Tag Archives: grace

Day 344: Our Covenant-Keeping-God

Hosea 1-4; Revelation 1

[Israel] shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish whoredom, wine, and new wine,
which take away the understanding (Hosea 4:10-11).

The prophet Hosea lived when the kingdom was divided into Israel in the north and Judah to the south. Specifically, Hosea lived in the tumultuous decades preceding the Assyrian invasion and fall of the northern kingdom – when Israel was diluting her faith with the pagan worship of the fertility god, Baal.

God called Hosea to do something very unusual – to emulate His own broken relationship with Israel…specifically, to seek a whore for a wife (1:2-3), to name his illegitimate children “No Mercy” and “Not My People” (1:6-9), and then to rescue his runaway prostitute wife from the hands of slavery (3:1-3).

God called Hosea to love the unworthy in order to show Israel that their covenant God loved them. God promised the unfaithful Israel that he would one day forgive and restore…

“And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ […] I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.

And I will have mercy on No Mercy,
and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ (Hosea 2:16-20; 23)

This is the grace of our Covenant-Keeping-God…who died for us while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8) and who has purposed to bring all things in heaven and on earth under the authority of Christ (Eph 1:10)!

We read of His power, majesty and absolute sovereignty in the opening chapter of Revelation (1:13-16). Revelation records the vision given to John to encourage the suffering church. It is a book which has great value for us today as we learn of God’s plan not only to judge the ungodly and redeem the righteous but most importantly, to exalt the risen Savior as King over all heaven and earth!

I pray our journey through the last pages of God’s redemptive story will encourage us to wait all the more faithfully for Jesus’ return. May our eyes be fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith!

Disclaimer: I humbly and cautiously offer an interpretation of the book of Revelation based on my Reformed understanding of Scripture, an Amillennialist eschatology, and a heavy reliance on the book, Revelation, The Compassion and Protection  of Christ by Dr. Paul Gardner.

Day 335: Peter’s final warning

Psalms 124, 127, 130, 131; 2 Peter 2
(Psalms 125, 126, 127 & 128 were read on Day 272)

Peter continues his warning against false teachers in 2 Peter 2. He goes into great detail describing the characteristics of false teachers, and unsurprisingly, false teachers of today display these same attributes!

…there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words (2 Peter 2:1-3).

False teachers throughout the ages have been characterized by sexual sin, a lust for money and dishonesty. Peter’s words are just as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago!

So we, too, must be encouraged by Peter’s logical progression in verses 4-8 which proves that God protects His true children in all circumstances.

The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials (2 Peter 2:9).

Our God is strong to save. He is faithful to protect His children from false teachers and persecution. He is able.

There is a mysterious balance in living this Christian life. It’s like two sides of one coin. On one side is God’s absolute sovereignty, He will protect His children. He will save. He will sanctify. But on the other side of the coin is man’s responsibility to persevere in faith through a godly lifestyle and seeking after Him through prayer and obedience.

We are not to sit idly and let the world’s ways and ideas bash and mold us. No! We are to wholeheartedly seek after God’s word and ways. It takes great effort and diligence to walk the narrow path of obedience in this evil world!

But as we strive, we do not strive out of fear of judgment – we strive to obey because we are saved, because we are loved, because he equips us in every way for “life and godliness.”

If we live in acknowledgment of both sides of the coin…that is, if we live humbly in the knowledge of God’s sovereignty and live purposefully as we strive to live obedient and godly lives – the result will be a calm and quiet soul.

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high; (a sign of humility)
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me. (a sign of trust)
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 131)

This is what true Christianity should look like to the world…a calm and quiet soul. A soul which rests in God’s grace as it strives to be obedient, a soul which hopes in God’s eternal promises, and a soul which loves unreservedly. This is the mark of a Christian. This is the mark of Christ.

Day 333: The Trustworthiness of God’s Word

Psalm 119:105-176; 1 Peter 5

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you (1 Peter 5:10).

Consider the magnitude of this promise…

God will restore you.

God will confirm you.

God will strengthen you.

God will establish you.

These are huge promises. God always keeps his promises. These things will happen. When will they happen? After we have suffered a little while and God has called us to eternal glory. Delayed gratification…this is the life of faith!

But as we’ve studied God’s word every day for almost a year, one thing is clear. God is trustworthy. His word is trustworthy. His prophesies are true. His word is true. Our job is to trust and wait and obey!

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to keep your righteous rules.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end (Psalm 119:105-106; 112).

Day 328: The effectiveness of prayer

Psalms 108-110; James 4
(Psalm 107 was read on Day 271)

I’m going to depart from my usual big picture approach and share a personal story which highlights only one verse from today’s reading… And that one verse is not from Psalm 110 (one of the most amazing Messianic Psalms – one in which Jesus, himself, uses to prove his divinity). Rather, I’ve chosen a verse buried in the plethora of wisdom sayings in James. So here goes…

I and my three children were involved in a horrific vehicular accident in which my middle daughter was critically injured. She was life-flighted from the scene. Upon arriving at the hospital, they immediately performed a CT scan of her body. The CT scan showed massive bleeding and swelling in her brain. Her eyes were fixed and dilated.

The neurosurgeon on call performed an emergency craniectomy in which he removed a portion of her skull and inserted an intraventricular drain – both of which were done to relieve the pressure in her brain. Once the pressure began to decrease, my daughter’s eyes became responsive to light.

She survived the surgery, barely. The surgeon informed my husband that she might not make it through the night.

That night, as my husband was lying beside her hospital bed, he awoke to see a friend, standing and praying over our daughter. It was 2am and dark in the ICU room – but there he stood, praying.

He wasn’t alone. Countless others prayed for our little girl. The church held special prayer meetings for her. They called the congregation to fast. People in our community, school and neighborhood prayed and prayed and prayed.

She made it through that first night. Then the doctor informed us that things would get worse before they got better. So many came to see her in the ICU – and each one prayed for her life.

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16, NIV).

By God’s grace, our little girl survived. Did the prayers of God’s people affect the outcome? According to James, yes, because prayer is effective. Will God always answer our prayers so quickly and affirmatively as he did for my daughter? No.

Prayer is a mystery. It’s hard to reconcile the effectiveness of prayer and God’s sovereignty. Personally, I get frustrated when my prayers seem to be ineffective as I watch marriages dissolve, children abandon the faith and loved ones die. But regardless of my limited understanding, while Jesus was on earth, He commanded us to pray. And he not only commanded us to do it, he also stressed the importance of persevering in it.

My daughter survived, but she lives with a severe traumatic brain injury. I feel like I ask God over and over again to help my daughter recover. Will God answer all of my prayers this side of heaven? No, probably not. But Jesus told us to pray, so we pray.

I think He knew that in the face of seemingly unanswered prayer, we would need that extra encouragement to persevere. I believe perseverance is key. So regardless of how I feel about the effectiveness of my prayers, I ask God to help me persevere in prayer. Because somehow – in the spiritual realm – in a way that I can’t comprehend… prayer works.

Day 327: A humble response to a gracious God

Psalms 105-106; James 4

Psalms 105 & 106 are historical Psalms. Psalm 105 focuses on God’s faithfulness while Psalm 106 highlights Israel’s faithlessness. Overarching both historical accounts is the fulfillment of God’s Covenant promises to Israel (105:7-11; 106:44-45).

These two Psalms paint a beautiful picture of God’s sovereignty and grace. Listen to the psalmist’s description of God’s dealings with the patriarchs…

When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!” (Psalm 105:12-15)

This is a God worthy of our praise…especially considering the sinfulness of humanity – so aptly described in Psalm 106 and James 4…

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? (James 1:1-4)

Who is this God that stoops to have a relationship with sinners? Why would the creator of the universe desire to have a relationship with us? The answer is mysterious and should evoke a humble gratitude – a heart willing to submit to One so powerful AND so good!

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:6-8).

Day 322: An Enduring Love

Psalms 88, 90-91; Hebrews 12
(Psalm 89 was read on Day 228)

Hebrews 12 is one of my favorite chapters in all of Scripture…

First, I love the example of Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.” As the world seems to swirl and threatens to sweep me up in its busyness and noise, I remember to “fix my eyes on Jesus” and to “run the race that is set out before us with endurance.” The Christian life is a marathon, folks – not a sprint!

I also love the teaching that God disciplines those that he loves. This would have been an especially comforting truth to the recipients of this letter who were suffering and experiencing persecution. For me, it is easy to believe the lie that my suffering is punishment from God. Like Job, I am tempted to despair in the midst of hardship for fear that God has abandoned me. I can feel like the psalmist in Psalm 88…

O Lord, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me? (Psalm 88:14)

But Hebrews 12 teaches me that God uses suffering and difficult circumstances as a means of discipline in my life. He disciplines me because he loves me – not because he is angry. He is committed to molding my character, and he loves me enough to care more about our relationship than my happiness.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11).

Hebrews 12 ends with the reassurance that we no longer have to fear God’s judgment. Because of Christ, we are spared from the wrath of God! So we do not approach God in terror as the Israelites faced Mt. Sinai. No! We come to Mt. Zion…

to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant (Hebrews 12:22-24).

We come to a God of grace and steadfast love! When we are pressed in on every side with difficulty and suffering, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus – who loves us and gave Himself for us. We are to trust in His character. He is trustworthy and abounding in steadfast love! He disciplines us because he loves us! Hear the comforting words of our God…

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91:14-16).

Day 321: Hall of Faith

Psalms 84, 86-87; Hebrews 11
(Psalm 85 was read on Day 227)

Faith. Without it, it is impossible to please God.

The author of Hebrews has laid out his case for the Supremacy of Christ. He has exhorted them to not drift away from Christianity back to the familiar ways of Judaism – but rather to strive to keep the faith.

Now he gives an entire chapter full of examples of faith from the Old Testament. These are people who persevered to claim their reward. Think of the encouragement this would bring to these young Jewish converts…

First, they would see that God’s grace pre-dated Abraham, and reached all the way back to Abel! This would remind them that their new faith in Christ was the exact same faith which was credited to Noah and Abraham as righteousness!

They would also be encouraged that imperfect men such as Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Japheth were included as men of faith. Perfection is not a requirement. It is faith in God which justifies the sinner.

Ultimately, they would be challenged to pattern their lives after these Old Testament heroes – men and women who suffered greatly because they believed a God they could not see and died before God’s promises were fulfilled. Yet they continued to trust in the goodness of God…

Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me (Psalm 86:3-7).

Faith is not just some shot in the dark, wishful thinking. A true, saving faith is a sure anchor for the soul based on the truth of God’s word. It is the belief that the unseen is more real than the seen.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

What do we hope for? A city on a hill, the New Jerusalem, filled with the glory of the Lord. We look forward to the day when every tear will be wiped away and the dim reflection of His presence in this world will be seen clearly in all His glory. We hope for Jesus and the wedding feast of the lamb and an eternity in perfect relationship with the Savior and with fellow man. These aren’t just wistful dreams – these are truths that we should be willing to die for!!!

Where is your faith? Do you place your hope in your own fleeting material wealth or aspirations of success? Is your hope in your spouse or in your children? Or is your hope in the unseen, yet eternal God who is trustworthy and true? Don’t sacrifice eternity for a lesser, instant pleasure.

Strive to enter His rest; persevere in your faith, and be one who overcomes to the end!

Day 317: Where do we turn?

Psalms 68-70; Hebrews 8

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
Deliver me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me (Psalm 69:13-15).

Have you been here? Desperate? Overwhelmed? Psalm 69 is the lament of a man who has sinned against God – his sin alone could drive him to despair, but to make matters worse, his adversaries are heaping reproach upon him. He is surrounded by both the spiritual enemy of his own sin and the physical enemy of his adversaries. He needs help! Where does he turn in such a desperate situation?

I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs (Psalm 69:30).

Does he look to burnt offerings to satisfy his soul? No. He depends on the steadfast love of His heavenly Father…

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
Hide not your face from your servant;
for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies! (Psalm 69:16-18).

This is the beauty of the New Covenant…it is a gracious covenant rooted in the promises of the gospel – That Jesus lived, died and rose again to intercede on our behalf to the Father.

As we are pressed in from every side by our enemies…whether from our own sin or the sin of others, we must remember that we have a Great High Priest, Jesus the Son of God!

…we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man (Hebrews 8:1-2).

Day 316: Our Great High Priest

Psalms 65-67; Hebrews 7

In order to fully comprehend the ramifications of Jesus being our High Priest, we must look back at the Old Testament duties of the High Priest. What was his role? He was God’s representative to the people. He made atonement for the people’s sins by offering the sacrificial blood in God’s presence behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies.

Hebrews 7 begins to make the argument for the weakness of the Old Covenant. The High Priest of the Old Covenant had to be a descendant of Levi. He was limited by human weakness and mortality. He was temporary.

Jesus is our High Priest, but he could not be a priest in the order of Levi – no, he would be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

If you remember the story from Genesis… Lot was captured by a foreign king and Abraham led a war effort to save Lot and all of the people (Gen. 14:14-16). As Abraham was returning home from battle, he met a mysterious king. He was called priest of God most High (Gen. 14:18). Abraham instantly recognized him as one with authority as he bowed and offered the priestly king a tenth of all the spoils.

This is how the author of Hebrews describes Melchizedek:

He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever (Hebrews 7:2-3).

Jesus is our High Priest – not as a Levite – but in the order of Melchizedek. He is not temporary – but eternal. He doesn’t offer the blood of bulls and goats – which are insufficient to atone for sin – he offers his own blood – once and for all.

He is the mediator of a better covenant – a New Covenant written in his blood. His priesthood predates Abraham and encompasses and fulfills all of the regulations of the Old Covenant – but makes possible what was formerly impossible – the salvation of sinners. His sacrifice. His blood. His promise. His intercession. He is our Great High Priest. Draw near and find mercy for your souls!!!

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple! (Psalm 65:4).

Day 315: Another warning

Psalms 61, 62 & 64; Hebrews 5:11-6:20
(Psalm 59 was read on Day 106, Psalm 60 on Day 115, and Psalm 63 on Day 118)

Hebrews 6 (taken out of context) can seem contradictory to other parts of Scripture that teach that salvation is by grace alone; therefore, eternally secure. But a closer look at the context surrounding these verses reveals there is no contradiction, but rather a continuation of the theme found throughout Hebrews (and the rest of Scripture) that true salvation is revealed in perseverance.

Consider the recipients of this letter. Firstly, they were immature in their faith (Heb. 5:11-14) and had to be reminded of the basics of the faith (Heb. 6:1-3). Because this letter was written to a congregation, there would have been a mix of true believers and unbelievers.

Therefore, the author reminded them of the dangers of falling away from the faith (6:4-8). These warnings were given to those who were part of the gathered church and who shared in and experienced the blessings of fellowship within the congregation (6:4-5), but did not possess a saving faith (6:9).

Also important to note… This warning is very similar to the warnings he has already given in 2:1-3 and 4:11. In these two instances, the author warns the congregation against drifting away and also encourages them to persevere in their faith.

Similarly, the author concludes this “warning” section in Chapter 6 by showing confidence in their salvation while also exhorting them to persevere…

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end (Hebrews 6:9-11).

The author, though he warns the church not to drift away, believes the best of the congregation – that they are mostly believers; thus his warnings also serve as motivation for the true believer to guard against becoming lukewarm  in his faith by seeking after God wholeheartedly!

For even though good works done throughout your life have no power to save you, they are evidence of a changed and redeemed heart. Psalm 62, written as a prayer for God to rescue Israel from oppression and attack, ends with the statement that God will “render to a man according to his work.” In other words, if you attack God’s people, these works reveal that you are an enemy of God, and God will ultimately execute perfect justice toward you!

It is because of God’s perfect justice that we depend on Jesus’ righteousness alone for our salvation. He is the one who saves. He is the one who keeps us from falling away. He is the one who will help us persevere to the end…until one day, we will see Him face to face!