"Whom God Set Out to Redeem for Himself"

2 Samuel 7:23

And who is like your people, like Israel, a nation unique in the earth, whom God set out to redeem for himself (and became most famous for it), performing great and fearsome acts, throwing out nations and their gods left and right as you saved your people from Egypt?

David to God in worship after receiving the Davidic covenant.

This is a huge verse because it sets forth God's devotion to and salvation of his people.  Israel is a nation unique in the earth demonstrated in the fact that God set out to redeem [her] for himself. Israel is unique because her God is unique and has extravagant love for his people (which was very unlike the false gods of the nations around Israel).

In the New Testament age the Church is the object of God's love in Christ.  It is the Chrch that God set out to redeem for himself so that we have the benefit of being spiritual Israel and having the benefit of God throwing out principalities and powers left and right as he saves his people from their sins!

Beautiful picture!

"Cast your burden"

Psalms 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

 he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

Words of faith from David here, no doubt tempered by his own experience as a shepherd and a warrior and a fugitive and a king.  God had always sustained David. God was for the righteous, therefore the righteous will not be moved.

Words we also need to claim by faith, as David wrote them.  Is your burden heavy? Cast it on the Lord he will sustain you.  He is a good Father.

"By the Grace of God"

1 Corinthians 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Paul was who he was and accomplished all that he accomplished, not because of his own innate talent and drive, but because of the grace of God. Note how he juxtaposes his own work and God's grace to do that work. I labored...yet not I, but the grace of God. Paul works out this same truth earlier in his letter: 1 Corinthians 4:7

For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

We are what we are, we accomplish what we do, by the grace of God. Let's give credit where it is due and not steal glory from the God who gave us the accomplishments.

"Is Does not Mean Ought"

2 Samuel 3:27

So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel his brother.

A good example of how in the biblical narrative "is does not mean ought." Just because Joab treacherously kills Abner does not mean that God approved of his actions.  The writers of Scripture often write with the assumption that the reader will understand whether or not the character written about acted morally or not.  They write with the attitude "tell it like it is, warts and all."

I'm glad they wrote is way because it allows us to see human people with all of their flaws and how God works wi and through them to accomplish his purposes. Even when they do not believe in him.

We Pursue Things

Ezekiel 11:17-18

Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ 18 When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.

While archaeologists have found plenty of evidence in per-exilic Israel of idol worship; they have found none, zilch, nada, in post-exilic Israel. The purpose of the exile was to rid Israel of her penchant to turn to other gods. The exile accomplished this. Never again would the Jews in Israel worship false gods.  Indeed, by he time of Christ they had the opposite problem, they had become extreme legalists. Idol worship, however, was eradicated as Ezekiel predicts here.

We do not have problems worshipping false gods today, although in our culture we have extreme difficulties with the pursuit of things rather than God, so we are idol pursuers, just not other gods; we pursue things.

Wise, Stupid, Senseless: All Gonna Die

Psalms 49:10-12

For he sees that even wise men die;

The stupid and the senseless alike perish

And leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inner thought is that their houses are forever

And their dwelling places to all generations;

They have called their lands after their own names.

12 But man in his pomp will not endure;

He is like the beasts that perish.

Oh how we need to hear these words from the psalmist. The one inescapable fact of life is that it will come to an end. Long or short, rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, life will end and we will be assured into eternity. The funny thing is that we live as if we are here forever, as if we can escape death. We build mansions and name them after ourselves; we put away "nest eggs" to make our retirement years easy, but easy or hard, the days of our lives are running quickly out.  We will die and be forgotten.

All the more reason to live in light of eternity and for the glory of God; that glory will last forever.

Such is God

Psalms 48:12-14

Walk about Zion and go around her;

Count her towers;

13 Consider her ramparts;

Go through her palaces,

That you may tell it to the next generation.

14 For such is God,

Our God forever and ever;

He will guide us until death.

The psalmist here sees a connection between Jerusalem (Zion) and God's character.  Walking around the city and thinking about her ramparts and studying her palaces will result in this message to the next generation: Such is God our God forever and ever.

Jerusalem—where the glory of God resided in the temple—was where one could consider and understand the character of God.  The city illuminated God.

For us the Word of God illuminates God.  Different place, different time, different culture; same God.

Paul Lobs a Hand Grenade of Grace

1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Paul sets out a laundry list of those who will not inherit the kingdom of God, then promptly throws a hand grenade right into the list and completely blows it up with the words such were some of you!

In other words, "do you think that being in that list disqualifies you from the kingdom of heaven? It does not, because as we both know some of you were in that laundry list before you came to faith, but you aren't any more. You are washed, justified, and sanctified.

And that is the hand grenade of grace.

DALMAC Day 1

Cherie, Sue and I got off at about 8.15 on day one of DALMAC. We left from home instead of East Lansing, saving ourselves an extra trip into the city. We had dropped off our bags the night before like we alway do.

It was a gorgeous, uneventful day, sunny and cool to start but rapidly warming up to the lower 80's. We rode through field after field of standing corn and soybeans, just starting to dry out.

We stopped for lunch at the fire hall in Perrinton, Mi, our traditional place.

After 14 miles on the Meijer bikeway, we rolled into Vestaburg about 1.30 and set up camp. Day 1 done.

What Have I to do with Judging Outsiders

1 Corinthians 5:11-12
But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so- called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler —not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?

This is a huge verse in terms of how we interact with those outside the church. We are to expect the wicked to act according to their nature and love them all the same. Are they idolaters? Fornicators? Arrogant? Drunkards? Junkies? Who cares? God judges them. We are called to go to where they are and love them all the same.

We ought not associate with those who say they are Christians and live like the world. Sinners who make no claim to follow Christ? No.

1 Corinthians 4:2
In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

We are stewards of the message of the good news of Christ Jesus, indeed we are Christ's stewards. One of the primary requirements for a steward is that they be a faithful steward. So one of our chief aims as stewards of Christ is that we be faithful to Christ.

Faithfulness seems to be expressed primarily in obedience.
John 14:15
“ If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

The Church's One Foundation

1 Corinthians 3:11

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

This calls to mind the old hymn we used to sing when I was a kid:

The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord

She is his new creation by water and the word

From heaven he came and sought her

To be his holy bride

With his own blood he bought her 

And for her life he died

If we lay a foundation for reconciliation with God that is not Jesus Christ, then we are not laying a biblical foundation. We are laying no foundation at all. What we are doing is not Christianity; it is something else.

Christ is the foundation; Christ alone.

A Sovereign God; An Enigma

Lamentations 5:19-20

And yet, GOD, you're sovereign still,

your throne intact and eternal.

20 So why do you keep forgetting us?

Why dump us and leave us like this?

There is a reason that the book of Lamentations is called Lamentations; it is a lament, no better reflected than in these words here. The author (Jeremiah?) has been through the turmoil of  seeing Judah destroyed by the Babylonians—and this is not turmoil as we think of it, calamity would be a better description.

These verses demonstrate both the faith of the author in spite of the calamity, as well as the questions with which the author struggles.  All too human questions, surely questions which we would have asked as well given the situation. Why do you keep forgetting us? Why dump us and leave us like this?

Waiting Eagerly

1 Corinthians 1:4

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,

1 Corinthians 1:7

so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul to the Christians in Corinth. Those who have been changed by the grace of God will await eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I wonder what that looks like...

Enter the Silence

Lamentations 3:28

When life is heavy and hard to take,

go off by yourself. Enter the silence.

The Message paraphrase of Lam 3.28. NASB: Let him sit alone and be silent

Since He has laid it on him.

There is something about entering the silence that is conducive to our spiritual health. This is hard to do in our age of instant connection and ever present social media. For us when life is heavy and hard to take we go post an update on Facebook.  I think entering the silence would be more helpful.

Powerful Words

Psalms 33:6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

Psalms 33:9

For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

Whatever one thinks about the age of the universe and the earth—whether billions of years or thousands of years—one cannot escape the implications of David's words here in Psalm 33: The universe came about by the word of the Lord; For he spoke, and it was done.

Powerful words; powerful words indeed.

With What are you Building?

Romans 14:12

So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

This is a sobering thought. We will give an account to God, not as a requirement for entry into heaven—as if we were justified by faith—but as servants to their master—have you been a faithful servant?

The closest parallel to this short comment from Paul goes into deeper explanation of what he means here:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 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

So we will give an account of ourselves for purposes of reward—whether we build with gold and silver, or with wood, hay, and stubble.

May we build with material that brings God glory.

"Orphaned From Her Land"

Jeremiah 52:27

And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon killed the lot of them in cold blood. Judah went into exile, orphaned from her land.

Such profoundly sad words. The generation of the exile—those who had almost en masse rejected God for idols—had ended up dead by famine, or by the sword, or carried away into Hamath to be executed, or carried into exile in Babylon.

Judah went into exile, orphaned from her land, The Messages paraphrases. Can their be sadder words than this?

My Dependence and God's Glory

Psalms 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart exults,

And with my song I shall thank Him.

Another example of how my dependence upon God results in God's glory. I am helped when I rely upon God to be my strength and shield. When I am helped my heart exults in him (because I know that he is the one responsible for bringing help). Naturally, with my song I thank him, resulting in glory abounding to God.

Couldn't have put it better myself!

Christ: Light and Salvation

Ps. 27.1

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life;

 Whom shall I dread?

David says here: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

John writes of Christ: John 1:4

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

Jesus says of himself: John 8:12

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “ I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Jesus says: John 5:34 But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

When Christ claimed that he was the light of the world and that men could be saved through him, he fully understood what he was claiming, for he understood Ps 27.1.