The Joy of Glory

Today’s devotional is authored by Allison Davis

Malachi 2:7-9
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.

Reflection
Don’t you love those moments when you’re reading Scripture and think, “Wait, THAT’S in the Bible??”

God telling unfaithful priests he will spread dung on their faces? Yep. That’s in the Bible.

Malachi is a prophet who exposes the deep corruption within Israel following the Babylonian exiles’ return to Jerusalem. In our text today, God, through Malachi, gives a message of rebuke to Judah’s priests. But before we begin thinking that this chapter recorded thousands of years ago does not apply to us today, let us remember that in Christ we have become

“a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” – 1 Peter 2:9

Christians have been made a kingdom of priests whose duty it is to proclaim God’s excellencies! Therefore, the warning given through Malachi can apply to us: “the lips of a priest should guard knowledge…for he [or she] is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” Yikes! A messenger of God? Do you feel unqualified yet?

Lent is a season of repentance, and I believe we should take some time today to reflect and repent if we have “caused many to stumble by our instruction.” Have we furthered injustice but masked our actions with the name of Jesus? Have we shown partiality to some and neglected others? Have we led others into sin? Let us repent, brothers and sisters. Our God is willing and able to forgive us.

Let us also take comfort in the fact that God has sent his Spirit to dwell within us! We can by no means be a royal priesthood on our own. We need some supernatural help, amen? Thanks be to God that the Holy Spirit guides us, convicts us, comforts us, and helps us live holy lives.

Spend time in prayer today confessing your failures as an unfaithful priest, then remember God’s love and grace to you. Let us press on, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the excellencies of the Lord who called us out of darkness! We now live in marvelous light!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Today’s devotional is authored by John Kegley

Zephaniah 3:14-20 (click here to read the entire passage)
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil. (Zephaniah 3:14-15)

Reflection
This is the already.

Singing aloud. Rejoicing. Exulting.

These are the rhythmic motions which characterize the people of God in a fallen world. We sing even when pandemic strikes. We rejoice even when uncertainty abounds. We exult even when darkness appears to encroach.

What cause do we have to sing, to rejoice, and to exult? What makes our singing, rejoicing, and exulting right, praiseworthy, and beautiful and not irrational, delusional, and naïve?

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.

We are a people who sing, rejoice, and exult because we have seen the salvation of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have seen how the Lord has taken away judgments against us and placed them upon his only begotten and beloved Son. We have seen how the Lord has removed our enemies—sin, death, and the devil. He has done these things for us… for you. Yet he has done these things apart from you, indeed, despite your unworthiness, unloveliness, and fallenness. He has not done these things as your partner or equal, but as your Lord and Savior. This is why we sing. This is why we rejoice. This is why we exult.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.

By faith we belong to another King and kingdom. No longer do we belong to the domain of sin and kingdom of darkness, but now we belong to the kingdom of the Lord. In this kingdom, God dwells with us by the Holy Spirit. He is Immanuel, God with us; God in our midst.

How then can we fear evil when we are comforted by the rod and staff of our Shepherd-King? How then can we fear evil when the Son has breathed the Spirit of comfort into our souls? How then can we fear evil when the love of God has been poured into our hearts? How then can we fear evil when God saved us while we were yet his enemies? How then can we fear evil when the Father did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for our salvation?

No weapon against us shall prosper. No power of hell or scheme of man will ever pluck us from his hand. We are more than conquers through him who has lavished his love upon us.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
Behold, at that time I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:16-20)

This is the not yet.

Our eyes have beheld the salvation of God. Our eyes have seen the glory of the Lord in the person of Jesus Christ. And so we sing, rejoice, and exult. Yet we await the day when we will see him face to face. We await the great reversal of all things, the restoration of our fortunes, every wrong made right, every enemy dealt with, shame turned to praise, embarrassment changed to renown. We await the day when our singing, rejoicing, and exulting in God will be met with God’s singing, rejoicing, and exulting over us. We await the marriage feast of the Lamb, the consummation of the kingdom of God.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Today’s devotional is authored by Brad Brown

Micah 6:6-8
“With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Reflection
Picture a courtroom with me. In Micah 6, we see a prophetic subpoena. God is calling his people to court and telling them to plead their case. They are to mount a defense! Why have they been idolatrous? Why have they misused power? Why have they oppressed their neighbor and neglected to help the vulnerable and marginalized. 

We are in a courtroom… Micah calls creation as a witness. Yahweh interrogates his people, gives them an opportunity to respond, and reveals his Righteousness. In modernity, we often question God’s goodness, but in this courtroom he is not the one on trial.

In the verses above we see Judah’s response to all this… They ask, “Well…with what shall I come before the LORD?” How lavish or valuable must my sacrifice be to enter God’s presence? I mean… what do you want God?! Is it “ten thousands of rivers of oil” or “my firstborn?!” The offerings escalate to the point of absurdity. 

The prophet replies by essentially saying, “the Lord desires in response to his redemptive acts—justice, mercy and faithfulness (walk humbly). The prophets reply exposes an attitude that sees sacrifice as an entry fee, rather than as an avenue for God to administer grace and forgiveness to the repentant. If you are looking for a simple transaction to appease God and get on with your life you will not find it here.

Today, this text reveals that we can give everything that means anything to us…Our time, money, possessions, or intellect but if it doesn’t crystallize as concrete love for our neighbor, then it means absolutely nothing.

Ouuucch… It stings doesn’t it? This Word handcuffed us, drags us before the paparazzi and brings into the courtroom with Judah and guess what? The verdict is the same for both of us… Guilty.

Nancy Guthrie, reflecting on this passage, powerfully speaks not only to our guilt but to the good news of the Gospel, 

For people like you and me who deserve to fall under the judgment of God when I read this line in Verse 7 of Chapter 6, “Shall I give my firstborn son for my transgression?” All I can think of, no, I don’t have to because God has given his firstborn son for my transgression. And when I read those lines in Verse 8, “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God.” I think, well, I might have made some attempts at that, but I haven’t done it perfectly and still the Lord requires of me, this of me. 

So is there any hope for me? And I say yes there is because there is one who has done justice perfectly. There is one who has always loved kindness. There is one who was always walked humbly with God and because he has met God’s requirements on my behalf, and I have put all of my hope and faith in him, therefore,I know that I’m not going to fall under God’s judgment, but instead I’m going to have peace with God.

It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that makes us right with God despite our continual failures and gives us new hearts, so that we empowered by the spirit empower may go into the world to walk in Christ-like love. 

When everyone is looking out for their own interests, the church is called to go into the mess. We are called to run into the places that people run away from. We are called to seek justice and reconciliation; we are called to tear down walls and give care to those that nobody cares about. This is what is looks like to rightly worship Jesus.

We do all of this because we can simply do no other. We now have transformed hearts that love the Triune God and seek his interests in the world. What are his interests? What could this “seeking” possibly look like for you today?

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.