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A
Promise of Pain
the greatest pain Mary
would experience was yet to come when Jesus was crucified
“Behold, this child
is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which
shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,)
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:33–35
We tend to think of
Christmas in terms of joy, and it is truly a joyful occasion. But it was not
easy or simple.
Mary went through
the same physical pain in childbirth that other mothers have experienced
through the years.
And the pain of
childbirth was only the beginning — the greatest pain Mary would experience was
yet to come when Jesus was crucified.
The prophecy Simeon
had given Mary when Jesus was a baby came true as she watched Him die. “When
Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he
saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!” (John 19:26).
There is no
salvation possible apart from sacrifice. And there is no way to follow God’s
Son without carrying our own crosses just as He did.
Mary willingly
accepted her part in God’s plan, but it came at a very high price. There is
great joy and glory and reward in faithfully obeying and serving God, but it is
not an easy road we have been called to walk.
Today's Growth Principle:
The seriousness of
sin is measured by the amount of pain the solution for it brought both to the
Lord and those who loved Him.
Old Testament
Reading
Habakkuk 1-3
CHAPTER 1
1 The burden
which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 2 O LORD, how long
shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence,
and thou wilt not save! 3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity,
and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before
me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 4 Therefore
the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth
compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
5 Behold ye
among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will
work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be
told you. 6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter
and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess
the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible
and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. 8 Their
horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening
wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall
come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
9 They shall
come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and
they shall gather the captivity as the sand. 10 And they
shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they
shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. 11 Then
shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this
his power unto his god.
12 Art thou
not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD,
thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established
them for correction. 13 Thou art of purer eyes
than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou
upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the
wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than
he? 14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the
creeping things, that have no ruler over them? 15 They
take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather
them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore
they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by
them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. 17 Shall
they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
CHAPTER 2
1 I will stand
upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will
say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2 And
the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain
upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 For the
vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak,
and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will
not tarry. 4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up
is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5 Yea also,
because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither
keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death,
and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto
him all people: 6 Shall not all these take up a parable
against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that
increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that
ladeth himself with thick clay! 7 Shall they not rise up
suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be
for booties unto them?
8 Because thou
hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee;
because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the
city, and of all that dwell therein. 9 Woe to him that
coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high,
that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10 Thou
hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast
sinned against thy soul. 11 For the stone shall
cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12 Woe to him
that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13 Behold, is it not
of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the
people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14 For the
earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the
waters cover the sea.
15 Woe unto him
that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and
makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their
nakedness! 16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink
thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand
shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy
glory.
17 For the
violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made
them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the
city, and of all that dwell therein. 18 What profiteth the
graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a
teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb
idols?
19 Woe unto him
that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach!
Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no
breath at all in the midst of it. 20 But the LORD is in
his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
CHAPTER 3
1 A prayer of
Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2 O LORD, I have
heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the
midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember
mercy.
3 God came from
Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise. 4 And his brightness
was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and
there was the hiding of his power.
5 Before him
went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. 6 He
stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and
the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his
ways are everlasting.
7 I
saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land
of Midian did tremble. 8 Was the LORD displeased against
the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy
wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy
chariots of salvation? 9 Thy bow was made quite naked, according to
the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave
the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains
saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by:
the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. 11 The
sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine
arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
12 Thou didst
march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in
anger. 13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy
people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the
head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the
neck. Selah.
14 Thou didst
strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a
whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor
secretly. 15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine
horses, through the heap of great waters.
16 When I heard,
my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my
bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when
he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.
17 Although the
fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the
vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat;
the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no
herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will
rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The
LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet,
and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my
stringed instruments.
New Testament
Reading
Revelation 15
CHAPTER 15
1 And I saw
another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven
last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2 And
I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the
victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over
the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of
God.
3 And they sing
the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great
and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy
ways, thou King of saints. 4 Who shall not fear thee, O
Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all
nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made
manifest.
5 And after
that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in
heaven was opened: 6 And the seven angels came out of the
temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having
their breasts girded with golden girdles.
7 And one of
the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath
of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was
filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was
able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were
fulfilled.
Proverbs Reading
Proverbs 24
1 Be not thou
envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. 2 For
their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3 Through
wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 4 And
by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant
riches.
5 A wise
man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. 6 For
by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7 Wisdom is too
high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate. 8 He
that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
9 The thought
of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to
men. 10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy
strength is small.
11 If thou
forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death,
and those that are ready to be slain; 12 If
thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart
consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he
know it? and shall not he render to every man
according to his works?
13 My son, eat
thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet
to thy taste: 14 So shall the knowledge of
wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there
shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
15 Lay not wait,
O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting
place: 16 For a just man falleth seven times,
and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
17 Rejoice not
when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he
stumbleth: 18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease
him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19 Fret not
thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; 20 For
there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall
be put out.
21 My son, fear
thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given
to change: 22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and
who knoweth the ruin of them both?
23 These things also belong to
the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in
judgment. 24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous;
him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: 25 But
to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall
come upon them.
26 Every man shall
kiss his lips that giveth a right answer. 27 Prepare
thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards
build thine house. 28 Be not a witness against thy
neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
29 Say
not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man
according to his work. 30 I went by the field of the
slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31 And,
lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the
face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32 Then
I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received
instruction.
33 Yet a
little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34 So
shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an
armed man.
Pastor
Paul Chappell
Dr.
Paul Chappell is the senior pastor of the Lancaster Baptist Church and
president of West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California. His biblical
vision has led the church to become one of the most dynamic independent Baptist
churches in the nation. He has been married to his wife, Terrie, for over
thirty years and is the father of four married children all serving in
Christian ministry.
Daily
in the Word is a ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church
4020
East Lancaster Blvd | Lancaster, California | 661.946.4663
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