'the Law' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Your decrees are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.” vss. 129-131 Psalm 119:126-131 Most people only have a vague notion of what the Law meant to the Jewish people. We’ve heard it disparaged in countless sermons and have come to think of it as a stumbling block, an obstacle to the gospel of grace. But to…
Daily Devotions
Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.” vs. 1 Psalm 119:1-8 The psalmist obviously believed that it was possible to walk in the way of the Lord by keeping all of the law’s ordinances and commandments. He says that such persons would be blameless and receive the gift of happiness. While there are few people among us who are concerned about keeping all the precepts of the law, there are those who…
Daily Devotions
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” vs. 29 Luke 10:25-29 The lawyer who came to Jesus had a pretty good understanding of what was required to inherit eternal life. He answered quickly, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” We would agree. These are the central commandments of the…
Daily Devotions
For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees…” vss. 9b-10a Deuteronomy 30:9-10 The scribes of Israel believed that if the people obeyed the Lord by observing the Lord’s commandments and decrees, the Lord would take delight in bringing prosperity to the nation. The Lord would make Israel great again! We can understand why this was such a…
Daily Devotions
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed.” vs. 23 Galatians 3:23-26 Looking back, Paul now sees that his life before Christ, under the law, was like a rigid imprisonment. Strict adherence to the commandments and the ordinances kept him on the straight and narrow, but at a cost. He never experienced the freedom that comes with faith and grace. In this letter to the Galatians, he explores that new life…
Daily Devotions
The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” vs. 17 John 1:15-18 Jesus was born a Jew and grew up thoroughly enmeshed in Judaism’s traditions and laws, but when he began preaching and teaching his interpretation of the prophets revealed the centrality of God’s steadfast love and mercy. The gospel writer John put it clearly, “The law had come through Moses; grace and truth had come through Jesus Christ.” We’ve taken John’s words into…
Daily Devotions
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” vs. 36 John 8:31-38 In Christ we live by grace and truth and not by the law–and this is all a gift, not our own doing. Therefore, John tells us, we have been set free, and furthermore as Paul told the Galatians, since we have been set free, we should never again submit to the slavery of the law. These are important truths, ones that we learn to…
Daily Devotions
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” vs. 33 Jeremiah 31:31-34 The Hebrews had come to believe that there was a special covenant between the Israelites and the Lord, and that the terms of that covenant had been laid out…
Daily Devotions
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes…But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.” vss. 8, 12 Psalm 19:7-14 The psalmist loved the law–he found comfort and direction from its precepts and commandments. As he lived with it and learned obedience he experienced daily joy and enlightenment. But he also knew that he could do better! He knew in his heart that he wasn’t…