Nehemiah 8: 1-8
V. 3 From daybreak until noon [Ezra] read from [the Book of Moses] in the courtyard in front of Water Gate to the men, women and children who could understand it. All the people listened to the Book of Moses' Teachings.
Vs. 7-8 The Levites (they are all named, 14 of them) explained the Teachings to the people while they were standing there. They read the Book of God's Teachings clearly and explained the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.
When the Israelites were given permission to return home to Jerusalem, many of them left Babylon and came back to the Promised Land, to rebuild the Temple and the wall around the city.
They had been in exile for 70 years, so they hadn't been able to access the Scriptures during that time of slavery. That's why they asked Ezra to read them the written record of all they were to do to worship the Lord God.
Ezra the Priest stood on a raised wooden platform made for this occasion, standing above everyone else, so they could all hear him.
And the Levites that were there spread themselves out in front of all the people to make sure the listeners could clearly understand all the technnical aspects and details of all the precepts and regulations so that they would be able to perform all the sacrifices with a proper intent.
We might say that God wrote the Bible in a kind of code that takes the guidance of His Holy Spirit to decode. Many "scholars" who don't have God's Spirit have tried to understand, but have missed the whole point of it all.
My efforts with this blog is to share what I believe God's Spirit has been teaching me as I study His Word.
I want people to know what God is saying, and to understand why He says what He says, and why He tells us these things. He has spoken plainly, always in the recipients' spoken tongue (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic), because He wants all of us to realize how close He is to each one of us.
And the Bible as been translated into countless (I don't have that number handy) languages, the heart-tongues of peoples all over the World. Our God speaks all languages, God gave language to Mankind because words have great power.
Our words have power to build up or destroy one another. God's Word has the power to give Life to each one of us who seek Him.
May God bless each reader of this blog, my humble effort to offer Life to each one of you. May these words give you a clear understanding of what God wants us all to know; to receive that Life He offers through His Son; and to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Wisdom Versus Foolishness
Proverbs 1: 7 (GWT)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
Stubborn fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 3: 5-7
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths smooth.
Do not consider yourself wise.
Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Whenever we consider ourselves to be wise, we are relying on our own understanding of the situation at hand, and seeing only what appears. This is usually deceptive, because we don't know the whole story.
God is our Maker. He knows us and our situations inside-out. He is the only One Who sees the whole picture, and can lead us into the right ways. So we are to invite Him to join us in our journey, and listen to His directions. Then we will avoid all the pitfalls and potholes and stumbling stones, and walk that smooth path in life.
If we are stubborn, not wanting to listen or be open to learning something new, then we will miss the right way to go about whatever situation is facing us, and end up worse.
When Proverbs talks about foolishness, or a fool, it is referring to someone who refuses to listen to God, and goes the wrong way, doing the thing that seems expedient at the moment, but ends up to be damaging. This is evil. It goes against good.
God is good, and He wants us to do good, so He has provided for us everything we need in His Word and in this Earth.
People who twist His Word, or mess with what He has provided naturally, then they're going against His good that He wants for us, and are playing into the hand of our enemy who wants to destroy us.
When we listen to God, take to heart what He has said, and use this Earth as He intended, then we will experience the good He has planned for us--
V. 8
Then you body will be healed, and your bones will have nourishment.
Then we won't get sick, whatever malady we're suffering will be healed, and our bones, the foundation of our bodies, will get the nourishment, the raw materials it needs to build strong, healthy organs to sustain our physical life.
This book of Proverbs is our roadmap to how to live and relate to one another here in this life on this Earth. It's mostly horozontal in its view, in how to get along down here.
So it doesn't proclaim the Gospel that saves our souls, that has a vertical view (I Corinthians 15:3-4).
But Proverbs still looks upward to God for the wisdom and knowledge of how to use this roadmap.
It is foolish to deny God's Person and His workings. It's evil. And its end is no good.
The beginning of wisdom is having that reverential awe of God in recognizing His Power and Authority and Sovereignty over all He has made, all of us.
O my Father, You are awesome! You are so good to us all! You have laid out the roadmap for us, and given Your Spirit to guide us, and done everything possible and impossible to show us how much You love us, and want us to love You back. You designed this Earth for us, then made us of it, and provided everything we need to live here, right here.
Please help us to understand the way You have laid out for each of us, to follow You and Your ways, just as Jesus' disciples followed Him and listened to His teachings as He walked the Promised Land.
Lead us, Father, by Your Spirit, to always do what our hands find to do, go where our feet (and cars and planes and trains) take us, to speak to the people whose path crosses ours, and propagate and promote Your Good News to all who are willing to hear.
So that the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the World to every Nation, every people, every language, every tribe, every family; until every creature has heard, and our King will appear to set up His Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
Stubborn fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 3: 5-7
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths smooth.
Do not consider yourself wise.
Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Whenever we consider ourselves to be wise, we are relying on our own understanding of the situation at hand, and seeing only what appears. This is usually deceptive, because we don't know the whole story.
God is our Maker. He knows us and our situations inside-out. He is the only One Who sees the whole picture, and can lead us into the right ways. So we are to invite Him to join us in our journey, and listen to His directions. Then we will avoid all the pitfalls and potholes and stumbling stones, and walk that smooth path in life.
If we are stubborn, not wanting to listen or be open to learning something new, then we will miss the right way to go about whatever situation is facing us, and end up worse.
When Proverbs talks about foolishness, or a fool, it is referring to someone who refuses to listen to God, and goes the wrong way, doing the thing that seems expedient at the moment, but ends up to be damaging. This is evil. It goes against good.
God is good, and He wants us to do good, so He has provided for us everything we need in His Word and in this Earth.
People who twist His Word, or mess with what He has provided naturally, then they're going against His good that He wants for us, and are playing into the hand of our enemy who wants to destroy us.
When we listen to God, take to heart what He has said, and use this Earth as He intended, then we will experience the good He has planned for us--
V. 8
Then you body will be healed, and your bones will have nourishment.
Then we won't get sick, whatever malady we're suffering will be healed, and our bones, the foundation of our bodies, will get the nourishment, the raw materials it needs to build strong, healthy organs to sustain our physical life.
This book of Proverbs is our roadmap to how to live and relate to one another here in this life on this Earth. It's mostly horozontal in its view, in how to get along down here.
So it doesn't proclaim the Gospel that saves our souls, that has a vertical view (I Corinthians 15:3-4).
But Proverbs still looks upward to God for the wisdom and knowledge of how to use this roadmap.
It is foolish to deny God's Person and His workings. It's evil. And its end is no good.
The beginning of wisdom is having that reverential awe of God in recognizing His Power and Authority and Sovereignty over all He has made, all of us.
O my Father, You are awesome! You are so good to us all! You have laid out the roadmap for us, and given Your Spirit to guide us, and done everything possible and impossible to show us how much You love us, and want us to love You back. You designed this Earth for us, then made us of it, and provided everything we need to live here, right here.
Please help us to understand the way You have laid out for each of us, to follow You and Your ways, just as Jesus' disciples followed Him and listened to His teachings as He walked the Promised Land.
Lead us, Father, by Your Spirit, to always do what our hands find to do, go where our feet (and cars and planes and trains) take us, to speak to the people whose path crosses ours, and propagate and promote Your Good News to all who are willing to hear.
So that the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the World to every Nation, every people, every language, every tribe, every family; until every creature has heard, and our King will appear to set up His Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
To Search, Hunt, Reach For, And Ask Aloud
Proverbs 2 (GWT)
My son, if you take my words to heart and treasure my commands within you,
If you pay close attention to wisdom, and let your mind reach for understanding,
If indeed you call out for insight, if you ask aloud for understanding,
If you search for wisdom as if it were money and hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure,
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God.
Solomon is teaching his children how to have a good life, and avoid the kinds of problems people face when they don't understand the right way to live.
He says to want this understanding so much that you call out loud for it, and search for it with the energy you would put into building financial wealth, then you will profit much more than with just money.
You will learn to understand how the Creator designed this World to operate, and be able to align your lifestyle with the ways that work.
The Lord gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He has reserved priceless wisdom for decent people. He is a shield for those who walk in integrity
In order to guard those on paths of justice and to watch over the way of His godly ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good course in life.
This is our goal in this life, to understand what is best not only for ourself, but for our business dealings and our personal relationships. In every part of our life.
Wisdom will come into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Foresight will protect you. Understanding will guard you.
Wisdom will save you from the way of evil, from the person who speaks devious things,
When we understand the workings of how things fit together to form a greater thing, to benefit us and those in our lives, then we will recognize whatever is contrary to that good.
Just like Federal agents study the Dollar Bill, becoming familiar with all the details of the genuine article; then whatever doesn't conform to that model is counterfeit.
That's how our godly wisdom protects us from the mistakes of others.
[Wisdom will save you] from those who abandon the paths of righteousness to walk the ways of darkness,
From those who enjoy doing evil, from those who find joy in the deviousness of evil.
Their paths are crooked. Their ways are devious.
God's light of understanding in us will light up the darkness to reveal all the potholes and stumbling stones.
Those without this understanding think that they're very clever in turning the way into interesting and different directions. I used to be there in my thinking, when I was walking in darkness. The World's wisdom perverts the good God wants us to have, and those who enjoy this "frowardness" have no idea that they are on the path to destruction.
Wisdom will also save you from an adulterous woman, from a loose woman with smoth talk,
Who leaves her husband, the closest friend of her youth, and forgets her marriage vows to God.
Her house sinks down to death. Her ways lead to the the souls of the dead.
None who have [relations] with her come back. Nor do they ever reach the paths of life.
This "strange woman" is one who is outside of our proper relationships, she leads men away from their loving wives to have a "fling" with her, and destroys what is most precious to them.
Anyone, man or woman, who thinks along these lines will never find fulfillment or satisfaction in life, if they don't turn around their thinking (repent) and turn to the Lord and His ways.
Decent people will live in the land. People of integrity will remain in it.
But wicked people will be cut off from the land and treacherous people will be torn from it.
People who pay attention to God and His ways will discover the right way to live their lives, to cooperate with how He made this Earth, and they will be able to enjoy all the benefits, the prosperity that this World has to give.
But the people who disregard what God has said, who think they know better and want to make their own decisions, will be deceived by the World, the Devil and their own flesh, to follow foolish ways. That is what God calls evil, because it works against what is good.
We all think we're making "our own" decisions, but they're all based on what someone else has said. And what we give ourselves to, to obey, becomes our Master--whether to the Lord God, our Good Shepherd Who cares for us; or the perversity of evil that seems fun in the short run, but becomes an addiction (John 8:34).
So the "decent people" with integrity will have life. A full, satisfying, fulfilling life in this World enjoying the prosperity and loving relationships we were made for.
The others who refuse to accept what God says, will not have "life," but only a "living death" while they dwell on this Earth, and lose their whole Eternity.
God does not force Himself on those who don't want Him. He lets them choose the Eternity without Him: without Light, without Love, without Goodness, without Justice, without pleasure, without anything God provides as the Source.
O my Father, thank You so much for choosing me. Thank You for putting that desire, that compulsion in me to seek Truth, which brought me to You.
I was the idolater, the adulterous strange woman, the one who took pleasure in the perversity of twisting the wholesome into grotesque forms, leading others into destruction.
I know that Paul took for himself the title, "chief of sinners," but I consider myself right up there (down there?) alongside him.
Father, I know that I deserve death, I deserve all the suffering and agony. And You put my whole debt on Jesus on the Cross, in my place. He is my personal Sacrifice, whose Blood does not just cover, but washes away all the stains of sins and rebellions and perversity that polluted my soul. Now I am clean before You, pristine and glowing with Your Light in me.
I sought Truth to lead me out of the darkness I was in, and it didn't matter to me what that Truth would be, just so I could know and believe, and not be deceived.
Father, You honored that, just as You have said here, to "take to heart" and "treasure," to "let [my] mind reach for understanding" and "call out for insight" and "understanding;" to "search for wisdom (more than) money" and "hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure" (because it is treasure beyond any other); and You did give me Your wisdom, Your Word taught me knowledge and understanding, and Your priceless wisdom has been a shield for me to guard me against all the deviousness that had previously ensnared me.
You set me free from the traps I was caught in, and gave me the good sense to recognize what is not genuine, what is deceptive.
You are protecting me from the way of evil, and all those who are speaking devious things, wrapping their deception in the "truth" of the World.
O my Father, draw Your lost sheep into the fold, bring all those You have chosen to seek Your Face and Your ways. Bring them to learn of You and how much You love them, to provide Your Lamb of God to be their personal Sacrifice.
O Father, You still are the God of Miracles, changing people, turning them around, and causing them to come alive spiritually, from the death of being without You, bringing them into family relationship with You, forgiving their sins and granting Your Spirit into our spirit, giving us Life, making us alive.
It's a miracle every time You save a person, birthing them into sonship (and daughtership) in Your own family, with Your Son as our Big Brother, our Bridegroom and our King forever.
Even so, come. Lord Jesus!
My son, if you take my words to heart and treasure my commands within you,
If you pay close attention to wisdom, and let your mind reach for understanding,
If indeed you call out for insight, if you ask aloud for understanding,
If you search for wisdom as if it were money and hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure,
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God.
Solomon is teaching his children how to have a good life, and avoid the kinds of problems people face when they don't understand the right way to live.
He says to want this understanding so much that you call out loud for it, and search for it with the energy you would put into building financial wealth, then you will profit much more than with just money.
You will learn to understand how the Creator designed this World to operate, and be able to align your lifestyle with the ways that work.
The Lord gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He has reserved priceless wisdom for decent people. He is a shield for those who walk in integrity
In order to guard those on paths of justice and to watch over the way of His godly ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good course in life.
This is our goal in this life, to understand what is best not only for ourself, but for our business dealings and our personal relationships. In every part of our life.
Wisdom will come into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Foresight will protect you. Understanding will guard you.
Wisdom will save you from the way of evil, from the person who speaks devious things,
When we understand the workings of how things fit together to form a greater thing, to benefit us and those in our lives, then we will recognize whatever is contrary to that good.
Just like Federal agents study the Dollar Bill, becoming familiar with all the details of the genuine article; then whatever doesn't conform to that model is counterfeit.
That's how our godly wisdom protects us from the mistakes of others.
[Wisdom will save you] from those who abandon the paths of righteousness to walk the ways of darkness,
From those who enjoy doing evil, from those who find joy in the deviousness of evil.
Their paths are crooked. Their ways are devious.
God's light of understanding in us will light up the darkness to reveal all the potholes and stumbling stones.
Those without this understanding think that they're very clever in turning the way into interesting and different directions. I used to be there in my thinking, when I was walking in darkness. The World's wisdom perverts the good God wants us to have, and those who enjoy this "frowardness" have no idea that they are on the path to destruction.
Wisdom will also save you from an adulterous woman, from a loose woman with smoth talk,
Who leaves her husband, the closest friend of her youth, and forgets her marriage vows to God.
Her house sinks down to death. Her ways lead to the the souls of the dead.
None who have [relations] with her come back. Nor do they ever reach the paths of life.
This "strange woman" is one who is outside of our proper relationships, she leads men away from their loving wives to have a "fling" with her, and destroys what is most precious to them.
Anyone, man or woman, who thinks along these lines will never find fulfillment or satisfaction in life, if they don't turn around their thinking (repent) and turn to the Lord and His ways.
Decent people will live in the land. People of integrity will remain in it.
But wicked people will be cut off from the land and treacherous people will be torn from it.
People who pay attention to God and His ways will discover the right way to live their lives, to cooperate with how He made this Earth, and they will be able to enjoy all the benefits, the prosperity that this World has to give.
But the people who disregard what God has said, who think they know better and want to make their own decisions, will be deceived by the World, the Devil and their own flesh, to follow foolish ways. That is what God calls evil, because it works against what is good.
We all think we're making "our own" decisions, but they're all based on what someone else has said. And what we give ourselves to, to obey, becomes our Master--whether to the Lord God, our Good Shepherd Who cares for us; or the perversity of evil that seems fun in the short run, but becomes an addiction (John 8:34).
So the "decent people" with integrity will have life. A full, satisfying, fulfilling life in this World enjoying the prosperity and loving relationships we were made for.
The others who refuse to accept what God says, will not have "life," but only a "living death" while they dwell on this Earth, and lose their whole Eternity.
God does not force Himself on those who don't want Him. He lets them choose the Eternity without Him: without Light, without Love, without Goodness, without Justice, without pleasure, without anything God provides as the Source.
O my Father, thank You so much for choosing me. Thank You for putting that desire, that compulsion in me to seek Truth, which brought me to You.
I was the idolater, the adulterous strange woman, the one who took pleasure in the perversity of twisting the wholesome into grotesque forms, leading others into destruction.
I know that Paul took for himself the title, "chief of sinners," but I consider myself right up there (down there?) alongside him.
Father, I know that I deserve death, I deserve all the suffering and agony. And You put my whole debt on Jesus on the Cross, in my place. He is my personal Sacrifice, whose Blood does not just cover, but washes away all the stains of sins and rebellions and perversity that polluted my soul. Now I am clean before You, pristine and glowing with Your Light in me.
I sought Truth to lead me out of the darkness I was in, and it didn't matter to me what that Truth would be, just so I could know and believe, and not be deceived.
Father, You honored that, just as You have said here, to "take to heart" and "treasure," to "let [my] mind reach for understanding" and "call out for insight" and "understanding;" to "search for wisdom (more than) money" and "hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure" (because it is treasure beyond any other); and You did give me Your wisdom, Your Word taught me knowledge and understanding, and Your priceless wisdom has been a shield for me to guard me against all the deviousness that had previously ensnared me.
You set me free from the traps I was caught in, and gave me the good sense to recognize what is not genuine, what is deceptive.
You are protecting me from the way of evil, and all those who are speaking devious things, wrapping their deception in the "truth" of the World.
O my Father, draw Your lost sheep into the fold, bring all those You have chosen to seek Your Face and Your ways. Bring them to learn of You and how much You love them, to provide Your Lamb of God to be their personal Sacrifice.
O Father, You still are the God of Miracles, changing people, turning them around, and causing them to come alive spiritually, from the death of being without You, bringing them into family relationship with You, forgiving their sins and granting Your Spirit into our spirit, giving us Life, making us alive.
It's a miracle every time You save a person, birthing them into sonship (and daughtership) in Your own family, with Your Son as our Big Brother, our Bridegroom and our King forever.
Even so, come. Lord Jesus!
Monday, April 30, 2018
Crucifixion Almost 1000 Years Earlier
Psalm 22
This Psalm describes Jesus' Crucifixion, long before that form of torturous execution was devised by the Romans.
V. 1
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
Spoken by Jesus from the Cross (Matthew 27:46).
Vs. 6-8
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
"He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him, since He delights in him."
Exactly what His mockers said as He suffered on the Cross (Matthew 27:41-44).
Vs. 12-13
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.
These were the Jewish leaders who tried Him in their Sanhedrin, three illegal nighttime trials to condemn Him (Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; John 18:12-14, 19-24, 28).
Vs. 14-17
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; You lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
This is how He felt as His hands and feet were nailed to that Cross. The dogs were the Romans who carried out the execution.
V. 8
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
What the Roman soldiers did, they divided up His clothes and rolled dice for His seamless inner garment, so they wouldn't have to tear it (John 19: 23-24).
How did David know all this, to describe in detail something that wouldn't be invented for hundreds of years?
He didn't. But God did, and He inspired David to write these words.
The Lord God Who created us, Who took responsibility within the Godhead for us and agreed before Creation what He would do for us, knew the end from the beginning, and let His people know to write out for posterity what He was planning to do. And what He plans to do, He does, and accomplishes everything He wants to do.
When Jesus was in the Garden of Olives on the night before His death, when He prayed, "If possible, let this pass from me," He knew there was no other way for us to be with Him in Heaven (John 17:24). So it was not possible for Him to not go through with this. So He prayed, "Not My will, but Yours be done" (Matthew 26:39, 42), and I think that, actually in His human body, when it came down to doing it, He dreaded it.
It was the only time in all Eternity from past to future, that the will of the Son was not in complete agreement with the will of the Father.
Just that one, brief moment.
Proving that the Son and the Father are distinct Persons from each other.
But One God.
O my Father, You are God. Jesus, You are the Lord God. Holy Spirit, You are the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus. All three, distinct Persons, yet only one God.
If I could comprehend and understand this, then I would be equal to You, which I will never be. There is no other. You alone are God. You are my God, I am Your servant.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
This Psalm describes Jesus' Crucifixion, long before that form of torturous execution was devised by the Romans.
V. 1
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
Spoken by Jesus from the Cross (Matthew 27:46).
Vs. 6-8
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
"He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him, since He delights in him."
Exactly what His mockers said as He suffered on the Cross (Matthew 27:41-44).
Vs. 12-13
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.
These were the Jewish leaders who tried Him in their Sanhedrin, three illegal nighttime trials to condemn Him (Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; John 18:12-14, 19-24, 28).
Vs. 14-17
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; You lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
This is how He felt as His hands and feet were nailed to that Cross. The dogs were the Romans who carried out the execution.
V. 8
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
What the Roman soldiers did, they divided up His clothes and rolled dice for His seamless inner garment, so they wouldn't have to tear it (John 19: 23-24).
How did David know all this, to describe in detail something that wouldn't be invented for hundreds of years?
He didn't. But God did, and He inspired David to write these words.
The Lord God Who created us, Who took responsibility within the Godhead for us and agreed before Creation what He would do for us, knew the end from the beginning, and let His people know to write out for posterity what He was planning to do. And what He plans to do, He does, and accomplishes everything He wants to do.
When Jesus was in the Garden of Olives on the night before His death, when He prayed, "If possible, let this pass from me," He knew there was no other way for us to be with Him in Heaven (John 17:24). So it was not possible for Him to not go through with this. So He prayed, "Not My will, but Yours be done" (Matthew 26:39, 42), and I think that, actually in His human body, when it came down to doing it, He dreaded it.
It was the only time in all Eternity from past to future, that the will of the Son was not in complete agreement with the will of the Father.
Just that one, brief moment.
Proving that the Son and the Father are distinct Persons from each other.
But One God.
O my Father, You are God. Jesus, You are the Lord God. Holy Spirit, You are the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus. All three, distinct Persons, yet only one God.
If I could comprehend and understand this, then I would be equal to You, which I will never be. There is no other. You alone are God. You are my God, I am Your servant.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Abraham's Faith
Romans 4: 20-22
Yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
And being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.
Therefore also, "It was reckoned to him as righteousness."
Hebrews 11: 17-19
By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
It was he to whom it was said, "In Isaac your decendants shall be called."
He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type.
Abraham is one of God's heroes in the Faith. Abraham believed God when He told him that he would have children, and that Sarah would bear him a son. When Abraham's body was "as good as dead," and Sarah had been barren and was even past the age of bearing (was menopausal).
Apparently, God renewed both Abraham's and Sarah's youth, as Sarah was so beautiful even in her "old age" that kings wanted her in their harems! And after Sarah died, he remarried and had six more sons (Genesis 25:1-2). And he also had concubines who bore him more sons (v. 6). This was when he was more than 100 years old, and he lived to be 175 years old.
But Abraham proved his faith when he offered Isaac on the altar. He would have bled him and burned him as a sacrifice, had not God's Angel prevented him. He knew that God was Life, and trusted Him to bring Isaac back to life after the sacrifice, as He had given Abraham's own body "life" to procreate.
Abraham had told the two servants that accompanied them to the Mountain that he and the boy would return to them (Genesis 22:5).
But God counted his faith as righteousness before He renewed the youthfulness of his body (15:6).
I admire Abraham for his believing God, and proving his belief by actually following through in the impossible situation God tested him with.
God's "hall of heroes" in Hebrews 11 all impress me, with the things they went through without wavering. How much would I be able to endure, should I be tested even less than these? Only in the strength of His Spirit living in me will I be able to do anything, to endure anything; and these Old Testament saints only had God with them, not in them.
But God is enough for His people. God is always enough, more than enough. So I know I can trust Him implicitly. Even when I see no out to the situation I find myself in. I know He wants only the very best for me, and if I haven't seen that yet, I know I will. I just don't know when. In His time, not mine.
O my Father, thank You for Your faithfulness and Your goodness, and Your care for me and all of us. Thank You so much for choosing us for Your own family, to fulfill all Your purposes in all Your creation. Thank You for Your Presence with us even as we suffer and as we endure and as we prosper. We are Yours, to do with as You will.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
And being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.
Therefore also, "It was reckoned to him as righteousness."
Hebrews 11: 17-19
By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
It was he to whom it was said, "In Isaac your decendants shall be called."
He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type.
Abraham is one of God's heroes in the Faith. Abraham believed God when He told him that he would have children, and that Sarah would bear him a son. When Abraham's body was "as good as dead," and Sarah had been barren and was even past the age of bearing (was menopausal).
Apparently, God renewed both Abraham's and Sarah's youth, as Sarah was so beautiful even in her "old age" that kings wanted her in their harems! And after Sarah died, he remarried and had six more sons (Genesis 25:1-2). And he also had concubines who bore him more sons (v. 6). This was when he was more than 100 years old, and he lived to be 175 years old.
But Abraham proved his faith when he offered Isaac on the altar. He would have bled him and burned him as a sacrifice, had not God's Angel prevented him. He knew that God was Life, and trusted Him to bring Isaac back to life after the sacrifice, as He had given Abraham's own body "life" to procreate.
Abraham had told the two servants that accompanied them to the Mountain that he and the boy would return to them (Genesis 22:5).
But God counted his faith as righteousness before He renewed the youthfulness of his body (15:6).
I admire Abraham for his believing God, and proving his belief by actually following through in the impossible situation God tested him with.
God's "hall of heroes" in Hebrews 11 all impress me, with the things they went through without wavering. How much would I be able to endure, should I be tested even less than these? Only in the strength of His Spirit living in me will I be able to do anything, to endure anything; and these Old Testament saints only had God with them, not in them.
But God is enough for His people. God is always enough, more than enough. So I know I can trust Him implicitly. Even when I see no out to the situation I find myself in. I know He wants only the very best for me, and if I haven't seen that yet, I know I will. I just don't know when. In His time, not mine.
O my Father, thank You for Your faithfulness and Your goodness, and Your care for me and all of us. Thank You so much for choosing us for Your own family, to fulfill all Your purposes in all Your creation. Thank You for Your Presence with us even as we suffer and as we endure and as we prosper. We are Yours, to do with as You will.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Gentle Boldness
Genesis 26: 28-29
And they said, "We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; ... you are now the blessed of the Lord."
God blessed Isaac, in multiplying his crops a hundredfold, and he became wealthy. He continued to grow his wealth, and had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him (26:12-14).
Then King Abimelek kicked him out of their land, because, "you have become too powerful for us" (v. 16).
So Isaac moved around until he found land enough to sustain all his wealth without argument with the inhabitants, and prospered even more.
Meanwhile, King Abimelek came to him, wanting to make a treaty with him, because he recognized God! That the Lord God was the One Who blessed him so greatly.
May the Lord's blessings on us draw others to know Him also, not just be envious of our prosperity.
May we be humble in the wealth the Lord showers upon us, in the physical realm, as well as the emotional and relational, and especially the spiritual realms, and even the financial, if so be. May our benefits overflow to the needy, to demonstrate God's love for us all, and His desire to bless us all in His goodness.
O Father, open doors for us to enter into the regions of this World where the people are desperate for You, and don't know it yet. Lead us to all Your lost sheep, to find them wherever they are lost in the crags and the swamps and the wildernesses where they have wandered and been trapped in the deceits of our societies. Strengthen us and give us gentle boldness to proclaim clearly Your Good News of the wonderful Redemption You offer all of us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And they said, "We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; ... you are now the blessed of the Lord."
God blessed Isaac, in multiplying his crops a hundredfold, and he became wealthy. He continued to grow his wealth, and had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him (26:12-14).
Then King Abimelek kicked him out of their land, because, "you have become too powerful for us" (v. 16).
So Isaac moved around until he found land enough to sustain all his wealth without argument with the inhabitants, and prospered even more.
Meanwhile, King Abimelek came to him, wanting to make a treaty with him, because he recognized God! That the Lord God was the One Who blessed him so greatly.
May the Lord's blessings on us draw others to know Him also, not just be envious of our prosperity.
May we be humble in the wealth the Lord showers upon us, in the physical realm, as well as the emotional and relational, and especially the spiritual realms, and even the financial, if so be. May our benefits overflow to the needy, to demonstrate God's love for us all, and His desire to bless us all in His goodness.
O Father, open doors for us to enter into the regions of this World where the people are desperate for You, and don't know it yet. Lead us to all Your lost sheep, to find them wherever they are lost in the crags and the swamps and the wildernesses where they have wandered and been trapped in the deceits of our societies. Strengthen us and give us gentle boldness to proclaim clearly Your Good News of the wonderful Redemption You offer all of us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, April 27, 2018
Hostility And Getting Together
Genesis 25: 9
Then his (Abraham's) sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him...
Abraham was 175 years old when he died, and his first two sons came together to bury him. Abraham had many other sons after these two, but none of them came to the funeral.
I find it interesting that Ishmael (at 89 years old) would come to be with Isaac (who was 75) to bury their father.
Ishmael doesn't get along with anyone. He was "a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers" (Genesis 16:12).
But he still came to be with his brother Isaac for the funeral. He probably did it to honor his father, Abraham, but they still didn't dwell together or get along.
A year ago I wrote in my journal that if Isaac and Ishmael can get together, this gives me hope for a reconciliation between by two daughters. If even Isaac and Ishmael can get together, surely my girls will be able to, also; but I hope it's not for my funeral!
During the year since I wrote that, my girls have been able to get together for their children's Birthday parties (sometimes), but they don't get along yet. They both still have a lot of work to do on their own attitudes toward each other. I just want to stay out of their way while this difficult but important work can be done.
Ishmael's 12 sons, the 12 Tribes of Ishmael, also, "lived in hostility toward all their brothers" (25:18).
They are called "Arabs" today, and they are still Ishmael's sons, still under the same "curse," of not getting along.
There are individual Arab people who God is calling into relationship with Himself, just as He is calling individuals from every Nation, every part of the World, every language, every tribe and family; as He said He would do. These are our brothers and sisters, and they are among their own people who are still hostile toward Christians and Habiru (Hebrews, Jews), who the Koran calls, "people of the Book," the Bible. And they are under intense persecution, as they witness the Truth to their people.
O my Father, I pray for these Middle Eastern Christians, who are under intense pressure. I pray that You would let them feel Your close Presence with them, to strengthen them and protect their lives to continue to proclaim Your Good News, and grant them good success in their ministries to further Your Kingdom. Provide for their families, and prosper them greatly spiritually.
And I also pray for my daughters. Thank you for the progress they have made in this past year, and I pray that You would continue to clear away the many obstacles in the way of their relationship as sisters. And I pray that you draw them both close to Yourself as you work in their hearts.
Help me, Father, to be an encourager to all my children and grandchildren, and to look over their many faults to see their positive traits. Show me how to help them meet their needs, and heal my family from the generational trait of "cutting off" one another in anger and hurt. Let that end here, please.
Father, continue to build Your church, the Bride of Christ, in our families, in our towns and cities, in our Nations, in this great World we have built on Your beautiful Earth. Be with all of Your children, Father, to strengthen us and give us boldness in proclaiming and promoting Your Good News and Your Kingdom, until every creature has heard Your Truth that Jesus is Savior and Lord, until every one that You have chosen has come to You, and all the rest who have rejected Your gifts have made an informed decision.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Then his (Abraham's) sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him...
Abraham was 175 years old when he died, and his first two sons came together to bury him. Abraham had many other sons after these two, but none of them came to the funeral.
I find it interesting that Ishmael (at 89 years old) would come to be with Isaac (who was 75) to bury their father.
Ishmael doesn't get along with anyone. He was "a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers" (Genesis 16:12).
But he still came to be with his brother Isaac for the funeral. He probably did it to honor his father, Abraham, but they still didn't dwell together or get along.
A year ago I wrote in my journal that if Isaac and Ishmael can get together, this gives me hope for a reconciliation between by two daughters. If even Isaac and Ishmael can get together, surely my girls will be able to, also; but I hope it's not for my funeral!
During the year since I wrote that, my girls have been able to get together for their children's Birthday parties (sometimes), but they don't get along yet. They both still have a lot of work to do on their own attitudes toward each other. I just want to stay out of their way while this difficult but important work can be done.
Ishmael's 12 sons, the 12 Tribes of Ishmael, also, "lived in hostility toward all their brothers" (25:18).
They are called "Arabs" today, and they are still Ishmael's sons, still under the same "curse," of not getting along.
There are individual Arab people who God is calling into relationship with Himself, just as He is calling individuals from every Nation, every part of the World, every language, every tribe and family; as He said He would do. These are our brothers and sisters, and they are among their own people who are still hostile toward Christians and Habiru (Hebrews, Jews), who the Koran calls, "people of the Book," the Bible. And they are under intense persecution, as they witness the Truth to their people.
O my Father, I pray for these Middle Eastern Christians, who are under intense pressure. I pray that You would let them feel Your close Presence with them, to strengthen them and protect their lives to continue to proclaim Your Good News, and grant them good success in their ministries to further Your Kingdom. Provide for their families, and prosper them greatly spiritually.
And I also pray for my daughters. Thank you for the progress they have made in this past year, and I pray that You would continue to clear away the many obstacles in the way of their relationship as sisters. And I pray that you draw them both close to Yourself as you work in their hearts.
Help me, Father, to be an encourager to all my children and grandchildren, and to look over their many faults to see their positive traits. Show me how to help them meet their needs, and heal my family from the generational trait of "cutting off" one another in anger and hurt. Let that end here, please.
Father, continue to build Your church, the Bride of Christ, in our families, in our towns and cities, in our Nations, in this great World we have built on Your beautiful Earth. Be with all of Your children, Father, to strengthen us and give us boldness in proclaiming and promoting Your Good News and Your Kingdom, until every creature has heard Your Truth that Jesus is Savior and Lord, until every one that You have chosen has come to You, and all the rest who have rejected Your gifts have made an informed decision.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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