Verse for Today - Hebrews 9:27-28 "EAGERLY WAITING FOR HIM?"

"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."

Biblegateway.com Hebrews 9:27-28

Biblegateway.com Hebrews chapter 9

This is an important verse.  For a long time I have understood it as primarily focusing on the fact that men live and die once... And that after this living-and-dying-once it is too late to change one's spiritual state or future.

As I reflect on this passage today... it does teach what I always thought, but there's two additional points to be made by what follows.

1. Christ's atoning death is a once and done event.  It was and is a wholly sufficient payment for all the sins of His people (those who hope in and receive God's grace).

2. His people are then described as "those who eagerly wait for Him."

I guess this is the part that intrigued me... Do we eagerly wait for Him? What does, or what should, that look like?  As Chapter 9 concludes and Chapter 10begins, it is clear that we should trust in Christ's perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.  

Verses 19-25 are worth a careful reading.  Look for the words: "faith," "hope," and "love."

Then notice his final exhortation.  "...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some..."  Wonder why?  Short answer: God says so and we can trust He knows what we need.

Verse for Today - Psalm 18:1 How We Ought to Think of God

"I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

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Read all of Psalm 18

Psalm 18 begins with this preface... which is part of the inspired text: 

"To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:...."

In other words the Psalm is a memorial to his escape from his enemies.  Notice he doesn't give himself the credit... his cunning, speed, agility or strength.   Even though he may have had those, he gives credit to God.

He begins with words of affection... even love. "I love you, LORD, my strength."   His words are (as are ours) a reflection of his heart.  He recognizes that God's grace has brought him safe thus far and rightly says so.

This leads into a string of affirmations that further describes David's understand of God.  This is valuable for us to think about, because God doesn't change.  As He was David's God, He has become our God.  Just think... He is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer.  Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we find protection and a sure place of safety.  Nothing in all creation can loosen His grip upon those who come to Him with sincere faith.  In Christ, the promise has become reality.  

Remember Romans 8:38,39   "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Amen.

Verse for Today - Psalm 19:14 (click for mini-blog)

Psalm 19:14

"May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."

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Read all of Psalm 19

Psalm 19 is an important Psalm.  It is the classic reference for the two ways in which God has revealed himself.  He has done so by "General Revelation (vss 1-4) and Special Revelation (vss. 7-11)... that is to say through the creation all around us AND through the self-revelation of His Word. 

In other words, for those with eyes to see, the EVIDENCE is everywhere... around us and within.  Examples abound... from birds being able to migrate to places they've never been and construct nests they've never seen, to the way our minds can remember the past, and really even the existence of life at the molecular and chromosomal level.  

Special revelation is something else.  It is the visitations and written record of these visits and revelations.  On a practical basis, God's special revelation is mostly the Bible.  2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture was given by inspiration of God is profitable..."  It records the truth and teaches us about God, His grace and the work of salvation He accomplished in Christ.  

In our Verse for Today, the Psalmist recognizes the importance of the words he is speaking and thoughts he is thinking... that their ultimate standard is God Himself.  

We will all be measured by the the same Standard, and so we should all pray this same prayer.

Verse for Today - Luke 12:6-7 (click to read mini-blog)

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

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Read all of Luke 12

This is one of those verses that no matter how many times you read it, it's almost too amazing to grasp.  

Note, first:  God is omnipotent (all powerful) and omniscient (all knowing).  This is pretty amazing too.  How can God know everything about everything?  Not sure, but these are some of the words Jesus spoke, so they must be true.  (How could Jesus have been a good teacher or a great man and not be telling the truth?)  This is part of why we as humans have a hard time comprehending the greatness of God.  It is completely beyond us, or as Job 36 says: "How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out."  

OK, so how much does God know?  Two particulars are noted:  1. He knows all the insignificant sparrows (little birds) on the planet.  2. He knows the number of hairs on your head.  In other words, God has exhaustive knowledge.

What's the point?  Well, it's a logical relationship of the lesser to the greater.  If God knows those little details, don't you suppose he also knows and understands everything bigger?  The doubts, struggles, fears and questions that you have?  Of course he does.  AND (here's the kicker) He cares for you.  

Seems to me that if you have struggles, He's the One to whom you should go.   :)

Verse for Today - Isaiah 12:4

Isaiah 12:4

"In that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted."

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Read all of Isaiah 12

This verse from the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah looks forward to the time after the First Coming of Christ (His Incarnation, suffering, death and resurrection) and especially after His Second Coming.  In the previous Chapter (11), the anticipation of the great Son of David, "the Branch of Jesse", is announced.  

His coming will usher in a day when all that is broken will be fixed, all that is sick shall be healed.  We're told in Romans 8 that the whole Creation groans in travail awaiting for the fulfilment of redemption.  Well, after the final coming of Christ, all struggle, hardship and pain will be over.  Listen to the words used to describe this remarkable time (Isaiah 11:6-9):

"The wolf will live with the lamb, 

    the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

    and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear,

    their young will lie down together, 

and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

 and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy 

on all my holy mountain, 

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

Already now, we have the privilege and responsibility of proclaiming the rightful worship and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of all the Earth!  

Verse for Today - Psalm 19:1,2 (click to read mini-blog)

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.

^{Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge."}

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Read all of Psalm 19

The first few verses of Psalm 19 affirm what is called "general revelation," that God has revealed Himself in the very fabric of life and the world in which we live.  Throughout the ages people have recognized their smallness and God's greatness, glory and power, when they look at the world around them (and via microscopes within them).

Yes, there are some who come to other conclusions, but "we have an app for that" (an explanation).  God made mankind and the world very good.  But our first parents, Adam and Eve under the instigation of the Devil, ate of the tree of which God said they should not (the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil).  As a result they brought spiritual blindness and death upon themselves and their posterity.

So, from the viewpoint of the Bible, it is the fool who concludes that there is not God and those with clouded judgement who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.  This is because they fail to fulfill their high and holy calling of living in fellowship with the God who made them.  

 

That this is so is affirmed in Romans 1:21 "because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

 

I guess the question for us all is, "Are we thankful to God and glorifying Him as God?"  

If not... why not?

Verse for Today - Ephesians 3:17b-19 (click to read mini-blog)

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

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Read all of Ephesians 3

-- 

This out-of-place benediction is found in the middle of Ephesians 3.  The Apostle Paul has been expounding the outworking of the God's redemptive plan.  From the beginning He was planning to extend his transforming grace to people of every race, language and location around the world.  For a time, the Nation of Israel (the offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) were THE covenant people of God... but now through the Gospel of Christ, the People of God has been expanded to include believers from every race and place.  Those of Hebrew descent are now just a part (albeit the root) of God's cosmopolitan global congregation, His Church.

This is the MYSTERY we read about at several points in the Book of Ephesians (1:9, 3:3, 3:4, and 3:9)... The Creator of all, is the Lord of all, and the God of all... and by His Sovereign grace calls them (and brings them) to Himself through His Son, the Savior Jesus Christ. 

I don't know a better way to conclude that with the verses just preceding Today's Verse:  

^"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;"  Ephesians 3:14-17

 This is my prayer for you too.

Verse for Today - Romans 11:33-36 (Click for mini-blog)

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
 “Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."

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Read all of Romans 11

I have probably said this before, but I would have to rate Romans 11:33-36 as some of my favorite verses.  These verses find themselves at the conclusion of some of the hardest chapters of the Bible... those that deal explicitly with God's sovereignty in election and reprobation.   These are things hard to understand... impossible to comprehend... and yet the very things that are revealed.  How can God be Sovereign and men be responsible?  It's a mystery, yet revealed truth.  The same God that sovereignly knew and loved his own from eternity past, is the same one who commands all men everywhere to repent...that  the Gospel should be preached to the ends of the earth.

These verses, perhaps as clear an any others, affirm that God is God and has the right and wisdom to do all that pleases.  He is not subject to our perceptions or understanding.  As human beings we are inherently limited in our scope and knowledge.  The psalmist and prophets affirm that we are like the grass or flowers of the field... we spring up, we grow, we bloom... and then we fade.  Not so with God.  "His ways are past finding out."  

After one thinks about these things, it's a good time to pray.  Amen?

Verse for Today - Philippians 4:6-7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

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Read all of Philippians 4

The Problem:

Sometimes we let life get us down.  We worry about our finances, our friendships, our jobs, our activities, our time... our futures.  How will everything ever work out?  

If this is something you do, then Today's Verse is just what you need hear. 

First off the verse tells us not to worry or be to be anxious.  Easier said than done, right?  Well, most any time when the Bible tells us not to do something, it's because we naturally tend to.  This might be our initial response, but we shouldn't stay there.

The Solution:

We should voice our concerns to God.  As the Apostle says, "in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  We're never stronger than when we're relying upon the grace to God to help.  It might seem artificial or forced at first, but God will hear the prayers of those who call upon Him.  He is near to the brokenhearted.  While these verses are written to believers, there is an implicit promise those who are still coming to him.  We pray... God listens.

Then the peace and presence of God will help you through... it "will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."   

Pretty encouraging, don't you think?

Verse for Today - Romans 8:1,2 (click to read mini-Blog)

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 

because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you 

free from the law of sin and death."

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Read all of Romans 8

Not only were the Scriptures first written in Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT), they also use words and concepts that sometimes escape our understanding.  For instance, Today's Verse says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  While many would objectively hope and grant that this statement is TRUE, to be fully appreciated it needs to be heard with the awareness of one's sin and guilt before God.  

In verse 2 we read about "the law of sin and death." What is that law?  It is the humanly unbreakable connection between sinning/being a sinner and being punished for that sin.  Whether you think of this in terms of the Fall, "on the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" or Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death...." the law or rule convicts sinners of both their guilt (fact of sin) and their misery (its consequence).

The Good News (literally the Gospel) is that  this  "law" or unbreakable connection between sin-and-punishment has been overcome by Christ Jesus Himself.  

This should make guilty (but forgiven) sinners like us pretty happy.

Verse for Today - Romans 10:9-10 (click to read mini-blog)

"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

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Read all of Romans 10

These verses from Romans 10 are HUGE.  They proclaim several of the key elements to true or saving faith.  We don't find here a magic formula, which if we say or do it just right can change our relationship to God.  No, we read here about what saving faith looks and sounds like.

It really just confirms the words that Jesus himself had taught.  "From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."  In Mark 7 where this verse is found, he is telling his listeners how uncleanness (or evil-ness) does not come from the outside and defile us... it actually arises from within us.   

Well, Today's Verse shows that this works both ways.  If the heart is renewed--born again, and now believes that God raised up the Lord Jesus, "the mouth" will proclaim its allegiance by saying "Jesus is Lord."   It is in this way that you believe and are justified and profess with your mouth and are saved.  PTL.  :)

Have a great weekend.

Verse for Today - I Corinthians 1:18 (Click to read mini-Blog)

1 Corinthians 1:18

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

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Read all of 1 Corinthians 1

This is one of those verses that uses "code" words to teach us the truth.  For instance the phrase, "the message of the cross," is a reference to the unfolded plan and purpose of God to save his people through the self-sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, as payment for their sin.  "The message of the cross," then, is short hand for the full explanation of the person, work and ministry of the Lord Jesus.  

The message of the Gospel is not appreciated by all who hear it.  In the verse before us, it is regarded as "foolishness to those who are perishing."  A few verses later (vs. 23), he distinguishes this a bit more... he says it is "a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles."  In both cases it is deemed unacceptable to those who hear.

But this is not the last word; nor is it the most important.  The same Gospel message, which was offensive and/or foolish to some, becomes the "power of God" unto salvation for those who believe.

What is the message of the cross to you?  Maybe you need to hear it again for real.

Verse for Today - Luke 9:23-24 (click to read mini-Blog)

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.""

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Read all of Luke 9

I once read a sermon by Charles Wesley on this verse.  Something he said struck me.  He posed the question why so few sermons are preached on this verse or those like it?   I guess my first thought is because this is is not a very popular concept.  It involves work and self-discipline.

In a culture where you can believe what you like and do whatever you feel like, these verses are pretty contrary.  And yet, they may be exactly what has to be heard.

Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me are such clear and uncompromising commands.  Maybe we don't really have to keep these exhortations. 

[collective sigh of relief]  

 After all, did you notice how the first part of the verse begins?  It says "Whoever wants to be my disciple...."   So here's the deal, you don't have to deny yourself... you don't have to take up your cross daily... and you don't have to follow Christ... UNLESS... (and here's the tricky part) unless you want to be His disciple. 

Something to think about.  How are you going to follow Christ?

Verse for Today - Isaiah 53:5-6

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Read at Bible Gateway

Read all of Isaiah 53

As we read these verses from Isaiah 53, it's amazing to think they were written 7-800 years before Jesus of Nazareth was born, lived and died.  This remarkable truth has to be responded to... somehow?  Either it adds conviction and thus comfort, by testifying to the historic prophecies fulfilled by Christ; OR it has to be rejected all together... relegated as either a forgery or maybe a pure coincidence.  

Interestingly, this passage from Isaiah is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.... which pre-date the life of Christ.  That sort of rules out the possibility of it being forgery.  That leaves the possibility of all this being "a pure coincidence." 

It is clear that Jesus viewed himself as the Messiah sent to suffer and die for the sins of His people, "the Son of Man came to seek and so save that which was lost."    He was viewed by many of his contemporaries and especially His followers as the Christ, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

You dear reader should think about this (John 20:30,31):  

^"And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."

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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Read all of Isaiah 53

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 - I Timothy 2:5,6 (Click to read mini-blog)

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time."

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Read all of 1 Timothy 2

This verse says a lot.  There is One God. Ever important to remember... the doctrine of the Trinity is not something we can gloss over or relegate to the past.  It is rooted... grounded in the pages of Scripture.  There is one God... and one Mediator between God and man... the man Jesus Christ.   This Man... is the second person of the God-head.  He is revealed as both true God and true and righteous man.  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).  

What do we do?  We hold to the Truth as it's revealed in Scripture...  we compare Scripture with Scripture... and believe what it says.  Sometimes we hold parallel truths that might seem contradictory or are at least beyond our ability to grasp.  That's OK.  Our minds or intellects are not the standard by which God or His Word are judged.  Sometimes (actually always) we just need bow our heads and bend our knees in worship.  

Then--and only then--have we really listened a right.  

Verse for Today - Psalm 23:1-3

" The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. "

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Read all of Psalm 23

There's something to be said for beautiful simplicity.  Psalm 23 is probably one of the most widely known and memorized Psalms.  What do we learn from these three verses?

1. God Almighty is like a shepherd to us. What do shepherds do?  They lead the sheep where they go.  They keep them safe from natural dangers and wily predators.

2. The Psalmist is speaking of his relationship to and dependence upon the Lord.  On the basis of this relationship he affirms that all that he needs has been supplied.  The first verse is really a look back over life.  The Lord has taken care of me in the past, and on this he trusts in what the Lord will provide in the future.

3.  The references to green pastures and quiet waters indicate the supply of needs.  They refresh his soul.

4. The Psalmist trusts the Shepherd completely.  He trusts that the Shepherd knows what he's doing... and more... He recognizes that the Shepherd has a vested interest in the sheep.  He provides, cares for and protects the sheep... "For His name's sake."  God has identified himself with His people. 

If then in OT times, how much more now that Christ has come and His Spirit given to indwell his people.  Amen? 

Verse for Today - Acts 4:10,12 (click to read min0-blog)

Acts 4:10,12

"then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.... Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

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Read all of Acts 4

These verses are part of the foundation on which the Christian Church is built.  The first verse is part of the Apostle Peter's explanation of the healing of the lame man.  The issue wasn't if a miracle had been done.  It had.  The question was "How did it happen?" or "By whose power?"  Peter makes clear it was NOT by his power or will, but that of the risen Christ, the Lord Jesus of Nazareth.  

The second verse affirms the exclusiveness of Christ.  Jesus was and is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He is the the only way to God the Father.

Established then.  1. Jesus was alive and He was powerful. 2. Jesus is the one from whom forgiveness of sins and salvation should be sought.

I Timothy 2:5 makes a similar point: 

 "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Jesus Christ."