Devotional Notes Psalm 133+John 21

MORNING

Psalm 133

B1 What does this mean?

C1 The beauty of Christian unity.

D1 John 10:16 GNB There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.

D2 John 17:11 GNB And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one.

C2 A unity with God Himself regarding God, God’s kingdom, God’s doctrine, God’s character, God’s lifestyle, God’s worldview, and God’s rules for believers.

C3 It is compared to

D1 The oil of anointing on Aaron, the High Priest:

E1 The oil itself: Exodus 30:23-24 BSB Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil.

E2 This is the special oil of consecration.

D2 The dew upon Mt Zion:

E1 Constable mentions: Mt. Hermon to the north of Israel was the highest mountain in the land. As such it enjoyed unusually heavy dew. Dew was a great blessing in the parched land of Israel. As the dew freshened and invigorated Mt. Hermon, so the blessing of unity among believing Israelites would refresh and invigorate Mt. Zion as they gathered for worship there.

E2 Zion was the earthly dwelling of Yahweh. Psalms 2:6-7 GNB "On Zion, my sacred hill," he says, "I have installed my king." 7 "I will announce," says the king, "what the LORD has declared. He said to me: 'You are my son; today I have become your father.

B2 How do I apply this to my life? Romans 12:1-2 WEL I implore you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present yourselves as a holy, living sacrifice [which is] acceptable to God [and] your rational service [to Him]. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may discern what [is] the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

EVENING

John 21

B1 What does this mean?

C1 Jesus At the Sea of Galilee

D1 A principle: God delegates the mission, we do the mission, and God blesses the mission.

D2 Verse 14, John states that this is the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples.

C2 Jesus Encourages Peter

D1 Peter probably was despondent, because he spoke of great dedication but failed. The Lord Jesus wanted to be clear that Peter is restored. So too for us. What Peter did was not a reason to never be an Apostle and pastor. Sexual abuse, abuses of power by pastors, etc. do disqualify them forever.

D2 Feed my sheep refers to Jesus’s calling and commission for Peter to teach. Peter did teach. He taught the Gospel, the Resurrection, the Christian life, etc.

C3 Many Things Jesus That Did Not Get Recorded

D1 The Scriptures are the truth: Psalms 119:160 WEB All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.

D2 We have a reasonable faith. John states: 1 John 1:1-4 WEB That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life 2 (and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled.

D3 We have more than one witness: Acts 1:1-2 GNB Dear Theophilus: In my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles.

D4 Let us be committed as the Apostle Paul: 2 Timothy 1:12 AMPC And this is why I am suffering as I do. Still I am not ashamed, for I know (perceive, have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which I have committed [to Him] until that day.

B2 How do I apply this to my life? We have a most reasonable faith.

I hope to have a devotional every day on John’s Gospel starting with the last chapter of Luke’s Gospel. This is the way I do my devotions. You may notice grammatical and spelling errors. It is my hope you will also start or continue in your daily reading and thinking about the Scriptures. I do this Monday through Friday. It is a 3 year plan of reading and thinking on 1 chapter in the Old Testament, which takes 3 years, and reading and thinking on 1 chapter in the New Testament once a year for a total of 3 times. So, I read through the Old Testament 1 time and the New Testament 3 times over a period of 3 years. I do this Monday through Friday and use Saturday and Sunday for other devotions.