Free daily Bible notes

Daily Bible thoughts 859: Monday 20th April 2015: Jeremiah 4: 5-10

‘’A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out.’’ (7a).

In this section and the next one, which we will read tomorrow, the invader ‘’from the north’’ (6) is depicted in two word pictures: as a roaring lion and a rushing wind. Both will bring devastation. The remainder of chapter 4 portrays judgment on Judah. The speaker throughout is Jeremiah, but he is pronouncing God’s Word, and the speech is sometimes directly God’s (e.g. v 6b).

God’s Word is so sure; so certain, that Jeremiah can speak of the coming judgment as if it has already taken place (7, 8; for a positive version of this see Romans 8:30. The Roman Christians were not yet ‘’glorified’’, but as far as Paul was concerned it was as good as done!) We can have complete confidence in what God’s Word says, whether it comes in promising or threatening form, or a combination of both.

The political and spiritual leaders led the way in rejecting Jeremiah and his message (9), but their tune would change when the Babylonian ‘’lion’’ came near their homes, and their towns and cities; when they heard his terrifying roar and saw his teeth and claws. (Note, though, that the beast is not yet identified as Babylon.) The people who mock Noah cease their jeering when the rain starts, but then it is too late. (The exposure of the leaders in this verse does not diminish the responsibility of everyone who resisted God’s Word.)

In (10) Jeremiah is referring to the words of false prophets who contradicted him and falsely promised peace to an unrepentant people. God is ‘’Sovereign’’ and obviously permitted their preaching. But that does not mean that He was responsible for it. It doesn’t mean that he sent these so-called prophets. God’s only response, as we shall see, is to confirm that judgment is certain. People today who preach that you can live rejecting Christ and the gospel and still expect no negative consequences in the next life are similarly perverting the truth. They are dishing out false hope. Although the Lord allows this, we must never think that He approves it. The false prophets in Jeremiah’s day helped to bring about physical damage and destruction, but something far worse is at stake in false preaching today.

Prayer: Lord please forgive us if we have distorted your gospel in any way, preaching only love and grace, and missing out warning and repentance. Help us stay true to truth.

April 20, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 857: Thursday 16th April 2015: Psalm 116:1-11

Psalm 116:1-11

‘’…faith working by prayer remains the greatest force available to God’s earthly people.’’ J.A.Motyer: ‘New Bible Commentary, p.563.

Just as with the exodus (Ex.2:23, 24) here was a great cry for help that initiated great saving acts of God

‘’…when I was in great need he saved me.’’ (6b);

‘’when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.’’ The Message.

This is a psalm of testimony. It contains:

A definite commitment (1,2): ‘’I will call on him as long as I live.’’ This came from a man who had first-hand experience of the power of prayer. This made him determined to be even more of a pray-er. Rendered literally, the opening words are: ‘’I love him…’’ (1 John 4:19).In (2a) there is a beautiful picture of God listening: ‘’He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him.’’ The Message. He takes our prayers seriously. I want to learn from God in listening to others.

A dire need (3-6): ‘’Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn…’’ The Message. Death and the grave are represented as aggressors. He was in a bad way. ‘’Then…’’ It is so often the case that people pray (or pray especially fervently) at the ‘’Then’’ moment– when trouble strikes. In (5, 6a) there is an important statement about God’s nature/character. Knowing who God is; the kind of God we pray to, encourages our prayers.

The desired deliverance (7-11): As I read through the psalm I thought regarding (8, 9) that Christians have experienced this ‘salvation’ in a richer and fuller way. You can’t help but see the centrality of faith in the psalmist’s experience: ‘’Above all, however, the crisis was met by faith, the key to making all things new (8-11), the pivot of the whole psalm… The key words I believed (10), stand at the mid-point between new life enjoyed (8-9) and old life endured.’’ J.A.Motyer: ‘The New Bible Commentary’,p.565. Because the psalmist had faith he spoke out in accordance with his beliefs, even in the middle of his afflictions (2 Corinthians 4:13.) Against all human hope he held onto his faith and was delivered.

This is a lovely summary: ‘’The situation was one of deadly threat (3, 8, 15), brought about by human deceitfulness (11) and personal lack of discernment (6). But into this situation came prayer (1-4). The Lord listens (1-2), is gracious (bestows favour on the undeserving), righteous (never deviates in his commitment to his people and promises) compassionate (is emotionally moved by their plight) (5), and sensitive about the death of his beloved (15). So there came about salvation (4-6), deliverance from death (8) and bondage (16), and full provision…’ J.A.Motyer: ‘The New Bible Commentary’, p.563.

‘’I will call on him as long as I live.’’

Prayer: Lord, I make this my commitment too, by your grace. Please help me to fulfil it.

April 16, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 856: Wednesday 15th April 2015: Philippians 3:17-4:1

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Resurrection!

Good examples (17): The best examples to follow are those Christians who, like Paul, are ‘’straining’’ after holiness; those whose minds and hearts are set on things above, and whose hopes are all centred in Christ. ‘’Let my example be the standard by which you tell who are the genuine Christians among those about you.’’ J.B.Phillips. Bill Hybels says ‘’Speed of the leader, speed of the team.’’ In days before the New Testament was written down, Christians needed living examples of what would eventually be put into writing. Emulating good examples and constantly living in the light of the Lord’s return is the way to ‘’stand firm in the Lord.’’ (4:1)

‘’It was as much necessary for Paul to live the kind of Christian life that others could follow as it was for him to preach a pure gospel for them to believe…Our situation is not exactly the same today, as the NT is people’s basic guide to Christian life-style, but it is still the case (as Paul puts it in 2 Cor.3:1-3) that the Christian is called to be like ‘a letter from Christ’, ‘known and read by everybody’, including many who would not turn to the Scriptures.’’ Francis Foulkes: ‘The New Bible Commentary, p.1257

Bad examples (18, 19): ‘’There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street.’’ The Message.

It seems that the people described by Paul were professing Christians, but I think we would call them ‘backslidden’, or ‘worldly’ at very least. The big problem was that ‘’Their mind is on earthly things.’’ They didn’t like the cross. The cross is central for our understanding of discipleship, but they were not inclined to take it up and die daily! They didn’t want it getting anywhere near their flesh life, and slaying it. They weren’t into self-denial. Rather, they wished to give free rein to their carnal natures. Be careful about which ‘Christians’ you spend a lot of time with. Deliberately choose friends who will be ‘firelighters’; who will inspire you and spur you on in the life of faith and holiness.

Great expectations (20): Somebody wrote about ‘living in the future tense.’ True Christians have their minds set on things above, for that is where they really belong (Colossians 3:1-4). Philippi was a colony of Rome in the heart of Greece. Its citizens were Roman citizens. Philippi was ‘Rome from Rome, you might say. It was a little bit of Rome found elsewhere (just as an embassy is a piece of one country located in another.) This idea surely forms the background to Paul’s words here: that of citizenship elsewhere. I often like to think of the church as heaven’s ‘embassy’ here on earth. When people come in among us they should experience a little bit of heaven; sense it, feel it, encounter it. Heaven is where we really belong.

‘’He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.’’ The Message.

April 15, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 854: Monday 13th April 2015: Philippians 3: 4b-11

Philippians 3: 4b-11

Repenting!

In terms of Judaism, Paul was as good as it gets (4b-6). He was a prize specimen of a Jew. He had first rate credentials, religiously speaking. He worked hard to get right with God and believed he was accepted by Him. If anyone was ‘in’ it was surely Paul. He’d totted up lots of ‘brownie points’. Probably everyone who knew him thought it, and he certainly did. Paul belonged to ‘’the tribe of Benjamin’’. This was a prized heritage among the Jews. Israel’s first king, Saul, came from this tribe (1 Samuel 10:20-24). The tribes of Benjamin and Judah were the only two tribes to return to Israel after the exile (Ezra 4:1). He was also ‘’a Pharisee’’: a member of a very devout Jewish sect that scrupulously kept its own numerous rules in addition to the laws of Moses. He felt he had so much going for him.

But ‘’After showing that he could beat the Judaizers at their own game…Paul showed that it was the wrong game.’’ ‘The Life Application Study Bible.’ There came a point when Paul repented (7). He changed his mind about the things that matter most. He saw everything in the light of Christ and so came to see everything in its true perspective. It’s been said that in this seventh verse he is like an accountant. Everything that was at one time ‘’profit’’ to him, he now put down in the ‘’loss’’ column.

‘’All I once held dear, built my life upon, All this world reveres and wars to own. All I once thought gain I have counted loss, spent and worthless now compared to this.’’ Graham Kendrick.

Paul came to see that knowing Jesus matters more than anything. Nothing comes anywhere near in value and worth. The things Paul once valued he now considered ‘’rubbish’’ – and I understand that here he uses a strong word that our translation may not fully convey.

For Jesus’ sake he had ‘’lost all things’’ (8) Compare this with chapter 4 verse 12. He had not literally lost everything, but the point is it cost him dear to be a Christian. He lost everything that had been most important to him in his pre-conversion life. None of these things mattered to him anymore; not compared to knowing Jesus (8b-10). He had tasted the sweetness of Christ, and could not want more – or be satisfied with less. Everything he now wanted was wrapped up in Jesus, even if that meant suffering, along with resurrection life and power. Jesus was the only way to be right with God.

^‘’’The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.’’ The Message.

‘’Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you; there is no greater thing. You’re my all, you’re the best. You’re my joy, my righteousness, and I love you Lord.’’

Prayer: ‘’The greatest thing in all my life is knowing you; I want to know you more.’’

April 13, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 851: Wednesday 8th April 2015: Jeremiah 3:21-25

Jeremiah 3:21-25

The passionate call to ‘’Return’’ goes out again (22a). (It has been estimated that it occurs over 40 times in the book.)

People who have drifted (or turned) from God; those who are backslidden, can return, and will do so:

Where there is conviction of sin (21): where there is sadness and sorrow over wrong-doing and penitent tears are shed: ‘’A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel…’’
Where there is recognition of who God is (22b), and what He can do for us (23b): ‘’for you are the LORD our God…surely in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.’’
Where there is willingness to return (22b): ‘’Yes, we will come to you…’’
Where there is recognition of sin’s deception (24, 25): ‘’All that popular religion was a cheap lie, duped crowds buying up the latest in gods…The Fraud picked us clean, swindled us of what our ancestors bequeathed us, Gypped us out of our inheritance – God-blessed flocks and God-given children. We made our bed and now lie in it, all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonour.’’ The Message.
Where there is humble confession of sin (25). People have to ‘come clean’ with God and honestly confess their true state, without pretence or excuses.

‘’ The people’s confession of sin seems genuine and complete (verse 25). However, we must assume it is the faithful ‘’remnant’’ that is confessing here, because the majority of Israelites never did repent. It is likely that Jeremiah described the repentance of the northern kingdom in order to provoke the people of Judah to repent also. Surely God longed to hear these words of repentance from His people, both from Israel and from Judah. And He longs to hear our words of repentance today, whenever we have strayed from Him.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’’, p.1082.

‘’returning is the only remedy for backsliding…Backsliding is like sickness (22). It begins with a secret ‘’infection’’ of sin, which leads to loss of spiritual appetite, gradual decline and, if not attended to, death. God heals our backsliding if we honestly accept His diagnosis and humbly return to Him.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.499.

Prayer: Lord, you know how ________ has slipped away from following you. Please draw them back.

April 7, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 850: Tuesday 7th April 2015: Jeremiah 3:19, 20

Jeremiah 3:19, 20

“I planned what I’d say if you returned to me:
    ‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family.
I’ll give you choice land,
    land that the godless nations would die for.’
And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’
    and would never again go off and leave me.
But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband,
    you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.”
God’s Decree.’’ The Message

All our sin and backsliding is a sin against love.

It is also irrational. It is like a woman leaving a good and loving husband for another man, or other men who have proved false. She has come to see ‘’where her bread is buttered’’. She knows that at home she has the kindest of men and the best of providers, yet she will not return. It’s the triumph of hope over experience, but she would prefer to take her chances ‘playing the field.’

God had always been a good and faithful Spouse to His people; the best of Husbands. But still they abandoned Him. None of this makes sense, but it’s what we do.

If you have slipped away from God, or if you have never come to Him, please hear and heed the pleading words of longing in Jeremiah 3.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us our trespasses.

April 7, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 846: Wednesday 1st April 2015: Jeremiah 3:1-5

Jeremiah 3:1-5

‘’…the barren heights…’’ (2a).

The divorce law in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 prohibited a woman who had been divorced and who had married another man from ever returning to her first husband. The Lord here pictures Judah as being effectively divorced from Him by her dalliance with other lovers (the Canaanite gods.) By analogy with the divorce law she could never hope for Yahweh to take her back. But He, of course, is gracious, and He would gladly welcome her home if only she would repent.

The sexual imagery continues with the theme of prostitution in (1, 2 and 3). It is shocking language. ‘’Look around at the hills. Where have you not had sex?’’ The Message. It shows that God loves His people so much that He is prepared to speak the ‘’kind truth’’ as someone put it. He was willing to spell out the seriousness of the situation, even though it meant giving the hard word. What the people of Judah were doing was spiritual prostitution. They were no doubt shocked and even scandalised to hear their conduct described in such terms. But God knew they needed to see themselves as He saw them.

Jesus similarly used ‘shock tactics’ in His speech. He used arresting language. He spoke some ‘hard sayings’, designed to challenge people, make them think, and ultimately change. The God of the Old Testament is the same God revealed in Christ.

Remember that the true God calls for undivided heart loyalty. We are to have no other gods before Him. Are we totally faithful in our marriage to the Lord of heaven and earth? Or is something flirtatious going on around the edges of the relationship? Do we have eyes for other ‘lovers’? Are we chasing after any idols?

Just as in sexual temptation (2) when you seem to be offered something good, but it turns out to be empty and unfulfilling; so when we turn to any other god we will find ‘barrenness’ there. What would seem to lift you up will pull you down.

I believe Newton’s law says that for each action there will be an equal and opposite reaction. I say that because we live in a world of cause and effect. Actions have consequences (2b, 3a; see Leviticus 26:3,4). Sin has unwanted consequences. It not only affects me – the sinner, but also the land I live in. Primarily my sin is against God, but it also has social consequences. It can negatively affect others.

The people of Judah would not repent (3-5). They were ‘’brazen’’ in their sin (3b). In fact, they were blasé about their relationship with God. They thought they could live how they pleased and the Lord wouldn’t mind. It wouldn’t adversely affect things. ‘’Brazen as whores, you carry on as if you’ve done nothing wrong. Then you have the nerve to call out, ‘My father! You took care of me when I was a child. What now? Are you going to keep up your anger nonstop?’ That’s your line. Meanwhile you keep sinning nonstop.’’ The Message.

Prayer: Lord God, you deserve, and require, the true love of all my heart. Help me to worship you alone.

April 1, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 842: Thursday 26th March 2015: Philippians 2:14-17

Philippians 2:14-17 (click here for todays passage)

I got caught in the headlights this morning! I was immediately rebuked by these words in (14). While out on my run, I was ‘’complaining’’ and ‘’arguing’’ in my head in that futile, time and energy-wasting way we probably all do occasionally. Then I read my Bible and got put in my place. To many , these are ‘little’ sins that we justify. They’re not like the ‘big’ sins such as murder, theft, adultery and looking at porn etc. Yet if we allow these things to have free course in our hearts, they will keep us from shining as brightly as we should. Dealing with such sins as ‘’complaining’’ and ‘’arguing’’ is part of the process of growing in holiness, so that we may shine ever more brilliantly in this gloomy world. (It seems to me that Paul is saying that dealing with these seemingly little things will help us to grow significantly in holiness.) A high degree of holiness is envisaged in (15a) – even for our life in this world. In the Christian life you tend to get what you go for. So how holy do you really want to be? Someone said, ‘Lord make me holy, but not yet!’ We will never achieve significant progress in the life of holiness if we do not ‘’Catch…the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.’’ (Song of Songs 2:15). The antidote to these ‘little foxes’ in (14) is to be found in (4:4) – a thankful heart.

The darker the night the clearer the stars appear. When I studied at Bible College in Capel, Surrey, the evening walk back from the main college campus to where I lived was pitch black. It was quite frightening and took some getting used to. I’d never seen darkness so dark that you felt you could reach out and touch it. There was no street lighting at all going down the ‘Rusper Road’. But that lack of light pollution made for some magnificent night time viewing of the bejewelled heavens. The stars stood out so clearly. May we shine brightly as ‘’children of God’’ showing that there is a Heavenly Father, and something of what He is like. We are called to be truly counter-cultural. One day I was walking on the walls in York. I was doing nothing wrong, but a whole crowd of people came towards me. Groups of them kept coming. For a time it felt like I was the only one walking in the opposite direction, and that maybe I was in the wrong. It reminded me of the lonely path Christians have to walk, moving against the tide. It won’t always feel comfortable. But ‘’Wise men still seek Jesus’’. May we be the stars who guide them to Him (Matthew 2:2, 7, 9 and 10). ‘’Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night…’’ The Message. This ‘’shining like stars in the universe’’ is about character. That much is obvious. It’s about ‘keeping short accounts with God’ and growing in godliness. But it is also about communicating ‘’the word of life’’ (16a). Witness is both visual and verbal. It’s not either/or. It’s about what people see in us and hear from us; life and lip in sync. There should be no ‘’credibility gap’’ between our walk and our talk. May we ‘’hold out’’ the truth about God and not hide it in our pockets; not be ashamed of it. I grew up watching my parents (and many other believers I knew) unashamedly carrying their Bibles to church, on bus journeys and so on. I learned to do the same thing, but I confess I haven’t always felt comfortable with doing it, and have sometimes tried to justify feelings of embarrassment. Now this wasn’t what Paul had in mind, yet I do think the boldness these lovely Christians showed was very much in keeping with what Paul was after. Paul saw the success of his ministry as being measured by bright, twinkling, changed (and being changed) lives. What a ministry he had (17, 18). It was one of commitment and sacrifice and yet great joy. He gave his all in the cause. This is what it takes to plant churches; to see people won to Christ and brought to maturity. He was willing to die, and he did die every day – maybe several times a day. Christian leaders should not expect ease and comfort. But they can anticipate supernatural strength for the task (Colossians 1:28, 29).

March 26, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 841: Wednesday 25th March 2015: Philippians 2:12, 13

Philippians 2:12, 13

‘’Character is what you are in the dark.’’

A call to integrity (12a; see 27b): God is much more concerned about who we are than who we appear to be. Integrity means being integrated. It’s being one and the same person in all settings; whether in a crowd or alone. We can be so concerned about ‘impression management’. There is such an emphasis on image in our culture. But our concern should be with character; who we actually are. Abraham Lincoln said, ‘’Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.’’ So cultivate the tree!

A call to practical Christianity (12b): ‘’…continue to work out your salvation…’’ Some years ago a student wrote to me, and in her letter she said she’d been reading this verse. It had suddenly struck her that Paul didn’t mean ‘’Suss it out’’ (as she put it), but live it out! The word ‘’continue’’ says you have to keep at it; persevere in living as a Christian, even amid difficulties, seeking to live worthily of Christ (1:27).

A call to seriousness (12b): Whatever the ‘’with fear and trembling’’ actually means, it surely includes the idea of taking the Christian life with utmost seriousness. We need to take God seriously and take His Word seriously. It is right, I believe, to have a serious concern to not displease God; to not move away from Him. For a few years I was a visiting lecturer at ‘Elim Bible College.’ I heard that a student had commented about me to a fellow-student: ‘He’s very serious isn’t he?’ It may well be that, feeling out of my comfort zone I was a little too intense and earnest. I know from my Bible College days that the lecture room can be an arena of much levity. I’m not against fun and laughter. On the contrary, I love it. But I do actually want to be someone who is serious about the things of God. Humour can have a helpful place in the work preachers do, but we are not called to be comedians. A few years ago, Jilly and I were leaving a morning Bible Study at the ‘Elim’ conference. We had just listened to a theologically serious and powerful talk given by Dr. R.T.Kendall. It was by no means difficult to understand, but it was substantive in content. We felt we had listened in the very presence of God. I’m sure we were not the only ones to sense this. In fact a number of people indicated a desire to be converted at the close of the sermon. We heard someone close to us, in the queue leaving the building, comment that they hadn’t really enjoyed it, and preferred the funny preacher they’d heard the day previously. It made me wonder, ‘Do you want to be entertained or hear from God?’ Those comments were not a bad reflection on the preacher of the previous day. He is a great man, and a serious student of the Bible. He just happens to also be very gifted with humour. I’m more concerned about an attitude in hearers that would rather be made to laugh than hear from God. Sometimes these two things will go together. Often they won’t! ‘’Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God.’’ The Message.

A call to trust (13; see 1:6): You have to continue to work at the Christian life, but you can only do so in God’s strength, because He ‘’works in you’’. It’s not about our own unaided efforts. We are totally dependent upon God’s presence in us and His strengthening of us. God gives us the ‘want to’ and the ‘can do’; He enables us ‘’to will and to act’’. His Spirit within us as a congregation (and personally) causes us to want to keep working out our salvation, and He also helps us to do it. ‘’That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you. God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.’’ The Message.

March 25, 2015 0

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