First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Devotional: Psalm 92

Today’s passage: Psalm 92

Helpful thoughts:

  • This psalm was written for the day of worship!
    • To think that there could be anything better or more fitting for the Lord’s Day than to sing praises, to declare His love, and to worship God…well…verse 6 describes that thinking.
  • One of the purposes of the Lord’s Day is to refocus and correct our thinking about the world around us (Verses 7-9, Psalm 73:16-17).  When we see the Lord rightly, we will then see the world rightly.  We need regular recalibration.
  • The tree that flourishes is the tree planted in the house of the Lord (Verse 13).

Questions to consider:

  1. What is the Lord’s Day for our church?  When do we gather to worship Him?  Why is it right to worship Him?
  2. How is someone “planted” and continually nourished “in the household of God?”  What does that look like today?  How could this analogy work together with that of the “body” from 1 Corinthians 12:14-27?
  3. Though the New Testament never commands Christians to observe the Sabbath, we do enter into Sabbath rest and enjoy it every day…how? (Hebrews 4:1-13)  Who has provided our righteousness in full and provides us true rest?

Devotional: Psalm 91

Today’s passage: Psalm 91

Helpful thoughts:

  • If you have chosen to live under the protection of God, you have chosen well.  He is Almighty!
  • In commentary to this psalm, Charles Spurgeon wrote this: “When you walk with a friend in certain positions of the sun, your friend’s shadow falls on you, but you cannot expect to have the shadow of your friend unless you are near him.”
  • No child of God suffers or dies by chance or bad luck.  God has a purpose for all things, and for those whom He has called, it is always for their good (Romans 8:28-30).

Questions to consider:

  1. How many bad things can you find in this psalm that could cause us fear or distress?  How many of them are more powerful than Almighty God?
  2. If someone were to reference this psalm to say that Christians never get sick or should never use medicines of any kind, what would be a good response? (1 Timothy 5:23)  If Christians don’t ever get sick, why do Christians get sick?  And why did Timothy get sick and need medicinal treatment for his “frequent ailments?”  What must this psalm mean when it speaks of God’s control over all these hardships?
  3. What does it look like for a person to hold fast to God in love?  Beyond any emotional feeling, what actions result from this love?  What actions resulted from God’s love for you?

Devotional: Psalm 90

Today’s passage: Psalm 90

Helpful thoughts:

  • This psalm was written by Moses!  Only one psalm is credited to him.
    • These truths were still true when the whole of the 150 psalms were compiled, and they are still true today.  “From everlasting to everlasting” God is God!
  • Seeing our existence in relation to who God is (Holy, eternal, our Creator) gives us a better perspective and understanding concerning our sin…and His gracious plan for our rescue in Christ.
  • By God’s grace we learn to see even the negative consequences of our sin in this life as a way to draw our attention to see God and rejoice in His favor.

Questions to consider:

  1. Why is it good for us to “number our days?”  How does wisdom come from knowing who we are and how long we have on this earth compared to the eternal glory of God?  What is our purpose here?
  2. If this life is short and life with God is everlasting, what would it be wise to ensure we prioritize in our days here?  What is our Creator God worthy of (Romans 12:1-2)?
  3. What does verse 17 acknowledge we need?  In what ways have you seen God’s favor on your life?  What can you thank Him for today?

Devotional: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23

Today’s passage: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23

Helpful thoughts:

  • After Judah and King Josiah’s defeat to the Egyptians, the combination of foreign assertion and Judah’s abandonment of the Lord resulted in a steady decline.
    • Not everyone in Judah abandoned the Lord.  This period is where we see the lives and ministries of men like Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, etc.
  • The Sabbath years were to have been kept every seven years (Leviticus 25:1-7).  Israel and Judah had not kept the Sabbath year for 490 years (Leviticus 26:34-35).
  • Jerusalem has fallen, but the Lord never did (Verse 23).  Even the king of the Persian Empire was under the sovereignty of God.

Questions to consider:

  1. Why do you think the kings of Egypt and Babylon were taking kings away and installing their brothers as king over Judah?  What message would they have been sending about who was in charge?  What would those newly installed kings have been tempted to think about those who had given them their new power?
  2. Did the government and the nation of Judah make God’s people God’s people?  Did Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Ezra and Nehemiah cease to be God’s people for seventy years because they were in a different land and Jerusalem was not functioning as a city?
  3. What makes a Christian a Christian?  Is it ethnicity?  National citizenship?  Geographical location?   Where is the headquarters of Christianity on the earth today? Where is our home?  What is our mission in this foreign land? (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Revelation 7:9-12, Matthew 28:18-20)

Devotional: 2 Chronicles 35:1-27

Today’s passage: 2 Chronicles 35:1-27

Helpful thoughts:

  • The Ark of the Covenant had been removed from the Holy of Holies!  Most likely during Manasseh’s reign.
    • When Josiah informs the Levites they would no longer need to carry it, he is letting them know the ark would stay where it belonged.
  • Because Josiah intentionally kept the Passover according to what he read in the Word of God, he did it more accurately and correctly than any king that had preceded him (Even David and Solomon). (See verse 18)
  • Josiah was convinced he needed to prevent Egypt from going up to Carchemish.
    • The passage never tells us whether the Pharaoh was lying about hearing from God or not, but it’s pretty clear King Josiah did not believe him.
    • The mention of Jeremiah’s mourning reminds us that the end of Judah is near.

Questions to consider:

  1. What was Josiah’s secret for holding such a successful Passover?  How did he know how to do it correctly?  Was it luck?  Was it a major mystical spiritual experience that showed him the way?
  2. Why is something as easy as reading the Bible so hard for us to do sometimes?  Why doesn’t it seem “spiritual” or “deep” enough to some?  Is a person truly being led by the Spirit if they are disregarding the ministry of the Spirit to God’s people through the Word of God?
  3. Why would the Chronicler (Likely Ezra) take such pains to write down these records of kings in Judah restoring the practice of celebrating the Passover?  When the Jews returned from their exile, they hadn’t celebrated Passover for over 70 years…whom did Ezra want to lead the people back to worship after seeing the ways and worship of the Babylonians?

Devotional: 2 Chronicles 34:1-33

Today’s passage: 2 Chronicles 34:1-33

Helpful thoughts:

  • Josiah became king at the age of 8.  He was 26 when he first heard the Word of the Lord.  He began seeking out the Lord when he was 16, but it would be another ten years before anyone found the Bible!
    • It is important to remember: The kings were commanded to have written their own copy of the Word of God under the supervision of the priests (Deuteronomy 17:18).   Josiah would have hand-written his own copy…and had access to the multiple copies handed down by all the kings who preceded him.
  • It would have taken a great deal of courage for the young king to meticulously destroy all the false idols around the nation.  Many people would have surely been dismayed and frustrated by his actions.
    • It would have shown a great deal of humility as well for Josiah to respond in grief and repentance when he heard the Word of God.  He did not gloat or brag at how he had been working to bring Judah back.  He mourned the sins of Judah and Israel, which had been going on for generations.

Questions to consider:

  1. If Josiah did not have access to that copy of the Law for eighteen years, where would he have gotten his information from to begin seeking the Lord?  What tradition was there?  Whose examples did he follow?  Who would have told him what to do and how would he know if they were leading him correctly?
  2. Judah was clearly told that judgment was coming.  They chose to worship the Lord under the leadership of Josiah?  Why might this sound unusual (Worshiping the God who just declared your judgment was coming)?  Why was it also the right thing to do?
  3. In a culture that magnifies the importance of personal will and opinion, why must we value God’s revealed words above all others?  If how I feel becomes more significant than what is true, what will become of my understanding and appreciation of the Bible, the Gospel, sin and judgment, the need for evangelism, etc.?