A “not my will” day! I’ll go with Psalm 16:1-2 for Temple worship today.
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Romans 2. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Lord’s dealings with Israel and the Gentiles, and Romans 2 is all about that. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind in verse 24:
Romans 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
The LORD cares about how our behavior makes Him look to unbelievers. I thought of the phrase in the prayer Jesus gave us as a model: “Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2).
Along the still waters, I wondered where in the Old Testament this is “written”?
Remember when David fell into fleshly sin? (2 Samuel 11-12). God sent the prophet, Nathan, to reprove him and announce the judgment that would come upon him for his sin—“the sword shall never leave thy house,” “I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house,” and “I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor” (2 Samuel 12:10-11). God made it clear that David despised Him by his sin secretly, but that He would chastise him for it publicly (2 Samuel 12:12).
David confessed, “I have sinned against the LORD,” and Nathan immediately answered for the LORD: “The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die” (2 Samuel 12:13).
Now hear the final sentence of GOD and think about it in connection with Romans 2:24: “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die” (2 Samuel 12:14).
It’s one thing to “despise the LORD” in our sins. It’s another thing to provoke blasphemy against God in the hearts of the unbelieving.
The Father cares about how our behavior makes Him look to unbelievers! The Spirit, through Paul, rebuked all the hypocrites in Israel when He said, “Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written” (Romans 2:23-24).
This jealousy for His name is reflected in another place in the New Testament: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19).
In the valley, after much examination of my own life, I thought about how God had said to David, because he despised the LORD by his sin, the “sword” would never depart, and evil would arise within his house. Of course, like you, I thought of Amon and Tamar, and the cruel rebellion of bitter Absalom, and of David’s many plaintive Psalms. I thought each of these must have been a reminder of his sin and of God’s judgment (Psalm 51:3, 9; see 25:7; 38:3; 69:5). I wondered if every flash of the sword in his house reminded David of his sin. And I thought of dear Peter, whose sin was connected to an event he would face virtually every morning for the rest of his life at cock crow (Matthew 26:34, 75). I think, I hope, that David and Peter used the reminder to remember their frailty, but also the sufficiency of His grace (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Curious, it was just then that the Spirit humbled me to kneel in the shadow of His Cross. The thought occurred to me that these reminders are not to condemnation (Romans 8:1), but His call to the Cross: “If any man come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). David was given Psalms 32:5: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Peter had 1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” We have 1 John 1:8-9:
1John 1:8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Let us hallow His name in our hearts and honor it in our lives.
At the table, He anointed my head with his soothing oil and filled my cup with His sufficient grace. Goodness and mercy followed as we walked together into His harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live asap:
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