Loving God, loving each other

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 John 1 & 3 John 1; Psalm 38

TO CHEW ON: "And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another." 2 John 5


When I first posted this devo some years ago (it is a re-post) we were in the middle of our annual church conference. One night visiting speaker Joel A'Bell (Hillsongs Church, Australia) talked about loving each other. He said something like, "We want deep teaching, to know what the colors of the priest's robes mean. But we don't obey Jesus' most basic commands to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbour as ourselves - Mark 12:29-31."

"Have you ever thought about what it means to love God this way?" he asked. He went on to explain how we love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength. Here are some of his thoughts (via my scribbled notes):

- Loving God with all my heart means having a heart to let go.
"We struggle when there's more in our heart than Jesus."

- Loving God with all my soul means to go slow.
"We're speedy; make decisions quickly, we're too fast on the inside, don't take time to think, meditate, pray."

- Loving God with all my mind is having a mind to change (i.e. repent).
"Maturity is evidenced by the decreasing time gap between the challenge to change and the actual obedience."

- Loving God with all my strength is endurance.
An example he gave of this is our tendency to become familiar with the things of God so they no longer move us. The person that loves with strength pulls his/her mind back to focus on the truths of God's word, the lyrics of the familiar worship song etc. and does "not give in to the weakness of familiarity."

Loving God this way will make us ever more convinced and sure and secure in God's love for us. The natural outflow of such love is for us to love others. I like how Leslynn Musch puts it in her Truth-In-Action in 2 John article: "If we are truly loved, then that love should affect the way we love others. Love others as Jesus has loved you" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1795.

PRAYER: Dear God, I know I often fall short of loving You with my heart, soul, mind, and strength and so it is no wonder my relationships with others are tainted by insecurity, fear, comparison, and competition etc. Please help me to bask in Your love, love You back, and from that loop, to love my Christian family and the world. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 38

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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.

The counterintuitive Be-Attitudes

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 5-6; Psalm 83

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

The seven verses at the beginning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-10) are called the "Beatitudes." The word comes the Latin word beatitudo. So much for my fancy that beatitudes was a modern word grafted together from be and attitudes, i.e. attitudes worth assimilating into one's state of being. [Beatitudo means blessedness from beatus - happy.]

On looking over the beatitudes, it strikes me that at least four are states which we would not readily seek out.

• It's not trendy to be "'poor in spirit'" (Matthew 5:3)— "… those who recognize their spiritual poverty and, casting aside all self-sufficiency, seek God's grace" - Lyle Story, commentary on Matthew, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1296.

• Who wants to "'mourn'" (Matthew 5:4)?  Though our commenter assures us this doesn't refer to being bereaved but to  "… those who experience the sorrow of repentance" - Ibid.

• We readily equate "meek" with "weak (Matthew 5:5) though again our commenter disabuses us of that notion, defining "'meek'" as "…controlled strength. The word carries the idea of humility and self-discipline" - Ibid.

• Finally, do any of us relish the thought of persecution (Matthew 5:10)?

Our reading today reminds me again of how humanly unintuitive the Kingdom of Heaven is. Accustomed to operating in the natural we would hardly equate blessedness or a state of happiness with a majority of the beatitude qualities.

Two things come to mind:

1. We can't trust our instincts to pilot us to a place of God's blessing. Jesus said, "'My kingdom is not of this world.'" He said this as He stood meek before a puzzled Pilate. He went on to elaborate on his counterintuitive behaviour: "'If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here'" - John 18:36.  

2. It's only as we familiarize ourselves with the Bible that we will know what Kingdom of Heaven principles are, and as we submit to them will experience the happy blessedness and that the beatitudes promise.

PRAYER: Dear God please help me to accept my own poverty of spirit. Please infuse me with a hunger and thirst for righteousness as I seek, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to incorporate these be-attitudes into my life. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY Psalm 83

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Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotes are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Together again

"Prodigal Son" - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 30-32; Psalm 21

TO CHEW ON: "Again I will build you and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice."  Jeremiah 31:4

A family feud, a rift between you and an old friend, a church split, a betrayal by a business partner… Most of us have experienced the severing of a trusted relationship and know its fallout of sadness, disillusionment and the ache of an empty place at the table, empty pews in church, the empty office.

Israel and Judah had split into two nations during the reign of Solomon's son Rehoboam. That was about 300 years before Jeremiah's time. Though the crisis pain of that split had no doubt long healed, the desire that the two nations of God's chosen people be reunited lingered. In today's reading we hear it in Jeremiah's prediction of  together again: "I will be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall all be my people" - Jeremiah 31:1.

Let's look at the bright picture Jeremiah paints of that reuniting:

This is a worldwide ingathering "I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth…" Jeremiah 31:8, 10.

There is repentance and renewed spiritual sensitivity: "They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them" - Jeremiah 31:9.

There is celebration, singing and dancing - "You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice …. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old together;  For I will turn their mourning to joy…" Jeremiah 31:4,13.

There is vibrant praise and worship - " ' Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise and say, "O Lord, save Your people…" ' "  Jeremiah 31:7.

There is hope: "Again I will build you and you shall be rebuilt" - Jeremiah 31:4.

There is new life and productivity - "You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria …. Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden…" Jeremiah 31:5, 12.

Over it all there is a sense of God's love, protection, and care - "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you … He who scattered Israel will gather him, and Keep him as a shepherd does his flock … And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness says the Lord" - Jeremiah 31:3, 10-11,14.

The picture of God reclaiming His people Israel can be compared to what it's like when He brings humanity back to Himself, healing the rift that split us and God apart when Adam and Eve sinned.

He brings us from wherever we are and accepts us no matter what our condition. Our tears of repentance and renewed spiritual sensitivity soon change to joy, singing, celebration, praise, and worship as we realize our happy condition. Our relationship with our Creator leads to renewed life and creativity. In the Shepherd's care we find security and satisfaction.

If you haven't come home to the Father, He calls to you today: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindess I have drawn you…"

Come to Him today!.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for wanting me back and making a way. Help me today to appreciate and enjoy the benefits of being Your child. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 21

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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.

You don't know what you don't know

Behemoth - Job 40:15-24
Leviathan - Job 41:1-34

Behemoth & Leviathan - Wm. Blake

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 40-42; Psalm 146

TO CHEW ON: "'Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.'" Job 40:7


Have you heard the saying, "You don't know what you don't know"? I've heard it quoted to writers who think their work is perfect just the way it is and needs no editing. But this little truism could also apply to life in general. It reminds us that there are a multitude of things about which we don't have a clue.

This is, in effect, what God says to Job in our reading today, along with "You can't do what you can't do." I love how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:

^6-7 God addressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said:

“I have some more questions for you,
    and I want straight answers.

^8-14 “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong?

    Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?

Do you have an arm like my arm?
    Can you shout in thunder the way I can?
Go ahead, show your stuff.
    Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do.
Unleash your outrage.
    Target the arrogant and lay them flat.
Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees.
    Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them!
Dig a mass grave and dump them in it—
    faceless corpses in an unmarked grave.
I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you—    you can surely save yourself with no help from me! - Job 40:6-14 MSG

I need—we all need to remind ourselves of God's comeback to Job here when we hear people criticizing Him for His mishandling of the earth and the people on it—indeed, when we ourselves question His goodness, His wisdom, His justice, His power… For we see only part of the picture. We have only limited information. And we're impotent to do much about what we do think we know and understand.

So what is our realistic stance here?

• Humility in admitting our limitations - Ecclesiastes 8:7; 9:12; 11:5.

• Repentance for our arrogance - Job 42:5,6.

• Prayer for God's help to be able to live wisely during the time and in the place God has set us - James 1:5-8

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to face life realistically. I don't think You want me to throw up my hands in despair that I'm powerless. At the same time, You don't need my help and advice on how to run the world. Please help me to fulfill the destiny You have for me in humility and obedience as I trust You with the big picture. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 146

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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.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Original Exorcism

Lucifer of Liége, Liége Belgium (Image: Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 13-17; Psalm 112

TO CHEW ON: “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!” Isaiah 14:12

Here we have the interesting account of what is believed to be Satan’s casting out of heaven. My Bible’s notes explain the double application:

“These verses … are part of the proverb against the king of Babylon. The language, however, shows that he is a type of Satan” Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 891.

There are several other accounts of Satan’s fall:
- Jesus, when debriefing the disciples on their return from ministering in His name and excited that they could perform exorcisms, told them this was no surprise for Satan was a long-ago defeated foe. He said: “‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven’” Luke 10:18.

John in his Revelation vision tells it again:
“So the great dragon was cast out, the serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was cast to earth, and his angels were cast out with him” - Revelation 12:9*

It is interesting to notice the details in Isaiah’s telling. Lucifer’s pride and self-will are on display in his “I will” statements:
“I will ascend to heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation…
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High” - Isaiah 14:13-14.

God responds to him:
He will be brought down
He will be the object of stares
He will be the object of ridicule.
He will be cast out by even the lowest place, the grave.
He will be alone (Isaiah 14:15-20).

What particularly makes me sit up and take notice in this account is the reason for Satan’s fall: pride and self-will, attitudes with which I (and perhaps you too?) am all too acquainted.

PRAYER: Dear Father, by Your Spirit help me to recognize, repent of, and root out the satanic qualities of pride and self-will that so readily take root and flourish in my life.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 112

* Some eschatologists interpret this as a future and final casting out of Satan. different from the one described in Isaiah; others see this as a flashback to that first casting out.

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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.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Preparing the way

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Mark 1:1-18

TO CHEW ON: “As it is written in the Prophets:
‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You
The voice of one crying in the wilderness
“Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.”’”  Mark 1:2,3

Mark’s quote is straight from Isaiah 40—part of our reading three days ago. As we complete reading today’s passage we discover that the author is referring to the message and messenger John the Baptist, Jesus’ way-preparer.

In Mark John’s message was to get ready to meet Someone mighty and worthy who had spiritual power. In Luke, where John’s beginning and ministry are described in more detail, we discover his message of preparation focused largely on getting his audience to repent. He even detailed what repentance would look like to various of his listeners in real life:
- To the general public: give to the needy.
- To the tax collector: do your work honestly.
- To the soldier: don’t abuse your position or power and be content with pay
(Luke 3:8-14).

During Advent, as we review the story Jesus coming to earth as God in human flesh we also focus on our readiness. How do we ready our lives for Him to live with us and in us more fully?

Of course we know there is nothing we can do to earn His presence and our salvation. It is a free gift. But we also know that there are things we can do to prepare a comfortable home within us for Him.

I like the four Steps of Readiness  suggested in my Thompson Chain Bible. To make a comfortable home for Jesus with us, we:

1. Abandon idols

“Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only…” - 1 Samuel 7:3 (emphasis added).

2. Cleanse the temple (our lives)

 “And they gathered their brethren, sanctified themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.  2 Chronicles 29:15. 

The whole story (2 Chronicles 29:1-17) is of Hezekiah the king purifying the temple so that Yahweh would again be among them and help them defeat their enemies in.

3. Return to the Lord

"He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” Luke 1:17 (emphasis added).

Here’s that “repentance” that John the Baptist admonished the people of his time to do. The words  quoted are what the angel told John’s father Zacharias, what his (John’s) role would be.

4. Pursue personal purity

“ Now in a large house there are not only vessels and objects of gold and silver, but also vessels and objects of wood and of earthenware, and some are for honorable (noble, good) use and some for dishonorable (ignoble, common). Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things [which are dishonorable—disobedient, sinful], he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified [set apart for a special purpose and], useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20,21 AMP (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please help to make my life a more welcoming and comfortable home for Jesus this Advent. Amen. 

MORE: Second Sunday of Advent

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. The liturgy for the day begins with this prayer:

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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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.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified^® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

What to do BEFORE it is too late

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Zephaniah 2:1-15

TO CHEW ON:"Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you
Before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you!
Seek the Lord all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility,
It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord's anger." Zephaniah 2:2,3

In the beginning of Zephaniah 2 we have the call to repent, Part II of a prophet's typical message.

Repent means 1] To feel remorse or regret over something you have done or failed to do; 2] To change your mind about a past action; 3] To feel such sorrow for your sins as to reform - Funk & Wagnall's Dictionary.

Though the word "repent" isn't used, the plea to "Seek the Lord" implies the hearer should turn attention from other things they are presently seeking, to seek God.

All the "Before"s in verse 2 insert a sense of urgency. This is not something to leave to whenever—a more convenient time. Do it now, "Before the decree is issued…the day passes like chaff… the day of the Lord's anger (fierce anger) comes upon you."

The attitude needed for this search is meekness. [Meek = a patient, mild, gentle, compliant disposition.] No more bristling at God, talking back to Him, insisting on one's own way.

The return is to God, to justice, to righteousness, to humility so that "it may be that you will be hidden / in the day of the Lord's anger."

As we view our own lives in the light of a still-awaited "Day of the Lord" so many of these things apply to us:

• Like the people of Judah, we don't know when that Day will come. We still have time to turn "Before the decree is issued…"

• Like them we too need meekness to admit we were/are wrong. If we've accepted Jesus as Saviour we have taken the first step for sure. But repentance can also involve a multitude of turnings as our lives are regularly checked by Scripture.

• Our turning to God, to justice, to righteousness, to humility is without glamor and fanfare. There isn't self-exaltation here. The only way such qualities will trend on Twitter is as they disturb society's status quo… which may make them harder and less attractive. But God's judgments, such as those on unrepentant nations, spelled out in the remainder of the chapter, are enough to tip the balance in repentance's favor.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to take seriously this warning about the Day of the Lord. Show me where I need to make changes to prepare for it by repenting and seeking the right things. Amen.

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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.

Prayer insights from Daniel

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 10:4-11:2
 
TO CHEW ON: “‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words’” Daniel 10:12 NIV.

In today’s reading in Daniel 10, I see four things from Daniel's experience that teach us about God, us, and prayer.

1. God knew Daniel by name. He had a reputation in heaven.
When the vision described in Daniel 10 began, Daniel was petrified. The angel visitor began his reassurance with these beautiful words:
“‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed….’”

Don’t you love how the angel called him by name (Daniel 10:11,12) and told him his heavenly reputation.  A note in the NIV Study Bible explains “highly esteemed”:

“A relatively rare Hebrew word … sometimes translated ‘coveted.’ Daniel is a highly desired, precious man whom God covets” (NIV Study Bible, Kindle Location 202,318).

The expression “highly esteemed” reminds me of a story told by one of the pastors at my church. In a series about hearing God, Pastor Mike told us of a day when he read a Bible story of God changing someone’s name. That morning in prayer he asked God, “Do you have another name for me?” He sensed God telling him to wait for an answer later in the day.

That night before bed he was wrestling with his young sons. At one point one of them straddled his head with his little legs, held Mike’s face in his hands, looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘Daddy, you’re expensive.’

Highly esteemed, highly desired, precious, coveted, expensive. What a reputation to have! Maybe the angels God sends aren’t always terrifying.

2. Daniel’s prayer set things in motion:
“Since the first day … your words were heard” Daniel 10:12.
On another occasion the angel Gabriel came to him with the message: “‘As soon as you began to pray a word went out’” - Daniel 9:23.

3. Daniel’s attitude in prayer moved God.
The angel said: “…the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard…” Daniel 10:12.

How had he set his heart to understand and humble himself? We can read his prayer of repentance and humility in Daniel 9:4-19.

4. The answer to Daniel’s prayer was delayed by spiritual warfare.
The angel’s words give us a glimpse of the spiritual warfare that was being fought in heaven ((Daniel 10:12,13,20) and which is also being waged around us (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

God knows our names too. We too have a reputation in heaven (Psalm 139:1-18). Let’s keep praying with realism—the awareness of who we are in relation to God—and with faith, confident that our prayers also move God’s hand and that we too can be part of God’s kingdom strategy.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for this glimpse into the connections between our prayers and Your answers. Help me to pray with realism,  perseverance, and faith that my prayers do make a difference. Amen.
 
MORE: Feast of St. Michael and all Angels

Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.

The day’s liturgy begins with this collect prayer:

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Three basics of Revival

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:145-160

TO CHEW ON: “Revive me…” Psalm 119:154, 156, 159

Do you ever hear comments like, “We need a revival in Canada, the U.S., Europe”, or “Oh, for the revivals of the old days”?

The quest for spiritual revival isn’t new. The prayer “Revive me” occurs three times in an eight verse section of our reading (Psalm 119:153-160).

"Revive" is chayah in Hebrew. It means to live, to have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, be quickened, be restored to life or health.
The psalmist names three possible catalysts of revival:

“Your word” (vs. 154): "word" = imrah - the word of God, Torah.
“Your judgments” (vs. 156): "judgments" =  mishpat - judgment, justice, ordinance, legal decision.
“Your lovingkindness” (vs. 159): "lovingkindness" = chesed - goodness, kindness, faithfulness.

How might these things be catalysts for revival in our own time?

- Revived by the Word (Psalm 119:154):
For us this is the Bible. We need to read it, get it into us as much as and more than we allow TV, the news, political pundits, movies, etc. get into us. God’s word puts an entirely different slant on life than does our culture. It tells us what's important to God; what He values.

- Revived by God’s judgments (Psalm 119:156):
God, as revealed especially in the Old Testament, often appears harsh, a God of black-and-white, of judgment. David, the writer of many psalms (perhaps even this one?) discovered that when he tried to move the ark to the tabernacle in Jerusalem (a good thing) in the wrong way (on a cart instead of secured with poles and carried on priests’ shoulders). The man who reached out to steady the ark from falling, touched it (something God had expressly forbidden - Numbers 4:15), and died on the spot. Read the story in 1 Chronicles 13:1-14.

God’s judgment side carries on in the New Testament where He allows His own Son to present Himself as a sacrifice for sin on our behalf.

I think if there is any aspect of the Gospel we moderns have watered down, it is the fact of God’s holiness, His hatred of sin, and the inevitability of sin’s judgment. We easily live with a mindset of “cheap grace.” The picture we have of God is a version of ourselves (Psalm 50:21).

- Revived by God’s lovingkindness:
 We also see the merciful, kind, faithful side of God throughout the Bible and highlighted in the cross. In the words of Paul:

“…God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them. … we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” - 2 Corinthians 5:19,21.

I’m also reminded of the verse: “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?’ Romans 2:4 (emphasis added).

In our quest for revival, let’s not miss going deep into these three basics!

PRAYER: “Revive me” I pray with the psalmist. Please use Your word, an awareness of Your holiness, and the deep inner experience of Your love in this process. Amen.

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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.

Jerusalem’s story - part 3

U-Turns allowed (Image: Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:44-63

TO CHEW ON: “And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth any more because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done, says the LORD GOD.’” Ezekiel 16:62,63


Jerusalem continued to deteriorate in God’s eyes. She had spurned Him as her husband and gone after idolatrous lovers. Her sins were worse than those of her sister cities (and their daughters—their suburbs and  surrounding villages), big sister Samaria and little sister Sodom.

God named specific sins: pride, gluttony, idleness, callousness to the poor, committing “abominations” [abomination: toebah = a disgusting thing, in a ritual sense of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages, in an ethical sense of wickedness etc.]

The Bible commenter Matthew Henry draws our attention to the height from which Jerusalem has fallen:

“Jerusalem had the temple, and the ark, and the priesthood, and kings of the house of David; and therefore the wickedness of that holy city, that was so dignified, so near, so dear to God, was more provoking to him than the wickedness of Sodom and Samaria, that had not Jerusalem’s privileges and means of grace.” - Matthew Henry Commentary, accessed through BibleGateway.com.

God saw only one solution for Jerusalem. It came from Him and was given not because Jerusalem deserved His mercy but because He doesn’t go back on His word—His covenant (Ezekiel 16:60). 

The atonement He will provide  (I believe a prophecy of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross) will pay for all they have done (Ezekiel 16:63). 

His grace will soften even Jerusalem’s rebellious heart (“Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed…”), a picture Ezekiel paints so beautifully in other places like Ezekiel 11:19,20:

“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”

Though this passage is a prophecy concerning a city in the Middle East and an ethnic people, it also shows us a side of God that relates to us. Though we may violate our covenant with Him, backslide, and commit the most awful sins, He is willing to accept us back (Isaiah 1:18). All it takes is our own repentance (“…remember your ways and be ashamed…” - Ezekiel 16:61, also Luke 13:3, Acts 3:19; 8:22). For us too the atonement He made is sufficient (1 Peter 3:18).

PRAYER: Dear father, help me to detect signs and symptoms of rebellion within me before they fruit into backsliding. Help me to be quick to repent. Amen.

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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.

PREPARE

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 40:1-20

TO CHEW ON: “Prepare the way of the LORD
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God” - Isaiah 40:3


How do we “prepare the way of the LORD” during this busy season?

If we want Christmas to be more than just a time of family and cultural celebration, we may find it necessary to ask ourselves if any spiritual road maintenance needs to happen in our lives.

My Thompson Chain Bible has a category called “Readiness precedes blessings.” I’ve distilled thoughts from some of those verses in an acrostic poem. Maybe you will find some things in it to help you “prepare the way of the Lord / Make a straight … a highway for our God.”

PREPARE

Provide a path for God
Rend your hearts, repent, return, reconcile
Envision with obedience-washed eyes
Prepare trenches for God’s blessing
Allow yourself to sit; allow the dead to rise
Reap the crop of God’s righteous rain
Enter—washed, white, every bit prepared

(Verses on which these are based [slash indicates line break]: Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3 / Joel 2:12-13; Matthew 5:24 / John 9:7 / 2 Kings 3:16-17 / Matthew 9:14-17; John 11:39 / Hebrews 10:12 / Revelation 7:13-14.)

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to prepare my heart for this beautiful season of remembering and celebrating Your incarnation.

MORE: Laurel’s story

My friend Laurel and her husband have two children with autism spectrum disorder. Listen to her story of how Christmas was ripped away, and then returned to her as she learned a new way to celebrate the season.



Laurel Archer | Advent from Christian Life Assembly on Vimeo.


Laurel and some of her friends write an Advent blog each year. It’s updated regularly throughout Advent at Four Parts Hope.

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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.

Angles of forgiveness

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 17:1-10

TO CHEW ON: “‘Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.’” Luke 17:3

These instructions of Jesus’ slip easily through our fingers when things between us and others are going well. But when relationships start to come apart, then it’s easy to feel the knots.

I see three things in this passage to pay attention to:

1. “'If your brother sins against you rebuke him...'”
That may sound easy but for those of us who dislike confrontation, it’s hard. It makes sense, though. The person may not even know he’s being offensive. Such open communication in the first place might take the wind out of the problem's sails before it has a chance to go anywhere.

As Matthew Henry so quaintly puts it:

“… it may be you will perceive (and you must be very willing to perceive it) that you mistook him, that it was not a trespass against you or not designed but an oversight; and then you will beg his pardon for misunderstanding him” - Matthew Henry’s Commentary, accessed through BibleGateway.com.

2. “'… and if he repents…'”
Of course it’s easy (or easier) to give a person who is sorry another chance. But what if he doesn’t repent? The lavish forgiveness described (Luke 17:4) is based on repentance. In the case of the unrepentant, Mr. Henry suggests:

“… you are not bound to be so free and familiar with him as you have been.”

Paul spells out altered relations with the stubbornly sinful person in 1 Corinthians 5:11, where he says to not even eat with such a person. (Of course we’re talking here about someone who has done something much more serious than offend or hurt our feelings).

3. “'… forgive him.'”

[The word forgive means: to grant pardon for remission of an offense, debt, etc., absolve, give up all claim on account of, remit, cease to feel resentment against, cancel indebtedness.]

Mr. Henry: “Christians should be of a forgiving spirit, willing to make the best of everybody and to make all about them easy, forward, to extenuate faults, and not to aggravate them: and they should contrive as much to show that they have forgiven an injury as others to show that they resent it.”

In other words, we need to wipe the slate clean. Bleach the stain of the offense from memory, even though the repetition of it and the need to forgive many many times may stretch and challenge us.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I need courage to confront when necessary. Then open my eyes to where I’m holding grudges and resentments against the unaware (in other words, have withheld forgiveness). Help me to truly forgive and let resentments go once and for all. Amen.

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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.

Jonah's evangelistic success

Nineveh Repents - Nicolas Fontaine (1625-1709)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jonah 3:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes." Jonah 3:5-6


Have you ever looked at a person or group of people and thought, They would never accept the gospel? Jonah's thoughts about the Ninevites probably ran along those lines. And yet no sooner did he start preaching than the people became filled with conviction and were visibly repentant. What was Jonah's secret?

Perhaps he was a really persuasive orator? Or maybe it was his appearance. I've heard it suggested that he was quite the sight, with bleached skin and white hair after three days of treading water in the fish's digestive juices. Perhaps his shocking appearance scared the people into paying attention?

It may have been a bit of both, but I believe there was something way bigger going on here—and that it was God the Spirit sending conviction to these hearts. He did something similar among the Jews when Ezra and Nehemiah read the Scripture scroll (Nehemiah 8:8-9) and in the crowd that Peter preached to on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:40-43).

And so Jonah's story can be an encouragement to us. For when God gives an assignment, we can be sure that He has and is working on the recipients of our mission, readying their ears and softening the soil of their hearts.  If our work meets with success it is due to this more than our strategies and efforts.

PRAYER: Dear God the Spirit, please help me to obey Your promptings so that Your work can be completed and I have the joy of being part of it. Amen.

MORE: Holy Spirit Rain Down (Hillsong Church)

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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

Repentance lifestyle

Image: Avisscher / Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 13:1-9

TO CHEW ON: " '… unless you repent you will all likewise perish.' " Luke 13:3,5


"Did you hear about the crane that toppled onto a New York street, killing a man driving by in his car?" This might have been the "news" that people brought to Jesus a few weeks ago if he were walking the earth now.

For the people of Jesus' day the subtext of these bad news reports (one that people brought to Jesus, one  that He recalled himself—and which still fill the airwaves today) was the unuttered question: "What terrible sin did the people in these incidents commit that caused them to come to such an end?" My Bible's study notes call this thinking "Retribution Theology." It is a view of God that attributes individual suffering to individual sin.

Jesus quickly steered his bad news-bringers away from the victims and their fates to consider their own precarious position: " '…unless you repent you will all likewise perish.' " It's like He's saying to them—you too are on the road to a bad end if you don't do one thing— REPENT.

[Repent - matanoeo is to make a decision that results in a change of mind, which in turn leads to a change of purpose and action. - Dick Mills, "Word Wealth," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1293.]

In a sidebar article on Repentance, Jack Hayford says:

"The first call of the kingdom is to repentance. The implications of biblical repentance are: 1] renunciation and reversal; 2] submission and teachability; 3] continual shapeability."  

He goes on to say, there is no birth into the kingdom without renouncing sin and turning from sin to Christ (Acts 3:19). There is no growth in the kingdom without obedience (James 1:21-25). There is no fruit in the kingdom without an acceptance of the Holy Spirit's correction and guidance (Ephesians 4:30). - Jack Hayford, "Repentance," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1293.

The simple but life-changing act of repentance is still our first move in assuring our salvation and the lifestyle needed for our growth and fruitfulness:

 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord," Acts 3:19.

"Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" - James 1:21-22.

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" - Ephesians 4:30.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for making a way to You available through repentance. As Your follower, please help me to live in the daily repentance of obedience and Spirit-intimacy. Amen.

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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.

State of expectation

John in the Wilderness - Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 3:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "Now as the people were in expectation…" Luke 3:15

We don't know whether the intense supernatural activity that surrounded Jesus' birth continued on through His growing up years. Both Luke and Matthew gloss over those years to the time He began His public ministry. But the supernatural was clearly present in His introduction to the crowds by the remarkable John the Baptist.

We read about John's beginnings in Luke 1. Now at 30-ish— he was a few months older than Jesus—he was quite the spectacle.  A desert-dweller who dressed in clothes made of camel's hair and lived on locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4), he left his life of seclusion to preach repentance and baptize converts in the Jordan River.

He may not have cut as odd a figure to the people of his time as he does to us, though. There was a desert sect called the Essenes who lived in Qumran, a few miles to the south of John's baptism site. There were many similarities between John and the Essenes. Bible commenter Dale G. Robinson compares the two:

• Both John and the Essenes were of a priestly line.

• They both practiced baptism.

• Their teaching had a similar theme with Isaiah 40:3 foundational as a text for both.

• They preached to an audience.

It was in this audience department where Robinson points out one notable difference between John and the Essenes. While their audience was limited "… to an external fringe… John … came to prepare the ordinary person for the end times. He spoke to soldiers, Pharisees, and ordinary people alike" - Dale. G.Robinson, "Was John the Baptist an Essene?"  He even managed to offend the king (Luke 3:19,20)!

John's hearers came out, not to ridicule his oddness but to hear from God. They sensed there was something different and real about his preaching. It was supernatural.  Under it, conviction came leading to changed lives. This led to the spiritual climate described in the verse fragment that is our focus today: "The people were in expectation..."

Fast forward to us today. As we watch world events playing out especially in the Middle East (compare Matthew 24:7), as we experience the accelerating moral slide in our society (cf. Matthew 24:9-12), as the alarm cries about the state of our planet become ear-splitting (cf. Matthew 24:7,29) I feel the expectation rise in me (cf. Matthew 24:30,31). Don't you feel it too?

Let's listen to and heed John's warning to repent and live righteously as we wait in expectation for the curtain to rise on the next act in God's drama for planet Earth.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for way-preparers like John the Baptist,  who are unafraid to be Your messengers. Help me to be alert to my times and living prepared and in expectation as Your plans for Earth unfold. Amen.

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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.

Practical repentance

Image from Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 3:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "And he (John) went into all the region around Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." - Luke 3:3

By the time Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke he had made the connection between Isaiah's prophecy (what he quotes in Luke 3:4-6 from Isaiah 40:3-5) to the coming of Jesus as Messiah and the role that John the Baptist played in preparing the people for Jesus.

Luke saw John as that "voice of one crying in the wilderness." The preparation that he preached was repentance (metanoia). As we saw a few days ago, repent means to feel remorse, change one's mind, and reform.

When John's convicted hearers responded to his message with "What shall we do then?" John gave practical examples. Repentance would be evident when they…

• Turned from selfishness to generosity to the extent of sharing life's everyday stuff of food and clothes - Luke 3:11.

• Turned from using questionable business practices to being honest - Luke 3:13.

• Turned from using intimidation, bullying, and lying to practicing honest justice - Luke 3:14.

• Turned from whining about wages to being content with them - Luke 3:14.

In these weeks of the Advent season, we also prepare our hearts. As we let the Holy Spirit shine His light into their farthest corners, what do we see that we need to repent of? Perhaps we need to deal with some of the same vices John pointed out of selfishness, dishonesty, bullying and intimidation, injustice, discontentment. Or maybe it's something else—fear and anxiety, distraction, sensuousness, envy, lust…

Whatever God shows us, let's deal with it in repentance (feel remorse, change our mind, reform) as we prepare to celebrate Jesus coming to make His home within us.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this clear and practical example of John the Baptist, who took repentance out of the realm of theory into real life. Please show me where I need to repent.

MORE: Second Sunday of Advent

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. Today's liturgy begins with this collect:

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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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.

Do our lives cast a shadow on God's name?

"You are the man" - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Samuel 12:1-15a

TO CHEW ON: " … by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme…" 2 Samuel 12:14

David's outrage at the unfairness of the rich man stealing the poor man's sheep in Nathan's story, and his moralistic prescription, show how callous and blind to his own sin his heart had become.

Nathan's response to him: "You are the man!" must have felt like a plunge into cold water for David - Oh, oh! Busted!

It was during the time that David was cleaning this up and getting back into a good relationship with God that he wrote Psalm 51. It shows the depth of his regret and the extent of his repentance.

However, life events can't be undone no matter how sincere the "sorry" is. There are consequences. For David they were serious:

• Killing and death would characterize his family (2 Samuel 12:10).

• He would be humiliated by someone ("from your own house… your neighbour") having his way with David's own harem (2 Samuel 12:11,12.

•  Because his actions brought disgrace on all God's followers and gave reason "to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme," the child Bathsheba had conceived with him would die (2 Samuel 12:14).

Thinking especially of the last one, these many years later it's not unusual for the sin of prominent Christians to cause God's enemies to continue that blasphemy. Just a few weeks ago another example of such a case came to light in Canada when a senator—a married family man and pastor of a church—was outed as having had an affair with a 16-year-old girl. All of Christendom gets a black eye from these cases.

However, before we get too self-righteous about this, we do well to examine our own lives for habits, reactions, and incidents that have contributed to bringing disgrace on God and His people. Things like lashing out in anger, spreading gossip, telling questionable jokes, small cheats in business or relationships are just a few examples of things that can be just as damaging to God's holy name as outright adultery (Romans 2:21-24).

If we have such things hiding in our lives, instead of waiting for a Nathan to come along and expose us, let's ask God to show us where we're kidding ourselves that everything is just fine. And then let's make it right—apologize, repay what isn't rightfully ours, clean up our mouths, end the questionable relationship—do all we can to thwart the enemy's opportunities to blaspheme because of us.

PRAYER: Dear God, please open my eyes to the sins in my own life that could cause Christians and non-Christians to disrespect You. Help me to deal with my own sins instead of judging others. Amen.

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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.

Wholehearted repentance

"Portrait of Paul" from Lewin's Life of Paul

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 7:5-8:15

TO CHEW ON: "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. … What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter." 2 Corinthians 7:9,11

Paul is referring, in this chapter, to a specific situation that he dealt with in Corinth. According to the IVP New Testament Commentary someone in the Corinth church had challenged his apostolic authority. Apparently the church leadership didn't defend or support him and so he confronted them in a severe letter (which has been lost). At first that letter caused pain but now Titus reports that the church has repented—and with energy and conviction.

As we think about repentance, we realize it has several aspects.

- There is an initial repentance, when we turn from our sin to accept Christ and His way of salvation. This is "Turning from sin, a sincere decision to forsake a specific sin (or sins) and begin to obey God" (Reformation Study Bible). Examples of this type of repentance are found in Isaiah 55:7; Luke 15:7; Acts 3:19.

- There is also a repentance which is an individual turning from sin and returning to the Lord in the life of a Christian - Hosea 14:2.

- The repentance here is a corporate or group repentance—a change of position by the church. We are reminded of the mass repentance during the revival of Ezra and Nehemiah's time - Ezra 10:1.

A contemporary example may be some of the modern confessions and apologies made by groups of churches to, for example, the indigenous people of Canada for the abuses of the residential church schools in the early 1900s.

A sidebar article in my Bible says about this kind of repentance:

"… it requires ownership of our responsibility for whatever part we may have played in erecting or reinforcing barriers. Repentance not only accepts responsibility for the part that we have played… but also for the turning away from the behavior that built the walls in the first place. … Perhaps we have not done anything personally to hurt others, but still we may have sinned by our inaction (James 4:17). For the body of Christ to come to health, repentance, regret, confession, and action is needed" - Bill McCartney and Raleigh Washington "Repentance / Reconciliation," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1618

As members of the church, Christ's body, let's pray that God would give us and our leaders sensitivity to barriers we have put up—ethnic, economic, religious—and the humility and grace to repent and be reconciled. May Jesus' prayer for unity in His body (John 17:21) be answered through necessary repentance on our part.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Corinthians example of wholehearted repentance. May we be as energetic and thorough in turning from our sins, both personally and as churches. Amen.

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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.

God our teacher

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 36:16-33


TO CHEW ON: "Behold, God is exalted by His power;
Who teaches like Him?
Who has assigned Him His way,
Or who has said, 'You have done wrong?'" Job 36:23

Though I continue to find Elihu's pompous, I-have-all-the-answers attitude grating, he does make some wise observations. One of them is that God teaches. As we look through the Bible at a sampling of verses about God teaching, we see that His instructions come not only through difficulties but in other settings as well.

He teaches us how to do our work.

• He promises to teach Moses how to do his special assignment of leading the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 4:15).

• He also gives lessons in more everyday tasks like how and when to plant and harvest certain crops (Isaiah 28:26-29) and how to choose the right way that will lead to profit (Isaiah 48:17).

He teaches about the future (Daniel 8:19).

God's school is lifelong learning that begins in childhood (Isaiah 54:13), carries on into youth, and the old psalmist begs God to continue to teach him into his "old and grayheaded" years (Psalm 71:17-18).

God teaches:

• Through signs and wonders like the Israelites experienced in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 4:36).

• Through His word - Psalm 119:26, 66, 135.

• Through His Spirit - 1 Corinthians 2:12.

• And, Elihu would insist, through the events of our lives, good and bad (Job 36:22,23).

The best students have a teachable spirit.

• God teaches the ones who fear the Lord, according to David (Psalm 25:12).

• However if there is sin in our lives, we may need to repent in order to again hear God's voice (Psalm 32:1-5; 8-9).

God's teaching is for everyone.

• It's for the Jews: Isaiah sees the "Day of the Lord" when Israel will willingly go to God's house to be taught in His ways and how to walk in His paths (Isaiah 2:3).

• But it's for other nationalities too. Micah prophesies a day when the desire to sit under God's instruction will pull in citizens of many nations (Micah 4:2).

Let's open ourselves to the favour and blessing of God's instruction (Psalm 94:10-12; 119:135).  For we ignore it at our peril (Jeremiah 32:33,36).


PRAYER:
Dear God, please develop in me a teachable spirit and keen ears to hear Your instructions. May it truly be lifelong learning. Amen. 

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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.

He identifies with us

"Baptism of Jesus" by Isabella Colette

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 1:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan." Mark 1:9

Mark makes it clear that people were coming to John for baptism to confess their sins and for the remission of their sins. So why did Jesus (who was sinless—2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26—ask to be baptized?

I would submit that one purpose for His baptism was to identify with us. How so?

He would become sin for us. Paul says that God "...made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.." Though Jesus never committed sin, in His baptism He foreshadowed those awful / wonderful hours on the cross when He bore all the sins of all the people that had ever lived and would ever live (including yours and mine).

We can trust Him because He understands the human experience. Hebrews 2 talks more about what His identifying with us means:

• He was subject to physical death (Hebrews 2:14). But His death was loaded with significance in that He would, by dying, satisfy God's wrath against sin ("make propitiation for the sins of the people" - Hebrews 2:17).

• By taking on human existence, He understood/understands our temptation and is able to help us when we are tempted (Hebrews 2:18; 1 Corinthians 10:13).

• When He limited Himself to a human body, He became subject to our weaknesses and so has compassion (deals gently) with us in them (Hebrews 2:5).

I love the aspect of Holy Spirit 's involvement in Jesus' baptism that unfolded when Jesus came up from the water and "He saw the heavens parting (torn open) and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove" accompanied by the message of Father God's approval: "You are My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" - Mark 1:11.

This scene pictures the trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It reminds us of the source and energy of spiritual life following repentance: the Holy Spirit.

Let's thank God for Jesus, our older brother (Hebrews 2:17) who was there first and who understands and sympathizes with our human struggles.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Jesus's humility and obedience to subject Himself to a human body and go through with the act of baptism. Help me to live the post-baptism Holy Spirit-empowered life. Amen.

MORE: More on Jesus' identity with us

"All through the Bible it is revealed that Our Lord bore the sin of the world by identification, not by sympathy. He deliberately took upon His own shoulders, and bore in His own Person, the whole massed sin of the human race - "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin," and by so doing He put the whole human race on the basis of Redemption. Jesus Christ rehabilitated the human race; He put it back to where God designed it to be, and anyone can enter into union with God on the ground of what Our Lord has done on the Cross" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 7 reading.

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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.