20-20 Blog

Today’s Bible Reading: Lamentations 3; Lamentations 4; Lamentations 5; Revelation 15 (The Message)

Scripture Focus:

Lamentations 5:22 Bring us back to you, God—we’re ready to come back.
Give us a fresh start.
As it is, you’ve cruelly disowned us.
You’ve been so very angry with us.

Observation:

The chapters I read today in Lamentations and Revelation are full of God’s wrath. We don’t hear much about God’s wrath in sermons these days. It’s not really a popular subject, but it is true, none-the-less.

There comes a time, after God pleads over and over and warns us over and over, that his justice prevails, and his anger with sin takes action, but always—until we die, God is ready to receive us back, to completely forgive and restore our relationship with him, to give us a fresh start.

Application:

What am I doing that is breaking God’s heart? Am I living a life that brings God pleasure or makes him angry? If I’ve drifted away, I can ask God to bring me back. I can ask him for a fresh start.

Prayer:

Father God, give me a fresh start today. Give me a heart that willingly follows hard after you!

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Today’s Bible Reading: Jeremiah 50, 51; 3 John 1

Scripture Focus:

Jeremiah 51:5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah,
By his God, the LORD of hosts,
Though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.”

Observation:

In the previous chapters we read about how God was using Babylon to punish his people for their sin, after years of pleading with them to repent. Even though God punished Israel and Judah, it was not with the purpose to abandon them, but to redeem them.

Application:

This verse gives hope to the vilest offender of God’s justice, and it gives hope to me, when I struggle to live a truly righteous life before God. If God must punish, it is for the purpose of redemption.

As Hebrews 12:8 & 10 says, “If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. . . God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

Prayer:

Father, may I not chafe against your discipline, but learn from it.

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Today’s Bible Reading: Isaiah 60, 62, 62; John 1

Scripture Focus:

Isaiah 60:16 You shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Isaiah 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

Observation:

I’ve noticed that Isaiah uses the word Redeemer a number of times in his book. Today it particularly jumped out at me. When something or someone is redeemed, it means it was lost or somehow off track from it’s original purpose, but is now restored.

God is in the business of redeeming me when I get off track. He gives me beauty for ashes, the oil of joy in place of mourning, and the garment of praise to replace a spirit of heaviness.

The ultimate redemption, of course took place on the cross, where Jesus performed his greatest act of redemption, allowing me back into the family of God, the place I truly belong.

Application:

I have received the ultimate redemption from my sins, and I’m part of the family of God. Will I let God redeem other areas of my life as well? Where things have gotten out of wack (work overtaking life and degenerating into workaholism, for example) will I let God bring redemption?

Prayer:

Father God, may it be so! I’m ready for the beauty, joy, and praise that comes as a result of your redemption!

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Today’s Bible Reading: Jonah 1, 2, 3, 4; 2 Timothy 2

Scripture Focus:

Jonah 4:10–11 But the LORD said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

2 Timothy 2:8–10 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Observation:

There is such a difference between Jonah’s view of the lost and Paul’s view. Jonah didn’t want to preach repentance to Ninevah and did his best to avoid God’s command to do so. When God made it clear that he wasn’t going to let Jonah off the hook, Jonah did preach to Ninevah, but he wasn’t pleased when the people of Ninevah repented, and God had mercy on them.

God demonstrated that Jonah was more concerned about his own comfort and reputation than he was about the lost, and he reminded Jonah that he is a God who has pity on the lost.

Paul, on the other hand, was so concerned for the lost, for the ones who didn’t yet know God, that he was willing to sacrifice his own comfort and even be taken prisoner for the sake of spreading the gospel, that he might lead the lost to salvation through Jesus Christ.

Application:

God wants me to be concerned for the lost. I’ll admit, this isn’t an area where I shine. I must ask God to give me his love for the lost. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Prayer:

Father God, You gave your only Son for the lost. Please give me your love for the lost.

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Today’s Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 18; Psalm 56; Matthew 27

Scripture Focus:

Matthew 27:27–31 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

Observation:

This Bible portion, though familiar from reading it many times, never ceases to horrify me. How horrible it must have been to be given over to the mob, so to speak. In this case, it was a troop of soldiers. This was only part of what Jesus endured as he willingly sacrificed his life for me.

Application:

How can I respond to such sacrifice? My heart fills with gratitude and my momentary afflictions are put into proper perspective.

Prayer:

Abba Father, thank you for sacrificing your only Son that I might have eternal life.

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Today’s Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 3031; 1 Chronicles 10; Matthew 12

Scripture Focus:

Matthew 12:18, 21
“ Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles…
And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

Observation:

At this point in the game, the disciples had no clue that God intended to include Gentiles (anyone who wasn’t Jewish) in his plan of salvation. Jesus quotes this scripture from Isaiah 42 that says as much, but somehow, it hadn’t sunk in. Later, in Acts, the apostles are astonished when they realize that God had poured his Spirit out on the Gentiles also.

Application:

When I see a passage like this I feel a deep sense of gratitude that God included me. Wow! What if he hadn’t?! I can’t even bear the thought!

Prayer:

Abba Father, all I can say is THANK YOU!

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Today’s Bible Reading: Leviticus 7–9; Acts 15

Scripture Focus:

Acts 15:10–11 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.

Observation:

I read this morning in Leviticus about the rituals of the Mosaic Law that were necessary to atone for the sins of Aaron and his sons, the priests, and for the people of Israel. Then I read this verse in Acts where Peter affirms that the Mosaic Law was a burden no one could ever fully keep and contends for the efficacy of Jesus’ atonement on the cross—that it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we are saved. As Paul says, the law was a “schoolteacher” to bring us to Christ.

Application:

I’m so grateful I don’t have to keep the Mosaic Law! I’m grateful that the grace of Jesus saves me from my sin!

Prayer:

Abba Father, I walk in your grace today with a grateful heart.

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Today’s Bible reading: Leviticus 4–6; Acts 14

Scripture Focus:

Leviticus 5:5-6 And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.

Observation:

Leviticus 4–6 is all about atoning for sin. Sin is wrong and must be punished or atoned for, and God graciously provided a way of atonement through animal sacrifices. I can look at this now, removed from it by centuries, and it seems incomprehensible. Oh, the blood and gore of it all! Oh, the innocence of the animals!

But that is the point. Sin is abhorrent and cannot be tolerated by a holy God. Would we say of a child molester and murderer, “Oh, well. Let them go. To each his own.” Never! Justice must be done! What I tend to forget is that ALL sin is abhorrent to a holy God. My sin is abhorrent and real and must be atoned for as well.

When Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, it was bloody. It was dreadful. Oh, the innocence of the Lamb of God! But it was necessary to atone for the sins of the world . . . for my sins.

Application:

It was for my sin that Jesus died. That is why I confessed my sins when I first came to Jesus, and that is why I John 1:9 says we are to continue to confess our sins. God will forgive our sins—because the price has already been paid for them by Jesus.

Prayer:

Abba Father, thank you for making the ultimate, bloody sacrifice for my sins. With a grateful heart, may I walk in holiness today.

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Genesis 37–38; Psalm 7; Luke 15

Scripture Focus:

Genesis 37:26–27 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.

Genesis 38:15–16 When Judah saw her (Tamar) he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”, for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

Luke 15:1–2 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him (Jesus) to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Observation:

We see the original character of a man whom God would later choose to be the direct ancestor of Jesus. Judah callously proposed that his brothers sell Joseph into slavery, and he consorted with a woman he thought was a harlot.

Judah is a lot like us. He has baggage—sin in his life that needs to be forgiven, an attitude that needs humbling. Jesus was comfortable with people like Judah. People like Judah were drawn to Jesus. But the current religious establishment did not approve.

Application:

The church (of which I am a part) needs to be more like Jesus and less like the Pharisees. After all, we all need God’s forgiveness. We all must bow our prideful ways before our Lord. So why should I look down my nose at anyone else? If sinners are comfortable being around me, perhaps they will see God as the one who can take their life and turn it around—just like he did for Judah. Just like he did for me.

Prayer:

Abba Father, may I be the kind of person who a) sinners are comfortable being around, and b) gives sinners a glimpse at what they can be when they give their lives to you.

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