He is Alive!

Posted on by kevinjandt

Hes Alive

And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them.  “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”  And they remembered His words. – Luke 24:4-8

This past weekend I had a business trip and had the opportunity to have dinner with some friends that I hadn’t seen in a while.  It was a very enjoyable time, and the food was great.  One of my friends was interested in our recent trip to Israel.  So I spent some time going through a few pictures and talking about the trip.

He asked an excellent question to begin the conversation, wondering if this had deepened my faith.  One of the things about walking where Jesus walked is just that.  If you “believe”, and I mean really believe it can’t help but deepen your faith.

I told my friend that “belief” and faith are a gift of God, and I can attempt to prove things to people but without the gift it’s an intellectual belief and not an awakening of the heart belief that distinguishes the true believer from the false believer.  As James writes, even the demons believe…  (James 2:19)  So if we see that the demons believe, we must realize there is a different kind of belief.

This is the difference between life altering beliefs, and just “oh yes, of course I believe in god”.  The gift of God that comes through understanding His revealed will to mankind through His word.  Living and desiring obedience in all areas of your life.

I’ve been continually reminded, especially recently, of the way the human heart can deceive.  There is such a razor thin line between what most people will believe as obedience, and what God looks on as obedience.  This is the thin line between eternity in heaven or hell.  God is deadly serious about our obedience, not that it can save you, but it is the proof of your salvation.

As our conversation progressed through the evening my friend asked me an almost startling question.  It surprised me because I hadn’t even considered it.  He said to me, “where do you think Jesus’ bones are today?”  And then he told me about a National Geographic program that they thought they had discovered the bones of Christ.

Uhhh….  Wow, I really hadn’t considered that.

I told my friend that my worldview, doesn’t allow for that.   If I believe the Bible, which I do, the Bible tells us Christ is alive, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He was crucified, and raised from the dead.  If we don’t have this, then we don’t have Christianity.  It’s just another dead faith like Buddhism, Islam or hundreds of other false religions.  They have no hope in anything other than their own righteous acts.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.  After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.  After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.  Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 

This is crystal clear!  We have eyes witness accounts that saw Christ crucified, Old Testament Scripture prophesied that He would die, prophesied that He would rise again and then we have over five hundred eye witness accounts of Him alive.   I have no opportunity in my life to believe anything other than this.  This is the truth and the cutting of God’s word.

If I disbelieve anything in the Bible, I disbelieve it all.  I can’t have it any other way.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

I hope in the substance of God’s word, and there is evidence of things that I personally have not seen, but it’s not a blind and ridiculous faith.  It’s not a faith that requires me to do things to obtain favor with God and earn my salvation.  It’s faith that by God’s good pleasure, He chose to save me, yet I must believe and I’m responsible not to suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).

All around us today are people that have some sort of an intellectual understanding and a surface level belief in a god, yet don’t know the One True God of the Bible in an intimate way.  This God must be believed to inherit eternal life, or the price of disobedience and disbelief will be eternal separation from Him and anything good.  A place of torment, where the God that poured out His wrath on His Son to pay for sin, will in turn be poured out on those in disbelief.

That’s what the Bible teaches and we can choose to ignore, disbelieve or whatever form of denial we might want to employ, but it doesn’t change that reality.  Why?

Because He is Alive!

Romans 8:34 Who is he who condemns?  It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 

If this is news to you please consider what the Bible has to teach us about God, if you are a believer He is there with the Father making intercession for you and me.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Kevin

Holy Land – Jerusalem

Posted on by kevinjandt

We spent the final three days of our Israel journey in the city of Jerusalem which means “City of Peace”, and as we consider the tremendous turmoil and fighting that has taken place in this area I really have to consider what it means to have peace.  True peace can only occur when we are in right relationship with God, not peace in the terms that so many think (Matthew 10:34-39).  There will be peace someday, but that will only occur once Jesus returns.

Jerusalem sits atop a mountain, and in the Old Testament it is said to be the place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:2), we know this to be accurate as we look at 2 Chronicles 3:1 and we see Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.  This really gives context to our reading when Jesus tells His disciples they are going “up” to Jerusalem when they are actually north of Jerusalem in the region of Judea after having come out of Galilee (Matthew 19:1).  In our modern vernacular we generally refer to up and down by the direction of north or south.

Matthew 20:17-19 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify, And the third day He will rise again.”

imageJerusalem is an incredibly busy and thriving city.  It is a mix of Jewish, Muslim, Christian and pagan all living together in a hodge podge of interesting interaction.  You would never know this by the news accounts.  As we traveled from one section to another the contrast is stark.  It’s pretty easy to identify the Muslim neighborhoods.  To put it plainly they are trashy.  They do not believe or care about keeping their neighborhoods clean.  There is trash everywhere you look.  I’m not saying this to be critical, even though the Jewish neighborhoods might be cleaner; they are both worshipping a false god, but to our minds we somehow want to equate external cleanliness with internal cleanliness.  We know the Lord didn’t see it that way.

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.”

There is so much to say about Jerusalem and all of the false worship that occurs in this city, and as the Jewish people rejected Christ as the Messiah they became idolaters.

Where Jesus laid
Where Jesus laid

Jesus’ words are so incredibly true and clear, when He said the road was narrow and that very few will find life, He meant it (Matthew 7:13-14)  It’s overwhelming to me to see so many have missed the Savior and have invented a religion that attempts to gain favor with God by their own hands.

I was humbled to be able to pray where Jesus prayed as He knew what was before Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then to stand on the stones where the Roman guards cast lots for His clothing and see the road He would have bled.  That precious blood that has washed away my sin is almost too much for me to consider.  As Pastor’s Tim, Mike and Voddie prayed in that location there was not a dry eye as we considered the horrible price He paid to redeem His people.  Then as we had an opportunity to see Golgotha and the spot He was crucified and the Garden Tomb where He laid, what else can I possibly say?  His plan is perfect and we must submit to this God, the One True God.  Satan can distract us so easily with shiny things and with religious systems that are really close to the truth, but are not the complete truth.

Golgotha
Golgotha

It was an amazing experience to see the Bible come to life and to see the incredible accuracy which the writers of the Scriptures have written.  These were not simplistic and less sophisticated people, as so many want you to believe, but inspired men of God that wrote as the Holy Spirit inspired them (2 Peter 1:19-21).

I walk away from Israel with a desire to share the news of the One that came to earth and humbled Himself to His Father’s plan.  I must share the Good News, because it’s “news” and it’s “good”.  I must tell people that their sin separates them from a Holy God and that separation produces death, but God has provided a way for those that will place their trust in Him.

That is the Gospel.  And that is what I learned in Israel.

Kevin

Time well spent…

Posted on by kevinjandt

Kevin & Grace SF 2

This past week I traveled with my oldest daughter Grace on a business trip to San Francisco.  This provided many opportunities for her to understand the world on a much broader sense than she typically experiences.  I’m very thankful for this, as home educators we are often accused of wanting to protect and keep our kids in a bubble.  I certainly want to protect them, but I think allowing them not to see the sinfulness of the world would be a mistake and one of the biggest advantages to home-schooling is the opportunity for our kids to travel.

Certainly San Francisco provides many favorable circumstances to see man’s sinfulness on full display.  The sheer number of people is overwhelming for one.  When you spend time in a bigger city it challenges the mind with the incredible amount of activity; the noises, the traffic, the chaos and cacophony of different things swirling around you.

I had several things in mind as we prepared for our trip and one of them was to allow Grace to help us navigate the airports.  I remember the first time I flew on my own and how intimidating an airport can be.  We discussed lots of different ideas during this trip and having a focus on being attentive to her surroundings and getting a feel for human behavior were also key ideas that I wanted to help her understand.

Can she identify what different types of people she will encounter and are they a serious threat or not.  As we spent the majority of our time in the Fisherman’s Wharf area, this is bustling with activity, mostly tourists, but lots of people that make their living there in various different ways, including the lifestyle of living on the street.  What an eye-opening experience as Grace saw how sin leads to a life of rebellion and lack of a desire to belong in the norm of culture.  It’s a sub-culture all its own and I’m convinced many of them want it that way.   But let’s not think they are any worse or we are any better.  Without Christ we are all the worst of sinners and held captive to our own desires.

We experienced men digging through and eating from garbage cans, and a man urinating in public in the broad daylight tucked behind a small building.   These are some of the raw things we will not forget.  The other wonderful memories we formed together were seeing God’s beautiful creation.  The Bay Area is stunning in its natural beauty and as we looked over the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay from a high perch above its incredible to think how God spoke and it was so.

Deuteronomy 6 tells me as I father I’m to teach Grace and my other children diligently the law of God as we live life together.  There is not to be a time when we put God on the backburner and focus on more important things.  He is the focus.  He is the one that I need to constantly be showing and reminding my children that we are here to bring Him glory.  Just as the gigantic redwoods glorify and show His wisdom, we must also give glory to the Creator.

Grace Redwoods

My most satisfying moment on our trip came Saturday evening as we went to dinner.  We entered a restaurant that I’ve frequented often and two people from the event staff were already seated.  They invited us to join them and we had a nice conversation about various subjects.  As the food arrived I announced I’d like to pray and ask the Lord’s blessing on this meal.

This prayer opened a door for us to discuss the purpose of home-schooling from a Christian Worldview and not simply that we think it’s a better education.  I was able to discuss how Grace is learning about life and by spending time with her father she is learning wisdom as Proverbs 13:20 tells us.  Grace did a wonderful job of allowing her father to speak, but also interjecting at appropriate times.  She was able to beautifully articulate her education and engage two adults in a real conversation.  She was engaged with them and not an electronic device as I looked around to see most of the adults conversing with their I-Phones and not the ones across the table from them.

I told her that night that I was very pleased with the way she handled herself and this is the way we can show the world Christ.  Yes, we must speak and proclaim the good news but also the world will see a difference in our behavior and realize this is just not normal.

Monday morning the Lord opened a door for me to share my faith and really talk to a man I’ve known for quite a while.  He was very honest in his lack of belief.  As I told him that belief is a gift of God, but in no wise will this let him off the hook as he stands before God should he breathes his last breath.  He and he alone will be accountable for his sin.  I explained to him that he doesn’t believe because he likes his sin as we all did before God grants us repentance and I think he related to that on a certain level.

As I look back on these past days it will be a memory Grace and I will share as long as we live.  It will be a time that I will cherish as her father.    As she is growing so quickly into a woman I pray she will see how much her dad loves her and cares for her.  But most importantly she will know how much her Heavenly Father loves and cares for her.

 

Kevin

The paralytic

Posted on by kevinjandt

Mark 2:1-11 describes a very interesting scene.  Jesus had become well known through His ministry and the crowds have quickly become very large, almost a mob scene.  People are being healed and Jesus is doing some pretty crazy stuff so of course people want to know what it’s all about.  It’s natural they would be curious.  They are looking for something to happen, maybe they want to see a miracle, maybe they want to be healed, or maybe they want to be fed like in John Chapter 6.

Mark 2:4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

I find this fascinating and wanted to offer a couple observations about this passage.

The most obvious is this man’s friends cared enough for him that they would go to this much trouble to bring him to Jesus.  They wanted him to be healed.  They were willing to go to extreme measures for their friend.  When Jesus saw what they had done he pronounced the paralytic’s sins were forgiven because of “their” faith.

John MacArthur commenting on this

Jesus knew what he really wanted. He wanted healing, sure. But far more than that, he wanted forgiveness. The other guys didn’t seem to care about that, but then again maybe they hadn’t really come to grips with their sin because they were able bodied. The sinner who is paralyzed may have a different view about his own wretchedness and may see that paralysis as a judgment. Certainly they did in that culture. They just connected those and so did the people who were ill. But whatever the motivation, or whatever the stimulation, the man knew himself to be wretched on the inside, as much as wretched on the outside, and He wanted not just a healing, but he wanted forgiveness and he believed that this was the one who could bring him forgiveness from God.


And so, Jesus on this moment on the basis of His own personal authority, absolved the man of all his sins. Listen carefully, “Apart from works, “ right? He didn’t do any works and He obliterated the guilt and this man went from being sentenced to eternal hell to being given the privilege of eternal heaven. The man’s heart must have been like the Publican in Luke 18 who said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” That man went home righteousness, Jesus said.

What is faith?  The word used here is “pis’-tis” moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: – assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

But you say the verse says the men also had faith, why weren’t they saved, look at the work they did to bring their friend to see the Christ?  Jesus only pronounced the paralytic’s sins were forgiven.  This is a big question.  Many go to see Jesus when He’s performing.  Lots of people attend churches and they seem to have faith but what kind of faith do they have?  Is it faith that brings them to repentance and forgiveness of their sins?

John MacArthur sheds light on this once again

Now they all had faith. They all had faith that Jesus could heal. How could they have that faith? Was this some…some supernatural kind of faith? No…no, they believed He could heal…why? Because He had been doing it. This is natural faith. This is human faith, the same faith that allows you to go into the hospital and have surgery. Why do you do that? Why do you let somebody put you asleep? And then they wheel you into a room and somebody slices you open and messes around…why do you do that? You don’t know the guy, you don’t know how he treats his wife, his kids, his friends, his enemies. Well what do you think he’s going to do to you? Why do you do that?

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith (pis’-tis), and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.

This was God’s gift through no effort of his own.  He was able to see his sin and his helpless condition.  That is saving faith.  Let’s also contrast a couple other notable passages about faith or belief.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes (pisteuō) in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

This uses the verb form of the word as does James 2:19

James 2:17-20 Thus also faith by itself,  if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe (pisteuō) that there is one God.  You do well.  Even the demons believe (pisteuō) and tremble!  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Just as the friends of the paralytic did not have saving faith we can see from the James passage that demons believe and don’t have saving faith.  The question is do you have saving faith or some other type of faith, do you have some intellectual knowledge of god or do you “believe”?

Heavenly Father may You grant faith to those that understand their wretchedness and helpless condition today.  May you open eyes to see that we can only be saved by You and the faith You give us will produce good works.  Works do not produce faith and I humbly ask that you might show someone this today for the very first time, for Your glory Father.  Amen.

Kevin

My Purpose

Posted on by kevinjandt

What does it mean to live your life on purpose?  To have a purpose creates hope and desire.  Have you ever thought on a deeper level about your purpose?  You see lots of purpose that is misdirected; the desire to fit in, the desire for things of the world, everyone needs a purpose or they become hopeless.  True hope is built only on the foundation of Christ and His finished work on the cross.

Here is my purpose statement.

To love the Lord with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with all my mind

Deuteronomy 6:5 / Matthew 22:37

To lead my wife and family and to be the man God wants me to be

Ephesians 5:25-28 / Titus 2:1 / Deuteronomy 6:6-9 / Ephesians 6:4

To be obedient to the word of God in my daily life

John 14:15 / 1 Corinthians 7:19

Love and serve the body of Christ

John 13:35 / Galatians 6:10

Be an ambassador for Christ, spreading the good news of salvation and calling the lost to repentance

2 Timothy 4:2 / Acts 9:20 / Acts 8:35 / Ephesians 6:20 / 2 Corinthians 5:20 / Acts 17:30

Grow in faith and knowledge of the Lord

Acts 17:2 / Matthew 4:4 / Matthew 5:6

I don’t fulfill this perfectly but it is my hope and my desire to live this out to the glory of God.  My purpose becomes His purpose.  I don’t know of any higher calling.  I hope you are encouraged today to go through this simple exercise to write out a statement for yourself.  I keep mine in my bible and refer to it often.

Kevin