Today Daily Devotional - ReFrame Media

THE VALLEY OF DECISION

2010-03-10T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Joel 3:12-21
The day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Joel 3:14

Joel 3:14 is sometimes used to encourage people to make a commitment to God. Maybe you have attended an evangelistic rally, or watched a mass worship service on television, where this verse was cited. The preacher might have read this verse to impress upon people the urgency of making a personal decision to follow Jesus.

There is nothing wrong with a message like that. But it’s not the best way to apply this verse to our lives.

As we read in today’s verses, the valley of decision is the Valley of Jehoshaphat. This is not a literal valley, but one that is used as a symbol of God’s judgment (“Jehoshaphat” means “the Lord judges”).

Even more important, the “decision” in today’s Scripture reading is not a decision by the people who are gathered. The people of the nations are gathered before the Judge of all nations. So there is only one person who renders a decision, and that’s the Judge. The Lord God is the one who decides.

This does not mean we have no decisions to make in our relationship with God. It simply means our commitment to God is a response to the verdict our Judge has given.

In the valley of decision, God has declared us innocent. Jesus was judged in our place.

How can we not love a God who has so loved us?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are the way to God. Your blood paid our ransom. In you we face our Judge and Maker unafraid. Thank you for giving us the life we have in you. Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

HOPE FOR HURTING HEARTS

2010-03-09T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Joel 2:12-17
“Return to me with all your heart…” Rend your heart and not your garments.
Joel 2:12-13

The words of today’s Scripture are read every year in the traditional Ash Wednesday liturgy. Ash Wednesday, which fell this year on February 17, is the first day of Lent, a season in the church calendar that invites us to pay special attention to the suffering and death of Jesus.

Why are these instructions about rending hearts and not garments significant? In the Bible the tearing of clothes is a sign of mourning and is often accompanied by the placing of ashes on one’s head.

Jacob tore his clothes when he heard a report that his son, Joseph, had been killed (Genesis 37:34). And when King Josiah heard the words of the Book of the Law after it was rediscovered in the temple, he tore his robes as a sign of grief over the nation’s sin (2 Kings 22:11).

Sometimes the reality of sin is enough to break our hearts.

The season of Lent reminds us that no one felt the pain of sin more than Jesus. When he was crucified, Jesus was stripped of his garments. More than that, his heart broke under the weight of our sin.

God’s invitation to return to him is answered by our looking to the cross of Christ and asking forgiveness through his sacrifice for us. God promises to wash away our sin and give us new life through the One whose torn garments and broken heart bring healing for the world.

Prayer:
“Amazing love! How can it be that you, my Lord, should die for me?!” Thank you, Jesus, for paying the penalty for my sin. Help me to love you with all my heart. Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

THE DAY OF THE LORD

2010-03-08T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Joel 2:1-11
The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?
Joel 2:11

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike was gaining strength over the Gulf of Mexico and tracking straight for the coast of Texas. It had been more than a century since America’s deadliest hurricane hit Galveston back in 1900, killing more than 6,000 people, but stories of that terrible storm remained in the minds of the residents. Police issued an evacuation order, and more than a million people fled before Ike reached land.

Curiously, some stayed behind, even though officials warned that they faced “certain death.” A newspaper article from a day or so before Ike hit Texas reported that those who would not evacuate were told to write their names on their arms in black marker so that their bodies could be identified later. Why wouldn’t they leave?

Today’s Bible reading sounds a similar alarm. It warns people about a deadly, approaching storm that is called “the day of the Lord.” Only God’s grace can protect us from this storm, and that grace is freely offered by God in Jesus. On the cross, Jesus suffered all the punishment of God’s wrath against sin; he did that in our place so that we would not be destroyed. Without faith in Jesus, people will face certain death when the final “day of the Lord” comes (2 Peter 3:10-14).

Have you listened to the Bible’s warning and found refuge in Jesus?

Prayer:
Lord, your Word commands a response from all who hear it. Thank you for sending Jesus into the world to die in my place. Use me to lead someone to faith in him. Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

RETURN OF THE KING

2010-03-07T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Hosea 13:9-14
“I will deliver them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.”
Hosea 13:14

The history of Israel is summarized by the failure of its monarchy. From the beginning, Israel’s desire for a king represented the rejection of God as their King (1 Samuel 8:7). And over the years, wickedness characterized most of Israel’s rulers, with disastrous economic, political, and spiritual results.

In today’s reading, God asks the people a rhetorical question. “Where is your king, that he may save you?” The tragic answer is that there is no earthly king powerful enough to undo the consequences of centuries- long disobedience. Israel will be defenseless in the face of God’s coming judgment.

But all is not lost. God’s punishment is compared to the pain a woman feels when her child is born. Like childbirth, God’s judgment will be intense and difficult. But the pain will eventually be replaced by the joy of new birth.

Jesus said that for his followers his death would be like the pain of a woman giving birth (John 16:21), but the pain of the cross would be overcome by the joy of resurrected life. Jesus shares his victory with us, and Paul notes this by quoting from Hosea when he describes Jesus’ triumph (1 Corinthians 15:55). Jesus is our true King, given not in anger, but in love. In him the darkness of death is replaced by the light of life.

Prayer:
Lord, sometimes our priorities are all mixed up, and we don’t give you, our King, our total allegiance. Help us to serve you in all we do. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE

2010-03-06T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Hosea 6:1-6
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us.
Hosea 6:2

Like many of the prophets, Hosea spoke against religious activity that was not sincere worship of God. In the northern kingdom of Israel where Hosea prophesied, there was plenty of worship. But the worship of Baal had corrupted the worship of God. Priests, set apart by God for holiness, were now promoting the very opposite. “The more the priests increased,” God said, “the more they sinned against me” (Hosea 4:7).

Through Hosea, God reminded the people that renewal of the heart was more important than merely following religious rituals. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” God told them. Centuries later, Jesus said these very words to the religious leaders of his day (Matthew 9:13).

It seems that the tendency to just go through the motions of worship confronts every generation of God’s people. How can we avoid that critical mistake?

In 1 Corinthians 15:4, Paul writes that Jesus was “raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Many have wondered which Old Testament passages Paul had in mind, but Hosea 6:2 is often suggested as a possibility. In Jesus Christ, mercy and sacrifice come together perfectly. His sacrificial death atones for all our tainted worship. And his resurrection restores us to a life of worship with which God is pleased.

If true worship is what you seek, stay close to Jesus.

Prayer:
Forgive us, Lord, for often being more concerned with “talking the talk” than “walking the walk.” Fill our hearts with your mercy so that our love for you in Christ will grow. Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

2010-03-05T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Hosea 3
“Go, show your love to your wife again … Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites …”
Hosea 3:1

The scene played out in today’s Scripture reading is heart wrenching. Apparently Hosea and Gomer had been living apart, and she had become the property of someone else. Gomer’s usefulness as a prostitute slave had ended. So she was brought by her owner into a slave market, where she was put up for sale.

Imaginehowdegradingthatwouldhavebeen!Imagine the astonishment and pity (or disgust) on the face of every onlooker. Imagine every whisper hushed by the announcement that the bidding on Gomer had begun.

Then the silence in the slave market was broken by the voice of a bidder—Hosea! He was the last person anyone would have expected to have interest in Gomer, but Hosea bought back his unfaithful wife and took her home. Someone once said that this passage records the only time in history that “a slave market was bright with the revelation of the love of God.”

The Bible calls this kind of transaction a redemption. Jesus has done for us what God told Hosea to do for Gomer. We used to be “slaves to sin” (Romans 6:17), but we have been “redeemed … with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). He “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14). Jesus has bought us, and we belong to him.

Prayer:
Lord, how can we thank you enough for the love you have shown us? Help us to live every day as those who belong to Jesus, our Master. We pray in his name. Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

2010-03-04T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Hosea 1:1-9
The Lord said to [Hosea], “Go, marry a promiscuous woman …”
Hosea 1:2

Sometimes a husband and wife are so right for each other that we say their marriage is “made in heaven.” But people probably wouldn’t have said that about Hosea and Gomer. They could not have been more wrong for each other. Hosea was a prophet, and Gomer was a prostitute. Now, for some people this might bring another saying to mind—that “opposites attract.” But the only reason Hosea married Gomer was because God told him to. If ever there was a match made in heaven, it was this one.

The purpose of this arranged marriage was to demonstrate an important spiritual point. Just as Gomer was an unfaithful wife, so the people of Israel had been unfaithful in their relationship to God.

Our relationship with God is also like a marriage. The New Testament calls Christ the “husband” of God’s people, the church (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:21-33), and the church is his “bride” (Revelation 21:2). Like Israel, we too are unfaithful to God. But the gospel announces that Jesus is the faithful one who forgives our wandering ways and restores our broken relationship with God. This is why the celebration at the end of history is appropriately called “the wedding of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:7). Our life with Jesus is not only a match made in heaven. It’s a marriage that will last forever!

Prayer:
Lord, how wonderful it will be to serve you perfectly in heaven one day. Until then, help us to obey you joyfully and love you faithfully. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

CELEBRATE THE FULFILLMENT

2010-03-03T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Luke 24:13-27
He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Luke 24:27

Feel the pain. Hear the grace. These two things will help us get the most out of our Lenten journey through the minor prophets. But as we seek to unpack the prophets’ messages, we should also celebrate the fulfillment of those messages.

Many of us find the books of the minor prophets a bit difficult. The prophecies contain some obscure imagery, and there are historical references to nations and empires that don’t exist anymore.

What messages in these books can we apply to our lives today?

Many personal applications could be mentioned— all of which are connected to one overarching theme: every prophecy finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. All the judgments the prophets foretold were poured out on Jesus, who suffered and died in our place. And all the blessings the prophets described apply ultimately to the kingdom that Jesus will bring completely to a renewed creation.

Each of the prophets lived in a specific time and place. Each one also announced a message that was timely for the original audience. But it’s important to know that in those same books we can find passagespointing to the good news about Jesus, helping us to grow in our faith and life in him.

Prayer:
Lord, long before you sent Jesus into the world, you sent prophets who spoke about his coming. Use their messages to bring us closer to Jesus, we pray. In his name, Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

HEAR THE GRACE

2010-03-02T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: Matthew 8:14-17
[As] spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
Matthew 8:17

Have you ever wondered why the last twelve books of the Old Testament are known as the “minor” prophets? It’s not because they aren’t important books. They’re just shorter than most of the other books in the Bible. These twelve books may be small, but they have a lot to teach us about who Jesus is and what his suffering on the cross means for you and me.

As we read from those books this month, it’s important that we sense the pain being described there. But it’s also important that we hear the message of God’s grace recorded there too. No matter how much anger, judgment, or lament we find in the books of the prophets, the grace of God is always most important.

It’s true that God punishes those who forsake him. But the prophets also assure us that God is compassionate, merciful, and slow to anger. God’s grace and forgiveness are freely offered to all who humbly seek him.

The minor prophets include some of the most beautiful testimonies of hope and God’s faithful love found in the Bible. The grace of God conveyed in these passages finds its ultimate revelation in Jesus Christ. He is the one who took all our suffering upon himself. There is nothing “minor” about a message like that. The announcement of God’s grace in Jesus is the most important news anyone will ever hear.

Prayer:
Thank you, Lord, for showing us such amazing grace. May the good news of salvation continue to change our hearts and help us to obey your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema

FEEL THE PAIN

2010-03-01T00:00:00-07:00

Scripture Reading: John 19:28-37
“They will look on the one they have pierced.”
John 19:37

The season of Lent began a couple of weeks ago and will span the whole month of March. Our meditations for this month will focus on Scriptures that are not often associated with our Lord’s journey to the cross: the twelve books of the minor prophets at the end of the Old Testament.

What should we keep in mind as we work through these Old Testament passages? One thing we should do is try to feel the pain that is being described. Reading these books of prophecy can be downright depressing at times. But the anguish we encounter here is real. It is an accurate description of a world that is often at odds with God, its Creator.

Sometimes we feel the pain described in these books in a very personal way. We feel the prophets’ fear, and we join them in their laments. In times like these, we are well positioned to appreciate the suffering of Jesus in new ways. As John indicates in today’s Scripture reading, when Jesus was pierced by a soldier’s spear, a prophecy in Zechariah 12:10 was fulfilled. Golgotha, the hill where Jesus was crucified, is the site of both suffering and healing.

Let’s look carefully at the One who was pierced. Let’s come to the cross, where Jesus endured his greatest pain, and where the world finds its ultimate promise.

Prayer:
Thank you, Lord, for taking on all the hurts of the world. Help us always to turn to you for comfort and to share the hope of the good news with others. In your name, Amen.

Rev. Peter Hoytema