December 5

John 15:9-17

[9] As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. [10] If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. [11] These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

[12] “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. [14] You are my friends if you do what I command you. [15] No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. [16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. [17] These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Revelation 3:1-13

To the Church in Sardis

[1] “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. 

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  [2] Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. [3] Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. [4] Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. [5] The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. [6] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

[7] “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

[8] “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. [9] Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. [10] Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. [11] I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. [12] The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. [13] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Job 28

Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?

    [1] “Surely there is a mine for silver,

        and a place for gold that they refine. 

    [2] Iron is taken out of the earth,

        and copper is smelted from the ore. 

    [3] Man puts an end to darkness

        and searches out to the farthest limit

        the ore in gloom and deep darkness. 

    [4] He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;

        they are forgotten by travelers;

        they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro. 

    [5] As for the earth, out of it comes bread,

        but underneath it is turned up as by fire. 

    [6] Its stones are the place of sapphires,

        and it has dust of gold.

    [7] “That path no bird of prey knows,

        and the falcon’s eye has not seen it. 

    [8] The proud beasts have not trodden it;

        the lion has not passed over it.

    [9] “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock

        and overturns mountains by the roots. 

    [10] He cuts out channels in the rocks,

        and his eye sees every precious thing. 

    [11] He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,

        and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

    [12] “But where shall wisdom be found?

        And where is the place of understanding? 

    [13] Man does not know its worth,

        and it is not found in the land of the living. 

    [14] The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’

        and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ 

    [15] It cannot be bought for gold,

        and silver cannot be weighed as its price. 

    [16] It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

        in precious onyx or sapphire. 

    [17] Gold and glass cannot equal it,

        nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. 

    [18] No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;

        the price of wisdom is above pearls. 

    [19] The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

        nor can it be valued in pure gold.

    [20] “From where, then, does wisdom come?

        And where is the place of understanding? 

    [21] It is hidden from the eyes of all living

        and concealed from the birds of the air. 

    [22] Abaddon and Death say,

        ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

    [23] “God understands the way to it,

        and he knows its place. 

    [24] For he looks to the ends of the earth

        and sees everything under the heavens. 

    [25] When he gave to the wind its weight

        and apportioned the waters by measure, 

    [26] when he made a decree for the rain

        and a way for the lightning of the thunder, 

    [27] then he saw it and declared it;

        he established it, and searched it out. 

    [28] And he said to man,

    ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

        and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Hosea 13

The LORD’s Relentless Judgment on Israel

    [1] When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

        he was exalted in Israel,

        but he incurred guilt through Baal and died. 

    [2] And now they sin more and more,

        and make for themselves metal images,

    idols skillfully made of their silver,

        all of them the work of craftsmen.

    It is said of them,

        “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!” 

    [3] Therefore they shall be like the morning mist

        or like the dew that goes early away,

    like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor

        or like smoke from a window.

    [4] But I am the LORD your God

        from the land of Egypt;

    you know no God but me,

        and besides me there is no savior. 

    [5] It was I who knew you in the wilderness,

        in the land of drought; 

    [6] but when they had grazed, they became full,

        they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;

        therefore they forgot me. 

    [7] So I am to them like a lion;

        like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. 

    [8] I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;

        I will tear open their breast,

    and there I will devour them like a lion,

        as a wild beast would rip them open.

    [9] He destroys you, O Israel,

        for you are against me, against your helper. 

    [10] Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?

        Where are all your rulers—

    those of whom you said,

        “Give me a king and princes”? 

    [11] I gave you a king in my anger,

        and I took him away in my wrath.

    [12] The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;

        his sin is kept in store. 

    [13] The pangs of childbirth come for him,

        but he is an unwise son,

    for at the right time he does not present himself

        at the opening of the womb.

    [14] I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;

        I shall redeem them from Death.

    O Death, where are your plagues?

        O Sheol, where is your sting?

        Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

    [15] Though he may flourish among his brothers,

        the east wind, the wind of the LORD, shall come,

        rising from the wilderness,

    and his fountain shall dry up;

        his spring shall be parched;

    it shall strip his treasury

        of every precious thing. 

    [16]  Samaria shall bear her guilt,

        because she has rebelled against her God;

    they shall fall by the sword;

        their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,

        and their pregnant women ripped open.

Hosea 14

A Plea to Return to the LORD

    [1] Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,

        for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 

    [2] Take with you words

        and return to the LORD;

    say to him,

        “Take away all iniquity;

    accept what is good,

        and we will pay with bulls

        the vows of our lips. 

    [3] Assyria shall not save us;

        we will not ride on horses;

    and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’

        to the work of our hands.

    In you the orphan finds mercy.”

    [4] I will heal their apostasy;

        I will love them freely,

        for my anger has turned from them. 

    [5] I will be like the dew to Israel;

        he shall blossom like the lily;

        he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; 

    [6] his shoots shall spread out;

        his beauty shall be like the olive,

        and his fragrance like Lebanon. 

    [7] They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;

        they shall flourish like the grain;

    they shall blossom like the vine;

        their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

    [8] O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?

        It is I who answer and look after you.

    I am like an evergreen cypress;

        from me comes your fruit.

    [9] Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;

        whoever is discerning, let him know them;

    for the ways of the LORD are right,

        and the upright walk in them,

        but transgressors stumble in them.

How to Find Joy in Obedience

“And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” ACTS 5:40-42

 

PONDER THIS

Don’t get the idea that the will of God is something you have to do; God’s not going to force it on you. The will of God is something you get to do. When you learn to obey, you will learn the joy people talk about in the Christian life. There’s no such thing as a happy, disobedient Christian. That is a contradiction in terms. Verse 41 says, “They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” I am telling you that obedience and rejoicing come together. It is a lie out of Hell that doing the will of God is painful and makes you miserable. The Bible says, “His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

Now the reason some of us don’t obey the Lord or understand there’s joy in obeying the Lord is that we don’t trust the Lord, and we struggle to take commands from a stranger. You get to know the Lord Jesus Christ and you will learn that His commands are not a burden. The Bible says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10). His way is good; His way leads to life. It is a joy to have such clarity, direction, and purpose when we walk in Him!

How have you seen God’s way as an obligation instead of as an opportunity?

What changes when you see God’s way as a way you get to be with Him joyfully instead of as a difficult obligation?

PRACTICE THIS

Open yourself up to God in prayer. Be honest with Him about the hard parts of obedience and ask Him to grow your joy in following Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

For God’s Little People

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. (Luke 2:1–5)

Have you ever thought what an amazing thing it is that God ordained beforehand that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem (as the prophecy in Micah 5:2 shows); and that he so ordained things that when the time came, the Messiah’s mother and legal father were living not in Bethlehem but in Nazareth; and that in order to fulfill his word and bring two unheard-of, insignificant, little people to Bethlehem that first Christmas, God put it in the heart of Caesar Augustus that all the Roman world should be enrolled each in his own town? A decree for the entire world in order to move two people seventy miles!

Have you ever felt, like me, little and insignificant in a world of seven billion people, where all the news is about big political and economic and social movements and outstanding people with global significance and lots of power and prestige?

If you have, don’t let that make you disheartened or unhappy. For it is implicit in Scripture that all the mammoth political forces and all the giant industrial complexes, without their even knowing it, are being guided by God, not for their own sake, but for the sake of God’s little people — the little Mary and the little Joseph who have to be got from Nazareth to Bethlehem. God wields an empire to fulfill his word and bless his children.

Do not think, because you experience adversity in your little world of experience, that the hand of the Lord is shortened. It is not our prosperity or our fame but our holiness that he seeks with all his heart. And to that end, he rules the whole world. As Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” And he is always turning it for his saving and sanctifying and eternal purposes among his people.

He is a big God for little people, and we have great cause to rejoice that, unbeknownst to them, all the kings and presidents and premiers and chancellors and chiefs of the world follow the sovereign decrees of our Father in heaven, that we, the children, might be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ — and then enter his eternal glory.

John Piper 

December 4

John 15:1-8

I Am the True Vine

[1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. [2] Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. [3] Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. [4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. [5] I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. [7] If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8] By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Revelation 2:18-29

To the Church in Thyatira

[18] “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

[19] “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. [20] But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. [21] I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. [22] Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, [23] and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. [24] But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. [25] Only hold fast what you have until I come. [26] The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, [27] and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. [28] And I will give him the morning star. [29] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Job 27

Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity

[1] And Job again took up his discourse, and said:

    [2] “As God lives, who has taken away my right,

        and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, 

    [3] as long as my breath is in me,

        and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, 

    [4] my lips will not speak falsehood,

        and my tongue will not utter deceit. 

    [5] Far be it from me to say that you are right;

        till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. 

    [6] I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;

        my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

    [7] “Let my enemy be as the wicked,

        and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous. 

    [8] For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,

        when God takes away his life? 

    [9] Will God hear his cry

        when distress comes upon him? 

    [10] Will he take delight in the Almighty?

        Will he call upon God at all times? 

    [11] I will teach you concerning the hand of God;

        what is with the Almighty I will not conceal. 

    [12] Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;

        why then have you become altogether vain?

    [13] “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,

        and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty: 

    [14] If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword,

        and his descendants have not enough bread. 

    [15] Those who survive him the pestilence buries,

        and his widows do not weep. 

    [16] Though he heap up silver like dust,

        and pile up clothing like clay, 

    [17] he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,

        and the innocent will divide the silver. 

    [18] He builds his house like a moth’s,

        like a booth that a watchman makes. 

    [19] He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more;

        he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone. 

    [20] Terrors overtake him like a flood;

        in the night a whirlwind carries him off. 

    [21] The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;

        it sweeps him out of his place. 

    [22] It hurls at him without pity;

        he flees from its power in headlong flight. 

    [23] It claps its hands at him

        and hisses at him from its place.

Hosea 9

The LORD Will Punish Israel

    [1] Rejoice not, O Israel!

        Exult not like the peoples;

    for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.

        You have loved a prostitute’s wages

        on all threshing floors. 

    [2] Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,

        and the new wine shall fail them. 

    [3] They shall not remain in the land of the LORD,

        but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,

        and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.

    [4] They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the LORD,

        and their sacrifices shall not please him.

    It shall be like mourners’ bread to them;

        all who eat of it shall be defiled;

    for their bread shall be for their hunger only;

        it shall not come to the house of the LORD.

    [5] What will you do on the day of the appointed festival,

        and on the day of the feast of the LORD? 

    [6] For behold, they are going away from destruction;

        but Egypt shall gather them;

        Memphis shall bury them.

    Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;

        thorns shall be in their tents.

    [7] The days of punishment have come;

        the days of recompense have come;

        Israel shall know it.

    The prophet is a fool;

        the man of the spirit is mad,

    because of your great iniquity

        and great hatred. 

    [8] The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God;

    yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,

        and hatred in the house of his God. 

    [9] They have deeply corrupted themselves

        as in the days of Gibeah:

    he will remember their iniquity;

        he will punish their sins.

    [10] Like grapes in the wilderness,

        I found Israel.

    Like the first fruit on the fig tree

        in its first season,

        I saw your fathers.

    But they came to Baal-peor

        and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,

        and became detestable like the thing they loved. 

    [11] Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—

        no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! 

    [12] Even if they bring up children,

        I will bereave them till none is left.

    Woe to them

        when I depart from them! 

    [13] Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow;

        but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter. 

    [14] Give them, O LORD—

        what will you give?

    Give them a miscarrying womb

        and dry breasts.

    [15] Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal;

        there I began to hate them.

    Because of the wickedness of their deeds

        I will drive them out of my house.

    I will love them no more;

        all their princes are rebels.

    [16] Ephraim is stricken;

        their root is dried up;

        they shall bear no fruit.

    Even though they give birth,

        I will put their beloved children to death. 

    [17] My God will reject them

        because they have not listened to him;

        they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Hosea 10

    [1] Israel is a luxuriant vine

        that yields its fruit.

    The more his fruit increased,

        the more altars he built;

    as his country improved,

        he improved his pillars. 

    [2] 

    Their heart is false;

        now they must bear their guilt.

    The LORD will break down their altars

        and destroy their pillars.

    [3] 

    For now they will say:

        “We have no king,

    for we do not fear the LORD;

        and a king—what could he do for us?” 

    [4] 

    They utter mere words;

        with empty oaths they make covenants;

    so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds

        in the furrows of the field. 

    [5] 

    The inhabitants of Samaria tremble

        for the calf of Beth-aven.

    Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—

        those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—

        for it has departed from them. 

    [6] 

    The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria

        as tribute to the great king.

    Ephraim shall be put to shame,

        and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.

    [7] 

    Samaria’s king shall perish

        like a twig on the face of the waters. 

    [8] 

    The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

        shall be destroyed.

    Thorn and thistle shall grow up

        on their altars,

    and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”

        and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

    [9] 

    From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;

        there they have continued.

        Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah? 

    [10] 

    When I please, I will discipline them,

        and nations shall be gathered against them

        when they are bound up for their double iniquity.

    [11] 

    Ephraim was a trained calf

        that loved to thresh,

        and I spared her fair neck;

    but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;

        Judah must plow;

        Jacob must harrow for himself. 

    [12] 

    Sow for yourselves righteousness;

        reap steadfast love;

        break up your fallow ground,

    for it is the time to seek the LORD,

        that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

    [13] 

    You have plowed iniquity;

        you have reaped injustice;

        you have eaten the fruit of lies.

    Because you have trusted in your own way

        and in the multitude of your warriors, 

    [14] 

    therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people,

        and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,

    as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;

        mothers were dashed in pieces with their children. 

    [15] 

    Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,

        because of your great evil.

    At dawn the king of Israel

        shall be utterly cut off.

Hosea 11

The LORD’s Love for Israel

    [1] When Israel was a child, I loved him,

        and out of Egypt I called my son. 

    [2] The more they were called,

        the more they went away;

    they kept sacrificing to the Baals

        and burning offerings to idols.

    [3] Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;

        I took them up by their arms,

        but they did not know that I healed them. 

    [4] I led them with cords of kindness,

        with the bands of love,

    and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,

        and I bent down to them and fed them.

    [5] They shall not return to the land of Egypt,

        but Assyria shall be their king,

        because they have refused to return to me. 

    [6] The sword shall rage against their cities,

        consume the bars of their gates,

        and devour them because of their own counsels. 

    [7] My people are bent on turning away from me,

        and though they call out to the Most High,

        he shall not raise them up at all.

    [8] How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

        How can I hand you over, O Israel?

    How can I make you like Admah?

        How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

    My heart recoils within me;

        my compassion grows warm and tender. 

    [9] I will not execute my burning anger;

        I will not again destroy Ephraim;

    for I am God and not a man,

        the Holy One in your midst,

        and I will not come in wrath.

    [10] They shall go after the LORD;

        he will roar like a lion;

    when he roars,

        his children shall come trembling from the west; 

    [11] they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,

        and like doves from the land of Assyria,

        and I will return them to their homes, declares the LORD. 

    [12]  Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,

        and the house of Israel with deceit,

    but Judah still walks with God

        and is faithful to the Holy One.

Hosea 12

    [1] Ephraim feeds on the wind

        and pursues the east wind all day long;

    they multiply falsehood and violence;

        they make a covenant with Assyria,

        and oil is carried to Egypt.

The LORD’s Indictment of Israel and Judah

    [2] The LORD has an indictment against Judah

        and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

        he will repay him according to his deeds. 

    [3] In the womb he took his brother by the heel,

        and in his manhood he strove with God. 

    [4] He strove with the angel and prevailed;

        he wept and sought his favor.

    He met God at Bethel,

        and there God spoke with us—

    [5] the LORD, the God of hosts,

        the LORD is his memorial name: 

    [6] “So you, by the help of your God, return,

        hold fast to love and justice,

        and wait continually for your God.”

    [7] A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,

        he loves to oppress. 

    [8] Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;

        I have found wealth for myself;

    in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.” 

    [9] I am the LORD your God

        from the land of Egypt;

    I will again make you dwell in tents,

        as in the days of the appointed feast.

    [10] I spoke to the prophets;

        it was I who multiplied visions,

        and through the prophets gave parables. 

    [11] If there is iniquity in Gilead,

        they shall surely come to nothing:

    in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;

        their altars also are like stone heaps

        on the furrows of the field. 

    [12] Jacob fled to the land of Aram;

        there Israel served for a wife,

        and for a wife he guarded sheep. 

    [13] By a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt,

        and by a prophet he was guarded. 

    [14] Ephraim has given bitter provocation;

        so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him

        and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.