. This had been a night of curious happenings. Jesus had just humbled Himself to bathe their filthy feet; Peter had protested and the Master's reply had left them mystified. Then Jesus had announced the presence of a turncoat--and suddenly those of the assemblage began casting suspicious glances toward the others, each one wondering if He was possibly referring to him. Even when the guilty party had been singled out and dismissed, none of the remaining were sure just what had transpired or why. Then Jesus had made the announcement about His leaving. They had been together for so long, they couldn't imagine their Master leaving without them. Peter, again, stoutly proclaimed that he would not only be packing his bags to follow, but would gladly go to any length for Jesus--even offer his own life for His. And again Jesus had mystified them with His prescience: "You think you will give your life for mine? Think again. Tonight you will deny even knowing me." Then it was Thomas' turn--Thomas, the disciple from Missouri. "Lord, you say we know the way, but you haven't even clued us in on where you're going. Maybe you know the future, but we're just regular folk. If you can't tell us where you're going, at least point us in the right direction." The Lord Jesus had spent three years patiently showing them the direction, but the disciples--like us--insisted on making things more difficult than they really were. With pure, crystalline clarity, Jesus answered: "I am the way, the truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 1: I A M ------------- We come, O Christ, to You, true Son of God and man, By Whom all things consist, in Whom all life began: In You alone we live and move, and have our being in Your love.(2) ___________________________ For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another. "Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together. Isaiah 48:11-13 They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied, "You are right in saying I am." Luke 22:70 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Rev. 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Rev. 22:13 ___________________________ Of the Father's love begotten, Ere the worlds began to be, He is Alpha and Omega, He the Source, the Ending He, Of the things that are, that have been And that future years shall see, Evermore and evermore!(3) ___________________________ If we could move through time, to travel through the echoes of things that have already taken place, Jesus would be there; to visit the ancients, to shake hands with Khafre and Homer and Anthony, Jesus would be there. If we could, likewise, travel forward through time, through moments and dreams that have yet to transpire, Jesus would be there. So why do we search for Him here, when his stride spans eternity on either side? Where is Jesus? He is always, and forever, now. "Alpha and Omega are words for the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Their meaning is explicit in the amplification Jesus Himself gives in REV 22:13: 'The beginning and the end, the first and the last.' The alphabet represents absolute wholeness, completeness. It is an inexhaustible resource for all to tap. The same 26 letters used by Shakespeare to write immortal lines have been used by lovers to express their feelings, by judges to pass sentences, by Presidents to issue proclamations, by a parent to guide a child. Jesus Christ as our Alpha and Omega is our resource and inspiration for the whole realm of life and communication." (Gariepy) "'And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM [or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE]: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.' (GEN 3:14 KJV) There is a depth here which no finite mind can fathom. 'I am that I am' announced that the great God is self-existent, beside whom there is none else. Without beginning, without ending, 'from everlasting to everlasting' He is God. None but He can say 'I am that I am'--always the same, eternally changeless. The apostle Paul could say 'By the grace of God I am what I am'--what grace has made me, but he could not say 'I am that I am.'" (Pink)(4) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 2: T H E W A Y ------------- You are the Way to God, Your blood our ransom paid; In You we face our Judge and Maker unafraid. Before the throne absolved we stand, Your love has met Your law's demand. ___________________________ But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:63-64 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 And, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:9-10 No condemnation now I dread: Jesus, and all in Him, is mine! Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine, Bold I approach th'eternal throne, and claim the crown, thru Christ my own. Amazing love! how can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!(5) ___________________________ "We are told that in stormy weather it is not unusual for small birds to be blown out of sight of land on to the sea. They are often seen by voyagers out of their reckoning and far from the coast, hovering over the masts on weary wings as if they wanted to alight and rest themselves, but fearing to do so. A traveler tells us that on one occasion, a little lark, which followed the ship for a considerable distance, was at last compelled through sheer weariness to alight. He was so worn out as to be easily caught. The warmth of the hand was so agreeable to him that he sat down on it, burying his little cold feet in his feathers and looking about with his bright eye not in the least afraid, and as if feeling assured that he had been cast among good kind people whom he could trust. "It makes a touching picture of the soul who is aroused by the Spirit of God and blown out of its own reckoning by the winds of conviction, and the warm reception of the weary little bird received at the hands of the passengers conveys but a faint idea of that welcome which will greet the worn-out, sin-sick souls who will commit themselves into the hands of the only Savior." (Spurgeon) "'Reconciliation' in the New Testament sense is not something which we accomplish when we lay aside our enmity to God; it is something which God accomplished when in the death of Christ he put away everything that on his side meant estrangement." (Denney) "Christ discharged the debt of sin. He bore our sins and purged them. He did not make a token payment which God accepts in place of the whole. Our debts are not cancelled; they are liquidated." (Murray)(6) ___________________________ "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." MAT 11:28-30 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 3: T H E T R U T H ------------- You are the living Truth! All wisdom dwells in You, The Source of every skill, the One Eternal true! O great I AM! In You we rest, sure answer to our every quest. ___________________________ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:14,17 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory. Ephes. 1:13-14 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-- the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. Col. 1:3-6 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time. 1 Tim. 2:3-6 ___________________________ We surely live in times in which there is a short supply of the truth. Watch and read the daily news reports: As if reciting a requisite chant, the luminaries of the day drone their innocence--then later, just as predictably, bow their heads in humble confession to a forgiving (and short-memoried) public. Pete Rose, Leona Helmsley, Marion Berry, Jimmy Swaggart--they've all run through the exercise. Indeed, our society seems to be firmly planted upon the rather shaky foundation of deceit. Why is it so many people readily accept a lie before the truth? Almost as if they want to be fooled. Our media and advertising are replete with falsehoods and misrepresentations that have become bland in their ubiquitousness; our courts are filled with those caught with the gun still smoking in their hand who blithely claim their innocence. In point of fact, the system itself seems to be designed around this deceit, where jurisprudence virtually demands a claim of innocence regardless the crime. The impoverished adamantly remain on welfare because more money can be made by not working, and politicians know that honesty and candor will surely result in someone else being elected to take their place. The worst liar is the Father of Lies. Satan plies us daily with tempting alternatives to the One Truth; he bends over backward, going to exorbitant lengths to cajole us away from the quiet, steady truth of Jesus. His life, the perfect example of Jesus' life, is the only correct (and rewarding) way down the road. He is the way down that road; any direction chosen that diverts from His will lead to frustration, disappointment--at best a waste of time, at worst destruction. His way is the only truth. ___________________________ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. JOH 17:14-17 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 4: T H E L I F E ------------- You only are true Life, to know You is to live The more abundant life that earth can never give: O risen Lord! We live in You, in us each day Your life renew! ___________________________ In him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 1:4 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. John 5:24-26 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. Acts 17:25 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Rev. 1:18 JOH 3:36 JOH 11:25 JOH 20:30-31 ROM 5:17-21 ROM 6:22-23 JAM 1:12 1JO 5:11-12 REV 3:5 ___________________________ Worship Christ the Risen King Rise, O church, and lift your voices, Christ has conquered death and hell. Sing as all the earth rejoices; resurrection anthems swell. Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the Risen King! We acclaim Your life, O Jesus, now we sing Your victory; Sin or hell may seek to seize us but your conquest keeps us free. Stand in triumph, stand in triumph, worship Christ, the Risen King!(7) ___________________________ "The effects of faith are immediate, and the poor present may be enriched and clothed in celestial light for each of us, if we will. For Jesus does not point first to the mysteries of the resurrection of the dead, and the tremendous solemnities of the final judgement, but to what we may each enter upon at any moment. The believing man 'hath eternal life,' and 'cometh not into judgement.' That life is not reserved to be entered on in the blessed future, but is a present possession. True, it will blossom into unexampled nobleness when it is transported into its native country, like some exotic in our colder climates if it were carried back to the tropics. But it is a present possession, and heaven is not different in kind from the Christian life on earth, but differs mainly in degree and in circumstances." (MacLaren, on John 5:24-25) "God being a God of infinite goodness must by the necessity of His nature will for each of His creatures the fullest measure of happiness consistent with its capacities and with the happiness of all other creatures. Furthermore, being omniscient and omnipotent, God has the wisdom and power to achieve whatever He wills. The redemption which He wrought for us through the incarnation, death and resurrection of His only-begotten Son guarantees eternal blessedness to all who through faith become beneficiaries of that redemption. "The true Christian may safely look forward to a future state that is as happy as perfect love wills it to be. Since love cannot desire for its object anything less than the fullest possible measure of enjoyment for the longest possible time, it is virtually beyond our power to conceive of a future as consistently delightful as that which Christ is preparing for us. And who is to say what is possible with God?" (Tozer)(8) ___________________________ We worship You, Lord Christ, our Savior and our King, To You our youth and strength adoringly we bring: So fill our hearts, that all may view Your life in us, and turn to You! Amen. ======================================================================== NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Notes ----- 1. John 13:1-14:6--key verse is 14:6. 2. We Come, O Christ, to You, Margaret Clarkson, Hymn #117 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (WORD, 1986). This hymn will be our guide this month; each week's page will begin with a stanza, with the final (5th) stanza being a coda at the bottom of page 5. This hymn is to be sung to the tune DARWALL, which is used for the more familiar Rejoice, the Lord is King. 3. Of the Father's Love Begotten, Aurelius C. Prudentius (4th Century), Hymn #118, Ibid. 4. Henry Gariepy, from his book 100 Portraits of Christ (Victor Books, 1987), p.20; Arthur W. Pink, from his book Gleanings in Exodus (Moody Press, 1981), p.29. 5. And Can it Be? (__________.4), Charles Wesley, Hymn #203 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (WORD, 1986). 6. Charles H. Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon (Shaw, 1990), p.101; James Denney in More Gathered Gold (Evangelical Press, 1988), p.16; John Murray, Ibid. 7. Jack W. Hayford, Hymn #225 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (WORD, 1986). 8. Alexander MacLaren, in his Expositions of Holy Scripture (Baker, 1984), Vol.10, p.249; A.W. Tozer in his book Born After Midnight (Christian Publications, 1959), p.135,138. Copyright Information --------------------- All original material in Aspects is Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel. This data file is the sole property of David S. Lampel. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel."). This data file may not be used without the permission of David S. Lampel for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content. Brief quotations not to exceed more than 500 words may be used, with the appropriate copyright notice, to enhance or supplement personal or church devotions, newsletters, journals, or spoken messages. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the New International Version. NIV quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission. NASB quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Subscription Information ------------------------ Aspects is published monthly. There are two preferred methods of receiving it on a regular basis: 1) You may subscribe to the laser-printed (hard copy) edition, which is sent out via regular mail. This edition is different from this file you are reading in the following ways: - a "typeset" look, with italics, larger titles and headings, etc. - Scripture text and quotations are more obviously set apart - lines printed for your notes after each question - arrives pre-punched for a 3-ring binder - generally looks better 2) You may subscribe to the e-mail edition, which will be "mailed" to you directly each month. This edition will be formatted just like this file you are now reading--which still contains all the text of the printed edition. There is no charge for either option. 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Endnote reference numbers are enclosed in parentheses (); quotations are enclosed by quotation marks " ", and are further set apart from original text by indentation and the presence of a following endnote reference; Scripture references are indented, and either cite the reference or are accompanied by a following endnote reference. If you would prefer reading Aspects in its more native, printed form, we would encourage you to subscribe to the edition that is mailed out every month. ---------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/aspects: asp-012.txt