Author: Danny Panter

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 19:3-8 (day six)

The Lord is like a father to his children,
    tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows how weak we are;
    he remembers we are only dust. Psalm 103:13-14

I marvel at God’s compassion for Elijah. Coming off of one of the greatest displays of God’s power and glory, Elijah retreats in fear for his life. He is riddled with dire disappointment; he is emotionally spent. If one didn’t know any better, you would think he had run out of faith.

And yet God does not chastise him or judge; no, “Ye of little faith.” Instead, he tenderly and compassionately draws near, providing him exactly what he needs.

Life is not lived solely in Mt. Carmel moments but in the trenches where life is hard, fragile, and faith is stretched. But God is there too, not to condemn, but surprisingly, to compassionately nourish.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 18:30-39 (day six)

Israel’s brazen idolatry began more subtly. Baal was the very popular local god of the weather (lightning and rain), manifested out of the Canaanites’ need for fertile soil and a fruitful harvest. Initially, the Israelites never intended to abandon God; they only thought it wise to cover their bases and worship Baal too, just in case God didn’t pull through. As the old saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

It was only a matter of time, slow at first, but then quickly, that the local very popular god of the weather was all they worshipped; their hearts enslaved to its demands-which were their very lives.

Divided loyalties never stay divided for long.

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money (or Baal).” -Jesus

Re:Verse passage – 1 Samuel 17:38-51 (day six)

The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!- David, 1 Samuel 17:37

Tempered steel is so strong because it has been repeatedly heated and cooled just before its boiling point. This kind of stress on the steel hardens it beyond its original composition. David’s faith is like tempered steel.

I am amazed by David’s faith in God; his trust in God’s provision. This faith didn’t come by way of acquiring knowledge but by tempering. Over time, as a goat herder, he had increasingly entrusted himself to the Lord. Can you imagine the first time he had to defend his goats against a lion or bear? David had to decide at that moment, is God good for this? Each crisis put his faith under fire and strengthened it, hardened it for battle.

This made me wonder how often my faith is tested. Do I have a risky faith that heats it up just right before its boiling point? Do I allow my faith to be tempered, like David’s? If I am going to be hardened for battle in facing Goliaths, then I must entrust myself to him when I face the lions and bears along the way.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Samuel 16:5-13 (day six)

Messiah is the English transliteration of the Hebrew word that means “anointed one.” That’s what Samuel did to David in 1 Samuel 16; he became an anointed one. A messiah was one who was devoted to God for a particular purpose; to serve as a “bridge between heaven and earth.” (Tim Mackee, bibleproject.com).

When Greek scholars translated the same Hebrew word, it became christos, or christ in English. Jesus Christ literally means “Jesus, the anointed one.” David was a precursor to Jesus’ eternal rule as the anointed king.

In Antioch, after the birth of the early church, followers of Jesus were called “Christians,” which means “little Christs,” or “little anointed ones.” That’s us. We are little anointed ones, like King David before us. We are heirs with David, called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be God’s “bridge between heaven on earth” until the eternal King returns.

Re:Verse passage – Judges 16:15-21 (day six)  

Samson represents two simultaneous truths, the total moral collapse of the tribes of Israel and the total committedness of God to his people. God chose the twelve tribes, yet they had grown comfortable with Philistine idolatry and sexual immorality; they had forgotten God. God also chose Samson, but even under a Nazarite vow, he lived as if God didn’t exist.

YET, despite how far they had fallen, God used Samson to preserve his people once again. Samson’s story (in fact, the entire book of Judges) foretells a desperate need for a righteous king to rule God’s people and God’s committedness to make it a reality.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 28:16-20 (alternate Easter text) (day six)

¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,^[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

After defeating sin and death in his resurrection, Jesus’ full rights as the Son of God have been restored (see Philippians 2:7), demonstrated in his “authority in heaven and on earth.” Of course, this means he has the authority to command the church to “make disciples” with the full expectation of obedience. It also means he has the authority to fulfill the command through us; to finish the task. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

May that give us the confidence to obey this command through our church family faithfully.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 5:13-15; 6:1-5 (day six)

Joshua asked the most natural question, “Are you friend or foe?” And the commander of the Lord’s army gave an unlikely response, “Neither.”

For most, God is not loving unless he endorses their agenda, desires, and ambitions. God makes clear in this encounter that he only serves his own agenda. The question is never whether or not God is “friend or foe” but whether or not we are.

This story serves several purposes, but not least of which is establishing Joshua as a “friend of God”-just like Moses before him, even having his own burning bush experience.

How about you? Do you serve God’s agenda? Do you expect him to serve yours? Are you a friend or foe? Even Jesus said, “anyone who isn’t with me opposes me.” (Matt. 12:30)

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day six)

God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. ²⁸ God chose things despised by the world,^[h] things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 1 Corinthians 1:27-28

Rahab made it clear that everyone had heard the same stories about the God of the Israelites she had. That means Jericho’s wisest and most powerful had also received the same news, and yet only Rahab initiated her faith by saving two Israelite scouts.

Paul’s words to the Corinthian church could not have been more true than in Jericho. With every opportunity to repent and initiate new faith, the wise and powerful of Jericho instead chose to stand their ground.

Rahab’s story is a story of God’s kindness to all, an invitation to repentance,  especially to the despised and powerless of the world.

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 50:15-20(day six)

¹⁹ But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? Genesis 50:19

Notice Joseph’s reason for forgiveness. He did not dismiss their betrayal and cruelty. He did not say, “let bygones be bygones,” or “don’t worry about it.” A confession and ask for forgiveness does not mean the sin magically disappears. Joseph could forgive because he placed justice in God’s hands.

Forgiveness never happens in a vacuum; sin is always due justice. What’s true for Joseph is true for us, we forgive not by forgetting about the offense but by entrusting justice to God. This makes the basis of Joseph’s forgiveness and ours the same: Jesus.

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 22:1-18 (day six)

Hebrews 10:4
⁴ For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Romans 3:25-26
²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,²⁶ for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

The ram God provided on Mount Moriah did not take away Abraham’s sin, but it was a foreshadowing of the Lamb of God who would.

Jesus was God’s provision for Abraham and for us.