Devotional on Isaiah 1:18
by John Young
“Out, Out damned spot I say…”
This line is from William Shakespeare’s play, “MacBeth.” It is the story of an ambitious man (MacBeth) and his wife, Lady MacBeth. They are hungry for power and have murdered and swindled their way past, around, or over anyone who stood in their way to get what they want.
This line comes from a point in the play when Lady MacBeth is sleepwalking and she’s lamenting this imaginary blood she has on her hands that she cannot get off no matter what she does.
I couldn’t help but think of this line as I read Isaiah 1:18:
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Unintended Consequences
by John Young
Good morning, Beloved!
My favorite book in the Bible is the book of Ephesians. It seems to be the book that always pops into my mind, with its rich theology, its succinct analogies that serve to boggle my mind with God’s eternal purposes in choosing us, and the way that Paul shows our relationships in the church and among other Christians are informed by, and built upon, these deep theological truths and divine actions.
What is God Doing Through the Coronavirus?
By John Young
Good morning, Beloved!
I hope this email finds you well and healthy. Instead of giving you some devotional thoughts on a passage of Scripture this morning, I thought I would summarize a portion of a book I commended to you last week by John Piper, entitled, Coronavirus and Christ. By clicking on the link, you can download it for free either to read a pdf, or for your kindle, or as an mp3 to listen to. It’s a very short book; I read it in my devotional time on Sunday morning.
The second part of Piper’s book is entitled, “What is God Doing Through the Coronavirus?” I think this is a very good question for us to consider as we may encounter unbelieving family members that may think this shows that God is on leave or he is not good or he is not powerful or he doesn’t exist! Or we may ourselves may be confused as we trust that God is sovereign over it but don’t understand how we relate to it. This is a valuable exercise for us because if we consider God’s ways, we can be strengthened even in these frightening, disconcerting circumstances.
I don’t believe I am ruining the book for you by doing this…it may actually convince you to read it. Consider it a brief synopsis of a part of the book that will enable you to possibly summarize 6 ways that the Lord is working through the coronavirus.
Devotional on 1 Peter 1:3-12, Part 2
by John Young
Good morning, Beloved! Yesterday we began thinking about the beginning of Peter’s letter to the Gentile Christians dispersed throughout all the provinces of Asia Minor at the time. They were undergoing persecution and difficulty and lacked encouragement because they were unable to fully realize the work the Lord was doing in their midst. But what we considered yesterday was merely the beginning of the letter! We hadn’t even gotten past the greeting!
Today, I’d like us to think for a few minutes on verses 3-12. Peter offers encouragement found in the Believer’s beginning, middle, and end.
Devotional on 1 Peter 1:1-2, Part 1
by John Young
I was blessed by a phone call from Pastor Geo yesterday and we talked about how we are struggling in the midst of the lack of contact and the cares of this world and he mentioned in passing how we are dispersed throughout the area and my mind immediately turned to this passage:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Obviously, the thing that drew me here was the thought that Peter is writing to the elect exiles of the Dispersion. I’d like to briefly consider those three words today and then we’ll consider the remainder of the passage tomorrow. Let’s take these words in reverse: