Category Archives: Bible

Leviticus 14

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Leviticus 14 describes the elaborate rituals under the Law of Moses for ritually cleansing lepers and houses. Complicated procedures involving various sacrifices. Massive contrast to the freedom and grace we have through Christ. “By works of the law no one shall be justified” says Paul.

We are justified through our faith, demonstrated in our lives. We live that way because of “the Son of God, who loved [us] and gave himself for [us].” We have been set free from the slavery of rituals that offer nothing but condemnation, so that we can live a life of “faith working through love.” So lets stand fast, and “not grow weary of doing good”, knowing that in due season we can reap the reward of eternal life.

2 Corinthians 5-7

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Paul writes “the love of Christ controls us…that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” This is a powerful concept, and one that can really change the way we see our lives. It’s easy to say we love Christ, but does that love control our every action, to the extent that we’re no longer living our lives for ourselves, but for Christ?

Paul encourages us to be “ambassadors for Christ”, to be “the temple of the living God”, just as he was. God has said “I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me.” Let’s live as children of God, comforted in the knowledge that God loves and cares for us.

2 Corinthians 3-4

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Paul writes to the Corinthians “you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  It is our goal to be the same, to show the character of Christ in our lives to the extent that people can read us like they would a letter from Christ, to see “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.”

Paul goes on to describe how accomplishing this would be difficult and painful, but he also encourages his readers with the idea  “that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.”

 

2 Corinthians 1-2

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Paul writes “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

This is a unique way of thinking about affliction and the comfort we have through Christ. That comfort isn’t just for our benefit, it’s for the benefit of those around us, so that we can help them through times of difficulty.  Comfort isn’t just a self-centered thing, although we often perceive it that way. It’s intended for communal benefit.  “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too”.

These concepts are made even more powerful when we reflect on Paul’s life – someone who suffered so much for Christ, yet he is concerned about the welfare of others.  Yet he views that affliction as something “to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”  It is this sort of attitude of communal care and comfort that makes the gospel such a unique, precious gift.

1 Corinthians 15, Psalms 106

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Paul gives us hope and encouragement of the future that lies before us, in stark contrast to the apathy and darkness of this world.  “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Paul encourages us to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  The hope that we have is not a vain hope, but a reality that is only separated from us by time.  “We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet…the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

So let’s “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever”.

Psalms 105

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In Psalm 105, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness, “He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations”.

The history of Israel is briefly summarised, highlighting the fact that God had cared for His people. Guiding them through the wilderness, strengthening His people against their enemies, performing miracles, providing food and water, giving them the promised land.

Just as God has cared and provided for Israel, so He cares and provides for us. We’ve been invited to be part of “the covenant that he made with Abraham…an everlasting covenant.”  So our response should be to “give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!”  Let’s rejoice, sing praises, and seek God’s presence continually.

1 Corinthians 12-13, Psalms 104

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We’re all part of the same body, different skills and purposes, but designed so that “the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”  We all need each other, if we’re going to effectively imitate Jesus.

The Psalms remind us of the complexity and majesty of God’s creation, and how reliant every living thing is on the continued care of God, “when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.”

We have been created, both individually and as a community, to serve God.  It is up to us to have the same attitude as the Psalmist when he wrote “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.”

 

Psalms 103, 1 Corinthians 11

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The Psalmist gives us a number of reasons to praise God. “Forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit.” Later, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.”

God’s love is demonstrated in His willingness to forgive us.  His ways are so far above ours, yet He is willing to show love to those that respond to Him.  It is a steadfast love, dependable and enduring, unlike man whose “days are like grass”.

We are reminded of that love weekly, when we remember the sacrifice of Jesus through the bread and the wine. Jesus’ love in giving his life is a perfect embodiment of God’s love for us.  So let us “forget not all his benefits”, and praise God for the interest He shows in our lives.

Exodus 39-40, Psalms 102, 1 Corinthians 10

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In Exodus, the construction of the Tabernacle has just completed, and a cloud covers the tabernacle, with the glory of God filling the tabernacle, so much so that Moses was unable to enter it.  “The cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.”

The Israelites enjoyed a very visible demonstration that God was with them.  Paul refers to that presence “our fathers were all under the cloud…nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased… these things took place as examples for us.”

We don’t have a pillar of fire or cloud in our lives to show us that God is with us, but we do have assurances that God is with us.  “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

We all fail at various points, giving in to the desires of temptation. But even in the dispair and regret that surely follows such an event, we can be comforted in the knowledge that God has provided us with a way of escaping such temptation.  I pray that we all will have the strength to choose that escape option next time we are tempted, rather than giving in.

“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!”

Psalms 100-101

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The Psalmist writes “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Such an amazing verse, full of deep and powerful concepts.

God has made us. Just like any earthly artist, God’s creations belong to Him.  But we don’t just belong to God like an inanimate piece of pottery.  God provides for our every need, in the same way that a shepherd devotes his life to keeping his sheep safe and healthy, providing the best possible conditions for his sheep.

So we belong to God, He provides for our needs.  But He goes even further than that shepherd or that artist. “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”  God loves us, a strong enduring love that is faithful across countless generations.  The only reasonable response is to do as the Psalmist writes, and “Serve the Lord with gladness!”