Category: PASSION Reflections

Comfort My People

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

We all need comfort – comfort in tragedy, crisis, loss, and sickness. Comfort in weariness, sorrow, and depression. Comfort in guilt and punishment. In Isaiah 40:1 we read, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” He is speaking to the Judah exiles in Babylon, but there is application for us. And in these first eight verses we see where we can find the comfort we need.

We find comfort in God’s love (v1-2). He calls us his people. He is our God. We have a relationship together. He wants to minister comfort to us. In verse 2, he speaks tenderly to us. He cares about us. He loves us. Despite our past sins and failures, we are his people. In the struggles of life, we need to know that God loves us.

We find comfort in God’s salvation (v2). One day our trials – our warfare or hard service – will be over. Our sins are pardoned in Jesus Christ. In our trials and in sins, we need to know that God saves us.

We find comfort in God’s coming (v3-5). God’s salvation doesn’t come from a distance, but as God comes to us. And so God came to rescue the remnant out of exile. And as the gospel writers make clear by quoting these verses, God came to earth as a man to save us by dying on a cross for our sins. And God comes to us as we repent and believe, and he causes us to be born again and applies the work of Jesus on the cross to our lives. And God will come one day to usher in a new heaven and earth. In our sin and our guilt, we need to know that God comes to save us.

Finally, we find comfort in God’s promises (v6-8). The words of men will fail, for men are like grass that fades away. But God’s Word will stand forever, and so we can trust in his promises to us – promises to be a refuge and strength in our suffering, promises to forgive us of our sins, promises that one day he will wipe away our tears and put an end to all suffering, sickness, sin, and death. In our suffering and sin, we need to know that we can trust God promises to help us.

We all need comfort. And that comfort is found in God – in his love, his salvation, his coming, and his promises. May God comfort you today!

Thanking God for Himself

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah, Habit Miscellaneous, Virtue Miscellaneous

Today I want to thank God that he is:

A Saving God – Isaiah 1:18

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.

A Soon and Coming King – Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

A Sovereign Lord – Isaiah 14:24

The LORD of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned, so shall it be,
and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.

A Solid Rock – Isaiah 26:4

Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

Why We Pursue Purity

On By BrianIn Ten Commandments1 Comment

TenCommandsA few days ago we considered how to pursue purity. Today, we want to consider why we should pursue purity. I Corinthians 6 gives us several reasons:

First, those who practice sexually immorality will not inherit the kingdom of God (v9-10). These words ought to startle us awake. Living in sexual sin is simply incompatible to a relationship with the Lord. Those who are living together, sleeping around, or practicing homosexual acts have no reason to think they are saved – they are outside the kingdom of God.

Second, sexual immorality belongs to our old way of life (v11). “Such were some of you,” but not anymore. Now we have been washed from that dirty behavior. Now we have been set apart from those sins. Now we are declared righteous in Jesus. We have a new life, and sexual immorality can have no part in it. In other words, we must live out who we now are in Christ.

Third, our bodies are meant for the Lord (v13-18). We are to use our bodies in service to Jesus, not in service to sin. How could we join our bodies to another in sexual sin, when we are joined to Christ?

Fourth, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (v19). How could we desecrate his temple by involving it in sexual sin? God is holy, and as his temples, we must strive to be holy.

Fifth, our bodies belong to God (v19-20). When Jesus died to pay for our sins, he purchased us out of our slavery to sin. We now belong to him. And so we must use our bodies to glorify him. Our actions must honor him.

Sexual immorality of all kinds is a characteristic of the old sinful way of life that is destined for hell. But in Christ, we have been washed and justified; we have a new life. Our bodies are set apart unto God. They are meant for the Lord. They are temples of the Holy Spirit. They belong to Him.

And so we must flee sexual immorality.

Pursuing Purity

On By BrianIn Ten Commandments

TenCommandsAs a young person, the slogan for purity was “Just Say No.” Which I suppose was good as far it went. The problem was that it simply didn’t go far enough. Purity is much more than simply avoiding sex outside of marriage. If we are going to pursue purity, we must guard our eyes, guard our minds, and guard our actions.

Guard Our Eyes – We need to guard our eyes from those things which would encourage impure or lustful thoughts (Job 31:1, Psalm 101:3). This of course includes pornography of all kinds. But it also includes certain movies, TV shows, pictures on Facebook, magazines, and books. It includes how we look at another person; we must not look at them with lustful intent (Matthew 5:28). Indeed to drive this point home, Jesus goes on to speak of gouging out our eyes. His point is not that we should injure ourselves, but that we must get serious about this. We need to guard our eyes.

Guard Your Mind – In Colossians 3:5, Paul tells us to put to death sexual immorality, and then works backwards showing how one gets to that point. And it begins with covetousness – desiring to possess that other person to use them for our own gratification. His point is clear – unless you are married to that person, he/she doesn’t belong to you, so don’t think (and then act) as if he/she does. Another root of sexual immorality that he points to is evil desire or lust. We are not to think of others with sexual desire. We are not to fantasize about others in this way. We need to guard our minds.

Guard Our Actions – Paul continues in Colossians 3:5 from coveting and evil desire to passion and impurity. Those are actions that flow from evil desire and lead to sexual immorality. So the Bible is not just teaching us to say no to sexual immorality, but also to those actions that would lead to sexual immorality. Song of Solomon warns us not to awaken love until it pleases (2:7, 3.5). That is, don’t do those things that will awaken desires within you that you can’t lawfully fulfill outside of marriage. We need to guard our actions.

Sexual immorality doesn’t just happen. It occurs when we fail to guard our eyes, guard our minds, and guard our actions. So let’s be on our guard. Pursue purity.

We Need A Savior

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

In II Kings 18, we are told that Hezekiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord. According to his own words in Isaiah 38, he walked before God in faithfulness and with a whole heart…

…Except when he was trusting Egypt instead of God to save them from Assyia (Isaiah 31).

…Except when he proudly showed off all his treasure to the Babylonians (Isaiah 39).

…Except when he cared only for his safety, treating his kingdom and his own family with disdain (Isaiah 39).

He did what was right…except when he didn’t. And Hezekiah needed a Savior.

As Christians, we seek to do what is right in God’s sight. We strive to walk before God in faithfulness and with a whole heart…

…Except for days when we fail to trust God in the midst of the trial.

…Except for situations when we seek our own glory instead of God’s glory.

…Except for times when we are self-centered instead of loving others.

We do what is right…except when we don’t. And we need a Savior.

Walking Before God

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

In Isaiah 38:3, Hezekiah mentions three characteristics about his walk before God:

First, he walked before God in faithfulness. He was faithful to God. He was faithful to God’s commands. He was loyal; he was obedient. What about us? In a world that ignores God and his commands, are we faithful to God? Are we faithfully seeking to obey God’s commands no matter how we feel or what the culture thinks? Are we walking before God in faithfulness?

Second, he walked before God with his whole heart. His heart was not divided between the one true God and other gods of the nations. What about us? Are we serving God with our whole heart? Or are there other gods that compete for our hearts? Jesus said that our hearts will be where our treasure is. So what do we treasure? God most of all? Or the things of this world? Are we walking before God with a whole heart?

Third, he walked before God doing what was good in God’s sight. His actions were righteous. His works were good. What about us? Are we doing what is good in God’s sight? Are we doing the good works God has prepared for us to do? What good things would God have us do today? Are we walking before God doing what is good?

How is our walk before God today? How do we need to grow?

Murder in Our Hearts and Words

On By BrianIn Ten Commandments

TenCommandsThe sixth command forbids us to murder. The reason is given in Genesis 1 and 9 – we are made in God’s image. As image-bearers of God, human life is sacred and to be respected. Jesus teaches that this respect for human life must go beyond our actions to include our attitudes and words. We must not let our anger burn against others or speak contemptuously to others or of others (Matthew 5:21-22). John adds that we are murderers if we hate others (I John 3:15). We cannot murder with our hands or our thoughts or our words. Our hearts and words as well as our actions must be governed by respect and love.

By this definition, we all break the sixth commandment. How often are we angry with others because they get in our way? How often do we refer to others as idiots or morons? How often does hate lurk in our hearts? And both Jesus and John tell us that such attitudes and words deserve judgment in hell. We are all guilty, and in desperate need of a Savior.

And so this command drives us to the cross. It drives us to Jesus who died to pay for sins just like these. But Jesus also fulfilled this command by keeping it perfectly. The most dramatic example of his fulfillment is at the cross. As he is surrounded by angry hate-filled attackers, he asks his Father to forgive them. He doesn’t express hate or anger. As they mock and insult him, he does not respond in kind, but looks to his Father, trusting in Him throughout the ordeal (see I Peter 2:22-24). And through faith in Jesus, we are clothed in his perfect righteousness, his perfect fulfillment of this command.

And his perfect fulfillment then serves as an example for us to follow. By the power of the Holy Spirit as we too place our trust in the Father, we can follow Jesus in living out this command. So let us repent and put away our anger and hatred. Let us guard our tongues from speak contemptuously against others. And let us instead show respect and love towards those who are made in the very image of our God.

Honoring Your Parents Isn’t Only For Young Children

On By BrianIn Ten Commandments1 Comment

TenCommandsThe fifth commandment calls us to honor our father and mother. We often think of this command in connection with young children obeying their parents, and yet it has application to adults as well.

We honor our parents when we show them respect. We must show them respect in our attitude, words, and actions towards them. We must show them respect in our words about them as we speak to others. True honor will respect.

We honor our parents when we live uprightly. Do our lives bring honor or dishonor to our parents’ reputation? Do our actions cause the family name to be held with respect or disdain? Are we children who fill our parents’ hearts with joy or sorrow? True honor will live uprightly.

We honor our parents when we remember them. Too many parents are never visited, never called, never written to. They are forgotten and ignored. But true honor will remember.

We honor our parents when we care for them. As they age, they may need help with various things they were once able to do on their own. They may need help with something their spouse used to do who has passed on. They may need our time. They may need some financial support. They may just need someone to listen, to be there. True honor will care.

So how well are we living out this command? How do we need to grow today?

Who Will You Trust?

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

In Isaiah 36-37, we are confronted with the question: who will we trust?

Will we trust in other people? Judah trusted in Egypt to help them, but Egypt was “a broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it” (36:6). And so other people will fail us too – whether they mean to or not. They are not strong enough, big enough to take care of all the trials that come against us. Like us, they are broken.

Will we trust in ourselves? Assyria mocked Judah, saying that even if Assyria provided them with 2000 horses, Judah could not put riders on them (36:8-9). So how could Judah overcome even the smallest part of Assyria’s army? We too are tempted to trust in our own strength, our own plans. But like Judah, our strength is often too weak, and our plans too often fail.

Will we trust in our trials? That seems odd, but it is entirely possible to believe that our trials are so powerful, that the only thing we can do is give up to them. That is what Assyria encouraged Judah to do – give up to the Assyrians (36:16-17). And we are often tempted to just give up in the face of our trials.

Or will we trust in the Lord? Will we trust in the Lord who alone is God over all the kingdoms of this world? Will we trust in the Lord our God who loves us and is with us? Will we trust in the Lord of Hosts who has all of the hosts of heaven at his command (37:16)? He is greater than other people, greater than ourselves, greater than our trials. He can help us no matter we face. And he invites us to trust in Him.

So in the midst of your trials, who will you trust this week?

Behold the Works of the Lord

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

Psalm 111 calls us to behold the works of the Lord:

His works are great
His works are full of splendor and majesty
His works are righteous
His works are wondrous
His works are gracious and merciful
His works are powerful
His works are faithful and just

His work of provision
His work of revelation
His work of redemption

Delight in these works
Study these works
Give thanks for these works
Individually and with God’s people
Today and forevermore
Amen.