‘Blessed is the one…
whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither –
whatever they do prospers’ (Psalm 1:1–3)
Lord, I delight in hearing your words. I want to encounter you each day as I study the Bible. Help me, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to put into practice what I read and live a life that glorifies your name.
‘God cannot fit into our plans, we must fit into his,’ writes Eugene Peterson. ‘We can’t use God – God is not a tool or appliance or credit card. Holy is the word that sets God apart and above our attempts to enlist him in our wish-fulfilment fantasies or our utopian schemes for making our mark in the world. Holy means that God is alive on God’s terms, alive in a way that exceeds our experience and imagination. Holy refers to life burning with an intense purity that transforms everything it touches into itself.’
The Hebrew word ‘holy’ (qadosh) probably originally meant ‘separate’ or ‘set apart’. It came to be used to describe the ‘otherness’ of God, and how his character and nature are so much greater and more wonderful than any other person or thing. For something else to be ‘holy’ simply means for it to be dedicated to God. You are holy to the extent that your life is devoted to him and your actions reflect his character. Holiness and wholeness are closely related, and God wants the whole of your life.
I love the expression ‘the beauty of the Lord’ (v.4b). The Greek word for ‘beauty’ (kalos) is the word used to describe everything that Jesus did (Mark 7:37). Dostoevsky described Jesus as ‘infinitely beautiful’. Jesus had no outward beauty (Isaiah 53:2–3); he had a different kind of beauty – the beauty of holiness.
The language of Leviticus sounds very strange to our modern ears. The law required that the sacrifice be perfect – ‘without defect’ (1:3). Through the sacrifice, ‘atonement’ was made (v.4). Symbolically, through the laying on of hands on the head of the bulls, goats and lambs (for example 3:2,8) the sin passed to a substitute who would be sacrificed on behalf of human beings. The blood of the sacrifice was extremely important (1:5; 3:2,8,13).
All this can only be understood fully in the light of the New Testament. The writer of Hebrews tells us that ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness’ (Hebrews 9:22). He tells us that the law is a ‘copy’ (v.23) and a ‘shadow’ (10:1). In other words, this is just a foreshadowing and a picture of something far greater and more wonderful.
Holiness starts by putting your faith in what Jesus has done for you and asking his Holy Spirit to come into your life to help you to begin to live a holy life.
Jesus is not suggesting that we become like children in every aspect. We are not to give in to every childish whim or assume no responsibility for our actions. But, like children, we are to be open and receptive, to be honest about our feelings – acknowledging how fragile and vulnerable we are and how much we need others. Like children, be quick to forgive and quick to move on in trust.
Children are usually enthusiastic, appreciative and excited when given gifts. When it comes to God’s kingdom, we are to be exactly the same – dependent on Jesus’ gift to us and ready to accept it as a gift which we do not deserve, but which Jesus, in his mercy, offers to us.
When people are asked about the person whose life they most admire, so often the answer is ‘Mother Teresa’. She made the most of her life. It is a paradox, because her life was a life of self-denial, taking up her cross and following Jesus.
Life is an extraordinary and wonderful gift. In the Bible we are constantly urged not to waste this gift, but instead to make the most of our lives.
Jesus has to explain to his disciples the extraordinary paradox involved in making the most of our lives – of which he is to show the supreme example. He says if you want to make the most of your life, you have to give it away. You have to abandon your life to his service and the gospel – ‘whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it’ (v.35).
In contrast he then says that it is possible to ‘gain the whole world, yet forfeit [our] soul’ (v.36). The actor Jim Carrey said, ‘I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they dreamed of so they can see that it is not the answer.’
Even the biggest multi-billionaires only own a proportion of the world. Jesus warns us that if we are tempted to set out in that direction, even if we topped their success and gained the whole world, we could still totally waste our lives and forfeit our souls (v.36). He says the way to find life is to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him (v.34).
The words ‘deny yourself’ mean saying no to yourself. The Christian life involves the challenge of daily denial. The world thinks that the way to life is to deny yourself nothing. Jesus says that the opposite is true. The way to find life is to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him.
You are called to love. You are to live for God and for other people. And as you give yourself away, God will take care of your life.
The teaching of Jesus is radical and revolutionary. It is exactly the opposite of what we would expect, yet we see how it works out in practice. Those who seek their own satisfaction end up disillusioned and dissatisfied having wasted their lives; those who follow Jesus’ teaching find life in all its fullness.
When people are asked about the person whose life they most admire, so often the answer is ‘Mother Teresa’. She made the most of her life. It is a paradox, because her life was a life of self-denial, taking up her cross and following Jesus.
Life is an extraordinary and wonderful gift. In the Bible we are constantly urged not to waste this gift, but instead to make the most of our lives.
Jesus has to explain to his disciples the extraordinary paradox involved in making the most of our lives – of which he is to show the supreme example. He says if you want to make the most of your life, you have to give it away. You have to abandon your life to his service and the gospel – ‘whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it’ (v.35).
In contrast he then says that it is possible to ‘gain the whole world, yet forfeit [our] soul’ (v.36). The actor Jim Carrey said, ‘I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they dreamed of so they can see that it is not the answer.’
The words ‘deny yourself’ mean saying no to yourself. The Christian life involves the challenge of daily denial. The world thinks that the way to life is to deny yourself nothing. Jesus says that the opposite is true. The way to find life is to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him.
You are called to love. You are to live for God and for other people. And as you give yourself away, God will take care of your life.
The teaching of Jesus is radical and revolutionary. It is exactly the opposite of what we would expect, yet we see how it works out in practice. Those who seek their own satisfaction end up disillusioned and dissatisfied having wasted their lives; those who follow Jesus’ teaching find life in all its fullness.
The theme of multiplication runs throughout the Bible. What cannot be achieved by addition, God does by multiplication. We reap what we sow, only many times more. What we give to the Lord, he multiplies.
Wherever God blesses, troubles and persecutions tend also to increase. Any kind of leadership will involve opposition. The greater the responsibility, the more your troubles will multiply and your critics increase.
David prays to the Lord for his help in guarding and rescuing him (v.20). When under attack, always try to act with integrity, uprightness and faith (v.21). Do the right thing regardless of what people say or think.
The people of God faced a massive task in the building of the tabernacle. They achieved it through a multiplication of involvement of volunteers. Moses assembled ‘the entire congregation’ (35:1, MSG). This is what is needed in every church today:
All this was entirely voluntary. The people of God were ‘stirred up for God’ (35:21,26, AMP). The task was achieved by ‘everyone whose heart was roused, whose spirit was freely responsive’ (v.21, MSG). If we are to achieve what God is calling us to do as a community we need this multiplication of volunteers.
Enthusiasm is infectious. As Joyce Meyer writes, ‘If you associate with a person who is visionary, you will soon get a vision. But if you stay around lifeless people who want to do nothing but complain, sit on the couch, eat donuts, and watch soap operas, then soon you will be doing the same things.’
Stir one another up to pray, serve and give. You will be astonished by how God is able to multiply your 57 cents and do more than you could ever ask or even imagine.
The Pharisees honoured God by what they did outwardly (vv.1–5). It is relatively easy to do the right things or even say the right things. We can obey all the rules of the community and yet our hearts can be far away from God (vv.6–8).
God is not so concerned about the outward appearance but about the heart. Jesus says, ‘For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person’ (vv.21–23). These are the things that pollute our lives and spoil our relationship with God.
Jesus says ‘listen to me’ (v.14). This is the key to life – listening to Jesus.
What Moses wanted more than anything else was the ‘Presence of God’. This is what we all need so much in our lives – his presence and his peace. The Lord promises him, ‘My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest’ (v.14). This is what God promises to you as well.
Moses says, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here’ (v.15). It was the Presence of God that distinguished the people of God from everybody else (v.16b). It is this above all else that distinguishes us from the world around us.
Through the Holy Spirit you can experience the ‘Presence of God’: ‘Our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him’ (v.18, MSG).
Jago writes, ‘If we are isolated Christians in our day-to-day environments, whether that is the workplace or school or university or home, it is good to pray for the Lord to provide us with another brother or sister in Christ. Even their mere presence can be a source of encouragement to keep going in serving the Lord in life and in mission.’
As the writer of Ecclesiastes says, ‘Two are better than one… If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up!… Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken’ (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12). This verse is often used to illustrate the importance of friendship and unity in marriage – but the original context of this verse is actually that of friendship.
‘Ministry’ means service to God. It is the one sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that enables us to be involved in ministry (service of God and of others).
When people saw what Jesus did they were ‘completely astonished’ (v.42b) and ‘amazed’ (6:2b). Of course, as today, not everyone had that reaction. Some ‘laughed at him’ (5:40) and some ‘took offence at him’ (6:3). In his hometown Jesus was ‘a prophet... without honour’ (6:4). Those closest to him failed to recognise him. Sometimes we find it hard to take things from those we know best.
As today, some recognised Jesus and some totally missed out. The key distinction was whether or not they had ‘faith’. He said to the sick woman, ‘Your faith has healed you’ (5:34). He said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe’ (v.36b). In his hometown he was ‘amazed at their lack of faith’ (6:6).
Through his death on the cross, Jesus fulfilled the criteria for meeting God. Now it is by faith that you and I encounter Jesus and, through him, meet with God.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Jesus calms the storm. He addresses the power behind the storms with words someone might use to a puppy: ‘Quiet! Be still!’ (v.39), showing he is Lord over nature. For the disciples, the passage starts with fear and ends with faith. A crisis tests your faith. Jesus wants you to learn to conquer your fears and trust him even in the middle of the storms of life.
Next, Jesus demonstrates that he is Lord over the powers that try to destroy our lives. Somehow this demonised man (nicknamed Legion, 5:9) had ended up in a hellish place, self-harming (v.5) and chained by society (v.4), whose only answer was to lock him up.
I would have thought that this man would have benefited from some intensive follow-up with Jesus! However, Jesus gets him involved in evangelism straight away. He says, ‘Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you’ (v.19). And that is exactly what he did (v.20).
Don’t be overprotective of people who have recently come to faith. It’s sometimes good to get them speaking publicly about their new faith straight away. The next time Jesus came to the Decapolis, 4,000 people came to listen. This man’s testimony seems to have had a big impact.
The issue is not how much you have, but what you do with it. A mustard seed needs to be planted in the ground straight away or else it is lost. If it is planted, the growth is so strong it can go through concrete. The lesson is simple: use it or lose it. Use what you have and God will multiply it many times over.
Covenants in the ancient world were frequently ratified by the eating of a meal (‘they ate and drank’, 24:11). The covenant is sealed by the shedding of blood. Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant’ (v.8). Under the old covenant God committed himself to his people and required of them that they follow his law given to them on the tablets of stone (v.12).
The prophets foretold that one day there would be a new covenant written not on tablets of stone but on our hearts (for example, Jeremiah 31:31–34). Jesus explained to his disciples how this new covenant was going to be made possible through his blood (Mark 14:24). You celebrate this new covenant through a meal each time you receive Holy Communion and hear the words: ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood’ (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25).
You can tell people’s priorities by how they spend their time. In this passage we see how Jesus spent his time.
The Ten Commandments were not given as a ladder that people had to climb up to get into God’s presence. Rather they were a God-given pattern of life for those who had already known God’s grace and redemption. They are not given to restrict your freedom, but to safeguard it. They help you enjoy the freedom of living in a relationship with God, showing you how to live a holy life just as God is holy. Your love for God flows out from, and is a response to, God’s love for you.
As I look back on my own life, I can see that, although these times of testing seemed very painful at the time, I now recognise how significant they were in preparing me for what lay ahead.
This is all part of God’s economy – it was ‘the Spirit’ who sent Jesus into the desert (v.12) to ‘be tempted by Satan’ (v.13). In some ways, the ‘desert’ times and fierce temptations give an assurance that it really is true. The experience of the Holy Spirit is real but at the same time the spiritual battle and testing may be intense.
Whatever you are going through, believe that God is preparing you and giving you an increasing authority for whatever it is that he is calling you to do.
Ask him to fill you again with the Holy Spirit. Be assured that, in Christ, you too are a child of God. He loves you. Know that God looks at you with pleasure. Listen to his voice saying to you: ‘You are my [child], whom I love; with you I am well pleased’ (v.11).
Trying to do everything yourself is ‘not good’ (v.17). It is a bad form of leadership and leads to exhaustion: ‘You’ll burn out’ (v.18, MSG). It also leads to the underutilisation of other people’s gifts, time and ability. They are likely to get frustrated and so are you.
However, delegation in itself will not solve the problem. We need the right leaders. If you delegate to the wrong people, no amount of micromanaging will solve the problems. If you get the right leaders you can trust them, release them and empower them.
Moses follows Jethro’s advice. He uses three criteria when selecting and appointing leaders. First, he chose capable people (v.21a). We need people of ability in order to have confidence as we delegate. Second, he chose leaders on the basis of their spirituality – those who ‘fear God’ (v.21b). The third criterion was character. We need people who are ‘trustworthy’ (v.21c) – loyal, discreet and reliable.
God promises his provision for their material needs. He promises to rain down ‘bread from heaven’ (16:4a) called ‘manna’ (v.31). Each day he provides them with all they need in terms of their ‘daily bread’. Each one gathered as much as they needed (vv.18c,21a). But they were told not to store it up for the future: ‘No one is to keep any of it until morning’ (v.19).
This is something that we have experienced as a church community over the years. God supplies all our material needs but he does not give us more than we need. We do not store up reserves for the future, rather we trust God constantly that he will provide month by month and year by year.
It is always a temptation to want to store up everything we receive as security for the future – rather than trusting God to provide what we need when we need it. This also applies to our spiritual needs – we cannot just rely on past blessings.
Lord Radstock was staying in a hotel in Norway in the mid-nineteenth century. He heard a little child playing the piano downstairs in the hallway. She was making a terrible noise: ‘Plink... plonk... plink...’. It was driving him mad! A man came and sat beside her and began playing alongside her, filling in the gaps. The result was the most beautiful music. He later discovered that the man playing alongside was the girl’s father, Alexander Borodin, composer of the opera Prince Igor.
God calls you into a relationship that involves cooperation with him. The Christian faith is primarily about what has been done for you by God in Christ. However, we are not mere spectators. We are called to respond. God involves us in his plans. God comes and sits alongside you and ‘in all things... works for the good’ (Romans 8:28). He takes our ‘plink… plonk... plink...’ and makes something beautiful out of our lives.
20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil
You have a part to play in responding to God’s call, staying on his paths, living wisely and thereby making something beautiful out of your life. In this passage we see four areas in particular that you need to watch if you want to enjoy victory over temptation:
John Stott reflects on suffering and the cross: ‘I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the cross… in the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?’
Moses had to play his part (‘Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea’, v.16a), God’s part was rather harder; he divided the waters. When we pray, for example, for someone to be filled with the Holy Spirit, God uses us. You have to stretch out your hands and pray. But God fills people with his Spirit – he does the hard part. Nevertheless he involves you in his plans.
God wants you to cooperate with him. This is the way that he has designed his creation – whether it is the natural world (where we plant and God gives the growth) or the kingdom of God (where God brings about his kingdom, yet you have a part to play).
The people of God in the Old Testament expected a Messiah (Christ). This Messiah would ‘reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness’ (Isaiah 9:7).
However, in the Old Testament there was another stream of messianic expectation. This is seen in the ‘suffering servant’ of Isaiah 40–55 who ‘was led like a lamb to the slaughter’ (Isaiah 53:7), who would take the sin of the world on himself and die on behalf of the guilty (vv.5–6).
Nobody expected the messianic king and the suffering servant to be the same person. Yet, in a breathtaking way Jesus brought these great messianic themes together. Jesus is both the King and also the suffering servant.
At the first Passover a lamb had to be sacrificed. The lamb had to be ‘without defect’ (Exodus 12:5), pointing forward to the innocent Jesus. There is great emphasis on ‘the blood’ of the lamb (vv.7,13,22–23). The blood of the lamb without defect was to be shed as a sacrifice (v.27). When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, ‘Look, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29).
The blood of the lamb gave the people protection from God’s judgment. It was the ‘Passover sacrifice’ (Exodus 12:27). This foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus.
Joyce Meyer’s prayer:
Father, I come to you in Jesus’ name and I apply the blood of Jesus to my life, to all that belongs to me, to everything you have given me to steward. I put the blood of Jesus on my mind, my body, my emotions and my will. I put the blood on my family, my co-workers and my friends. Thank you for protecting me with your blood.
Jesus was taken captive in order that we might go free. He was bound (v.2) to set you free from the things that bind you. Jesus came in order to set you free from your sin, guilt, shame, addictions and fears.
There are many similarities between Judas and Peter. Both were disciples of Jesus. Both were told they would let him down (vv.24–25,34). Both fulfilled Old Testament prophecies through their actions (26:31; 27:9). Both deeply regret their actions (27:5; 26:75).
Yet there are also crucial differences between the two men. Peter responded to failure in the right way. Judas did not. As St Paul writes, ‘Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death’ (2 Corinthians 7:10).
You do not need to go around weighed down by guilt or shame about past sins and mistakes. Those whom Jesus sets free are free indeed (John 8:36). However much you have messed up and failed it is never too late. Respond as Peter did and you can have a great future ahead of you in the service of Jesus.
Pride was at the root of Pharaoh’s sin. The more he refused, the harder it became to change his mind without losing face. Be prepared to admit to making mistakes rather than going on in the wrong direction regardless.
Why are the words of God so precious? Jesus said: ‘People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4). The ‘word’ is in the present tense, and means ‘is continually coming out of the mouth of God’; it is like a stream pouring forth and, like the stream of a fountain, it is never static. God is continually communicating with his people. He does so, primarily, through the life-changing words of the Bible.
