Feb.13

1 The LORD said to Moses, "Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.

3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain."

4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone.

5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

9 And he said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance."

10 And he said, "Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

11 "Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst.

13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim

14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice,

16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

17 "You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.

18 "You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt.

19 All that open the womb are mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep.

20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed.

21 "Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end.

23 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel.

24 For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.

25 "You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning.

26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

27 And the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them.

32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai.

33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

34 Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded,

35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him. - Exodus 34

1 Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 

2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 

3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. 

4 He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil. 

5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 

6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD. 

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 

8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 

9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. 

10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! 

11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 

12 There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.  - Psalms 36

27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,

28 crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place."

29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.

31 And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

32 He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done.

34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.

35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd,

36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, "Away with him!"

37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, "May I say something to you?" And he said, "Do you know Greek?

38 Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?"

39 Paul replied, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people."

40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying: - Acts 21:27-40

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."

23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us."

24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."

26 And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

28 Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.

30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,

31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

33 And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?"

34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."

35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,

36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. - Matthew 15:21-39

When Jesus Comes, Darkness Leaves?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life”... 

(John 8:12)

 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

If you wanted to get rid of darkness in a room, how would you do it? Would you curse the darkness? Take a broomstick and try to beat the darkness out? Grab a shovel and shovel it out? Or a vacuum cleaner and suck it out? How are you going to get the darkness out of a room?

There’s no way except one: turn on the light. Just turn on the light. The darkness cannot stand the light. When Jesus comes, darkness is going to go. It has to go! And when it goes, everything that loves it will go with it. What a day it will be when Jesus comes and all the wicked, vile, filthy things in the spiritual world flee His light!

When we're faithful, when we live as a Christian ought to, everywhere we go, we’re making evident the deeds of darkness as we let our light shine.

ACTION POINT:

Don't have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness! We're to walk in the light. There is to be godly fruit, godly fellowship, and godly faithfulness as we “walk in the light as He is in the light.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Lincoln’s Providence

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33)

Abraham Lincoln, who was born on this day in 1809, remained skeptical, and at times even cynical, about religion into his forties. So, it is a most striking thing how personal and national suffering drew Lincoln into the reality of God, rather than pushing him away.

In 1862, when Lincoln was 53 years old, his 11-year-old son Willie died. Lincoln’s wife “tried to deal with her grief by searching out New Age mediums.” Lincoln turned to Phineas Gurley, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington.

Several long talks led to what Gurley described as “a conversion to Christ.” Lincoln confided that he was “driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I have nowhere else to go.”

Similarly, the horrors of the dead and wounded soldiers assaulted him daily. There were fifty hospitals for the wounded in Washington. The rotunda of the Capitol held two thousand cots for wounded soldiers.

Typically, fifty soldiers a day died in these temporary hospitals. All of this drove Lincoln deeper into the providence of God. “We cannot but believe, that He who made the world still governs it.”

His most famous statement about the providence of God in relation to the Civil War was his Second Inaugural Address, given a month before he was assassinated. It is remarkable for not making God a simple supporter for the Union or Confederate cause. God has his own purposes and does not excuse sin on either side.

Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge of war might speedily pass away. . . .

Yet if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid with another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said, “the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.”

I pray for all of you who suffer loss and injury and great sorrow that it will awaken for you, as it did for Lincoln, not an empty fatalism, but a deeper reliance on the infinite wisdom and love of God’s inscrutable providence.

John Piper 

Feb.12

1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

2 So Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."

3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."

6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

7 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'"

9 And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you."

11 But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

12 Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.

13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'"

14 And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.

16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp."

18 But he said, "It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear."

19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

21 And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?"

22 And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.

23 For they said to me, 'Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

24 So I said to them, 'Let any who have gold take it off.' So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."

25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies),

26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.

27 And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.'"

28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell.

29 And Moses said, "Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day."

30 The next day Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."

31 So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold.

32 But now, if you will forgive their sin-but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written."

33 But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.

34 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."

35 Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made. - Exodus 32

1 The LORD said to Moses, "Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your offspring I will give it.'

2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people."

4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.

5 For the LORD had said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.'"

6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.

8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent.

9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses.

10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door.

11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

12 Moses said to the LORD, "See, you say to me, 'Bring up this people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.'

13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people."

14 And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

15 And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?"

17 And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."

18 Moses said, "Please show me your glory."

19 And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live."

21 And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock,

22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen." - Exodus 33

1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! 

2 Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! 

3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, "I am your salvation!" 

4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me! 

5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away! 

6 Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them! 

7 For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. 

8 Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it-to his destruction! 

9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation. 

10 All my bones shall say, "O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?" 

11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. 

12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft. 

13 But I, when they were sick- I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. 

14 I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning. 

15 But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; 

16 like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth. 

17 How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions! 

18 I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you. 

19 Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. 

20 For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit. 

21 They open wide their mouths against me; they say, "Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!" 

22 You have seen, O LORD; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me! 

23 Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord! 

24 Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me! 

25 Let them not say in their hearts, "Aha, our heart's desire!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up." 

26 Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me! 

27 Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, "Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!" 

28 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.  - Psalms 35

1 And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

2 And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo.

4 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed

6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day.

8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.

10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

11 And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'"

12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.

13 Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, "Let the will of the Lord be done."

15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.

16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.

18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

20 And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law,

21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.

22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow;

24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.

25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality."

26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them. - Acts 21:1-26

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."

3 He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

4 For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.'

5 But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,"

6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 

9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" 

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand:

11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."

12 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."

15 But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."

16 And he said, "Are you also still without understanding?

17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?

18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone." - Matthew 15:1-20

The Best Form of Slavery

He who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. (1 Corinthians 7:22, my translation)

I would have expected Paul to switch the places of “Lord,” which means Master, and “Christ,” which means Messiah.

He correlates our liberation with Jesus being our Master (“a freedman of the Lord”). And he correlates our new slavery with Jesus being our Messiah (“a slave of Christ”). It seems strange because the Messiah came to liberate his people from their captors; and masters take control of their slaves’ lives.

Why does he say it this way? Why correlate slavery (rather than liberation) with Messiah, and liberation (rather than slavery) with Master?

Suggestion: The switch has two effects on our new liberty and two effects on our new slavery.

On the one hand, in calling us “the liberated of the Lord,” he secures and limits our new liberty:

His lordship is over all other lords; so our liberation is uncontested — absolutely secure.

But, free from all other lords, we are not free from him. Our freedom is mercifully limited. Jesus is our Master.

On the other hand, in calling us the “slaves of Christ,” he loosens and sweetens our slavery:

The Messiah lays claim on his own in order to bring them from the confines of captivity into the open spaces of peace. “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7).

And he makes them his own to give them the sweetest joy. “With honey from the rock I would satisfy you” (Psalm 81:16). And that Rock is Christ, the Messiah.

So, Christian, be glad in this: “He who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord” — the Master. “Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ” — the loosening, sweetening Messiah.”

John Piper 

What Are You Grasping for Today?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”... 

(Mark 8:36)

 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Some years ago, I went to visit the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii. When the volcano Vesuvius erupted centuries ago, volcanic ash fell on everything and preserved the city just as it was. In fact, in the ruins there’s a very interesting skeleton of a man. Evidently, when the ash began to fall, this man ran back to his home for his bag of gold. The gold spilled on the floor, and he reached out for it, just as the fumes overcame him.

Now, he is embalmed for all time, grasping that gold. What profit was his gold? Friend, the wisest thing that anybody can do is give his heart to Jesus Christ. That’s the only way to save your soul!

ACTION POINT:

What are you grasping for today? Position? Power? Possessions? Prestige? Whatever it is, if you desire it more than you desire to know Him, it will turn to ash in your hand. Or the Lord may have to gently pry it loose from your hand. Instead, say with Paul, “…that I may know Him!”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Feb.11

1 "You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

2 A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.

3 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it.

4 And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.

5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you.

7 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it,

8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations.

9 You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.

10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD."

11 The LORD said to Moses,

12 "When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.

13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD.

14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD's offering.

15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD's offering to make atonement for your lives.

16 You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for your lives."

17 The LORD said to Moses,

18 "You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it,

19 with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet.

20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the LORD, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die.

21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations."

22 The LORD said to Moses,

23 "Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane,

24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.

25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.

26 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.

31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, 'This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.

32 It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

33 Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.'"

34 The LORD said to Moses, "Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part),

35 and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.

36 You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you.

37 And the incense that you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the LORD.

38 Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people." - Exodus 30

1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,

4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze,

5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.

6 And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent,

8 the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense,

9 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand,

10 and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests,

11 and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do."

12 And the LORD said to Moses,

13 "You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.

14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.

16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.

17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"

18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. - Exodus 31

1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. 

3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! 

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 

5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 

6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 

7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 

8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 

9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 

10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 

11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 

12 What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? 

13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 

14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 

15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 

16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 

17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 

18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. 

20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 

21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 

22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.  - Psalms 34

13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land.

14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene.

15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus.

16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.

18 And when they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 

19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews;

20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,

21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there,

23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all,

27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

33 I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.

34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.

35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him,

38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship. - Acts 20:13-38

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.

26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."

31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.

35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick

36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. - Matthew 14:22-36