n0klu's Rants

  July 01, 2021 at 12:32 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     God’s Holiness, Pt. 2 God’s Holiness, Pt. 2 “I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not a man—the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.” Hosea 11:9 Scripture Focus: Isaiah 6:1-13 We have seen that God is holy in His distinctiveness from His creation. We know that He sets us apart for Himself, and this is not something we take for granted. God is not just holy in His being, but He is ethically holy. That is, He is pure of all sin while we, on the other hand, are filled with sin (Romans 3:10-18). The first words Isaiah utters upon seeing the Lord are, “‘Woe to me! … I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty’” (6:5). He was profoundly aware of his disgrace before the pure, sinless, holy God. God’s holiness has us in the same place as Isaiah: realizing our ruin because o...

  June 30, 2021 at 12:02 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     God’s Holiness, Pt. 1 God’s Holiness, Pt. 1 “For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit.” Isaiah 57:15a Scripture Focus: Exodus 29:35-46 In recent years my mom has picked up a new hobby: making pottery. What started out as a free class offered at a local church has turned into a craft that she is surprisingly good at. She even sells some of her pieces at a local plant nursery. While most of what she has made is fair game for potential buyers, there are a couple pieces we hope she never sells because we want to set them apart, keep them in the family. Similar to how we’ve held back some of my mom’s pottery to be our own possession, God by His holiness sets His people apart from all the people of the world to be His special, treasured ones. God’s holiness first of all communicates His distinction ...

  June 29, 2021 at 1:16 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     The Lord’s Patience The Lord’s Patience “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.” 2 Peter 3:15 Scripture Focus: 1 Timothy 1:12-17 I used to believe I was a pretty patient person, especially with kids. But then I worked as a “Data/Telecommunications Technician” for a college, and I realized I wasn’t nearly as patient as I thought! We know “patience is a virtue,” but we must remember that God’s patience, like the rest of His attributes, is not just greater than ours but transcends any ability we have to be patient with others. God’s love and goodness take the form of patience as He meets sinful people right where we are. Peter points out above that “our Lord’s patience means salvation.” What good news that is! He bears with us in grace, mercy, love, and righteousness. Paul understood his life and ministry as an apostle to be a testim...

  June 25, 2021 at 12:49 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     God’s Great Mercy God’s Great Mercy “Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.” Psalm 25:6 Scripture Focus: Luke 18:9-14 Mercy is another attribute of God, one which we can share with Him, even despite our sinfulness. But how often we are reluctant to show mercy! I see this while I’m driving around any city or town where there is lot of traffic. My wife will testify that I often am angered by the actions of other drivers. However, when I fail in my own standards, I quickly come up with a good explanation for it. Does that sound familiar to you in the situations of your own life? Or is showing complete mercy your default setting? As with grace, mercy is God relating to sinful people in His goodness and love. It’s His restraint of the justice we deserve for our sin. The Luke 18 passage for today spotlights how easy it is for us to think we’re pretty good folks. We figure everyone else needs to be ...

  June 24, 2021 at 12:06 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     Grace Upon Grace Grace Upon Grace “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16 (ESV) Scripture Focus: Psalm 103:1-22 Grace highlights our relationship with God. In the midst of our continual shortcomings, weaknesses, fears, and bondage to sin, the gospel of grace teaches us that God not only gives us grace but gives us Himself in grace by His Son and through His Spirit. God is constantly showering us with underserved favor for Jesus’ sake. The comforting words of Psalm 103 remind us that “the Lord is compassionate and gracious” (vs. 8). Because of God’s simplicity (turn back to Days 2 and 3), we are reminded that grace and graciousness are the hallmarks of our God. There is no hidden corner of God that is ungracious. Therefore, “he does not treat us as our sins deserve” (vs. 10). Furthermore, we see the relationship between His omniscience and graciousness in which He knows our weakness but is n...

  June 11, 2021 at 1:06 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     God Is Love God Is Love, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 Scripture Focus: Psalm 136:1-26 “I love you” is a powerful phrase. It binds people together in relationships. Parents melt when they hear it from their young children for the first time. Lovers establish new intimacy. Long-time friends experience deeper connections. “I love you” is powerful not only because it is what we at our most basic level long to hear, but because it spurs on love when mixed with corresponding actions. Our text powerfully connects God’s love to His acts of creation and redemption. This helpfully shows us that love is not just an abstract force, but also a deep commitment that seeks out and embraces its beloved. God’s love is also powerful because it is sure and certain for anyone who rests in Jesus. Because God’s love is connected with acts in history for the redemption of His people, it ...