Tag: Worship instead of Worry - Psalm 63-65

Psalms 63:2

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Tag: Worship

David, in Psalm 63, is offering praise and worship to God in light of the fact he is fleeing in the wilderness trying to escape.   We don't have a specific time frame for the song, but we do sense that David is under attack and wants to turn his focus onto God, not his situation.   This is the key to the Psalm.  David, despite the surrounding peril, puts his focus on the worship of God.  He has much to be disturbed about, no matter the exact time this song was written.  Apparently he had someone seeing to destroy his life and someone who was using deception to complete the destruction because latter in the Psalm he states:

Psalms 63:9-11

But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

He is so confident in Gods power and glory (above verse) that he simply states that fact in song and then puts his focus on the God who solves problems, rather than the problem itself.  Psalm 63 is the perfect song to meditate upon when we have fears, failures and fumbles in life.  David is trusting in the "character" of God, not the circumstances of life.  David is trusting in the "promises" of God, not the problems in life.   As a result he is able to maintain his joy and confidence.  He knows he will fail.  But, he knows God will not and can not.  

Tag: God Equips us to Engage with Others - 1 Kings 1-4

1 Kings 4:34

And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

Tag:  God equips us to engage with others 

First Kings opens with the transfer of power form King David, to his son, King Solomon.  Another brother, Adonijah, attempts to secure the throne, but, instead, King David appoints Solomon as his successor.   Solomon is young and when God appears to him and asks him what he would like to be given from God, Solomon asks for wisdom.  Since Solomon is a young man, it would have been quite natural for him to ask for power, or property, or a willing people to follow him.   Instead, Solomon ask for wisdom.   Wisdom is the ultimate thing. Later, Solomon might have remembered this time in his life when he would write:

Proverbs 4:7

The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get insight.

And, remember, wisdom only comes by the Fear of the Lord.  So, what Solomon requested from God came from his Fear of God:

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

God granted him wisdom but also gave him all the things he didn't ask.  He gave him prosperity, people and power.   And, as the above verse points out, God gave Solomon as place of persuasion on the world stage.  Solomon did not seek fame, but what he did seek (the fear of the Lord) God granted and that came with fame and fortune.  Solomon was able to speak God's Wisdom into the lives of people who did not know God.  Ultimately God would be glorified by this.   When we have a choice on what to desire from God, make it knowing God and the wisdom that comes from Him.  

Tag: Knowing God makes us Distincly Gods - Exodus 33-36

Exodus 33:12-16

Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

Tag:  Knowing God makes us Distinctly Gods

In the above passage Moses is going to God to appeal to Him to go before the nation as they enter the promise land.  God had just told the nation that because of their sins He would not go with them, although they could go on their own.  Moses is saying to God, "If you aren't going to go with us he doesn't want to go."  But, Moses adds another aspect to his prayer.  He tells God that the special knowledge God has given them has set them apart, distinctly for God.  Moses, in essence, is saying to God, "Any nation can march through these countries and beat them up and take their land.  But, only one nation has Yahweh with them!"  Knowing God in a personal way sets the nation of Israel aside.  Paul in Philippians 3:10 strikes a similar tone about knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection.   Knowing God through Christ in the power of the Spirit sets us apart from the world.  We ought to strive for that as we move forward in this land.  

Tag: Boasting in my weakness

2 Corinthians 11:30 - 12:1

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

Tag:  Boasting in my weakness

Imagine placing one your resume the every time you failed and needed help from others to make it through your day.  What would be the impact of that on your job interview?   In essence, this is what Paul is saying in the above text.  Paul was being challenged by some in the church that he was weak and unqualified to have the "power" he had in the church.  He had written to the Church at Corinth earlier instructing them to warn those who are living in sin in the church.  Some objected and called him weak as compared to them.  Paul wanted to let them know that their boasting was foolish.  He stated "if" he wanted to act like a fool, he too could boast.  But, before he starts to boast about the spiritual blessings God gave him, he would boast in the things that showed his "weaknesses."  He tells an obscure story of being in a city to preach and having to escape via a basket over the city wall that let him out of the city safely.   How humiliating for a man of God.  A man who believed in the power of God.  But, it did show his humility and how he depended upon God. In God, his weakness, was made strong.   We need to boast in our weakness because that is when we trust completely in Christ.  

Tag: Extraodinary Things - Luke 5-6

Luke 5:26

And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Tag:  Extraordinary Things

Christ came to the earth for us to get to know Him.  That is the point of the Bible: For us to "know" God and His Son and His plan for our lives.  We are to spend our life to get to "know" Him.   When we do, we will see "extraordinary" things.  The above verse is taken from the story of the man who was let done through the roof by his friends and Jesus healed him.  The friends went to extraordinary measures to get their friend into a place were Jesus could do an extraordinary healing.   Their faith enable their friend to be healed.  As a result the crowd was amazed.  Faith causes extraordinary things to happen. Note what happens later when Jesus, through someone's faith, heals again:

Luke 6:19

And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

Faith produces extraordinary happens.  If you want to have a day where you say, “We have seen extraordinary things today," you have to put your faith in an extraordinary God. 

Tag: My Leaders is all Hot Air!! Jeremiah 42-46

Jeremiah 46:17 (NIV)

There they will exclaim,

‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;

he has missed his opportunity.’

Jeremiah 46:17 (NASV)

“They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise;

He has let the appointed time pass by!’

Jeremiah 46:17 (ESV)

Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

Tag:  My Leader is nothing but hot air!!

Today we might say the same things about a leader that God says about Pharaoh, King of Egypt, but we might say it this way:

*He is all hot air!!

*He is all hat, no cattle!!!

*Talk, no walk!!

The remnant left in the land of Judah had decided to flea Judah and take refuge in Egypt.  Jeremiah is sent to tell them that the King of Egypt could not save them and they should submit to God.  But, they didn't.  As a result, God sends Jeremiah to prophecy against Egypt and Pharaoh.  Imagine that calling!!!  Imagine God saying to you that you must to to North Korea, or Russia and tell the leader of that country his if full of hot air!  Imagine you simply have to tell that to our own country!!   Jeremiah wants all leaders to know that when they reject God they are nothing but hot air.  God knows what leaders are.  He calls Pharaoh, "hot air!" Yet, the remnant sought refuge with him.  God wants us to trust Him because everyone else is just hot air. 

Tag: Praying for your Foes

Job 42:7-9

After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.

Tag:  Prayer for your Foes

Job's friends started out with the best of intentions.  They sought to comfort him.  

Job 2:11

Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.

Yet, their comfort turned quickly to judgment and chastisement.  They soon saw Job defend and justify himself.  God ultimately corrects Job and now it is their turn to be put back on task.  God sees how we treat those who are hurting.  He ultimately will correct how we "judge" them and "chastise" them, as though we are holy and they are wicked.  Yet, the process here is that Job, too, must be in the place of forgiveness.   God sends the three men to Job to offer sacrifice and to pray for them.  Job could have been bitter at the way they treated him during his time of need.  Yet, Job apparently has learned his lessons, too.  God forgives these men through the prayer of Job.  Jesus told a similar lesson about the man who was forgiven of a few debts and would not forgive those who owed him even minor debt:

Matthew 18:32-35

Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

God wants us to forgive, as He forgave.  Job did that. 

Satisfied in the Darkness - Psalm 63:5-8

Psalms 63:5-8

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

Tag:  Satisfied in the Darkness

David is under attack by King Saul.  Saul is jealous of David's popularity and, inevitably, that David will take over his leadership.  Jealous in leadership is very dangerous.   David knows this and needs to find refuge.  Although he may be hiding out in the cave of the wilderness, he states in the above verse that his ultimate refuge is the God of the universe.  In the darkness of the night David still believed in the One who made the light.   David doesn't have "fat and rich food" as he scurries from one cave to the other.  Yet, his portion is his trust in God; which is better than food. David did not doubt in the dark what he believed in the light.  He believed that God would care for him and so he put his trust in God, in the shadow of God's care.  David was not afraid to "cling" to God, because he knew that God would cling to him and keep him safe. It is easy to trust God in the good times.  David shows us we have to trust God when the times are bad.  

Tag: Leadership - 2 Samuel 20-24

2 Samuel 23:2-4

“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me;

his word is on my tongue.

The God of Israel has spoken;

the Rock of Israel has said to me:

When one rules justly over men,

ruling in the fear of God,

he dawns on them like the morning light,

like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,

like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

Tag:  Leadership 

In the closing chapters of 2 Samuel we have the final accounts of David's leadership.  After the above verse the writer will outline the "mighty men" who fought with and for King David.  They are men who were the best of the best.  They were men who would and did anything for David.  David solicited their following.  These are men who, at the first, were not very pleasing men (see 1 Samuel 16-25). In the above verses, however, God gives us the "why" behind the follower-ship David solicited.   David "feared" the Lord and acted justly.   We know David did some wrong things.  We read them repeatedly in God's Word.  However, the above verse gives us the formula for great leadership. It is not our own ability that produced great leadership, it is who we serve and who we follow.  If we want to lead we can read good books, we can emulate great leaders and we can look within to see how God designed us.  But, the most important thing any leader can do is to make sure they fear God.  

Tag: False Worship leads to Reckless Living - Exodus 30-32

Exodus 32:25

And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies),

Tag:  False worship leads to uncontrolled living

The above verse comes from the section of this book when Aaron made a "golden calf" and the nation of Israel worshiped it.   Moses (and Joshua) had gone up to the mountain of God to receive the Ten Commandments.  Since Moses was gone a long time (40 days) the people of Israel, out of fear, ask Aaron to make them an idol to worship.  He does and subsequently had the nation worship the idol.  The result?  The above verse outlines what happens when we worship false gods.   The people had "broken loose."   The term means they "ran wild."   This uncontrolled expression is in exact contrast to what God had outlined in regard to true worship.  Paul would later tell the Corinthian believers that worship is not to be confusing, but done decently and in order:

1 Corinthians 14:33

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints,

1 Corinthians 14:40

But all things should be done decently and in order.

The Israelites were so out of control that even the neighboring enemies were embarrassed by their behavior.   When believers act contrary to God's Word the world disdains them.  This is the case here.  We ought to live different lives.   God had just told the nation to honor the Sabbath because God had made them Holy, distinctly God's people:

Exodus 31:13

“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.

We are "sanctified" for God, set aside for his use.  We are not to look and act like the world.  False worship, however, will always lead to out of control and reckless living.  

Tag: Comparing is Not Good - 2 Corinthians 9-10

2 Corinthians 10:12

Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

Tag:  Comparing is NOT Good. 

When Jesus was on the earth He often came in contact with the religious leaders of the day. One of them stated the following:

Luke 18:11

The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

This is the point Paul is getting at in the above passage he wrote to the church at Corinth.  There were those in the church who were "comparing themselves among themselves."  There were those in the church who thought Paul might be able to write strong letters, but in real life he was a weak leader.  Probably by the worlds standard of the day, Paul was not one of those natural born leaders.  He was probably more comfortable (my human nature) in class room than a board room.   But, Paul's standard was not other people. He did not measure himself by how he appeared to others or how he compared to others (this is a major thought in leadership training today ... we are teaching leaders to look like other leaders and not to look like Christ).  Paul's standard was NOT other leaders, or how he looked to others.  Paul's standard was Christ and how he compared to Christ:

1 Corinthians 4:3-5

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

He will go on, in that same chapter of his first letter to them, to tell them to "imitate" him, as he "imitates" Christ.   But, his point is that we are not to measure ourselves by the standards of those around them but in regard to the image of Christ.  If I mirror Christ I have no judge or jury to convict me. I have nothing more excellent to follow than Him!!!

Tag: Jesus Knows the Scripture - Luke 3-4

Luke 4:16-19

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Tag:  Jesus Knows the Scripture

The title of this section in my Bible is, "Jesus Rejected at Nazareth."   When Jesus would enter a town He would, like Paul who would follow, seek out the religious leaders in the Synagogue.  In the above passage He does so and finds a scroll of Isaiah''s prophecy.   Isaiah prophesied from about 740 BC to about 680 BC, or so.  So, the scroll was, by Jesus day, 750 years old.  Remember this was no "Bible."  This was Isaiah's original writings.  There were no chapters or verse numbers.  Jesus, however, knew His Bible. He had a point He wanted to make to the Jews in the Synagogue and found the perfect passage to have them hear.  They would reject the Word and cast Him out of the "Worship" center (think of that ... they came to worship God and would cast the Son of God out of the worship after hearing God's Word).  Jesus knew the exact passage they needed to hear.  That is how God is with us, if we allow Him to direct us through the Word of God.  God is the one who directs us through His Word.  If we don't reject it, God's Word has the exact passage we need to learn revelation of God and about God.  It will lead us to a deeper understanding of God.  Jesus knows the exact Scripture we need to hear.  

Tag: Reward for Service - Jeremiah 37-41

Jeremiah 39:15-18

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’”

Tag: Reward for Service

Up to this point in the prophecy of Jeremiah he has done his job.  Jeremiah has prophesied to the people of Israel that God was going to punish them and that God was going to take the nation into captivity and destroy the City of Jerusalem.  This indeed happened and God's Word was delivered and came to fruition. Is it possible that Jeremiah would have felt like he was done with his job?  He had delivered the message and now he was in captivity.  God must be done with him, right?   Apparently not!!  Our work as ministers of God's Word is never really "done."  A new word came to Jeremiah but this time it was a word of hope and reward.  When Jeremiah was being tormented by the leaders of the day they had tossed him into a cistern full of mud (38:7).   Suffering from starvation and all that comes with being in a cistern full of mud, God sent Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian to rescue Jeremiah.  As a result of that service to God, God rewards Ebed-melech.  God sees our service to His plan.  He does not simply ignore it.  God honored this man for taking care of God messenger.  There is a lesson for us who are not in the business of proclaiming God's message.  We, too, are rewarded by God for how we assist those who are called to deliver the message. 

Tag: Praying for our Foes - Job 40-42

Job 42:7-9

After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.

Tag:  Prayer for your Foes

Job's friends started out with the best of intentions.  They sought to comfort him.  

Job 2:11

Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.

Yet, their comfort turned quickly to judgment and chastisement.  They soon saw Job defend and justify himself.  God ultimately corrects Job and now it is their turn to be put back on task.  God sees how we treat those who are hurting.  He ultimately will correct how we "judge" them and "chastise" them, as though we are holy and they are wicked.  Yet, the process here is that Job, too, must be in the place of forgiveness.   God sends the three men to Job to offer sacrifice and to pray for them.  Job could have been bitter at the way they treated him during his time of need.  Yet, Job apparently has learned his lessons, too.  God forgives these men through the prayer of Job.  Jesus told a similar lesson about the man who was forgiven of a few debts and would not forgive those who owed him even minor debt:

Matthew 18:32-35

Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

God wants us to forgive, as He forgave.  Job did that. 

Tag: Wild Donkey - Job 38-39

Job 39:5-8

“Who has let the wild donkey go free?

Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,

to whom I have given the arid plain for his home

and the salt land for his dwelling place?

He scorns the tumult of the city;

he hears not the shouts of the driver.

He ranges the mountains as his pasture,

and he searches after every green thing.

Tag:  The Story of the Wild Donkey

In chapters 38-39 God is finally addressing Job and his dilemma.   Job has wanted a "hearing" before and with God so he could plead his case. He has claimed his innocence and, under his and his three friends philosophy (God rewards good behavior and punishes all bad behavior) God is being unfair (unjust?) with him.  God finally speaks, but instead of answering his question, God talks about the great things in life that He cares for.   God gives Job a look at "a day in the life of God" by talking about several of God "daily tasks" of taking care of various animals.  The above animal, a wild donkey, seems to be rebellious beast.  He refuses to be a tamed beast, carrying the weight of men from one point to the other.  He seems to want to run wild.  But, that has a downfall in that there is not daily food for him.  Yet, in this "wildness" the donkey is cared for.  By whom?   It is cared for by God.  While Job is focused internally (as all who hurt are) he, instead, should consider that God is taking care of the entire world. Job''s perspective is too small to consider the why and the what of his own suffering.   The world is too big for us to wrap our mind around what God is doing in the greater plan.  We seldom know the ins and outs of God's plan.  God is in control and He wants Job to know so.  He asking Job his thoughts about all these animals to prove a point ... I am God and you are not. 

Tag: Knowing the Power of God - Psalm 57-59

Psalms 59:11-13

Kill them not, lest my people forget;

make them totter by your power and bring them down,

O Lord, our shield!

For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,

let them be trapped in their pride.

For the cursing and lies that they utter,

consume them in wrath;

consume them till they are no more,

that they may know that God rules over Jacob

to the ends of the earth. Selah

Tag:  Knowing the Power of God

As stated in the introductions, Psalm 57-59 are Psalms written by David when he was being hunted by King Saul.  David was not yet the king, but he was "promised" the kingship.  We can't read the Psalms without remembering that David has THAT promise.  David is living, not on emotions, or military strategy, or on the size of his army.  David is living on a promise.   God had promised that David would be king.  Yet, he is an outcast and being hunted like a dog by his best friends father, King Saul.  In the above text he is praying that those hunting him would be stopped and would come to know God and God's power.   However, he prays, "kill them not."  Remember, David cried when he heard King Saul and his son Jonathon died in battle.  David loved Jonathon, and despite the harsh treatment, respected King Saul's position as "the Lord's anointed."   David did, however, want them stopped!!  They lied and cursed enough for David.  He did want God's promise to be fulfilled.  He did want them and the nation to know that it is God who rules.  David does not pray for personal glory here.  He prays for God's divine glory.  He doesn't want his enemy stopped so that he is safe and secure.  He wants them stopped so that everyone will see the power and the glory of God.  That should be the purpose of our prayer.  David was hiding in caves to escape Saul's illogical anger toward him.  Yet, David didn't want anything more than God's glory to be revealed to his people.  That is why He deserved to be the king.  

Tag: Knowing your Limits - Aging with Grace - 2 Samuel 15-19

2 Samuel 19:33-37

And the king said to Barzillai, “Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem.” But Barzillai said to the king, “How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am this day eighty years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him go over with my lord the king, and do for him whatever seems good to you.”

Tag:  Knowing your Limits - Aging with Grace

When David had to flea Jerusalem because his son Absalom had caused a revolt to steal the kingdom, many people came to David's aide.  One of those was this older man, Barzillai.   Barzillai was there for David with food and supplies as the King fled Jerusalem.   Upon the defeat of Absalom, David returned to the positions of king and desired to reward those who had sided with him.   In the above passage we read how Barzillai responded to David's kindness.  He turned the king down.  Unlike most of today's older generation, Barzillai understood duty and his own limits.   Barzillai was not at all interested in serving in the palace of the king.  He understood his limits and what his aging body has, had, done to him.  He was willing to let the king reward someone in his house.  He was socially adept at trading the honor for him to give to someone younger.  Here is the key to the passage.  Barzillai was willing to recognize his own limits and was eager to help those who are coming up and growing into leadership.  In our old age we are not to look to "retire" but we should be looking to promote and to provide opportunities for those around us.   

Tag: Access to God - Genesis 25-29

Exodus 26:33

And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

Tag:  Access to God

When God instructed Moses and Aaron to build the Tabernacle for the people of Israel God was giving them a pattern that showed them how to approach God.  The New Testament book of Hebrews is a breakdown of some of those patterns telling us how they are pictures for us today as we approach Christ.  The above verse is part of that picture or pattern.   The Israelites were to construct a tabernacle that consisted of a "Most Holy" place (were God dwelt) and a place called, the "Holy Place."  The "Holy Place" as the outer room were the Lampstand, the Showbread, the Table, etc were held.  The "Most Holy" place (or Holy of Holies) was were the Mercy Seat and Alter were held.  Only the high priest was allowed into the Most Holy place.  Other priest had access to the Holy Place, but once a year the High Priest was allowed to enter into the place where God dwelt. He would there, offer sacrifices for the people, year after year after year.  This Veil was to keep the two rooms separated.  When Christ died on the cross, at the very minute he died, the veil (curtain) was torn from top to bottom:

Matthew 27:51

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

So, it is at that time that God gave us access to Himself, through Christ, by removing the veil:

Hebrews 10:19-22

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

We can now enter the Holy of Holies to speak to God because Christ made a way.  The Israelites were asked to construct the very veil that would keep them from God.  Christ would then destroy the veil to give them access to God.  

Tag: Believer Encourages Believer - 2 Corinthians 6-8

2 Corinthians 7:5-7

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.

Tag:  Believer Encourages Believer

In the above text Paul is telling the church at Corinth that there was a time he was in much affliction (yes, the great apostle Paul in affliction).  He was working so hard for Christ and had so much fighting from those around him, he was in the place where discouragement could slip into his life (yes, the great apostle Paul was in a place were he as "downcasts" ... Elijah, Moses and King David were in the same place at one time or another ... great men of faith).  But, God "who comforts the downcast" sent Titus to encourage him.   Think of that, God promises comfort to those who are downcast.  But God does not remove our trials or discomfort circumstances, but rather sent a fellow believer to carry the load for awhile.  This does not show weakness on Paul's account.  This shows he is a child of God like the rest of us and needs others believers in his life to encourage him and assist in carrying the load.  When we are downcast we tend to want to withdraw.  However, this text shows us how God works.  God is the God of all Comfort ... but that comfort might be supplied by another believer simply coming along side to lift the burden and share, in love, the mission.   God encourages us through the members of the body. 

Tag: God Calms Fears - Luke 1-2

Luke 1:26-30

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Tag:  God calms our fears

The above story of the announcement to Mary about the birth of Jesus. This young virgin girl would be the mother of the Savior of the mankind.  When the angel, Gabriel, appeared to her, like all those in the Bible do when confronted with a celestial being, she trembled.  Her fears would be normal and expected.  She was fearful of the unknown.  We have no idea where this occurred.  If it was in her home, her bedroom, or by a well as she fetched water.  God sent Gabriel to inform her of God's plan for her life.   It says she was "greatly troubled at the saying."  The "saying" was that she had found favor with God and that she the Lord was with her.   It is safe to say we all would be troubled with this type of message.  Think of Moses and the burning bush.  Think of the prophet Isaiah.  Think of Jonah.   Think of Jacob at Bethel.  Think of David on the threshing floor.   Think of Elijah in the midst of depression.  Think of Paul on the Damascus Road.  Each of these had a special encounter with either an angel, a Theophany of Christ, or God's voice.  To each of them their encounter brought fear and a sense of awe and fear.   Yet, in the midst of the encounter with God, they found peace.  God calmed their fears.   God spoke to them for some service and then calmed their spirits.  Even in Jonah's disobedience God sought to calm his fears.   It is fear that keeps us from coming to God.  Yet, God is there to calm our fears.  He knows we are fearful.   He will be there to calm the fears as He uses us for great things.  

Tag: Receive God's Word - Don't Just Read it - Jeremiah 32-36

Jeremiah 32:33-34

They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it.

Tag:  Receive God's Word ... not just read it. 

In the above passage Jeremiah is telling the leaders of Israel and all the people of Israel why God is sending the armies of the Babylonians to destroy their city and to take them captive.  He is telling them that they did a great job of "hearing" God's Word and even "read" it.  But, they never "received" it.   The word "receive" in the above text means to "take hold of something."  It is used in Genesis to describe what Noah did on the ark when the dove flew back to him. Note Vine's comment on this:

Primarily this word means “to take, grasp, take hold of,” as when Noah reached out and “took hold of” the dove to bring it back into the ark (Gen. 8:9). A secondary meaning is “to take away, remove, take to oneself,” as when the invading kings “took away” and “took to themselves” all the movable goods of the cities of the plain (Gen. 14:11). Sometimes this verb implies “to receive something from someone.” So Abraham asks Ephron the Hittite to “receive from” his hand payment for the field which contained the sepulchre (Gen. 23:13).

Later in this same book, Jeremiah writes out the book and sends the scroll to the king.  Note what the kind did as he "read" the scroll:

Jeremiah 36:23-24

As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments.

They "read" the book of Jeremiah but did not "receive" the book of Jeremiah.  We can often do the same things.  We can "read" the Bible.  But, the Bible is not a magic potion.  The Bible is God's Word and needs to be "received" and mixed with faith to obey it.   God's word, mixed with faith can bring about change.  Receive it, don't just read it.  

Tag: The Awesomeness of God - Job 37

Job 37:21-22

“And now no one looks on the light

when it is bright in the skies,

when the wind has passed and cleared them.

Out of the north comes golden splendor;

God is clothed with awesome majesty.

Tag:  The Awesomeness of God

Elihu (the speaker) is confronting Job and his three friends about how awesome God is.  During Job's ordeal, the three friends (and Job himself) have been focused almost entirely on the judgment of God and the nature of Job.   Elihu has attempted to focus the men on the greatness of God.  Throughout this chapter he is using several metaphors and examples from meteorological happenings.   In the above passage Elihu may be referring to the sun, or, possibly to an eclipse of the sun.   He is stating to those three men that all of mankind stands in awe of the natural light of the earth (the sun) and does not stare in the light.  He seems to be commenting on the beauty of it.   He quickly makes his metaphor by stated that God is like a bright light out of the north and is awesome in majesty.   Note what one commentator stated about his word picture:

Certainly, there is a lot of evidence in the OT that the north was viewed as the dwelling place of God. The chariot in Ezekiel's vision came out of the north (1:4). The "mount of assembly" of God and the heavenly beings is, according to Isa 14:13, "in the recesses of the North." The same phrase is used in Ps 48:2 (3) where Zion, as the city of the Great King, is said to be "in the far north"-which can only be true by mythological, not geographical, standards.

But there is not necessarily any reference here to the dwelling of God; the "north" may mean no more than "the highest heavens," as it apparently does in 26:7 (q.v.), the "golden glow" being nothing more mysterious than the sun itself. (Understanding the Bible Commentary)

The north lights could be the Northern Lights.   What Elihu is trying to say is that in the midst of our pain and suffering, God is still awesome.  He is shinning brighter every day and as we gaze into His personhood we should see His glory.  We might want to focus on our circumstances, but it would be far better to focus on the miracles of God and His awesomeness.   

Tag: God's Care - Psalm 54-56

Psalms 56:8-11

You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

in the day when I call.

This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

Tag:  God's care

In Psalm 55 and 56 David is journaling his experiences as he ran from Saul and lived in the land of his enemies.  David was broken.   Saul, the father of his best friend (Jonathon) was hunting him like a dog.   He was so surrounded by those who had also fled the king, those where in debt and with, some, criminals of the state.   David is not in a good place.  His days were spent hiding and his nights, crying.   David was trapped by enemies on the outside and his own shame on the inside.   Yet, the above words come through to us from him.   Even though the circumstances of life were not speaking, "trust God," David did.  He knew that God not only new his path in life God was capturing each tear in a bottle and recording them in a book.  God is well aware of our pain and suffering.  God is capturing the sorrow of our hearts for the purpose of turning them to joy.  He completes this chapter with the following belief and resolve:

Psalms 56:13

For you have delivered my soul from death,

yes, my feet from falling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.

God's salvation has a purpose.  For use to walk before Him in the light of life ... He wants to see us trust Him so that we can live victoriously in front of others.  

Tag: Fellowship in the Fight - 2 Samuel 10-14

2 Samuel 10:9-14

When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

Tag:  Fellowship in the Fight

The above story gives us a glimpse into what it is like to be in the Body of Christ.   Joab and his brother, Abishai, had formed an alliance in the battle against the Syrians.   They were ready to assist the other no matter the outcome.   Being there to assist your brother in Christ is what the community of the Body of Christ is all about.  We must be willing to stand by their side.   In Galatians 6 it states what we should be doing.  The above story is the perfect example of what Paul taught is in this section (we should therefore act this way toward our brothers):

Galatians 6:1-5

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.

Tag: God's Guidance - Exodus 21-24

Exodus 23:20-21

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

Tag:  God's Guidance

Where God guide us we can be assured we are safe and secure.  And, where God guides us He is always with us.  In the Old Testament we see it was through, as above, an angelic being.  In the New Testament it is the indwelling of the Spirit of God.  The key lesson in the above verses is that God is leading the nation out of Egypt and into the promise land and is doing so with a personal guide.   We are not told much about this angel.  We do know that God has been leading them with a cloud by day (which would not only be a guide but a way to block the hot sun as they traveled) and a pillar of fire at night (which would not only guide them but provide light and heat in the desert at night).   Apparently this "angel" either resided in the cloud and pillar of fire, above it, around it, under it, or separate from it.   We are not told.  We are told that God would provide a guide, and this guide would NOT be able to pardon their rebellion.  Only God could do that.  So, we know that God guides us.  He sends, today, the Spirit of God.  We are to seek the guidance and look for it as we move in this world.  We have the Word of God, directed by the Spirit of God to care for us and guide us.  It is up to us, like the Israelites of old, to look for that guidance and obey it. 

Tag: Burdens of this Life - 2 Corinthians 4-5

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Tag: Burdens of this Life

This world can be cruel.   Even when we walk with Christ the burdens of this life can weigh us down beyond our physical capacity.   This world is on a crash course for disaster one crisis after another.   Politicians think it can be fixed with laws.   Artist think it can be fixed with their version of understanding.   Philosophers and educators think it can be fixed with deeper knowledge.  The bottom line is that this world can only be fixed with a relationship with Christ.   Yet, as Paul writes in the above passage, even those who have a lasting relationship with Christ are burdened down by this world.  Yet, they do not succumb to the burden ... this is Paul's point.  Believers don't get burdened by this world because their eyes are not on this world.  Their eyes are on the eternal, not that transient.  When we see today's burdens in view of heaven's glory and our life for eternally with Christ we can call each of our burdens (like Paul) a "light momentary affliction."   Imagine seeing your current burden as a "light momentary affliction."   Paul was beaten nearly to death several times ... light momentary affliction!   He was shipwreck and almost lost at sea ... light momentary affliction!!  He had some medical issue that caused his sight to be limited ... light momentary affliction!!!   Why?  Because he knew God was in control and his fate was in the hands of a loving and mighty God through his relationship with Christ.  

Tag: Service for the King - Mark 15-16

Mark 15:21

And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.

Tag:  Pressed into Service

The above story of Simon of Cyrene is found also in Matthew and Luke's account of the crucifixion.   The text says that the Roman  Soldiers "compelled" him into the service of carrying the cross for Jesus.  It is supposed that Jesus was, at this point in the crucifixion rituals was too weak to carry the cross.  It would seem as though Simon's role was to come along side Jesus to relieve that burden.  At first glance this seems odd.  Remember, in our Christian walk it is Jesus who comes along side us.  When we are stumbling and weak, it is Jesus who helps us bear "our cross" for Him.   Yet, in this case it is Simon who is compelled to carry the cross for Christ.   Since this place was directly on a major location in Jerusalem it is supposed that Simon would have been coming in, from Rome (he has a Roman name) to attend Passover in Jerusalem.  It might be "chance" this this man was selected from the crowd, but not when we believe in the sovereignty of God.  Simon's sons are mentioned in the text indicating that the Roman readers of this book (Mark is writing to Christians living in Rome) were obviously familiar with these two men.  It might be presumed that God is showing us that when Christ died on the cross He died for us and our sins were there on the cross with Him.  We are "in Christ" at this point (believers).  We share in the His sufferings on the cross with Him.  He was there in our stead, but Simon's carrying the cross for this distance is a great picture of our fingerprints on that cross.  Christ was there to represent us, but we were there with Him as He suffered.  Simon's sons would eventually come to Christ.  Their father played significant role in the crucifixion by identifying all mankind should be on that cross.   However, Simon only had to carry it.  Christ had to die on it.  Simon would be relieved of the suffering of carrying it and Christ would take it from him, but this time with the nails also.  We own the cross.  Our hands are on it.  But, Christ took it from us and died in our place.   Simon, like the First Man Adam, was demonstrating that we are part of this.  But, Christ hung, alone, for us.  

Tag: Security in the Fideltiy of God's Word - Jeremiah 27-31

Jeremiah 31:33-36

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Thus says the Lord,

who gives the sun for light by day

and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

the Lord of hosts is his name:

“If this fixed order departs

from before me, declares the Lord,

then shall the offspring of Israel cease

from being a nation before me forever.”

Tag:  Security in the Fidelity of God's Word

In the above passage God is talking through Jeremiah about the "new covenant."   This is the gospel. God is establishing a new covenant around the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  God will "write it on their hearts."  The "Law" was a formal way to introduce Israel (and all mankind) how to approach God ... through the sacrifice of blood and obedience to His commandments of God.   But, no man could keep those commandments. Their hearts aren't bent that way.  So, God is going to change their hearts through Christ's work on the cross.  God establishes this as a "covenant."  It is a covenant that CAN'T be broken.  It is, like the stars, the moon and the sun and the wind and the waves, FIXED!!  God is saying that this new covenant (the Gospel) is a fixed order.  God can't go back on His Word.  It is a promise of God that if He were to break it the world would crash around us.   We can be secure in the fidelity of God's Word.  

Tag: The Greatnesss of God in the Context of Suffering - Job 35-36

Job 36:22-26

Behold, God is exalted in his power;

who is a teacher like him?

Who has prescribed for him his way,

or who can say, You have done wrong’?

“Remember to extol his work,

of which men have sung.

All mankind has looked on it;

man beholds it from afar.

Behold, God is great, and we know him not;

the number of his years is unsearchable.

Tag:  The Power of God

Job, up until now, has sought an answer from God concerning the suffering he has experienced.  His three friends have come to him and simply tried to explain his "suffering" is a result of his sin.  Elihu, the speaker of the above verses, is attempting to tell Job and his three friends that they are focused on the wrong thing (and, in our suffering, we too focus on the wrong thing).  Elihu is focused on God.  In the above passage he is focused on the "power of God."  God is exalted when we see Him as omnipotent ... all powerful.  When we diminish God and believe He CAN'T solve a problem, we cease to exalt Him and confess openly that He is ALL powerful.  Elihu also puts our focus on the omniscience of God ... all knowing.  He asks in the above verse, "... who is a teacher like Him?"  The answer is, NO ONE.  God is all powerful and all knowing.  This suffering of Job is not a mystery to God, even though it is to everyone else in this scene.   Elihu also highlights God's holiness.  He states, "... who can say, You have done wrong?"   Job is accusing God of wrong. He believes he doesn't deserve this suffering and God is wrong for allowing it.   Elihu wants Job to know that God sets the standard for what is wrong and right.  God cannot do "wrong."   Elihu also states that in the midst of suffering we need to see the Greatness of God expressed in the fact that God is beyond our knowledge; He is a mystery we are simply to extol.  He says, "... Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung. All mankind has looked on it; man beholds it from afar. Behold, God is great, and we know him not."   God is beyond our understanding and yet has reached out so that many "extol his work."  We may not understand Him, but we are to extol Him.   Lastly Elihu highlights and puts our focus on God's Eternality.  Referring to God, Elihu states, "... the number of His years are unsearchable."  He means by this phrase that God is not limited to the confines of our existence.  He is before us and after us in existence and, therefore, in understanding and in planning.  God is not limited to our time frame. He does not live in a hurried state having to be confined by minutes and hours, or weeks and months and years.   God's timing is never confined to our schedule.   Confusing? Yes!  A reason to celebrate and trust God? Yes!!   Our suffering is in the hands of a God is so beyond our comprehension that this statement alone is difficult to comprehend.   But, because He is bigger than we can wrap our brain around we can trust Him.  Who wants to trust a God we can manipulate with our prayers and understand with our less than five-pound brains?   God is awesome and Elihu wants Job and his friends to know that in this suffering they are focused on the wrong thing.  They should be focused on an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Holy, Great and Eternal God who deserves our praise for whatever He is doing, in anyway He wants to do it.