Today in the Word for May 15-25
Today in The Word
Tuesday May 18, 2021
Do you feel unloved? Leah, Jacob’s first wife did. Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Jacob only had eyes for his second wife Rachel, and Genesis 29:31-35 reports:
“When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive…she named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”
She conceived again, and…she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too…”
Again she conceived, and …she said, “now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons…”
She conceived again, and…she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah…”
Leah is the unloved, rejected wife. She grasps at the birth of sons to try to gain Jacob’s affection. But it does not work. She cannot make him desire her, and she is miserable. But something changed with her 4th boy. She decides to focus on the Lord rather than her pain. Instead of grasping for human love, she embraces and adores the One who has loved her all along.
Are you feeling unloved? Stop grasping, and start embracing the Lord’s consistent love.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Do you feel like you are in the back of the pack—invisible to others? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Judah might have felt that way as the 4th son of the unloved wife of Jacob. Yet in Genesis 49:8-10, Jacob prophesies upon his deathbed about Judah:
“Judah, your brothers will praise you…your father’s sons will bow down to you. You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son.…who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.”
In a world where the first-born gets the privileges, Judah is behind Rachel’s sons Joseph and Benjamin, and is the 4th son of Leah. Yet despite Jacob’s obvious favoritism, the Lord speaks through him that Judah will be the line of kings, ultimately resulting in Jesus Himself!
When we feel like the overlooked middle child in life, we need to trust in God’s purpose for us. He had something amazing for Judah and he has something amazing for you. It doesn’t matter how much we are noticed by others, God both knows us and notices us. Each has a God-given purpose. Trust in that.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Thursday May 20, 2021
Does it seem like other’s assessment of you goes only skin deep? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. God directs Samuel the prophet to anoint a replacement for King Saul. Samuel asked Jesse to present his sons, and I Samuel 16:6-11 reads:
“…Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at he outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
…Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
David was not even invited to the event! He was only good enough as the little brother for the livestock. Yet God looked into his heart and chose him for greatness.
The world only sees our image. They only see the ‘packaging’ of our good looks, talent, or money. But God sees past the ‘packaging’. God sees us—deep. And he can use us for his good purpose.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Friday May 21, 2021
How much is our heart set on the approval of others? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. David was a man after God’s heart. II Samuel 6:14-16, 21-22 reads:
“…David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
…David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this…”
David’s worship seemed unkingly to his wife. She was worried what others would think. David took issue with her rebuke. He said he didn’t care about the approval of others. He was going to worship without reservation. He was going to worship passionately. David always held the heart of a worshipper. And thus we have so many of his Psalms.
And we need to have the heart of a worshipper too, and not worry about the approval of others or about our position so much.
And that’s the Word. Tune in Sundays at 10:30 on the Deer Lodge Assembly Facebook page for our Livestreamed service or join us at the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in The Word
Monday May 24, 2021
Why wasn’t Jesus from the priestly tribe of Levi? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Hebrews 7:11-16 informs:
“…why was there still need for another priest to come…not in the order of Aaron?...He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar for it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.”
Jesus’ human descent is from Judah, not Levi. He is our High Priest, but he doesn’t come from the line of priests that began with Aaron. How can he do so? Because he also is the eternal One ‘who was and is and is to come’. As God, there is no ‘human descent.’ God became man, and by his sacrificial death tore open access to very presence of God. Our Great High Priest is not a priest. He is more!
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in The Word
Tuesday May 25, 2021
How can God show love when we feel unloved? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Remember Leah who was unloved by her husband Jacob? And God saw that, and gave her sons, one of whom was named Judah? (Genesis 29:30-35) How did the future unfold for Leah? In Revelation 5:2-5 John reports:
“…I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll…I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll… Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Unloved Leah bore Judah. David began the kingly line of Judah. And if that weren’t enough, Jesus’ human descent was from David. And at the end, it is the prophesied Lion of the Tribe of Judah that will bring God’s ultimate purposes to bear on mankind and establish heaven for his children.
God showed more love to unloved Leah than she could imagine. He made her the queen mother of the Lion of Judah! Not her rival wife. Not anyone else. Her.
And this same God loves you.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana