God Blesses Perseverant Faith

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Monday, March 23, 2009
Devotions: Ps 89; Jer 16:1-21; Rom 7:1-12; Jn 6:1-15

I will sing of Your steadfast love forever, my God! You keep Your covenants. You are awesome and terrible. You are Sovereign. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your reign; You are surrounded by steadfast love and faithfulness. You are my Shield and my Glory! You established and sustained the house of David, and sent Your Son Jesus through that lineage. You punish the sins of Your own, but Your love abides and You are faithful to keep Your promises. In times of struggle, I will abide in faith and wait for Your mercy to be manifest to me. Blessed be YHWH for ever!

God directed Jeremiah not to marry or have children in Jersualem, since the city was under God’s curse. He had removed His peace and protection; all would die, great and small—no feasting and no mourning would be allowed. There would be no weddings, no births, no ongoing life. All this resulted from generations of unfaithfulness and idolatry by the people, with stubborn refusal to repent or to obey God. Exile and death follow from willful rebellion against our God. Yet, even before exile began, God had planned and promised to bring His remnant home from their Diaspora. God longs for His people to be faithful, so He can bless them!

Paul continues his exposition: Understand that the law is binding only for the living. When we die to the law through faith in Christ, we are discharged from the law’s supervision. Law enables us to recognize sin—including our own transgressions; when the commandments came, sin was strengthened, and we were as good as dead in our sins. The Law and Commandments are holy, but unattainable for mortal sinners. Sin is wicked and kills; and we are soaked in sin. I don’t know why I keep sinning when I want to do what is right! I can will the good, but I cannot do it. My flesh is ruled by sin; I cannot deliver myself. But thanks be to God, Who delivers me through Jesus the Messiah our Lord!

On the east side of the Sea of Galilee, near Passover, Jesus went up a mountainside and sat with His disciples. A great crowd came to Him there, and Jesus said to Philip, ‘How are we to buy bread to feed these people?’ (Though Jesus already knew what He was about to do.) Philip answered, ‘Half a year’s wages wouldn’t buy enough to give even a morsel to each of them!’ Andrew spoke up: ‘There’s a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are those among so many?’ Jesus directed the disciples to have the crowd sit—five thousand men, plus women and children. Jesus took the bread and fish, gave thanks, and began to divide and distribute them. When all had eaten their fill, the disciples gathered up the leftover fragments--twelve basketfuls! And the people concluded that Jesus was the Prophet Whom Moses had foretold and Whom the people had long awaited. Perceiving that the crowd would try to force Him onto Israel’s throne, Jesus withdrew alone, further up the mountain.