LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Isaiah 52:13    “See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.”

The watchmen are lifting up their voices. They are shouting for joy. It is time for us to join them and burst into songs of joy together, for the Lord is coming to reign on the earth. (see Isaiah 52:8-9)

With those words the prophet Isaiah begins the last section of his book, declaring the coming of the Servant of the Lord to redeem the people of the world and reign as their King. I am so excited to study the remaining chapters of Isaiah which reveal the suffering and second coming of the Savior.

From the very beginning of Isaiah’s revelation of the Messiah, he lays the foundation of all redemption – the suffering servant who pays the price for man’s sin. After introducing Him to us as the servant who will act wisely, he declares that He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. This has two meaning within the context:

• In order to be raised and lifted up, He had to have been subjected to the worst possible human suffering; and
• He will be exalted over all those responsible for His suffering.

This so much more than doctrine. This is personal. Bask for a moment in the incredible joy of your salvation, paid for by the suffering servant. We must never grow weary of experiencing the pain of the suffering servant so that we might fully celebrate the redemption of our souls that He purchased.

The very first thing that Isaiah does after introducing us to the Servant of God who will be exalted is to tell us how terribly He suffered. He says, “…His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness…” I don’t know about you, but those words send a chill up my spine and bring tears to my eyes. Jesus Christ, the King of all eternity, became one of us and then suffered the most inhumane treatment ever given to any man so that He might fully bear the wrath of God against sin in His body. He was so brutally beaten that it disfigured Him. He was marred beyond human recognition. His love for you and me drove Him to willingly endure it all so that we might be saved. He could have called the angels of heaven to destroy all who were treating Him so unjustly, but He had me in mind and His love for me kept Him from seeking an escape from the pain.

Not only am I overwhelmed with thanksgiving and joy for what He did for me, but I am also feeling a little guilty about all the times I seek an escape from the pain of this life. I especially feel ashamed of all the times I have avoided the potential pain of personal rejection by remaining silent about my faith in Jesus Christ, all while saying I love Him.

What kind of love is embarrassed to be lived out publicly? What kind of love for Jesus do we really have when we can so easily put our own pleasure and well-being ahead of our commitment to living for Jesus every day? How dare we say that we love others the way Christ loved us when we so quickly evaluate every interaction with others and determine whether a statement or action of faith in Christ would bring negative results to our lives? What kind of love for Jesus is that?

We must begin to act wisely in these last days as the return of Jesus draws near. The Servant acted wisely by enduring all suffering because He loved God and God’s people. We must act wisely by declaring the love of God to the lost world around us through our actions and our words. We must never be motivated by pain, but always by the principle of love: not love for self which seeks to avoid pain, but love for God and others which endures all suffering for the sake of God’s glory.

My friends, let us act wisely, for in the end, we too will be raised and lifted up, and be highly exalted with our King. That’s what Jesus paid for.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, October 2, 2023

One of my most treasured memories of pastoral ministry is outdoor baptisms. I recall one Saturday afternoon standing on the banks of the Chippewa River with three people who were prepared to declare the joy of their salvation. Each testimony of salvation was unique and deeply moving as one by one they spoke to us the words of faith in Jesus Christ as the only hope for man’s soul. There were tears in their eyes as there were in the eyes of the audience that stood with them.

Each one then came down into the river with me, and a declaration of truth was made over their lives as they prepared to be immersed under the water. “This baptism does not save you. This water cannot wash away your sins. No act of man can, except the act of death on a cross by the Son of Man. This baptism is a public testimony of your faith in the saving power of Jesus Christ, who was buried in sin yet conquered the grave by being raised from the dead. This step of obedience to your Savior begins a life of power in the Holy Spirit to be a public witness for Jesus. You are declaring today that the old life of sin has been buried with Christ, and that you are now raised to new life in the risen Lord.”

Then, with their arms folded in front of them, in a symbolic act of surrendering their lives to Jesus, they completely surrendered their strength to me to bury them under the water and bring them back up again. As they were leaned backwards into the water, the words of Scripture were spoken over them: “You are buried with Christ in the likeness of His death.” Complete immersion representing complete burial of the old life. Then, as they were raised up out of the water, more Scripture was spoken: “So you are raised to newness of life.” Up from the symbolic grave of sin and death they arose to live for the rest of their lives as representatives of Jesus Christ.

I NEVER grow tired of seeing people make a public commitment to follow Jesus. They know they are not worthy. They know that they were in sin destined for eternal death. Yet without money or works of any kind, they were redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus is the full purchase price for the sin of man and is the only payment acceptable by the Father – Jehovah God. There is nothing we bring to Him as an offering. There is no exchange of anything of value, for we have nothing of value to offer God. In His eternal love for those created in His image but separated from Him by sin, He sent His One and Only Son to pay the price for our sin – death. Then, to validate the payment, God raised Jesus from the dead and sin was conquered for eternity for all who will come to Jesus for salvation.

Isaiah 52:3  “For this is what the LORD says: ‘You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.’”

“Oh happy day, happy day, You washed my sin away. Oh happy day, happy day, I’ll never be the same; Forever I am changed.

And it’s FREE!

Never get tired of celebrating your salvation!

Pastor John