Dear CSOPC brothers and sisters,
What a blessing is the word of God. To think that the creator of the universe would speak to us! And he has done just that in his word. And more than that, he has spoken to us a message of love and grace. He has given to us a message of salvation and reconciliation in Christ. This week, may we spend time with our Heavenly Father in his word. We cannot grow in grace if we do not spend time with the Lord. And we spend time with him by reading, meditating upon, and praying over his word.
Here are a few reminder for the week:
- Tonight, both the Galatians Bible study and the north Houston small group meet at 7:00. The Galatians study will meet at the home of Jovanni and Lina Castilla. Their address is 17331 S Summit Canyon Drive, Houston, 77095. And the north Houston group will meet at the Shimeall’s home at 28619 Hidden Lake, Magnolia, TX, 77354.
- Remember to sign up for the Spring retreat. Information and registration can be found here: http://providencepres.com/retreat/.
- Finally, this week’s devotion (attached) is a reflection on Christ our great King.
I look forward to seeing many of you tonight and to worshipping with you this Lord’s Day!
From the Pastor’s Desk
Mid-week Devotional
“Christ the King”
Acts 13:22, “And when he had removed [Saul], he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart.’”
David was the greatest of Israel’s kings. He was a man after God’s own heart, who did all his will (Acts 13:22). He submitted himself to the law of God and loved the word of God (Deut 17:18-20; Ps 119:97). He was a man of justice and mercy. He led Israel to victory over her enemies (2 Samuel 8-10). He was a man who rested in the plan and the promises of God in the darkest of times (Psalm 3:1-8). But as great as David was, he was a sinner (2 Samuel 11-12, 24). He was not the king who would lead Israel to her greatest victory. In fact he could not deliver himself from his own sin. A greater king was needed. A perfect king was needed. A king who could once and for all defeat Israel’s enemies was needed.
And God promised David that he would send such a king. In 2 Samuel 7 the Lord promised David, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (7:12-13). Thus for centuries, God’s people were looking for this king – they were looking for this once and for all, eternal king – the king who would deliver them from their enemies and who would rule with perfect justice and mercy.
The glorious truth of God’s word is that this perfect king has come in the person of God’s son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus is the true and final prophet and priest, so also he is the true and final king! And just as the various prophets and priests of the Old Testament served as types pointing to Christ, so also the various kings in Israel served as types pointing to Christ our true King. The angel Gabriel told Mary that her son would be “great and called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). Indeed, Christ is the ‘King of kings and the Lord of lords’ (Rev 19:16). As David was a man after God’s own heart, so Christ was God in the flesh (John 14:9). As David delighted in the word of God, so Christ was the very word of God (John 1:1, 14). And as David delivered Israel from her temporal enemies, so Christ delivers his people once and for all from the greatest of enemies, namely, sin, death, and the devil (Matt 4:1-11; 12:22-32; Col 2:15; Heb 2:14-15; Rev 19:11-21; 20:7-10).
And dear Christian, Christ still reigns as our King. Today he is reigning as king. He is ruling in his world, in his church, and in the hearts of his people. He is working in you to subdue your indwelling sin. He is working in his church to build it and to guide it to the glory of God. And he rules and reigns in the world directing all things for his glorious purposes. Our trust is not in earthly princes or earthly rulers; rather our trust is in the King of kings and Lord of lords. May he be your trust today!