LOCKED INTO LOVE

Locked Into Love

Read: Romans 8:31–39
Bible in a Year: Zechariah 5–8; Revelation 19

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.—Psalm 106:1

In June 2015, the city of Paris removed forty-five tons of padlocks from the railings of the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge. As a romantic gesture, couples would etch their initials onto a lock, attach it to the railing, click it shut, and throw the key into the River Seine.

After this ritual was repeated thousands of times, the bridge could no longer bear the weight of so much “love.” Eventually the city, fearing for the integrity of the bridge, removed the “love locks.”

The locks were meant to symbolize everlasting love, but human love does not always last. The closest of friends may offend each other and never resolve their differences. Family members may argue and refuse to forgive. A husband and wife may drift so far apart that they can’t remember why they once decided to marry. Human love can be fickle.

But there is one constant and enduring love—the love of God. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever,” proclaims Psalm 106:1. The promises of the unfailing and everlasting nature of God’s love are found throughout Scripture. And the greatest proof of this love is the death of His Son so that those who put their faith in Him can live eternally. And nothing will ever separate us from His love (Rom. 8:38-39).

Fellow believers, we are locked into God’s love forever. —Cindy Hess Kasper

I’m grateful for Your unending love, Father. I’m locked into Your love by the Holy Spirit who is living in me.

Christ’s death and resurrection are the measure of God’s love for me.

INSIGHT: Christ’s work on the cross to secure our salvation has been completed. With a triumphant proclamation, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus returned to the Father. Now seated at God’s right hand, the exalted Christ continues His redemptive and sanctifying work as our eternal High Priest (Heb. 4:14-16). He is our “Advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1-2; 1 Tim. 2:5), always defending and interceding for us (Heb. 7:24-25; 9:24). Paul confidently writes, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). No one can successfully bring a charge of condemnation against those who are in Christ (vv. 33-34). Sim Kay Tee

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SIGNET RING

Signet Ring

Read: Haggai 2:15–23
Bible in a Year: Zechariah 9–12; Revelation 20

“I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,” declares the Lord.—Haggai 2:23

When I first made the acquaintance of a new friend from abroad, I noticed his posh English accent and that he wore a ring on his little finger. Later I learned that this wasn’t just jewelry; it revealed his family’s history through the family crest engraved on it.

It was a bit like a signet ring—perhaps like the one in Haggai. In this short Old Testament book, the prophet Haggai calls for the people of God to restart the rebuilding of the temple. They had been exiled and had now returned to their homeland and begun rebuilding, but enemy opposition to their project had stalled them. Haggai’s message includes God’s promise to Zerubbabel, Judah’s leader, that he had been chosen and set apart as their leader, like a signet ring.

In ancient times, a signet ring was used as a means of identification. Instead of signing their name, people would press their ring into hot wax or soft clay to make their mark. As God’s children, we too make a mark on the world as we spread the gospel, share His grace through loving our neighbors, and work to end oppression.

Each of us has our own unique stamp that reveals how we’re created in God’s image and expresses our particular mix of gifts, passions, and wisdom. It’s our call and privilege to act as this signet ring in God’s world. —Amy Boucher Pye

Father God, may I know my true identity as Your heir this day. (See Luke 15.)

We are God’s heirs and ambassadors, sharing His love in the world.

INSIGHT: Just as Zerubbabel is likened to a signet ring, each Christian is marked by God’s authorized acceptance in Christ (Eph. 1:4-5, 11). As such, we are identified as Christians (Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:14-16) and authorized as envoys or carriers of the most important information in the entire world (Matt. 28:18-20). How can we be more effective disseminators of that truth this week? How could we have a more valuable New Year’s resolution than to act like God’s signet rings in this upcoming year? Jim Townsend

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ENEMY LOVE

Enemy Love

Read: Jonah 3:10–4:11
Bible in a Year: Jonah 1–4; Revelation 10

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?—Luke 6:32

When war broke out in 1950, fifteen-year-old Kim Chin-Kyung joined the South Korean army to defend his homeland. He soon found, however, that he wasn’t ready for the horrors of combat. As young friends died around him, he begged God for his life and promised that, if allowed to live, he would learn to love his enemies.

Sixty-five years later, Dr. Kim reflected on that answered prayer. Through decades of caring for orphans and assisting in the education of North Korean and Chinese young people, he has won many friends among those he once regarded as enemies. Today he shuns political labels. Instead he calls himself a loveist as an expression of his faith in Jesus.

The prophet Jonah left a different kind of legacy. Even a dramatic rescue from the belly of a big fish didn’t transform his heart. Although he eventually obeyed God, Jonah said he’d rather die than watch the Lord show mercy to his enemies (Jonah 4:1-2, 8).

We can only guess as to whether Jonah ever learned to care for the people of Nineveh. Instead we are left to wonder about ourselves. Will we settle for his attitude toward those we fear and hate? Or will we ask God for the ability to love our enemies as He has shown mercy to us? —Mart DeHaan

Father in heaven, like Your reluctant prophet, we are inclined to love only those who love us. Yet You loved us even when we cared only for ourselves. Please give us the grace to be more like Jesus than Jonah.

Love conquers all.

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WHO DO YOU SAY HE IS?

Who Do You Say He Is?

Read: Matthew 16:13–20
Bible in a Year: Obadiah; Revelation 9

Who do you say I am?—Matthew 16:15

In a 1929 Saturday Evening Post interview, Albert Einstein said, “As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. . . . No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”

The New Testament Scriptures give us other examples of Jesus’s countrymen who sensed there was something special about Him. When Jesus asked His followers, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” they replied that some said He was John the Baptist, others said He was Elijah, and others thought He was Jeremiah or one of the prophets (Matt. 16:14). To be named with the great prophets of Israel was certainly a compliment, but Jesus wasn’t seeking compliments. He was searching their understanding and looking for faith. So He asked a second question: “But what about you? . . . Who do you say I am?” (16:15).

Peter’s declaration fully expressed the truth of Jesus’s identity: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).

Jesus longs for us to know Him and His rescuing love. This is why each of us must eventually answer the question, “Who do you say Jesus is?” —Bill Crowder

Lord, I long to know You better. Teach me more about Your beautiful character so that I might grow more in love with You and follow You with my whole heart.

To learn more about who Jesus is, read The Amazing Names of the Messiah at discoveryseries.org/q0207

The identity of Jesus is the central question of eternity.

INSIGHT: An easily overlooked detail in this story—its location in Caesarea Philippi—is extremely important. Philip II (from which “Philippi” comes), in honor of Caesar (“Caesarea”), built a place for rest and recreation at this location for Rome’s occupying forces to have relief from Jewish-Roman tensions. Caesarea Philippi provided all the comforts of home—including temples for the worship of the many Roman gods. This history helps reveal the significance of this location for the events of today’s reading. Jesus’s question about who He was had to be answered against the backdrop of both Israel’s hopes and dreams and the alternative god options offered by the world around them. Bill Crowder

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OUR COVERING

Our Covering

Read: Romans 3:21–26
Bible in a Year: Amos 7–9; Revelation 8

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.—Psalm 32:1

When talking about faith in Jesus, we sometimes use words without understanding or explaining them. One of those words is righteous. We say that God has righteousness and that He makes people righteous, but this can be a tough concept to grasp.

The way the word righteousness is pictured in the Chinese language is helpful. It is a combination of two characters. The top word is lamb. The bottom word is me. The lamb covers or is above the person.

When Jesus came to this world, John the Baptist called Him “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). We need our sin taken care of because it separates us from God whose character and ways are always perfect and right. Because His love for us is great, God made His Son Jesus “who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus, the Lamb, sacrificed Himself and shed His blood. He became our “cover.” He makes us righteous, which places us in right relationship with God.

Being right with God is a gift from Him. Jesus, the Lamb, is God’s way to cover us. —Anne Cetas

Dear Lord, thank You for dying on the cross for me and covering my sins so that I can have a relationship with You.

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The only permanent covering for sin is the blood of Christ.

INSIGHT: Christ made the covering for our sins (Rom. 4:7) so that our sins “will never count against” us (v. 8). It is as if Christ absorbed all the terrible consequences of our sins, allowing believers, through union with Christ in his death and resurrection, to be raised to new life. Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement or covering), which is ten days after the Jewish New Year, is considered by many the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar. This furnishes some background for the New Testament’s doctrine of atonement. The only fitting response to Christ’s self-giving and amazing grace is thanksgiving. Jim Townsend

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ANOTHER SIDE OF COMFORT

Another Side of Comfort

Read: Jeremiah 7:1–11
Bible in a Year: Amos 4–6; Revelation 7

Hear the word of the Lord.—Jeremiah 7:2

The theme for our adult camp was “Comfort My People.” Speaker after speaker spoke words of assurance. But the last speaker drastically changed the tone. He chose Jeremiah 7:1-11 and the topic “Wake Up from Slumber.” Without mincing words and yet with love, he challenged us to wake up and turn away from our sins.

“Don’t hide behind the grace of God and continue to live in secret sin,” he exhorted, like the prophet Jeremiah. “We boast, ‘I am a Christian; God loves me; I fear no evil,’ yet we do all kinds of evil.”

We knew he cared about us, yet we shifted uncomfortably in our seats and listened to our own Jeremiah declare, “God is loving, but He is also a consuming fire! (see Heb. 12:29). He will never condone sin!”

Jeremiah of old quizzed the people, “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury . . . follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, ‘We are safe’—safe to do all these detestable things?” (7:9-10).

This speaker’s brand of “Comfort My People” was another side of God’s comfort. Like a bitter herb that heals malaria, his words were spiritually curative. When we hear hard words, instead of walking away, may we respond to their healing effect. —Lawrence Darmani

Heavenly Father, You love us too much to let us continue defying Your instructions. Your correction is never to harm us but only to heal us. You are the God of all comfort.

God’s discipline is designed to make us like His Son.

INSIGHT: The idea of loving correction is a consistent message of the Scriptures. God portrays Himself to us as a loving parent, a father who wants to protect and provide the very best for His children. This is seen in the way God dealt with Israel in the wilderness wanderings. This imagery is seen in the New Testament as well. In Hebrews 12:4-6, the Scriptures make it clear that divine discipline is not an expression of punishment or vengeance. It is the loving Father correcting our wrong behavior so that we can live wisely with and for Him. Bill Crowder

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ONE SHORT SLEEP

One Short Sleep

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
Bible in a Year: Amos 1–3; Revelation 6

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.—2 Corinthians 5:8

Henry Durbanville, a Scottish pastor from another era, told the story of an elderly woman in his parish who lived in a remote part of Scotland. She longed to see the city of Edinburgh, but she was afraid to take the journey because of the long, dark tunnel through which the train had to pass to get there.

One day, however, circumstances compelled her to go to Edinburgh, and as the train sped toward the city, her agitation increased. But before the train reached the tunnel, the woman, worn out with worry, fell fast asleep. When she awoke she had already arrived in the city!

It’s possible that some of us will not experience death. If we’re alive when Jesus returns, we will “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:13-18). But many of us will pass into heaven through death and for some that thought causes great anxiety. We worry that the process of dying will be too difficult to bear.

With the assurance of Jesus as our Savior we can rest in the confidence that when we close our eyes on earth and pass through death, we will open our eyes in God’s presence. “One short sleep past we wake eternally,” John Donne said. —David Roper

I love the life You’ve given to me, Lord, yet I wonder what it will be like to see You personally. Help me to trust You with the future. I look forward to that day when I meet You.

To see Jesus will be heaven’s greatest joy. 

INSIGHT: After Paul describes Christ’s return in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, he proceeds to discuss daily living (5:12-24). It is easy to get lost in the intricacies and complexities of biblical prophecy. However, it is all a “revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1). Amid all the trumpeting and reunions, it is “the Lord himself [who] will come down from heaven” (1 Thess. 4:16). Then Christians will be gloriously “like him for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). How does the vision of Christ’s return have an impact on you individually and practically? Jim Townsend

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