Bible League: Living His Word "The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after rain.'"— 2 Samuel 23:3-4 NKJV Dark clouds cover our world. If you check Wikipedia for "List of ongoing armed conflicts," you'll find that roughly one-half of the world's land area is engaged in some level of warfare. There's the Mexican drug war, the insurgency in the Sahel Region, the war in Ukraine, civil war in Sudan and Myanmar; the list goes on and on. While I'm writing this, the war between Israel and Gaza dominates the news. It's a conflict that stirs heated controversy around the world. According to some analysts, it could even lead to a third world war. People cry out in despair, "Where is God?" Maybe black clouds gather over your life. Sickness, mental issues, relational challenges, or material misfortune shake your existence. You cry out in despair, "Where are You, Lord?" David was well acquainted with all these emotions. He had been on the run from Saul, fearing for his life; he had been severely ill and fought many wars. In Psalm 22, David cried, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" Darkness... In 2 Samuel 23, we find David at the end of his life. He receives from the Lord what reads like a job description for the future kings of Israel. They must be "just, ruling in the fear of God." We know from the Bible that the kings of Israel and Judah didn't comply with these qualifications. On the contrary... To find a just king of Israel, ruling in the fear of God, we must go to Bethlehem, to that tiny stable. There, in the middle of the night, a child was born: the ultimate Son of David. He, the promised Messiah, came into a world that wasn't waiting for Him. Yet, He came! Choosing to leave heavenly riches, He entered our darkness. We don't know what will happen in this world. All we know is that our political leaders aren't just and God-fearing like they should be. They will never be able to bring light in the darkness and establish lasting peace on earth. We, however, can hold on to David's prophecy: Jesus is our King. He rules the world and will bring peace. We need not doubt it because it's the Rock of Israel who speaks. His words are and will always be true; He cannot lie. If you are stuck in darkness, let today's verses bring you light. The Rock of Israel, who is also the Rock of your salvation, speaks these words to you to comfort you. Listen to them and meditate on Jesus, who came to bring you new life ("tender grass springing out of the earth"). I hear Christmas bells ringing in David's prophecy. More than that, I hear the promise of the second coming of Jesus as the Morning Star (Revelation 22:16) when He will wipe away all our tears, and there will be no more darkness. "Behold," He says, "I am coming quickly!" Maranatha! By Anton de Vreugd, Bible League International staff, the Netherlands Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJoel Joel 1 -- The Word of the Lord to Joel: Locusts, Starvation and Drought; Call to Repentance NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Joel 2 -- An Army of Locusts; Turn to Me with All Your Heart; The Day of the Lord's Spirit NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Joel 3 -- The Nations Will Be Judged; Blessing upon Judah NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 4 Revelation 4 -- The Thrones and Elders in Heaven: Worthy are you, our Lord and God NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.Insight What you say and what you don't say are both important. Proper speech is not only saying the right words at the right time, but it is also controlling your desire to say what you shouldn't. Examples of an untamed tongue include gossiping, putting others down, bragging, manipulating, false teaching, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, and lying. Challenge Before you speak, ask: “Is what I want to say true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?” Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 54:12 I will make thy windows of agates.The church is most instructively symbolized by a building erected by heavenly power, and designed by divine skill. Such a spiritual house must not be dark, for the Israelites had light in their dwellings; there must therefore be windows to let the light in and to allow the inhabitants to gaze abroad. These windows are precious as agates: the ways in which the church beholds her Lord and heaven, and spiritual truth in general, are to be had in the highest esteem. Agates are not the most transparent of gems, they are but semi-pellucid at the best: "Our knowledge of that life is small, Our eye of faith is dim." Faith is one of these precious agate windows, but alas! it is often so misty and beclouded, that we see but darkly, and mistake much that we do see. Yet if we cannot gaze through windows of diamonds and know even as we are known, it is a glorious thing to behold the altogether lovely One, even though the glass be hazy as the agate. Experience is another of these dim but precious windows, yielding to us a subdued religious light, in which we see the sufferings of the Man of Sorrows, through our own afflictions. Our weak eyes could not endure windows of transparent glass to let in the Master's glory, but when they are dimmed with weeping, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness are tempered, and shine through the windows of agate with a soft radiance inexpressibly soothing to tempted souls. Sanctification, as it conforms us to our Lord, is another agate window. Only as we become heavenly can we comprehend heavenly things. The pure in heart see a pure God. Those who are like Jesus see him as he is. Because we are so little like him, the window is but agate; because we are somewhat like him, it is agate. We thank God for what we have, and long for more. When shall we see God and Jesus, and heaven and truth, face to face? Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 62:12 And lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord, For You recompense a man according to his work.1 Corinthians 3:11,14,15 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. • If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. • If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Matthew 6:3,4 "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, • so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Matthew 25:19 "Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, Isaiah 26:12 LORD, You will establish peace for us, Since You have also performed for us all our works. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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