"A Hint of Glory" April 5 Readings: Joshua 15-16, Luke 7:1–17, Psalm 43, Proverbs 10:13-14

  

Reading the Bible in 2025

Each day this year, we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. 

NOTE: If you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings: Joshua 15-16, Luke 7:1–17, Psalm 43, Proverbs 10:13-14

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional: A Hint of Glory

I remember reading the sad and disgusting story, back in 2014, of a preacher and his family killed in a small plane crash. That was the sad part. The disgusting part was the message this false prophet had preached, that the death and resurrection of Jesus was not our "good news" and that we should not waste so much time talking about it. If you read the book of Acts, you realize that everything in the early church was founded on the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He died and then he rose again as Lord of all.

Sometimes, even in his earthly ministry, while he was living his sinless life and earning the righteousness in which he would clothe us for eternity, hints of Jesus's eternal work of glory would break through. One such story is found in Luke 7:11-17 when Jesus happened on a funeral procession in the little village of Nain. The power of the resurrection peeked through for just a moment that day - it was a small hint of the glory that would come!

Here was a woman who had lost everything. She was a widow and had now lost her only son - in that culture, it meant she was a woman without hope, without provision, without resources. There was no husband to provide for her and her son, who would have taken care of her had now been taken from her. Life had blown apart, and she was bereft, hopeless.

Then, along came Jesus. Jesus said a few strange things, but this was one of the strangest. "Do not weep." Say what? Jesus is telling a woman who has lost everything not to weep? What is the difference there?

The woman was looking at what was, but Jesus was looking at what would be. She was looking at her life's situation as things were, but Jesus could see through the fog, and he knew what he was about to do. When he said "Do not weep," the only basis for that was faith in him. He was about to show a hint of the glory he would display in this world that would allow us to know that all is well, and that we can, in fact, trust him and his word. If you factored in what Jesus was about to do, his words made perfect sense, did they not?

He went to the bier carrying the young man and the funeral procession stopped. Jesus spoke, and again he said something ridiculous, something impossible. "Arise." It was something when Jesus made the lame walk and the blind see, but this man was dead. Dead. No life. And Jesus was talking to him. Telling him to stand up. Absurd.

Unless you are Jesus. Because Jesus was the best funeral guest ever - even uninvited. The young man sat up and started talking. The dead arise when Jesus speaks. Jesus told a mother not to weep about her son's death, and he told a dead man to rise up. Then, by his mighty power, he made both ridiculous statements reasonable!

Jesus comes to you and to your circumstances and says, "Do not worry." Your circumstances tell you to worry and be afraid, but he says, "No!" Jesus says "Rejoice," even when you feel sad, lonely, and torn apart. But he sees beyond your circumstances to what he is doing in this world and in your life. And he speaks to those who are dead in sin and says, "Arise." He is the one who can raise the dead and bring life. That is why he died and rose again, to bring life to sinners - your family, your friends, your co-workers, the people of Senegal, and others around the world. Jesus still raises the dead through the gospel of salvation!

NEVER live life simply looking at the circumstances of this world. Realize that Jesus is here; he is at work. He is doing something bigger than you. He is working all things for God's glory and your good. He will never leave you or forsake you.

That's why they call it walking by faith, and not by sight. 

Father, I thank you that your Son came walking by in my life when I was dead in my sins. He raised me and gave me hope, and life, and a future. Help me always to remember that my circumstances are not the final word in my life, but Jesus' work is!

 

Consider God's Word:

Which of these four passages spoke most clearly to you today? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there something in your life that needs to change?

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Are there circumstances in your life that make you doubt? Cause you pain? Rob you of joy? Make it hard for you to see the work of God?

Are you looking more at the circumstances of life or at the promise of the work of Christ?

Will you live your life on the basis of what Jesus said he is doing and is going to do, or on the basis of what you see in this world? Will you live by faith or by sight?