When God rebuilds Zion,
when he shows up in all his glory,
When he attends to the prayer of the wretched.
He won't dismiss their prayer.
18-22 Write this down for the next generation
so people not yet born will praise God:
"God looked out from his high holy place;
from heaven he surveyed the earth.
He listened to the groans of the doomed,
he opened the doors of their death cells."
Write it so the story can be told in Zion,
so God's praise will be sung in Jerusalem's streets
And wherever people gather together
along with their rulers to worship him.
23-28 God sovereignly brought me to my knees,
he cut me down in my prime.
"Oh, don't," I prayed, "please don't let me die.
You have more years than you know what to do with!
"It is surely no ordinary consolation to know that the love of God towards us is so great, that he will have his glory to shine forth in our salvation."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
"False Professors"
Titus 1:16
Reading from the English Standard Version:
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
"Christ's work on the cross removed the penalty of the curse mankind brought on creation (Gal. 3:13-14), thereby purifying all created things that were formerly considered unclean (Mark 7:19)."
Unfortunately, not all believers understand this truth, and would still regard certain foods off limits to the new covenant church. These people should be treated with Christian love, according to Paul, and our freedom should not be used to cause them to stumble. By the same token, however, we should resist any attempt by them to force us to follow their opinions on such matters. "Moreover, if they are impenitent about binding the conscience where the Lord has left it free, they are guilty of denying the Creator whom they claim to serve." In today's passage, Paul calls such legalists "detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work."
Such people even went so far as to imply that Christians who did not follow their man-made rules were lacking in a saving relationship with Christ.
I like this last paragraph, though, which gives us all great caution on this matter. "Still, we are not inspired apostles, so let us not accuse others of legalism too quickly. All of us are recovering legalists and prone to judging others based on our standards and not the Lord's--the very definition of legalism. May we not identify others as legalists until we are repenting of legalism in our own lives."
Amen.
"No Exceptions"
Psalm 61:5
Reading from the English Standard Version:
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
"Commitment to the pursuit of holiness is, first of all, a commitment to God to pursue a way of life that is pleasing to Him. It is commitment to a life of obedience. Such a commitment must allow for no exceptions, no secret sins we want to hold onto, no sinful habits we're unwilling to give up. We must make it our aim not to sin."
Of course, we cannot achieve sinless perfection in this life. But we can still have that commitment and intention to not sin wilfully. Frankly, if we don't have a commitment to "obedience without exception," there is no point in praying for God's help when we face temptation.
So we make these commitments. But it is important to renew them frequently. Just like we must practice our instruments or our sports activities, we must also "practice" our commitments, lest they become stale and ineffective.
I thank you once again, that you have made all things clean to us who believe in you. I praise you that we are no longer under the restrictions of the curse. But I also pray that we would be gentle and loving towards those who have not received this truth. It is not good that we flaunt our freedom. But give us strength when that freedom is threatened. As you have told us in the Scriptures, "For freedom Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1) In that same verse, you command us to not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Keep us free, Lord! Keep us free.
Let your glory indeed shine forth in our salvation, Father! Let us be your glory. We seek not any glory for ourselves, only that we may worship you for all of our days, and then on into eternity as the bride of Christ.
Today's featured legislator is Congressman Randy Forbes.
Randy J. Forbes was born in Chesapeake, Virginia on February 17, 1952. He attended Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia where he graduated in 1974. He then went to law school at the University of Virginia Law School in Charlottesville, Virginia where he graduated in 1977. He started his career as a lawyer in private practice. He went on to chair the Republican Party of Virginia from 1996-2001 and became a member of the Virginia state house of delegates, 1989-1997. He was elected as a member of the Virginia state senate from1997-2001.
On June 19, 2001, Randy was elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Seventh Congress by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Norman Sisisky, reelected to the four succeeding Congresses (June 19, 2001-present).
If you wish, you can send a prayer directly to him here.
Grace and peace, friends.