November 30 - Advent

Isaiah 6:1-7:9 - "Here I am, send me." Can only be spoken by us after we have said, "I am a person of unclean lips" and after God has said, "Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."

1 Peter 2:13-25 - In principle we might agree with submitting to those in authority. God definitely calls us to submit to parents, bosses, the law, etc. God has placed all this in our lives and works through them. When does this become difficult for us? How do 1 Peter and other parts of Scripture help us navigate these difficulties?

November 28 - Advent

Isaiah 2:1-22 - Here Isaiah anticipates the Lord's Day and the Final Judgment. What's particularly interesting here is that the Lord's Judgment will effect certain responses on the part of mankind. In v. 4, "The Lord will judge between the nations and shall settle disputes for many peoples;" and man responds by changing his weapons into tools for agriculture. Even more remarkable is the fact that in v. 20 - "mankind will cast away his idols . . ." only to enter "the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs" to hide from "the terror of the Lord". It is interesting that here - once God is visisbly seated on the throne of Judgment - man has only one reasonable response and that is submission. But lest we begin to admire man's submission to the Lord and take our eyes off our King and Judge - v.22 reminds of how insignificant we really are apart from Christ.

1 Peter 1:13-25 - Here Peter fleshes out the signficance of what it means to be born again to a living hope with the "Therefore . . ." transition that begins in v.13 and continues in Peter's exhortation that we would be holy as God is holy. What is the key to embracing this call to Holiness described in all your conduct? Why do we often fear God's holiness instead of loving it? Why does His holiness usually seem like a burden rather than Good News?

Verses 18-19 remind us that we were "ransomed from the futile ways inherited from (our) forefathers . . . with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." The key to our obedience is not jut a matter of effort - though we are certainly called to effort. The key is our trust in the active obedience of Christ - who was obedient to the Father, even to the point of death on the cross. Thankfully death is not the final word for Christ or for us. As Ryan alluded to yesterday, Christ's resurrection and our resurrection are inextricably linked both in the present and for the rest of eternity.

His Holiness is ours! May our lives out in the world reflect this reality - the reality of the living hope we share.

November 27 - Advent

Isaiah 1:1-28 - As you read this section it's hard to miss how small we are, and how undeserving we are of God's mercy. Who are we to expect anything from Him? Yet right in the middle God invites us to come and reason with Him. What does such "reasoning" look like? Bargaining? Debate? Though your sins are like scarlet they will be white as snow. God invites us to sit with Him, to cease striving for ourselves, to stop trying to prove ourselves. To reason with God is to listen to His words of grace.

1 Peter 1:1-12 - We are born again to a living hope. The term "living hope" is significant. We don't just wait idly by for this hope. Our hope in the resurrection is living and active. What are some concrete examples in life of our living hope?

November 25 - Time of the Church

Daniel 5:1-30 - This is a classic story, and many of its elements have been used in works of literature: writing on the wall, measured and found wanting. What is most unique to me about this is the reaction of the king to Daniel. We see that whenever the prophets spoke against the kings of Israel they rarely received a warm welcome. Strangely enough, Balshazzar appears to respond well to Daniel's words, and yet dies that very night. It's never easy for us to hear when we are wrong. Pray: Lord, lead us to repent, and help us to die to ourselves each day and rise with Christ. Amen.

Revelation 21:9-27 - The descriptions of the new Jerusalem are so specific, but it is the last part that is most important. There will be no temple in the city, because God will be the temple. In other words, that building that reassured us of God's presence will be unnecessary. God will dwell with all people. Christ made the temple obsolete and in the new creation the chasm between God and man caused by sin will be no more.

November 24 - Time of the Church

Daniel 4:1-37 - In the continuing saga of Nebuchadnezzar we see more evidence of God's sovereignty over all realms of life - even the political. I think this is one of the more difficult concepts for Christians to grasp in a democracy like ours - that God is even sovereign over our political process. We can live with God intervening on a personal level, in response to personal petitions in prayer, but I suspect that we tend to loathe the idea that God is involved in the institution of ALL AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth. Particularly when we have strong moral and political disagreements with those who are in authority.

Do you agree or disagree? What other areas exist where we, as Christians, are very uncomfortable with God's sovereignty? How does a strong appreciation of God's sovereignty help us deal with the less than desirable aspects of life?


Revelation 21:1-8 - Wow! What a powerful scene of promise followed by judgment. Verse 3 is a wonderful announcement - the future fulfillment of God's Mission which is testified to throughout all of Scripture. The dwelling place of God is with Man! He will dwell with them and they will be His people! And death, crying, mourning, and pain will be no more!

And yet to enter into God's presence is to enter into divine judgment. As Ryan pointed out yesterday - we are able to stand under that embarrassing judgment only by the blood of Christ. What separates us (the adopted children of the Father) from "the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable . . ." is not our human righteousness produced by our works, but only the righteousness we receive by faith alone.

And to return to the opening verses of this chapter - what we have waited for in faith has been realized in the union of Heaven and Earth. What a joy that our life as a Christian is not one of eternal pilgrimage but rather one that will find rest and true relationship with God in the New Jerusalem. May we continue to urgently pray "Thy Kingdom Come . . ." while we patiently wait in the present for Christ to fully unleash the victory he won for us so long ago.

November 23 - Time of the Church

Daniel 3:1-30 - Every time I've heard this story I think about a scary Nebuchadnezzar ordering the three men to worship, but the setting for worshiping their gods must have been awesome. First, you have all these leaders and important people there. Second, the sound of the music must have been overpowering. With all that "energy" and power it had to be tempting to join in. The music alone would give you chills. And this makes the response of the three all the more faithful. Their conclusion is that God will deliver them or He won't, but in either case, they're not worshiping this attractive yet false god.

Revelation 20:1-15 - The concept of judgment at the end is not a pleasant one. Our tendency is to dismiss it. After all, we have been saved by Christ so there's no more room for judgment. Some Christians will go in the opposite direction, making our works more important than the works of Christ. So what's really going on here? The New Testament doesn't split hairs, salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. Our ability to stand before God at all comes entirely from Christ. This is our ultimate hope. At the same time, just as the things we do in this life have consequences, there is the judgment seat where our sins are revealed embarrassingly (Romans 14 and 2 Corinthians 5). The ultimate consequence has been taken by Jesus on the cross. How does this tension affect us in our daily lives?

November 21 - The Time of the Church

Daniel 2:1-23 - It is interesting that the magicians reply to the King's request in v. 11 by saying that "The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." Contrast this type of agnosticism with the end of Daniel's prayer in v. 23 where Daniel calls Lord "O God of my Fathers . . ." Daniel knows and trusts the character of God because of how God had revealed Himself to his fathers. Also this passage brings to mind John 1.14. While "the gods" do not "dwell with flesh" - the one true God has done exactly that in the Incarnation.

Revelation 18:1-24 - Here we have a sobering scene of the Lord's judgment on evil Babylon. Though the effects of the Lord's judgment apply to all its citizens, note how the text focuses extensively on the plight of the merchant (vv. 13, 15, 23; plus the reference trade in v. 17). What a clear reminder that our economic freedom and success is not due to our own creativity but rather a gift of God.

This is also a reminder of the temporary nature of our callings. Verses 22-24 chronicle the effect of God's judgment in the removal of vocation. Our callings in the Family ("the voice of bridegroom and bride"), in our Work ("the craftsman of any craft"), and in the Arts ("the sound of harpists . . ." etc.) have been revoked. All that is left is the blood of "the anonymous" (the heathen) and the blood of "the named" (the prophets and saints). What a precious reminder that our identity is found not in our work but in Christ. Vocation is temporary - Christ is forever.

November 20 - Time of the Church

Daniel 1:1-21 - The wisdom of God is a universal good. Even though Daniel and his companions are captured and lowly servants, the king does not ignore their wisdom. The wisdom is a gift of God and so too was the king.

Matthew 28:1-20 - The women depart from the tomb with fear and great joy. How is it possible for these reactions to occur at the same time? Luther repeats often in his small catechism that we are to "fear and love God." We might see the juxtaposition of fear and joy/love as a contradiction, but how might they be necessary companions?

November 19 - Time of the Church

Jeremiah 38:1-28 - It is interesting that King Zedekiah offers up Jeremiah to the hands of the officials only to bring him back out of the Cistern. Jeremiah questions the sincerity of the King's change of heart but the King assuages his fears by secretly swearing on "the LORD who lives" and "who made our souls". What an interesting exchange between two men holding incredible offices of power: that of King and Prophet.


Matthew 27:55-66 - Note all of the details included here in Matthew's telling of Jesus' burial. There are historical names, temporal / calendar clues ("evening", "after the day of Preparation"), and dialogue included here in this brief account. This reads nothing like a fairy-tale or ancient mythology. The genre here is one of clear, eye-witness, historical reporting. Note also how the "stolen body hypothesis" (one suggested by numerous skeptics of Christianity) is already anticipated by the Chief Priests and the Pharisees.

The events which are central to our Christian faith did not happen in the secrecy of our hearts or minds, or in some inaccessible spiritual realm of history. They happened out in plain sight for all to see. Similarly, we pray that we would not hide away this gospel of grace making it inaccessible to the lost, but that we might faithfully proclaim it out in the real world, out in our numerous callings as God grants us opportunity.

November 18 - Time of the Church

Jeremiah 37:1-21 - It's surprising that Jeremiah gets put in prison for a lie. Certainly his prophesies against Jerusalem would be enough to condemn him, but it is a false pretense that puts him in prison. This reminds me of the accusations against Jesus. The real problem for the Jews is his claim to be God among them, but when presenting him to the Romans, the charge is subversion against the state.

Matthew 27:33-56 - What more could be said of this powerful passage. It is enough to read it and meditate on it. In doing that, I focused on the words, "he saved others; he cannot save himself." This is meant as a challenge to Jesus' claims, but in fact despite themselves the leaders are confessing the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Not only has he saved others, but he will continue to save even more, and he does this by not seeking to save himself.

November 17 - Time of the Church

Jeremiah 33:1-22 - Verse 9b strikes me as interesting. "They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it." How do you typically respond to periods of personal prosperity? Looking back on your life, has there ever been a time where the goodness and blessing of God caused you to "fear and tremble"?

I think this connects well with a biblical understanding of Law & Gospel. In the proclamation of the good news of the gospel - the bad news of our sinfulness and helplessness before God is already implied, causing us to "fear and tremble" (in the healthy sense of those terms). But if we preach ourselves and preach the law - the good news of Christ is not implied and we are left in despair or in our own naive self-righteousness.

Matt 27:11-32 - There is much to think about here in this passage many of us are quite familiar with - not the least of which is the mocking of Jesus we witness at the end of the reading. The thing that particularly caught my eye here, is the choice presented to the Jews by Pilate in verse 17: "Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"

The crowd's choice is predictably selfish - allowing them to quickly get rid of this pesky rabbi who had become a source of conviction for them. But there is more here than that. The choice reflects the extent of their (and our) depravity. The crowd would rather release a "notorious criminal" into their midst than have to deal with Jesus. But the gospel is foreshadowed here too. The "guilty" (Barabbas) walks free while the "innocent" (Jesus) is condemned. This is a preview of what Luther called the "Glorious Exchange" that is received by all Christians. He takes our sin and punishment - we receive His active obedience and righteousness.

November 16 - Time of the Church

Jeremiah 31:1-17, 23-34 - ^"28And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the LORD." Is this at all disturbing to you, or is it a comfort?

Matthew 27:1-10 - Notice how the prophecies are not only concerned with big picture stuff: "I will make a new covenant" but also with details such as the coins and the field. We often think of nothing being too big for God to handle. Certainly Jesus' death and resurrection displays this. But in this passage we also see that no item is too small to be beyond God's control.

November 13 - Time of the Church

Jeremiah 26:1-19 - I always think of the Old Testament prophets as deliverers of bad news who were always hated in their time. Jeremiah certainly seems to fit the bill here, but amazingly the people recognize him as a prophet and decide not to kill him. With all the focus on "those ignorant people" I often miss the willingness of the prophet to speak God's Word and leave himself in the hands of the angry mob. Jesus was no different in this respect. He was rejected in his day and in ours. What is truly unexpected is not the rejection and the death, but the resurrection and the gift of faith.

Matthew 26:20-35 - As regular recipients of the Lord's Supper on Sunday mornings this reading should be a bit jarring. I say this because we often enjoy the meal in the midst of the peace of worship. We're already in the rhythm of worship, very likely we've said confession a bit earlier and that might not be foremost on our minds. But in Matthew the supper is bracketed by conflict. Just before they eat, Jesus points out Judas as the betrayer. Right after they eat Jesus tells of the chaos they will endure and the betrayal of Peter. How peaceful was this meal? Christ's sacrifice is given in the midst of conflict, because of conflict. Our sin puts us at odds with God, Christ's body and blood given for you. Our sin puts us in conflict with each other, Christ's body and blood given for you.

November 2 - Time of the Church

Jeremiah 1:1-19 - "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD." We make all kinds of excuses because of our fear, but what a comforting word this is from God.

Matthew 21:23-46 - By whose authority does Jesus do what he does?