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Jesus certainly was loving, gentle and kind. But whenever evil raised its ugly head, He didn’t play nice. Tables were turned, and all who desecrated the temple with their blatant greediness were driven out. Let us find strength in the Lord to bravely speak out against the evils of our day, of which there are many.

The world’s sin-tainted wisdom cannot bring it even a centimeter closer to knowing God or the way to salvation. By a miracle of grace the Holy Spirit has caused us to see that true wisdom is found in Christ. While the world sees the Cross as foolishness, “to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”{v.18]

Praise the Lord with all kinds of musical instruments: trumpet, lute, harp, timbrel, stringed instruments, etc.“Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. The gift of language combined with the gift of song was given to man that he should proclaim the Word of God through music.” – Martin Luther

In this parable God’s forgiving grace shines forth in all its incredible wonder. It teaches us that His grace is for outwardly immoral sinners. It’s for the self-righteous, who believe that God owes them something. His forgiveness has been won for every sinner by the third Son. You know who that is!

Many severe consequences resulted from Israel’s rebelliousness in the wilderness. But, remember, these things were written for our learning. Yes, let’s learn from their poor example, always taking care that we are standing, by the grace of God, on the firm ground of His Word.

How comforting to know that the Lord crowns us with love and compassion, that he removes our sins as far as east is from west, that His love for us sinners is as high as the heavens are above the earth. Read the entire Psalm, and bask in all its gracious promises.

True reverence for the Lord is greatly lacking today. Even Christians can get sloppy in their worship practices. God is not some giant teddy bear in the sky. He is a holy and omnipotent God, Who has a burning love for us sinners. “Take off your sandals” and, in humble awe, and stand before Him on holy ground.

Jesus asked for a drink of water from the Samaritan woman, and, before you know it, the two were talking about eternal things. He has the living water of life eternal to give to all sinners. Let’s turn our simple conversations into opportunities to share Jesus.

We stand in grace, meaning that even though we daily sin, as believers in Christ we are God’s forgiven children 24/7. The sufferings we go through serve to mold our character, so that we persevere in hope, a hope which, unlike all other hopes, will never disappoint.

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.” [vv.1-2] Yet even as we rejoice in His salvation, we need the stern warning: “Do not harden your hearts.” [v.8] Because we are sinners we need to be warned, so that we ever listen to the voice of the Lord our Savior. Praise the Lord for His greatness: “Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.” [vv.1-2] But even as we rejoice in His salvation, we need the stern warning: “Do not harden your hearts.” [v.8] Because we are sinners we need to be warned, so that we ever listen to the voice of Lord, our Rock.

Complain! Complain! Complain. Sound familiar? Just like Israel of old don’t we find ourselves whining about every little thing? May God lead us to repent of this terrible sin, and then to stand in amazement at how He so richly blesses us despite our grumbling ways.

So the rich go to hell, and the poor to heaven? No. While it is true that living only for the pleasures of this world is foolish and eternally devastating, Jesus’ main point is that, whether rich or poor, the only way to prepare for eternity is by giving heed to the faith creating power of God’s Word.