February 1, 2014
The Lord’s emotions are both infinite and pure. There is no “shadow of turning” in Him. He loves and He hates. Both passionate extremes are red hot and wild in Him, yet always under His righteous control. Our emotions are mere muddy rivulets compared to the raging torrent of His zeal. Do not make the mistake of limiting God’s love to a narrow band of syrupy sentimentality. When we speak of God’s love, we must include the terrifying whole of His passion. His love covers the entire spectrum of feeling that produces both a heaven and a hell. Do not think to mute God’s full register of feeling by removing hate from its range. When we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, God’s love flows to and through us, so that we begin to love what He loves and hate what He hates. There is no inconsistency in this, for both extremes of feeling are present in Him.
January 31, 2014
God instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb without blemish and to put its blood over their door frames, so that the angel of death would “pass over” them. This became an annual festival of remembrance that was fulfilled in Christ, who became our Passover Lamb. Those who have received Him have His blood spread over their heart’s door, so that they have been forgiven of sin and will never die.
January 30, 2014
Jesus described the new Kingdom economy to His disciples. He modeled the new servant-leader paradigm by washing His disciples feet and then dying on the cross for our sins. To James and John, who aspired to leadership, He didn’t rebuke them, He showed them a better way. Jesus radically changed the leadership model. He descended to greatness.
January 29, 2014
You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat children. If they are patient and fun with little ones, it reveals something about their heart. If they are nervous and frustrated, this too shows. Jesus loved little children. He always made time for them. I’ve observed that most people who come to Christ, do so before adulthood. The older we get, the more our hearts harden. Yet, it’s never too late to see Jesus with childlike eyes and receive Him with a childlike faith.
January 28, 2014
This Davidic psalm is so well known in the KJV that it’s difficult to read it any other version (“…I shall not want.”). Yet, as comforting as the familiar KJV verse is, sometimes it’s helpful to read it in another version to help unpack its meaning. Here, the NLT reading caused me to focus on the Lord as my shepherd more than my wants/needs. In other words, all my true and deepest needs are satisfied in the Lord Himself. I still prefer the beautiful KJV for most of my memorization work, but occasionally another version causes me to see Scripture afresh. Here’s my paraphrase as a result of today’s reading: “I have the Lord as my shepherd, so what else could I possibly need?”
January 27, 2014
God rebuked Moses for claiming lack of ability to obey His call. God knew the abilities that He had given Moses. Yet, Moses was afraid. He had already “tried” to free his people 40 years earlier when he murdered the Egyptian for beating his fellow Israelites. Moses, the prince of Egypt, was now a lowly, defeated shepherd working for his father-in-law. The truth was, Moses was making an excuse. He was afraid and didn’t want to obey God’s call. But Moses would learn that whomever God calls, He also enables. Moses would also learn that God cares less about your ability than your “availability.” Make yourself “available” to God. Just show up! And God will give you the ability to obey Him.
January 26, 2014
God revealed His Name to Moses at the burning bush. The Name was so holy to the Jews that they didn’t say it aloud. In the Hebrew Bible it was written YHWH but they said “Adonai” (Lord) when reading. The four-letter Name was called the “tetragrammaton” and was probably pronounced “Yahweh.” English speaking Jews today will often write the Name like “G-d” to continue their tradition of respect. Notice that God’s Name is “I AM,” not “I WAS,” or “I WILL BE.” His Name reveals that He is eternally present, outside of time, and self-existent. God introduced Himself to Moses through a burning bush. Today, He introduces Himself to us through His Son, Jesus.
January 25, 2014
Jesus took His inner circle of disciples, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain. There the heavenly veil was pulled back for a moment and they saw Jesus in His glory. They also saw Moses and Elijah. Those who have questions about how far is heaven and whether we will know our loved ones who died in the Lord should take note. Heaven is near. And yes, we will know them.
January 24, 2014
On his deathbed, Jacob (Israel) spoke a prophetic word over each of his sons. Over Judah he spoke a Messianic prophecy that described the eternal kingship and honor of the coming Christ. Centuries later David was born into the tribe of Judah and became the king of all Israel. And still more centuries later, Jesus was born to the house of David, the tribe of Judah. He is the Promised One that old Jacob saw coming.
January 23, 2014
A psalm of David, one he surely wrote while laying under the stars at night watching over his father’s sheep. Today, our most powerful telescopes are pointed at the heavens. New discoveries are made everyday, pointing to the vastness and variety of the universe. Our scientists know more about the stars than David ever dreamed. But they could learn much from him as well.