Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
To "consist" means to continue to exist and function normally, and we are told that everything in all creation consists by Jesus (Col. 1:17). This universe does not operate on its own. It is not on a fixed course, set by laws of physics that rule supreme across the cosmos. Jesus upholds everything in both heaven and earth by his power (Heb. 1:3). He told his disciples, "All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me" (Mt. 28:18).
This power that the Father gave to His Son Jesus is not limited to the realm of the spiritual things and the salvation of souls. By God's command, Jesus is the Director of the universe. He orchestrates the movements of the galaxies much as a conductor of an orchestra keeps the musicians in sync with his wand. All of nature is his servant, moving only at his will. There is no "mother earth"; that is an ancient myth. The blessings of nature are gifts from God through Christ, and praising the earth instead of praising the Lord is both foolish and evil. The laws of physics everywhere operate only as Jesus commands. In the beginning, there was no evolution of man or of the cosmos; there was only the Lord Jesus, creating everything according to the will of his Father. The Son of God created all things "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" (Col. 1:16).
The sun continues to shine only because Jesus is determining, moment by moment, that it will. The oceans still beat relentlessly against the sandy shores only because Jesus is determining, right now, that they will. The world revolves and brings changes in the seasons only because Jesus has a purpose for those things to continue. Winds blow and birds fly by his strength and wisdom, for in him dwells the fulness of the wisdom and goodness and power of the Father. Jeremiah asked incredulously, "Can the heavens give rain?" He saw, as we can see now, multitudes of people looking to the clouds for water instead of trusting in the Maker of the clouds. He wept because God's people were swept up by the godless spirit of their time to "worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever" (Rom. 2:25).
Do not look to the fields to produce your bread; look to the Maker of the fields and the Sender of the rains. Do not look to your earthly government to keep you secure. "Safety is of the Lord", and when Jesus has finished using an earthly government, it will end, regardless of the powerful weapons it may possess. In the early 1990's, the mighty Soviet Union fell apart. There was no statesman on earth, no government watchdog group, no public official anywhere, no philosopher in any country, and no scholar in any university in the world who foresaw the sudden downfall of the Soviet Union. Not even when the collapse of that massive empire was merely days away was any man anywhere able to predict what Jesus was about to do. It was the work of Jesus, and no man could either foresee or alter his plan to any extent.
The United States continues to exist only by the will of God's Son Jesus. This is that Jesus whose name government officials are ashamed to mention in public. The Jesus who holds in his hand the life of every creature is an embarrassment to most of the people whose lives he is keeping from destruction. His Book is banned from schools, lest children learn of his love and power. His words are refused a place in any public building, lest it appear that the government honors Jesus more than the liars who claimed to be sent from God but were not. His Spirit is prohibited from falling upon anyone in the more stylish churches, lest it expose their distinguished, erudite pastors to be frauds. God has blessed with incredible wealth and power and technological might the nations who once unashamedly spread the liberating message of Jesus to other continents and peoples; now, in Western civilization, his gospel is relegated to the realm of unnecessary theory by the very nations who have most benefitted from it.
What will be the end of the indignities heaped daily upon the name of Jesus by Western governments, including the government of the United States? What should be the outcome? How long will God's patience endure the stubborn refusal of public officials to express thankfulness to the Lord Jesus, by name, for the blessings of safety and wealth that he has given to us? To seek the favor (votes) of men instead of humbly and publicly acknowledging our utter dependence on Jesus is a grievous error in judgment, and will, in time, prove to be the undoing of this and every other earthly government. "In the king's favor is life", counseled Solomon. Jesus is king, and when he favors a man, that man lives forever.
All living things receive nourishment from the loving hand of Jesus, from microscopic organisms to the largest of whales, as well as all people. All creatures continue to live only because he wills it. You are able to read this only because Jesus has taught you to read, and if you understand and believe what I am telling you, it is only because he has condescended again to open another human heart to his wonderful, hidden truth.
Jesus is Lord of all (Acts 10:36), and every one of us is indebted to him for our lives. We owe Jesus praise and obedience, and to fail to pay that debt is sin.