Sep 29, 2009

He Is Our Ransom


Isaiah 53:3-7
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. 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. 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. 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. (NIV)




Acts 8:32-35
The eunuch was reading this passage of scripture:
"He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."
The eunuch asked Phillip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Phillip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. (NIV)



My old friend, Phillip Brooks and I wrote a song called "He is our Ransom" back some time in the late 80s or early 90s. We were in a contemporary christian band called Ransom at the time. We ministered to youth groups and area outreach efforts all around the area. I composed some music one day on the keyboard, and Phillip heard it and wanted to try putting some lyrics to it. So he took a recording of what I had played, and came back a few days later with the lyrics and melody to this song. He had taken much of the lyrics straight from Isaiah 53 which prophesies of the suffering and sacrifice of the Messiah. Worship the One who came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many (Mk. 10:45) as you read these lyrics:


(vs. 1)He was oppressed and afflicted but 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 was the Son of Man


For He bore the sin of many and He paid the ransom for us all


(vs. 2)You are oppressed and afflicted seems like no way out


You're trapped in a web of illusion


The Man who paid the price is here to set you free




(chorus)His name is Jesus He is our Ransom


From all the powers of hell


His name is Jesus He is our Ransom


from all the cares of this world




For He bore the sin of many


And He paid the Ransom for us all




His name is Jesus He is our Ransom


From all the powers of hell


His name is Jesus He is our Ransom


from all the cares of this world



We used this song a lot when we were closing out a performance, leading into a time of invitation or prayer time. I remember seeing many young lives touched through this song and our music ministry. It was a great time of spiritual and musical growth for me. But the most memorable thing was, that as I was growing spiritually, I was coming to a greater realization of how much Jesus cared about me and how much He actually had gone through for me. And the verse that our band used on our banner became more real:


For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)(NKJV)



That verse now makes me realize that it's not about us, but about those we can reach and help in Jesus' name.

Joey C.


Sep 25, 2009

Praise to a Compassionate God


Hallelujah! My soul, praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. (Psalm 146:1-2)(HCSB)

Compassionate. Could that word be used to accurately describe you or the way you act towards others? What does it really mean anyway? My dictionary defines "compassionate" as: having or displaying compassion. So, what's compassion? "Compassion" is defined as: sympathetic concern for the suffering of another, together with the inclination to give aid or support or to show mercy. I'm not sure that I could truthfully say that I'm always very compassionate. In fact, I'll just be honest and admit that I know I'm not as compassionate as I should be most of the time. But I do know one person who is: God. And He is actually three Persons in One: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit---all of whom are loving and compassionate.

You know, Psalm 146 gives us some examples of God's compassion, but the Bible records evidence of His great compassion towards us throughout the Old and New Testament. We can see it demonstrated time and again in Jesus' ministry in the gospel accounts. He was constantly reaching out to those around Him with compassion, touching and healing those who were shunned and outcasts, loving children who were considered bothersome by others, showing true concern for "sinners" who were ridiculed by the religious elite, cleansing lepers who were defiled in the eyes of society, caring for the poor and the hungry who many simply ignored. Even in the midst of some of the greatest miracles recorded in the Bible, it's clear that Jesus' compassionate heart is what compelled Him to do the impossible. In Matt. 9:35-36 we read,
"Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like a sheep without a shepherd." (HCSB) So it's clear that Jesus ministered to the needy out of love and with great compassion. Let's take a quick look back at Psalm 146:6-9 and see some of the ways that our Lord is merciful and compassionate.
  • vs.6--He remains faithful
  • vs.7--He executes justice for the exploited, He gives food to the hungry, He frees prisoners
  • vs.8--He opens the eyes of the blind, He raises up those who are oppressed, He loves the righteous
  • vs.9--He protects foreigners, He helps orphans and widows, He frustrates the ways of the wicked
Here are some other scriptures to note which proclaim God's great compassion: Ex. 22:27, 33:19, Dt. 4:31, 32:36, Neh. 9:17,19, Ps. 51:1, 103:8, 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, Rm. 9:15, James 5:11 And one of my favorites, revealing God as our loving, Heavenly Father, is Psalm 103:13--"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." (HCSB)
With a merciful God like ours, who is "gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love" (Joel 2:13), it's easy to echo the psalmist and say: I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. (Psalm 146:2)(HCSB)
Joey C.

Sep 4, 2009

Two Ways: The Path of Sin or The Path of Praise

(Psalm 1:1-2)(HCSB) Happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.


I love reading the Psalms. And each time I start over at Psalm 1, I'm intrigued by the two ways or paths that the psalmist contrasts. We have the way of the wicked, or the path of sin, and the way of the righteous, or the path of praise. When we look at the metaphors used to describe the righteous and the wicked, it always humbles me to realize that I'm counted with the righteous, not because of anything I've done or anything I am apart from Christ, but only because of what Christ has done for me and is doing through me. It also inspires me to continue striving to live the righteous life that God has called me to, realizing that it's only by God's grace and mercy that I'm not following the way of the wicked today.

As we can see in verses 1-3, when we forsake the way of the wicked and the path of sin, and instead turn to the Lord and the path of praise, praising Him by delighting in His Word and reading it, studying it, meditating on it day and night; God in turn blesses us tremendously. Look at how verse 3 describes the blessings of the righteous person: He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (HCSB)

I love it! God plants us beside streams of water to sustain us so that we won't wither, we bear fruit when it's time, and everything we do prospers! Wow! The same can't be said for the wicked however, as we see in the verses to follow:

(v.4) the wicked are like chaff that's blown away with the wind
(v.5) the wicked will not survive the judgment

sinners will not be in the community of the righteous
(v.6) the way of the wicked leads to ruin

I'm glad that the Lord watches over the way of the righteous! (v.6) And I'm happy to realize that I'm that "happy man" referred to in verse 1 because of what Jesus did for me on the cross. He made atonement for my sins (and yours) once and for all, so that I don't have to continue following the way of the wicked. Instead, I can choose to delight in the Lord's instruction and follow the path of praise!



Singing His Praises (Ps. 96:1-3),
Joey C.

Psalm 122:1

I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." (HCSB)