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  Bible reading for September 8 -- 9 Sep 8 -- Ezekiel 11 and Psalm 50 Sep 9 -- Ezekiel 12 and Psalm 51 ================   "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezekiel 10:18) BAD LEADERS, BRIGHT PROMISE (ch 11). Israel was chronically plagued by bad leadership (vv 1-12). In the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the rulers of Judah and their advisors, along with the popular prophets, urged the people of Jerusalem to hold out against the Babylonian siege. God had plainly told them through Jeremiah to not fight the Babylonians but to peacefully surrender. But in their pride and zeal they resisted and faced a long siege, starvation, disease, and finally, violence and enslavement by the Babylonians. But there's a bright ray of hope (vv 16-20),...

  Bible reading for May 12 -- 13 May 12 -- Isaiah 10 and James 4 May 13 -- Isaiah 11-12 and James 5 ================    "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD." (Isaiah 11:1-2) ASSYRIA, A TOOL (ch 10) . Complete and total judgment would come upon Assyria for their arrogance and pride. The Assyrians thought they were a mighty people, when in fact they were merely a tool in the hand of the Lord, like an axe (v 15). And when the Lord was finished bringing chastisement upon his people he would dispose of that tool. As in other times of Israel's history, there would be a remnant preserved, and a regathering of his people from exile. THE BRANCH (ch 11) . At the center of God's purposes for Judah and Israel, and all the nations, is the Messiah. ...

Jan 8 -- Ezra 8 and Acts 8 Jan 9 -- Ezra 9 and Acts 9 Jan 10 -- Ezra 10 and Acts 10 ================    "Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib, where he spent the night, neither eating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles." (Ezra 10:6)  RETURNING HOME. In chapter 8 we read the names of the Jews who made the long journey back to Jerusalem along with Ezra. God provides a company of Levites, needed to lead worship at the rebuilt temple. God also provides gold and silver, and a safe journey. They had fasted and prayed, and the Lord's hand was upon them (8:18, 31). But in chapter 9 and 10 we discover that things are not well in Judea. The persistent problem of religious compromise had again taken hold in the nation, and the leaders were foremost in this offense (9:2). God has willed that his people marry others who are consecrated to the Lord (2 Cor 6:14-16). Child...

Bible reading for Nov 23.  1 Chronicles 18. "So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people." (18:14)  WHAT'S WRONG WITH THANKSGIVING? Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. It's so satisfying to have an entire day just to give thanks to the Lord and to enjoy his many blessings of family, friends, and good food. Sadly, this year due to the pandemic many will not be gathering in person with family and loved ones. But every year the sad problem with Thanksgiving remains the same -- the joy and gratitude don't last for very long! It's a precious, short period of time when we are all together, thankful to God, satisfied, content, getting along with each other. For a brief moment all seems right with the world! For a brief moment... and then the squabbling returns, the complaints, the discontent, and selfishness and greed and unhappiness. For a moment -- for some briefer, for some longer -- we see how happ...

Bible reading for May 7.  Numbers 15. "So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God."  (Numbers 15:40) SACRIFICES AND SABBATH-BREAKING. Chapter 15 includes a summary of the sacrificial offerings (vv 1-31), and it was emphasized that these laws applied also to the non-Israelites who accompanied the Israelites (Ex 12:38). This mixed multitude caused problems for the nation (Num 11:4). Even today, a local church can experience much turmoil from those in their congregation who are not truly born again or walking with the Lord. Along with the instructions, the Lord reiterates that the people will indeed enter the land one day and be worshiping God there. The judges of Israel were to deal decisively with "high-handed" (flagrant, rebellious) sins , and the example is given of a man put to death for violating the Sabbath (vv 32-36).  This man was not someone who merely forgot what day it was. Keeping the Sabbath was a major observan...

Bible reading for April 27.  Numbers 4. "According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying." (Num 4:49) The movers are here.  The other job that the Levites had was taking down and carrying the Tabernacle, which was a mobile sanctuary for the nation on its journey to the promised land. Heavy lifting was involved, but also maturity -- the men on duty were between the ages of 30 and 50. These workers had to be careful, for the holiness of the tent and its furnishings needed to be guarded .  In all of this there was a plan and division of labor (see Eph 4:15-16).  Again we see that God is a God of order. And the Lord was specific in how the work was to be accomplished.  Francis Schaeffer once preached a sermon entitled, "The Lord's Work in the Lord's Way," and that certainly is the idea in this chapter: God's work needs to be done in God's way .  He tells us not only wh...

Bible reading for April 21.  Leviticus 25. "And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan." (Leviticus 25:10) Holiness brings joy to God's community.   Chapter 25 gives instructions regarding the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee .  We see here God's concern for the poor, for the care of the land, for the redemption of slaves, for the release of debts, and for redeeming property.  Within the community, borrowing and lending were to be interest-free, and profit was not to be made at the expense of the poor. We will see a wonderful picture of how this worked when we come to the book of Ruth .    "The land is mine" (25:23). This is a point we often forget. The promised land belonged to the Lord, and he lent it out to the tribes as an inheritance to be enjoyed from...

Bible reading for April 2 -- Leviticus 5; Psalms 3-4.  "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."  (Psalm 4:8)  When you can't sleep. Many times in pastoral ministry I would read one or both of these psalms with people who were about to undergo surgery. It brings encouragement to those who trust the Lord that they can lie down and sleep (via anesthesia) with complete confidence that the Lord watches over them and sustains them .  The Lord never sleeps or slumbers (Ps 121:4).   But these words are also a comfort if you can't sleep at night .  Reciting God's word to yourself can help focus your mind on what is true and real and beautiful, rather than on whatever is causing anxiety. Biblical meditation involves repeating God's words to yourself, going over them again and again, praying over and pondering every word and meaning. When I can't sleep at night, first I pray and give thanks to God, confess ...

"...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  (Romans 10:9 ESV) "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."  (Hebrews 13:15 ESV)  Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck wrote in a lyrical prose that always tempts me to arrange it poetically.  So, here's my  framing of his words about the believer's confession of Christ...  As surely as we are sincere believers,      we confess this faith throughout our whole life,  for faith cannot do otherwise:       it must confess.   It does not ask whether good works must be done;       but before the question can even arise,       it has already done them.   Confession with mouth and heart,      ...

There are many prayers in Augustine's Confessions (c. AD 400).  All through his written journey he talks to God.  In Book I he begins with, "...you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you."  And, “On your exceedingly great mercy rests all my hope.  Grant what you command, and command what you will.”  (Confessions, X:29)     Here is a prayer from Book X:69-70 that I've adapted for congregational use, perhaps before Communion:    “How you have loved us, O good Father, who did not spare your only Son, but delivered him up for us who are wicked! How you have loved us, for whom your Son became obedient unto death, even death upon the cross! He had power to lay down his life and power to take it up again, and for us he became to you both Victor and Victim. For us, he became both Priest and Sacrifice. Out of slavery he made us your sons.  Our hope is fixed upon him, who will heal all our dise...

Over a century ago, Benjamin B. Warfield, principal and professor at Princeton University (then College), wrote out a "brief and untechnical statement" of personal faith.  His last paragraph (#24) was as follows:  “I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord, and when He shall return in His majesty I shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity; encouraged by which blessed hope, it is required of me willingly to take my part in suffering hardships here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with Him I shall also live with Him, if I endure, I shall also reign with Him.  And to Him, my Redeemer, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, Three Persons, one God, be glory forever, world without end, Amen, and Amen.”   Is this something you and I can also affirm? Image: from Warfield's grave in Princeton Cemetery. ...

"Anybody who lives beneath the Cross and who has discerned in the Cross of Jesus the utter wickedness of all men and of his own heart will find there is no sin that can ever be alien to him.  Anybody who has once been horrified by the dreadfulness of his own sin that nailed Jesus to the Cross will no longer be horrified by even the rankest sins of a brother.  Looking at the Cross of Jesus, he knows the human heart.  He knows how utterly lost it is in sin and weakness, how it goes astray in the ways of sin, and he also knows that it is accepted in grace and mercy... "In daily, earnest living with the Cross of Christ the Christian loses the spirit of human censoriousness on the one hand and weak indulgence on the other, and he receives the spirit of divine severity and divine love.  The death of the sinner before God and life that comes out of that death through grace become for him a daily reality." ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (Harper & Row...

"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.  He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."  (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV) “Sanctification may be defined as that gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit by which He purifies the sinner from the pollution of sin, renews his whole nature in the image of God, and enables him to perform good works.” (Louis Berkhof, Manual of Christian Doctrine , p 267) Here's the responsive reading after the sermon : Leader:   Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,  whose sin is covered.   Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,  and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Congregation:   I acknowledged my sin to you,  and I did not cover my iniquity;  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"  and y...

“If you are truly trusting in Christ, you can’t confess a sin for which God has not provided forgiveness in Jesus.  Indeed, if you work at the discipline of confessing your sin, it should not lead to despair at all, but rather to rejoicing over the extent of God’s love to you in Christ.” (Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence, from  It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement )