Monday, March 1, 2021

Do You Question Whether or Not God is Good?


BIBLE MEDITATION


“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT


I read about a farmer who had a big brush pile of debris he was going to burn. He noticed a little bird had built a nest in that brush pile, so he destroyed the nest. When he came back days later, he found the bird rebuilding the nest. The farmer destroyed the nest again. But the bird built again, and again the farmer destroyed it. Finally, the little bird gave up. I can just imagine that little bird going home and saying to his family, “I just don’t know why all our good plans of building a home aren’t working.” Well, there was an unseen hand doing something the bird may have thought was bad, but was really good.


ACTION POINT


Read Romans 8:28. Notice the verse is not saying that all things are good. All things are not good. There are some terrible things in this world. The point is that God is good!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Where Our Comfort Comes From


He [Pilate] entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” (John 19:9–11)


Pilate’s authority to crucify Jesus did not intimidate Jesus. Why not?


Not because Pilate was lying. Not because he didn’t have authority to crucify Jesus. He did.


Rather, this authority did not intimidate Jesus because it was derivative. Jesus said, “It was given to you from above.” Which means it is really authoritative. Not less. But more.


So, how is this not intimidating? Pilate not only has authority to kill Jesus. But he has God-given authority to kill him.


This does not intimidate Jesus because Pilate’s authority over Jesus is subordinate to God’s authority over Pilate. Jesus gets his comfort at this moment not because Pilate’s will is powerless, but because Pilate’s will is guided. Not because Jesus isn’t in the hands of Pilate’s fear, but because Pilate is in the hands of Jesus’s Father.


Which means that our comfort comes not from the powerlessness of our enemies, but from our Father’s sovereign rule over their power.


This is the point of Romans 8:35–37. Tribulation and distress and persecution and famine and nakedness and danger and sword cannot separate us from Christ because “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”


Pilate (and all Jesus’s adversaries — and ours) meant it for evil. But God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20). All Jesus’s enemies gathered together with their God-given authority “to do whatever [God’s] hand and [God’s] plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:28). They sinned. But through their sinning God saved.


Therefore, do not be intimidated by your adversaries who can only kill the body (Matthew 10:28). Not only because this is all they can do (Luke 12:4), but also because it is done under the watchful hand of your Father.


“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6–7)


Pilate has authority. Herod has authority. Soldiers have authority. Satan has authority. But none is independent. All their authority is derivative. All of it is subordinate to God’s will. Fear not. You are precious to your sovereign Father. Far more precious than the unforgotten birds.


John Piper 

March 1

1 The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
2 "Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head.
3 From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company.
4 And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers.
5 And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;
6 from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai;
7 from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab;
8 from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar;
9 from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon;
10 from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;
11 from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni;
12 from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai;
13 from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran;
14 from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel;
15 from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan."
16 These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named,
18 and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head,
19 as the LORD commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20 The people of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
21 those listed of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.
22 Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
23 those listed of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.
24 Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
25 those listed of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.
26 Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
27 those listed of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.
28 Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
29 those listed of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.
30 Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
31 those listed of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.
32 Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
33 those listed of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.
34 Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
35 those listed of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.
36 Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
37 those listed of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.
38 Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
39 those listed of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.
40 Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
41 those listed of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.
42 Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
43 those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.
44 These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers' house.
45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel-
46 all those listed were 603,550.
47 But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe.
48 For the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
49 "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel.
50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle.
51 When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.
52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and each man by his own standard.
53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony."
54 Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.
1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
2 "The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.
3 Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab,
4 his company as listed being 74,600.
5 Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar,
6 his company as listed being 54,400.
7 Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon,
8 his company as listed being 57,400.
9 All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march.
10 "On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur,
11 his company as listed being 46,500.
12 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai,
13 his company as listed being 59,300.
14 Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel,
15 his company as listed being 45,650.
16 All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.
17 "Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.
18 "On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud,
19 his company as listed being 40,500.
20 And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur,
21 his company as listed being 32,200.
22 Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni,
23 his company as listed being 35,400.
24 All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march.
25 "On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai,
26 his company as listed being 62,700.
27 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran,
28 his company as listed being 41,500.
29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan,
30 his company as listed being 53,400.
31 All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard."
32 These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers' houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550.
33 But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses.
34 Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers' house. - Numbers 1-2

1 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, 
2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 
3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress. 
4 For behold, the kings assembled; they came on together. 
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic; they took to flight. 
6 Trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in labor. 
7 By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish. 
8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever. Selah 
9 We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. 
10 As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. 
11 Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments! 
12 Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, 
13 consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation 
14 that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.  - Psalms 48

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you
10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you-
12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.
13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.
14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." - Romans 1:1-17

23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"
24 Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
26 But if we say, 'From man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet."
27 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28 "What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'
29 And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went.
30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go.
31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. - Matthew 21:23-32

Sunday, February 28, 2021

The Providence of God

BIBLE MEDITATION


“Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land.”


(Psalm 37:34)

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT


We talk about providence, but what is providence?


Providence means to see ahead of time and to make provision. This is what God does. He sees events before they ever get here and moves everything toward the goal that He has in mind.


Now there is a lot of evil in the world, so don’t get the idea that everything that happens is God’s will. Rape is not God’s will. Murder is not God’s will. Racial hatred is not God’s will. Adultery is not God’s will. Sodomy is not God’s will.


Man has a will and man has an evil heart. And in God’s grand design, He gave man free will. Even when man does evil, where God does not rule, God overrules.


ACTION POINT


Read Psalm 37. Find a brother or sister in the Lord and discuss the presence of evil in this world and the providence of God in the lives of His children.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Finally and Totally Justified


Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. (Romans 8:33)


Paul could have said here, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” and then answered, “No one! We are justified.” That’s true. But that is not what he said. His answer instead is, “God is the one who justifies.”


The emphasis is not on the act but on the Actor.


Why? Because in the world of courts and laws where this language comes from, the acquittal of a judge might be overturned by a higher one.


So what, if a local judge acquits you, when you are guilty, if a governor has the right to bring a charge against you? So what, if a governor acquits you, when you are guilty, if the emperor can bring a charge against you?


Here’s the point: Above God, there are no higher courts. If God is the one who acquits you — declares you righteous in his sight — no one can appeal; no one can claim a technicality; no one can call for a mistrial; no one can look for other counts against you. God’s sentence is final and total.


Hear this, all you who believe on Jesus, and become united to Christ, and show yourself among the elect: God is the one who justifies you. Not a human judge. Not a great prophet. Not an archangel from heaven. But God, the Creator of the world and Owner of all things and Ruler of the universe and every molecule and person in it, God is the one who justifies you.


The point: unshakable security in the face of tremendous suffering. If God is for us, no one can successfully be against us. If God gave his Son for us, he will give us everything that is good for us. If God is the one who justifies us, no charge against us can stand.



John Piper 

Have We Forgotten Where Our Home Is?


Sojourner definition 

A person that is briefly staying or permanently staying somewhere other than home


I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!  - Psalm 119:19


12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. 

13 Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!"  - Psalm 39:12-13


Our Home 


9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. - Hebrews 11:9-10


But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. - Hebrews 11:16


1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. - Revelation 21:1-3


Bible Study

2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.  - Psalm 47:2-3

11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 
12 For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up-and it shall be brought low;  - Isaiah 2:11-12

"Now I will arise," says the LORD, "now I will lift myself up; now I will be exalted.  - Isaiah 33:10

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"  - Psalm 46:10