Holy Living in Unholy Times

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that label.

Friday, March 13, 2009
Devotions: Ps 69, 73, 95; Jer 5:1-9; Rom 2:25-3:18; Jn 5:30-47

Lord, I’m in deep waters; please rescue me, God! I’m wearing down under a lot of pressure. You know my sins and follies—I know I’m not faultless. But I believe in You, Lord, and I pray You won’t let others be harmed because of my shortcomings. Let me be filled with zeal for Your kingdom. At an acceptable time, O God, answer me in the abundance of Your steadfast love; rescue me from the mire and deliver me from my enemies. Let me see Your face and hear Your voice. I struggle against despair, knowing that it does not honor You. Let Your indignation fall upon those who ignore or dishonor You; let Your salvation elevate me to a safe place above the fray. I praise the Lord, Who hears and blesses the needy; we will prosper in God’s holy homeland. Keep me from envying the prosperous wicked, at ease while others languish. This attitude makes me stupid, God, and I need my wits about me to cope with the troubles of these tough times. There is nothing on earth that I desire besides You; God is my Strength and my Portion forever. I will abide in You, my God. Let us sing to God our Rock and Savior! We come to You, Lord, with thanksgiving and songs of praise. All creation is Yours, and we are Your flock. I kneel before God my Shepherd and offer myself to God’s service.

Jeremiah searched hard for anyone who sought truth and acted justly—but he found none among the small or great, poor or prosperous. They all faced dire consequences for their apostasies! God wants to pardon and deliver, but fools and sinners give Him no opportunities to exercise His mercy.

Paul continues his discussion relating law and grace: Outward circumcision matters for those who keep Torah. But circumstances are more dire for professed believers who sin—it is behavior and character, not ritual pieties, that matter. In any case, no one (but Jesus) has kept the whole law! Heart circumcision is the operation that saves. The Jews have great, unique blessings—entrusted with God’s oracles, blessed by His selection and protection. But both Jews and Gentiles are under sin’s power, and everyone needs deliverance through grace by faith in Jesus the Messiah. The key to salvation is fear of God, reflected in volition and action, not ethnic identity or ritual conformity.

Jesus proclaimed: ‘I can do nothing on My own—all I say and do, I receive from my Father in heaven. He is my Witness, alongside the mighty works He enables Me to accomplish. John the Baptizer also testified for Me; recall how you honored him. However, My testimony is greater than John’s affirmation—look at what I have done among you! If you truly believed in God, you would honor and revere Me, Whom God has sent to you. When somebody comes to you in his own name, you gladly receive and honor him; but I come in the name of your God, and you reject Me. In the final judgment, your accuser won’t be Me; it will be Moses, whom you claim as your authority and the source of your faith and hope. He wrote about Me; and since you won’t believe his writings, how can you believe My words?’