Elijah vs. Jesus

My wife and I are teaching children's Sunday School today, and in the course of planning, I got to thinking.  Elijah was one of the greatest Old Testament prophets and miracle workers.  At his word, the heavens withheld their rain for 3 1/2 years.  He provided a miraculous supply of bread and oil for a widow and raised her son to life, called down fire from heaven, and became one of only two people in history to never die when he was taken away by chariots of fire.

And yet this great prophet and miracle worker does not even hold a candle to Jesus Christ.  John the Baptist, whom Jesus said fulfilled the promise of the second coming of Elijah's spirit and power, said of Jesus, "He who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."  Clearly someone greater than Elijah was here.

Here are five reasons why Jesus is greater than Elijah:

1) Elijah's faith wavered.  Jesus remained faithful.
Despite all that he had seen God do, when Elijah's life was threatened by Jezebel, "he was afraid and he arose and ran for his life." (1 Kings 19:3)  Jesus, on the other hand, never wavered in His commitment to Calvary and His Father's will, and thus the author of Hebrews writes, "Christ is faithful over God's house as a son." (Hebrews 3:6)

2) Elijah had to pray to God to affect the weather.  Jesus simply said, "Be still," and the storm stopped.
Most of Elijah's miracles actually involve him praying and asking God to act.  James says that "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain." (James 5:17)  But Jesus didn't ask for anybody's permission; He simply said, "Be still," and the storm ceased.  Thus He proved that He is the God of Psalm 89:9-- "Who is mighty as You are, O Lord?  You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them."

3) Elijah raised a widow's son from the dead.  Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
Elijah is one of the few people in the Bible through whom God raised the dead.  But even though the miracle was spectacular, it is obvious from the account in 1 Kings that it was God who raised the dead, not Elijah.  Elijah pleaded with God, and God answered his prayer.  Jesus, on the other hand, declared about Himself saying, "I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live," (John 11:25), and then backed up this claim by commanding life into the decaying corpse of Lazarus with a simple, "Come forth."

4) Elijah was taken to heaven with fire.  Jesus will come from heaven with fire.
Elijah was taken up into heaven by "chariots of fire and horses of fire." (2 Kings 2:11)  Lest we be too enamored by this spectacle, though, 2 Thessalonians tells us of a greater heavenly fire: a coming day "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God... when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed."  The glory of Jesus' heavenly fire will brilliantly outshine Elijah's, as much as the sun outshines a flickering match.

5) Elijah never died.  Jesus conquered death.
Elijah is one of only two people in the Bible, along with Enoch, to never taste death.  Yet the honor that Jesus has and will receive is infinitely greater, for Jesus is now "crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9)  And Jesus did not just taste death for everyone; "He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death."  Elijah the sinner never died, thanks to Jesus tasting death for Him, and now Jesus has definitively conquered Satan and eliminated the power of death for all time for all who trust in Him.

Elijah is surely worthy of much honor among the great saints of the faith.  But Jesus is surely worthy of much more.  He is a greater miracle worker, greater life-giver, greater sin-conquerer, greater grave-overcomer, greater Savior.

True Romance

I'm getting married in about 2 1/2 months, and so naturally I've been thinking a lot about love and commitment and faithfulness. Yesterday I was talking to a friend about love and marriage, and about how many girls on this campus are looking for a storybook romance, when the real thing is a little different. After 4 1/2 years in a relationship, I have realized this:


True romance looks a lot less like Prince Charming and happily ever after, and a lot more like a bloodied cross.


Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. ~Ephesians 5:25

In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ~1 John 4:10-11

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:12-13

Keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. ~1 Peter 4:8

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." ~Mark 8:34

It's okay to pray for joy

Is it okay to pray for joy, or is that a selfish prayer?  Asking for God to make you happy, even happy in Him, seems sort of "off" somehow.  Though I freely label myself as a "Christian hedonist," it's still something I feel funny praying for sometimes.  But the Holy Spirit gave me a clear answer today when I was reading Psalm 85-86.  Here are 3 examples from the Psalms of praying for joy, all of them with God-centered motivation.

Psalm 51:12-- "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You."
Apparently there is a direct connection between deeply feeling the joy of knowing God's great salvation, and being a good evangelist.  Here, David's prayer for joy is directly connected to his desire that God's salvation would be felt more deeply by him and extended to others.

Psalm 85:6-7,9-- "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?  Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us Your salvation... Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land."
The main connection to draw here is between "Your people rejoice in You" and "that glory may dwell in our land."  The glory of God is put on brightest display when His people rejoice, delight in, and treasure Him above all else.  Therefore, our desire for joy is (or should be) deeply caught up in our desire for God to be glorified, because those desires are biblically synonymous.

Psalm 86:4-5-- "Gladden the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.  For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You."
This has got to be one of the most overtly hedonistic prayers in the Bible.  "Gladden the soul of Your servant," the Psalmist prays.  In other words: "Make me happy, God!"  And the foundation for His prayer: the character of God.  God is good, forgiving, and loving-- and this is the ground for both the Psalmist's request and His expectation.  Because God is all of these things, there is hope and reason for joy, even in the darkest of times.

And finally, not needing any explanation, are the precious words of our Savior from John 16: "Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

We Wish to See Jesus

Next week, I am starting my last Bible study at Center Presbyterian Church.  It has been a joy and incredible privilege for me to lead the adult Bible study there for the past year and a half.  We have done studies on Philippians, Hebrews, and Colossians, and this spring we will be looking at the "I am" statements of Jesus in the book of John.  I am really, really excited about this semester, because I see this study as the culmination of everything I have been teaching the last year and a half.  Below is my introduction to our study in John:

"Life in a fallen world is a tightrope dichotomy between searing pain and seductive pleasure.  In a world full of sudden tragedy, seemingly random violence, natural disasters, cancer, illness, heartache, and tearful goodbyes, where is a rock of refuge to which we can go?  And conversely, in a materialistic culture littered with the spiritual landmines of blinding prosperity, numbing comfort, earthly treasures, and broken cisterns, where is a transcendent and satisfying reality to which we can commit ourselves?

What we are looking for is Ultimate Reality, a person and a truth and a life that transcends the problem of pain and pleasure, eclipsing both in all-consuming glory.  The Ultimate Reality that we are looking for is the person of Jesus Christ.  Colossians tells us that He is "the image of the invisible God," that "all things were created through Him and for Him," and that "in all things He has the supremacy."  Hebrews speaks of this supreme Christ when we hear that "He is the radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of His nature, upholding the universe by the word of His power."  Philippians tells us the implications of Christ's all-satisfying supremacy: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."  Here, then, is the end of all things: suffering and satisfaction, gain and loss, united in the glorious Son.  To know Him will cost everything, yet knowing Him is infinite gain.

How then can we know this Glorious One?  How can we "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge?" (Ephesians 3:19)  Hosea invites us into this eternal pursuit, saying, "Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord."  We want to say with the Greeks in John 12, "We wish to see Jesus!"  But how?"

The first lesson is all about my answer to that last question: God has given us His Word so that we can see Jesus in it and be supremely satisfied in seeing Him forever.

11 Reasons to Love the Bible in 2009

There is perhaps nothing as valuable in the life of a believer as a steady diet of God's Word.  Throughout Scripture, God holds out indescribably wonderful promises to woo us to His Word-- promises of life and power and salvation and holiness and joy.  Below are 11 reasons to love the Bible in 2009.  I pray that they will inspire you to say with the Psalmist, "I love Your commandments above gold, above fine gold."

Holiness: Psalm 119:11- "I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You."

Enabling Ministry: 2 Timothy 3:16-17- "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."

Guidance: Psalm 119:105- "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Understanding and Wisdom: Psalm 119:130- "The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."

Spiritual Nourishment: Deuteronomy 8:3- "He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Comfort: Psalm 119:50- "This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your promise gives me life."

Joy: John 15:11- "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

Faith: Romans 10:17- "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

Salvation: James 1:21- "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

Knowing God: 1 Samuel 3:21- "The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there He revealed Himself to Samuel through His word."

Seeing Jesus: Luke 24:27- "And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."

With those promises in mind, I am eagerly looking forward to mining the riches of the word of God this coming year.

The Eternal Glory of Christ

In Revelation 22:16, Jesus says, "I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."  This is an amazing statement-- He is both the root (which comes first and from which everything else springs) and the descendent (who comes later).  He is both the source and goal.

In light of that, other statements by or about Jesus become more profound:

And as Jesus taught in the temple, He said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?  David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.'  David himself calls him Lord.  So how is he his son?"  ~Mark 12:35-37  Jesus is here calling attention to the fact that the scribes and Phariseees had too small a vision of the Messiah-- Jesus wasn't just the descendent of David; He was also the root of David, the One who brought David into existence.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." ~Revelation 22:13

John bore witness about Him and cried out, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.'"  ~John 1:15

Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."  ~John 8:58

"And now, Father, glorify me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed."  ~John 17:5

The Trinity

In my Through-the-Bible reading plan, I'm in the upper room discourse of John 13-17.  It's been about eight months since I was here last, and as always I'm blown away by how Scripture keeps coming alive no matter how many times you read it.  Sometimes it's the Gospel that really stands out; sometimes it's a specific promise; sometimes it's a certain command; sometimes it's glory; sometimes it's judgment.  This time, the Holy Spirit has been teaching me about the Trinity.

Yesterday I was at McDonald's reading John 14 (who says you can't read the Bible anywhere?) and verse 20 exploded with a megaton of relevance.  "In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you."  

At first glance, it's grammatically confusing.  But think about that statement for a minute.  The Father and the Son are so united that Jesus can literally say, "I am in my Father" and (a couple verses earlier) "The Father is in me."  That in itself is an indescribably glorious mystery, but Jesus extends that mystery to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us.  "You in me, and I in you."  Jesus here is inviting us into the life of the Trinity.  The eternal fellowship, love, glory, and joy between the Father and the Son and the Spirit has now been opened to us as well.  

That's why Darrel Johnson, in his great book "Experiencing The Trinity," writes, "I was brought into being by the Trinity to be a co-lover within the Trinity!  I was bought by the blood of Jesus Christ to become a co-lover with Him and His Father and His Spirit!"

We are co-heirs and co-lovers.  Amazing!

The Good Shepherd

I was incredibly blessed last night in my daily Through-the-Bible reading to get a new glimpse of Jesus and His glory.  I was reading from Ezekiel 34 and John 10, and I don't know if the people who designed the reading plan intended this, but both passages overlap marvelously.

In Ezekiel 34, we get a stunning picture of the grace of God and His plan of future redemption in Christ.  This is especially amazing, coming after 33 straight chapters of judgment.  At the beginning of chapter 34, God condemns the shepherds of Israel (their spiritual leaders), saying "The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought."  But then a few verses later, the tone shifts dramatically:

"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will see them out.  As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered... I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.  I will seek the lost and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak... And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.  And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them.  I am the LORD; I have spoken."

What a prophecy!  We see its fulfillment in John 10: 

So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who came before me where thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

Praise God for that!  He Himself will be the shepherd, and lay down His life for His sheep that He will seek out and bring in and bind up and heal.

A Faithless Seeking

In my Through-The-Bible reading plan, I'm in John 8, and I was bowled over by Jesus' words that I read this morning. In 8:21, He says, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins."  I was shocked.  Do you mean that a person can seek after God and still die in their sins?  That certainly was a shock to my self-assured Calvinist sensibilities.  But then after the Jews objected, Jesus continued in 8:24.  "I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."

So now he says that people who don't believe Him will die in their sins.  But He just said that seekers will die in their sins.  I always thought that seeking Jesus was a sign of faith.  But apparently not.

There is such a thing as faithless seeking.  You can seek Jesus earnestly and diligently without one drop of true faith.  The people who followed after Jesus in John 6 when He fed the 5,000 were not seeking Him with faith.  "Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.  Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.'" (John 6:26-27)  The people were seeking Jesus because He gave them food; they weren't actually interested in Him.

How well this describes so many "seekers" today!  So many people are only interested in seeking Jesus because of what He might be able to give them: a job, money, a spouse, friends, security, a personal sense of spiritual fulfillment or enlightenment.  Jesus is clear in John 6:35- believing Him means coming to Him as thirst-quencher and satisfier, believing that HE is the bread of life.  In other words, seeking Him in order to get something is no faith at all.  True faith means seeking Jesus because you want HIM, and all the glorious fullness of everlasting joy that He is.

Are you seeking Him with faith today?

As The Deer For Streams Of Water

One thing I do occasionally is write poetry.  More often than not, the "poetry" turns into a song, but sometimes it stays the way it is, without musical accompaniment.  For the music, you can visit http://brendanbeale.dailyverseonline.org (songs eventually find their way over there).  For the poems, I figure that I'll post them here every once in a while.  The point is not to show off a skill at crafting words; my hope is that you will be encouraged and pointed toward the glory of the Savior in new ways.

Here's a poem I wrote tonight, based on Psalm 42:1-3, Jeremiah 2:13, and John 4:14, called "As The Deer For Streams of Water."

As the deer for streams of water

Pants my heart, O Lord, for Thee

For the ever-flowing river

Living water come to me

Thirsty for a satisfaction

Which evades these cisterns poor

Worldly comforts dry and broken

Drive me to Thy fountain, Lord

Tears have been my only portion

Salty streams from barren heart

Grief and bondage, dust and ashes

Will such idols e'er impart

Yet in Thy river grace abundant

For this chief of sinners gives

Pardon for my earthly lusting;

All my cisterns You forgive

So bring my longing to the Source,

The fountainhead of life divine:

The cross, where multitudinous mercy

Makes Thy glory ever mine

This Morning's Scripture

For my Through-the-Bible-in-a-Year plan, I was reading this morning from Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, John, and James.  Something in each one hit me really hard as I was reading (praise God for the Holy Spirit who delights to do that sort of thing).  Here are my thoughts:

Behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn;

they take no pleasure in it.

Therefore I am full of the wrath of the LORD

~Jeremiah 6:10-11

Wow.  I pray that this will never, ever be said of me.  "The word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it."  If that's what the people of Israel were doing wrong, here's what is right: TAKE PLEASURE in the word of the Lord.  To not take pleasure in it, to not delight in it, is scorn.  It is treating it as less precious than it is.  And look at the consequences: the wrath of the LORD-- God takes our affections for the Bible very seriously.  Lord, forgive me for all the times I have not taken pleasure in Your word, and by Your Spirit implant Your holy joy in me.

Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness... Apart from [God] who can have any enjoyment?  For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy.  ~Ecclesiastes 2:13,26

Praise God for this one!  There is more gain in wisdom than in folly, and there is more gain in light than in dark!  Not to quote John Piper or anything, but this is classic "Christian hedonism."  You want gain, right?  Then seek wisdom, and walk in the light!  And to those who please God, He gives this great gain in abundance.  Oh the goodness of God, that He works in us what is pleasing to Him (Heb. 13:21-22) and then fills His people with immeasurable good things!

For this purpose I cam baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. ~John 1:31

When you stop to look at it, you quickly realize that the whole Bible is intensely, radically Christ-centered, and the testimony of John the Baptist is no exception.  The whole point of his baptism, the whole point of his entire ministry, the whole point of his life and his message of repentance and all the years of locusts and honey, was this: that Jesus would be revealed.  May that be the purpose of my life and ministry as well.

Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ~James 1:21

This sort of reminded me of the passage from Jeremiah, in how seriously it takes the Bible.  Specifically, I thought of this in terms of my youth group's Bible study that I help to lead, and I was burdened anew for their hearts to be opened to the Word of God.  I want them to see that this study we are doing is so much more than a self-help lesson, or something to do Sunday afternoons-- it is life and death.  Eternal life and eternal death hang in the balance of how they will respond to God's Word.  Will they take pleasure in it, delight in it, receive it with meekness... or will they not?  Oh Lord, open their hearts and mine to Your Word, that we may receive it with meekness and joy!