Tag: Individual Responsibility to the Truth - Exodus 17-20

Exodus 19:24 - 20:1

And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them.

(The Ten Commandments)

And God spoke all these words, saying,

Tag;   Individual Responsibility to the Truth

Later in the book of Exodus, Moses will come down from Mount Sinai and discover that Aaron, his brother and co-leader of the people, has led and/or allowed he people to make a golden calf to worship.   The thought is that while Moses is up in the mountain with God, receiving “The Law,” Aaron is down in the valley breaking “The Law.”   However, as noted about Aaron and the people seem to be present with the giving of, at least, the Ten Commandments.   We see that God has told them, with His own voice, they are to have “no other gods before them.”   It is later that Moses is up in the mountain for the “rest” of the Law and Aaron in the valley, making a golden calf.   The nation of Israel had personal responsibility to hear God’s commands and to obey them.  They can not feign ignorance.  They can not blame Moses.   Aaron will later blame the people, but he, too, was there.   We each have an individual responsibility for the truth we are given.  God has given us truth, in one way or another.  God demands that we obey the truth we were given and holds us accountable for that truth.   

Tag: God is Producing His Glory in Us - 2 Corinthians 1-3

2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

Tag:  God is Producing His Glory in Us

Before understanding the above passage we have to read were Paul is going with this thought.  Note how this chapter ends (although Paul’s thought continues into chapter four):

2 Corinthians 3:18

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

Paul is making a point in this section that his boldness of ministry and authority (over the believers in Corinth) had to do with the ministry of the Spirt dwelling within him that produces more and more of God’s glory.   Remember, he will tell the Romans, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”   Yet, God, through Christ, is restoring that Glory.  The New Covenant is restoring man into a relationship with God.  That relationship, as it grows whole, is for the glory of God, BUT ALSO, to bring man to a state of glorification.    When our pride enters we are not reaching for that glory in Christ, but God saved us to glorify us.   That is a true statement.  Note what Paul tells the Romans:

Romans 2:7

to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;

We are to seek glory.  Although we are to seek the glory of God, that is NOT what he is saying, here in Romans.  He is talking about the glorification of man.  We are to see being glorified by God ... we are to seek God’s righteousness.  We won’t get it on this side of glory but we are being changed from one degree of geology to another.  That is will produce in us confidence and the fruits of the spirit.   God is changing us and giving us His glory ... via sanctification we will find glorification.  

Tag: Fear has no Confidence or Modesty - Mark 13-14

Mark 14:50-52

And they all left him and fled.

And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Tag:  Fear has no Confidence or Modesty

In the above passage we see the stories of the disciples the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested by the religious leaders of the day.   The mob mentality began to do what it often does ... destructive behaviors.  The disciples, although spending years following Christ and seeing all the miracles, began to disperse in fear.  The fear they had of the mob and the powerful religious leaders trumped all the teaching and observations they had accumulated over the past three years.   They had no confidence in what they had observed, in light of the mob in front of them.  The tyranny of the urgent was more dominate than the teaching of the Savior.   They feared for their lives.   Yet, within weeks they would be standing in the streets and the Temple proclaiming a risen Savior (see Acts 3-4).  Note Solomon’s wisdom here:

Proverbs 28:1

The wicked flee when no one pursues,

but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Righteousness emboldens us.  After Christ rose from the dead and the Spirit of God fell upon the disciples they were clothed in an alien righteousness from Christ (1 Corinthians 5:21).  That gave them power and their fears no longer controlled them.   Prior to the righteousness of Christ being poured into them they were timid and fearful and lacked even basic modesty.    But, as Paul told Timothy, once we are clothed in righteousness we are no longer timid:

2 Timothy 1:7

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

We can praise God for this and no longer have to run when no one is pursuing.   God is our power and our strength as He clothes us in His righteousness.  Without the knowledge of God’s righteousness in our lives we are fearful and even run away, lacking modesty.  We look foolish and stupid.  That is how the young man in the above verse appears as he leaves his linen cloth on the ground and runs.   Yet, when clothed in Christ righteousness we are bold as lions.   Not because of something we have done, but because we believe and know that Christ dwells within us and emboldens us.   Note Peter’s prayer after his first sermon and he was threatened to be locked up and even beaten and killed if he preached about Christ again: 

Acts 4:29

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

Being clothed in righteousness gives us boldness and confidence.   

Tag: Righteousness is Mad Manifest in the Son - Jeremiah 22-26

Jeremiah 23:5-6

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

Tag:  Righteousness is Made Manifest in the Son

Before understanding the above passage we really need to read what Paul wrote in Romans 3:

Romans 3:21

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

Jeremiah prophesied about it; Jesus came and fulfilled it; and, Paul bore witness to it ... God manifested righteousness.   Jesus came to “execute” justice and righteousness.  He did this by laying His life down for us and redeemed us by His blood.  We are now have an “alien” (Martin Luther) righteousness (1 Corinthians 5:21) that has been given to us by Christ - He has taken our sin.   The concept of God taking our sin and giving us His righteousness is an amazing and wonderful thought process.   Righteousness was manifested in the Son.    It is shed abroad in our hearts via the Spirit.   We can rejoice in this thought and praise God for this truth.  

Tag: God Restores Righteousness - Job 32-34

Job 33:19-28

“Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed

and with continual strife in his bones,

so that his life loathes bread,

and his appetite the choicest food.

His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,

and his bones that were not seen stick out.

His soul draws near the pit,

and his life to those who bring death.

If there be for him an angel,

a mediator, one of the thousand,

to declare to man what is right for him,

and he is merciful to him, and says,

‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;

I have found a ransom;

let his flesh become fresh with youth;

let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;

then man prays to God, and he accepts him;

he sees his face with a shout of joy,

and he restores to man his righteousness.

He sings before men and says:

‘I sinned and perverted what was right,

and it was not repaid to me.

He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,

and my life shall look upon the light.’

Tag:  God Restores Righteousness

This passage is from Elihu’s speech that was delivered to Job and his three friends.  Elihu is a young man who is not pleased with the “older” men in regard to their failure to “answer” Job and Job’s justification of himself.   In the above passage the theme is God’s restoration of righteousness.   Elihu is explaining that man, without some mediation, is lost and has no one to offer mercy to him.   His point is that, without intervention, man is going to be destined for destruction and failure.   But, with mediation, God can and will deliver and restore righteousness to him.  This is the Old Testament version of Romans 3:21-26.   In that passage God gives us the knowledge we need about giving man righteousness, because Christ mediated it for us.  Christ propitiate God’s wrath and now we have righteousness.   God redeems us with the blood of Christ and brings us up out of the pit.   

Tag: God Has No Need of Our “Gifts” - Psalm 48-50

Psalms 50:7-12

“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.

I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds.

For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know all the birds of the hills,

and all that moves in the field is mine.

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and its fullness are mine.

Tag:  God Has No Need of Our “Gifts”

In the above section God is telling the nation of Israel, through the song leader, Asaph, that He doesn’t need their worship, gifts or skills.   That nation of Israel is one of great pride.  Paul, in Romans, gives an argument for Israel not having special status when it comes to being Justified (Romans 2-4).   God is telling them in the above verses that He owns it all, so whatever they bring is already His.   That is an impossible truth for the world to grasp.   Everything on the earth and in the heavens and seas is Gods, already.   God is not some how more complete when we come to Him.   God owns our very breath, so singing to Him is not something that God needs.   God owns all the cattle on a thousand hills.   He owns the beast, the birds and the beauty of it all.   We can come to think so highly of ourselves.   Some think that their presence in a church (their membership) somehow makes the church valuable, or privileged.   Christ is the only person who makes a church privileged.   God is not privileged to have us.   If He were hungry He has the entire world to consume.  

We often take a look at a big city and the lights inflame the night.  We see amazing homes on the ocean, lake or river and stand in amazement of their size ... yet, our God owns it all.   God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and their is nothing He lacks.  So, our worship does not contribute to His completeness.  Our worship simply acknowledges His greatness.   

Tag: Leadership Must Stand For Principle - 2 Samuel 1-4

2 Samuel 3:36-39

And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people. So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's will to put to death Abner the son of Ner. And the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? And I was gentle today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!”

Tag:  Leadership Must Stand For Principle

Sometimes, in the midst of a organizational, community or countries issue, the leadership has to demonstrate, overtly, their concern and interest in the issue. David was genuinely insulted that Joab had killed Abner. Abner had killed Joab's brother (although his brother was pursuing Abner and tried to kill him) and Joab was exacting revenge. However, David didn't want his kingdom to be built on the revenge factor. David wanted to show mercy and grace. He had done so to Saul in his life and he wanted to continue that with those who served Saul. Later David would show mercy to Saul's remaining heir, Jonathon's son. But, Joab had shamed the kingdom of David and David went to extreme lengths to show his love and loyalty for Abner and Saul's kingdom and his disdain for Joab. As a leader you have to sometimes stand up for what is right not simply stand up for your "party". If this would have been today's political climate talking heads would be telling us how Joab "had" to kill Abner. They would say it was his only choice. They would stand up for their party. But, in David's day it was about standing for what is right: Mercy and grace. If you are going to be a leader in your home, community or business you will someday have to choose to be loyal to people or to principle. Like David, choose principle. In today’s culture, leaders stand for party, for profit and for power.   David is giving us a great picture of leadership that stands for principle.  If you want to stand tall in a slouching world, you have to stand up for principle and allow others to see that you are not lie those around you.  

Tag: God Fights our Battles - Exodus 13-16

Exodus 15:3

The Lord is a man of war;

the Lord is his name.

Tag:  God Fights Our Battles

God is not a “man of war” because He needs to prove Himself.  God is a man of war because the evil in this world, through Satan’s temptation of man and man’s inward sin, is destined to defeat us, if God does not fight for us.   The above passage is taken from a song (psalm) of Moses after God rescued the nation of Israel from Pharaoh’s army.   Pharaoh was out to kill the Israelites.   God rescued them.   God is at battle with evil of this world.   He will ultimately when.  Note what other verses says about God in this vein:

Psalms 24:8

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,

the Lord, mighty in battle!

Revelation 19:11

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

God makes war against evil.   His name is Yahweh.   He is fighting a war for us.  Christ came to defeat sin and death - by death.   He died and rose again and now lives forevermore.  God is the God of victory because He is a God who fights for us and wins the battle.   We are to yield to Him and wait for the salvation of the Lord:

Exodus 15:2

The Lord is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Tag: Mindset Produces Conduct - 1 Corinthians 15-16

1 Corinthians 15:33-34

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. 

Tag:  Mindset Produces Conduct

Paul has been laying down a long argument about the fact that Christ rose from the dead.   There were, in the early church, teachers who were attempting to discredit the resurrection (Easter Sunday).   Paul’s argument, throughout chapter fifteen, is that if there is NO resurrection we are all, indeed, lost.  As his treating of this false teaching comes to a climax, he states the above passage.   The entire idea he is stating could be paraphrased like this:

If you keep hanging with and listening to people with bad teaching and bad behaviors, don’t be too surprised if you, TOO, develop a bad set of ethos (the word “morals”, above, is actually the Greek word, “ethos” .... it means your mindset, character, values, beliefs).   

Paul is stating that these bad actors in and among them are corrupting them.  Paul’s approach is to call to attention that they are listening to bad counsel and people with bad behavior and need to change their mindset, if they hope to live in light of Christ.   He actually quotes a cliche from a Greek poet/philosopher to make his point.   That seems odd, as this is Paul writing Scripture.  Never-the-less, Paul is trying to make a point and he uses even modern day thinking of the Greeks, to make the point ... bad company will change your ethos.   He goes on to “shame” them (on purpose ... something we could never do today, since “shaming” is consider “bad”).   He is telling them that the reason they are being corrupted by these bad teachers is because they are not only “hanging” with them, but that they are not fully knowledgeable about God.   He is saying, that their willful ignorance (not naïveté) is keeping them from living a victoriously life, failing to believe in the power of the resurrection and corrupting their mindset, which is producing bad conduct.   Paul is a straightforward teacher not a life-coach.  He is telling it like it is.  His solution to bad behavior is two-fold in the above passage:  Quit listening to those with bad teaching and fill your mind with the knowledge of God/Christ.  That is the formula to change your mindset.  There is no shortcut or any other way to change your ethos.   

Tag: Christ Warned about False Teachers/Leader - Mark 12:12

Mark 12:38-40

And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Tag:  Beware of False Leaders

Jesus wanted the disciples to be aware of false teachers and leaders who have a desire to place themselves above the Lord.  He points out that they dress in a particular manner, for the purpose of being seen by men and impressing men.  False teaches and false leaders are controlled by the power of other men.   We have already seen two examples, just in this section, about how the leaders “feared men” and didn’t have reverence for God:

Mark 11:32

But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.

Mark 12:12

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

True leaders, who have God’s approval, fear God and follow the principals of God’s Word.    

These scribes in long robes also sought their own praise.  They wanted to be praised.   True teaches of God and true leaders of God do not promote themselves.   They are just sheep, like the rest of the sheep ... and they know it.  False teachers and false leaders find a way to be promoted and seek promotion.  

The last indication of a false leader is that false leaders and false teachers take advantage of others.   They find the weakest and find a way to exploit them and use them to their advantage.  False teachers/leaders love power.  The weakest among us allow them to exert power over them.   

Jesus warned us to avoid false teachers/leaders.  We should avoid listening to them, but also we should avoid becoming one of them.  Every teacher and leader has a temptation to promote self and to exert power over others.   That temptation can be checked when we submit to the Lordship of Christ and allow Him to rule our lives.   That was the real warning to the disciples. 

Tag: God Knows When His Servants Hurt - Jeremiah 17-21

Jeremiah 20:1-6 (Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur)

Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”

Tag: God Knows When His Servants Hurt

In the above story we see that Jeremiah is being attacked by another prophet named Pashhur.   Jeremiah was speaking for God.   Pashhur didn’t like the message he was speaking.  Even though it was from God, the message was not favorable to those around him.  But, Jeremiah was faithful to God, despite his circumstances.   Jeremiah could not change his situation, but God did see the evil that was done to him.   God intervened in Jeremiah’s life, as God does every day.   We don’t see it, but here is an example of what God does for His children.   There are countless examples of God coming to the rescue of His children; especially when they are attacked by mankind.   We don’t always see it and we may even want to even those around us (Psalm 73).  But, this is a great story to remember that God does indeed see and will, indeed, punish evil doers.  

Tag: The Pain of Hidden Sin - Job 31

Job 31:33-34

if I have concealed my transgressions as others do

by hiding my iniquity in my heart,

because I stood in great fear of the multitude,

and the contempt of families terrified me,

so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—

Tag:  The Pain of Hidden Sin

In chapter 31, Job is closing out his words of defense.  His three friends have concluded that the only reason Job is suffering is because of apparent sin in his life.   Yet, Job goes through a series of “if I have done this” than “let this be done to me” scenarios.   All of which Job is flatly disavowing.  The above “if” disavows the aspect of hiding some secret sin in his life.   Job shows the consequences of hiding a secret sin in one’s life.  He shows that the impact is that we have a “fear of the multitude.”  How many today hide their sins and refuse to “come clean” because they have a fear of man?   James 5:16 tells us to “confess our faults one to another that we might be healed.”   Imagine the relief it would be if we could practice James’ command in our churches.  But, we don’t openly confess the struggles of our lives because we are fear of the judgment of the masses.   In the above passage Job states that hidden sin can prevent someone from interacting with others ... they seclude themselves they are so fearful of man’s judgement.  Yet, it is God’s judgement we should be concerned about.  If I confess it to God and He forgives me, why would I worry about man knowing my sin and failings?   God has restored me.   Man can not and should not have power over me to destroy me.  Yet, that is what Job is stating.  Again, Job is disavowing this thought, but the truth stands clear:  Hiding sin in my life has a consequence that isolates and hinders my interaction with others.   It is a consequence of sin we know in our heart.  Politicians are often caught in public sin and their first response is to deny.   Yet, they eventually “come clean.”  They deny because they “fear the multitude.”   Hidden sin has many dangers.   Confessing sin restores relationships.  

Tag: A Great God Deserves Great Worship - Psalm 45-47

Psalms 47:1-4

Clap your hands, all peoples!

Shout to God with loud songs of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,

a great king over all the earth.

He subdued peoples under us,

and nations under our feet.

He chose our heritage for us,

the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

Tag:  A Great God Deserves Great Worship

God is the “Most High” and is to be “feared.”   Note the term “most high:”

The terminology employed for God in these verses is instructive. He is addressed first as Yahweh Elyon ("Lord Most High"); Yahweh is the personal name of the deity and Elyon (a name utilized also in extrabiblical texts; see further the commentary on Ps 46:5) sets God in an international context. Indeed, the biblical uses of the term Elyon frequently are in a context where foreign peoples, in addition to the Hebrews, are present. 

God is the “great king” over the earth.    God is the God who “subdued peoples” and “nations.”   God is the powerful God who can do everything.   How are we to respond to a God like this?   We are to “clap” and we are to “shout” and we are to sing “loud” song of “joy.”  We have a God that deserves our praise. Our praise needs to be loud and outward, but with great reverence.  He is due our honor.  He is due our praise.   We can worship Him knowing He will subdue our enemies (including the fiery darts of Satan).   We have been given the privilege of praising and glorifying a great God who has great power and uses that power to care for us.   

Tag: Leadership Uses Grace to Build Teams - 1 Samuel 26-31

1 Samuel 30:21-25

Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.” But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

Tag:  Leadership Uses Grace to Build Teams

In the above verses we see that David and his merry men have finally overcome their enemy, retrieved their stolen property and family and were now returning with the spoils of war.   During the pursuit, some of David’s men became exhausted and were left behind.  As a result, they did not fight in the battle.   Those who did, were envious and thought their hard work should be rewarded.  They thought the weakness of those left behind should not be rewarded.   The division in the ranks was brewing and David had to sort this out.  Such is leadership.  We have envy within the ranks and leadership must bring the team together.   Note what one commentator says about this story:

“The policy of equal sharing recognizes that all they have, particularly the plunder coming from victory in battle, is God-given. There is no indication that the two hundred who stayed behind did so for any other reason than exhaustion. However, David, in describing them as those who stayed with the supplies, gives them a function and in so doing restores their self-respect and makes them more likely to function well in the future. The principle that every soldier will gain the same reward whatever part he plays in the campaign fits well both with the covenant concept of brotherhood and with the concept of God as the one who is primarily responsible for each one of their victories. It is possible that Paul had been reflecting on passages such as this one when he developed his teaching about one body with many members (1 Cor. 12).” Understanding the Bible Commentary

The key principle here, spoken by David is:  

But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 

David recognized that ANY good that comes to us is from God.  James says it this way:

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

If we have something good happen to us, it is because of God’s grace.  Therefore we should be gracious to others.   Bringing a team together is about showing each other grace.  The more grace, the more team.   Leadership uses grace to build teamwork.  

Tag: God can Change Any Heart - Exodus 9-12

Exodus 12:29-32 (The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn)

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”

Tag: God Can Change Any Heart

The story of the plagues on Egypt is a story of God’s power vs man’s evil heart.   It took ten plagues, but Pharaoh’s heart was finally turned to release the people of Israel.   The Egyptians did not just release Israel, they sent them away and the gave them food, clothing, jewelry, and allowed them to plunder the entire nation.   Pharaoh’s heart was softened by the power of God.  He will, soon, return to his hardened ways (because God wants the ultimate victory over the evil of the land), but for this moment, God bends the kings heart the way God wants it bent.   Note what Solomon will say later about the heart of the king:

Proverbs 21:1

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he turns it wherever he will.

God can turn the heart of the king.   Through out this story we see that God will and does turn the heart of Pharaoh to accomplish His greater purpose.  We can worry about heads of state and/or heads of homes, but, in reality, God is turning hearts the way He will and according to His plans.  The Kings heart is like a puppet in the hand of the God of the Universe.  

Tag: Be Mature About the Right Things - 1 Corinthians 12-14

1 Corinthians 14:20

Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

Tag: Be Mature About the Right Things

If we want to know about the spiritual condition of the believers at Corinth, this verse might give us some exceptional insight.  Paul, in essence, tells them to “grow up!”   The context of the above verse is in regard to spiritual gifts.  The Corinthians prided themselves on the gift of Tongues - kind of a “show me” type of gift; at least this was the thought process for the church.   Paul wants them to be mature in regard to spiritual gifts and devotes three chapters to the subject.   He has already given them much to meditate upon, but in this verse he becomes direct and tells them to be mature in their thinking but to be infants in regard to evil.  Remember, this is the church that had knowledge about a young man who was involved sexually with his step-mom (see chapter five).   This is a group that had great knowledge about each other’s loyalty (enough to cause a conflict between groups).   This is a group of believers who came to church and turned the communion service into a self-indulging part.   They had true knowledge of evil.  They were infants in regard to spiritual gifts.   Paul wants that to reverse.   We tend to get to know evil quite well.   If we want to be be mature, we need to make sure we are focused on the more important aspects of life.  Using the giftedness God gave us trumps division, sexual gossip and gluttony.   When we spend out time to focus on the right things (things God is concerned about) we can grow in God’s grace and God’s service.   

Tag: Christ is Serious About Sin - Mark 9-10

Mark 9:43-47

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,

Tag:  Christ is Serious About Sin

Christ is instructing His disciples about sin. He is quite clear about what He thinks of sin:  It needs to be eradicated - at all cost.  Notice what Paul tells us about sin in our lives:

Romans 8:13

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

We are told by Paul that we are to “put to death” the deeds of the body (sin).  Adding Christ’s words, we see that this might be by “cutting” off the offending body part causing the sin.  Since we have no evidence of anyone in the early church taking Jesus’ words literally, we have to assume He meant this metaphorically.  Any body part that might cause us to walk into sin, needs to stopped, somehow.  Christ is quite serious about sin.  We should be as well.  

Tag: False Teaching - Jeremiah 12-16

Jeremiah 14:13-15 (Lying Prophets)

Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.

Tag:  False Teaching is Still Present

God sent Jeremiah to tell the nation of Israel the truth about God’s plan for them.  Part of that truth was truth that untruth was being proclaimed by false teachers.  False teaching is a thing.  Twice Christ called the religious leaders “blind” guides:

Matthew 23:16 & 24

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, ... You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”

Peter told the early church that false teachers were among them:

2 Peter 2:1-3

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Paul, John and other church teachers taught the same thing.  God warns us about false teaching.  We would be wise to test the Spirits.  Note John’s teachings:

1 John 4:1 (Test the Spirits)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Tag: People Hurt Hurting People - Job 29-30

Job 30:15-16

Terrors are turned upon me;

my honor is pursued as by the wind,

and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

“And now my soul is poured out within me;

days of affliction have taken hold of me.

Tag:  People Hurt People

It is important to know the context of the above verses to fully understand their meaning to Job.   Job is suffering.  This we know.  The physical suffering of Job is remarkable and unbearable to even imagine.  His body is racked with boils.  His psychological suffering is as equally destructive, but, unseen.  Hs has lost his children.   He is dealing with multiple deaths of those he loves.   He is also dealing with financial loss.  Everything Job has is now gone in every way possible.  He is also having a crisis of faith.   No person on the face of the earth has ever experienced what Job is experiencing, save Christ.   In chapter 30 Job is highlighting one of the worse pains he is suffering:  His reputation.   In chapter 29 he outlines how famous he was and how respected he was.   In chapter 30 we see the reverse.  Job is now humiliated.  He has gone, almost instantly, from fame to ruin.   In this chapter Job is accounting how men now ridicule and shame him.   Mankind can be cruel.   Job is hurting.  His three friends came to comfort him and now, according to Job they have: 

Job 30:1

“But now they laugh at me,

men who are younger than I,

whose fathers I would have disdained

to set with the dogs of my flock.

Job 30:9-10

“And now I have become their song;

I am a byword to them.

They abhor me; they keep aloof from me;

they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me.

When Job needed comfort and friendship and support, instead he is rejected and ridiculed.   This is how mankind is.  The evil aspects of society do not support the weak.  Our evilness is to judge and shame.   This is what Job is experiencing.   This book was written to show us the results of suffering.   Job, in the end, will be able to receive blessings from God.   Thankfully God is on our side, most of society is not. 

Tag: Suffering Is An Attribute of Belief - Psalm 42-44

Psalms 44:17-22

All this has come upon us,

though we have not forgotten you,

and we have not been false to your covenant.

Our heart has not turned back,

nor have our steps departed from your way;

yet you have broken us in the place of jackals

and covered us with the shadow of death.

If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

would not God discover this?

For he knows the secrets of the heart.

Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

Tag: Suffering Is An Attribute of Believers

We spend the majority of our time on earth trying to avoid suffering.  We purposefully purchase goods and services to prevent suffering.  We don’t mind suffering if we can control it.  We suffer in the gym just so we look and feel better.  But, we control how long that type of suffering lasts.  We don’t like medical and health suffering.  We look for doctors and hospitals to keep us from it.  Whenever we suffer, we look for the cause and then attempt to eradicate it.   This is why the suffering mentioned above is so egregious.   The writer of Psalm 42 (The Sons of Koran) seem to claim that the current suffering they are experiencing is NOT because of some sin in their lives, but rather (vs. 22) because “on a account of Yahweh” we are sheep ready for slaughter.   God has given us the position to suffer for Him and in Him.  This is primarily a NT concept, but here it is, taught in the Psalms.   In fact, in Acts 8 this very passage is used by Philip to lead the Ethiopian traveler to Christ.   Suffering is NOT a foreign concept to followers of God.    Christ ultimately suffering the worst.  Should His children be less?   We are as “sheep” ready for slaughter for Him.   We may not like it, but that is the thought taught here.   The Sons of Koran are NOT claiming complete innocence.  However, they are saying, that their current status is not due to their failings, but, rather their following.   Followers of God will suffer ... as sheep ready for slaughter.  But, we can rejoice in the fact that God will use this to bring glory to Himself and to us.   

Tag: God Intercedes On Our Behalf - 1 Samuel 21-25

1 Samuel 25:32-35

And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

Tag:  God Intercedes On Our Behalf

The story of Nabal, Abigail and David falls in the middle of David’s running from Saul.  David is in a bad place. When we are in a bad place we can make very bad decisions.   David has already made several miss turns on this journey.  He is about to make another one.  He has sent his men to require of Nabal a payment for caring for Nabal’s property.  Nabal, a man of “harsh and bad behavior” (1 Samuel 25:3).   Nabal never asked David to care for his property so refuses to make a payment to David.   Abigail, Nabal’s wife, realizes that Nabal has put them in harms way and attempts to appease David.   David accepts her intercession on behalf of Nabal.    In the midst of David’s suffering journey, he is stopped, by God, doing further harm to his reputation and taking innocent blood.  Yes, Nabal was a harsh man and had bad behavior, but David taking his life (as David meant to do) was not only against God’s law, it was politically foolish.  God sends Abigail to intercede and stops David’s foolishness.   God will defend David and, soon, take Nabal’s life.  Abigail eventually becomes David’s wife.   But, David had to be sensitive to God’s intercession.   God will, if we are watching for the Spirit’s movement, direct us and guide us.   We should be careful as we move forward in life (especially when we are in a bad spot) to make sure we are sensitive to God’s intercession through people like “Abigail.”   

Tag: God Controls Where Frogs Jump and Flies Fly - Exodus 6-8

Exodus 8:8-11

Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.”

Tag:  God Can Control the Jump of Frog and the Flight of a Fly

Frogs jump.   Flies fly.    How do you stop a frog from jumping in your yard?  Or, a fly from flying in your house?  In the early chapters of Exodus we have the story of God bringing up Egypt, and Pharaoh specifically, the plagues.  Pharaoh had stated to Moses that he didn’t know who Yahweh was, so, Yahweh introduces Himself, via these plagues.  Each plague was a slap in the face of an Egyptian god.  The Egyptians worshipped frogs, so God said, “Since you know frogs, let me fill you land with them.”  Later, He will say, “Since you, also, worship flies, let me fill the land with them.”

Exodus 8:20-21

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.

However, the most miraculous aspect of all this is when Pharaoh, having his fill of frogs and flies, asks Moses to plead with God to remove them.   God does remove them.  It is how He does that shows us the power of our God.   God puts the frogs back into the Nile River and allows some flies to be in the Egyptians house and not in the houses of His people.   Note:

 Exodus 8:11

The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.”

Exodus 8:22

But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

God has the power to separate where frogs jump and where flies fly.   When we talk about God’s sovereignty we seldom think of the animal kingdom.  But, God is demonstrating to Pharaoh (and to Moses and the Nation of Israel) that He is a powerful God and can do anything He plans.  This can either make us frightful, or faithful.   God can and does what He pleases.  We don’t always know why, but we always know He can.   God is so in control of this universe that He can direct a fly where to land and frog where to jump.   We should never look at frogs and flies the same after reading these passages.  We should never look at God the same again, either.  As I right this I am in Cape Coral, Fl, sitting outside a Starbucks.   The entire time I am writing it some flying bug has been in my face.   God knows that.  

Tag: Believers Live for One Another - 1 Corthians 11

1 Corinthians 11:20-22

When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

1 Corinthians 11:33

So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—

Tag:  Christianity is about One Another ...

In this letter we have instruction from Paul about conduct unfolding in the church at Corinth.  Corinth was a troubled church.   Christianity was alive, but so, too, was their previous pagan behaviors, habits and even worship.   The Corinthian church had not, yet, made the complete switch to Christianity.   But, that is the purpose of the teaching of 1 Corinthians and Paul’s second letter to them.   In the above passages we have a particular situation addressed by Paul.  During the church service the Corinthian believers were coming and, as was common in the early church, they joined each other for meals.   However, this church was full of selfish believers.   Unlike Christ who “emptied himself” and became “obedient unto death,” these believers could not even wait for each other to break bread and share a meal.   In Philippians 2 we read about Paul instructing the Church at Philippi to be humble and servant oriented.   Here, too, Paul closes this chapter by given a simple instruction about meals times:  WAIT!!!   Paul closest out the chapter telling them that when they come together, they should put others before themselves.   Paul, in between verses 22 and 30 gives the picture of the Lord’s Supper.   Why?   We use chapter 11 to celebrate communion during our Sunday mornings, and we should.  But, the point of Paul using the Last Supper as an illustration here, is to remind the members at Corinth that even the Lord Jesus Christ, after the supper, washed the feet of the disciples.   After the supper He laid his life down to the sheep in obedience and death.  The purpose of this section is to remind the church that we are to humble ourselves and put others before ourselves.  It is so easy to be selfish, even in church.   But, Christ is the ultimate example of self denial and self sacrifice.   Real Christianity is about relenting Christ’s mindset of others first and others before us.  In verse 33 Paul uses “one another” to reflect how we should wait for others.  The phrase “one another” is used countless times by Paul:

VINE: (1) This translates a number of words and phrases, (a) allelon, a reciprocal pronoun in the genitive plural, signifying “of, or from, one another” (akin to allos, “another”), e.g., Matt. 25:32; John 13:22; Acts 15:39; 19:38; 1 Cor. 7:5; Gal. 5:17; the accusative allelous denotes “one another,” e.g., Acts 7:26, lit., “why do ye wrong one another?”; 2 Thess. 1:3, rv; in Eph. 4:32and Col. 3:13, e.g., rv, “each other”; in 1 Thess. 5:15, “one (toward) another,” rv; the dative allelois denotes “one to another,” e.g., Luke 7:32;

Allelon is the Greek word that tells us others should be before us.  It is a way of life for real believer.