365 Reflections

In David's song as the Ark comes into the city of Jerusalem, there is an important point made about the reality of salvation. God's people are saved and should rejoice. But they are also in need of saving and so must repent regularly.  Look first at verse 23: 1 Chronicles 16:23 (ESV) Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. David has been recounting the wonderful works of God on behalf of the nation of Israel. He recounts their exodus and wanderings. He sings about their habitation in the land. He writes a verse that is often used by some preachers to mean no one can touch the "preacher." Notice... 1 Chronicles 16:19–22 (ESV) When you were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it, 20 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, 21 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, 22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!” Verse 22 is often taken out of cont...

David's time has finally arrived. Though the demise of Saul's reign came through bloodshed, jealous rivalries and betrayal, God used the evils of men to produce the king He planned. Now in 2 Samuel 5, David is set over the entire house of Israel. 2 Samuel 5:1–3 (ESV) Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. 2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the LORD said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’ ” 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. We note first that the tribes came to David. They knew he was the one. They understood that their successes under Saul were really because of him. They also knew the Lord promised this for David. For them, this was the fulfillment of both the obvio...

Thus far in 2 Samuel, those who were in Saul's camp have proven to be anything but loyal. Consider how much betrayal exists in the first four chapters of 2 Samuel. First was the Amalekite who killed Saul and thought himself righteous for it. David put him to death. Then there was Abner's manipulative support for Ish-Bosheth. He eventually was offended and turned on him. Now, two more men prove to be opportunistic and vengeful as they put Ish-Bosheth to death. 2 Samuel 4:5–6 (ESV) Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest. 6 And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. This murder is incredibly diabolical. They came to Ish-Bosheth under false pretenses, then while he was unarmed and resting they brutally murdered him in cold blood. After this, they see...

The book of Romans maps out the process of change for the Christian's life: Romans 8:13 (ESV) For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but i f by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. What does that look like? The book of Joshua draws an illustration of Spiritually empowered sanctification in the unclaimed areas of the Promised land following Joshua's efforts to lead the nation toward total occupancy. In his farewell speech, he admonishes the people to continue fighting the last vestiges of the nations surrounding them. These nations pose a threat to Israel's fidelity and longevity. So Joshua extols further eradication of their existence. This is a picture of our sanctification. Jesus saves us, and then we partner with the Holy Spirit in working out that salvation in fear and trembling (see Philippians 2:12-13). Joshua 23:4–8 (ESV) Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, a...

Joshua 16:10 (ESV) However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor. Joshua 17:13 (ESV) Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. The people of Israel were not supposed to let the inhabitants of Canaan live. They were allowed to subject any external nation that attacked them into forced labor but all those inside the borders of the land were not supposed to live. Sadly, the tribes started following the example set by Joshua in Joshua 10 concerning the Gibeonites and make slaves of the foreign nations among them. Of course, this applies to our spiritual life. We cannot compromise with sin. We must not allow sin to live in our mortal bodies. Romans 6:11-14 (ESV) Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your ...

Exodus 30 describes two mixtures for the Tabernacle ministry. An anointing oil which is made by the "finest spices" and an incense mixture made with "sweet" spices. The first is the anointing oil. It is made according to a specific recipe and prohibited to be made by anyone else or used on ordinary people. God says: Exodus 30:26–30 (ESV) With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Sometimes when you read the book of Exodus it can seem like such a bore. But the more you see it through the New Testament revelation of who we are in Christ, the more powerful...

The Israelites wanderings are illustrations of our lives with Christ in many ways. Just because they are "saved" from Egypt doesn't mean they are totally changed and faithful to God. In fact, the opposite is true. God saves former slaves who have serious issues of trust and confidence. They don't know where they are and they often forget whose they are. Exodus 17:1–3 (ESV) All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” .... Exodus 17:7 (ESV) And he calle...

Genesis 40:1–3, 6-7 (ESV) Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. ... 7   When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” Something beautiful happens when Joseph hits rock bottom. He starts being sensitive to the plights of others. One of the benefits of our trials is that they open our eyes to the reality of pain so that when others come under the same misfortune we have eyes to see them and hearts that go out to them.  The teenage Joseph might never have noticed the cup-bearer's and chief baker's downcast faces before. Consumed with is...

How can you NOT love this verse? Psalm 65:3 (ESV)   When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Or in the New Living Translation: Psalm 65:3 (NLT)  Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all. I know I'm not the only one who sometimes feels like I'm fighting a losing battle with sin. It can feel heavy and defeating. You turn to Romans 7 and read the Apostle Paul to make sure he actually did say what he did say: Romans 7:15 (ESV) For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:24 (ESV) Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? There will be times, Christian, when sin seems to win. But the good news of the Bible is ultimately sin doesn't win. If that weren't the case, there would be no hope for us. But because of Jesus who triumphed over our sins and death on the Cross, we have certain victory for today and to...

Titus 2:14 ESV (He)  gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Why are we saved? Do we truly understand the purpose behind God's saving us? Or do we sometimes feel like God saved us for our own sakes? How we answer that question is severely important. Paul reminds Titus why we were saved. If we believe that we are saved for our own sakes then God becomes a means to our ultimate ends. That He saved us so we could have that life we always dreamed of and then go to heaven when we die. This is not what the Gospel teaches us. This is not what the Old Testament teaches us either. One of our favorite Psalms contains a phrase to help us understand the theme of redemption. Psalms 23:3 " He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. " In Titus, as he usually does, Paul backs up the teachings of the Old Testament through the new covenant persp...

In talking about the people of Israel, the writer of Hebrews shares their fatal flaw.  They did not act on what they heard.  God said "I give you the promised land, take it."  And they saw giants and ran the other way.  It was more than a failure, it was a disregard for the promise of God's Word.  And God takes His Word very seriously. Hebrews 4:2 (NLT) For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. God's word did not benefit them, because they did not act on it. There are a lot of Christians who are sitting idly by in the stands of God's raceway - hoping some magic spell will fall over them to make them what God wants.   This will not happen.  Yes, God wills us to will, but there are times when we are going to have to put in the effort. Notice later the writer does not dare leave us with an ...