my burg

Bible reading for April 30.  Numbers 7. "And the LORD said to Moses, 'They shall offer their offerings, one chief each day, for the dedication of the altar.'" (Numbers 7:11) A HOLY HOUSEWARMING. This passage reminds me of a kind of wedding shower, where gifts are provided in matching sets for the new couple.  Here, God's house is being dedicated and each tribe brings offerings -- sacrifices to be offered on the altar and matched utensils for ongoing service.  Twelve tribes on twelve days bring valuable gifts.  Judah is first (Gen 49:8) and then each following day the pattern is repeated -- of dedication, sacrifice, and feasting.  It was both solemn and celebratory. If you remember, the peace offerings were shared with all gathered at the tabernacle. So, it was twelve days of consecration to God and a community celebration at the same time.  MY TAKEAWAY.   This may seem random, but in considering the public solemnity and joy of dedicating G...

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God;  for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.   (Psalm 147:1)  Downcast?  Brokenhearted?  Feeling crushed and helpless?  This psalm is for all of us.  By faith, we must begin with praise and worship.  Not by sight, by feeling, by happy circumstance, but by faith in God's word and his power and his goodness.  Our faith may be feeble, but he delights in it and we must come in faith and give thanks for all that he is and has done for us.   The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.   He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.   (147:2-3) Here is the promise.  Our God is the covenant Lord (YHWH, or Yahweh, translated most often in smaller all-caps, LORD) who has come to us in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus.  He said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."...

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."  (Psalm 42:11 ESV) In his classic work, Spiritual Depression (Eerdmans, 1965), Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses upfront what he considers to be the ultimate cause of spiritual depression, and what generally the cure will be:   "The ultimate cause of all spiritual depression is unbelief.  For if it were not for unbelief even the devil could do nothing.  It is because we listen to the devil instead of listening to God that we go down before him and fall before his attacks.  That is why this psalmist keeps on saying to himself, 'Hope thou in God for I shall yet praise Him...' He reminds himself of God.  Why?  Because he was depressed and had forgotten God, so that his faith and his belief in God and in God's power, and in his relationship to God, were not what they ought to be.  We can indeed sum it a...

Here are a few gems (reading highlights) from Depression: Looking Up from the Stubborn Darkness , by Edward T. Welch:  It is easy to miss the obvious: depression is painful. It is a form of suffering. Jesus Christ our Lord once said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” There was no sin in Him, and consequently none in His deep depression. Therefore, depression, regardless of the causes, is a time to answer the deepest and most important of all questions: Whom will I trust? Whom will I worship? The cross is the only evidence that can fully persuade you that God is, at all times, good and generous. Don’t think that your case is unique. If Jesus learned obedience through suffering, we will too. Creation is to be enjoyed, but we don’t put our trust in it. The only alternative is God himself. At the cross, Christ has taken your story of misery upon himself and he has given you his story of resurrection and hope. Perseverance isn’t flashy. It doesn’t cal...