Dan Lee
John 17:1-2, Salvation for the Glory of God

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 begins with a focus on the glory of God. Jesus prays that His impending death will ultimately glorify the Father and that this would come about through the granting (gifting) of eternal life to His elect. What Jesus’ crucifixion puts on display is the glory of God’s grace in salvation.

Dan Lee
Deuteronomy 27-34, Two Ways to Live

As Moses closes his final message to the children of Israel, he focuses on the consequences of obedience and disobedience. He does so by setting down before them two pathways: the pathway to life, good, and the blessing, and the other pathway to death, evil, and the curse. Along with these options for their future, he reveals to them their future in apostasy, judgment, and even a restoration afterwards. The Pentateuch closes with an allusion to the prophet like Moses to come, the Lord Jesus, who speaks from the LORD and all the people ought to hear. The call to choose life echoes throughout the ages, calling all to be reconciled and restored to God and to enter into His blessing through the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Dan Lee
Deuteronomy 12-26, The Place and The Prophet

In this final legal section of the Pentateuch, Moses touches on a wide range of laws. Among these, two stand out as the most prominent in the main message of Moses regarding the Messiah: the place of worship and the future prophet like Moses. These two ideas propel us to build up God’s church, hope in Christ’s return, and listen to Christ.

Dan Lee
Deuteronomy 1-11, Remember and Obey

Moses speaks his final message to the children of Israel before heading up Mount Nebo and see the land of Canaan and die there. His aim is to expound the law but he is gripped by the urgency of the spiritual needs of his people and thus he earnestly exhorts them with a long introduction (nearly all of 11 chapters) to remember and obey. In this three part study of Deuteronomy, we examine the practical relevance of this exhortation and consider the ultimate Israelite who lived up to all that this exhortation required.

Dan Lee
Numbers 22-24, The Messianic Prophecies of ...

The very perplexing figure of Balaam shows that God can use even a wicked pagan priest to speak forth His truth. Unbeknownst to this man, the LORD intended to use him to reinforce His immutable commitment to bless Israel and send the Messiah for our salvation. Balaam’s prophecies show that Jesus is the coming king who will reign supremely over all the nations, crushing all His enemies. They also show that Jesus is the promised seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, who grants the blessing of salvation to all the elect of God.

Luke

Luke 1:46-56, The Excellencies of our God

As Mary considered the meaning of the coming of Christ, she exploded with a joyful psalm of praise, even a prophetic anticipation of the future blessing for the people of God. Her focus in this song was the magnificence of the Lord. She saw in the coming of Christ the power of God, the mercy of God, and the faithfulness of God. Though she had only heard of the promises and had seen no evidence of her supernatural pregnancy, she believed. And because she believed, she, therefore, also rejoiced. We rejoice this day because we, too, believe. May the Lord fill our hearts with wonder and joy as we by faith meditate on His glorious attributes which shine with unparalleled brilliance in the coming of Jesus His incarnate Son.

Luke 6:27-28 Conflicts in the Church [Part 4]

“Love your enemies” is our 8th biblical mandate regarding conflicts. We are to respond to those who wrong us, not with a counterattack, but with love, with the intent to bless them and to do them good. Number 9 is “Do not let the sun go down on your anger,” where we are to deal with the cause of our anger. May the Lord help us to respond to conflicts His way.