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  Bible reading for June 16-- 17 Jun 16 -- Isaiah 48 and Revelation 18 Jun 17 -- Isaiah 49 and Revelation 19 ================    "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6) PEACE LIKE A RIVER (ch 48). We continue to read of Israel's hypocrisy, obstinacy, and idolatry (vv 1-8). God sends the prophets who reveal his words and what is to come (vv 5-8). The Lord for his own sake, and for the sake of his name, restrains and withholds judgment (vv 9-11). Bible expositors hold various opinions as to whether verse 16 is an allusion to God's triune nature or not. God's desire is that his people be trusting, joyful, and obedient (cf Titus 2:11-14). There is no peace for the wicked (v 22), but for those who pay attention to his commandments, "Then your peace would have been ...

NT reading for Mar 24 -- John 14.  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14:27) Untroubled (Jn 14:1, 27). We, like the disciples in the upper room, are looking at a world which has great uncertainty about it .  The corona virus pandemic has people asking, "How is this all going to end up?  Will my family and my loved ones be all right? Am I ready for this?"  Of course there are practical matters to attend to: enough canned goods on the shelf, making sure children know where important papers are, and so on. On the night of Jesus' betrayal the disciples were certainly beginning to ask similar questions -- what if things turn out badly? ...what if Jesus is not going to be here? ...what will we do and how will we manage?  These days are -- as those days were -- uncertain and troubling. And Jesus begins by saying, "Let not your heart...

"And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure,  for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.  And he shall be their peace ."  (Micah 5:4-5a ESV*) "And he shall be their peace."  (5:5a)  Literally, “this one will be peace” .  By "this one" is understood the Shepherd-King previously mentioned (5:2-4), so some translations have, "and he will be..."  Also translators have varied as to which possessive pronoun should be understood here, whether to add to the text either “their", "our", or "your".  "Their peace" would be those who would trust Messiah in that future generation.  But "our" would be viewing Messiah from the reader's perspective, as the peace of Israel past, present, or future.  And we could certainly apply to ourselves -- "your peace" -- as believers in Christ today. ...

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."  (Romans 5:1-2 ESV) As Paul continues his letter to the Romans, chapter 5 opens with a panorama of the many blessings he gives us in his Son, Jesus Christ.  Being united to Christ through faith not only justifies us, but reconciles us to God and gives us every good thing in Him.  (Compare Romans 8:28-30.)  Here are eight...  Eight jewels of reconciliation from Romans 5:1-11... 1)  Peace :   God is not against us (5:1, 10)       2)   Grace :   we have free access and a secure position before God (5:2a)      3)  Hope :   our glorious future gives us joy and confidence now (5:2b, 4)     4)   Character :   we have a new way to look...

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.   (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)  While going over 1 Corinthians 6 in my daily Bible reading, I was impressed with the reasons the Apostle Paul gives for the pursuit of holiness. He points  out two big problems in the church at Corinth: legal conflicts among the people (1 Cor 6:1-8), and sexual immorality (6:12-18)  The Corinthian believers needed to pursue meekness, forgiveness, and reconciliation with one another, and in the second case, sexual purity.   Here are 8 reasons to pursue holy character : We should so live as to be good examples before unbelievers (6:6) We belong to a kingdom where unrighteousness does not belong, and such character will be judged (6:9-10) We have a new identity in Christ -- cleansed, sanctified, justified (6:11) We are to pursue things whic...