Psalm 32:5
“I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”
Psalm 147:1-6
“1 Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.”
Psalm 139:23-24
“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”
Psalm 55:22
“Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.”
Psalm 23:1
“ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Psalm 107:7
“He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.”
Changing circumstances often causes the anxious believer to ask, “Why is this happening to me?” I looked for light, but darkness came; for peace, but faced trouble. I said in my heart, my mountain stands firm, I shall never be moved. Lord, You hide Your face, and I am troubled. Only yesterday I could read my title clearly; but today my evidences are blurred, and my hopes are clouded. Yesterday I could climb the mountain and view the landscape and rejoice with confidence in my future inheritance; today my spirit has no hopes, but many fears; no joys, but great distress.Is this part of God’s plan for me? Can this be the way in which God would bring me to heaven? Yes, it is even so. The eclipse of your faith, the darkness of your mind, the fainting of your hope--all these things are just parts of God’s method of making you ready for the great inheritance, which you will soon enjoy. These trials are for the testing and strengthening of your faith--they are waves that wash you further upon the rock--they are winds that steer your ship more quickly toward the desired haven.
What David wrote then will be true of you: “he brought them to their desired haven.” By honor and dishonor, by evil report and by good report, by plenty and by poverty, by joy and by distress, by persecution and by peace--by all these things your spiritual life is maintained, and by each of these you are helped on your way. Do not think, believer, that your sorrows are out of God’s plan; they are necessary parts of it. “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom.” Learn then, to “count it all joy...when you meet trials of various kinds.”
O let my trembling soul be still,
And trust Your wise, Your holy will!
I cannot, Lord, see Your purpose,
Yet all is well since it is ruled by You.
1 Peter 2:3
“...if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
“If.” Then this is not a matter to be taken for granted concerning every one of the human race. “If”--then there is a possibility and a probability that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious. “If”--then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it is necessary to ask whether we know the grace of God by inward experience. There is no spiritual favor that may not be a matter for heart-searching.
But while this should be a matter of earnest and prayerful inquiry, no one ought to be content while there is any such thing as an “if” about his having tasted that the Lord is good. A jealous and holy distrust of self may give rise to the question even in the believer’s heart, but the continuance of such a doubt would be an evil indeed. We must not rest without a desperate struggle to clasp the Savior in the arms of faith and say, “I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”
Do not rest believer, until you have a full assurance of your interest in Jesus. Let nothing satisfy you until, by the infallible witness of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with your spirit, you are identified as a child of God. Do trifle with this. Do not be satisfied with “perhaps” or “if” or “maybe.” Build on eternal truths; really build upon them. Let your anchor be cast into that which is within the veil, and see to it that your soul is linked to the anchor by a cable that will not break. Get beyond these dreary “ifs”; stay no longer in the wilderness of doubts and fears; cross the Jordan of distrust, and enter the promised land of peace, where the land ceases not to flow with milk and honey.
Psalm 119:47-48
47 for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
1 Timothy 6:17
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
Our Lord Jesus is always giving and does not for a single moment withdraw His hand. As long as there is a vessel of grace not yet full to the brim, the oil shall not be withheld. He is an ever-shining sun; He is manna in unfailing supply; He is a rock in the desert, sending constant streams of life from His pierced side; the rain of His grace is always falling; the river of His bounty is ever-flowing, and the wellspring of His love is a constant tide.
As the King can never die, so his grace can never fail. Everyday we pluck His fruit, and every day His branches bend down to our hand with a fresh supply of mercy. There are seven feast-days in His weeks, and as many banquets in His years. Who has ever returned from His door unblessed? Who has ever risen from His table unsatisfied? His mercies are new every morning and fresh every evening. Who can calculate the number of His benefits or value the extent of His provision? Every passing day we are the beneficiaries of a myriad of mercies.
The wings of our hours are covered with the silver of His kindness and with the yellow gold of His affection. The river of time bears from the mountains of eternity the golden sands of His favor. The countless starts serve as the standard-bearers of incalculable blessings. Who can measure the benefits that He bestows on His servant or recounts the extent of His mercies toward His own?
How shall my soul extol Him who loads us with daily benefits, and who crowns us with loving-kindness? O that my praise could be as endless as His provision. O miserable tongue, how can you be silent? Wake up, I pray, lest I call you no more my glory, but my shame. “Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn.”
Acts 13:38
“Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”
The believer in Christ receives a present justification. Faith does not produce this fruit later on, but now. So far as justification is the result of faith, it is given to the soul in the moment when it closes with Christ and accepts Him as its all in all. Are those who stand before the throne of God justified now? So are we as certainly and as clearly justified as those who have entered into the portals of heaven? The thief upon the cross was justified the moment that he turned the eye of faith to Jesus; and Paul, at the end of his life, after years of service, was not more justified than the thief who had no service at all.
We are today accepted in the Beloved, today absolved from sin, today acquitted at the bar of God’s judgment. What a soul-stirring thought! There are some benefits that we will not be able to enjoy until we enter heaven, but this is our immediate possession. This is not like the corn of the land, which we can never eat until we cross the Jordan; but this is part of the manna in the wilderness, a portion of our daily nutriment with which God supplies us in all our comings and goings.
We are now--even now--pardoned; even now are our sins put away; even now we stand in the sight of God accepted, as though we had never been guilty. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” There is not a sin in the Book of God, even now, against one of His people. Who dares to lay anything to their charge? There is neither speck, nor spot, nor wrinkle, nor anything remaining upon any one believer in this matter of being justified in the sight of the Judge of all the earth. Let our present privileges awaken us to present duty, and now, while life lasts, let us spend and be spent for our sweet Lord Jesus.
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
The Man Who Had Been Healed Did Not Know Who It Was | John 5:13
Years pass quickly for the happy and the healthy; but thirty-eight years of disease must have seemed like forever in the life of the poor impotent man. When Jesus, therefore, healed him by a word while he lay at the pool of Bethesda, the man was delightfully aware of a change. Even so the sinner who has for weeks and months been paralyzed with despair and has wearily sighed for salvation is very conscious of the change when the Lord Jesus speaks the word of power and gives joy and peace in believing.
The evil removed is too great to be removed without our discerning it; the life imparted is too remarkable to be possessed and remain in operative; and the change is too marvelous not to be perceived. Yet the poor man was ignorant of the author of his cure; he did not know this person, or the part that he played, or the plan that had brought Him among men. Hearts that feel the power of His blood may still be ignorant of His way. We must not be too quick to condemn men for lack of knowledge; but where we can see the faith that saves the soul, we must believe that salvation has been bestowed.
The Holy Spirit makes men penitents long before He makes them ministers; and he who believes what he knows shall soon know more clearly what he believes. Ignorance is, however, an evil; for this poor man was much tantalized by the Pharisees and was quite unable to cope with them. It is good to be able to answer our critics; but we cannot do so if we do not know the Lord Jesus clearly and with understanding. The cure of his ignorance, however, soon followed the cure of his infirmity, for he was visited by the Lord in the temple; and after that gracious discourse, he was soon declaring to all “that it was Jesus who had healed him.” Lord, if You have saved me, show me Yourself, that I may declare You the sons of men.
Jeremiah 29:4-7 | Missional Living
4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
If you are a Christian, then you are a missionary. That is, wherever you are you have been sent by God to be there whether it’s the job that you work or like many in this season, your neighborhood. I know that may not sound exciting, but it should be fruitful.
In today’s passage, God speaks to His people, who are in exile in Babylon, through Jeremiah by telling them that He has sent them into exile. In other words, God knows they do not want to be there, but they have been sent and He has not forsaken them. And because we believe that God is sovereign and nothing is outside of His control and knowledge, the season and place we all find ourselves in is where we have been sent.
So, how do we encourage missional living in a time of social distancing? When you read verses 5-7, God through Jeremiah walks through a couple of things concerning the investment of the city: buying houses, eating local, get married and have kids, and seek the welfare of the city. In a nutshell, what does this mean for the Christian today?
It means faithful presence. In a season of social distancing, what does it look like for you to be faithfully present in your neighborhood? Maybe it’s striking a conversation with your neighbor to check in on them or offering to buy groceries for them. Maybe it means ordering take-out once a week from your favorite local restaurant. This isn’t a missional strategy or the push for further effort. This is simply a call to be faithfully present where God has sent you.
Psalm 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Ephesians 4:13-16 | Community
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
During this odd and funky season that has been quarantine, one of the common topics of discussion has been on how to continue to create community within our church. Around the country, pastors and church leaders have been constructing creative plans to keep everyone connected or have provided unique avenues for community.
At Storehouse McAllen, we have encouraged our groups and pockets of community to be creative in how they connect, but haven’t provided many different avenues of connectivity. Here’s why: the method has changed, but not the message.
In other words, the context and avenue of community hasn’t changed, but how we engage (method) has. Currently, we have groups and friends meeting over Zoom, hosting virtual game nights, and connecting via old school phone calls more than ever. In today’s passage, Paul encourages discipleship in the context of community in five ways:
Unity: Unity does not mean uniformity so what is at stake is NOT the method, but the message.
Faith in Jesus: The reason we fight for unity is because of the foundation upon which we stand: the gospel. The gospel, then empowers and informs how our lives are shaped.
Knowledge in Jesus: Growing in our understanding of who Jesus is and what He has revealed to us through His word. If we grow in knowledge without community, we can become arrogant and proud. If we grow in community and relationships without knowledge, then we’re really a consumer of the church.
Speak the truth in love: Speaking the truth in love isn’t so that we can be right, but so that we would sanctify one another in the gospel. Our speech is seasoned with grace.
Love: Jesus demonstrates his love for us so that we might love like him. That is, He is intentional as he entered into our world, He is sacrificial and self-giving as he gave himself upon a cross, and He is active and not passive in His pursuit of us. Do we love in a manner that is intentional, sacrificial, and active?
When we disciple one another in community, we grow in our maturity. So, while the season is interesting, we’re not fully back in “reopening,” and the method of our gatherings have changed right now (they’ll continue to change), what does community look like for you right now? It requires the same intentionality that it did 8 weeks ago.
Identity | Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
In one of the Bat-Man films, before leaping into the unknown and saving Gotham City, Bat-Man tells a friend of his, “it’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” Now, I am one of the biggest Bat-Man fans out there and in all of my love, I must disagree with the caped crusader for two reasons. First, this philosophy is contrary to the teaching of scripture. Second, it is this kind of philosophy that has helped to develop an identity crisis since Adam and Eve.
The beauty of Galatians 2:20 is that the Christian’s identity begins with who Jesus is, what He has done, and who He says the Christian is. In other words, the work of the gospel teaches us that it is actually “who we are first that determines what we do.” Our identity determines our activity and the Apostle Paul is reminding us that identity in this passage.
In his book “Dear Son,” author and pastor Dave Bruskas explains that one of the first identities a child has is that of a son or a daughter. However, the identity of sonship is only affirmed by how the father loves their child. In the same way, our sonship is affirmed and shaped by the Father’s love for us in sending His son to die for sinners (Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10).
In a day where the cultural gospel lures and entices both non-believer and believers alike, we must be reminded that it is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone that we are who we are. While we are a forgetful people, it is all the more reason to anchor ourselves in the truth of the gospel. Where the world preaches and teaches “believe in yourself!” the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims and practices “deny yourself.” The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20 reminds the Christian that who you are has been determined by God’s grace for you.
Psalm 63:5-8
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Need of Jesus
O Most High,
In the way of your appointment I am waiting for you,
My desire is to your name,
My mind to remember you.
I am a sinner, but not unaware of my state.
My iniquities are great and numberless,
but you are adequate for my relief,
for you are rich in mercy;
the blood of your Son can cleanse me from all sin;
the agency of your Spirit can subdue my most powerful lusts.
Give me a tender and wakeful conscience that can convict me when I sin.
May I be consistent in conversation and conduct,
the same alone as in company,
in prosperity and adversity,
accepting all of your commandments as right,
and hating every false way.
May I never be satisfied with my present spiritual progress,
but to faith add virtue, knowledge, temperance, godliness, brotherly love, and charity.
May I never neglect what is necessary to constitute Christian character,
and needful to complete it.
May I cultivate the expedient,
develop the lovely,
adorn the gospel,
recommend the proclamation of Jesus,
accommodate myself to your providence.
Keep me from sinking or sinning in the evil day;
Help me to carry into ordinary life portions of divine truth
and use them on suitable occasions, so that
its doctrines may inform,
its warnings caution,
its rules guide,
its promises comfort me.
Need of Jesus
Lord Jesus,
I am blind, be my light,
ignorant, be my wisdom,
self-willed, be my mind.
Open my ear to grasp quickly your Spirit’s voice,
and delightfully run after his beckoning hand;
Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,
make it alive to evil’s slightest touch;
When Satan approaches may I feel to your wounds,
and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of your Word,
and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.
Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.
Your cross was upraised to be my refuge,
Your blood streamed forth to wash me clean,
Your death occurred to give me assurance,
Your name is my property to save me,
Through you all heaven is poured into my heart,
but it is too narrow to comprehend your love.
I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,
but your cross has brought me near,
has softened my heart,
has made me your Father’s child,
has admitted me to your family,
has made me joint-heir with you.
O, that I may love you as you love me,
that I may walk worthy of you, my Lord,
that I may reflect the image of heaven’s first-born.
May I always see your beauty with the clear eye of faith,
and feel the power of your Spirit in my heart,
for unless he moves mightily in me no inward fire will be kindled.
Psalm 84
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.