March 4, 2012 … Righteous Anger

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 23-25 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 25: 6-13: … [Righteous Anger ] … 6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
10 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, 11 “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.”

My Journal for Today: There are several discussions worthy of my blogging keyboard from the Chapters in Numbers I was led to read this morning, more specifically Chapters 23-25. There was the interesting account of the sorcerer prophet, Balaam, and the scriptural reference to the prophesy of the “star of Jacob” in Chapter 23 which was likely the prophesy which led the so-called “Wisemen” to seek out the birthplace of the Messiah.

And I could journal here about how God could (and did) decide to use a false-prophet, like Balaam, to bring God’s message or wisdom to the people of the world … or even to God’s people. I hope we all know that anyone – even a misguided sorcerer like Balaam – can be used by God to bring truth forth or call attention to God’s ways. We must be discerning in seeing what is true and what is false from a man like Balaam. That is the lesson I’ve often referred to about the Bereans (in Acts 17: 10-15), who checked out the message of the Apostle Paul by going to God’s word to see if he was teaching truth or falsehood. We hear a lot of persuasive messages by prominent people in our world; and we need to be discerning and rely on God’s word and to get counsel from wise and Godly counselors to discern God’s will and to be able to follow those who’re trying to lead us to move in Godly directions.

But though those are very pertinent and interesting studies, I want to focus on a brief segment (copied above) in Numbers 25, verses 6-13, where we read of one of God’s Priests, Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, rising up in anger and slaying one of the disobedient Israelites, who had flagrantly brought a Canaanite woman into the Tent of Meetings, right before Moses’ eyes, with the sole intent of having sex with this woman in the sacred Tabernacle. And did God or the people strike down Phinehas for this angry act of retribution? No; … to the contrary, God honored Phinehas and even considered the slaying of the sinner as an atonement for the sinfulness of the Israelites, sparing them from God’s collective judgment for their general and wholesale disobedience during those times.

Today, in the commentary I often use to help guide me in my chronological read through the Bible this year, there was a good lesson about “righteous anger,” which I’d like to quote here for anyone who might be reading my devotional entry this morning. Here’s the quote from the Parson’s Commentary …

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It is clear from Phinehas’ story that some anger is proper and justified. Phinehas was angry because of his zeal for the Lord. But how can we know when our anger is appropriate and when it should be restrained? Ask these questions when you become angry: (1) Why am I angry? (2) Whose rights are being violated (mine or another’s)? (3) Is the truth (a principle of God) being violated? If only your rights are at stake, it may be wiser to keep angry feelings under control. But if the truth is at stake, anger and action is often justified, although violence and retaliation are usually the wrong way to express it (Phinehas’ case was unique!). If we are becoming more and more like God, we should be angered by sin.
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No, as it says above, striking out in anger for perceived sinful behavior by murdering sinners would not be considered the Godly way to go. But, like Phinehas, and Jesus when He cleansed the Temple, taking radical action may be called upon when sin against God becomes so much an affront to His holiness that we need to strike out against the perpetrators.

The advice given above about discerning and taking action when we’re angry is good and Godly counsel; and we need to remember that Jesus never struck out in anger to those who were attacking His personal being, … even when sinners spit on him or attacked His bodily security. No, our Lord only struck out in anger when He discerned that the world was defiling His Father’s Temple.

Is there anything in your life which is defiling God’s Temple … i.e., either your body or the Body of Christ? What about your own gluttony or maybe some addictive sin pattern like taking drugs, or obsessive gambling, or repetitively viewing p0rnography? Is there enough righteous anger in your countenance to strike out and do something about it, sending a spear through the heart of the perpetrator, as did Phinehas; … even if that perpetrator may be you, yourself.

I know right now that I stand convicted in discerning that I let my own sinful eating patterns defile God’s Temple, my body, at times; and I often see Christ’s body, the Church, being defiled by becoming an enabler of so many other Christians when the church makes it far too easy for the sin of gluttony to be magnified. Have you ever been to a church function and discerned that there were far too many gluttonous food choices than should be there to tempt Christians who’re struggling against the sin of gluttony? Were you angry enough to do something about it? Did you do something about it?

What about the plague of sin we have in our culture with the XXX sex trade proliferating with the growing cancer of internet p0rnography? Are you angry that p0rn is infiltrating our culture and destroying marriages and bringing down Christian church leaders the way we see in today’s world? Are you angry enough to do something like contacting your Representatives and demanding that our Justice Department prosecute the perpetrators of p0rn? If you struggle with your own sexual compulsions (maybe even recurring obsessions to view p0rn), are you angry enough to pick up a spear and throw it into the heart of your own sinfulness, getting help and confessing your sin to others?

All of us, who perceive flagrant sinfulness tearing apart our world or defiling God, could become an angry priest, like Phinehas to strike out in Christlike retribution against those who’re defiling Gods’ Temple or His Tabernacle. I am going to pray – right now - that we do just that!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, when we see the world defiling Your holiness, enlighten, enable, and empower us with Your sanctifying grace to be like Phinehas and take righteous action … but only when You lead us to take a stand for Your Name and to do it in Your way, inspired and modulated by Your word. Amen

February 27, 2012 … God’s Standards for Worship

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 8-10 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 9: 1-14: … [The Second Passover]… Use this link to review this passage for my comments below ...

My Journal for Today: Today I was reading through the three chapters in Numbers to which I’ve linked you above; and the segment in Numbers 9: 1-14 drew my attention for meditation and comment; but since that passage is a bit long to copy/paste above for my blog today, I’ve also linked it for you to seek out and read. And if you’re going to read along with me, I’d ask that you please review this passage carefully.

And when you do read through and meditate on this passage, you’ll see that God was giving His people follow-up instructions in the Passover worship and remembrance so that they would be able to properly worship the God Who had delivered them from Egypt. And their Passover celebration needed to have the preparation of purity and the reverence of holiness God had instructed them to carry out a year earlier, … this being the celebration of the second Passover since they had left Egypt (see also Exodus, Chapter 12 and Leviticus 23:5, 6).

And it’s interesting to note from this study that some of the men could not meet God’s ceremonial standards for the Passover feast; and since God’s standards of holiness and worship never change, these men were not allowed to carry out the Passover celebration at the designated time for that worship. But did God shut them out from their heartfelt desire to celebrate Passover? NO! God mercifully established for these men a “PLAN B” for Passover; and they were able to purify themselves and come back a month later and worship Passover in the way God had designed for their worship.

I think now of the instructions we, as Christians, are given to celebrate the Eucharist (i.e., Communion) properly. And the Apostle Paul gave such instructions for God’s Church in the remembrance of the Lord’s Supper in 1st Corinthians 11: 17-34. Let me link you there so that you can review these instructions from God’s word.

God doesn’t want to exclude any serious worshipper from worshipping Himself; but God does have standards for coming into His Holy presence for worship, especially those celebrations of remembrance which God, Himself, has established for His people – whether it be Old Testament or New. Therefore, we should – when we come to worship our Lord – purify our hearts and minds in preparation as we come to the Holy of Holies for remembrance and worship.

I believe many Christians take Communion at the Lord’s Supper without being in the proper state of mind/heart to do so. Sometimes it’s because Communion – in some denominations/traditions – is taken so often and there is no preparation or reminder for the believers to be in the right state of mind/heart to carry out the ritual which God Himself has established for His special times of worship. But all too often it’s simply a matter of the worshipper not being in the humble and pure state of mind which he/she should be to come before the Lord to celebrate and remember what God has done for us.

Therefore, I hope we all rekindle our remembrance of our God from this study … that those specially established ceremonies for worship, … like Passover for the Jews and Communion for Christians (and there are certainly others). Each of these special times of worship should be undertaken with the care and preparation which matches the standards of what God has done to deserve our remembering His glory, His mercy, and His holiness.

As Jesus, Himself, said at the establishment of the first Communion supper, “This [i.e., taking the bread and the cup] … do in remembrance of Me.”

My Prayer Today: … Amen and Amen!!!

October 26, 2011 … The Law Reveals Sin

Passage of the Day: Romans 7: 7 [note verse from context in bold/underlined] … Rom. 7: 4 ... So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. 7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."

My Journal for Today: If you’ve been with me here, In the past week of devotional entries, we’ve seen the truth that God’s Law cannot save us (see Rom. 7: 4 – 5 above, which is the context for today’s highlight verse (Rom. 7: 7). And continuing on, … once we are converted Christians, the law can help to sanctify us (see Rom. 7: 6) by being our mirror unto truth. However and therefore, in today’s focus verse, we see that God’s Law is also not to be considered evil or sinful either. That’s what John MacArthur desired to explore in his next few devotional entries from Strength for Today. And so, in the next few days, I will follow suit by exploring what God’s Law does for the believer.

And the first of the reasons for God’s Law remaining a viable spiritual force in the life of a New Covenant Christian is that The Law reveals sin. God’s Law is His Holy standard; and without such a standard of righteousness the concept of “sin” becomes meaningless (see 1st John 3: 4 as well as Romans 3: 20, 4: 15, and 5: 13). That is why the Apostle Paul was/is so emphatic in today’s verse of record that The Law, coming from a Holy and Righteous God, Who could never be evil to produce sin in man. And as you read on in Romans 7 (primarily after v. 14), this was very personal for Paul, who had once lived a counterfeit version of God’s Law as a Pharisee and a pursuer of Christians. And even after Paul came to know Christ as the true Messiah, he still recognized, from the Law, that he struggled against sin in his life, … the Law revealing just how sinful he was even as a believer in Christ [again read Rom. 7: 14 – 24 - linked here].

We note in today’s highlight verse, Paul uses the sin of covetousness as his example of sinfulness, because the Apostle wanted us to see that God’s Law reveals more than merely external behavioral sin [such as murder or theft]. It also reveals internal – attitudinal - sin as well. It becomes God’s all-revealing mirror of holiness, which, when we use it as God’s standard, provides us with a clear picture of how inadequate we are in dealing with sin without Christ as our Savior and His Spirit as our guide and enabler to avoid sin. God’s Law reveals ALL of whom we are … or are not … but only IF we are willing to look into that mirror to see ourselves through God’s eyes of holiness … to recognize our sinful form … and to let God’s truth (primarily from His Holy Word) guide us to His transforming grace.

God’s word, … His truth, is that mirror, revealing God’s holiness and our sinfulness. How often and how deeply are we looking into that mirror to allow God’s Law to reveal us and to guide us toward the righteousness demanded by a Holy God [see Matt. 6: 33 - and I hope you have that one memorized!]? Taking time, as I have this morning, to stand before God’s mirror will reveal who we are; and even more importantly whom God wants us to become as the image of our Lord, Jesus, becomes clear in our viewing of His truth.

My Prayer Today: You reveal me by Your Truth, my Lord. Amen

April 18, 2011 … God’s Sovereign Departure

Passage of the Day: Matthew 27: 46 … About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"— which means, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" [Ps. 22:1]

My Journal for Today: This is a hard saying from Jesus on the cross. My studies reveal that Martin Luther worked diligently for years but had trouble grasping what Jesus said in today’s passage, … our Lord feeling so abandoned on the cross. And so, who am I to be trying to explain this? … Well, the answer lies in the fact that I have the same Holy Spirit to help me lay hold of God’s word just as did Martin Luther. I also have the advantage of centuries of brilliant theologians like Luther and other, more current Bible scholars, …men like John MacArthur in my devotional book, to help me. But the main issue still resides in my willingness to humbly seek after God’s, i.e., the Holy Spirit’s, ministry of enlightenment. So, if I pray for God’s mind and wisdom, He is willing to provide it to me (see James 1: 5, 6). So here goes [but you check me out in the Spirit of 1st John 4: 1 or 1st Thes. 5: 17].

We do know that God cannot abide sin (see Habakkuk 1: 13); and it is truth that Jesus became the sin of all mankind on that cross. And so, a Father-God, Who is perfectly Holy, could not be – in that moment where Jesus hung on the cross having taken on the sins of all mankind – in the presence of sin. Therefore, God, the Father, had to turn His back on His own Son. The horror of that for God, the Son, is unimaginable for me; and it’s heart wrenching to read our Lord lamenting what He had dreaded so heavily earlier during His passion, e.g., when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before being arrested.

But this should tell us how much sin is a curse [see also Gal. 3: 13] as we come into the presence of God; and for Christ becoming the propitiation for our sin on the cross had to be anathema in the presence of His Holy Father. That’s the way it is when we let sin come between God and our own souls (see 1st John 1: 10). God doesn’t hate us (personally) when we sin. To the contrary, He loves us – perfectly! But, He hates our sin; and the only way for us to maintain the intimacy of fellowship with our Lord is for us to be cleansed by the very blood which Christ was shedding on that cross as He spoke the lament we read in today’s verse [again, see that wondrous promise of 1st John 1: 9, which you should have memorized cold by now!].

Gratefully, as in that verse, God has provided a way for this cleansing to take place through confession; and, in that regard, this verse becomes one of the most hopeful passages in all of the New Testament for me (and probably for you, too). And then by repenting – truly repenting – and walking to follow Christ (see Luke 9: 23, which you should also have in memory), we can maintain the closeness that Christ lost by shouldering our sin … the intimacy the God-Man regained when He ascended and was re-glorified by His Father.

My Prayer Today: Lord, hold me close to You! Amen

February 8, 2011 … Becoming Holy

Passage of the Day: 1st Peter 1: 15-16 … 15 But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." [Note: quotation taken from Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7]

My Journal for Today: Besides the reality of God’s holiness and our unholiness, as well as the admonishment of today’s declaration from Peter, which is repeated from the Old Covenant in Leviticus, there are many in today’s culture who would not want to deal with yet another mirror of truth offered by the Apostle Peter (in 2nd Peter 2: 4 – 10). But I’m going to give it to you anyway, since I’m having to deal with it now, having just studied this passage.

SCRIPTURE: 2nd Peter 2: 4-10 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5if He did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.

Ouch!!! In plain, Southern vernacular, “Them is harsh words [!],” especially since we’re all sinners deserving of eternal damnation for our sins (see Rom. 3: 23). And I believe one must see himself or herself as being unholy in the sight of a Holy God, in total need of a Redeemer and Savior, before it can be possible for God to give His free gift of salvation offered by the death and resurrection of The Christ as well as the completion ministered to justified souls by God’s Spirit.

Faith in Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to righteousness and for our sin account to be paid in full, allowing for God’s Spirit to mold us into the image of Christ (see 2nd Cor. 5: 21 and 1st Cor. 6: 11) …

SCRIPTURE: 2nd Cor. 5: 21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
SCRIPTURE: 1st Cor. 6: 11 1Cor. 6: 11 … And that is what some of you [sinners] were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

But as we can see [again] from 1st Cor. 6: 11, those of us sinners, who by faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, have received the grace of salvation, surrendering to His Lordship, have become provisionally and positionally holy … a sinner becoming a sanctified saint by faith in Christ [look this one up on your own … 2nd Tim. 2: 19].

In today’s verse [above], we Christians are commanded to “be holy” just as God is Holy. And God’s word would never command a believer to do anything that was not possible – with His help [see 1st Cor. 10: 13 and Rom. 8: 31]. 2nd Cor. 12: 9 tells us that even though we are weak in our humanity to be holy, God’s grace is sufficient to provide us with God’s power to be perfected in God’s holiness (see also 2nd Tim. 1: 7). And God doesn’t lie (see Num. 23: 19); so, we can expect that God’s Spirit will minister direction and conviction to lead us to holiness and the peace we will only find as we grow in Christlikeness [Hebrews 12: 11] …

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 12: 11 No discipline [from God’s Spirit] seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

And when I live holy, i.e., disciplined by righteous choices and reformed by righteous habits, I can sleep in peace, knowing that my life, though challenged by the enemy and the world, and even my own sinner’s heart (see Jer. 17: 9), is being lived in accord with God’s Spirit. And that produces the peace of God (see Isaiah 26:3 and Phil. 4: 6 - 7).

My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to be Holy. Amen

Blogger’s PS: I know that I’ve given any reader here a lot of Scriptures [some provided and others charged], all on which I had to meditate this morning as God brought me this devotional from John MacArthur. However, if you’re willing to take the time, as I did, to take in God’s word concerning His holiness in this entry, … certainly much more so than the thoughts I’ve shared, … perhaps you will come away with the peace of God to add to your positional and practical righteousness in Christ. … I certainly did this morning. I pray you will too. … wrb

February 7, 2011 … God’s Holiness Revealed

Passage of the Day: Psalm 145: 17 … The LORD is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made.

My Journal for Today: Today again we look at God’s primary over-encompassing attribute of HOLINESS. John MacArthur wrote this: “God’s holiness is evident in everything He does, particularly in creation, the law, His judgment, and through salvation.” In fact, all of the Old Testament proclaims God’s holiness, which was first made apparent in CREATION (see Genesis 1: 31), which reflected His perfect creative character. And then GOD’S LAW communicated His moral perfection to His people. So, we might say that God’s holiness and righteousness has been painted on the canvass of creation and codified and communicated in His Law.

But ultimately God’s holiness is manifest in the righteousness of His JUDGMENT against sin; and it becomes so readily apparent - in reverse - by the unholiness of His created and fallen creatures, both angels and men. As MacArthur puts it, “God’s holiness is so infinite, and our unholiness so great, that only the sacrifice of the God-Man could pay for the enormity of our sin.” And it was the provision of God’s Son, Who became the spotless, HOLY Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice, dying on a cross to satisfy God’s perfect holiness, which most clearly depicts God’s holiness to mankind.

Jesus was, and is, the Holy and righteous One (see Acts 3: 14 below) and we, the unrighteous ones, disowned him in disobedience. Only Christ could have been that perfect sacrifice to take away the sins of mankind (Heb. 9: 26); and He did so in mercy and grace, though we certainly deserved Him not.

SCRIPTURE: Acts 3: 14 … You [God’s sinful people] disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 9: 26 … Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Miracle of miracles … blessing of blessings! Our sins are washed clean; and we become sanctified to the position of holiness when we accept, in humility, God’s saving grace, … truly repenting of our sinfulness and receiving the salvation of Christ’s atonement … FOREVER! What a deal!

Holy is our God; and we are saved by His Holy desire that we be one with Him forever. We deserved nothing but Hell; yet, in my choice of receiving His grace, I, like Paul, a sinner of sinners, become Holy in the eyes of God. It is incomprehensible … but true! … HALLELUJAH!!

My Prayer Today: To be and become holy is my desire, Lord, as You shape me into Your image. Amen

February 6, 2011 … God Is Holy

Passage of the Day: 1st Samuel 2: 2 … [see highlighted verse, bold/underlined] 1 Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in Your deliverance. 2 There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God.

My Journal for Today: Today’s passage is the prayer of Hannah, who has just dedicated her newly born son to the God, in Whom she placed all her trust. In this prayer she declares, “There is no one Holy like the Lord.”

There are many scholars, like John MacArthur in my devotional, Strength for Today, who feel that HOLINESS is God’s most significant attribute. In Isaiah 6: 3 and Rev. 4: 8, we read of visions of Angels crying out to God, “Holy, Holy, Holy!” Moses sang of God’s holiness (see Exodus 15: 11). With a little study on the matter, it is my understanding that the Hebrew word for “Holy” comes from the concept of “separation;” and God’s holiness certainly separates His character from all other created beings. We certainly know that angels can be less than holy, because Satan was a created angel; and he took one-third of the angels into the eternal separation of unholiness with him. Mankind was created holy; but we certainly are less than holy in our humanity now.

In my humble estimation, God’s holiness is the characteristic which most separates Him from our human frailties, making God, especially in the Person of Christ and His holiness, the anti-sin standard. As MacArthur puts it, “[God] does not conform to a Holy standard; … He IS the standard!”

MacArthur, in today’s Strength for Today segment, goes on to discuss how God’s holiness becomes what we see in His righteousness. In other words, holiness is the attribute (i.e., God’s standard) and righteousness becomes the manifestation of that attribute. David wrote of how we perceive God’s righteousness in Psalm 71: 19 – NIV).

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 71: 18 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, You Who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You?

Unfortunately, however, many Christians have either ignored or humanized God’s holiness and His standard of righteousness, using the world or our own fleshly aspirations as our mark of achievement, rather than God’s holiness as The Mark, … personified in Christ. Hence, we see Christians with the same divorce rate as non-Christians; and closely related to my life and ministry, we see so many Christian men, even Clergy and church leaders, “falling,” by choice, into sexual sin. Let’s face it! If we truly knew, believed, and felt how a Holy God despises sin, we would confess it, forsake it, and seek desperately to walk worthy of a Holy God (again read and meditate on Eph. 4: 1, which was the focus of my devotionals in January).

Today, as I’ve meditated on this [as I pray that you have], and I’m deeply convicted of where I stand, … separated as I am from God’s standard of holiness. But I will not wane from my aspiration toward righteousness, recognizing the truth of 2nd Cor. 12: 9 … that God’s grace is sufficient … and His enabling grace allows His strength to be mine as I move in my own desire for His holiness and righteousness.

My Prayer Today: O, my Lord, You are so Holy; and only through Your grace can I achieve Your standard of righteousness. Amen