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Post by Admin on Sept 13, 2024 10:19:40 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Fri-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” Psalm 39:1 ********************************************************************** By the grace of God I am what I am! (Charles Simeon) The apostle Paul again reminds us, that God "saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy!" Titus 3:5 We must not trust in our good works for salvation, any more than in our vilest sins! Salvation is, and ever must be, of grace, from first to last. Our election from eternity, our regeneration and conversion and justification in time, and our glorification when time shall be no more, are all the fruits of God's free and sovereign grace! There is not a soul in Heaven who must not to all eternity say, "By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10 "God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began!" 2 Timothy 1:9 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 13, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Corinthians 2 It is beyond these brief reflections to provide a history of the difficult visits and painful letters that generated deep emotion in the apostle’s relations with the Corinthians. Relations between Corinth and Paul are apparently improving in the opening chapters of 2 Corinthians, but remain a trifle raw. In this context Paul devotes quite a bit of attention to explaining the nature of his ministry, whether its grand design or discrete decisions he has made. For example, in 2 Corinthians 1, it is fairly obvious that the Corinthians had charged Paul with being fickle. He had said he would come, and then he had changed plans and not arrived. Paul acknowledges that he had indeed changed plans, but insists this does not indicate fickleness (2 Cor. 1:15–17). In his conduct he tries to imitate God’s steadfast faithfulness (2 Cor. 1:18–22). And then he gives the real reason why he did not show up: he was trying to spare the Corinthians, for he knew that if he had shown up at that point he would have had to take action that would have caused even more distress (2 Cor. 1:23–2:2). In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul is still unpacking various elements of his ministry. Here we note two. First, Paul understands his ministry to be akin to a device that distributes the fragrance of the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 2:14). Otherwise put, before God Paul himself is an aroma, “the aroma of Christ among both those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Cor. 2:15). “To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life” (2 Cor. 2:16). In other words, Paul insists that he does not himself change, depending on his audience. He is the same aroma; he proclaims the same Gospel, the same discipleship, the same Christ, the same way to live. Whether he is perceived to be a sweet fragrance or a foul stench does not depend on some change in him, but on the people who must deal with him. Implicitly, the Corinthians must recognize that some animus against the apostle is the animus of the unregenerate heart. “And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Cor. 2:16). Second, many Corinthians (as becomes clear later in this letter) thought that teachers should command substantial salaries, and if they didn’t, they weren’t worth much. In that kind of atmosphere, it would be easy to despise even a gifted apostolic teacher who refused your money. But because he was teaching a gospel of grace, Paul evangelized for free. (He accepted support money from elsewhere.) On the long haul, he did not want to gain a reputation for peddling the word of God for profit; rather, he wanted to be known as a man sent from God (2 Cor. 2:17). ********************************************************************** September 13 7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 3 Devotional by John Piper “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31–34) We have seen in the last two days that Matthew 6:25–34 contains 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 the final three promises. Promise #5: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:31–32) Do not think that God is ignorant of your needs. He knows all of them. And he is “your heavenly Father.” He does not look on, indifferently, from a distance. He cares. He will act to supply your need when the time is best. Promise #6: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) If you will give yourself to his cause in the world, rather than fretting about your private material needs, he will make sure that you have all you need to do his will and give him glory. This is how I understand “All these things will be added to you.” All the food and drink and clothing — and everything else — that you need to do his will and glorify him. Which might mean his purpose is for you to die for him, but he will supply everything you need to do it for his glory. This is similar to the promise of Romans 8:32, “Will [God] not also with [Christ] graciously give us all things?” Which is followed by, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors” (Romans 8:35–37). Famine and nakedness may come. But we will have everything we need to be more than a conqueror. Promise #7: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34) God will see to it that you are not tested in any given day more than you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will work for you, so that “as [your] days, so shall [your] strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25, KJV). Every day has its appointed trouble. But never more than you can bear by his grace. Every day will have mercies that are new every morning — mercies sufficient for that day’s trouble (Lamentations 3:22–23). He will not expect any good deed from you for which he does not supply all the grace you need (2 Corinthians 9:8). **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 14, 2024 11:10:32 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Satur-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: Psalm 39:2-3 ********************************************************************** Are you a Ciceronian? (Charles Spurgeon, "Joy Born at Bethlehem") Perhaps you know the legend or perhaps true history of the awakening of Augustine. He dreamed that he died, and went to the gates of Heaven, and the keeper of the gates said to him, "Who are you?" And he answered, "I am a Christian." But the porter replied, "No, you are not a Christian, you are a Ciceronian, for your thoughts and studies were most of all directed to the works of Cicero and the classics—and you neglected the teaching of Jesus. We judge men here, by that which most engrossed their thoughts, and you are judged not to be a Christian, but a Ciceronian." When Augustine awoke, he put aside the classics which he had studied and the eloquence at which he had aimed, and he said, "I will be a Christian!" And from that time he devoted his thoughts to the Word of God, and his pen and his tongue to the instruction of others in the truths of the gospel. Oh, I wouldn’t have it said of any of you: "Well, he may be somewhat a Christian, but he is far more a keen money getting tradesman." I wouldn’t have it said, "Well he may believe in Christ, but he is a good deal more a politician." Perhaps he is a Christian, but he is most at home when he is talking about science, farming, engineering, horses, mining, navigation, or pleasure taking. No, no! You will never know the fullness of the joy which Jesus brings to the soul—unless under the power of the Holy Spirit you take the Lord your Master to be your All in all, and make Him the fountain of your most intense delight! "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also!” Matthew 6:21 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 14, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Corinthians 3 In some ways, Paul finds himself in an embarrassing position. If he fails to answer some of the concerns that the Corinthians entertained about him and his ministry, he could lose them—not lose them personally (that wouldn’t have bothered Paul), but lose their loyalty to him and therefore to the message that he preached. On the other hand, if he goes on at length about himself, at least some of his detractors will say that he is stuck on himself, or that he is insecure, or that a real apostle would not have to defend himself, or something else of the same sort. Precisely what their charge was, we cannot be sure. That Paul is sensitive to the danger is pretty obvious from several places in the Corinthian correspondence, not least 2 Corinthians 3:1–3. At the end of chapter 2, Paul had insisted that “we [either an editorial ‘we’ or a self-conscious reference to the apostles] speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God” (2 Cor. 2:17)—not at all like peddlers working for profit. Now he rhetorically asks, “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?” (2 Cor. 3:1). The “again” is what betrays the fact that Paul has had to face this problem before with the Corinthians. More specifically, he asks, “Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?” (2 Cor. 3:1). It sounds as if “some people” have attempted to establish their credentials by bringing letters of introduction with them. They or the Corinthians then become dismissive of Paul because he neither fits into the cultural pattern of proving his credentials by asking for a high fee (chap. 2), nor does he bring along papers—from Jerusalem or some other authoritative center—to establish his bona fides. But Paul does not reply by defending his apostolic status in terms of the resurrected Christ’s direct revelation to him. (Elsewhere, however, that is exactly what he does, and even in this chapter he insists that his competence is from God himself, 2 Cor. 3:5). Here he wisely adopts a stance that simultaneously points to the peculiar nature of his own ministry, and gently encourages the Corinthians to acknowledge that they are in no place to think differently. What he tells them, in effect, is that their existence as Christians constitutes, for them, adequate credentialing of Paul. Paul preached the Gospel to them. They are his “letter of recommendation”—the result of his ministry (2 Cor. 3:1, 3). And since genuine conversion is the work of the Spirit of God, they, as Paul’s letter of recommendation, should see themselves as having been “written” not with ink but “with the Spirit of the living God,” and not on a papyrus sheet or a stone tablet, but on the human heart (2 Cor. 3:3). ********************************************************************** September 14 God Will Supply All Your Needs Devotional by John Piper My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) In Philippians 4:6, Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And then in Philippians 4:19 (just 13 verses later), he gives the liberating promise of future grace: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” If we live by faith in this promise of future grace, it will be very hard for anxiety to survive. God’s “riches in glory” are inexhaustible. He really means for us not to worry about our future. We should follow this pattern that Paul lays out for us. We should battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of future grace. When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I regularly battle unbelief with one of my most often-used promises, Isaiah 41:10. The day I left America for three years in Germany my father called me long distance and gave me this promise on the telephone. For three years I must have quoted it to myself five hundred times to get me through periods of tremendous stress. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I have fought anxiety with this promise so many times that when the motor of my mind is in neutral, the hum of the gears is the sound of Isaiah 41:10. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 15, 2024 11:20:43 GMT -5
· ********************************************************************** Lord’s Day DAYSTAR-TERS: ********************************************************************** “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! Psalm 39:4-6 ********************************************************************** Tenacious upon the mad pursuit! (by Jonathan Edwards) Ecclesiastes 2:11, "When I surveyed all that my hands had done, and what I had toiled to achieve—everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun!" Worldly men imagine that there is true excellence and true happiness in those worldly things that they so arduously pursue. They imagine that if they could but obtain them, they would be happy. But when they procure them, and cannot find happiness in them—then they change their course, and look for happiness in some other earthly vanity. Hence they spend their life tenacious upon the mad pursuit! "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!" Ecclesiastes 12:8 But Christ Jesus has true excellence, and so great excellence that when they come to know Him, they look no further, but the mind rests there! "Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Solomon 5:16 A saving knowledge of Christ is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to Heaven, fully to enjoy Him, is the fullness of bliss! He who has Christ, has all that he needs, and needs no more. "The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." "Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it!" Matthew 13:44 and 46 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 15, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 11 Here is David at his worst (2 Sam. 11). In the flow of the narrative through 1 and 2 Samuel, it is almost as if adversity brought out the best in David, while his chain of recent unbroken military and political successes finds him restless, foolish, and not careful. The sins are multiple. Besides the obvious transgressions of lust, adultery, and murder, there are deep sins scarcely less grievous. His attempt to cover his guilt by bringing Uriah home fails because Uriah proves to be that most exceptional of men: an idealist—an idealist who sees even his military responsibilities in terms of his covenantal faith (2 Sam. 11:11). And all this from a converted Hittite! Worse, David’s extraordinary manipulation of the military and political levers of power shows that this king has become intoxicated by power. He thinks he can arrange anything; he thinks he has the right to use the state to advance and then cover up his own sin. The name of that game is corruption. There are other remarkable elements in the narrative. First, almost nothing is said of Bathsheba, except that she was beautiful, was seduced, and eventually married David. Of course, at one level she was no less guilty than he. But of this the text does not say a word. Elsewhere the Bible can record the exploits of good women (Ruth) and evil women (Jezebel); indeed, toward the end of David’s life Bathsheba herself plays a significant role. Perhaps in part the text does not cast blame on her here because she has been manipulated by a figure far more powerful. More likely the silence signals not relative degrees of blame but primary focus: the account is of David, and ultimately of David’s line. Second, it is astonishing that David thought he could get away with this. Even politically, too many people had to know what he had done; the story could not be kept quiet. And how could David imagine, even for a moment, that God himself would not know? Was he at this point badly alienated from God? At the very least, this chapter provides a dramatic witness to the blinding effects of sin. Third, the chapter ends—somberly and powerfully—with the simple sentence, “But the thing David had done displeased the LORD” (2 Sam. 11:27). Doubtless David was quietly congratulating himself for his clever cover-up. He had sinned and gotten away with it. Some of his more servile lackeys may even have congratulated their master. But God knew, and was not pleased. Believers who are walking with their Creator and Redeemer never forget that God sees and knows, and that what pleases him is the only thing that really matters; what displeases him will sooner or later catch up with us. ********************************************************************** September 15 The Only Enduring Happiness Devotional by John Piper “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22) “No one will take your joy from you” because your joy comes from being with Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus means that you will never die; you will never be cut off from him. So two things have to be true if your joy is never to be taken from you. One is that the source of your joy lasts forever and the other is that you last forever. If either you or the source of your joy is mortal, your joy will be taken from you. And oh, how many people have settled for just that! Eat, drink, and be merry they say, for tomorrow we die, and that’s that (Luke 12:19). Food doesn’t last forever, and I don’t last forever. So let’s make the most of it while we can. What a tragedy! If you are tempted to think that way, please consider as seriously as you possibly can that if your joy comes from being with Jesus, “No one will take your joy from you” — not in this life, nor in the life to come. Not life or death, or angels or principalities, or things present or things to come, or powers or height or depth, or anything else in all creation will be able to take our joy from us in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:38–39). Joy in being with Jesus is an unbroken line from now to eternity. It will not be cut off — not by his death or ours. **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 16, 2024 8:22:19 GMT -5
David A. Mapes sSdonetoprmtmi57li1t61um46a h 1 umh9g67i5a0376t0161h8au657c24fm · ********************************************************************** Mon-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:7 ********************************************************************** Thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency! (by Charles Spurgeon) “I will help thee, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 41:14 This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: I will help thee! It is but a small thing for me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with my blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee! And if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee? It is the least thing I will ever do for thee! I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began, I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside my glory and became a man for thee. I gave up my life for thee! And if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee. Thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. ’Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. Help thee? Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat! And thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency! I will help thee! O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want…more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here: thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply! What canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might: the Eternal God is thine helper! “Fear not, I am with thee, oh be not dismayed, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid!” ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 16, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 12 In Nathan’s dramatic confrontation with King David (2 Sam. 12), the prophet’s courage was mingled with a formidable sagacity. How else could a prophet grab the attention of an autocratic king and denounce his sin to his face, apart from this oblique approach? Certain features of this chapter must be reflected on. First, the fundamental difference between David and Saul is now obvious. Both men abused power in high office. What makes them different is the way they respond to a rebuke. When Samuel accused Saul of sin, the latter dissembled; when Jonathan questioned Saul’s policy, a spear was thrown at him. By contrast, although Nathan approaches his subject obliquely, the sin is soon out in the open: “You are the man!” (2 Sam. 12:7). Yet David’s response is radically different: “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Sam. 12:13). That, surely, is one of the ultimate tests of the direction of a person’s life. We are a race of sinners. Even good people, people of strong faith, even someone like David—who is “a man after God’s own heart” (cf. 1 Sam. 13:14)—may slip and sin. There is never an excuse for it, but when it happens it should never surprise us. But those who are serious about the knowledge of God will in due course return with genuine contrition. Spurious converts and apostates will string out a plethora of lame excuses, but will not admit personal guilt except in the most superficial ways. Second, only God can forgive sin. When he does so, sin’s proper punishment, death itself, is not applied (2 Sam. 12:13). Third, even when sin’s ultimate sanction is not applied, there may be other consequences that cannot be avoided in this fallen and broken world. David now faces three of them: (1) that the child Bathsheba is carrying will die; (2) that throughout his lifetime there will be skirmishing and warfare as he establishes his kingdom; (3) that at some point in his life he will see what it is like to be betrayed: someone from his own household will temporarily seize the throne, exemplified by sleeping with the royal harem (2 Sam. 12:12–13). Each is piquant. The first is bound up with the adultery itself; the second is perhaps a hint that the reason David was tempted in the first place was because he had not gone forth to war along with Joab, but had stayed home (2 Sam. 11:1), clearly longing for peace; and the third treats David to the betrayal that he himself has practiced. Fourth, David’s response to the most pressing of the judgments is altogether salutary. God is not the equivalent of impersonal Fate. He is a person, and a person may be petitioned and pursued. Despite his massive failure, David is still a man who knows God better than his numerous critics. ********************************************************************** September 16 The Soul’s Final Feast Devotional by John Piper One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4) God is not unresponsive to the contrite longing of the soul. He comes and lifts the load of sin and fills our heart with gladness and gratitude. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalm 30:11–12). But our joy does not just rise from the backward glance in gratitude. It also rises from the forward glance in hope: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5–6). “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5). In the end, the heart longs not for any of God’s good gifts, but for God himself. To see him and know him and be in his presence is the soul’s final feast. Beyond this there is no quest. Words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight. But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). “Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4). **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 17, 2024 9:51:35 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Mon-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:7 ********************************************************************** Thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency! (by Charles Spurgeon) “I will help thee, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 41:14 This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: I will help thee! It is but a small thing for me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with my blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee! And if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee? It is the least thing I will ever do for thee! I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began, I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside my glory and became a man for thee. I gave up my life for thee! And if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee. Thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. ’Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. Help thee? Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat! And thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency! I will help thee! O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want…more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here: thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply! What canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might: the Eternal God is thine helper! “Fear not, I am with thee, oh be not dismayed, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid!” ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 16, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 12 In Nathan’s dramatic confrontation with King David (2 Sam. 12), the prophet’s courage was mingled with a formidable sagacity. How else could a prophet grab the attention of an autocratic king and denounce his sin to his face, apart from this oblique approach? Certain features of this chapter must be reflected on. First, the fundamental difference between David and Saul is now obvious. Both men abused power in high office. What makes them different is the way they respond to a rebuke. When Samuel accused Saul of sin, the latter dissembled; when Jonathan questioned Saul’s policy, a spear was thrown at him. By contrast, although Nathan approaches his subject obliquely, the sin is soon out in the open: “You are the man!” (2 Sam. 12:7). Yet David’s response is radically different: “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Sam. 12:13). That, surely, is one of the ultimate tests of the direction of a person’s life. We are a race of sinners. Even good people, people of strong faith, even someone like David—who is “a man after God’s own heart” (cf. 1 Sam. 13:14)—may slip and sin. There is never an excuse for it, but when it happens it should never surprise us. But those who are serious about the knowledge of God will in due course return with genuine contrition. Spurious converts and apostates will string out a plethora of lame excuses, but will not admit personal guilt except in the most superficial ways. Second, only God can forgive sin. When he does so, sin’s proper punishment, death itself, is not applied (2 Sam. 12:13). Third, even when sin’s ultimate sanction is not applied, there may be other consequences that cannot be avoided in this fallen and broken world. David now faces three of them: (1) that the child Bathsheba is carrying will die; (2) that throughout his lifetime there will be skirmishing and warfare as he establishes his kingdom; (3) that at some point in his life he will see what it is like to be betrayed: someone from his own household will temporarily seize the throne, exemplified by sleeping with the royal harem (2 Sam. 12:12–13). Each is piquant. The first is bound up with the adultery itself; the second is perhaps a hint that the reason David was tempted in the first place was because he had not gone forth to war along with Joab, but had stayed home (2 Sam. 11:1), clearly longing for peace; and the third treats David to the betrayal that he himself has practiced. Fourth, David’s response to the most pressing of the judgments is altogether salutary. God is not the equivalent of impersonal Fate. He is a person, and a person may be petitioned and pursued. Despite his massive failure, David is still a man who knows God better than his numerous critics. ********************************************************************** September 16 The Soul’s Final Feast Devotional by John Piper One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4) God is not unresponsive to the contrite longing of the soul. He comes and lifts the load of sin and fills our heart with gladness and gratitude. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalm 30:11–12). But our joy does not just rise from the backward glance in gratitude. It also rises from the forward glance in hope: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5–6). “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5). In the end, the heart longs not for any of God’s good gifts, but for God himself. To see him and know him and be in his presence is the soul’s final feast. Beyond this there is no quest. Words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight. But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). “Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4). **********************************************************************
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Post by Admin on Sept 18, 2024 9:54:21 GMT -5
Reformed Baptist Fellowship & Theology Forum David A. Mapes · · David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Tues-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. Psalm 39:8-9 ********************************************************************** Redeemed! (Henry Law, "Redemption") "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold, that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect!" 1 Peter 1:18-19 "He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness, and to purify for Himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good!" Titus 2:14 Redeemed ones are no longer their own. Your time is redeemed; use it as a consecrated talent in His cause. Your minds are redeemed; employ them to learn His truth, and to meditate on His ways. Thus make them armories of holy weapons. Your eyes are redeemed; let them not look on vanity. Turn them away from all folly and worldliness! Your feet are redeemed; let them trample on the world, and climb the upward hill of Zion, and bear you onward in the march of Christian zeal. Your tongues are redeemed; let them only sound His praise, and testify to His love, and call sinners to His cross. Your hearts are redeemed; let them love Him wholly, and have no place for rivals. "You are not your own, for God bought you with a high price!" 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 "God paid a high price for you, so don't be enslaved by the world!" 1 Corinthians 7:23 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 17, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 13 The threat to David’s reign predicted by the prophet Nathan begins with a sordid side-tale that nevertheless betrays exactly what is wrong with David’s rule (2 Sam. 13). The multiplicity of royal wives meant that there were many half brothers and half sisters. This sets up the wretched rape of Tamar. The profiles of the people involved, with the exception of Tamar, betray what today we would label a dysfunctional family. Of course, only two of the brothers, Amnon and Absalom, are seen close up. But David’s handling of them—or better, his utter failure to handle them—is of a piece with the way he had earlier failed to handle Joab (see meditation on September 9). Amnon is lustful, immature, irresponsible, deceptive, and brutal. One of the most revealing statements about him is what is said immediately after he has raped Tamar: “Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her” (2 Sam. 13:15). We are dealing with a spoiled child who has become an evil man. If at this point David had exercised the justice he should have displayed in his role as head of state, the history of the next few years would have been entirely different. He shares the sin of Eli (see 1 Samuel 3 and the August 13 meditation): he sees his sons doing evil, and does nothing to restrain them. If he had required Amnon to face the full force of the law, not only would he have fired a shot across the bows of any other potentially wayward son, he would have proved he cared for what had happened to his daughter, and he would have drawn the horrible bitterness and vengefulness that Tamar’s full brother Absalom now brings to a boil. At this point Absalom is a tragic figure. He rightly holds Amnon accountable. Unable to find redress in the legal system that his own father has short-circuited, he opts for vengeance, then has to flee his father’s wrath. Doubtless he should not have slain Amnon, but up to this point he is presented as a more attractive and principled character than the man he assassinates. Yet he knows that even David cannot ignore this particular murder, so he flees, leaving his father to look foolish and indecisive. Relationships between fathers and sons are rarely both rich and straightforward. But the pattern of David’s life, juxtaposed with Eli’s but a few short chapters earlier, illustrates the kinds of disasters that befall families where the father, however loving, indulgent, godly, and heroic he may be, never holds his children to account, never disciplining them when they go astray. David’s failure with Amnon and Absalom was not a first: it was the continuation of a moral and familial failure begun when the boys were in diapers. ********************************************************************** September 17 Worship in a Lightning Storm Devotional by John Piper “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” (Luke 17:24) I was flying at night from Chicago to Minneapolis, almost alone on the plane. The pilot announced that there was a thunderstorm over Lake Michigan and into Wisconsin. He would skirt it to the west to avoid turbulence. As I sat there staring out into the total blackness on the east side of the plane, suddenly the whole sky was brilliant with light, and a cavern of white clouds fell away four miles beneath the plane and then vanished. A second later, a mammoth white tunnel of light exploded from north to south across the horizon, and again vanished into blackness. Soon the lightning was almost constant, and volcanoes of light burst up out of cloud ravines and from behind distant white mountains of clouds. I sat there shaking my head almost in unbelief. O Lord, if these are but the sparks from the sharpening of your sword, what will be the day of your appearing! And I remembered the words of Christ: “As the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day” (Luke 17:24). Even now as I recollect that sight, the word glory is full of feeling for me. I thank God that again and again he has awakened my heart to desire him, to see him, and to sit down to the feast of Christian Hedonism and worship the King of Glory. The banquet hall is very large. Come.
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Post by Admin on Sept 18, 2024 9:55:43 GMT -5
David A. Mapes · ********************************************************************** Wednes-DAYSTAR-ters: ********************************************************************** Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah Psalm 39:10-11 ********************************************************************** My soul, where would you have been this day? (By John MacDuff) Romans 8:38-39, "I am convinced that…neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" "Satan has desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you Simon, that your faith should not fail" Luke 22:31, 32 What a scene does this unfold…Satan tempting, Jesus praying! Satan sifting, Jesus pleading! "The strong man assailing," "the stronger than the strong" beating him back! Believer, here is the past history and present secret of your safety in the midst of temptation. An interceding Savior was at your side, saying to every threatening wave, "Thus far shall you go, and no farther!" God often permits His people to be on the very verge of the precipice, to remind them of their own weakness; but never farther than the brink! The restraining hand of Omnipotence is ready to rescue them, "Although he stumbles, yet he shall not be utterly cast down." And why? "For the Lord upholds him with His right hand!" The wolf may be prowling for his prey; but what can he do when the Shepherd is always there, tending with the watchful eye that "neither slumbers nor sleeps?" Who cannot subscribe to the testimony, "When my My foot was slipping, Your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up!" Who can look back on his past pilgrimage, and fail to see it crowded with monuments with this inscription: "You have delivered…my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling!" Psalm 116:8 My soul, where would you have been this day, had you not been "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation?" "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand! My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand!" John 10:27-29 ********************************************************************** Feel free to forward these gems to others who may be encouraged or profited by them! ********************************************************************** For the Love of God September 18, 2024, | Don Carson 2 Samuel 14 What a twisted thing sin is. Its motives and machinations are convoluted and perverse. At one level the account of 2 Samuel 14 is pretty straightforward. At another, it is full of thought-provoking ironies. David adopts the worst of all possible courses. At first he cannot simply forgive Absalom, for that would in effect be admitting that he, David himself, should have taken decisive action against Amnon. On the other hand, David cannot bring himself to ban Absalom decisively, so he secretly mourns him. After Joab’s ruse with the “wise woman” (2 Sam. 14:2), he resolves to bring Absalom back. Even here, however, he is indecisive. If he is going to allow Absalom back in the country and the capital, why does he exclude him from seeing David—and thus intrinsically from family gatherings and the like? By the end of the chapter there is a reconciliation. But at what cost? The issues have not been resolved, merely swept under the table. On the other hand, if David is determined to forgive his son, why does he leave him in limbo for a few years? How much does this treatment by his own father foment the rebellion described in the next chapter? There is no small irony in the fact that the man who convinces David, via this “wise woman,” to bring Absalom back, is the very man whom David should have disciplined years before (see September 9 meditation). If David had disciplined Joab, where would he have been at this point? Probably not manipulating the king’s counselors and petitioners. On the face of it, Absalom is willing to go to some extraordinary lengths to get an audience with Joab and eventually be restored to the good graces of the king. Burning down a man’s standing grain is a pretty big step (2 Sam. 14:29–32). Yet despite all of his sincere passion to be readmitted to the king’s court and presence, it will not be long before Absalom attempts to usurp the throne (chap. 15). That is the supreme irony. After so much effort, Absalom is finally admitted to David’s presence: “he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom” (2 Sam. 14:33). He had gained what he wanted. So what kind of power-hungry resentment is it that mounts the vicious insurrection of the next chapter? People who have been following the story right along will not only perceive all the proximate causes of the rebellion, the understandable connections among all the personal failures that brought about the terrible conclusion. They will also recall that God himself had predicted, as a matter of judicial punishment on David over the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah, that he would bring calamity on him from someone in his household. ********************************************************************** September 18 The Only True Freedom Devotional by John Piper Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32) What is true freedom? Are you free? Here are four things that need to be true if we are going to be fully free. 1. If you don’t have the desire to do a thing, you are not fully free to do it. Oh, you may muster the willpower to do what you don’t want to do, but nobody calls that full freedom. It’s not the way we want to live. There is a constraint and pressure on us that we don’t want. 2. And if you have the desire to do something, but no ability to do it, you are not free to do it. 3. And if you have the desire and the ability to do something, but no opportunity to do it, you are not free to do it. 4. And if you have the desire to do something, and the ability to do it, and the opportunity to do it, but it destroys you in the end, you are not fully free — not free indeed — when you do it. To be fully free, we must have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will make us happy forever. No regrets. And only Jesus, the Son of God who died and rose for us, can make that possible. If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36). **********************************************************************
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