July 5

Paul begins 1 Corinthians 7 talking about sexual intimacy in marriage. While he prohibits sexual immorality (all sexual behavior outside the context of a one-man-one-woman covenant marital relationship), Paul encourages sexual intimacy within a covenant marital relationship. In fact, he says that giving yourself to your spouse is your conjugal duty. And it’s the duty of your spouse to do the same thing. The word he uses for duty has the connotation of indebtedness. Spouses owe intimacy to each other. He says, “Don’t deprive each other, except for a (limited) time of prayer,” (1 Corinthians 7:5) in order to avoid temptation. God intends for spouses to enjoy each other in physical intimacy. In fact, the marital act glorifies God!

God’s ideal is for believers to be committed to live in a covenant marriage “until we are parted by death” (remember your marriage vows?). Counseling and sometimes separation can be helpful. But Paul says that separation should aim toward a reconciliation. (1 Corinthians 7:11) Again, one important part of marriage is to mirror the relationship between Jesus and his bride, the church. Divorce shatters the mirror. Now, there are some limited situations where divorce is permitted (but not mandated) such as immorality, (Matthew 19:3–9) and I would add abandonment and abuse to those limited situations. As with church discipline, restoration is the ideal goal.

Application

Note, when Paul says to not deprive each other in order to avoid temptation, he is not saying that if a man commits adultery, it’s his wife’s fault for not fulfilling his needs. As we saw over the past two days, adultery falls into the category of sexual immorality.

While it is the duty to give ourselves to our spouse, it is never appropriate to demand or take from our spouse by force. Husbands and wives are called to exhibit mutual love, mutual respect, and mutual submission as we are led by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18–25)

Obviously, there are times when physical intimacy is difficult or impossible. But even during those times, a married couple must make it a priority to maintain some form of emotional and spiritual intimacy. We owe it to each other.

The post Sexual Ethics in Marriage appeared first on Psalm 34:8.

January 16

There are several Marys mentioned in the Gospels, and sometimes it’s easy to get confused distinguishing between them. The Mary in today’s Bible reading is Mary of Bethany—the sister of Martha and Lazarus (the friend Jesus raised from the dead in John 11). This Mary is not to be confused with Mary Magdalene; Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary, the wife of Cleopas; Mary, the mother of James and Joses; Mary, the mother of John Mark; nor was she the Mary of Rome, greeted by Paul in Romans 16:6. Just by this list in the Gospels, we get an idea of how popular this name was back in Jesus’ day.

This sister of Martha and Lazarus made the “right choice” (Luke 10:42) of sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to what He said. In Luke’s account, we see that there are different—and important—ways of expressing our love and worship of Jesus. We’ll read that story on April 13.

Because of her family’s close (platonic) relationship with Jesus, however, and possibly in light of what she’d just witnessed in her brother’s resurrection, Mary emptied a half-liter bottle of perfume on Jesus’ feet, then wiped His feet with her hair. In this, there are three important things we should not miss:

1.) This was a very expensive perfume, one which cost 300 days’ wages! (John 12:5) Think of a year’s income of your salary. This kind of perfume was imported from India and used by the Romans to anoint the dead, hence Jesus’ comment that Mary was preparing Him for His burial. This was the beginning of Jesus’ final week of ministry; He would be crucified just six days later. (vv. 1, 7)

2.) Wiping someone’s feet was the duty of servants and slaves. Wiping someone’s feet with one’s own hair was a sign of deep humility, gratitude, and love.

3.) Women rarely let down their hair. Even today, women from Middle-Eastern cultures do not expose their hair. Exposing her hair to wipe Jesus’ feet was a scandalous act on Mary’s part. She didn’t just break all social etiquette and protocol; she obliterated them.

This is a very striking and deeply moving sight—a woman utterly abasing herself by using her hair as a towel to wipe a year’s worth of wages’ in perfume across a man’s feet.

Application

How extravagant are you in your humility, sacrifice, and honor of Jesus? Are you satisfied with giving only ten percent to your church? Are you satisfied with giving only to the poor?

Or will you only be satisfied with being completely humble—even humiliated—in honoring Jesus with extravagant, sacrificial giving? Are you satisfied with giving only a portion of your treasures? Or do you also give of your time and talent to worship and serve Him?

The post Mary Anoints Jesus’ Feet appeared first on Psalm 34:8.

I have said several times in the past that the Psalms can be models for our prayers. Today’s Bible reading* includes a Psalm that I am using today as my prayers for Afghanistan and the Taliban who took over that country. Joe Carter at The Gospel Coalition wrote a great piece that may be helpful as you pray about this geo-political crisis.

Cover their faces with shame so that they will seek your name, LORD.
Let them be put to shame and terrified forever; let them perish in disgrace.
May they know that you alone—
whose name is the LORD—
are the Most High over the whole earth.
Psalm 83:16–18 (CSB)

If you have read many of my devotionals this year, you may recognize the term “imprecatory psalm” Psalm 83 is one of those Psalms where the author prays for God’s judgment on the psalmist’s enemies. Asaph prayed these verses for the enemies of God’s people. He prays this imprecatory prayer

Application

Soon after the withdrawal of US Troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban took over and began going door-to-door searching for Christians, seizing Bibles and their cell phones, searching for Bible Apps and other evidence indicating allegiance to Christ.

Please join me in continuing to pray that members of the Taliban and other Afghans will realize that Allah is not the God of the Bible. Pray that Jesus would make Himself known in their dreams and that they would come to faith in Jesus Christ, also that friends and acquaintances of Afghan Believers will be saved as they see them take a stand for their Christian faith. Pray for the Believers, that they would be faithful, that they would be strengthened and bold in their witness.

* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
– Obadiah 1
– Psalms 82
– Psalms 83

This devotional was originally published on August 22, 2021.

If you would like to receive these devotionals by email each day that we have a Bible reading, click here!

The post My Prayers for Afghanistan and the Taliban appeared first on Psalm 34:8.

We complete our readings in the Song of Solomon with today’s Bible reading*. The lovers continue their love song. Solomon and his wife exchange compliments and express their desires for each other.

As I said the day before yesterday, we should celebrate this gift that God has given us! And celebrating this gift — singing our love song — involves our physical bodies, and it includes our emotions and desires.

Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, marital love is not able to be expressed in physical ways. Perhaps there’s been emotional trauma. Perhaps age or medical conditions have prevented a married couple from being able to join together as often, or in the ways they used to.

This is when communication is so important. Even if a physical union isn’t possible, a couple can still express their love for each other in affirming words, gifts, acts of service, spending focused time together, and meaningful physical touch, much like they did before they first physically consummated their union.

According to author and counselor Gary Chapman, each of us has a primary “love language”. Oftentimes, the spouses’ love languages aren’t the same. If the husband is always trying to express his love by giving his wife gifts (his primary love language), she won’t feel most appreciated if her primary love language is acts of service.

Chapman recommends that we study our mate and learn to speak his/her love language. By speaking our mate’s love language, we can better sing our love song. Seeking to love our spouse above all things is part of loving Jesus above all things.

I encourage you to look into Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages and learn your spouse’s primary way of singing his/her love song.

Application

It’s interesting to note that today’s psalm (Psalm 45) is a Maskil. You may remember from previous devotionals, Maskil psalms stimulate the mind and kindle the affections. And this one is no exception.

I remember a conversation in college with a young woman who was desperate for a man. She asked me for my opinion on how to find the right man to marry. In wisdom beyond anything I would have come up with on my own, I suggested that instead of looking for the right mate, she work on being the right mate.

Evidently, it was the right thing to say. She took to heart what I said and began to grow very deep in her walk with Jesus. Not long after that, she met a young man whom she later married. And, as they say, they lived happily ever after.

If you’re married, spend a few minutes talking with your spouse today about what makes them feel loved the most. Affirming words? Gifts? Acts of service? Focused time? Physical (non-sexual) touch? Ask God to show you ways you can speak your spouse’s love language so you can sing your love song together.

* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
– Song of Songs 5:2-16
– Song of Songs 6
– Song of Songs 7
– Song of Songs 8:14
– Psalms 45

This devotional was originally published on May 28, 2021.

If you would like to receive these devotionals by email each day that we have a Bible reading, click here!

The post More of the Love Song appeared first on Psalm 34:8.

Seven times in today’s Bible reading,* we encounter the term “valiant warriors” (CSB), “mighty warriors” (ESV, LEB, NLT), “mighty men” (KJV), “fighting men” (NIV), “warriors” (MSG). The word translated as warriors/men refers not only to their fighting occupation but to their strong/noble character.

One Hebrew lexicon says, “Although [the book of Chronicles] generally uses the term to express “warrior” or “soldier,” there are indications that originally this was a technical term for men of a certain social class, “nobles” who had the privilege of bearing arms for their king (cf. Ruth 2:1; I Sam 9:1; II Kgs 15:20, etc. where “warrior” is too narrow a translation).”[1]

The word translated as valiant/mighty describes the men’s strength or power. The same word also is used to describe a virtuous woman in Ruth 3:11 and Proverbs 31:10.

So we have two words that are often paired in the Bible to describe both the men’s fighting capability and their character in slightly different ways. Perhaps there’s a message for us here.

Application

In Western culture in the Twenty-First Century, we have a shortage of valiant warriors. I’m not talking about men and women in uniform who defend our country in battle. I’m talking about men and women who live with strong character and conviction. People who actually have a spine and know how to stand their ground for the sake of the truth.

It seems that every time I check the news media, an anchor, reporter, or commentator is waffling in their character, presenting a narrative that differs from the truth. It seems that every time I hear a politician (with no reference to which political party), he/she often compromises on his/her positions. A wise man once told me that sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do in order to do things you do want to do. Compromise is often good, but not always. And oftentimes, compromise can be dangerous.

But right now, we need mighty warriors — men and women — to stand up and say, “This. Is. Enough.” We need men and women to stand for the truth, regardless of what boat they may rock. We need men and women to stand for the truth, regardless of whether or not it’s a popular position.

I’m not calling for physical violence. But I am talking about Christians wielding the powerful, mighty, spiritual weapons at our disposal for the glory of God.

We need more mighty warriors.

[1] Oswalt, John N. “310 גָּבַר.” Ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament 1999 : 148. Print.

* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
– 1 Chronicles 7
– 1 Chronicles 8
– 1 Chronicles 9

This devotional was originally published on April 24, 2021.

If you would like to receive these devotionals by email each day that we have a Bible reading, click here!

The post Calling All Valiant Warriors appeared first on Psalm 34:8.