Luke 19:37-40 - Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

When the miracle worker came into Jerusalem the Jewish crowds were ready for a king to sweep the Roman occupation out of power. The praise was overwhelming - so much that the Pharisees were nervous about the attention this would bring from the Roman guard. Yet Jesus had a bigger picture. He WAS the king, but this king was not coming to deliver the Jews from political oppression, but all of humanity from the oppression of sin. Even the rocks understood what the crowds didn’t; the King has come to take his rightful place on His throne.

Today's commentary by: Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, GraceNYC.org

What do you think? Discussion at: http://facebook.com/DailyBibleVerse

Amos 7:7-8 - Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel

This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Amos?" "A plumb line," I replied. Then the Lord said, "Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
- Amos 7:7-8

This passage compares the people of God to a wall built to the straight angles that plumb lines provided for ancient builders. Notice that the wall had been built true to plumb. The standards that God applied at the end had been there from the beginning. In other words, we serve a God who is not arbitrary. He equally applies law and grace to all that He does. Since this is the nature of God, how can we live up to this standard? Only through the One where the law and grace met perfectly - Jesus Christ. He became the plumb line for all humanity. He is the wall that is straight and true, and in Christ we have the resources needed to live according to God’s standard.

Today's commentary by: Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, GraceNYC.org

What do you think? Discussion at: http://facebook.com/DailyBibleVerse