my daily walk

Week of 21 Pentecost - B

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:

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To get the most from these studies, it is suggested that you first read the scripture texts for the entry, and then the paraphrase and commentary. It is also recommended that you look up the scripture references, unless you recognize and recall them from memory.

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Podcast Download: Week of 21 Pentecost - B
Sunday 21 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 25, 2009;
Podcast: Sunday 21 Pentecost - B

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 -- Seek the Lord and Live;

Psalm 90:12-17 -- Number Your Days;

Hebrews 3:1-6 -- Our Heavenly Calling;

Mark 10:17-27 (28-30) -- What We Treasure;

Amos Paraphrase:

Amos was a prophet of God’s Word to the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the period of the divided monarchy. The Northern Kingdom had turned away from obedient trust in the Lord and into idolatry. Amos warned them to seek the Lord so that they would live, rather than being destroyed by God’s judgment, for their idolatry and disobedience. Bethel was once a sacred place, which had become a place of idolatrous worship. Israel had allowed justice to be corrupted and had discarded righteousness.

Israel refused to be reproved by God’s Word or to hear divine truth. They trampled upon the poor and profited at their expense. The Lord declared that they had become wealthy at the expense of the poor, but they would not live to enjoy their wealth. The Lord knew how greatly they sinned. Israel afflicted the righteous, perverted justice with bribes and turned away the needy.

Amos warned the people to seek good, and not evil, so that they would not be destroyed, and that the Lord would be with them as they claimed. If they repented of their evil and injustice and started doing what is right and just in God’s judgment, the Lord would be gracious to the remnant of Joseph, [referring to the Northern Kingdom; Joseph was the eleventh of Jacob’s (Israel’s) twelve sons who became the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel, ten of which, including Joseph, composed the Northern Kingdom].

Psalm Paraphrase:

The Psalmist warns his hearers to “number” (make the most of) our days, so that we can get (divine) wisdom in our “hearts” (rather than “heads” full of what the world falsely calls “wisdom;” 1 Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-8). Those who have received divine wisdom pray for the Lord’s return. We pray to experience his steadfast love in the morning (when we seek his daily guidance in his Word and prayer), and that we will rejoice in him all our days, which we will do as we trust and obey him.

We can be confident that the Lord will bless us far more than day for day and year for year for the persecution we experience in this lifetime. Those who trust and obey the Lord will see the working of the Lord and his glorious power in this lifetime. We will receive the Lord’s favor, and he will secure a successful outcome of the work he calls and empowers us to do.

Hebrews Paraphrase:

Believers share a heavenly calling, and we are to follow the example of faithfulness in God’s Word and in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfect example of an Apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) and the high priest of our “faith.” Moses was also a faithful messenger of God’s Word and a mediator between the people and God, but Moses was a foreshadowing of Christ (Messiah) who was fulfilled in Jesus. Moses was the mediator of an earthly covenant with God, but Jesus is the mediator of a spiritual covenant with God. Moses was a faithful servant over God’s household, but Jesus is the faithful Son and heir.

Mark Paraphrase:

A rich man came to Jesus and addressed him as a “good” teacher, and asked Jesus what the man must do to receive eternal life. Jesus asked him why he had called Jesus “good,” since only God is truly “good.” Then Jesus reviewed those of the Ten Commandments dealing with one’s relationship to other people (and omitting the ones dealing with one’s relationship with God). The man replied that he had kept those commandments from his boyhood. Jesus looked upon the man with love, and told him that the man lacked one thing; he should sell his possessions, give to the poor, then come and follow Jesus, and then the man would have treasure in heaven. At this, the man became sad and went away in sorrow.

Jesus looked around at the crowd and declared that it is hard for the rich to enter God’s eternal kingdom. His disciples were astonished at this teaching, but Jesus said again that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter heaven. His disciples asked who then could be saved, and Jesus said that what is impossible for humans is not impossible for God, for whom nothing is impossible.

Peter said that the disciples had left everything to follow Jesus, and Jesus replied that whatever his disciples give up to follow Jesus will be more than repaid, in this lifetime, although with suffering, and in eternal life in the age to come.

Commentary:

The situation in the Northern Kingdom in Amos’ time is very similar to our world and our Church, particularly in America today. We have entered the “Promised Land,” and as we have become rich and successful, we have fallen away from obedient trust in God’s Word and into idolatries of humanism, hedonism, materialism, nationalism and a secular “religion.” In many instances our churches have adopted worldly ways of our culture instead of influencing our culture with God’s Word. Many churches have built “buildings” and made “members,” instead of making disciples of Jesus Christ. Our government and justice system have been perverted by the influence of the wealthy. The rich are exploiting the poor, and our society is turning away the needy. People, even “church members,” refuse to be reproved by God’s Word. They only want to hear the parts of the Gospel that make them feel good (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

The Word of God warns that there is judgment coming upon the world for those who do such sins and disobey God’s Word. God’s Word is eternally true and is always fulfilled, over and over, as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. The people of the Northern Kingdom were at the height of their power and success at the time of Amos, and they refused to heed the warning of Amos and other prophets. The result was that the prophecy was fulfilled.

Shalmeneser, the King of Assyria, and his successor, Sargon, conquered the Northern Kingdom with the fall of Samaria in 721 B.C. The people were deported by the Assyrians and the nation and the people of the ten tribes effectively ceased to exist. The remnant of the ten tribes who avoided deportation intermarried with aliens brought in to settle the land, becoming the Samaritans, of mixed race and religion.

The history of God’s dealing with his people recorded in the Bible is also deliberately intended by God to be a parable and metaphor for life in this world. People who reject God’s prophets and refuse to hear God’s Word will suffer eternal destruction.

This lifetime has been intended by God to be our opportunity to seek and come to know, trust and obey God (Acts 17: 26-27). God has designed this world to allow for sin (disobedience of God’s Word) so that we can learn by trial and error that God’s Word is true, and that God’s will is our very best interest. God’s Word declares that we have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:5-8), and that the penalty for sin is (eternal) death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God’s only provision for the forgiveness of our sin, restoration to fellowship with God, and eternal life in his heavenly kingdom (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).

The Psalmist warns us to “number our days” and get a heart of (divine) wisdom. The Bible is God’s Word of divine wisdom, by which the world was created and is sustained (Genesis 1:3). Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word applied in human life (John 1:1-5, 14).

We are called to seek divine wisdom, and the way to begin is to read and hear God’s Word, the Bible. As we read and heed the Bible we will come to know Jesus Christ, and as we begin to trust and obey Jesus we will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus is the only one who gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit opens our minds to hear and recall God’s Word (Luke 24:45; John 14:26), and through the Holy Spirit we come to know and have fellowship with Jesus and God the Father.

Those who have been “enlightened,” guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit will work and pray for the Lord’s return. We will seek to know, through daily Bible study, meditation and prayer, and do the work the Lord has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), by the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We will see the working of the Lord and his power, and we can be sure of the ultimate success of our work to proclaim his Word, to enlarge and strengthen his kingdom, and to complete his mission of forgiveness and salvation in a lost and dying world.

Believers are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to trust and obey Jesus, to be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by his indwelling Holy Spirit, and then to carry on Jesus’ mission and example.

The rich man had everything but eternal life. Without that he could only enjoy his wealth briefly. He came to Jesus to ask what it would cost him to have eternal life, and he found that it would cost him all his material possession. He was unwilling to pay the price.

The rich man called Jesus a “good teacher.” There are many people today who regard Jesus merely as a “good teacher.” Jesus asked the man why he called Jesus “good,” since only God is truly “good.” The man failed to realize that Jesus was God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28).

Jesus asked the man about the Commandments dealing with his relationship with other people, because the man’s wealth testified explicitly that the man had not loved others as much as himself. The rich man had no concern for the poor; otherwise he would have sold his riches and given to the poor. The man’s relationship and reaction to Jesus testified implicitly that the man didn’t know and love God. He loved material riches more than the Lord; worldly treasure more than heavenly treasure. He believed that he had obeyed the Ten Commandments all his life, but he had failed to keep any of them.

Jesus warns us to seek first the kingdom of God, God’s righteousness, (and eternal life), and then we will have the material things we need as well (Matthew 6:33). Jesus warns that it is not those who call him Lord who are saved from eternal condemnation, but those who trust and obey God’s Word (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46)

Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?

Monday 21 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 26, 2009;
Podcast: Monday 21 Pentecost - B

Psalm 91:9-16 -- Our Refuge;

Paraphrase:

Those who make the Lord their refuge need not fear any evil. The Lord will assign his angels to guard and protect us and keep us from stumbling. We will have power and authority even over wild beasts and poisonous snakes. The Lord promises to protect and deliver those who know the Lord’s “name” (the whole character and person of the Lord) and cling to him in love. When we call to him he will answer (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right); he will be with us in trouble, and he will rescue and give us honor. He will give us long life and reveal his salvation to us.

Commentary:

When I first turned to the Lord more than thirty years ago, the Lord gave me the promises of this Psalm, and has fulfilled these promises over and over (see also v. 1-8). It’s a great reassurance that we and our families are under his protection, if we take refuge in him by faith (obedient trust), and that absolutely nothing, not even physical death, has the power to harm us (see Hebrews 2:14-15).

I was just starting to walk daily with the Lord, and I felt the Lord was leading me to invite an acquaintance, from work, to my home. This person had a bad reputation, and I felt like Ananias, when the Lord asked him to go to Paul (Saul of Tarsus) and Ananias mentioned his misgivings to the Lord (Acts 9:11-16). I prayed back my misgivings, and the Lord told me to look up Psalm 91. At that time I didn’t know any Psalms by reference except the 23rd Psalm. I did as the Lord had told me, and I don’t really know if it had or was even intended to have any effect on the individual. But it did have an effect on me; I learned to know and trust the Lord’s guidance and his power and faithfulness to keep his promises.

We frequently hear of people doing evil things and claiming the Lord told them to do them. Remember that Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 to tempt Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:6-7). We need to make sure it is the Lord we’re listening to (1 John 4:1-3); we need to know what the Bible says. The Lord will never tell us to do something contrary to the Bible, or anything that will harm ourselves or others.

The Lord wants to lead us and to show us that he is faithful and able to keep his promises. He wants to reveal himself and his salvation to us, if we will come to him in faith (obedient trust). I realize that I really can’t protect myself and my family from the “wild animals,” the evil people, diseases and other evils in society today, but when I entrust myself and my family to the Lord’s care, I have the assurance that absolutely nothing can happen that the Lord can’t handle. Only the things we give to the Lord are truly safe.

The Spirit of the Lord was beside me as I turned to the Lord and began to seek his guidance daily in his Word, meditation and prayer. The Lord "discipled" me over a period of several years, and eventually led me to “re-birth” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit.

The Lord is near to us, and we can find him if we seek him (Acts 17:26-27; Matthew 7:7-8). I’m convinced that the meaning and purpose of life is to seek and come to know the Lord, our Creator and Savior. Jesus is the name of the Lord. This lifetime is our only opportunity to be “re-born” to spiritual, eternal life. Only Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey him. 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).

Tuesday 21 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 27, 2009;
Podcast: Tuesday 21 Pentecost - B

Isaiah 53:10-12 -- The Suffering Servant;

Paraphrase:

It was by God’s will that his servant was bruised and suffered grief. God promised that when his servant had made himself (or his soul; Isaiah 53:10c RSV note a) an offering for sin, that he would “see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11).

God promised to give his righteous servant the reward of those who are great, and that Jesus would share the reward with those who are strong (in faith and perseverance) “because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12c).

Commentary:

This whole chapter, written about five hundred years before Jesus’ birth, is Messianic prophecy, fulfilled by Jesus Christ. God has planned from the very beginning of Creation that we would need a Savior, and has “built” Jesus Christ into the very structure of Creation (John 1:1-5; 14). At the right time in history Jesus came into the world to be the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God’s Word).

Jesus trusted God’s Word and submitted to God’s will and purpose, and he received the promise of long life; he arose from the dead and lives eternally. Any “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian will testify that Jesus is eternally alive and present among us (Matthew 18:20). Born-again believers are his offspring and the fruit of his travail.

The will of God has prospered and been accomplished through Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). He teaches his disciples saving knowledge of God’s Word, and his disciples are accounted righteous by God because we have come to know, trust and obey Jesus.

Jesus was numbered among transgressors (Isaiah 53:12d). He was condemned by the religious leaders and crucified between two thieves. Jesus bore, on the Cross, the penalty for our sin. His sacrifice of himself intercedes for us, and he himself intercedes for us as our eternal high priest (Hebrews 7:24-25).

God promised that he would reward his suffering servant with the reward of those who are truly great in God’s judgment, and he fulfilled that promise; Jesus’ name is above every other name in heaven and on earth (Philippians 2:9-11). Jesus has been given all authority, in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).

Believers are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We’re called to be righteous servants of God, following Jesus’ teaching and example. We are to learn to trust and obey God’s Word. We are called to submit to God’s will and purpose. The promises in this text are also our promises, as we follow Jesus’ example, willing to suffer for the sake of the Gospel and sacrificing our own will to accomplish God’s will (Romans 8:16-17; 2 Timothy 1:8-9).

God demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection that there is life beyond this temporal world and that we need not fear even physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15). God demonstrated in Jesus that his word is always fulfilled, and that he rewards obedient trust.

Wednesday 21 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 28, 2009;
Podcast: Wednesday 21 Pentecost - B

Hebrews 4:9-16 -- Sabbath Rest;

Paraphrase:

God has designed Creation to provide a Sabbath rest for God’s people. God rested on the seventh day of Creation. We should follow his example and strive to enter that rest. The Israelites failed to enter that rest from their journey because of disobedience (Numbers 13:30-14:10). We should heed that warning, so that no one falls because of the same disobedience. “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). We are all bare before the Lord, and nothing is hidden from him to whom we are accountable.

Jesus, the Son of God, is our great high priest who has entered heaven, so let us hold fast to our faith (obedient trust in Jesus). Jesus is able to sympathize with us, because he has experienced the same temptations; yet he did not yield to them. So let us draw near to his throne of grace, so that we can receive mercy (forgiveness of our sins) and grace (unmerited favor; free gift) to help us resist temptation and sin in time of need.

Commentary:

God designed a day of rest into Creation for our benefit, and he commanded his people to observe it (the third of the Ten Commandments), not to make them miserable but to bless them.

The human tendency is to pursue our goals and ambition twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When we think we are solely responsible for providing for our needs and our security, it is a full time job, and yet the goals are never accomplished. If we recognize that it is the Lord who provides for our needs and security, we can have peace and security, and time to thank, praise and worship the Lord, not just for an hour on Sunday morning, but with time for reflection and quiet. If we rest from our labors we will find that we can accomplish as much or more in six days than we can in seven.

We are all created with an eternal soul (John 5:28-29). We will all spend eternity somewhere. The Sabbath rest is our opportunity to have our souls nurtured, developed and sustained. So many people are constantly trying to develop and preserve their physical bodies, and give no recognition or concern for their eternal souls.

The Israelites could have entered into a Sabbath rest in the Promised Land right away, if they had trusted and obeyed God’s Word (Numbers 13:30-14:10), but because they didn’t, they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Those who hadn’t trusted in the Lord died in the wilderness, instead of entering the rest God provided.

The history of God’s dealing with Israel is also intended to be a parable and metaphor for life in this Creation. We must either trust and obey God’s Word, or we will not be able to enter God’s eternal rest in Heaven; we will perish eternally in the wilderness.

Life is a journey through the wilderness for Christian disciples. The Sabbath rest teaches us to trust and obey God and to discover that his commands are for our good.

The Word of God is living; Jesus is the Word of God fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh (John 1:1-5; 14). He is risen from physical death to eternal life and is present and active among us. Every “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian disciple will testify to a personal relationship with the risen Jesus. Jesus taught the Word of God by word and example (John 14:10, 24).

The Word of God is an active force. God spoke and the world was created (Genesis 1:3). Jesus’ word has the same creative force; he spoke and even wind and waves obeyed him (Matthew 8:23-27).

The Word of God is the two-edged sword of the Spirit which gives his disciples victory over their enemies, including sin and death (Ephesians 6:11-17). Christians must first be “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8; Luke 24:29; Acts 1: 4-5, 8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit and equipped with the knowledge of the Word of God (Jesus and the Bible) before going out into the world in the name of Jesus.

The Word of God (the Bible and Jesus Christ) is the standard by which all will be judged on the Day of Jesus’ Second Coming. All, the living ("quickened") and the dead in both the physical and spiritual senses, will be accountable for what we have done with God’s Word on the Day of Judgment (John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46). Nothing will be hidden from the Lord to whom we are accountable.

Thursday 21 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 29, 2009;
Podcast: Thursday 21 Pentecost - B

Mark 10:35-45 -- Servant of All;

Paraphrase:

Jesus and his disciples were on the road to Jerusalem, where Jesus would be crucified. Jesus had been telling his disciples (plainly, for the third time; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:32-34) that he was going to be crucified and rise on the third day. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and among his inner circle of disciples, came to Jesus and asked Jesus to do “whatever we ask of you” (Mark 10:35b). Jesus asked them what they wanted, and they told him they wanted to sit at his right and at his left in his glory.

Jesus told them that they didn’t know what they were asking. He asked them if they were able to share the same, fate; the “cup” (destiny) and the same “baptism” (commission) as that of Jesus. They assured him that they were able. Jesus replied that they would share the same destiny and commission, but their request to be Jesus’ seconds-in-command in heaven was not for Jesus to grant, but belonged to those who had been chosen and appointed.

The other disciples were indignant when they heard what James and John had asked of Jesus. Jesus called them together and told them that heavenly values are unlike worldly values. In this world, leaders exalt themselves over their subjects and their subjects serve their rulers, but in heaven, greatness is servanthood; the greatest is the servant of all the others. Jesus is the example of servanthood, who came not to dominate others, but to serve and die for them, to ransom them (from slavery to sin and death).

Jesus is the Lord, the eternal King of Kings, who came to be our servant in order to free us from slavery to sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and eternal death, which is the penalty for sin. Jesus came to free us from slavery so that we could be free to trust, obey and serve the Lord. We have been called to share the same “cup” and the same “baptism,” following the example of Jesus Christ.

James and John were still thinking in worldly ways; they were trying to manipulate the Lord to grant them special status. Being Jesus’ disciples didn’t entitle them to special favor from Jesus. Instead of trying to use their influence with Jesus to secure status for themselves, they needed to share in his “cup” and his “baptism” and become servants of the Lord, helping to complete the mission of Christ to bring eternal salvation and life to a lost and dying world.

How are we doing? Do we think that because we go to church, sing in the choir or teach Sunday School that we’re entitled to special status and favor with the Lord? Do we want him to do for us whatever we ask? Do we want to wear the “crown” of glory, without bearing the “cross” of the suffering servant? Do we care about the “lost,” or do we only want to make sure that we’re going to heaven ourselves?

2 Samuel 7:18-29 -- God’s Promise to David;

John 4:46b-53 -- Healing the Officer’s Son;

2 Samuel Paraphrase:

David, the great “shepherd-king” of Israel, had built a house (palace) for himself, and felt bad that he had a fine house while the house of the Lord was a tent. David decided to build a fine house (temple) for the Lord, but the Lord told him that the Lord has no need for someone to build him a house; instead he promised to build David a House and establish David’s kingdom forever.

David prayed to the Lord acknowledging that his house (family status) was not worthy of the blessing which the Lord had promised, or even the office of king which he had already received. David thanked the Lord for showing David the future for David’s house (dynasty) and future generations. David acknowledged the goodness of the Lord to bless David, the Lord’s servant, so greatly.

David declared that there is none like the Lord God, and that no other nation on earth is as blessed as Israel had been blessed, whom God redeemed by great and terrifying deeds, driving other nations and their “gods” out before Israel. God had made Israel his people forever, and had become their God.

David prayed that the Lord would do all that the Lord had promised concerning David and his house, so that the name of the Lord would be glorified among all the people of earth. David acknowledged that the Lord is God and that his words are true, and that his blessing would be on his servant David and David’s house forever.

John Paraphrase:

In Capernaum, a Gentile (non-Jew; a Roman) military officer had a son who was gravely ill. When he heard that Jesus had returned from Judah, he came to Jesus and begged him to come and heal the officer’s son so that the boy would not die. Jesus replied that unless people see signs and miracles they will not believe. The officer just begged Jesus to come before the boy died. Jesus told the officer to go, for his son would live.

The officer left, but did not return directly to his home, because he had believed Jesus’ word. The next day as he returned home his servants met him and told him that the boy was better. The officer asked when he began to recover, and the servants told him that he had started to improve the preceding day at the seventh hour (1:00 P.M.). The officer thus realized that was the hour that Jesus had told him his son would live. As a result, the officer and his entire household believed in Jesus. This was the second miracle Jesus had done in Galilee since he returned from Judea (after his baptism by John; the first was the wedding at Cana; John 2:1-11).

Commentary:

David was a shepherd boy whom God had made King of Israel. God had declared that David was a man after God’s own heart, who would do all God’s will (Acts 13:22; Psalm 89:20). David had a personal relationship with the Lord, which was rare before the coming of Jesus. Only a few prophets and leaders had personal contact with the Lord in that time.

David was a forerunner and illustration of God’s servant and eternal king, Jesus Christ. David knew and believed the Word of God, and he foresaw the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David, of an eternal king from the descendants of David and an heir to the throne of David (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 21:9-16). Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11, 14). The Church is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David of a house of God and a dynasty of God’s people. Individual “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christians are the temple of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit within them (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and collectively comprise the Church, the “New People of God” (as distinct from the Church as a building, or an institution, or a collection of “members”).

The Gentile Roman officer had heard of Jesus and he came to Jesus seeking healing for his son. When Jesus told him that his son would live the officer believed Jesus’ word, and acted upon it. He didn’t continue to beg Jesus to come; instead he went his way, and he didn’t hurry home immediately to see if it were true. Note that there weren’t even many miracles done by Jesus since the beginning of his public ministry; only one. Instead the officer carried on with his business, believing that the child would be healed, without seeing “proof.” The next day, the “proof” came to him; his servants met him on his way home and confirmed that the time of healing coincided with Jesus’ word. Both the officer and his servants became believers in Jesus Christ.

God’s Word contains great and precious promises which must be received by faith (obedient trust). We hear of Jesus through the Word of God, the Bible, and through the testimony of his apostles (messengers of the Gospel) who have a personal relationship with Jesus. The Lord wants us to hear and act upon his promises so that we can grow in faith to spiritual maturity as he reveals his faithful fulfillment of them to us.

David had been following God’s Word in obedient trust and saw the Word of God fulfilled in the past so that he had come to a personal fellowship with the Lord and could believe the Lord’s promise for himself and his household far in the future.

We have the advantage of the New Testament, the Gospel (“good news”) of Jesus Christ, the eye-witness testimony of his disciples recorded in the New Testament, and the personal testimony of every truly “born-again” Christian disciple today. For those who demand “proof” that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, his designated Savior and eternal King, there is none; but for those who “believe,” who trust and obey Jesus, there is abundant “proof.” Seeing is not believing; believing is seeing.

Jesus came to make it possible for all the people of God to have a personal relationship with the Lord as David and the Old Testament prophets did. Jesus is the only one who “baptizes” with 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 only opportunity to seek and find the Lord and to be “born-again” through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are all “terminally ill” with sin (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is the only one who can heal our spiritual illness and give us true eternal life (Acts 4:12, John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).

Saturday 21 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 31, 2009;
Podcast: Saturday 21 Pentecost - B

Ephesians 6:10-17 -- The Whole Armor of God;

Paraphrase:

Paul was “discipling” the Ephesian Christians. He urged them to rely not on their own strength, but on the Lord’s. Believers must be equipped with the whole armor of God in order to stand against the deceitful assaults of Satan. Believers need to understand that we are engaged in a spiritual battle against supernatural forces.

Satan and his demons are the rulers of the spiritual darkness of this present world. So believers need to put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the forces of evil and prevail. The basic “garment” is (divine) truth, which is the foundation of the other elements of armor. Righteousness (doing what is right in God’s judgment) is our breastplate; our “shoes” are the Gospel of peace. Faith is our shield to ward off the flaming arrows of Satan, our spiritual enemy. Salvation is our helmet. Finally we must take the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Commentary:

Life in this world is a spiritual battle between the forces of good and evil. The outcome has already been determined by Jesus’ death and resurrection. But the battle goes on until the forces of evil are wiped out. We must join forces with the Lord or we will be wiped out with the evil ones.

To withstand the battle, we must begin with divine truth which is revealed and imparted by God’s Word, the Bible. Divine truth is the truth by which the world was created and is sustained, and it is unlike what the world falsely calls “truth”(1 Corinthians 1:17-2:16)

Righteousness is the breastplate which preserves our life. It is not our own righteousness, which is insufficient (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1: 8-10), but the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which we receive through faith (obedient trust) in him.

Then we must be shod with the Gospel of peace. Jesus Christ is the one and only way to receive forgiveness and to have peace with God (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). Having the Gospel is the only way to stand against the spiritual enemy and prevail, and the only means to keep us from stumbling on our way.

We need the shield of faith to deflect the flaming arrows of doubt and temptation. When we choose to join with Jesus, we are going to become targets of Satan’s weapons. Faith is not getting whatever we believe if we believe “hard enough.” Faith is trusting and obeying Jesus’ word, which is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) with the creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41; Compare Genesis 1:9).

Salvation is the helmet which assures our survival and preserves us for eternal life. Our salvation is provided by Jesus, but we need to receive it and put it on, by applying his teaching in our daily lives, in order to have its benefits. We have to come to Jesus, confess our need, and ask him for our salvation (from God’s eternal condemnation).

Finally, our only weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Christians cannot go out into the spiritual battleground of this world until we have been fully armed. The battle is spiritual, and it is won, not by our own strength, but by God’s Spirit within us and working though us (Zechariah 4:6b).

It is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Jesus, within us, who opens our minds to understand God’s Word (Luke 24:44-45), and to know God’s will. It is the Holy Spirit who calls to our minds God’s Word at the time we need it (John 14:25-26; Matthew 10:17-20), and he empowers us to do what we are called to do. It is God’s Word, spoken at the right moment that wins the spiritual battle.

Paul is the first “modern” (not having known Jesus during Jesus’ physical lifetime), “born-again” Christian disciple and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel), as all believers are called to be. He is teaching and demonstrating “discipling.”

Paul has described the essence of discipleship in an analogy to battle armor. We are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, to learn the divine truth, which is God’s Word and to learn to trust and obey God’s Word. Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment, and illustration of God’s Word in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus’ word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24). Jesus is the way (to forgiveness and salvation from eternal condemnation), the (divine, eternal) truth, and the (true, eternal) life (John 14:6). As we begin to trust and obey God’s Word, revealed through Jesus Christ, we will be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by 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).

Believers are called to be disciples and then to “make” disciples (of Jesus Christ), after we have received the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). One cannot be a “witness” testifying about something one has not personally experienced. Believers are to stay within the Church, the “New Jerusalem,” being discipled by mature “born-again” disciples, until they have received rebirth by the Holy Spirit, and then the Holy Spirit will equip and direct them according to God’s will. 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).

Sadly, discipleship and spiritual growth is not the norm in the Church today. The Church has too often settled for building “buildings” and making “members,” instead of making disciples and building and strengthening the body of Christ and the kingdom of God. Too often church “prospects” “shop” for the church which offers the best “deal” on “salvation.” Salvation is not by church “membership,” or by church “ritual,” even “baptism.” Salvation is only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by his indwelling Holy Spirit.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Week of 21 Pentecost - B - 10/21 - 27/2012

Shepherdboy David

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