Scripture & Commentary

Phil. 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul echoes Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount that believers are not to be anxious but are to entrust themselves into the hands of their loving heavenly Father, whose peace will guard them in Christ Jesus. Paul’s use of “guard” may reflect his own imprisonment or the status of Philippi as a Roman colony with a military garrison. In either case, it is not Roman soldiers who guard believers-it is the peace of God Almighty. Because God is sovereign and in control, Christians can entrust all their difficulties to him, who rules over all creation and who is wise and loving in all his ways. An attitude of thanksgiving contributes directly to this inward peace. –English Standard Version Study Bible

Heb. 4:16 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.

Draw near is used consistently in Hebrews to present a person approaching God, who is possible only when one’s sins are forgiven through the sacrificial and intercessory ministry of a high priest. The encouragement to “draw near” to God’s throne implies that Christians have the privilege of a personal relationship with God. Confidence translates…”boldness,” “confidence,” “courage”…It indicates that Christians may come before God and speak plainly and honestly (yet still with appropriate reverence), without fear that they will incur shame or punishment by doing so. throne of grace. God the Father, with Jesus at his right hand graciously dispense help from heaven to those who need forgiveness and strength in temptation. –English Standard Version Study Bible

I Pet. 5:7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

The participle “casting” modifies the main verbal phrase “humble yourselves” from v. 6. Worry is a form of pride because it involves taking concerns upon oneself instead of entrusting them to God. Believers can trust God because, as their Father, he cares for them. –English Standard Version Study Bible

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be [1] against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

The Lord Is Your Keeper

Ps.121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

Comments from the ESV Study Bible:

“The help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth, and therefore no other power can hinder it.”

“The verses are dominated by the word ‘keep’ (to keep, guard, watch over, attend to carefully): the Lord who keeps Israel also keeps you. This means that he will not let your foot be moved (i.e., slip as you walk), nor will he let you suffer from the dangers of day and night.”

“…the Lord is your keeper at all times; he will neither slumber no sleep. Not only is God all-powerful, he is ever-watchful. This is the confidence the faithful are to enjoy.”

The Lord Is

Last night Matt read Psalm 23. I have had this Psalm memorized since I was a child. It’s so familiar that, sadly, I do not meditate on it or read it often. But, as Matt read it out loud, it came alive. Especially since we had just finished singing The Lord Is off of the Psalms cd. This morning I revisited this Psalm with my ESV Study Bible…

“This hymn is usually classified as a psalm of confidence in the Lord’s care. It uses two images: the Lord as Shepherd who cares for the sheep, and the Lord as Host who cares for his guest. These images would be familiar from everyday experience; but they also evoke other ideas common in the ancient Near East, with the deity as shepherd of his people and the deity as host of the meal. In worship, the faithful celebrate God’s greatness and majesty; and when they sing this psalm, they see his majesty in the way he personally attends to each of his covenant lambs. He is the shepherd for Israel as a whole; and in being such, he is the shepherd for each faithful Israelite as well.”

As I read Psalm 23 this morning I inserted my name into the personal pronouns…

23:1 The Lord is [Jessica’s] shepherd; [Jessica] shall not want.
2 He makes [Jessica] lie down in green pastures.
He leads [Jessica] beside still waters. [1]
3 He restores [Jessica’s] soul.
He leads [Jessica] in paths of righteousness [2]
for his name's sake.

4 Even though [Jessica] walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [3]
[Jessica] will fear no evil,
for you are with [Jessica];
your rod and your staff,
they comfort [Jessica].

5 You prepare a table before [Jessica]
in the presence of [Jessica’s] enemies;
you anoint [Jessica’s} head with oil;
[Jessica’s] cup overflows.
6 Surely [4] goodness and mercy [5] shall follow [Jessica]
all the days of [Jessica’s] life,
and [Jessica] shall dwell [6] in the house of the Lord
forever. [7]

The Lord Is

As recorded on Psalms
Listen to song sample

The depths of Your grace who can measure
You fully supply all I need
You restore my weary soul again and again
And lead me in Your righteousness and peace
You’re with me through every dark valley
There’s nothing that I have to fear
You are there to comfort me again and again
Protecting me, assuring me You’re near

The Lord is
The Lord is my shepherd
The Lord is
The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want

You gave Your own life for my ransom
So I could rejoice at Your side
You have shown Your faithfulness again and again
There’s nothing good that You will not provide
I will dwell in Your house
All the days of my life
I will dwell in Your house
All the days of my life

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI). Music by Pat Sczebel, Words by Pat Sczebel and Bob Kauflin. All Rights Reserved.

Fear & Blessing

Deuteronomy 14:22 “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, 25 then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses 26 and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.

Tithing does not mean the giving of the surplus. Tithing would teach Israel to trust God that the remaining 90 percent was sufficient and that God would provide each year. Israel should have learned this fear through the provision of manna in the wilderness (Deut.8:3)…when the Lord your God blesses you. Underlining this whole legislation is a clear expectation of blessing. –ESVB

As I was reading Bible verses on fear this morning, I was intrigued by Deuteronomy 14:23. To insure I was reading it correctly and in context I read the verses surrounding it (above). I’m glad I did, it made vs. 23 even clearer. Three things stuck out to me:

1. This tithe was not burnt or given away to the priests. The family ate it! They left their farms, traveled to Jerusalem, and partied. God was requiring their trust, but blessing them in the process. Yes, they had to trust, but this requirement was for their good. It was to bless them and to give them enjoyment.

2. It is assumed that God would bless the Israelites…”when the LORD your God blesses you”.

3. Trust/Fear. Leaving their livestock and crops required much trust in God. Would they be there when they got home? It wasn’t just the husband that traveled to Jerusalem, but the entire family. They had to leave everything behind, trusting God to provide and protect their livelihood. He provided the food to tithe on. He commanded them to go to Jerusalem. So they must obey in faith. Trusting that everything on the home front would be ok and that the 90 percent left would be enough for the year.

I guess I was struck by the direct correlation between trust/fear in God, obedience, and blessing. I often think that trials/affliction are what produce trust/fear (which they do!). But, it seems like blessing does too.

Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world give do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Jn 14:27

The expression peace (Hb. shalom) had a much richer connotation that the English word does since it conveyed not merely the absence of conflict and turmoil but also the notion of positive blessing, especially in terms of a right relationship with God. This may be manifested most clearly in the midst of persecution and tribulation from the world. -ESVSB

Faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Heb. 11:1 assurance. Greek hypostasis, also translated “confidence” (3:14). hoped for. On hope, see 3:6; 6:11, 18; 7:19; 10:23. conviction of things not seen. By defining faith (Gk. pistis) as “assurance” and “conviction,” the author indicates that biblical faith is not a vague hope grounded in imaginary, wishful thinking. Instead, faith is a settled confidence that something in the future—something that is not yet seen but has been promised by God—will actually come to pass because God will bring it about. Thus biblical faith is not blind trust in the face of contrary evidence, not an unknowable “leap in the dark”; rather, biblical faith is a confident trust in the eternal God who is all-powerful, infinitely wise, eternally trustworthy—the God who has revealed himself in his word and in the person of Jesus Christ, whose promises have proven true from generation to generation, and who will “never leave nor forsake” his own (13:5). Such faith in the unseen realities of God is emphasized throughout ch. 11 (e.g., 11:7, 8; cf. v. 3) and has provided confidence and assurance to all who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior.

- ESV Study Bible

Eternal Nature of God

"Are you not from Everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die..." Hab. 1:12a

"Habakkuk grounds His confidence in God's future for his people in the eternal nature of God." - ESVSB

Habakkuk's confidence was not based in what He could see (what he saw was nothing but evil). It wasn't based in his present circumstances or even future circumstances. It wasn't based on his emotions and his subjective feelings. His confidence was based on objective truth, the objective Truth. He was trusting in One thing...the character of his God. He had knowledge, he knew scripture. He had seen God move in the past and was confident in His faithfulness. Even though God was answering Habakkuk's prayers in an odd & terrifying way; Habakkuk was confident his nation would not be wiped out. God was good. God was faithful. Even in the midst of complaining, and I would guess fear, Habakkuk was clinging to the character of God as His refuge.

Do I do that? When things don't go according to my plans. When I do not feel good. When I am tempted to feel overwhelmed at work. When I complain because I cannot see the future. When I am in a conflict...Where does my heart turn? Fear and complaining. Or a firm confidence in my God and His unchanging character.