Worship for Today: Jesus' punishment pays for our sins!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 8:1,

"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you
may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord
promised on oath to your forefathers."

Moses tells the Israelites that they must be careful to follow every
command of the Lord. A few verses later he says, "Observe the commands
of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and revering him", verse 6.
"Every command". Not some of the commands or the ones they thought
might be important. Or just the ones that insure we don't violate the
local church covenant or keep us acceptable in polite company, but
all! All the commands of the Lord were to be carefully followed. In
chapter six, the command Jesus would later say was the most important
command of all is, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength." Deuteronomy 6:5. See
Matthew 22:34-40. How was that to be accomplished? And yet, this is
what Israel was commanded to do. "Follow every command" and be careful
to do it!

Was this a legitimate requirement of the Lord? Of course! They owed
their very existence to their Creator. They owed their very existence
as a people, freed from bondage to their great Redeemer! They owed the
very blessings they were about to receive in the Promised Land as the
recipients of God's matchless grace!

However, as a representation of all people, Israel was utterly unable
to keep the law of God. They made attempts, as in their adoption of
the traditions of the elders, but they were never able to keep the
law. James tells us, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles
at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." James 2:10. It
only takes one violation of one law to condemn a man to the lake of
fire. In fact, we are simply born as condemned people.

The wonderful news is that Jesus Christ's death on the cross paid for
each and every sin every person has ever committed. The writer of
Hebrews tells us, "by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those
who are being made holy." Hebrews 10:14. John tells us, "He is the
atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the
sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2.

The law has condemned every person ever born to eternal death but the
punishment Jesus Christ took upon himself has paid for every last
breach of the law anyone has ever committed! As is said in Isaiah
53:5, "He [Jesus Christ] was pierced for our transgressions, he was
crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was
upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." All of this for simply
trusting in him! "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved." What great news!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: On remembering the Lord.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 6:10-12,

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your
fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large,
flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of
good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards
and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are
satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you
out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."

How astonishing! In this passage Moses tells the Israelites that the
very Lord who freed them from slavery in Egypt and will be giving them
all of the wonderful things they are about to receive: cities, houses,
good things, wells, vineyards, and olive groves is to not be
forgotten! How could they forget the Lord who freed them and provided
such wonderful things they didn't toil to provide themselves? And,
yet, Moses is piercingly on target as we read further the history of
Israel, this is exactly what they did! They forgot the Lord who had
provided so much for them!

It isn't just Israel, it is the very characteristic of the sin nature
of all mankind! We tend to shut the Lord out of our awareness, out of
our memory. For me, this is the great need we have for a fear of the
Lord, realizing he is always present.

In announcing the New Covenant, the Lord says he will do a work in our
hearts that will correct this tendency of the human heart, "'This is
the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,'
declares the Lord. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No
longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying,
'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them
to the greatest,' declares the Lord." In the resurrection we will no
longer have the tendency to put the Lord out of our minds.

Until then, we have a wonderful activity to aid us in keeping the Lord
in front of us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "For I received
from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the
night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he
broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in
remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup,
saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever
you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

How often should we celebrate the Eucharist? Often! Just as often as
we care to remember our Savior who has given us so much!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: Trust in Jesus Christ removes the guilt of all sin!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 24:16,

"Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children
put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin."

As Moses provides the laws for Israel God has given, he makes the
point that when it comes time for prosecuting and sentencing the
guilty in the courts of Israel, the guilty alone must pay.
Generational justice is banned. Each, and each alone must pay for
their own sin.

As I consider this it reminds me that each of us stand alone before
our heavenly judge. We are told in Revelation 21:8, "The cowardly, the
unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who
practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be
in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

As it turns out, none of us will need to "inherit" guilt from a family
member as we stand before the judgment seat of God to determine our
eternal destiny. Each one of us have sinned and all of us are due this
eternity in the lake of fire. "All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God..." Romans 3:23.

That is the bad news. The good news is that we do not have to stand
before God's judgment seat alone. Jesus Christ has paid the penalty
for all sin ever committed. None of us need face God's judgment alone
with the certainty of an eternity in the lake of fire if we choose to
embrace Jesus Christ in faith! How wonderful our loving Savior died on
that cross that we might have the opportunity to become God's very own
children with the guilt of any and all sin completely removed from us!
He offers this freely to us if we simply place our trust in him!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: God's word is important!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 31:24-26,

"After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from
beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the
ark of the covenant of the Lord: 'Take this Book of the Law and place
it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will
remain as a witness against you."

Moses felt it important enough to have the "words of this law", the
word of God, to be written down and placed by the ark of the covenant.
Moses told the priests to read these words to the people on a routine
basis, verse 11. The word of God is important and it is vital to read
it, to know it, to understand it, to memorize it, to meditate on it.

Not everything we hear from the pulpit is consistent with God's word.
Not everything we hear from our believing friends is consistent with
God's word. Not everything we hear on the radio or tv is consistent
with God's word. Not everything we think we know, is consistent with
God's word. How are we to know God's word? We need to read it
continually and regularly. We need to memorize it. We need to meditate
on it. We need to study it.

We are told of the benefits of doing so, "All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17. We are commanded to
do so, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a
workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the
word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15.

We all "think we know" what the Bible has to say... but how many of us
are really reading, studying, meditating on it? How many of us call
Jesus Christ Lord and then disprove it by ignoring what he has to say?
How many of us have access to the very words of our Creator, words he
wants us to know and think about, and yet we fail to avail ourselves
of them?

Today I thank my God who has provided us words that bring us life! I
Thank him for making those words available to us! Today I thank him
for words that are at work within those of us who believe! "And we
also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God,
which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but
as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who
believe." 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: Jesus Christ awaits our safe arrival!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 31:3a,

"The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will
destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of
their land."

Using the Promised Land as a metaphor or type of entering into the
resurrection has major drawbacks. Although many of our hymns use this
picture, if pressed too far, the analogy fails. For although we enter
in to a promise given us as the Israelites did when they crossed the
Jordan, we have no enemies on the other side. Peace and rest are ours
as we cross into the resurrection, not so the Israelites as they
crossed the Jordan to take possession of the land from its
inhabitants.

Nevertheless, as I read of Moses' wonderful promise that the Lord
would cross ahead of the Israelites and destroy their enemies, I can't
help but think of what Jesus Christ has done for us. For those of us
who live in the age of the church, our wonderful Savior has crossed
the dark passage of death ahead of us! He has already destroyed the
enemies of death and Hades by making a place for us at his table!

We don't have to tread an unknown path into darkness, not knowing what
awaits us, what dangers lurk as we face death in this life! The love
of Jesus Christ has prepared the way and he stands, awaiting our save
arrival, "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present
you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy- to
the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more!
Amen." Jude 24-25.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: Our frightful God of judgment!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 32:39-41,

"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to
death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one
can deliver out of my hand. I lift my hand to heaven and declare: As
surely as I live forever, when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand
grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and
repay those who hate me."

In this song the Lord wrote for Moses to teach the people of Israel,
the Lord makes clear he is the one and only God. There is no other.
Not only is he the only God but he is that God which will take
vengeance on his adversaries. Those who hate him will face his awful
judgment.

To have to face the Creator God of the cosmos as an adversary is a
frightful thing. God points out that no one can deliver out of his
hand. Where there is hell to pay, the lake of fire awaits like a
looming, horrific nightmare. Only this nightmare does not end in the
morning, it is experienced for an eternity. In Revelation 21:8 we
read, "The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the
sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all
liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is
the second death." This frightful eventuality for all who do not
embrace Jesus Christ in faith is exacerbated by the certainty that the
Lord will be coming for all who are not his. "I saw heaven standing
open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called
Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are
like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name
written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a
robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of
heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine
linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with
which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron
scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God
Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING
OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19:11-16.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: God blesses us as his people!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 33:29,

"Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the
Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your
enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high
places."

This blessing for Israel was spoken by Moses just prior to his death.
Within this blessing Moses recognizes the wonderful things that belong
to those who are the people of God. As such, I cannot help but think
of the blessings that are ours as the people who belong to Jesus
Christ.

"You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called
you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a
people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received
mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:9-10. Peter reminds
us that we are the people of God. In the first chapter of this letter
he tells us of our blessings as such, "Praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or
fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's
power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed
in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little
while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These
have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which
perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may
result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not
see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible
and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the
salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:3-9.

What a blessing is this!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com