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.

Psalms

Psalm 32:1-11 The Joy of Forgiveness

Psalm 32 tells us of the joy of forgiveness and restoration. David tells us of this joy through his personal testimony. When he was in the mire of his misery, he confessed to the LORD, and He abundantly forgave. But the LORD did more than this. He brought the forgiven man under His tutelage and directs him to the live in His ways. There is forgiveness for the sinner who repents. The Lord is ever ready to recieve and restore the repentant sinner.

Psalm 67:1-7, Let the Nations Be Glad

God has a purpose for His world and a role for His people to play. His purpose is worldwide salvation and our role is to pray and leverage all God’s given us to advance His purpose of salvation. God does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). God has a heart for the lost and teaches His people to reflect His heart. This is a psalm that teaches us to pray down blessings from heaven for the purpose of reaching the lost. May the Lord wise us up not to squander our lives and our resources, but leverage all He’s given us to advance His glorious cause in His world.

Psalm 100, Thankful, Thoughtful, Cheerful Worship (Part 3)

Cheerful worship is what our glorious God is worthy of. And this is what He calls for. He seeks worshippers who know to shout joyfully and serve gladly and come before Him with joyful singing. May the Lord grant us the wisdom to nurture our hearts to always be ready to engage with Him in worship with hearts cleansed of sin, minds saturated with His truth and with hearts overflowing with gratitude.

Psalm 100, Thankful, Thoughtful, Cheerful Worship

God is worthy of the most excellent kind of worship. In Psalm 100 we find a universal summons for all the earth to bring to God this most elevated and acceptable worship to Yahweh, our Maker, Sustainer and Redeemer. In this first study in Psalm 100, we look at the grounds for gratitude in worship, namely, creation, care and the cross. May the Lord purge any tinge of unbelief from our hearts and by His Holy Spirit enable us to be true worshippers who evermore come to Him with thankful hearts.

Psalm 16:1-11, The Divine Joys of a Right Personal Relationship with God (Part 2)

There is no joy apart from God. In this second installment on our studies on divine joys, we again see the joys of God expressed in Psalm 16 and the right personal relationship with God that is the foundation of those joys. I experience divine joys when God is my refuge, my Lord, my treasure, my counselor and my Savior. May the Lord evermore mature us to be like Christ who Himself knew these joys to their fullness!

Psalm 16:1-11, The Divine Joys of a Right Personal Relationship with God

A right personal relationship with God emanates divine joys. In Psalm 16, we hear of a man who knew such joys. in this two week series, we will consider the vital truth in this text: I experience divine joys when God is my Refuge, my Lord, my Treasure, my Counsel and my Savior. May our joy meter read “full” as we rightly and personally relate to the Lord as we ought to and as He deserves.

Psalm 130, Depend on Grace

As we look ahead to the new year, let’s steer away from the common worldly attitude of self-dependence, self-sufficiency, and self-confidence and instead look humbly and with faith to the Lord for His grace. The psalmist in this precious psalm shows us how OT saints looked ahead to the Lord with faith and humility for His redemption promise to be fulfilled. May we also be men, women and children who drink richly from God’s grace each day by trust in Him and in His word with humble dependence. In His word do we also hope!