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Post by Admin on Aug 29, 2024 10:52:45 GMT -5
Graduates and Friends of Hope Christian Center · David A. Mapes · · David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Thurs-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. Psalm 37:23-24 ********************************************************************** The dirty lane! (Thomas Brooks, "Words of Counsel to a Dear Dying Friend") "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21 Look upon your dying day as a gainful day. There is no gain compared to that which comes in by death. A Christian gets more by death, than he does by life. To be in Christ is very good, but to be with Christ is best of all, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" Philippians 1:23. It was a mighty blessing for Christ to be with Paul on earth, but it was the top of blessings for Paul to be with Christ in Heaven! Seriously consider these things: By death you shall gain incomparable crowns! a crown of life, Revelation 2:10, James 1:12; a crown of righteousness, 2 Timothy 4:8; an incorruptible crown, 1 Corinthians 9:24-25; a crown of glory, 1 Peter 5:4; There are no crowns compared to these crowns! By death you shall gain a glorious kingdom! "It is your Father's pleasure to give you a kingdom!" We must put off the rags of mortality, that we may put on our robes of glory! There is no entering into paradise, but under the flaming sword of this angel, death, which stands at the gate. Death is the dirty lane through which the saint passes…to a kingdom, to a great kingdom, to a glorious kingdom, to a peaceful kingdom, to an unshaken kingdom, to a lasting kingdom, yes, to an everlasting kingdom! Death is the dark, short way, through which the saints pass to the marriage-supper of the Lamb! ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God August 29, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Corinthians 3 The two extended metaphors that Paul deploys in 1 Corinthians 3:5–15 make roughly the same point, although each carries a special shading not found in the other. In the agricultural metaphor (1 Cor. 3:5–9), the Lord is the farmer, Paul prepares the ground and plants the seed, Apollos waters the fledgling plants, and the Corinthians are “God’s field” (1 Cor. 5:9). In the context, which is designed to combat the Corinthians’ penchant for division based on attaching themselves to particular “heroes” (1 Cor. 3:3–4), Paul is concerned to show that he and Apollos are not competitors, but “fellow workers” (1 Cor. 5:9)—indeed, “God’s fellow workers” (i.e., they are fellow workers who belong to God, not fellow workers along with God, as if God makes up a threesome). Not only so, but neither Paul nor Apollos can guarantee fruit: God alone makes the seed grow (1 Cor. 3:6–7). So why adopt a reverential stance toward either Paul or Apollos? The architectural metaphor initially makes the same point: the various builders all contribute to one building, and therefore none should be idolized. Now the Corinthians are not the field, but the building itself (1 Cor. 3:9–10). Paul laid the foundation of this building; otherwise put, he planted the church in Corinth. The foundation that Paul laid is Jesus Christ himself (1 Cor. 3:11). Since his departure from this building project, others have come and built on this foundation. Thus, so far the architectural metaphor implicitly makes the same point that the agricultural metaphor made explicitly. But now the architectural metaphor turns in a slightly different direction. Paul insists that later builders are responsible to choose with care the material they put into this building (1 Cor. 3:12–15). A “Day” is coming (1 Cor. 3:13), the day of judgment, when all that is not precious in God’s sight will be consumed. It is possible that a builder could use such shoddy materials that in the end, all that he has built is devoured, even if he himself escapes the flames. Two observations: (1) The person Paul describes as being “saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Cor. 3:15), is not some purely nominal Christian whose conduct is indifferentiable from that of any pagan. Such do not enter the kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9–10). This is a “builder,” not the mass of Christians who constitute the “building” (1 Cor. 3:10). The question is whether these evangelists and pastors are using proper materials. (2) In 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, the building, the church of God, becomes a temple. Later on, God’s temple is the individual Christian’s body (1 Cor. 6:19–20), but here it is the local church. God loves this building so much that he openly threatens to destroy those who destroy God’s temple. Damage the church, and you desecrate God’s temple—and God will destroy you. ********************************************************************** August 29 Six Things It Means to Be in Christ Jesus Devotional by John Piper [God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. (2 Timothy 1:9) Being “in Christ Jesus” is a stupendous reality. It is breathtaking to be united to Christ. Bound to Christ. If you are “in Christ” listen to what it means for you: 1. In Christ Jesus you were given grace before the world was created. Second Timothy 1:9, “He gave us grace in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” 2. In Christ Jesus you were chosen by God before creation. Ephesians 1:4, “[God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world.” 3. In Christ Jesus you are loved by God with an inseparable love. Romans 8:38–39, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 4. In Christ Jesus you were redeemed and forgiven for all your sins. Ephesians 1:7, “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.” 5. In Christ Jesus you are justified before God and the righteousness of God in Christ is imputed to you. Second Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 6. In Christ Jesus you have become a new creation and a son of God. Second Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Galatians 3:26, “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” I pray that you will never grow weary of exploring and exulting in the inexhaustible privilege of being “in Christ Jesus.” **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Aug 30, 2024 11:33:14 GMT -5
David A. Mapes ********************************************************************** Fri-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. Psalm 37:25-26 ********************************************************************** The great mass of nominal Christians are nothing but unconverted worldlings! (Charles Simeon) It is to be feared that the great mass of nominal Christians are nothing but unconverted worldlings! "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world!" 1 John 2:15-16 The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life; that is, pleasure, and riches, and honor. These are the great objects of worldly ambition to which every godless heart is attached to! "If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The Apostle here takes for granted, that this effect will universally and invariably follow: that all who know the adorable Savior will escape the pollutions of the world. There never was, nor ever will be, one exception to this truth. All who savingly know Christ, will no longer supremely love the world, but escape from its enticements and pollutions. Yet it is to be feared that there are many professing Christians who have never been delivered from the pollutions of the world. Their desires, and hopes, and joys, and pursuits--are all worldly. Be assured that you cannot love the world, and God also; for they are diametrically opposed to each other. "You cannot serve God and Mammon." Know that while you love and desire and pursue earthly vanities--then you have not yet truly devoted yourselves to the Lord Jesus. Whatever your situation or circumstances may be, God's view of worldliness is the same: "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God! James 4:4 "Remember Lot's wife!" Scripture paints the world, and all who love it, in darksome colors. O that all the votaries of gaiety, and fashion, and pleasure, would realize what Scripture compares them to: "Swine wallowing in the mire!" and "Dogs returning to their own vomit!" Yes, this is the feast to which your earthly friends invite you! Learn to view the world as God views it! Regard it as a country infected with the plague! Let your great concern be to get through it in safety. "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty!" 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18 "He gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world." Galatians 1:4 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God August 30, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Corinthians 4 Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 has been telling the Corinthians how not to view servants of Christ. They are not to view any particular servant of Christ as a group guru, for that means other servants of Christ are implicitly inferior. When each different group within the church has its own Christian guru, there are therefore two evils: unnecessary division within the church, and a censorious condescension that pronounces judgment on who is worthy to be a guru and who is not. Paul insists that all that God has for the church in a Paul or an Apollos or a Cephas rightly belongs to the whole church (1 Cor. 3:21–22). At the beginning of 1 Corinthians 4, Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians how they are to view servants of Christ: “as those entrusted with the secret things of God” (1 Cor. 4:1). The word rendered “secret things” does not mean “mysterious things” or “things that only the elite of the elect may learn.” The word is often rendered “mysteries” in our older versions. In the New Testament, it most commonly refers to something that God has in some measure kept veiled, hidden, or secret in the past, but which he is now making abundantly clear in Christ Jesus. In short, these “servants of Christ” are entrusted with the Gospel—all that God has made clear in the coming of Jesus Christ. Those given a trust must prove faithful to the one to whom they are accountable (1 Cor. 4:2). For that reason, Paul knows that how the Corinthians view him is of little importance; indeed, how he assesses himself has no great significance either (1 Cor. 4:3). Paul knows that it is important to keep a clear conscience before the Lord. But it is possible to have a clear conscience and still be guilty of many things, because conscience is not a perfect instrument. Conscience may be misinformed or hardened. The only person whose judgment is absolutely right, and of ultimate importance, is the Lord himself (1 Cor. 4:4). It follows that the Corinthians should not appoint themselves judges over all the “servants of Christ” whom Christ sends. When the Lord returns, the final accounting will become clear. At that point, Paul says, “each will receive his praise from God” (1 Cor. 4:5)—a wonderful thought, for it appears that the final Judge will prove more encouraging and positive than many human judges. Some place remains in the church for discernment and judgment: see tomorrow’s meditation! But there are always batteries of critics who go way “beyond what is written” (1 Cor. 4:6) with legalistic tests of their own disgruntled devising, attaching themselves to their gurus and abominating the rest. They often think they are prophetic, whereas in fact their pretensions come close to usurping God’s place. ********************************************************************** August 30 Church Growth God’s Way Devotional by John Piper It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. (Romans 9:8) Picture the Old Testament Abraham as a pastor. The Lord says, “I will bless you and prosper your ministry.” But the church is barren and bears no children. What does Abraham do? He begins to despair of supernatural intervention. He is getting old. His wife remains barren. So he decides to bring about God’s promised son without supernatural intervention. He has sex with Hagar his wife’s handmaid (Genesis 16:4). However, the result is not a “child of the promise,” but a “child of the flesh,” Ishmael. God stuns Abraham by saying, “I will give you a son by her [your wife Sarah]” (Genesis 17:16). So Abraham cries out to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” (Genesis 17:18). He wants the work of his own natural, human effort to be the fulfillment of God’s promise. But God says, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son” (Genesis 17:19). But Sarah is 90 years old. She has been barren all her life, and she has already passed through menopause (Genesis 18:11). Abraham is 100. The only hope for a child of promise is stunning, supernatural intervention. That is what it means to be a “child of the promise” — to be born “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). The only children that count for children of God in this world are supernaturally begotten children of promise. In Galatians 4:28 Paul says, “You [Christians], like Isaac, are children of promise.” You are “born according to the Spirit,” not according to the flesh (Galatians 4:29). Think of Abraham as a pastor again. His church is not growing the way he believes God promised. He is weary of waiting for supernatural intervention. He turns to the “Hagar” of mere human devices, and decides he can “attract people” without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. However, it will not be a church of Isaacs, but Ishmaelites — children of the flesh, not children of God. God save us from this kind of fatal success. By all means work. But always look to the Lord for the decisive, supernatural work. “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31). **********************************************************************
I’ve had the distinct pleasure of dating (and planning to marry) a girl who, with all its blessings and curses, is the daughter of a Reformed Presbyterian pastor and seminary president. As a former paedobaptist and now firm Baptist seeking to enter the ministry myself, there has been both great understanding and great
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Post by Admin on Aug 31, 2024 9:56:33 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Satur-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. Psalm 37:34 ********************************************************************** The most amazing, most affecting, most melting sight that mortals ever witnessed! (David Harsha, "Thoughts on the Love of Christ") Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" In the death of Christ, we behold the most astonishing exhibition of divine love that has ever been manifested to a lost world. Such love as is here displayed, is without a precedent--without a parallel in the annals of time, or in the records of eternity. To behold the Son of God, the Maker of worlds, bowing His head on the cross, and yielding up His immaculate soul amid the agonies of death--is the most amazing, the most affecting, the most melting sight that mortals ever witnessed! O my soul, look and wonder! Behold your Savior bleeding on the cross, bleeding from every pore--that your sins might be washed away in the flowing stream! See Him pouring out His soul unto death for your salvation! Is not this a manifestation of unparalleled love to you? Christ's suffering and dying for us is a great mystery--a mystery of unfathomable love! How vehement was the love of Christ, that led Him to endure death in its most terrible form--even the death of the cross! Such is the love of Christ! All the waters of affliction and suffering, all the billows of divine wrath that rolled over our blessed Redeemer--were not sufficient to quench the ardency of that love which He felt for a dying world of sinners! "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us!" 1 John 3:16 "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins!" 1 John 4:10 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God August 31, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Corinthians 5 In case anyone were to read 1 Corinthians 4 and conclude that no standards whatsoever are to be maintained in the church—after all, maintenance of standards requires judging, doesn’t it?—the next chapter, 1 Corinthians 5, provides a case where Paul berates the church in Corinth for not exercising judgment and discipline. We must reflect a little on this case itself, and then on the way it is linked to the previous chapter. Paul insists that, with respect to the man he describes in 1 Corinthians 5:1, two evils are in view. The first is sexual. A member of the church “has his father’s wife.” The peculiar language suggests he is sleeping with his stepmother. In any case the sin is so gross that it would be shocking even among the pagans. The second is the limp response of the church. Despite this wickedness among them, their penchant for arrogant strutting, which surfaces in many chapters of 1 and 2 Corinthians, never falters. They should have been consumed with grief; they should have excommunicated the man who did this (1 Cor. 5:2). We cannot reflect on all the elements of this judgment, but observe the following: (1) The judgment Paul wants meted out is to be communal. The entire church, “assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:4), in the consciousness of his powerful presence, is to take action. Thus the failure to do so is a church-wide failure. (2) One of the reasons for taking this action is because “a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough” (1 Cor. 5:6); evil in the church that no one deals with soon affects the entire church. (3) This has nothing to do with disciplining the outside world. Paul assumes that the world outside the church will allow sin to fester. What he has in mind is discipline within the church of God (1 Cor. 5:9–10). (4) Paul’s understanding of what conduct should be subject to church discipline is not restricted to the sexual arena, or this particular form of sexual sin. He means to include major moral defection and gives an exemplary list: greed, idolatry, slander, drunkenness, swindling. Elsewhere, he adds to major moral defection two other arenas: major doctrinal deviation, and persistent drive for schism. Now all of this he openly calls “judging” (1 Cor. 5:12–13). Christians are to judge “those inside,” while God judges “those outside.” At the very least, chapters 4 and 5 must be kept in creative tension. More importantly, the Corinthians in chapter 4 were imposing judgments “beyond what is written” (1 Cor. 4:6), i.e., deploying standards and criteria with no basis in God’s revelation, and out of mere party interest. They were not imposing judgments in chapter 5 despite what Scripture, properly understood, says. Both are breaches of God’s revelation. ********************************************************************** August 31 The Lion and the Lamb Devotional by John Piper “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” (Matthew 12:18–21, quoting Isaiah 42) The Father’s very soul exults with joy over the servant-like meekness and compassion of his Son. When a reed is bent and about to break, the Servant will tenderly hold it upright until it heals. When a wick is smoldering and has scarcely any heat left, the Servant will not pinch it off, but cup his hand and blow gently until it burns again. Thus the Father cries, “Behold, my Servant in whom my soul delights!” The worth and beauty of the Son come not just from his majesty, nor just from his meekness, but from the way these mingle in perfect proportion. When the angel cries out in Revelation 5:2, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” the answer comes back, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5). God loves the strength of the Lion of Judah. This is why he is worthy in God’s eyes to open the scrolls of history and unfold the last days. But the picture is not complete. How did the Lion conquer? The next verse describes his appearance: “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). Jesus is worthy of the Father’s delight not only as the Lion of Judah, but also as the slain Lamb. This is the peculiar glory of Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son — the stunning mingling of majesty and meekness. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 1, 2024 8:32:40 GMT -5
David A. Mapes ·
Lord’s Day DAYSTAR-TERS:
I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. Psalm 37:35-36
This is what damns men! (Ezekiel Hopkins, "The Vanity of the World!" 1663) "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26 What senseless folly it is to purchase a vain and fleeting world, with the loss of your precious eternal soul! Oh, think what great losers they must be, who lose their souls to gain this poor fleeting world. They must at last lose the world too, together with their souls! This is what damns men: they prefer the pleasures, honors, profits, and pitiful nothings of the world—before their precious and immortal souls, which are worth more than ten thousand worlds! Think how dreadful and tormenting the reflections of worldlings in Hell will be, to consider that they must lie and burn there to eternity for their inordinate love to that world, of which they have nothing left to them, besides the bitter remembrance. What will it then avail them, that they have lived here in ease and delights while here on earth—when all their mirth shall be turned into groans and howlings? What will the remembrance of all their worldly trinkets and treasures then avail them, but to increase their torment? "For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away their life?" Job 27:8 ********************************************************************** We have published Grace Gems for AUGUST 2024 in one file. ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! Grace Gems (choice ELECTRONIC books, sermons & quotes) Grace Audio Treasures (choice AUDIO sermons) Sovereign Grace Treasures (choice PRINTED books) ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 01, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Samuel 25 Despite its great interest and deft characterizations, one must ask why the story found in 1 Samuel 25 is included. How does it advance the storyline of 1 and 2 Samuel? Once some of the social conventions of the day are understood, the account itself is clear. Apparently at this point David is not actively being pursued by Saul (see 1 Sam. 24), but relations are still so tender that David and his men keep right out of Saul’s way. Much of this culture was bound up with two values that many in the West rarely experience: (1) Every good deed must necessarily be repaid with another. The forms of courtesy extend to reciprocal gift-giving. Failure in this respect calls down shame on the person who defaults, and treats the other person with contempt. (2) The demands of hospitality mean it is unconscionable to turn another away. That would signal rudeness and greed. Mere courtesy demands that one offer one’s best to guests. This is especially true when one is wealthy. So when David’s men arrive at Nabal’s door, they are not asking for protection money. When Nabal sends them on their way, he is not an upright man who refuses to be bullied by a brigand, but an ungrateful wretch who will take and take from everyone, never give anything in return, thumb his nose at the courtesies and conventions of the culture, bring down shame on himself without caring what people think, and treat the man who has contributed to the wealth and well-being of his operation with insufferable contempt. Abigail cuts the best figure in the narrative. With grace and tact, she assuages David’s wrath and preserves the lives of her husband and the men he employs. David is a mixed figure. By the light of day, doubtless he had some warrant for the vengeance he was planning, but it could only presage more bloodshed and a style of leadership that would sully the throne he would one day occupy. All this Abigail sees—and winningly convinces him she is right. So why is the account included? Superficially, of course, there are little hints that David is coming closer to the throne. Samuel, the prophet who anointed him, is dead (1 Sam. 25:1). David now heads an armed band of six hundred. Abigail represents the rising number of Israelites who recognize that sooner or later David will be their king (1 Sam. 25:28, 30). But above all, David is now heading in a different moral direction from Saul. As Saul’s power has increased, so also has his passion for vengeance. David is heading in the same wretched direction, until Abigail checks him, as he himself recognizes (1 Sam. 25:32–34). There are important lessons here for many powerful Christian leaders. ********************************************************************** September 1 He Does All That He Pleases Devotional by John Piper Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. (Psalm 115:3) This verse teaches that whenever God acts, he acts in a way that pleases him. God is never constrained to do a thing that he despises. He is never backed into a corner where his only recourse is to do something he hates to do. He does whatever he pleases. And therefore, in some sense, he has pleasure in all that he does. This should lead us to bow before God and praise his sovereign freedom — that, in some sense, he always acts in freedom, according to his own “good pleasure,” following the dictates of his own delights. God never becomes the victim of circumstance. He is never forced into a situation where he must do something in which he cannot rejoice. He is not mocked. He is not trapped or cornered or coerced. Even at the one point in history where he did what in one sense was the hardest thing for God to do, “not spare his own Son” (Romans 8:32), God was free and doing what pleased him. Paul says that the self-sacrifice of Jesus in death was “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). The greatest sin, and the greatest death, and the hardest act of God was, in some profound way, pleasing to the Father. And on his way to Calvary, Jesus himself had legions of angels at his disposal. “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18) — of his own good pleasure — “for the joy that is set before him,” as it says in Hebrews 12:2. At the one point in the history of the universe where Jesus looked trapped, he was totally in charge doing precisely what he pleased — dying to glorify his Father in justifying the ungodly, like you and me. So, let us stand in awe and wonder. And let us tremble that not only our praises of God’s sovereignty, but also our salvation through the death of Christ for us, hang on this: “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever he pleases.” **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 2, 2024 8:45:29 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Mon-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. Psalm 37:37-38 ********************************************************************** The common complaint of all true Christians (Thomas Reade) "I have sinned against the Lord!" 2 Samuel 12:13 This is the common complaint of all true Christians. They desire an entire conformity to the mind of God. They pant after universal holiness. They labor to get their affections supremely fixed upon Christ and Heaven. They long for the complete victory over indwelling sin, and the perishing vanities of the world. Yet they find, to their inexpressible grief, that when they would do good, evil is present with them; mixing itself with all their holy aims and desires--so that they are constrained to cry out, "O what a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Romans 7:24 This experience greatly humbles the Christian pilgrim, while traveling through the wilderness world. He sees that he has no righteousness of his own. He knows that of himself, he can do nothing to please God. This makes Christ unspeakably precious to him. This conviction of inward pollution, unseen by the eye of man--drives him to the throne of grace, so that he may receive mercy and find grace to help him in his time of need. Feeling his inability to think one good thought, or exercise one holy affection, without the grace and power of Jesus--drives him to sit daily at His feet…to hear His Word, to receive out of His fullness, to imbibe His spirit, and to copy His example. Such is the experience and practice, not of one, but of all the faithful servants of Jehovah. Oh! that I may be found among these chosen vessels of the Lord. I have to mourn over my spiritual deadness, lukewarmness, and earthly mindedness. I am grieved that my heart is so cold towards God, when He is so gracious and merciful to me! By the grace of God, I abhor these evils! "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me!" Psalm 51:1-3 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 02, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Corinthians 7 In the course of his treatment of “virgins” (1 Cor. 7:25–38—the word refers to the sexually inexperienced, whether male of female), Paul writes, “Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are” (1 Cor. 7:26). Thus it is good for the celibate to remain celibate, for the married not to seek a divorce, and so forth. This does not mean, Paul adds, that if a virgin marries, she is sinning. But he does insist that “the time is short” (1 Cor. 7:29). What does this mean? (1) Some have argued that in common with everyone else in the early church, Paul believed that Jesus was going to return very soon, certainly within their lifetime. With so limited a horizon, Paul says that on the whole it is better for those who are celibate to remain unmarried. This reading of the passage means, of course, that Paul and the rest of the early church were just plain wrong: Jesus did not come back that quickly. But there are so many passages in the New Testament that envisage the possibility of long delay that we cannot go along with the notion that early Christians suffered under this particular delusion. (2) Some have argued that “the present crisis” (1 Cor. 7:26) refers to some specially troubling period of persecution. If the authorities are out to get Christians, especially their leaders, it might be an advantage to be celibate: you are more mobile, can hide more easily, and the authorities cannot exert pressure on you by leaning on your family. But this interpretation has two insuperable problems. (a) It may fit the celibates, but it doesn’t fit all the other people to whom Paul makes application: e.g., those who mourn should live as if they did not mourn, those who are happy as if they were not, those who buy something as if it were not theirs to keep (1 Cor. 7:29–30). (b) Above all, there is no good evidence that the Corinthians were being threatened with persecution. The entire tone of this letter suggests they were finding life a bit of a lark. (3) The word rendered “crisis” simply means “necessity” or “compulsion.” What Paul is referring to is neither the return of Christ nor persecution, but the present “necessity,” the present “compulsion,” of living with the End in view. Unlike pagans and secularists, we cannot make our chief joy turn on marriage, prosperity, or any other temporal thing. They all fall under the formula “as if not”: live “as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31, emphasis added). There are responsible ways for Christians to enjoy these things, or mourn, or be happy—but never as if these things are ultimate. ********************************************************************** September 2 Devastated and Delighted Devotional by John Piper “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:6) What would the doctrines of grace — the old Puritan term for the Calvinistic teaching of God’s sovereign grace in our salvation (TULIP) — what would those doctrines of grace sound like if every limb in that tree were coursing with the sap of Augustinian delight (that is, “Christian Hedonism”)? Total depravity is not just badness, but blindness to God’s beauty, and deadness to the deepest joy. Unconditional election means that the completeness of our joy in Jesus was planned for us before we ever existed, as the overflow of God’s joy in the fellowship of the Trinity. Limited atonement is the assurance that indestructible joy in God is infallibly secured for God’s people by the blood of the new covenant. Irresistible grace is the commitment and the power of God’s love to make sure we don’t hold on to suicidal pleasures, and to set us free by the sovereign power of superior delights. Perseverance of the saints is the almighty work of God not to let us fall into the final bondage of inferior pleasures, but to keep us, through all affliction and suffering, for an inheritance of fullness of joy in his presence, and pleasures at his right hand forevermore. Of those five, unconditional election delivers the harshest and the sweetest judgments to my soul. That it is unconditional destroys all self-exaltation (that’s the harsh part); and that it is election makes me his treasured possession (that’s the sweet part). This is one of the beauties of the biblical doctrines of grace: their worst devastations prepare us for their greatest delights. What prigs we would become at the words, “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6), if this election were in any way dependent on us. But to protect us from pride, the Lord teaches us that we are unconditionally chosen (Deuteronomy 7:7–9). “He made a wretch his treasure,” as we so gladly sing. Only the devastating freeness and unconditionality of electing grace — followed by all the other works of saving grace — let us take and taste such gifts for our very own without the exaltation of self. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 3, 2024 12:31:55 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Tues-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. Psalm 37:39-40 ********************************************************************** No cradle holds an innocent one! (Henry Law, "Beacons of the Bible" 1869) "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me!" Psalm 51:5 "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath!" Ephesians 2:3 When Adam fell, man's heart became entirely corrupt. "Every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time!" "Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood." Genesis 6:5, 8:21 Now, corruption can only propagate corruption. When evil fills the heart, evil effects will soon appear. From tainted sources, tainted waters flow. The root proclaims the qualities of its fruit. When poison permeates the veins, the whole body sickens. The parent reproduces his own likeness. Hence every child is born in sin. No cradle holds an innocent one! Each offspring of the human family comes into the world…dead towards God, corrupt in heart, prone to iniquity, void of all righteousness, a willing slave of his father, Satan, blinded in intellect, a pilgrim towards a diabolical land, a vessel fitted for destruction! His heart has many tenants, but God is no longer there. The palace once so fair, is now overrun with weeds. Like Babylon in ruins, wild beasts of the wilderness roam there, and the houses are full of doleful creatures. Isaiah 13:21, 22 May this darksome picture scare you from delusion's dream! Reader, surely such is your birth state! Has your soul realized the dreadful truth? Has the life giving Spirit quickened you with regenerating might? Are you a new creation in Christ Jesus? If so, then surely you will praise God for His marvelous mercy and grace in saving you. "He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins!" Colossians 1:13, 14 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 03 2024, | Don Carson 1 Corinthians 8 Apparently, some Christians in Corinth, secure in their knowledge that idols are nothing at all, and that all meat has been created by the one true God so that it is good to eat even if it had been offered to an idol, feel wonderful liberty to eat whatever they like. Others, converted perhaps from a life bound up with pagan superstition, detect the demonic in the idol, and think it unsafe to eat food that has been offered to them (1 Cor. 😎. The thrust of Paul’s argument is plain enough. Those with a robust conscience on these matters should be willing to forgo their rights so that they do not damage other brothers and sisters in Christ. It may nevertheless crystallize the application if we underline several elements: (1) The issue concerns something that is not intrinsically wrong. One could not imagine the apostle suggesting that some Christians think adultery is all right, while others have qualms about it, and the former should perhaps forgo their freedom so as not to offend the latter. In such a case, there is never any excuse for the action; the action is prohibited. So Paul’s principles here apply only to actions that are in themselves morally indifferent. (2) Paul assumes that it is wrong to go against conscience, for then conscience may be damaged (1 Cor. 8:12). A conscience hardened in one area, over an indifferent matter, may become hard in another area—something more crucial. Ideally, of course, the conscience should become more perfectly aligned with what God says in Scripture, so that in indifferent matters it would leave the individual free. Conscience may be instructed and shaped by truth. But until conscience has been reformed by Scripture, it is best not to contravene it. (3) The “weak” brother in this chapter (1 Cor. 8:7–13) is one with a “weak” conscience; that is, one who thinks some action is wrong even though there is nothing intrinsically wrong in it. Thus the “weak” brother is more bound by rules than the “strong” brother. Both will adopt the rules that touch things truly wrong, while the weak brother adds rules for things that are not truly wrong but that are at that point wrong for him, since he thinks them wrong. (4) Paul places primary onus of responsibility on the “strong” to restrict their own freedoms for the sake of others. In other words, it is never a sufficient question for the Christian to ask, “What am I allowed to do? What are my rights?” Christians serve a Lord who certainly did not stand on his rights when he went to the cross. Following the self-denial of Jesus, they will also ask, “What rights should I give up for the sake of others?” ********************************************************************** September 3 The “I Will” of God Devotional by John Piper “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.” (Zechariah 2:4–5) There are mornings when I wake up feeling fragile. Vulnerable. It’s often vague. No single threat. No one weakness. Just an amorphous sense that something is going to go wrong and I will be responsible. It’s usually after a lot of criticism. Or maybe after a lot of expectations that have deadlines, and that seem too big and too many. As I look back over about 50 years of such periodic mornings, I am amazed how the Lord Jesus has preserved my life. And my ministry. The temptation to run away from the stress has never won out — not yet anyway. This is amazing. I worship my great God for this. Instead of letting me sink into a paralysis of fear, or run to a mirage of greener grass, he has awakened a cry for help and then answered with concrete promises. Here’s an example. This is recent. I woke up feeling emotionally fragile. Weak. Vulnerable. I prayed: “Lord, help me. I’m not even sure how to pray.” An hour later I was reading in Zechariah, seeking the help I had cried out for. It came. “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.” (Zechariah 2:4–5) There will be such prosperity and growth for the people of God that Jerusalem will not be able to be walled in any more. “The multitude of people and livestock” will be so many that Jerusalem will be like many villages spreading out across the land without walls. Prosperity is nice, but what about protection? To which God says in verse 5, “I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord.” Yes. That’s it. That is the promise. The “I will” of God. That is what I need. And if it is true for the vulnerable villages of Jerusalem, it is true for me a child of God. That is how I apply the Old Testament promises to God’s people. All the promises are yes to me in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). There is a “how much more” after every promise for those who are in Christ. God will be a “wall of fire all around” me. Yes. He will. He has been. And he will be. And it gets better. Inside that fiery wall of protection he says, “And I will be the glory in her midst.” God is never content to give us the protection of his fire; he aims to give us the pleasure of his presence. I love the “I wills” of God! **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 4, 2024 10:26:51 GMT -5
Reformed Baptist Fellowship & Theology Forum David A. Mapes · · David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Wednes-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. Psalm 38:1-2 ********************************************************************** The very cream of Heaven! (Charles Spurgeon, "Now, and Then") There have been many suggestions of what we shall do in Heaven, and what we shall enjoy; but they all seem to me to be wide of the mark compared with this one: that we shall be with Jesus, be like Him, and shall behold His glory! Oh, to see the feet that were nailed, and to touch the hand that was pierced, and to look upon the head that wore the thorns, and to bow before Him who is…ineffable love, unspeakable mercy and grace, and infinite tenderness! Oh, to bow before Him, and to kiss that blessed face! Brethren, is not this the very cream of Heaven! The streets of gold will have small attraction to us, and the harps of angels will but slightly enchant us, compared with our precious Savior-King in the midst of His glorious throne! He it is who shall…rivet our gaze, absorb our thoughts, enchain our affections, and move all our sacred passions to their highest pitch of celestial ardor! We shall see Jesus! "Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we know that when He comes, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is!" 1 John 3:2 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 04, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Samuel 28 There are several questions about the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28) that we cannot answer. Was the prophet Samuel actually called up by her mediumistic activity, or was this some sort of demonic deception? If Samuel was called up, was this an exception of what God normally allows or sanctions? And if it really is Samuel, why does he bother answering Saul at all, thereby satisfying Saul’s lust for knowledge of the future, by whatever means, even means that were specifically condemned in Israel? While it is difficult to provide confident answers to some of these questions, certain points stand out. (1) What is evil in spiritism is not that it never works (some of it may be manipulative hocus-pocus; some of it may actually provide answers), but that it plays into the hands of the demonic. Above all, it turns people away from God, who alone controls both the present and the future. To find guidance for one’s life by such means will not only lead one astray sooner or later, it is already a badge of rebellion—a terrible thumbing of the nose at God. (2) Saul is playing the part of the hypocrite. On the one hand, he has banished mediums and spiritists from the land (1 Sam. 28:3); on the other, he desperately wants one himself. Had Saul lived longer, there is no way this two-facedness would have long remained hidden from the people. The very foundations of order and justice in a society are unraveling when the powers that be indulge not only in the personal hypocrisies that afflict a fallen race, but in public breaches of the law they are sworn to uphold. (3) When God does not answer by any of the means he has himself designated (1 Sam. 28:6, 15), this does not constitute warrant for defiance of God, but for repentance, perseverance, and patience. There is something dismally pathetic about seeking God’s counsel while happily taking action that God himself has prohibited. (4) The heart of Saul’s sin is what it has been for a long time. He wants a domesticated god, a god like the genie in Aladdin’s lamp, one pledged to do wonderful things for him as long as he holds the lamp. He somehow feels that David now holds the lamp and wishes he could get the power back, but does not perceive that the real God is to be worshiped, reverenced, obeyed, feared, and loved—unconditionally. Here is a man who thinks of himself as at the center of the universe; whatever gods exist must serve him. If the covenant God of Israel does not help him as he wishes, then Saul is prepared to find other gods. This is the black heart of all idolatry. ********************************************************************** September 4 What’s New About the New Covenant Devotional by John Piper “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33) Jesus shatters any absolute dissociation of commandments and love. He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. . . . Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father” (John 14:15, 21). “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” (John 15:10). Thinking in terms of commandments and obedience did not stop Jesus from enjoying the love of his Father. And he expects that our thinking of him as one who commands will not jeopardize our love relationship with him either. This is crucial to realize because the new covenant relationship that we have with God through Jesus Christ is not a covenant without commandments. The basic difference between the old covenant offered by God through the Mosaic law and the new covenant offered by God through Christ is not that one had commandments and the other doesn’t. The key differences are that (1) the Messiah, Jesus, has come and shed the blood of the new covenant (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 10:29) so that henceforth he is the Mediator of a new covenant, so that all saving, covenant-keeping faith is conscious faith in him; (2) the old covenant has therefore become “obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13) and does not govern the new-covenant people of God (2 Corinthians 3:7–18; Romans 7:4, 6; Galatians 3:19); and (3) the promised new heart and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit have been given through faith. In the old covenant, the gracious enabling power to obey God was not poured out as fully as it is since Jesus. “To this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear” (Deuteronomy 29:4). What’s new about the new covenant is not that there are no commandments, but that God’s promise has come true! “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27). **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 5, 2024 12:46:31 GMT -5
Reformed Baptist Fellowship & Theology Forum David A. Mapes · · David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Thurs-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. Psalm 38:3-4 ********************************************************************** The Creator of the universe sleeps in a woman's arms! (Horatius Bonar) "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich--yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich!" 2 Corinthians 8:9 Go to Bethlehem and see yon infant! It is the Word made flesh--it is the eternal God Himself! Come, see the place where the young child lay! Look at the manger: there is the Lamb for the burnt offering--there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. See yon infant! The infinite God becomes a helpless babe. The Creator of the universe sleeps in a woman's arms! Those feet that have not yet trod this rough earth, shall be nailed to the accursed tree. Those little tender hands shall yet be torn. That side shall yet be pierced by a Roman spear. That back shall yet be scourged. That rosy cheek shall yet be buffeted and spit upon. That brow shall yet be crowned with thorns. And all for you! Is not this wondrous love? Yes, it is the unfathomable love of our Savior-God! Included in this sin-atoning love of the Lord Jesus, there is also salvation, and a kingdom, and infinite bliss for every one of His redeemed people! ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 05, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Corinthians 10 First Corinthians 10 includes several passages worthy of prolonged meditation. But today we reflect on a passage which, superficially speaking, is one of the easiest of them. Paul tells the Corinthians that the things that happened to “our forefathers” (1 Cor. 10:1) that are recorded in Scripture “occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (1 Cor. 10:6). After giving some examples, the apostle again says, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11). (1) It is important to observe the diversity of purposes the Scriptures have. Elsewhere we learn, for instance, that the Old Testament Scriptures, or parts of them, were given to make sin appear as the awful thing it is, nothing less than trangression; to prepare the way for Christ, not only by prophetic words but also by models, patterns, and “types” that anticipated what Christ would be like; to announce the time when God would take definitive action on behalf of his people; to warn against sin and judgment; and much more. But here, the Bible provides us with examples to keep us from pursuing evil things. That means that although the Old Testament narratives doubtless offer more than “mere” moral lessons, they do not offer less. While we seek out the complex layers of inner-canonical connection, we must not overlook the moral instruction that lies on the very surface of the text. (2) The gross sins that Paul lists by way of example—idolatry, sexual immorality, “testing” the Lord (i.e., by doubting his goodness or ability, as in Ex. 17:2), and grumbling (10:7–10)—are not unknown among contemporary believers. (3) According to Paul, God’s intention was that the writing down of these materials in Scripture was so that we should benefit from it—the “we” referring to those “on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11). Doubtless this should not be taken as an exhaustive statement of God’s intention, but it is certainly meant to be a foundational one. Thus from God’s perspective, the Old Testament books were not meant simply for those who read them when they were first written, but for “us” who live at this formidable moment in world history when the first installment of the promises of the ages is being experienced. (4) Implicitly, it is all the more shocking if we who have received so much instruction and warning from ages past ignore the wealth of privilege that is ours. In our blindness we sometimes marvel at how some Old Testament figures or groups could so quickly abandon the godly heritage and covenant they received. How much worse if we do so! ********************************************************************** September 5 The Goal of Christ’s Love Devotional by John Piper “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.” (John 17:24) Believers in Jesus are precious to God (we’re his bride!). And he loves us so much that he will not allow our preciousness to become our god. God does indeed make much of us (he adopts us into his family!), but he does so in a way that draws us out of ourselves to enjoy his greatness. Test yourself. If Jesus came to spend the day with you, sat down beside you on the couch, and said, “I really love you,” what would you focus on the rest of the day that you spend together with him? It seems to me that too many songs and sermons leave us with the wrong answer. They leave the impression that the heights of our joy would be in the recurrent feeling of being loved. “He loves me!” “He loves me!” To be sure, this is joy indeed. But not the heights, and not the focus. What are we saying with the words “I am loved”? What do we mean? What is this “being loved”? Would not the greatest, most Christ-exalting joy be found in watching Jesus all day and bursting with, “You’re amazing!” “You are amazing!” He answers the hardest question, and his wisdom is amazing. He touches a filthy, oozing sore, and his compassion is amazing. He raises a dead lady at the medical examiner’s office, and his power is amazing. He predicts the afternoon’s events, and his foreknowledge is amazing. He sleeps during an earthquake, and his fearlessness is amazing. He says, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and his words are amazing. We walk around with him all afternoon, utterly amazed at what we are seeing. Is not his love for us his eagerness to do for us all he must do (including die for us) so that we can marvel at him and not be incinerated by him? Redemption, propitiation, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation — all these have to happen. They are the act of love. But the goal of love that makes those acts loving is that we be with him, and see his jaw-dropping glory, and be astounded. In those moments we forget ourselves as we see and savor all that God is for us in him. So I am urging pastors and teachers: Push people through the acts of Christ’s love to the goal of his love. If redemption and propitiation and forgiveness and justification and reconciliation are not taking us to the enjoyment of Jesus himself, they are not love. Press on this. It’s what Jesus prayed for in John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.” **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 6, 2024 10:43:38 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Fri-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. Psalm 38:5-8 ********************************************************************** There goes the vilest and most unworthy creature that has ever entered Heaven! (Stephen Tyng, "A Series of Practical Meditations") "Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more!" Romans 5:2 "I will forgive their wickedness, and will remember their sins no more! Hebrews 8:12 Jesus has pardoned the immense mountain of my sin! It is impossible to overstate this. Nothing can be more vile, than the view…of my original debasement and corruption, of my wayward youth, of my rejection of His love, of my rebellion against His authority, of my unthankfulness for His goodness, of my backslidings from His way, of my inconsistent profession, of my vain and sinful example, of the wickedness of my unconverted state, and of the failings of my renewed state! Alas! Every day and every act brings up its distinct testimony--and all condemn me! But Jesus has blotted out my whole horrifying record! He has hurled all my sins into the depths of the sea, and remembers them no more! When once in Heaven, I would willingly have it said of me: "There goes the vilest and most unworthy creature that has ever entered Heaven!" My sin has fearfully abounded, but His grace has so much the more abounded. All the glory for my salvation is His! "How blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered! How blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him!" Romans 4:7, 8 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 06, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Corinthians 11 Three observations about the Lord’s Supper, from the many that could be drawn from Paul’s treatment of it (1 Cor. 11:17–34): First, it is a temporary ordinance. It is to be observed only “until he comes” (11:26). In part this is because of its “memorial” function (“do this in remembrance of me,” 1 Cor. 11:24). In the new heaven and the new earth, transformed believers will not need a rite like this one to “remember” Jesus, for he will perpetually be the center of their focus and adoration. Knowing this, each time we participate in the Lord’s Supper we are not only helped to look backward to Jesus’ broken body, but forward to the consummation. Second, properly observed, the Lord’s Supper is to have a kerygmatic function. The word kerygmatic comes from the verb kerysso, “to proclaim”: Paul says that by this Supper we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (11:26)—though he uses a different verb here. Normally the verb used is found in an evangelistic context: we proclaim or announce the Gospel to people still unconverted. If that is what Paul means, then one of the functions of the Lord’s Supper—its kerygmatic function—is evangelism. Certainly I have been in churches where that is the case. Unbelievers are part of the service. They are warned not to partake, but are encouraged to observe and reflect on what they see and hear. Something of the significance of the rite is explained, perhaps its function as witness to Jesus the bread of life who gives his life for the life of the world (John 6:51). The ordinance and the word together proclaim the Lord’s death. Third, the approach of the Lord’s Supper provides an opportunity for each Christian to examine himself or herself before eating the bread and drinking the cup (11:27–28). Interpreters disagree as to what the failure to recognize the body of the Lord means (11:29). To evaluate the options is not possible in this context. I may simply record my conclusion: Paul warns that “anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord,” which was offered up on the cross and to which witness is borne in this rite, “eats and drinks judgment on himself.” How could it be otherwise? To say, by participating, “We remember,” and “We proclaim,” while cherishing sin, is to approach this table in an unworthy manner; it is to sin “against the body and blood of the Lord” (11:27). But regardless of whether this particular interpretation is correct, the warning itself must be taken with utmost seriousness. It is not a question of being good enough, for no one is. The only “worthy manner” by which to approach this Supper is contrition and faith. ********************************************************************** September 6 Present and Powerful Love Devotional by John Piper Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (Romans 8:35) Notice three things in Romans 8:35. 1. Christ is loving us now. A wife might say of her deceased husband: Nothing will separate me from his love. She might mean that the memory of his love will be sweet and powerful all her life. But that is not what Paul means here. In Romans 8:34 it says plainly, “Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” The reason Paul can say that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ is because Christ is alive and is still loving us right now. He is at the right hand of God and is therefore ruling for us. And he is interceding for us, which means he is seeing to it that his finished work of redemption does in fact save us hour by hour, and bring us safely to eternal joy. His love is not just a memory. It is a moment-by-moment action by the omnipotent, living Son of God, to bring us to everlasting joy. 2. This love of Christ is effective in protecting us from separation, and therefore is not a universal love for all, but a particular love for his people — that is, those who, according to Romans 8:28, love God and are called according to his purpose. This is the love of Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” It is Christ’s love for the church, his bride. Christ has a love for all, and he has a special, saving, preserving love for his bride. You know you are part of that bride if you trust Christ. Anyone — no exceptions — anyone who trusts Christ can say, I am part of his bride, his church, his called and chosen ones, the ones who, according to Romans 8:35, are kept and protected forever no matter what. 3. This omnipotent, effective, protecting love does not spare us from calamities in this life, but brings us safely through them to everlasting joy with God. Death will happen to us, but it will not separate us. So when Paul says in verse 35 that the “sword” will not separate us from the love of Christ, he means: even if we are killed, we are not separated from the love of Christ. So the sum of the matter in verse 35 is this: Jesus Christ is right now mightily loving his people with omnipotent, moment-by-moment love that does not always rescue us from calamity but preserves us for everlasting joy in his presence even through suffering and death. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 7, 2024 11:44:37 GMT -5
David A. Mapes 3h · ********************************************************************** Satur-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off. Psalm 38:9-11 ********************************************************************** Daily Strength! (John MacDuff, "Words of Comfort to the Christian Pilgrim") "As your days, so shall your strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25 The Christian is frequently compared to a pilgrim, traveling onwards through a dreary wilderness, to the promised land of Canaan. His experience is varied and chequered. The path before him may be steep and arduous. He may have to pass through…rough and stony places; dark, thick forests; rapid streams; and raging hurricanes. His days may be such, as to require…great strength, and great energy, and great perseverance. Oftentimes, when he strives to anticipate the future--his heart sinks within him, his courage fails, and he is apt to give way to despondency and doubt. But such a promise, "As your days, so shall your strength be," may well suffice to calm the believer's fears, and re-animate his fainting spirit. It is true, that changes and vicissitudes will come. It is true, that the heart which today is cheerful and happy, may tomorrow be wounded and bleeding. It is true, that the full cup which is now held with gladness, may be dashed in pieces, before the lips have tasted the refreshing draught. It is true, that the bright hope which, like a guiding star, allures the traveler onwards, may speedily be enwrapped in pitch-black gloom. But to the child of God, there is a supply of strength to meet the hour of trial. He is not permitted to escape from the burden, or the cross, or the difficulty. But he is enabled to make his way through them all--to struggle with, and finally to overcome them. Many a time, when the believer has been well near crushed under the oppressive weight; when, conscious that ordinary strength would not avail, he has cried unto the Lord--and a fresh supply of grace has been given to meet the emergency. So that he could say with David, "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along." Psalm 40:1-2 It would be easy for God to make the path heavenward, plain and unobstructed to His children. It would be easy for Him to remove all care, anxiety, and sorrow. But such is not His purpose. Earth is the training school for Heaven. God wills that His children should be tried. He desires that their spiritual natures should be refined and purified in the furnace of affliction. And that thus, by the very struggles and pains of their earthly pilgrimage, they should become more and more fit for serving Him in this world; and more and more fit for the inheritance of the saints in light. The Christian…by each difficulty he is called on to encounter; by each trial he is summoned to bear; by each virtue he is required to call into exercise--becomes more vigorous, earnest, faithful, and Christlike. His soul is gradually training and strengthening by duty, trial, and endurance here--for glory, honor, and immortality hereafter. Every fresh victory…over pride, over the world, over avarice, over selfishness, over fretfulness, makes us stronger for the time to come, and insures the fulfillment of the promise, "As your days, so shall your strength be." Christian! mark again these words. They do not pledge that we shall not feel the burden and heat of the day. All they promise, is that we shall get safely through. They do not say that we shall not feel the weight of our duties, trials, temptations, or conflicts. All they say, is that we shall have strength to bear their weight, and journey on with our load. The grace imparted, will then be "sufficient" for us--sufficient for our actual necessities; sufficient strength equal to our day. Strength to encounter the tempest will be given--when the tempest rages. Strength to surmount the foaming surges will be given--when the hurricane has actually come. Strength to grapple with the last enemy will be given--when he comes forth to meet you. Yes Christian! Be assured that grace and strength will be imparted when you need them--as certainly as they will be withheld before you need them. He who guides you, knows your necessities. In the day of trouble, He will not leave you comfortless. Journey on, then, with firmness, relying on His promise for needed grace and strength. You will, before long, enter into your final rest, and bid an eternal adieu to all your labors, and trials, and temptations. You will take possession of the promised glorious inheritance, and will then acknowledge with a grateful heart, "As my days, so has my strength been!" ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 07, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 1 When David hears of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1), his grief is not merely formal. He could not help but know that the way to the throne was now open to him. Nevertheless, his sorrow is so genuine that he composes a lengthy lament (2 Sam. 1:19–27), sets it to music, and teaches it to the men of his tribe (2 Sam. 1:18) so that it will be sung for a long time as one of the folk ballads of the land. Many elements of this lament deserve long reflection. Today I shall reflect on just one verse: “Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice” (2 Sam. 1:20). Formally, the text is plain enough. Gath and Ashkelon were the two leading Philistine cities. David is saying, in effect, not to let the Philistines know of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, lest they be glad and rejoice. Of course, the Philistines could not help but find out, and David, of all people, knew that. But his purpose in penning these words is not literally to keep the Philistines in the dark a little while longer. How could that be? They had already hoisted the body of Saul onto the wall of Beth Shan (1 Sam. 31:10) and sent messengers with the news throughout Philistia (1 Sam. 31:9). But if these lines from David’s pen do not function as literal advice, what is their function? In part, it is simply a lament. It is a powerful way of saying that the opponents of the Israelites would be delighted with the news, and therefore their pleasure is a measure of the tragedy. But I suspect there is another overtone. When one of our leaders falls, conduct yourself in such a way as not to give strength to the opposition. That is a lesson that must be learned again and again by the church. When a minister of the Gospel is caught embezzling funds or having an affair, then certainly the biblical principle for discipline must be brought to bear immediately. If the law has been broken, the civil authorities must be contacted. If families have been damaged, there may be a great deal of pastoral work to be done. But understand well that many unbelievers will be gleefully rubbing their hands and saying, “See? What can you expect? All this religious stuff is so hypocritical and phony.” Thus Christ is despised and the credibility of Christian witnesses diminished. Christians must restrain their tongues, watch what they say, and be especially careful about saying anything unnecessary to unbelievers. This is a time for mourning, not gossip. “Tell it not in Gath. . . .” ********************************************************************** September 7 God-Given Foes and God-Given Faith Devotional by John Piper Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ . . . not frightened in anything by your opponents. . . . For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. (Philippians 1:27–29) Paul told the Philippians that living worthy of the gospel of Christ meant fearlessness before enemies. Then he gave the logic of fearlessness. The logic is this: God has given you two gifts, not just one — faith and suffering. That’s what verse 29 says. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” Granted to you to believe, and granted to you to suffer. In this context that means: Both your faith in the face of suffering, and your suffering are gifts of God. When Paul says, don’t be frightened by your opponents, he had two reasons in his mind why they don’t need to be frightened: 1. One reason is that the opponents are in the hand of God. Their opposition is a gift from God. He governs it. That’s the first point of verse 29. 2. And the other reason not to be afraid is that your fearlessness, that is, your faith, is also in the hand of God. It too is a gift. That is the other point of verse 29. So the logic of fearlessness in the face of adversity is this double truth: Both your adversity and your faith in the face of adversity are gifts of God. Why is this called living “worthy of the gospel of Christ”? Because the gospel is the good news that Christ’s blood of the covenant infallibly obtained for all his people the sovereign working of God to give us faith and to govern our enemies — always for our eternal good. That’s what the gospel secured. Therefore, to live that way shows the power and goodness of the gospel. Therefore, fear not. Your adversaries can do no more than God grants. And he will grant all the faith you need. These promises are blood-bought and sealed. They are gospel promises. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 8, 2024 13:38:50 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Lord’s Day DAYSTAR-TERS: ********************************************************************** Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long. Psalm 38:12 ********************************************************************** He will bruise His darling Son! (by Francis Covell, 1875) "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 What are we? We are only lumps of sin and dirt! But see the eternal love of God towards sinful men. His boundless love set His infinite wisdom to work how to save these sinful and sinning creatures from the burning pit! It pleased the Lord Himself to bruise His Son. He thrust the sword of justice into the heart of His own dear Son, that mercy might flow to the "objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory." His dear Son must suffer, that they might be spared. There was such love in God towards sinful men that many waters could not quench it. He did not spare His Son one iota. The Darling of Heaven cried out, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me!" But that we might go eternally free, and that God might look on us in justice and holiness, with smiles and kisses--He bruised His own Son. Jesus bore thousands of hells in His own sufferings in the garden and on the accursed tree; and the Father never withdrew the sword until He cried out, "It is finished!" "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us!"--to save us from a burning pit; to bring us to the heights of bliss! O the depths of God's love! If He will pardon sin; if He will save a wretch, a rebel, a man damned by the law; if God will let His heart's love run out to save sinful man from what he deserves--then He must part with the love of His heart, the joy of His soul--His only begotten Son! But would He actually do that? Is His love so surprisingly great, boundless, full, and free--that to save an enemy, a vile and a cursed sinner, He will bruise His darling Son? He will! "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief!" Isaiah 53:10 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 08, 2024, | Don Carson 1 Corinthians 13 Although 1 Corinthians 13 forms part of a sustained argument that runs through chapters 12–14, the passage constitutes such a lovely unit with so many wonderfully evocative lines that it has called forth countless extended treatments. Today I shall reflect a little on the first three verses. This text does not say that love is everything and that the other things mentioned—speaking in tongues, the gift of prophecy, an ability to fathom mysteries and all knowledge, a faith that can move mountains, self-denying surrender of all possessions for the sake of the poor, and suffering a martyr’s death—are nothing. Rather, it insists that those things are utterly insignificant unless they are accompanied by love. Love does not displace them; its absence renders them pointless and ultimately valueless. This paragraph is calculated to abase the arrogant. History offers sad examples of people who have become proud of their gift of tongues, of their prophetic gift, even of their philanthropy and self-sacrifice. But it is a contradiction in terms to be proud of one’s love, in any Christian sense of love. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why these other virtues are destroyed if unaccompanied by love. One of the most striking features of this statement about love is how it rules out of bounds one of the definitions of love that still persists in some Christian circles. They say that Christian love does not belong to the emotional realm, but is nothing other than an unswerving resolve to seek the other’s good. That is why, they say, love can be commanded: one may thoroughly dislike the other person, but if one conscientiously resolves upon his or her good, and acts accordingly, it is still love. Quite frankly, that sort of casuistry is reductionistic rubbish. What has just been dubbed “love” is nothing other than resolute altruism. But in these verses Paul firmly distinguishes between altruism and love: “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames” (1 Cor. 13:3): here are both altruism and self-sacrifice, but Paul can imagine both without love. So love must be something other than, or more than, mere altruism and self-sacrifice. It may be difficult to provide a perfect definition for Christian love. But it is not difficult to find its supreme example. Christ’s love for us is not grounded in our loveliness, but in his own character. His love is not merely sentimental, yet it is charged with incalculable affection and warmth. It is resolute in its self-sacrifice, but never merely mechanical self-discipline. If we wish to come to terms with the apostolic depiction of Christian love as “the most excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31b ********************************************************************** September 8 How to Repay God Devotional by John Piper What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord. (Psalm 116:12–14) The very use of the language “rendering to God for all his benefits to me” makes me nervous. Payback can so easily imply that grace is like a mortgage. It’s really generous, but you have to pay it back. Paul said in Acts 17:25, God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” In other words, you can’t give anything to God or do anything for God that he hasn’t first given to you and done for you. You see this again in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” So none of our work can ever be a payment to God, because the very work is another gift from God. With every deed we do for God we go deeper into debt to grace. So, in Psalm 116 what keeps the paying of vows free from the dangers of being treated like a debt payment is that the “payment” is, in reality, not an ordinary payment, but another act of receiving which magnifies the ongoing grace of God. It does not magnify our resourcefulness. The psalmist’s answer to his own question, “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits?” is, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” In other words, I call on the Lord to fill the cup. To pay back the Lord means to go on receiving from the Lord so that the Lord’s inexhaustible goodness will be magnified. Lifting up the cup of salvation signifies taking the Lord’s satisfying salvation in hand and drinking it and expecting more. We know this because of the next phrase: “I will . . . call on the name of the Lord.” I will call for more help. What shall I render to God for graciously answering my call? Answer: I shall call again. I will render to God the praise and the tribute that he is never in need of me, but is always overflowing with benefits when I need him (which I always do). Then the psalmist says, in the third place, “I will pay my vows to the Lord.” But how will they be paid? They will be paid by holding up the cup of salvation and by calling on the Lord. That is, they will be paid by faith in the promise that more grace — all-sufficient grace — is always on the way. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 9, 2024 9:49:20 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Mon-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes. Psalm 38:13-14 ********************************************************************** Who will show us any good? (Horatius Bonar, "The Two Cries and the Two Answers") "Many are asking: Who will show us any good?" Psalm 4:6 1. This is the cry of EMPTINESS. They feel that there is something lacking. They were not made for this perpetual hunger and thirst. They are empty, and therefore they cry. They are poor and needy, but find no supply. 2. This is the cry of WEARINESS. They who utter it are seeking rest, but finding none; they labor and are heavy laden. They would sincerely rest, but know not how or where. UNREST! This is their portion. Unrest here--sad prelude of the eternal unrest, the never-ending weariness! 3. This is the cry of DARKNESS. All is darkness and blindness. They grope about, not knowing which way to look, or to turn. And they cry, 'Show us something, for our eyes are blind; we have tried in vain to see.' 4. This is the cry of HELPLESSNESS. They have tried many expedients; tried to create good for themselves, or to get it from others--but in vain. They find themselves helpless. 5. This is the cry of EARNESTNESS. It comes forth often amid bitter tears and groans. Men are bent on being happy; they would do or give anything for happiness. They are mistaken, yet in earnest. They would take any good, if they could get it. 6. This is the cry of DESPAIR. Who? Who? Who? They have tried everyone, everything. All in vain. They are emptier, hungrier, thirstier, sadder than at first. 7. This is a LOUD and UNIVERSAL cry. Many. Yes, the whole world. It is Esau's loud and bitter cry reverberating through the earth. It is the cry of the many, not of the few. The world is unhappy. It has no rest. It is thirsty, and knows not where to drink. It is hungry, and knows not where to find bread. It weeps, and knows not how to get its tears dried! Every man walks in a vain show--going about asking, Who will show us any good? O, how long will you love vanity? How long will you dote upon this vain world, and worship it as your idol? How long will you treat its broken cisterns as if they were the fountains of living water? Oh, do not love the world! What will its good things profit in the day of the Lord? Will its pleasures cheer a death-bed, or brighten the gloom of the grave? What is the ball-room when "its flowers are fled, and its garlands are dead?" What can the music and the dance do for you when sickness comes, or the last trumpet sounds? Will that mirthful dress of yours do for a shroud? How will these revelings and banquetings appear to you in the retrospect of time--still more in the retrospect of eternity? What will you think of: your idle words, your foolish talking and jesting, your filthy speech, your riotous mirth, your luxurious feasting--when you stand confronted with the last enemy, or before the Judge of all? You have gone…from scene to scene, from gaiety to gaiety, from party to party, from vanity to vanity, from novel to novel, from ball to ball--in the dreary emptiness of your poor aching hearts, crying, "Who will show us any good?" And when the end comes, what is your gain? Is it Heaven--or is it Hell? Is it joy--or is it woe? "Many are asking: Who will show us any good?" Psalm 4:6 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 09, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 3 Even after the death of King Saul, David did not immediately become king of Israel. At first David is anointed king over Judah (2 Sam. 2:1–7), and only Judah: even Benjamin, which remained with Judah following the division between “Israel” and “Judah” after the death of Solomon, at this point was allied with the other tribes (2 Sam. 2:9). Abner, the commander of what was left of Saul’s army, installed Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s surviving son, as king of Israel (2 Sam. 2:8–9). Skirmishes multiplied between David’s troops and those of Ish-Bosheth. Many battles in those days brought the opposing troops together in a fierce clash, followed by a running fight: one side ran away, and the other chased it. In one such clash, one of the three sons of Zeruiah—Asahel, from David’s forces—is killed by Abner (2 Sam. 2:17–23). The killing was “clean,” i.e., within the rules of warfare and not a murder. Nevertheless, this death precipitates some of the most important actions in 2 Samuel 3. Bringing the different parts of the country together into united allegiance under David was a messy and sometimes ignoble business—a reminder that God sometimes uses the folly and evil of people to bring about his good purposes. Abner sleeps with one of Saul’s former concubines (2 Sam. 3:6–7). This was not only a breach of moral law, but in the symbolism of the time Abner was claiming the right of royalty for himself. It was a major insult and reproach to Ish-Bosheth. Thus Abner’s reasons for taking the eleven tribes over to David seem to have less to do with integrity and a desire to recognize God’s calling than out of frustration with Ish-Bosheth and some lust for power himself. Then Abner is murdered by Joab and his men (2 Sam. 3:22–27), Joab being one of Asahel’s brothers. But this really is murder, and a defiance of David’s safe-conduct. How David handles this crisis reflects both his great strengths and one of his greatest weaknesses—strengths and weaknesses that will show up again. Politically, David is very astute. He distances himself utterly from Joab’s action, and insists that Joab and other leaders become part of the official mourning party of the slain Abner. “All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them” (2 Sam. 3:36). On the other hand, David does not bring Joab to account, fobbing off his responsibility by protesting that “these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me” (2 Sam. 3:39). In other words, he shirked his responsibility—as he would do later with his son Amnon (2 Sam. 13), the consequences of which triggered Absalom’s revolt and almost cost David his throne. It is never God’s way to abdicate biblically mandated responsibility. ********************************************************************** September 9 Grace Must Be Free Devotional by John Piper What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Corinthians 4:7) Picture salvation as a house that you live in. It provides you with protection. It is stocked with food and drink that will last forever. It never decays or crumbles. Its windows open onto vistas of all-satisfying glory. God built it at great cost to himself and to his Son, and he gave it to you free and clear. The “purchase” agreement is called a “new covenant.” The terms read: “This house shall become and remain yours if you will receive it as a gift and take delight in the Father and the Son as they inhabit the house with you. You shall not profane the house of God by sheltering other gods nor turn your heart away after other treasures, but find your contentment in the fellowship of God in this house.” Would it not be foolish to say yes to this agreement, and then hire a lawyer to draw up an amortization schedule with monthly payments in the hopes of somehow balancing accounts and paying for the house? You would be treating the house no longer as a gift, but a purchase. God would no longer be the free benefactor. And you would be enslaved to a new set of demands that he never dreamed of putting on you. If grace is to be free — which is the very meaning of grace — we cannot view it as something to be repaid. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 10, 2024 15:49:43 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Tues-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!” Psalm 38:15-16 ********************************************************************** To redeem lost and helpless sinners! (Henry Law) "While we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly!" Romans 5:6 "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Romans 5:8 To redeem lost and helpless sinners, Jesus came down from Heaven, put on the rags of our mortality, agonized, suffered, bled and died. Jesus is made His people's…substitute, burden-bearer, sin-remover, guilt-destroyer. Their sin-debt is placed to His account. His sin-atoning sacrifice, pays the full amount. Sin is removed from the sinner, and placed on the Sinless! Their curse is rolled on Him, and He endures it, until no more remains! God deals with Jesus, as the guilty one! Jesus, as spotless Deity, receives imputed sins, and fully expiates them all. In the vicarious victim, God's justice is satisfied, and wrath expires! On the cross Jesus suffers their sufferings, dies their death--and so becomes their uttermost salvation! His pains, are their pardon! His stripes, are their healing! His sin-atoning agony, is their glorious salvation! ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 10, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 4–5 Clearly the writer of 2 Samuel (whose identity we do not know) thinks it important to record the various steps by which David came to rule over all Israel. Canonically, this is important because it is the beginning of the Davidic dynasty that leads directly to “great David’s greater Son” (see the May 17 meditation). Within this framework, I wish to reflect on several features in these two chapters (2 Sam. 4–5). (1) It is quite stunning to observe how David was prepared to wait for the throne, without taking the kind of action that would have secured it for him more quickly. Not least impressive is his stance toward Ish-Bosheth. Ish-Bosheth’s murderers, Baanah and Recab, who think they will curry favor with the rising star by their vicious assassination (in line with the common standards of the day), learn that David’s commitment to justice ensures their execution. The only slightly sour overtone is the double standard: these murderers pay a just penalty for their crime (2 Sam. 4), while in the preceding chapter the murderer Joab, because of his power, is publicly shamed but does not face the capital sentence. (2) This book carefully chronicles how “all the tribes of Israel” (2 Sam. 5:1) approach David at Hebron and invite him to become their king. In God’s providence the evil assassination by Baanah and Recab brings about the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. (3) David’s capture of Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:6–12) has to be recorded, for this not only becomes David’s capital city but in due course becomes the resting place for the tabernacle. During the reign of his son Solomon it will become the site for the temple. Enormously important theological issues revolve around Jerusalem and the temple. These are taken up in turn by the prophets (before and after the Exile), by Jesus himself, and by the New Testament writers. Reflect, for instance, on John 2:13–22; Galatians 4:21–31; Hebrews 9; 12:22–23; Revelation 21–22. (4) Above all, when the Israelites invite David to become their king, they say, “And the LORD said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler’” (2 Sam. 5:2). The “shepherd” theme is more comprehensive than the “ruler” theme, and is developed in various ways. At the outset of the Exile, God excoriates the false “shepherds” who are more interested in fleecing the sheep than in securing and nurturing the flock (Ezek. 34)—a phenomenon not unknown today. So God repeatedly promises that he himself will be the shepherd of his people; indeed, he will send forth this servant “David” (three-and-a-half centuries after David’s death!) to be their shepherd (Ezek. 34:23–24; see the meditation for March 20). In the fullness of time, the rightful heir of David’s line declares, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). ********************************************************************** September 10 How to Fight Anxiety Devotional by John Piper [Cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes, and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead, the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike. For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, “[Cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” It does not say, you will never feel any anxieties. It says, when you have them, cast them on God. When the mud splatters your windshield and you temporarily lose sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that’s more or less normal. At least it is for me, ever since my teenage years. The issue is: How do we fight them? The answer to that question is: we fight anxieties by fighting against unbelief and fighting for faith in future grace. And the way you fight this “good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7) is by meditating on God’s assurances of future grace and by asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief, and the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit. The battle to be freed from sin — including the sin of anxiety — is fought “by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). The work of the Spirit and the word of truth. These are the great faith-builders. Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit, the wipers of the word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief on the windshield. Both are necessary: the Spirit and the word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so that we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our faith grows stronger and the swerving of anxiety straightens out. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 11, 2024 11:01:59 GMT -5
Reformed Baptist Fellowship & Theology Forum David A. Mapes · · David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Wednes-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good. Psalm 38:17-20 ********************************************************************** God's jewels! (John MacDuff, "The Night Watches") "And they shall be Mine, says the Lord Almighty, in that day when I make up My jewels!" Malachi 3:17 "MY JEWELS!" Of what favored creatures does Jehovah thus speak? Is it of seraphs? Is it of angels? Methinks, at such a title, even they would bow in the dust of abasement, and veiling their faces, cry, "Unclean! unclean!" But marvel of marvels! It is redeemed sinners of the earth; the fallen children of men--once crude, unshapely stones, lying in "the horrible pit and the miry clay," amid the rubbish of corruption--who are thus sought out by sovereign grace, purchased by immutable love, and destined through eternity to be set as jewels in the crown of the eternal Savior! A jewel in Immanuel's crown! Not only raised from the ash heap to be set among princes; but to gem through eternity, the forehead that for me was once wreathed with thorns! "And they shall be Mine, says the Lord Almighty, in that day when I make up My jewels!" Malachi 3:17 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 11, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 6 David would doubtless make many of us uncomfortable if he lived today. He was such an intense man—exuberant in his pleasures, crushed in his discouragement, powerful in his leadership, unrestrained in his worship. (1) One occasion that displays much of the man displays no less of God, viz. bringing the ark of the covenant, and presumably the entire tabernacle, up to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6). David does not send down a few clerics—the designated Levites—and no more. He gathers thirty thousand crack troops and representatives from the whole house of Israel, to say nothing of musicians and choirs. (2) When Uzzah stretches forth his hand to stabilize the ark because the oxen pulling the cart have stumbled, the “LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God” (2 Sam. 6:7). That certainly put a damper on the festivities. David is both angry with God (2 Sam. 6:8) and afraid of him (2 Sam. 6:9). For the time being he resolves not to bring the ark of the Lord up to Jerusalem. Certainly there is something in most of us that silently thinks David is right. Yet all along God has been profoundly concerned to eradicate any hint that he is nothing more than a talisman, a controllable god, some godlet akin to other neighborhood godlets. One of his strongest prohibitions was not to touch the ark, or look inside it. Indeed, on the latter point seventy men of Beth Shemesh had paid with their lives a bare generation earlier (1 Sam. 6:19–20; see the meditation for August 15), when they had ignored the edict. Our text calls Uzzah’s act “irreverent” (2 Sam. 6:7). What made it “irreverent” or “profane” was not that Uzzah was malicious, but that there was no reverent fear before his eyes, no careful distinction between all that God says is holy and what is merely common. The horror of profanity is identical: people say they do not mean anything by it when they take the Lord’s name in vain. That is precisely the point: they do not mean anything by it. God will not be treated that way. (3) The ark remains with Obed-Edom for three months, and he experiences so much blessing that David becomes interested again (2 Sam. 6:11–12). Blessing and reverence go hand in hand, and David—and we—had better realize it. (4) Michal turns out to be her father’s daughter: she is more interested in pomp, form, royal robes, and personal dignity than in exuberant worship (2 Sam. 6:16). She despises David precisely because he is so God-centered he cares very little about his persona. People constantly fretting about what others think of them cannot be absorbed by the sheer God-awareness and God-centeredness that characterize all true worship. ********************************************************************** September 11 7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 1 Devotional by John Piper “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25–26) We are going to spend three days on this part of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus is dealing specifically with anxiety about food and clothing. But, in fact, it relates to all anxiety. Even in America, with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing and food and clothing can be intense. Not to mention Christians who live in situations where much greater poverty threatens life. But Jesus says in verse 30 that our anxiety comes from little faith in our Father’s promise of future grace: “O you of little faith.” These verses (25–34) contain at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the good fight against unbelief and be free from anxiety. (Today we look at Promises 1 and 2 — then over the next two days at the rest.) Promise #1: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25) Since your body and your life are vastly more complex and difficult to provide than food and clothing are, and yet God has, in fact, created and provided you with both, then surely he will be able and willing to provide you with food and clothing. Moreover, no matter what happens, God will raise your body someday and preserve your life and body for his eternal fellowship. Promise #2: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26) If God is willing and able to feed such insignificant creatures as birds who cannot do anything to bring their food into being — as you can by farming — then he will certainly provide what you need, because you are worth a lot more than birds. You, unlike the birds, have the amazing capacity to glorify God by trusting, obeying, and thanking God. ********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 12, 2024 12:58:52 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Thurs-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! Psalm 38:21-22 ********************************************************************** Purifying His precious gold! (Charles Simeon) God has a masterful purpose for all that He does—even in the sending of trials and troubles to His people. He knows exactly what we stand in need of; and He sends afflictions for our good. He chastises us, not out of anger, as earthly parents too often do, but purely "for our good, that we may share in his holiness!" Hebrews 12:10 As He knows what we need—so He knows what we can bear. He will take care either to apportion our burden to our strength, 1 Corinthians 10:13—or to give us strength sufficient for our trials, Deuteronomy 33:25. In all of our afflictions, He loves and sympathizes with us, Isaiah 63:9. He watches over us with the care of a refiner who is purifying His precious gold, Malachi 3:3, and the solicitude of a tender parent, Psalm 103:13 When He sees that His chastening rod has produced its desired effect, He is glad to return to us in the endearments of love, and to confirm our confidence in Him by the sweetest tokens of His grace, Jeremiah 31:20 When our troubles, like those of Job, are many and various—we are ready to conclude that God afflicts us in anger. But it is not for us to prescribe how many, or of what continuance, our afflictions shall be. We must consider God as an infallible physician, who prescribes everything with unerring wisdom, and consults the benefit of His patients, rather than their comfort. Let not any Christian "write bitter things against themselves" on account of the greatness of His afflictions, but rather receive our every trial as a token of His Fatherly love. "For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives." Hebrews 12:6 Let us ever remember, that whatever we have is God's—it is only lent us for a little while, to be recalled whenever He sees fit. Let us learn to hold everything in this way, that we may be ready at any moment to give up whatever He shall be pleased to require of us. If we saw the end as God does—then instead of regarding our losses or troubles as needless afflictions, we would adore God for them, as much as for the most pleasing of His blessings. Let us then wait until He shall have revealed to us the whole of His perfect designs; and be content to form our judgment of Him when all the purposes of His afflictions are laid before us! ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 12, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 7 After his palace is built, David recognizes that he is living in splendor in comparison with the small and unostentatious tabernacle. He desires to build a temple, a “house” in which to place the ark of the covenant (2 Sam. 7). Through Nathan the prophet, however, God puts the shoe on the other foot. David wants to build a “house” for God, but God declares that he himself will build a “house” for David. The word house can refer to a building, but it can extend to household and even to a dynasty (e.g., the house of Windsor). David hopes to build a “house” for God in the first sense; God tells David he is building a “house” for him in the third sense. Although David’s son Solomon will build a “house” for God, in the last analysis God himself is the ultimate Giver, and the “house” he proposes to build will prove more enduring. In this context, then, God makes some remarkable promises to David. “The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you” (2 Sam. 7:11), God says. To continue David’s line after his death, God adds, “I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12–13). The referent goes no farther than Solomon. In the storyline of 1 and 2 Samuel, Saul serves as the prime example of a king who reigned and whose throne was not secured, whose “house” was not built. But it will not be so with David. His offspring will reign. When Saul sinned, in due course God rejected him. But when David’s son does wrong, God says, “I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. [So this “son” is certainly not Jesus.] But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul” (2 Sam. 7:14–15). So far, then, Solomon occupies the horizon. But then once again God takes the long view: “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Sam. 7:16). This either means that there will always be someone on the throne in the line of David, or something more powerful. In the course of time, the prophecies about the coming “David” or “son of David” become freighted with much greater promise. Isaiah foresees someone who “will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,” but who is also called “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father” (Isa. 9:6–7). Here is an heir to David who maintains the Davidic dynasty not by passing it on, but by his own eternal reign. ********************************************************************** September 12 7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 2 Devotional by John Piper “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:27–30) Matthew 6:25–34 contains at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the fight for faith and be free from anxiety. Yesterday we saw Promises 1 and 2; today we look at 3 and 4. Promise #3: “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27) This is a promise of sorts — the simple promise of reality that you can discover from experience: Being anxious will simply not do you any good. That’s a promise. This is not the main argument, but sometimes we just have to get tough with ourselves and say, “Soul, this fretting is absolutely useless. It promises nothing. You are not only messing up your own day, but a lot of other people’s as well. Renounce it. Leave it with God. And get on with your work.” Anxiety accomplishes nothing worthwhile. That’s a promise. Believe it. Act on it. Promise #4: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28–30) Compared to the flowers of the field you are a much higher priority for God, because you will live forever, and can thus bring him eternal praise as his loved children. Nevertheless, God has such an overflow of creative energy and care, he lavishes it on flowers that last only a matter of days. So, he will certainly take that same energy and creative skill and use it to care for his children who will live forever. The question is: Will we believe this promise, and put away anxiety? ******************************************************
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