Verse for Today - Isaiah 53:3-4

Isaiah 53:3-4

"He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted."

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Tis the Season... for remembering what Christ did to save us from our sins.  In vivid fashion Isaiah 52:13-53:12 recounts the expectation, experience and anticipated outcome of the Messiah's work.  

Today's verses recount some of how He would be perceived by the people of His day.   He came as the Suffering Servant.  He came bearing the sins of his people.  While on Palm Sunday He was hailed as their King, in just a few short days he would be rejected, despised, spit upon.  No doubt the people (when they saw His broken, beaten and bloodied body) thought He was then getting what He deserved.  They did not understand that He was really getting what THEY deserved.

2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Verse for Today - Isaiah 1:16-17

Isaiah 1:16-17

"Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."

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Read all of Isaiah 1

Isaiah 1 is an interesting chapter.  I would recommend reading it.  I have a memory from my early childhood of a minister reading the first verses about how a oxen and donkeys have more sense than God's covenant people.   I think there's supposed to be something appalling about it.  People should pay proper respect to the One who brought the forth, clothed and cared for them.  The prophet goes so far as to say that the people of Israel would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah (completely destroyed and consumed by the anger of the Lord), except the LORD had left a remnant among them... a few examples of His grace and mercy.

As painful and sore as this is, the most remarkable part of the chapter is found in and after the verses we're looking at today.  Our verses today are a call to repent, turn from sin, and do what God commands.  Pretty tough call for spiritually dead, sinful people.  But there is hope.  Jesus said that His people will hear His voice and follow Him.  It is His voice that we hear in these verses.  They awaken and bestow spiritual life to those who hear. 

In fact, they form the premise to the wonderful Gospel call in verses 18 and following.    Hear and heed God's voice!

“ Come now, and let us reason together,” 
      Says the LORD, 
      “ Though your sins are like scarlet, 
      They shall be as white as snow; 
      Though they are red like crimson, 
      They shall be as wool. 
      If you are willing and obedient, 
      You shall eat the good of the land; 
      But if you refuse and rebel, 
      You shall be devoured by the sword”; 
      For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Verse for Today - 2 Corinthians 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:17

" Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. "

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Read all of 2 Corinthians 5

What a great verse to begin our 2012 Verse for Today posts.  The Apostle Paul is explaining the remarkable change or transformation that takes place in a person's life when they become a Christian.  Fundamentally, this change is called regeneration, or being born again.  However, the Apostle Paul is referring to this fact as an encouragement or perhaps a reminder.

You see in the Christian life there is this ongoing tension between the old and the new... between the flesh and the spirit.  This reality is clearly taught in Galatians 5:17, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."  Romans 7 speaks of the same struggle.  

The Apostle Paul brings this up in II Corinthians 5 to encourage us all to fully experience and rest in this spiritual reality.  He wants us to see ourselves, the world and others from the proper perspective.  Just a few verses before he stated: "that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again."  

Our experience of this spiritual reality takes place in time over the course of our lives.  In a sense it is something that we almost enforce upon ourselves. We remind ourselves of what the Word says and then act upon it... live it out.  The Apostle says to the believer, If you are in Christ, you are a new creation.  

Remember it.  Believe it.  Live it.

Verse for Today - John 16:33 (click to read devotional)

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

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Read all of John 16

What a remarkable verse to both end and begin the year with.  Jesus was the omniscient, eternal God and could speak from a moment in time words that would exceed all time.  He told us words that we would need to remember.  He gives us a peace that is greater than suffering, life and death.  With these words He turns our faith toward Him.  He is Lord and Master of all and is both able and willing of help us no matter what trials we face.  He promised (and as the text above says,

"But take heart!  I have overcome the world."

Isn't it interesting that in the Christian faith we have the assurance of both eternal joy and peace and of present hardship and strife.  We were created to know, love and serve Almighty God.  While He is knowable from the vastness and intricacy of creation, he is most fully known in His Incarnate Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  And how has He revealed himself to us?  Most faithfully though the written word, the Holy Bible... and of course the ministry of Gospel preaching (Romans 10:14-17).

Read it to know Him.

Verse for Today - Luke 2:11-14 (click to read blog)

Luke 2:11-14

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.””

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Read all of Luke 2

 I thought I should finish the daily verses from Luke 2.  I have always been drawn to the Angel proclamation of these verses.  I’m reminded of Gabriel who replied to Zacharius’ doubt, “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”  Their proclamations come with heaven’s endorsement and are exactly what they’re supposed to be.  I suppose the same can be said of all Scripture, but there’s something impressive about hearing heaven’s commentary or a “Thus says the LORD.”  I think such words remind us of our creaturely-ness.

 The Angel’s announcement is that Christ has been born… and that they can go and see him.  Then the heavens open up and a multitude of heavenly hosts (angels, warriors, creatures, etc.) proclaim the gracious work of redemption in Christ:

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Verse for Today - Luke 2:8-11 (click to read blog)

Luke 2:8-11

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."

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Read all of Luke 2

The simple yet profound account of Christ's birth continues in today's verses.  Verse 7 had just informed us that the time for Mary to give birth had come.  "She brought forth her first born Son, and laid Him in an manger."  

Verse 8 then begins by telling us of some of the subsequent events.  An angel appears to some shepherds who were out in the fields.  We're not told far they were from the city, but we are told what message was given to them.   

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."

How beautifully and simply put is that?  Great joy for all the people, because the Messiah, the Savior has been born.  That great joy has and will echo to every generation to the end of the world.  Reminds me of Acts 1:8 

"...and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Verse for Today - Luke 2:6-7 (click to read blog)

Luke 2:6-7

"So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. "

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Read all of Luke 2

The previous verses told us that Mary and Joseph had traveled to Bethlehem because of the census.  While there, she gave birth to the incarnate (in the flesh) Son of God... the second person of the Trinity.  That a man could be a real God, we could never believe.  That Almighty God could enter humanity through the gestation process, that we can and must believe... as the Angel Gabriel had said to Mary in Luke 1, "For with God all things are possible."

Verse 7 then identifies the place in which Jesus was born and why.  Jesus was likely born in a stable and feeding trough ( manger ) was used as a bed, as there was on room for them in the inn.  Simple reality...there were lots of people in Bethlehem for the census.  But typological or representative as well.  Listen to how John speaks of this reality in John 1: 

¹⁰ "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him."

Verse for Today - Luke 2:1,4-5 (click to read)

Luke 2:1, 4-5

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child."

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Read all of Luke 2

While for years the prophetic timetable seemed to make little headway, as we read the opening passages of the Gospels everything is moving along quickly. The details surrounding the birth of Christ are interesting and contextualizing.  They provide a witness and record of the events to show that what we're dealing with in the Christian faith, took place in real time and space (history).  In Mark 1 these preliminary events are overlooked and goes right to the meat of the matter, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." 

For a time liberal scholars castigated the Scriptures as being unreliable and inaccurate.  One of their straw men was that there was no extant evidence of Quirinius or the census mentioned in verse 2.  We should not be surprised that sometime later archaeological evidence validated them both.

Today's verses provide just a little bit more of the circumstances and setting for the birth of Christ Jesus.  A couple of things are clear.  1. Another witness to Joseph's obedience to the Angel's directions to take Mary as his wife.  2. Their trip to Bethlehem was approximately 6 months from the angel's visit.  Mary has visited Elizabeth for three months... returned home and was found to be with child.  3. The time for her to give birth was approaching.

All this is part of the Gospel.  Well does the QA 22 of the Heidelberg Catechism say that true faith consists, not only with the conviction that all that God has revealed to us in his Word is true, but it does begin with this.  Do you really believe what Scriptures says?  It is the great discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Confidence in God's written Word isn't enough to save you, but it is the foundation on which true faith stands.

True faith also includes a hearty trust that not only to others, but to ourselves individually, God has freely granted the forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits.  

Verse for Today - Luke 26-28 (click to read)

Luke 1:26-28

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

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Read all of Luke 1

This begins Luke's account of the conversation between the virgin Mary and the Angel Gabriel.  The account is set in history by the sixth month, which might be the 6th month in the calendar or as we learn in verse 36, the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. 

We're told relatively few things.  The angel's name, Gabriel, the woman's name, Mary.  That she was betrothed (promised to be married) to Joseph, who was of the house or lineage of King David.  

What follows is his words of greeting.  She is urged to rejoice as one highly favored, blessed among women.  If we would stop there, some confusion would remain.  In fact, Mary's response is just that.  She is puzzled or as the text says troubled at his words.

He then explains that she will give birth to the promised Messiah:

"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

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Verse for Today Blog - Galatians 4:4-5 (click to read)

Galatians 4:4-5

"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship."

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Read all of Galatians 4

This is a great verse to remember during the Christmas holidays.  It reminds that God knew exactly what He was doing.  As He is God Almighty... He not only created all things, but also governs all things to fulfill the purposes.  He was directing the events of history and even those of the geo-political landscape in anticipation of of the coming Christ.  

Things were ready prophetically.  As per Daniel's prophecy, nations had risen and fallen and now was the time for the Kingdom God to become established on earth.   Things were read practically.  Among of the benefits of the Greek-Roman World was universal language (Greek).  Another was ease of transportation (roads/ships).  

This is all part of what was meant by the phrase "When the time had fully come."  When everything was set, God sent forth His Son...born of a woman, born under law for the express purpose of fulfilling our redemption.... "to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption to sonship."

In short, this is the gospel.  Hallelujah, What a Savior!

John 3:16,17 makes the same point:

¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

Verse for Today Blog Deuteronomy 18:15 (click to read)

Deuteronomy 18:15

 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.”

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 Read all of Deuteronomy 18

 This is one of the major prophecies from Moses regarding the coming Messiah.  This expectation becomes evident during the course of Jesus earthy ministry.   We hear hints of this after the Sermon on the Mount when the people say that Jesus taught with authority and them not as the scribes.

  When John the Baptist began his ministry along the Jordan he was asked several occasions if he was the Prophet.   He proclaims that he is not the Prophet, but that the He is soon to come.  When he sees Christ before his baptism, he proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

There are several places that Deuteronomy is quoted with reference to Christ.  The most clearly in Acts 3.  However, one of the most striking is found in John 6 after Jesus fed the 5000 we read the conclusion of the multitude.

  ¹³ ”Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.””  There is a similar reference in John 7:31:

 “And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?””

 In conclusion note the implication of what should be done when the Prophet appears.  We must listen to him.  These words are echoed in the transfiguration… when God the Father thunders from heaven, “THIS IS MY WELL BELOVED SON, LISTEN TO HIM!“

 Do you hear what I hear?  Are you listening?