Ronald Trujillo's Blog

The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man caries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. Yet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord your God, who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.  Deuteronomy 1:30-33

The failure to take the land by the Israelites at the beginning of their journey in the wilderness was explained here in this text. Israel did not take the Lord at His Word and, therefore, did not obey His command. The Israelites lack of obedience and unbelief led to thier wandering and prevented their trusting the Lord who told them He went before them. The cloud by day and the fire by night were the means of God’s direction for Israel in the wilderness. And the same God who went before them and had already searched out a place for them in the Land. His promise was to never leave them nor forsake them.

Jesus made a similiar promise in the NT Book of John, “Let not your hearts be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; (literally dwelling places)—if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” (John 14:1-4)  His departure was to go (before us) and prepare a heavenly home for us, and His promise was to return for us to take us back with Him, to be with our Lord and Savior forever.

Dear Christian friend, Our God of the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament. He still goes before us. And His promises to us are always, yes, and amen. But our response must be in faith, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we may be saved. Let us not be like the Israelites of old, whose lack of belief caused the wandering of countless families not be able to cross over into the promised land.

May the Lord bless your walk!

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)

Full Surrender: It is what Jesus was demanding of His followers, a total commitment from them—even unto physical death. And this is what Jesus requires of us too. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:6-7). A genuine Christian walks habitually in the light (truth and holiness), not in darkness (falsehood and sin). And it’s through the cross, that reminder of what my sins has cost My Lord and Savior, that He tells me to consider this to be death to my sinful flesh, and through the help of His Spirit that now dwells in me, deny myself and follow Him. There are plenty of examples of people who have started out saying yes to Christ’s invitation, and never finished their commitment. The cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, the pride that comes from all of this world offers has been enough to lead men astray from the path of righteousness.

Dear Friend, The Christian has no rights in this world, what I mean is your commitment to Jesus must be all or nothing. You do have a right to tell others the truth about God, and His love for them in sending Christ to die for us. The cost is great because of persecution but the cause of someone receiving salvation through your testimony is even greater. With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; With the pure You will show Yourself pure;  And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty (prideful) looks (Psalm 18: 25-27).

May the Lord bless your walk!

 

 

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand  here, and put it into My side, Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and My God!.” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:24-29)

Since the Jewish authorities had executed their leader, the disciples of Christ were afraid that their fate could be that of Jesus. Thomas, has for centuries been portrayed as loyal but pessimistic, and Jesus here in our text does not rebuke him for it. Instead He compassionately meets him at the point of his weakness. Thomas’ actions would seem that Jesus actually had to force the disciples into believing by offering proof of His resurrected body. The real point is that Jesus, did not want Thomas to remain undecided, but rather He knew already what would be his response, so what ever was necessary in this case, the invitation to put his finger into His nail print hands and to have Thomas put his finger into His side. The response, what God would want all of us to reply, “My Lord and My God!” With these words Thomas declared his firm belief in the resurrection and therefore, the deity of Jesus the Messiah and Son of God (Titus 2:13). Jesus also foresaw the time when such tangible evidence as Thomas received would not be availiable. After His permanent resurrection to His Father, all those who believe would do so without the benefit of seeing the resurrected Lord. The Bible says that we must walk by faith, and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) and Jesus declares here a special blessing to those who do.

Dear friend, The Bible talks alot about faith, which is extremely important for us as believer’s in our walk, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

May the Lord bless you this day!

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain women with them, came to the tomb bringing spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shinning garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” (Luke 24:1-7)

The glorious account of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ, is the most profound truth of all of the Bible’s prophecies. In this account in Luke, His body is not found where it was placed only three days earlier, yet, just as the other accounts in Matthew, Mark, and John, all give the main reason, remember how He spoke . . . Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure not wanting any of them to lose hope. The hope of the gospel for all of mankind is placed in the resurrection of Christ. We have forgiveness of our sins through the cross of Christ, His blood shed was for remission of sins we have committed against a holy God. His resurrection, brings to us eternal life as He, Jesus, conquer’s death our greatest enemy by rising from the dead. Christ’s death fulfills God’s will – Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come– In the volume of the book it is written of Me– To do Your will, O God.’ ” (Hebrews 10 :5-7)

Dear friend, The church, the body of Christ, celebrates the resurrection of Christ this day, as a day God has triumphed over evil. As a day that God said would happen, and it happened just as He said. Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, loved us so much, that He died for us! Go out today and celebrate with much joy with your family and friends the goodness of God today!

May the Lord bless your walk today!

And He, bearing His cross, went out to the place called the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write , ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”  Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”  (John 19:17-21)

The custom in the time of Roman executions was to place a placard or tablet around the neck of the victim as he made his way to execution. The tablet would then be nailed to the victim’s cross. Pilate used this opportunity to declare what his own findings were when he interviewed Jesus himself, and showed his own mocking revenge on the Jews who had instigated his use of authority by their mob mentality of demanding crucifixion. The cross was carried on Jesus’ shoulders to the place of execution, Jesus carried it as far as the city gate, but due to the effects of His previous brutal beating, someone else had to carry it for Him; Simon of Cyrene (Matthew 27:32). Jesus beared His cross to give us forgiveness of our sins. He endured the scorn and shame of a condemned sinner who willingly went to His death so we would not have to be judged for our sins. Now, If you by faith have received this gift of salvation, can have everlasting life with God the Father and be apart of His eternal kingdom.

Dear friend, One thing the Lord does require of us is to deny ourselves and take up the cross. The Lord’s cross is our separation from this world, and be conformed to His life of righteousness and sanctification and love.

May the Lord bless your walk!

Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have  delivered Him up to you.” Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.

What accusation – This question formally opened the Roman civil phase of proceedings against Jesus, the fact that Roman troops were used at Jesus arrest proves that the Jewish authoritities had Pilate informed about this beforehand. Although they most likely had expected Pilate to confirm their judgment against Jesus and order His death sentence, Pilate instead ordered a new hearing in his presence. It is a gross indictment to call Jesus an evildoer. Yet, the twisted lying and false accusations is what was predicted by the Lord, yet, He determined to go to Jerusalem which is where he was arrested. Capital punishment was the most jealously guarded of all the attributes in Roman provincial administration. The fact that Jesus foretold that He would die by being “lifted up “ And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die (John 12:32-33). If the Jews were allowed to execute Him, it would have been by throwing Him down and stoning Him. But God providentially, sovereignly controlled all the political procedures to assure that when sentence was finally passed, it would be by crucifixion at the hands of the Romans. Jesus makes a statement to Pilate, “You rightly say that I am a King. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should be bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (v.37)

Dear beloved friend, Jesus wants us all to hear His voice. And we can when we take His Word, the Bible, as the inerrant Word of God. We are to take His claim to be our King seriously, and see His first coming as His first advent in all humilty And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8). His second coming, will be that of a conquering King (Revelation 19:11-16).

May the Lord bless your walk!

 

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey,’ ” (Zechariah 13:9). So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:5-11)

Jesus, more than a prophet from Nazareth, has come into the week of His passion, were He is being prepared to fulfill the plan of God to bring salvation to the world. It is not what the people were expecting. Spreading one’s garments on the dusty road was an ancient act of homage paid to royalty. This suggests that they did recognize His claim to be King of the Jews. Hosanna – A Hebrew expression which translates “Save now!”  Taken from the Messianic Psalm 118:25.These were the shouted words of a crowd at Jesus at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Days latter these same people were part of a larger audience who would shout, “crucify Him!” and reject Him because He did not provide military nor political deliverance for the Jewish people. God’s plan of deliverance was that their spiritual bondage to sin would be dealt with first, Thus the Good Shepherd became the Passover Lamb who takes away the sins of man. Blessed is He – This also a quote from Psalm 118:26, along with the messianic title “Son of David,” clearly indicated that the crowd was acknowledging Christ’s messianic claim. the date of this entry was Monday, 10 Nisan, A.D.30, exactly 483 years after the decree of Artaxerxes mentioned it in Daniel 9:24-26.

Beloved friend, We are entering another time of remembering God’s prophetic promise to Israel, to make an end of sin and it’s captives who are kept in bondage, by making reconciliation for iniquity and an actual covering for sin by the full atonement, the blood of His Son, the crucified Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29). Let this promise be for you, and your families too!

May the Lord bless your walk!

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

The Lord wants our relationship with Him to grow in increasing measure every day living in victory through Him. Having a dynamic Christian walk cannot be realized apart from a developing close walk with our Savior God, Jesus Christ. We are called to reign in life through Him, but because of Adam’s sin, spiritual deadness rules the lives of men who are not born-again. Where they can only draw from Adam’s fallen sinful nature which proves to be an inadequate life source. Our enemy is Satan, who Jesus likened to a thief. “The thief does not come except to steal,and to kill, and to destroy, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). A new and greater relationship is needed and is found in Christ. In fact, much more of an abundant life is what is needed and what is given to the Christian saint who comes to Him in faith, and has his sins forgiven and receives the gift of righteousness which God gives to every repentant sinner who comes to Him for forgiveness. This allows us to stand accepted before a holy God, and be found in Him, a righteousness which is through faith in the One who gave Himself for our sins. Every believer is given this gift of righteousness, but sadly not every believer is living victoriously. So the key to this passage comes down to receiving “abundance of grace” every Christian has been given grace, yet many of God’s people are living daily lives but not relying upon God’s grace. They walk according to their own flesh, thereby drawing from their old life of Adam’s natural and spiritual bankrupt resources. Living by grace takes humility and faith, for God “gives grace to humble” (James 4:6) and will always oppose the proud.

Dear friend, Stay encouraged in your walk with the Lord, receiving from Him the abundance of grace which is rightly yours. As you grow in maturity as a Christian, you will find that Christ dependancy in every activity of life is the essential key to having victory over this world’s system that opposes God and His Son, Christ the Lord, and His written Word, the Bible. Following His written Word is how we attain victory.

May the Lord bless your walk!

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:38-39).

Jesus’ anguish had nothing to do with the fear of man, nor for that matter the brutal pain of the capital punishment of a Roman cross. His sorrow came upon Him as the hours drew near of taking upon Himself the full cup of divine wrath against the sins of man. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand (Isaiah 53:10). Though the Servant Christ didn’t deserve to die, it was the Lord’s will for Him to do so. The price for our debt was high, but Jesus paid it in full, His cry of anguish is for us to know that it’s bitterness He endured was so that we would not have to. Not as I will, but as You will – This does not mean there was conflict between the Persons of the Godhead. Rather, it graphically reveals how Christ in His humanity voluntarily surrendered His will to the will of the Father in all things, even if it meant being seperated from His Father, as a holy God cannot look upon sin, even if it is His own Son. That’s the good news of the gospel, Christ paid the punishment for our sins even though Himself was without sin, and was separated from His Father, for a time that we know through the Scripture “When He ascended on high, He led capitivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” Now this, “He ascended” what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all heavens, that He might fill all things (Ephesians 4:8-10).

Dear friend, The Lord Jesus is our Savior and King. Who willingly went to the cross for us to set us free, He will return for us, until then, He asks us to deny ourself take up our cross and follow Him. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can do all of His will.

May the Lord bless your walk

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” (Matthew 26:31-34)

The statement Jesus made “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me” needs to be looked at from from His vantage point. The word for stumble: the Greek word is the same word Jesus used for “offended” in Matthew 24:10, describing the falling away and spiritual betrayal that would occur in the last days. Here, however, Jesus spoke of something less than full and final apostasy. In a moment of fear and weakness the disciples disowned Christ, but He, all knowing, prayed that their faith would not fail (John 17:9-11) which prayer was answered. Jesus promise to go before them – Whenever we find ourselves in fear or in trouble, how much safer is the follower of Christ then when He is right beside them? But in this case, Jesus was refering to His resurrection which afterward He would have been seen by many (Matthew 28:7), The prophecy would need to be fulfilled, I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered ( Zechariah 13:7) Jesus had not yet been resurrected, and thus the disciples were meant to abandon Him.

Dear Friend, The good news for us is, We will never be abandoned by our Lord, His promise to us is to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and His death and cruxifixion and resurrection guarantees our inheritance and salvation are secured by Him. We can have rest in Him who goes before us in every situation of life.

May the Lord bless your walk today!