Bible Truth Daily Devotion

July 27, 2010

The Fairest Lord Jesus and His Marriage

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 8:00 am

Psalm 45

 

 

When I was a kid, seemingly I got to go to a lot of wedding banquet.  I remember that the things I learned is to behave right.  I hope I did not disappoint my parents in that regard.  There is going to be a marriage feast, but the participation to the feast depends on our “manner” before the feast.  Let’s read the psalm and find out about it. 

 

Commentary:

Psalm 45:1. The psalmist was inspired to write this psalm.  He compared his inspiration with a simile—a pen in the hand of a ready writer.  He went on to complete a picture of a blessed king, his reign, and his wedding.

Psalm 45:2.  This king is said to be fairer than all men.  He is blessed by God; his blessings are evidenced by his graceful words.  The old hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus” echoed the essence of this verse. 

Psalm 45:3-5. The king would battle his enemies and triumph over them.  Because of him, the earth will have truth, meekness, and righteousness.  This imagery comes alive in the prophecy told by Apostle John in Rev 19:11-19.

Psalm 45:6-7.  He will rule forever and ever.  As in Rev. 19:20-21, no one would match his accomplishment on earth.  His rule would be marked by its justice.  

Psalm 45:8-10.  What follows is a description of a royal wedding.  This sequence is consistent with the sequence in the prophecy.  After the Christ rids the earth of wickedness, there is the marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 21:2). 

The chosen bride in here is told to forget, which means to stop loving, her root or the origin of a previous life.  Who is the bride?  The church is likened to be the wife of Christ in the NT (Eph. 5:23).  When our Lord saves us, we are a new creature.  The old has passed away; new things have come (2Cor 5:17).  Of course, if we keep loving the past, we will never enter into the new life that our Lord has prepared for us.  The Lord has saved us for heaven bounds, so we should stop living in our old miry clay.   Let stand on the rock, leave our past behind, and start our heavenly climb. 

Psalm 45:11.  The beauty of the bride is not evident to the king until she is loyal to him.  God desires not sacrifice but obedience (1Sam 15:22).  Whatever we have is from God.  That includes wealth, health, talents, and beauty.  None of them, therefore, is valuable to God, but God desires our love and devotion. 

Psalm 45:15.  The marriage takes place only when the bride is ready.  She is heart ready—willing to let go of her past.  She is costume ready—adorning herself with precious garments.  The garments can be likened to our new behavior in Christ.  We have to be Christ like in our behavior (Rom 13:14).

Psalm 45:16.  Echoing verse 10, the verse tells us that we can have a new heritage.  Only when we give up the old, the new things can come.  Likewise, in order to live the spiritual life, we have to stop loving the world.   

 

Meditation:

The marriage of the Lamb will come.  That is a certainty.  The uncertainty is who will be present.  All God’s people should have that concerns and live in a way that will ensure our presence at the marriage feast. 

We are the church and the wife of Christ.  Let’s start living like the bride in this psalm.  Get ourselves ready in heart, body, and soul.  Walk in a way that pleases our Lord inside out.  Be loyal to Him to win His praises. 

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you will bring on the marriage.  Let us trust in your will and make ourselves ready for the marriage.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

July 20, 2010

Sin and Its Effect

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 8:00 am

Psalm 38

 

 

What does sin doe to a believer of Jesus Christ?  Sin has it allure, but it is also deadly.  Read this psalm to gain a new perspective of what sins can do in the life of Christians.

 

Commentary:

Psalm 38:1-2. These two verses can sound contradictory.  In verse 1, the palmist asks God to withhold chastisement. It sounds like God has not started disciplining him.   But verse 2 describes an ongoing punishment.  Can the two be reconciled? 

Psalm 38:3-4.  In these two verses, the psalmist gives details of the punishment.  He is experiencing some infirmity in his body.  He is both weakened and sick. 

The psalmist also tells the reason of his misery.  He is frail because he has sinned.    His transgressions weigh on him like a boulder.  How can sin make a person feel so sick? 

The New Testament has many passages about the flesh and the spirit.  The flesh and the spirit are opposite to each other.  The flesh is born in sin, while the spirit is born of God.  A spiritually born again Christian has the spirit within and has the desire to live to please God.  When he/she sins, he/she is in pain because sin is against the spirit.  He/she can identify with what the psalmist describes here in these two verses and the next four verses.  Sinning can cause physical ailments and emotional anguish.  God can also bring discipline to His people through physical sickness.  Like the psalmist, Christians may not be able to discern whether the ailment is caused by our sins and is a consequence of God’s discipline to our sins.  Rather than focusing on what it is, we should focus on the sin and our righteous standing in God. 

Psalm 38:11-12.  The effect of sin can cause a break in fellowship. The relatives and friends of David stayed afar when they realized God is disciplining him.  Moreover, his enemies plan to attack him in his weakened state. 

Psalm 38:13-14.  Sin can also silence the people of God.  We can no longer testify for God because we have lost our testimony.  We cannot defend ourselves when unrighteousness is found in us.

Psalm 38:15.  Yet the psalmist knows that God is very forgiving.  So he can hope in God.  He can petition God for forgiveness. 

Psalm 38:18.  The psalmist will no longer hide his sin and is willing to confess to his God. 

Psalm 38:21. The psalmist calls out to God in personal term.  The Lord is his God.   Despite his sins, he confidently asks God to be near him, which is a sign of acceptance. 

 

Meditation:

Sin itself is a powerful weapon against Christians.  It can destroy us both physically and spiritually.  It can destroy the fellowship bond between brothers and sisters.  It will also give our enemies opportunities further opportunities to destroy us.  Finally, sin can destroy the testimony of Christians.  We would appear as hypocrites to the world.

Brothers and sisters, avoid sins at all costs.  If we are caught in them, be sure that we confess our sins to God, for He would forgive us our sins. 

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that we have sinned against Thee.  We pray that you will restore us in your righteousness.  We pray that the blood of Jesus can wash us clean.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

June 28, 2010

The Success of Believers

Filed under: Devotion in Galatians — Tags: , , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 8:00 am

Galatians 6:1-18

 

 

Success is a favorable or desired outcome.  We have been learning that salvation does not come through work.  Then what kind of work does salvation have for a person?  In this passage, Paul teaches us the outcome of genuine believing. 

 

Commentary:

Galatians 6:1. The word caught in Greek language implies an unintended action to sin.  Paul describes someone who did not premeditate on the sins but was caught in the moment.  When that happens, Paul wants believers to bring the person back.

Galatians 6:2. The word “burdens” here is βάρος baros in Greek.  It means either excessive body weight or oppressive suffering here.  Paul likely implies the latter meaning in this verse since the church would suffer from the hands of Jewish faction if the believers in the church did not follow the Law. 

Galatians 6:3-4. Often we evaluate our success by comparing our achievement against those of the others.   Nevertheless, in the kingdom of heaven, we are evaluated by our own work.  We may be a lot better than another person in the church, but God looks at what we achieve based on our own talents and resources.  In the same way, we should evaluate our own work.  If we have lots of results but are still underachieving, we will have no reason for boasting.  The word boasting is closely related to the exultation of heavenly things to come; it does not mean to become prideful.

Galatians 6:5. The word “load” is φορτίον in Greek.  It has the implication of “work load” and continues the thought of work in verses 3 and 4.  The work has nothing to do with observing the Law but is about what comes out from the faith.  When we have faith, it permeates through actions in love (5:6, 13).  

Galatians 6:6. The one who teaches at the church is sustained by those who receive the teaching.  There is an obligation to pay the pastors, teachers, and elders helping out the church.  Still they are not hired servants to do administration work but called by God to teach.

Galatians 6:12-15. While men boast the work that they accomplish in the flesh, Paul teaches that that believers triumph through the crucifixion of the world and the new creation.  Both are two sides of the same coin.  Genuine saved persons would not purposely choose to love the world.  They would treasure the new creation in them.  They foster the growth of the new born with the word of God, the fellowship with other believers, and the daily communion with God in spirit through prayer. 

 

Meditation:

In our daily walk, we can distracted by the successes and failures of others.  This passage helps us know that God measures us by our own progress.  We cannot be tripped up because others seem to be doing better than we are or to be faltering exceedingly.  We have to evaluate if we are getter better than yesterday.

What is getting better?  Getting better is when the new born spirit is strengthened.  Although that is a vague term, we can measure it with physical parameter.  The time that we spend at fellowship, worship, and prayer is a measureable parameter.  The people that we help are good indicators.  The growth of the ministries that we are called to do is a vital sign.  Mostly, we know deep inside when God is pleased with us. 

Let us no longer strive to please the flesh. But let us in every way seek the pleasure of our Master.  Then we will be found in Him, and He in us.

June 25, 2010

The Flesh and the Spirit

Filed under: Devotion in Galatians — Tags: , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 8:00 am

Galatians 4:21-31

 

 

Today’s passage touches on the flesh and the spirit within all believers.  Please read and reflect on the work God has done in your life.

 

Commentary:

Galatians 4:21-23. Paul reminded the Galatians about the Old Testament story of Abraham.  It was about the birth of Isaac to Sarah through the promise of God, and the birth of Ishmael to Hagar through human efforts. The details of the story were recorded in Genesis 16 and 21. 

Galatians 4:24-25.  Allegorically, Hagar represented the Law, which was given in Mount Sinai and had been practiced in Jerusalem.

Galatians 4:26.  In contrast, Sarah represented the promise, which would lead believers to the Jerusalem in heaven. 

Galatians 4:27.  This verse is a quote from Isaiah 54:1.  The verse describes how Israel was not effective in bringing people to God while she had a homeland, which was figuratively called the husband.  Israel would spiritually be revived while she had not the homeland.

Galatians 4:29.  The flesh and the spirit are diametrically against to each other.  The flesh would oppress, oppose, and entice the spirit to abandon the way of the Master—our Lord Jesus Christ.  Here, the flesh and the spirit represent physical persons.  They can be friends, family, or strangers trying to lure us away from God and the truth.  The spirit and the flesh are both present in a person.  The flesh in us will try to tempt us to do the things against the spirit. 

Galatians 4:30-31.  Christians, like the Galatians, have to make a clear choice.  We need to reject the bondage of the flesh and to embrace the freedom in Spirit.   While the flesh has no future beyond this life, the Spirit is the way of becoming an heir of God. 

 

Meditation:

The flesh and the spirit are the two natures in all believers.  This was not the case before we believed.  We only had the old nature, which is another name for the flesh.  We might have the conscience convicting us, but we had not the power to overcome the flesh.  With the birth of the spirit in us, we are given the power to overcome the flesh.  We can do things the new way, the way according to God’s desire.

What are some of your struggle in the past that you have found new strength to overcome in Christ?  Count them and give thanks.

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving birth to the spirit within us.  We ask fro grace and strength to overcome our old nature. In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

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