- Deuteronomy 26-34
- Joshua
- Judges
- Ruth
- 1 Samuel
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Week in Review: April 8-14
NLT Beyond Suffering Bible:
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
Saturday, April 14, 2018
My Victorian Year #15
From Morning and Evening:
Even death itself, with all its terrible influences, has no power to suspend the music of a Christian’s heart—but rather makes that music become more sweet, more clear, more heavenly—until the last kind act which death can do—is to let the earthly strain melt into the heavenly chorus, the temporal joy into the eternal bliss!
Are you conscious of a growing failure of your bodily health? Do you expect to suffer long nights of languishing and days of pain? O do not be sad! That sick-bed may become a throne to you. You little know—how every pang that shoots through your body—may be a refining fire to consume your dross—a beam of glory to light up the secret parts of your soul. Are the eyes growing dim? Jesus will be your light. Do the ears fail you? Jesus’ name will be your soul’s best music, and His person your dear delight.
But my heart has a deeper and more bitter cause to mourn— MY SINS were the scourges which lacerated those blessed shoulders, and crowned that bleeding brow with thorns! My sins cried, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” and laid the cross upon His gracious shoulders! His being led forth to die, is sorrow enough for one eternity—but MY having been His murderer—is more, infinitely more grief, than one poor fountain of tears can express!
We would never have known Christ’s love in all its heights and depths—if He had not died; nor could we guess the Father’s deep affection—if He had not given His Son to die.
The common mercies we enjoy, all sing of love; just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep sea whence it came. But if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look at every-day blessings—but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see the Man of sorrows die!
It is well for us when prayers about our sorrows are linked with pleas concerning our sins—when, being under God’s hand, we are not wholly taken up with our pain—but remember our offences against God. It is well, also, to take both sorrow and sin—to the same place. It was to God that David carried his sorrow—it was to God that David confessed his sin.
But we must also take our sins to God. We must carry them to the cross, that the blood may fall upon them, to purge away their guilt, and to destroy their defiling power.
A Christian counts his sorrow lighter in the scale than his sin. He can bear that his troubles should continue—but he cannot support the burden of his transgressions.
My soul, remember the fall—for it was your fall.
There is enough in Christ for all my necessities; let me not be slow to avail myself of Him.
From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, from the first gathering of evening shadows until the day-star shines, in all conditions and under all circumstances—it shall be well with the righteous.
To know “our “sins” is the first letter in the alphabet of saving religion. To understand our position in the sight of God is one step towards heaven.
The true secret of peace of conscience is to feel “our sins” put away. If we love life we ought never to rest till we can give a satisfactory answer to the question,--“WHERE ARE MY SINS?”
My first remark is this. You have many sins. I say this boldly, and without the least hesitation. I know not who you are, or how the time past of your life has been spent. But I know, from the Word of God, that every son and daughter of Adam is a great sinner in the sight of God.
Does any one doubt the truth of these words? Then go and examine the law of God, as expounded by the Son of God Himself. Read with attention the fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel.
And now turn to the history of your own life, and try it by the standard of this holy law.
And then turn to the history of your own heart. Consider how many evil things have gone through it, of which the world knows nothing at all.
Do you doubt whether you have sinned many sins?--Then go and examine the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel.
The mere fact that they have left undone things which they ought to have done, is sufficient to ruin their souls for ever.
A man’s sins of omission alone are enough to sink him into hell!
I have learned by mournful experience that the last thing a man finds out and understands, is his own state in the sight of God.
He that has any feeling of his own sinfulness, ought to thank God for it. That very sense of weakness, wickedness, and corruption, which perhaps makes you uncomfortable, is in reality a token for good, and a cause for praise.
The first preparation for heaven, is to know that we deserve nothing but hell. Before we can be counted righteous we must know ourselves to be miserable sinners. Before we can have inward happiness and peace with God, we must learn to be ashamed and confounded because of our manifold transgressions.
It is important to have our sins put away. My second remark is this. It is of the utmost importance to have our sins taken off us and put away.
Let us remember there is a God above us.
Let us remember, furthermore, that death is before us.
Let us remember, furthermore, that resurrection and judgment await us. All is not over when the last breath is drawn and our bodies become a lump of cold clay. No: all is not over! The realities of existence then begin.
We want you to understand that religion does not consist in professing certain opinions, and performing certain outward duties, and going through certain outward forms. It consists in being reconciled to God, and enjoying peace with Him. It consists in having our sins cleansed away, and knowing that they are cleansed. It consists in being brought back into friendship with the King of kings, and living in the sunshine of that friendship.
The very foundation of real Christianity is to know that you have many sins, and deserve hell,--and to feel the importance of having these sins cleansed away, in order that you may go to heaven.
My third remark is this. We cannot cleanse away our own sins.
Man’s guilt in the sight of God, is enormous. Man’s danger of hell, after he dies, is imminent and tremendous. And yet man cannot cleanse away his own sins! It is written, and it is true, “By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Romans 3:20.)
It will not cleanse away your sins to be sorry for them. You may mourn over your past wickedness, and humble yourself in sackcloth and ashes. You may shed floods of tears, and acknowledge your own guilt and danger. You may--you must,--you ought to do this But you will not by so doing wipe out your transgressions from the book of God. SORROW CANNOT MAKE ATONEMENT FOR SIN.
It will not cleanse away your sins to mend your life. You may reform your conduct, and turn over a new leaf you may break off many evil habits, and take up many good ones; you may become, in short, an altered man in all your outward behaviour. You may,--you must,--you ought to do so. Without such change no soul ever was saved. But you will not, by so doing, wipe away one particle of your guilt in God’s sight. REFORMATION MAKES NO ATONEMENT FOR SIN.
It will not cleanse away your sins to become diligent in the use of the forms and ordinances of religion. FORMALITY CANNOT MAKE ATONEMENT FOR SIN.
It will not cleanse away your sins to look to man for help. It is not in the power of any child of Adam to save another’s soul. NO CHILD OF ADAM CAN TAKE AWAY HIS BROTHER’S SINS.
The fourth remark I have to make is this, The blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse away all our sins.
The quantity of that blood may very likely have been small; the appearance of that blood was doubtless like that of our own: but never since the day when Adam was first formed out of the dust of the ground, has any blood been shed of such deep importance to the whole family of mankind.
It was blood that had been long covenanted and promised. In the day when sin came into the world, God mercifully engaged that “the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head.” (Genesis 3:15.)
It was blood that had been long typified and prefigured. Every sacrifice that was offered up by patriarchs, was a testimony of their faith in a greater sacrifice yet to come.
It was blood which was of infinite merit and value in the sight of God. It was not the blood of one who was nothing more than a singularly holy man, but of one who was God’s own “Fellow,” very God of very God. (Zechariah 13:7.)
That thing which you cannot do for yourself can be done in a moment by this precious fountain. YOU CAN HAVE ALL YOUR SINS CLEANSED AWAY.
The fifth, and last remark I have to make, is this. Faith is absolutely necessary, and the only thing necessary, in order to give us an interest in the cleansing blood of Christ.
My first word of application shall be a question. I address it to all into whose hands this paper may fall, without distinction or exception. It is a question which concerns deeply every man, woman, and child in the world, whatever be their rank or station. It is the question which rises naturally out of our subject: “Where are your sins?”
Either your sins are UPON YOURSELF, unpardoned, unforgiven, uncleansed, unwashed away,--sinking you daily nearer to hell! Or else your sins are UPON CHRIST, taken away, forgiven, pardoned, blotted out and cleansed away by Christ’s precious blood!
Forgiven or unforgiven,--pardoned or not pardoned,--cleansed away or not cleansed,--this, according to the Bible, is the exact position of every one’s sins. How is it with you? “Where are your sins?”
My second word of application shall be an invitation. I address it to all who feel unable to give a satisfactory answer to the question of my paper. I address it to all who feel sinful, and lost, and condemned, and unfit to die. It is that invitation which is the glory of the Gospel. I say to you, “Come to Christ, and be cleansed in His blood without delay.”
My last word shall be an exhortation. I address it to all who have been taught by the Spirit to feel their sins, and have fled to the hope set before them in the Gospel. Cling to Christ, I say: and never forget your debt to Him. Sinners you were, when you were first called by the Holy Ghost, and fled to Jesus. Sinners you have been, even at your best, from the day of your conversion. Sinners you will find yourselves to your dying hour, having nothing to boast of in yourselves. Then cling to Christ.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Book Review: Lloyd-Jones on the Christian Life
First sentence: Doctrine and life are fuel and fire, not oil and water. The combustible combination of doctrinal precision and experiential power creates an explosion called the Christian life. No theologian explains the explosion better than Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The thesis of this book is that according to LloydJones, the Christian life is doctrine on fire.
This book is one of the books in Crossway's Theologians on the Christian Life series. I have read a good many books in the series. This one is a GREAT addition to the series. I loved, loved, LOVED it. It wasn't a surprise I loved it. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is one of my favorite-and-best theologians.
Lloyd-Jones on the Christian Life would be an EXCELLENT introduction to his life and work. I can't sing its praises enough. I think what I loved most about this biography was how it lets Lloyd-Jones speak for himself. So many quotes!!!!!
Not that the author had nothing to do but cut and paste, I imagine it takes a lot of work--a good amount of wisdom--to organize, arrange, select, and layout everything so that it flows perfectly and does justice to the subject. His observations are also worth noting. "If Sherlock Holmes had been a pastor instead of a private investigator, he would have looked a lot like Martyn Lloyd-Jones... Both Sherlock Holmes and Martyn Lloyd-Jones exhibit fine-tuned diagnostic acumen. In fact, the preaching ministry of the one affectionately known as the Doctor reflected all the marks of a medical cast of mind. His preaching would start with symptoms in society and then diagnose the root disease (i.e., the sin) and prescribe a gospel cure."
The premise of the book is simple yet profound: Doctrine should start in the head, catch fire in the heart, and create a life aflame with true obedience in the will. The Christian life as doctrine on fire must have all three realities. The abundant life comes only from a fully baked “both–and” combination of head and heart, light and heat, doctrine and life.
How Lloyd-Jones defines doctrine: Biblical doctrines are “particular truths” that the Bible “wants to emphasize and to impress upon the minds of us all.
Why is doctrine so important? He writes, "Divorcing doctrine and life is not a minor misstep but a deadly departure from the Bible. There is nothing which I know of which is more unscriptural, and which is more dangerous to the soul, than to divide doctrine from life...Impure living flows downstream from polluted doctrine."
Five dangers of 'the great divorce' of life and doctrine:
1. We dishonor God. The great divorce of doctrine and life means we deny him with our lives and insult the living God. “There is nothing which is more insulting to the holy Name of God than to profess Him with your lips and deny Him in your life.”The book first gives a brief overview or biography of Martyn Lloyd-Jones life. (The book ends by examining his legacy). But the heart of the book focuses on doctrines--specific doctrines essential to the faith--and how to apply them.
2. We quench the Spirit and hinder the work of God. The great divorce of doctrine and life leads to a situation in which “the Spirit is always quenched” and the work of God “is always hindered.”
3. We destroy holiness and joy. The great divorce of doctrine and life not only dishonors God; it destroys holiness and joy. It destroys holiness because it removes the direct association of doctrine to life. Holiness is like a cut flower apart from the soil of doctrine. Lloyd-Jones says that there “is no holiness teaching in the New Testament apart from this direct association with doctrine; it is a deduction from the doctrine.”
4. We become flimsy and shaky. If only those who endure to the end are saved (Matt. 24:13), then Christians will put a premium on a pattern of life that will last and stand the test of time. The whole purpose of doctrine is to help us endure by making us unmovable and unshakable; “not merely to give us intellectual understanding or satisfaction, but to establish us, to make us firm, to make us solid Christians, to make us unmovable, to give us such a foundation that nothing can shake us.”
5. We are highly susceptible to disaster. A shaky Christian life is susceptible to disaster because of the high winds of false teaching and temptation. You cannot separate what a man believes from what he is.
Meyer follows the same three-fold format for each chapter: (1) introducing the doctrine, (2) defining the doctrine, and (3) applying the doctrine.
Favorite quotes:
I think the greatest weakness in evangelical Christianity today is that it forgets God. We are interested in experiences, we are interested in happiness, we are interested in subjective states. But the first need of every soul, as we shall see, is to be right with God. Nothing matters but that. The gospel starts with God, because what is wrong with everybody is that they are in a wrong relationship to Him. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The way to see sin is not primarily through self-introspection and self-examination, but by “going into the presence of God” and seeing ourselves in comparison to his absolute purity. The very moment we really see “the holiness and the greatness of God,” we have repented. The problem is not a failure to believe; it is a failure to believe the right thing. Essentially one could say that repenting is resizing. We start in the wrong place; we size up the things we see with our standards of measurement. We should start with God as our standard of reference and then resize all that we see in relation to him.
The church will be weak to the extent that it forgets its God. Our response to the doctrine of God is a measure of our spiritual health. If eternal life is knowing him (John 17:3), then do we hunger and thirst to know him? ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
If we cannot be still and study what Christ did for us on the cross, we have little hope for a humble grasp of who we are in Christ. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Is there anything greater than this, that God should take your sins and mine and put them on His own Son and punish His own Son, not sparing Him anything, causing Him to suffer all that, that you and I might be forgiven? Can you tell me any greater exhibition of the love of God than that? ~ Martyn Lloyd Jones
The doctrine of regeneration proves that you do not have a boring testimony, because being raised from the dead is not boring. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
If God has chosen to use such terms as righteousness, justification, sanctification, redemption, atonement, reconciliation, propitiation, then it is our duty to face those terms and to consider their meaning; it is dishonoring to God not to do so. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
We must fight the doctrinal amnesia we face daily. We are all too prone to forget who we are and what is true of us in Christ. We must reckon ourselves rightly. If we are in Christ, then “as it is true to say of Him that He died unto sin once and for ever, so we also have finished with the realm and the rule and the reign of sin.”
We must die to ourselves before we die physically. Life and freedom are found on the other side of that first death. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
We are entirely confined to the Scriptures, and we can add nothing to them. Neither must we take anything from them. We are in no position to pick and choose from them. We cannot say, I believe this and I reject that, I rather like the teaching of Jesus, but I do not believe in miracles; I admire the way in which He died, but I do not believe that He was born of a virgin or that He rose in the body from the grave. The moment you begin to do that you are denying revelation. You are saying that your unaided human intellect is capable of judging revelation, and sifting it and finding what is true and what is false. That is to deny the whole principle of revelation, of the apostolate, and of this unique work of the Holy Spirit.
Let us remind ourselves that when we are reading the Scriptures we must never take anything for granted; we must always be alert and alive, and always ready to ask questions.
Prayer ceases to be prayer when it is divorced from the doctrine of God.
“If you have never had difficulty in prayer, it is absolutely certain that you have never prayed.” “Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Sin pollutes our prayers through the intrusion of self. In prayer, a person comes face-to-face with the temptation “to think about himself,” and in this self-focus and fixation a person finds himself “really to be worshipping himself rather than God.”
Do not claim, do not demand, let your requests be made known, let them come from your heart. God will understand. We have no right to demand even revival. Some Christians are tending to do so at the present time. Pray urgently, plead, use all the arguments, use all the promises; but do not demand, do not claim. Never put yourself into the position of saying, “If we but do this, then that must happen.” God is a sovereign Lord, and these things are beyond our understanding. Never let the terminology of claiming or of demanding be used.
One does not need to twist doctrine like a pretzel to make it practical. The practical is an inevitable outworking of the doctrinal.
The acid test of our profession is this: What do you feel like when you are sitting in an air-raid shelter and you can hear the bombs dropping round and about you, and you know that the next bomb may land on you and may be the end of you? That is the test. How do you feel when you are face-to-face with the ultimate, with the end?
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Week in Review: April 1-7
NLT Beyond Suffering Bible
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy 1-26
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
Saturday, April 7, 2018
My Victorian Year #14
From Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon:
Salvation is priceless, let it come when it may—but oh! an early salvation has a double value in it.
Remember that the same Christ who tells us to say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” had first given us this petition, “Hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come; Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Let not your prayers be all concerning your own sins, your own needs, your own imperfections, your own trials—but let them climb the starry ladder, and get up to Christ Himself, and then, as you draw near to the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, offer this prayer continually, “Lord, extend the kingdom of Your dear Son!” Such a petition, fervently presented, will elevate the spirit of all your devotions. Mind that you prove the sincerity of your prayer by laboring to promote the Lord’s glory.
Your standing is not in yourself—it is in Christ; your acceptance is not in yourself—but in your Lord. You are as much accepted by God today, with all your sinfulness, as you will be when you stand before His throne, free from all corruption.
We see in Simon’s carrying the cross—a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer—so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it—but that you may endure it.
Christ exempts you from sin—but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer.
If we empty our hearts of SELF, God will fill them with His love.
Learn in confession to be honest with God. Do not give fair names to foul sins. Call them what you will—they will smell no sweeter. What God sees them to be, that you must labor to feel them to be; and with all openness of heart, acknowledge their real character.
We must sing of the finished work of a precious Savior; and he who knows most of forgiving love—will sing the loudest!
Alive or Dead? (Chapter 5)
He is your best friend who tells you the most truth.
First then, let me tell you what we all are by nature.--We are spiritually dead! “Dead” is a strong word, but it is not my own coining and invention. I did not choose it. The Holy Ghost taught St. Paul to write it down about the Ephesians: “You hath he quickened who were dead.” (Ephesians 2:1.).
The Lord Jesus Christ made use of it in the parable of the prodigal son: “This my son was dead and is alive again.” (Luke 15:24-32.). You will read it also in the first Epistle to Timothy: “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” (1 Timothy 5:6,).
“Dead” is an awful idea, and one that man is most unwilling to receive. He does not like to allow the whole extent of his soul’s disease: he shuts his eyes to the real amount of his danger.
What we like in religion is of very little consequence. The only question is, What is written? What saith the Lord? God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts, and God’s words are not man’s words. God says of every living person who is not a real, thorough, genuine, decided Christian,--be he high or low, rich or poor, old or young,--He is spiritually dead.
But God’s truth must be spoken, and to keep it back does positive harm. Truth must be spoken, however condemning it may be. So long as a man does not serve God with body, soul, and spirit, he is not really alive. So long as he puts the first things last and the last first, buries his talent like an unprofitable servant, and brings the Lord no revenue of honour, so long in God’s sight he is dead.
This is the true explanation of sin not felt,--and sermons not believed,--and good advice not followed,--and the Gospel not embraced,--and the world not forsaken,--and the cross not taken up,--and self-will not mortified,--and evil habits not laid aside,--and the Bible seldom read,--and the knee never bent in prayer. Why is all this on every side. The answer is simple: Men are dead.
Let me tell you, in the second place, what every man needs who would be saved. He must be quickened and made spiritually alive. Life is the mightiest of all possessions. From death to life is the mightiest of all changes. And no change short of this will ever avail to fit man’s soul for heaven.
Grace may be weak, and yet true; life may be feeble, and yet real. But I do confidently affirm we must all go through something of this kind, if ever we mean to be saved. Till this sort of change has taken place, there is no life it. us at all.
Some time or other, between the cradle and the grave, all who would be saved must be made alive.
Let me tell you, in the third place, in what way alone this quickening can be brought about,--by what means a dead soul can be made spiritually alive. We may change our sins, but we cannot change our hearts. We may take up a new way, but not a new nature. We may make considerable reforms and alterations. We may lay aside many outward bad habits, and begin to do many outward duties. But we cannot create a new principle within us. We cannot bring something out of nothing.
Never, never will the Spirit turn away from a soul because of its corruption. He never has done so;--He never will. It is His glory that He has purified the minds of the most impure, and made them temples for His own abode. He may yet take the worst of us, and make him a vessel of grace.
Others may think it enough to mourn over dead bodies. For my part, I think there is far more cause to mourn over dead souls. The children of this world find fault with us sometimes for being so serious and grave. Truly, when I look at the world, I marvel we can ever smile at all.
To every one who is dead in sins I say this day. Why will you die? Are the wages of sin so sweet and good, that you cannot give them up? Is the world so satisfying that you cannot forsake it? Is the service of Satan so pleasant that you and he are never to be parted? Is heaven so poor a thing that it is not worth seeking? Is your soul of so little consequence, that it is not worth a struggle to have it saved?
Believe me, believe me, true repentance is that one step that no man ever repented. Thousands have said at their latter end, they had “served God too little:” no child of Adam ever said, as he left this world, that he had cared for his soul too much.
The way of life is a narrow path, but the footsteps in it are all in one direction: not one child of Adam has ever come back and said it was a delusion. The way of the world is a broad way, but millions on millions have forsaken it, and borne their testimony that it was a way of sorrow and disappointment.
Let your words, and works, and ways, and tempers all tell the same story.
Be an epistle of Christ so clearly written, penned in such large bold characters, that he who runs may read it. Let your Christianity be so unmistakeable, your eye so single, your heart so whole, your walk so straightforward that all who see you may have no doubt whose you are, and whom you serve.
If we really are alive and not dead, let us strive so to carry ourselves that men may know whose we are. While we live, may we live unto the Lord. When we die, may we die the death of the righteous. And when the Lord Jesus comes, may we be found ready, and “not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (1 John 2:28.)
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Book Review: The Glory of Christ
First sentence: Glory. The word is charged with meaning. It sets the hearts of Christians soaring. The soul is lifted up by the contemplation of the glory of God and of His Only Begotten Son. It is Christ in His glory who is the object of our worship and adoration. As Christians we join the communion of saints and the host of heaven in lifting up praise and honor to Him.
Each chapter of The Glory of Christ highlights a moment in Jesus' life and ministry. It opens with 'Glory in the Fields' and closes with 'Glory on the Damascus Road.' Most of the chapters focus on his earthly ministry: his birth, his baptism, his miracles, his discipling, his transfiguration, etc. But the last three or four focus on his heavenly ministry. It does not seek to cover every moment of his life--as revealed in the four gospels of the New Testament. His life is viewed through the lens of his GLORY. Which scripture passages have something to say--something to reveal--about Christ's glory.
I think believers are prone to taking the gospels for granted, taking the gospel story for granted. The details of his life aren't seen often with fresh eyes, eyes of awe and wonder. If only they were! The details of his life often fall into the "I already know that..." category, the can-be-skimmed-over-quickly category. And yes, by believers--plural--I'm largely looking at myself. I try to keep things "fresh" by switching translations often. But I think the temptation is always there to rush through the familiar.
R.C. Sproul's book gave me food for thought. Not that Sproul was trying to be "new" and "trendy." (I don't think Sproul ever once tried to be trendy. The focus of Sproul's ministry was on the unchanging TRUTH of the Word of God.)
Quotes:
We are not merely redeemed by the death of Christ; we are also redeemed by the life of Christ. His death on the cross reveals the nadir of his humiliation as He bears the curse for us. But that is only part of His redemptive achievement. It is not enough for us merely to have our sins atoned for. To receive the blessings of the covenant we must possess real righteousness. We need what we cannot supply for ourselves. This merit of righteousness is earned for us by Jesus' life of perfect obedience. (28)
Men may deny the existence of God or refuse to honor Him. But man's unbelief or disobedience do nothing to harm the being of God. God exists whether or not people believe in HIm. His covenant is binding even though we choose to ignore it. Every human being is inescapably bound to a covenant relationship with God. The covenant God made with Adam He made with the representative of the entire human race. (68)
Jesus refused to allow public opinion to steer His ministry. His mandate was from His Father, and He was zealous to perform it regardless of the will of the masses. (100)
Satan wanted Jesus to seek glory without pain, kingship without the cross. Satan feared nothing more from Jesus than His death. The worst thing that could happen to Satan was for Jesus to make atonement for the sins of His people. (105-6)
Moses did not cross over into the Promised Land. He did finally get there, however, by another route. He did not transverse the Jordan River during his life on earth. Presumably the route he traveled to the Promise Land was vertical. He didn't cross over into Israel, he came down to Israel from heaven. After many centuries he finally stood inside the Promised Land as he spoke face to face with the Promised One. (118-9)
To search for glory in the cross of Christ is to turn the values of man upside down. Yet in this darkest hour of human history we see light piercing the shadows, a beam that beckons us to look beyond the obvious, to peer above the shadow to the glory beyond. Without light there can be no shadow. (149)
It is tragedy and victory in the same moment. It is scandal and honor, defeat and triumph, shame and esteem. (149)
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Week in Review: March 25-31
NASB
NLT Beyond Suffering Bible
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
- Ps. 90-150
- John
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Jude
- Revelation
NLT Beyond Suffering Bible
- Genesis
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
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