From Deut. 12, did you notice the JOY? This one place that the Lord will establish where our worship is to be offered? "There you shall eat before the Lord, and you shall rejoice." "And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God." This "place" for us is the Table of the Lord which is now set up throughout the world. And as we gather before that place to bring to Him of what He has given to us so that He can give back infinitely more than we offer to Him of what was already His own, He brings joy to our hearts. Worship is the fount of joy - from it comes the joy that is lasting - this joy of "eating before the Lord" or with the Lord or actually eating the Lord Himself, shocking as that sounds. Joy overflowing indeed!
On the second reading from Matthew 12, is it not absolutely striking how the Lord Jesus, when speaking of the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, makes it utterly clear that the Holy Spirit is a PERSON? Sasse once said that you might get the impression from the rest of the NT, absent John 14-17, the farewell discourse, that the Spirit was but a force or power of God. But you can't sin against a force, you can't sin against a power. You can only sin against a Person.
3 comments:
likewise a force or power (such as luck - good or bad - on a day like Friday the 13th) cannot love you or sacrifice itself for you the way God has
http://leisticotdp.blogspot.com/2009/10/13th-nothing-connected-to-tdp.html
(thanks for providing me with fodder for the Gospel for this message)
Joy is mentioned frequently in the bible. I think when we find our joy we can serve God best. He gave gifts to men (and women) and when we are filled with joy, our service feels light.
I really enjoyed your post about the Advent Fast (that is how I found your blog). I will visit again. Thanks for all you do to elevate the Body of Christ!
check out the connection Luther makes to the Table from yesterday's Psalmody in The Lutheran Study Bible's note on 111:4
Post a Comment