July 18, 2015
This is the doctrine of justification. One way to remember this doctrine is the saying, “Just-as-if-I-never-sinned.” This is about God’s justice and our judicial position before Him. In Christ, we are justified. By faith, the righteousness of Christ is accounted unto us, while our sin is accounted unto Him. This is more than just clearing our criminal record and getting us out of jail free. It is accounting unto us the status of righteousness, reconciling us to God and making possible our adoption as sons. The Judge has not only released us from prison, but has taken us home with Him to live in His house as family.
July 17, 2015
David didn’t think it unmanly to sing to God. This warrior/poet/king was a worshiper. The shepherd king who slew a giant is also the author of most of the psalms. His harp playing and singing were so Spirit-filled that they calmed king Saul’s disturbed soul. David was once accused of being undignified in his worship. To which he replied, “I will become even more undignified than this!” Real men of God are worshipers. They sing!
July 16, 2015
Two important words concerning salvation are named here: “Redemption” and “propitiation.” Redemption means that we been purchased out of slavery to sin by Christ offering Himself as our ransom. He took our sin and offers His righteousness to us. Propitiation means that Christ satisfied God’s judgment and wrath towards our sin by taking it upon Himself. He took our death and offers us His eternal life. These two great doctrines of salvation are worthy of our constant wonder and meditation. How great is the mercy and love of God that He has shown through Christ Jesus!
July 15, 2015
When David sinned against the Lord by calling for a census of Israel, the prophet Gad brought a word of warning to him. God was going to judge Israel because of David’s sin, but He allowed David to choose from three possible judgments. David chose to put Israel in God’s hand. He repented of his sin and entrusted himself to God’s righteous judgment and great mercy.
Today, the Word of the Lord offers a choice to us. We may choose the mercy of God by repenting and receiving the Son of David, Jesus the Christ. Or we may choose the judgment of God by choosing to stand on our own merits.
July 14, 2015
When David told the prophet Nathan of his desire to build a house for the Lord, the Word of the Lord came to Nathan during the night saying that He was instead going to build a house for David. The Word of the Lord spoke of a Son that would be born to David’s line that would build His house and establish an eternal kingdom. In other words, the Messiah, the Christ would be born to David’s house. David’s response is revealing. “Who am I?” Indeed. Who are we that God would give us this Christ?
July 13, 2015
David’s first attempt at transporting the ark to Jerusalem failed when Uzzah was struck dead by God while reaching out to steady the ark when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled. David became so afraid of God that they left the ark there. But after a season, David researched this with the Levites and discovered that he had not followed God’s instructions for carrying the ark. It was not to be carried by oxen and cart. It was to be carried by men, specifically, set-apart men from the priestly house of Levi. And they were to carry it in a very specified way- “with the poles on their shoulders.” They were to carry it with their faces towards the ark and the backs towards the world, being careful not to touch it, but to honor it and not let it fall.
David learned to follow God’s Word in how he worshiped. How we worship matters to God.
July 12, 2015
Today is my 57th birthday. I plan to celebrate it by preaching the gospel at both Sunday services at WCC today. I can’t think of a better way to acknowledge this annual milestone than to offer the gift of eternal life to others. Perhaps someone will hear and believe today, and so this will become their birthday too.
July 11, 2015
What the evil one meant for ill, God used for good. The Jewish leaders that brought charges against Paul in Jerusalem actually ended up elevating his status, so that he preached before soldiers, centurions, governors, kings and even Caesar. His appeal to Caesar resulted in an all-expense-paid trip to Rome (albeit with shipwrecks and snake bites). Paul had a flourishing ministry at Rome while staying under house arrest in his own little “rented house.” He wrote several letters during this first “imprisonment” known as the Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. It’s amazing how God can use difficult circumstances to increase gospel access and receptivity when we are willing to be used in spite of them.
July 10, 2015
The psalmist David wondered at the immensity and beauty of the night sky in comparison to the small stature of humanity. He posed a rhetorical question concerning God’s care for man, then answers it in the psalm with observations about man’s creation and authority under God. We can almost picture David gazing at the night sky and writing this meditation. Putting the words to music, he opened and closed the psalm with praise of God’s majesty. “O Lord, our Lord,” he wrote, moving attention from the great Creator (O Lord) to the personal Redeemer of Israel (our Lord). For the Lord God is both transcendent and immanent. He is omnipotent and holy, yet personal and present. The God who made everything cares for you.
July 9, 2015
Marriage was God’s idea. It is not a mere social construct, but a Divine creation. It is God’s provision for man’s need for companionship and oneness. This oneness is three-dimensional, involving the physical, the soul and the spirit. It is also God’s plan for having children and parenting. The Bible opens and closes with a wedding and God is intimately involved in both. This proverb describes God’s favor in the finding of a good wife. She is to be treasured and received as a gift from God. When a husband and wife view one another as a gift from God to be received and cherished, they begin to experience the oneness that He intended.
I am a man who has obtained God’s favor. Her name is Robin. And she is the greatest gift other than Jesus that God has given me.