Posts Tagged ‘Christian Standard Bible’

“Trust God’s Word when it says you’re loved and forgiven”: meditation on Psalm 119:1

November 11, 2019

How happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk according to the Lord’s instruction! Psalm 119:1 CSB

“How happy are those”: The KJV and its successors use the word “blessed” (NLT: “joyful”) in place of “happy,” perhaps because “blessed” connotes a deeper, God-ordained kind of happiness. Still, I prefer “happy,” because it requires no nuance or qualification: I want to be happy in my life! (Don’t you?) And here’s how happiness is possible, the psalmist says.

Does this book tell the truth? Can I trust it? O Lord, I believe that it does and I can! Let me be happy like this!

But how can I, sinner that I am, be “blameless”? Am I disqualified from this promised happiness before I start? No. First, I remember imputation: that Jesus was made to “be sin” so that I could “become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). I’m “blameless” because my life is found in the One who was blameless on my behalf.

Second, “blameless” does not imply “sinless.” (See Phil 3:6.) Rather, when I sin, I follow 1 John 1:9: confess and trust that God is “righteous” (or “just”) to forgive my sin. Why does John appeal to God’s justice? Because my sin has already been punished on the cross. Therefore, startling as it is to say, it would be unjust of God to punish my sin again.

My point is this: Part of being “blameless” means believing that God’s Word tells the truth when it describes God’s way of forgiving us through the cross.

“Every day is a fight for joy”: meditation on Psalm 116:10-11

October 25, 2019

I believed, even when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
In my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”
Psalm 116:10-11

The fight of my life is the fight for joy. I want to know, alongside the apostle Paul, the “secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need” (Philippians 4:12). O Lord, give me the kind of lasting happiness that doesn’t depend on circumstances. Indeed, my circumstances lie to me nearly every moment of every day. They tell me, “This problem is overwhelming. You’re going to fail. You’re bound to disappoint people who love you. You’re right to be angry”—as if our sovereign God hasn’t promised to work for my best interest (and yours) in every circumstance.

Lacking God’s eternal vantage point, I often shouldn’t trust my senses or my reason (“lean not unto thine own understanding,” Proverbs 3:5).

But let me believe, Lord, even as I say, “I am severely oppressed.” Inasmuch as “everyone” tempts me to doubt the goodness of your plan for my life, let me say, with the psalmist, “Everyone is a liar.” Your word is true. #HeReadsTruthBible #ChristianStandardBible #CSB

“God promises us victory”: meditation on Psalm 108:10-11

October 4, 2019

Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
God, haven’t you rejected us?
God, you do not march out with our armies.
Psalm 108:10-11

In Psalm 108, David has heard a new word from God: “Moab is my washbasin; I throw my sandal on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia.” In other words, while God had previously not been “marching out with our armies,” that will no longer be the case. God has relented from punishing Israel; he is ready to give her victory.

Here’s some good news for us: If we are in Christ, this “new word” that David heard in the sanctuary (v. 7) will always be true for us: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) While God disciplines us for our ultimate good (Hebrews 12:5-11), he will never punish us for our sin—not anymore. He will never cease to “march out with our armies”—whatever that may look like in our context.

How could this not be true? Christ has made us righteous before God (2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s favor rests on us (Luke 2:14). The Father loves us exactly as much as he loves his Son (John 17:23, 26).

As with David, God has spoken in his sanctuary, and we need to hear his word and believe it: “Whatever harm the Enemy wants to cause you, I will give you the victory!” #BibleJournaling #HeReadsTruthBible #CSB

“The good I do is God doing through me”: meditation on Genesis 39:3-4a

September 16, 2019

 

Genesis 39:3-4a: When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful, Joseph found favor with his master and became his personal attendant.

The psalmist in 104:21 writes, “The young lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.” Allow me to be indignant on behalf of “young lions” everywhere. After all, God isn’t exactly placing the antelope in the lion’s mouth! The lion has to find its prey, chase it down, and catch it. At the same time, the psalm insists, God is feeding the lion.

Say what you will about lions; they don’t need Xanax. Come to think of it, my majestic house cat, Peanut, isn’t exactly sweating his next meal, either. He seeks his food from God—by way of my family and Purina.

Nevertheless, if it’s true for lions and house cats, it’s true for us who are God’s children through faith in Christ. Joseph, as today’s scripture makes clear, prospered because of God. And so do we. While we often fail to perceive God’s hand, it is on everything that we do. So much so that when we succeed, we can say, “God has done this. God has given me this”—however much it wounds my pride to say it. I’d much rather say, “Look what I’ve accomplished.”

“For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Here’s a seemingly paradoxical biblical truth, which, if I could only apply it to my life, would save me a lot of anxiety: All the good I do is God doing through me. Thank you, Jesus! #BibleJournaling #ChristianStandardBible #HeReadsTruthBible