Psalm 116
Death has been mankind's enemy, that dark spectre that has hung just behind our shoulder since shortly after being cast out of the Garden of Eden. We fear death for ourselves and for our loved ones, and when it strikes we grieve deeply. Today’s psalm from an unknown author, relates the great fear the psalmist had when he came close to death. He cried out in prayer to God, and gave thanks to Him for his deliverance.
This psalm is the personal testimony of passing through the deep valley of grief. He tells first of his love for the Lord who saw him through distress, sorrow, and grief. Then his desire to give God thanks for seeing him through this difficult time. Praise and thanksgiving should be the natural result of answered prayer.
We don’t know the specifics of the situation the psalmist faced. It could have been a near-fatal illness that he had. Perhaps he faced some enemy, coming close to being killed. Maybe there was some type of accident, or other dangerous situation that found himself in. Since we don’t know what it was, no matter what life-threatening situation we may ever be in, we can relate to this Scripture. Also, though the passage appears to deal with being delivered from physical death, it could also be recited by one saved from spiritual death, as well.
What do we do when God seems silent to us? There are times, often very desperate times, when we pray and we hear nothing back. When the terrible situation we are in, the deadly illness we or a loved one has, gets steadily worse, where is God? We are tempted to give up on God and turn away from Him. That is a mistake. Believers, instead, should press in to Him, and not pull away. Praise Him out loud for what He will do for us.
When we are afraid, we lose confidence and doubt God’s goodness. We are like the disciples in the boat during the storm. Remember, Jesus is in the boat with us. God is responsive to those who have put their faith and trust in Him (vs. 2). We can always reach Him. God is always near us, listening to our prayers. When no one else sees, God sees. When no one else cares, God cares. He sees. He hears. God’s timing is always perfect.
It is good to remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness and the hope that we have in Him (vs. 5-9). Faced with this desperate situation, the psalmist looked back at previous times the Lord came to his rescue. Looking back reminded him that God was One who could be trusted and relied on. One way for us to remember would be to spend some time naming the many ways God has been good to us. The same God who has been faithful in the past will continue His love for us in the future. His goodness can keep us filled with His peace.
When we pray to the Lord, we don’t always see His answer right away. However, believers are to walk by faith, not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7). Those who really believe in Jesus should speak of their beliefs to others (vs. 10, II Corinthians 4:13-15). When we share with others what the Lord has done for us, we might give hope and the beginnings of faith to others who are going through a similar difficult time.
What price can we put on our deliverance? (vs. 12) God needs nothing, and there is no price on His free mercy and grace. There is nothing we can ever do to earn salvation. Our salvation was bought with the price of the Blood of Jesus, and comes to us through faith, not by our works. When He answers our prayers, that is through His love for us. The only acceptable gift we can give is our obedience and thanksgiving.
What about the times when God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we would wish, when perhaps a loved one dies? Verse 15 contains a special answer to that. The Word of God says that the death of a believer is precious in His sight. Believers are precious to God. He carefully chooses the time when they will be called into His presence. When a believer dies, God rejoices that another one of His children has entered His eternal presence. We will grieve their passing, but we should also rejoice, knowing that they are now with the Savior. We should always remember - death is not the end, but a new beginning.
Isaiah 43:1-3, 10-12
“Hey you!” Sometimes that’s how we are called when the other person doesn’t know our name. We might not think that’s a big deal if it’s a stranger calling us, but if it is someone who really should know our name, like our teacher, boss, or neighbor, that’s another matter. Names are important. We can feel rather insignificant when someone who should know our name doesn’t even bother to know or use it. How about God? In this week’s Old Testament reading from the Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer we will learn whether God knows and cares enough about each one of us.
There are many of us who go through life feeling very insignificant and unloved or cared about. We are just a “Hey you!” Or we are known by some nick-name that is really a put-down, like “Skinny”, “Fatty”, or “Freckles” because others couldn’t be bothered to learn our real name. As the Prophet Isaiah opens our Scripture passage today, he lets us know that Yahweh, our Creator God, knows each and every one of us by our name (vs. 1). Today in 2020 there are approximately 8 billion people on earth, yet God knows each of us individually. He knows and loves us enough that He calls us by our individual name. We are not just that anonymous person at work or school, or in the neighborhood. We are not just a Social Security number to God. We are a special person to Him, with a name He knows and calls.
As Isaiah continues on in this passage, God not only knows our name, but He loves and cares enough about us that He also protects us throughout all of life’s trials and dangers (vs. 2). God protects us in times of trouble. We are important to Him. Isaiah names two specific types of danger here that a person might go through in life, water and fire, but any type of danger would apply. We all face raging waters and fires of adversity in life. God promises that He will be with us as we go through these trials. They will not overcome us if we trust Him. No matter how deep the water we wade in, or how raging the river that comes against us in life, we will not be overwhelmed. Jesus is with us. His love for us is stronger than anything (Zephaniah 3:17).
Going through deep water or through fire all alone will harm or possibly kill us. When we go through those, whether literally or figuratively, we should never do that in our own strength. Take hold of Jesus’ hand, and have Him carry you through. Fear tells us that God will not come through, and that we will be defeated. We must never listen to fear! Jesus tells us to not be afraid. He will walk with us through any trial. He cares for the tiniest of sparrows, and we are more valuable in His sight than they are (Matthew 10:31). Just as Jesus was sovereignly in control over the storms on the Sea of Galilee, so He is over the storms and trials in our life.
The Bible says here in this passage “when”, not “if”. Trials will come. However, we can trust that God will be with us through them all. He promises to bring us safely to the other side. Why does He promise us that? Why does He care about us individually, care about us enough to call us by our name? As verse 3 tells us, it is because God loves us enough that He came to save us, He is our Savior. We are His (vs. 1), as He bought us with His Blood, shed on Calvary.
Since we are God’s children, bought through the price of the life of His Son Jesus Christ, we have the responsibility to tell the world who God is, and all that He has done for us (vs. 10-11). He has told us to be His witnesses, telling them that there is no other Savior except Jesus. The false religions of the world have never had a god who loved the people who falsely worshipped them. Their false religions never claim that their god knows them individually, nor protected and cared for them like Jesus does. No matter what we go through, we can be confident that Jesus has not abandoned us, and never will!
John 20:19-31
Many people have various scars on their bodies, perhaps from surgeries or maybe an accident. I have several. On my left arm I have a large scar from when I shattered that arm in several places two years ago and needed surgery to repair it. I have a scar on my right wrist, a scar from a burn, and a scar from a deep cut on my leg. When you look at your scars you are reminded of what occurred to make them. Those scars can “speak” to you, telling what you have been through. In today’s study from the Gospel of John we will look at some very special scars that we should always keep in our memory.
As our Scripture passage opens, Jesus comes and appears to the disciples that first evening after His resurrection (vs. 19-20). In order to reassure them that they were not seeing a ghost, Jesus shows them His hands and side, those scars where the nails had been driven through, and where the centurion's spear had been thrust. They saw and believed that He truly had risen, just as the women had reported.
There was one of the disciples missing that evening, the Apostle Thomas. Perhaps he was afraid to be in a group with the others since the Jewish religious leaders were threatening them, or maybe he just wanted to be alone with his grief. Whatever his reason, Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared to the others that Resurrection Day evening. Later that week when the ten disciples told Thomas of Jesus’ appearance to them, he scoffed, telling them that he would not believe unless he stuck his fingers into those scars (vs. 24-25). Perhaps Thomas had watched the crucifixion from a distance, seeing when those scars were made on the Savior’s body. Obviously those scars were important to him, marring the body of the Teacher he had loved, and now was dead. The next Sunday evening Thomas was with the disciples when they were gathered together, and Jesus appeared to them again. Calling Thomas over, Jesus showed him His scars, offering him the chance to look and touch them, and gently chiding him for his unbelief (vs. 26-27).
The various scars I have on my body, and those you might have too, are permanent in this life. They don’t fade away. They won’t wash away. They are there until I die. In heaven, in the glorified body all believers will have, those scars will be gone. The scars that Jesus has, though, are permanent for eternity. Even in His glorified and heavenly Body, those scars remain. They show for all eternity the price that was paid for our salvation. Jesus’ scars prove Him to be the Messiah. They tell the story of our salvation. It is a story of pain, caused by our sin and endured for love of us.
As Isaiah the prophet said, we are engraved into the palms of God’s hands (Isaiah 49:16). When God looks at those scars on His hands, He sees your name and my name in there. He loves each one of us so much that He died for us, receiving those scars for love of you and me.
Both Thomas and the disciples had trouble believing others' testimonies of the resurrection. The women, particularly Mary Magdalene, had returned giving testimony of Jesus’ resurrection, and the ten had been slow to believe until Jesus appeared. Then Thomas wouldn’t believe their testimony, either. Jesus told us that those who do not need visual evidence of God and His power are especially blessed (vs. 29). Trusting God means looking beyond what we can see. When we are faced with uncertainty, do we trust in God’s unseen sovereignty and care for us? Will we believe, even if we cannot see right now? Even when we don’t see God at work in our situation we need to still trust Him.
We have all the proof we need in the Word of God. Let’s take up our Bible, believe what is written there, and seek the Lord in faith.
I Peter 1:3-9
Have you ever had someone tell you that they have both good news, and then some not-so-good news for you? We all like the good news. Give us that! They can keep the not-so-good news to themselves, we are thinking. Good news that we have an inheritance is always received with joy. Especially an inheritance that is safe and secure. The news that we have to go through some heavy trials, some very difficult times is not something we want to hear. This is the news that the Apostle Peter gives as he starts his epistle message today. However, as Peter looks at it, and as he teaches us, it all can be good news for believers. Let’s look and see what the Word of God can teach us.
As Peter opens his letter to fellow believers, he shares with us some good news. One piece of good news is that because Jesus rose from the dead and is alive, we have a living hope (vs. 3). All that God has promised to those who trust in Him is guaranteed. Those promises are not something that can be lost, so our hope can be sure and steadfast. Jesus’ resurrection guarantees that God will honor all of His promises. The reason God provided us with so glorious a salvation is because He is a merciful God. That is also good news, because we need His mercy since we are sinners. Once we have taken Jesus as our Savior, we have the hope of eternal life. We can have confident optimism in all God has promised us. This knowledge, and that He is always with us, should keep us going, even in the worst of times.
We have a new life that begins when we are saved. Our hope is guaranteed by Jesus’ resurrection. We also have an inheritance that is incorruptible (vs. 4-5). It cannot be destroyed or tainted, and it lasts forever, which is more good news for us. It is kept secure in heaven, guaranteed by God. Ft. Knox, where the U.S. stores its gold reserves, is one of the safest, most secure places on earth. Yet as safe as that is, our inheritance kept in heaven, is far more secure. God is keeping our inheritance for us. He has supreme power, omniscient, omnipotent, and sovereign. He will keep both our inheritance and us secure. This inheritance will not pass away or decay, nor is it polluted or tainted with evil. God has guaranteed this for us, and we can have confidence in Him based on the indestructible truth of God’s Word.
One thing that can be discouraging for believers, despite knowing that we have an inheritance waiting for us in heaven, is the many trials we go through while here in this life (vs. 6). The Bible makes it clear that troubles are inevitable for God’s children. As His followers, we can expect difficulty. Peter encourages us to look past all of our troubles, and on to our eternal inheritance. Whatever trials we have to endure in this life, our souls cannot be harmed if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We know we will receive the promised rewards. For this we can greatly rejoice, despite any trials or problems we go through.
Our trials can show just how genuine our faith is. It is genuine if we come through the trial still trusting God (vs. 7). How would we know that we can trust God if we’ve never experienced a situation where only He could help us? Trials allow our faith to be refined by fire, just like gold. God uses everything that touches our lives for our good and His glory.
Let’s lift our eyes to God instead of focusing on our troubles. If our hope is only in this life, we will have despair. God has ensured that our tribulations accomplish His purposes. He is sovereign over every adversity. God uses trials to strengthen our faith. Going through suffering, and yet remaining true to Christ gives a testimony to others about salvation and the Lord Jesus. Going through our trials clinging closely to Jesus will make our faith stronger. God can turn what may seem like bad news into something positive for us.
Psalm 111
Do you remember falling in love with someone? One thing that a person in love does is try and find out all they can about that one they love. They want to know about where their loved one lives, all about their job, their likes and dislikes. They want to know what foods they enjoy, their taste in music, hobbies, etc. It is almost as if the one is studying the person they love. The same should hold true for those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior, as our psalm reading for this week tells us. Let’s look into this short psalm and see what it can teach us.
The psalmist begins by proclaiming his praise of the Lord, saying that he will praise the Lord with his whole heart (vs. 1). This isn’t just a small love, or little praise, but one with the whole heart. This is reminiscent of what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-38. We are to love and praise God with all of our heart, completely, totally, and fully devoted.
When we love someone deeply we often tell others all the many things that we love about our loved one. We will tell them that he or she did this or that wonderful thing for us. We tell others how smart we think our loved one is, how talented they are, what wonderful wavy hair they have, what beautiful blue eyes, etc. Our psalmist spends most of this psalm telling many of the things about God that he loves (vs. 2-9). He begins saying how those who love God, and find pleasure in Him, will study all He has done. They will try to find out all they can about Him, and spend time in learning and studying all of His works (vs. 2). This is done by reading and studying the Scriptures
God’s works are mentioned five times throughout these verses. First, the psalmist tells us that all God does is honorable, glorious, and righteous (vs. 3). The things He does are not evil, wicked, or harmful to us. That would be the realm of the devil, not God. He is gracious to us, and full of compassion (vs. 4). He reminds us that God provides for our needs, giving us food, and remembers all of His promises to us (vs. 5). All He does is done in truth and justice, and His work will last forever (vs. 7-8).
The psalmist saves the mention of God’s greatest work for last, and that is the redemption of mankind (vs. 9). Scripture provides for us a solution for this great need, that of rescue from sin and eternal separation from God. He has an eternal plan for rescuing us from our sin and allowing us to enjoy fellowship with Him. That was accomplished by the shed Blood of His only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the price to free us from slavery to sin. He gave His life as a perfect sacrifice. Now all believers can freely approach God through prayer, and have Him in their lives through the Holy Spirit.
The final verse of this brief psalm tells us how we can obtain wisdom (vs. 10). Everyone wants to have wisdom, and not go through life bumbling around, making mistakes, and amounting to nothing. The only way to become truly wise is to fear God - to show Him due reverence and worship (Proverbs 1:7). It is not through life experiences or academic knowledge. Our true wisdom depends upon our relationship with God. If we do not acknowledge God as the source of wisdom, our ability to make wise decisions will be faulty. We will make mistakes and foolish choices. The more we obey God, the more insight and understanding He will give us. The more we know His Word, the more wisdom He will give.
Having a fear of God is having a healthy respect for God’s power and authority. Having a reverence for Him, a combination of love, awe, and dependence built on an accurate knowledge of His power. Genuine believers have a healthy fear of the Lord, which leads to respect for His commands, precepts, and principles. Genuine faith in Jesus always results in learning what pleases Him, and then, very importantly, doing that.
Genesis 8:6-16; 9:8-16
Most people would agree that keeping a promise is important, and promises really shouldn’t be made lightly. No one likes having promises broken that were made to them, nor to be known as a promise-breaker. How about when we have to wait a long time for the promise to be fulfilled? Do we give up hope? That probably depends on who made the promise, and what their track record is when it comes to keeping their word. Our Old Testament Scripture passage this week comes from the Book of Genesis, from the familiar account of Noah and the Ark. As we study this passage, we see that Noah showed much patience and trust in God, and the fulfillment of His promises.
As we read earlier in the Book of Genesis, mankind had grown so terribly sinful that God decided to destroy everyone. He instructed Noah to build an ark to save himself, along with a pair of each animal. When the ark was completed, Noah and his family, along with the assembled animals boarded the ark. They were on the ark for seven whole days before God sent the rain (Genesis 7:4-10). Did Noah wonder if he had misunderstood God, or that this was sort of a joke? After a week God sent the rain. It rained for 40 days and nights (Genesis 7:12). That’s a long time. I enjoy a good thunderstorm, but if it continues steadily raining for more than a few days straight, I want to see the sun again! The ark continued to drift upon the waters for many days before the tops of the mountains began to appear, and even more time before it came to rest (Genesis 8:1-5), and a while longer before the ground completely dried. That is a long time. God had promised to protect him and his family. Throughout this whole time, in the midst of what must have been some terrifying times for Noah and his family, he kept trusting God, believing that He would keep His promises.
As we read in our passage, Noah sent out both a raven and a dove. The raven kept flying until the waters completely receded. The dove, however, came back when she saw there was no dry land (vs. 9). When the dove was sent out the first time, she could find no place to rest. She flew and flew, but there was no place for her to land. So what did she do? She returned to the ark, a place of refuge, a symbol or type of Christ. There she was safe. We may wander all over the world looking for rest, but our rest can only come from Jesus.
After Noah sent out the dove a second time, she returned with an olive leaf, indicating that plant life had returned to the earth. He waited an additional week, and then the Lord gave the okay to leave the ark (vs. 15-16). What if Noah had been impatient, and had left earlier? Perhaps when the ark first landed on ground, or maybe when the dove had returned with the leaf? If Noah had been impatient and gone out earlier than God wanted, it would have been a mess with mud and muck! Noah did not go out until God told him to, when it was safe to. When we rush ahead of God’s timetable we will find ourselves in a mess, in nothing but trouble. God knows best.
When Noah and his family were out of the ark, God gave them a special promise. He promised to never again destroy the whole world by a flood (vs. 11). Throughout Scripture God gives two kinds of promises - conditional promises, and unconditional ones. Conditional promises are dependent on our behavior. We do this, and God promises He will do that. Unconditional promises are not dependent upon us. What God promises will happen, no matter what. It will stand. This promise to Noah and his family was an unconditional promise. God has promised, no matter what, He will not flood the entire earth again. There have been devastating floods in various parts of the world, but never again one that floods the whole earth. God has said, though, later in Scripture, that He will destroy the world by fire (II Peter 3:10-11, Revelation 20:9, and Revelation 21:1).
God gave the rainbow as a sign of His promise to Noah (vs. 13-16). This is a symbol of God’s covenant to never destroy the whole world again with a flood. God never breaks His promises. He promised Noah that He would protect them and the animals from the flood, and though they were on the ark for a long time, God kept that promise. They emerged without any harm. Now God has given mankind His Word. The rainbow is a symbol of that promise. Each time we see a rainbow, we can remember God’s promise to us. Each of God’s promises are unbroken and unending.
Acts 4:1-21
Sometimes it is possible to tell where someone has been, just by one look, or perhaps even by the smell. Workers in coal mines would often come back home with the black coal dust on their faces and clothes. 19th century chimney sweeps would be covered in soot. Coming back from a swimming pool, one might smell a bit like the chlorinated water. Working in a perfume factory, one might bring that scent with them, and get too close to a skunk and you certainly will! Can anyone tell that we have been with Jesus? In our Scripture selection today from the Book of Acts, we read how the enemies of the Gospel knew that Peter and John had been with Jesus, it was so evident in their character and words.
Right prior to the start of our passage, Peter and John had just performed a miracle in the Name of Jesus, by healing a crippled man. Peter followed up the healing with a message about salvation in Jesus Christ (Acts 3). This angered the Jewish religious leaders, including the high priest and elders. They greatly objected to the apostles talking to the people about the resurrection of Jesus (vs. 1-7). They had executed Jesus as a blasphemer, and they didn’t want the apostles telling people that He had risen as He said He would. A few short weeks earlier these disciples had fled when these same authorities had come and arrested Jesus. They had hid in fear when they crucified Him. Now they boldly stood before these religious leaders and proclaimed the Name of Jesus (vs. 8-12). The Holy Spirit gave Peter power to preach the Gospel to the very men who had condemned Jesus to death.
In this brief Gospel message that Peter gave that day, one important truth sticks out, and that is that there is salvation in no other name than that of Jesus (vs. 12). Salvation is exclusive. It is by faith in Jesus Christ alone. There are only two religious paths - the broad path of works, which leads to eternal death, or the narrow path of faith in Jesus, which leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14). Since God has designated Jesus to be the Savior of the world, no one else can be His equal. There can be no being “open-minded” about how we get to heaven or how we are saved from sin. No other religious leader is God’s Son. No one else died for our sins and rose again. Salvation is through Jesus only, not any other religious beliefs.
Verse 12 often offends many people. Jesus said that the world would hate us for believing that He, alone, is the Son of God (John 15:18). If the shed Blood of Jesus is not necessary for salvation, if some other religious philosophy or teaching will also do, then why would God have sent Jesus to the cross? God makes no mistakes, and it is through Jesus, and faith in His Blood alone that will bring one to heaven.
These religious leaders noted right away that Peter and John had been with Jesus, and that they were two of His disciples (vs. 13). They didn’t have to wonder who these two were. It was evident by their words and actions. People ought to be able to look at us and know that we have been with Jesus. Our conduct and behavior should proclaim that to others. What gave Peter and John the boldness to speak out to these powerful and dangerous group of men? They had been with Jesus. Salvation unites us with Him, and fills us with His Spirit.
These religious leaders knew that Peter and John had broken no laws, and that everyone knew about the miracle that had been performed (vs. 15-17). But they had to stop the spreading of the news that they had executed the Messiah. They sternly warned and threatened the apostles to no longer preach about Jesus or His resurrection. However, the apostles had such a zeal for the Lord, that they could not keep quiet, even when threatened. Jesus had promised that those who acknowledged Him before men, He would acknowledge before the Father (Matthew 10:32).
Peter and John were common fishermen, not scholars like the Sanhedrin. Yet who was on the correct path? Who did God use to spread His truth? When minds are closed, even the clearest presentation of the facts can’t open them.
