Psalm 4
David wants the LORD to answer his prayer verse 1
Hear me when I call – O God of my righteousness
YOU have enlarged me when I was in distress
have mercy on me – and hear my prayer
David accuses those around him of lying about him verse 2
O you sons of men – how long will you turn my glory into shame?
how long will you love vanity – and seek after leasing? SELAH
God sets apart the godly verse 3
But know that the LORD has set apart him that is godly for HIMSELF
the LORD will hear when I call to him
David states to be still and sin not verse 4
Stand in awe – and sin not – commune with your own heart on
your bed – and be still SELAH
David offers sacrifices of praise verse 5
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness – and put your trust in the LORD
David confirms that the LORD causes him to be safe verse 6- 8
There are many that say
Who will show us any good?
LORD – lift YOU up the light of YOUR countenance on us
YOU have put gladness in my heart
more than in the time that their corn
and their wine increased
I will both lay me down in peace – and sleep
FOR YOU – LORD – only make me dwell in safety
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
(7337 “enlarged” [rachab] means relieved, delivered out of distress, find relief, more room to move or open wide)
DEVOTION: Have you ever felt trapped in a small area? Does it ever feel like the walls are closing in on you? That is how David felt when he faced the situation with Absalom. He didn’t see that there was any place to run. He wanted the LORD to answer his prayers. He wanted the LORD to give him more room to run.
He also wondered how long it was going to take to return things to normal. He wanted to have his former glory as king. He wanted to know what the LORD was going to do next to help him.
David didn’t want to sin in this situation but to stand still and watch the LORD work. That was hard for a warrior to do. He wanted to show the LORD that he trusted in HIM to provide a way to escape his present circumstances.
He knew what people were thinking about the situation. He wanted the LORD to show them the light of HIS countenance. He wanted the LORD to put gladness back in his life. He wanted a good night’s sleep.
David has full confidence in the LORD. He has full confidence in the LORD bring deliverance. He is so confident that he can lay down in peace and sleep.
The LORD had given King David enough strength to face whatever distress came his way. The LORD gave David space to move in. There are times when David felt like the world was closing in on him. David knew that the LORD heard the prayers of the righteous. He knew that God heard his prayers. He knew that he could only survive with the LORD’S mercy.
We have to come to the same conclusion as we go through rough times in our life. Sometimes even family members are involved in our hurts. David didn’t want to hurt his son. He wanted the LORD to work it all out without Absalom being hurt. That didn’t happen.
David deserved judgment for his failures in the area of raising the family right. He didn’t punish Absalom for the murder of his brother, but the LORD restored him to his position of leadership. This happens because the LORD is merciful.
We have to realize that because of what Christ did on the cross we can have mercy. Do we fail the LORD? YES!! Does HE forgive and answer our prayers? YES!! Praise HIS name.
Is the LORD strengthening us to face all our distresses? YES!!! Is the LORD making more room in your life for service to HIM? YES!!! That is our prayer for each one receiving the devotions.
CHALLENGE: Our God is a forgiving God. HE is a God who answers our prayers. HE will show mercy, even though we don’t deserve it. Remember HE looks at us through Christ’s sacrifice. Our sins are forgiven. Praise HIS NAME!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 3 “But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself:
The Lord will hear when I call unto him.” (hear, 8085 שָׁמַע , shamaʿ, 1a 1a1 to hear (perceive by ear). 1a2 to hear of or concerning. 1a3 to hear (have power to hear). 1a4 to hear with attention or interest, listen to. 1a5 to understand (language). 1a6 to hear (of judicial cases). 1a7 to listen, give heed. 1a7a to consent, agree. 1a7b to grant request. 1a8 to listen to, yield to. 1a9 to obey, be obedient)
DEVOTION: This verse acknowledges the response of God after the petition in verse 1 for God to hear the psalmist’s prayer. The psalmist not only acknowledges that God hears his prayer, but that God will answer it.
But this is no mere petitionary psalm. David notes that the one who truly seeks for God to answer his prayers is responsible for living a life that is consistent with a follower of God. That means that he is responsible first for acknowledging God for who HE is (that HE has given relief in the past, and that HE is worthy of the sacrifices of righteousness and trust).
The idea that God has set apart the righteous man, then, is based on the righteous man having already set himself apart for God. This is consistent with the idea of holiness, where it is God who gives us HIS holiness at salvation, but we are to continue to grow in it throughout our Christian life. This is called sanctification.
The point of this psalm is to encourage God’s people to seek Him in prayer whenever things appear to be happening which are not consistent with God’s revealed will for our lives. God had promised to establish David’s kingdom, and yet there were those who opposed it (verse 2). In light of this, David asks God to honor HIS promises, and, in so doing, to bring honor and glory to HIMSELF.
Are there any areas where you are asking God to manifest HIS power in your life so that HE will be glorified in this coming year?
CHALLENGE: Remember that HE delights in acting in ways that only HE can act so that HE alone will get the glory! (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
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:3 “But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him.” NKJV. (פָּלָה [palah /paw·law/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1772; GK 7111; Seven occurrences; AV translates as “sever” twice, “separated” once, “wonderfully” once, “set apart” once, “marvellous” once, and “put a difference” once. 1 to be distinct, marked out, be separated, be distinguished. 1A (Niphal). 1A1 to be distinct, be separated, be distinguished. 1A2 to be wonderful. 1B (Hiphil) to make separate, set apart. James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: This is the central point of this Psalm. God has identified the godly and is placing that man or woman in a relationship with Himself where Christ is attentive to them. How comforting and encouraging it is to know that God cares so much for us that he is willing to offer this assurance. When people are mocking and making fun of you because of your belief in Christ know that He holds you in his hand and protects you (John 10:28).
The psalmist recognized the dangers but more importantly believed God’s word! Like yesterday’s devotion the psalmist could rest comfortably because God’s word was what his trust was in, and reclined in security because of that truth.
CHALLENGE: When bullies come or false accusations emerge will we remember who has set us apart and is listening to our cries? Continue to be godly in word and deed today! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member
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: 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah (7264 “Stand in awe” [ragaz] means to get excited, to tremble, quake with fear, to behave violently, as if in state of a great anger, be agitated, perturbed, or be in anguish)
DEVOTION: It is easy for some people to get angry about almost anything. Christians are not to be people who are always angry. They are to be individuals who look at the situation and ask the LORD what their reactions should be toward our own sin and the sins of others.
We are not to be angry in a sinful way. It would lead to sinful deeds on the part of believers. There is righteous anger at sin but there is also anger that is just anger. Our anger should always be against actions that are sinful in ourselves and in others.
If we are just looking for sins in others and getting angry about it but not look at ourselves and our actions that are sinful and do nothing about it is wrong.
Our responsibility is to examine our own heart and see if there is something that we need to confess to the LORD and then do it. It is easier to look at other’s sins and judge them but we need to make sure that we are looking at our life and making changes that are necessary.
What do you see in your life that needs changing, so that, your actions are more pleasing to the LORD? HE wants us to through the ministry of the Holy Spirit examine our hearts and talk the LORD about our thoughts and actions.
CHALLENGE: How is the self-examining going regarding sin in our own lives? Talk to the LORD about and with HIS help change that behavior.
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DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. (982 “trust” [batach] means to be confident, unsuspecting, to have a strong confidence or reliance upon someone or something, lead to believe, or to be bold)
DEVOTION: The Bible tells us to make sure that we are offering the LORD our whole heart, soul and body. We are given the LORD our whole self if we are genuine in our commitment to HIM.
This takes work on our part to make sure that our commitment is real. There are many people who say that they are followers of the LORD but their actions say something different.
God wants our mouth and our life to show the same thing. Our sacrifices need to show that we genuinely have confidence in the LORD for all that we need. We need to make sure that we are not trusting in ourselves more than in the power of the LORD in our life. It is not easy but it takes a LOT of prayer and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our life to live the life Christ wants us to live in this world. We can fool ourselves but we can’t fool the LORD regarding who is genuinely trusting in for actions.
Our righteous acts have to have a motive to please the LORD and not ourselves or other people. If the LORD is pleased with our actions than our offerings are genuine sacrifices of righteousness.
CHALLENGE: Motive is very important to God and should be to us as well. We need to ask ourselves what our motives are when we act each day.
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: 7 YOU have put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. (8057 “gladness” [simchah] means joy, jubilation, the emotion of great happiness and pleasure, mirth, joyful banquets, pleasures, or gaiety)
DEVOTION: We need to realize that the only one who can put genuine joy in our heart is the LORD HIMSELF. This only happens when we put the LORD first in our life each day.
We need to make sure that the only thing that gives us genuine joy is when we please the LORD with our actions. This can only happen as we each day turn our life over the LORD and ask HIM what we should be doing in that day. HE will give us answers if we pray for guidance from HIM. HE wants HIS servants to enjoy serving HIM with a smile on our face while we are doing it.
Too often we see people who claim to be followers of the LORD with a long face or a fact that looks like it has sucked on sour lemons. Our faces should show the joy of the LORD.
We should be happier over someone coming to know the LORD than inheriting a million dollars. Our joy needs to be based on what pleases the LORD and not what just pleases ourselves.
It is hard sometimes when things don’t seem to be going our way for us to have the joy of the LORD but during those times we need to turn to the LORD in prayer and be honest with HIM and ask HIM to give us the joy that HE wants and expects on those who are genuine followers of HIM.
CHALLENGE: Each day we need to make a fresh commitment to enjoy serving the LORD. HE will but the happiness in our life that others will see.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
David prays for the LORD to help verse 1, 3, 6b-8
Commune with God verse 4
Lift you up the light of YOUR countenance verse 6
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Stand in awe verse 4
Sacrifices of righteousness verse 5
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 1
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 3, 5, 6, 8
Sets apart godly people verse 3
LORD hears godly people verse 3
Put gladness in heart verse 7
Makes believer dwell in safety verse 8
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sons of men verse 2
Lay down in peace verse 8
Sleep verse 8
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Shame verse 2
Vanity verse 2
Leasing verse 2
Sin verse 4
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Righteousness verse 1, 5
Mercy verse 1
Prayer verse 1, 3, 4
Glory verse 2
Godly verse 3
Stand in awe verse 4
Sin not verse 4
Commune with God with your heart verse 4
Be still verse 4
Sacrifices verse 5
Trust verse 5
Gladness verse 7
Peace verse 8
Safety verse 8
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
David wrote this Psalm verse 1- 8
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church, please use that method. Thank you.
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QUOTES regarding passage
8 The enemies diligently pursued “vanity” and “deception” in an attempt to frustrate the king and bring down his glory (cf. v. 2). Others may have asked where prosperity had gone (v. 6). David was not worried about the outcome. He was concerned, but not anxious, about the people (vv. 3–7). He committed his way to the Lord as he went to sleep. The enemies may have vexed themselves on their beds (v. 4), but he experienced “peace,” the peace that comes as a blessing from God (Num 6:26). His confidence in Yahweh “alone” is the reason for his peaceful sleep. The expression “make me dwell in safety” connotes not only the absence of enemies and hostilities but also the presence of peace (Deut 33:28; Jer 23:6; Ezek 34:25, 27–28; 38:8, 14; Hos 2:18; cf. Mic 7:14). It has an eschatological dimension, as it looks for God to act as the Faithful Shepherd, ensuring the security of his people. He alone can fully restore his people to the full experience of his covenant blessing (cf. Jer 32:37) (VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, pp. 85–86). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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The word both is one that usually means ‘together’, and here seems to imply ‘simultaneously’. Cf. Gelineau: ‘and sleep comes at once’. For the last word of the psalm, one which derives from the root for ‘trust’, neb has the best equivalent: ‘unafraid’. Cf. Proverbs 1:33. This, after all, if it is well-founded, is an even better state than safety. (Kidner, D. (1973). Psalms 1–72: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 15, pp. 73–74). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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4:7–8. The joy and contentment David experienced in trusting in the Lord was greater than the mirth of the harvest festivities. Even in distress and away from the visible evidence of God’s goodness, he enjoyed peace and safety in his God (on sleep; cf. 3:5). True joy and peace depend not on circumstances but on God’s protection and provisions (cf. Gal. 5:22; Rom. 14:17). (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 794). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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David knew what kind of goodness he wanted: the light of God’s smile upon him and his people. To see the glorious face of God and know that He was well pleased would take care of everything. This statement refers to the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24–26, and see also 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; and 119:135. There was no priest present to bestow this blessing, but David knew that God would answer the prayer of his heart. The king wanted to see the Lord change darkness into light, and that’s exactly what He did. But not only did David’s darkness become light, but his discouragement was replaced by joy (v. 7). The Israelites experienced great joy at weddings and bountiful harvests (Isa. 9:3; Jer. 48:33); but the joy God gave David exceeded even those times. (See Rom. 15:13 and John 16:24.) Finally, David praised God for the peace the Lord placed in his heart before the battle had been fought and won (v. 8; see 3:5). God had given him rest the night before, and now he would rest again, knowing that God was his shield (3:3). The Hebrew word for “peace” (shalom) means much more than the absence of conflict. It carries with it the ideas of adequacy for life, confidence and fullness of life. Perhaps the Lord brought Deuteronomy 33:12 to David’s mind—“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him, who shelters him all day long …” (nkjv). This promise is even more meaningful when you recall that David’s name means “beloved.” (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be worshipful (1st ed., pp. 27–28). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)
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4:8 dwell in safety. The word “safety” introduces a play on words by going back to the term “trust” in v. 5. David evidences a total confidence in God amidst his crisis. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ps 4:8). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 8. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep, &c.] Signifying, that he had such a calmness and serenity of mind, amidst all his troubles, that he could not only lay himself down in great peace, and much composure of mind, but sleep also, and that as soon as laid down almost; some lay themselves down, but cannot sleep, through the anxiety of their minds; but the psalmist could do both: or the word rendered both may be translated together; and the sense be either that he would lie down and sleep together with his friends, committing himself and them to the care and protection of God; or that he should lie down and sleep together with his enemies; meaning that he was assured that there would quickly be a reconciliation and peace between them; see Prov. 16:7. For thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety; suggesting that his protection and safety were owing to the power and presence of God only; and that was the reason of the tranquillity of his mind, and why he slept so quietly in the night-watches, though in such danger from his enemies; or thou, Lord, makest me only or alone, being solitary and destitute of friends, to dwell in safety; under the shadow of thy wings, encompassed by thy favour, and surrounded by thy power; see Deut. 33:28. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 540). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture
Romans 8:1-11
Former President Ronald Reagan once stood in front of the Berlin wall and called for it to be torn down. The symbol of separation, hatred and hostility needed to be removed so that West and East Germany could combine and become one nation again. In 1987, he requested a declaration of freedom and unity be established by the removal of this symbol of totalitarian suppression.
Paul also makes a declaration of freedom when he declared that the believer has been set free from the law of sin and death (v.2). There is no condemnation for the individual that is now in Christ. The accusation of judgment is no longer valid as the believer is no longer under standard of law. That legal measure is now Jesus and as we are in Him, we are free from judgment. Whereas before, in Adam, we were condemned, now in Christ there is no condemnation. Please note it does not say “no mistakes” or “no sins”. While man still has flaws, they are covered in Christ and the law of the flesh is powerless to the believer’s relationship with God.
Paul makes three claims that believers need to recognize to be freed from condemnation. First, the Spirit of life frees us from sin (v.2). Secondly, the sinful flesh cannot condemn us (v.3) and lastly, the Spirit controls the believer not the flesh (v.4). These truths can become reality to the believer as they set their minds on the things of the Spirit and live according to the Spirit (v.5).
The contrast between the flesh and the Spirit is drawn clearly in verses six through eight. Paul desires the believer to see what they were like prior to receiving the Spirit of life. The focus of a believer will be to please and serve God and not the flesh (v.8).
As the destruction of the Berlin wall symbolized an end of separation and the beginning of unity for a divided people, so our reception of the Holy Spirit begins a new start for man. Where once death, sadness, and despair reigned now newness of life, peace and hope held sway. We are free indeed because “… if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (v.11).
Rejoice and give thanks that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Paul tells us to “…meditate on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” Philippians 4:9-10.
With an Expectant Hope, Pastor Miller
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UNDERSTANDING TRUTH
But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
In 1 John 2:21-22 John is dealing with the particular truth of the birth of our Lord: “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” These people, because they had the Holy Spirit and His enlightenment, understood the doctrine concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the work that He had come to perform. If they had not received the Spirit, they could not have done that; but they did understand these things. They understood the doctrine of the two natures in one person. They had an unction that enabled them to explain these things—“we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
This is the wonderful thing that is true of Christians. They may not have much natural ability, but if they have the Holy Spirit they can understand this truth, and that is why the Christian faith is not only a faith for philosophers—it is a faith for anybody. It is not something that depends upon the natural man’s ability; it is an enlightenment, an unction. The Holy Spirit enables men and women to see and to understand something of the glorious nature of salvation. Though they may be simple, though they may be ignorant, though the world may dub them as being unintelligent, if they have this enlightenment they understand things that the greatest natural philosopher cannot understand.
That is what John says: “You understand these things; the other man does not.” Or we can put it like this: Because they have this anointing, Christians understand error and are able to save themselves from deviations from the truth. Simple people have heard and recognized the centralities of the faith when the more learned have become confused and have tended to go astray.
A Thought to Ponder: The Holy Spirit enables men and women to understand something of the glorious nature of salvation.
(From Walking with God, pp. 126-127, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).
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The Indwelling Trinity
“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)
This prayer of the apostle Paul applies to us as well as “to the saints which are at Ephesus” (Ephesians 1:1). Paul directs his prayer “unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (3:14), and he requests both that “Christ may dwell in your hearts” and also that the Holy Spirit would strengthen our “inner man.” We know elsewhere that Christ is at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Ephesians 1:20) so that the Holy Spirit is the person who actually indwells our bodies as believers. And yet, because God is a triune God, if the Holy Spirit indwells us, so also must “the Spirit of Christ” or else “he is none of his” (Romans 8:9).
But the prayer doesn’t end with Christ dwelling in our hearts. He further prays that “ye might be filled with all the fulness of God,” and thus the Father is there too! When we accept Christ, we accept also the Father and the Holy Spirit, for the three are one, and God in all His triune fullness thenceforth lives in our bodies.
The Lord Jesus Himself had prayed essentially the same prayer. “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth;…and my Father will love [you], and we will…make our abode with [you]” (John 14:16-17, 23). What a priceless privilege and responsibility is ours as believers that our triune God of creation and redemption and direction is with us always!
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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The Elect Lady
“The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth.” (2 John 1:1)
The Greek word for “lady” (kuria) is used only two times in the Bible, and both of these occurrences are here in the one-chapter epistle of 2 John. It is also fascinating to note that kuria is the feminine form of kurios, which is the Greek word for “Lord.”
Evidently this “elect lady” was a special woman, very highly esteemed by the apostle John as a capable and conscientious mother to her children.
It is uncertain, however, whether this distinguished lady was a literal mother in the church with literal children or possibly a metaphor for the church itself, with the “children” its individual members. Good reasons can be given for both interpretations, and it may even be that John wrote his letter with this dual meaning in mind under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
In either case, it is significant that this mother is called “lady” instead of the much more frequently used “woman” (Greek gune), or even “mother” (Greek meter). The Greek kuria was evidently used to stress deep respect and honor to such a mother in the church. She clearly was training her children in “the truth,” much as Timothy’s mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, had brought him up to have “unfeigned faith” in “the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15).
In addition to faith in God’s truth, of course, there should be genuine love. The second use of kuria is in verse 5: “And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another” (2 John 1:5). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Samson desires a Philistine wife.
INSIGHT Some people are strongly gifted and seem to see results, regardless of their personal worthiness. This is true of Samson. It is difficult to imagine a more unworthy vessel for the work of God. It is a challenge to decide if he carelessly disregards wisdom and the Word of God or whether his decision-making ability is somehow impaired. Nevertheless, in spite of his exceedingly foolish escapades, God uses him to bring judgment on the Philistines who have flaunted their hostility toward Jehovah. (Quiet Walk)
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Not Without a Fight
It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. ISAIAH 65:24
Barbara and I pray together every night, and there have been times when our prayers before bedtime have been little more than two or three sentences: “Thank You, Lord, for getting us through this day. We’re tired. Good night. Amen.” And there have been other times when our hearts have been fraught with distress. Since we started this journey together in 1972, we’ve asked God for just about everything—big deals, little deals and every deal in between.
For instance, when our boys were 14 and 12, they began to maul each other like professional wrestlers. I’m not talking about fun-loving horseplay. Something about the proximity of their ages as they entered adolescence set them at odds with each other, and their fighting started getting out of hand. One night they even ripped a door off its hinges! We disciplined them fairly severely for this, as you might imagine. We made them pay for the damage. But we knew that this wasn’t enough to repair whatever had come between them. I still remember the night we offered up the prayer of desperate parents: “Lord, we feel like we’re losing this battle with our boys. Will You find some way to knit their hearts together?”
Several days later our older son, Benjamin, asked to talk with us. The previous night he had dreamed that his brother, Samuel, was killed in a car accident. Benjamin woke up crying because he missed him. He felt convicted that he wasn’t really appreciating Samuel like he should. He wanted to become a better older brother. This experience did not totally end their sibling warfare. But it was exciting for Barbara and me to see God answering our prayer by divinely orchestrating this circumstance. We were reminded again that prayers aren’t just spoken into thin air. Prayers are heard. And prayers are answered.
DISCUSS: As you look at your circumstances, what do you two need to ask God about? What need do you have that only God can fulfill? (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
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IS INSTRUCTION NEEDED?
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18
The Bible does not teach that Christians do not need instruction. “But surely,” says someone, “that must be wrong. Look at this verse from 1 John: ‘the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you’(2:27). John says we do not need any man to teach us, and yet you say that the Christian church still needs instruction. How do you reconcile this?”
It seems to me that the answer is as simple as this: The very fact that John is writing to them proves that they need instruction. If they do not, then John need have no concern about them at all. If the Christian needs no instruction, then the apostles’ claim to be divinely inspired when they wrote their epistles was a sheer waste of time. These epistles are full of instruction. We are told that the Christian is to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” There is milk provided for him, and there is strong meat. That is impossible if you take this statement literally and maintain that John is saying the Christian never needs teaching. Clearly that is not what he means.
So let us put it in this positive form: Surely the context here determines the interpretation. What John is really saying is what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:13-14. He is saying that the Christian has spiritual understanding that the natural man does not have. These things are only understood in a spiritual manner, and what John is here saying is that the Christian, having received the Holy Spirit, has a spiritual understanding. “You,” says John, “are holding fast to this truth because the Holy Spirit has given you this enlightenment and understanding.”
A Thought to Ponder: The Christian, having received the Holy Spirit, has a spiritual understanding. (From Walking with God, pp. 125-126, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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