September 19

Luke 23:44-49

The Death of Jesus

[44] It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, [45] while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. [46] Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. [47] Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” [48] And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. [49] And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.

Hebrews 11:1-16

By Faith

[1] Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [2] For by it the people of old received their commendation. [3] By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

[4] By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. [5] By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. [6] And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. [7] By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

[8] By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. [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. [11] By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. [12] Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

[13] These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. [14] For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. [15] If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. [16] 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.

Proverbs 27:15-27

    [15] 

    A continual dripping on a rainy day

        and a quarrelsome wife are alike; 

    [16] 

    to restrain her is to restrain the wind

        or to grasp oil in one’s right hand. 

    [17] 

    Iron sharpens iron,

        and one man sharpens another. 

    [18] 

    Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

        and he who guards his master will be honored. 

    [19] 

    As in water face reflects face,

        so the heart of man reflects the man. 

    [20] 

    Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,

        and never satisfied are the eyes of man. 

    [21] 

    The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

        and a man is tested by his praise. 

    [22] 

    Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle

        along with crushed grain,

        yet his folly will not depart from him.

    [23] 

    Know well the condition of your flocks,

        and give attention to your herds, 

    [24] 

    for riches do not last forever;

        and does a crown endure to all generations? 

    [25] 

    When the grass is gone and the new growth appears

        and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered, 

    [26] 

    the lambs will provide your clothing,

        and the goats the price of a field. 

    [27] 

    There will be enough goats’ milk for your food,

        for the food of your household

        and maintenance for your girls.

Isaiah 49

The Servant of the LORD

    [1] Listen to me, O coastlands,

        and give attention, you peoples from afar.

    The LORD called me from the womb,

        from the body of my mother he named my name. 

    [2] He made my mouth like a sharp sword;

        in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

    he made me a polished arrow;

        in his quiver he hid me away. 

    [3] And he said to me, “You are my servant,

        Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 

    [4] But I said, “I have labored in vain;

        I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;

    yet surely my right is with the LORD,

        and my recompense with my God.”

    [5] And now the LORD says,

        he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,

    to bring Jacob back to him;

        and that Israel might be gathered to him—

    for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,

        and my God has become my strength—

    [6] he says:

    “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

        to raise up the tribes of Jacob

        and to bring back the preserved of Israel;

    I will make you as a light for the nations,

        that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

    [7] Thus says the LORD,

        the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,

    to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,

        the servant of rulers:

    “Kings shall see and arise;

        princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;

    because of the LORD, who is faithful,

        the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

    The Restoration of Israel

    [8] Thus says the LORD:

    “In a time of favor I have answered you;

        in a day of salvation I have helped you;

    I will keep you and give you

        as a covenant to the people,

    to establish the land,

        to apportion the desolate heritages, 

    [9] saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

        to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’

    They shall feed along the ways;

        on all bare heights shall be their pasture; 

    [10] they shall not hunger or thirst,

        neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,

    for he who has pity on them will lead them,

        and by springs of water will guide them. 

    [11] And I will make all my mountains a road,

        and my highways shall be raised up. 

    [12] Behold, these shall come from afar,

        and behold, these from the north and from the west,

        and these from the land of Syene.”

    [13] Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

        break forth, O mountains, into singing!

    For the LORD has comforted his people

        and will have compassion on his afflicted.

    [14] But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;

        my Lord has forgotten me.”

    [15] “Can a woman forget her nursing child,

        that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?

    Even these may forget,

        yet I will not forget you. 

    [16] Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

        your walls are continually before me. 

    [17] Your builders make haste;

        your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you. 

    [18] Lift up your eyes around and see;

        they all gather, they come to you.

    As I live, declares the LORD,

        you shall put them all on as an ornament;

        you shall bind them on as a bride does.

    [19] “Surely your waste and your desolate places

        and your devastated land—

    surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,

        and those who swallowed you up will be far away. 

    [20] The children of your bereavement

        will yet say in your ears:

    ‘The place is too narrow for me;

        make room for me to dwell in.’ 

    [21] Then you will say in your heart:

        ‘Who has borne me these?

    I was bereaved and barren,

        exiled and put away,

        but who has brought up these?

    Behold, I was left alone;

        from where have these come?’”

    [22] Thus says the Lord GOD:

    “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,

        and raise my signal to the peoples;

    and they shall bring your sons in their arms,

        and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. 

    [23] Kings shall be your foster fathers,

        and their queens your nursing mothers.

    With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,

        and lick the dust of your feet.

    Then you will know that I am the LORD;

        those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

    [24] Can the prey be taken from the mighty,

        or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? 

    [25] For thus says the LORD:

    “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,

        and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,

    for I will contend with those who contend with you,

        and I will save your children. 

    [26] I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,

        and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.

    Then all flesh shall know

        that I am the LORD your Savior,

        and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Isaiah 50

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

    [1] Thus says the LORD:

    “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce,

        with which I sent her away?

    Or which of my creditors is it

        to whom I have sold you?

    Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,

        and for your transgressions your mother was sent away. 

    [2] Why, when I came, was there no man;

        why, when I called, was there no one to answer?

    Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?

        Or have I no power to deliver?

    Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,

        I make the rivers a desert;

    their fish stink for lack of water

        and die of thirst. 

    [3] I clothe the heavens with blackness

        and make sackcloth their covering.”

    [4] The Lord GOD has given me

        the tongue of those who are taught,

    that I may know how to sustain with a word

        him who is weary.

    Morning by morning he awakens;

        he awakens my ear

        to hear as those who are taught. 

    [5] The Lord GOD has opened my ear,

        and I was not rebellious;

        I turned not backward. 

    [6] I gave my back to those who strike,

        and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;

    I hid not my face

        from disgrace and spitting.

    [7] But the Lord GOD helps me;

        therefore I have not been disgraced;

    therefore I have set my face like a flint,

        and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 

    [8]     He who vindicates me is near.

    Who will contend with me?

        Let us stand up together.

    Who is my adversary?

        Let him come near to me. 

    [9] Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;

        who will declare me guilty?

    Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;

        the moth will eat them up.

    [10] Who among you fears the LORD

        and obeys the voice of his servant?

    Let him who walks in darkness

        and has no light

    trust in the name of the LORD

        and rely on his God. 

    [11] Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

        who equip yourselves with burning torches!

    Walk by the light of your fire,

        and by the torches that you have kindled!

    This you have from my hand:

        you shall lie down in torment.

God’s Greater Works Through Us

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” JOHN 14:26

 

PONDER THIS

A preacher friend of mine said, “When I first got saved, I was so full of joy. I walked out and I said, ‘Man, this is easy. This is wonderful.’” Then after he lived a while and got his nose bumped a few times, he said, “This is difficult.” And then as he repented and tried to get better and stronger and made more resolutions and resolves, he failed more, and he said, “This is impossible.” But then he learned the secret of Christ in him, and he said, “This is wonderful.”

There’s only one who has ever lived the Christian life: His name is Jesus. And if the Christian life is lived in your house, in your club, on your team, in your choir, there’s only one person who’ll be doing it: Jesus! May God help us understand this: We’re not to be little imitations of Jesus; it is Christ in us doing the work. He said, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14). He is the one who steps in. This is the exceeding power we have to do greater works than the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on Earth, He was limited by time and space. But when He comes into each of His people through the Holy Spirit, He’s not limited by space; He’s not limited by time. He lives and dwells in all of us through the Holy Spirit of God and, therefore, the Church is the body of Jesus on Earth.

When have you tried to handle things on you own in your faith? What was that like?

What does it look like to depend on the Holy Spirit?

PRACTICE THIS

Speak with someone you look up to in the faith and ask how he or she has learned to depend on the Spirit.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Only True Freedom

Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32)

What is true freedom? Are you free?

Here are four things that need to be true if we are going to be fully free.

If you don’t have the desire to do a thing, you are not fully free to do it. Oh, you may muster the willpower to do what you don’t want to do, but nobody calls that full freedom. It’s not the way we want to live. There is a constraint and pressure on us that we don’t want.

And if you have the desire to do something, but no ability to do it, you are not free to do it.

And if you have the desire and the ability to do something, but no opportunity to do it, you are not free to do it.

And if you have the desire to do something, and the ability to do it, and the opportunity to do it, but it destroys you in the end, you are not fully free — not free indeed — when you do it.

To be fully free, we must have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will make us happy forever. No regrets. And only Jesus, the Son of God who died and rose for us, can make that possible.

If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36).

John Piper 

September 18

Luke 23:38-43

[38] There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

[39] One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [40] But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” [42] And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” [43] And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Hebrews 10:19-39

The Full Assurance of Faith

[19] Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, [20] by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. [23] Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. [24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

[26] For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27] but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. [28] Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. [29] How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? [30] For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” [31] It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

[32] But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, [33] sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. [34] For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. [35] Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. [36] For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. [37] For, 

    “Yet a little while,

        and the coming one will come and will not delay; 

    [38] but my righteous one shall live by faith,

        and if he shrinks back,

    my soul has no pleasure in him.”

    [39] But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Proverbs 27:1-14

    [1] Do not boast about tomorrow,

        for you do not know what a day may bring. 

    [2] 

    Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;

        a stranger, and not your own lips. 

    [3] 

    A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

        but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. 

    [4] 

    Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,

        but who can stand before jealousy? 

    [5] 

    Better is open rebuke

        than hidden love. 

    [6] 

    Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

        profuse are the kisses of an enemy. 

    [7] 

    One who is full loathes honey,

        but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet. 

    [8] 

    Like a bird that strays from its nest

        is a man who strays from his home. 

    [9] 

    Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

        and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. 

    [10] 

    Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,

        and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.

    Better is a neighbor who is near

        than a brother who is far away. 

    [11] 

    Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,

        that I may answer him who reproaches me. 

    [12] 

    The prudent sees danger and hides himself,

        but the simple go on and suffer for it. 

    [13] 

    Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

        and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress. 

    [14] 

    Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,

        rising early in the morning,

        will be counted as cursing.

Isaiah 46

The Idols of Babylon and the One True God

    [1] Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;

        their idols are on beasts and livestock;

    these things you carry are borne

        as burdens on weary beasts. 

    [2] They stoop; they bow down together;

        they cannot save the burden,

        but themselves go into captivity.

    [3] “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

        all the remnant of the house of Israel,

    who have been borne by me from before your birth,

        carried from the womb; 

    [4] even to your old age I am he,

        and to gray hairs I will carry you.

    I have made, and I will bear;

        I will carry and will save.

    [5] “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

        and compare me, that we may be alike? 

    [6] Those who lavish gold from the purse,

        and weigh out silver in the scales,

    hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

        then they fall down and worship! 

    [7] They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,

        they set it in its place, and it stands there;

        it cannot move from its place.

    If one cries to it, it does not answer

        or save him from his trouble.

    [8] “Remember this and stand firm,

        recall it to mind, you transgressors, 

    [9]     remember the former things of old;

    for I am God, and there is no other;

        I am God, and there is none like me, 

    [10] declaring the end from the beginning

        and from ancient times things not yet done,

    saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

        and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ 

    [11] calling a bird of prey from the east,

        the man of my counsel from a far country.

    I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

        I have purposed, and I will do it.

    [12] “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,

        you who are far from righteousness: 

    [13] I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,

        and my salvation will not delay;

    I will put salvation in Zion,

        for Israel my glory.”

Isaiah 47

The Humiliation of Babylon

    [1] Come down and sit in the dust,

        O virgin daughter of Babylon;

    sit on the ground without a throne,

        O daughter of the Chaldeans!

    For you shall no more be called

        tender and delicate. 

    [2] Take the millstones and grind flour,

        put off your veil,

    strip off your robe, uncover your legs,

        pass through the rivers. 

    [3] Your nakedness shall be uncovered,

        and your disgrace shall be seen.

    I will take vengeance,

        and I will spare no one. 

    [4] Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name—

        is the Holy One of Israel.

    [5] Sit in silence, and go into darkness,

        O daughter of the Chaldeans;

    for you shall no more be called

        the mistress of kingdoms. 

    [6] I was angry with my people;

        I profaned my heritage;

    I gave them into your hand;

        you showed them no mercy;

    on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy. 

    [7] You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”

        so that you did not lay these things to heart

        or remember their end.

    [8] Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,

        who sit securely,

    who say in your heart,

        “I am, and there is no one besides me;

    I shall not sit as a widow

        or know the loss of children”: 

    [9] These two things shall come to you

        in a moment, in one day;

    the loss of children and widowhood

        shall come upon you in full measure,

    in spite of your many sorceries

        and the great power of your enchantments.

    [10] You felt secure in your wickedness;

        you said, “No one sees me”;

    your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,

    and you said in your heart,

        “I am, and there is no one besides me.” 

    [11] But evil shall come upon you,

        which you will not know how to charm away;

    disaster shall fall upon you,

        for which you will not be able to atone;

    and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,

        of which you know nothing.

    [12] Stand fast in your enchantments

        and your many sorceries,

        with which you have labored from your youth;

    perhaps you may be able to succeed;

        perhaps you may inspire terror. 

    [13] You are wearied with your many counsels;

        let them stand forth and save you,

    those who divide the heavens,

        who gaze at the stars,

    who at the new moons make known

        what shall come upon you.

    [14] Behold, they are like stubble;

        the fire consumes them;

    they cannot deliver themselves

        from the power of the flame.

    No coal for warming oneself is this,

        no fire to sit before! 

    [15] Such to you are those with whom you have labored,

        who have done business with you from your youth;

    they wander about, each in his own direction;

        there is no one to save you.

Isaiah 48

Israel Refined for God’s Glory

    [1] Hear this, O house of Jacob,

        who are called by the name of Israel,

        and who came from the waters of Judah,

    who swear by the name of the LORD

        and confess the God of Israel,

        but not in truth or right. 

    [2] For they call themselves after the holy city,

        and stay themselves on the God of Israel;

        the LORD of hosts is his name.

    [3] “The former things I declared of old;

        they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;

        then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. 

    [4] Because I know that you are obstinate,

        and your neck is an iron sinew

        and your forehead brass, 

    [5] I declared them to you from of old,

        before they came to pass I announced them to you,

    lest you should say, ‘My idol did them,

        my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’

    [6] “You have heard; now see all this;

        and will you not declare it?

    From this time forth I announce to you new things,

        hidden things that you have not known. 

    [7] They are created now, not long ago;

        before today you have never heard of them,

        lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’ 

    [8] You have never heard, you have never known,

        from of old your ear has not been opened.

    For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,

        and that from before birth you were called a rebel.

    [9] “For my name’s sake I defer my anger;

        for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,

        that I may not cut you off. 

    [10] Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;

        I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 

    [11] For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,

        for how should my name be profaned?

        My glory I will not give to another.

    The LORD’s Call to Israel

    [12] “Listen to me, O Jacob,

        and Israel, whom I called!

    I am he; I am the first,

        and I am the last. 

    [13] My hand laid the foundation of the earth,

        and my right hand spread out the heavens;

    when I call to them,

        they stand forth together.

    [14] “Assemble, all of you, and listen!

        Who among them has declared these things?

    The LORD loves him;

        he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,

        and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans. 

    [15] I, even I, have spoken and called him;

        I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way. 

    [16] Draw near to me, hear this:

        from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,

        from the time it came to be I have been there.”

    And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.

    [17] Thus says the LORD,

        your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

    “I am the LORD your God,

        who teaches you to profit,

        who leads you in the way you should go. 

    [18] Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!

        Then your peace would have been like a river,

        and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; 

    [19] your offspring would have been like the sand,

        and your descendants like its grains;

    their name would never be cut off

        or destroyed from before me.”

    [20] Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,

        declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,

    send it out to the end of the earth;

        say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!” 

    [21] They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;

        he made water flow for them from the rock;

        he split the rock and the water gushed out.

    [22] “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”