Tag: Comfort - 2 Corinthians 1-3

2 Corinthians 1:5-7

For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Tag: Comfort

God is the God of all comfort.   Paul was in a place in his life to express to the church at Corinth the beauty of God's Comfort, in the midst of suffering.  But, he wasn't always in that place.  Note what he says in the following verses:

2 Corinthians 1:8-10

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

God might allow suffering in our lives, but He offers comfort to match that suffering.  God does not promise us delivery from suffering.  He promises comfort in suffering.   We will suffer.  Christ suffered, we will suffer.  But, we have, in Christ, the God of all comfort to care for us in the suffering.   Even though we have suffering we have available the exact amount of comfort through faith in Christ.  

Tag: Assurance in God's Word - Mark 13-14

Mark 13:31

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Tag:  Assurance in God's Word

Jesus is about to be crucified.  He is giving His disciples their last instructions.  These faithful followers asked Him about the "end times."  They wanted to know: 

Mark 13:4

“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

Jesus begins to unfold before them the signs of future events.  There is much dispute about the "when" of these events.   There is, however, no dispute about the "fact" of these events.  That is the point of the above verse.   There may be a variety of interpretations about it, but there is one thing for sure: God's Word is true and WILL NOT pass away.  There are many Christians who dispute what other believers think God's Word says, but the fact that God's Word is true and permanent, is beyond dispute to those in Christians. The world may not recognize it, but God's Word is assure as their own face in a mirror.  God will not let His fade away without bringing it to fruition. God keeps His Word. That is what we can trust it.   God fulfills everything He says in His Word.  We have that assurance.  Other's word is not reliable as all men lie and fail to fulfill their promises.  But, not God.  If He were to break His word all things, as we know it, would not be true.  God has a promise to return and He will.   The earth will be destroyed, God's Word is true.   God will set up His kingdom, God's Word is true.  

Tag: Satisfaction in God - Jeremiah 17-21

Jeremiah 17:12-13

A glorious throne set on high from the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary.

O Lord, the hope of Israel,

all who forsake you shall be put to shame;

those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,

for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.

Note:  Satisfaction in God

The metaphor of water as a tool to communicate attributes about God and The Christ is used repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments.  Jesus told those who followed and were attracted to Him that He was the "living water."  The story of the Woman at the Well in John 4 is, probably, the most prominent story of these told in the Scripture.  In the above passage the nation of Israel (Judah) is rebuked for their following and searching for other gods, rather than the Lord, the fountain of living water.   Why we, as mankind, would seek something other than the fountain of living water is perplexing.   God is the God who can satisfy every moment, every trouble, every emotion, and answer every question and solve every problem.  Yet, we turn to the desires of our flesh.  We want an instant gratification and our mind turns to the gods of this world to satisfy that longing, hurt or wonder.   God is the Fountain of Living Water.   Our society probably doesn't get that reference as much as Biblical characters would.   The women at the well, hearing of "Living water" was more pleased that she would never have to go to the well to draw out water and take it back to her home.  We turn on faucet after faucet and water just flows.   This is not so in the Biblical narrative.  They had to go get water.  That water was refreshing, but it was not "living."    To find satisfaction in God is to realize He solves and cares for everything.   He is Living Water!!  Be satisfied in Him.  

Tag: Responding to God - Job 32-34

Job 34:36-37

Would that Job were tried to the end,

because he answers like wicked men.

For he adds rebellion to his sin;

he claps his hands among us

and multiplies his words against God.”

Tag:  Responding to God

The above words come from the voice of Elihu, a man who is speaking to Job about Job's response to his circumstances.  We know little about Elihu.  Unlike Job's other three friends, he is not introduced and seems to appear out of no where.   It may be that the debate between Job and his friends has drawn a crowd.  Elihu may simply be another friend.  Whoever he is, he is burning with anger at both Job and Job's three friends (32:1).  He believes that Job, in his response to the circumstances he is facing has failed to recognize the sovereignty of God and, instead, has accused God of being unjust.  This is the reason for the above verse(s).  In Job's attempt to evaluate and solve the problem of his own suffering, Job has broken a very important rule:

"Don't let how you handle a problem to become the problem."  

Job, in his attempt to justify his own life, saying he DOES NOT deserve this suffering, has condemned God.  Elihu is burning with anger about this.  Job "adds rebellion to his sin."  In Elihu's mind if we all got what we deserve we would be judged guilty and that would be the end of us.  Elihu believes God has been merciful to Job: He believes Job's punishment has not been enough.  Whatever the problem in our lives we should not compound it, making it worse, by blaming God.   Don't add "rebellion" to your sins. 

Tag: What Does God Require? Psalm 48-50

Psalms 50:23

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;

to one who orders his way rightly

I will show the salvation of God!”

Tag: What does God require? Thanksgiving by Faith that He will save

Psalm 50 is a great song about what it means and what it does not mean to live in a covenant life with God.  The above verse is the concluding verse to the chapter.  It sums up the essence of what it means to live in covenant with God.  It should be read in light of a previous verse in the same chapter:

Psalms 50:14

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and perform your vows to the Most High,

Sometimes others say it better, so here is an excerpt from a commentary on the above verse(s):

Word Biblical Commentary:

But what, in reality, was the essence of the covenant life? It was a relationship with God, certainly, but the essence of that relationship did not lie in ceremonies as such. The ceremonies signalled the deeper reality of life, that above all God required "thanksgiving" (vv 14, 23). God did not need thanksgiving to bolster his own self-esteem, as if (in the words of C. S. Lewis) he were "like a vain woman wanting compliments, or a vain author presenting his new books to people who had never met or heard of him" (Reflections on the Psalms, 79). God wanted thanksgiving, for that in turn emerged from human lives full of joy; it was the joyful lives of the covenant members, expressed so vividly in the sacrifices and words of the ceremony, which fulfilled in God the richness of relationship which he had given to his people.

God wants us to simply seek Him and to reflect, in Thanksgiving, on Him.   He has and will bring HIs salvation.   We are to praise Him.  We are to thank Him for His goodness and salvation.  

Tag: Love your Enemies - 2 Samuel 1-4

2 Samuel 2:4-7

And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

When they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Tag:  Love your Enemies

In Romans 12, after Paul lays out the doctrine of our justification, the Apostle begins to outline our conduct in light of our new position in Christ.   He states the following:

Romans 12:14-21

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

David in the above scene is the picture of Paul's command.  David has a new position (King of Judah).  That new position allowed him to highlight kindness and loyalty to those who cared for his enemy, Saul.  Yet, he didn't rejoice over a fallen enemy.  He practiced Paul's instructions.  So, too, those of us who are believers.  Our kindness ought to show to those who might be opposed to us.  In faith we are to lover those who hurt us. New position should produced new conduct. 

Tag: The Fear of the Lord - Exodus 13-16

Exodus 15:14-16

The peoples have heard; they tremble;

pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;

trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;

all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

Terror and dread fall upon them;

because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,

till your people, O Lord, pass by,

till the people pass by whom you have purchased.

Tag:  The Fear of the Lord

God gives us miracles in our lives for many reasons. Mostly it is to show His grace to us and His power to us.  However, in the above story we see something God did for the surrounding nations of Israel. Israel was set free from the Egyptian bondage by miracle after miracle.  The final miracle was the crossing of the Red Sea.  While Pharaoh was in hot pursuit, it seemed that Israel was trapped: The Egyptians were on one side and the Red Sea on the other.  There is no doubt that those nations on the other side of the Red Sea could observe this "war" about to happen.  Egypt was a fearful foe of their armies, as well.  They would have seen and heard that the Egyptians were experiencing some "challenges" with all the miracles of Moses.  Now they observed that God parted the Red they, too, feared.  God used a powerful miracles to catch the attention of the people of Israel (14:31).  However, in the above passage, God did the same thing to the nations that they were about to encounter.   God was working on multiple levels.  God is working in our lives. Since the world is watching it is important that we honor God and fear the Lord.  As we Fear the Lord, so, too, will the people around us as they see God work in our lives. 

Tag: The Importance and Power of the Resurrection - 1 Corinthians 15-16

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Tag:  The Importance and Power of the Resurrection

There was some argument, apparently, in the church at Corinth in regard to the resurrection of the dead.  There were some saying that there was NO resurrection of the dead.   Paul enters the discussion with thunder!!  He states (later in this chapter) that if there is NO resurrection then, "... we are of all people most to be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:19).  Paul stresses to them that the resurrection of Christ it is at the core of our faith and salvation.  He will, through this chapter, make his case that without resurrection we have no hope.  In the above passage he states twice that the resurrection of Christ was "according with the Scriptures."   There should have been no Jewish person who didn't know that the Messiah was to suffer (Isaiah 53) and be raised from the dead (Psalm 16).   There should be no listener to the original men of faith (Jews) who didn't know Christ would be in the grave three days.  Jesus told them and Jonah in the belly of the fish for three days was the prophetic example Jesus used to tell them about his own death.   God's Word was fulfilled in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  God simply kept His Word.  The resurrection was based upon God's Word.   God cannot lie, so the Word must be fulfilled and was. For anyone to deny the resurrection they are saying God would have lied.  If you call God a lier you, yourself, do not speak the truth.  The resurrection, as Paul says above, is the most important of all beliefs we hold.  Without Christ raising from the dead we can't trust God for anything He says.   

Tag: The Fear of Man - Mark 11-12

Mark 12:12

And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

Tag:  The Fear of Man

The above verse is pulled out of the story of Jesus in Jerusalem, in the Temple, one week prior to His crucifixion.  During this period Jesus had overturned the tables of those making the Temple of God a commerce center.   That was disrupting the chief rulers of the Temple.   So, Jesus tells a parable condemning the religious rulers that exposed them for rejecting all the prophets, throughout history.   The above verse shows the religious leadership state-of-mind after hearing the parable.   Notice that the Messiah told the parable.  He is the King of the Universe.  Rather than to honor Him they wanted to do something bad to Him.  However, they didn't because they feared "the people."   Their power was not based in the appointment or pleasure of God.  Their power is based upon the fear the people have of them.  Yet, they also fear the people.  Not in what the people would do to them, but in the fact that the people would not fear them and they would lose their power over the people.  These leaders had a fear of man.  When we fear man we fear, not as much what they will do to us, but what we may lose in regard to power over them.  If a certain leader does not want to make a tough decision because the fear what others will think vs what is right, that person fears that if they make this hard decision the people will no longer approve of their leadership, thus making them lose their power over the people.  When we fear man vs fear God we make decision based upon power and not based upon righteousness and justice.  That is what the religious leaders had ... false man-made power.  

Tag: God Saves and Heals - Jeremiah 17-21

Jeremiah 17:1

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;

save me, and I shall be saved,

for you are my praise.

Tag:  God Saves and Heals

Jeremiah is commonly called the "weeping" prophet.  The reasons for this title is because he cried out to God a lot.   Jeremiah was sent by God to the nation of Israel to do an impossible task.  He was sent by God to tell the leaders and spiritual teachers of the nation, as well as the people, to give up in their fight agains the surrounding nations.  In particular, give up in your fight agains the Babylonians.  God had sent the Babylonians to take Israel captive because of the many, many sins against their God, Yahweh!!!  Jeremiah was the messenger, not the message.  However, the nation not only hated the message, they hated the messenger. They constantly tried to silence Jeremiah and he was often threatened by the leaders.   In one of those moments when the spiritual leaders were particularly trying to vex Jeremiah, the "weeping" prophet calls out the above verse to God.  He recognizes that his punishment for being a messenger for God was unfair (they had tossed him in pits, they whipped him, they locked him up, etc).  Yet, in the unfairness and in the injustice, Jeremiah knew that God was worthy to be praised.  He also knew that only God could heal him of his wounds and his hurt (these were his countrymen who were hurting him).  He also new that only God can save.  Thus he says at the end of the above verse, "... for you are my praise."   Jeremiah took the pain of his life and wept for God's healing and God's deliverance and THEN praised God!!!  Amazing!! His faith in God's ability to save and heal caused him, in the midst of his pain and suffering, to not only praise God, but to go on and deliver God's message.   He quit looking at the pain and the suffering and started to focus on the God who heals and saves.  Once he saw how big God was, he was able to move on and complete his task(s).  God is bigger than problems and able to heal and to save!!  

Tag: Idol Worship - Job 31

Job 31:24-28

“If I have made gold my trust

or called fine gold my confidence,

if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant

or because my hand had found much,

if I have looked at the sun when it shone,

or the moon moving in splendor,

and my heart has been secretly enticed,

and my mouth has kissed my hand,

this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,

for I would have been false to God above.

Tag:  Idol Worship

In chapter 31 of Job we are at Job's final remarks.   He is so confused as to what is happening to him that he has fallen into a trap to justify himself as innocent of these charges brought on my his three friends.  (It is interesting that his three friends, rather than comfort, at they intended, have, instead, brought Job to the place of defending himself.)   Job is trying to tell his listeners that he is free of all charges that would warrant this discipline.   In the above passage we see him confess that "IF" he was guilty of idolatry he would deserve this punishment.  But, he maintains, he is not guilty of idolatry!   It should be noted that he puts those who worship their wealth (something he thinks he created) and those who worship the sun and the moon (something God created) all in the same category: Idolatry.   When we put created things before the Creator we practice idol worship.  Most of us, today, would see idol worship primarily in the context of bowing down to figures of some sort.  Yet, idol worship occurs when we give honor, praise and glory (through our time and attention) to anything that is not God.  We can do that with sports; with recreation; with education; with occupation; with even spiritual exercise.  We can "idol" worship by putting the praise and worship activity ahead of the glory of God.  We worship the music instead of the Person who is the center of the music.  Job is not innocent (as we see in the next chapters) but he is spot on about idol worship being a reason God would so discipline us.  We need to be careful not to put the creation before the Creator! 

Tag: God Reigns - Psalm 45-47

Psalms 47:8-9

God reigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.

The princes of the peoples gather

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God;

he is highly exalted!

Tag:  God Reigns

Today I have a very crucial and volatile meeting with 16 superintendents in the state.  Two of the 16 are at each other's throats and have lost all respect.  In the room there represents a regional educational leadership capacity, paid at over $1,000,000 plus in salaries and benefits.  They are the rulers of their districts in regard to educational decisions.   They are the "shields of the earth." However, they are NOT God.   God is the ruler of the earth and He plants and exalts. These 16 are where they are because God put them there.  Note what the Psalmist already wrote:

Psalms 22:27-28

All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

I could fear, and often do fear, what these leaders can do to each other and to the collective impact on the education of children.   However, I shouldn't fear.  God is on the throne and He is in charge. My trust is in God and in His holy, just, sovereign rule!!!

Tag: God goes before us - 1 Samuel 26-31

1 Samuel 26:6-13

Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?” And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them.

Tag:  God goes before us!!

In the above story we see that King Saul was still hunting down David, to kill him.  This is the second time that David has had a chance to take Saul's life.  No one would have blamed him.  In the world's philosophy is it "kill, or be killed."   Yet, David does not take Saul's life.  HIs best friend told him to.  But, David said no.   The interesting position of this story is, however, that how did David and Abishai go into the camp of soldiers, undetected?   The answer is in the last verse in the above section.   Note what it says, "... because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them."   This MIGHT have been evidence that God was with David to kill Saul.  Yet, the truth is that God had already promised David that he would be king.   David didn't need to kill Saul to make God's promise come true.  He had to NOT kill Saul so that God could make Him king and not his own hand.   David had to believe God's promise.  In this instance God went before David to put Saul and his men asleep so that David could show his integrity, faith and worthiness to be king.   If he wanted to be the king of Israel had to show he was different than Saul.  God put Saul asleep to test David.  Would David take Saul's life and make himself king, without God's help? Or, would David take this opportunity to trust God's prior promise.  David was a man of faith and took this chance to trust God and not listen to the friend with him.  He trusted God's promise over man's pressure.  David had access, yes, but he also had God's promise to NOT kill Saul!!!  God went before David.  He will go before us!!!

Tag: Blessings in times of trouble - Exodus 9-12

Exodus 12:36

And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Tag:  Blessings from Former Enemies

The Egyptians did not care for the Israelites.  The nation of Israel were the slaves to the Egyptians.  They would not eat with them. They thought they were better than the Israelites.   As each plague began to take is toll on the Egyptians, it would be assumed they liked them even less.  Than something happened.  In Moses' early ministry God told him that He would make Moses a "God" to the Egyptians.  Note the following:

Exodus 7:1

And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

Later we read this:

Exodus 11:3

And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

Moses and the nation of Israel were being promoted, by God, in they eyes of the Egyptians.  Those who once hated and despised them are now giving them gifts and enabling them.  God has the power to turn the hearts of those who oppose us.  We might not see it, but these verses show us that God does work in the hearts of non-believers and can turn those hearts to do good for God's people.  God can move in anyone's heart.   We have to have faith that this can happen, even in the most difficult circumstances.  God can move!!

Tag: Spiritual Giftedness - 1 Corinthians 12-14

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Tag:  Spiritual Gifts

Most believers don't think much about the giftedness they were given by the Spirit of God.  God has distributed to the Body of Christ spiritual gifts that we can use in the Body ... for the "common good" of all those in the Body (The Church).  The church at Corinth (to whom this letter was written) had no problem both recognizing their spiritual gifts and boasting about them.  They were "gift crazy."   They loved to boast about their possession of a spiritual gift and did so.   Paul wants them to know that their gift was, indeed, a gift from God.  It was not something they could claim from their own nature.   It was given by the Spirit.   This automatically should have produced a spirit of humility and not pride.   Instead they became very prideful about their giftedness.   The other part they failed to see, is the fact that they had the spiritual gift for the common good of all.  Many of them were using their gift for personal glory and gain.   Paul goes to great lengths to show them how ever gift in the Body is necessary, is given by God and is for the purpose of building up others and the Body, not for personal glory or use.   Those who fail to see that their giftedness was from God, for God and to be used by God for God's people, miss the point that this is a "spiritual gift."    They lose the ability to really build up the Boy.   We are to be thankful for our giftedness and be ready to use it for others.  

Tag: Belief, Even in Unbelief - Mark 9-10

Mark 9:22-24

And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Tag:  Belief, Even in Unbelief

In the above story a father has brought his son to Jesus' disciples because he is being tormented by a demon of some sort.   Jesus was away on the mountain with Peter, James and John.  The remaining disciples were inept at casting the evil spirt out of the boy.   When Jesus arrives the man pleads with Jesus to complete the task. Imagine his frustration.  He was with the other nine disciples.  These were not the more notable three (Peter, James and John).  These nine didn't have the power, and, according to the man, he didn't have the faith.   Jesus makes the statement that anything is possible for the "one who believes."   Imagine the incriminating reference of that statement.   apparently the nine disciples were not able to cast out the demon because of their lack of belief.   These are followers of Christ.   Yet, they lacked the faith, as did the father, to believe that God could heal the boy.   Jesus let's them all know that this issue was not the result of an impotent God, but a deficit in faith.  The father is not afraid to admit that. It is not recorded that the nine would admit it, however.   The father confesses his unbelief and simply ask for the faith necessary to heal his son.  This is a vital request for a father to make.  Jesus grants his request for more faith.  Jesus will later tell the nine that these type of things (demonic activity) can only be confronted with much prayer.   He doesn't say if the more prayer is to attack the demon, or for their own lack of faith, or both.   God can and will heal and do miracles - but some of those miracles require more faith and more spiritual work, than do others.   We must realize that God will heal but our faith and our spiritual work of faith are responsible, as much as God's intervention.  God chooses to use prayer.   He chooses to use us.  Where we don't believe we can ask God for more belief.  So, the work we do is through the belief He supplies.   We might be the conduit, but God is the source of the power and the result of the power.  

Tag: Sacrifice in Service for God - Jeremiah 12-16

Jeremiah 16:1-2

The word of the Lord came to me: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.

Tag:  Sacrifice in Service for God

We all think we own our lives.  We have been taught, since our youth, we have all the choices in life to make our lives what we want it to be.   In fact, we are taught that "we deserve" the life we want.   Our US constitution even grants us the right to purse happiness.   Think about that: You and I have the right to pursue happiness!!!  I wonder what Jeremiah, the "weeping" prophet would have said to those rights?  Jeremiah is called the "weeping" prophet, not just because he weeped for the nation, but because his life was such a sacrifice, that he often found himself alone, with nothing but his tears.   We think we own our lives, but as believers we belong to God.  God wanted Jeremiah to not marry.  He had no right to marry because his rights were given to God.  As believers we ought not swallow the message that we have the "right" to do this or do that.   God is our Lord and our lives are in His hands and for His service.  We have made a commitment to follow God and with that commitment is the act of giving our lives to Him (the One who created our lives).  Since we are His we don't have rights.  We have obligations.   We are obligated to serve Him, where He wants, when He wants and how He wants, with the sacrifice He wants.  

Tag: Tough Times - Suffering - Job 29-30

Job 29:25 - 30:1

I chose their way and sat as chief,

and I lived like a king among his troops,

like one who comforts mourners.

“But now they laugh at me,

men who are younger than I,

whose fathers I would have disdained

to set with the dogs of my flock.

Tag:  Tough Times - Suffering

Sometimes chapter breaks in the Bible are a hinderance to our learning. In the above two verses we see the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next.  What a contrast!!  Job is lamenting how things were and then jumps into how things are.   The "but now" portion of the two verses shows us what can happen to anyone at anytime.  We think we have control of our lives, however, we don't.  Control is a wishful thought.   God is ultimately in control.  The reason we fear him, out of reverence and awe, is because He, and He alone, controls the universe.  Job, in chapter 29 outlines all the great things he has done in his life.  We see the end of that chapter stating that he "sat as chief and lived like a king."   However, chapter 30 shows the current state of Job.  He is now ridiculed and mocked by those who would not even be allowed, before, to sit with the dogs of his flock.  Job's life has turned.  All because Satan wanted to prove that Job was serving God simply out of greed and sinful desires for the good life.  But, Job was not.  Job truly loves God.  He is confused.  He is not able to rationalized what happened to him (he lost everything).   But, he is still in a place that God will eventually talk to him, justify him and bless him.  Job is on the edge but never gives up on God.  He is hurting like no man should hurt.  Yet, he still believes in God.   He has much to learn, but God will reconcile this for him.   Job will be vindicated.   The pain is but for a moment.  God will shine through.    

Tag: Strength in God - Psalm 42-44

Psalms 44:1

O God, we have heard with our ears,

our fathers have told us,

what deeds you performed in their days,

in the days of old:

you with your own hand drove out the nations,

but them you planted;

you afflicted the peoples,

but them you set free;

for not by their own sword did they win the land,

nor did their own arm save them,

but your right hand and your arm,

and the light of your face,

for you delighted in them.

Tag: Strength in God.  

God has done great things.   We have heard of them from the days before.  We have seen them in ourselves as our lives have unfolded.  In this Psalm the writer simply wants us to recall the great things God has done.  Later in the Psalm we read he is in a bad place.  But, he starts out by stating he is going to recall the great things God has done for him.   He doesn't take credit for the victory in his life.  Therefore, in the midst of these struggles he is not going to claim his own strength, wisdom or might.   Only God has delivered him in the past and only God can deliver in the present.   Today we have so many who believe that God saves them from their sins and then attempt to live their lives in their own strength thereafter.   God is the God who saves us from our sins in the past and gives us daily strength to overcome sin today.  God is the God who sets us free from the shackles of sin and the prison of death AND gives us strength to deal with the day-to-day issues of life that tangible us into a web of impotence.   God is the God of saving strength and delivering strength.  

Tag: Strength in the Lord - 1 Samuel 21-25

1 Samuel 23:15-18

David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

Tag: Strength in the Lord

God sends people in our lives and us into their lives to complete the task we read about in the above passage.  David was alone and fearful.  Saul was hunting him like and animal.  His men were with him and against him at the same time.  His men, however, were not, yet, spiritual men.   No one was pointing him to God.  David was not seeking God in all cases before him.  In the above passage we see the most unlikely person, Saul's son, Jonathan, seek David out.   Jonathan is actually showing he was worthy to be the king in his father's place, if it were not so ordered by God that David would be.  Jonathon had character.   Jonathon "strengthened his hand in God."   That phrase is what believers are supposed to do with other believers each day.  David was fearful.  David was reminded by Jonathon of God's plan.  God had promised him that he would be king.  Jonathon reminded David that this truth would mean Saul could not succeed in killing him.   Jonathon reminded David of God's plan, God's promises and God's strength.  That is how you "strengthen" someone's hand in God.  You remind them that despite their woes and despite their challenges, God has a plan and that plan is based upon the character and power of God, not on their strength.  That is how you convert from personal strength to God's strength.  You trust in the promises of God, the plan of God and the power of God.   You know longer look at your situation, you look at God in the situation.   That is strengthening yourself in God.  

Tag: Prgressive Revelation - Exodus 6-8

Exodus 6:2-5

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

Tag: Progressive Revelation 

Moses has been sent, by God, to the nation of Israel to deliver them from the bondage of Egypt.  But, like most in bondage, they could not hear his words of hope.   Although God's deliverance was all they had to stop the oppression and slavery to Egypt, they refused the message and fought the messenger.  Moses, as most leaders should in times of frustration with followers, turns to God and pleas for strength, wisdom and insight (see Exodus 5:22-23).  God, in turn, delivers the above message to Moses.  God is about to give to Moses and, subsequently, they nation of Israel, revelation about Himself, previous men of God did not see.  In the past Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (later named Israel) only saw God as the "covenant" God who promised them land and blessing.   Moses and the nation of Israel are about to see God as the redeemer, the judge of nations, and the powerful God.  God is always given His people more and more revelation about Himself.   All the revelation we have is contained in God's Word, but our study of it and our living it is progressive in nature.  God is changing us, through HIs Word, into the image of His son.  The nation of Israel was about to learn truths about God (as was Pharaoh) they had not know before.  What a great day when we can learn or discover something new about God.   Notice what Paul tells the church in the following verse:

2 Corinthians 3:18

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

God is changing us with truth we discover new each day. This is why it is important to spend daily time in God's Word.   God has so much more to learn from Him and about Him to strengthen our faith.   Israel, Pharaoh and Moses were about to learn that!

Tag: Remember - 1 Corinthians 11

1 Corinthians 11:24-26

and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Tag:  Rememberance

The word "remember" in the above verse is unique.  Note what one Jewish Rabbi says about the word:

Ever since, the primary liturgical act for Christians has been the Eucharist, a ritualized replication of that moment, described by the Greek term for remembrance, anamnesis. The New Dictionary of Sacramental Worship calls the Greek word ”practically untranslatable in English. ‘Memorial,’  ‘commemoration,’ ‘remembrance’ all suggest a recollection of the past, whereas anamnesis means making present an object or person from the past.” What matters is this sense of “making present,” as if past and present coalesce into a single intensive experience of “now.” It is as if we are able to inhabit two separate points in time simultaneously. Time stops momentarily (and momentously), as “then” and “now” become the same.

We are to "remember" Christ's death and resurrection for us.   This is a unique word to describe this.   When 9/11 happened we had a chance to "memorize" the event.  That is a any to remember it.  However, just remember it doesn't evoke the real meaning of what happened that day.  To really remember it we have to attempt to experience it and to bring back all that happened that day.   When Christ says, "do this in remembrance of me," He is saying that we are to not just recall and event but to bring Him present into our lives, again.  We are to call Him to mind as though we were there.  That moment is to be lived again.  Through the Spirit we can do this. Only through the Spirit.  We are to be thankful and to recall our experience with Him.   This is not simply a type of remembering like we would remember our check book.  This is a remembering like we would experience it all again and again.  

Tag: Bad Memories and Little Faith - Mark 7-8

Mark 8:14-21

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Tag:  Bad Memories and Little Faith

This passages is probably self explanatory. The disciples were worried about how to feed 13 people in their boat with one loaf of bread and, yet, Jesus had just feed 5,000 and 4,000 with proportionally less.  Like the disciples, we, too, can get very much focused on the immediate needs and forget that God is BIG and BIGGER than our needs.   God can accomplish great things.  We simply have to claim His power.   He is very much big enough to meet our temporal needs -- He was able to meet our issue with sin - certainly He can meet our issues with sustenance.   God cares for His own.  Like the  birds of the air, God can meet our needs.   

Tag: God vs Idols - Jeremiah 7-11

Jeremiah 10:6-8

There is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?

For this is your due;

for among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is none like you.

They are both stupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

Tag:  God vs Idols

An "idol" is something we worship.  We can have many types of idols.  Our jobs can be an idol, we can worship our jobs. We can worship our family.  We can worship our spouse.  An idol is also something we hope will deliver us in times of trouble.  So, our bank accounts can quickly become our idols.  Our skills or personal strength can be come our idols.  However, no idol can do what God does.  No idol can deliver and save and rescue.  Idols are "stupid and foolish."  The word idol in the Hebrew is: habel.  It means, "empty or vain."  In the above passage the Prophet Jeremiah is speaking God's Word about the Nation of Israel who, at the time, were actually worshiping worthless idols.  Idols cut out of stone and trees.  God is saying to them, through Jeremiah, that God is the only true God, full of might!!   They were taking something created by God (wood and stone) and cutting into shapes to worship like a god.  We shape God's creation into cars and homes.  We shape God's creation into vacation spots and destinations.  We take what God created and worship it as though it were a god.  Yet, "there is none like you, O Lord."   Only God is God.  Only God should be worshipped. He is the center of it all.  Worship the Creator not the created. 

Tag: Where is Wisdom? Job 27-28

Job 28:20-23

“From where, then, does wisdom come?

And where is the place of understanding?

It is hidden from the eyes of all living

and concealed from the birds of the air.

Abaddon and Death say,

‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

“God understands the way to it,

and he knows its place.

Tag:  Where is Wisdom?

In chapter 28 Job is comparing man's ability to mine for gold, silver, jewels and precious stones that are hidden in the earth's core.  He goes to great lengths to explain how this makes man quite ingenious about life.   Yet, as the above verses show, man can't find wisdom.  The contrast is between self discovery and God's revelations.   Job is trying to say that we might be intelligence, but only God is wise.  He is confessing that we might know about the things of creation but we know nothing about the wisdom behind creation.   We can dig into the earth and draw out resources, but we can't understand the wisdom of God behind the creation.   Only God knows wisdom.   Job did not have the following verses from James, however:

James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

He did realize that it was God who has wisdom.  We are told that we can ask God for wisdom and He will give it to use "generously."   We can rejoice that we might not be able to find wisdom like we mine for iron, but we can have wisdom.  Digging in the earth for resources is not nearly has easy than asking God for wisdom!!! 

Tag: Trusting God - No Matter What!! - Psalm 39-41

Psalms 40:16-17
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!

Tag:  Trusting God - no matter what!!!

To really understand these last two verses of Psalm 40 you have to recall a couple of other verses in the Psalm:

Psalms 40:12
For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

David, in this Psalm, is in a tough spot.  God has been David's rescuer, however.  God has come through for David.  In the beginning of the Psalm he recalls that:

Psalms 40:4-5
Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

In the midst of his current struggles, David remembers what God did in the past.   David is remembering yesterday so that he can rejoice today, in the midst of pain and suffering.  We can rejoice in struggle because we have a God who has cared for our needs and will care for us through the current calamity.  God is there in the past, present and future.  This is why David can write the above two verses:   All who seek Him can rejoice in Him.

Tag: Standing for by By Standing With God - 1 Samuel 16-20

1 Samuel 17:26
And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

1 Samuel 17:36
Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

1 Samuel 17:45
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

Tag:  Standing for God by Standing with God

In each of the above verses we see a theme.  1 Samuel 17 is the story of David and the giant, Goliath.   David has shown up to a sword and spear fight with a sling and stones in his hand.  If he were fighting for himself that would be a problem.  But, as we read in these verses, he is showing up with God in his heart and the defiance of Goliath in his head.   He dares Goliath to continue to defy God.  David is fighting for God and with God at the same time.  God will fight for us, if we will fight with and for Him.  David will become a hero in Israel.  His name will be song in the streets. He will eventually become the king of Israel.   However, it all began on a day when he showed up with a sling for a sword fight.   But, he had God on his side.   God takes the little things (a sling and a stone) and makes them big.   Think of the maid who whispered to Nahum about is leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-3).  These are people who were small but God used for something BIG.  Think of the little nephew of Paul who spoke up about a plot to kill Paul (Acts 23:16).   To do these things you have to think bigger than yourself.  You have to believe in a God bigger than your problems.   You can only Stand for God if you are Standing With God!!!

Tag: Faith Under the Greatest Pressure - Exodus 1-4

Exodus 2:3

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

Tag:  Faith Under the Greatest Pressure

The Egyptians were afraid that the growing nation of Israel would someday turn on them.  The rulers decided it would be best to not allow the boys in the nation of Israel.  They instructed, by law, that every "boy" born to Israel should be thrown into the Nile River.   Moses parents where parents of faith.  They were going to trust God no matter what.   The didn't throw Moses in the river, but they did put him in the river. Technically Moses' mom was observing the King's commandment.   In Hebrews 11:23 states she was willing to trust God in spite of it.  They were not afraid of the Pharaoh's commandment;

Hebrews 11:23

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

It says they were not afraid of the Kings edict.  Their faith seemed to play out as, "God will protect my baby boy even if I put him in the Nile."  That is extreme faith and trust in the promises of God.  God was willing to honor their faith as He saved Moses.   Our faith has to trust in the awesomeness of God.  He is strong and mighty.   He can and does put things together for us.   Even in face of extreme odds and struggles.  

Tag: Sacrificial Living - 1 Corinthians 9-10

1 Corinthians 10:32-33
Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

Tag:  Sacrificial Living

In the beginning of this section, Paul starts out the section by talking about his "rights."  Six times he mentions the word rights in chapter ten.  He wants this church in Corinth to know that even though he has rights as a believer, he is not going to claim them.  His main premise as he works through his arguments, is found in the above concluding statement to this section:  We are not to seek our own rights, but the spiritual welfare of others.   We have the right to partake in certain activities, eat certain food and engage in various relationships.  However, Paul does not assert his rights in the context of the church.  He will assert his rights in the context of the government when he is falsely accused and about to beaten by the Roman soldiers.  But, in the church, he checks his "rights" at the door.  Not a physical door of a building we call the "church."  Rather, when engaging with brothers an sisters in the Body of Christ he does not claim his rights.  He lays his life down for the growth of others in the Body.   That is Kingdom living.   That is sacrificial living.

Tag: Human Responsiblity and Miracles of God - Mark 5-6

Mark 6:38
And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

Tag:  Human Responsibility and Miracles of God

In this story we are on the hillside with Jesus and 5,000 people have come to hear him speak.  Like the woman in Elisha's day that was told to get as many jars as possible, the disciples were sent to search for food.   How would you search for food among 5,000 people?  Was there more food there and they were too lazy to find it?  How could one boy be the only one there with food?   Were their others who simply hiding and hoarding their food and didn't want to share?   Whatever the case we have the disciples having to share in this part of the miracle.   What would have happened if they didn't find these small items?  Jesus didn't have to have them look.  He already knew there was food in the place.  He could have had quail flown in from the sea as God did with Moses and the nation of Israel.  God CAN do miracles without us ... that's what makes it a miracle.    Yet, God does want us, at times, to do "our" part.  In this case, "go and see."  In the widow's part, "go and search for empty jars" (2 Kings 4:6).   We can sit and wait for a miracle, or we can go and do "our" part in obedience and see God do a miracle with our meager offerings.