January 1, 2012
Scripture:
It would be appropriate to read a verse in Revelation 1. I’d like to read v.5: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved [or loveth] us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,” This is like the Hebrew slave saying, “I love my master [God], I love my wife [the Church], I love my children [the Saints], I will not go out free.” This part is hard to grasp: by not going out free, He had to go to Calvary to a death of pain and suffering, but also of shame and ignominy. “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” With our sins taken away, He has done this: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Hymn 350 - I will make you fishers of men
Prayer
In Chapter 7, David wanted to build a house for God; but God’s will was that David’s son build it. Then, at the end of the chapter, David went before the Lord. We haven’t talked about this part. David went before the Lord to talk to Him. When you talk to a friend or sibling, you get to know them better. As we read chapter 8, we will see this with how the Lord blessed David.
David talked to the Lord personally, but how do we talk to the Lord? Read Psalm 119:18. We can pray this prayer as we read our Bibles. Ask the Lord to open your eyes, so you can see new truths in His word. Read Psalm 119:105. God’s word can show the way in which we are to go. Read Psalm 119:130. Again, as we read the Word, it gives light to our path. These are some of the blessings that come from letting God talk to us as we read the Bible.
Read 2 Samuel 8.
In this chapter David had a lot of battles. David’s first battle was against the Philistines. The Lord helped David in this battle and he was very successful. David took one of the Philistines’ main cities, Methegammah. David’s next battle was against Moab. The Lord blessed this battle also and they were victorious. David counted all the people of Moab and they had killed two-thirds of them. Battle three was against King Hadadezer. In this battle, David took many horses and chariots from Hadadezer. The Lord helped David’s army in this battle. They could really see the Lord’s hand with them, because they were also fighting the Syrians who came to help Hadadezer. The Lord blessed David with victories over his enemies.
By the time of verse 8, David had accumulated lots of gold, silver and other metals. Also, one of Hadadezer’s enemies had sent David gold and silver for overcoming his enemy. David dedicated all these metals to the Lord’s house. He wouldn’t build the Lord’s house, but he wanted to help as much as he could. David’s spoils of war are like the wisdom God gives us when we read His word: we should be eager to share it with others.
Many times David went before the Lord. This was key for keeping his army strong. May each of us read our Bibles and seek the Lord for guidance daily.
Luke 9:18-27
We can particularly see our Lord’s grace in the feeding of the five thousand. The disciples would have sent the multitude away; but the Lord didn’t, and they actually ended up having more food than they started with. That’s our Lord’s heart. He wants to do something similar for us as we pray that He would open our eyes to the truths of His word. He is the One that gives food for our souls, and can show us gems in our daily reading that will help us throughout the day. In the end, we finish with more than we started with.
“And they did eat, and were all filled…” (verse 17). Jesus satisfied these people, and His person can satisfy us as well. Isaiah 55:2 counsels us to delight our souls in fatness.
Between verse seventeen and verse eighteen, the scene changes. Instead of Jesus and a crowd of five thousand plus people, we find our Lord praying alone with His disciples. Jesus is the perfect example for each and every man, woman, and child; and here we can see both His Divinity and His manhood. He could multiply the bread and fish because He was God; but we also see Him as a man, thanking God for providing that bread, and now praying to His father.
So why did He take the time for solitary prayer? Prayer showed His dependence on and confidence in God. His vertical relationship with God the Father enabled Him to serve others in a horizontal relationship. The vertical was necessary in order to have the horizontal. That’s why prayer is so important. We can always find other things to do, but we need to make daily prayer a priority.
Jesus then asked the disciples, “Whom say the people that I am?” (v.18). In a way, He was asking, “Who am I?” (of course, He knew). We might think, “That’s easy. He’s Jesus, the Son of God.” That’s correct, but how much do we know about this One Whose name is above all names? He is brought before us in so many ways; ways that show us His character, person, and purpose. He’s our Saviour; but as such He is also our Lord, our Master, the One we serve. He is our High Priest, guiding our worship; He is our Advocate, our lawyer before God. Psalm 23 shows Him as our Shepherd, our Leader, the One that provides us with green pastures and still waters and tender care. So many people know our Lord just as a person that lived long ago, Who people talk about in churches. But Christ is all things. God told Moses, “I AM THAT I AM.” (Exodus 3:14).
Jesus asked who the people thought that He was, and then He asked the disciples’ personal opinion. This is a very important question. Who is Christ to YOU? The people had many speculations; some said John the Baptist, some Elias, some one of the prophets. But Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” Christ means “anointed one”, and is one of Jesus’ titles (some of the names we use are really titles). God has anointed Him King of kings and Lord of lords. Peter recognised His divine character. Can you imagine being able to see and recognise the human Christ?!
Jesus told the disciples to tell no one about this. He was the Christ, and He would set up His kingdom, but not yet. He had something to do first. He tells the disciples about it in verse twenty-two. He had a work to do. He had to accomplish the task that would make it possible to forgive sins. He couldn’t have a kingdom without the cross, and He couldn’t have people in Heaven without salvation. He came to give His life as a ransom. He died, but He also rose again. Here, it is seen as a result of the rejection, not just of the scribes and Pharisees, but of the prominent religious people of the day - those that should have recognised Him. They didn’t say, “This is Christ, our Messiah!” but rather, “Crucify Him!”
In Matthew’s gospel, Peter says to the Lord, “No! This will never happen!” But Jesus turned to him and said, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23). Jesus tried to explain His crucifixion and resurrection; but the disciples were still surprised when they happened. It was not “just” God’s purpose that Jesus come and die for our sins. Jesus’ death is the event around which all of God’s purposes center; around which they rotated. It is the “center of two eternities”, as we sometimes sing. We can have no place before God, or in Heaven, without it.
So, we can meditate on that very important question. “Who am I [Jesus]?” Paul said “I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung…that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:8, 10)
Hymn 201 - When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His word
Prayer