Savoring the Scripture

Psalm 35 Prayer for the Persecuted Church, part 2 Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:9-11 NASB Paul, near the end of his life, told Timothy, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). And Paul had experienced this first hand as he testified in 2 Corinthians. He had been shipwrecked, thrown in a pit, beaten, stoned, hungry, and more.  Throughout the ages God’s people have suffered for the sake of the gospel and the Lord has at times delivered His people from great peril, and other times He has allowed their suffering for the spread of...

Psalm 34 Here’s the Christian life: we look back to what Christ has accomplished for us, and we look forward to the day when He will appear. Alistair Begg Easter is such a joyous time for believers. We celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, which is the hope of our own resurrection one day (1 Corinthians 15:20). The resurrection of Christ confirmed His deity, the satisfaction of His sacrifice for our sin removing the wrath of God from us, and the defeat of sin and death on our behalf.  Christ’s work on our behalf means we have confident access to the throne of God to plead for mercy and grace, not only for ourselves but for others, and especially for those dearest to us.  Psalm 34 is an acrostic using the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet to begin each verse with a couple of slight variations. Fittingly, there are 22 days until Easter, and I’d like to encourage you to take 22 days starting tomorrow and pray the prayer suggestions I have made using Psalm 34 as a guide. Maybe...