Treasury of Biblical Moments: Devotional Thoughts Based on Selected Scripture Passages from Each Book in the Bible

By John A. Ledden

This Treasury of Biblical Moments is a collection of selected Scripture verses from all sixty-six books of the Bible. A theme is chosen for each verse, and that theme is developed with clarification of the text and other supporting Scripture. Effort has been made to point to the God we worship, to His saving grace through Jesus Christ, and to see practical applications to the concerns of our daily lives as children of God.

It has been the authors desire to show that our Lord and Savior understands the paths we tread, the valleys and mountain peaks of our lives, and that He walks with us every step of our journey. Here you can spend a few moments in time that can have eternal value.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449765743

John A. Ledden

JOHN A. LEDDEN, Sr. was raised by Christian parents, and accepted Jesus as his personal Savior during family worship at age ten. In Scouting he earned the rank of Eagle and served as assistant Scout Master. Following high school he worked as an apprentice machinist and then served in the U.S. Navy for 38 months as an aviation machinist in WWII. During college, seminary and as a pastor he did several different types of work that provided practical experience. He was ordained as a minister in 1953 and served as pastor of four churches and interim pastor of five churches and taught at Shelton College and John Knox Jr. College. He and Lorraine were married in 1944 and they raised four children. They now live in Amherst, VA.

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Treasury

of

Biblical Moments

Devotional Thoughts

Based on Selected Scripture Passages from

Each Book in the Bible

John A. Ledden, Sr.

PCA Teaching Elder, retired

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Also by John A. Ledden Sr.

Biblical Truth Concerning Wine

by R Laird Harris, Ph.D., Edited & expanded by John Ledden

Monday Morning

Copyright © 2012 John A. Ledden, Sr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-6575-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-6576-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-6574-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012916362

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/17/2012

Table Of Contents

I. The God We Worship

II. God’s Love

III. The Promised Messiah

IV. God’s Creative Power

V. The Law of God

VI. The Historic Books

VII. Poetic Books

VIII. Wisdom Literature

IX. The Major Prophets

X. The Minor Prophets

XI. The Synoptic Gospels & Acts

XII. I Am the Christ in John

XIII. The Power of the Gospel in Romans

XIV. Saints by His Grace in I & II Corinthians

XV. Grace and Peace in Galatians

XVI. Trophies of Grace in Ephesians

XVII. Partnership in Philippians

XVIII. Living in Christ in Colossians

XIX. In His Hand in I & II Thessalonians

XX. Hope and Truth in I Timothy – Philemon

XXI. God’s High Priest in Hebrews

XXII. Walking in Christ in James - Jude

XXIII. Grace from the Throne in Revelation

GOD SPEAKS

THROUGH HIS WORD

AND BY

HIS SON

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…

Hebrews 1:1-2

PREFACE

These Biblical Moments have been developed over the course of several years and distributed through the Internet to people who have requested to receive them. There are selections from all the Books in the Old and New Testaments. In arranging these Biblical Moments, chapters 1-5 point to the living God we worship and serve: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Chapters 6-14 are devoted to God’s great love for the redeemed of all ages. Chapters 15-33 give a review of the prophecies and passages on Christ’s Person, birth, death and resurrection.

God has spoken to us in His written Word, the Bible: by His covenant promises, by His Law, by His works of providence throughout history, and by the pens of His Prophets, Poets and Apostles. The approach from the New Testament is to continually consider the various ways in which our LORD has revealed His wonderful, redeeming grace to us through Jesus Christ. The application of Christ’s work to us by the Holy Spirit is woven together with His message of love, mercy and grace.

These selections are not intended to be a compendium on doctrine or an exegetical study, but every effort has been made to be sound in doctrine, consistent to the historic Reformed Faith and following the grammatical, historical and exegetical interpretation of the Scripture selections. In writing these Biblical Moments from week to week the desire has been to make practical applications of Biblical truth in a way that is meaningful for each of us as we live in this world and walk along our pilgrim pathways. I have also endeavored to show that our LORD and Savior understands the paths we tread, the valleys and mountain peaks of our lives, and He walks with us every step of our journey, from our first cry to our last good-by.

It is my prayer that your moments in these pages will lighten your load, brighten your vision and increase your joy as the Holy Spirit makes His Word a little more meaningful to you. Here you can spend a moment in time that has eternal value. May your personal relationship with Jesus, by faith and through His Word, fill you with joy and peace every moment and every day.

I want to express my great appreciation to my wife Lorraine who has helped me sharpen my thoughts and record them accurately. She has been my faithful supporter in over sixty years of ministry. I am indebted to the many teachers and colleagues who have influenced my understanding of Scripture. I am also grateful for all who have requested to receive these Biblical Moments and for the encouraging comments they have shared with me.

Scripture quotations are printed in Italics and pronouns referring to the Persons of the Triune God, are capitalized. Scripture quotations with ‘…’ indicate that only part of the verse or verses are quoted. LORD is capitalized consistent with its use in the ESV and in the O.T. in translating ‘Jehovah’.

The Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the English Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL. 60187.

The Scripture quotations indicated as ‘Quoted from the NIV’ are from the HOLY BIBLE, Copyright 1973, 1978 and 1984 by International Bible Society

I. The God We Worship

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth!

Psalm 96:7-9

THE GOD WE WORSHIP

"The LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King!

Jeremiah 10:10

Each of us is made by our Creator to have a desire to worship. We don’t always verbalize this concept of worship, but by our actions we express some form of worship. Our worship might be as simple as admiring the work of our hands or being fascinated with a glorious sunset or of seeing the sunrise over the ocean or the majesty of a snow capped mountain peak. The Scripture warns us against worshiping any thing other than the God who has revealed Himself. Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! (Rom. 1:23). We should appreciate all that the LORD has given us to enjoy but we must not worship any thing. Hear, O Israel; the LORD our God, the LORD is one LORD. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deut. 6:4-5). The LORD is the true God; He is the living God… (Jer. 10:10).

Our source of knowledge about the true and living God is His written word the Bible. God is not man’s imagination but He has revealed Himself to us to the fullest extent in His word and through His Son. As we examine the Scripture references to God we find that He reveals Himself in three Persons that the Church Fathers have identified as the Trinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God in three Persons and these three are one true, eternal God, equal in power and glory (WCF 2.3). When Jesus commissioned the church, He told them to make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19). When Jesus was baptized we have the reference to the Spirit descending and the voice of God the Father saying, This is My beloved Son (Mt. 3:16-17). This Triune God was involved in the creation of the world (Gen. 1:1-2, John 1:1-4) and in the operation and maintenance of our world and all who live therein. God the Father has particularly revealed Himself to us through His Son (Heb. 1:1-3, John 1:17-18).

Let’s center our attention on God the Father. He is our heavenly Father (Mt. 6:9). This is the very personal relationship that He establishes with us. "And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba Father’! So you are no longer a slave, but a son…" (Gal. 4:6-7). In contrast to our sinful nature we know that our heavenly Father is holy. …Hollowed be Your name (Mt. 6:9). He declared Himself to be holy as He instructed us to be like Him. But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’ (I Pet. 1:15-16). When we join the saints in heaven we will sing "Great and amazing are Your deeds, O LORD God the Almighty! Just and true are Your ways…For you alone are holy…" (Rev. 15:3-4).

Our heavenly Father is the Almighty LORD and wise in all His actions and fully accomplishes His will. And He is a God of love and compassion. God declared to Moses, …The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Forgiving iniquity… (Ex. 34:6-7).

This is the true and living God whom we are privileged to worship with all our lives through our Savior Jesus Christ.

GOD THE SON

…Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5-11

The God we worship is the one Supreme God of the universe revealed in three eternal, co-equal Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God the Son is our LORD Jesus Christ, the uniquely born Son of God. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal. 4:4-5). He was the promised Messiah. "The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things’. Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He’" (John 4:25-26). Daniel speaks of the coming of the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13-14) and "the coming of an Anointed One (Messiah), a Prince" (Dan. 9:25)

The Christ or Messiah has special significance in revealing His divine nature. He was God with us. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel (which means God with us) (Mt. 1:23). This is quoted from Isaiah 7:14. Mary was told that her Son …will be called holy – the Son of God (Lk. 1:35). He was also called the Son of Man, having come into this world being born as a human baby to the virgin Mary. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus He had the full nature of a human being because He was … born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:7-8).

This brings us to the purpose of His coming to dwell among us. He came to redeem those who were under the law, so we might receive adoption as sons (Gal. 4:5). Every human being that ever lived or will live is a guilty sinner (except Jesus Christ who was without sin, II Cor. 5:21). As Paul uses the phrase ‘under the law’ in Galatians it is the basic idea that we are under the guilt of the law. God’s holy law shows us that we are sinners and need a Savior. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). By His perfect obedience (without sin) and His sacrificial death He fully satisfied the justice of God, paying the full penalty for our sin.

He was crucified becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross (Phil. 2:8). But the grave did not keep Him. …Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day… (I Cor. 15:3-4). He ascended into heaven (Lk. 24:51) and there He is …at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us (Rom. 8:34). This same Jesus is promised to return from His place in heaven (Acts 1:11) to receive His blood bought followers, and He will usher them into His eternal glory. This is God the Son, whom we love, worship and live for, because He has redeemed us from all our sin.

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

"In Him (Christ) you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory."

Ephesians 1:13-14

The God we worship has revealed Himself to us through the written word, the Bible, and He exists and works as three co-equal and eternal Persons as one true, living God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father shares His divine attributes equally and fully with the Son and the Holy Spirit. As the Father plans His total redemptive work, the Son executes that plan and the Holy Spirit applies or brings that plan to completion. The areas of the operation of the Holy Spirit include: creation, inspiration of Scripture, the giving of life, the application of the redemptive work of Christ to the elect and the perfecting of holiness in them as His sanctifying work. The Holy Spirit is in some way involved in everything that God does.

The Holy Spirit is a personal spiritual being and fully divine. He is named with the Father and the Son. …Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19). To lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God. …Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…You have not lied to men but to God (Acts 5:3-4). He was active in the work of creation. …And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water (Gen. 1:2). He is the LORD and giver of life. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life (Job 33:4).

The work of the Holy Spirit includes the inspiration of Scripture. David said, "The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; His word is on my tongue" (II Sam. 23:2). Each writer of Scripture wrote in his own style and in his own circumstances, but they were kept free from error so that the Word of God is truth (John 17:17). …Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (II Pet. 1:21).

The very heart of the work of the Holy Spirit is that He applies the redemptive work of Christ to the hearts of all whom He enables to believe. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about the new spiritual birth He indicated that the Holy Spirit accomplishes this spiritual birth. …So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8). To accomplish this spiritual birth the Holy Spirit, who is also called ‘Helper’, …will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-9). …For you brothers, beloved by the LORD, because God chose you…to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth (II Thess. 2:13).

He is also called the Spirit of Truth. …He will guide you into all truth (John 16:12). His mission is not to glorify Himself but Christ. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you (John 16:13-14). As the Spirit of Truth, …He dwells with you and will be in you (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit is the seal that God has given to assure us of our eternal salvation. It is God who establishes us…in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (II Cor. 1:21). It is by His sanctifying work in us that we are encouraged to worship one true, living, Triune God.

TRUE WORSHIPERS

…The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

John 4:23-24

Worship is a means of expressing our heart felt love and devotion to the God who gave us life and who redeemed us from our state of sin and misery into a standing in righteousness through our LORD Jesus Christ. When Jesus said that the Father is seeking true worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and truth we must consider what it means to be a true worshiper of God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him (Heb. 11:6). A true worshiper of God must be a person saved by faith in Jesus Christ. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive with Christ…For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2:4-5, 8-9). Therefore responding to God’s great love for us, we express our love and thanksgiving to Him in worship.

Worship is expressing our love, devotion, submission, and commitment to the LORD. Our very life is to be an expression of worship. I appeal to you…by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship (Rom. 12:1). It is the Spirit of God who guides us in living in an attitude of worship. "For we are (those)…who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh" (Phil. 3:3). Living in a way of holiness that is acceptable to God will create in us the desire for personal time to let Him speak to us through His Word and to commune with Him in prayer. This is in response to the blessings derived from His Word. We also are encouraged to present our needs to Him in humble submission to His will.

It is only through the practice of our private and family worship that public worship will have significant meaning in our lives. We must understand that public worship is not an option. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus…and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering…And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together…encouraging one another… (Heb. 10:19-26).

It is in our public worship on the LORD’S DAY that we find instruction and encouragement for our living in an attitude of worship and for guidance for our daily private devotions. In our text, to worship in spirit and truth calls for worship that is deeper than human emotions; it is the response of God’s Spirit in us that causes us to cry ‘Abba Father’ as His adopted children (Rom. 8:14-17). Worship is the expression of a devoted heart to our great Triune God of infinite love and endless mercy. The reason we love and worship Him is because He first loved us. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:10). True worshipers worship and adore Him in humility, gratitude and seriousness, in response to His unfailing and gracious love for them.

LOVING HIM IS WORSHIP

…You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

Luke 10:27, Mt. 22:37-39 and form Deut. 6:4

We have been thinking about the worship of our great God. I pointed out previously that our worship is an expression of our love for God in response to His gracious love for us. We also noted that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship (Rom. 12:2). In the context of our verse today the lawyer is seeking Christ’s view of the most important commandment. Jesus answer was the positive application of the Law that we must fully love the LORD our God. When we have begun to love God through faith in Christ Jesus we have a solid foundation in His love for us and increasingly grasp the full blessing of our God as His image in us is being renewed. That according to the riches of His glory, He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend…what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:16-19).

To love the LORD with all your heart and with all your soul requires the active operation of the Holy Spirit in every warp and woof of our being. This enables us to begin to grasp the reality of the presence of Christ in all of our endeavors. We lay hold of this concept, of Christ’s presence dwelling in us, through the work of His Spirit, by faith. The more we comprehend this we will increasingly understand the tremendous magnitude of His love for us when He took our place in His death on the cross. The result will be that our cup is being filled up with the knowledge and reality of the living, eternal God in our lives.

We are to love the LORD with all our strength. This speaks of the physical abilities that the LORD has given us to serve Him. From the high calling to be a wife, a mother and a homemaker or being the janitor who sweeps the floor or the chief executive of a mega corporation – whatever our calling or vocation – we are expressing our love for the LORD as we faithfully fulfill our responsibilities. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the LORD and not for men, knowing that from the LORD you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the LORD Christ (Col. 3:23-24). ‘To love’ is a demonstrative verb –a principle of action rather than of emotion (ESV p. 1663). It doesn’t mean beans to say ‘I love you’ unless those words are backed up with a continuous vital relationship with that person, putting your love into real and tangible action.

To love God also requires that we keep our mind in gear. We dare not idly wonder through our days. Love Him with all your mind. Christ Jesus had a clear purpose in mind when He left heaven’s glory to sojourn on earth, to live with us and die for us. When we set our mind to the task at hand with the clear intent that this activity is expressing my love for my God and Savior that task never becomes a burden. There is joy in serving Jesus every moment of every day. When we live and serve Him as an expression of our love for Him, our life will be filled with exceeding joy as a continuous act of spiritual worship

II. God’s Love

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

I John 4:9-10

LOVED BY A FAITHFUL GOD

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.

Deuteronomy 7:9

In every test through out the history of mankind, God has always proven faithful. He is faithful to His word. He is faithful to all His promises. He is always faithful to those who love Him and strive to please Him in all that they do.

Moses, writing to the children of Israel, jolted their memory by reminding them that they were not so important when the Lord set His affection on them (Deut. 7:7). The reason was because the Lord loved you (Deut. 7:8). It was because of His special love and His promises that He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery (Deut. 7:8). This is the context of verse 9 and the promise of this verse directly given to Israel has been true down through the ages and is still applicable today for every one who loves Him and keeps His commandments (Deut. 7:9).

How can this be? We must know that the Lord your God is God (Deut. 7:9). This speaks of the very personal relationship God gives to His people. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (Ps. 23:1). The first of the 10 Commandments is: I am the LORD your God…you shall have no other gods before me (Deut. 5:6-7). Fear the LORD your God, and serve Him only (Deut. 6:13). Jesus was called Immanuel (which means God with us) (Mt. 1:23). Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

God keeps His covenant of love (Deut. 7:9). This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him…This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (I John 4:9-10). Because of His love we are to respond in love for Him and obedience to Him. We love because He first loved us (I John 4:19).

God has declared that, as a faithful God, He will keep His covenant of love…to those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deut. 7:9). Those who love Him are those who have been born of God (I John 4:7). Jesus told Nicodemus, a religious leader in Israel, you must be born from above (John 3:7). God’s love for us places an obligation upon us. This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome (I John 5:3). And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands (II John 1:6).

Keeping the commandments will never save you. But having been saved by His grace through faith in Christ, we are now set free from the bondage of sin. We want to submit to the Lord and His wisdom to do what is best for our lives. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does (James 1:25).

God is faithful in His great love for us and we are privileged to respond to His love by willing and loving obedience to His every word.

Scripture quoted from the NIV

THE LORD WILL BLESS YOU

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach…No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it…For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

Deuteronomy 30:11, 14, 16

The children of Israel were about to enter a new phase of their journey. God had given commandments and laws through Moses. We tend to think, as did the Israelites, that obeying commands is difficult and unpleasant. But Moses reminded them and us that this is not difficult for those who have begun to grasp the greatness of the living God because He gives commands so His people can enjoy life.

This is first of all a call to faith in the Lord. Faith is really falling in love with the Lord. When we see Him in the beauty of His holiness, in the majesty of His power and in His unfailing compassion, our love for Him must respond in faith, trust and obedience. Faith is not just an option. I command you today to love the Lord your God (Deut. 30:16). Paul uses this passage to show that true love for the Lord that results in righteousness comes by faith. The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart; that is the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus as Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:8-9).

God offers life! See, I set before you today life (Deut 30:15). There are three aspects given here for living this life. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands…then you will live (Deut. 30:16). There are many references in the Scripture to walking with the Lord. He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin (I John 1:7). And this is love; that we walk in obedience to His commands…His command is that you walk in love (II John 6).

As Moses continues he warned that to turn from God and follow the way of the ungodly around them would result in destruction and death. John also warned, Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (I John 2:15). Now chose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life (Deut. 30:19-30).

Jesus said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind (Mt. 22:37). We must listen to Him as He speaks in the Bible. Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17). When we listen to His voice we will hold fast to Him (Deut. 30:20). God will bless you as your life from Him is filled with love for Him and faithful obedience to Him.

Scripture quoted from the NIV

SHELTERED IN GOD’S LOVE

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.

Psalm 91:1-2

When we encounter various pressures, difficulties and sometimes even danger, we like to have a safety zone to repair to. For most children, their home and the protection and comfort of their parents are their primary safety zone. But when we get older we no longer have the comfort of curling up in Mother or Daddy’s lap and assured that every thing will be all right.

One of the secrets and blessings of the child of God is to know that we can always curl up, as it were, in the arms and presence of our loving God. This privilege is for those who have learned to trust in Him by our commitment to Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. This is another way of saying that we have chosen to dwell in the shelter of the Most High (Ps. 91:1). Dwelling implies living or walking daily and continually with our God. This is the place of comfort and protection. How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you…In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigue of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe (Ps. 31:19-20).

We are here given four reasons for trusting in the Lord. We can rest in the shadow of the Almighty (Ps. 91:1). On a hot and steamy day it is so refreshing to sit down in the shadow of a shade tree and enjoy a cool breeze. We also have the picture of a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them from the storm. How priceless is your unfailing love! …Men find refuge in the shadow of your wings (Ps. 36:7). We flee to Him because He is our refuge. Boaz said to Ruth: May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge (Ruth 2:12).

Because we have become identified and united with Christ we are in danger of attacks on our spiritual well being. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for some one to devour (I Pet. 5:8). We can and must always flee to the Lord we love for He is our fortress against all outside forces. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my strong hold (Ps. 18:2).

He is my God. The Hebrew word here is the plural form of ‘Eloheim’ and in this poetic form actually means that the Lord is my strength The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation (Ps. 118:14). Paul told the Philippian Church that he had learned to be content whatever the circumstances because I can do everything through Him who gives me strength (Phil. 4:11, 13). Peter reminds us that when we serve the Lord we should do it with the strength God provides so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ (I Pet. 4:11).

We are privileged to dwell in the presence of our God and Savior. He is the LORD God Almighty who always loves us and gives us strength. We can rest with confident trust in His shelter, His shadow and His love. The Lord will give you great confidence and rest as you dwell in His presence and love.

Scripture quoted from the NIV

GOD LOVES & CARES FOR US

Because He loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

Psalm 91:14-16

The key to understanding this 91st Psalm is that it is addressed to those who love the Lord. This is love; not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin…We love because He first loved us (I John 4:10, 19). Those who love the Lord are also those who dwell in His presence. "He who dwells in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty" (Ps. 91:1). If you make the Most High your dwelling – even the Lord (Ps. 91:9) then His protection surrounds you. These promises are for those who acknowledge My name (Ps. 91:14).

To acknowledge His Name and to love Him is demonstrated in our daily walk by obedience to His commands. So that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all His decrees and commandments that I gave you, and so that you may enjoy long life (Deut. 6:2). We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands (I John 2:3).

This Psalm speaks of God’s protection for those who love Him. Using several illustrations, He is really reminding us that we are always under His care and need not fear in any circumstances. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you (I Pet. 5:6-7). God does not promise that we will not have trouble, but that we can be confident that He will be with us in every circumstance. Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trials you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed…So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good (I Pet. 4:12-13, 19).

A secret to our peace in the midst of any difficulty is having confidence in the fact that our God sovereignly controls all things and nothing can touch our lives outside of His will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). For I am convinced that neither death or life, neither angels or demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39). "…I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life (really as long as we live) will I satisfy him and show him My salvation" (Ps. 91:15-16). Rejoice in the Lord always…The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:4-7). God will give you, by His grace, rest and peace as you trust in His divine, almighty protection and unfailing love.

Scripture quoted from the NIV

GOD’S LOVE SECURES HOPE

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God…And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us.

Romans 5:1-2, 5

A bond can be considered as the adhesive that holds two objects together as one unit. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God through faith and by His grace this hope is bonded together with the love that God has showered upon us. He saved us through the working of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom He poured on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace., we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7).

Biblical hope is not just wishful thinking. It is a reality through faith and assured by the Lord God Almighty. It comes to us by the accomplished work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God has set His special love on us individually. It is because of His particular love that He chose us to be His children. In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:5). But, because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved (Eph. 2:4-5). This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (I John 4:9-10).

The Holy Spirit makes the grace and love of God known to those who trust in Jesus Christ, …Because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us (Rom. 5:5). "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He appointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" (II Cor. 1:21-22). And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:13-14).

Our hope continues and we are assured that it does not disappoint us (Rom. 5:5) because it is a living hope verified by the positive evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (I Pet. 1:3-5, ESV).

Because the living God loves us so much we can continually rejoice, no matter what happens in our lives. What God has promised will surely be realized and this gives us a vital hope of the glory of God (Rom. 5:2).

Scripture quoted from the NIV

HIS LOVE FOR US

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:5

God’s love has been poured into our hearts is one of the simplest and yet greatest statements of demonstrated love. Here are some of the many references of His love for His people.

From the O.T. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set His love on you and chose you…but it is because the LORD loves you…Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deut. 7:7-9). …I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you (Jer. 31:3).

From the Apostle John. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). …When Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end (John 13:1). As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love (John 15:9). I have made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:26). In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins…God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (I John 4:9-10, 16). Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priest to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever (Rev. 1:4-6).

From Paul’s Epistles. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any thing else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39). I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20). But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:4-7). Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:1-2).

BECAUSE HE LOVED US

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

II Thessalonians 2:16-17

One of the very wonderful things that God did when He created the human race (all the descendants of Adam and Eve) was to create in us the desire to be loved. This is a basic ingredient of a happy, wholesome family: a husband and wife who love each other, parents who love their children and children who love their parents.

God uses this wonderful family relationship to help us understand something special about our relationship with Him and His love for us. May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you… (II Thess: 2:16). This is the ultimate joy of being loved because it is the living God who loves us.

Those the Lord has saved are called ‘brothers’ – all who have been loved by the Lord. But we ought always thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord… (II Thess. 2:13). This is an interesting passage (II Thess. 2:13-17) because Paul refers to the three Persons of our Triune God (The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) when He speaks about our being loved by the Lord. In II Thess. 2:13-14 as he explains how God has loved us he reminds us that, from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God set His special affection on us. He had us in mind before He created the world. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves (Eph. 1:3-6). We are also told that, because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved… (Eph. 2:4). This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (I John 4:10).

Returning to II Thessalonians 2:16 we have the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father identified together as the One who loved us by His grace. It is this love that gives us encouragement for each day – but more than that – it is eternal encouragement and this is good hope. This is why Paul urges that we stand firm (II Thess. 2:15) knowing that our gracious Lord who loves us will encourage and strengthen us in every good deed and word, (II Thess. 2:17.

God by His encouraging grace will strengthen you as you stand firm in the center of His redeeming love.

Scripture quoted from the NIV

THE MAGNITUDE OF GOD’S LOVE

This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

I John 4:9-10

We live in this world where love is understood as sensual satisfaction. I love you only because you can satisfy my desires. We are so caught up with ourselves that we think the world must center on us. Let’s consider a truth about God and His great love for us.

We need to realize who we are in God’s sight. First of all, we have no real life. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins (Eph. 2:1). We probably thought we were really living but we were gratifying our sinful nature (Eph. 2:3) and actually ignoring God in our life of disobedience. There is no one righteous, not even one (Rom. 3:10). For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). This certainly leaves us with a pretty bleak picture of ourselves and that is exactly how God sees every one of us before we come to know the greatness of His love for us. There was just nothing desirable in us.

Here is where we begin to see the magnitude of God’s love. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:6, 8). Being spiritually dead we could not help ourselves, never the less, God in loving us called us into new life. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him (I John 4:9). This is God’s word to us. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (I John 5:11-12).

How many times have we read or repeated John 3:16? The structure of this verse is very important. It is easy to see that when we believe in Jesus we have eternal life. However, the main thrust of the verse is in the opening phrase that God so loved us. That little word ‘so’ really speaks volumes because it is showing us how very great God’s love was for us that caused Him to send and sacrifice His Son for us to believe in and receive as our Savior. The ‘world’ here has a direct reference to those in this world who believe. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

We need to see and understand the depth and greatness of God’s sacrificial love. This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (I John 4:10). God’s Son took our place on Calvary’s cross to atone for our sin. He paid the price to redeem us from death to life. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life…but with the precious blood of Christ (I Pet. 1:18-19). As we see the value of the sacrificial death of Jesus in our place, we can begin to grasp the magnitude of the love of the LORD God Almighty who sent His Son and reached down to claim us as heirs of His glory. Let us fall deeper in love with the lover of our soul.

Scripture quoted from the NIV

THE LORD’S STEADFAST LOVE

Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so…

Psalm 107:1-2

Marriage is a mutual love relationship between a man and a woman. It is the first institution established by God after His work of creation. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). This love relationship is to be an object lesson of Christ’s relationship to His church. Husbands, love your wife, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her…Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife…This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church (Eph. 5:25, 31-32). Consider the reality that half of the marriages today are broken by separation and divorce. Man’s commitment to ‘hold fast’ fails to demonstrate steadfast love so many times.

In contrast the Psalmist reminds us that the LORD’S steadfast love endures forever (Ps. 107: 1). He goes on to give us several examples where God demonstrates His steadfast love. Those He has redeemed He has gathered from all over the world (Ps. 107: 2-3). After this I locked, and behold, a great multitude, from every nation, and from all tribes and peoples and languages…crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God…’ (Rev. 7:9-10).

Then there are those who wander about, unable to find their way. They become hungry and faint but when they cry to the LORD He delivers them (Ps. 107: 4-6). Let them thank the LORD for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of men (Ps. 107:8). We know the story of the young man who took his share of his father’s property and wasted it until he became so hungry that he was eating the pig’s slop. But when he returned to his father and confessed his sin his father forgave him and still loved him. This is what God does through Christ when we turn to Him from our filth, and confess our sin. He will receive us with open arms because of His steadfast love.

Then there are those who walk in darkness because they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High (Ps. 107:11). But when they cry to the LORD, He delivers them from their darkness (Ps. 107:13). Isaiah declared, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Is. 9:2). He goes on to speak of the birth of the Messiah (Is. 9:6-7). For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (II Cor. 4:6). Again His steadfast love turns our darkness into light when we turn to Jesus by faith and we begin to see the light of His glory.

Some were fools through their sinful ways (Ps. 107:17). They go about their living as if there is no God. They are very self-sufficient and are confident that they can make it on their own. "The fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,