Fri, 21 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 113

¹ Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!

² Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
³ From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised!

⁴ The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
⁵ Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
⁶ who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
⁷ He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
⁸ to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
⁹ He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!

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This Psalm show us a wonderful contrast. God is transcendent over all the nations, and all the nations are called to worship Him. The mighty and powerful are nothing to Him. Yet God is also shown to be eminent. He is with the lowly, and He exalts them. He raises them up to sit with princes.

It is an interesting juxtaposition, as the rulers are humbled before God, and the lowly are exalted.

What do we learn from this?

God’s priorities are often different than ours. We exalt the rich and powerful, and ignore those who are poor and weak. But with God, those who acknowledge themselves to be poor and weak are the ones He exalts. It is exactly opposite from what we would expect.

A rich person has a hard time realizing his own poverty before God. In fact, apart from God’s work in their lives, rich people will never come to God in humble faith. They will trust in their own wealth and abilities. Why would they trust in anything outside themselves? After all, they can see the results of their personal success in the material possessions they have amassed. With all these things that we have done, who needs God.

Jesus teaches how difficult it is for a wealthy person to be saved.

Matthew 19:23-26

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Where is Christ in this passage?

What a wonderful picture this is of the gospel.

We are all sinners. We are in the lowliest position before God and have no hope of ever earning God’s favor. But, through faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, we are saved and made to be children of God. We are seated with princes, as we are brought into a right standing with God and now can come into His very presence. We are adopted into His family. The lowly are seated with princes as we enter into God’s presence.

All of this is due to the saving work of Jesus Christ, our Savour. He saves us from our sins, and raises us up from the dust. He lifts us from the ash heap, as we come to Him in faith.

Thu, 20 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Daniel 5:26-31

²⁶ This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷ TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸ PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰ That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. ³¹ And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Babylon is about to fall. The city is under siege, but confident in his own defenses, Belshazzar holds a drunken party with his officials. In his arrogance, he calls for the cups that were taken from the temple in Jerusalem to be brought, and with them he proceeds to boast of the Babylonian gods.

But the party ends abruptly as a hand appears and writes a message upon the wall. Belshazzar sees the writing on the wall, but he doesn’t understand it, so he calls for someone to interpret it. No one is able. Finally, they call Daniel, who is now an old man, and God grants Daniel the ability to understand the writing on the wall.

The writing is a message of condemnation and judgment. God had given many proofs to the Babylonians of His power. Daniel reminds Belshazzar that his own grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, was humbled before God and brought to the point where he confessed his success was a given to him by God. Belshazzar knew all this, yet he refused to submit to God and instead worshipped the Babylonian gods.

Belshazzar died that very night as the Medes and Persians diverted the river that supplied water for Babylon and took the city by coming in through the underground water ducts.

What do we learn from this?

God is sovereign. He brings about the rising and the falling of nations. But beyond that, He brings about the rising and falling of individuals.

Belshazzar had been given a great gift: he knew about God. He was blessed with the knowledge of how God had revealed Himself to Nebuchadnezzar. Yet Belshazzar rejected God, and died in his rebellion and unbelief.

How much more do we know about God than Belshazzar did? How much more fully has God revealed Himself and His plan for salvation to us? We have the full revelation available to us in the scriptures. How much worse will it be for us if we reject God and remain in our unbelief? May we repent of our sin and come to God in faith, and not rebel against Him as Belshazzar did.

Where is Christ in this passage?

We have no guarantee of how long we will live. Perhaps, like Belshazzar, we will not live out the night. Our only hope as we consider our own mortality is the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. Belshazzar died having rejected God’s merciful provision of a Substitute that would bear his sins. We too are faced with the question: will we turn to God’s provision for our salvation? Will we turn to Jesus Christ?

Wed, 19 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

²³ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Paul closes his first letter to the Thessalonians with a benediction, praying that God would sanctify the church at Thessolonica, knowing that God will do that very thing.

What do we learn from this?

Sanctification is the process whereby we grow in obedience to Christ. We grow in holiness and Christlikeness. As we are sanctified, we sin less and obey God more. This means our conduct is conforming to the standard of God’s word.

When we think of sanctification, we often focus upon our own role. If I am to grow in sanctification, I must obey more. That certainly is true. When I sin, I chose to disobey. Growing in sanctification is developing the ability to suppress those bad choices and sin less.

But we see in today’s passage that sanctification also involves God working in our lives. Sanctification isn’t all about me, my choices, and my growing ability to obey more each passing day. In sanctification, it is God who will sanctify us completely. He is working in us, and as we saw in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. In the same vein, Paul says here that he will surely do it. God will cause His people to be sanctified. They will grow in their Christlikeness.

Where is Christ in this passage?

How are we presented blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Even though we are growing in sanctification, we are not going to be blameless if we are alive when Christ returns. No matter how much we progress in sanctification in this life, we will not be totally sinless until we are glorified at death.

Once again we see that it is only through Jesus Christ bearing our sins, and giving us His righteousness that we can be acceptable to God. It is only as we are in Jesus Christ that we are found to be blameless. Because as we are in Jesus Christ, all our sins have already been punished upon Jesus Christ on the cross, and since He has given us His perfect righteousness, we possess the required righteousness to be right with God.

Tue, 18 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Kings 21:20-29

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD. ²¹ Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. ²² And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. ²³ And of Jezebel the LORD also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ ²⁴ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

²⁵ (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. ²⁶ He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the people of Israel.)

²⁷ And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. ²⁸ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

In today’s passage, we see an example of how there was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. Without Jezebel, all Ahab would have done is mope about how he couldn’t get Naboth’s vineyard. But Jezebel, ever plotting evil, used Ahab’s authority to murder Naboth and steal his vineyard for Ahab.

It is in this context that Elijah confronts Ahab and declares judgment for the murder of Naboth. When Elijah says Ahab’s house will be like Jeroboam’s house and Baasha’s house, he is saying that there will be someone who will arise to claim the throne from Ahab and that person will kill all the house of Ahab.

What do we learn from this?

Ahab repented when confronted with the coming judgment. It doesn’t seem that he repents savingly, because we see he will continue in his sinful rejection of God, but in this particular instance, Ahab repents of his sin.

God honors this repentance by deferring the promised judgment. We will see that after Ahab’s death, the house of Ahab will be destroyed by Jehu in 2 Kings 9-10, as God’s word is fulfilled. But due to God’s great mercy, the punishment will fall after Ahab.

God’s mercy is very great. If we repent of our sins, He will have mercy upon us and spare us the punishment that we so richly deserve. Even Ahab found mercy in his lifetime based upon his flawed and imperfect repentance. If we turn to God and really trust in Him, we can be confident that God will honor that repentance.

Where is Christ in this passage?

I do not believe Ahab truly repented of his sins and trusted in God’s substitution. I don’t think he was truly saved, and I do not expect to see him in heaven. But yet God had mercy upon Ahab in his temporal life, and spared him. If, as I surmise, Ahab wasn’t trusting in God’s Substitute, then he is now facing the full wrath of God being poured out upon him for his numerous and grievous sins. God showed mercy to Ahab prior to his death but there is no mercy for Ahab after his death.

While he lived, Ahab could repent of his sins, and trust in the Substitute God provided. Ahab could have been saved and spared the eternal wrath of God upon his sins. Think about it. Was Ahab’s sin in murdering Naboth any worse than David’s sin with Bathsheba and Uriah? But David repented and turned to the Substitute God provided. Jesus Christ bore David’s sin upon the cross, but Ahab is left to bear his own sins because Ahab did not trust in God’s Substitute.

Mon, 17 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 106:6

Both we and our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.

In today’s Psalm, the Psalmist begins by praising God for His goodness and enduring love in verses 1-3. The Psalmist then makes a personal request for God to remember him in verses 4-5. He then turns to review the sins of Israel in the Exodus from Egypt, and in the wilderness wandering, continuing on to what is apparently the Babylonian captivity. In all these sins of Israel, the Psalmist points out God’s mercy upon His people. And so the Psalmist ends with a call for God’s salvation and a return from exile in verse 47 and closes with a reiteration of praise for God in verse 48.

What do we learn from this?

In verse 6, the Psalmist starts to list the sins of those who have gone before. But interestingly, he doesn’t just point out what they had done. He includes himself and those with him in these sins. Both we and our fathers have sinned.

We are often tempted to look at the sins recorded by people in scripture and think, “If I lived then, I wouldn’t have done THAT!” We think we wouldn’t have worshiped the golden calf. We wouldn’t have murmured and complained in the wilderness. We wouldn’t have worshipped Baal of Peor. We wouldn’t have denied Jesus like Peter did. Although everyone else might have fallen into sin, we would have stood faithfully, even if we were all alone.

There’s one big problem with our boastful thoughts about how faithful we would have been if we were in their circumstances: we are ignoring how unfaithful we currently are now. If we are honest, as the Psalmist is here, we must confess that we are also guilty of sinning against God. We have no right to think ourselves superior to those who have gone before, thinking that we wouldn’t have sinned were we in their shoes. We are sinners, just as they were. We aren’t sinless now, so we would not have been sinless then.

Both we and our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.

Where is Christ in this passage?

All through this Psalm, we see the unfaithfulness of Israel, and how God sent a mediator to act on behalf of the people, sparing them from the full wrath of God. We see how God had mercy upon them, hearing their cry when He brought punishment upon them for their sin.

Sin must be punished. How can God spare them from His full wrath against sin? How can He have mercy upon them, and upon us? It is only because of the Person and work of Jesus Christ that God can have mercy upon us. It is because the Second Person of the Trinity took on human flesh and came to earth to live the perfect life and to bear the full punishment for the sins of His people that we can be spared. Sin must be punished, and if it isn’t punished in us, it must be punished in the Substitute that the Father provided.

So as the Psalmist confesses his sin, and cries out to God for mercy, he is appealing to the Substitute God has provided. The Psalmist is appealing to Jesus Christ.

Sun, 16 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Daniel 1:17-21

¹⁷ As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. ¹⁸ At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. ²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. ²¹ And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

The book of Daniel begins with the story of how Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are carried into captivity and are successfully able to continue to keep the ceremonial dietary laws while in training to serve the Babylonian king. God honors their desire to follow His laws while in a foreign land, and He prospers these young men, eventually elevating them to the highest posts in the nation.

What do we learn from this?

God prospers Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah as they seek to honor Him. Consistently through the scriptures we see that God rewards obedience, and He punishes disobedience. Here is another example of this principle.

But beyond that, God prospers the four Hebrew captives as they are in preparation to serve the heathen king who has conquered their people. Notice, God is pleased by their faithful service of the Babylonian king, and He is fitting them so they can excel in this service. Because of God’s overflowing blessing in their lives, they are not just better than the others in their training class. They are ten times better.

So we see that a Christian can serve God faithfully by holding a government position. The government doesn’t need to be explicitly Christian. Government is ordained by God for keeping peace and promoting the welfare of its citizens, and faithful service in the government is pleasing to God. As long as the service is not something that is in itself sinful (for example, a Christian should avoid running a government sponsored lottery because I contend it is a violation of the tenth commandment against coveting), we can serve the government and please God.

Romans 13:1-7

¹ Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴ for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Daniel and his friends trust God in the midst of their difficult situation. They seek to serve Him and not consume the king’s defiled food. Realizing they will face the kings anger if they are not in the best of condition physically and mentally, they set up a test to prove to the king’s steward that God will reward their faithfulness. Their trust in God is well founded, and God prospers them in response to their faith that He will provide.

We see numerous times in the book of Daniel how He and his friends trust God, even when their lives are on the line. They know God is faithful and will preserve them. And even if God chooses to not save them from their temporal trials and they die because of their faith, they will still trust in Him knowing He will ultimately preserve them. They know that their eternal destiny is in God’s hands, and our temporal destiny is nothing when compared to eternity.

So Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah trust in the salvation God will provide for them. In chapter one, God saves them from the situation they are in by prospering them physically and academically so that the steward and eventually the king are impressed with their skill and wisdom. We will see later in the book how God saves them from the fiery furnace and the lion’s den. But ultimately, and more importantly, God saves them from the condemnation of their own sin because of their same trust in God.

They trusted in the salvation God provided. Even when they were in captivity and could no longer offer the sacrifices that pointed to the coming Savour, they still were trusting in that Substitute God would provide. Although they didn’t know everything about who He was, or when and how He would come, or what exactly He would do when He came, they were trusting in Jesus Christ, the Substitute for their sins. We look back and see all the details of the salvation provided in the life and death of Jesus Christ. They looked forward and saw the types and shadows that pointed to the coming Savour. But they were trusting in the same Savour as we do.

Sat, 15 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

¹ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

² We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, ³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹ For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Today we begin Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica.

Notice that Paul isn’t afraid to talk about election: For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you (verse 4). Paul doesn’t make a make a big deal about it in this passage, or act like this is something to be avoided as controversial or embarrassing. Paul just mentions it casually as a fact that is part of his praise to God. He thanks God for the people He has loved and chosen.

What do we learn from this?

God loves the people whom He has chosen. God’s people are not elected because of their reaction to the gospel, but as we see in verse 5, the proof of their election is the fact that they responded to the gospel in faith. How do we know who are elect? Look for those who respond to the gospel.

Election should not be something to argue about, but instead it should be a cause for us to praise God. Paul praises God for those who have been chosen by God, and so should we.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Paul ends the chapter again talking about how the Thessalonians reacted to the gospel, as they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

The gospel is about Jesus Christ coming to die and pay the price for the sins of His people. It is His death that propitiates God’s wrath against the sins of His people. All of His elect can be confident in their future knowing that they have been delivered from the wrath of God, and will stand before Him justified at the final judgment.

Fri, 14 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Kings 17:17-24

¹⁷ After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” ¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” ²² And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. ²³ And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” ²⁴ And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

Today we meet Elijah. He just walks right into the story with no other introduction, to dominate the rest of 1 Kings. Just as abruptly, Elijah will leave in 2 Kings 2, leaving such a mark that Elijah is the representative prophet who appears at the transfiguration of Jesus in the New Testament.

In today’s chapter, Elijah confronts king Ahab with a word of God’s judgment, and flees into the wilderness to hide from the vindictive king. Then he moves to a foreign city and lives with a widow whom God miraculously preserves during the famine. And then we have the episode where the woman’s only child dies.

Imagine the scene. The woman believes she and her son are going to die of starvation when Elijah showed up. At his word, she puts his needs ahead of hers own, and she gives him her last food. But God intervenes and provides the food she needs since her resources are gone. God has kept her and sustained her as she befriends the prophet. Surely, the fear of death has passed her.

But now unexpectedly, the boy dies. Quite understandably, in her anger and pain she lashes out at Elijah, blaming him for the death of her son. “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” We do this all the time. In our own pain, we hurt those around us who are also grieving and struggling.

How those words must have stung Elijah. He doesn’t understand why God would do this either. But rather than lash out at other people as the bereaved widow, Elijah brings his prayer directly to God: “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Elijah is honest in his prayer and he lays everything before God.

Then, Elijah does something amazing and unprecedented. Elijah prays, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”

This might not be surprising to you, since you are probably familiar with many resurrections in scripture. But consider: this is the first. As recorded in scripture, no one was resurrected before this. From what we know in scripture, Elijah was asking for what had never been done before.

God heard Elijah’s prayer, and God granted it. From this point on, when someone in scripture prayed to have God resurrect someone, they had the knowledge that God had brought back the life of this child in response to the prayer of Elijah. But Elijah had the faith to pray for that which was outside previous human experience.

What do we learn from this?

Elijah is such an example of faith for us. He prays that God withhold the rain, and God responds. He prays that God would return the life of the child, and God responds.

But before we set him on a pedestal, remember, Elijah was no superman. James tells us that Elijah was just like you and me. A man of prayer and faith, yes, but just like you and me nonetheless.

James 5:13-20

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, ²⁰ let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Notice James’ instructions of what we should learn from Elijah: we should pray for each other. We should pray for physical needs, but also, and more importantly, we should pray for each other for forgiveness of our mutual sins. We are to be involved in each other’s lives to the extent that we know of the sins and confess them to each other.

Trust God and pray. Pray for each other. God has ordered that He works through our prayers to accomplish His will in our lives. We might not see people resurrected from the dead, but we will see things as important: sinners’ souls will be saved from death.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The widow of Zarephath knew that Elijah was a man of God when her son was resurrected at his prayer. She said, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.” God’s amazing act of raising her son confirmed the validity of Elijah’s ministry. He was who he said he was.

Jesus Christ made some very startling claims about Himself.

Matthew 7:21-23

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

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John 14:6

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

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John 14:6

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, proving that what He said about Himself is true.

Romans 1:4

… [He] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord….

Thu, 13 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 102:25-28

²⁵ Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
²⁷ but you are the same, and your years have no end.
²⁸ The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.

You see so many emotions in the book of Psalms. Joy, anger, fear, disappointment. In fact, all the emotions we see in the course of our lives are clearly displayed in the Psalms. The more time we spend in the book of Psalms, the more we see of our own lives.

Here’s another emotional Psalm. Today’s Psalm has a superscript that tells us something about the circumstances of the writing of the Psalm: A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD.

In the beginning of the Psalm, the Psalmist cries out to God, and you can hear the desperation and anguish. But like we see in most of the Psalms where the Psalmist is at the limits of his abilities and cries out to God, the Psalmist ends by praising God.

What do we learn from this?

Again we see that by bringing our cares and concerns to God changes our focus from the circumstances and puts it on God instead of ourselves. As we look to God, we are comforted in our circumstances.

This Psalm ends with the Psalmist considering God’s creation, eternality, and immutability. God created everything. Everything that He has created will eventually wear out. But when the mountains are completely worn down, the metals are all reduced to rust, and the stars are all burned out, God will still be there. He will remain, and He will be unchanged and unchanging.

Therefore, the Psalmist concludes in verse 28, God’s people are secure. Despite the circumstances we face, God will establish His people. Since He isn’t going to change, and He will always remain, His people are safe.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ is the agent of creation. The Father created everything through the Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity (referred to as the Word in John):

John 1:1-3

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Wed, 12 October, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 45:21-25

²¹ “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²² On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering. ²³ And on the seven days of the festival he shall provide as a burnt offering to the LORD seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish, on each of the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering. ²⁴ And he shall provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil to each ephah. ²⁵ In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month and for the seven days of the feast, he shall make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, and grain offerings, and for the oil.

As we are coming to the end of Ezekiel’s vision of the restored city, Ezekiel sees the holy district of the city and the prince’s portion. Ezekiel sees that the prince is no longer to oppress the people. Instead, he is to promote justice and righteousness in Israel.

As we see in the passage above, he is also to provide a sacrifice for himself and for the people at Passover and the feast of Tabernacles.

What do we learn from this?

Leaders are not to serve themselves, but the people who are under them. In the way they rule, they are not to further their personal interests, but to promote the welfare of their people. All to often, we as rulers take advantage of our position to get what we want without being concerned about those for whom we are responsible. We are like the princes of Ezekiel’s day and are too familiar with oppressing the people. This is not as it should be.

But as we look at Israel’s leader in this passage, he was to provide the sacrifices at Passover and the feast of Tabernacles. His benevolent leadership was to extend beyond just making sure they were treated fairly. His care extended to their spiritual well-being. He was to provide the substitute required for the people to be able to come to God.

Our spiritual leaders are no longer to provide the substitution for us. They not longer give us an animal to kill as a sacrifice of atonement out of their concern for our souls. Instead they are to point us to Jesus Christ, the substitute God has provided for our sins. That is their responsibility as leaders who seek what is best for their people.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The prince in Ezekiel’s vision needed to provide a sacrifice for both himself and for the people. This prince was a partial picture of Jesus Christ, who as the perfect Prince provides the perfect Sacrifice for the people. But unlike Ezekiel’s prince, Jesus Christ is the perfect Prince. He doesn’t need a sacrifice for Himself. And His perfect Sacrifice is not an animal, but Himself. He has died to pay the punishment due upon His people. Out of His concern for His people, He has taken their sins and died to bear their penalty upon the cross.

Our perfect Prince has provided the Substitute: Himself.