November 10

John 9:26-41

[26] They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” [27] He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” [28] And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. [29] We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” [30] The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. [31] We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. [32] Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. [33] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” [34] They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

[35] Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” [36] He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” [37] Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” [38] He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. [39] Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” [40] Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” [41] Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

1 John 2:1-11

[1] My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. [2] He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. [3] And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. [4] Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, [5] but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: [6] whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

[7] Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. [8] At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. [9] Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. [10] Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. [11] But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Job 9:21-35

    [21] I am blameless; I regard not myself;

        I loathe my life. 

    [22] It is all one; therefore I say,

        ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ 

    [23] When disaster brings sudden death,

        he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. 

    [24] The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;

        he covers the faces of its judges—

        if it is not he, who then is it?

    [25] “My days are swifter than a runner;

        they flee away; they see no good. 

    [26] They go by like skiffs of reed,

        like an eagle swooping on the prey. 

    [27] If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,

        I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’ 

    [28] I become afraid of all my suffering,

        for I know you will not hold me innocent. 

    [29] I shall be condemned;

        why then do I labor in vain? 

    [30] If I wash myself with snow

        and cleanse my hands with lye, 

    [31] yet you will plunge me into a pit,

        and my own clothes will abhor me. 

    [32] For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,

        that we should come to trial together. 

    [33] There is no arbiter between us,

        who might lay his hand on us both. 

    [34] Let him take his rod away from me,

        and let not dread of him terrify me. 

    [35] Then I would speak without fear of him,

        for I am not so in myself.

Ezekiel 27

[1] The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Now you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre, [3] and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord GOD: 

    “O Tyre, you have said,

        ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ 

    [4] Your borders are in the heart of the seas;

        your builders made perfect your beauty. 

    [5] They made all your planks

        of fir trees from Senir;

    they took a cedar from Lebanon

        to make a mast for you. 

    [6] Of oaks of Bashan

        they made your oars;

    they made your deck of pines

        from the coasts of Cyprus,

        inlaid with ivory. 

    [7] Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt

        was your sail,

        serving as your banner;

    blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah

        was your awning. 

    [8] The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad

        were your rowers;

    your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you;

        they were your pilots. 

    [9] The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you,

        caulking your seams;

    all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you

        to barter for your wares.

    [10] “Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor. [11] Men of Arvad and Helech were on your walls all around, and men of Gamad were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they made perfect your beauty.

[12] “Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares. [13] Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. [14] From Beth-togarmah they exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares. [15] The men of Dedan traded with you. Many coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony. [16] Syria did business with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and ruby. [17] Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm. [18] Damascus did business with you for your abundant goods, because of your great wealth of every kind; wine of Helbon and wool of Sahar [19] and casks of wine from Uzal they exchanged for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were bartered for your merchandise. [20] Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding. [21] Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they did business with you. [22] The traders of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; they exchanged for your wares the best of all kinds of spices and all precious stones and gold. [23] Haran, Canneh, Eden, traders of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you. [24] In your market these traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of blue and embroidered work, and in carpets of colored material, bound with cords and made secure. [25] The ships of Tarshish traveled for you with your merchandise. So you were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas.

    [26] “Your rowers have brought you out

        into the high seas.

    The east wind has wrecked you

        in the heart of the seas. 

    [27] Your riches, your wares, your merchandise,

        your mariners and your pilots,

    your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,

        and all your men of war who are in you,

    with all your crew

        that is in your midst,

    sink into the heart of the seas

        on the day of your fall. 

    [28] At the sound of the cry of your pilots

        the countryside shakes, 

    [29] and down from their ships

        come all who handle the oar.

    The mariners and all the pilots of the sea

        stand on the land 

    [30] and shout aloud over you

        and cry out bitterly.

    They cast dust on their heads

        and wallow in ashes; 

    [31] they make themselves bald for you

        and put sackcloth on their waist,

    and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,

        with bitter mourning. 

    [32] In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you

        and lament over you:

    ‘Who is like Tyre,

        like one destroyed in the midst of the sea? 

    [33] When your wares came from the seas,

        you satisfied many peoples;

    with your abundant wealth and merchandise

        you enriched the kings of the earth. 

    [34] Now you are wrecked by the seas,

        in the depths of the waters;

    your merchandise and all your crew in your midst

        have sunk with you. 

    [35] All the inhabitants of the coastlands

        are appalled at you,

    and the hair of their kings bristles with horror;

        their faces are convulsed. 

    [36] The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;

        you have come to a dreadful end

        and shall be no more forever.’”

Ezekiel 28

[1] The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: 

    “Because your heart is proud,

        and you have said, ‘I am a god,

    I sit in the seat of the gods,

        in the heart of the seas,’

    yet you are but a man, and no god,

        though you make your heart like the heart of a god—

    [3] you are indeed wiser than Daniel;

        no secret is hidden from you; 

    [4] by your wisdom and your understanding

        you have made wealth for yourself,

    and have gathered gold and silver

        into your treasuries; 

    [5] by your great wisdom in your trade

        you have increased your wealth,

        and your heart has become proud in your wealth—

    [6] therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

    Because you make your heart

        like the heart of a god, 

    [7] therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you,

        the most ruthless of the nations;

    and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom

        and defile your splendor. 

    [8] They shall thrust you down into the pit,

        and you shall die the death of the slain

        in the heart of the seas. 

    [9] Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’

        in the presence of those who kill you,

    though you are but a man, and no god,

        in the hands of those who slay you? 

    [10] You shall die the death of the uncircumcised

        by the hand of foreigners;

        for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.”

    [11] Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me: [12] “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: 

    “You were the signet of perfection,

        full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 

    [13] You were in Eden, the garden of God;

        every precious stone was your covering,

    sardius, topaz, and diamond,

        beryl, onyx, and jasper,

    sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;

        and crafted in gold were your settings

        and your engravings.

    On the day that you were created

        they were prepared. 

    [14] You were an anointed guardian cherub.

        I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;

        in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. 

    [15] You were blameless in your ways

        from the day you were created,

        till unrighteousness was found in you. 

    [16] In the abundance of your trade

        you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;

    so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,

        and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,

        from the midst of the stones of fire. 

    [17] Your heart was proud because of your beauty;

        you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

    I cast you to the ground;

        I exposed you before kings,

        to feast their eyes on you. 

    [18] By the multitude of your iniquities,

        in the unrighteousness of your trade

        you profaned your sanctuaries;

    so I brought fire out from your midst;

        it consumed you,

    and I turned you to ashes on the earth

        in the sight of all who saw you. 

    [19] All who know you among the peoples

        are appalled at you;

    you have come to a dreadful end

        and shall be no more forever.”

    [20] The word of the LORD came to me: [21] “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her [22] and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: 

    “Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,

        and I will manifest my glory in your midst.

    And they shall know that I am the LORD

        when I execute judgments in her

        and manifest my holiness in her; 

    [23] for I will send pestilence into her,

        and blood into her streets;

    and the slain shall fall in her midst,

        by the sword that is against her on every side.

    Then they will know that I am the LORD.

    [24] “And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.

[25] “Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. [26] And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.”

Wipe Your Fears Away

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. (Psalm 56:3)

One possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in unbelief goes like this: “I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my faith in God’s grace must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all.”

My response to this concern is: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy, who doesn’t want you to finish the race, throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race.

And it certainly doesn’t mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise, your competitor — your adversary — wouldn’t bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers.

When anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God’s glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked.

At first blow, our belief in God’s promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether, by grace, we set in motion a process of resistance — whether we fight back against the unbelief of anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers?

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes, and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead, the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike. It tells us how to turn on the windshield wipers.

John Piper 

Where Are You Pitching Your Tent?

Pray Over This

“Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.”

Genesis 13:11-13

Like Lot, we often feel the world’s pull, but lasting security comes only by following where God leads. 

 

PONDER THIS

Many love the message of grace, but do not learn the lesson of grace and live it out. That is how Lot struggled. He had a choice. When you look at this passage, it says, “And Lot chose . . .” That's the key right there. There was no prayer, no looking to God. Then we read, “Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.” Why did Lot do this? For one thing, He wanted all that Sodom had to offer. It was unspeakably wicked, and yet there was an attraction.

We all must come to a point where we can humbly admit the world pulls on us. Jesus was tempted in all points like us. Even Jesus felt the pull of the world. There is constantly a pull on you. At every moment, you need to resist the pull of the world. What was pulling on Lot? The world with its money. The world with its busyness. The world with its pleasures. The world with its social life. Even coming from the family of God, Lot still looked to the way he wanted instead of where God was leading.

What does it look like to look for where God is leading rather than determining your own way forward?

How can you relate to Lot? In what ways do you feel the pull of the world?

PRACTICE THIS

Consider the ways you feel pulled by the world. Tell those things to God and to an accountability partner..

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

November 9

John 9:13-25

[13] They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. [14] Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. [15] So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” [16] Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. [17] So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

[18] The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight [19] and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” [20] His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. [21] But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” [22] (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) [23] Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

[24] So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” [25] He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

1 John 1:5-10

[5] This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Job 9:1-20

[1] Then Job answered and said:

    [2] “Truly I know that it is so:

        But how can a man be in the right before God? 

    [3] If one wished to contend with him,

        one could not answer him once in a thousand times. 

    [4] He is wise in heart and mighty in strength

        —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—

    [5] he who removes mountains, and they know it not,

        when he overturns them in his anger, 

    [6] who shakes the earth out of its place,

        and its pillars tremble; 

    [7] who commands the sun, and it does not rise;

        who seals up the stars; 

    [8] who alone stretched out the heavens

        and trampled the waves of the sea; 

    [9] who made the Bear and Orion,

        the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; 

    [10] who does great things beyond searching out,

        and marvelous things beyond number. 

    [11] Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not;

        he moves on, but I do not perceive him. 

    [12] Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back?

        Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

    [13] “God will not turn back his anger;

        beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab. 

    [14] How then can I answer him,

        choosing my words with him? 

    [15] Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;

        I must appeal for mercy to my accuser. 

    [16] If I summoned him and he answered me,

        I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. 

    [17] For he crushes me with a tempest

        and multiplies my wounds without cause; 

    [18] he will not let me get my breath,

        but fills me with bitterness. 

    [19] If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!

        If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? 

    [20] Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;

        though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.

Ezekiel 24

[1] In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. [3] And utter a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: 

    “Set on the pot, set it on;

        pour in water also; 

    [4] put in it the pieces of meat,

        all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder;

        fill it with choice bones. 

    [5] Take the choicest one of the flock;

        pile the logs under it;

    boil it well;

        seethe also its bones in it.

    [6] “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice. [7] For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. [8] To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. [9] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. [10] Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up. [11] Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, that its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed. [12] She has wearied herself with toil; its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion! [13] On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, you shall not be cleansed anymore till I have satisfied my fury upon you. [14] I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord GOD.”

[15] The word of the LORD came to me: [16] “Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. [17] Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.” [18] So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.

[19] And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” [20] Then I said to them, “The word of the LORD came to me: [21] ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. [22] And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. [23] Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. [24] Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

[25] “As for you, son of man, surely on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul’s desire, and also their sons and daughters, [26] on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. [27] On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel 25

[1] The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. [3] Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, [4] therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. [5] I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD. [6] For thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel, [7] therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

[8] “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ [9] therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. [10] I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations, [11] and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

[12] “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them, [13] therefore thus says the Lord GOD, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword. [14] And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.

[15] “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, [16] therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. [17] I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”

Ezekiel 26

[1] In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ [3] therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. [4] They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. [5] She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. And she shall become plunder for the nations, [6] and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

[7] “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. [8] He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. [9] He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. [10] His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. [11] With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. [12] They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. [13] And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. [14] I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.

[15] “Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? [16] Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you. [17] And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you, 

    “‘How you have perished,

        you who were inhabited from the seas,

    O city renowned,

        who was mighty on the sea;

    she and her inhabitants imposed their terror

        on all her inhabitants! 

    [18] Now the coastlands tremble

        on the day of your fall,

    and the coastlands that are on the sea

        are dismayed at your passing.’

    [19] “For thus says the Lord GOD: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, [20] then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living. [21] I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord GOD.”

Marveling at the End of History

[God will] grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:7–10)

When Jesus returns to this earth, which he has promised to do, those who have not believed the gospel, Paul says, “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” This is a terrible prospect that should terrify all unbelievers who hear this truth.

And oh, how it should sober us who do believe and fill us with seriousness about what is at stake in this world. Oh, how it should cause compassion to rise in our hearts for those who do not believe, or do not even know, the gospel.

But to sustain us in all our afflictions here Paul gives us two amazing words of encouragement and hope. “[God will] grant relief to you who are afflicted.” If we experience a terrible intensification of affliction near the end of history, God’s word is: Hold fast: relief is on the way. Your afflictions will not have the last word. And your seemingly powerful adversaries will regret the day they touched the Lord’s people.

But then comes the best word of encouragement and hope. Not only will we get relief when the Lord comes, but we will get the greatest experience that we were created for in the first place: We will see his glory, and marvel at it in such a way that he will be glorified in us for all the world to see.

Verse 10: “He comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed.” We were made to marvel. Nothing and no one is more marvelous than the crucified, risen, returning King of glory, Jesus Christ. He will attain the destiny of his glory, and we will attain the destiny of our joy as we begin the perfect, sinless, never-ending marveling at the greatest marvel.

John Piper 

Sinking in Quicksand

Pray Over This

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

 

Ponder This

Most of us are susceptible to legalism. Some preach about Jesus and a lot of rules, rituals, and laws because it feels secure and it is measurable. Once we do that, we start playing the comparison game, measuring how we are better or worse than someone else. Don't let anybody make a legalist out of you. You are not saved by keeping laws; you are not saved by ritual. You're not saved by anything other than the grace of God. People who seek to be saved or sanctified by rules are like those trying to get out of quicksand. The more they struggle, the more they sink.

 

Ten thousand rules will not make you one bit more like Jesus. We may look at the Pharisees as the “bad guys” in the New Testament, but we struggle with the same things. We build our rules and rituals and ask people to live up to our standards instead of embracing the grace of Jesus.

 

What are some ways you tend toward legalism? What are some rules and rituals you have measured others by?

Why is it easier for us to live by legalism than by grace?

 

Practice This

Repent and ask for forgiveness for times you have held onto legalism.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

November 8

John 9:1-12

[1] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [3] Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. [4] We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. [5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” [6] Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud [7] and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

[8] The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” [9] Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” [10] So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” [11] He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” [12] They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

1 John 1:1-4

[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—[2] the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—[3] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. [4] And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Job 8

[1] Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

    [2] “How long will you say these things,

        and the words of your mouth be a great wind? 

    [3] Does God pervert justice?

        Or does the Almighty pervert the right? 

    [4] If your children have sinned against him,

        he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. 

    [5] If you will seek God

        and plead with the Almighty for mercy, 

    [6] if you are pure and upright,

        surely then he will rouse himself for you

        and restore your rightful habitation. 

    [7] And though your beginning was small,

        your latter days will be very great.

    [8] “For inquire, please, of bygone ages,

        and consider what the fathers have searched out. 

    [9] For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,

        for our days on earth are a shadow. 

    [10] Will they not teach you and tell you

        and utter words out of their understanding?

    [11] “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

        Can reeds flourish where there is no water? 

    [12] While yet in flower and not cut down,

        they wither before any other plant. 

    [13] Such are the paths of all who forget God;

        the hope of the godless shall perish. 

    [14] His confidence is severed,

        and his trust is a spider’s web. 

    [15] He leans against his house, but it does not stand;

        he lays hold of it, but it does not endure. 

    [16] He is a lush plant before the sun,

        and his shoots spread over his garden. 

    [17] His roots entwine the stone heap;

        he looks upon a house of stones. 

    [18] If he is destroyed from his place,

        then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ 

    [19] Behold, this is the joy of his way,

        and out of the soil others will spring.

    [20] “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,

        nor take the hand of evildoers. 

    [21] He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

        and your lips with shouting. 

    [22] Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

        and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

Ezekiel 22

[1] And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, [2] “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. [3] You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! [4] You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. [5] Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.

[6] “Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. [7] Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. [8] You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. [9] There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. [10] In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. [11] One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter. [12] In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

[13] “Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. [14] Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. [15] I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. [16] And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

[17] And the word of the LORD came to me: [18] “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. [19] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. [20] As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. [21] I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. [22] As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD; I have poured out my wrath upon you.”

[23] And the word of the LORD came to me: [24] “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. [25] The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. [26] Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. [27] Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. [28] And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. [29] The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. [30] And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. [31] Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel 23

[1] The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. [3] They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled. [4] Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

[5] “Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors [6] clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. [7] She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted. [8] She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her. [9] Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. [10] These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women, when judgment had been executed on her.

[11] “Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister. [12] She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. [13] And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. [14] But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, [15] wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. [16] When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. [17] And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust. [18] When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. [19] Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt [20] and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses. [21] Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts.”

[22] Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: [23] the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. [24] And they shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments. [25] And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. [26] They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. [27] Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.

[28] “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, [29] and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring [30] have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. [31] You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand. [32] Thus says the Lord GOD: 

    “You shall drink your sister’s cup

        that is deep and large;

    you shall be laughed at and held in derision,

        for it contains much; 

    [33] you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.

    A cup of horror and desolation,

        the cup of your sister Samaria; 

    [34] you shall drink it and drain it out,

        and gnaw its shards,

        and tear your breasts;

    for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.  [35] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”

[36] The LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations. [37] For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me. [38] Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths. [39] For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house. [40] They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. [41] You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil. [42] The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads.

[43] “Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!’ [44] For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women! [45] But righteous men shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.”

[46] For thus says the Lord GOD: “Bring up a vast host against them, and make them an object of terror and a plunder. [47] And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses. [48] Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. [49] And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”