Table Covenant

Photo: V. Nesdoly

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 26:1-30

TO CHEW ON: "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matthew 26:28

Here we have the story of Jesus starting something new or, better said, revealing the next chapter of God's plan that lay within something old.

He and His disciples were celebrating the Passover meal. This was the symbolic meal the Israelites had celebrated since the night before their exodus from Egypt. It is explained in Exodus 12. There Moses instructed the people how to celebrate it. He also told them to eat it yearly from then on, using the various rituals of preparation and menu items as prompts in retelling the story to their children of how God had spared the life of each family's firstborn child the night the Death Angel visited Egypt.

Jesus and His disciples were eating this Passover meal when Jesus took parts of it—the bread and the wine—and gave them new significance. Of the bread He said, "Take, eat, this is My body." Of the wine, "Drink from it all of you. For this is My blood of the new convenient which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

A sidebar article in my Bible explains the significance of what He was doing:

"Jesus used the occasion of the Passover meal to inaugurate the New Covenant. The symbolism of the Passover meal under the Old Covenant was about to be fully satisfied through Christ's crucifixion. In this historic moment, Jesus transformed the meaning of the elements of the Passover meal into New Covenant thought.


The bread now represented His body, which would be given, and the cup His blood, which would be shed for the forgiveness of sins The holy requirements of God and the Old Covenant were about to be forever satisfied.


A new and living way into the presence and provision of God was being prepared through Christ, the Lamb of God. A new and eternal bond was being established by the blood of Jesus Christ. God was sovereignly inaugurating the new and ultimate covenant" - Charles Simpson - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1339.

Though a covenant between two people or parties is an agreement by both sides, a God-initiated covenant is solely His idea. We have nothing to bring to it—no bargaining power or clout of any kind. This covenant, to give us life when we deserved death because Someone took our place, is entirely His gift to us.

As we approach Easter, the realization, again, of the hugeness of His gift is reason for nothing but thankfulness and worship.

(Read more about covenant at Rebecca Writes - Theological Term of the Week: "covenant")

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this new covenant by which I have life when I deserved death. Help me to respect the Lord's Supper, treating it with the solemnity it has as Your initiative, pledge and seal of undeserved favour. Amen.

MORE: "Come to the Table" by Michael Card



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

A prophecy to fuel hope

"Who are these who fly like a cloud
And like doves to their roosts?"
- Isaiah 60:8

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 60:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "The Gentiles shall come to your light

And kings to the brightness of your rising." - Isaiah 60:3

We see in Isaiah's prophecy the prediction of the wise men who came from the east (we'll read the account from Matthew tomorrow in two days from now when we commemorate Epiphany). The "your" in the verse speaks of Zion, the City of the Lord (Isaiah 60:14).

This passage is crammed with other things that distinguish Zion as a special place.

• She attracts the wealth of nations (Isaiah 60:5-10) where only the best of gold, silver and bronze is collected (Isaiah 60:17).

• She is a welcoming, bustling place (Isaiah 60:11).

• She will rule over her former detractors and persecutors and they will bring her homage (Isaiah 60:14).

• Her fortunes, once bad, have turned around (Isaiah 60:15-16).

• She is no longer a city of violence and poverty but of salvation and praise (Isaiah 60:18).

And it's all because of Zion's main attraction—the Lord God. He is her inhabitants' everlasting light and glory (Isaiah 60:19-20). Days of sadness are over for her citizens. Her insignificant people have became great to bring God glory (Isaiah 60:21-22).

We recognize layers of prediction here. The kings who came to worship baby Jesus fulfilled it in part. But the complete fulfillment of all of these predictions is still ahead. For example when we read:

"The sun shall no longer be your light by day,

Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;

But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,

And your God your glory" - Isaiah 60:19

we can't help but think of still-unrealized prediction from Revelation 22:

"There shall be no night there. 

They need no lamp nor light of the sun, 

for the Lord God gives them light" - Revelation 22:5.

So what does this prophecy have to do with us today? For me it resonates in two ways.

1. It helps expand my view and imaginings of God. As I read this passage I see His greatness and power, His magnetism, and His raw force for good.

2. It fuels my hope as I witness by faith the eventual triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, joy over sadness.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for mind-expanding passages like Isaiah 60 that picture Zion as the seat of Your rule and home of Your people. Help me to nurture hope and expectation through Bible prophecy. Amen.

MORE: "The Prophets" by Michael Card

Foundation Faith

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 11:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

In a world where we can't see into the future, it's impossible to live without faith. I believe, when I take my next step, that the ground will still be there to step on. At the traffic light, I believe you, coming from the opposite direction, will stop when your light turns red so I can proceed safely on my green. We make plans for tomorrow believing that we'll be around to carry them out.

Similarly our view of spiritual reality is based on faith. Whether we hold to evolution or creation, a materialistic no-God universe or a universe created by an intelligent deity, we hang onto those beliefs by faith. We do more. We use those beliefs to filter all our experiences.

Tucked in the middle of the Hebrews 11 series of examples showing us what faith in action looks like, is a statement about faith in general (Hebrews 11:6). From it we learn four important things about faith:

1. Our faith in God pleases Him.

2. Our faith starts with a belief in His existence.

3. We can't even come to God or know Him without faith.

4. He rewards us when we seek Him.

We live our physical lives without a lot of agonizing over whether or not the ground under our feet will remain solid, we can trust each other in traffic, or tomorrow will arrive. Do we live our spiritual lives with the same level of confidence?

There is a point in life, where we decide what we will believe. Once we have decided for God, do our lives exhibit the same certainty about spiritual realities as physical? Do we believe in God's existence as surely as the ground beneath our feet? Do we take Him at His word that He is approachable and knowable? Do we live with hope, in the firm belief that our search to know and please Him will be rewarded?

PRAYER: Dear God, I have staked my whole belief system on Your existence. Help me to live my life consistent with this belief and with the faith that pleases You. Amen.

MORE: Michael Card -The Poem of Your Life

"We are living letters that doubt desecrates
We're the notes of the song of the chorus of faith"
(all lyrics)

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Daniel's crushing stone

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Daniel 2:24-49

TO CHEW ON: "'You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces .... And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.'"  Daniel 2:34,44

The mighty stone in Daniel's vision that crushes earth's kingdoms and becomes an everlasting kingdom of its own (Daniel 2:35) reminds us of other places the Bible refers to this everlasting kingdom—and with stone imagery too.

• Daniel himself talks about this kingdom again, describing its king in words that signal He is Jesus (Daniel 7:13,14).

• In several places Bible prophets refer to a coming cornerstone: Psalm 118:22, Zechariah 10:4; Isaiah 28:16.

• Jesus in explaining the parable of the Landowner (in which we recognize Him as the owner's son, whom the wicked servants put to death - Matthew 21:33-41) connects this cornerstone prophecy to Himself and  the Kingdom of God (Matthew 21:42, 43).

• Peter talks about Jesus being the cornerstone in his sermon to the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:11) and again in his epistle (1 Peter 2:6) as does Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:20).

What about us? Will we build our lives on Jesus the cornerstone (1 Corinthians 3:11), who saves us (Acts 4:11,12) and let ourselves be fit together with other "living stones" in a magnificent "holy temple" (Ephesians 2:20-22)? Or will we reject Him and find Him a stone that stumbles, offends and crushes us (1 Peter 2:7,8)?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for being the stone that fulfills Daniel's prophecy. We look forward to the day Your kingdom will "become a great mountain and fill the whole earth." Amen.

MORE: "Living Stones" by Michael Card (link goes to Grooveshark Radio)

Soul anchor

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 6:13-7:14

TO CHEW ON: "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil." Hebrews 6:19

What hope is the writer talking about?

 Scanning back, we see that it is the hope of God's "immutability" (unchangeableness - Hebrews 6:17) and his "oath"—that promise He made to Abraham ("Surely I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you" - Hebrews 6:13 - quoting Genesis 22:17-18 where God goes on to say: "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed").

The grandeur of these two things sends the author on a hunt to express how valuable and important they are. He comes up with two word pictures.

1. A place of refuge -  "... fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18). The writer's language would have brought to the Jewish mind the picture of a murderer fleeing to one of the cities of refuge (Joshua 20:1-7) or to the temple to lay hold of the horns of the altar (1 Kings 2:28) where they were assured safety from their accuser.

2. An anchor - "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul" - Hebrews 6:19.

In other words, their hope of salvation because of God's promise made to Abraham, together with the fact of His unchangeableness is like a city of refuge or the horns of the altar (a place of escape from certain retribution) and an anchor (the means of surviving life's storms).

To any of us fearful of losing salvation, the hope of Christ as our city of refuge or horns on the altar is a powerful picture. To those of us who feel like we'll certainly get dashed to pieces by life's storms of sickness, natural disaster, personal and family conflict, or whatever, this hope of salvation and an eternity with God is our anchor.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You don't change, and that the blessing of the promise made to Abraham is even now blessing me in that I have peace with You through Abraham's descendant Jesus, and can enjoy real life now and through eternity. Amen.

MORE: Soul Anchor by Michael Card

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The goal: perfect and complete

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 13:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "...And this also we pray, that you may be made complete....Finally brethren, farewell. Become complete... " 2 Corinthians 13:9b,11a NKJV

When I was a kid I took piano lessons. Several times during my piano lesson career, I signed up to take an exam. This involved becoming proficient in all the technical elements and learning several pieces at my grade level. For weeks, even months, my teacher and I worked at preparing me for this exam. Every week when I came for my lesson she would critique my scales and four-note chords, my Bach Invention and my Chopin waltz so I could strengthen each weakness. My goal for exam day was to impress the examiner with a performance that was as perfect and complete as I could make it.

Here Paul is urging the Corinthians to be "complete" as Christians.

["Complete (katartisis) means an improving, equipping, training, disciplining. It includes making the necessary adjustments and repairs. The related verb katartizo is used for the disciples mending their nets - Matthew 4:21" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1626.]

When Paul talks about "complete" what does he mean? What are we striving after to make us complete as disciples of Jesus? In piano I depended on my teacher to challenge and grow me toward the standard she knew was required to get a good score. In the Christian life, the package of completeness we are working toward is found in the Bible. (The word "complete" is used in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 where Paul describes how God's word is useful to us.)

Here are some verses that talk about completeness (also called "maturity"- NLT; "full restoration" - NIV;  "perfected" - Amplified, "in good repair" - Msg.). They give us a picture (though incomplete for sure) of what Paul is talking about and what we strive for:

• Some have earned that label. Job was a man who had a reputation with both the devil and God as being "blameless" - Job 1:1.

• Jesus linked being "perfect" with becoming detached from worldly possessions - Matthew 19:21.

• Paul talked about love as the thing that would bind all the virtues together in perfect unity - Colossians 3:12-14.

• James referred to how faith and works need to mesh, with works completing or making perfect one's profession of faith - James 2:22.

• He also spoke of the ability to guard one's tongue as an evidence of the greater discipline of the "perfect man" - James 3:2.

• John spoke of our love shown to one another as the evidence of God's loving being perfected in us - 1 John 4:12.

Fortunately we don't have to work on this alone. We too have a "piano teacher." God Himself promises to show us where we need to improve. Look

"I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also" - Philippians 3:13-15 (Amplified)

Completeness is a great big goal that can seem discouragingly huge. But it has been my experience that God often handles my shortcomings like my piano teacher did — one at a time. That I can handle.

PRAYER: Dear God, the goal of completeness is a big, intimidating one. Thank You that You deal with me one issue at a time. Help me to be a teachable student today, sensitive and malleable to Your correction. Amen.

MORE: "Joy in the Journey" - Michael Card