Psalm 116:12-14

¹² What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? ¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, ¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

I love the pairing of this answer with this question. The psalmist asks: “What can I give God in return for the favor He has shown to me?” Potential answers tumble into my mind by the dozen: more time? more money? better parenting? less selfishness? No, apparently, the Lord wants me to respond to His goodness simply by enjoying it, asking Him for more of it, and thanking Him for it. Each of these responses is expressed in the ceremonial activities described in verses 13-14: “lift up the cup of salvation… call on the name of the Lord… pay my vows.” Each of these deserves a brief comment.

Paying vows. In verses 17-18, the writer sets the clause “I will pay my vows” as parallel to “I will sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord.” I thus infer that the vows this poet has in mind are apparently the expressions of thanks associated with the thank offering. In other words, his vows are expressions of thanks, not pledges of self-sacrifice.

Calling on the Lord. Here is an interesting response to God’s goodness—ask Him for more! Psalm 50:14-15 offers an illuminating cross-reference: “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Here is the explanation for why I should respond to God’s goodness by asking Him for more of it: because He wants to be glorified by delivering me. I get the help, and He gets the glory!

Lifting up the cup of salvation. In its Old Testament context, this cup was likely part of the thank offering ceremony. But this morning as my Bible reading plan took me from Psalm 116 to Mark 12, I couldn’t help but think of the cup of salvation when I read Jesus’ words on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v 34). I imagined this scream echoing from the rocks and caves on Golgotha as Jesus drank the cup of His Father’s full wrath against my sin, and I worshiped Him afresh. He drank the cup of wrath so I could drink the cup of salvation all the days of my life.

So what shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me? I will pay my vows of thankfulness. I will glorify Him by asking for more of His mercy and grace. And I will joyfully lift the cup of salvation to my own lips and drink. Deeply.

Psalm 113

This psalmist points out the Lord’s greatness in two ways. First, He is unrivaled. No one and no thing are as high and glorious as He. “Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, how looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” (vv 5-6) It’s an interesting time in our country to read a claim like that. The Eastern and Western Conference Finals are underway in the NBA. The Stanley Cup will soon be awarded in the NHL. Three United States Senators are vying for the Presidency, and in half a year one of them will win it. But this Psalmist seems to believe that all sports teams, all influential people, all nations, and even all celestial bodies aren’t even worth comparing to the greatness of God.

Second, He is condescending. What an unusual way to demonstrate greatness—by stooping low. “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap” (v 7). Apparently God shows His greatness, not by controlling or putting down those who are smaller and weaker, but by being an inexhaustible supply of power to lift weak people up. He draws attention to His greatness by helping us in our weakness. Perhaps the most clear demonstration of this that I’ve seen lately has been His amazing grace to the older of my two sisters over the last 8 months. For everyone who has watched her story develop, He has proven beyond any doubt that “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

Fittingly, this psalm ends: “He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!”

2 Samuel 15

I’m struck by the comparisons between David and Jesus in this story. Absalom, David’s beloved son, has betrayed his father’s trust. He has stolen away the hearts of many in Israel, and he is coming to Jerusalem with plans to overthrow David and take the throne for himself. In haste, a brokenhearted David gathers up his household and flees the city.

The allusions to Christ begin with David’s attitude toward God. David’s words “Behold, here I am, let him [i.e., the Lord] do to me what seems good to him” (v 26) sound an awful lot like Jesus’ prayer “Not my will, but yours be done.” Like Jesus, David realizes that some of his own close confidants are among those who have turned against him (v 31). And again like Jesus, David pours out his tears and his prayers on the Mount of Olives as the tragic drama unfolds (v 30).

But there is one critical contrast here. In this scene from David’s life, a son is coming against his father; but in Jesus’ case, it was the Father who came against His Son. Like David, Jesus prayed to God for deliverance; but unlike David, Jesus did not get it. God offered David a drink from the cup of salvation; He extended to Jesus the cup of wrath.

As I go up on the Mount of Olives with David and overhear his tearful prayers, I cannot help but see in the shadows the form of Another, weeping, betrayed, cast off by One He held dear.

You were broken that I might be healed
You were cast off that I might draw near
You were thirsty that I might come drink
Cried out in anguish that I might sing

You knew darkness that I might know light
Wept great tears that mine might be dried
Stripped of glory that I might be clothed
Crushed by Your Father to call me Your own

How deep is Your love
How high and how wide is Your mercy
How deep is Your grace
Our hearts overflow with praise
To You

~ Stephen Altrogge

Mark 14:61-62

But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."

Jesus' answer shows me two things about what was going through His mind this final night before His crucifixion. First, He was looking past the cross to the glory on the other side. In the words of Hebrews 12:2, "for the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame." Instead of focusing on the river, He looked across to the other shore. Even though my "trials" don't even begin to compare with His, I need to remember His example and follow it often. I can't think of a better way to kill my tendencies of avoidance, procrastination, and self-protection.

Second, His words show me that He went to the cross deliberately, of His own choosing, not as a victim or a powerless pawn. Basically, He volunteered. Where do I see that? Well, to this point in the narrative, the Council hadn't found the necessary 2-3 witnesses whose testimony agreed and thus incriminated Jesus. So finally, in desperation, the high priest asked him outright: "Are you the Messiah?" And instead of merely remaining silent or limiting Himself to a simple "Yes," Jesus answered him with an unambiguous claim to be, not only the Messiah, but God Himself! Several of the phrases He used were specific OT references to deity: "I am... Son of Man... seated at the right hand of Power... coming with clouds of heaven" (cf. Ex 3:14, Dan 7:13-14, Ps 110:1).

This means Jesus ignored the chance of protection via due legal process. Instead, He chose to incriminate Himself. The conclusion is unavoidable: He chose the cross on purpose. I'm reminded all over again that He went to Calvary deliberately, not by accident, to satisfy His Father and to make me His brother.

This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

~ Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

2 Samuel 12

The narrative of Saul’s life always frightens me. He seemed to have so much potential: he was humble (1 Sam 9:21), he had God’s Spirit on him (10:9-13), he looked the part (10:23-24), and he inspired others to follow (10:26). But he totally flamed out. He was completely rejected by God, and by the end he resorted to a séance to get anything going spiritually.

David’s life, of course, stands in sharp contrast. Everything Saul lost, David gained: God’s favor, the kingdom, popularity with the people, a lasting legacy… all of it. But today I noticed another contrast between David and Saul that I think might explain why David got it all and Saul lost it all. I noticed it in these six words from David’s mouth: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam 12:13).

Obviously, David’s sin isn’t the contrast. Admitting it is. I went back to 1 Samuel 13 and 15 and double checked, and sure enough… Every time Saul was confronted with his sin, he made excuses. He never comes right out and says, “I have sinned against the Lord” except as a last resort to impress other people (cf. 1 Sam 15:30). Saul handled his sin by rationalizing, denying, covering, ignoring, and blaming others for it. But David handled his with honest, humble confession.

What distinguishes David from Saul is not that Saul committed worse sins. No, it’s that Saul committed self-atonement for his sins. David, however, trusted another to atone for him: “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” (2 Sam 12:13)

What does it mean to be “a man after God’s own heart” like David? Apparently not sinlessness. Just repentance for sin and faith in Jesus Christ to forgive and cleanse.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! Psalm 51:1-2

The Long Silence

I've been noticing something in my devos lately. My focus has shifted. I've been far more intent on finding something worth writing about than I've been on meeting with God, knowing Him, and finding joy in Him. It's not good for the soul when we are performing for others rather than pursuing God. And so I'm taking a little break from the online journal thing to get my heart humbled and focused on Christ again when I journal.

John 6:52-59

Hmmm... I don’t know if it’s the busyness of Missions Conference week or just spiritual lethargy, but I’m having a hard time getting in the word lately. Probably a little bit of both. If you read this anytime near when I post it, please pray that God would incline my heart to His word (Ps 119:36) and that I would discipline myself for godliness (1 Tim 4:7). Thanks!

Anyway, on to the passage at hand… Jesus describes the gospel in the most interesting terms: “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (v 54). What does that mean? Jesus explains Himself in v 56: “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.” This sounds like the language of John 15, where He says: “Abide in Me and I in you.” The strong connotations of life-giving fellowship are there. This gets more clear in the next verse: “As… I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he shall live because of me.”

So back to the original point about the gospel… Jesus says two things here about eating His flesh: eating Christ’s flesh leads to heaven (v 54) and eating Christ’s flesh is life-giving fellowship (v 56). Connecting these two means that the gospel brings us into life-giving fellowship with Christ. Or, better said, those in intimate fellowship are those who get life. Knowing Christ in personal experience isn’t a nice extra—it’s the gospel!

1 Peter 3:7

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Some verses are so profoundly convicting, they leave me speechless. This is one of them.

1 Peter 2:24

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Jesus’ death bought not only forgiveness and heaven for me, but also holiness and godliness in this life. Sometimes my progress in sanctification seems so slow, but I don’t have to despair—Jesus’ death assures my growth. And then there are those times when I am more aware of my progress and growth, but I can resist the temptation to boast—Jesus’ death empowered those changes in me, not me.

I especially love the paradox of the last line: my spiritual and physical health was purchased by Jesus’ spiritual and physical suffering. Healing comes to us by the wounding of Another.

1 Peter 2:9

I'm back at The Springs, this time for an elders’ retreat. I do so love this place! This morning I couldn’t help reading over my journal entries here at Gilman from my two other visits this year. Lots of memories. Lots of emotions. Lots of experiences with God.

Anyway, this is an amazing verse, the way Peter talks about the church and what we are to God—“a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” But I’m particularly struck by the phrase “called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Pre-salvation = darkness. Salvation = light. Darkness implies ignorance, immorality, alienation, loneliness, and all that comes from not knowing God. But when He called me into His marvelous light, all that changed. I know what I ought, I live like I ought, I love Who I ought because He called out my name in the darkness and summoned me to live with Him in the light.

Why did He do it? Simply because He chose to have mercy upon me (v 10, cf. Rom 9:15). And what comes to my heart when I meditate on these things? Humility and joy…

1 Peter 1:13-25

Peter opens this letter with a gushing torrent of exultation in the gospel (vv 1-12). There’s lots of amazing stuff in those opening paragraphs, but it leaves us begging to know what to do with all this glorious truth. Happily, he gets right to the point with two broad categories of application: 1) think a certain way and 2) act a certain way.

How to THINK: Prepare your mind for action (v 13). Be sober-minded (v 13). Set your hope on the future that is yours in Christ (v 13). Remember that your Father is also the impartial Judge of the universe (v 17). Know that Christ bought a new way of life for you with His precious blood (vv 18-19). Because of Christ’s resurrection and glory, trust and hope in God (v 21).

How to ACT: Be an obedient child (v 14). Be holy (vv 15-16). Live in reverence (v 17). Obey the truth (v 22). Love each other (v 22).

And just to make sure that we don’t get the idea that we ought to run out and just do it in our own strength, Peter brackets the entire exhortation with the gospel. We need to remember that these applications flow out from the glorious gospel he’s just described in verses 1-12.

The chapter concludes with a reorientation to the gospel once again. Peter goes to great lengths to make sure we know that this holy lifestyle—particularly our love for one another (v 22)—comes from a heart made pure and clean by being born again through the living and abiding word (vv 23-24). What word? The good news—literally, the gospel (v 25)!

Interesting side note worth exploring some time: Peter has a little running contrast going between “imperishable” things and “perishable” things in this chapter (cf. vv 4, 7, 19, 23). Definitely worth thinking about further…

John 4:43-54

This story seems calculated to bring me face to face with one huge question: what is my faith in Jesus based on? Do I believe Him only as long as He brings good gifts my way, or do I trust His word no matter what?

Verse 44 seems like a key: Jesus testifies that a prophet has no honor in his hometown. That sets us up to avoid getting confused by what follows. The very next verse says that the Galileans welcomed Him. At first that seems odd, cuz Jesus’ hometown is in the region of Galilee, and based on what Jesus said in the previous verse, we’d expect that the Galileans would not welcome Him. But a closer look shows that they aren’t really excited about Jesus Himself. They’re just impressed with His miraculous deeds. That’s the point of the rest of verse 45: they saw all the cool stuff He’d done in Jerusalem earlier. And Jesus criticizes them for their consumeristic faith in verse 48. (NOTE: The English doesn’t show us that Jesus uses plural pronouns here, which shows that He’s criticizing the crowd, not the single man who just asked Him to heal his son.)

All of that is contrasted with the faith of the official. He believed Jesus’ word immediately, even before he knew if the healing had actually happened (v 50). And when he learned that the boy had begun to get well at the exact moment Jesus spoke, he and his entire family believed (v 53), presumably the sort of belief in Jesus that John talked about in chapter 3—the kind of belief that saves (cf. 3:16, 18).

So the point, once again, is a question: why do I trust Jesus? Is my faith strong only as long as He keeps on wowing me with blessing and bounty? Or does my faith rest on His unchanging word and His perfect character?

1 Peter 1:1-9

This is one of those days where I just don’t feel like doing much of anything I’m supposed to do. I’d much rather be biking around Kensington or walking the Lake Michigan shoreline or kicking through fallen leaves in the woods somewhere.

I found some of the things I read in Ecclesiastes 10 pretty interesting, but I’m not quite sure how to take them. Ecclesiastes is such a strange book. The author is so skeptical, I’m not sure whether to take what he says seriously or just to chalk it up to the musings of a life without God.

And then I read Jeremiah 32-34 and was amazed all over again at God’s commitment to restore His rebel children and be good to them with all His heart and all His soul (32:40-41). The restoration He promises in chapter 33 is incredible, especially in light of His anger in 32:26-35.

But the rapturous exultation in God which opens the book of 1 Peter is what really caught my attention:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Absolutely awesome. I am going to print these verses on a card and memorize them.

James 5:11

James brings Job to our minds as an example of steady endurance in suffering. But how can we be like Job? Should we just suck it up and get with it, gritting it out? What if we don’t have that kind of strength? James commends three thoughts to help us endure:
1) God designs and brings our suffering to us Himself. What happened to Job was not ultimately by Satan’s design; it happened by “the purpose of the Lord.” Every disappointment, every stress, every heartache, every discomfort is ours by God’s set plan.
2) This doesn’t make God our enemy or a cruel Sovereign, for “the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” Every loss comes to us from the hands of a loving Father.
3) Ultimately, suffering is for our good, and a blessing awaits us if we remain steadfast.

With these ideas in mind, my suffering takes on a whole new quality. Every trial, no matter how large or small, is a gracious gift from my kind Father designed with my best interest.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take –
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and will break
In blessing on your head.

James 4:6-10

I’ve definitely felt convicted by this weekend’s Conference—convicted about my own halting obedience to God and prayerlessness and avoidance of suffering and self-pity and complaining spirit. This passage is a warning in no uncertain terms: humble yourself, purify your heart, draw near to God, and resist the devil. Don’t take God’s conviction lightly. It's time, by grace, to change.

John 2:13-22

I come to the word this morning so aware of my own sinfulness and God’s right to be angry with me. In fact, He ought to be angry, for I am sinful and He is morally and personally obligated to show wrath against sin. I read in Jeremiah 14 and 15 about His fierce anger with Jerusalem and His plan to bring horrible punishment on them for their idolatry and rebellion. And so I’m so aware of my need for a mediator, a sin-bearer, anything to hide me from Him or repair the breach between us.

With all that in mind, I come to John 2 and hear Jesus say, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The temple—the place of sacrifice, the scene of sin-bearing, the only hope for those who long to have the breach repaired. Guilty people came to the temple. Sinful people. After all, the central feature of the temple was the altar, bloodied and burning to atone for sin.

And Jesus blows the whole thing away by claiming to rebuild in 3 days what it took 46 years for them to construct, clearly indicating that His words pointed to more than meets the eye. Verse 21 makes plain His point: His body is the new temple. He Himself is the place where people meet with God. Guilty sinners find forgiveness and cleansing in the body of Jesus. Guilty sinners like me. Jesus bore God’s wrath so that I could enjoy His favor. Today.

Weak and wounded sinner,
Lost and left to die,
Raise your hand for Love is passing by.
Come to Jesus.
Come to Jesus.
Come to Jesus and live.

Jeremiah 10:1-16

Thank you, God, for this passage! What a fitting word for me to hear today. Since Friday my world has been a hurricane, leaving me feeling confused, pressed, torn, undone. But these verses put my feet back on a massive foundation of granite truth, unshakable and unchanging.

What do I see here? 1) My God is the only real god. Rival gods exist, but they are powerless, ignorant, and dead. 2) My God’s power is absolutely awesome. He formed this world. He wrote the laws of nature, and He can alter them at His pleasure. 3) He is personal, knowing His people and making Himself known to them.

Our God is an awesome God.
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power and love.
Our God is an awesome God!

Isaiah 29:13

"This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men."

What an important warning for me to hear! It is so easy to exult in God with my mouth and honor Him with my lips while actually being quite far from Him in my heart. My heart is so deceitful. I can act right and talk right but my longings and desires are twisted and depraved, miles away from the words I'm saying. Do I really love God and find joy in Him, or do I love His gifts and find joy in His blessings to me?

This indictment makes me thankful for three things: 1) the power of the word to cut through the façade and deceit in my heart and to show me what I am really like (Hb 4:12); 2) the work of the Holy Spirit to convict me of sin and to help me see who I really am (Jn 16:8); 3) and the cross of Christ to atone for the sins of my heart and my hypocrisy and to change me radically from the inside out (2 Cor 5:17, 21).

Oh Father, by your word and your Spirit and the cross of your Son, please spare me this rebuke!

Hebrews 13:9-16

The whole old Jewish system of worship through animal sacrifices has been fulfilled and abrogated by Christ. But what does that mean practically? Does it just show what my worship is NOT—namely, bloody, ritualistic, and costly? No, it means way more than that…

1. It shows me that my most important nourishment is grace for my heart rather than food for my body (vv 9-10). The old system of slaying an animal resulted in an abundance of food for the worshiper (cf. 1 Cor 9:13; 10:18). But this new worship through Christ provides me with a feast of grace.
2. It shows me that my identification with Jesus, who is my sacrifice, costs me (vv 11-14). In the old system the worshiper would burn the sacrifice outside the camp (v 11; cf. Ex 29:14). Similarly, Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice outside the city (v 12). And we who worship Him must so treasure Him and the future He offers (v 14) that we will also “go to Him outside the camp” (v 13). The result of that kind of treasuring Christ and identifying with Christ is that we will “bear the reproach that He endured.”
3. It shows me that my sacrifice isn’t occasional but continual (v 15). The old system required sacrifices on a regular basis, fairly frequent but certainly not continual. Christ is so magnificent, my sacrifice to Him—namely, my praise to His name—ought to flow incessantly.
4. It shows me that my worship involves my whole life, not just the occasional ceremonies and corporate gatherings (vv 15-16). The old system had a pretty limited scope of what worship included. But in Christ, my words of thanks (v 15), my mundane acts of obedience (v 16), and my hospitality toward others (v 16) all are transformed into expressions of worship.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all!

Proverbs 31:10-31

“God, what a marvelous portrait of biblical femininity! Faithfulness (vv 11-12), industriousness (vv 13-27), tenderness (vv 20, 26), strength (vv 17, 25), honor (vv 25, 28-29), foresight (v 25), wisdom (v 26). Thank you, Lord, for putting me around so many women who aspire to be this way and a wife who succeeds. Please help me to praise and honor her as I ought.

And please help the young ladies in our church and our own little Julia Grace to be this way. Please make this picture of womanhood compelling and desirable to them. Help them fear you more than scorn. Help them enjoy you more than praise. Spare them the emptiness and transience of treasuring beauty and charm over character and wisdom. And please bring to them the kind of men who know what really matters in a woman and cherish these ladies for it.

Lord, please do all this in them and for them by the power of the gospel, for our deepest joy, and for your great glory! Amen."

Isaiah 64:4

This verse has been a favorite for several years, but I still love meditating on it. I love how it highlights the uniqueness of our God. I also love what it is about our God that sets Him apart from others: He acts on the behalf of His people. All the rival gods that vie for my worship today—comfort, affirmation, money, etc.—none of these will actually go to work for me. Instead, they require me to work for them. But my God is one who “acts for those who wait for Him.” Wait on God!

Isaiah 61:10-11

10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

Two things stood out to me when I read these verses:

1) I’m struck by the NT sort of imagery Isaiah uses for the salvation he’s enjoying. This talk about being clothed with garments of salvation and covered with a robe of righteousness—these are descriptions I would have expected to find in the NT rather than the Old. Hmmm... Surely Isaiah didn’t have a full-fledged concept of imputed righteousness... One thing is clear: the salvation he was praising God for was, at least in part, still future for him (v 11). He was looking forward to the day when “the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations”—a promise that appears to me to be fulfilled in Christ in the gospel.

2) I’m challenged by Isaiah’s intentionality about praising God for His gift of salvation. Often I need to be more deliberate about just praising God rather than waiting until I feel like praising. But it’s significant to me that Isaiah’s praise definitely wasn’t dry and empty. It sounds nothing like an obligatory ritual. His imagination is going full speed as he reaches for the most vivid images he can conjure up—a bridegroom and bride adorned with beauty for their wedding. The value of imagination when it comes to worship and praise...

Isaiah 57:15

“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”

One of the amazing paradoxes of our God is this: that He, the most glorious Being in the universe, intentionally hangs out with those who appear most unlike Him. He is high; they are lowly. He inhabits eternity; their spirit grovels in the dust. He is holy; they are broken over their lack of holiness. Lots to ponder here...

Hebrews 11:32-40

The long legacy of the triumphs of faith: “conquering kingdoms, stopping lions’ mouths, quenching fire, routing armies…” (vv 32-35). But not everything in the list looks like a triumph from our perspective. There’s a massive shift right in the middle of the list (v 35), where the writer moves to another sort of triumph: “being tortured, being mocked, being stoned, being sawn in two…” (vv 35-38). In fact, there is one contrasting pair that makes the change very obvious: some “escaped the edge of the sword” (v 34) and some were “killed with the sword” (v 37). Same faith, opposite result.

This shows me at least two things. 1) Great exploits matter less to God than great faith. Some of the people in this list didn’t win huge battles or accomplish great feats. They were just great believers in what God said. 2) My circumstances are never the main issue in living for God; my faith is. This encourages me because none of the peripheral things in my life—pain in my body, disappointment in my relationships, doubts about my ability to accomplish all that I must—none of these circumstances needs to occupy my focus today. My focus should be on sustaining my faith in God’s promises—promises like verse 40, where I’m reminded that in just a little while, Christ is going to finish His work in His people and make us all perfect!

Isaiah 51:17-23; 53:4-6

I think one of the reasons God’s love isn’t more amazing to me is my own mistaken sense of personal worth and desert. I tend to feel like God ought to love me. An inflated sense of self = a diminished sense of delight at being loved by God.

But the times when I am most amazed by and enraptured in God’s love are those times when I see it and feel most undeserving of it. That’s where texts like this one are so helpful.

In these verses God makes people drink the “cup of His wrath” as judgment for their sins: first rebellious Jerusalem (vv 17-20) and then Jerusalem’s enemies (vv 21-23). It’s quite a cup. It’s called “the cup of staggering” (vv 17, 22). It means devastation and destruction, famine and sword (v 19). Those who drink it pass out and lie in the streets (v 20) or lose control like a drunken man (v 21).

And then it gets very personal in chapter 53, where I read that I deserved to drink this cup. My sins earned punishment and sorrow from God, too; but when the cup passed to me, Jesus took it up and drained every drop (cf. Matthew 26:39). Amazing grace. Amazing love...

Isaiah 49:15-16

What brings me joy today? Consider this assurance from the lips of God Himself: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” He picks up probably the most tender and attentive image we have in human relationships—a nursing mother and her baby—and applies it to Himself with me.

And just to make sure my sense of His faithfulness and affection gets all the way into my heart, He says it another way: “I have engraved you on the palm of my hands.” Now that is stunning.

All my lesser joys fade away—accomplishment, family, health, weather—and all my sorrows lose their sting in light of that kind of love from that kind of God. So I have financial worries? Jesus Christ’s palm is marked with my name. So people are disappointed in me? God fingers His palm with a smile. So small sorrows threaten to diminish my joy? Not when I hear God saying: “I have engraved you on the palm of my hands.”

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea:
A Great High Priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands;
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart –
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

Hebrews 10:34-36

Three times the writer orients his readers to the rewards promised for faith and obedience: “you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one” (v 34); “which has a great reward” (v. 35); “so that... you may receive what is promised” (v. 36).

I am so thankful that it’s Sunday and I get to go to corporate worship today. So often corporate worship opens my eyes to God’s glory and beauty and helps me see that His rewards and He Himself are so desirable.

Isaiah 44 & 45

I noted 11 occurrences of “Who is a God like me?” type statements in these two chapters. Hmmm… Think God is trying to say something?

I was also struck by the finality and sufficiency of Christ’s single, definitive sacrifice in Hebrews 10, especially verse 14: “for by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

I am disappointed though that neither one of these awe-inspiring thoughts from Hebrews or Isaiah inspired any awe or sense of wonder in my soul. Some days my heart is just so hard and my eyes are just so blind. Perhaps as I continue to meditate throughout the day…

Isaiah 43:25

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” The phrase “for my own sake” arrested my attention this morning. It indicates that God forgives for God’s sake. That is both humbling and reassuring to me.

It humbles me cuz it reminds me that I am not at the center of God’s heart; God is. Even the incredible grace of blotting out my sins He does for His own good first and mine second.

It is reassuring cuz it grounds my hope in God’s worth and not my own. “What if God gets tired of forgiving me?” is a question I never need to ask, since He never tires of pursuing His own glory. God opposes unforgiven sin in me with the same zeal that He opposes any other enemy to His glory. He will have me entirely clean, by His own blood, for His own glory.

Isaiah 40:18

“To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with Him?” The preceding and following verses expound upon and support this theme. God's supremacy over all flesh, which withers away like grass (vv 6-8). His stunning majesty in comparison even with the vastness of creation (vv 12, 15-17). His glory over earthly kings (vv 21-14). His tender grace to His needy people (vv 11, 27-31).

My ability to describe God’s supremacy in writing or even to comprehend it is so small. But I will meditate on God’s glory today for two reasons: 1) It brings humility to see my feeble dependence and His omnipotent independence. 2) It gives me hope to know He brings all His awesome power to bear on behalf of those who wait for Him:

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31