I John 3:1-2: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. [1]
Treasuring God's Truth in Your Heart
Treasuring God's Truth in Your Heart
Treasuring God's Truth in Your Heart
Psalm 27:3-4: God’s Presence
Psalm 27:3-4: Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple. [1]
How should God’s presence affect us? David shows us that the Lord’s presence affects fortitude, enjoyment, and desire. [2] David’s fortitude was affected because his assurance is founded on the Triune God’s steadfast love, which enables him to face his enemies fearlessly. [3] David’s “enjoyment of God’s presence assures the evident goodness and love of God.” [4] Lastly, David’s desire, in the face of danger, is to be in God’s house and know Him. [5] In his fortitude, enjoyment, and desire, David is not just imagining away his struggles. [6] The Trinity’s presence enables David and Christians to face dark adversity with hope.
How has God’s presence affected your dark adversity? What is your source of fortitude, joy, and desire? Do you take solace in your capabilities? Is your joy found in materials and people? Is your desire for the struggle to just end? We can only have David’s confidence through faith in Jesus Christ. [7]
This blog was written by Seth Dunn
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016). All Scripture References will be ESV unless noted otherwise.
[2] Willem A. VanGemeren. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary with the New International Version of the Holy Bible in Twelve Volumes: Vol. 5 (Psalms-Song of Songs). General Ed. Frank E. Gaebelein. (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 1991), 243-245.
[3] VanGemeren, Psalms, 244.
[4] VanGemeren, Psalms, 244.
[5] VanGemeren, Psalms, 245.
[6] VanGemeren, Psalms, 244, 245.
[7] 1 Peter 1:3.
Treasuring God's Truth in Your Hearts
Lamentations 3:24-26: Stability
Lamentations 3:24-26
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord. [1]
As we continue studying Lamentations, we continue seeing how to have true stability. Lamentations 3:24-26 teaches that when God is the object of our hope, we have a sure foundation for life. [2] When the Lord remains the focus and security for our lives, we have abiding hope. [3]
But setting our hope on God is an incredibly difficult thing. [4] I do not know about you, but red lights can be frustrating for me: I do not like waiting for something I did not plan on. How can I, or you, expect to put my hope in God when something so small can so easily derail our focus?
Sincerely thank God that in Christ we have the perfect sacrificial Lamb. [5] Jesus never misplaced His hope, even when facing the cross. [6] Because Jesus endured, we also have hope for enduring trials and growing to make God our hope. [7] As we mature in faithfulness to God, we will see more of how He gives us stability. [8] Refusing Christianity is to refuse the Almighty’s stability that produces endurance in all kinds of trials. [9] Christians: in your pursuit of faithfulness to grow in hope, do not take the world’s counterfeit hopes that lead away from true hope. [10] Non-Christians: please consider what you hold on to for stability—if it does not have the backing of the Triune God Who created you, how long will it keep you stable?
This blog was written by Seth Dunn
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Logos Bible Software 7. All Scripture references will be ESV unless noted otherwise.
[2] John Calvin. Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah and the Lamentations, Vol. 5. Trans. John Owen. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company, 1981), 408-409.
[3] Calvin, Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah and the Lamentations, Vol. 5, 409.
[4] Calvin, Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah and the Lamentations, Vol. 5, 409.
[5] Hebrews 8-10.
[6] Luke 22:42.
[7] Hebrews 4:14-17.
[8] Calvin, Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah and the Lamentations, Vol. 5, 410.
[9] James 1:2-5.
[10] Ephesians 2:11-13.