Week 34!

The Lords Day, week 34!

Thoughts on 1 Timothy 3-6:

 To come later…

Monday, week 34!

Thoughts on Numbers 5-8:

 To come later…

Tuesday, week 34!

Thoughts on 1 Chronicles 10-14:

·      We start todays reading with the death of King Saul, and we are told that he died because of his lack of faith, and his failure to seek guidance from the Lord, he instead sought guidance from a medium. We end today's reading with King David, who unlike Saul, is repeatedly seeking the counsel of the Lord and then does as the Lord commands him. Those who are in the world are like Saul, they do not seek after God, but they will seek after anyone else who is willing to peddle blessings in their favor. They will consult psychic's, mediums, fortune tellers, psychologists and psychiatrists, all to seek to know themselves better, to find out how things will turn out, or why do they do the things they do, but they refuse to seek God. Like Saul, these individuals will eventually face a judgement where this life will come to an end and they will be in the presence of the God that could have provided some of their answers, and could have strengthened them in faith to go forward without answers to some of the others. On the other hand, the church is called to be more like David. We seek the Lord, for everything. In all things, by prayer and petition, we are to make our requests known to the Lord, (Philippians). Like David though, here's were many questions struggle, well we struggle in the first part to, but it's in going and doing in faith what it is God calls us to! Here's why, because we are often expecting for God to guide us the way He did David, to give us direct special revelation. But that's not how it works for us today, because we are not David, and we are not Kings of Israel, ruling over the people of God. Instead, we have King Jesus who sits on the throne, who gave His life for us, and then gave us His inspired, sufficient, complete, Word. It's His Word that we must seek to obey, it's His word that directs us, that gives us instruction and by faith we seek to walk in good works that He prepared for us... These good works are obedience, living how God intended us to live by being husbands, wives, children, church members, citizens, that in everything honor God and do all things to the glory of God. So today, seek Him, bring all your requests before Him, but then as you go about your day, know that God has spoken and His Spirit lives inside you bringing too attention His word to guide you into the abundant life, the life of obedience that glorifies Him and shows the rest of the world living apart from Him, the only King they should seek to be obedient too! 

Wednesday, week 34!

Thoughts on Psalms 99-101:

·      Psalm 99:1-3 "The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The Lord is great in Zion; He is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is He!"  The worship of God is rooted in Gods Holiness. It is that He is completely distinct and that there is nothing or no one else like Him. God is love, God is just, God is all-powerful, God is many things, but we worship Him because He is Holy, you and I are nothing like Him, no matter how good we love, or strong we are, or even seek for justice, we do not compare. Many people want to worship God for His love, or for His perfect justice, even if they do not know precisely what that means, but when we get into His holiness, they pause. Why? Because we rather a God we can understand, we rather a God that we can put in a box and make the most sense of. So when we put God in our box, then it's easier for us to filter scripture through that box. When the box is love, then we see wrath through the filter of what we mean by love. Today within the church we see the new filter becoming justice, but not biblical justice, no, social justice, and we read and filter scripture all through an understanding of social justice. This has been happening since the beginning of the church, in fact it even happened with the Jews. They saw their own plight under Roman rule, and so they looked at the Old Testament's presentation of the Messiah through the lens of a political savior. Their box caused them to be completely blind to who Jesus was. This is what happens with boxes... R.C. Sproul made the statement to his congregation, "Scripture does not say that God is love, love, love, or that He is wrath, wrath, wrath, but that He is Holy, Holy, Holy!" All His other attributes are contained in this, God is love, but that He is love also means that it is a love unlike anything you or I can fully comprehend, it is holy. God is just, but that He is just also means it is a justice unlike anything you and I can ever fully comprehend. For us, it such great news that God is Holy, as much as we think it would be better to understand God, the truth is that would just mean God is more like us and the last thing we need is a god who is like us, we have enough of those already. No, God is nothing like us, and that's why He sent His Son to the cross on behalf of us, that's why salvation is by His grace alone, if He was anything like us, nothing would be secure, but because He is Holy, all is secure, and we can cling to Him be grateful, praising; Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, worship at His footstool, Holy is He!

Thursday, week 34!

Thoughts on Proverbs 19:

·      Proverbs 19:11 "Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense."  This morning, I made the mistake of checking social media before I finished my reading and prayer time. Had I only been reminded of this prior... Why is this so hard for us? well at least I know it is for me! Slow to anger??? Overlook an offense??? Now, before you go questioning my salvation, I will say, the Lord has done a work in me, and by His grace I am not who I used to be! Nevertheless, I am yet who I am supposed to be! As I read a post this morning, my blood pressure went up, my heart began racing, and I began typing. I rewrote my post a few times, and ultimately what I sent was all true, but the question I am left asking now is, was it worth it? Obviously, I lacked good sense, I was not slow to anger, I didn't stop to ask questions about the post I read, I didn't wonder what could have caused the individual to write what he did. I didn't stop, or slow down, I just reacted... But this proverb goes further than that, so first be slow to anger, but second, it is his glory to overlook an offense? it's not just saying be slow, it's saying do nothing! How could I possibly do nothing, say nothing? Well, because Jesus did nothing. You see, who's glory is greater than Christ's glory, He alone gets the glory, He alone has overlooked more transgressions by taking the punishment for ours on the cross than you and I will ever experience. Someone said something on social media, and I felt I had to respond, I am not letting you get away with that! But man, I have transgressed the God of this universe and yet He has overlooked my transgressions, placed them on the cross, forgiven me and given me a righteousness that isn't mine. Who do I think I am? Lord forgive me. Today, I will by the grace of God choose to overlook any offense towards me, not for my glory, but for Gods glory, I pray that He would strengthen all His children to do the same. May He bless you and I and give us strength and rest in Him. 

 Friday, week 34!

Thoughts on Hosea 1-7:

·      Hosea has always been one of those books that shocks me, from the opening verses and on. Then when you really begin to understand what's going on here, it just becomes all the more shocking, especially if you don't have a correct understanding of who God is. Israel is the whore, and she continuously steps out on her husband, she continues to whore herself out to others even though her husband has loved her, bought her out of slavery, and even paid for her again and again. The husband is of course God. The real shocker comes when you recognize it's not just Israel that behaves like a whore. It's also you and me. The Lord Jesus has spilled His own blood to redeem us from sin, and yet did you sin yesterday? Have you already sinned today? I have, and that's what makes us Gomer. Gods love isn't enough, we return to what we know even though He has done much more for us than our sin can ever do, even though He has loved us when we were incapable of loving Him back. God has remained faithful, and He remains faithful through all of our indiscretions and infidelity. We are stubborn and a people without understanding. The difference is this, repentance, Israel would not repent and so judgement came, have you repented? do you see repentance as a part of your life? Repentance is not a one and done thing, but for the Christian all of life is one of repentance. Every day there are places where we fail to see God for who He is, and we must repent, every day we fail and place our will before Gods and we must repent. I have been the whore in Hosea but Jesus is my savior, and it is His love and kindness that lead me to repent every single day as by His grace I am made more aware of my own sin and drawn closer to Him. By His grace that I don't return to who I once was, and by His grace that I am conformed to His image. The message of Hosea is a rather simple one, but a shocking and life changing one, the Lord loves the worst of us, and was willing to pay what no one else would or even could pay... repent, believe, and be transformed. 

Saturday, week 34!

Thoughts on John 7-9:

·      Jesus is the light of the world, and yet they sought to kill him! When Jesus saves you, there are some who will no longer be able to be around you, your mere presence becomes conviction and they will do anything to avoid the light. The idea that everyone will like you, and everyone will just want to be around you is not a Christian idea. Those who know Christ, are becoming like Christ, and should not expect to be treated any better than Christ. In the U.S. most of us are not experiencing death threats, no one is trying to throw stones at us, but it should worry us if the world is so accepting of us. If the gospel you believe, preach, and live is so attractive to those in the world, it may not be the gospel that Jesus preached. Consider your life next to Christs life, no, you won't compare because you are a sinner, and that's why he died, but the way others see you should compare. Do they see some of Christ in you? And do those who are still in darkness, fight against that light? are their consciences pricked? If so, praise God, because they are on the path to truth, the path to the Son, and it is only the Son that can set them free.