Today’s reading is Romans 3:1-4:25.

Today’s reading is a great comfort to me. Especially Romans 4:20-21:

“No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”

In this context, Abraham was trusting that God would bring about his promise through Isaac, even if he sacrificed Isaac on the altar. Because of that, Abraham surrendered his life to God even to the point of being willing to sacrifice his own son if God asked. What great faith.

I need to grow in this faith as well. Later in this book, we’ll read God’s promise to us: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first born among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30).

Here is God’s promise to me. If I love Him, He will conform me to the image of His Son. I struggle daily with all kinds of problems, temptations, and sins. Sometimes it causes me to want to throw my hands in the air and say, “Forget it. Why even keep trying? I’ll never make it.” But God has promised me that I will. God is working within me to accomplish growth and conformation. I may have botched things today, but God is working on me and will get me there if I simply keep loving Him. God isn’t crossing His fingers behind His back. He’s making a promise and He will keep it.

So the question is am I convinced God will do what He has promised? Am I so convinced that I’ll completely surrender my life to Him in faith, just doing what He asks me to do? That is what I need to work on today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 23:1-24:27.

Things were bad for Paul. He had been arrested, unfairly accused, nearly beaten, life threatened. Claudius Lysias knew he was innocent and hadn’t done anything worthy of imprisonment, let alone death (Acts 23:29). I can hardly imagine what it must have been like to endure this part of Paul’s life. I can imagine how I would have felt. I might have despaired. I might have wondered how God could let this happen when I had been serving Him so faithfully. It would have been hard to see any good in what was going on.

However, because of this, Paul had opportunity to speak to the Council, soldiers, prisoners, governors, kings, and then on to Rome and preaching to those even in the emperor’s household.

This is a great reminder to me. As I look at the moment in which I live, I can sometimes see some really bad things. Life seems awful. I can go from negativity, to depression, to despair. However, if I could see my life like I see Paul’s, written out from beginning to end, I might see a different picture. I might see how today’s discouraging occurrence builds together with yesterday’s and tomorrow’s to accomplish great things in God’s service. I would likely be completely surprised at what God is doing through my life if I could see the whole picture. But I can’t see that. So I have to take it on faith. I have trust God.

Today is not in a vacuum. Whether good or bad happens today, I can trust God to weave it in to the tapestry of my life and His glory. Instead of despairing, I need simply to trust God and let Him do His job. I need to do the next right thing. God can already see how he is going to use today. I need to trust Him and some day, I’ll be able to look back and see the good that comes out of whatever happens today.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

Today’s reading is Luke 23:1-24:53.

I can hardly fathom, hanging on a cross in immense torment and agony, dying, but then crying out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). What absolute trust. What absolute surrender.

Jesus was quoting Psalm 31:5. Just listen to the beginning of that Psalm: “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”

We know how the story ends so this statement may not seem as powerful as it really was. Having seen the end, we know Jesus was wise to commit His spirit into the Father’s hands. He was going to be resurrected on the third day. He was going to be delivered. But thing of this from the stand point of hanging on the cross. Think of this from the standpoint of being in the midst of the separation of the Father. How hard it must have been to look at the big picture of where all this would lead when distracted by the intense agony both physically and spiritually. Yet, Jesus trusted the Father.

I need to learn this kind of trust. Letting God be my refuge doesn’t mean I’ll never suffer. It means I know God will use it for good and I trust His knowledge of the big picture of my life, the lives around me, and eternity.

This helps me knowing that God if God is letting me go through some suffering, He has His reasons that will be for my good in the long run. When I actually have this concept firmly in my mind and heart, it produces a peace that passes understanding. I don’t have to live in fear that something awful might happen. If it does, I can know that God is working. He is my refuge. He is my stronghold. He is my deliverer. Instead of taking my spirit into my own hands, I can commit it into the hands of my loving, faithful Creator who really does have my best intentions at heart.

I’m going to make this prayer of Jesus a regular prayer for me, especially if I’m in the midst of something that I don’t like.

Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Luke 1:1-2:52.

I can hardly imagine being Zechariah or Mary when Gabriel appeared. I wonder what he looked like. I wonder what it felt like with an angel in the room. I’m simply in awe of what that must have been like.

What feelings did it engender? Looks like fear was the common response. But the angel calmed them, “Do not be afraid,” he said. Then he explained interesting events. Elizabeth, barren for many years, would finally have a son (hear Abraham and Sarah’s story in this). Mary, a virgin, betrothed but as yet unmarried, would also have a child.

The part that really struck me today was Mary’s response: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Did she know what she was agreeing to? Did she know the scorn and ridicule she would suffer as an unwed mother? Did she know that people would hold that against her son as he grew up (cf. John 8:41)? Did she know the pain she would experience when her son died a young man, an innocent man dying a criminal’s death?

I have no idea what she knew or thought at the time. She didn’t know either. However, as her father Abraham followed God wherever He led even if he didn’t know where it was going to be, she was willing to pursue whatever God had in store for her.

I need to have this attitude as I read God’s word. “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” I need to have the faith and trust that God’s way works. Whatever He has in store for me will be all right in the end, even if it leads through hard and difficult times.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What caught your heart in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Revelation 17:1-18:24.

Two things struck me in today’s reading. First, there is the whore of Babylon. In Revelation 17:3, John was carried away in the Spirit and “I saw a woman…” I can’t help but remember the last woman he saw in Revelation 12:1, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun…” The first woman was attacked by a dragon. The second woman sat on a beast. The first woman was pregnant and giving birth. The second woman was sexually immoral. I can’t help but notice how Satan’s side tries to copy and mirror God’s work.

Then again, I noticed the beast described as “it was and is not and is to come” (Revelation 17:8). Who does that remind you of? Alive, dead, and alive again? What a mockery. Of course, the difference is Jesus arose never to die again. The beast arose to go into destruction. Again, I can’t help but notice how Satan strives to copy and mirror God’s work.

Therein lies the warning. Satan doesn’t offer something completely different from God. In fact, it will often look very much like what God offers. The devil, as they say, is in the details. Those few differences that Satan offers lead to destruction. Satan will offer mediocre copies of God’s great blessings, but Satan’s copies will not provide God’s blessings. Satan’s copies lead to destruction. Just ask the whore of Babylon and the beast on which she rode. Neither of them got the great life they had been expecting.

Take care. Follow God’s truth, not Satan’s lies.

***Question: What do you do to stay in God’s truth and not be diverted by Satan’s lies?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Acts 7:1-8:40.

At the end of Acts 7, Stephen was stoned. Then in the beginning of Acts 8, the first purposeful, full-scale persecution against Christians began. This was easy to conduct because they were all in and around Jerusalem. But this persecution spread them out. According to Acts 8:1, the Christians were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 

I can’t imagine what that must have been like. Up until Stephen’s stoning, Acts 2:47 was the general rule. They were praising God and having favor with the people. Then Stephen started debating with those Freedmen and they had enough of this upstart sect. They would stamp it out, starting with Stephen. How many others died in this persecution? How many lost their homes? I simply can’t imagine being driven from my home because of my faith. I simply can’t imagine watching my family die because of our faith or being executed myself because of it. I can imagine that if I had been in their shoes I would have been wondering, “God, how on earth can you let this happen? Why aren’t you stopping this?” I wonder how many Christians left the faith during this very trying and turbulent time?

However, not very specifically that the text says the people were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. This hearkens back to Jesus’ direction to the apostles in Acts 1:8. He wanted them to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and then the remotest parts of the earth. So far, they had only worked in and around Jerusalem. 

Why did God let this awful tragedy occur? Because it helped accomplish His plan. It helped spread His saving message into Judea and Samaria. We immediately see Samaritans turning to Christ, even the Sorcerer himself. Then we see the Eunuch traveling home from Jerusalem, probably after one of the feast days. Philip, who had gone into Samaria, teaches the gospel to him and the taking of the gospel on into the remotest part of the earth is on its way.

The overarching lesson behind all of this is I need to remember I am on one side of the curtain and God is on the other. I can’t see what God sees. I can’t see how all these things will work together into God’s plan. But God does. When bad things happen to me, I can trust God that He will work things out for my good and His glory. I can trust Him no matter what is happening. When bad things happen, it doesn’t mean God is abandoning me. It simply means He is using things that I can’t understand to accomplish His will. I can rest in peace knowing that God really is working and His plan will come through in the end.

***Question: When were some very difficult times that upon looking back you can see God’s hand providing you something good even through the negative?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Revelation 7:1-8:13.

Regrettably, so many have misunderstood Revelation 7:4-8. They have turned these into some kind of special Christian. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have these as the heaven dwellers while the rest of God’s children live on a recreated earth. Some believe these are the Jews who turn to Christ during the supposed tribulation. 

This is so sad because it causes the very beautiful point behind this picture to be completely lost. Revelation 7:3 said, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads.”

The point is God is coming in judgment on the world and all who are in it. However, God’s children do not have to fear that judgment. He knows those who are His. He won’t accidentally judge and condemn any who have entered Christ. 

This seal is in contrast to those who turn to the beast and the false prophet, sealed with the number of the beast in Revelation 13:16-18. God also knows those who aren’t His.

If you are in Christ, take comfort, when God comes in judgment, He’ll do what is right. We can trust Him to know us and protect us for all eternity.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Mark 7:1-8:38.

Does Mark 8:33 shock you as it does me? Jesus says to one of His most trusted disciples, “Get behind me, Satan!” WOW! I can’t imagine being Peter at that moment. Here Peter was just trying to help; trying, in fact, to display faith. What does he get for it? An amazing accusation. He get’s called Satan.

However, what I notice is he wasn’t called the adversary because he was totally wicked. He wasn’t called the adversary because he was actively pursuing evil. He was called the adversary because he had his mind set on the things of men, not the things of God. He was thinking like a man and not thinking like God.

That is an easy problem to have. After all, we are men (human in this context). We will naturally think like men. But when we think like men, we are actually playing into the hands of the adversary. That is why we need to have renewed minds. That is why we need to live by faith. Instead of trying to figure out Jesus’ potential tricks, Peter needed to simply accept what Jesus said. The problem, what Jesus said simply didn’t fit in with Peter’s preconceived notions about the coming Messiah and Christ. Therefore, he saw a trick.

What does this mean? It means when something in the word doesn’t fit with our preconceived notions of how God ought to work, we shouldn’t question God’s word. Rather, we should change our notions. When we change God’s word to fit our notions, we are thinking like men. In those moments, whether we are utterly wicked or merely misguided, we are playing into the hands of the adversary and Jesus says to us, “Get behind me, Satan!”

Once again, we get to that all-encompassing point that we must increase our faith. We must surrender ourselves to God and His way of thought instead of trying to mold Him to ours. That is why what we are doing here is so important. Faith comes by hearing.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Luke 7:1-8:56.

I can’t imagine being Jairus. My oldest daughter will be 12 in six months. I can hardly imagine her lying on her death bed. If I were approaching Jesus, I would be frantic. “Please, Rabbi, come quickly! Come now! I’m begging you!” I would be yelling at the crowds. “Get out of the way! Can’t you see who I am! I’m the ruler of the synagogue! My daughter’s dying! Move! You’re holding us up! Jesus will get back to you later!”

The text is surprisingly silent about how Jairus responded when Jesus stopped and asked the seemingly insane question, “Who touched me?” I don’t know how Jairus would have reacted. I know how I would have reacted. “Rabbi, please. Does it matter? We’ll never know. You’re wasting time. My daughter…!” I would probably be tugging on His sleeve, trying to get Him to hurry.

But Jesus just stands there until this woman admitted what she had done. I can’t believe Jesus stopped to deal with this unclean women when my daughter lies at home dying. If we don’t hurry she may be dead before we get there. “Hurry!”

Then the unthinkable. A servant comes. I can see it on his face. It’s over. She’s gone. One of my greatest sources of joy has been snuffed out, just as she was beginning to blossom. She was about to enter womanhood and now she’s gone. The servant speaks anyway. I’m already crying. “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 

Would I collapse right there on the spot? I have a feeling this rule of the synagogue wouldn’t want to display such weakness. I might take the same approach. Snuff back the tears. There will be time for that in private. But the resentment for this woman who had the audacity to touch the teacher while my daughter was dying would already have been born. I wonder if I can get her kicked out of the synagogue.

However, the Teacher has said something amazing. “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” Is that possible? It is too late. He must not understand. The servant didn’t say she was mostly dead. He said she was all the way dead. All that’s left is to go through her pockets for loose change. But the Teacher starts walking to my house again.

As we approach, the mourners are in full swing. There is no doubt. She’s dead. Everyone knows it. Jesus is too late. After all, He might be a wonder at healing, but nobody raises people from the dead. The mourners we’ve hired laugh when Jesus says she’s only sleeping. I have mixed emotions. I can hardly believe any good can come from this. On the other hand, I want to believe. But it is just too late.

Jesus kicks everyone out but three of his followers and my wife and me. I can see her. She’s dead. There is no flutter of the eyelids. The chest does not raise even a little with breath. Her hands and face are already cold to touch. Nothing. Dead. Jesus is too late.

He steps close to me and pulls my little girls hand out of mine. He says, “Child arise.” I’m trying to believe, but can hardly do it. I just didn’t get Jesus here on time. We might have made it if it hadn’t been for the crowds or that blasted woman. 

But then…did she do what I thought? Did I just see a catch of breath? Her eyes are fluttering open. How can this be? She’s alive? She was not asleep. I know that. She was dead. But this Rabbi has just brought my daughter back to me. “Yes, yes, giver her something to eat. Anything He says. Anything she wants.” She can hardly eat because my wife and I are smothering her with hugs.

I learned something about Jesus today. He may not be on my time schedule, but He is never late. Next time, I’ll wait on Him patiently.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

As I’ve pointed out throughout all of this blogging on Revelation, the tough part is each chapter, each image has the same message: Sometimes it looks like God is losing, but in the end God wins. Revelation 17-18 is no exception. “Babylon” makes war on God and His people. But in the end, the harlot is judged. Her own kings turn on her and she is left desolate and naked. The angels rejoice over her demise. Her kings wail and moan in torment. She is defeated and Jesus Christ is victorious.

However, in this picture, one phrase caught my attention. 

“And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.”–Revelation 17:16-17

Until the words of God are fulfilled.

While these two verses are talking about the judgment of the harlot, this judgment is still coming about through the beast and his kings. Even as the beast and his kings work against God, they are only accomplishing what God wants. That is how powerful our God is.

But what really gets me is that while the beast and his kings are working, God is still in control. The point of Revelation is not that the enemy has some power and God can’t seem to get it under control but don’t worry He is more powerful so He’ll eventually get it together and overcome. No. The point is that God is always in control. The only reason the beast and his kings accomplish anything is because God allows it. 

I certainly don’t have the wisdom or infinite insight to know exactly why God allows that to happen. I’m sure it is for our testing and our perfecting. I have no doubt it is to prepare us for whatever He has planned for us in eternity. But the comfort for me is not in knowing why God does this, it is simply in knowing that God is still in control. When the beast and his kings are making headway, it is not because of their power. It is because of God’s. Therefore, I can be assured that before the story is over, God will win.

I need to be on His side no matter what.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC