Meditation: Colossians 1:10, “A Higher View”

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Steve Husting

“That you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

What do you long to have? Perhaps a simple and quiet life. Maybe more peace or security from ongoing troubles. A special person with whom to share your life. Recognition in your field. And more money wouldn’t hurt.

I’m glad I’m reading the Bible. It tells me of greater goals than I can come up with for myself. But the Bible’s views are rather high, aren’t they? “Walk worthy of the Lord.” Is that even possible? “Fully pleasing Him.” I barely please myself, with all these worries churning in my mind. “Fruitful in every good work.” My scraggly garden shows that I’m no green thumb. “Increasing in the knowledge of God.” Don’t we forget sermons within the hour?

When we think from a human perspective, we think small. Really small. But with the Bible, we get the mind of Christ. With a renewed mind, we find possibilities beyond ourselves that are worth desiring. And with those possibilities, we aim our lives in new directions.

Yes, there’s a catch. You have to want these things. Paul prays for these blessings because they are not automatic. If we settle for “small” things, we’ll aim our lives in that direction. If we aim higher, the Spirit will train us how to get there. We have not because we ask not.

To do:

  • Make a prayer list and add these high thoughts to it. Pray that they would be your own.
  • Baby steps: “Fully pleasing Him.” What one thing can I do today to please Him?
  • Baby steps: “Increasing in the knowledge of God.” What can I read to know God more?
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The Symbolism of Revelation 12

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Steve Husting

Revelation chapter 12 is usually called by teachers and commentators a break, pause, or flashback as we jump back in time to the Satanic persecution of the Jews and the birth of Christ. But Jesus protects us from that thinking by dividing the book into three parts when He gave direction to John in Revelation 1:19: “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.”

With these words, Jesus divides Revelation into “the things which you [John] have seen,” which is the vision of Jesus in chapter one; “the things which are,” which refers to chapters 2-3, and “the things which will take place after this,” which is chapters 4-22. (Note that 4:1 begins with, “I will show you what must take place after this,” which begins the third section of the book.) So there’s no room in the three divisions for the past. We can’t place Revelation 12 before John’s vision of Christ.

Revelation 12 could take place before John’s encounter if Jesus had said, “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this, and the things before My visit to you, and the things which will take place after this.” But that would be pointless, wouldn’t it? It pretty well sums up all of history past and all of the future. If He meant this, Jesus might as well have said succinctly, “Write the things that take place in the past, present, and future.” But then why bother to say it at all? By eliminating the times before His encounter with John, Jesus places the bulk of events of Revelation where they belong, each part in its own time. With this reasoning, there is no room for the past in the whole of Revelation. Continue reading →

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Meditation: Colossians 2:9, “All the Fullness”

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Steve Husting

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9, KJV).

The bottle I drink from is a package composed of the plastic bottle itself and a paper wrapper around it, which itself is paper and ink. The bottle is not 100% plastic nor 100% paper. Now I’m looking at a book that is mostly paper that is coated with words in ink. It is not 100% paper nor 100% ink. Now I am looking at a computer case that is plastic. But its insides are a wide conglomeration of materials. So it is not 100% plastic.

But Jesus Christ is 100% Man and 100% God, and one person of the trinity. He is the Son of God who came to earth in the flesh, yet retained His full deity. He had always been God from eternity past, but He was not always a man. As a man, Jesus experienced the breadth of human life, except He never sinned. He was not partly God and partly man, but the divine Son of God who took on flesh. Continue reading →

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All does not always mean All

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Steve Husting

In the Bible, “all” sometimes means all, and sometimes it has a much more limited sphere. This is also true for “whatsoever” and “everything.” In many cases, these all-inclusive words are not referring to everything in every possible scenario in the world, but everything in a defined, limited application. In other words, the Bible uses these words the same way we use all, whatever, and everything in normal conversation.

When things go very wrong, for example, we may say that “Everything’s falling apart.” Do we mean everything in a manner that includes the whole world? No; we are declaring that a large part of something we are involved in is coming undone; we are declaring how overwhelmed we feel about it. This is what I mean when I say that these words have a defined, limited sphere. So it is with several uses of the word “all” in the Bible.  Continue reading →

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Our Righteous Standing in Christ

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Steve Husting

If I were reading the articles on my web site as a new Christian, I would have felt anxious. I would have examined my life and wondered if I’m good enough, if I’m working hard enough, or if I’m committed enough.

I have been saved for over 30 years now and realize that some of my recorded observations make more sense to a person familiar with the cross and its power than those who are still giving in to the flesh on an ongoing basis.

My articles are not to be interpreted as a works-based salvation. For this reason, I want to explain a rock-solid foundation that belongs to every believer in Christ. We who focus on doing the best we can may lose sight of some tremendously important truths that are meant to stabilize our daily walk. Without these truths, we will be prone to self-recrimination and depression. Or we may go in the opposite direction and identify with our works like the Pharisee. Been there, done that. Continue reading →

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Accessing Grace for Help

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Steve Husting

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'” (1 Peter 5:5)

When we think of grace, we define it as an undeserved gift from God. You can’t earn it, just as you could not earn your salvation. God gives the sinner life even though the sinner’s life was lived in opposition to God. So salvation was an unearned gift of God.

But there is more to grace than God giving us an undeserved gift. According to 1 Peter 5:5, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” God withholds grace from one class of people and gives it to another. A logical mind would reason, “of course the humble got grace — he deserves it while the proud does not.” But if grace is undeserved favor, how could this reasoning make sense? The truly humble, of course, would be the first to protest that due to the sin they repented of, they do not deserve grace any more than the proud do. Continue reading →

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There’s More to the Romans Road to Salvation

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Steve Husting

In most cases of the gospel proclamation, the message preached is about entering into salvation. The Romans Road is often used to lead a person to faith in Jesus Christ. (To learn more about this method of chaining verses, see this article from GotQuestions.org.)  From the tension, despair, and frustrations I’ve seen among Christians in hard times, it’s evident that they’ve missed the other parts of Romans, which tells us that salvation is an ongoing process in which God uses difficulties and trials to mold us into people of victory and hope. I have been frustrated and endured long bouts of tension-filled sleeplessness myself, and can relate to this misunderstanding. When we don’t understand how God saves after we accepted Christ, or what exactly He saves us from, then “victory” becomes a hazy buzzword at best.

If you thought the gospel was only about entrance into salvation, if you are frustrated that things are not going your way, or your financial situation or relationships are causing you pain, then there is more to the gospel and the power of God than you have been led to believe. If you believe that God is here to smooth things over when you have trials, that He will help you escape every hurt and sorrow, and He will banish all difficulties from your life, then you have not begun to enjoy the gospel fruit. There is more! God’s way of salvation is different than what we have believed. He does more than deliver us from a future Hell and leave this life a hit-or-miss affair. Let’s look a little closer at what Romans really teaches about salvation. Continue reading →

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Kingdom Culture

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Steve Husting

When we have a low view of our salvation, it creates in us a lopsided view of personal growth. We look to the past or upbringing (“I came from a Christian family, so I’m saved”), or boast in the name of our denomination, or insist that we are good people. These things give us a misplaced measure of confidence in our spiritual walk. Jesus’ message was the good news of the kingdom: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). What standard are we using to gauge our spiritual growth? If we are going to evaluate our spiritual standing, I suggest we judge according to kingdom principles. Continue reading →

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Jesus’ Creation of Authorities

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Steve Husting

Jesus did not only create the seen and unseen things of the natural world, but also conceptual entities like hierarchies of authorities in heaven and earth. When we think of Him as Creator, we usually don’t go that far, do we? We just focus on the physical things of our world.

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him (Colossians 1:16). Continue reading →

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The Cultural Christian versus the Called-out Christian

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Steve Husting

It has been said that if you were born in India, you would most likely be a Hindu because your parents were. If you grew up in the Middle East, then you would be one of the three strains of Islam. If you grew up in Mexico, you would be a Catholic. And so it goes. In other words, the atheist contends that Christianity as a religion is no different than all the other world religions.

You know what? In a sense, they are right. Many Christians are cultural Christians. They have taken on themselves to follow the religious practices of their parents. They say exactly what all the other religious followers say: “I am a good person. I go to church/synagogue/mosque/temple. When I die, will go to Heaven.” Continue reading →

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