MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/16/2026
10:58 AM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “The
Purpose of God is Gracious”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
1:59-63
Message of the verses: 59
And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would
have called him Zechariah after his father, 60
but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives
is called by this name.” 62 And they
made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote,
“His name is John.” And they all wondered (ESV)
What I am about to write about is true, but at times,
even many times, I don’t focus on, and that God is a God of grace who delights
in being gracious to sinners (Isa. 30:18) “
18 ¶ Therefore the LORD waits to
be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For
the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” God finds His joy in giving His people
the blessings they do not deserve, and also from withholding the chastening
they do deserve as can be seen in (Luke 15:7, 10, 20-27).
(Luke 15:7, 10, 20-27)
“7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in
heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who
need no repentance.”
“10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the
angels of God over one sinner who repents."
“20 And he arose and came to his father. But
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him felt compassion, and ran
and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And
the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am
no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and
put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and
let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my
son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to
celebrate. 25 "Now his older son
was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and
dancing. 26 And he called one of the
servants and asked what these things meant. 27
And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed
the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’”
God has,
according to Ephesians 1:9, kind intentions toward the elect, who “are not
under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14), and upon whom He will pour out the “surpassing
riches of His grace” for all eternity (Eph. 2:7). God is the ‘God of all grace’ (1 Peter
5:10), who gives grace (Ps. 84:11; Pr. 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5), and
sits on the “throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16).
Now the Bible describes God’s grace as great (cf. James 4:6),
surpassing (2 Cor. 9:14), sovereign (2 Tim. 1:9), rich (Eph. 1:7; 2:7),
manifold (1 Peter 4:10), all-sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9), abundant (Acts 4:33; 1
Tim. 1:14), and glorious (Eph. 1:6).
I think that it would be wise on my
part to quote all of these verses that are seen in this last paragraph, and I
will do them in the order that they are seen in this last paragraph.
(cf. James 4:6)
“6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
(2 Cor. 9:14)
“14 while they long for you and pray for you,
because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.”
(2 Tim. 1:9)
“9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling,
not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he
gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”
(Eph. 1:7; 2:7)
“7 In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”
“
7 so that in the coming ages he might
show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus.”
(1 Peter 4:10)
“10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve
one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace”
(2 Cor. 12:9)
“9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient
for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all
the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
(Acts 4:33; 1 Tim. 1:14)
“33 And with great power the apostles were giving
their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon
them all.”
“14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me
with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”
(Eph. 1:6)
“6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with
which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”
Now please take the time to go over
these verses as you look at them by using the last paragraph to get the
reference and then read the verse over and you will have a great idea of all
the grace that you are receiving from the Lord through what He did for you on
the cross.
John MacArthur writes “God’s grace
manifested itself in a surprising way in this passage—through a conflict over
the naming of Elizabeth’s son. The
setting was the eight day after the baby’s birth when they came to
circumcise the child. Circumcision
was required of all Jewish males (Gen. 17:9-14; Lev. 12:3), and was instituted
by God for three reasons. First, it had
health benefits, particularly in the ancient world where the danger of
bacterial was undiscovered and standards of hygiene were largely unknown, so
infection was more easily passed from a man to a woman. Eliminating the outer
skin diminished the potential of such infection, so that historically, Jewish
women had had low rates of cervical cancer and other diseases because Jewish
husbands were circumcised. Circumcision was
thus one the many dietary and sanitary regulations God gave to protect and
perpetuate the Jewish people. More
significantly, circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen.
17:10), and thus a mark of Israel’s national identity. Finally, circumcision serves as a spiritual
object lesson, graphically illustrating man’s need to cleansing from the
depravity of sin, which is passed on to each succeeding generation through
procreation (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4; Ezekiel 44:7, 9; Rom. 4:11).
(Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4; Ezekiel 44:7,
9; Rom. 4:11)
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your
heart, and be no longer stubborn.”
“4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the
foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my
wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil
of your deeds.’”
“7 in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in
heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to
me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to
all your abominations.’
“9 "Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner,
uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the
people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.”
“11 He received the sign of circumcision as a
seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still
uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe
without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as
well,”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life Today: To think about the grace of God
which He bestowed on all who believe in Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. God took out my sin on the Lord
Jesus Christ when He died for me, and has given me His grace because of His
love for me, and all who believe.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Meditate on the grace of God as
seen in the verses that are seen in this SD, and be so thankful to the Lord for
the grace He has given to me.
3/16/2026
11:53 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment