"When the shift gets heavy"
One verse, one thought—something steady for whatever the day brings.
Week 21
The Blessed Man:
Psalm 1:1-2 (ESV)
[1] Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; [2] but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
A life under God's guidance is the life we were created for. We rest on the blueprint of our Creator, trusting as His sons that our Father knows what is best for us. Those who scoff at His law stand on a weak foundation of their own making. Their counsel rests on momentary, deceitful passions aimed at surviving a corrupted world; by letting it dictate their actions, they are ultimately molded by it as a father molds his children.
Worldly counsel says, "Do not play fair in a game where no one else does. Cheat, deceive, steal and do whatever it takes to get ahead." Yet the wicked are blown away like dry grass. The righteous, who trust in God, step in faith onto His path of life. Like a tree firmly planted by a stream, they are nourished by God's counsel and in due season bear good fruit. Christ says likewise in Matthew 7:24, calling wise those who hear His words and do them.
Christ is the truly blessed man, perfectly delighting in God's law. United to Him by faith, we delight in God as our Father and Christ as our guide through a fallen world, being molded into His image.
Thank you, Lord, for our adoption as your sons. You have called us out of the world to live in the nurture and admonition of your Word. Help us, Father, not to walk, stand, or make our home in the counsel of sinners, but to grow continually in faith and intimacy, that we may know and hear your counsel. Amen.
Psalm 1:1-2 (ESV)
[1] Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; [2] but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
A life under God's guidance is the life we were created for. We rest on the blueprint of our Creator, trusting as His sons that our Father knows what is best for us. Those who scoff at His law stand on a weak foundation of their own making. Their counsel rests on momentary, deceitful passions aimed at surviving a corrupted world; by letting it dictate their actions, they are ultimately molded by it as a father molds his children.
Worldly counsel says, "Do not play fair in a game where no one else does. Cheat, deceive, steal and do whatever it takes to get ahead." Yet the wicked are blown away like dry grass. The righteous, who trust in God, step in faith onto His path of life. Like a tree firmly planted by a stream, they are nourished by God's counsel and in due season bear good fruit. Christ says likewise in Matthew 7:24, calling wise those who hear His words and do them.
Christ is the truly blessed man, perfectly delighting in God's law. United to Him by faith, we delight in God as our Father and Christ as our guide through a fallen world, being molded into His image.
Thank you, Lord, for our adoption as your sons. You have called us out of the world to live in the nurture and admonition of your Word. Help us, Father, not to walk, stand, or make our home in the counsel of sinners, but to grow continually in faith and intimacy, that we may know and hear your counsel. Amen.
Week 20
The Name of God:
Exodus 3:14 ESV
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’
In the first chapter of the Bible, we are told of God's creation of the universe. There the Hebrew word Elohim is translated to God, a term of divine majesty, might, and transcendence. Though Elohim is sometimes used for other spiritual beings, here it describes the One who alone is above all. In the next chapter, once man is introduced in creation, we see YHWH (LORD) used alongside Elohim: God's personal, covenantal name, representing relational intimacy with those who know Him.
The LORD continues in relational, covenantal faithfulness in Exodus 3:14-15 where He not only reveals Himself to Moses by His name, "I AM", but also calls Himself the God of their fathers, whose covenant faithfulness has endured throughout centuries for those who Know Him and His Name.
In the New Testament, we see Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of God's relational redemption. In John 8:56-59, He reveals Himself as the "I AM" whose day Abraham rejoiced to see. Therefore, for us who trust in Christ by faith can rest assured of our Savior’s work in our life since He has united us to the Father and continues to abide in our lives (John 17:1-10).
Thank you, O God, for our Lord Jesus Christ who has revealed your name to us and redeemed us into union with you. Help us, Father, to live for you and for others with the same sacrificial love as modeled in the cross. Amen.
Exodus 3:14 ESV
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’
In the first chapter of the Bible, we are told of God's creation of the universe. There the Hebrew word Elohim is translated to God, a term of divine majesty, might, and transcendence. Though Elohim is sometimes used for other spiritual beings, here it describes the One who alone is above all. In the next chapter, once man is introduced in creation, we see YHWH (LORD) used alongside Elohim: God's personal, covenantal name, representing relational intimacy with those who know Him.
The LORD continues in relational, covenantal faithfulness in Exodus 3:14-15 where He not only reveals Himself to Moses by His name, "I AM", but also calls Himself the God of their fathers, whose covenant faithfulness has endured throughout centuries for those who Know Him and His Name.
In the New Testament, we see Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of God's relational redemption. In John 8:56-59, He reveals Himself as the "I AM" whose day Abraham rejoiced to see. Therefore, for us who trust in Christ by faith can rest assured of our Savior’s work in our life since He has united us to the Father and continues to abide in our lives (John 17:1-10).
Thank you, O God, for our Lord Jesus Christ who has revealed your name to us and redeemed us into union with you. Help us, Father, to live for you and for others with the same sacrificial love as modeled in the cross. Amen.
Week 19
The Trinity:
Deuteronomy 6:4
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
God is three persons in one divine essence. Succinctly stated in the Athanasian Creed, “the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another. But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty co-eternal.” The Son is God, the Father is God, the Holy Spirit is God (Heb. 1:7-8; Eph. 4:6; Acts 5:3-4). Holiness, power, truth, beauty, goodness are but a few of the perfect attributes of the one true God. Because we are made in His image, and through Christ's finished work, we can now truly reflect God's attributes.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ we can cry to our Father, and the Spirit of adoption working in us bears witness that we are the children of God and heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:12-17). We are God's servants, but Christ also calls us His friends because we know God and what He is doing. We did not choose Him, but He chose us to bear fruit and to ask the Father for what we need to fulfill Christ's command to love one another (John 15:10-17).
Father, we praise you for your wise and nurturing rule over our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, we praise you for our redemption, and true example of love, at the cross. Holy Spirit, we praise you for the comforting witness that we are God's children and for guiding us in our weaknesses as you intercede for us with groanings too deep for words. To you, one God in three persons, be glory forever. Amen.
Deuteronomy 6:4
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
God is three persons in one divine essence. Succinctly stated in the Athanasian Creed, “the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another. But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty co-eternal.” The Son is God, the Father is God, the Holy Spirit is God (Heb. 1:7-8; Eph. 4:6; Acts 5:3-4). Holiness, power, truth, beauty, goodness are but a few of the perfect attributes of the one true God. Because we are made in His image, and through Christ's finished work, we can now truly reflect God's attributes.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ we can cry to our Father, and the Spirit of adoption working in us bears witness that we are the children of God and heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:12-17). We are God's servants, but Christ also calls us His friends because we know God and what He is doing. We did not choose Him, but He chose us to bear fruit and to ask the Father for what we need to fulfill Christ's command to love one another (John 15:10-17).
Father, we praise you for your wise and nurturing rule over our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, we praise you for our redemption, and true example of love, at the cross. Holy Spirit, we praise you for the comforting witness that we are God's children and for guiding us in our weaknesses as you intercede for us with groanings too deep for words. To you, one God in three persons, be glory forever. Amen.
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