Tag: Healing comes from Cleansing - 2 Chronicles 29-32

2 Chronicles 29:15-17

They gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron. They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

Tag:  Healing can’t start without Cleansing. 

Hezekiah had inherited the kingdom from wicked Ahaz.  To put it in blunt terms, the place was a mess.   The first step was cleaning house.  If you want to have healing, you have to start with cleansing.  Personal cleaning products come in all sizes and all shapes.  It is tough to estimate the amount of money spent on personal cleaning products in our country, alone!!   When it comes to cleaning the outside of our bodies we seem to have an obsession.   Yet, that same thought does not come across when it comes to cleansing our inward minds and hearts.  This was the problem during King Hezekiah’s day.   He was precede by a king (Ahaz) that did not mind polluting the worship and spiritual life of the nation.  Hezekiah had the mindset to cleanse the nation and he began by cleansing the worship center.  True cleansing of the life has to begin with cleaning the heart.   The heart of the nation was the worship center.  It had to begin there to extend to the nation.  Healing only happens when we have cleansing.  

Tag: Introduce Your Fear to Your God - Deuteronomy 7-9

Deuteronomy 7:17-19

“If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

Tag: Introduce Your Fear to Your God

We all face giants like David and countries to conquer, like Israel.   Moses had lad the nation of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years.  In the above passage they are about to enter the “promise land” - the land that flows with milk and honey.  The people Moses is talking to, are the grown children of the generation who refused to go into the promise land because of the “giants” in the land.  The generation he is talking to would have remembered the stories their parents taught them.  The parents had refused to lay claim to the promises and power of God.  Moses, in the above verses, is reminding the children to NOT repeat what their parents did.  They not only failed to enter into the promise land, they had to wander in NO peace and NO rest for 40 years.   What is Moses’ solution?  Trust in the righteousness and the power of God.  Moses’ logic is, since God is righteous, He can not lie.  Since He can not lie, His promises are true.  So, they can trust His promises.  Moses also wants to remind them that God is powerful.  He wants the to remember the other stories their parents would have told them - the redemption from Egypt.   Some of them were still young back then, but Moses wants to remind them of God’s past power.   Moses has a solution: Remember the past times when you saw God’s Power and the past times when you heard God’s Promises.  He is telling them to introduce any fears they have to the Promises and the Power of their God.   Fear can’t stand before His promises and His power.  

Tag: Wisdom by Faith - James 1-3

James 1:5-6

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Tag:  Wisdom is for those Who Ask in Faith

Before we understand the above passage it would be best to read what happened with young king Solomon, after his father died and he was made king:

 1 Kings 3:5-9

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

God promises wisdom to us.  He promises to provide it WHEN we approach Him in faith.  This is not something we get from years of schooling, or from chronological advancement.   Yes, those who are older have more knowledge and that allows them to make better decisions.  But, Wisdom is the Fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10).  You can’t reject God (many of the aged) and still have wisdom.    We are obsessed in our country with knowledge.   But, that does not translate to “wisdom.”   Only God can grant wisdom and that, only, by our faith in Him.   That means that those who reject Christ can’t have wisdom.  They are not wise.  In fact, here is how Paul expresses it (since Christ IS wisdom):

1 Corinthians 1:20-26

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

God gives wisdom to those who ask and never causes them to lack in wisdom, when asked by faith.  

Tag: Suffering - Acts 9-10

Acts 9:16

For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Tag:  We All MUST Suffer

We spend most of our life avoiding being uncomfortable.   Think about air conditioning.   Would we like life without it?  Think about ice makers.  Would we like a drink without it?   Think about aspirin?  Think about mattresses that can be set for YOUR sleep number.  We want to be comfortable morning, noon and night.  We avoid pain, wherever possible.  And, that makes sense.  Who would really want pain?   That is what makes the above passage so remarkable.   This verse is written about Paul.  He was “Saul” and WAS a persecutor of the church. He WAS feared by the church.  He TORMENTED and MURDERED Christians.  He was responsible to make Christians suffer.   BUT, NOW he has come to Christ. Within days of his salvation he learns the truth of the above verse.  Like many who come to Christ he may have been mislead into believing that once we come to Christ, God rushes in and makes us ALL BETTER.  Like a mother who kisses our sores and uses her own spittle to clean our face, we think of God as the Mother we never had who will NOW change our world.  Yet, the above verse is not only true for Paul, it is true for us.  Note what Paul will eventually be doing, later in this book:

Acts 14:22

... strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Notice what he told the Corinthians about his ministry:

2 Corinthians 6:4-10

... but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

2 Corinthians 11:22-29

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

God doens’t promise NO suffering.  In fact, He promises the opposite. One of the signs we are IN Christ is that we suffer with Christ.  This world is NOT our home.  So, we suffer, as He did, waiting for our finally redemption in Glory with Him.   We can embrace suffering, not because we like it, but because it is a sure sign of our relationship and identification with Christ.  We should seek comfort in this world, less, and seek it more in our relationship with Christ.  We are counted worthy to suffer with Him and for Him.  

Tag: Living Between the Times - Habakkuk

Habakkuk 2:4

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,

but the righteous shall live by his faith. 

Tag:  Between the Times (Between the Promise and Fulfillment). 

Habakkuk is a prophet of God, caught in the darkness of time.   He has challenged God and God has responded with a stern statement of, “I have a plan, trust me ... you wouldn’t even believe Me or understand Me if I told you.”   Habakkuk has been told that the unrighteousness of his people (Israel) is going to be punished by a people (The Babylonians) worse in sin and unrighteousness than Israel.   Habakkuk’s response: How can this be??!!!!   In Habakkuk 2:2-3 God tells him to be patient, He is doing a great work and it will, in time, be accomplished.   God tells him to, “Trust Me, I got this!”   But, God says it is not time right now.   Habakkuk wants it now.  The prophet wants the unrighteousness punished.   God says, “In time ... in time.”   God simply wants Habakkuk to do what he is required to do and let God do what He is going to do.  One person commented on this as follows:

Raymond Calkins said, "The summons is from speculation to action, from questioning to conduct, from brooding to duty. God is attending to His business, and Habakkuk must attend to his. Running the universe is not his task. That burden belongs to God. But Habakkuk has his task, and let him faithfully perform it. Thus he will live in moral sincerity and in moral security that righteous living brings in the midst of external calamities. That is the way for a righteous man to live in an evil world" (The Modern Message of the Minor Prophets [New York: Harper and Row, 1947] 97).

Leaving “between the times” of promise and fulfillment is a tough place to be.  How do we do that?  In faith!!!   We are to be faithful.  We are to trust God’s greater plan ... even if we don’t understand it.  We are to see that God has a plan and that our faithfulness to it is how we live.  God’s response to our fear and God’s response to our desire for a “fair” life (as we define it), is to live by faith.  It is God’s job to run the universe, which includes our little steps and plight in that universe.  His job is to control.  We are not to control.   We are to release control of our life to Him and live by faith.  Nothing we do is going to change God’s plan.   We are to simply be faithful to His plan.  

Tag: Wisdom Trumps Folly - Ecclesiastes 1-2

Ecclesiastes 2:12-14

So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.

Tag: Wisdom Trumps Folly

Before you read or comment on a position of the book of Ecclesiastes you have to always have a statement as to the purpose of the book and the point of the book.  Solomon is attempting to live, study and analyze all portions of life:  ALL!   He is going on a quest, having been granted all wisdom, by God, to study all cycles and aspects of life.   In the above passage he applies his wisdom to know “folly.” (Folly is doing anything without the honor of God at the center.)   After Solomon’s “study” he concludes that wisdom far outweighs folly; as much as light far outweighs darkness.  Light dispels and chases darkness away.  Solomon’s illustration is the thought by saying having wisdom is like having eyes in your head, while folly is like walking in blindness.  That is the awesome contrast between the two.   He will go on to say that death happens to both, so that is the great equalizer.  However, his point is not that either are no good, since we all die, but only that in light of the equalizer of death as our most certain end, it is far, far better to pursue wisdom than folly.  But, you can’t tell that to the world.  They want to pursue folly ... it is in their nature.   Only God, by His grace, can provide wisdom to us.   God is the one who makes life rich and rewarding by providing wisdom.  Wisdom enables us to make choices that are pleasing to God vs choices pleasing to ourselves (which is the “core” of folly).   Wisdom gives life, while folly produces death, before we die.  Wisdom gives us light on the issues of life, while folly closes our eyes to life.   Wisdom is far better than folly.   

Tag: God Delivers Us! Pslam 122-124

Psalms 124:6-8

Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

We have escaped like a bird

from the snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

Tag:  God Delivers Us!!

In the life of believing God, we will all have, at times, others who wish us harm.  We will all have those who despise our walk with God.  The most that happens to us, in our country, is inward thoughts, seldom expressed to us.   Non-believers question our sincerity, or point out our hypocrisy, or doubt our veracity.   But, those feelings are more than likely physically, or even audibly, benign.   In the above portion of Psalm 124, however, the writer is acknowledging that, had it NOT been for God, those surrounding him would have physical restrained him and psychologically devoured him: Had it NOT been for God’s deliverance.   The first part of this passage says, “Blessed by the Lord who has NOT given us as prey to their teeth!”   That means they wanted to devour him.  They wanted to consume him and destroy him.   We are not told how or why.  We assume it is because of his faith (the rest of the Psalm), but we don’t know how they would destroy him: Physically? Emotionally? Psychologically? Mentally? Reputation?   We simply are not told.  What we are told is that the only deliverance comes from the hands of God.  There is not help but Him.   He is the reason for the contempt of others, but He is also the rescue from the contempt of others.  We can rejoice in the fact that whom God saves, He saves to the uttermost.   We can rejoice in that truth.   

Tag: Standing Tall in Slouching Times - 2 Chroniles 25-28

2 Chronicles 28:12-13

Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the Lord in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.”

Tag:  Standing Tall in Slouching Times

The above section is cut out of a story about King Ahaz , the Kin of Judah, who was not a good king.  Here is what is already stated about him, earlier in this chapter:

2 Chronicles 28:2-3

... but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

God will bring the Syrians to defeat him because of the above life style.   The Syrians defeated 120,000 men of war under the command of Ahaz.   When this happened, the men of Israel, in the north, decided to capitalize on Judah’s downfall and took captive 200,000 women, sons and daughters.  Here is where we enter the story.   When Israel could have been merciful to their brothers to the south, Judah, instead they took advantage of them.  God gave them an opportunity to show kindness.  They didn’t.  These men in the above passage, however, did.  They stood up to their brothers and stood tall for mercy and grace.   They stood in the gap when no one else would.   When we see others doing something wrong we can, and must, stand in the gap.  They first had to admit their own guilt in this thing and then, stop the sin from growing.   When we find ourselves in sin, making mistakes toward God and our brothers, the first step is to stop the current mistakes.  The next step is to make sure we don’t join others, who don’t recognize their sin.  We have to make sure we recognize the sin in our lives and then not join others.  Making a stand for God in times of trouble is as simple as that.   We have to confess and admit our sin and stop joining others in their sin.  

Tag: God’s Desire - Deuteronomy 4-6

Deuteronomy 5:29

Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

Tag:  God’s Desire

God has an “oh” moment!!  In the above passage God, through Moses, is expressing His desire for Israel.   In the margins of most Bibles we an see several references of God wishing Israel would have a hearts desire to want to seek God and follow His Word.   Note a couple:

Psalms 81:13-14

Oh, that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

I would soon subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.

Isaiah 48:18-19

Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

your offspring would have been like the sand,

and your descendants like its grains;

their name would never be cut off

or destroyed from before me.”

Notice the blessing that follows obedience.   God is always willing to bless obedience to His Word.   He wants to bless us.  Obedience to His Word is the avenue of blessing.   But, God’s desire is for that to happen.  Notice what Jesus similarly said:

Matthew 23:37

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Notice each time, in God’s desire for Israel to obey, He offers a blessing, a promise.  God WILL NOT forsake those who seek His Word and obey it.  He will bless us.  

Tag: The Object of Faith is NOT Seen - Hebrews 11-13

Hebrews 13:14

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

Tag:  The Object of Faith is not Seen

Before we can understand this passage, above, we have to recall what the writer of Hebrews has just told us a few chapters back, in the chapter on faith.  Note:

Hebrews 11:14-16

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

The primary example of this type of world view is seen in the story of Abraham and Moses:

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Of Moses the writer stated:

Hebrews 11:26

He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Faith is putting out focus on what we don’t have now but can have in Christ, someday.  When we live a life of faith we look for something from God ... a reward, yet to come.   We don’t focus on this world.  We look for a new world.  When we live by faith we come to realize that none of this matters.   What matters is our relationship with God.  We have a relationship with Him here, but we look for something so much more.  We don’t get caught up into the past or the present. Our eyes look for Christ and what He is bringing into our lives.  That is where the blessings of this life come.  We quit looking at the past and the present and we seek the future with Him.  

Tag: Faith - Acts 7-8

Acts 7:2-5

And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.

Tag:  Faith is still believing in the promises of God even if you don’t get to see the fruition of those promises. 

A complimentary passage to the above portion of Stephen’s sermon is from Romans and Hebrews.  Note:

Romans 4:20-21

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Hebrews 11:8-10

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Abraham was a man of faith who never really got to see the object of his faith:  The land.   He simply looked for the place God would have him go “next” and was trusting God that the “land” would, someday be the land of his children and children’s children.   Faith is believing in the promises of God as though you are experiencing the very thing the promises promise.   Abraham staggered not in unbelief.  He trusted in the character of God that God does not lie.   God, Alone, is the reason to believe in the promises of God.  

Tag: Withouth Christ Sacrifice, God’s Wrath is NOT Appeased - Nahum

Nahum 3:19

There is no easing your hurt;

your wound is grievous.

All who hear the news about you

clap their hands over you.

For upon whom has not come

your unceasing evil?

Tag:  Without Christ God’s Wrath is NOT Appeased. 

The book of Nahum is a prophesy against Nineveh.  Nineveh was a wicked city that had brought cruel treatment to the world around it.  The people of Nineveh were known for the harsh and cruel treatment of those they attacked and brutally destroyed.   When Jonah went to Nineveh they repented.  However, 100 years later they returned to their wicked ways and God would, finally, bring His wrath upon them.  What would His wrath look like? The above verse tells us.   When God’s wrath comes upon man, there is “no easing your hurt.”   The wounds of God’s wrath are “grievous.”   Those who hear about God’s wrath on wicked Nineveh will applause and no one will grieve its passing.  There will not longer be ANY mercy.  Why?  Because the evil Nineveh did to others was “unceasing.”   God’s wrath is unceasing.   There will come a point in time when God’s mercy ends an His wrath begins.   God has shown remarkable patience with Nineveh.  However, there is an end of God’s waiting ... Nineveh was, in the end, cut down and everyone around her “clapped their hands” (applauded) God’s wrath.  

Tag: A Godly Wife - Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31:12 (NASBStr)

She does him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

Proverbs 31:12 (ESV)

She does him good, and not harm,

all the days of her life.

If you want to know if a wife is the women of Proverbs 31 you only have to look at how she treats her husband and how she builds their relationship.  In this chapter we have the description of the Godly Wife.   Solomon had over 700 wives.   That is great research data as to what a good wife looks like.   We see in this proverb that a Godly wife, from beginning to end, brings good to her husband and not evil.   We see character and consistency over time.  That might be a good description of a women of integrity.  Any women can do it before the wedding.  Any women can do it for the first year.   But, what about during those tough times? What about during those times when he is unloveable?  When he doesn't take out the garbage or treat you with the respect you deserver or desire?   Remember, the character of a Godly women over time at its highest level is being described here.    She does him "no" evil "all" the days of her life.    The only way this is possible, of course, is to allow the Fruit of the Spirit to reign in your life as you allow the Spirit to lead your life.  Love covers a multiple of sin.  Love allows you to look past mistakes and flaws.   Love flowing through the Spirit, through the life of the believer allows her to love him and do good all her days.   It allows him to only see good and not the evil that comes from being a human being.   The only way this is possible is if your  allowing the Son of God to reign in your life and live through your life through the Spirit of God.

Tag: God the Watchen - Psalm 121-122

Psalms 121:8

The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

Tag:  God the Watchmen

In today’s modern society having a webcam is becoming and more and more common occurrence.   We are, in a violent world, obsessed with having an “eye in the sky.”  We have in-home securing systems that allow us to know when someone is on the outside or breaking into the inside of our homes. In very wealthy homes and for very important people the security camera and alarm are augmented with the security guard.   The guard might protect the buildings or the individuals.  For those of even more importance we might see a body guard, who is armed and ready to take a bullet for you.   In the above text we see Yahweh’s role and care for the nation of Israel in the song of praise for God’s care over our lives.   God has promised Israel (and, us, as believers) to watch over us.   He has promised to “keep” us.  The Hebrew word for “keep” in the above verse is the same word used when God said he put Adam in the garden to “keep” it.   God is keeping watch over us, but not JUST for safety, He is grooming us and shaping us in that “keeping.”   God is doing this day and night.  God never sleeps or slumbers.  God is watching for us and making sure that everything that comes our way will shape us to His image.  He does not keep all things from us (think of Job).  He just makes sure that what does come upon us has His greater glory at the core.   God is not a fire alarm or smoke detector in our lives.  He is an active Keeper who is caring for us and sharpening us has we go along.   God is the one who we can trust with our ultimate care, as He watches our coming in and our going out.  In all aspects of our lives God is the master watchmen.  

Tag: We all leave a legacy - 2 Chrnicles 21-24

2 Chronicles 21:20

He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one's regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Tag: We All Leave a Legacy 

In the above passage the “he” that is referred to is Jehoram, a king of Judah.   Jehoram was not a good king.  He did not follow God’s commandments and did not lead the people to follow God.   He started out in his rule as king by killing all his brothers.   Jehoram was a wicked man.  Because of his disobedience to God, he was sent an incurable disease.   For two years this disease attacks his bowels.  The verse just before the above passage states, “... and he died in great agony.”   Jehoram’s legacy for the future was based upon his current life style.  Since he refused to obey the Lord’s Commandments, he was not only a shameful king, but died an agonizing death.  He not only died in agony, he wasn’t even buried with the other kings.  He had no one “regret” his death.   His legacy is contained in those words.  We all leave a legacy, it only matters what it reads.  For this king it was shame.  Why?  Because he failed to serve God and follow God’s Word.   

Tag: God’s Blessings - Deuteronomy 1-3

Deuteronomy 1:8

See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’

Tag:  God’s Blessing

In the book of Deuteronomy we see Moses addressing the new generation of Israelites.  Their parents were the rebellious group of people who refused to believe God and obey God.  The book outlines how the nation moved from Egypt to the edge of the promise land and how they rebelled in the process.  In the above verse Moses lays out the main thought of the book:  I have set the land before you, now go take it.  God has set before them an opportunity to seize the land.  They can only seize the land by trusting in the promises of God.  Because their parents refuse to trust in the promises of God they failed to enter into rest.  Moses now is telling them to trust God and don’t be like their parents.  The only way they can do that is by leaning into the promises of God.   Their parents didn’t do that.  Hence they missed the blessings.  We miss God’s blessing when we fail to lean into His promises.  

Tag: Forgivness is Expensive - Hebrews 8-10

Hebrews 9:22

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Tag:  Forgiveness comes at great expense

When Jesus had the “last supper” with His disciples, he told them that His blood would be poured out for their “forgiveness:” 

Matthew 26:28

for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness is expensive.  It came at the cost of the death of the Son of God.  That is why we should not take it lightly.   Note what one writer states:

John MacArthur: 

It is possible to become morbid about Christ’s sacrificial death and preoccupied with His suffering and shedding of blood. It is especially possible to become unbiblically preoccupied with the physical aspects of His death. It was not Jesus’ physical blood that saves us, but His dying on our behalf, which is symbolized by the shedding of His physical blood. If we could be saved by blood without death, the animals would have been bled, not killed, and it would have been the same with Jesus.

Since the Tabernacle was not yet built when Moses ratified the covenant, his sprinkling the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood is obviously meant to be anticipatory. The blood he sprinkled at the initiation of the covenant continued, in a sense, to be sprinkled by the priests in the Tabernacle and Temple as long as that covenant stood. The purpose of the blood was to symbolize sacrifice for sin, which brought cleansing from sin. Therefore, without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Christ had to shed blood to show His death.  His death, in substitute for you and me, was to justify us (satisfy the wrath of God against us).  Because of this work by Christ we have forgiveness.  When we sin against God we spurn that act of Christ’s death to forgive us.  He has paid the ultimate cost to assure or eternal justification.  God requires a death for sin (Romans 3:23).  Christ was that death!!  We are forgiven as a result.  

Tag; Keeping up with the Jones’ - Acts 5-6

Acts 5:1-6

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

Tag:  Keeping up with the Jones’

In ordered to understand the above passage we have to read the passage just prior to this story:

Acts 4:34-37

There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Ananias and Sapphira saw the giving of Barnabas and how he was treated by the church and how he was celebrated by the church, and that motivated to do what they did.  They were not motivated with a heart of giving.  They were motivated by a heart of needing approval and desire for fame and recognition.   How easy it is for that to happen in the hearts of men?   We see what others have and the heart of envy creeps into our lives.  We find a way to get recognition we desire, even if we have to lie to get it.   Instead finding their approval in the truth of Romans 8:1 (there is NO condemnation for those in Christ Jesus), they sought the pleasure and prestige of men.  We ought to seek the favor of God and not live for man’s approval ... even Christian men.   Later the Apostles would be flogged by the religious leaders of the day (Acts 5:41).  They would leave that flogging rejoicing that they could suffer with Christ.   They did not seek man’s approval, only Christ’s.   Ananias and Sapphira sought the recognition of those around them instead of Him within them.   They wanted to keep up with Barnabas, who eventually becomes a big deal in the church.   They so much wanted to be a big deal, also, they were willing to plot a lie to make that happen.  

Tag: Messiah came to give Peace!! - Micah

Micah 5:4-5a

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth.

And he shall be their peace.

Tag:  The Messiah’s Reign will bring Peace

In Micah 5 we have the announcement that “Bethlehem” will be the birth place of the Messiah (Jesus).  In the above passage, that follows the Bethlehem announcement, we read that the Messiah’s reign will provide several blessings to the nation of Israel (and, because they rejected Him), blessings on the Gentiles:

1.  He shall “stand” - this speaks to Christ’s stability and eternality.

2. He shall “shepherd” - this speaks to Christ’s care and compassion.

3. He shall have the “strength” of the Lord - this speaks to Christ’s power

4.  He shall have “majesty” of the name of the Lord His God- this speaks toward Chris’t relationship with the Father

5. He shall provide “security” to Israel - this speaks to Hs protection 

6.  He shall provide “peace” - this speaks to the goal of His salvation.  To restore peace to Israel.  In the immediate context it is peace, meaning the absence of war with their neighbors and future neighbors.   In future context it means that we will have peace between us and God; between us and others; between us and our enemies.   

Christ came to give us peace.    

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

That is the goal of the Messiah.  To restore peace.   We are to pray for peace:

Psalms 122:6

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

“May they be secure who love you!

We ought to pray for peace for ourselves and others.  We are to pray that the peace provided upon the cross by Christ will reign in the hearts of man.  

Tag: Industry and Work Ethic - Proverbs 29 and 30

Proverbs 30:25

the ants are a people not strong,

yet they provide their food in the summer;

Tag:  Industry and Work Ethic

This proverb is actually part of a larger group of proverbs, stressing a point:  Size doesn’t diminish our capacity for wisdom and ability to get wisdom:

Proverbs 30:24-28

Four things on earth are small,

but they are exceedingly wise:

the ants are a people not strong,

yet they provide their food in the summer;

the rock badgers are a people not mighty,

yet they make their homes in the cliffs;

the locusts have no king,

yet all of them march in rank;

the lizard you can take in your hands,

yet it is in kings' palaces.

The wisdom of the ant is seen in their ability to gather food in the summer, to be prepare for the winter.  Yes, they are small and can lift an amazing amount of weight, despite their size.  But, the teaching in this proverbs is their wisdom to use the skills they have (strength in numbers) to prepare their community, during summer, for a harsh winter.  They are the example of teamwork and strength in numbers.  They are wise enough to support each other and to work at a high rate for a long time to be able to stay alive.   The ant is industrious and has a great work ethic.   But, Solomon is teaching us that industry and work ethic means little, if you don’t have the wisdom to employ it and utilize that strength, power, teamwork and preparation.  Wisdom is the principle thing.  Get wisdom and it will allow you to fully utilize the other skills.   

Tag: Restoration Begins with God’s Word - Psalm 119

Psalms 119:59

When I think on my ways,

I turn my feet to your testimonies;

Psalms 119:176

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,

for I do not forget your commandments.

Tag: Change of Direction in Life Begins with God’s Word

Many of the words in Palms 119 are written by David when he is in a good spot in life. Many show him walking with God and finding joy in God’s Word.  Here is one example:

Psalms 119:2-3

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,

who seek him with their whole heart,

who also do no wrong,

but walk in his ways!

However, there are a few spots, as above, where David seems to be in a bad patch in life.   When he considers his “ways” he realizes that he must quickly turn to God’s “testimonies.”   He knows when he has “gone astray,” in order to be restored, he must not “forget your commandments.”   The path to repentance is through the cleansing of God’s Word.  Note what David said earlier in this same passage:

Psalms 119:9

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

Note what Christ and Paul said:

John 17:17

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Ephesians 5:25-26

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

We are healed by the Cross and we are set back into good standing after the Cross by the power of the Word to correct us.  We can’t have repentance without the guidance of God’s Word and the restoration of God’s Word and through God’s Word.  

Tag: Speak for God No Matter What!! 2 Chronicles 17-20

2 Chronicles 18:12-13

And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”

Tag:  Speak for God No Matter What!

In the above passage we jump right into the middle of a story already unfolding and developing.   The King of Israel (wicked King Ahab) and the King of Judah (Jehoshaphat) are having a conclave.   Ahab is asking Jehoshaphat to join him in a war against the Syrians.   The only way Jehoshaphat will go to war is to hear from a prophet of God.   To accommodate, Ahab marches out 400 prophets and they All say to go to war together and that God will give them a victory.   However, Jehoshaphat must have suspected something as he ask for another prophet.   Enter Micaiah, stage left.   Micaiah is asked about going to war and the above passage comes into play.   This prophet, unlike the others, prophesies that the King of Israel (Ahab) will die.   He is “asked” by the king to NOT prophesy bad things.  Yet, he only wants to speak for God and not for man.  He fears God more than he fears man.  Perhaps Micaiah had the words of Solomon in his head when he approached this assignment:

Proverbs 29:25-26

The fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

Many seek the face of a ruler,

but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice.

Rather than seek the favor of a king, Micaiah decided to speak for THE KING of KINGS.   We can often, in our counsel for others be persuaded to want to say things that please them.   However, our mission out to be the same as Micaiah:   ... what my God says, that I will speak!!   We are to give counsel from God’s Word no matter if they threaten to hurt us, hinder us, harm us or ignore us.  We must speak what God tells us to speak.  What he tells us to speak is contained in His Word.   We are to speak His Word and that will suffice no matter what we are asked. 

Tag: Disobedience Diminishes Rest - Numbers 33-36

Numbers 33:5-8

So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth. And they set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. And they set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. And they set out from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they went a three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. 

Tag:  Disobedience Diminishes Rest. 

This chapter of Numbers is about all the “stages” of the people of Israel during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.   The key phrase in the above passage is, “set out from.”  The phrase appears over thirty times in this chapter.  It demonstrates both the care and guidance of God, but also the lack of rest afforded to the people of God.   God had promised them the land ... a place flowing with “milk and honey.”    They were to have “rest” in the land, but because of their failure to trust God completely, they had no rest.   Note what the writer of the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament tells us:

Hebrews 3:16 - 4:2

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

We can have “rest” if we put our complete faith and trust in God’s promises and God’s character.   It is when we live in unbelief that we fail to know the rest that God has provided for us.  But, He provides that rest via faith.  The nation of Israel had to break down camp, walk, set up camp and repeat the process over and over.   They could never have peace.  During this time the rebellious and unbelieving members of the community had to die, before the younger members of the community could enter into rest.   The unbelief of some, hindered the rest of the others.  Unbelief is never alone.   

Tag: God Calls - Hebrews 5-7

Hebrews 5:4

No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.

Tag:   God “Calls” 

When young people reach graduation they are repeatedly ask, “So, what are. You going to do? What field of study are you going to do? What are you going to do with your life?”    Everyone asks because everyone expects these young, future graduates, to know and to choose.   If they were to say, “I have no idea, I am waiting for God’s ‘call’ on my life to become clear,” they might discover some unusual looks.  Yet, in the above text we see, at least in one vocation, God truly does “call” people to His service.   Yes, the context is the Jewish priesthood and we know that this was based upon being born to the tribe of Levi.   God “called” the tribe of Levi to be the royal priesthood.  In fact, the point of the overall passages is that Christ was not part of the tribe of Levi and since Abraham paid tithes to a priest NOT from the tribe of Levi, this other priest (Melchizedek) was superior to Abraham, and a “type” of Christ.   That is the point of the of the passage.   However, the message in the above verse remains the same: God calls.   Look what Paul says about his life:

Galatians 1:1

Paul, an apostle–sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead–

Ephesians 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Romans 1:1

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God–

Note what Peter says:

2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

We are “called” by Christ.   Christ must call us and we must recognize that He has that authority over our lives. While young people attempt to decision their occupation and/or vocation, God is the one who is appointing them to His service.  God calls ... we simply respond.