Skip to main content

Psalm 102:23 - Preparing for uncertain future - Day 161

Good afternoon saints,

Thinking about the "multitudes of blind and lam" at the pool of Bethesda who were not healed that we heard about in Jonathan's sermon yesterday.  We don't know, but did the one who was healed physically but also saved go back and tell his friends about the new life Jesus had given him?  Somewhat similar to the psalmist.  Biggest problem appears to be physical condition.  In reality it is the spiritual problem.  The miracle of rebirth is ultimately of more value that miracle of healing.  Will we go and tell our friends about this rebirth that God offers to them?

Blessings,

Jeff

Psalmist returns to consideration of his plight. 1-11 uses lauage of lament, 12-22 look to the hope of deliverance.  The back an forth between life on earth or life in heaven.  Calls to mind Paul in Philippians not sure if he will choose life or death while he sits in prison.  Spurgeon says the Christian should not dread death but it is not wrong to love life. Keller says God hears the prayer but refused the request.

v25-27 are cited in Hebrews 1.  The glimmer of eternity in this Psalm is just a shadow of the reality.

Seems that the purpose is to prepare us for the days described by the psalmist and remind us of the sovereignty of God.  For example, sthletes prepare for game day. There is consideration of what difficulties they may face and how to respond.  Obviously, the plan is always to win. Practice builds confidence in being successful.  A great game plan that is not practiced is not going to be successful.  Have I "practiced" God's game plan for life?  Have I meditated on His Word to prepare for the schemes of the evil one, or do I blissfully wander into the traps and wonder why God not save me from them?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leviticus 18:21 - Partial restoration of creation order

Dear Friends, Some times we forget that Moses wrote Genesis.  Obviously, he did not have first hand knowledge of the events of creation.  But God did and revealed them to Moses.  The "story arc" is clear to Moses despite the millenia of history between Genesis and Leviticus.  The plan for ultimate restoration is hazy, but God is at work repairing some of the damage. Blessings, Jeff What is the prohibition on child sacrifice doing in the list of prohibited sexual relations? Be fruitful and multiply - First commandment in Genesis.  God made the world to be inhabited.   Having children is how this  was to happen.  So child sacrifice was a direct violation of this first command to Adam and Eve. Marriage is one man and one woman is the creation order. Seems simple enough.  I can imagine men thinking, Yeah but God didn't say which woman.  I will do the one woman thing if she is my sister, or aunt or …..  So God gives all these examples of unlawful unions.  To this day, man stil

1 Chronicles 24:1-6 How about those Levites! Day 332

Good morning friends, Good foundations are important.  Our author turns to the religious life of the returning exiles. Blessings, Jeff We have seen the emphasis on the Davidic line in the  political life of Israel.  The other area of emphasis is the Aaronic priesthood and Levitical workers. In this passage we have a quick review of the somewhat sanitized picture of the start of Aaron's line.  The returning exiles would have known that Nadab and Abihu did not just "die before their father without children".  They rebelled against God by offering unauthorized fire and were themselves consumed by fire from the Lord. Leviticus 10.  The case of Abiathar  son of Ahitub son of Ahimelech, who was faithful to David, but later rebelled with Adonijah is also not mentioned. But the passage points to the importance of the Aaronic line to the rebuilding of the temple by the exiles.  The history of the northern kingdom which was without the Levites from the beginning could not be repeat

Revelation 22:3-5 Final and eternal restoration - Day 365

Dear saints in the Lord, Congratulations!  You made it.  We have been through much turmoil in the last year ('20-'21).  But God is faithful to His promises.  I trust that you have been blessed in your reading and have drawn closer to God.   Since we didn't get the blog up and running at the beginning of the challenge, I am going to go back and post entries to cover that first month or so.   Blessings, Jeff Nothing accursed in the city of God, the new Jerusalem.  The presence of sin will be gone.  I am working on memorizing Westminster Shorter Catechism and currently on question 82.  Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God but does daily break them in thought, word and deed. I think our passage today points to the truth of this question.  Do you notice how this answer is not exactly the same as the question. "Any man" becomes "no mere man since the fall