Because we are called to walk worthy of our calling, we are told by the apostle Paul to walk "with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (Eph. 4:2 ).

Now to forbear is to hold oneself back, rather than to go forward as the flesh wants to do. To do that, we must walk in lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, rather than in pride, willing to suffer ourselves, rather than cause others to suffer. We must not cause the brother to suffer. We must not hurt him because of some advantage we want for our own flesh. Seeking for our own flesh an advantage that hurts the flesh of the brother is not walking worthy of our calling.

God calls us, in the first table of the law, to walk in love to Him. But He does that also in the second table where He very clearly calls us to walk in love to God by walking in love with the neighbor, especially the brothers and sisters in Christ. We had better not boast of keeping God's law in its first table, when we are breaking a commandment in the second table.

When we break the second table of the law we reveal hatred against God as surely as against the neighbor. In fact, taking God's name in vain is breaking the first table of the law. Stealing, murder, adultery, lying, coveting, and disobeying authorities is breaking both tables of the law.

Therefore, the lowliness and meekness of bowing before God's will, even when it brings suffering to us, is walking in love to God. Failing to walk in love with the neighbor is walking in hatred towards God.

We must not by our deeds try to tell God what is right. We must let Him teach us what pleases Him and what displeases Him. He is God, and when we break His law we say thereby that He must keep our law. That is not meekness and lowliness but pride. Every sin is an act of hatred rather than love to God, as is our calling.

Read: Colossians 3:1-14

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Esther 8-9 ; Esther 10:1-3 
I Corinthians 12:27-31 ; I Corinthians 13 
Psalm 37:1-11 
Proverbs 21:23-24 
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Quote for Reflection:

 All (the disciples, MD) are within the sphere of Jesus’ attraction.  But the bosom is reserved for, it is the throne of, the Johns.  They feel the throbs of the Savior’s heart.  They know Him as He knows the Father.  Whose is the Gospel that leads to the Holy of Holies, that opens the door into the Lord’s innermost self?  I imagine that none but he who lay on Jesus’ breast had the outline of the last discourse and the last prayer complete in its links, complete in its clothing, in His remembrance.  The secret of the Lord was with him—“the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  ~ J. Lang

It might not be strange to doubt what a prisoner has to say. Because of what he did that brought him into prison, he might not be trusted. But when a child of God is cast into prison because of his faith in God, it is good to listen to him. That is what we have before us in Ephesians 4:1 where Paul, imprisoned because of preaching the truth, says to us, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called."

We do have here a serious calling, in fact, a divine vocation or calling. We are called to walk in love toward God. The reason for this calling is that we have in Adam fallen into sin and spiritual death. As far as our flesh is concerned we live as though we have no calling to serve God. God created us in His own image and told us not to sin. He told Adam that if he did sin he would die spiritually, and his body would be on the way to physical death. And he did die spiritually through a sin.

He clearly revealed this. For instead of running to God in sorrow, he tried to run away from God. he tried in cover his sin, not to get rid of it. He used fig leaves and trees rather than a prayer to God. And he as spiritually dead brought forth a human race that comes into physical life with a spiritually dead soul.

Although we come into this life spiritually dead, we have the calling to walk in love of God. What is more, having been born again with a new spiritual life, we have the calling to walk as children of God. Because of that old sinful nature which remains with us until the day we die, a godly walk is very difficult. But our calling is there. In fact, our calling is more serious even than that of the unbelievers, who also have such a call or command of God. We, having been given a blessed new life, have a far more awesome calling to walk in love, but also in thankfulness, and by it to manifest love for God and faith in Christ and His cross.

Read: Ephesians 4:1-8

Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Esther 4-6 ; Esther 7:1-10 
1 Corinthians 12:1-26 
Psalm 36:1-12 
Proverbs 21:21-22 
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Quote for Reflection:

"The cross was before Him with all its horrors; the joy of returning to the Father was before Him with all its bliss; yet neither the fearful prospect of woe nor the hope of unspeakable rest and gladness shook His love for His own.  He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever, therefore His love never varies.  He is eternal, therefore has He loved us with an everlasting love.  He is Divine, therefore is His love different from all others, passing human knowledge."  ~ Arthur W. Pink

In distinction from Esau and others who, although born in a covenant family did not repent of their sins, and sought merely what they called blessings, we find in Hebrews 12:22 this truth: "But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels."

What a difference! In verses 19-21 the author pointed out the things which the Israelites experienced at Mt. Sinai, and which terrified them. He spoke of so terrible a sight that Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." It is in contrast to such punishment which we deserve that now he tells us what those who in faith run the race will by God's grace obtain.

Yes, it is to mount Zion that we run in the race of which he spoke in the first verse of this chapter. Mount Zion is called the city of the living God, and it is called Jerusalem. He also added that striking truth of our living pretty soon with an innumerable host of angels.

Mount Zion was where God's temple was built. That was where He symbolically dwelt in the Holy of Holies, behind the veil. For Christ was there with His blood upon the mercy seat of the ark. But what is coming is a city where we will in Christ have intimate fellowship with God. The place is called the heavenly Jerusalem, that is, the city of peace with God.

There we shall be holy like that host of angels that never fell into sin. Yea, we shall be as holy as Christ, for He made us holy by His Spirit and on the basis of His cross.

Does all this sound interesting to you? Are you looking forward to the blessedness promised by God?

If we are God's born-again children, that blessedness will be there in this life.

Read: Revelation 21

Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Esther 1-3 
I Corinthians 11:17-34 
Psalm 35:17-28 
Proverbs 21:19-20 
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Quote for Reflection:

It is so very important that we know what is right and what is wrong. But it is also important that we know what is a blessing and what is a curse.

Our God, the only true God, either loves or hates, blesses or curses. This is taught us in Psalm 7:11 where we read that He is angry with the wicked every day, and in Romans 6:23 where He tells us that the wages of sin is death. There is no grace of God to all men. He Himself tells us through David and Paul that His grace is only on those whose sins have been blotted out by His Son, and thus made righteous.

This we must bear in mind when in Hebrews 12:17 we read concerning Esau, the unbeliever, "For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

We do well to bear in mind, then, that the idea here is not that he did seek repentance and found it not. He sought with tears and did not get what he called a blessing, and was rejected by our holy God. That blessing he sought, but in the wrong way. He was interested in material things and did not get it, for he refused to repent of having committed sin.

The truth we must hold on to tightly is that God is holy, and therefore has not only blessing, one real blessing, for any sinners except those for whom Christ died and blotted out their guilt. Consider that Christ did not die for angels; and therefore not one fallen angel is saved, or "invited and offered" salvation. There is no grace of God for fallen angels, nor for human beings not eternally chosen in Christ.

Blessedness is being chosen in Christ and given a new life, and faith that can and does bring forth repentance. Sorrow for sin reveals that one has been eternally chosen in Christ and promised salvation.

Read: Romans 9:1-18

Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Nehemiah 12:27-47 ; Nehemiah 13 
1 Corinthians 11:1-16 
Psalm 35:1-16 
Proverbs 21:17-18 
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Quote for Reflection: