And the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

Numbers 18:8-24

And the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel. Numbers 18:20

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 18:8-24 - God continues to speak to Aaron, sharing with Aaron how the Levites will have charge over contributions given to Him by the people, and how God will care for the Levites in their role in the priesthood.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God entrusts the Levites to guard the sanctuary lest anyone come near or in and die (see also post yesterday and previous posts).  This is a great responsibility...and with it comes great accountability.  In all of this, God blesses and cares for those who serve God and His mission.  Yes, there is a sacrifice of time and talent but God provides and blesses those who serve. 
• What do we learn from the text about people?: So many serve the church tirelessly, most in ways that are less visible.  God wants those who serve the church to know that not only is this noticed but it is desired and acknowledged by God as good, and it will be rewarded now and for eternity.  We should serve and claim the promise that God is our portion, and that He will provide and bless us. 
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid grumbling and complaining about serving and following God.  Claim the promise that He will provide and bless us and others through our service.  Follow the example of Moses and Aaron to lead and serve the church.  Live life knowing that with great responsibility comes great accountability.  

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves...thank You Jesus for how You love, save, provide and bless.  I am not deserving of how you love, save, provide and bless.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them....According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Numbers 4:21-49

And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them....According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Numbers 4:26b,49

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today, 4:21-49, the Lord spoke to Moses and gave him instructions for a census among the sons of Gershon, Merari, and Kohath (from 30-50 years old) and then to give them duties for care of the tent of meeting.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: The tent of meeting (later tabernacle) is where the priest would meet with God and as such represented an important structure.  God provided for instructions with regard to care for the tent as a reflection of how Israel treasured Him as their God.   
• What do we learn from the text about people?: Similar to the tent of meeting, in today's church, many volunteer and serve behind the scenes with much detail as a reflection of their love and treasure of God.  God sees all of this and blesses those who serve in such ways based on the promise from Luke 13:30 that some "who are last will be first."  The focus should be to glorify God vs self and on eternal rewards.
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid focus on self.  Claim the promise that eternal rewards await those who put God first and self last.  Follow the example of Jesus who humbly took on flesh, suffered and died for all of humanity such that those who confess Him as Lord and Savior have live to the full now and for eternity.  Focus on glorifying God and treasuring Him above all, including self.  

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My Prayer: Father God You are awesome God worthy of all of my love, devotion, and service.  You save and bless beyond what I ever imagined.  I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

 John 12:20-26

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. John 12:25-26

I continue my study of John and today I focus on John 12:20-26,   Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God has a purpose and a plan for His Son Jesus and the Son is obedient to the plan, including the timing.  V23 reveals Jesus' obedience to the plan and the timing.  The plan itself is for Jesus to be glorified and on this Good Friday (April 3, 2026) this includes Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection three days later on Easter Sunday. The world does not see death as glory, so Jesus has to clarify v23 and vv24-26 do that by sharing that for those who believe in Him, their lives belong to Jesus and they must reflect the Light of the Son of God and must bring glory to Him (1 Corinthians 10:31). V24 first includes a warning a warning that if we don't die to self (see also Luke 9:23, Galatians 5:24), we remain alone - implying separation from God, including eternal damnation. But, if we do die to self and live for Christ, we bear much fruit for Him.  We must lose and hate our earthly life but live for Him as citizens of Heaven and His Kingdom - and we have this promise of eternal life. We must follow the example of Jesus losing His life and gaining glory for Himself...and we will be honored by the Father.     
• What do we learn from the text about people?: People may not express it as the Greeks did in v20 but all have needs and seek what only Jesus can provide - victory from sin and death in this world (forgiveness) and for eternity - salvation.  We should connect people to Jesus just as Philip and Andrew did with the Greeks in vv20-23.      
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We must avoid living for ourselves.  We should claim the promises of how faith and dying to self bears fruit for Him, provides eternal life, and honor from the Father.  We should follow the example of Philip and Andrew to connect others to Jesus.  We should follow Jesus - where ever He tells us to go.  We must live for Him.   

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love and save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

Mark 12:13-17

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. Mark 12:24-25

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 12:18-27.  Excerpts from the commentary's introduction and the second (of three) division (vv24-27):

• The title of the second division per the commentary is "The Perfect Plan for Heaven." 
•  "Jesus tells [the Sadducees] plainly that they are “deceived,” in error. Jesus accuses the theological elite of His day of error in their area of expertise! What they claim to know best, the Torah, they actually know least. And because they misunderstand the Bible, they also misunderstand God! Misinterpreting the Scriptures inevitably leads to a distorted view of God. It always leads to your god being too small and impotent to be the God of the Bible!"  
• "Jesus begins correcting them in verse 25. The world of resurrection is different from the world we live in. There is continuity, to be sure. I will be me, and you will be you, but we will live for all of eternity in an entirely new reality. In Revelation 21:1, it is called a “new heaven and a new earth.” Why? Because 'the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.'"  
• "Jesus addresses the Sadducees’ question. (1) There will be a resurrection. (2) There will be no marriage relationship as we know it in this life. (3) We will become “like angels,” probably in the sense that we will no longer procreate and we will never die. Therefore marriage will not be necessary, at least for that purpose."  
• "No one will be disappointed in any way when they get to heaven! No one will be deprived of one thing that is necessary for maximum joy, optimal happiness, and complete satisfaction. Our relationship with Jesus and with all of our brothers and sisters will be so intense and so filled with love and affection that all earthly marital bliss will seem shallow and small in comparison. Heaven is indeed God’s perfect plan for His children who have come to Him through His Son Jesus."

Scripture from 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1 and Philippians 3:20-21, Ephesians 2:19 comes to mind as further text to clarify an appropriate application after reading this text from Mark 12:24-25.  We should continue to persevere, endure and run the race has given us in this life with the ultimate goal of reaching Heaven where our true citizenship lies. See also 1 Corinthians 4:16-18.  

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My God, You are an awesome God that has already defeated death and sin so I have assurance the final victory is already won and can rest knowing this.  Thank You Jesus and thank You for the mercies You pour out for me daily that never cease, and of course for my salvation.  I am not deserving of such blessings and gifts.  My sin is great and it continues....daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?

Mark 12:13-17

And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not? Mark 12:14

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 12:13-17.  Excerpts from the commentary's second (of four) division (v14):

• The title of the second division per the commentary is "The Setup: Beware of Flattering Words." 
• We are warned about those who try and trap us by flattery - see also Psalms 5:9, Proverbs 26:28, 29:5. 
• From the text, "[e]ven though [the] flattery [of the Pharisees and Herodians] is insincere, what they say is actually true! And since it is true, He will not be snared by their words. His ego will not inflate; pride will not cause Him to lower His guard. No, Jesus, the “wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:30), will not be tripped up by the foolishness of men." 

Flattery can be used in good ways and in bad and here in the text the Pharisees and Herodians sought to us it for evil and we should be on guard for how this can occur for us.  Flattery does make us feel good and we may be tempted to be influenced into sin by those who flatter us.  As a general rule, as I posted yesterday, we must be alert to how Satan is real and "on the prowl."  We must be steadfast in our faith not be influenced into sin by flattery.  For example, we can rest on our identity in Christ - see also John 1:12, 2 Corinthians 5:17 and we should not be conformed to the world - Romans 12:2. 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that sent Your Son who was tempted in all ways but never succumbed to sin but even after living a perfect sinless live died on the cross so that I could have life now to the full and for eternity.  Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of such a gift - the greatest gift of all time.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.

Mark 3:31-35

For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. Mark 3:35

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on a commentary-assisted review of Mark 3:35, which is the text for the third division for 3:31-35. Excerpts from the commentary for the third division: 

• Pointing to Kent Hughes' commentary on Mark and referencing Christ's emphasis on being part of the family of God vs earthly bloodlines, the commentary shares 'this new family relationship is far superior, far stronger, far more satisfying, far more demanding, and far more dear than any human family relationship (ibid.). It is an eternal relationship that is marked by unshakeable grace, and those who receive such grace are marked by humble obedience.'
• The commentary then points us to Tim Keller's commentary where Keller compares v35 to the Prodigal Son: 'Jesus . . . is the true elder brother. He willingly brings us into the Father’s family at his expense. He died for us, he was plundered for us. We sit at the Father’s table dressed in Jesus’ clothes, with his ring on our finger. All through him. We must celebrate and live out the fact that we are members of a kingdom family, and it is all at the expense of our big brother, Jesus Christ. Do you live every day as if you are a member of God’s family, accepted and loved? Remember, a child in a family obeys not in order to be loved and accepted, but because he already is loved and accepted.'
• The commentary then points to scripture that highlights text on the topic of the "will of God:" Acts 13:22, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Ephesians 6:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:18, 1 Peter 4:2, and 1 John 2:17.  

The commentary then offers the following observations about the family of God and His will:

1. "We became children of God by spiritual birth, not by physical birth (John 3:1-8). 
2. No one is born a Christian. You become a Christian and a member of God’s family only by adoption (Romans 8:12-16; Galatians 4:4-7). 
3. Becoming part of the family of God begins when we receive and believe in Jesus, which is a sovereign work of His will, not ours (John 1:12-13).
4.  Doing the will of God gives evidence that we are part of God’s family (Mark 3:35). 
5. Those incapable of knowing and understanding the will of God are objects of God’s saving grace and mercy in Christ. People spend eternity in hell as a result of their conscious and willful acts of rebellion and disobedience against the revelation of God they have received, and those who are incapable of understanding God’s will cannot rebel in this way (see Deuteronomy 1:39; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-12). (For more on this, see commentary on Mark 10:13-16 and Akin and Mohler, “Why We Believe.”) 
6. Revelation brings responsibility. The more you know of God’s revealed will, the greater is your accountability. Punishment is not all the same in hell, and rewards are not all the same in heaven. 
7. In spite of sophisticated and even well-intended arguments, there is no biblical warrant or evidence that people will have an opportunity after death to believe in Jesus or that eventually all persons (and perhaps even demons) will be saved. Just as eternal life is forever, so is eternal death. 
8. If it were true that all will eventually be saved, evangelism would be unnecessary, and missions would be a waste of time, lives, and money.
9. Because the Bible promises that people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation will be in heaven at the throne to worship the Lamb (Revelation 5; 7), we rejoice in knowing that the family of God will consist of the 16,600-plus people groups scattered around the world, 7,000-plus of which are still unreached. It is the will of God that they hear and believe and that we go and get them for His glory."  

Confess your sins, surrender your heart and life to Jesus as Your Savior, and be adopted into His family! 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves me and who saved me - while still an enemy and hostile to You.  Thank You God for saving me and for adopting me into Your family.  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ...And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."

 Mark 1:21-22, and 27

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ...And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." Mark 1:21-22, and 27

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on a commentary-assisted review of Mark 1:21-22, and 27, which is the text for the first division of the text Mark 1:21-28. Excerpts from the commentary:

• The commentary urges all of us, believers or not, to see Jesus as absolute authority in our lives.
• "All of us have a source of authority in our lives that will determine how we think and live. For some it is reason—I live the way I live because I think. For others it is experience—I live the way I live because I feel. Still others rely on tradition—I live the way I live because we have always done it this way. Finally, someone might look to revelation for their authority—I live the way I live because God says so."
• For those who do see Jesus as their absolute authority, "we understand it to take the form of a proposition and a person—a written Word and a living Word. The written Word we call the Bible. The living Word we know as Jesus. One we love. The other we love and worship. The written Word points us to the living Word, and that One has the right to demand complete and absolute lordship in our lives. Why should Jesus have absolute lordship in your life? Mark 1:21-28 provides two of many reasons."
•  The first of these reasons - because of his teachings - is found in this first division vv21-22 and v27. 
•  "The people immediately saw a contrast between the teachings of Jesus and those of “the scribes.” The scribes, also called “teachers of the law,” were skilled in the exposition of the Torah, the law of Moses. This much-respected and celebrated group of scholars traced their origin back to Ezra (Ezra 7:6,11)."  The scribes were "greatly respected, "however, they stood in opposition to Jesus and His ministry. Jesus will not challenge the legitimacy of their office, but He will call out their legalism, hypocrisy, and pride."
• "Mark is careful to contrast the authority of Jesus with the scribes’ lack thereof (vv. 22,27). The scribes derived their authority from the “tradition of men” (see 7:8-13). By quoting the fathers of Judaism, they rested on the famous and respected teachers who had preceded them. Not so with Jesus. Like the prophets His authority came directly from God, His Father (1:11)."      

Jesus is the Son of God and He is the King of Kings.  He reigns over all of creation and over all matters - see Colossians 1:15-20.  He has complete providence over all the details of my life, and He knows everything about me, including my sin.  Despite knowing everything about me from before I was born, He came for me, dying on the cross to save me, loving me while I was an enemy and hostile to Him - as I was a slave to my sin.  He saved me from eternal damnation and gave me life to the full now and for eternity.  Amazing grace indeed!  I follow Jesus because He is the One True God and because His teachings - the Word of God, the Bible - is His Word for me to know Him and to know how to please Him. I seek to please Him because that is why we all exist - to bring Him glory.    

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves us and who is full of grace and compassion for us.  Thank You for my salvation and for Your Word that You provide for me to know You and to please You.  Thank You for the Holy Spirit that is with me and guides me.  I am not deserving of my salvation nor any of these blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Matthew 6:9

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 6:9

I continue my study of The Character of Jesus.  For this morning, I focus on chapter 24: The Reverence of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:

• "No analysis of the character of Jesus would be complete which failed to recognize his reverence."
• "We know what reverence is, and yet we stumble in trying to define it. It is respect, regard, esteem, and honor; yes, and it is more than these....The basis of reverence is respect or honor, but it is respect or honor working with unwonted energy. It is a deep movement of the soul. It is respect or honor squared and cubed. And then again there is an elevation in the word "reverence" which respect and esteem do not have. Reverence is respect and esteem moving at high altitudes. It is one of the loftiest of all the emotions of the soul, and that is why it eludes us when we try to capture it in the meshes of a definition. What is it ? It is homage and obeisance and devotion, yes, and something more. It is awe and fear and adoration; yes, but even these do not tell the full-rounded story. The fact is, reverence is a complex emotion, made up of mingled feelings of the soul. There is in it respect and also affection and also fear, and along with these an abiding consciousness of dependence."
• "The wise men of Israel were convinced that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Their effort was to make men conscious of the existence of a God of infinite power and wisdom and goodness. He was the High and Holy One who inhabits eternity, and is therefore not to be approached carelessly or thought of lightly."
• "God is majestic and holy and can be approached only by a humble and prostrate heart."
• "This fear of the Lord was mighty in Jesus. God was continually before his eyes. His soul was pervaded with the sense of His presence, and all that he said and did was bathed in an atmosphere created by this consciousness of the fellowship and favor of the Eternal. To illustrate this is not easy. Jesus' entire life is an illustration of it."
• "No matter what Jesus is saying or doing, we feel we are in the presence of a reverential man. Would you see illustrations of his reverence, read the Gospels! The earnestness with which he was always pleading for reverence in others is proof that in him reverence was a divine and indispensable possession."
• "Probably no other words in the Lord's prayer have been so frequently slurred and overlooked as "hallowed be thy name."
• "Jesus is careful to place this petition at the very forefront of all our praying. Unless this desire is uppermost in our heart we are not in the mood of prayer. If our first thought is of ourselves and not of God, then we are not praying after the fashion of Jesus. When he tells us to put this petition first it is because he always put it first himself. Any low or unworthy thought of God was to Jesus' mind abhorrent and degrading. Living always with an eye single to the glory of God, he urged men everywhere so to speak and act and live that others seeing their good works might glorify their Father in heaven."
• "His respect for men was due not to what men were in themselves but to what they were in the eyes of God. They were God's children and therefore no matter how poor or degraded, they were worthy of respect and honor. Any cruelty in word or inhumanity in action toward a human being caused the heart of Jesus to flash fire, because such treatment of God's children was in his mind an insult to God Himself."
• "His reverence for his Father made the whole world holy, and because of his adoration for the Creator he could not turn his back upon any created being. "Honor all men" was one of the earliest exhortations of the apostles. It had its roots running down into Jesus' immeasurable reverence for God."
• "[The temple] was the house of God. It was erected for God's worship. It was a shrine for the adoring heart. It was intended to be a solace for men's woes and troubles, the very gate of Heaven....Jesus believed in the worship of God....So long as the spirit of reverence lives the worship is meaningful and beautiful; but when the spirit disappears, then the worship becomes demoralizing and corrupting. The worship of the Pharisees had lost out of it the spirit of adoration. It was cut and dried, dead, mechanical, without a heart and without a soul, and therefore odious to God and all right-thinking men."
• "Reverence is beautiful and renders beautiful whatever form it chooses in which to express itself; but when reverence dies, then the forms of reverence become corpse-like and contaminate all who handle them."
• "The soul of Jesus was reverent. He found it easy to bend the knee. It was natural for him to look up. He looked into his Father's face, saying at every step, "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God!" Here, then, we have a virtue upon whose beauty we should often fix our eyes. We do not have as much reverence as we ought to have. We are not by nature or by training a reverent people. There are those who say we become less reverent as the years go on."
• "One finds this lack of reverence even in the church. In every community there are those who treat the house of God as they treat a street-car, entering it and leaving it when they please. Even habitual church attendants often surprise and shock one by their irreverent behavior in the house of prayer. Those persons are not ignoramuses or barbarians; they are simply undeveloped in the virtue of reverence."
• "Fear is one of the elements in reverence, and there is a popular impression that all fear is degrading. Fear is of two kinds, — there is a godly fear and a fear which is ungodly. The latter has terror in it and throws a shadow and brings a chill. But there is a fear which all unspoiled spirits feel in the presence of the high and holy."
• "If mortal man, stained and marred by sin, is not awed by the thought of a Holy God, it is because he has lost the power of feeling. If there is a fear which degrades and paralyzes, there is also a fear which cleanses and exalts. The fear of the Lord is not only a virtue to be coveted by men, it is a grace lacking which angels and archangels would be incomplete."
• "Reverence is the atmosphere of heaven. Let us come often then to the reverent Man of Nazareth who by his awe-struck obeisance to his Heavenly Father shames us out of our irreverence and makes it easier for the heart to kneel."

Indeed, the more one takes the time to read and earnestly study the Bible - not for academic purposes - but to search for Him and to hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6), there is no doubt that reverence for Him is the result.  The weeping prophet Jeremiah - speaking to disillusioned Israel in exile - delivers God's message sharing in Jeremiah 29:13 that "[y]ou will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." When you find God, You will inevitably drop to Your knees in worship in awe of Your creator, provider, and Savior.  Seek God.

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My Prayer: Father God, You are King of Kings and You do not need me.  Yet You loved me while still sinning and an enemy of You and You pulled me out of the pit, saving me from eternal damnation.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor any blessing You pour out for me.  My sin is great and it continues...every day.  Please forgive me.  Help me turn from, overcome, and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me live in reverent fear and awe of who You are.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.   

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Exodus 14:14

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

I continue my study of The Character of Jesus.  For this morning, I focus on chapter 15: The Firmness of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:

• "The majority of mortals are not strong enough to be themselves: they become echoes of their neighbors and walk in paths marked out by others. There is a spirit of the age which leaves its impress on every mind. Even the mightiest men cannot free themselves entirely from it."
• "But when we come to Jesus of Nazareth we are in the presence of a man whom nobody swerved or dominated, who is so free from the bias of his race and so clean of the spirit of his age that he seems to belong to all races and all ages. He is not the Son of David but the Son of Man, just genuinely, supremely human. He is not a citizen of the first century only, but the contemporary of each succeeding generation. Immersed in an ocean of mighty forces which beat upon him furiously through every hour of his career, he resisted them all successfully by the indomitable energy of a victorious will, living a life unique in its beauty and achieving a work unmarred by the limitations either of time or place. That he was not insensible to the dominant forces of his time, he himself has told us in the story of the temptation." See Matthew 4:1-11.
• "Who is a man that he should set himself against the expressed wish of a nation? Is it not through the people that God makes his wishes known, and what is it but egotism or insanity which would lead an individual to set his judgment against the judgment of the people ? This is the argument whose sharp edge many a leader has felt, and Jesus of Nazareth felt it too. Wherever he went he heard the people clamoring for a king, a king who should rise to supremacy over the wrecked empire of Caesar.  The nation was ripe for revolution. A word from him would, like a spark, have kindled a mighty conflagration. Expectations had been built up by men anointed by Jehovah, and these expectations were glowing hot, and how could Jesus hope to win the attention of his people or control the current of their life unless he fell in with their ideals and attempted to carry out the program on which their hearts were set? It was a great temptation, so terrific that he told his apostles all about it.  He assured them that in this temptation he had been wrestling with the very prince of infernal powers, but that notwithstanding repeated assaults he had come out of the conflict victorious. In choosing the road which led to supremacy by way of Gethsemane and Golgotha, he renounced the ideals of his countrymen and disappointed their dearest expectations, but so firm was he that the hosts of hell speaking through God's chosen people could not move him from his place. The nation hurled itself with frantic force against him, but he did not budge. He was the Rock of Ages. When we study his life with attentive eyes we see it was one long resistance to the forces of his age."
• "There were many reasons why Jesus should have conformed to the ideas and customs of the church, but he firmly resisted all the voices which urged him toward conformity, standing out alone in defiance of what the best men were doing and saying, notwithstanding his nonconformity seemed to the majority impiety and to many blasphemy. For a godly man to be classed among blasphemers is one of the bitterest experiences which the heart can know. But Jesus paid the price and continued firm."
• "Jesus could not be manipulated. He refused to be used. One party after another tried to work him into its scheme, but he was incorrigibly intractable and went on his way independent, unshackled, free. All the seductions offered by the men who sat on thrones could not swerve him from his course, and although his steadfastness made him enemies and finally nailed him to the cross, he was everywhere and always a man who could not be moved." 
• "Jesus could not be manipulated even by his friends. He had many friends in Nazareth, but he never gave up his principles to please them. They had their prejudices and superstitions, but he never surrendered to them."
• "The most tender and gracious and obliging of men is compelled to resist not only the prayers of his countrymen but the wishes of his family and friends. He stands like a rock in the midst of a troubled sea, and all its billows dash themselves against his feet in vain. There was something inflexible in his will, something granitic in his soul. When he found a man whom he thought worthy to be the first member of his church he called him "rock.  Are we to infer from this that it is the rock-like quality which is indispensable in the building of an institution which shall endure? It is certain that Jesus loved stability in others, and what he loved in others he had super-abundantly in himself. Firm himself, he loved men who could not be moved."
• "Salvation could not be offered to any one who did not endure to the end. It is in this tenacity of will that we find an indispensable element of Christian character. Men are to resist exterior forces and form their life from within. They are not to be swayed by current opinion, but by the spirit of the Eternal in their heart. They are not to listen to the voices of time, but to live and work for eternity. We like this steadfastness in human character, and we also crave it in God. Men have always loved to think of Him as the unchanging and the unchangeable, the one "with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning." And what we desire in God we find in Jesus of Nazareth."
• "From age to age he is about his Father's business, and in the midst of all nations and kindreds and tongues he goes about doing good." 

While the commentary provides ample evidence of Jesus’ firmness in scripture, the Holy Spirit guides me to additional examples in scripture of how we as believers must also be firm.  An unwavering faith – resisting temptations to either lack trust in God to provide and protect, or to act outside of God’s commands in the face of worldly temptations and persecution –  demonstrates firmness consistent with Jesus’ own character and what He commands and expects from us.  Two examples where firmness was not displayed - even among biblical heroes - was when Peter denied knowing Jesus upon Jesus' arrest (see Mark 14:66-72), and Abraham lying that Sarah was his sister (see Genesis 20:1-2).  Believers know that temptations will arise and that the only way to battle these temptations is with the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20).  Exodus 14:14 tells us to be "still" or "silent" and to trust in God vs falling prey to temptations where we seek to take things into our own hands (acting outside God's counsel). Philippians 1:27 and Romans 12:2 urge us to stand firm in our faith and not to conform to the patterns of this world - instead we are to be transformed by the renewal of our mind so that we know God's will for us. 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and is always there with Your Word, the Holy Spirit, brothers and sisters in Christ and more to help us to be firm and from falling prey to the patterns of this world.  Thank You Jesus for the full armor of God.  I am not deserving of how richly You save and bless!  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.