Tag: The Bible

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The Journey

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 8-9

Daily Thought

When we open the Bible, we read the story of God and us. We see the ebb of our disobedience and rebellion and the flow of God’s grace and mercy. We learn about ourselves and our God. 

“And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.” ~Nehemiah 8:1

Ezra read from the book all day, every day, for days, and when he stopped reading, “all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:9).  

They worshipped their Creator, “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you” (Nehemiah 9:6). 

They worshipped their Redeemer, “You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them” (Nehemiah 9:17). 

They worshipped their God, “the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love” (Nehemiah 9:32).

Jesus said, “Follow me,” because transformation is a journey made over time and trouble. If it is not good yet, God is not done yet, because “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6) is God’s promise of process, persistence, and perseverance with us.

When we open the Bible, we see the big picture of our God who is faithful and wonderful and mighty and merciful. God is the author of life and it is in God we find our purpose and power and confidence. When we open the Bible, we are confronted with our sin which cries out sorrow, but more importantly, we come upon our Savior which calls forth celebration. Nehemiah rightly reminds the Israelites, and us, “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Daily Prayer

My God, I celebrate Your goodness, Your love, Your grace and mercy, Your majesty. I sing loudly with joy, because You are good and You are my God. The joy I find in You gives me strength to overcome, because nothing compares. Certainly not the cheap pleasures of this world. May I wake each day, delight in Your Word, and walk in the joy set before me.

Keep my memory fresh, God, of the ways You have worked in my life. May I draw on Your faithfulness when times are tough, when my strength wavers, when it is dark. I know You are with me, help me remember You always will be.

Amen

Daily Question

Should a Christian be an optimist or a pessimist? Why?

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Right On Schedule

Daily Reading

Zechariah 8-14

Daily Thought

Much of the work of God’s prophets is in the proclamation of judgments and the promise of redemption, but sometimes they foretell the future, and Zechariah more than most. The future of God’s glory will be reflected in the salvation of his people, “On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land” (Zechariah 9:16). That day speaks of Jesus Christ and, 500 years before God’s son rode into Jerusalem, Zechariah saw it coming. 

“Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” ~Zechariah 9:9

Just as Zechariah foretold, it happened: “Throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” (Luke 19:35, 38).

When Zechariah said, “They weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah 11:12), is it possible he knew it was the price of betrayal? “Then Judas went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?’ And they paid him thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:14-15). Of those thirty pieces, Zechariah prophesied, “’Throw it to the potter’–the lordly price at which I was priced by them” (Zechariah 11:13), and they did, “So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers” (Matthew 27:7).

As Jesus, God’s only son (John 3:16), the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15), hung on the cross, “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear” (John 19:34); and Zechariah prophesied, “When they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).

Five centuries after Zechariah spoke these words, salvation came in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Peter looked to the prophets to explain to a confused crowd, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified” (Acts 2:23). Everything was right on schedule.

Prophecy is given, not so we will know all the future holds, but that we will know God who holds all the future. 

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” ~Acts 2:36

Daily Prayer

All knowing, Almighty God, You are my salvation. You have rescued me from sin, through the blood and the love of Your Son, Jesus Christ. You have brought me into Your family, clothed me in righteousness, and set me apart to be a witness of Your grace.

You have shown me the future, a great future, a future I can be sure of, with Your Son on the throne and all the world subject to Him. In peace He reigns. I will follow You. Thank You for so great a salvation.

Amen

Daily Question

What is the most important thing you learn from reading the Word of God?

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The Eyes of God

Daily Reading

Leviticus 1-4

Daily Thought

Question: Why must the temple offerings be so violent and gruesome? For example, “Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting” (Leviticus 1:5). Yuch! And wasteful–completely destroying the best of the herd.

We easily speak of sin, almost trivially, at times. Certain lies are white. Venial sins are not mortal sins. If it doesn’t hurt anyone, it is argued, why not do it? Through the eyes of a sinner, sin appears ordinary. The Bible shows us our world through the eyes of God.

The Lord, our holy God, created the heavens and the earth and filled the earth with his creatures. At the very end, he created something special, something above and beyond, some ones in whom he placed his very image. Adam and Eve were holy, without blemish, until they sinned, and their sin, though slight by a sinner’s standard (eating a mere piece of fruit), was catastrophic. You could say it was violent and gruesome and wasteful if you saw it through the eyes of a holy God.

God’s image remains in us, though badly marred, and we do not readily recognize the destructive force of sin, nor the amazing mercy of a holy God who provides forgiveness. The offerings, though violent and gruesome, remind us of purity lost and damage done. They are a foreshadowing of the great cost of sin paid in full by the sacrifice of One like us, though without blemish, Son of Man and Son of God, who took the full force of sin and wrath, and restored us as holy sons and daughters of a holy God.  

Daily Prayer

My God and Savior, what a wonderful creation. I see it today through the smog of sin, but the glory of Your handiwork is still evident. Someday, to see it restored, to live in a holy Kingdom filled with righteousness and peace, what a wonderful hope. I’m so sorry for the damage I do when I choose my own way. Thank You for rescuing me.

God, do not let me make light of sin. Remind me of its harmfulness and its cost, so that I will hate it as You do, and love grace all the more. I have the good news of my Savior, Your Son, to share to this world. You saved me with an amazing love. Thank You.

Amen

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The Bible

Daily Reading

Genesis 25-26

Daily Thought

When I meet with a bride and groom to go over plans before a wedding, one of the most important questions I ask is, “What can I expect from your families? Is there bad blood? Are there in-laws and outlaws and ex’s and anything else I need to be aware of? What are the land mines that might explode?” Families misbehave in general, particularly in two settings, weddings and funerals, and I want to be prepared.

They also misbehave in the Bible. Genesis 25:28, Isaac (the dad) loved Esau (the older son) because he ate of his game, but Rebekah (the mom) loved Jacob (the younger son). Family favoritism never ends well. There is a godness to the Bible that lifts us to a world not our own, things that are above (Colossians 3:1-2), heavenly things–God’s Kingdom. There is also a humanness to the Bible. It’s real. It deals directly and honestly with my world, my situations, my life. It knows me.  

In these first 26 chapters, we’ve seen polygamy, adultery, favoritism, jealousy, judgment, pride, lying, and murder. Some people look at things like this and say, “The Bible is ridiculous. Its families are as dysfunctional as mine. Look how crazy these people are.” I read the same thing and say, “The Bible is incredible. It knows my world and speaks to it honestly.” It has an honest answer, too. I need a Savior. 

Daily Prayer

O Lord my God, what a world I live in. Bad, yes, because of sin, but glorious, too. Your handiwork is everywhere, especially in the people You made. How can I not love them! May my love for You increase, more and more daily, and may it be displayed in my love for people, for my neighbors, my community, for the world.  

Thank You for loving me so much that You gave Your all to reach me. You deal with my sin and rescue me from it. May I continue to take off sin and clothe myself in You.

Amen