Sunday Devotional 3.22.20

Lead yourself or family in Prayer

Thank God for his goodness and faithfulness in all seasons

Pray for those who are suffering from the Coronavirus

Pray for provision for those who’s jobs have been affected by this pandemic

Pray for protection of friends and family (by name)

pray for wisdom for the leadership of our church, and pray for wisdom for the leadership of our city, county, state, and country.

Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to not live in fear but to rest in the peace of Christ.

pray for wisdom for the leadership of our city, county, state, and country. Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to not live in fear but to rest in the peace of Christ.

Prayer

O Lord, support us all the day long through this trouble-filled life, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in your mercy grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen. Amen.

23 Meditation

Read through aloud with your family and focus on how this Psalm shapes the way we understand God (example: what does this psalm say about God? This Psalm says that he is our refuge and strength. What does it mean that he is our refuge and strength?) Also pay attention to how we are to live in light of who God is (example: v.2 “therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way”). Read through the Psalm out loud together and then discuss the questions below.

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

​ ESVTo the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A 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 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Questions:

Questions:

What is God doing in this Psalm?

(example: “he makes me lie down in green pastures”)

What does the Psalmist (David) say about himself?

(example: “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” )

What comfort does this Psalm offer you and your family during this time?

Devotion: The Lost Bride

The story of the Lost Bride is a story that demonstrates the lengths our Lord and Savior has gone to redeem us from the power of Satan, sin and death. Read the story aloud to yourself, your family, or your community group and then answer the questions at the end of the story. I want to encourage fathers to read this story to your family. Mothers, don’t hesitate to interrupt in order to make sure your kids understand the story. Explain it to your kids in terms and concepts they will understand. For example, make sure your kids understand that Yahweh is God’s proper name in the OT.

The dust settled as Yahweh clapped his hands together to knock off any remaining clumps of dirt and soil. He had just finished forming from the dust of the ground the crowning glory of his creation. There, lying lifeless upon the newly created earth, was the first image in Yahweh's holy garden-temple. Yahweh breathed into the nostrils of this image, and from dirt came life, from the dust of the ground came the first priest, Adam. Adam breathed his first breath and opened his eyes to see the glory of Yahweh’s creation. Yahweh himself welcomed Adam into the newly formed world, he showed him the Garden and all of its wonder. He led him to the middle of the Garden where the two sacred trees stood. He offered him the fruit from the Tree of Life and told him he would have to wait to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yahweh told Adam that if he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil before he was ready that he would become a slave to death.

YHWH created man and women in his image and gave them the gift of marriage. This covenant union between a man and a woman, husband and wife, was given to his creation to reflect the union God would have with his people. Adam and Even enjoyed each other, as their marriage was a picture of Christ and his bride.  However, something happened that fractured what YHWH had put together. Sin entered the world, and through sin came the curse of death. This curse was a cruel master, powerful, and left nothing unaffected.

​ ESV21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

Yahweh loved Adam with an eternal covenantal love. To reflect this intense love he had for his image bearer, Yahweh put Adam into a deep sleep, a death sleep, and tore open his side and removed one of his ribs. From his rib, Yahweh formed a bride for Adam. A bride who not only came from his side but would be by his side in all the work Yahweh gave him to do. The bride Yahweh gave to Adam was a bride who would set his heart on fire with the flame of Yahweh. The bride Yahweh gave to Adam was a living symbol of how humanity is to love and submit to Yahweh, her true husband. The marriage bond between Adam and Eve was given to reflect the union God would have with his creation, with all humanity. Adam and Eve loved one another, they loved and served each other, and everything they did reflected Yahweh's love for his bride.

The power of death separated Adam and Eve from the covenant bond they had with each other and with God. What was once unity became hostility, what was once love became bitterness and anger.  For Christ’s bride had given herself to another. She had allowed herself to be embraced by arms of a stranger and her loyalty to Christ faded. Death now claimed power over this bride and she began to wither and wilt, no longer clothed in the glorious garments of Christ, no longer feasting at the table with Christ, her true husband. She put on the filthy rags of guilt and shame; she wandered in the howling wasteland of depravity and grew weak as she was fed only scraps at the table of demons.

Like an orphan lost in the wilderness of sin, the bride found her home in the valley of the shadow of death. She took up residence there.  Sin was her master--her beauty faded, her desire for her true husband was gone, and her life was incarcerated in the chamber of death.

However, something went wrong, something happened that fractured what Yahweh had put together. Adam disobeyed Yahweh by allowing a dragon to enter the Garden and deceive his bride into eating from the tree God told him not to eat from. Adam watched passivly as his beautiful bride took the fruit into her hands and ate it. He waited, and when he saw that eating the fruit didn’t kill her, he took some for himself and ate it as well. At that moment, the dragon’s deception worked. Sin entered the world, and through sin came the curse of death.

But now...From the moment God breathed life into the nostrils of Adam (dirt bag), Gods righteousness has been manifested. In the Garden God’s righteousness was seen in the pre-incarnate Christ who was in the Garden with Adam and Eve. The righteousness of God was seen in creation, it was manifested in the garden of Eden, and it was highlighted in both the Tree of Life and in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s righteousness, that is his perfection and holy character, evident in and through all creation. And where the righteousness of God resides, there is life. However, after the fall, the curse of sin entered into creation and like a virus and changed everything. Now, humankind is unable to approach God’s righteousness lest it be consumed by fire. The Lord put two angels outside the garden with a flaming sword that represented the righteousness of God. If anyone tried to pass by the angles and partake in the life of God they would be cut up and burned. So now mankind is left outside the garden, lacking any hope of righteousness. However, in God’s mercy he provided a way for humanity to fellowship with God outside the garden. Instead of men and women being cut up and burned by the angels at the edge of the garden, God allowed people to cut up and burn and animal as a sacrifice upon an alter and the smoke of the sacrifice would ascend into the presence of God on behalf of the worshipper. This way of communing with God was then fully established in the Mosaic covenant where God would dwell with his people through the mediation of sacrifices. In other words, the whole sacrificial system was God’s way of calling his people to himself in order to fellowship together. Or, as James Jordan says, “the sacrifice was God’s way of saying, ‘come over here and give me a hug.’” God also gave his people his Law which contained the righteous standard by which his people were to live. However, God’s desire was to dwell with his people, not through the mediation of animal sacrfices, but to dwell with his people as he did with Adam and Eve in the Garden. For this to happen God’s rightousness would have to be manifested to us apart from the law. Which is what we see in

Though she had broken covenant with her bridegroom, though she had embraced the arms of another and her unfaithfulness and lusting raged, Christ, the true husband, never forsook his vow to her. He was never unfaithful. He never failed to love her. And he refused to leave her chained to the walls of the chamber of death. He would redeem her, and he would fight for her. He would save her from the power of Satan, sin, and death.

For him to do that, he had to go get her. The Bride of Christ could not respond to his call, for her ears were deaf. She could not respond to his open arms, for her eyes were blind. And she could not get up and walk to him, for her legs were useless. She could do nothing, for she was dead. She lay in the chamber of death as a corpse.  For Christ to get his bride back, he himself had to enter the chamber. He had to die.

​ ESV21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

The curse was a relentless force; it wrapped its thorny vines of death around every part of Yahweh’s glorious creation. What Yahweh had declared good now had the venom of the curse running through its veins. This curse was a cruel master, powerful, and left nothing unaffected. Every emotion, every relationship, every part of creation now waged war against that which is good, true, and beautiful.

The Apostle Paul tells this story in Ephesians Chapter 2, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Adam and Eve, along with all humanity, was Yahweh’s love, his bride. Yet, the power of the cruse severed Adam and Eve from the covenant bond they had with each other and with God. What was once perfect unity became hostility, what was once love became agony and anger. The bride Yahweh loved no longer returned to him his affection. For the bride had given herself to another. She had allowed herself to be embraced by the arms of a stranger, and her loyalty to her true husband faded. Death now claimed power over his bride, and she began to wither and wilt, no longer clothed in the glorious garments of her Creator, she no longer feasted at the table with her Beloved. Death stripped her bare and abused her, he forced upon her the scars of guilt and shame. The bride was lost, she could no longer even recognized the sound of Yahweh’s voice. She wandered in the howling wasteland of depravity and grew weak as she was fed only scraps at the table of demons.

The whole bible, the law and the prophets bear witness to the truth that the righteousness of God would one day be manifested apart from the law. So how is it that God has revealed his righteousness apart from the law? Look at verse 22

Apart from the immeasurable power of King Jesus the true husband, the bride--you and I-- are dead in our sins. We have no ears to hear, nor eyes to see, nor legs to walk, for we are dead in the chamber of death.

Upon the cross Jesus fought his way into the chamber, he picked up the corpse of his bride and in his own body he took her death, he took her curse, her guilt, her shame. He took upon himself everything that had enslaved her to death.

Like an orphan lost in the wilderness of sin, the bride found her home in the valley of the shadow of death.. Sin was her master - her beauty faded, her desire for her true husband was gone, and her life was incarcerated in the chamber of death.

​ ESV22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

He did this because he loved his bride--you and me--with such a great love. He poured out his mercy and his grace upon us by taking our guilt and shame upon himself.  The beautiful part of this story is that though no one had ever escaped the chamber of death before, though no one had ever defeated or conquered the power of the curse, the great King, by the immeasurable power of God, conquered the grave. He broke out of the chamber of death and with his bride in his arms resurrected from the dead! Paul goes on

“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.”

Though she had broken covenant with her bridegroom, though she had embraced the arms of another and her unfaithfulness and lusting raged, Yahweh, the true husband, never forsook his vow to her. He was never unfaithful. He never failed to love her. And he refused to leave her chained to the walls of the chamber of death. He would redeem her, and he would fight for her. He would save her from the power of Satan, sin, and death.

Here we see that the righteousness of God has been revealed through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. However, this translation is not overly helpful. This translations seems to say that God’s perfect righteousness is revealed through our faith in Jesus Christ. Without getting into the neuances of subjective vs. objective genitives in the greek language, grammatically it is just as valid to translate this verse by saying, “the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe… (NET)). Now this helps us understand how God has manifested his righteousness. He is no longer revealing his righteousness by the law, but now he has manifested the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ… It is Jesus’ faithfulness that reveals God’s righteousness, not our own. It is Jesus’ faithfulness that saves us. It is Jesus’ faithfulness that will bring us safely into the presence of God without having to be cut up and burned by the flaming swords of the angels. Jesus himself was cut up and burned upon the alter of the cross on our behalf. He was the sacrificial lamb who died in our place. And when Jesus was raised from the dead he raised us with him, and now carries us in his arms past the garden’s gate right into the presence of God’s righteous glory. In Christ we have been brought back into the presence of God. As you navigate these next few weeks do so knowing that you are not a child of God who wanders about in the darkness outside of the Garden. When fear and anxiety knocks on your door, when you life seems uncertain because of the global effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, know that you are safe in the arms of Christ. He has redeemed you and has called you his own. He has clothed you in his righteousness and even now sings over you as his bride. It is the faithfulness of Jesus that has saved you, and it is the faithfulness of Jesus that will sustain you.

Jesus Christ has conquered the grave. He has risen, and he has risen with the bride of Christ in his arms. His bride is now free, and  the choir of the redeemed sing with one voice, “O death, where is your victory, O death, where is your sting?” For Jesus has won; he has defeated death in the grave. He now rules from the right hand of the Father and is given honor and glory. Those who believe are no longer enslaved to the chamber of death but are seated with him in glory, having been raised with him. Those who are here who have not believed: you are still enslaved by the chains of death; you have not yet been raised. And now the bride calls out to those who are still imprisoned, “Awake, O Sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” May the power of the resurrection raise us all to follow Christ as new creations, living in the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward those who believe.

For Yahweh to redeem his bride, he had to go get her. The power of the curse was so strong that the bride could not respond to His call, for her ears were deaf. She could not return to his open arms, for her eyes were blind. And she could not get up and walk to him, for her legs were useless. She could do nothing, for she was dead. She lay in the chamber of death as a corpse. For Yahweh to redeem his bride, he would have to enter the chamber himself. He would have to die.

​ ESV31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Apostle Paul tells this story in Ephesians Chapter 2,

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Apart from the limitless power of King Jesus, the true husband, the bride--you and I-- are dead in our trespasses and sins. We have no ears to hear, nor eyes to see, nor legs to walk, for we are dead in the chamber of death.

Upon the cross Jesus fought his way into the chamber, he picked up the lifeless body of his bride and in his own body he took her death, he took her curse, her guilt, her shame. He absorbed in himself everything that had enslaved her to death.

He did this because he loved his bride--you and me--with an eternal, unrelenting, never failing, covenantal love. The beautiful part of this story is that though no one had ever escaped the chamber of death before, though no one had ever defeated or conquered the power of the curse, the great King, by the immeasurable power of God, conquered the grave. With his bride in his arms, King Jesus broke down the walls of the chamber of death and was resurrected from the dead!

Paul goes on

“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.”

Jesus Christ has conquered the grave. He has risen, and he has risen with his bride in his arms. The bride is now free, and she sings with one voice as the choir of the redeemed, “O death, where is your victory, O death, where is your sting?” For Jesus has won; he has defeated death in the grave. He now rules from the right hand of the Father and is given honor and glory.

Those who believe are no longer enslaved to the chamber of death but are seated with him in glory, having been raised with him. Those who have not believed in the death-defying good news of the gospel are still enslaved by the chains of death. And now the bride calls out to those who are still in the shackles of sin, “Awake, O Sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” May the power of the resurrection raise us all to follow Christ as new creations, living in the immeasurable greatness of God’s power.

Questions:

What part of the story connected with you and why?

The Bible describes marriage as a symbol of our relationship with Christ. What comfort can we have in this “covenant” relationship we have with Christ?

What should Adam have done when he saw Eve eat the forbidden fruit? (Hint: What did the second Adam do when his bride was cursed?)

Isaiah 54 ESV

1 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord. 2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities. 4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. 5 For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. 6 For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. 8 In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. 13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. 16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; 17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

Isaiah 54:4–17 ESV

4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. 5 For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. 6 For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. 8 In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. 13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. 16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; 17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”