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Bible reading for October 1.  1 Kings 3. "Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?" (1 Kings 3:9) A WISE KING. Solomon considers the task before him and asks God for wisdom. Already, he is wise (1 Kgs 2:6, 9), but he asks for more wisdom to rule the people of God, now a great nation (vv 1-15). The wisdom God gives him would be seen in the story that followed (vv 16-28). The nation would begin to see "that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice" (v 28). One example of his wisdom that we might overlook is seen in his approach to worship. At first Solomon participates in the popular worship at the high place in Gibeon (vv 2-4), but after his encounter with God he comes before the Lord in Jerusalem at the ark of the covenant (v 15). He has begun to discern the right way to worship the Lord. A caveat: wisdom means being able to discern right and...

Bible reading for Aug 19.  I Samuel 11. "But Saul said, 'Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.'"  (1 Samuel 11:13) FIRST VICTORY. God rescues Israel from a degrading subjugation to the Ammonites. Empowered by the Spirit, Saul unites the tribes and brings about a decisive victory over the enemy. This was Saul at his best. Here he shows mercy to his people (v 13), but later he will become harsh (cf 1 Sam 14:24, 39). This is the beginning of Israel's united monarchy (c 1050 BC), which will include three kings ruling successively over all the tribes: Saul, David, and Solomon.  ==============   Romans 9. "So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." (Romans 9:16 NASV) WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL? Chapter 8 is the pinnacle of Romans, maybe even of all the New Testament epistles. The Holy Spirit is the agent who applies salvation, leads us into ho...

Bible reading for Feb 15:  Genesis 48; Luke 1:39-80. Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers." (Gen 48:21) The younger shall be greater than the older.  In his benediction upon Joseph's two sons, the aged Jacob (aka Israel) crosses his arms in blessing the boys, placing his right hand on the younger of the two, Ephraim . Joseph is distressed by this, but Jacob insists that the younger will indeed be greater than the older.  Jacob himself, by God's decree, was just such an example.  Though the tradition of primogeniture (the firstborn male's right to inheritance and family leadership) is generally observed, God himself reserves the right to switch this up.  The Apostle Paul writes, "...though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad - in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call - ...

"I am a Calvinist; I believe in election and predestination; but I would not dream of putting it under the heading of essential. I put it under the heading of non-essential… You are not saved by your precise understanding of how this great salvation comes to you. What you must be clear about is that you are lost and damned, hopeless and helpless, and that nothing can save you but the grace of God in Jesus Christ and only Him crucified, bearing the punishment of your sins, dying, rising again, ascending, sending the Spirit, regeneration. Those are the essentials… While I myself hold very definite and strong views on the subject, I will not separate from a man who cannot accept and believe the doctrines of election and predestination, and is Arminian, as long as he tells me that we are all saved by grace, and as long as the Calvinist agrees, as he must, that God calls all men everywhere to repentance. As long as both are prepared to agree about these things I say we must not break...

"...even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him."    (Ephesians 1:4 ESV) We are in the midst of a national campaign to determine candidates for our upcoming presidential election.  I've been reflecting -- in light of Ephesians 1 and Romans 9 -- on the differences between the "election" of God and the "elections" of people.  As difficult as this truth of election may be to understand fully, there are a few things that are clear from the Scriptures:  People elect people they deem worthy; God elects the unworthy. People elect people based upon merit; God elects people based upon mercy.  People make choices based on limited knowledge;   God chooses in accordance with infinite wisdom. Sometimes people choose others in an arbitrary way;   God elects in accordance with his divine purpose and plan.   People elect people to positions of power and license; God elects pe...

"So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills."  (Romans 9:18 ESV) "I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite sure that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen him; and I am sure he chose me before I was born, or else he never would have chosen me afterwards; and he must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why he should have looked upon me with special love."  (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students )