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Bible reading for October 21.  2 Kings 2. "Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, 'Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?' And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over." (2 Kings 2:14)  CHARIOTS OF FIRE. There are many curious features about this chapter, and questions: why does Elisha ask for a double portion of Elijah's spirit? Why does Elijah keep putting Elisha off? Why does Elijah get to go directly to heaven? What's with the fiery chariots and horses? This is history, not a vision. And, no, these were not spaceships. People of that day knew what horses and chariots looked like. (They will be seen again in 6:17.) Apparently, Elisha aspires to a double portion of God's power which was upon Elijah. He's tested in this regard, and his tenacity is rewarded.  Elisha will in fact perform more miracles than did Elijah.   Parting the waters of...

Bible reading for Feb 8:  Genesis 41; Mark 11. "And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, 'Bow the knee!'" Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt."  (Gen 41:43)  Joseph released and exalted (Gen 41).   He goes from prison to prime minister in one day !  This was the Lord's doing and it is a picture of the exaltation of God's Son, who like Joseph was despised, rejected, given over to the pit, and left to rot.  But now he is lifted up to the highest position and becomes a source of life to all who will come to him.  And "every knee will bow" (41:43 above; Phil 2:5-11; Heb 7:25-26).   However, Joseph did not physically die at that time, nor did he die for sins, nor was he exalted to heaven, but our Lord Jesus was!  Lifted up was he to die;  "It is finished!" was his cry;  now in heaven exalted high.  Hallelujah! What a Savior!  (Hymn by Philip P. Bliss) In one day. ...

"Parts of the church celebrate Ascension Day. We must never lose sight of the ascension. We worship the One who has conquered all enemies—death, the Devil, and hell. And he has risen; he has passed through the heavens. There he is in glorious power; there is nothing he cannot do for you. You must start with that. If you think of your Christianity in terms of your little life, you will have nothing. But if you look at him and realize who he is, that there is literally no limit and that there are endless possibilities, then you will begin to receive his fullness. The Christian church is as she is because she has become uncertain about her Lord." --Martyn Lloyd-Jones,  Experiencing the New Birth  (Crossway, 2015)

"A Christian is an impregnable person. He is a person that never can be conquered. Emmanuel became man to make the church  and every Christian to be one with him. Christ's nature is out of danger of all that is hurtful. The sun shall not shine,  the wind shall not blow, to the church's hurt. For the church's Head ruleth over all things and hath all things in  subjection.  Therefore let all the enemies consult together, this king and that power, there is a counsel in heaven which  will disturb and dash all their counsels."    (Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed )

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:1-4) In Sunday's message David Kingston shared a story of the comfort that comes from knowing that Christ has overcome death and is preparing a place for us: What a comfort this is to us! For all of us, death is the unknown; the place from which no-one returns. But that is not quite right; Christ has returned from death, and moreover he waits for us and has gone ahead to prepare a place for us. There is a lovely story that illustrates this; I have used it before, but it bears repeating. It is about the nineteenth-century clergyman John Todd... When he was six years old, both his parents died. A kindhearted aunt raised him until he left home to study for the ministry. Later, this aunt became seriously ill, and in distress she wrote Todd a letter. Would death mean the e...