Day 129 - James 3
Day 128 - James 2
Day 127 - Devotional
Count it All Joy
Scott Devor, Ligonier Ministries
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Just a few days after the death of his wife, Idelette, John Calvin wrote these words expressing the depths of his suffering: “The death of my wife has been exceedingly painful to me . . . . I have been bereaved of the best companion of my life.”
I have suffered much less than others, but even to the degree to which I have experienced suffering, I still find these words of James some of the most arresting in scripture: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).
When trials arise, my first reaction is rarely one of joy but is typically one of “Oh Lord, why me?” or some other expression of frustration or despair. But James calls us to joy. Why?
What many Christians have come to understand is that God, because of His great love for us, disciplines us and allows us to go through difficult times for our ultimate good. James points out the same truth in verses 3 and 4:
“For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:3-4)
We are called to “count it all joy,” not because of the pain we experience but because of the ultimate end: “That you may be complete, lacking in nothing.”
There is an often told story of a soon-to-be butterfly that is struggling to get out of its cocoon. As the story goes, someone witnessing this struggle wants to help and gently peels open the cocoon only to end up removing the hardship necessary for the insect to become a mature and complete butterfly.
So it is with us: we so often want to view our hardships as nothing but an obstacle toward growth and maturation. However, the trials we experience are from the hand of God and are working to produce steadfastness leading to maturity (vv. 3–4).
The way the Lord works in us through trials is mysterious at times, but let us take comfort in knowing that it is the Lord who is working and because of this, we can “count it all joy.”
Day 126 - James 1
Day 125 - Hebrews 13
Day 124 - Hebrews 12
Day 123 - Hebrews 11
Day 122 - Hebrews 10
Day 121 - Devotional
The Supremacy of Christ
Ligonier Devotional
“By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.”
The author of Hebrews does not dwell on the furniture and structure of the tabernacle and the places where the various priests ministered simply to give us some information about the old covenant religious system (Heb. 9:1–7). Instead, he mentions these things in order to give us a lesson about the inferiority of the old covenant in relation to what is available now under Christ and the new covenant. That becomes clear in today’s passage as he specifically unfolds what the structure and service of the old covenant tabernacle and temple tell us.
Hebrews 9:8 explains that the presence of the tabernacle/temple with its various sections separated by curtains and with access limited to the tribe of Levi is a picture from the Holy Spirit that the way into holy places—into God’s presence—remains closed off to God’s people as long as that structure and its associated religious system endure. In fact, the tabernacle symbolizes “the present age” (v. 9). This could mean “the age then present,” referring specifically to the period before Christ came, or something more like “the present crisis.” If the former, the author is stressing how access to God’s presence was closed off before the Son inaugurated the new covenant. If the latter, the author emphasizes the foolishness of his audience’s present desire for the old covenant system in light of what Jesus has brought. Either way, the point is that the old covenant system never gave the people access to God. This is different, however, from saying that the saints who lived under the old covenant period had no access to the Lord. They clearly did (Ps. 51:11), yet as we have noted, that access was not actually through the old covenant system but through their being partakers of the blessings of Christ’s work before Jesus accomplished His ministry in time. John Owen comments, “The apostle does not exclude [the old covenant saints] all from the grace and favor of God, but only shows their disadvantage in comparison of believers under the gospel, in that this way was not manifested unto them.”
The old covenant system could not give the saints access to the Lord’s blessed presence, Hebrews 9:9–10 explains, because its sacrifices could not purify the conscience but dealt only with external matters of food, drink, and washings. Only those with clean hearts can enter the presence of God (Ps. 24:4), and the old covenant sacrifices could not actually purify the consciences of sinners.
Today’s passage is one of many texts that reveal that the old covenant system was never meant as an end in itself. The law and its ceremonies were given to point us finally to Christ, who accomplishes what those things could not. As we study the law of God, we should be considering how it points us to Christ so that we can better understand His person and work.
Day 120 - Hebrews 9
Day 119 - Hebrews 8
Day 118 - Hebrews 7
Day 117 - Hebrews 6
Day 116 - Staff Devotional
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
In October of 2021, a hiker got lost climbing Mount Elbert in Colorado. The hike was only supposed to last seven hours, but he did not return. Search and rescue called him several times to check in on him and to tell him to return. However, the Hiker’s phone kept saying “unknown number,” so he kept rejecting the calls. When he returned after nearly 24 hours lost in the woods, he told search and rescue that he had gotten lost trying to find his way back and that he didn’t answer because the phone number said, “unknown caller.” In commenting the Hiker said, “I didn’t think anyone was looking for me.”
Family, we are prone to wander. Sin is still with us, and those that claim otherwise call God a liar – to paraphrase 1 John 1:9. But what matters most is that we answer his calls when we are lost and that we come to him. Some of us don’t know who is calling because we couldn’t possibly think it was God. We think “I didn’t think he was looking for me.” Let me remind you that he does. He leaves the 99 sheep to find the one and celebrates. He searches frantically to find the lost coin and he celebrates. He embraces the prodigal son at his return, and he celebrates. Some of us know the Lord well, and when we wander we refuse to answer because we fear how he will respond. But every call serves to beckon you back into his presence. He calls you because he will never cast you out. He calls you because he prepares a place for you. He calls you because he has immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness for you. He calls you “…before his throne of grace that you might receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
In other words, we must run to him. Again and again and again and again. Know that his heart welcomes you. He does not grow tired of you. He vows to keep you and to carry you into glory. All we must do is trust in him. Return to him. And believe him when he tells you that “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.”
Perhaps that isn’t enough for you. Perhaps you need some more tangible action steps – help me get this better pastor. What can I do to be better at this? To you – the avid spiritual workaholic – a prescribe one thing: nothing. What I see from the question “what more can I do?” is a tendency to ask “how can I deserve this?” The point is, you don’t. You will never deserve this. Stop asking God how much the gift cost on Christmas morning. Simply receive it.
I want us to learn how to be in Christ before we do for Christ. So your to do list is to do less. Untrain your capitalistic view in the economy of God. He gives freely. All we must do is receive. Then, once we received, we cannot live as those who do not possess his immeasurable riches. We will not continue to sin because the gift of his heart outstrips the value of the cheap promises of sin. What you reject when you choose to sin isn’t a cold hard contract. It’s the very heart of God. Live in such a way that you know you are loved. Learn what his voice sounds like. Add him to your contact list. Answer the call.
Day 115 - Hebrews 5
Day 114 - Hebrews 4
Day 113 - Hebrews 3
Day 112 - Hebrews 2
Day 111 - Hebrews 1:1-2 Devotional
God’s Final Word
Ligonier Ministries Devotional
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
Hebrews was written to convince its original audience of the superiority of Jesus to everything that came before Him, and the author gets right to the point in the opening verses of his epistle. In Hebrews 1:1–4, we have a theologically rich expression of the greatness of our Savior, focused particularly on Jesus as our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Verses 1–2 emphasize Jesus as the final and perfect Prophet, drawing a contrast between the way God has spoken to His people in “these last days” with the way He spoke before. Before the advent of the Son of God in the flesh, our Creator revealed Himself “at many times and in many ways” (v. 1). Of course, the author is referring to how our Lord spoke under the old covenant. He communicated “at many times”—during the era of the patriarchs, in the day of Joshua and the judges, under the administration of the monarchy, and while the people were in exile and immediately after their return. And God spoke “in many ways”—through direct speech, through dreams and visions, through the prophets’ oracles, through angelic messengers, and even at one point through a donkey (for example, Gen. 12:1–3; 37:1–11; 46:1–4; Num. 22:22–30; Josh. 1:1–9; 2 Kings 19:1–7; Ezra 5:1–2; Dan. 7).
Those ways of speaking were sufficient for their day, but they were not the highest, most glorious, or final way that God has spoken. “In these last days”—our present era of salvation history inaugurated by Christ—God “has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:2). With the coming of Jesus, our Creator spoke in a new and better way. This way is better not in that Jesus’ teaching is somehow more inspired or more authoritative than the words of the old covenant prophets. After all, every word of Scripture is equally inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16–17). Instead, God’s speaking in Jesus is better because Christ is the final word from our Creator regarding salvation, the One in whom God’s love for His people is most clearly demonstrated, the One who has shown us exactly what it takes to reconcile us to God. Earlier prophets pointed out the way to God; Christ alone is the Prophet who is the way to God (John 14:6).
Jesus is better revelation from our Creator because He is also the One through whom God created the world (Heb. 1:2; see John 1:3). Moreover, He is the heir of all things (Heb. 1:2). He has inherited all of creation and shares it with believers, His coheirs (Rom. 8:17).
Since Jesus is God’s final and best Word to us, we should not expect any new revelation from the Lord until we see Him face-to-face. The only place we can find His will for our lives is in His inscripturated Word of the Old and New Testaments. The Lord inspired the Scriptures and continues to speak through them to us even today. This is why it is vital that we continue to study them our entire lives.