Scripture Reflections – March 2025
3/25/2025 (227) Good morning,
I’ve been encouraged lately (perhaps oddly) by Psalm 2.4, “He who sits in the heavens laughs…” What kind of laugh is this from the Lord? The Psalm speaks of nations that rage, peoples who plot in vain, rulers who set themselves in places of power and plot together against the Lord and God’s anointed. God laughs. It appears to be a sarcastic laugh. Is God’s laughter mocking those who think more of themselves than they should and those who think they can oppose God’s purposes? Is God’s laughter making light of the delusions of worldly people who reject truth for the sake of human “wisdom” (foolishness)? I would have to say yes, but Christian piety lends itself to take care not to project such a sarcastic laughter upon the Lord. And yet, how else could we possibly read this Psalm? Why not see the Lord sitting on the throne and laughing at the absurdity of people who oppose Him? But, some will ask, does not the Lord desire that all come to repentance? Yes also. But sarcastic laughter may also be a “mild” form of judgment or reprimand or rebuke that seeks to lead the absurd to repentance…or maybe not so mild!
After all, some might see Jesus using sarcasm to make a point in Matthew 7.9-11, “Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Psalm 37.12-13 repeats the topic of God’s laughter against the wicked, “The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.” Perhaps the lesson is for the wicked to come to their senses because the Creator God may be laughing at them, and that is not a good place to be.
Paul sums it all up in his warning to the wicked:
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Cor 1.18-25).
I confess that I laugh at the absurd on a regular basis, but also pray that those who oppose God and His truth will hear the preaching of Christ crucified and see their own absurdity (sin) so that they may come to repentance and know the Lord. Amen.
3/18/2025 (226) Good morning,
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15.13).
Most likely you have heard this verse used as a benediction at the end of a worship service . It is Paul’s benediction as he concludes this section of Romans teaching about Christ as the hope for Jews and Gentiles, that is, for all people. Hope is, in one measure, where we place our trust. Our hope is in God, in His Word, in truth, mercy, and grace. Any other source of our hope is a false hope (Psalm 33.17). When we are troubled, our hope is rekindled in the remembrance of God’s Word and His mighty works, “Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him” (Lamentations 3.19-24).
Hope is in that which we cannot yet see, but also in that which we know will be because of the promise of God, Romans 8.25, But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. So we wait! We hope! We are confident in the truth of God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. That confidence is expressed in faith and the connection between faith and hope. Hebrews 11.1, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith is an assurance of our hope. Faith is a conviction that what we do not yet see will come to fruition. And our God is a God of hope who fills us with all joy and peace in believing so that we might abound in hope. To abound in hope is to live in the fullness of faith. To abound in hope is to know that we need not look anywhere else for the assurance of salvation outside of Jesus Christ. To abound in hope is to recognize that we need not be troubled or anxious about our lives, but to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6.33). May the God of hope fill us today with His joy and peace in believing, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we might be filled with hope!
Pastor Ed
3/12/2025 (225) Good morning,
Romans 1.16-17, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
The apostle Paul, who once (as Saul) persecuted Christians, had a deep transformation from persecutor to believer. He once opposed the gospel to the point of arresting any who professed Christ even to the point of execution (Acts 8.1). After his conversion to the faith, his passion was to preach the gospel. There is a certain zeal that comes when one is transformed from one extreme to another. Paul’s zeal and defense of his faith in Jesus Christ was one that he knew from experience as “the power of the gospel to save”. Imagine the reversal of opinions of the Pharisees and Christians once Paul began his preaching and teaching ministry in Christ. Pharisees who once supported his cause to snuff out the Christian witness, were now opposing Paul. But some may have seen this transformation as a powerful witness to Christ and caused them to think again about who Jesus was. Christians who knew Paul’s reputation as a persecutor would have been leery of trusting him. I’m sure it took quite a bit of time and evidence before some would come to see that he was not a “double agent”!
What might it have meant that Paul was not ashamed of the gospel? The first answer is what follows in these two verses – not ashamed for it is the power of God for salvation. This is the power that transformed Saul to Paul, from persecutor to gospel preacher, from mortal enemy to faithful teacher. Secondly, it is the power of the gospel witness that reaches to all people, Jew first and also to Greek. Third, it reveals the righteousness of God from faith to faith, that is, we see the revelation of God’s righteousness only through the eyes of faith.
I also take this phrase as a movement of Christ’s faith which makes our faith possible. This is something akin to the life of faith in Galatians 2.20. You will, of course, remember the reflection on this verse from 2/9/2024!
The phrase “live by faith in the Son of God” can also be translated as “live by the faith of the Son of God”, as it is in the King James Version… “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Imagine for a moment living by faith that is Christ’s faith! His faith rather than my faith! Consider that Christ’s righteousness is imputed or attributed to us by faith (Romans 4.22-25). So too our faith is a gift of God, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2.8). This is one reason why the Reformed Faith sees everything as a gift from God, even “our” faith. Therefore, we give thanks to God for all things including our faith.
From His faith to ours, from faith for faith. So too, we shall not be ashamed of the gospel, for in the gospel is the good news of God’s power to save, God’s desire for all people, God’s righteousness revealed that we might live by faith. Lord, increase our faith! Amen.
Pastor Ed
3/11/2025 (224) Good morning,
He is our peace.
Ephesians 2.13-22, But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Christ is our peace…because…
-He has brought us near to God by His blood,
-He has made us one in unity,
-He has broken down every wall of hostility,
-He has abolished, in His sacrifice, the requirement of the law for justification but has made us a new creation,
-He has in all these things made peace possible in our hearts and minds that we need not worry about our salvation and eternal life,
-He has reconciled us to God through the cross, erasing the divide between us,
-He has opened for Jew and Gentile access to the throne of God by the power of the Holy Spirit,
-He has welcomed all people who believe that we might no longer be strangers but members of God’s household,
-He has joined us together as the church, built on the foundation of the Word known from the apostles and prophets, Christ as the cornerstone,
-He has made His church a dwelling place of the Lord in the Holy Spirit.
So many blessings all made possible by the cross of Christ. As we move closer to Holy Week, may we focus more time and thought toward what Christ has done on and through the cross, and may we give thanks to God for His redemptive purposes brought out of His love for the world.
Pastor Ed
3/5/2025 (223) Good morning,
Today is Ash Wednesday. For some Christian traditions this begins the season of Lent. One of the texts that is used in conjunction with Ash Wednesday is Ezekiel 9.4, And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”
This one verse is set in the midst of a violent end to those who were worshiping idols in the temple. The abomination of idolatry had filled the land with violence and this brought out God’s wrath. God directed six men called executioners to go through the city and kill all who practice idolatry. Another man, dressed in linen, was to go through the city and mark the foreheads of those who mourned their sin (repented). It is quite an alarming scene, but one that displays God’s grace and God’s justice.
On Ash Wednesday we practice the discipline of placing ashes on the forehead to mark a season of repentance. Mourning over sin was an Old Testament practice often signified by wearing sackcloth and pouring ashes over the head. In the Ash Wednesday service we are reminded of our sinful nature and also reminded that we are mortal, Genesis 3.19, Remember – “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” We might consider four practices during Lent: (1) Repentance, turning away from sin and seeking God, (2) Prayer, asking for forgiveness and giving thanks for the redemption we have in Christ, (3) Remembrance, reflecting on the gospel message of salvation, (4) Anticipation, looking forward to the resurrection celebration on Easter Sunday. These four suggestions are all based in focus upon Scripture, upon recognition of our human frailty, and upon the glorious work of God in Christ. I encourage you to practice a holy Lent in the hope for a renewal of faith and love for the Lord.
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster” (Joel 1.12-13).
Pastor Ed
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