Sep 25 2024

Today's Bible Verse

In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.

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In this verse from Jeremiah, the Lord gives the Israelites hope that they will not live in persecution forever. They will be saved and their savior will be called The Lord Our Righteousness. This was encouraging to the Israelites and to us today because it reminds us that the Lord is righteous.

The Lord is more righteous than any of us could ever hope to be—but He has imparted His righteousness to us! Because of Jesus, He is our righteousness. When we stand before God, we will not have to answer for our sins because Jesus will have covered them. No wrong will be found in us because Jesus atoned for all our sins once and for all more than two millennia ago.

Because of Jesus, we have the ability to obey the Lord. He gives us the strength to stand up to difficulties, and to do right when it seems like no one else around us is. He is the source of all good within us, and we can rejoice in the fact that He will help us to remain on the path of righteousness as long as we are invested in having a relationship with Him.

Matthew Henry, a Bible commentator from the seventeenth century, frames how we should respond to the name The Lord Our Righteousness. He calls it "a sweet name to a convinced sinner; to one that has felt the guilt of sin in his conscience; seen his need of that righteousness, and the worth of it." One reason the name is particularly sweet is that it recognizes our need for someone else to stand in our place and then reminds us that Jesus already has. As soon as we recognize our need for Jesus, He comes down and saves us.

Today's Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank you for your kindness to me. You are so good to me, and I will never deserve to have a relationship with you. Help me to walk in your name, remembering that you have imparted righteousness to me. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Sep 24 2024

Yesterday's Bible Verse

He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

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Yesterday's Bible study

When the disciples of John the Baptist tell him that Jesus has been baptizing other followers, John's response is that he is rejoicing at His coming. Using the metaphor of a wedding party, John lets his disciples know that Jesus is the Messiah—the bridegroom prophesied about in Psalm 45—that they had long awaited.

The church is the bride of Christ, who is the bridegroom, and John the Baptist is the friend of Christ. Think about the role of the best man at a wedding. He usually has been friends with the groom for a long time, even while the couple was courting, and at the wedding will probably give a speech. He rejoices in the couple getting together. In a similar way, John had prepared the way for Jesus, and now that the time has come for Jesus to begin His ministry, His joy is fulfilled.

John the Baptist's ministry was never about himself. If that were the case, he would not have been happy that Jesus' ministry was beginning. It was now time for John's ministry to come to an end, and he directed his followers to follow Jesus instead. While he was once the leader of a movement, Jesus' arrival on the ministry scene meant that John was going to be a follower again, and he accepted the role gladly.

Today, we can learn from John's humility. He didn't vie for the position of bridegroom, but instead, was happy to take on the role of supporting friend. His primary goal was to please the Lord, and that meant being obedient to whatever the Lord called him to do at the right time.

As ministers, our primary goal is the same as John's: to please the Lord. It doesn't really matter what that looks like. We could be leading a small group, a large congregation, or an entire nation. God is concerned about our being good and humble stewards right where He has placed us. We can take heart that in a world that constantly tries to push us toward more and bigger and better, the primary aim of the Christian is satisfaction in God alone. Everything else, including how He uses us to further His kingdom, is ancillary.

Yesterday's Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank you for the opportunity to know you. I thank you for the great love you have shown me and that you have given me a place in your kingdom. Help me to be more and more like you, Lord. With humility and gratitude, I accept the role you have given me, and I ask that you would help me steward it well. In Jesus' name, amen.


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