6 Pentecost

6 Pentecost - Sunday

First Posted July 12, 2009

Psalm 30 -- From Mourning to Celebration

Lamentations 3:22-33 -- Unending Love and New Mercies Daily

2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-14 -- Commitment and Obedience

Mark 5:21-24a, 35-43 -- Jairus’ Daughter

The Psalmist had placed his trust in the Lord, and called upon the Lord in time of trouble and need. The Lord heard his cry and healed and delivered him from trouble. The Lord had changed his mourning into joy and celebration. So also those who trust and call upon the Lord can be certain that they will be delivered even from physical death to the joy of eternal life in the heavenly paradise of God’s Kingdom.

The Lord blesses those who seek him and wait for the Lord to heal and deliver them. Those who choose the Lord to be their portion in life and as their eternal inheritance, and place their hope, in him will not be disappointed. The Lord’s mercy is unending; his steadfast love and faithfulness are inexhaustible.

The Macedonian Christians had committed themselves to the Lord and to obedient trust in his guidance, so they were happy to share their material resources with others, and were blessed with joy in their obedience. When we make the commitment to trust and obey Jesus as our Lord, we will be glad to follow his guidance, and he will provide the resources to do so. As we trust and obey, our faith grows as we experience the Lord’s faithfulness and power to provide the resources we need. Paul was discipling the Corinthian congregation, teaching them to trust and obey the Lord so that they could experience the Lord’s faithfulness and power, and grow spiritually in obedient trust in him.

Jairus was experiencing trouble and need. His daughter was on the verge of death, and Jairus called out in faith to Jesus to come and heal her. When he had done so, the situation seemed to grow worse, and in human, worldly perspective, seemed hopeless. But Jesus encouraged Jairus to expand his faith to trust and obey Jesus beyond natural limitations.

Jairus continued on with Jesus beyond where the crowd could go, and where only Jesus’ closest disciples, who had committed themselves to accept Jesus as their portion in life and as their eternal inheritance, could go. As Jairus continued with Jesus in faith, his daughter was restored to life from physical death. Jairus experienced the Lord’s deliverance even from physical death, and his obedient trust in Jesus was rewarded; his mourning was turned to celebration.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

6 Pentecost - Monday

First Posted July 13, 2009

Psalm 143:1-2, 5-8 --Prayer for Deliverance

The Psalmist (David) asks the Lord to hear his plea for help. He trusts the Lord to answer, because the Lord is faithful and righteous (i.e. the Lord does what is good and right). The psalmist asks for mercy instead of judgment, acknowledging that no human is righteous in God’s judgment, compared to the righteousness of God.

The Psalmist meditates on what God has done, revealed in Creation, and what God has done for his people (revealed in the Bible). The psalmist pleads to God with outstretched hands seeking God’s help. His soul thirsts for the Lord like a drought-stricken land.

The Psalmist begs the Lord to answer soon, before his soul perishes. He prays that the Lord would not withhold his blessings from him, or else the Psalmist would be no better than those who are dead (spiritually) and separated eternally from God in Hell.

The Psalmist prays that the Lord will answer him from the Lord’s steadfast love, because the Psalmist has put his trust in the Lord. He asks to be taught and guided by the Lord, because he has entrusted his eternal soul to the Lord.

Believers can call upon the Lord to help them in times of trouble and need (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right), not because they are righteous (“good”) people, or because they are worthy, but because God is righteous and faithful. We must remember and acknowledge our unworthiness.

Let us meditate on God’s greatness, revealed in his Creation, and what God has done for his people in the past, as recorded in the Bible. As we grow in daily fellowship with the Lord we will personally experience his sustaining and delivering help. Then we can remember and meditate on what God has done for us personally, and our faith and hope in the Lord will be strengthened and grow to spiritual maturity.

In the spiritual night of trouble, we can pray to the Lord in confidence that he will sustain and deliver us with the dawn of the new day. Those who commit their trust and their eternal destiny to the Lord can be sure that he will teach us and guide us into his will and purpose for our lives.

6 Pentecost - Tuesday

First Posted July 14, 2009

Ezekiel 2:1-5 -- Ezekiel’s Call

The Lord spoke to Ezekiel, telling him to stand up and listen to the voice of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord filled Ezekiel and lifted Ezekiel to his feet, and he heard the Lord speaking to him. The Lord addressed him as a Son of man, and told him to go to the people of Israel, a nation of rebellious people who had rebelled against the Lord. Ezekiel was to proclaim God’s Word to them, saying “Thus says the Lord God.” Whether or not they were willing to hear God’s Word, they would come to know that Ezekiel had been a prophet of God among them.

The Lord called Ezekiel to preach a prophetic word of warning to Israel, the people of God, whose rebellion against the Lord would soon lead to the fall of Jerusalem and Judah’s exile to Babylon. Ezekiel heard God’s call and commission, and was filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what the Lord called him to do.

Ezekiel’s commission was to speak the Word of God faithfully and accurately, in the name of the Lord. As long as he did that, he was not responsible for the people’s reception of that word; they would bear their own responsibility for their reaction to God’s Word.

The test of God’s Word is in its fulfillment; God’s Word is always fulfilled. If Israel had heeded Ezekiel’s prophetic warning they could have avoided capture and exile in Babylon; they could have experienced God’s deliverance. But whether they had heeded or not, they would know that Ezekiel had been preaching the Word of God among them.

The history of God’s dealing with Israel, recorded in the Bible, is also a parable and metaphor of life in this world. In one sense we are all God’s people because he is our Creator. In another sense, the Church and America are each the New Promised Land, and the New Israel. Ezekiel is a forerunner, the prophetic foretelling example of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaiming God’s Word of warning to Israel, telling them to repent and return to obedience to God’s Word. Obedient trust in God’s Word leads to our deliverance from our spiritual enemy, Satan, and from exile in the “Babylon” of Hell.

Jesus is the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified in human flesh (John 1:1-3, 14). We are called to be his disciples, to trust and obey Jesus and follow his example. As we respond to that call and begin to trust and obey Jesus, we will be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) filled with the Holy Spirit, and commissioned to proclaim the prophetic warning of God’s Word to a world of rebellious and disobedient people, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

As long as we faithfully and accurately proclaim God’s Word, by the call and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are not responsible for how people respond to that message. Our job is not to make people feel good about themselves or to lull people into a false sense of security. They need to be warned of the consequences of their rebellion and disobedience toward God. Regardless of their response, they will come to know that God’s Word has been proclaimed to them.

Are you willing to hear God’s prophetic Word of warning? Are you willing to respond in repentance and obedience? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

6 Pentecost - Wednesday

First Posted July 15, 2009

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 -- Stremgth in Weakness

Paul had received great insight into the Gospel through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and he had great opportunities to proclaim it. Those experiences are powerfully exhilarating, but Paul also had hardship, and persecution. Whatever Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was, perhaps a physical disability, Paul had prayed three times to the Lord for healing, but the Lord had told Paul to be satisfied with God’s grace (free, unmerited favor; blessings) and to accept Paul’s weakness so that God’s power could be manifested in Paul. So Paul was willing, for the sake of Christ, to endure insults, hardships, persecution and calamities, because when Paul came to the end of his own resources he had the strength which is only through Christ.

When things are going well, we tend to think we are self-sufficient; we don’t need God’s help. God is often our last resort. It is only when we come to the end of our own resources that we turn to God for help. Seeking help in any other person or thing is ultimately bound to fail.

The Lord doesn’t always deliver us from trouble. We have to learn to trust and accept God’s will. God uses such experiences to show us that he can bring us through.

I personally went through such an experience. I repeatedly prayed for deliverance. I wanted the Lord to do what I thought I wanted. It wasn’t until I surrendered what I wanted and accepted the Lord’s will for me that I found that I could endure my situation, and that the Lord could provide for me as I went through it.

The Lord opened up opportunities for me to serve him that I wouldn’t have had if the Lord had given me what I asked for. I’ve learned how able and faithful the Lord is to preserve us and provide for us in what we think are difficult or “impossible” circumstances, when we are following God’s will for us.

6 Pentecost - Thursday

First Posted July 16, 2009

Mark 6:1-6 -- Rejected at Home

Jesus came to his hometown (Nazareth) with his disciples, and began to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbaths, and the people were amazed by Jesus’ teaching, authority and works. They questioned how Jesus had gotten such wisdom and authority. They thought they knew Jesus’ parents, and couldn’t accept that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus said that a prophet is not honored among his own family and community. Aside from healing a few sick people, Jesus was unable to do any miracles there because of their unbelief.

Jesus’ hometown couldn’t accept his teaching and authority because they thought they knew that Jesus’ father was Joseph, the carpenter. They didn’t realize that Joseph had not fathered Jesus, and that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-25).

The same problem exists in the world today. A lot of people know so much “about” Jesus that they can’t accept his message and authority. Even within the “nominal” Church, people are missing a personal relationship with Jesus, because of what they think they already “know” about Jesus. Many people have never read the entire Bible, and don’t read it daily. What they know about Jesus is based on what others, who know “about” Jesus but don’t have personal knowledge of Jesus, have told them. Many people have decided long ago what they think about Jesus, and are not open to new understanding and spiritual growth.

On the Day of Judgment, there will be Church members, nominal “Christians,” who have been in Jesus’ “neighborhood,” who have missed the spiritual healing and feeding that only Jesus can provide, because they were unwilling to give up preconceived ideas about Jesus and let Jesus teach them new things (Matthew 7:21-29).

6 Pentecost - Friday

First Posted July 17, 2009

Romans 6:3-11 -- Dead to Sin

All Christians are baptized into Jesus’ death as well as his resurrection. We must consider ourselves dead to sin so that we can begin to live the new, eternal life in the Spirit. We must crucify our old sinful nature so that we can be freed from slavery to sin.

As we share in Christ’s crucifixion we can be sure that we will also share in his resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection freed him from sin and the power of death. Jesus died to sin so that he could live eternally to serve and please God, and he set the example we are to follow.

Sin is disobedience of God’s Word (God’s will). Jesus was perfectly obedient, even to the point of his death on the Cross.

Christians who believe (trust and obey) Jesus receive the power to become children of God (John 1:12), but we must claim and receive the promise by faith (obedient trust). We must be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34) only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The indwelling Holy Spirit within us makes it possible for us to resist temptation and break our bondage to sin.

Experiencing new life in the Holy Spirit within us, and the faithfulness and truth of God’s Word, frees us from our fear of physical death. Because we experience and know that the risen Jesus is alive, we can be certain that life beyond physical death is true, and we can know with certainty by the indwelling Holy Spirit where we’ll spend eternity. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Having been freed from slavery to sin and the fear of death, we must learn to live for the Lord, in his Holy Spirit. We’re still in our bodies of flesh, but we’re not to live according to our flesh but instead according to the Holy Spirit, learning to serve and please our Lord (Romans 8:1-17).

6 Pentecost - Saturday

First Posted July 18, 2009

Ruth 1:1-18 -- Commitment

During the period when judges governed Israel, (from the death of Joshua until about 1020 B.C. when Saul became King*), there was a famine in Israel, and a man of Bethlehem named Elimelech took his wife, Naomi, and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion to live in Moab (east of the northern portion of the Dead Sea). Elimelech died in Moab and his sons took Moabite wives.

After about ten years both of Naomi’s sons died. The famine in Israel had ended, and Naomi decided to return to her family in Israel. Both her daughters-in-law prepared to go with her, but Naomi tried to dissuade them, believing it was better for them to remain with their families in Moab and remarry Moabites. Orpah chose to remain in Moab, but Ruth was determined to go with Naomi.

Ruth vowed that Naomi’s people would become Ruth’s people, and Naomi’s home would be Ruth’s home, and Naomi’s God would be Ruth’s God. Ruth even vowed to be buried where Naomi’s body was buried. She was determined to not let even death separate her from her mother-in-law.

Ruth was willing to give up the life she had known in Moab, and normal expectations, and adopt a new land, culture and people as her own, for her love of her mother-in-law. As she did so, she was greatly blessed.

When we hear and respond to Jesus’ call, we begin to live with him as his disciples did during Jesus earthly ministry. As we grow to know him we will love him and want to be with him. We begin our life with him in the “Moab” of this world, but that is not where he intends for us to stay.

If we love him we will follow him to the “Promised Land.” His people will become our people, his God will be our God, and not even death can separate us from his love and his kingdom. In following Jesus, we will be blessed more than we can imagine.

*The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Chronological Table of Rulers, p. 1532, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.