Tag: Bible

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I will wait for you. Waiting for Deliverence. Psalm 130:5-6

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait,
and in his word do I hope. 
6 My soul waiteth for the Lord
more than they that watch for the morning:
I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

Psalm 130:5-6

Explanation

I love this stanza because it is the response of the psalmist to the character of the Lord. God is a forgiving God. He is merciful. This is what was stated in verses 3-4.

3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities,
O Lord, who shall stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee,
that thou mayest be feared.

Psalm 130:3-4

In verse 5 the psalmist declares the he will wait for the Lord. The word for wait in the Hebrew has the flavor of expectation as part of its’ meaning. God has promised that He would forgive. The psalmist is crying out for deliverance from the chaos of the effects of his sin. Now, he is waiting on God for that deliverance. God has promised forgiveness and mercy, and on that word of God, the psalmis is putting his hope. 

What does this expectant waiting look like? He gives an illustration in verse 6. In ancient times guards would stand on a wall in a city, or soldiers in a camp, watching for danger so the rest of those they protected slept. They watched all night waiting for the sun to come up and with it the protection that daylight brings. The daylight brought with it an end to the vulnerability that happens in the late hours of the night. The sun comes up every day, and it is this confidence that the psalmist has in the character of God, and the Word of God, that God Himself will deliver him.

Application

Trusting in the deliverance of God is are only hope. I cannot forgive myself. I cannot deliver myself from the ultimate effects of sin. The soul that sins it shall die. The wages of sin is death. It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgement. If I sin against others, they may forgive me, but I have still ultimately sinned against God. Even if I get away with my sin for a time, there is no full, final, and freeing deliverance from sin outside of our forgiving God. We must trust in Him for forgiveness and deliverance, and He will do it! “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Response

Heavenly Father, help me to hope in you, and to wait expectantly for you. Help me to rely on your word today for how I live and what I do. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for your forgiveness. Amen.

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Battle Ready: The Sword of the Spirit

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional, PodcastLeave a comment

Battle Ready:  The Sword of the Spirit

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:17

We can be ready to go on the offensive and win the spiritual battles in our lives by believing the answers to four questions about the “sword of the Spirit”.

Question #1- Why is it called the “sword”? (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12)

Question #2- Why is it called the “sword of the Spirit”? (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Question #3- Why is it called the “Word of God”? (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Question #4- How can I use the “Sword of the Spirit” in spiritual battle? (Matthew 4:1-11)

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Luke- Week 4- Day 3

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  (27)  And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

Luke 2:26-27

Explanation:

Aspect #3- We should imitate their Wisdom- v.26-27

Notice the wisdom that was accessible to Simeon at this moment.  “And it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost” describes the kind of relationship that this man had with the Lord.  In his faithfulness to God, and in God’s graciousness to Him, God revealed that He would be able to see the Messiah.  What He had been waiting for, God was allowing Him to be able to see.  He knew about this coming Messiah because of what had been written in the scripture by the Holy Spirit.  Specifically, in Isaiah, the Servant, who we know is Messiah, is described.  Simeon would have been highly aware of this scripture.  Remember, He was waiting for the consolation of Israel.  In being a person of the Word of God, the Spirit of God was revealing Himself to Simeon.

We even see this impacting his moment by moment decision in this narrative.  It says in verse 27, “And he came by the Spirit into the temple”.  God was directing Him in that moment to be there when Joseph and Mary were bringing the child, Jesus, into the temple.  They were being directed by the Lord through the Word of God, and He was being directed by the Lord through the Spirit of God.

Charles Spurgeon said about this verse:

“Men who have the Spirit will be led by the Spirit. Simeon came into the temple at the right moment. Just when a young man was entering, with his wife and new-born child, “He came by the Spirit into the temple.” He came in, I say, at the right time. Did ever anybody, who was not led by the Spirit, find Christ? Somebody has come in here tonight, and he does not know why he has come; but he has been led here by the Spirit that he may see Jesus, and may have such a sight of him as shall be his salvation. God grant that it may be proved that many an aged Simeon has traveled here this Sabbath night, led by the Spirit for this purpose, to find the Saviour in his own house!

Application:  

The only way to consistently live with anticipation of Christ’s return is to be led by the Spirit.  We must be inundated with God’s Word in our lives.  The only way to have true wisdom is to think the way God thinks.  The scripture is the written expression of the Wisdom of the Spirit of God.  To be “filled with the Spirit” is to let the “word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom”. 

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  (19)  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Ephesians 5:18-20 

Notice the parallel in Colossians.

(20)  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3:16 

When you study these passages, you will see that to be “filled with the Spirit” and to “let the word of Christ dwell with you richly in all wisdom” produce the same results.

To live a life that is controlled by the Spirit is to know what the will of the Spirit is by what He has written it in His Word.

Response:

  • Are you being led by the Spirit? 
  • Are you living a life of wisdom? 
  • What’s your relationship with the Word of God daily?
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Guidance for the Heart Proverbs- Week 9- Day 2

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.

Proverbs 23:19

Explanation:
Remember that the context here is a father warning his son of the temptation of envying those who are enjoying sin.

Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

Proverbs 23:17-18

Before he makes this very practical in verses 20 and following, he takes the time in verse 19 to give his son 3 imperatives.

  1. Hear.
    As a young person I am tempted not to listen to those older than me. It’s easy for me to think that I know better. The father tells his son “hear.” Listen. Don’t disregard what those who are older are telling you. There is so much value in learning from the experience of those who have lived longer than we have.
  2. Be Wise.
    This may seem like an obvious statement that has been said over and over in proverbs. So many people ask the question “What is allowed?”, rather than the better question, “What is the wise thing to do?”. Our aim should be for wisdom.
  3. Guide your heart.
    Young people are often told to “follow your heart.” Yet the Bible presents a different prescription.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Jeremiah 17:9-10

Instead of following our hearts, we must recognize that on our own the heart desires the wrong thing. We need God to transform our hearts. Here the proverb tells us not to follow our hearts, but to, with wisdom, guide our hearts.

Application:
I want to submit to you, before we read the next few verses on what can be a controversial topic, that the way we can hear, be wise, and guide our hearts is by having a close interaction with the Word of God.


For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12


The Word of God is a voice we need to listen to, the greatest repository of wisdom of all time, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts. We must carefully and regularly listen to and obey what it says.

Response:
Recommit yourself today to live according to what the Word of God says no matter what.