Category: God
“The iniquity of the holy things.”—Exodus 28:38
“The iniquity of the holy things.”—Exodus 28:38
What a veil is lifted up by these words, and what a disclosure is made! It will be humbling and profitable for us to pause awhile and see this sad sight. The iniquities of our public worship, its hypocrisy, formality, lukewarmness, irreverence, wandering of heart and forgetfulness of God, what a full measure have we there! Our work for the Lord, its emulation, selfishness, carelessness, slackness, unbelief, what a mass of defilement is there! Our private devotions, their laxity, coldness, neglect, sleepiness, and vanity, what a mountain of dead earth is there! If we looked more carefully we should find this iniquity to be far greater than appears at first sight. Dr. Payson, writing to his brother, says, “My parish, as well as my heart, very much resembles the garden of the sluggard; and what is worse, I find that very many of my desires for the melioration of both, proceed either from pride or vanity or indolence. I look at the weeds which overspread my garden, and breathe out an earnest wish that they were eradicated. But why? What prompts the wish? It may be that I may walk out and say to myself, ‘In what fine order is my garden kept!’ This is pride. Or, it may be that my neighbours may look over the wall and say, ‘How finely your garden flourishes!’ This is vanity. Or I may wish for the destruction of the weeds, because I am weary of pulling them up. This is indolence.” So that even our desires after holiness may be polluted by ill motives. Under the greenest sods worms hide themselves; we need not look long to discover them. How cheering is the thought, that when the High Priest bore the iniquity of the holy things he wore upon his brow the words, “Holiness to the Lord:” and even so while Jesus bears our sin, he presents before his Father’s face not our unholiness, but his own holiness. O for grace to view our great High Priest by the eye of faith!
Spurgeon, C. H. 1896. Morning and Evening: Daily Readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster.
Be Strong!
“Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.””
– Joshua 1:9 ERV
“I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
- Romans 15:13 ERV
Abiding in the LORD
Psalm 91:1-9,11-16 NLT
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [2] This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. [3] For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. [4] He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. [5] Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. [6] Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. [7] Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. [8] Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. [9] If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, [11] For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. [12] They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. [13] You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! [14] The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. [15] When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. [16] I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
God will sustain you
He who abides in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to Yahweh, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the destructive pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you will take refuge;
His truth is a large shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of terror by night,
Or arrow that flies by day;
Of pestilence that moves in darkness,
Or of destruction that devastates at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
For you have made Yahweh—my refuge,
The Most High—your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
And no plague will come near your tent.
For He will command His angels concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
Lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the fierce lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will protect him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in his distress;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him
And I will show him My salvation.”
— Psalm 91:1-16
Refrain From Anger
Psalm 37:8 CSB
Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated-it can only bring harm.
Psalm 37:1-5 CSB
[1] Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. [2] For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants. [3] Trust in the LORD and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. [4] Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. [5] Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act,
Hebrews 12:14-18 CSB
[14] Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness-without it no one will see the Lord. [15] Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many. [16] And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal. [17] For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, even though he sought it with tears, because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance. [18] For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm,
Love Is Kind
1 Corinthians 13:4-10 NLT
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud [5] or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. [6] It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. [7] Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. [8] Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! [9] Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! [10] But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
Beware of evil men, and impostors
But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you, continue in the things you learned and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.
— 2 Timothy 3:13-17
The Berean Christian 