The Spirit of God is our teacher. One of the marks of the Spirit is that we are driven to one another which is arguably the Spirit’s primary classroom for our sanctification and formation as the sons and daughters of God. It could be said that the work of the Holy Spirit will lead us to a quiet life rather than an extraordinary one.
Essentially we are closing out a segment of interactions with Jesus where He brings to light the true realities of the Kingdom of God.
The questions we ask don’t mean much without a pure hearted curiosity to go along with it. Jesus isn’t fooled or drawn in by our weaponized flattery and loaded questions. In the end we are left with faulty discipleship resulting in liars and pretenders.
Life and life to the full is found in the reminder that we are but tenants and not owners. Will we have eyes to see this and will it be good news to our souls?
We only begin to see the true substance of the Kingdom of God, when we find our ultimate delight in King Jesus and His ways. We cannot give our primary affection and attention to building our own kingdom and the Kingdom of God at the same time. Jesus though, graciously offers us a place at His table in a far superior Kingdom, where He reigns supreme, for His own glory and our joy.
This life matters. What we do now and how we finish by the grace of God is of eternal significance.
The Kingdom, eternal life, heaven, salvation are all terms that allude to the same reality. And yet, each one uniquely helps us understand that we are being brought out of something and transferred to something else entirely. Jesus helps us to see what it means to receive the Kingdom like a child.
Jesus gives us a vision for the kind of work that God is doing in order to make ready a people for His Kingdom.
If the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, how do we see it?
Faith IN a big God produces a radical obedience that was meant to terminate on Jesus being the center of our worship.
We must learn to see the mercy of God in light of eternity.
The question is not whether we will be faithful or not. The question is to whom or what we will be faithful. Jesus invites us to a life of faithfulness to the One who is ultimately faithful.
When God asks Adam where he is in the garden we need to understand that it is really an invitation of sorts. Many of the Psalms are an honest answer to that question. It would be redemptive for our heart and soul if we were better at answering this question as well.
It’s easy to announce the foolishness of one who would claim that “there is no God.” It is much harder however, to spot the functional atheism in the heart of the Christian who decides to choose sin over the glory and majesty of God. The answer for both, the atheist in word and functional atheist in deed, is the same-repent and believe the Gospel.
The Psalmist highlights a grounded biblical reality that the tongue truly sets forests ablaze and sets men on paths for destruction. The power to tame the tongue is found in the steadfast love of the Lord.
If the last Psalm was an articulation of the gospel that the people of God were looking towards the salvation of God (in Christ) then this Psalm is an articulation of what it is to apply the gospel to one’s life.
There are few places in all of scripture that articulate the gospel better than this Psalm. God truly had been preparing the way for His Son to save the world.
To live a life that is not based in the fears of men and of this world, we must have a mind that is set on God and the eternity that He promises.
The idea of a mountain and the idea of a city innately help us to understand the grandeur of God and what we have been brought into.
What does it mean for us that we serve a King? What a great testimony we have in King David gladly handing that title over to the King of all the earth!
God is our refuge and strength so that we can behold and know God.
Jesus is the only one who truly loved righteousness and hated wickedness. He is the only king who established a kingdom of uprightness. And He's the only one who made a worthy sacrifice at the Lord's table.
A Father would curse His Son so that NO curse could ever separate us from the His love ever again.
What would it look like if we actually believed that it was God’s job to judge, defend, and rescue us?
The Psalmist gives language and words to describe the heart of one in pursuit of God and hope in a time of duress.
Blessed are those who hear Jesus inviting them in!
Perhaps Jesus is not giving an invitation for men to prove their devotion, but rather to admit that they are sick and in need of a physician.
In Chapter 14, Jesus is invited by a ruler of the Pharisees to eat with a group of them. At the risk of embarrassment, they try to trap him again, but they are quickly silenced. He then shows them through a parable, that who they’ve waited for their whole lives, is now eating with them, but they decline the most important invitation they’ll ever receive.
We will look at the connection between rest, a vision for the Kingdom, the gospel, and lament.
Jesus helps us to see that one cannot think about repentance without thinking about grace. There is no repentance without grace and repentance is the fruit that God seeks.
