Gospel Living

4            The Lord is in his holy temple;             the Lord’s throne is in heaven;             his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. 5            The Lord tests the righteous,             but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. 6            Let him rain coals on the wicked;             fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 7            For the Lord is righteous;             he loves righteous deeds;     ...

and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. There’s something about the human condition that makes traitors and turncoats interesting, especially the one that betrayed Jesus Christ.  For instance, theories abound as to what “Iscariot” means.  For instance, the Reformation Study Bible notes, “Some believe that Judas was a political revolutionary because “Iscariot” may have been derived from the Latin  itsicarius,  ‘assassin.’ ”  The Faithlife Study Bible Aramaic slur, ishqarya' , meaning “the false one.”  Perhaps the best and simplest explanation is that it’s a transliteration of Hebrew ish qeriyyoth meaning “Man from Kerioth” (located in Judea).  The bigger question, though, is what his inclusion among the disciples teaches us. First, God knew what would happen, and He still used Judas.  Mark acknowledges Judas’s betray, not shying from it, even though it could be embarrassing for our Lord in the world’s eyes.  Acts 2:23 says that Jes...

13  And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. Mark highlights a very unpopular topic—the sovereignty of our Lord to choose who He will.  Autonomous free will—the ability for man to do what he wants when he wants without divine interference—is an idol.  Movies and television burst with stories of those beating fate and paving their own paths in life.  Even some Christians bristle at the idea of God making choices for our lives.  Sinful human beings find more comfort in God’s lack of control because it grants them freedom to pursue their passions. Unfortunately, Scripture presents a God creating the world and immediately saying, “Thou shalt not.”  It tells of God judging sin time after time, condemning mankind under sin.  To say this another way, it’s honest with us, and we need to come to terms with it. Even so, the message of Scripture is doom and gloom, but hope in the gospel.  ...

10           My shield is with God,             who saves the upright in heart. 11            God is a righteous judge,             and a God who feels indignation every day. 12           If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;             he has bent and readied his bow; 13           he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,             making his arrows fiery shafts. What fearsome language!  The Lord of all creation readies Himself for battle.  All those who hate the God Most High face a grave fate.  God doesn’t sin (miss the mark)—His arrow...

1            Give ear to my words, O LORD;             consider my groaning. 2            Give attention to the sound of my cry,             my King and my God,             for to you do I pray. 3            O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;             in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. The emotion of this psalm makes it a clear lament.  Throughout, we read David’s heartache, mainly brought on by the enemies of God.  All with heavy hearts would resonate with the pain here, and these three verses illustrate the godly man’s prayer times amid cries and groaning.  ...

Psalm 2 | Cornerstone Church of Savannah | Shaun Marksbury | 20 November, 2016 Good morning, church! We're going to be in Psalm 2 this morning. What we see in this psalm is that the nations of this world falsely believe that they can live free from the Lord. They have a choice to make as a result. I. The Defiance of the Nations (vv. 1–3) II. The Derision of the Nations (vv. 4–6) III. The Dedication of the Nations (vv. 7–9) IV. The Decision of the Nations (vv. 10–12) Hope to see you there at 10:30! May the Lord bless His service. http://cornerstonesavannah.org/ Video: Audio:

“4       He who sits in the heavens laughs;       the Lord holds them in derision. 5       Then he will speak to them in his wrath,       and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6       ‘As for me, I have set my King       on Zion, my holy hill.’ ”  Plots and schemes of men move forward (vv. 1–3), but the Father now responds.  He meets them not with mirth but with scornful laughter; He “holds them in derision.”   Ps 37:13 says that “the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.”  Despite the machinations of man, God remains seated and meets His enemies with sarcasm.     When the Lord finishes laughing, He speaks, and a holy wrath behind His words terrifies all mankind.  God doesn’t ignore iniquity in His laughter; He doesn’t wink at...

“ 23  And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24  ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.’ 25  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ 26  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27  And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ 28  And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.” Mark’s Gospel is shorter, but it doesn’t lack in supernatural accounts.  This section demonstrates the truth we highlighted yesterday—Jesus is authoritative, and Mark records Jesus's first miracle as authority over demonic forces.  The Romans knew of demonism, and Jesus wields command over th...

“ 21  And they went into Capernaum,  and immediately on the Sabbath  he entered the synagogue and was teaching.  22  And they were astonished at his teaching,  for he taught them as one who had authority,  and not as the scribes.” Though Jesus was raised in Nazareth, He travels northwest to Capernaum.  It’s along a major road, it’s larger, and it’s home to a Roman garrison, perfect for what will essentially become Christ’s base of operations in Galilee.  The location is optimal for the propagation of the gospel. People taught on the Sabbath in synagogue services, but the scribes typically did so by intellectually standing on the shoulders of rabbis and the corpus of tradition.  While deferring to experts may hint at humility, it is not so here.  They seek attention, even using it to take advantage of others.  Later, Jesus will warn, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greeti...

“Why do the nations rage  and the peoples plot in vain? 2  The kings of the earth set themselves,  and the rulers take counsel together,  against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3  ‘Let us burst their bonds apart  and cast away their cords from us.’” This world continues sliding in an increasingly secular direction.  It evidences a growing divide between church and culture, from the highest officials to the rioter on the street.  Whether in the arts, academia, business, entertainment, or politics, a biblical worldview is rejected for anything else.  So far removed are we from any connection to the Creator that we deny simple gender identity.  This is to say nothing of countries with real persecution, where simply being a Christian can cost you more than your job.  Ultimately, all of it is a rejection of God, and it’s not new.  Here, at the time of King David’s coronation in Jerusalem, th...

This could also be an update to the 2-2-2 post .

Todd Friel explained the following on this past Thursday's Wretched Radio broadcast.  Here's the paraphrase (dangerous, I know).  I missed where he got this principle, but it's interesting and helpful for understanding how God deals with mankind. So, here's the " two-two-two principle :" God deals with two kinds of people: saved and unsaved for two different reasons: pouring out wrath and leading to salvation using two different means: primary and secondary Because of God's multi-faceted plans, the "God did this because..." or "God allowed this because..." statements are too concrete, too black-and-white, to apply to tragedies capturing national attention. That, along with the fact that we have no scriptural or revelatory authority upon which to state such claims, means that we should practice prudence and be slow to speak.

Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your feet from being caught. My loving wife forwarded me a moving blog post from a mother who survived the horrors of the Colorado theater shooting.   Give it a read.

I was counseling someone on anxiety, and this email popped up from Grace Gems.  I hope that you might find it a word of comfort (or conviction) in troubled times: Do not be afraid! ( James Smith , "The Believer's Companion in Seasons of Affliction and Trouble" 1842) "So do not be afraid --for I am with you;  do not be dismayed--for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with My righteous right hand!"     Isaiah 41:10 God has arranged all our concerns with consummate wisdom , in the very best possible manner. He overrules all events by His omnipotent power . He directs all things by His paternal love . If infinite wisdom, omnipotent power, and paternal love, are engaged for our present and eternal welfare--then our fears must be groundless, and our anxiety folly. Our fears only . . .    dishonor God,    distress the mind,    please Satan,    and grieve the godl...