From the first time I read it ’till this day, Psalm 32 remains one of my favorite Psalms…maybe because from the first time I read it ’till now I am very aware of the merciful forgiveness I need in my life.
Verses 1 & 2,
“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!”
are a comparison to the 3rd & 4th verses,
“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.”
and then verse 5a & 5b is a testimony of how he got out of verses 3 & 4 and into the feeling of verses 1 & 2,
“I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
Verse 5c is then God’s response to David’s actions in 5a & 5b,
“And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.”
Verse 6a is then an appeal for people when necessary to seek the Lord as he did,
“Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;”
And verse 6b is a warning that there will come a time when it is “too late,”
“Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.”
Verse 7 is an expression of gratitude,
“You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance.”
Verses 8 & 9 is God talking to all of us on how to avoid verses 3 & 4,
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.”
Verse 10 is David speaking from experience as to why we should heed God’s counsel in verses 8 & 9,
Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
Then verse 11 is the closing statement of encouragement and instruction,
“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.
So basically David in 11 verses preached to us an entire sermon on the power of forgiveness…it would take me 25 minutes to paint the picture he painted in 11 verses.
Oh how this sinful man loves and needs the reminder of this beautiful psalm. When I sin don’t wait to go to Jesus run to Him and seek Him and be made whole and then grow from that…don’t be like the horse but listen to God so that I don’t end-up in the same spot again. And finally rejoice because above I was a sinner but as a forgiven sinner I am a righteous one & upright in heart!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Job 21 & 22
In the narrative of these first five chapters from the book of Samuel we see the contrasts between two parents. A humble woman who chooses to give her child fully to the Lord on one hand. The religious leader of the people who is willing to rebuke others (like he did Hannah when he thought she was drunk in the temple) but is unwilling to rebuke his own sons who are making a mockery of the things of God.
The religious leader of the God’s people raised children that were shameful to the cause of God.
The humble, barren woman raised a child that became the religious leader of God’s people.
Which parent are we? Have we dedicated our children fully to God or do we by our own unwillingness to parent in some ways keep them at a distance from God?
Tomorrow’s Reading: Psalms 30-32
There is always an excitement when I read a text and for the first time it hits me as significant. Today that happened,
“When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected.” Gen. 40:6
What a leader! He was so perceptive that he noticed and cared about the change of countenance in prisoners he was overseeing. I want to be that type of leader.
Now onto the main theme that caught my attention in today’s reading…
Patience that the Lord will work, even if there is delay.
When Joseph interpreted the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker, he said to the cupbearer, “don’t forget me down here. I want out of this house (jail).”
The cupbearer didn’t remember for 2 years.
When Joseph came to power the Bible takes special to care to tell us that Joseph is 30 years old. That caught my attention because the last time the Bible mentioned Joseph’s age was when he was telling his brothers his dreams and they were selling him into slavery…he was 17.
For 13 years Joseph was in bondage. 13 years of suffering. Before one day he is called to shave, put on clean clothes, and stand before Pharaoh and in an instance his life is forever changed.
At least seven years later, but more likely 8 years later his brothers are bending their knee before him just like he dreamed more than 20 years before.
God’s care and word are sure…but sometimes we must have patience for Him to reveal to us His will, His plan, and even His ultimate deliverance from a situation…and when I say wait I don’t mean a week or two…or even a month…most of us are only willing to be patient with God about that much time…
But Joseph shows us that our waiting on the Lord may be years, decades even!
Lord may I trust You and wait on You in all areas of my life even if it means I wait without understanding for years.
Lord help me to patiently wait!
Tomorrow’s Reading: We start a new book, 1 Samuel 1-5
Let us be honest there are some points in these two chapters that are hard for us to swallow in our modern culture and our modern philosophy of thinking.
The first comes in Paul’s call for the church to throw-out the member that is living in open sin, and as Paul points out such a degrading sin that even the pagans would be shocked…Paul obviously didn’t know the pagans of 2016…but I digress. This is a challenge to us because in our modern culture to disfellowship someone even those who are openly sinning and not even fellowshipping with the Lord we refuse to remove from the membership rolls. I remember back at my old church a member wrote a very strongly worded letter against Adventism and then asked to have their name permanently removed, some on my board wanted to deny such a move saying it wasn’t our right whether to remove someone or not. In fact they were correct in this case it wasn’t our right not to remove them, we had to respect the wishes of the individual, but that is not what was meant.
The second challenging concept to our minds is this, Paul states that this removal from the membership is to in fact save the individual that has fallen,
“I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Corinthians 5:5
This is a challenge because almost no one in our modern culture believes firm discipline from a church actually works towards the salvation of an individual. By the way…if they repent we don’t kick them out or we let them back in (that is a little preview of 2 Corinthians dealing with this exact story 🙂 )
The third challenging point Paul makes is that we aren’t to hang out with a whole litany of people, but he isn’t talking about those outside who are professed secularists, which I believe means he expects us to spend time with these people, also a challenge to many a Christian mind. No Paul writes we shouldn’t hang-out with those in the church that are known to be living in these ways…which leads to…
The fourth challenge. Paul tells us to judge those within the church. I know, I know, “thou shalt not judge” people use it all the time. The concept is judging the heart of an individual or condemning them to eternal separation from God which did happen in Jesus’ day and probably still does today, but Paul is very clear as was Jesus if we really read His words closely…all of them…we are to judge the sinful actions of our fellow believers…not our preferences or cultural biases. Not our tastes or personal pet peeves but real thus saith The Lord stuff. If someone is smoking and destroying the temple of God we are allowed to say that is sin. The people we aren’t supposed to judge…their actions, are those outside the church. Why? Because I believe the point Paul is making is that those inside the church know better, thus judgement can take place, those outside, don’t and until they do we should not condemn their practices or them in association with their practices.
In chapter 6 the challenges to our modern way of thinking continue!
Challenge number five–we are not to sue our fellow Christians in the worlds courts! Paul tells us we should have enough common sense within the church to decide and mediate such disputes. Wow! Can you imagine that?
Challenge six ties into the above it would be better for us to be wrong and defrauded than to go before the public courts with Christian opposing Christian.
Challenge seven: Paul indicates that it is the intimate act of sex that makes a person one with another. People can’t be frivolous in this area and not therefore expect their hearts to suffer more than with other sin. Paul then amps up the consequences of sexual sin…not the eternal consequences, the person who commits a sexual sin and does not turn away from it and receive the forgiveness of Jesus is not any worse off than the person who was greedy and did not turn away from it and receive the forgiveness of Jesus…but the temporal consequences of sexual sin are more destructive to us here on this earth. I used to think that when Paul writes,
“Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.” (1 Cor. 6:18)
That this had something to do with the physical act and the physical consequences I now think due to the statement above about the “two becoming one” the sin is a sin against one’s own body because it damages the heart–the emotions of a person. David told us in the Psalms to, “guard our hearts” our hearts are hurt when we go down this path when not in God’s will. I am thankful for grace that we can get back to glorifying God with our bodies in spite of past mistakes!…but we do walk with a limp after such encounters.
These two chapters have a lot of challenges for those in our modern society. We would be weird if we lived by them but I think we may be more happy.
I like the practical approach of 1 Corinthians thus far…it is easier for me to grasp then the philosophical approach of much of Romans.
Happy Sabbath Y’all!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 40-43
Sometimes things are just communicated better through song or three:
I apologize this should have posted yesterday. Since it did not you will receive two posts today. One early and one later today.
I very much appreciated all 5 chapters from the book of Isaiah today. There are nuggets of beauty that can be taken from each chapter, like chapter 55 that holds one of my all time favorite life promises,
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” -Isaiah 55:10, 11
What a tremendous promise for those who are called to be witnesses and to share the good news of Jesus with others.
But in today’s post I want to focus on Isaiah chapter 53.
This is one of the most beautiful, complete, thorough prophecies about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Read it through and see several of the characteristics of Jesus.
Humble in looks and comportment. While I am sure there were happy times Jesus was carrying sorrow for humanity as He looked around. Think about yourself when you see some of the wicked in the world, how much your heart aches, now imagine being the Creator and perfect and then seeing the decaying of society, the world, and your prize possession your people…you and I would have sorrows and grief also.
But in Isaiah 53 the great theme that jumps out at me is that Jesus died for us and because of our mistakes.
This theme jumps out in the following verses: 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, and 12.
Out of 12 verses 6 of them have reference to Jesus dying for you and for me.
Jesus was many things, He is many things for you and me but the greatest of all is Savior!
Next Reading: Matthew 26-28
Today a good friend sent me a text teasing me a ‘bit about it being “Job” reading day. She’s been reading my blog and knows I’ve been struggling through this book of the Bible, and today’s reading was no different.
I said to her that at one point the book of Job ministered to me so I don’t know why I am struggling through it so much now, and I teased, “My life just may be too chipper at the moment.” And when I texted that, though it was in a ‘bit of jest I realized I’ve been sorta down on this book, but there was a time when I was younger and battling some depression that the angst of Job ministered to my heart.
At that point in my life I could relate better to what Job was communicating through his words. Often times when I am going through hard times even though I know better…or at least I know better when I am not going through the hard times I still ask…”God why are You doing this to me?” It is not God it is the devil, but sometimes I like Job lay it at the feet of God.
Here is a whole book that speaks to people going through those moments. Having those questions and doubts and misunderstandings of the character and actions of God. A misunderstanding of the Great Controversy.
With that realization I reminded of something important, The Bible is not written for one type of person, dealing with just one area of life, or one challenging topic. The Bible is written to minister to all people, to all of us at all the various phases of our lives.
Job is not speaking to me now…
But Job has ministered to me in the past…
And maybe someday this book will again…
If Job is ministering to you right now, where you are at in your life. Know that that is a sign of God’s love for you. He inspired this book to be written for you at this point in your life, so that you would know He understands and though you may feel like Job like this is God’s punishment even if it is not, He does love you and He doesn’t forsake those who doubt that love in moments or even those who may blame Him.
Job is a reminder that God is big enough for every situation of our lives.
Thanks to my friend, you know who you are, for in your little teasing text God used you to remind me of His great love for all of us in all situations!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Isaiah 51-55
Psalm 27 I desire to be the consistent prayer of my heart.
May this be the psalm of my heart!
Boaz in the book of Ruth in Hebrew is referred to as the “go’el” which means Kinsman-Redeemer. This is significant because I believe Boaz is type for Christ. Foreshadowing what Jesus would do for all mankind through His death on the cross.
Boaz in this book shows great concern for the widow Naomi through his kindness towards Ruth who is now without her family (father), just as Jesus is the “go’el” of the widows and fatherless (Proverbs 23:10, 11).
Boaz pleads the case of Ruth and Naomi at the city gate. Just as Jesus will plead for His people (Jeremiah 50:34)
“As Boaz had the right of redemption and yet clearly was under no obligation to intervene on Ruth’s behalf, so it is with Christ. As Boaz, seeing the plight of the poor widows, came to their rescue because his life was governed by Yahweh and his laws, so also of the Messiah it is prophesied that his life would be governed by the law of God and that he would deal justly and equitably with the poor and with those who were oppressed (Ps. 72:2, 4, 12, 13; Isa. 11:4)” (The Levirate and Goel Institutions in the Old Testament With Special Attention to the Book of Ruth,Mack Publishing, 1974, p. 298).
Boaz illustrates the character of the one who would be he is descendant but also His Savior, as Jesus came from the line of Ruth and Boaz, Obed, Jesse, and David.
After the book of Judges where Godly character was hard to find, in the book of Ruth the illustrations of integrity are rich and full!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Psalms 27-29
Much has been written about all the various aspects of Joseph’s life so I will allow you to read many of those other accounts gain lessons from his life. Of course those lessons caught my attention as they always do, but beyond that what caught my attention in this reading is the various portraits of Judah.
Judah one of Joseph’s older brothers. It was he that recommended and convinced his brothers to sell their little brother Joseph into slavery,
Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.” Genesis 37:26-28
Then all of chapter 38 is a sordid tale of Judah’s misdeeds. I will list the ones I observe:
I point all this out because of this very simple point. Jesus inspired Matthew in his gospel to reference not only Judah but to remind the people of the sin of Judah by referencing Tamar and the sons born to her in His genealogical record,
“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar,” Matthew 1:1-3a
Jesus didn’t choose Reuben who tried to protect Joseph. He didn’t choose Benjamin who it seems didn’t ever really do anything personally wrong. He didn’t choose Joseph with all his integrity.
He chose to come through the line of Judah and Jesus didn’t reference the part of Judah’s life when he actually stood before Joseph showing a new level of integrity in Egypt. No Jesus chose to reference the lowest part of his life.
Folk if Jesus can work through Judah and his line He can work through you and me!
Praise Jesus for grace!
Tomorrow’s Reading: The book of Ruth (don’t worry it is a quick read)
In the first four verses of today’s reading Paul sends out a warning all of us should take heed to. Paul in these verses is basically saying those that depend on others or in this case more directly those that led them to Jesus rather than actually Jesus Himself are but still immature Christians. We have a problem with this in our modern day world, how many would fall if some of the great luminaries of the church fell? How many would be so discouraged by the tragedy of another humans stumbling that they themselves would stumble. Paul tells the church in Corinth, you’re not ready to really eat “solid” spiritual food because you are still dependent on Paul or Apollos.
A few years ago I wrote a blog about what I perceived to be the dangers of the ONE Project and GYC conferences. Many took great offense to this blog post and because it came so near to the time of one of those events happening I didn’t want it to be perceived as being biased for or against one or the other. But I feel I should restate the danger I perceive here. My question and concern was, are these the best use of our resources to create what I have heard Rick Warren refer to as “conference Christians” people that attend a Christian conference, have a great experience, get all excited and then basically live off of that ’till the next conference, but there is no real long term change in their lives. The backlash I received from this blog actually affirmed I think my point and also what Paul wrote to the Corinthians about. Many private messaged me and some did so publicly as well saying, “I know people that live for the one project, that without this event they would feel spiritually lost.” Or Iike one young person said, “Every year I go to GYC so it can get me excited again.” I believe both such sentiments are what Paul is speaking of in regards to himself and Apollos. If we need events or people to to sustain us then we are still drinking spiritual milk, not solid spiritual food. And that is my concern with events such as the above I listed, or we could throw in Catalyst or Exponential, not that anything is wrong in and of themselves, but they may be a facilitator of the very thing Paul is speaking against, creating immature man dependent Christians.
With that in mind Paul points out that the work of him or Apollos or we could say the events I listed above or any of us individuals as Pastors or Spiritual leaders whether we have truly built upon Jesus, or our own personalities, or the entertainment and flair of an event will eventually be revealed,
“Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” 1 Cor. 3:12-15
Without intent or purpose I am sure that I have “lead” some to Jesus but maybe it was at times more about me and I’ve been more of their foundation than Jesus, therefore I love that after such a scripture as that above that The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to extend a word of grace at the end of it,
“If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
I don’t think, maybe I am just to idealistic but I don’t believe the majority of us in ministry ever try to make it about us, but I know we can. The “yet as through fire” I believe will be the realization some have been lost because of what we did or did not do and I know even now the thought of that breaks my heart. Some that I have loved that have passed away and I wonder what more I could have done to reach them with Jesus’ love, and this thought eats at me…
I think of HMS Richards who related the story of a lady he visited in one of his first evangelistic campaigns, she had company over so he didn’t stay and he said he also didn’t pray with her, that night she killed herself. He said he’s never failed to pray with an interest again, and even though it was 50 years later that he was relating this story you could still hear the pain and regret in his voice.
Again I thank Jesus for grace!
So those are my thoughts for today’s reading. I have a few more, but maybe you’ll hear them in a sermon some day down the road 🙂
Have a great preparation day and a wonderful Sabbath tomorrow!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 36-39
In today’s devotional reading there was so much great stuff I am going to list the verses that caught my attention and some quick thoughts I wrote down related to these verses.
Matthew 23:1-3–There are many in the world today that use faulty Christians as a reason for denying truth or not obeying God. I think one of the greatest areas this occurs is with regards to the attendance of church. Ever since I started to appreciate church and wonder why others didn’t appreciate it much I’ve heard, “I don’t go there because the people are so…” “cold” “unfriendly” “fake” “hypocrites.” Etc! Jesus clearly within these verses acknowledges the hypocrisy of some claiming to be followers of God, but He does not then let off those who observe this hypocrisy,
“The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe.” -Mt. 23:2, 3a
Matthew 23:15–This verse struck me because I remember the old adage that a mentor of mine once shared, “The way you bring them in is often the way they stay and even more so.” His point was that if you bring someone in through a system of legalism, rules, control, that is often who they will stay only more so. But if you bring someone in with love, grace, heart transformation, then that is who they will be. I believe this text affirms that adage.
Matthew 23:23–Too many are embracing justice, mercy, and faithfulness as Jesus instructed but forgetting the other point He made in this text, “the are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” What are “the others” some things that folk in our modern world would see as the more legalistic aspects of religion…like obedience to certain rules, dictates, etc.
Matthew 23:14–We are preaching for the salvation of others, but also for the fulfillment of end-time prophecy.
Matthew 24:20–I’ve never understood how folk who fully acknowledge these scriptures are about the end of times…or even if they don’t they at least acknowledge they reference the time of the destruction of Jerusalem which took place 40 years after Jesus’ death, why they would give no credence to Jesus saying pray you don’t have to flee on the Sabbath? If Jesus got rid of the Sabbath at His death, why would He care if the people flee on the Sabbath? Jesus knew the Sabbath would be just as holy 40 years after His death or even thousands of years after His death, thus the encouragement for prayer. By the way also on this text why would Jesus say pray it is not at winter or on the Sabbath? Doesn’t Jesus know when it will be? Answer,
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” -Mt. 24:36
Matthew 24:22–No life would have been saved? I am assuming this is talking about physical life, yet it seems to maybe also be referencing Spiritual life.
Matthew 24:33, 42–We can’t know the day or the hour, but the general time period will not be a surprise…
Matthew 24:44–of course then we counter balance that with, “the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you DO NOT THINK HE WILL.”
Matthew 24:48–Jesus refers to those who say, “Jesus is not coming for a long time” as evil. Strong language and scary since I’ve heard others and yes I believe even I have said it in my life, “I don’t Jesus is coming for a long time.” Even if that were true to believe such a thing breeds a lackadaisical life. And the truth is Jesus’ coming is always near because I only have these 70-90 years of my life to live which every day is seeming shorter and shorter and once my life is complete I’ll sleep and then just like that boom Jesus is here! Let us not be evil believing or speaking such an evil lie of satan!
Matthew 25:14-30–To me this is a parable about those who had access to truth, to relationship, to connection to the body of Christ and did nothing with it. In this sense I believe this parable is for those born into Christian homes but they do nothing with that “advantage” or people that have received a Christian education, but do nothing with that “advantage.”
Lots of good stuff in these chapters. I am sure even more than what I stated here. What moved on your heart?
See y’all tomorrow with our reading of 1st Corinthians 3 & 4.
My apologies for being a day late on this post. I’ll be posting today’s reading on Matthew 23-25 later this evening.
The text that resonated with me and that I will write on today, because it has been bouncing around in my mind and heart for several weeks now is,
“And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My strength),
6 He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” -Isaiah 49:5, 6
Isaiah’s mission was to bring the people of Israel back from their wanderings away from God. Part of Isaiah’s mission was then to remind the people of their mission,
“It is too small a thing that you should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make you a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Israel had too small of vision. They thought they were only to be for their “own kind” but God reminds them that is too small, you are a nation for the purpose of the salvation of all other nations.
I have been thinking much about this and I’ve been wondering how many churches are satisfied with only reaching their own? Or reaching other Adventists. How many of our churches are growing, not based on actual growth in the truth and the love of Jesus, but simply through the transfer of other Adventists? I ask this question because if you look at the church I currently pastor over the last 10 years we would be considered a growing and strong church…
But…
I researched the numbers for my recent State of the Church address and while over the last 10 years our membership has grown by more than 300 members roughly a 2.10% growth rate (still below average in the North American Division), if we took out the transfers of other Adventists to our church then our growth rate would be -1.0% (just in case you didn’t see that line preceding the 1 that is a NEGATIVE 1 percent). We’re a church primarily for Adventists.
“It is too small a thing that you should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Adventists and to restore the preserved ones of Adventism; I will also make you a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
How many other churches are in our same situation?
Jesus give us hearts (make us churches) to be witnesses to the nations that we may play a role in reaching to the ends of the earth!
Oh how I wish I could pretend to be profound, but truly I am not. I am out of understanding within some of these chapters of the book of Job. I am grateful to know I am not the only that has struggled through them though. My wife, Christina, was reading through the Bible not long ago and she said Job was a struggle to get through.
It is scripture. It is God-breathed (inspired) but where I am at right now I do not find an opening.
So here is what I want to share with you. Since this is more than just an exercise in discipline, these are truly my daily devotionals and time with God, when I can’t get anything out of what I am reading, say I am in Job then I go to another place in the Bible. I don’t want to leave the Word without getting a word for my heart so to speak. I would encourage you to do the same. Don’t get frustrated or worn out, today I went back to what we read yesterday, Psalm 25 and agin it blessed me…it is truly one of those psalms that can be a daily blessing. There will be chapters in Chronicles & Numbers that we will read in the future…the genealogies…I know on those days I am going to have to go to another place in scripture to have the Lord speak to me. That is okay. And we should do that rather just again treating this as a dry exercise “we have to get through.”
Job 17 & 18 didn’t speak to me today, so I went somewhere else in the Word to allow God to still reach me. What about you? Did Job minister to you, or did you go elsewhere also?
Tomorrow’s Reading: Isaiah 45-50
All three Psalms today were wonderful, but the 25th Psalm especially ministered to my heart!
We may at times forget when we read the Psalms that they were in fact songs. I was reminded of this when I read Psalm 25 tonight. As I read I suddenly realized this Psalm began to minister to me when I was just a little kid and my dad would put on our soft Friday night Sabbath music, which often included the Maranatha Singers.
So rather than me writing today let us be blessed with the song of Psalm 25 and may the music help you commit it to memory that it may be a continual prayer of your life!
The final line of the book of Judges tells us all we need to know to understand the disturbing stories found throughout the book of Judges, but especially in these last 5 chapters,
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” -Judges 21:25
The truth about humanity is also revealed in this last verse of Judges, if we choose to do “what is right in our own eyes” not in God’s eyes, but in our own we will end-up in absolute moral decay.
Even in the first two chapters in the story of Micah with his idols, the Levite Priest, then the Danites that people can even say they are doing things in the name of the Lord, there can be religious trappings, or the semblance of worshiping God but that just because this is the case does not mean that God is truly being honored. In fact in verse 6 of chapter 17 we see the exact same sentence as we see at the end of the book of Judges,
“every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
Even as supposed worship of God is going on with a true “Levite” really it is that which goes according to man’s will and not according to God’s.
In the last days this will take place once again. There will be worship, supposedly even true worship (Revelation13), but ultimately it will be humanity,
“doing what is right in their own eyes.”
Judges gives us a glimpse of what truly happens when we do what is right in our own eyes.
May we each one surrender our wills to Jesus right now…today…so that we will not be fooled by the false worship in the last days and so that we will not be fooled into worshiping our ways and what humanity says is right.
Tomorrow’s Reading: Psalm 24-26
In today’s reading the treachery of Jacob’s sons (Gen. 34:1-31) I believe is an example of the “church” taking a good thing of God and using it for evil.
In the story found in today’s reading the sons of Jacob use circumcision to seek revenge. But at other times in church history, we’ve seen churches sell “forgiveness,” in fact this still happens. We know of churches that expect a financial offering when a prayer is prayed, in order for it to be “heard.”
But I also think of my own denominations history, we took and some still do take the beautiful doctrine of the sanctuary and turned into a tool to breed fear and thus encourage submission to a certain belief system.
We’ve maybe at times taken our knowledge of the Sabbath and rather than using it to teach the beauty of the character of Jesus we’ve taught it as, “see we’re right and you’re wrong.” So the Sabbath has been a tool of arrogance.
It is sad that we (collective church throughout history) repeat maybe not in such dramatic ways, but still repeat the sins of Jacob’s sons. Misusing God’s gift for our ultimate end!
This story can be read and we can be shocked and move quickly by it, or we can pause and ask, “have I done the same?” and if the answer is “yes” let us repent in our hearts and then thank Jesus for grace.
Tomorrow’s Reading: Judges 17-21
Human worship is not just a problem in Hollywood or Washington D.C. it is a problem in the church as well and this is one of the issues Paul addresses in these first couple chapters of his letter to the church in Corinth.
It seems division has arisen in the church based on which church members are connecting themselves to Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, and some were getting it right, “I am of Christ.”
Paul points out the foolishness of this argument with two quick rhetorical questions,
“Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ” -1 Corinthians 1:13b,c
This should end such a silly debate.
Unfortunately this debate continues, it looks different, none of us anymore say, “I am of Doug Batchelor” or “I am of Dwight Nelson” or “I am of Ted Wilson” “Randy Roberts” or whomever, but it still continues.
But we show a similar internal reality as the church in Corinth when we buy hook-line-and-sinker whatever these individuals may say not because they are good teachers or because we have tested what they’ve said for ourselves, but simply because they agree with our “traditional” line of thinking.
We all have our favorites, including myself, but let us never be of anyone but Jesus!
Jesus who was crucified for us!
Jesus whose name we were baptized in!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 32-35
This is probably not new to any of you, but for some reason I saw the parable that begins chapter 20 in an entirely different light than I had previously.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did]the same thing. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ 7 They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’9 When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.10 When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last.” -Matthew 20:1-16
I’ve always looked at this parable in three ways:
While all three of these points I believer are true.
It hit me tonight I believe the main point of the parable is a rebuke against salvation by works.
Why are the early servants grumbling, because they worked harder and they are under the misconception that the reward is due their “works.” They don’t realize that salvation is based on Jesus being generous (gracious).
Jesus isn’t rebuking hard work, he’s rebuking those that think this should “earn” them something.
A second parable that struck me in this reading,
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.” -Matthew 21:28-32
Jesus is not saying it is better to have the greed of a tax collector or participate in the immorality of a prostitute. He is saying it is better to be those things and really come to Jesus than to be a “Christian” and never really come to Him in your heart.
Folk that truth strikes me. It reminds me to keep watch over my own heart, but it also encourages me to pray for the pew sitters that have never truly come in their hearts fully sold out to Jesus!
I was blessed by today’s reading I hope you were too and if there are insights you saw that I missed or want to comment on mine feel free to leave a comment!
Tomorrow’s Reading: 1st Corinthians 1 & 2 (we finished Romans we’re now onto a new Pauline Epistle)
These chapters were all wonderful! There is one section I want to point out that I greatly appreciated and it reminded me of something God has taught me over the years, but before I get to that I want to share one other point I noticed several times throughout the chapters.
Over and over again The Lord basis His authority to speak as He does upon Him being the almighty and sole Creator. Is it any wonder that the devil attacks The Lord as Creator maybe more than any other aspect of His divine role? Let us not join the devil in his attacks my theistic evolution friends.
Okay so now to the portion of Isaiah 40 I want to address. It is not the verses that so often are quoted and rightly so from Isaiah 40,
“Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.” -Isaiah 40:30, 31
A beautiful passage but not the text I want to focus on in this post.
In this post I want to look at,
“A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.” -Isaiah 40: 6-8
This text is humbling for me as a person, but especially as a pastor. Why especially as a pastor? I have known many pastors that have been “wounded” when a church moves on so quickly after they are gone. I can understand this, many of us sacrifice everything for the sake of the church for sometimes years and then when it is announced the pastor is moving on the church mourns for a day or two and then almost immediately forms a new search committee, I can understand how this hurts an ego. I’ve also seen how some pastors are almost bitter at the pastor that comes after them. In the immediacy of a new pastor often times it seems like the “new” guy or gal is more loved than the previous and the excitement that the other pastor didn’t see in his/her last few years is suddenly there, that can also be wounding. What does any of this have to do with Isaiah 40:6-8?
In my ministry I’ve tried to remind myself and I’ve tried to remind my associates and I’ve tried to remind colleagues that will listen, the churches we serve in are Jesus’ they were often times here before us and if Jesus doesn’t come soon they’ll be here long after us and then I usually say, “we need to remember the movement the church is bigger than all of us! Therefore we need to always remember we are replaceable and we will be replaced when God sees fit.”
I believe Isaiah 40:6-8 endorses this thought. If Jesus doesn’t come I will wither away and no matter how great some may think I am now or how horrible some may think I am now, all of that will also wither with succeeding generations and the only thing that ultimately lasts is the Word of God. The truth of God.
Therefore if the truth of God ultimately is the only thing that remains what should I spend my time building up? Me? Or that which will remain long after me? The foundation laid through God’s truth!
Isaiah 40: 9-11 then lays out what this everlasting truth is I should preach ’till I wither away,
“Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.” -Isaiah 40:9-11
Good news which encompasses:
I will fade but this stuff will remain. The movement of our Lord is bigger than any of us therefore me must live and work to make Jesus better known and better loved through that which will last forever His Word before we wither and fade away.
Tomorrow’s Reading: Matthew 20-22