A Word About the Master of the Dawning from Luke 23 and 24

Today I want to share a word about the Master of the Dawning as I comment on Luke 23:54 to Luke 24:12.

A common meme says that there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning."  For those of us who aren’t morning people, here’s a good story:

The Bear family is just waking up. Baby Bear goes downstairs and sits in his small chair at the table. He looks into his small bowl. It is empty. "Who's been eating my porridge?" he squeaks.

Daddy Bear arrives at the table and sits in his big chair. He looks into his big bowl. It is also empty! "Who's been eating my porridge?" he roars, as big bears often do.

Momma Bear puts her head through the serving hatch from the kitchen and yells, "For Pete's sake, how many times do we have to go through this?!"

"It was Momma Bear who got up first. It was Momma Bear who woke up everybody else in the house.  It was Momma Bear who unloaded the dishwasher from last night and put everything away."

"It was Momma Bear who went out into the cold early morning air to fetch the newspaper and the wood for the fire. It was Momma Bear who set the table.  It was Momma Bear who put the cat out, cleaned the litter box and filled the cat's water and food dish."

"And now that you've decided to come downstairs and grace me with your presence.... listen good because I'm only going to say this one more time..." She yells, “I haven't made the stupid porridge yet!!"

Early on the first Easter Sunday, some women got up to do a very important task.  In do this work they learned that Jesus is the Master of the Dawning.

Let’s begin by reading Luke 23:54-Luke 24:1.

It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

THE DAWNING REVEALED A DISAGREEABLE TASK:

It is a fact of life that women, particularly wives and mothers, often get saddled with disagreeable tasks: Cleaning the house. Washing dishes and clothes. Taking care of the needs of children. Cleaning up after someone has gotten sick. 

Who gets called when an accident happens at home? Mom does!

These women came to do a necessary, but disagreeable task. There had been no time on Friday to anoint the dead body of Jesus, but now that the Sabbath was over, they had the chance. They arose early to do this, possibly to avoid trouble.

The seemingly mundane actions of these women actually can teach us a great deal.  They believed that Jesus was really dead, and they obviously had not yet understood what He intended to do. Yet, they loved Him enough to do this dangerous, disagreeable task. Because of their love and bravery, God allowed them to see the truth first!

A careful reading of the New Testament demonstrates that Jesus was a great liberator of women, and this incident is part of that forgotten narrative.

Let’s now look at Luke 24:2-5:

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?"

THE DAWNING REVEALED A DISMAYING DISCOVERY: 

When the women arrived, they were shocked. The tomb was open, and their Lord's body wasn’t there. Even more frightening, strangers appeared nearby, suddenly as out of the morning mists. Naturally, the women were frightened and upset and not just because of their sudden appearance, but also because of the social unrest they had witnessed on Good Friday.

So, who were these men? They had the characteristics of angels: They appeared out of nowhere and shinned and glowed. Even more importantly, they came with a message.

Their message was a critical one. The entire history of salvation could have been changed!

What if they had said “Jesus’s body was stolen?”

What if they had said “The man was a fraud, and He never died?”

What if they had said, “Foolish women, He was a devil?”

We find out what they said in Luke 24:5-8:

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise." And they remembered his words . . .

THE DAWNING REVEALED A DYNAMIC MESSAGE:

The message of the angels was none of those above. The message was one of hope and promise! Jesus was not there because He is not dead, though He had died. Jesus was not there because He is risen. Jesus had done just what He said He would do.

These ladies didn’t understand before, but they would now. They were the first to understand the essential truths of the Gospel:

Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus rose again, defeating death and Hell.

Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God today, making intercession for us!

To discard these facts would be like discarding a car’s engine. A car without an engine may look nice, but it can’t do its work of transportation; it doesn’t have the power. A belief system that does not include these facts is just as powerless!  

So, what did these women do? They ran to tell others this glorious and joyful news. Unlike Peter, who wanted to build houses on Mount of Transfiguration, they didn’t keep this wonderful news to themselves. They told everything to all those who needed to know!

Luke 24:8-12 tells us how their message was received.

And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

THE DAWNING REVEALED DISBELIEVING DISCIPLES:

We know what the Disciples had experienced during Holy Week. 

They had been so excited about having Passover in Jerusalem. But they had been shocked by Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and they had been frightened by Jesus’ arrest and trial. They were shattered by Jesus’ death on the cross among thieves and so they were totally defeated and demoralized. 

So, naturally they couldn’t believe what they heard. They “knew” that the world as they knew it was over and they needed more than wild stories and rumors. Besides, in those days, women were not trusted with important news. They just wouldn’t believe unless they saw themselves.

Even when Peter saw, with his own eyes, he still didn’t understand. Even though he was one of the closest friends of Jesus, He was as perplexed as the women. He would need a special messenger to teach him also.

There is an old saying that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross. This story would seem to support that astute idea! Peter, without the help of God was no more or less wise than the women were!

CONCLUSION:

Today we know everything that the women knew and even more. 

In the dawning of each new day, whether that dawn is eagerly awaited or filled with dread, we need to remember, that Jesus Is the Master of The Dawning.

What makes a difference in our lives is our relationship with Jesus. If we let Him, He can be master of all our dawns, and all our days and nights as well. 

If we do, we will find ourselves blessed, because, as Jesus says to us, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus is the Master of the Dawning. Is He your master?

Happy Easter, 

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Prescription for Sin from Romans 3:20-30

Today I want to share a word about the prescription for sin as I comment on Romans 3:20-30

When a lady by the name of Eva Reitzel turned 103, she was interviewed by her local radio station.  After discussing all the things she'd seen in her life, the interviewer asked her what her prescription for a long life was.  Her answer was nine words long: “Stay away from doctors and stay away from men!” 

God has a simple prescription for eternal life as well.  We find it in many places in the Bible, and we do so today in Romans 3 beginning in verse 20.

WE ARE SAVED BY GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS :

In verses 20-23, Paul tells us we are saved by God’s rightness:

For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed—attested by the Law and the Prophets —that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

From the before the time of Paul even until today, people have looked to many different sources to save them. These have included money, power, prestige and politics. People have also looked to institutions like education to save them as well.

One of my prized possessions is my grandfather’s high school diploma from the early 20th Century. The inscription in his diploma reads, “Public Schools, Hope of our Nation.” I am a graduate of public schools and I am very grateful for them. My wife is a retired teacher from public schools, but we both know that as good as our public schools are, they have their limitations, particularly in the spiritual realm.

The problem with all these things is that we can do nothing to save ourselves. The Bible tells us our righteousness is like filthy rags before God. Let me illustrate that.

I once served alongside a member of the Louisiana Army National Guard who had been tasked one day with using a bulldozer to help clear up the site of a school building that had burned. After a long, tiring, but ultimately satisfying day of work, at quitting time my colleague had parked the dozer and jumped off of it. 

As soon as his feet hit the ground it opened and swallowed him up. He had parked on top of the school’s septic tank, and his weight on the ground was just enough to collapse the roof of the tank, and down into the muck and mire he went. 

Members of his team pulled my colleague out of the septic tank to safety, but they made him ride in the pickup truck bed and his wife would not let him into the house until she had hosed him down in their backyard. This is a graphic expression of our righteousness before God!

The truth is that the Law shows us our flaws, it doesn't correct them. This is just like how the bubble of a level shows the slope of a board but can’t change it.

Nothing we do can match God's perfection.

What then can save us? If our heritage, our church attendance, our good works, our education, our intelligence, our good looks can't, what can? Paul tells us what he discovered about this problem in Romans 7:24-25a: 

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Only God can do this work! Only God can do the impossible!

WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH :

In verses 24-28, Paul tells us we are saved by grace through faith:

They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

What is faith? It is placing our  trust in something and relying solely upon it. 

When we board a passenger jet, we are placing our trust in the airplane, the pilots, the mechanics, and air traffic control. We simply sit on our seat and trust that everyone responsible for our safety have done their job and that they will continue to do it. This is faith.

In this case of our salvation, it means believing that Jesus is the remedy for our sin illness! It means placing our lives and future in His hands with no “Plan B”.

I remember a time when my dad used a ladder to climb up on the roof to do a repair job. I climbed up after him and had a great time “helping” him, and also looking around our neighborhood from a new perspective. I had a totally different perspective, however, when it came time to climb back down the ladder!

From the edge of the roof, I could not see the top step of the ladder, and I froze in place. My dad, who had scrambled down the ladder with the ease of a gymnast, climbed back up and told me to hang my leg off the roof. When I hesitated, he told me to trust him, and I did. He took my foot, and placed securely on the ladder, and I was able to descend safely.

We need to trust Jesus in the same way!

What is justification? It is to be made whole in God's sight.  It is “Just as if I'd never sinned.”  When God looks upon our sin, He sees the Blood of Jesus covering it.

A story I heard illustrates this very well. A man and his son were in a shop when a unit of red-coated soldiers came into view as they marched down the street. As they marched by, the boy exclaimed, “My what bright white uniforms they are wearing!” His father was stunned, because he could clearly see the red coats, until he stooped to match his son’s point of view. The boy was watching the soldiers through the red stained-glass border of the shop window. The red glass filtered out the red color of the coats, and they appeared white to the boy. 

Again, when God looks upon our sin, He sees the Blood of Jesus covering it.

What is redemption? It means to exchange one item for another, like for example exchanging a voucher for a meal or a book, or exchanging a ransom for a hostage. We are sin's hostages, and God has exchanged Jesus for our freedom!

What is “passing over sin”? In this case it is a total, permanent solution to a problem. God puts our sin as far as the east is from the west and we are offered a complete, total pardon in Christ!

WE ARE SAVED LIKE ANYONE ELSE CAN BE: 

Finally, Paul tells us in verses 29-31 that we are saved just like everyone else can be saved:

Or is God for Jews only? Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

The ancient view of God was very exclusive and very discriminatory. People believed in territorial gods, ethnic gods, functional gods. It was a world of confusion, superstition and fear. Some still have such views today.

One of the pillars and also problems of post-modern thinking is the lack of belief in universal truth. My truth is good for me, and your truth is good for you. This is not the way that truth and God are revealed in the Bible.

The proper, Biblical view of God is there is only one God, one creator. There is only one source of wisdom, and there is only one author of truth, and that is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As He told Moses to write on the tablets, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Do not have other gods besides Me.”

This one God created an orderly world, with orderly rules. This God gives us one way by which life begins, and one way by which it should be lived. Ironically, the fact that God created the world in an orderly fashion to work by observable rules and principles spawned modern science, which has often turned its back on the God who created it.  

One God provides salvation for one creation: for Jews, for Samaritans, for Gentiles. As the old saying put’s it, “What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander” for, as Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” and as Paul himself said in Romans 10:13, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

CONCLUSION:

There is one God, on Savior, one Salvation, and one prescription for our sin. Have you taken the cure yet? If not, why not?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Serving God from Romans 12:1-21

Today I want to share a word about serving God as I comment on Romans 12:1-21.

A basic fact of life is that none of us will live forever.  Thus, comes the question:  who will replace us in our places of service for God? Who will replace Billy Graham?  Who will replace James Dobson? The long-serving pastor of your local church? 

We need not worry about the replacements for these people.  God has already picked them out.  The only question is will they answer the call?  The same question is there for us today as we consider who can serve God.

FIRST, GOD USES PEOPLE OF UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER:

 

In verses 1 and 3, Paul said:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship . . .  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

What is unconditional surrender?  Like skydiving, it is throwing yourself totally into a thing. Like the old joke says, “If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you”  

The early Spanish explorer to America Cortes burned his ships so that his crew would know that there was no going back. 

We need to do this because we can't add anything to God's plan. Like a drowning man should stop fighting and let the lifeguard save him, so should we throw ourselves into God’s arms and surrender to Him.

What areas do we need to surrender to God? 

We need to surrender our bodies: do right. 

We need to surrender our minds: think right. 

We need to surrender our will: decide right.

Our relationship to God is not a buffet line, but a banquet meal. Everything is on our plate in our relationship with God.

NEXT, GOD USES PEOPLE WILLING TO BE CORRECTED:

In verses 2 and 9-10 Paul taught,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect . . .  Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

We must be willing to have our attitudes corrected: Arrogance is a distasteful and defeating trait. We all know arrogant people like the fellow who said, “I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.” Paul taught that such people are of little use to God.

We also must be willing to have our world view corrected: The Classic view says that the Creator is truth. The Modern view says that the Creation is truth. The Post-Modern view says that the Creature is truth.

A good illustration of these world views is found in the story of three baseball umpires. 

The first umpire said, “There are balls and strikes and I call them as they are.”

The second umpire said, “There are balls and strikes and I call them as I see them.”

The third umpire said, “There are balls and strikes but they are nothing until I call them.”

 

We need to know that truth is found only in God's revelation to us! God is the truth that we need to find and to cherish. True wisdom is seeing the world through God’s point of view.

Finally, we must be willing to have our relationships corrected:  Our arrogance and our wrong world view damage relationships. Once we get our own spiritual condition sorted out, we can then correct our relationships. We can't do it before we are corrected by God, but must do it after.

Paul tells us what this looks like in verses 9-18,

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

GOD USES PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO WORK:   

In verse 11 Paul said this,

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Too often we look for the easy way out, like the fellow who said, “Work fascinates me; I can sit and look at it for hours.” And while God empowers us with His Spirit, He also clearly expects us to work. In addition, the word translated as “Serve'” here implies that as we work, we are also honoring and worshipping God.

God expects us to use what He has given us. We may be a “one talent Christian,” but He expects us to employ that talent for His glory and honor and for the blessing of His bride the church

Truth be told, most of the work which is done in the Kingdom isn't spectacular. Little of it is heroic, and the vast majority is more like when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet than when He cleansed the temple. 

Done properly and with the proper attitude, however, our work has two equal characteristics: 

It is diligent, earnest, and well done. It is also fun and rewarding. What's not to like?

FINALLY, GOD USES PEOPLE WHO MINISTER IN HIS NAME:  

In verses 20-21, Paul urges us to love people the way that God does:  

To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

If we bow our will to God, He will transform us into powerful people. He will make the weak strong and He will make the strong person into an appealing person.

Once God transforms us, then He can use us. We can go in His name and power to serve everyone, even our enemies. We go out with the good in our hearts and lives to overcome evil.

IN CONCLUSION, CONSIDER SOME  PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE THAT SERVED GOD:  

• Moses was a stuttering murderer, who was working as a shepherd on the back side of the desert. 
• Rahab was a harlot. 
• David was a humble shepherd boy.
• Mary was an insignificant, teenage, single mother. 
• Peter was a rough, untutored fisherman. 
• Matthew was a traitorous tax collector. 
• Paul was a bitter, legalistic Pharisee.  

God used all of these, and more. He will use us as well, if we only let Him! 

Thanks for watching. I will be back soon with more words we can consider together.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about True Patriotism from Romans 13

Today I want to share a word about true patriotism as I comment on Romans 13:1-7.

Few areas of life today are more controversial than politics and governance.  In a modern democracy, the winner of an election may still have almost one-half of his fellow citizens vote against him.

Although we have established here in the United States a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” we may need to ask the question, “Should we have human governments?”

One response to this question is illustrated in the novel and movie “The Sand Pebbles.”  During one of the civil wars in China during the inter-war years a missionary family declared themselves to be stateless persons.  This didn't help, for that status wasn't recognized by any of the combatant sides.  We have to live with human governments whether we like it or not!

Paul taught us how to view human government in Romans 13:1-7. 

FIRST, GOD HAS ORDAINED HUMAN GOVERNMENT:

In verses 1 and 2 Paul made this point to the church at Rome:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Scholars have discerned that three realms of authority on earth have been established in the Bible: 

The first realm is The Family. We see this in the Creation Story in Genesis, in the wedding at Cana, in 1 Corinthians 1:7 and Ephesians Chapter 4. 

The next realm is The Church, which looks back to Matthew Chapter 16 and Acts Chapter 2 for its founding.

Finally, there is the realm of Government, which we see established through Jethro’s counsel to Moses in Exodus Chapter 18, and also here in Romans Chapter 13. 

These first two verses answer the question of why we should be obedient to human government. 

Personal loyalty is the most powerful reason for obedience. People will lie, cheat, steal, and die for those they believe in. The fates of the Apostles, with all of them martyred in one way or another, shows their loyalty and obedience to Christ.

The problem we have with this is that people are human and frail, and they will fail us. The pastor who married my wife and I often said from the pulpit, “Don’t follow me. I am human and I will fail you. Follow God, follow His Word, and follow the Holy Spirit.” 

Governments at all levels are made up of people, they will fail. Our loyalty is to God; however, we need to remember that He asks us to be obedient to our government. 

So, as we loyally follow God and are obedient to our government, what does Paul mean when he tells us to be subject to our government? Paul was not asking us to be doormats or slaves. In fact, he asserted his rights as a Roman citizen several times in the Book of Acts.

The Greek word translated “subject” really means to cooperate, to play our proper part. It was used to describe military units arranging themselves in proper order on the battlefield. It means holding human government accountable, but it does not mean to rebel without just cause.

Because our nation was founded in rebellion, we sometimes forget how destructive rebellion is to society. Our war for independence produced a stable nation but the French Revolution continued on for many years and wreaked havoc with French society. 

Rebellion, which God equates with witchcraft, is not something we should choose lightly.

NEXT, GOD USES HUMAN GOVERNMENT: 

One reason God wants us to obey human government, according to Paul in verses 3 and 4, is that God uses it:

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

God is not physically present in this world today. He has chosen to use humans to accomplish His bidding. His task for the family is to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. His task for the church is to redeem the ungodly, not control them. The government is God’s chosen instrument to control human behavior.

God has empowered government to control human behavior for him:

He has given the state the power to penalize wrong doers. God has also given the state power to reward those who do good. We don’t often see a police officer as a minister of God, but according to Paul, he is! 

And remember, Paul did not live in a democracy the way we do here in the United States. He was the citizen of an authoritarian and often despotically governed empire, yet God revealed to him the role that government played in God’s eternal plan.

God reserves the right of vengeance to Himself; in Romans 12:19 we read, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” God deputizes human government to repay. God even outlines punishments in the Bible that governments can use, such as fines, restitution, death, even banishment.

God does love justice and mercy, but we need to allow Him to discipline His own servant. When we try to do that, we put ourselves in the place of the Master, and this, of course, is wrong. 

FINALLY, GOD EXPECTS PARTICIPATION IN HUMAN GOVERNMENT: 

In verses 5 through 7, Paul gave some practical examples of what God expects of us:

Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

I can think of three basic reasons to obey a government:

Out of blind habit.

Out of fear of punishment.

Out of respect for the God who put government in place. 

My wife is a retired teacher. During her career in education, she discovered that all students would obey a strict teacher, but only the respectful students would obey all teachers.

As we respect God, we must also respect our government in practical ways such as:

Paying our taxes and other fees.

Treating our leaders with respect and honor.

Obeying the laws of the land.

As Jesus Himself said, we should give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s!

The bottom line is that we must work with and in government. We do this to improve it and to ensure it maintains the appropriate level of righteousness and justice. 

We also need to use it for the best advantage of the Gospel. Paul appealing to Rome in Acts Chapter 25 allowed him to go to Rome and share the Gospel there, such that even members of Caesar’s household became followers of Christ.

We also, individually, need to consider becoming part of government so that we, as Christians, can help leaven the loaf, so to speak.

CONCLUSION:

We often find it hard to believe that God can use something so disorganized and riddled with problems as government.  

Of course, if He can use a similarly troublesome body like the church, He can certainly use human governments.  

We need to honor His purposes in that endeavor.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt