The Word Today Is “Today”
What’s in a day?
This Day
Today
What is in a book?
The book.
The Torah, Law, measuring stick of life.
The reading of the prophetic word in scripture from David to Ezra and Nehemiah to Jesus to us proclaims, “Today.”
The prophetic word is God speaking, whether about the past or the future, focused on today – what to do today, how to live today, how to think about today.
David sang a song of praise for that word in his day. He sang the wonders of The Word in creation and then, in written form.
Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Nature is God’s troubadour announcing His glory to humanity. The activity of God in creation is true to His character and there is much to be known of Him through observation, meditation, and contemplation prompted by an appreciation of all that He has made. The old adage that we must stop and smell the roses is an appropriate reminder to look for examples of the glory of God in the work of His hands. Open your eyes and heart today to His voice in all that is around you.
Psalm 19:2 - Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
One of the characteristics of God’s disclosure of Himself in nature is the consistency of the message. One of the characteristics of human beings as receptors of His message is our inattention and inconsistency in seeking Him through all He has offered us. Make up your mind to seek God today in the smallest things and He will show Himself clearly. There is much to be gained by reading the handiwork of God.
Psalm 19:3 – There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
God’s truth, as disclosed in the cosmos, is universal. It is not given in isolation or exclusion. It provides a common language for humanity to talk about God and explore His ways. It provides a meeting place and point of contact for seeking His deeper and more specific revelation through His Word and through His Son. Prayerfully be on the lookout today for opportunities to seek God more deeply with others to whom He has spoken through His handiwork in creation.
Psalm 19:4 - Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
Even in creation, God is busy about the work of evangelism. His purposes are inclusive and magnanimous. He makes provision for every necessity and extends His reach to every man, woman, boy, and girl. He pavilions the sun to shine on all humanity. He sends forth His Word of life to every corner of the earth. If we are to join Him in His own work, we will adopt His priorities and mission.
Psalm 19:5 - …which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
The sun, sheltered against the backdrop of the cosmos, does not remain cloistered in its pavilion of safety. It emanates; it extends, it goes forth with purpose and clarity to fulfill its mission and run its appointed course. God made it to do so and to be so and He has made us to be a people of extended purpose and profound significance. As part of His creation, our voices are available for His voice to reveal Himself through us and in us.
Psalm 19:6 - It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
Consider the orderliness of God’s creative work in the cosmos. The rotations of the planets, moons, and stars proceed with a sense of direction that is consequential and graceful. Out of seeming chaos emerges an order that is indisputable. The changing relationship of the earth and the sun for example, forms a pattern by which we set our calendars and our clocks and order our lives. The heat of our private star brings light and life and through it, God speaks. How is your life radiating God’s warmth today in its appointed rounds?
Psalm 19:7 - The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
Having noted the general way God shows Himself to every person, we bring His very specific and personal self-disclosure into focus. Though present in creation in all of its truth, the written and spoken Word of God speaks with a clarity and grace that cannot be ignored. It marshals the forces of language to revive the soul and make wise the simple. In His Word, God describes and defines what He has made and why and shows us how to come into proper relationship with Himself and His creation.
Psalm 19:8 - The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
When things are right, they do not constrain but liberate us. Truthful precepts do not introduce legalistic bondage to our lives, but exuberant joy because they inform us who we are and how we relate to God and His truth. When God commands us, the lights go on, we no longer stumble in ambiguous darkness. Seek God’s truth in His Word today and expect radiant joy and you apply those truths to your life guided by the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 19:9 - The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
There is fear and there is fear. Fear can be irrationally muddled and deathly or pure and lifegiving. Fear of God is not a cowering dread or a fleeing terror as much as an awesome recognition that He is Other and in His holy brilliance, we are consumed but for His merciful grace. And that kind of fear never wears off. At the same time, what God orders can be counted as sure and certain and absolutely right. Bank on God today and turn from anything that views with Him for attention with extreme prejudice.
Psalm 19:10 - They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
Again, the psalmist is describing God’s ordinances, His disclosure of Himself through His revelation of covenant expectations. When God makes demands upon our lives, they are indications of His own holiness, and they are precious, sweet, and nurturing. They are signets of His love and call to us. He sets standards for us that are high because His esteem for us is high. We cannot attain to them in our strength, but He intends to come live them out Himself, in us and through us. This psalm is, after all, about God showing Himself.
Psalm 19:11 - By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
There are two functions of God’s ordinances toward us that are equally valuable and precious. One is to warn us. God’s warnings are not the results of His desire to “get us” or trap us in untenable situations. He deeply desires that we will avoid the pitfalls that He sees ahead of us in our sinful pursuits. The second is similar. The rewards of keeping God’s commands are intertwined with the deeds themselves. Obedience is self-rewarding because it draws us into a closer and more intimate love relationship with God.
Psalm 19:12 - Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
Search as you will, and you will find no place of error with God. There is no basis for correction in anything He has done or said. He is simply always, infallibly, right and all that He does is in plain view even though His purposes may at times be hidden. To the contrary, we of human seed work our sinful deeds under the cover of darkness. Like Adam, We hide our faults and ourselves. Our healing comes when we come into the light and acknowledge our need of mercy, hiding nothing from God. Begin today to be set free.
Psalm 19:13 – Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
The problem with willful sin is that it takes on a life of its own and comes to think of itself as the ruler of our lives. They begin to dominate us addictively. Willfulness then obliterates our free will, and we need divine deliverance. I am not certain what the great transgression might be but I suspect it is that place of no return where we stop praying the prayer of this verse and seeking the help of the only One who can keep us from sin, blameless, and innocent.
Psalm 19:14 - May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Without a doubt, this is one of the great prayers of the scriptures. In its words, if we mean them and allow our spirits to pray them, is all the power and grace needed to face any day. Words and meditations lead our deeds. The centering point for our lives is the pleasure of God. When we get to the place where this is the deepest, most delightfully resounding prayer of our hearts, we will find that God is our Rock and Redeemer. As fearfully holy and demanding as He may be, His presence is mercy, grace, and love to us.
Over 300 years later, the people of Jerusalem and Judah were taken into captivity in Babylon and Rabbinic Judaism was born.
In Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10, the people of the Torah have been separated from their home, their temple, and their holy book for 70 years. No they are home and they discover, in the rubble, the sacred, holy scriptures, the book of the Law. Ezra reads the law.
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had given to Israel. Accordingly, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month.He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. 8:9And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
When the prophetic Word of God is heard among a people who are suddenly free from their oppression and slavery, they stand, they weep, and, when they truly understand why the day is holy, they feast and rejoice.
Nehemiah 8:9 – “…This day is holy unto the LORD your God …”
Did it occur to you that there might be anything particularly special about January 26?
What might make it significant, historical or even holy?
On this day in history …
1564 – The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
1699 – For the first time, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes territory to the Christian powers.
1765 – A British naval expedition arrives at and names Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands, founding a settlement there eight days later. (Arrival was 15 January 1765 O.S.)[8]
1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia. Commemorated as Australia Day.
1808 – The Rum Rebellion is the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in New South Wales.
1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
1870 – Reconstruction Era: Virginia is readmitted to the Union.
1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress
1918 – Finnish Civil War: A group of Red Guards hangs a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers' Hall to symbolically mark the start of the war.
1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj ("Complete Independence") which occurred 17 years later.
1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
1934 – German–Polish declaration of non-aggression is signed.
1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as the first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
Born on January 26
1657 – William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1737)
1722 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish minister and author (d. 1805)
1861 – Louis Anquetin, French painter (d. 1932)
1877 – Kees van Dongen, Dutch painter (d. 1968)
1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1973)
1891 – August Froehlich, German priest and martyr (d. 1942)
1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 1987)
1925 – David Jenkins, English bishop and theologian (d. 2016)
1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, activist, director, race car driver, and businessman, co-founded Newman's Own (d. 2008)
1929 – Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, and educator (d. 2025)
1953 – Lucinda Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
January 26 is a Christian Feast Day for
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux
Blessed Gabriele Allegra
Saint Paula of Rome
Saint Timothy and Saint Titus
It is also ...
Australia Day (Australia)
Duarte Day (Dominican Republic)
Engineer's Day (Panama)
Liberation Day (Uganda)
Republic Day (India)
And it is a holy day to the Lord.
What does this prove?
Every day is special for many different reasons. Yet, there is one thing that makes every day special for all. It is the presence of God in the midst of it as He speaks and as we renew ourselves in His Word and covenant as the people in Nehemiah’s day did. What they did in one day, we must do every day.
As in Nehemiah’s day, we…
Stand in awe and reverence.
We grieve and weep in regret and repentance,
We feast and rejoice because God has spoken and is speaking.
God has ordained any number of odd combinations of things we call “paradoxes.”
One is the intimate relationship between joy and the strength that brings us courage to face the challenges of our lives.
We plant them as monuments of stone to remind us of the times God has brought us through difficulties and caused us to stand in strength beyond ourselves. It is strength and joy for which we can find no human explanation because it is entirely of the Lord.
Joshua built an altar of stones and, centuries later, Nehemiah called for a celebration. We are all called upon to remember and to move forward in the same strength.
These are sacred days. Whether we are feasting or fasting, we are building and being built up in the knowledge and experience of God’s joy.
It is the joy that comes from the Lord and the joy that flows through us as we serve Him and find our victories in Him. That is our strength. It is the joy of grace, gratitude, and generosity. It is a gift of God.
It is joy without grief even though our lives will have sorrow aplenty.
It is joy without guilt because it is sacred and holy.
When we look back on our journey in celebration, it gives us courage for the remainder of the journey.
Let us erect these monuments faithfully, regularly, and joyfully.
Some 500 years later, God speaks again, through the already ancient writings of Isaiah to “the today” that the people were experiencing when an itinerate rabbi took the floor, read, and sat to teach,
Luke 4:14-21
Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding region. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Their today and his today had come. God was speaking and fulfilling,
Today, Fulfilled in Your Ears
And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. -Luke 4:21
Something long-term and long anticipated was being fulfilled in Galilee. A Messianic promise was unfolding. t, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. His fame started spreading. It was time to give his mission statement and define his messianic ministry and its scope. Not everyone would be pleased.
He taught in the place where Jewish teaching was conducted, the synagogues. He was well received. He taught well. His message was compelling; his knowledge was impressive; his doctrine was sound.
He made it a custom to follow the customs of his elders. He was a regular attender, reader, and teacher in the synagogue.
On a particular day, the reading of the day was from Isaiah.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Everyone was looking at him as he sat down to teach. They were staring in anticipation. What would he say?
“This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
To the people there, those were gracious words, and they were amazed. They knew his earthly parents. Where did this young man find such gracious words?
But then, he started to make the application. That is where people often get angry. When the preacher begins to take the words of scripture and direct them toward the hearts and lives of the people, they feel threatened.
He began to imply that a Gentile might have more faith than they did. He began to suggest that his message of liberation and salvation might have broader reach than just the people to whom he was speaking. They got angry enough to stone him.
Following Jesus is open to all. It is an invitation to join him in delivering this same good news of release, sight, liberty, and Jubilee to all for, as the Spirit was upon him, he is with us and within us to accomplish these purposes. Our hearts and our lives are in lockstep with His heart and life for the poor, the captive, the blind, and the bruised.
Not everyone will be pleased, but Jesus will be delighted to have us come along.
Welcome, Jesus, Messiah! We shall follow you!
Hear it yet again, because it is for us today:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” - Luke 4:18-19
Now is today!
“…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: …” Acts 10:38
To be anointed is to be a messiah. To be a messiah means to be anointed. Kings were anointed in Old Testament times. Saul was anointed as was David. The prophets told of an anointed one who would be the ultimate Messiah of Israel.
Jesus came as King, but, in Him, Messiah meant much more. Kings can be benevolent or malevolent. They can carry a concern for the larger family of humanity or be entirely parochial in their concern. They can lean toward violence or toward peace.
Jesus would first be a servant and a savior. His anointing was as redeemer, liberator, healer, and announcer of good news. His message would be, first, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but that was merely to set the stage for something larger and more universal.
The Spirit of God upon the one who had emptied himself, was the source of his power. He is the King who humbles himself in obedience.
He is the Master who serves.
He is the Lord who liberates.
He is the Anointed One of God.
Jesus is Messiah, to the Christian, God’s anointed. The word “Christ” in “Christian” means Messiah in Greek.
The name speaks of his character, his calling, and his mission and has implications for who we become as we align with Him.
In Nazareth, his hometown, Jesus takes up the mantle of a revolutionary liberator but refuses to use violence or coercion to accomplish his righteous ends. He wears the garb of a radical populist but refuses to be swayed by the fickle politics of His times.
He is, from beginning to end, God’s Anointed on God’s mission using God’s means and bringing God’s message.
And the truth is that God cares about the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the blind, the bruised, and those so heavily in debt to life and sin that only a Year of Jubilee (the acceptable year of the Lord) will free them.
We must take these words somewhat literally and apply them at a higher level. When he speaks in the synagogue, he is talking about those who are oppressed in this world, but he elevates the meaning to include all of us who are bound by sin and absorbed by the constrictive cares of this dark world.
He includes the people who were excluded from the family of ancient Judaism and holds them up as examples of faith.
For that, people who were cheering him on, suddenly want to stone him for his offense.
They had begun to define themselves by comparing themselves to a common enemy. Jesus was ripping that from them. Anger burns when our sense of supremacy or normalcy is threatened.
One of the implications of the larger context of this story is that we must deal with Jesus. We cannot consign Him to a benign manger and silent angelic scenery. He is the backdrop to no landscape. He is the ONE anointed by God as the agent of reconciliation and redemption. Avoid Him and avoid life.
Jesus, Messiah, I need Your liberating power in my life today.
Where are we in this continuum?
We are in the midst of our today and God is speaking to our times. In fact, God has organized to church so that his prophetic word can still be spoken.
I Corinthians 12:28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.
Stand in reverence to listen.
Grieve and weep with regret and repentance.
Act in obedience with a heart for grace, mercy, justice, peace, and righteousness.
Feast and rejoice in the goodness of God.
Nehemiah 8:10 - “Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
