Category Archives: 2021

Songs for Sunday, January 17, 2021

There are times in life and in world events that I simply do not have words to adequately express what I feel needs to be said — what I want to say or relay. It is certainly good news to my weary heart that there is a Word higher than mine. And in that Word are words for every season of life and occasion that may exist.

Look at this:

1  God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3  though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

Psalm 46:1-3

No matter our situation or predicament, God is our “refuge”. He is a safe place where we can find shelter in the storms of life. He is our salvation – our rock and defender – and can be trusted in and called upon at any time (Psalm 62:7-8).

He is our “strength”. Whether in want or plenty, we can know that He can and will strengthen us with His own strength that we can withstand and persevere (Philippians 4:10-13).

He is with us “always” (Matthew 20:28), even and especially “very“ present in “trouble”. We have already looked at Him being a refuge. Do not picture Him as a hiding place, but rather a fortress – a “stronghold” to specifically protect those who are “oppressed” and are “in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:9).

Since He is our “refuge”, provides us with His “strength”, and is “a very present help in trouble”, “we will not fear”. This does not say may not or should not. No, placing one’s hope and trust and faith in God is more sure than possibility.

It is as solid as the rock bottom that we find our selves hitting. It is deeper than the trouble we find ourselves in time and again. When we find that we have no one else, He teaches us that He is the only One we need.

The earth can give way. Mountains may crumble and fall into the sea. Tidal waves – both real and figurative – may roar and rage against us, threatening life, limb, and livelihood. All of the comforts that we enjoy may cease to exist or leave us.

But God has promised that He will “never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). And that is good news. It is good news because we are surely acquainted with bad news. It is good news because we are dismayed and afraid. It is good news because we have no other sure source of help. Ultimately, it is good news because our good God (Mark 10:18) has given it in His Word and His Word never fails or will ever pass away (1 Peter 1:25).

And that is the hope that we’ll sing about this Sunday – hope in a good God who will be our refuge in good times and bad, the days that seem desperate and those that make us glad. May we be reminded that there is a God in Heaven. His name is Jesus. He cares for us (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Here are our songs:

27  Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
      “My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28  Have you not known? Have you not heard?
      The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
      He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29   He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30   Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31   but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
       they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:27-31

1 But now thus says the Lord,
       he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
       “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2     When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
       when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3     For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Isaiah 43:1-3a
  • Desert Song —
    Scripture References/Inspiration for the Song: Isaiah 35:1, Psalm 63:1, Psalm 69:3, Psalm 34:10, 1 Corinthians 4:11, Matthew 5:6, Genesis 22:14, Isaiah 43:1-3, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Revelation 21:4, 1 Peter 1:7, Zechariah 13:9, Psalm 56:10, Psalm 51:15, Psalm 142:7, Isaiah 54:17, Hebrews 3:18, Psalm 22:22, Deuteronomy 20:4, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 20:28, Ephesians 6:10-20, Exodus 14:14, Romans 8:17, Romans 8:37, Hebrews 10:23, 2 Timothy 4:1-3, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17, Psalm 13:6, Psalm 105:2, James 5:13, John 4:23-24, Matthew 9:37-38, Psalm 30:5, John 7:38, Romans 15:13, Psalm 126:5, Deuteronomy 15:10, Acts 20:35

6 [Humble yourselves], therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:6-11

I hope to see you with us, whether you gather in person, in the parking lot via speaker, or on Facebook or YouTube live!

If gathering in person, please remember that masks are recommended and that we need to remain vigilant in our social distancing measures. Continue to pray for those who are sick – not just our members but all those around the world.

Refresh & Restore — January 14, 2021

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 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 cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.[1]

1 John 1:5-10

Greetings, Sojourner!

What a privilege it is to get to spend time together in the Word of God. When turmoil, confusion, and fear seem to be the norm, it is good to see the eternal perspective of God found in His Word. And, especially in the context of 1 John 1, we get to see the same hope that was promised in Christ long ago by the prophet Isaiah:

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.

Isaiah 9:2

This is part of what John wanted to show in his first letter. No matter how dark the darkness seems – whether in the world or in our own hearts – there is hope because “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (v. 5). Let us dive into today’s passage, and may the Word of God shine into our lives today.

Since we are going through a book of the Bible together, it is important that we see how each week’s passage flows as part of the larger text – sentences into paragraphs into sections into chapters into the whole book. This week’s passage flows out of the introduction last week by John getting specific about the message that he “heard” and “proclaim[ed]” (vv. 1, 3) – a message directly from God and not man.

The message he writes here either sums up or elaborates on what he wrote previously in his gospel. This is cool because 1) he has already shared specifically what he “heard” directly from Jesus, and 2) the Word of God is the best commentary for itself (i.e., the verses that are cited in this devotion clear up the meaning of the word and bear more weight than any of the other words). Here are some of the verses from the gospel of John that are drawn on in today’s passage:

  • In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (1:4-5)
  • The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. (1:9)
  • But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (3:21)
  • Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I Am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (8:12)
  • So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (12:35-36)
  • I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. (12:46)

John wanted his original readers – and us – to look at the way that Christ – the Light– shines despite the darkness – that it is His shining that ultimately drives the darkness away because it cannot contend with Him. And, just like it is the nature of light to shine, Jesus revealed/manifested Himself to us (v. 2) and shines his “glory…full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This is good news. It also carries with it some bad news.

The problem with light shining into darkness is that everything is revealed – good and bad. My wife and I were so excited to buy “daylight” bright light bulbs for our formerly dark bathroom. Now, we face the stark reality of each day that we age. The bags under my eyes are darker and deeper there. My pores seem magnified. Scars, wrinkles, and blemishes look like chasms in my face. And Candice remains beautiful.

The rest of today’s passage deals with what is found and exposed in the light – how we walk in either light or darkness exposes the state of our hearts and our fellowship (or lack of it) with Christ. It is important here that we note that all of the verses that we are looking at today have “we” as the subject. John is not pointing fingers but showing how everyone, everywhere, for all time who takes these positions (including himself) is included. He does this by making “if” statements that can help diagnose our relationship with Christ with each statement building on the others to help us understand what it means to “walk in the light, as He is in the light” (v. 7).

The first “if” statement is in verse 6: “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness”. Fellowship with God – that relationship that flows out of the grace of God in salvation – does not dwell in darkness. We saw in John 1:5 earlier that the darkness will never overcome the light, and, if we have fellowship with God, we live in the light. Let us check our own hearts. Do we claim to have fellowship with God? Are we walking (living/behaving/participating) in darkness? James 4:4 tells us the question we need to ask regarding our walk with Christ: “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?”

The next “if” statement shifts to the brightness of the light and is given in a positive tone (emphasis added): “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light”. Jesus – the Light – is always the contrast to darkness. Walking (again living/behaving/participating) with Him is the opposite of walking in darkness. If we walk with Him, we have fellowship with God (v. 6) and that fellowship extends to our brothers and sisters in Christ because of the shared experience of having been cleansed from sin by “the blood of Jesus” (v. 7). That fellowship will extend to heaven where it will be sung, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…” (Revelation 5:9). And, in heaven, all will “walk in the light” because it “has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23).

Verse 8’s “if” statement shifts back to the darkness: “if we say we have no sin”. The Bible is clear on this subject. Not one single person is righteous in their own works (Romans 3:10); in fact, “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). Every, single human being from Adam to Kingdom come (except Christ) is a sinner. And, if we convince ourselves that we are not, we “deceive ourselves”. I like the way that Charles Spurgeon put it:

“He who cannot find water in the sea is not more foolish than the man who cannot perceive sin in his members. As the salt flavors every drop in the Atlantic, so does every sin affect every atom of our nature.”

The word “deceive” there means to “lead astray”. So, by saying that we have no sin, we are causing ourselves to stumble. And we are revealing that the Truth (Jesus Himself is the Truth – John 14:6) is “not in us”. Hear me, beloved Sojourner, how we react to our sin matters – whether we choose to conceal it or confess it matters. We might be able to convince ourselves that we are sinless and perfect. We may even be able to convince other people. But the Light recognizes the darkness, and nothing is hidden from Him (Hebrews 4:13).

The final positive “if” statement is where we need to be in our walk with Christ: “if we confess our sins” (v. 9). This is the appropriate attitude for a Christ-follower regarding sin. We should not deny it but admit it and receive the forgiveness that Christ promises (Proverbs 28:13, Psalm 32:5). When we confess our sin and “draw near to the throne of grace” where Christ is seated, “we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). You see, Christ does not just do away with sin. Verse 9 makes it clear that he is “faithful” and “just” in his forgiveness. He is faithful in His forgiveness because He does what He has said He would do for those who have confessed and believed in Him (Romans 10:9). He is just because He paid the penalty for our sin (Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21). So, I ask again, are we walking in darkness or light? Do we deny and excuse our sin, or do we confess our need for the Savior? Our answers to these questions make all the difference in this world and the next.

John’s last “if” statement shows why all of these questions matter: “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us” (v. 10). We simply cannot have it both ways. No lie can be the Truth, nor can darkness be Light. And, since it is His voice that created this universe, His Word goes. And by the Word – Christ Himself – we are either saved or left to the death we earn ourselves through sin (Romans 6:23).

He does not ask for perfection from us. He provides that for us. He asks only that we repent and believe.

Do you?

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 1:5–10.

Refresh & Restore — January 7, 2021

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.[1]

1 John 1:1-4

Greetings, Sojourner!

Here we are in our first Refresh & Restore of 2021, and I find myself both excited and nervous. I am excited because getting to open the Word and journey through it with you brings me great joy and is a special time for me each week. But I find myself anxious at how small I am compared to the massive task of “rightly handling the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). But I trust in the power of the Word (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12) more than I fear my own inadequacies. As Augustine said, “Where Scripture speaks, God speaks”; and we so desperately need to hear Him.

What we are setting out to do in this new year – seeking to walk through whole books and sections of the Bible, to genuinely understand it – is not a new task. We will break it down like Isaiah had to in his time: “precept upon precept” and “line upon line” (Isaiah 28:10). We will join in with the likes of Ezra and Nehemiah who, upon returning home from exile, “read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8).

So, today, let us set out to read and understand John’s first epistle (letter) and look at the Life, Light, and Love that comes only from walking with Christ – the Word of God.

The first thing we see is how he opens 1 John and how it fits with the gospel of John. He started his gospel by describing how Jesus is eternal and God:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:1

Where the other gospels begin with the birth of Christ and/or the work of John the Baptist, John’s gospel goes back before the beginning and shows that Jesus has always been and always been God. 1 John begins by showing us how we can know Him through the experience of those who knew Him as the God who saved them from their sins and the divine Man who was their friend on earth.

John was writing here as he and Peter said in Acts 4:20: “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard”. He is bringing Jesus, who “was from the beginning” (v. 1), into focus, showing us how He became knowable. Jesus “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) and lived a fully human life; He could be “heard”, “seen”, “looked upon”, and “touched”. He was not some abstract being or god. He is neither myth nor legend. He is real.

John is relaying his first-hand experience with Jesus so that we can know Him. He does this so that when he talks about the “Word of Life” it is not some idea to be thought about but, rather, a Person to be known. Back when John was writing, there were people who were trying to convince others that God did not “become flesh”. They wanted to challenge that truth and replace it with theories and ideas (because theories and ideas can be ignored or changed as needed). But John shows that there was more to Jesus.

He was not only the “Word of Life” but the Life (John 14:6). And because He came – was born, lived, died in our place, and rose from the dead – the Life was “made manifest” (v. 2). We do not typically use language like this, so it may be a bit hard to wrap our minds around. But the word translated “made manifest” literally means “to make visible”, “to cause to be seen”, or “to make known”. That is exactly what happened. God, in Jesus, was “born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7); He became a man to make Himself known to us. “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8) so that, by knowing, believing, and trusting in Him we might become “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

This is literally what John is doing here in this letter: He is sharing the Life with us. He wants us to know that he has “seen it”. He wants to “testify to it” so that we can believe it. And he wants to “proclaim” it – “the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest” (v. 2) so that we can have it too.

We have already talked about how John wrote his gospel to show us Christ and his first letter so that we can know Him. Now, we see how he goes from showing how to have eternal life in his gospel – “whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life” (John 3:16) – to showing in 1 John how we can know we have eternal life.

Those who have eternal life have “fellowship” with John, all believers, and – especially – with “the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (v. 3). The word fellowship has a lot of (pardon the made-up word) churchiness associated with it. Where I live in the Southern US, the word fellowship could be associated with the awkward, pre-Covid greeting time at some churches, but it is most often associated with eating (I can almost taste fried chicken as I type this) meals at church gatherings. But the type of fellowship – the very concept that is at the heart of what John is saying here – is so much more than a shared meal, a handshake, or even a hug. It is not a way of life or even a part of life. It is a result of having eternal life – of associating with the Life.

The word here translated “fellowship” is a special word. It could translate as a “close association”, “community”, or “a close, mutual relationship”, but all those things can exist outside of eternal life. They are too regular to communicate what John is talking about here. The “fellowship” he refers to comes out of the shared experience flowing from the grace of God in salvation. It is community built upon the foundation of the gospel – that we are all sinners and are only saved by the grace of God in Christ alone.

The closest earthly example that I can relate it to would be a group of people who survived some tragedy. They would have a bond based on their shared experience of having lived through something together. But that is where the illustration falls apart. The fellowship with God that comes from salvation produces our fellowship with one another. And we do not share the experience of living through something; we share the experience of the Life. We can celebrate the fact that, despite the “wages of [our] sin [being] death”, we have received the “free gift of God…eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). We are family – “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:7). This is a bond like no other.

Through knowing Christ in this way – the way that John knew Him, John shares with us the same thing that Jesus gave to him: complete joy. Here in verse 4, John echoes the promise that Jesus made to him – a promise he heard with his own ears. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

Joy means the reason for or object of gladness and delight. When we receive Christ, when we are fully known and loved by Him, He becomes the object of our delight and the reason that our hearts can be glad. He has already taken our sin upon Himself on the cross and defeated death, and He is willing to exchange our sorrows for joy. What better news could there be? For that reason, John tells his original readers and us today that he is “writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (v. 4).

I am immensely thankful for the testimony of John – that He would share all that he had heard and seen of His friend Jesus with us. I am even more thankful that Jesus – the Word of Life – came that we “may have Life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Have you experienced the eternal life that comes only from Jesus? All it takes to have eternal life is the same as with any gift – to receive it, to receive Christ because “to all who…receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). It is my prayer that – if you have not repented and believed in Jesus Christ – you do just that. He promises that “whoever comes to [Him] will never [be] cast out” (John 6:37). He will never – never – cast you out but instead make sure that your joy is completely full forever.

Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 1:1–4.

Songs for Sunday — January 3, 2021

I read a quote yesterday that really puts 2020/2021 into perspective:

“Our hope is not in the new year, but in the One who makes all things new.”

Toby Mac

The “One” who makes all things new is Jesus.

He was our only hope in 2020 and 2019 and 1992 and 1746bc. He is the same “yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He is the “blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). And He is our “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).

Every praise to God that has ever been sung is about Him. And He is who we will sing about this year until His “Kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10)! He has always been our only hope, and only trusting in Him will bring peace and hope for 2021.

Here are our songs:

*Note*

I hope to see you with us, whether you gather in person, in the parking lot via speaker, or on Facebook or YouTube live!

If gathering in person, please remember that masks are recommended and that we need to remain vigilant in our social distancing measures. Continue to pray for those who are sick – not just our members but all those around the world.