ResponsiveReiding

Through the Word in 2020 / March 24 – A Timely Prayer

March 24th, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 28:1-10; Romans 15:14-33; Psalm 70, Deuteronomy 32.

What an appropriate Psalm and prayer is this for us today in the midst of our present crisis. Let’s say we pray through it together. As C.H. Spurgeon wrote on this very passage: “It is most fitting that we should day by day cry to God for deliverance and help; our frailty and our many dangers render this a perpetual necessity.” And has not the current distress of Covid-19 brought is face to face with our frailty? So it is we pray to a God who suffers no frailty in the least – and who is every strong to meet us in our need.

Psalm 70:1–5 (ESV) — 1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!

Yes, Heavenly Father – make haste to meet us in this hour – HURRY! The need is great. So many are suffering, not only around us and in our own country, but all over the World. Do not delay in providing healing, medicine, cures, recovery and the comfort only your presence can give. Hurry above all to bring people to yourself by means of showing us just how frail we are – and need to turn to you for your saving grace.

2 Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! 3 Let them turn back because of their shame who say, “Aha, Aha!”

Father, our enemies right now are many. In the physical, they are the viruses which are invisible, but deadly. Impossible to detect unaided. Found everywhere. Multiplying. They do not raise swords or guns against us but invade our very bodies and ravage us from the inside. Bring them down. Crush these enemies. Stem the tide and then turn it back completely. Let the legacy of it be that this was just a minor thing when all is said and done. And those Father – those who would capitalize on the misery, pain, suffering and needs which afflict us at this time – stop their hand. Arrest their evil deeds. Turn them back from the evil they seek to do. And protect people from their wicked schemes.

4 May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

Cheer the hearts of your own Children today – in the very midst of the storm. Make those who know that Jesus is their refuge rejoice and be glad IN YOU! That they are yours. That Jesus’ blood has been shed on our behalf. That our sin is forgiven, your Spirit indwells, the promise of the resurrection is just before us and eternal life awaits. Keep us mindful that this is but a short season in anticipation of the Great and Glorious Day of the Lord to come. And that this season will end soon – and give way to everlasting glory. No matter what it seems like in these hours, by your indwelling Spirit remind us of the wonder of your salvation that our hearts and lips may perpetually say: “God is great!” Greater than our sin. Greater than physical life. Greater than Covid-19. Greater than our economy. Greater than all things. God is great!

5 But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!

But Father, you know full well how poor and truly needy we are. Especially those who do not yet know your saving grace. They need your Gospel. They need your Spirit to convict of sin and righteousness and judgment. They need the gift of faith. And we all need your merciful ministrations to us in every aspect of life right now. O God! You – YOU, are our true help and our deliverer. So once again we plead – do not delay! Hurry! We need you to intervene this very hour. Yes, Heavenly Father – make haste to meet us – HURRY!
Through the Word in 2020 / March 23 – God commissions a song

March 23rd, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 27:57-66; Romans 15:1-13; Psalm 69:19-36, Deuteronomy 29-31.

God is no idiot. He knows us better than we know ourselves. And in this morning’s reading in Deuteronomy, He does a remarkable thing for Israel. Moses is about to die. Joshua is about to take leadership. And the Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land after their Wilderness wanderings. But before Moses exits the scene, He is commissioned by God to compose a song and teach it to the Nation. The contents of that song are found in the following chapter in the 1st 43 verses. But what draws our attention today is the reason behind its composition and dissemination:

Deuteronomy 31:20 (ESV) — For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant.

Note first the problem – It is not poverty or pain which most often leads us away from the Lord, but prosperity. How unable we are to suffer it. For when we succeed, we gloat and grow proud. When we have much, we grow self-sufficient and satisfied. When we are without struggle or conflict, we grow addicted to ease and apathetic. Lord save us from our sinful responses to blessing! We are, I am, so wicked. Don’t we each find this tendency within us?

Second, note that God in His goodness made preparation for that day. This song was meant to keep them on their guard against the pull of this sin which is so readily crouching at our door every day. And in the absence of that song, it is often personal trials or massive incursions like the Corona Virus which ought to wake us up to this tendency. How comfortable we become. How secure in think all will just remain as it is. How foolish to rest in external prosperity or to imagine that God gave His Son to preserve it for us – to preserve “the American way of life.” He died for our sin, not our comfort. For our guilt, not to promote luxury and ease.

Thirdly, and though it is in the next chapter – we see the glory of this song. First it calls Israel to recall its past and God’s great deliverance for them from Egypt. Next it recounts His faithfulness in the Wilderness, in the face of their rebellion, complaining and hardheartedness. But last, it reminds them how willing He is to forgive them when they repent, and the deep desire to heal, restore and bless them. As He is today for you and me.

He is so faithful – when we are not. So good when we err. So desirous of our eternal good, when we are so fixed on the temporal. What a good and blessed God we serve.
Through the Word in 2020 / March 22 – “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

March 22nd, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 27:45-56; Romans 14; Psalm 69:1-18, Deuteronomy 27-28.

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” These are some of the most enigmatic words in the whole of Scripture. And there is no end of speculation on exactly what they mean.

Surely, Jesus knew He was not abandoned in totality even as in His final gasp He said “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” He knew His Father was still the One to whom He could and should commit Himself. He knew even as He bore our guilt that He was fulfilling the Father’s will – no matter how painful it was.

So what then DOES this cry mean?

Whatever else, it cannot mean less than this.

1. Father – take note of why you forsake me now, that those who you have given me might be one with us. Remember your plan.

2. And more, since these words are quoted from Psalm 22 – with David in that Psalm He is saying: I feel so forsaken, yet I know the good outcome of it all. I know as that Psalm goes on that “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” and that even though “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue sticks to my jaws” – yet! “From You comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear Him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him shall praise the Lord.” In the last day “they shall come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn, that He has done it.”

And lastly –

3. Ah my Father – what a thing you are doing in this! This is why you have forsaken me, and it fills my broken heart with the joy of this salvation accomplished.

What a redeemer is Jesus the Christ.

My God, My God, why had you forsaken Him?

For lost sinners like me.
Through the Word in 2020 / March 21 – Opposite ends of the Spectrum

March 21st, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 27:27-44; Romans 12:13; Psalm 68, Deuteronomy 22-26.

Two of today’s readings strike me on opposite sides of the spectrum. The record of Jesus’ humiliation in Matthew, and the wonder of God’s equitable system in Israel out of Deuteronomy.

If you’ve never spent much time reading the chapters in Deuteronomy we have today, and a few before and after – you’ve cheated yourself. The brilliance of the laws God gave cannot help but cheer you. They are so fair, so equitable. So pleasant to contemplate. They speak to a life of foundational love – much like what is spoken of in our Romans reading. Caring for lost goods with an eye toward restoring them to their rightful owner. Building your house so as to protect others from possible injury. The crime of manstealing. Mercy and shelter for refugees. Provision for the poor. The requirement to deal fairly both in business and at home in our familial relationships. What would make for sweeping prison reform and an overhaul of our entire judicial system if we would only hear it. On and on these chapters drip with wisdom, compassion, justice and blessing. They ought to greatly inform the Christian mind in their principles today.

On the other end of the spectrum is the account of Jesus’ crucifixion in Matt. 27. Yes, it is the very foundation of our salvation – but I cannot read this portion without it piercing my own heart. How humiliated He was. So mocked, mistreated and shamed. Even now the tears well up in my eyes again. What He suffered for us. What He went through. What He endured as His royal dignity was as soiled as fallen humanity was capable of doing. And this, to purchase rebellious and wicked men and women like you and me. To pay the price for your sin and mine The spectacle is truly stunning. And I think we pass over it way too quickly and unfeelingly. We need to pause at passages like these and let them really sink in. In less than 20 verses we are met with a spectacle of eternal importance, saturated with injustice, cruelty, human fallenness at its very worst, and the display of grace, humility and willingness do whatever it would take to secure our salvation. Stop at that passage. Wonder. Weep. And rejoice.

As we ponder both of these passages, we are once again allowed to glimpse the glory of God and the God of glory in 2 very different but awe-inspiring ways. His grace toward His people both in His societal framework, and in His saving wonder. How He blesses in every way possible. From the most mundane aspects of life, to the deepest needs of our eternal souls – He invades every part of human existence in love, mercy, compassion and grace.

What a wondrous God we serve.
Through the Word in 2020 / March 20 – Interpreters of omens

March 20th, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 27:11-26; Romans 12:9-21; Psalm 67, Deuteronomy 18-21.

While it is always true, when something like the Covid-19 pandemic breaks out – we suddenly realize how fragile our way of life is, and how helpless we are apart from God. These are troubling notions. And people, even Christians, seek relief virtually anywhere they might find it. We want comfort and reassurance. We want answers. Why did this happen? How long will it last? What measures are being taken to resolve it? Will we ever get back to normal? Can we prevent the like of it from ever happening again? And – the million-dollar question: What does it mean?

And it is to that last question even more than the rest – our text in Deuteronomy speaks. Specifically: Deuteronomy 18:10–14 (ESV) — 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.

The internet right now is bristling with prognosticators of all kinds trying to interpret the “omen” of Covid-19. Trying to attach its arrival to one specific sin, or that it is the absolute harbinger of an eschatological event of cosmic importance. And I am amazed, truly amazed at how many are doing this in the name of Christ. The Corona virus is a sign of this or that or the other thing.

Which sin in particular might we cite here as the culprit? Which nation is the one to really blame? There are so many to choose from. Abortion? Unrestrained sexuality (which Romans tells us is already a judgment, not something which is awaiting judgment)? Greed? Violence? Self-sufficiency? The list is endless. But as our text notes, it is the very activity of trying to read an event like this as an omen that is the problem.

How wrapped up God’s people are, listening to the political pundits and prognosticators. They are NOT to be the source of our information in this regard. Forget what they think they can divine – even if right at times. Skip it. Listen to God’s Word and be about THAT business.

Even more, God Himself tells us the better course: Deuteronomy 18:15 (ESV) — 15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—Which Acts 3:22 and 7:27 tells us Jesus. LISTEN TO CHRIST! Beloved, don’t run to other sources that portend or pretend to be able to interpret the omen(s) – occupy yourself with knowing what The Christ has said and revealed. Master that. Know that intimately. Fill your heart and mind with the One who is the very Word of God Himself. And rest there. He is our hope and salvation. He is the truth. Look to Jesus. Plug your ears to the omen interpreters. For as our text also notes, this is the way of the pagan nations, and an abomination in God’s eyes.

Matthew 17:5 (ESV) — He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Corona and the “Vultures” – A Word for ECF

March 19th, 2020

Matthew 24 captures Jesus’ most complete teaching on His return at the end of the age. But He does not address only the end times, He also discusses the fall of Jerusalem which would happen less than 40 years from this sermon.

This is a good word for us at ECF today. Bear with me.

When Jesus talks about what will happen when Jerusalem will be sacked by the Romans, He includes this interesting statement – one which is very timely for you and me today: Matthew 24:28 (ESV) — “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Fallen human nature, being what it is, will invariably seek to capitalize upon any human tragedy. In the aftermath of every disaster we’ve witnessed in our lifetime, there have always been those who swooped in to take advantage. The current crisis is no different. We should expect to see some price-gouging for necessities. Fear-mongering to sell fake cures and preventatives. Finger-pointing to play off of our suspicions in order to garner political support or to tear down those in power. The promulgation of fantastical theories to keep people in suspense in order to use their fear to some other end. Media hype to sell time to their advertisers and push a particular point of view – for the larger their readership/viewership – the more valuable the advertising seconds and minutes become. And even those in the name of Christ hawking their latest books and DVDs filled with “prophetic” insights to give us the inside track on it all. “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Know it. Be aware of it. Jesus told us it would be this way then, and it remains true. And DON’T get swept up in any of it.

The 2nd vital thing we get from this important chapter is that these kinds of global disasters are not only to be expected, they are but “the beginning of the birth pangs.” In other words, they are part and parcel of the things which will precede His coming and are not to be looked at as some unprecedented new thing. We are to expect things like Covid-19, geo-political upheaval, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and the like until He comes. That we in the US in our generation have been spared so much, is no indication that such ease is supposed to be a norm to which we must always return. I am grateful for the prosperity and luxury our time and place in history has afforded us – but it is not owed us in any way – nor are we to think it strange if and when it is greatly interrupted. Jesus plainly told us it would happen. Ours is not to frantically try to establish old norms, as much as it is to live Christ well in the new norms we are presented with. Now is the time to demonstrate to the rest of the World why we don’t panic and chase after every conspiracy and method to put down the rise of the anti-Christ etc. Jesus said anti-Christ would come. We can’t stop that. He said the world would suffer upheavals. We can’t stop that either. He told us disasters will come – and so they will. And knowing He knew it would be like this and told us to be ready and promises to bring us safely home to Himself ought to free us from much needless worry and stress. Will there be stress? Of course! Is it either outside of His plans purposes or disregarded by Him? Of course NOT!

The 3rd thing we need to see here is how we cannot attach unique eschatological importance to Corona – given Jesus’ explicit and repeated warnings in this passage. In every generation when such things as the Bubonic Plague or others have greatly challenged humanity – some in the Church have risen up to say this is THE sign that Jesus is going to come within such and such a time frame. And yet, in this powerful sermon by Jesus, after speaking about all of these predicted difficulties – He says:

Matthew 24:36 (ESV) — 36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Matthew 24:42 (ESV) — 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

Matthew 24:44 (ESV) — 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Don’t let some “vulture” tell you that he or she has the inside track on what Jesus repeatedly says cannot be known. They are either deluded or lying. Trust Jesus’ words, not theirs.

In all of this then, let us commit ourselves to trusting our Lord to BE Lord over it all. And let us seek the Wisdom of His Word and the power of the Spirit to ourselves capitalize on these days for the glory of Christ and the advancement of His Kingdom. We have new, technological ways to stay together and encourage one another in the faith – to continue growing in the image of Christ; to show mercy and compassion to those around us; and especially to demonstrate to the world why we do not cower in fear. Because our Christ reigns. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted. He is not surprised by any instance of what we face. He is faithful to all of His promises. Even the very gates of Hell cannot prevail against His Church – let alone a virus.

We are His and He is ours. Let’s keep our eyes fixed upon Him in hope and joy.

Love you all: Reid
Through the Word in 2020 / March 19 – “In proportion to our faith”?

March 19th, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 27:1-10; Romans 12:1-8; Psalm 66, Deuteronomy 13-17.

Reading through the Word following this plan, puts some passages before us forming interesting connections. Such is today’s set. Each of them references giving in some capacity. And giving, specifically as it is a key part of the Believer’s worship. Whether it was under the Old Covenant or the new, giving is an important part of the Believer’s spiritual life. Seldom do we imagine it so. There is no question that our giving is tied to several key concepts:

a. Giving to Christ’s work in response to how He has given all for us. b. How giving attacks our native, sinful materialism. Judas’ example is the obvious negative. The Romans and Psalms portions give us positive instruction and Deuteronomy a bit of both.

What I find most interesting today is captured in the Romans portion and a verse that is seldom addressed in detail: Romans 12:6–8 (ESV) — Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

What does “in proportion to our (or THE) faith” mean? Basically, it means no matter what our gift, we need to exercise it for the good of the Church taking in the whole of Scripture, and not isolating it from the whole counsel of God. And Paul teases that out by giving us examples with explanation.

a. The one who contributes – who gives to the work of the Lord, is to do so with generosity – not legalistically, begrudgingly, stingily, by meager scraps or out of mere duty. The entire Word reinforces this concept of generosity and rejects giving for other purposes. Giving to Christ’s cause in the Church must be done with the right heart and in such a way as to fight our sinful, materialistic impulses.

b. The one who leads – with zeal. Paul will expand on that in other places, but the Word is replete with admonitions toward leaders, and how zeal for serving God and His people must never give way to drudgery, moneygrubbing, seeking lordship over others, seeking position, power or recognition. Leading joyfully by being the first one in line to where we are all supposed to be going: The Celestial City.

c. The one who does acts of mercy – with cheerfulness. Again, a begrudging, stingy, gripey attitude of just doing one’s duty negates the giving of mercy. The heart and mind must be informed by how the Word calls us to have the Lord’s compassion on those in need. And lest we say to ourselves “they got themselves into this mess”, forgetting that we are responsible for getting ourselves into the entire mess of sin – and in His compassion, He cheerfully acted in mercy toward us.

Give your gifts to the Church beloved. Be it prophecy – spotlighting Biblical truth to bless, encourage and strengthen the brethren; be it teaching – in concert with the entire counsel of God; be it exhortation – exhorting to Spirit fueled godliness and not a legalistic duty; be it monetarily – with generosity; be it leadership – with humility and grace; be it mercy – cheerfully. Knowing how it manifests the cheerful mercy of our loving God.

Lord! Make it so in my own heart – in each and every one of these places.
Through the Word in 2020 / March 18 – An Amazing Provision!

March 18th, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 26:57-75; Romans 11:25-36; Psalm 65, Deuteronomy 9-12.

One of the wonderful joys of reading the Word through time and time again, is the discovery of new riches. Things you’ve read multiple times before stand out in new ways. The Holy Spirit continues to draw back the curtain in places you thought were well worn. Today’s reading in Psalm 65 is just such a place. And I would call your attention to just one verse – Psalm 65:3 (ESV) — “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.”

Just let that sink in a bit. Read it slowly. Marinate. And take David’s assurance for your own.

For anyone who desires to follow Christ, grappling with our own sins pains us to the very core. We walk with Him for years, decades, and still, certain sinful passions arise in our hearts and minds and trip us up again. And the grief is profound. The heart is scarcely at times able to bear it when we fall. And then we are brought back to a place like this. We are reminded that grace is always greater than our sin. And that the blood of Jesus was not only sufficient for our justification – it remains sufficient when we fall.

Notice David’s words:

a. “When”, not “if.” WHEN iniquities prevail. The struggle with indwelling sin is never over in this life. It is sly, cunning and ruthless. Neither Satan nor our own sin care how deeply we are wounded or how much pain they cause. We WILL fail at times. We are not to plan for it in that sense nor excuse it because of its inevitability. At one time or another we will act in anger. We will lust. We will covet. We will be selfish, hard, impatient, faithless and neglectful of holy things. And when that happens, in those times when our iniquities prevail – even as they do so less and less in our growth – there is still and atonement. The SAME atonement as always – the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

b. “You atone for our transgression.” Who atones? He does. We don’t. No amount of penance is capable of removing the vile stain of guilt – only the blood of The Lamb – and that – slain by the Father’s own hand in wrath against sin. Our sin. Never His. Ours alone. But this He does. This He is faithful to do. This is the heritage of those found by faith in Christ – He atones for our every transgression. He does.

Oh wounded Christian – your sin is not the last word – His grace is. Perhaps even today you have fallen and you grieve and are in great pain over it. “There is a fountain, filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood – lose ALL their guilty stains.”
Through the Word in 2020 / March 17 – Blessed reduction, Jesus is mine.

March 17th, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 26:36-56; Romans 111-24; Psalm 64, Deuteronomy 6-8.

Pride is a terrible thing. How terrible, and how insidious is not easy to discern. Because pride is also very self-protective. It hides itself. But God in His loving desire to rid us of such an evil, often uses circumstances to expose our pride. And it shows up in some surprising places. 2 of those paces are shown to us in Deut. 8 and God’s dealings with Israel.

1 – Deuteronomy 8:2 (ESV) — 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Nowhere is pride and lack of humility more revealed than in our bristling against God’s right of authority over us. Pride which seeks position and power doesn’t like to submit to any other authority.

Note the testing in our text was for the purpose of exposing their hearts. Not so that God would know what was in their hearts, but so THEY would come to grips with how deeply sin is rooted in their hearts. It is to inform us. To help us grapple with what He knows, so that we live in His reality. When we are in uncharted territory, when by Providence God leads us where would not choose to go, into circumstances we chafe against, we want to seize control rather than look to the Heavenly Father and trust His hand in it. But learning to relinquish our imaginary control over all of life into the hands of our God and Christ is not an easy thing to do. We want to lead, not be led. We want to be masters over our own course. But when the destination is His, He also gets to choose the route – the means. We cannot conform ourselves to the image of Christ – that is a Spirit-wrought work. And The Potter will shape and re-shape us many times in bringing forth the vessel which brings Him the most glory. Which best reflects His handiwork. And which in the end, will make us the most joyful. But when His leading takes us frightening places, dry places, places where we have no option but to rely on Him alone – that’s where our pride will show itself the most.

2 – And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Dt 8:3.

The second place where humility or its lack is revealed is in an unwillingness to submit to God’s providential provisions. When we demand more or other than what His hand provides – we are acting out of pride. When the only thing He gives to sustain us is – manna.

This leads us to understand that life does not consist in the external things which support our animal existence, but rather in our connection to God Himself in right relationship. We focus on the material – He is wanting to lead us away from that. That is how we fell in Eden. The fruit LOOKED good, would TASTE good, had a perceived BENEFIT. All of which is our reasoning whenever we step beyond the lines God has set for us.

But nothing so exposes our readiness to violate God’s ways, than the pinch of some appetite. When we think we MUST secure it- lest we die – no matter what sin it might entail, we are the Devil’s prey.

And then, to be forced to wait for a strange answer to our need, and not the answer we are familiar with or that most perfectly fits our appetite – is almost too much to bear.

Father save us from ourselves! Reduce us to Jesus. To rest content in what we have in Him. And to know that you provide all we REALLY need, in the Bread of Heaven.
Through the Word in 2020 / March 16 – The Lord is God.

March 16th, 2020

We are reading the Bible through together this year, using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan published by the Navigators. You can download it free of charge from: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/

Today’s 4 readings are: Matthew 26-17-35; Romans 10; Psalm 63, Deuteronomy 4-5.

The opening chapters of Deuteronomy – true to the title of the book (for Deuteronomy essentially means a second giving of the Law) – is a sort of recap by Moses of where the Israelites were at that moment in light of all that had happened to them and how God brought up to this point in time. They were poised to at last enter the Promised Land, and Moses takes pains to connect their present and the future to their past. It was God who chose them, God who delivered them, God who promised them their future, God who spoke to them at Sinai and gave them His great Law, and God who kept them through their wilderness wanderings. The chief implication being: God will be with them as they march into their future. Now all of that is surely a good place for all Believers even today isn’t it? We stand on the edge of eternity – about to enter the fullness of His promises when we cross Jordan either by reason of death, or translation at the return of Jesus. Either way, how wise and useful for us it is to recall that it is God who chose us unto salvation; God who delivered us from the penalty of sin; God who promised us eternal life with Himself; God who spoke to us and died for us at Calvary in Jesus; God who has kept us thus far in all our journeys and God who will bring us safely home. No matter what we face or experience in this present age. We need to remind ourselves of these realities often. But what I would point your attention to this morning is Deuteronomy 4:39 (ESV) — know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. a. KNOW, get it deep down into your soul… b. Lay it to your heart so that it governs your outlook and emotions… c. That the Lord God is in Heaven – He is ruling and reigning over all from His high and lofty throne. That nothing is outside of His view and His hand… d. That this same Lord God is God on earth as well – He is not an absent landlord. He is our very present help in the time of need. He is right here with us. Right in the midst of our sorrows, grief, cares, concerns and trials. Right in the midst of Covid-19. He is Lord ON the earth, not just over the earth… e. And there is no other. Satan does not rule. Governments do not rule. We do not rule. Circumstances do not rule. Viruses do not rule. God rules. Alone. There is no other. Praise the living and true God.