Truth for Life - June 24, 2017
June 24
Who is Privileged?
A woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!' but he said, 'blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!' - Luke 11:27-28
It is fondly imagined by some that it must have been a very special privilege to be the mother of our Lord, because they suppose that she had the benefit of looking into His very heart in a way in which we cannot hope to do. There may be an appearance of plausibility in this notion, but not much. We do not know that Mary knew more than others; what she did know she did well to store in her heart; but she does not appear from anything we read in the Gospels to have been a better-instructed believer than any of Christ's other disciples. All that she knew we also may discover.
Are you surprised by this? Here is a text to prove it: "The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant."1 Remember the Master's words--"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."2
The Divine Revealer of secrets tells us His heart, and He keeps nothing back that is needful for us. His own assurance is, "If it were not so, would I have told you . . . ?"3 Does He not today reveal Himself to us in a way that He does not to the world? And since this is so we will not ignorantly cry, "Blessed is the womb that bore you," but we will intelligently bless God that, having heard the Word and kept it, we first of all have as real a communion with the Savior as His mother had, and in the second place as true an acquaintance with the secrets of His heart as she can be supposed to have obtained. Happy soul to enjoy this privilege!
1) Psalm 25:14
2) John 15:15
3) John 14:2
Family Bible reading plan
verse 1 Deuteronomy 29
verse 2 Psalms 119:49-72
Name above All Names
By Alistair Begg & Sinclair Ferguson
Jesus Christ has been given the name above all names, the highest seat of honor, the right to reign and rule. Yet the busyness of our lives and the diversions of this world often distract us from knowing the most important person we could ever know. Perhaps we need some help to see Jesus afresh.
In this thoughtful study and worshipful reflection, two influential pastors draw on decades of pastoral experience in order to guide us through the whole sweep of Scripture and examine seven key qualities of Jesus’s identity and ministry:
- Jesus as the True Prophet
- Jesus as the Great High Priest
- Jesus as the Conquering King
- Jesus as the Seed of the Woman
- Jesus as the Son of Man
- Jesus as the Suffering Servant
- Jesus as the Lamb on the Throne
Name above All Names helps us to see and meditate on the incomparable character of Christ—a spiritual exercise that enables us to readily respond to the exhortations of Scripture, to focus our gaze upon the King of kings, and to better understand just how great Jesus really is.
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From Morning & Evening revised and edited by Alistair Begg copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.
