Seasonal Note: This is a Three-Year Lectionary based on the Lutheran Book of Worship 3-year lectionary (for public worship), "Prayers of the Day..." (Propers), p. 13-41, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978. It is based, with only minor variations, on the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches:
http://www.commontexts.org/
and:
http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/usage.html
The daily readings are the Propers (Lections) for the following Sunday, so that the daily devotions can prepare us for worship. Additional lections are from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, "Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers," United Lutheran Church of America, General Rubrics VIII. Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.
The previous 2- year Bible Study based on the Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary for personal devotions p.179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978, is available at:
http://shepboy.snow.prohosting.com
Please Note: I will post weekly by Saturday, noon, (with God's help), Pacific time (UTC-8:00) for the week of the Church Season which begins on Sunday. Please scroll down for the desired day, or save the week to your desktop/hard drive.
18 Pentecost – Sunday;
September 14, 2008
18 Pentecost – Sunday;
Posted September 14, 2008;
Isaiah 55:6-9 -- Seek the Lord;
Psalm 27:1-13 -- Light and Salvation;
Philippians 1:1-5 (6-11), 19-27 -- A Life Worthy of the Gospel;
Matthew 20:1-16 -- Laborers in the Vineyard;
Isaiah:
"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near" (Isaiah 55:6). Let us forsake wickedness and unrighteousness; let us return to the Lord our God so that he will have mercy on us and pardon us abundantly. Mankind's ways and thoughts are different than God's. God's ways and thoughts are as much higher than mankind's as the heavens are high above earth.
Psalm:
I fear no one or thing because the Lord is my light and salvation. He is my refuge, so I know I am safe.
Evildoers who oppose and attack me will not triumph over me. No matter how many gather against me nor how well armed, I am confident and unworried.
The one thing I have asked of the Lord and which I long for and seek is to dwell in the Lord's house as long as I live, so that I can behold his beauty and be taught by him.
In times of trouble he will hide and shelter me. "He will set me high upon a rock" (Psalm 27:5c) above the enemies which surround me. I will give him offerings and sacrifices with joyful shouts and songs of praise.
"Hear O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! Thou hast said, 'Seek ye my face.' My heart says to thee, 'Thy face, Lord, do I seek.' Hide not thy face from me" (Psalm 27:7-9).
Lord, you have been my help; don't turn me away in anger, don't throw me aside and forsake me now. You are my God whom I rely upon for my salvation. My own father and mother may forsake me but you will not.
Teach me the way you want me to go and lead me on a level path so my enemies can't trip me up. Don't let my adversaries accomplish their plans against me. False witnesses assail me and plan violence against me. "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13).
Philippians, Background:
The congregation at Philippi in Macedonia (north of Greece) was founded by Paul and his protege, Timothy (Acts 16:1-13), on Paul's second missionary journey (Acts 15:36-41). It was the first Christian congregation in Europe. Paul was in prison, probably in Rome around
61~63 A.D. at the time.
Philippians:
Paul told the Philippian Christians that he was praying with joy and thanksgiving to God for their partnership with Paul in the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the time he first presented it to them. Paul assured them that the Lord would bring the work he had begun to completion and spiritual maturity at the Second Coming of Christ on the Day of Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). Paul's joy and confidence in the Philippians was justified because they were dear to him and they shared in the grace of God in Paul's imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel.
Paul longed for the Philippian Christians with the love of Christ, and it was Paul's prayer that they would grow in Christian love, (divine) knowledge (1 Corinthians 1:17-27; 2:1-8) and (spiritual) discernment (1 John 4:1-3), so that they would approve what is worthy and be blameless in God's judgment at the Day of Christ's return, full of the fruits of righteousness which come only through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ and glorify God.
Paul was confident that through the prayers of the Philippians on Paul's behalf, and by the help of the indwelling "Spirit of Christ," Paul's circumstances would result in his salvation (from eternal condemnation and destruction). Paul was certain that his faith in Christ would not be put to shame and that Christ would be honored by Paul's words and deeds , whether he lived or died physically.
Paul realized that in living he served Christ and participated in Christ's suffering for the redemption of the world, and that physical death was even better, because he would be no longer separated from Christ's presence. Paul found it hard to choose which he would prefer, because he desired to accomplish useful labor for the kingdom of God, but he also desired to be in the immediate presence of Jesus in his heavenly kingdom. Paul was willing to sacrifice his personal desire for the joy of Christ's presence, so that others might grow in spiritual maturity and share in the joy of Christ's presence eternally also. Thus Paul hoped to visit the Philippians again so they would have occasion to glorify Jesus.
Paul's only admonition was that they should live lives worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that whether Paul was able to visit them again or not, he would hear that the Philippians were firmly established in the unity of the one Spirit, working together side-by-side with one mind for the faith of the Gospel.
Matthew:
Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went to hire day laborers in the marketplace at 6:00 a.m. He agreed to pay them a denarius a day, the typical daily wage, and sent them to work in his vineyard.
At about 9:00 a.m. he went into the marketplace again and saw others still idle. He told them to go into his vineyard and he would pay them whatever was fair. At noon and at 3:00 p.m. the landowner did the same. At 5:00 p.m. he saw others still idle and asked them why they standing idle all day. They said that no one had hired them, so the landowner told them to go into his vineyard also.
At 6:00 p.m. the landowner told his steward (foreman) to pay the laborers, beginning with the last hired, and then on to those who were first. Those last hired received a denarius, so those who had been hired first thought they would receive more, but when they also received a denarius, they grumbled at the landowner. They complained that the last hired had worked only an hour for the same wage as the first hired, who had worked through the heat and burden of the day.
The landowner replied that he had done the first hired no wrong. They had agreed to work for a denarius a day. If the landowner chose to give to the last the same pay, shouldn't he have the right to do so, or did the first hired begrudge his generosity? Jesus declared that in God's kingdom the first will be last and the last first.
Commentary:
This lifetime is intended by God to be our opportunity to seek and come to know and have fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and to choose whether or not to trust and obey him. Jesus is God's only provision for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and salvation from our eternal condemnation and destruction at God's judgment. (Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Jesus is the only way to know divine, eternal truth, to be restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin, and to be spiritually reborn to eternal life (John 3:3, 5-8; 14:6). Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
The Lord promises that if we truly seek him he will allow himself to be found by us (1 Chronicles 28:9c). If we trust and obey Jesus he will come to us and reveal himself to us (John 14:21). Now is the time to seek him, while he can be found. Now is the time to call upon him while he is near.
The Lord wants to reveal himself to us and to show us that his words are completely true and trustworthy. As we trust and obey him we will experience the joy of his presence and the security of his protection. We can be certain that our enemies will not prevail.
Psalm 27 is ascribed to David, the great shepherd-king of Israel. David trusted in the Lord to be his light of spiritual enlightenment, his guide in righteousness, and his salvation from his enemies and from sin. When David was pursued by his enemies, the Lord protected and delivered David from them. When David gave into temptation and did what was sinful the Lord did not forsake him; the Lord forgave him his sin when he truly repented and returned to obedience in the Lord. David believed that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Through obedient trust in Jesus Christ we can "see" the goodness of the Lord now, in this lifetime through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and we can be certain that we will see his goodness in the land of eternal life in his presence in God's kingdom of heaven.
Paul's life after his conversion is an example of God's mercy and pardon for those who seek him through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul was guided to spiritual "rebirth" by a "born-again disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10-18). Thereafter, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Paul proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:19b-20) and made disciples of Jesus Christ in fulfillment of Jesus' Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) which Jesus gave to his disciples to be carried out after they had been filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8).
Paul made "born-again" disciples of Jesus Christ, Timothy, for example (2 Timothy 1:6), and taught them to repeat the process (2 Timothy 2:2). Paul was continuing to "disciple" the Philippian Christians, encouraging them to grow in Christian love, divine knowledge and spiritual discernment, to spiritual maturity, by the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. Paul admonishes all Christians to live lives worthy of the Gospel, in unity by obedience to the Holy Spirit, so that we work together to carry on and complete the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul trusted in the Lord to shelter and protect him from his spiritual enemies. Paul had the assurance of the Holy Spirit within him so that he was confident that whether he lived or died physically he had eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Jesus came into the world to save us from spiritual, eternal death, and to save us from the fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus' resurrection demonstrates the truth of existence after physical death, and by his Holy Spirit within us we experience with certainty that Jesus is eternally alive.
As long as we remain physically alive we have useful labor to do for the kingdom of God, as we are guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We will experience persecution for the Gospel as Jesus did and as Paul did, but we have the comfort and assurance of the Holy Spirit within us. When we die physically we can be sure that we will be in the presence of the Lord in the new Creation restored to paradise in God's eternal kingdom, where there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain (Revelation 21:4).
This world and this lifetime are the Lord's vineyard. He calls us to enter into the New Covenant of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Our reward is eternal life in paradise. We are living in the Day of Grace (God's unmerited favor; his free gift), of salvation through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. He calls us throughout the day to work in his vineyard. The "harvest" is abundant but the "laborers" are few (Matthew 9:37-38).
The only work of lasting value is what we do for the kingdom of God. If we are not working in the Lord's vineyard, we are wasting our time, opportunities and resources. How long will we stand idly by without accepting the Lord's invitation and joining the harvest?
In one sense the Church is the "marketplace" where the Lord seeks laborers for the harvest. Christians are to be trained and equipped by the indwelling Holy Spirit to participate in the harvest, and are then to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit to go into the "vineyard." Are we hanging around in the "marketplace" and not answering the Lord's call to enter the vineyard and help with the harvest?
There is a Day of Judgment coming, when it will be too late to join in the harvest. It will be too late to change our eternal destiny, and no one knows when that Day will come, but we can be certain that it will come at the end of our individual lifetimes. Those who have accepted Jesus' invitation to join in the harvest, who have trusted and obeyed Jesus, will have been spiritually "reborn" and will enter eternal life, but those who have refused Jesus' call, and have refused to trust and obey Jesus will receive eternal condemnation and destruction in hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesusﾒ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
*The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Introduction to ...Philippians, p. 1421. New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.
18 Pentecost - Monday
September 15, 2008
Psalm 25:1-9
I lift up my soul to the Lord. I trust in you, O God. May I never be put to shame; let my enemies not triumph over me. Yes, let none be ashamed who wait for you; let those who are willingly treacherous be put to shame.
O Lord, show me your ways and teach me your paths. You are the God of my salvation; teach me and lead me in your truths. I wait for you all day long.
Remember your mercy and steadfast love which is your nature throughout the ages. Do not recall my sins and the transgressions of my youth; for your goodness' sake, remember me according to your steadfast love.
Because the Lord is good and upright, he instructs sinners in his ways. He leads and teaches the humble in his ways.
Commentary:
We are all eternal beings in physical bodies (John 5:29-29). The soul is the part of us which is our essential being and which continues beyond physical death. We are born physically alive with eternal souls, but we are spiritually unborn, unless we are "reborn" (John 3:3, 5-8) by the indwelling Holy Spirit within our souls.
Only Jesus "baptizes" with (gives the gift of) the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to personal knowledge of and fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and this is only possible through Jesus Christ, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This lifetime is our opportunity to learn to trust and obey God's Word.
Those who trust in God's Word will never be put to shame. The world may ridicule and persecute them, but they are comforted and assured by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and can be certain that they will be vindicated in the Day of Judgment. Their enemies will not triumph over them. It will be the wicked and treacherous, the enemies of our souls and of God's Word who will be put to eternal shame and condemnation in the Day of Judgment.
The Lord will teach us and lead us through his Word, the Bible, and through the teaching and example of the "living Word," Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment, embodiment, and example of God's Word, lived out in this world in human flesh. As we begin to trust and obey God's Word in the Bible, Jesus will manifest himself to us by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:21, 23). The Holy Spirit will open our minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45), bring to our remembrance all that Jesus commands, and teach us all things (John 14:26). The indwelling Holy Spirit will reveal God's will for us personally and individually, and equip, empower and lead us in God's will for our lives.
As we trust and obey God's Word we will learn from experience that God's Word is absolutely true and reliable. As we learn to live in obedience to the indwelling Holy Spirit we will learn to wait for the Lord.
Learning to wait can be one of the most difficult things for us to do, particularly in the society we live in today. We're so used to instant answers, and acting in the moment. We have instant access to information on the Internet, and we have cellphones which allow us to connect to others instantly no matter where we are. But those types of connection and communication can only provide worldly knowledge and guidance, which will ultimately fail and lead us to spiritual disaster.
The Lord wants us to learn to wait for him and his knowledge and guidance. We must acknowledge that it is his wisdom and guidance we need. When we have learned to seek his Word and ways, we will find that we have instant connection and communication to true divine, eternal knowledge and guidance far superior to worldly knowledge and guidance, and it is more surely and instantly available than the Internet or cellphones. The Lord is never out of range or unavailable.
The Lord is pleased to teach and guide those who realize and acknowledge that God's ways are higher than worldly ways and that God's power and authority are greater than ours. God is willing to allow proud and arrogant people who think they are wise and self-sufficient to try to live apart from God's wisdom and guidance, in the hope that they will come to realize their need for the Lord.
The Lord is the Savior of the world. God has designed the Savior, Jesus Christ, into the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). God has designed Creation with the possibility of sin (disobedience of God's Word) to allow us the freedom to choose whether or not to trust and obey God, and to learn by trial and error that his way is good, reasonable, and our very best interest.
We have all sinned and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves us and doesn't want anyone to perish but to have eternal life in his heavenly kingdom (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal condemnation and destruction (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). God gives us mercy and forgiveness of all our sins as a free gift to be received through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
There is a Day of Judgment coming for every person who has ever lived on earth. It will come at the end of our individual lives or sooner, and no one knows when that will be. The standard of judgment will be Jesus Christ. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been "reborn" during this lifetime, and will enter eternal life in the presence of the Lord in God's heavenly kingdom, but those who have rejected Jesus and have refused or failed to trust and obey him will receive eternal condemnation and destruction in hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesusﾒ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
18 Pentecost - Tuesday
September 16, 2008
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 -- Individual Responsibility;
The Lord told Ezekiel that Israel was no longer to use the proverb that the fathers had eaten sour grapes and that their children's teeth were on edge. God declared that all souls belong to God, both the fathers and their children. Every soul that sins will die (eternally).
People claim that God's way is not just, but it is actually mankind's ways that are not just. A righteous person who turns from righteousness and commits sin will die (eternally) for his sin, and the wicked who turn from wickedness and does what is right will live (eternally); he will not die. Yet Israel claims that God's ways are not just. Instead, it is their ways which are not just.
The Lord declares that he will judge his people individually according to what they have done individually. The Lord commands everyone to repent and turn from sin, or sin will be their eternal ruin. God's people are to cast away all their sinful ways and each get a new heart and a new spirit. Why would they choose what leads to eternal death? God doesn't delight in anyone's death, so we should turn to him that we may live.
Commentary:
We are all eternal beings in physical, temporal bodies. There is a Day of Judgment when we will be accountable to the Lord for what we have done individually in this lifetime (John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46).
God's standard of judgment is more merciful and just than the world's standard. God is willing to forgive all of the past sins of people who earnestly change their ways and begin to live according to God's ways. Similarly, a righteous person who turns from righteousness to do what is evil will not be saved because of his past righteousness.
All of us are sinners according to God's Word (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin (disobedience of God's Word) is (eternal) death (Romans 6:23). God doesn't want anyone to perish eternally, but for all to have eternal life in the heavenly paradise of his eternal kingdom (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17).
God has designed a Savior, Jesus Christ, into his plan for Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
God calls everyone to turn from sin and get a new heart and a new spirit within them. Only Jesus can give us a new heart to desire to do God's will and a new spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, who makes it possible for us to know God's will and empowers us to do it. Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
By the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit Jesus' disciples are spiritually "born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life beginning now in this lifetime. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Why would we want to refuse eternal life in heavenly paradise in the presence of the Lord in exchange for a few years of sinful pleasure now in this lifetime (Hebrews 11:25)? Jesus is the only one who can free us from slavery to sin and eternal death (John 8:34-36).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesusﾒ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
18 Pentecost - Wednesday
September 17, 2008
Philippians 2:1-5 (6-11)
If the Philippians (and all Christians) have experienced encouragement in Christ, incentive to love, participation in the Spirit, and have any affection and sympathy, then we should share the same love for one another and be in unity and agreement with our fellow Christians. Then Paul's joy in the Philippians would be complete.
Let us not be motivated by selfishness or conceit, but instead, in humility, consider others as better than ourselves. Let us not just pursue our own interests but consider the interests of others. Let us adopt the attitude of Christ by his example. He was in his nature God (Colossians 2:8-9), but did not try to claim and hang on to equality with God. Instead he emptied himself of all his own self-interests, and became a servant. Having been born in human flesh, "he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). So God has exalted him and given him a name above all others, "that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10).
Commentary:
God exalts the humble but humbles the exalted (Matthew 23:12; 1 Peter 5:5b-6). Jesus is the perfect example of humble obedience to God's Word. Jesus emptied himself of all self-interest, including the human urge for self-preservation, in order to accomplish God's will. Jesus came to be a servant of all; to serve God, and to serve his fellow humans, rather than expecting to be served (Matthew 20:28).
"Born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) Christians share in the experience of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We experience a personal relationship with Jesus through his Holy Spirit within us. We feel the love the Lord has for us through his indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
The Holy Spirit is our encouragement. He is our comforter in times of trial. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Paul was fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) that Jesus gave to his disciples, to be carried out after they had been filled with the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). Paul (Saul of Tarsus) had been "born-again" by the "discipling" of a born-again disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10-18). Paul was now "discipling" the Philippian Christians, teaching them to know and apply all Jesus' teachings in their daily lives, and teaching them to carry on the process with others (2 Timothy 2:2).
Jesus is Lord, whether we accept and acknowledge him or not (Matthew 28:18). There is no other name on earth or in heaven by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). It isn't sufficient just to call Jesus our Lord and not do what he teaches (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).
Now is the time to accept Jesus as our Lord, to learn to trust and obey him, and to be spiritually "reborn" to eternal life. There is a Day of Judgment coming when everyone who has ever lived on earth will be accountable to the Lord for what each has done individually in this lifetime. Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and have trusted and obeyed him will have been "reborn" and will enter God's eternal kingdom in heaven. But those who have rejected Jesus, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus, will receive eternal condemnation and destruction in hell with all evil. In that day everyone will bow before him and acknowledge that he is Lord, but it will be too late to change our eternal destinies.
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
18 Pentecost - Thursday
September 18, 2008
Matthew 21:28-32 -- Doing God's Will;
Jesus told a parable of two sons. Their father told them to go and work in his vineyard. One son told his father he would not, but he later repented and worked in the vineyard. The other politely said that he would, but did not go. Jesus asked his hearers which of the sons had done his father's will, and they picked the first.
Then Jesus said that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom before the Jews, because John the Baptizer came declaring the way of righteousness, and tax collectors and harlots heeded him but the Jews had not. And when the Jews saw the tax collectors and harlots respond, the Jews did not repent and believe John's message.
Commentary:
Saving faith is not just intellectual assent. Faith is not getting whatever we believe if we believe "hard enough." Saving faith is acting on belief in Jesus' Gospel. Jesus warned his hearers that it is not enough to claim Jesus as Lord if we don't do what he teaches (Matthew 7:21-27, Luke 6:46).
Tax collectors and harlots were the outcasts of Jewish society. Jews would have nothing to do with them. But they recognized their sinfulness and heeded John's message of repentance and reconciliation with God. Even when the Jews saw "sinners" repenting and being restored to righteousness, they refused to repent and believe.
Someone has said that there are two kinds of people in this world: the righteous who know they're sinners, and sinners who think they're righteous. Unless we're willing to realize and acknowledge our sin, we can't receive the forgiveness and restoration which only Jesus can give.
We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word) and have fallen short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is (eternal) death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal destruction (Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Would we rather die eternally than admit that we're sinners in need of a Savior?
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesusﾒ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
18 Pentecost - Friday
September 19, 2008
Deuteronomy 10:12-21 -- What God Requires;
1 John 3:1-8 -- Our Response to God's Love;
Deuteronomy:
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I command you this day for your good" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)? The entire universe, the highest heavens and the earth and all that is within them belong to God. But, in love, the Lord chose our forefathers and their descendants to be his special people above all others. So let us circumcise the "foreskins" of our hearts.
Our God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and terrible God who is completely impartial and cannot be bribed. The Lord gives justice to the widow and fatherless, and he loves the sojourner and provides his food and clothing. Let us likewise love the sojourner, not forgetting that we were sojourners in the land of Egypt. We are to fear and serve the Lord, cling to him, and swear by his name. The Lord is our praise, our God who has done great and terrible things to which we are witnesses.
1 John:
God loves us so much that he is making us his children. The reason worldly people don't recognize us as God's children is because they don't know God. We love God's children and we are God's children now; what we will become has not been revealed, but we know that when Jesus appears we will be like him and we will see him as he is.
Sin is lawlessness and whoever sins is guilty of lawlessness. Jesus came to take sin away, and he is completely sinless. No one who abides in Jesus continues to sin, and anyone who continues to sin has not seen or known Jesus. Don't be deceived; those who are righteous do what is right, as Jesus himself is righteous. Those who commit sin are of the devil; the devil has sinned from the very beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Commentary:
God has given us his Word, the Bible, and in the teaching and example of Jesus Christ, the "living Word;" the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). He has given us his Word for our benefit, so that we can live life as God intended it.
God loved and chose us, while we were sinners, and made it possible for us to become his spiritual children. The entire universe belongs to God, but he has chosen us to be special, his own children, above all others. All we have to do is accept his love.
Circumcision was the physical mark of the Old Covenant of Law. In the New Covenant which Jesus established, the sign of the covenant is spiritual, not just a superficial outward appearance but a truly changed heart, which only Jesus can accomplish in us.
The Lord is the righteous judge who is completely impartial and cannot be bribed. Some "church members" hope to manipulate God to do their will, by participation in church ritual, rather than learning to know and do God's will.
The Lord has special concern for the humble, weak and helpless, like widows, orphans, and sojourners, who have no one to advocate on their behalf. Sojourners are people without legal standing or civil rights. God's people should share his concern and work for justice and equal rights for them. God's children are all sojourners in this world, and our citizenship is in God's kingdom in heaven.
This lifetime is our opportunity to become children of God. That is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Jesus makes it possible for us to be spiritually "reborn" (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life, now, in this lifetime. Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we have personal knowledge of and fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. As we learn to live in obedient trust in the guidance and empowerment of the indwelling Holy Spirit we are growing spiritually to spiritual maturity at the Day of Christ's return. We are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Sin is disobedience of God's Word; it is rebellion against the Lord's commandments. Saving faith is obedient trust in Jesus Christ. One cannot abide in Jesus and continue to habitually sin. Jesus came to free us from slavery to sin and the devil (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus did not come to do away with God's Word but to make it possible for us to fulfill it by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Matthew 5:17-20).
When we commit to obedient trust in Jesus' example and teaching, he will give us the power to resist and overcome temptation to sin by his indwelling Holy Spirit. We can know who are children of God by what they do. People who are truly Christians will be living according to Jesus' teaching and example. The doctrine of salvation without the requirement of discipleship and obedient trust is false teaching (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
18 Pentecost - Saturday
September 20, 2008
John 15:1-17 -- Abiding in Jesus;
Jesus used a metaphor of a grapevine to describe his relationship with his disciples. Jesus is the true vine and God the Father is the vinedresser. God removes all branches that bear no fruit, and prunes branches that bear fruit so that they will bear more fruit. His disciples are purified by the Word, the Gospel that Jesus has spoken, but we must abide (remain) in him and he in us.
Jesus’ disciples cannot bear fruit unless they remain connected to Jesus, but those who do remain connected will produce much fruit. Apart from Jesus we can accomplish nothing (of eternal worth; for God’s kingdom). Disciples who don’t abide in Jesus are cast away where they wither and die, and are gathered up and burned. “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it will be done for you” (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right).
God is glorified when we bear much fruit, so proving to be Jesus’ disciples. Jesus loves us as much as God the Father loves Jesus. Jesus tells us to remain in that love by obeying Jesus’ teachings, the same way that Jesus remained in God’s love by obeying God’s commandments. Jesus taught his disciples thus, so that he would be able to have complete joy in his disciples and his disciples would have complete joy in Jesus.
Jesus commands us to love one another as he loves us. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Those who obey Jesus’ teachings are Jesus’ friends. We are not just servants of Jesus; we are his friends. The master doesn’t share personal things with his servants, but Jesus shares everything with his disciples that God the Father has revealed to Jesus. It wasn’t we who chose Jesus, but he who chose us and appointed us to bear fruit which will endure for eternity. So God will give us everything we ask of God in Jesus’ name. So Jesus commands us to love one another.
Commentary:
We can do nothing in this lifetime which will endure for eternity except what we do by the guidance and empowerment of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6) to complete Christ’s mission to bring the message of forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and salvation from eternal condemnation to the world. Jesus calls us to follow him and be his disciples, but we must respond in obedient trust. As we begin to trust and obey Jesus he will give us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). By the indwelling Holy Spirit we have a personal fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. God reveals his will for us personally, and equips us to carry out his plan for us.
Christian discipleship is a spiritual growth process. We have to learn to trust and obey Jesus, and recognize the “still, small voice” of the Holy Spirit. New believers must be “discipled” by mature, “born-again” disciples until the new believers are “born-again” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), before they attempt to go into the world with the Gospel. Then the indwelling Holy Spirit will continue the “discipling” process.
We need to seek the Lord’s guidance one day at a time with daily Bible-reading, meditation, and prayer. We need to attend weekly worship regularly. These are the ways we stay in Jesus and Jesus’ words stay in us. We can’t expect the Lord to reveal his personal plan for our lives if we haven’t read his “book,” the Bible, completely. We can’t expect the Lord to guide us if we are unwilling to seek that guidance through his Word and his Holy Spirit on a daily basis.
In too many instances in the nominal “Church” today the Church is failing to make disciples, and failing to teach them to know, trust and obey Jesus’ teachings. In some parts of the nominal Church, the Church is teaching “Cheap Grace;”* the gift of eternal salvation, without the requirement of discipleship and obedient trust (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right). It is failing to teach disciples to seek the “baptism” and infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Unless the Church makes “born-again” disciples all it can accomplish is to build buildings and make “members.” This is too often what passes for evangelism in the nominal Church. If it fails to make “born-again” disciples, there won’t be any “born-again” disciples from whom to select leaders.
Jesus taught his disciples by word and example. Jesus said that there is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s friends, and he demonstrated that love for us on the cross. Jesus gave up his physical life for us, but received eternal life. Every truly “born-again” disciple personally testifies that Jesus is risen and eternally alive.
We are to follow his example, surrendering our earthly lives in obedient trust, and experiencing now, in this lifetime, spiritual rebirth and the assurance that we have eternal life. The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
*See: The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Co., NY 1963 ISBN 0-02-083850-6
