One Verse at a Time

This episode looks at Luke 1:6, “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” Zechariah and Elizabeth had a true righteousness in the sight of God. We want the same thing, and we can’t have it apart from faith. So we ask God to give us grace to not make obedience to his commands an idol, and for us to instead have a secure faith in Christ which overflows in obedience to God’s commands.

This episode looks at Luke 1:5, “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.” We can thank God for using two seemingly average people compared to a “king” in order to carry out his plan. We thank God for initiating a second Exodus, not from earthly slavery but from slavery to sin.

This episode looks at Luke 1:4, “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” Luke gives us the facts not so that we would only know the accurate story of Jesus, but also so that we would be certain in our hearts that Jesus is Lord. May it be so in our lives.

This episode looks at Luke 1:3, “it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.” Luke has an intended message to convey through his story. May God give us grace to see the message of the Bible as we read it.

This episode looks at Luke 1:2, “just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us.” We thank God for Luke putting in the work to bring us this reliable work. We ask God for the grace to trust his word, because his word is truth even if we were not there to see the events with our own eyes.

This episode looks at Luke 1:1, “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us.” Luke acknowledges that others have written about God’s work in history, and he situates his work in conjunction with theirs. We take great comfort in God’s actions in space-time history. We don’t serve a passive bystander of a God; no, instead we serve the God who acts on our behalf in history for the joy of all peoples.

This episode looks at Jonah 2:10, “And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.” God commands all things with just his voice. He doesn’t need to offer the fish a treat for it to obey him; no, on the contrary, he speaks, and creation listens. We praise our powerful God, and we also look forward to the day when our bodies will be brought forth from out of the ground and made new in Christ.

This episode looks at Jonah 2:9, “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” Salvation belongs to God, but have we recognized our need for it? Jonah didn’t, so he could say true statements without actually coming to the place of repenting of his sins. We ask for grace to not walk in the same folly.

This episode looks at Jonah 2:8, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.” Idols are empty, whereas God is the substance of true worship. We confess our idolatry to other things and ask God to help us fix our eyes on him and him alone.

This episode looks at Jonah 2:7, “When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.” Jonah’s prayer was heard by God, but it was not Jonah remembering God, it was God remembering Jonah. We need to face trials and suffering not being impressed by our own faith in God but instead by his mercy and grace to us throughout the whole ordeal.