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And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

Reflection
This is the first promise of the remarkable salvation that would bridge the gap between sinful man and a gracious God. From the beginning of creation, God had a redemptive plan that would begin and end with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the promised Seed, entered the world with the purpose of bruising the head of Satan (Romans 16:20) and claiming God's children to be His own. Thus, Christ destroyed the power of the evil one and freed mankind from the tremendous bondage of sin. From this, His grace flows forth and draws us as believers to His side.

Josiah Humbling Himself before the Lord

Then Hilkiah answered and said…"I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD"…Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes…[and said] "…great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD." (2 Chronicles 34:15, 19, 21)

When Nebuchadnezzar and Manasseh humbled themselves before the Lord, our great God poured out amazing grace upon these formerly godless and prideful kings. Of course, it is not necessary to first be rebellious in order to be humbled and to become a recipient of further grace from God. This truth is illustrated by Josiah humbling himself before the Lord.

Josiah began to reign in Jerusalem at a very young age. "Josiah was eight years old when he became king" (2 Chronicles 34:1). When he was yet in the teen years, he began to pursue the Lord. "For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David" (2 Chronicles 34:3a). His quest for God led him to serve the Lord faithfully and courageously by destroying the implements of idolatry in the land. "In the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down" (2 Chronicles 34:3b-4).

Later, he ordered the temple to be repaired. "Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent… [various leaders] …to repair the house of the LORD his God" (2 Chronicles 34:8). There, they found copies of God's word, which had been neglected for many years. "Then Hilkiah answered and said…'I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.'" Immediately, they took these precious writings to King Josiah. "Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes."

The Lord had instructed His leaders to rule by the truth of His word. "It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book…And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes" (Deuteronomy 17:18-19). Josiah was humbled with intense grief, knowing this had been neglected and that severe judgment was in order. "Great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD."

O Lord God, my heart is torn when I think of the way Your word is neglected today. National leaders generally ignore it. Many church leaders compromise it. I have not given it appropriate attention. Let me be a Josiah in these wicked days, Amen.

"Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord!" — Deuteronomy 33:29

He who affirms that Christianity makes men miserable, is himself an utter stranger to it. It were strange indeed, if it made us wretched, for see to what a position it exalts us! It makes us sons of God. Suppose you that God will give all the happiness to His enemies, and reserve all the mourning for His own family? Shall His foes have mirth and joy, and shall His home-born children inherit sorrow and wretchedness? Shall the sinner, who has no part in Christ, call himself rich in happiness, and shall we go mourning as if we were penniless beggars? No, we will rejoice in the Lord always, and glory in our inheritance, for we "have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." The rod of chastisement must rest upon us in our measure, but it worketh for us the comfortable fruits of righteousness; and therefore by the aid of the divine Comforter, we, the "people saved of the Lord," will joy in the God of our salvation. We are married unto Christ; and shall our great Bridegroom permit His spouse to linger in constant grief? Our hearts are knit unto Him: we are His members, and though for awhile we may suffer as our Head once suffered, yet we are even now blessed with heavenly blessings in Him. We have the earnest of our inheritance in the comforts of the Spirit, which are neither few nor small. Heritors of joy for ever, we have foretastes of our portion. There are streaks of the light of joy to herald our eternal sunrising. Our riches are beyond the sea; our city with firm foundations lies on the other side the river; gleams of glory from the spirit-world cheer our hearts, and urge us onward. Truly is it said of us, "Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord?"

"My Beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for Him." — Song of Songs 5:4

Knocking was not enough, for my heart was too full of sleep, too cold and ungrateful to arise and open the door, but the touch of His effectual grace has made my soul bestir itself. Oh, the longsuffering of my Beloved, to tarry when He found Himself shut out, and me asleep upon the bed of sloth! Oh, the greatness of His patience, to knock and knock again, and to add His voice to His knockings, beseeching me to open to Him! How could I have refused Him! Base heart, blush and be confounded! But what greatest kindness of all is this, that He becomes His own porter and unbars the door Himself. Thrice blessed is the hand which condescends to lift the latch and turn the key. Now I see that nothing but my Lord's own power can save such a naughty mass of wickedness as I am; ordinances fail, even the gospel has no effect upon me, till His hand is stretched out. Now, also, I perceive that His hand is good where all else is unsuccessful, He can open when nothing else will. Blessed be His name, I feel His gracious presence even now. Well may my bowels move for Him, when I think of all that He has suffered for me, and of my ungenerous return. I have allowed my affections to wander. I have set up rivals. I have grieved Him. Sweetest and dearest of all beloveds, I have treated Thee as an unfaithful wife treats her husband. Oh, my cruel sins, my cruel self. What can I do? Tears are a poor show of my repentance, my whole heart boils with indignation at myself. Wretch that I am, to treat my Lord, my All in All, my exceeding great joy, as though He were a stranger. Jesus, thou forgivest freely, but this is not enough, prevent my unfaithfulness in the future. Kiss away these tears, and then purge my heart and bind it with sevenfold cords to Thyself, never to wander more.

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31 KJV

https://bible.com/bible/1/rom.8.31.KJV

Read Your Letters

(1 Thessalonians 5:27 KJV) "I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren."

The Bible contains both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The New Testament contains the four Gospels (Matthew through John), the book of Acts, the Letters to the Church (Romans through Jude) and the book of Revelation.

All the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and as such is an important message to us today. However, not until the resurrection of Jesus Christ did the New Covenant start, which changed everything.

God never changes, but His covenants (and thus His way of dealing with people) did change. There was an Old Covenant God had with the people of Israel. Now there is a New Covenant. And the New is not just a continuation or amplification of the Old, but is radically different.

The New Covenant did not begin until after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So everything said and done before the resurrection of Jesus was before the New Covenant started. (Even the four Gospels, although placed in the New Testament section of the Bible, are primarily a record of Jesus' ministry before His death, which means they mostly happened before the New Covenant started.)

God is now dealing with people based on the New Covenant. If we go back and read God's message to people who lived under the Old Covenant we cannot expect all that was said to them to apply exactly to us today.

You can learn something reading a letter written to someone else, but it is not nearly as instructive as reading a letter written directly to you.

So my top recommendation for Bible reading, especially for new believers, is to read the Letters to the Church. (Epistles is another word for Letters.) There are 21 Letters with 121 chapters. So by reading just one chapter each day, you can read all the New Testament Letters three times in a year.

If you are considering reading the Bible, this is an excellent way to start. If you are a new Christian, I strongly recommend that you start reading the Bible using this plan.

Although everyone should read the entire Bible, it is not best for you to do that until you are solidly grounded in the truths of the New Covenant, which are revealed in the Letters to the Church.

When a new Christian starts reading the whole Bible from the beginning by starting with the Old Testament, without having a clear understanding of what Jesus has provided for us with the New Covenant, confusion is likely to result.

(2 Corinthians 3:14-15 KJV) "But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart."

Reading the Old Covenant, also called the books of Moses -- without the knowledge of the New Covenant -- is like trying to see something with a veil over your eyes. You see glimpses of truth, but you can't clearly see the whole picture.

(John 1:17 KJV) "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

Once a believer has a clear understanding of God's message to the Body of Christ, the Church, then we can read the rest of the Bible without as much chance of getting confused.

Some people recommend that a new Christian start their Bible reading with the Gospel of John. That is a good way to get acquainted with Jesus. But it still can cause confusion for someone who does not clearly understand what Jesus accomplished for them through His death and resurrection.

(1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 KJV) "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. ... And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins."

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no New Covenant, and we are all still lost in sin.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ, and thus the start of the New Covenant is a great dividing line in history. What Jesus accomplished for us changed everything.