Jesus of the Bible

By Francis Frangipane,

One may argue, "The Lord I know is loving, not confrontational." Really? I agree He is most loving and accepting of us and has gone to unfathomable lengths to rescue us. Yet that does not mean He is hesitant about correcting us when we are in sin or deception. Consider, to this same church in Laodicea, Jesus described the kind of love He has. He said, "Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline" (Rev. 3:19). 

Personally, I love that Christ confronts me. I love that He shows Himself strong in delivering me from evil. I love that my salvation is not up to me but is the effect of His passionate working in my life. I know He loves me, because He does not leave me to my innate patterns of self-deception. 

Again, one argues, "Jesus is the gentle shepherd." Yes, He is. But allow me to illustrate my point with a story.

Great Is Your Reward

 By Francis Frangipane

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. —Matthew 5:12, NIV

The antidote to persecution is in Jesus’ command to "rejoice and be glad" (Matt. 5:12). If we read the rest of verse 12, we discover that we will receive the same great reward as those who were persecuted before us.

There is a sequence for those God uses to speak to nations, those God anoints to get to the place where they truly represent Him. There are those who operate with the gift of prophecy and those who hold the prophetic office.

The Shelter of Glory

By Francis Frangipane

What we define doctrinally as "salvation" is, in truth, the entrance, and then expansion, of Christ's Presence throughout our person. What we call salvation is, in truth, the beginning of God's glory in man.

If you are a Christian, then Christ is in you; you are already in glory. You have been clothed with Christ, who is Himself the "radiance of [the Father's] glory" (Heb 1:3). The fact is, Satan knows you are a Christian, not simply because he heard you repeat a prayer at a church altar; the Devil sees what happened when you prayed: The glory of Christ entered your spirit!

Revelation Perception at the Throne of God

 By Francis Frangipane

 In the book of Revelation there is a marvel: ". . . in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind . . . around and within" (Rev. 4:6, 8). Our purpose here is not to spend ourselves in speculations about these creatures. Our goal is to possess that purity of heart that comes from living in the awareness of God. We're seeking the open vision that is manifested at His throne.

Though these "living creatures" may represent many things, one thing is certain: John was not seeing a nightmarish vision of six-winged beasts with dozens of eyes covering their bodies. What John saw was a symbol of a deeper truth. The many "eyes" represent the open, all-inclusive vision that is the result of being in God's presence.

Shout Grace!

By Francis Frangipane

We sing "Amazing Grace," but I don't think we realize how amazing grace actually is. Grace is God's power, motivated by His mercy, working to fulfill His compassion. What culminates in a "day of salvation" experience is actually months and even years of divine grace quietly, yet powerfully, working in our hearts.

Recall, Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44a). Do you remember that drawing power? Before we knew God, His power was drawing us to Christ. Yet let me take the miracle of grace further. For after Jesus spoke of the Father's drawing power, He then said, "and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:44b). This is the power and commitment of our Father's love: from our utterly helpless beginnings to our utterly helpless end, from being dead in sin to being dead in the grave, grace carries us to the arms of God.