Today’s Reading:  Isa 5:1–6:13, Luke 1:67–2:21, Job 2:1–10

Today’s Theme: God Displayed

Today’s theme is God displayed. We will be looking at the various ways God is shown to and through us. God can be shown through fruit in our lives, judgement, glory, mercy, integrity and ultimately through the incarnation.

Isaiah 5:1–6:13

Fruit Displayed

What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? Isaiah 5:4 (ESV)

God wanted to see the fruit of His care, covenant and dwelling with His chosen people Israel. The fruit would be evidence of God being with His people and seeing the good fruit would bring God glory and pleasure (in a sense God would eat or be pleased by the fruit).

Jesus picks up the same theme when He speaks about His followers bearing good fruit that shows evidence of our changed natures.

Jesus sums this up well in Matthew 7:17–19 “So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Also see Matthew 12:33, Matthew 13:23, Luke 6:43 and Luke 13:6-9.

Paul speaks about fruit that comes from the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

We are called to display God by bearing good fruit today that others can come and taste and see through us that God is good which brings glory and pleasure to God.

Judgement Displayed

I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. Isaiah 5:6 (ESV)

This verse speaks about God’s judgement on His own people, the later verses speak about judgement on the wicked. God is displayed through His judgement on His people when we are wayward and on the ways of the wicked.

When the world sees God’s judgement it should show the fuller picture of God. He is not just a God of love, He is holy and actively brings judgement on the wicked.

You have a choice! You can display God through His judgement in your life which is not wise or you can use wisdom by displaying God through the proclamation of the gospel which includes the truth of God’s judgement.

We can depend on God the Holy Spirit to point to God by bringing conviction of judgement to come. Jesus said in John 16:8 “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:”

We are called to display God by speaking the truth about the coming judgement.

Glory Displayed

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1 (ESV)

When God takes it upon Himself to display Himself it is just awesome. Isaiah had one of the most amazing visual encounters with God.

God showed His great, majestic glory as the King throughout the Bible to others like Moses, Elijah, Daniel and John.

Like Isaiah the reality of God’s glory should cause us to walk in humility.

This glory was seen most clearly through Jesus.

Let’s pray God’s glorious presence will be seen and felt in our times of private and corporate worship.

Luke 1:67–2:21

Mercy Displayed

to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, Luke 1:72 (ESV)

God would show mercy to His people through His prophet John the Baptiser. He gives them the opportunity to repent and by fulfilling the promises He had made.

God’s mercy and goodness points us to God. It reveals God for who He is and God’s word declares the goodness of God should lead us to repentance.

When we show mercy we display God, when we forgive and show mercy we are most like God.

Jesus Displayed

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 (ESV)

God is most clearly displayed through the incarnation of God the Son in the person of Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Jesus the God-Man displays God’s heart, ways and plan. John said in John 1:14–18 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

Look to Jesus to see God’s greatest revelation. Show the world Jesus to show them God.

Job 2:1–10

Integrity Displayed

And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” Job 2:3 (ESV)

If we hold onto our integrity in the middle of suffering we display God in a way that the enemy can never counterfeit and cannot overcome.

This is the great mystery of the Gospel, that God is strong when we are weak. Let God be strong in the middle of your suffering so that He is displayed to all.

Most of the above post is a copy of the original notes from the same date in 2014.

Additional resources

The Gospel Coalition on Luke 2

Today’s Reading:  Isa 2:6–4:6, Luke 1:39–66, Job 1:13–22

Today’s Theme: The Traps of Idolatry or 10 idols to avoid

Today’s theme looks at the traps of idolatry. When we walk in pride, exalt man, our own desire, ideas or work we form idols and bow to them, and then are bound by them.

Don’t fall for the alluring trap of idolatry, worship and trust in God only.

To help us all apply this to our lives the Lord has shown me 10 idols that we need to look out for from today’s reading, they are listed below.

Isaiah 2:6–4:6

Idol 1: Your works

Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. Isaiah 2:8 (ESV)

The land was filled with idols, idols the people had formed with their own hands.

What things have you made and now idolise? Is it your education, career, sports achievements, your house, your car, your religious works or your family?

God is the creator and expects us to use our hands to work and make things but He does not expect us to substitute Him for the things He gave us the wisdom to make.

We thank God for the gifts He has given us, we must not forget the creator and worship the creation or anything man made. Romans 1:25.

The works of our hands cannot save us. Idols always hold out a false promise albeit in our own minds as an idol is nothing. It has no mind or will or power only God can help us, only God should be trusted and only God deserves our worship and allegiance.

You cannot make God, God alone is God, cast down the idol of your own works today.

Idol 2: Pride

For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low; Isaiah 2:12 (ESV)

Pride both creates idols and is an idol itself. God declares that He will cast down all pride, God will judge pride and bring it down.

The Hebrew root word for proud in this verse is “arrogance”.

To help us identify and avoid the trap of pride here are some working definitions (taken from the bible sense lexicon):

• Unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem.
• A person characterised by arrogance.
• Undue feelings of self-respect or pleasure in something by which self-worth is measured.

Pride can be a tricky idol, this is why we need to ask the Holy Spirit to watch over our hearts and why we need each other. It is possible to walk in pride without realising, this is why we need God’s help and need to live with a humble attitude.

Pride is such a large area of sin that it is one of sin’s three major type groupings which affect all in the world mentioned in 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Don’t make pride your god, God alone is God, cast down the idol of pride and arrogance today.

Idol 3: Men

And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. Isaiah 2:17 (ESV)

It is possible to lift a mere person up to the status of a false god or idol in our lives.

The obvious “idols of men” will be famous people like movie stars, musicians, authors, speakers, preachers and leaders. We need to watch our hearts with those we are fans of or look up to that they do not become idols.

There is nothing wrong with looking up to, respecting or holding someone in honour. In fact we should do this with our parents, elders and pastors for example but must stop short of idolatry, looking up to God above them all.

The less obvious “idols of men” can be our children, spouses or some other positive person in our lives who we look up to or worship in place of and above God.

Jesus dealt with this in Matthew 10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

Don’t make people your god, God alone is God, cast down the idol of men and family today.

Idol 4: Arrogance

For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. Isaiah 3:9 (ESV)

There was arrogance in Israel, they boldly and happily proclaimed their sin like Sodom.

We live in a world where sin is paraded and championed. We have seen this most recently in the cultural upheaval and sexual revolution happening on both sides of the Atlantic where gay marriage, transgender and abortion advocates have made pride in sin their mantra i.e. Gay Pride.

Arrogance in sin must not be an idol in our lives. We must not burn our conscience. Arrogant and open sin makes the sin and apparent right to commit the sin the idol.

This 4th of our 10 idols is one of the worst. If you are in the grip of the evil one, taking pride in your sin you desperately need God to save you through His son Jesus Christ.

Remember the warning of 1 Timothy 4:1–2 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared”.

Don’t make sin your god, God alone is God, cast down the idol of arrogance and rebellion today.

Idol 5: Injustice

As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.” Isaiah 3:12 (ESV)

God calls his people to be champions of justice. God desires that men, women and children flourish in the world that he has made.

The idol we observe here is injustice, this is an idol we erect and worship through a sin of omission (not doing something we should do) rather than a sin of commission.

Our western culture teaches us to look out for number 1 and to pursue a comfortable life. It also pushes aggressive egalitarianism which would see inexperienced children ruling over us and women usurping authority over men.

This is a picture of a broken and cursed society. Our society is like this in ways today, we have been called to be lights in this world. Matthew 5:14.

Do not erect an idol of injustice through not pursuing justice. Speak up for the speechless, the oppressed, the poor and forgotten in Jesus name.

Don’t make injustice your idol, God alone is God, cast down the idol of injustice and indifference today.

Idol 6: Lust

therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts. Isaiah 3:17 (ESV)

Our world is becoming more and more sexualised.

Sex is the biggest idol in today’s world.

We must not make sexual pleasure our god. We should not cherish sexual lust or hold it close, if we do we will be burned.

Concerning lust the proverbs warn us in Proverbs 6:27–28 “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?”.

Sexual lust wars against the soul. God has created sex to be enjoyed in the honour and security of marriage between one man and one woman only.

Beware if sex is your god, God will judge the idol and the judgement will bring you shame, for example; a child out of marriage, a sexual disease, being found out etc.

Parents protect and educate your children so they avoid the aggressive sexualisation of the culture around them.

Don’t make sexual lust your idol, God alone is God, cast down the idol of sex and lust today.

Idol 7: Self

And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.” Isaiah 4:1 (ESV)

The exhalation of self is the idol that strikes us closest.

Our world has pushed many women into a very difficult position through women’s liberation, extreme egalitarianism and libertarianism. Our world teaches women to pursue careers and self above the God given desire to be married and rear children.

A woman can be so desperate to pursue her career that she will stretch herself to provide for herself as long as she can have a child and a partner like the women in this verse.

This toxic mixture has fostered many unhealthy relationships where partnerships are entirely practical while each member pursues their own self centred agenda. This eventually destroys the individuals and hurts the children.

This is an example of the idol of self. The effect of self exaltation is a confrontation with the Self Sufficient One, God… you know who will win.

Don’t make self your god, God alone is God, cast down the idol of self and self exaltation today.

Luke 1:39–66

Idol 8: Mary

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Luke 1:45 (ESV)

Now we look at a specific idol that has oppressed generations of faithful Roman Catholics, Mary.

This is so sad because Mary is a hero of the word. She exhibited great faith and trust in God and she was called blessed in scripture because God chose her and she responded in submission and obedience.

She is called blessed because of her faith in the word of God.

In her song of praise Mary magnifies the Lord, she did not see herself as an idol or god.

Let’s appeal to Catholics everywhere to follow Mary’s example from scripture, which was to worship God alone, to put faith in His word and submit to Him.

Pray today that the idol worship of Mary in the Roman Catholic church would be cast down and Catholics would worship God alone.

Idol 9: Tradition

but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” Luke 1:60 (ESV)

Elizabeth boldly stood against the traditions of her people which we will see throughout the New Testament has become an idol.

We must not allow traditions of man to become idols that we worship especially in our families and in the church.

We must not put our trust in traditions but God alone.

The truth of God’s word trumps every tradition.

Don’t make tradition your god, God alone is God, cast down the idol of tradition and religion today.

Job 1:13–22

Idol 10: Things

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:20–21 (ESV)

Every physical thing that Job had was wiped out in one day, but these things were not idols to Job so he worships the Lord in response to losing them.

Materialism is everywhere in our world. Materialism teaches us to make idols of things.

We should not make the things we possess idols, we should not let them possess us.

Let’s join Job in his worshipful perspective. His heart was consumed by God and not his riches, that is the only way he could respond like this. His very response is the opposite of materialism. What would our response be?

Don’t make things your idol, God alone is God, cast down the idol of things and materialism today.

Most of the above post is a copy of the original notes from the same date in 2014.

Additional resources

Desiring God on Luke 1

Today’s Reading:  Isa 1:1–2:5, Luke 1:1–38, Job 1:1–12

Today’s Theme: Rebellion, Repentance and Restoration

Today it’s all about change. We are starting three new books, and it is the first day of the 8th month – new beginnings.

Today’s themes are rebellion, repentance and restoration. We look at the foolishness and danger of rebellion, the required response of repentance in consciously turning from rebellion and the resulting restoration.

The pattern is Rebellion > Repentance > Restoration

Isaiah 1:1–2:5

Rebellion, biting the hand that feeds you

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Isaiah 1:2–3 (ESV)

God addresses Israel as His own child and declares that they have rebelled against Him, their Father. This was true of the nation at the time.

When the Hebrews refer to God as Father, they are pointing to His nurturing and rearing of them, this makes rebellion against their caring Father, even more striking and unnatural.

The reference to the dumb ox and donkey knowing the master that feeds them, puts this all into context. Rebellion is sin’s unnatural response to the one who cares for us.

We need to examine our hearts today, God provides for us so much and it is madness that we turn against Him in rebellion.

James 1:17 reads “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Ask the Lord today, to help your eyes to be open to all that He does and provides for us, so that we will not walk in the madness of rebellion.

God’s remnant

If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah. Isaiah 1:9 (ESV)

In the midst of rebellion and apostasy, God has always had a people. This was true in Israel. Just being Hebrew did not mean someone was saved. The remnant who do not walk in rebellion, but repent of their shortcomings and wholly follow the Lord, are the ones that are saved.

The remnant are not just better people, they are God’s elect people, set aside for His purposes. If God does not keep a remnant of people in the earth, we would all go the way of Sodom and Gomorra in rebellious sin.

Ephesians 5:8 reminds us “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”.

Thank God that He has made you a part of His remnant in the earth, not just a church goer. However be mindful that you have work to do and need to take responsibility, as we will see later in the chapter.

There is no profit in religiousness

Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Isaiah 1:13 (ESV)

God was fed up with empty religion and hypocritical prayers.

Some teach that if godly principles are followed, an unsaved man can benefit, but this is not true. It is a type of Karma teaching, found in new age movements like “The Secret”, which talks about the law of attraction.

For example, a wicked, wilfully sinful, unsaved man who pays tithes, should not expect to “be blessed” because he “followed the principle”.

Religion aside from a living relationship with God is of NO profit. God is not obligated by so called spiritual laws. God is a person and must be related to as a person, not a thing or force.

God is relational and created us to enjoy relationship with Him, so religious observance, no matter how strict, is of NO profit, aside from a relationship with God through His Son Jesus.

Religious observance cannot and will not save you. Going to church, reading the bible, praying, fasting, tithing, going on a pilgrimage, keeping feasts and having communion, will not save you or commend you to God.

We must repent of our wickedness and pursue a living relationship with God our Father, then the religious works all find their proper place and context.

Be honest, argue it out

“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. Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)

In the preceding verse, the children of Israel are called upon by God, to actively repent of their sin, to consciously turn from doing evil to doing good.

The call to repentance is the same for us today, God cannot repent for you, only you can repent (turn away) from your sin, so repent.

Here we see God’s appeal to His people, He calls them to come and reason with Him, with the aim that their sins will be covered and they will be restored.

The word ‘reason’ here, has the sense of arguing it out in the original Hebrew. God calls us to be honest with where we are, come before His word openly to argue it out, say what we feel, listen to what God says in His word, listen to the consequences of each position, and make a decision.

We need to come and talk with, relate to and reason with God’s revealed word, to cultivate a good and honest relationship with Him. As a result, we are delivered from sin and its consequences and are restored.

So come, honestly talk to God about it and allow His word to talk back to you.

The ultimate restoration

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:4 (ESV)

The restoration that comes through repentance finds its ultimate consummation in the restoration of all things, which will happen at the second coming of the Messiah, Jesus.

This is a great prophetic hope that one day, Jesus will judge and rule over all people and war will be no more.

Until all people come and learn of God and submit to His ways, as mentioned in the previous verses, there can be no lasting peace.

We look forward as we walk in repentance daily, to the peace and restoration that will come in the Kingdom of God, under Jesus as the King.

Luke 1:1–38

You can be certain

that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Luke 1:4 (ESV)

God’s word is certain, reliable and trustworthy. We will be reading Luke’s account until the end of the month. It is worth noting that Luke was a skilled historian who was able to compile accounts from eyewitnesses and record them in one coherent story.

Luke was led by the Holy Spirit, to make his account of the events of the life of Jesus and the early church, so we could be sure about what happened and was said, so our faith would be firm.

You can be certain about the biblical record today and can look into its message to find life.

John the restorer

And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Luke 1:16–17 (ESV)

John was prophesied about in the old testament (Malachi 3:1), and now Gabriel tells his father that John will lead Israel in repentance to God, resulting in restoration, in preparation for Jesus.

Our call is similar to John’s, we should also call people to repentance, that they would turn to God. We often think of this for the world, but repentance in context, is really for God’s own people. An unsaved man has nothing to turn back to.

We should spur one another on to walk in repentance, to keep realigning ourselves with God.

When we call brothers in the church or a sinner in the world to repentance, it will lead to restoration of the relationship God intends us to have with Him and each other.

Jesus, the Son of God

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. Luke 1:35 (ESV)

Meditate on this breathtaking truth today!

This is the cornerstone of our faith, Jesus was incarnated, He came into the world through a chosen virgin from the house of David, named Mary. Jesus is the Son of God.

If we do not believe in the virgin birth, we are not Christians.

It is worth noting that the first imperative of Jesus’ public ministry was ‘repent’.

It is also worth noting Mary’s response. She was humble and submissive to the will of God, so should we be. We do not worship Mary but we do acknowledge that God specially chose her, as a Jewish virgin, to bring the incarnated Messiah, Jesus, the God-Man into the world.

Job 1:1–12

Job, one who repents

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. Job 1:1 (ESV)

Job was one who turned away from evil and walked in repentance. We should be like him, we should hate sin and turn away from it.

God, Sovereign over the enemy

And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:12 (ESV)

We see that God is sovereign even over Satan.

Most of the above post is a copy of the original notes from the same date in 2014.

Additional resources

The Gospel Coalition on Luke 1

Today’s Reading:  2 Sam 23:1–24:25, Jude 17–25, Ps 148:1–150:6

Today’s Theme: Praise the Lord

Today’s theme is about praise; praising the Lord in the good and bad times, praising God in the battle, swinging the sword of praise, building our faith through praise and affirmation of the truth, and the sheer pleasure and joy of praise.

2 Samuel 23:1–24:25

The weapon of praise

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time. 2 Samuel 23:8 (ESV)

We read today about the three mighty warriors from David’s men:

1. Josheb-basshebeth, who killed 800 at one time, with his spear.
2. Eleazar, who struck the enemy until the sword stuck to his hand, while Israel withdrew.
3. Shammah, who took his stand while others retreated to defend the field of lentils, striking  down the enemy.

These men showed remarkable bravery, skill and determination. We can learn from their example, we do not turn back, we never retreat, we stand and fight, as we studied yesterday.

As we stand, our very stand will bring praise to God’s name. Praising God in the midst of the battle, is like the three mighty warriors standing and swinging their swords.

We need to swing the sword today, through praising God, according to His word.

No retreat, no surrender, take your stand. Hold your sword (the bible), so tightly that it becomes a part of you and swing. Swing the sword of the Spirit through praise and see the enemy slain and flee from you.

If you are under attack in your mind, swing the sword of word based praise, to our great King, God. Praise the Lord.

Be like Benaiah

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 2 Samuel 23:20 (ESV)

As a side note from our theme of praise, we must not forget the example of Benaiah and his exploits for his king, let us show his faith, courage and loyalty in our lives, for our King, Jesus.

Pastor Dennis brought a life changing message from the character of Beniah, clips and reflections can be found on our website.

here https://www.wwmf.org/2012/08/04/resources/benaiah-the-heart-of-the-king/

and here https://www.wwmf.org/2013/01/05/media/video/the-heart-of-the-king-dvd/

Jude 17–25

The affirmation of praise

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 24–25 (ESV)

Today’s new testament passage begins with Jude encouraging us to build ourselves up in the faith we have been called to contend for, by doing two things; 1) praying by the leading of the Holy Spirit 2) Keeping in the love of God.

If we live lives led by the Spirit and walk in love as we wait on God’s mercy, which leads to eternal life, we will show mercy on others too.

God wants us to live our lives in submission and we can only do that if we are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, living a life of sanctification, obedience and service, which keeps us in the love of God.

All of this leads to the final doxology, a praise of affirmation. We know we can’t keep ourselves or live for God without His help.

We can make the affirmation of our Spirit-filled, living faith, through praise today. Declare God to be who He is, it will build your faith and encourage you as you proclaim the truth, that God can and will keep you from stumbling.

To Him be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority.

Psalm 148:1–150:6

Praise the King

Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. Psalm 148:13 (ESV)

God’s majesty is far above the earth and the heavens, He is the great King, worthy of our praise.

The Pleasure of God

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation. Psalm 149:4 (ESV)

God takes pleasure and gets enjoyment from His people as they walk in humility. Be humble today, to bring God pleasure.

The joy of praise

Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Psalm 150:3 (ESV)

As we praise God let us do it with joy, our praise of our great God should bring God and us pleasure, we should both enjoy it as we celebrate and praise God. Shout praises to God today, for His great deeds.

Most of the above post is a copy of the original notes from the same date in 2014.

Additional resources

Desiring God on Jude 1

Today’s Reading:  2 Sam 22:1–51, Jude 1–16, Ps 147:1–20

Today’s Theme: FIGHT!

Today’s theme is all about us fighting for the glory of God, using the weapons of humility, praise and truth. We have all been called to contend for the faith.

One of the best ways to fight spiritually, is to declare the truth about who God is.

2 Samuel 22:1–51

I will pull out the odd verse here and there, but there are wonderful lessons to learn in this song of David, if you have time to read and meditate on it today.

God, my stronghold

He said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. 2 Samuel 22:2–3 (ESV)

As believers we are constantly at war and always under attack. We begin the study of the fight that we must engage in, from the only place we should, hiding behind God as our fortress, shield and stronghold.

David was a man of war and knew how important a good fortress was in a battle. He likens God to a fortress and a rock, because God is steadfast, dependable and does not change. He is well able to protect His people collectively, when they come under attack.

As a warrior, David knew how crucial a shield was to fend off personal attacks. A weak shield would not do the job of saving the fighter. We hold our faith up against the attacks of the enemy. God is our shield. Ephesians 6:16

David makes this song of praise personal by constantly saying ‘my’, he can’t speak for anyone else, he just knows that this is true in his own life and we should be the same, knowing who God has proven and declared Himself to be, to us.

‘God is my stronghold’ – this is so powerful in the fight. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us that a stronghold is a way of thinking, a thought, belief, philosophy or idea. So the truth of God’s word becomes a stronghold in our minds, in a positive way, which is where we retreat to, refuel and attack from.

God’s arrows

And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them. 2 Samuel 22:15 (ESV)

David gives an amazing and striking image of God as the great warrior of the heavens, the mighty God who fights and responds to his plea for help (7 – 14).

Here David speaks about God sending down arrows to scatter the enemy, now we must remember that this is a poem and so the imagery should be taken in that form, which means the arrows are not mere arrows, they represent something.

The previous verse told us that God uttered His voice and in the book of Revelation, we read about Jesus fighting against the enemy with the sword of His mouth. Revelation 19:15.

So the arrows that God sends to scatter the enemy, are His words found in the bible and His voice heard through the Holy Spirit.

God’s word as the King of all creation, is so powerful that it goes and accomplishes all that God intends it to. We can rely on God’s word today as we fight.

God, my rescuer

He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 2 Samuel 22:18 (ESV)

We are not stronger than all our enemies, in our own strength we would surely lose the fight.

We need to humbly depend on God to rescue us from enemies that are too strong for us.

We will go on to read in Jude that even the Angels did not contend with Satan, knowing that Satan is an accomplished and strong enemy and once held the regal angelic office of the cherub that covers before he sinned. See Ezekiel 28:14

We must not be presumptuous as we fight, or have a false sense of confidence. We should not really address Satan in our prayers, other than to do what Michael did, which is to say ‘the Lord rebuke you’.

As we fight, we address our prayers  past the enemy to the God who is stronger than all our enemies, and is able to rescue us from them and defeat them.

Humble people

You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. 2 Samuel 22:28 (ESV)

God has called us to be a humble people.

Humility is the attitude we must have as we fight, if we are proud, arrogant, harsh and unteachable, then God will have to humble us Himself and may even need to fight against us.

This is why we must humble ourselves like David did, then we will see God come through for us.

When we are in humble submission to the Lord, we can say with David that by God’s power, we can run through a troop of attackers and leap over the enemies walls of defence.

Fight with humility. Philippians 2:3

God, The Rock

“For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? 2 Samuel 22:32 (ESV)

God alone is God. One of God’s unique attributes is that He is immutable which means He does not change, this is where the rock imagery comes from. We also see God as dependable, stable, enduring and strong, as the rock.

Jesus said that the revelation that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, was the rock on which He would build the church. Matthew 16:18

Jesus also said that those who obey His commandments are like those building their house on a rock. Matthew 7:24

So we see that the unchangeable God has an unchangeable word that we can totally rely on as we fight.

You can stand today in the assurance that God by His very nature, as faithful and unchangeable, will fulfil His word. We can boldly put our faith in God, our rock, as we fight.

Jude 1–16

We only have time to look at one verse here, but there is a lot more to dig into if you can.

Contend for the faith

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 3 (ESV)

The body of Christ cannot be passive, we are called to fight for what we believe. We are constantly at war with false teaching, false believers, the influence of the world, etc.

The faith handed down to us must be preserved personally, but more importantly, corporately as a church.

Jude is moved by the Holy Spirit to call the church to spiritual and mental arms (like calling soliders to fight against an encroaching enemy) against the onslaught and schemes of the enemy.

We should embrace apologetics and the studying of God’s word so that we can stand and defend the truth of our faith. We are not post modernist or relativist, we have a firm, absolute, central, single, historical faith, which can be articulated and defended consistently from age to age.

Our faith is not novel, it is old and true, it was handed down and must be preserved so beware of strange or new teachings. Jude spends time describing false teachers who come to challenge the truth and lifestyle of the gospel.

Contend for the ancient, pure and true faith today.

Psalm 147:1–20

A wonderful and encouraging Psalm, take time to mediate on this today.

Hope in God’s love

but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. Psalm 147:11 (ESV)

We once watched the moving and inspiring account of Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh who were imprisoned for their faith in Iran but were used by God’s grace, to lead many to the Lord and have since been released.

The Lord takes pleasure in His people, who like these two women, fear Him and put their hope in Him.

As we hope in God’s love, we bring God pleasure and win the battle, as we humble ourselves before Him.

Most of the above post is a copy of the original notes from the same date in 2014.

Additional resources

The Gospel Coalition on Jude 1