Year 2 Day 291
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 6 Message - Alan Burke Today we look at one of the best known miracles, the feeding of the ‘Five Thousand’. Remember our context, the people had been pursuing Jesus, yet he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd and taught them many things (34). The disciples still hadn’t had a chance to rest and it was now late in the day, now with a hungry multitude before them as it’s late in the day they tell Jesus to send them away so they can get food for themselves. They see the issue, they know the solution, send them away before there was a hungry mob. To that Jesus responds and you gotta love the answer of Jesus, “you give them something to eat”. The practicalities of getting this much food and the cost are just too much for the disciples to take in (38). Jesus though, sends them to find out, fives loaves two fish, that’s all there is. What we see here is that even though the apostles had already seen the miracles of Jesus, his power over nature, his power over sickness, demons, death, they had seen that power in how they had been sent out by himself to do the same, but they still hadn’t quite understood the fulness of who he was. After this Jesus gets the apostles to tell the people to sit down on the green grass, this is like a patchwork of people in groups, if fifties and a hundreds (39). Then Jesus gives thanks for it and broke the loves, and divided the fish among them (41). Five loaves and two fish, fed all that were there, what we have here is a supper abundant provision so much so that twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish were left over. We could try to explain this miracle away, many have tried to do that, they try to rationalise it, because from a human perspective this is just not possible. Notice though that there is nothing said of the reaction of the crowd to all of this, they didn’t see and understand the miraculous provision. But then that’s the same for all who have not understood who he was and is, for Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour, through whom all things were made (Jn 1:3). Delve into what takes place here and I hope the wonder of this miracle isn’t lost on you. It’s like lorry loads of food arrive to feed a full stadium of Northern Ireland fans at Windsor Park. We have a God who for him nothing is impossible, he can do anything, Jesus fed all those before him, for it is creation power in multiplying this food, but his creative power in us as he brings us from death to life, enabling us to be born again by the Spirit. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). That is the creative work of God in us through Christ Jesus. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q52 What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment? The reasons annexed to the second commandment are, God’ s sovereignty over us, (Ps. 95:2–3) his propriety in us, (Ps. 45:11) and the zeal he hath to his own worship. (Exod. 34:13–14)
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Year 2 Day 290
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 42 Message - Scott Woodburn God had given Joseph wisdom that had prepared Egypt for severe famine and providentially it forced his brothers to make a journey to the land of the pyramids. Jacob knew that there was much grain in Egypt and so he sent his all of sons except Benjamin to buy food (v1-5). Joseph’s brothers had once upon a time conspired to kill him but mercifully Reuben had stood up for his brother and so Joseph had been sold into slavery instead. As far as the brothers were concerned Joseph was dead and gone. Did they ever think about him? Did they regret their actions when they witnessed their father’s grief? Only God knows but He would use their predicament to bring them to a place of repentance. Joseph recognised his brothers immediately but they didn’t recognise him (v8). He began to test them by speaking to them harshly (v7) and then accusing them of being spies (v9). The Lord was working through Joseph to arouse his brother’s guilt and remorse. They didn’t remember their brother but would they remember their guilt? Slowly but surely the Lord broke up their hard hearts. Jacob’s sons protested that they were not spies but step by step they began to reveal truth. They declared themselves to be the sons of one man (v11). Joseph prodded again accusing the brothers of coming to spy out the land (v12). Once more the brothers protested their innocence and again they stressed that they were the sons of one man who had twelve sons. One of those sons remained at home in Canaan whilst one other son was no more (v13). Little did they know that they stood before the son who was no more! The brothers had spoken truthfully but their time of testing wasn’t over. Joseph stressed that they wouldn’t leave Egypt unless their youngest brother (still in Canaan) was brought to Joseph. To give them time to consider their options, he put his brothers into custody (v14-17). Three days later, Joseph returned to his brothers and reiterated the accusation that they were spies. He urged one of them to stay behind in Egypt and for the others to go and later return with Benjamin. If they agreed to this it would surely be a sign of their truthfulness (v18-20). It was at this stage that the wall started to crumble as the brothers began to remember what they had done to Joseph. He had begged them not to harm him and yet they hadn’t listened. They had treated him abysmally and lied to their father about his fate. They were not the honest men that they claimed (v11). There could be no justification for how they treated Joseph and now they realised that their actions had repercussions (v21-22). Joseph heard every word and turned away from his brothers and wept. He gave orders that Simeon would stay in Egypt while the others would return to Canaan. Joseph’s staff filled the brother’s bags with grain, replaced their money and gave them provisions for their journey (v25). As they made their way home one of them discovered the replenished money in his sack. It struck fear and awe into the family. What was going on? Who had put their money back? What was God doing to them? Finally they explained the whole situation to their father Jacob. The chapter comes to a close with Jacob uncertain about sending Benjamin to Egypt - he couldn’t bear to lose another son. But Reuben was absolutely determined to travel back down the road even saying that his own two sons could be killed if he didn’t bring Benjamin home safely. Reuben seems to be the voice of his brothers and his voice wants to put right what the brothers had done wrong. Brothers and sisters are you crippled with guilt? Have you been doing your best to forget your words and actions from twenty years ago? Does it seem that every sermon seems to poke you right where it hurts? The Lord is gracious in how he deals with us but at times He brings us to a place that is deeply uncomfortable. Slowly but surely God shows us our sin and brings us to a place of repentance. My friends begin this new year delighting in the grace of God. Repent today and repent tomorrow and always be determined to repent. Fall before the Lord seeking his forgiveness - we are not good people with pure motives, we are desperate sinners in need of grace. Forgive your brothers and sisters and cancel all grudges and gripes - forgive as you have been forgiven. Repent for “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1v9) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q51 What is forbidden in the second commandment? The second commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in his Word. Year 2 Day 289
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 6:34 Message - Alan Burke How did you get on with your homework? If you missed the devotion on Monday I finished by setting a task of having a wee think of all the passages that talk about shepherd. For most of us this isn’t a hard task, we can name a few without much effort. Most likely it’s the words of the psalmist in Psalm 23, ‘the Lord is my shepherd’. For Mark’s readers they would have heard these words of Jesus that “he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (34) and to them it would have had so much more significance that it is to us, they would have known that Jesus was speaking of more than the words of Psalm 23. Well the people of God when they heard these words written in Mark of Jesus that he had compassion on them for they were like sheep without a Shepherd they would have thought first to the Exodus generation. In Numbers 27 “Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” (Num 27:15-17). Similarly in Deuteronomy 34, in 1 Kings 22, Ezekiel 34, Isaiah 40, all speak of the longing for a true shepherd. In Jeremiah 3 we are told, “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jer. 3:15). Everything that is going on here is point to how Jesus was the new Moses, the one who would lead the people so that they may not be as sheep that have no shepherd. Look to where this is happening, although the NIV says v31 “a quiet place” v32 “a solitary place” if you have a KJV “wilderness” (KJV) in the ESV you will read “a desolate place” (ESV) in both these verses. Not only what we are told, in how Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd but also the place itself in the wilderness, this desolate place, is to recall to our minds the exodus and the years in the wilderness that followed. The first readers would have seen and understood that this is revealing that Jesus is fulfilling the promises of God for a shepherd of his people. Just as God chosen to meet with His people in the wilderness in the Old Covenant likewise in the new he meets his people in the wilderness also. In John’s gospel the image of shepherd and Jesus is given to us that Jesus is the good shepherd (Jn 10), God sent Jesus the long awaited shepherd king, fulfilling what God had promised to do. There Jesus doing as God promised the shepherd would do in Jeremiah, feeding the sheep with knowledge and understanding as he began teaching them many things (34). He was teaching them of the kingdom of God, in his compassion he taught them of the importance of repenting from their sin and believing the gospel. Jesus was and is the greater Moses who has come to deliver his people from slavery to sin and death. If we have repented and beloved then you know the hope that is, that you are his, the sheep of his pasture and that you can come before him without fear through the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q50 What is required in the second commandment? The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word. (Deut. 32:46, Matt. 28:20, Acts 2:42) Year 2 Day 288
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 41 Message - Scott Woodburn Very few of us have the number of a plumber on hand and usually we only search for such information when we’ve put a nail through a pipe. We then put a message out on Facebook - “anyone recommend a good plumber…QUICKLY???!!!” But if a good plumber is hard to find, what do you do when you’re troubled by dreams? Pharaoh soon found himself asking that question. The leader of Egypt had two dreams. In one, seven plump cows were devoured by seven ugly skinny cows. In the other dream seven plump ears of grain were devoured by seven thin ears of grain (v2-7). The dreams annoyed Pharaoh so much that he sent for his magicians and wise men to interpret the troubling visions but no one was able to solve the problem of the cows and the grain. Two years had passed since Pharaoh’s cup bearer had been in prison but finally he regained his memory. He told Pharaoh that he had been in jail with a young Hebrew who had successfully interpreted the dreams of both the cup bearer and the baker (v9-13) and quicker than skinny cows could eat plump cows, Joseph stood before one of the most powerful men in the world. Joseph didn’t quake. He was clear that he had no ability to discern the meaning of dreams but he was confident the Lord God Almighty would answer Pharaoh (v16). Egypt’s ruler then outlined the details of his dreams and soon realised that Joseph was no fraud. Jospeh told Pharaoh that the two dreams were actually one. The seven plump cows and plump ears of grain represented seven years of plenty. The seven ugly cows and the seven thin ears of grain represented seven years of severe famine (v25-31). The dream had been repeated to show that the events were fixed by God - they most certainly would take place (v32). But Joseph wasn’t finished. He urged Pharaoh to appoint a wise man over the nation who would ensure that grain was kept aside during the years of plenty. When the years of famine arrived, Egypt would then be prepared to meet the challenge head on (v33-36). Joseph had moved from the prison to the palace and Pharaoh liked what he saw and heard. As far as he was concerned there was none wiser than Joseph and he put him in charge over his whole house and land of Egypt (v40-41). He honoured Joseph with a ring, clothing and other jewellery (v42). He changed his name to Zaphenath-paneah which means “God speaks and lives” and he gave him a wife called Asenath (v45). Indeed when Pharaoh and Joseph drove past in their chariots every Egyptian was to bow the knee (v43). What a dramatic change which Joseph well understood. When his two sons were born he named them Manasseh meaning “God has made me forget my toil and my father’s house” and Ephraim meaning “God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction” (v50-52). Joseph had moved from toil and trouble to a place of fruitfulness and all of it had been worked by the providential hand of Almighty God. The journey from the pit to Potiphar to prison to Pharaoh had taken years and I’m certain Joseph at times would have wondered if brighter days would ever come - but eventually they did. Brothers and sisters, we have spoken about God’s providence and must accept that the movement of His hand is often unseen and to our mind it moves much too slowly. But the Lord does not slumber nor sleep, He is always at work and He rules over the forgotten prisoner and the dreaming Pharaoh. Joseph’s ascent to power was part of a grander narrative and like a chess grand-master the Lord was always several steps ahead. If our God is sovereign over nation states and world affairs and if he is able to govern times of famine and harvest, then I am certain He is able to help us in our time of need. Do not lose sight of Christ this year, He is for us and He is the true Zaphenath-paneah for in Jesus the world will see that God speaks and lives. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q49 Which is the second commandment? The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Year 2 Day 287
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 6:30-34 Message - Alan Burke Today as we begin, I want you think back to where we were last week in v14-29. There we are told of the death of John the Baptist. It is a scene that almost seems out of place in the narrative as the twelve were sent out by Jesus, to take the message of repentance and now we are told of their return. Part of the reason why we had the account of John’s death was because it revealed to us how some were responding to the message of repentance. Whereas here as the disciples return something else happens. For while Herod had silenced this message, the people instead flock to Jesus because of it. Look then to what we are told here, because of all those flocking to him, because there was so many people, that they didn’t even have a chance to eat (v31). The demands on Jesus and the apostles were constant. There in the midst of this, with the people coming, we see something of the saviours compassion. Firstly, there in v32 towards his apostles. As he invites them to come with himself, to go to a quiet place to get rest. We don’t know how long these apostles had been out ministering, we don’t know if was just for a day or more, but now they are together once more and they are wearied after their exertion and Jesus sees they need rest. So they move from where they are, they go away by themselves, on a boat to a solitary place (32). Everything here is taking place beside the Sea of Galilee, and we know from Luke’s gospel they withdrew to Bethsaida (Lk 9:10), that it’s about four miles on the boat along the edge of the lake. The crowd though pursue Jesus. Most of us at that stage would have had enough and be telling people ‘could you not just leave us alone, we haven’t even had dinner’. Likely we’d be saying something much stronger. But Jesus, well Jesus sees the crowd and (34) has compassion on them. First Jesus had compassion on the tired apostles who are in need of rest and refreshment, whereas now even though apostles still in need of rest and refreshment he has compassion on this crowd. His heart goes out to them. It’s a compassion that we have seen many times in Mark’s gospel as he has preached the news of how the kingdom of God is at hand and how he has healed the sick, and now his heart goes out to this crowd before him. We will come back to the reason why on Wednesday but for now I want you to see what that compassion caused him to do and then I’ll leave you with a bit of homework. What did that compassion cause him to do, well it meant that he began teaching him many things. What were these many things? They were that of the kingdom of God, in his compassion he taught them of the importance of repenting from their sin and believing the gospel. The most compassionate thing we can do for people is to tell them of their need of a saviour who came in his compassion in order that we might be saved. Finally the homework, it’s not hard but for Wednesday have a wee think of all the passages that you can think of that talk about shepherd. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q48 What are we specially taught by these words [before me] in the first commandment? These words [before me] in the first commandment teach us, That God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God. (Ezek. 8:5–6, Ps. 44:20–21) Year 2 Day 285
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 40 Message - Scott Woodburn Do you consider yourself lucky? Does everything seem to go your way? Do you always come up smelling of roses? Regardless of your answers we can be comforted in the knowledge that there is no such thing as luck. Christians don’t “touch wood” or “cross fingers” or “throw salt over a shoulder” instead Christians trust in the providential hand of Almighty God. What is providence? God in His holiness and wisdom and power preserves and governs us and all our actions. Not a hair can fall from our heads without His knowing. It is by the providence of God that Joseph found himself in prison. By God’s providence He had received the favour of the keeper of the prison and it was by God’s providence that two high profile prisoners came to share Joseph’s prison. One man was Pharaoh’s cup bearer and the other was Pharaoh’s chief baker. These were vitally important positions - Pharaoh didn’t want poisoned wine or a dodgy pan loaf. One night the men both had a troubling dream and in the morning they lamented that there was no one to interpret. But providentially (not luckily) the cup bearer and baker shared a prison with Joseph. The cup bearer told Joseph his dream. He said “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.” (v9-11) Joseph by the grace and gifting of God was able to tell the cup bearer the meaning. In three days Pharaoh would restore the cup bearer to his former position (v13). The cup bearer’s lamenting was turned to rejoicing and so the baker wanted to hear good news as well. He told Joseph his dream saying “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” (v16-17). Unfortunately the baker wouldn’t receive good news. Joseph told him that in three days Pharaoh would hang him and the birds would eat his flesh (v19). Everything came to pass exactly as Joseph had said. The cup bearer was restored and the baker was hung (v20-22). Our God is good and He is gracious but sometimes His providence tastes sweet and other times bitter. Joseph didn’t shy away from this reality. His job was to be faithful and to tell these men exactly what the future held. If the providence of God had put Joseph in a position to interpret the dreams of prisoners, God’s providence had also given Joseph an opportunity for freedom. He told the cup bearer good news and urged him not to forget this kindness. Jospeh had been stolen from his home and he had done nothing to deserve prison, he therefore asked the cup bearer to remember him and to bring his case before Pharaoh (v14). Perhaps the cup bearer was too excited by his release but when he left prison he promptly forget Joseph (v23)! As a New Year begins may this news comfort you - cup bearers may forget but Almighty God never does. We have no certainty about what 2022 will bring. It may be a year of sweetness or life may taste incredibly bitter. Whatever comes may the Lord strengthen our faith for the days that are still ahead. As we gaze into the unknown of a New Year may our eyes lift instead to Jesus. He is our unchanging Saviour, He intercedes for us and none of life’s ups or downs can pluck us from His hand. He guides our path with mercy and grace and all things will certainly work for our good. So my dear brothers and sisters, may you and yours have a happy new year. Do not fear the days to come, instead rest in the providential care of our holy and wise God. “What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong— body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.” Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q47 What is forbidden in the first commandment? The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying, the true God as God, and our God; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone. |
Alan
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