My Only Comfort

When the enemy oppresses, seemingly with impunity, the soul is easily crushed. Why do the wicked prosper? Does God not see? Does he not care? Why do certain people escape judgment and do as they please? Why doesn't God put a stop to it? They use other people for their own lusts and mock at calamity. They oppress and crush the weak just for fun. God is coming in judgment. His judgment is always...

Maybe the Kingdom of God doesn't look like the kingdoms of this world. Maybe God has something else in mind... Psalm 72 - a Psalm for the King's Son

The gods of the world are made in the image of man, protected by man, carried by man. ‌ But the people of God are made in the image of GOD, protected by God, carried by God.

The question time after the Bible Study on June 25. What does it mean that God hides himself, and yet speaks openly? Does the free invitation of the gospel imply free agency? What does it mean that "Christ is the head"?

The suffering servant is linked to the calling of the Gentiles. The Anointed one will be lifted up and draw all people to himself. The scattered and wandering survivors are called to turn away from their idols to the living God, who is re-creating the earth to be inhabited by his people.

The work of redemption and new creation is something that is not possible except for the omnipotence of God. He alone can re-create and redeem his people.

God's hand is strong and he is good. He will deliver his people, and even the darkest times are times that are in his hands. He is working. We can rest and wait for him to fulfill everything that he has promised

Unless sins are completely removed, mankind will flee from God, too frightened to come out of hiding. They turn to idols that they pretend they can appease, rather than the living God who sees the heart. But God has taken away the sins of his people and urges them now to return to him. This is the ministry of reconciliation. Be reconciled to God!

The God of Jacob formed mankind in his image, to reflect his attributes. Idolatry seeks to form god in the image of man. God has blotted out our sins. Return to him.

Israel needs the cleansing flood of the Holy Spirit. God will fill them with his spirit, wash them from their sins and again his presence will dwell with his people; and he will be their God.

The Lord is the only one who can deliver us from the bondage of sin and misery, for salvation will take the almighty power of the Creator. But he delights in showing himself strong. He is destroying the power of death and calling us back into his presence.

Today, on Good Friday, we remember that the creator of heaven and earth was beaten and dragged outside the city gates and crucified. He was mocked and ridiculed and killed by wicked hands. And the scripture tells us not to be afraid when WE are driven outside the camp. We are outcasts and exiles on this earth, but outside of the city is where we meet Jesus, crucified for us.

Just as God created his people and redeemed them from Egypt, so also he will continue to redeem them from Babylon, and will continue to redeem them from the bondage of sin and death and misery. In Christ, mankind is re-created and redeemed to glorify God forever.

If God can redeem Israel, who was hardened in blindness and deafness, then he can redeem the whole world. So don't be afraid. He knows how to deliver his people!

The Servant is given as a covenant for the people. He didn't come to establish a new covenant for us to keep to gain the blessings of the covenant. Jesus IS the covenant. When we have him, we have all the blessings of the covenant already - light, sight, life, righteousness, peace. It is a covenant that cannot be broken, for Jesus has already fulfilled it.

The Anointed One, Messiah, desires to be so united with his people that he takes the form of the Servant, the Chosen One, the Beloved Son.  His love is profound and deep and unlike any of the powers on the earth. He does not crush or smash or argue or demand. But with gentleness and compassion he shepherds his people.

The future is in the hands of God alone. He alone determines the movements of kings and nations, and he ordains everything that comes to pass for the purpose of bringing about the redemption of creation. He can be trusted. We can rest, for he has it all in his hands.

When Israel was on the verge of death in the desert, God heard them and provided water. He was the only one who could do it. So also, only God provides the living water, springing up into everlasting life. Only God can restore this fallen creation. From Isaiah 41:17-20

Foreshadowing Pentecost, the cloud of God's glorious presence fills the tabernacle in the wilderness. God is with His people, and His people are safe.

Moses is instructed to strike the rock with the Rod of God's judgment. Israel sinned; God himself took the judgment. And that rock was Christ.

Psalm 127 isn't about large families having dominion over society. It is about Christ, the heir to the throne of David, and inheriting the nations through his obedience. It is about Christ and the church and resting in the promises of God, who alone builds the kingdom.

Babel sought to build a kingdom from the brick and mortar of the world. Abraham, on the other hand, waited for the Lord to fulfill his promise. Babel will always fail. Only Christ can bring his kingdom.

Abel's faith looked to the One who would offer the perfect sacrifice. Cain trusted in his religion and his substance before the Lord. One had faith and was accepted. The acceptance of Abel by God was unacceptable to Cain. He could not worship a God who accepted that kind of person.

David's defeat of Goliath points forward to our Great King, Jesus, the anointed one, who comes in the Name of the Lord.

What is a life pleasing to God? Is it the relentless and unending application of hundreds and hundreds of rules? Authority and Submission, doing what you are told? Is it conforming yourself to written or unwritten laws and learning through harsh discipline how to be a more acceptable human? Or is it resting under your vine and under your fig tree, expressing your redeemed beauty without fear? Lear...