Fellow Soldier

 Today we begin worship with:

Psalm 19:12-13

Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

In the Psalm, David declares the Law perfect:

Psalm 19:7

The law of the Lord is perfect,

    reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

    making wise the simple;

But as he contemplates its perfection realizes his own imperfections, even down to "hidden faults".  Who can "discern" (bîn) these hidden faults? The Psalmist can only hope and pray for forgiveness.

And for those sins that themselves are "presumptuous" (zēḏ), David personifies them as taskmasters having dominion over him.  From those he asks God to be freed.

We are not alone in the battle with sin.  God is not simply a judge, but also a fellow soldier in the battle.

Lamb

 Today we begin worship with:

Revelation 17:14
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

A ewe (female sheep) with young can be aggressive and protect its young with nasty head butting.  The ram (male sheep) is so naturally aggressive that they must be grazed in odd numbers to prevent them from aggressively pairing up in a never ending battle.  

But a lamb has no such aggression.

What a picture of our savior!  That He would go to the cross without aggression.  Leave us with one command, that to aggressively love.  But who will ultimately conquer in judgement as King of Kings.

Keeping

Today we start worship with:

2 Timothy 4:7

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Timothy was given something precious. 

2 Timothy 1:5

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Timothy was given a two jobs.

1 Timothy 6:20

O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,”

2 Timothy 2:2

and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,[a]who will be able to teach others also.

He did it. He kept (tēreō) the faith.

Stuttering

We begin worship this week with:

Acts 16:14

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

Lydia was at this place of prayer with a group of women because she believed in God.  She had become a proselyte of Judaism and as Paul spoke the Lord opened her heart.

Being reformed we hear this from the view of God's sovereignty.  If something happens, then it is by God's command.

But it can and should be heard from another perspective.  Paul was not a good speaker!  It could not have been Paul's eloquence or content that saved her.  It had to be God.  Paul recorded the testimony of others:

2 Corinthians 10:10

For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.”

And he confessed that any eloquence or convincing argument would get in the way: 

1 Corinthians 1:17

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Lord, open the hearts of those around us as we stutter through the words of life. 

(The article 3 Main Reasons That Confirmed Apostle Paul Wasn’t A Polished Speaker was used as a reference.)