Category: hope

Lift Up Your Eyes

New Testament Reading:  Mark 9

Psalms Reading:  78

*Old Testament Reading:  Isaiah 39-40

Do you not know? Do you not hear?  Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?   – Isaiah 40:21 (ESV)

Since we are covering a couple of chapters at a time in the Old Testament, there is a lot of information to consider every day.  Today, chapter 39 tells of a good man doing a bad thing.  King Hezekiah shows all his wealth to the king of Babylon.  King Hezekiah was trying to impress the envoys from Babylon.  He was enjoying the recognition, honor, flattery, and praise from men.  It seems that Hezekiah’s pride made him unable to see the destruction that could come from doing such a thing.  Isaiah tells him plainly in verses 6-7, Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 

Hezekiah started out as a godly king.  He was given a gift of an additional 15 years of life (see Isaiah 38).  Sadly, he did not use those extra years wisely.   Instead, he became proud and focused on himself.  Something to take from this chapter is that it is how we use our time that matters in the end. 

Beginning in chapter 40, the rest of Isaiah is largely a message of comfort.  Isaiah prophesies about John the Baptist, Jesus, and the reward he will bring.   Isaiah reminds us that God is our Creator and that His creation makes Him evident.  Verses 25-26a say, “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.  Lift up your eyes on high and see:  who created these?”  We need only “look up”; to consider there is a God who designed and created everything.  We are told he is mighty, strong in power, everlasting, and does not faint or grow weary. We need to know that about God.  This is also sound advice in general.  To “look up” is to take our eyes off of ourselves.  When we “look up” at God and what He created (this includes other people) we put ourselves in a position to see how God can use us. 

Then Isaiah turns the message a bit, from telling us how powerful God is to telling us that God will give us power and strength.  To whom does he offer these?  To those who “wait for the Lord” (verse 31).  I am not a scholar; I haven’t taken Hebrew or Greek.  I don’t usually get caught up in words, but in studying this passage, I found this word study very interesting.  The word wait in the English language is passive.  Apparently, the Hebrew language has about 25 words for wait.  The one used in Isaiah 40:31 is qavah (kaw-vaw).  Qavah means to wait actively with anticipation or to look eagerly for.  It is sometimes translated as hope.  It is impossible to wait on the Lord without hope. 

Amy Blanchard

Reflection Questions

  1. What does “to wait actively with anticipation” look like for you at this stage of your life?  What are you waiting (hoping) for?
  2. Lift up your eyes; look for God in everything around you.  What/Who do you see? 
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Stuck in the Muck

Old Testament: Isaiah 21 & 22

* Poetry: Psalm 69

New Testament: Mark Intro – found below

The Minnesota Church of God General Conference has campgrounds located on a peninsula.  It’s the setting for various church events throughout the year including baptisms and conferences.  One of those has been a summer camp.  I have fond memories of that camp, and since it’s on a lake there’s always some swimming involved.  If you end up touching the bottom of the lake while swimming, you’ll find it’s very muddy.  Once it grabs on it doesn’t want to let go. 

When reading Psalm 69, this is what came to my mind regarding the first few verses.  David is talking about muck and deep waters.  In this case, David is relating the waters and the muck where there is no foothold to his enemies and those who hate him, how he is surrounded by them.  He goes on throughout the passage to illustrate this over and over again.  There is powerful imagery used, like in verse 21, “They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”  He’s talking about how he feels surrounded and just how bad it is for him, tribulation after tribulation.

Yet in the midst of this, the last part of the Psalm is about praising God. Verse 29 marks the change, “But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.” He even thanks God.  He sets a great example here of being thankful in the bad times, not just the good, as it’s so easy to do. And to bring it back to the mud and water, it can be easy to drown in this sludge.  To be overwhelmed.  That moment when it all hits and you almost feel lost.  But let’s take a page from David here and turn to God in those situations. God should be the rock upon which you build your life so when the water is all around, you have a foundation. 

So, to wrap this up: when you’re in a spot like David, and that could be right now, you may be be afflicted, hurting and overwhelmed, but God will secure you. 

-Philip Kirkpatrick

Reflection Questions

  1. When have you felt the most stuck? Did you turn to God for salvation? If so, how – and how did God respond?
  2. What can we learn from David in this psalm?
  3. What will you do next time you are feeling overwhelmed or stuck in the muck?

Mark Introduction


The gospel of Mark is thought to have been written by John Mark, a companion of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25), and a close associate of Peter (1 Peter 5:13).  Mark’s testimony about Peter is especially vivid, supporting the belief that Mark wrote Peter’s account of Jesus’ ministry.

Mark is the shortest gospel.  It contains less of Jesus’ teachings than do either Matthew or Luke, focusing on what Jesus did rather than what He said.  It is speculated that Mark wrote his gospel while in Rome to encourage Christians persecuted in Rome under Nero.

Mark starts his gospel by saying this is the beginning of the gospel (good news) about Jesus the Messiah, the son of GOD.  But several times in Mark’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to not tell who he is (or tell about some of the miracles he did). Also, Mark repeatedly pointed out that the disciples didn’t understand many of Jesus’ teachings – which helps us relate to the disciples.

-Steve Mattison

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“Ain’t No Grave…”

Theme Week: Review of Paul – Philippians 3

Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 4-6

Poetry: Psalm 51

            “There Ain’t no grave, gonna hold my body down. There ain’t no grave, gonna hold my body down.  When I hear that trumpet sound, gonna rise right outta the ground. There Ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down.”  I love hearing Johnny Cash sing that song with his old, gravelly voice.  He recorded it not long before he died.  I imagine he was thinking a lot about death at that point in his life.  Most old people do think about death.  And most young people I know don’t think much about death.  We all know vaguely that we are mortal and that one day, somewhere far down the road we will have to face our own death, but we usually try to distract ourselves from the reality of death by thinking about other things.  In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker wrote: “Modern man is drinking and drugging himself out of awareness…”. I think that’s pretty accurate.

            Personally, I never thought much about my own death until I was diagnosed with cancer 7 years ago (I’m still here).  Cancer doesn’t automatically mean you are going to die, in fact, the majority of people with cancer do not die from cancer, at least not right away.  There are many treatments to delay or send many cancers into remission.  But I can tell you from experience when you hear the word cancer it does make you at least think about death, not just as a remote possibility but as something that you will actually have to experience someday.  I imagine an accident or other near-death experience will do the same thing.  PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) can be caused by exposure to death or fear of dying.

            People deal with the fear of death in a variety of ways. One approach goes back to the time of Epicurus 300 BC who taught that there was no judgment or afterlife.  When you die you simply cease to exist.  There is no future reward beyond this life, and there is no fear of future punishment.  Modern day atheism has embraced this approach to death.  Another common approach to dealing with death is the denial of death by believing in the natural immortality of the soul.  We are all immortal by nature.  Our bodies die but our souls are immortal and when our bodies die our souls live on in another place like heaven or hell or come back in another form, reincarnation.

            The Apostle Paul offers a third, biblically consistent, and hope-filled understanding of death.  We are mortal by nature, not immortal.  Death is a reality, but it does not have to be the final reality.  In Christ there is the hope of the resurrection from the dead.  Just as Christ died and went to the grave and on the third day was raised from the dead (in the same way that Jesus had previously raised Lazarus from the dead) Paul hoped that in Christ he too might attain the “resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:11 NRSV). 

            Paul’s hope was that his savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who is currently in heaven will come and transform “the body of our humiliation” (Phil 3:21) into a glorious body like Jesus is today.  Paul’s term “the body of our humiliation” can also be translated as “of low estate” or even “vile”.  In my work at a hospital chaplain, I am daily acquainted with how our bodies suffer decay and corruption.  When people are sick the fragility of their bodies is exposed.  The fragility of Jesus’ body was also exposed in his crucifixion.  Ultimately, our fragile bodies will suffer disease, injury, and slow decay and we will die.  But our hope in Jesus Christ is that he will come again and raise our bodies up in glory, in bodies that are no longer corrupt and subject to death.   This is our blessed hope.

            For Paul there was a daily awareness that he had not yet arrived at the fullness of the resurrected body, that will only happen when Christ comes at the end of this age.  So for now Paul’s focus was to “press on” (Philippians 3:12) or “strain forward” (3:13).  It gives us the image of a runner keeping his eye on the finish line.  Paul is saying “keep your eye on the prize”.

            Paul contrasts this way of being with those whom he says live as though they were “the enemies of Christ”.  Their gods are earthly things (their belly or human appetites- 3:19).  Paul makes their end clear – destruction (3:19).  For Paul, humans are mortal, death is a reality that we will all face one day. For those who make themselves an enemy of Christ by rejecting him and making their own appetites their gods, the end is final destruction.  But for those who put their hope in Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead, their hope is to be raised up from among the dead to be transformed into a glorious body like Jesus has been transformed into at his resurrection.  A body that is not corruptible and cannot die.  They will be clothed in immortality by Jesus upon his return from heaven.

            I hope that you, like Paul and like me and countless other believers, trust in Jesus Christ and keep pressing on to follow him.  Keep your eye on the prize.

            “There Ain’t no grave, gonna hold my body down. There ain’t no grave, gonna hold my body down.  When I hear that trumpet sound, gonna rise right outta the ground. There Ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down.”

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions:

  1.  What value can you see in understanding the reality of death and the hope of bodily resurrection at the return of Christ as opposed to the no hope of life after death or the natural immortality of the soul?
  2. Paul named those who were doomed for destruction as those whose gods were their belly/appetites.  What might you name as other appetites/gods of people today?  In what ways do pursuing those gods lead to destruction?
  3. What does the promise of resurrection from the dead reveal to us about God’s character and plan for the world?  What difference does that make in your life?
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Thirsty

Old Testament: Job 25-27

Poetry: Psalm 42

New Testament: Titus Introduction, below


“As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God;”

Psalm 42 starts off with a piece of beautiful imagery.  The writer of the Psalm compares himself to a deer who is thirsting for water.  Deer – like all living creatures – need water to survive.  However, deer may use the plants they eat as a supplement to the water they need, in order to lessen the amount of times they need to find a water source.  Most deer need to drink water daily, especially if they have been running around lots.  By the time a deer chooses to look for water, it is extremely thirsty.


In the comparison of the desire for God and a deer panting for water, we see a deep longing.  To want God as extremely as a deer wants water is incredible.  The author, by writing this, admits that he cannot live without God, just as a deer cannot live without water.  He is not saying that he would like to follow God some of the time when it is convenient, but instead is saying that he needs God every single day of his life.  Do you realize and accept that you need God every moment of your life to survive?  Are you looking for Him in your life as eagerly as a deer searching for a singular water source to get it through the day?


Further on in the Psalm, the author says, “Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him  For the help of His presence.”  He explains that he thirsts for God because of the help of His presence.  The author acknowledges that hoping in God is like a deer being refreshed with a drink of water.  Are you seeking after God and hoping in Him like a deer panting for the water?

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Reflection Questions

  1. Do you find yourself longing for God everyday?
  2. When you are thirsty for more of God what do you do, where do you go, what quenches your thirst?
  3. What do you do when your soul is in despair? Where do you find hope?
  4. How can you share God with someone who is thirsty?

Titus Introduction

Paul wrote the book of Titus to his mentee, Titus, Paul’s “true son in our common faith,” whom Paul had left in Crete to strengthen the new churches there and to appoint elders in every town.  Paul detailed the qualifications of an elder in Titus 1:5-9.

Paul reminded all Christians to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return (which Paul also called our blessed hope).  Paul also told Titus to remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, etc.

Finally, in Titus 3:9-11, Paul pointed out that Christians should have unity, where he said, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.   Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time.  After that, have nothing to do with him.  You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”

-Steve Mattison

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Restoration in God’s Time

Old Testament: Job 19-21

Poetry: Psalm 40

New Testament: John 20

There is an expression about starting a family that has passed down from one generation to the next that goes something like this: “If you wait to start having children until you’re ready, you will never have them.”  There is much truth in this.  While you can prepare for being a parent by accumulating wealth, knowledge, and supplies, no one can really be prepared to take care of a tiny, fragile human 24 hours a day without on-the-job training.  Being that my wife and I’s first experience of inexperience was with twins, we felt conservatively confident that we could manage it when we found out child three was going to be a singleton birth.  However, I wasn’t ready for what would happen prior to Violet being born.

As I mentioned in the first blog in this series, my health spiraled out of control a couple months ago, which culminated in a scary visit to the ER.  Out of all the doubts and worries that penetrated my mind, I wondered how I would be an effective father when my heart was beating rapidly and I couldn’t catch my breath putting my children in their car seats. God, why now? My Heavenly Father and I talked a lot about it, and He gave me peace in my restlessness. How I see it now.  He placed me there to deliver me.  He broke me then to prepare me for my present. He worked through the people around me to heal me for my growing family. His timing is always perfect, and I wish I always saw it this clearly.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” – Psalm 40:1,3

Throughout the course of this week, we have focused on Trusting God’s plan. He will most certainly take us where we need to go to align our steps closer to His.  It is possible we need to spend time in the desert to clearly focus on what God is calling us to. Sometimes, we need a season of mourning to remember His promise of the life to come. It could be that we need our possessions removed to see every good and perfect gift. God makes it clear He will deliver us, but He sets the schedule. He does not hang healing over our heads so we learn a lesson.  He helps us to see Him more clearly, and He uses both our struggle and restoration as a testimony to Him.  The words of Job ring true with this when he states, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. Yet in my flesh I will see God.” (Job 19:25-27)  While this speaks of a promise to come, literal restored men and women being with their God, we can also see God as He works in us in the seasons of feast and famine.

“‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’… Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!'” – John 20: 11, 16

God has promised to hear our cry, so why are we bemoaning? Why are we crying?  We don’t grieve like those who have no hope.  There is nothing that can be taken away that God cannot restore one-hundred-fold. Our Rabboni, Jesus Christ, is the firstfruits, and we will be restored like Him at the hour the Father has set.  We cannot accumulate enough wealth, knowledge, or supplies to be prepared  for every downfall or pitfall set before us, but in our dire circumstances, we can wait on the Lord for He will renew our strength in his perfect time.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. As part of your personal testimony, can you tell of a time God has used both your struggle and your restoration to draw you closer to Him?
  2. What does waiting patiently on the Lord look and sound like?
  3. From God’s word and/or from your own life, what have you learned about God’s timing?
  4. What has God shown you about Himself in your Bible reading today?
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Holding Fast to Hope

Old Testament: Job 17 & 18

Poetry: Psalm 39

New Testament: John 19

The world is filled with a great deal of uncertainty and challenges, much like a battlefield.  At many times, life is so filled with ambushes and snares that we should abide by the military mantra, “expect the unexpected.”  Consequently, if we live our lives dodging bullets and treating everyone like they are the enemy, we may survive but we aren’t following orders.  You can desert God’s plan and work on one of your own but the glory of God cannot be yours without taking his marching orders.  Whatever unforeseen opposition comes our way, we shouldn’t change our battle plan.  We have to expect the expected, meaning what we hope for does not change by any circumstance that is thrown our way.  Our hope only grows closer in these circumstances, and our faith brings clarity in tumultuous times.

“Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.” – Job 17.9

In the midst of Job’s trials and sufferings, Job speaks that the righteous are true to their pledge.  The same hope exists in times of peace and times of war.   However, when we are battle-tested and endure, our faith is made stronger, much like tree roots that dig deeper into the soil during a storm. There will be waves of doubt and despair that will combat our hope, but when we are firmly planted in the ground with a source of Living Water, there is nothing that can make us shakeable, to lose the fruit of the Spirit that we bear.

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” – Psalm 39:7

Conversely, in the fog of war, there is confusion.  The next step can seem unclear. In the midst of doing ministry, fighting off sin, or disciplining your children, we must look to the Lord. His solutions are not based in our fleeting circumstances.  His answers are not temporary solutions to momentarily cover our wounds. His resolution will be based in eternity.  Our hope is in the one whose hands hold the world. We are secure in seeking Him because He is unchanging.  He clears the fog and leads us by our faith and not our sight.

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” – John 19:30

We must always bear in mind that Jesus Christ completes this hope.  He believed, he hoped that His death on the cross would not only lead to resurrection for himself, but resurrection for us all who put our faith in Him.  He fulfilled the hope of so many who were looking for a Messiah in the Old Testament, and he completes the hope of us all who desperately need a Savior.  What a great hope is this that while we still struggle with our sins, Christ has already died for us as an offering, so we can be in His kingdom.  The cross defeats addiction.  The cross defeats abuse.  The cross defeats poverty.  The cross defeats shame.  The cross defeats sin.  The cross defeats every power in this age, including the enemy of death.  It is in the power of the cross that we have a hope, so we can march on with our banner held high proclaiming the hope that we have and instilling fear in our enemies.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. Where do you put your hope? How would you describe it to an unbelieving neighbor?
  2. What can someone who feels they are in a hopeless situation learn from Job, David and Jesus?
  3. What do you learn about God from today’s passages?
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Light. Will. Come.

Old Testament: Job Intro – found below

Poetry: Psalm 30

New Testament: John 10

Sometimes things are just hard. Life is not going our way. We’re feeling burdened, overwhelmed, or just plain sad. When we are stuck in the middle of these times, it can bring relief just to see the possibility of a light at the end of our dark tunnel. We don’t even have to see the light yet. Just knowing that it’s coming can lighten our load and bring a deep breath of hope.

I was talking with a friend recently who is feeling a lot of stress at work. My friend is doing her own job as well as another person’s job. When we talked, she told me that her company had posted the other person’s job and should be hiring to fill it soon. Even though her workload hadn’t changed, in that moment she felt a subtle lifting of her burden. The relief wasn’t there yet, but just knowing that it was coming gave her hope, and a boost to continue on until the relief actually showed up and she could go back to just doing her own job.

Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5b

Have you ever experienced insomnia? How about being up all night with a sick child (or sick self)? We’ve all been in those situations where we wish with every fiber of our being that morning would just arrive. And it does. Every single time.

Although some nights may be long and dark, joy will come again. The darkness may even get worse but God will meet you in your darkness and the light will come.

Life is not free of struggle or pain– not even for the most faithful servant of God. But in our pain and confusion, God is always with us, working for our good.

Isaiah 43:2 reminds us of that: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

It would be nice, wouldn’t it, if God promised that he’d take away all of our burdens? Snap his fingers and make everything sunshine and rainbows. The reasons why he doesn’t are probably many and accurate.

What he does promise us, though, is that not only will he be with us in the dark times (and as someone who is still afraid of the dark, that is no small gift) but he promises us that light will come. Let me say that again for those who need to let that sink in…

Light. Will. Come.

But even more than THAT, God doesn’t simply promise to give us peace at the end of the long, dark night. He offers dancing. Dancing!

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever. Psalm 30:11

Thanks, God. Thanks for being so kind to a dummy like me who, even though I know the morning always comes, still doubts…still fears in the darkness. And yes, thank you for asking, you may have this dance.

-Susan Landry

Reflection Questions

  1. Read Psalm 30 looking for how God is described and what He is doing/has done. Now re-read it and find how the Psalmist is responding. What image of God do you have after reading Psalm 30? What is your response?
  2. What is the darkest night/hardest struggle you have encountered so far? Are you still in it right now or have you already experienced some light/joy/and perhaps even dancing? How did you see God during the dark mourning – and also in the light morning?
  3. Who do you know who is stuck in a dark night right now and could benefit from hearing that the light is coming? How can you use God’s promises, His Word, and perhaps even this devotion to be an encouragement to this person? What/who can you also be praying for?
  4. After reading the Job Introduction below, how does it apply to today’s devotion?

Job Introduction

The Book of Job is about a righteous man named Job who remained faithful to God despite God allowing Satan to take everything from him except his life.  We don’t know who wrote this book, or even exactly when it took place.  Given Job’s age (he lived 140 years after the events recorded in the book), it’s likely Job lived around the time of Abraham, or possibly earlier.

In the first two chapters, we get a glimpse of one reason bad things happen to godly people – Job seemed to be a pawn in a cosmic battle to test Job’s integrity.  

Job had 3 “friends” who came to comfort him, but they were really more torment.  They consistently accused Job of hidden sins – otherwise, God wouldn’t be punishing him they said.  But Job consistently maintained his innocence.

Despite Job’s intense suffering, he maintained his belief in the resurrection, as is recorded in Job 19:25-27, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him, with my own eyes – I, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!”  (This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.)

In the end, God Himself confronted Job, and eventually blessed Job with twice as many possessions at the end of his life as he had before his downfall – including 10 more children.

This is a good example to show us that we don’t need to understand why bad things are happening, we must just remain faithful, no matter what.  Job also shows us that we can be honest with God when we are suffering and when we don’t understand why things are happening.

Finally, no matter what happens to you, may you, with Job, be able to say, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him, with my own eyes – I, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!”

-Steve Mattison

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I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In

Old Testament: Esther 1 & 2

Poetry: Psalm 26

New Testament: John 6

I wanted to focus on Esther chapters 1-2 today, since that section makes us think about some important and difficult things. If you’re not an adult, you will be soon, and reading the bible as an adult means you notice things that your younger, more innocent self didn’t notice. And once you notice things, you can’t un-notice them. Instead, you will have to think about them and try to sort them out. You could call them the “seriously-why-is-this-in-the-bible” moments, and the bible offers so many of them. I’ve found that you really get the value out of them if you awkwardly lean into them rather than ignore them. So let’s get uncomfortable for a few minutes.

The context is that King Ahasuerus is on the hunt for a new queen after removing Queen Vashti from her position for not obeying his command. He orders that beautiful young virgins be gathered up (by force) from his entire kingdom, and he would pick his favorite to be queen. This is basically an ancient version of “The Bachelor,” but the women had no say in whether they would participate or not. After going through a year-long intense beauty regimen (like a spa day, but for a year), each woman would have her turn to spend the night with the king. The morning after, she would be moved to a harem of concubines, to be called upon whenever the king wanted.

It is more than clear that when the women have their night with the king, his expectation is a sexual encounter. Given that the women have no say in this, they are essentially prisoners, and that makes the king, well, a serial rapist. Like so many kings we have heard about, this king is a tyrant and is abusive of his power. He is accountable to nobody, does what he wants, and treats people like things for his own gain. In this case, being a candidate for queen is not a privilege, it is a terrifying situation. Each of the women now belong to the king forever whether they like it or not. Not cooperating would probably mean death for them.

It is sometimes difficult to know what to do with an unpleasant passage such as this. It’s not the kind of thing that causes you to feel inspired or connected to God, but we’re able to learn something from it.

Beware of power. The king is a great example of how having power can corrupt you. When there are no checks or balances, and your word is the law of the land, you can have whatever you desire, even if your desires turn dark. Unfortunately, the church is not immune to this danger. There is something that tends to happen when a church becomes a mega-church and the pastor attains celebrity status. Narcissism takes over, and some pastors or leaders commit terrible abuses of people. We need to put systems of accountability in place to help prevent this. Also, we need to lean on the example of leadership that Jesus gave us. It was never about using power for his own advantage, but about serving people (see Philippians 2:5-8).

Do not take advantage of people. At one point in time it may have been culturally acceptable to own people as property. That time is long gone. There is a reason why the practice of slavery is illegal in every country of the world. Treating anyone like they are property or like they are worth less than you violates their status as the image of God. It is easy to love things and use people. Do the opposite. Love people and use things.

Real-life ethics are hard. The right path through our circumstances is not always clear. Esther faces some tricky ethical dilemmas in this story. Should she cooperate with the king, or should she risk harm or death and resist him? What would be more right? Should she tell the king about the plot to assassinate him? After all, allowing him to be assassinated could be a quick solution to some of her problems, but on the other hand, it could invite equal or worse troubles. Esther opts for the long game, telling the king of the assassination plot, which shows her loyalty and gains the king’s trust. Having the king’s trust proves to be crucial later on in the story.

There is hope. Esther is not in a great situation, but (spoiler alert) we know from the rest of her story that God is able to use her in powerful ways to bring about something good. This doesn’t mean that God causes the bad circumstances we find ourselves in, but he is always working to make the best of them. Partner with God in that mission.

-Jay Laurent

Hi, I’m Jay. I’m a nerd by trade and passion. I enjoy consuming, playing, and creating music whenever I can. I’m a big fan of books and coffee, especially together. My wife, Lauren, and I live in Illinois, and love to play board games, watch shows or movies, or go on a good hike together.

Reflection Questions:

1. What power do you have? What can you do to put checks on it so that you won’t abuse it?

2. What troubles are you going through? How might God be working in your life through (or despite) them? Who is God shaping you to be on the other side of them?

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A Man Attested by God

THEME WEEK: Death and The Kingdom – Acts 2
Old Testament: 1 Kings 15 & 16
Poetry: Psalm 123

Yesterday, we read about the resurrection of Lazarus. John actually structures the first part of his book (chapters 1-12) around seven signs that Jesus is the Messiah, with the power of raising Lazarus as the seventh. Peter points out that Jesus was attested to the people of Israel by God through those mighty works and wonders and signs. (Acts 2:22) However, while most commentaries talk about the seven signs, I would contend that the resurrection of Jesus himself is the eighth sign of his Messiahship. Acts 2:24 “God raised [Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

What an amazing verse! Not that Christ could struggle against and eventually overcome death, but that it was not possible for death to hold him. 

What an amazing savior! Christ had every right as the Son of God to rule as king and call upon legions of angels to defend him, but instead he chose to willingly submit himself to the plan of God. 

What an amazing God! God gave us a salvation through the death of Christ that we could never earn, and gave us a hope through the resurrection of Christ that is greater than any we could ever imagine!

Luke wrote Acts based on the eyewitness testimony of those who not only followed Jesus when he was alive, but saw him when he had been raised. God raised up Christ, and all these fishermen and tax collectors and sinners in Acts 2 experience in and participate in the miracle of new life through the Holy Spirit now. Because Christ has been raised to life and is at the right hand of God, we are able to praise him with the Holy Spirit speaking through us, extolling the greatness of our God and his Christ.  

If you want this new life that begins now to continue forever, you need to follow the commands of Peter in Acts 2:38 : “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” “The Spirit marks us as God’s own. We can now be sure that someday we will receive all that God has promised. That will happen after God sets all his people completely free. All these things will bring praise to his glory.” (Ephesians 1:14, NIrV)

What an amazing gift! The Spirit given to us through baptism is the teacher, guide, helper, and empower-er of the people of God so that we can do God’s will in the world. 

What an amazing promise! The Spirit guarantees that we will one day be raised from the dead, like Christ!

What an amazing Spirit, the power of God!

What an amazing Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord!

What an amazing God, The Father of Jesus, YHWH alone!

Amen!

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. Do we too often forget how amazing God’s plan and his words are? What do you find amazing in Acts 2?
  2. What does it mean to you that Jesus is the Messiah? What does it mean to you that death could not hold him?
  3. What is your hope?
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Promise Keeper

Old Testament Reading: Numbers 34-36

Psalms Reading: Psalm 75

New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 12

Looking here at the last three chapters of the book of Numbers, it can often be easy to gloss over it, and miss the bigger picture of what is happening. It is easy to look at this as just some boring passages about land being divided between the tribes of Israel. But when we look at the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) we are supposed to look at it all together as a whole. Really we are supposed to look at the whole Bible that way, as one continuous story that leads to Jesus, and the work that God did through him on the cross.

When we look at the Pentateuch we see that the land of Canaan is referred to as the Promised Land. The reason for that is because way back in Genesis, God promised Abraham that this land would belong to his descendants: “The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:8) And so as we look at the end of Numbers what we are seeing is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. This passage even goes so far as to show that God is providing a place in the land of Canaan for those who are guilty of accidental murder, and for a family of sisters, whose dad had died without any male heirs.

Nowadays we look at that last chapter and say, “Well of course those ladies should inherit their father’s land,” but in those days that was unheard of. In the days of the Israelite conquest of Canaan, the only people who could legally inherit land from their fathers were men. But God had promised to Abraham that all of his descendants would be part of that inheritance. And God keeps His promises.

I think that is a big takeaway for us out of this passage. We can be sure that God keeps His promises no matter what. In II Corinthians (which we will also finish tomorrow) Paul wrote “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (1:20) Just like it was surely difficult for God’s people when they were trapped in slavery for a few hundred years to hold on to the promise of freedom and a land of their own. And like it was most likely hard for the Israelites who were exiled in Babylon for seventy years to hold onto the promise of being returned to their home in Israel. In the same way it may have been difficult for Simeon to hold onto the promise that his eyes would see the Messiah before he died. In the same way, it is difficult for us today to hold onto the promises that God may have given us. But just like in all these stories and so many others in the Bible, God fulfilled all of His promises.

When we read passages like this, we shouldn’t just gloss over them, but instead celebrate with the people that God’s promises were fulfilled in their lives. And we should also remember that just as He fulfilled his promises for them, He will do the same for us. So if you are struggling with fear and doubt about whether something God promised you will happen and take place, take heart because God will never ever ever break a single promise that He makes.

-Jonny Smith

Reflection Questions

  1. What promises of God have already been fulfilled, both in Scripture and in your own life?
  2. What promises of God are you still expecting to be fulfilled? How sure are you that they will indeed happen? What should we do while waiting for them?
  3. Using what you have read in His Scriptures, how would you describe God?
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