Blog

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Substitute!  (WATCH HERE)

---

When do you need a substitute?

When playing basketball, a coach will put a substitute in when a player is tired, in foul trouble, or just not performing like he wants.

In baking, you use a substitute when you are out of what the recipe calls for and don’t want to run to the store to get the main ingredient. 

Sometimes you find a substitute for something you don’t want to do.

Sometimes you need a substitute when you are sick or on vacation.

A substitute stands in for the original to perform a task they are unable, unwilling, or unqualified to do.

Genesis 22:12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” 

Just as Abraham had told Isaac, “The Lord will provide the lamb for the sacrifice,” so the Lord did.  Isaac’s life was spared and in his place was provided a ram.

The phrase that captures the role of a substitute is the phrase, “Instead of.”  The ram was sacrificed as a burnt offering “instead of” his son.

God didn’t eliminate the need for a sacrifice that day.  He however allowed Isaac to climb off the altar and let his father untie his hands.  In place of Isaac a ram who was caught in a thicket was caught and his life ended that day.

Imagine the thoughts that may have gone through Abraham’s mind as he lifted his knife and slit the throat of the ram, relieved that he didn’t have to do that to his son.  Imagine the relief of Isaac as the life of the ram left and the fire consumed the animal, relieved that his life was spared.

Imagine your thoughts and mine as we watch our Savior Jesus hang on the cross paying for our sins instead of us.  Imagine your thoughts and mine as we see Jesus suffer the agony of hell, being separated from his heavenly Father, instead of us.

The ram was the substitute for Isaac.  The Lamb is the substitute for us.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Isaiah 53:5-7 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 

The greatest substitution ever performed was God pulling us out of the “saving” game and inserting his Son.  He knew our life and our performance would never amount to the perfection he demanded and so was willing to send his Son to live and die in our place…instead of us…as our substitute.

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

 

Apply: What gratitude comes to mind as you see a glimpse of Jesus as your substitute in the ram that was sacrificed instead of Isaac?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for willingly taking my place, as my substitute on the cross.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Substitute!  (WATCH HERE)

---

Genesis 22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” 

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. 

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. 

The trip with dad got a bit awkward.

Going on a bit of a journey to worship and offer a sacrifice must have been part of Isaac’s experience before.  But this one was different.

Two servants, Abraham and Isaac set out with some wood, a knife and a pot of burning coals to start a fire. 

But as the small traveling party stopped and Abraham took the wood off the donkey and put it on Isaac and started walking away from the servants, Isaac noticed something missing: a lamb for the burnt offering.

His father’s answer was a bit cryptic, but confident: “God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

Abraham had a confidence that calmed Isaac.  The two went on together.

But what was going through Isaac’s mind as his dad revealed at the top of Moriah that the Lord actually was asking Isaac to be the sacrifice?

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

The Holy Spirit records no objection from Isaac or any attempt to outrun his 100+ year-old dad. He was bound and laid on the altar.

Abraham had given up his son in his heart already.  Isaac was a willing accomplice to the direction God had given his dad.

But it must have been hard, very hard.

God had given a promise.  Abraham was certain Isaac was the focus of the next generation of that promise.  What Abraham and Isaac could perceive was the loss of life.  What bridges the gap when my perception and God’s promises seem at odds?

The gap between my perception and God’s promises is filled with God’s power!

Abraham stood confidently in the middle of a situation where human perception said, “This is not going to end well” and God’s promises that said, “I will make you a great nation.”  How did Abraham reconcile the discrepancy?

Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. 

The second part of the test was whether Abraham and Isaac would trust their perceptions over God’s promises.

Abraham didn’t waver because between human perceptions and God’s promises was God’s power.  With God’s power in play, God would be faithful to his promises, even if in the moment human perceptions said otherwise.

 

Apply: What situation in life are you going through that your human perceptions seem to contradict God’s promises?  How might God be using this situation for his power to bridge the gap between your perception and his promises?

Prayer: Lord, forgive my doubts when my perceptions discount your promises.  Give me strength to understand that it seems like my perceptions are overriding your clear promises that in that gap stands your power to work all things according to your promises.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Substitute!  (WATCH HERE)

---

22      Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” 

“Here I am,” he replied. 

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 

Yikes!

Obviously Abraham had a close connection to the Lord as he didn’t ask for two forms of identity or question whether he was hearing voices.  He had heard and learned the voice of the Lord and the Lord gave him a challenging task: Give back to me your one and only Son.

Whenever a test was assigned, there was a subtle hope the teacher would give you the questions that would be on the test with the answers those questions demanded.  So it is with our spiritual lives, isn’t it?  Don’t you wish that every test to our faith was given to us in advance with the proper answer spelled out for us so there is no doubt in our mind as to what we should do?

Abraham didn’t get the question in advance, but over the years his experience with the Lord had let him learn the answers.

He knew that Isaac was a gift from God as he fathered him at 100 years of age and his wife Sarah at 90.  Physically this was an impossibility which they laughed at, but God’s power made it possible.  

Abraham knew that God had made a promise that he would have many descendants.  This promise was given 25 years before Isaac came on the scene and after a wrong answer of having Ishmael with his servant Hagar.

The test for Abraham was whether he would hang on to his son and love him more than loving God.  The test question: “Abraham, what is the first priority of your heart?”

This is a good test question for us too.  Even though we can look back at the track record of God working in our hearts, we are still tempted to let other things and other people take a first priority.  We may even have good excuses, but still come up with wrong answers.  We can justify working every Sunday by thinking that is the only option to provide for our family.  We can justify overlooking a sinful behavior in a family member to keep the relationship over the concern for the spiritual wellbeing of the individual.  We can choose friends that lead us to activity that isn’t God-pleasing thinking that we don’t want to be alone.  The list can go on.  Any test question that God provides that challenges the first commandment (You shall have no other gods.), is a tough one for us to always get right.  We love the people around us.  We love the experiences the world presents to us.  We love our ego and pride.

And so all too often we fail this test question.  And so we repent and ask God’s Spirit for the strength of faith that Abraham exhibited.  This whole account he didn’t waver.  He got up the next morning and went.  He took his son to the top of the mountain and was ready to take his life and light the fire.  But God saw Abraham had answered the test correctly and stopped him:

Genesis 22:11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” 

“Here I am,” he replied. 

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 

May God give us the same resolve to always keep the love of the Lord the first priority in our heart!

 

Apply: What things in your life are the greatest temptation to dislodge the LORD from the primary position in your heart?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love, grace and faithfulness to forgive us when we fail the tests to our faith and for your willingness to restore and strengthen us for the tests that will come.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Substitute!  (WATCH HERE)

---

When I was in grade school, I remember having a sleep over at my friend’s house.  I was old enough to be OK overnight a friend’s house, but young enough to be a little on edge about being in a strange place at night. As the light’s were shut off, I remember looking out the window and was convinced there was someone outside eating a peanut butter sandwich.  In the morning I told my friend and we laughed because the reality was it was just a tree casting a shadow that my mind turned into a scary person eating a sandwich.  

Shadows are not realities, but create an image that we form into what the reality is.  A shadow doesn’t exist in a vacuum, but rather is the result of some reality…you just can’t see that reality. When you see a shadow, you have guesses as to what the reality is, but only when you see the reality can you fully understand the shadows that were cast. 

God used shadows in the Old Testament to cast an image of his Son Jesus and his saving work. All the events of the Old Testament move history toward Jesus.  Some events were very specifically initiated to give people a little glimpse of the Messiah, Jesus, who was to come.

The interesting thing about a shadow is that once you see the reality of what causes the shadow, you no longer focus on the shadow, but on the reality. 

The Apostle Paul was inspired to give this insight in Colossians 2:16-17:

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

The religious festivals (Passover, Day of Atonement, etc.) along with monthly celebrations and weekly Sabbath Days were not the reality themselves, but rather pointed to the reality.  Paul was saying, don’t get stuck on the shadow when you have the reality right in front of you.

The interesting thing about seeing the reality, you now look back and see what was causing the shadow.  The branches of the tree made the shape of the man eating a sandwich, the events of Jesus life give definition to the activities of the Old Testament.

For example, the Sabbath day was a weekly occurrence for years.  However, just observing the Sabbath was not the main thing.  Finding rest in Jesus was the ultimate reality.  Unfortunately many had become obsessed with the fine points of Sabbath law that they missed finding rest in the love, grace and forgiveness of Jesus. 

Mark 2:27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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.

Look forward to this series as we see more clearly the reality of Jesus through the shadows he cast in the Old Testament…this week, the shadow of the substitute.

 

Apply: How have you seen shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for casting shadows in the Old Testament that give greater insight into the reality of who you are and all you came to do! AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Everyone Outreach!  (WATCH HERE)

---

Loving people opens doors.

Listening to people builds trust.

But finally the only way a person is going to spend an eternity in heaven is connecting them to the Gospel, the good news about Jesus.

Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Perhaps this is the most challenging.  Often we comfort ourselves and just say, “I will show them love and that will be my witness.”  True, it is a witness.  Showing love expresses the heart of Jesus to people and that is attractive.  However, witnessing someone’s acts of love is not the way the Bible describes someone coming to faith.  Only exposure to the Gospel through the Word of God, spoken, read, or heard does the Holy Spirit work saving faith in the hearts of people.

So eventually, we must be courageous enough to share the message of Jesus.  Here’s three reminders as we do.

First, remember the Gospel is GOOD news!

The very definition of the Greek word implies the announcing of good news to someone.  It’s like the angels at Jesus’ birth who couldn’t wait to tell the shepherds good news!

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 

Certainly our culture likes to skew the message of Christianity as judgmental, limiting, or made up.  But remember with certainty, when you share Jesus with someone…it is 100% good news!

Second, if you don’t feel comfortable with a certain conversation, invite the person to where the good news is.  Your Gospel-centered, church family is a great asset for your witness opportunities.  Inviting someone to come with you to hear the Gospel from someone else is a completely legitimate form of sharing your faith.  Philip worked this approach with his brother Nathanael.  He didn’t try to answer Nathanael’s questions.  He just said, “Come and see.”

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. 

“Come and see,” said Philip. 

Third, just share what you know and have experienced about Jesus.  Tell your story with Jesus.  We can make sharing our faith complicated if we feel like we need to answer every question with a Bible verse or have every point of theology down in our minds before embarking on a conversation.  Jesus simply directed his followers to “Be his witnesses.” (Acts 2:9) Being a witness is simply sharing what you have seen and heard.  It doesn’t answer every question, it just shares the reality which you have experienced.  Personally, this approach makes sharing my faith easier.  I often preface what I say (after listening and gaining trust), “I understand what you are sharing, what I’ve found is that…” (and then I go on to share what Jesus has meant to me and make connections to the story the person has shared about their life.)

Fourth, remember that changing hearts is the work of the Holy Spirit.  He alone works the change.  We get to share the message.  He gets to change a person’s heart.

So give it a try.  Take a deep breath.  Say a quick prayer and lead a person to Jesus!

 

Apply: Pray for a conversation with someone in which the Holy Spirit makes it easy and obvious how to speak about your faith and lead a person to the good news about Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, give me courage to speak boldly and clearly about the good news you have given to me so that one more person might call on you in faith and be saved.  AMEN.