1 Peter 2: The Cornerstone

Today’s reading is 1 Peter 2.

Both Paul and Peter liken Christ’s church to the temple. Paul does so in Ephesians 2:19-22. Peter in our current reading. Both call Jesus the cornerstone of the whole building. Paul in Ephesians 2:20. Peter here in 1 Peter 2:6-7.

Jesus is, according to 1 Peter 2:4, a chosen and precious stone. Both words translate terms lifted from the Septuagint version of Isaiah 28:16, quoted in 1 Peter 2:6. He is chosen or elect, just as the recipients of this letter were according to 1 Peter 1:1. He is precious, costly. That is, Jesus is valuable. However, He is valuable to God. Men rejected Him. They didn’t see His value.

Peter pulls together three passages from Isaiah and Psalms to make his point. In Isaiah 28:16, God will build a foundation in Zion with a chosen and precious cornerstone. In Isaiah 28:14-22, God rebuked the Judeans for claiming a covenant with death and Sheol to protect them from the passing storm. By contrast, God built a foundation. That is, a sure place to shelter in contrast with the flimsy covenant with death. Whoever puts their faith in the foundation built on God’s cornerstone will not be put to shame or disgraced. Those who trust in lies will be overcome by the storm of judgment. In other words, Jesus is the shelter against death and judgment for those who believe and obey.

In Psalm 118, the psalmist recounts his distress at the hands of the nations. They surrounded him and pressed in on him. But the Lord cut them off. The psalmist took refuge in the Lord, not in princes. In vs. 22, he describes himself as the stone rejected by the builders which the Lord has used as His cornerstone. In vs. 18, the psalmist said, “The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death” (ESV). That’s Jesus. Yes, He died. But He was not given over to it. On the third day, God demonstrated His election of this precious cornerstone by raising Him from the dead.

In Isaiah 8, God had Isaiah foretell the coming of Assyria against Israel because they would not drink from the waters God provided but rejoiced in foreign waters. That is, in foreign gods and kings. In the wake of this promise, God told Isaiah not to fear what the people feared. Instead, he was to fear God. If he did, God would become a sanctuary of protection for Isaiah, but would become a stone of offense and rock of stumbling for both Israel and Judah. They would stumble on Him. Those who will not believe on and trust in the stone that is God, will stumble, fall, and be broken.

Each of these passages and Peter’s point overall is quite simple. For those who believe and obey, Jesus is a stone of refuge, protection, and shelter. for those who do not believe, but reject and disobey, He is a stone which will trip them up and cause them to stumble.

Peter says they were destined to this. His point is not that they were destined to disbelieve and disobey. Rather, those who disbelieve, reject, and disobey are destined to stumble. Interestingly, this is a play on words. The word translated “destined” in 1 Peter 2:8 (ESV) is the same word translated “laying” in 1 Peter 2:6 (ESV). Jesus was laid, established, appointed, destined to be this important stone. In like manner, those who disbelieve, reject, and disobey the stone are not built into the temple but are laid, established, appointed, destined to stumble over the cornerstone.

The choice is ours. Will we take refuge in Jesus the cornerstone or will we stumble over Him?

Tomorrow’s reading is 1 Peter 2.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does 1 Peter 2 admonish you?

Mark 16: He Has Risen!

Today’s reading is Mark 16.

Honestly, there’s not much to say in today’s post. But we do need to say the most incredible thing.

The women showed up at the tomb, hoping to anoint Jesus and prepare His body to remain buried. They wondered how they were going to move the large stone rolled in front of the door. But when they arrived, they didn’t have to worry about it. The stone was rolled back.

When they entered, they saw a man, but it wasn’t Jesus. The young man, which we learn from other gospels was an angel in the form of a man, told them they were looking in the wrong spot.

He has risen; he is not here!

If they wanted to see Jesus, they needed to go to Galilee just as Jesus had said in Mark 14:28.

The most important moment in history is covered in essentially one paragraph. There isn’t a great fanfare. There is no pomp and circumstance. Really, the angel just treats it as the natural course. After all, Jesus said it would happen. In the same way He had told the disciples they would be able to find a colt and then be able to find a room for the Passover, He had told them He would rise from the dead and they should go to Galilee to meet Him. If Jesus said it would be a certain way, it was going to be that way.

And here the tomb is empty. That is our Savior. The King who died for us, then rose again on the third day. Andy King who can do that deserves our allegiance.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Mark 16.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Mark 16 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 118: The Rejected Stone

Today’s reading is Psalm 118.

The Way God Works

Do you recall whom God used to deliver Israel from the famine in the days of Jacob and his sons? Joseph. You know, the brother the others rejected and sold into slavery.

Do you recall whom God used to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage? Moses. You know, the one the Israelites rejected when he tried to deliver them the first time.

Do you recall whom God used to be the king after His own heart? David. You know, the one whose father and brothers were so sure couldn’t be the one Samuel was looking for they left him out with the sheep. You know, the one Eliab ridiculed just because he was asking about Goliath. You know, the one Saul chased out into the wilderness.

Do you recall whom God used to intercede for his friends after they spent days arguing? Job. You know, the one whose friends rejected as a horrible sinner.

Do you recall whom God used to intercede on behalf of Israel to be released from Babylonian captivity? Daniel. You know, the one whose co-workers hated him and got him thrown in a lion’s den.

God has a penchant for using the very ones everyone else rejects to accomplish His greatest plans of intercessions, salvation, and deliverance.

Is it any wonder the one against whom the people shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” ends up being the very cornerstone of the Lord’s kingdom? God always chooses the stone the builders reject in order to build His plans.

Praise the Lord!

Do you know whom God can use to accomplish great things in His kingdom today? He’s always been able to use the least, the last, the lowest. Wherever you think you rank on the scale of usability, God can use you to do amazing things. Turn to Him as a living stone fitted together into a house of praise and be amazed at how God can use even you, even at your weakest. Especially at your weakest.

Praise the Lord!

Next week’s reading is in Psalm 119.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What do you want to share with others from Psalm 118?

Revelation 18: Merchants or Saints

Today’s reading is Revelation 18.

An Object Lesson from Jeremiah

In Jeremiah 50-51, God had the prophet write a sermon of judgment against Babylon. Jeremiah had Seraiah the son of Neriah read the sermon in Babylon. Then in Jeremiah 51:63-64, he charged Seraiah to demonstrate an object lesson:

“When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted'” (ESV).

Despite how Babylon might try to fight against the coming judgment from God, she would sink. The waters would overcome her. The city would be destroyed.

The Lord’s Angel Borrows the Object Lesson

In Revelation 18:21, a mighty angel of God mirrors Jeremiah’s object lesson:

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and will be found no more…” (ESV).

The angel declares so much of what commonly occurs in a thriving city will disappear from Babylon. No more musicians playing. No more craftsmen working. No more lamps shining. No more weddings occurring.

Why? Because “in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on the earth” (Revelation 18:24, ESV). The apocalypse has been clear that Babylon had slain the people of the Lord. The altar in heaven was the covering for the souls of those slain for the Lord’s testimony. The beast waged war against God’s people and killed them. The witnesses were executed.

Additionally, Babylon was not merely guilty of persecuting Christians, but was simply a murderous city. It was also full of the blood of all who had been slain on the earth. We saw some of this in yesterday’s post when we discovered Babylon traded in the bodies and souls of men.

Therefore, whatever city Babylon represented, this enemy city, this immoral woman, would be like a stone cast into the sea. It would sink beneath the waves and be found no more.

Saints and apostles and Prophets

And in all this we see a great contrast. The merchants and kings of the earth would mourn at the loss of Babylon. They would wail at the loss of their golden ticket. By contrast a different group would respond differently.

Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” (Revelation 18:20, ESV).

We’ve mentioned this before. Judgment seems harsh when we are the ones subject to judgment. But with every judgment, there is also a deliverance. When the persecutor and oppressor is judged, the persecuted and the oppressed are delivered. When judgment brings condemnation and punishment, we will wail. When it brings deliverance, we will rejoice.

The Sticking Point

What’s the difference between the ones in this chapter who wail at the judgment of Babylon and the ones who rejoice? The ones who wail and lament find their treasure in Babylon. The ones who rejoice find their treasure in God.

When Jesus told and explained the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, He talked about seed sown among thorns. He explained, “this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22, ESV). The merchants and kings were caught up in the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. Babylon promised those things. Babylon even provided those things for a time.

But then Babylon was judged and everything the merchants and kings valued was taken from them.

The saints and apostles and prophets often suffered when it came to the cares of the world. They were on the losing end when it came to riches. Their treasure, however, was in the kingdom of heaven. Their treasure was in God. When the judgment came, they gained everything that was of value to them.

The question for us is will we be a merchant or a saint? What will you be? Can we help you be a saint? Don’t be confused. Saints are not extra-special Christians. Disciples are saints. Would you like to be one? If we can help you with that, let us know in the comments.

Next week’s reading is Revelation 19.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What do you want to share with others from Revelation 18?

The New Covenant

Today’s reading is Hebrews 8.

Even while the covenant with Israel mediated through Moses enacted on promises made to Abraham was in effect, God promised a new covenant was coming. In Jeremiah 31, He explained He would be making a new covenant.

It was going to be different. Instead of writing the laws on tablets of stone, He would write them on the hearts of His people. Don’t misunderstand, He isn’t saying they would never be written on paper. He is simply saying that under the New Covenant, His people will successfully internalize His will.

In the New Covenant, His people don’t have to teach each other to know the Lord. We will all know the Lord. The point here is that in Israel, people were born into the covenant and then had to be introduced to the Lord. We are introduced to the Lord and then we decide if we will be reborn into the covenant. Everyone in the New Covenant already knows the Lord, it is by getting to know the Lord that we decide whether we will surrender and enter the covenant.

Finally, God will forgive our iniquities and remember them no more. This last one is really the big deal. Our author will cover this more as Hebrews continues. The problem with that Old Covenant is the sacrifices didn’t actually get rid of the sins. Instead, they brought a reminder to God about the sins. Every day, every week, every month, every year a whole set of repeating sacrifices brought to God’s mind the sins of the people.

What we really needed was a priestly system that would put our sins to bed. What we really needed was a sacrifice that would actually wipe out our sins. What we really needed is something that would allow God to throw our sins behind His back and not in His face over and over and over again.

That is exactly what Jesus Christ accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection. That is exactly what is this New Covenant in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord!

Next week’s reading is Hebrews 9.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. How are God’s laws written on our hearts?
3. Why is God’s new covenant in Christ better than the old covenant through Moses?
4. Have you decided to be part of God’s new covenant yet? Why or why not?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

Something Happened 2000 Years Ago

Today’s reading is Matthew 28.

What was the guard going to do? They were on the hook. They didn’t let a prisoner escape. They let a dead guy escape. How does that happen? Instead of going directly to Pilate, they went to the priests who had begged Pilate for them to be put at the tomb. When the priests and elders heard the tale, they decided to bribe the soldiers. Instead of telling everyone an angel rolled the stone away, the soldiers would tell everyone the disciples stole the body. Of course, if Pilate heard these soldiers had failed to keep the disciples away from the body, they would be in big trouble. Perhaps even execution worthy. But the priests and elders gave them money and a promise to smooth it over with the governor. They accepted. The story was told for years, even until Matthew penned his gospel. In fact, it is one of the theories critics and unbelievers claim even today.

Don’t jump past this part of the story too quickly. As we have learned throughout the reading of Matthew, this is another instance in which we realize something must be done with Jesus. We can’t just ignore Him. We have to explain Him. While He lived, He was a lightening rod that cannot be ignored. He taught things, said things, did things that had to be explained. His opponents couldn’t simply ignore Him. They had to explain. They chose some pretty silly explanations like claiming He was possessed by a demon. Now, even after His death, events take place that simply can’t be ignored. Something happened and it needs to be explained.

Perhaps you don’t believe the testimony of the women at the tomb or the apostles or Paul or the 500. Perhaps you simply cannot accept that Jesus rose from the dead. But you cannot ignore Him and that Sunday morning anymore than the soldiers or the priests could. You have to come up with a story to explain what happened. However, not just any story will do. It has to be one that actually fits and works. You have to come up with a reasonable explanation for the growth of a world-dominating religion from a tiny group of people in a backwater region of the Roman Empire whose leader who claimed to be divine was publicly executed. Something happened that prompted that.

For instance, it can’t be one that says apostles stole the body and had it hidden in one of their basements. Folks don’t endure torture, torment, and death for something they know to be a lie. Had they stolen the body, once persecution started, they’d have given it all up. But they hung on to their testimony of resurrection.

Remember this. Something happened. If it isn’t what Matthew claims, what was it? It had to be something.

As I’m sure you’re aware. I’ve determined Matthew was telling the truth. I believe it. It changes my life. If you’d like to talk about that, let us know in the comments below.

Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 28.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. What do you think happened 2000 years ago?
3. If Jesus wasn’t resurrected, what happened?
4. If Jesus was resurrected, how should we live?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

Stumbling Blocks

Today’s reading is Matthew 18.

Jesus calls a little child into the midst of His disciples as an object lesson. “If you want to be in the kingdom of heaven, you have to become humble like children.” In the verses to follow, the children and little ones He is talking about are not biological children, but those disciples who are humble like children: the least, the last, the lowly.

Jesus contrasts two approaches to these “little ones.” The humble will receive them; the proudful will despise them. That is, the humble welcome them into our lives, associating with them, walking with them on this journey. The proudful despise them, looking down on them, pushing them away, fearing their humiliation will rub off on us. Those who have turned and become like children will receive, not despise.

But in between these two extremes is a teaching about stumbling blocks. The point for us to see is God receives these least, last, and lowly. They are His. Therefore, we must not do anything to prompt them to stumble. Temptations to sin will come. There will be plenty of people, situations, scenarios that will tempt all of God’s little ones. The humble, however, work to avoid such behavior and treatment. The humble are not only concerned about their own walk with the Lord, but how their walk impacts others.

Let’s face it, at every stumbling block, these little ones are responsible to follow God. In judgment, God will not say to the little ones who fall, “It wasn’t your fault. Don’t worry about it. That person was a stumbling block.” The little ones must grow to overcome temptation. However, let us humble ourselves enough to recognize if we are the ones who present the temptation, if we are the ones who help one of these little ones to sin, we will be judged right alongside them. In judgment, God will not say to the stumbling block, “It wasn’t your fault. They were responsible. They should have simply overcome the temptation.”

Today, let us watch our step. And let us watch the step of the little ones around us. After all, aren’t we little ones we hope others will watch out for as well?

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. In what ways can Christians cause other Christians to stumble?
3. Has there been a time when a Christian was a stumbling block for you? How? How did you respond?
4. What advice would you give to help us avoid being stumbling blocks?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

A Good Father

Today’s reading is Matthew 7.

Jesus taught something revolutionary. In fact, I think it is just as revolutionary today as it was when Jesus said it. He taught, through His discussion of prayer and anxiety in the previous chapter, we don’t have to live or pray like the pagans. We don’t have to stress about all the physical, material, biological concerns worrying so many. Instead, we need to ask for the kingdom first. We need to seek out the kingdom first. He hasn’t done it yet, but in the next couple paragraphs, He is even going to say, in so many words, we need to knock on the gate of the kingdom first.

I don’t know about you, but this makes me a little nervous. Don’t worry about eating? Don’t worry about staying hydrated? Don’t worry about exposure? Just pursue the kingdom? But if those other things don’t get cared for, I’m going to die? What good is having the kingdom if I’m dead? But Jesus says, “Let God worry about those things. You ask for, seek out, and knock on the kingdom.”

In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus explains why we can direct our asking, seeking, and knocking toward the kingdom without worry about everything else. Our God is a good father. Look, I’m a dad. I love my kids. But compared to God, I’m evil. When my kids ask for bread, I don’t give them rocks. When my kids ask for fish, I don’t give them snakes. I give them good things. I give them what they need to the degree I can provide it. How much more will God do the same thing?

This teaching is actually a bit deeper than I have previously realized. Remember, in this sermon, Jesus actually tells us what to ask for, what to seek out, and where to knock. Jesus’s point in Matthew 7:7-11 is not simply that when we want some things we think are good and ask for them, God will give them to us. His point is God has told us the good things to ask for, seek out, and knock on. He is a good God, a good Father; He isn’t going to tell us to ask for stones and snakes. He wants to give us good things. Therefore, the things He tells us to ask for, seek out, and knock on are good things. They will not result in receiving stones and snakes.

The kingdom of God and His righteousness are “bread” and “fish,” not “stones” and “snakes.” In a subtly profound way, once again, Jesus let’s us know when we ask for, seek out, and knock on God’s kingdom and righteousness, God will add all the other things, like food and clothing, to us. Why? Because He is a good Father. He knows what we need even before we ask Him for our needs, even before we seek out our needs, even before we knock on our needs. Therefore, let’s ask for, seek out, and knock on the kingdom God and His righteousness, because that is what we most need. God will give us the kingdom and everything else we need. That’s just how good of a Father we have.

Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 7.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. Why are the kingdom of God and His righteousness such good gifts?
3. Why do we need them more than we need anything else?
4. What advice would you give others to help us ask for, seek out, and knock on the kingdom without getting worried about all those other needs?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?