Shut My Mouth! - Psalms 39-41

Shut My Mouth!

Psalms 39:1-3 (ESV)

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: TO JEDUTHUN. A PSALM OF DAVID.

1 I said, “I will guard my ways,

that I may not sin with my tongue;

I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,

so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

2 I was mute and silent;

I held my peace to no avail,

and my distress grew worse.

3 My heart became hot within me.

As I mused, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue. 

Keeping silence is not a gift everyone has been given.   We talk a lot in our world about extrovert and introvert behavior.    It is well documented that introverted behavior prefers a more pensive and thoughtful life, while extrovert behavior gathers energy the more and more they talk.   In the above psalm of David, we have no idea what David prefers in life, but only that at this moment in time he wanted to be quiet.   He states the reason he wants to be quiet is, “... that I may not sin with my tongue ...”.   We don’t know the exact context behind this song David has written, but we do know something has rocked his world.   He was in some distress.  He even states: “I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse.”   We can only conjecture about the cause of this.  We do know he was hotly pursued by Saul for no real reason.  He was on the run for a large portion of his younger days.  On two occasions Saul actually threw a javelin at him.  We also know that later in his life, when his son Absalom overthrew his kingdom, he had many people ridicule him.  He kept his silence (see 2 Samuel 14-15).   David has even made vow to not talk in the presence of the wicked bout this stress.  

In this song, however, David can’t remain silent.  Whatever stress he is in, he can’t stay quiet.  Yet, he made a vow to God.   Because the pain grew hot within him, David must talk.  He DOES NOT attempt to vent toward mankind.  He DOES NOT tell the world his pain.   He DOES NOT go to Facebook and gripe to the world.  He DOES NOT tweet a comment to justify his life.  David does something much better: He goes to God.    This song his David’s venting to the God of the universe.  As Habakkuk vented to God about the injustice in the world, and as Job vented about his pain and suffering, and as Jonah vented about God’s mercy and grace on his enemies, David, here vents.   God invites our venting.  God invites us to talk to him when we burn inside with pain and suffering.   

David ends this cry and prayer toward God in the most unusual manner (not found in any other psalm):

Psalms 39:12-13 (ESV)

12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD,

and give ear to my cry;

hold not your peace at my tears!

For I am a sojourner with you,

a guest, like all my fathers.

13 Look away from me, that I may smile again,

before I depart and am no more!”

David both cries to God for relief and, at the same time, acknowledges that God is in control of his pain.   When we find ourselves in these positions of life, it is best to bring our complaint and pain to God and ask for the God of the universe to give us strength, peace and a listening ear.  To all others, it might just be best to shut our mouth.   

Past Memories can Impact Future Behavior - 1 Samuel 16-20

Past Memories can Impact Future Behavior 

1 Samuel 18:25-27 (ESV)
25 Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.’” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, 27 David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife.

In the above passage we have a portion of the story of Saul trying to destroy David.  Saul was jealous of David.  Saul envied David’s success and the praise he received from the people of Judah and Israel.   The people sang praise about David more than Saul and that angered the King.  As a result, Saul sets up a plot to entice David to do something (playing on David’s courageous spirit) that will, in Saul’s mind, result in David’s certain demise.    David, as the above text states, was not destroyed and, in fact, doubles Saul’s request.  This really fuels King Saul’s anger and pushes him further into destroying David’s life.    

It might look, however, like the above plot has little impact in David.  However, we should note that years later, David attempts (successfully) the same thing on someone he wants to destroy.   After David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he discovers that she is pregnant with his baby.   Bathsheba is married to a soldier in David’s army named, Uriah.   To save his reputation, David brings Uriah back from fighting these same Philstines, in hopes that Uriah would sleep with his wife. This would make everyone believer Bathsheba was pregnant because Uriah came back.  However, Uriah does not sleep with Bathsheba.  This is when David’s memory kicks in to have him devise a plot similar to Saul’s plot to kill him.  David sends the following letter to Uriah’s commander.  Note the comparison of David’s letter to have Uriah killed, to Saul’s plot to kill David: 

2 Samuel 11:14-15 (ESV)
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”

David’s plot is successful.   Saul’s was not.  David thought he had beaten Saul’s trap by killing 200 Philistines.   But, David’s mind did not forget this.   This explicit (or, implicit) memory was left in David’s mind.   He might have conquered the event, but not the memory.   As we move forward in this world we have to realize that our explicit and/or implicit memories are always trying to control us and take us places we do not want to go.   Our fight is not always the temptations around us, it can often be the imprinted memories inside us.  We have to guard against these memories that might rise up within us by creating new patterns of thought as we renew our minds in Christ:

Romans 12:2 (ESV)
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Send Someone Else to do the Job! - Exodus 1-4

Send Someone Else to do the Job!

Exodus 4:13 (ESV)
13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

The above verse is taken from the story of God meeting Moses at the burning bush and telling him to return to Egypt to lead the nation of Israel out of the bondage of the Egyptians.   Moses, on the other hand was full of reasons not to do it.  His first was he stated that the nation of Israel would not believe he was sent.   God, however, tells Moses who to tell the nation of Israel sent him:  

Exodus 3:13-14 (ESV)
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Then Moses and uses the excuse that the nation will not even believe him if he says that.  So, God gives him power to perform miracles (turns his staff into a snake, turns his hand into leprosy, and promises to turn water into blood).  But, Moses is still not willing to go.   Finally Moses tells God that he is broken. He is not eloquent of speech.   God, once again, checks off that box but telling Moses He how’s that and that He actually made Moses’ tongue that way.   With all the excuses off the table, Moses finally states our above verse: He simply does not want to go and wants God to send someone else.   Is that not something in all mankind’s heart when asked to serve God in a dangerous situation.   Remember, Moses left Egypt and Pharaoh because he killed an Egyptian solider and buried him.   Pharaoh had Moses on the most wanted list.   With that part of the story, who would want to return.   God was asking Moses to live by faith.  If Moses lived by sight he would never return.   But, God gave him signs that the promises of God could be trusted.  Moses had to lean into God in faith to accomplish a task he didn’t feel prepared for or adequate to complete and that was dangerous to his life.   God calls us to serve in hard places, but prepares us and equips us and empowers us as we go.   If we go in faith.  

Using Scripture to Make Decisions - 1 Corinthians 9-10

Using Scripture to Make Decisions

1 Corinthians 9:3-10 (ESV)
3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.

Paul, in chapter nine, is being challenged about his serving God as a minister of Christ and using some of the funds donated by the church at Corinth. Some of the members of the church objected that Paul would do so.  Paul makes his defense several ways.  Other “apostles” were receiving support from the church.   That was one of his defensive statements.  But, Paul did not compare himself to others.  After all his arguments, Paul would go on to say he will not take any funds from them because he is simply obligated to preach the gospel.  

1 Corinthians 9:17-18 (ESV)
17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

But, prior to that final defense, he uses a passage from the Old Testament to make an argument.   He had some arguments from comparison.  He had some arguments from obligation.   But, this was the best argument in that it was from exhortation (although he makes the argument and does not insist on it out of obligation to preach).  The lesson here is that Paul sites Scripture for his decision making.   The compelling argument Paul uses should be enough.   He will go on to say that he will not insist on his rights, under scripture, however:

1 Corinthians 9:15-16 (ESV)
15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Paul has shown them a Biblical reason for them to allow him to be a “paid” minister of the Gospel. Using the OT argument he lays out a valid basis for that right.  Than, he forgoes that right on the basis of being a servant.   He could have, in this instance, used the Scripture of Christ coming to be a servant to all and he would, as well.  He does not, but he could have done so.   Using Scripture to make decisions is the best way to make decisions.   Paul shows us how to do that.   He takes a higher principle (serving others and obeying the command to teach the gospel), but he follows a basic decision making model of finding out what the Bible says and then move forward.   A good decision making model.   

True Faith Separates Christians from the Crowds! - Mark 5-6

True Faith Separates Christians from the Crowds! 

Mark 5:25-33 (ESV)
25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.

It is evident in the above record that Jesus, at this point in His ministry, was popular with the crowd.   Later, the mob will ask for His death.   In the above instance, however, Jesus is sought after.   At the end of this section of Mark, something similar happens:

Mark 6:56 (ESV)
56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

When you do major, public healings, you will be popular.   There is no doubt, as the disciples stated to Jesus, many people in the crowd were touching Him.  But it was one particular touch that released His power.  The woman with the discharge of blood touched Jesus as an act of faith.  She was not curious, she was in a state of belief.  She was not in a frenzy of feeling, she was in a moment of faith.   Faith releases Christ’s power.  The others touched Him, but nothing happened.   It was only those who touched Him in faith that were healed.   There are many who are curious about Jesus.   There are many who like the thought of Jesus and what He can do.   But, there are people who faith who reach out and touch Jesus and His power comes to them to heal their needs.    Faith is the avenue by which we receive the power of Christ.   It is not enough to be intellectual about Jesus.  It is not enough to be religious about Jesus.  It is only those who touch Him by faith that are healed of their sickness, diseases, hurt and, more importantly, sin.   

God Rejected Israel! Why? - Jeremiah 1-6

God Rejected Israel

Jeremiah 6:30 (ESV)
30 Rejected silver they are called,
for the LORD has rejected them.”

Why?   Note the following evidence God gives: 

Jeremiah 1:16 (ESV)
16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.

Jeremiah 2:5 (ESV)
5 Thus says the LORD:
“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

Jeremiah 2:8 (ESV)
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the shepherds transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after things that do not profit.

Jeremiah 2:11 (ESV)
11 Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for that which does not profit.

Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV)
13 for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Jeremiah 2:18 (ESV)
18 And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

Jeremiah 2:20 (ESV)
20 “For long ago I broke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ‘I will not serve.’
Yes, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down like a whore.

Jeremiah 2:23 (ESV)
23 How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way in the valley;
know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,

Jeremiah 2:25 (ESV)
25 Keep your feet from going unshod
and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
for I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go.’

Jeremiah 2:28 (ESV)
28 But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for as many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah.

Jeremiah 3:2 (ESV)
2 Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see!
Where have you not been ravished?
By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
like an Arab in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land
with your vile whoredom.

Jeremiah 3:6 (ESV)
Faithless Israel Called to Repentance
6 The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore?

Jeremiah 4:22 (ESV)
22 “For my people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”

Jeremiah 5:19 (ESV)
19 And when your people say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”

Jeremiah 5:23 (ESV)
23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.

God hates idolatry!!!

God’s Provision for the Righteous - Psalms 36-38

God’s Provision for the Righteous

Psalms 37:18-19 (ESV)
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.

The title of chapter 37 in the ESV is, “He Will Not Forsake His Saints.”   It was written by King David.   David was highly aware of the dangers of this life. He was aware of the plots of the wicked (v. 12).   He was aware of the inward anger we feel and the fretting we do when faced with difficulty (v. 8).   He is aware of God’s intervention in his life and that his very steps are “established by the Lord” (v. 23).  He is aware of the temporary state of the wicked (v. 10).   But, the above verse is the real take-a-way of David’s theme.  David is aware and trusting in the fact that God knows those who trust in Him and will forever keep them safe and secure.  That does not mean that we will not have hardships.  Just ask Job.   But, we will have provisions during times of famine.  That implies physical provisions.  But, it is not limited to the physical realm.   God will provide his grace and care during times of famine.  If we look at Jacob and his sons during the time of famine in Egypt, God sent Joesph (via captivity) to be second in command to provide in famine.  God sent manna to the nation of Israel in their need for food.   He flew in quail to meet their desire for meat.   Elijah was fed by ravens by the brook during a time of famine.   The church provided support and help during the time of famine in Acts.    God provided honey to Jonathon when he was pursuing the Philistines.  God provided David the Showbread when he was fleeing from Saul.  God provides.  In unusual ways.   But, God always provides.   That is the them of Psalm 37.  God provides for those who walk with Him and trust in His care.  We might not know the way He will provide, but we can rejoice in the fact that He will provide.  

A Powerful Prayer Warrior - 1 Samuel 11-15

A Powerful Prayer Warrior

1 Samuel 12:15-18 (ESV)

15 But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king. 16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

James 5:17-18 (ESV)

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

Being a powerful person of prayer should be the goal of all men and woman of God.   The disciples, although often missing the point of Jesus’ many teachings, were correct to ask, “Teach us to pray, Lord.”   When Jesus was in the garden and preparing Himself to be our sacrificial lamb, He prayed.   Before He prayed, He told his disciples to “watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation.”   They fell asleep instead.   Note some of these great prayer moments:

1. Nehemiah prayed just before asking the king for support to return to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1).

2. Daniel prayed in front of everyone even though it was going to cost him his reputation and have him thrown in the lions den (Daniel 6).

3. The three Hebrew boys prayed before being tossed in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). 

4. Peter prayed to be released from prison and God opened the doors (Acts 5). 

There are countless examples of men and woman of God praying and God moving mountains on their behalf.  Just because we now leave in another time does not mean we should quit praying for God’s miracles in our lives.   God moves His Church and His plans forward by the prayers of the saints.  

Faithful to the End - Genesis 48-50

Faithful to the End

Genesis 50:22-26 (ESV)

22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

In all the stories and events we have of Joseph, we have no record of any sin.  Almost every other Biblical character we turn to has one sin or more recorded in the Bible.  But, not Joseph (Job, in the beginning may be the other Bible character).   There is no doubt he sinned.   But, we simply don’t have those occurrences in the narrative God gave us about this man.   Why?  Perhaps it is to show us the faithfulness of a man of God.   Joesph, throughout his life, is a picture of Jesus Christ.   He suffered and became as dead to his father and brothers.  He suddenly came back to life and brought them to his home with him.   We can see the pictures. (Remember, everything in the Old Testament is a story of Christ.).   

In the above text we see the final days of Joseph’s life.  He could have, now that his father was dead, turned on those brothers that did evil to him.   Joseph, however, stays faithful to the end.  Joseph lived on promises.  He had faith that God would fulfill all the promises God gave him.  Note what the writer of Hebrews says about Joseph:

Hebrews 11:22 (ESV)
22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

Joseph’s father, Israel (Jacob), told him that he would have the mountain of Schechem:

Genesis 48:21-22 (ESV)
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Joseph held to that promise as he held, by faith, to all of God’s promises.  That allowed him to live a blameless life.  Faith is the avenue to pleasing God:

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Sexual Self-Control - 1 Corinthians 7-8

 Sexual Self-Control 

1 Corinthians 7:5 (NASBStr)
Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self- control.

I once counseled a man who had committed the sin of adultery.   His defense of the act was that his wife was cold in the romantic way and that drove him to seek what he "needed" from another women.  He used the above verse as a "defense" of his sin.   Plainly stated, that is not what this verse, or the verses around it, is teaching.    Paul has just told them that it IS proper to deny intimacy between married couples for spiritual pursuits.   His message in this passage is about the balance between marriage and serving God.   Those single can pursue God with no fear of a partner's needs.  Those married must worry about the needs of their partner.   However, that does not exempt the married couple from fasting (giving up something) for the purpose of prayer and spiritual activities.    BUT, Paul states, it ought to be only for a time, since God will allow Satan, in those times, to use the separation to tempt the desires of the flesh.  In the narrative of the man who committed adultery, neither he, nor his wife were on any spiritual pursuit and neither were depriving the other of lawful sexual pleasures in the marriage bed.   He simply wanted what he wanted and she simply didn't want anything.   That story was not the context for Paul's instruction.   I love what Matthew Henry states about this section in his commentary.  It still carries the language and idioms of the 1700s and adds so much flavor to this passage:

Matthew Henry: Note, Seasons of deep humiliation require abstinence from lawful pleasures. But this separation between husband and wife must not be for a continuance, lest they expose themselves to Satan's temptations, by reason of their incontinence, or inability to contain. Note, Persons expose themselves to great danger by attempting to perform what is above their strength, and at the same time not bound upon them by any law of God. If they abstain from lawful enjoyments, they may be ensnared into unlawful ones. The remedies God hath provided against sinful inclinations are certainly best.

This passage is instructing us on how to pursue God and make sure we are Godly spiritual partners to our mates.   God doesn't instruct us ANYWHERE in Scripture to take off from the responsibilities of the marriage-bond for spiritual things unless we first agree with our spouse of the pursuit and the purpose and, more importantly, when we return to the act of marraige.   We do set ourselves up for temptation when we don't.   The word above for self-control, is akrasia, in the Greek.  The "a" is a negative and "krasia" is strength.   So, the word used here means having no strength to stop the desire of the flesh.  The Greeks, beginning with Socrates and Aristotle, had an entire system of thought about Akrasia.   Much of our problems in life are because of akrasia, lack of power over self.  That is the purpose of the gospel.  Christ saves us and gives us the gift of the Spirit to have control over ourselves.   Isn't it something that in pursuit of Christ within the context of marriage we can, if we fail with these instructions, allow Satan to attack us and through our akrasia fall into sin.   These instructions are vital for spiritual development in our lives.   They ought not to be used as an excuse and followed for spiritual well-being.  Remember, “self-control” is a “fruit” of the Spirit of God.  This is amazing when we put it in the context of this verse.   The Godly married couple can set aside the marriage act for spiritual pursuits.   Paul plainly teaches this.  But, he states that during those spiritual pursuits, be careful that we don’t lose the spiritual fruit of “self-control.”   His point I think is potent.  If we do not do this according to his Word, we can, in our denying one thing God gave us as a gift (sexual activity with our spouse), lose out on another gift God gives us (self-control).   Obedience in one creates obedience in the other.  Disobedience in one (too much setting aside the gift of sexual intimacy) can create disobedience in the other (loss of self-control).  See 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 for some further instruction and insight on this thought of obedience and disobedience.  

Binding the Wrong Strong Man - Mark 3-4

Binding the Wrong Strong Man

Mark 3:22-30 (ESV)

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

In the above passage we read the exchange between the religious leaders and Jesus about Jesus’ ministry and power to heal.   The religious leaders, scourging to this passage, are committing a sin that Jesus clearly states is unforgivable.   They are ascribing a miracle committed by the Son of God to the power and ability of the Enemy of God.   We may not like what we read.  But, what we read is obviously true to the character of God.   God does not and will not allow us to attribute the things He does through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, to Beelzebul, Satan.   Jesus came to do miracles to show the authenticity of His ministry and His position over the universe.   Satan was and is attempting to take control of that universe.  He is the Prince and power of this age.  

Ephesians 2:2 (ESV)
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

We are not to ascribe to the Lord the glory due is Name (Psalm 96).   We are not to ascribe to Satan the power of God and the acts of God.   The religious leaders were so full of power and control that they could not see the very image of God in front of them (Hebrews 1:2-4).  Jesus’ point of what He is saying is that before you can take possession of what is in the house you have to bind the one that is over the house.  In this case He is taking about the souls of mankind.  He comes in and binds the person who controls the that soul, Satan.   Note how this is stated here:

Acts 26:18 (ESV)
18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

We are in the control and power of Satan.   Christ came to bind him, so that we might be truly free to serve Christ.  The religious leaders of the day, rather than believe that about Jesus, ascribed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan.   That behavior and belief is stated this way in the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 10:28-29 (ESV)
28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

The religious leaders of the day were trying to “bind” the wrong person.  They were trying to bind Jesus.  Jesus came to bind Satan.   Those bound in the end were the religious leaders: They were bound in their pride and unbelief.  

Who Catches God’s Eye? The Humble and Contrite in Spirit - Isaiah 62-66

Who Catches God’s Eye?  The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

Isaiah 66:1-2 (ESV)
1 Thus says the LORD:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
2 All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the LORD.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.

In the last chapters of Isaiah we have a mix of God’s wrath being described again and God’s mercy being poured out one last time.  Those who reject God will experience His wrath:

Isaiah 65:12 (ESV)
12 I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
because, when I called, you did not answer;
when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my eyes
and chose what I did not delight in.”

But, as we see in the above opening verses of the last chapter, those who have a contrite and humble spirit, God will notice and “look.”  It is amazing when we take these words and compare them to the first words of Jesus, in what might be His first recorded public statements:

Matthew 5:1-3 (ESV)
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Those who are poor in spirit have, as a blessing, the knowledge that theirs is the kingdom of God.   God looks upon the humble.   Notice how James says it in his letter to the early church:

James 4:6 (ESV)
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

We can be assured that God will look upon us in favor when we are humbled by the awesome God that He is and what He does for us!

God Controls the Mighty - Job 23-24

God Controls the Mighty

Job 24:21-22 (ESV)
and do no good to the widow.
22 Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.

21 “They wrong the barren, childless woman,

Job 24:21-22 (NASB)
21 “He wrongs the barren woman
And does no good for the widow.
22 “But He drags off the valiant by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

Job 24:21-22 (NIV 1984)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow show no kindness.
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.

Job, as we know, is in a tight spot.  He, like we would, is looking for answers.   His three friends are there to “comfort” him and give him some advice.  He has heard from his friends and has slipped into a defensive posture.   In these two chapters he is pointing out, to his friends, all the injustice in the world around him.    But, in the above passage, we see that, despite that injustice, God is in total control.   He ends the list of the injustice with the above reflection: Evil men oppress the barren and the widow.   This is just the “end” of his list.   What he is reflecting, however, is that despite the evilness and power these wicked people do, God still allows them only so much.   God “prolongs” their life by His grace, by His power.   Yet, in the end, they still try to rise up and establish their power.  Yet, they have no assurance of their life.   Despite the power of these wicked people, they have no power in the end.  They have no hope in the end.   

Belief in Creation is Necessary for Praise - Psalms 33-35

Belief in Creation is Necessary for Praise

Psalms 33:6-9 (ESV)
6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

In Psalm 33 we are being commanded and led in a worship hymn for God.   We are praising His steadfast love.   On three occasions (vs. 5,18,22) the words “steadfast love” are used.   Praising God is an essential part of the believers live.  It is the main thing.   In the above passage we see the writer of this psalm go from God’s steadfast love, to God creating the universe.   Why?   There may be many answers as to why, but one might simply be that God created the universe out of love to be able to create mankind to share that universe with them.  There is no doubt that our walk with God and belief in His creating the universe are tied together.  Note what the writer of Hebrews writes before he makes his long list of those who have walked with God via faith:

Hebrews 11:3 (ESV)
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Before he outlines the people of faith, the writer in Hebrews outlines the character of faith.   The character of faith is that we must come to God in faith (Hebrews 11:6) and that faith must include that God made the universe.   We are to take Him at His Word, because that makes His Word powerful.   God loves us.  He says so through His Word.  And, we know His Word is powerful and real because that is how He made the universe.   We can praise God when He “says” His love is steadfast because when God speaks, great things happen.  

Bad Leadership Solicits Poor Follower-ship - 1 Samuel 6-10

 Bad Leadership Solicits Poor Follower-ship

1 Samuel 8:1-5 (ESV)
1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

When leaders fail, followers don’t have a chance.   Now, it is true that followers can mess up on their own.  Just read the stories of Israel and how they rejected Moses’ and Joshua’s Godly leadership time and time again.  They did a great job of failing to obey God when they had a great leader.  But, in the above passage we see the results of what happens when the leader fails. It actually solicits followers to think of ideas that they would not normally think.   The nation wanted to find a leader.   Mankind is “leader-oriented.”    Mankind wants to have leadership in their lives.   We might think we all want autonomy, but every society in every age has been characterized by the leader and follower dynamic.   We can’t escape it.  We don’t seem to want to.  God set that up even in the angels, as they seem to have rank and order.  In the animal kingdom we can often and on many occasions see the leader-follower pattern.   Samuel, in all his great teaching and leading, did not have his sons follow his pattern of living.   A void in leadership causes a violation of decision making by followers.  This is the patten and lesson that we see in the above passage.   God will use it to accomplish His glory, however.  God will use it to set up the Kingdom of His Son, Jesus.   But, make no mistake, God used the failure of leadership to show the need for the Perfect King.  

Creating an Avenue for Trust - Genesis 44-47

 Creating an Avenue for Trust 

Genesis 44:1-5 (ESV)
1 Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack, 2 and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.
3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. 4 They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5 Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’”

In the above text Joseph sets up an elaborate test to find out the heart of his brothers.    He wants to see if they will give up his brother Benjamin, to save their own skin.  He wants to know if their hearts have changed since the day they sold him into slavery.   There is no doubt the brothers had done him wrong.  He was treated unjustly.   But, he wanted to create an avenue by which the relationship with his brothers could be restored.   He knew in his heart God wanted him to forgive them.  Note what he will say to them:

Genesis 45:5 (ESV)
5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Genesis 50:20 (ESV)

20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

God had placed forgiveness in his heart, prior to them coming back to see him.   In the above passage God is restoring trust in his heart for his brothers.   When God forgives, God restores (see Romans 5).   When we forgive, like God, we, too, must begin the restoration process.   In this text we see that the test was equivalent to the offense.  They had turned their back on him and he wanted to see if they had changed.   We might wonder if this deception was right or wrong.   It should be noted that Joseph, prior to this test, had already come to the conclusion that God had used the evilness in the hearts of his brother for His sovereign good.   Joesph was NOT in a place of struggling with forgiveness.   He knew his brothers had done wrong.  He knew it came from their evilness.  But, his time in prison and slavery had allowed him to see God’s hand in his life, even in spite of that evilness of his brothers.  He truly had come to believe:

Romans 8:28 (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

You can’t trust someone who has wronged you if you can’t first trust that God has allowed it for His greater purpose.  That’s what made this “test” for the brothers okay.  Joseph had already come to the point to understand that God, in His sovereign way, was using the evil to bring Him glory.   Yes, Joseph conducted the test.  Those who do wrong will always have to have the change in their hearts verified FOR US.  But, not for God.   God was working the the life of Joseph, but also in the lives of his brothers.   The brothers had an avenue to demonstrate the change in their hearts.  If the heart has changed the avenue to show that change is not offensive to the person(s) needing to demonstrate that change.  The brothers did not return to Egypt and complain that Joseph “set them up.”  They returned to prove the change hearts they had and the purity they now wanted to show.   Creating an avenue for trust is a must, but it has to start with forgiveness.   We can’t create an avenue and then forgive if they pass the test.   Forgiveness is not open for option.   Trust, however, is something that must have avenues to travel and to demonstrate the change in heart.  Remember the sexual deviance in Corinth.  After he repents, Paul tells the church to “bring him back” into fellowship.   Once he repented Paul wants him to have full restoration of fellowship:

2 Corinthians 2:5-11 (ESV)
Forgive the Sinner
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

Forgiveness is not an option.   Creating an avenue for trust, is a must.  If we don’t, note what Paul states:  We are in jeopardy of being outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs.   Satan takes advantage of unrestored relationships.   

One Dead Fly Ruins a Great Meal - 1 Corinthians 5-6

 One Dead Fly Ruins a Great Meal

1 Corinthians 5:6 (ESV)

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

Most of us would not eat a food item that contained a dead fly.  Some would not even eat a food item if live flies landed upon it.   We don’t like things that are contaminated.   We like things pure.  We like pure water.  We like pure air.  We like pure clothes.  Most people don’t wear soiled clothes.    This is the point of the above text.    Paul it addressing a problem in the church at Corinth with a principal from God’s Word.   We are all familiar with leaven and baking ... maybe.   Leaven is the “yeast” we put into the bread dough to make it rise.    We don’t need to put a lot in, just a tad, a pinch, a thimble amount.    Paul, in this section, is addressing an overt sin in the church at Corinth that the rest of the members of the church were happy to ignore.   Paul wants them to realize that like a small pinch of yeast makes the bread rise, so too, a single sin can cause bring shame and contempt on the Body of Christ.   Paul might be thinking of something Solomon stated in the book of Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 10:1 (ESV)
Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

If you found a dead fly in your perfume, would you still use it to freshen your body?   Neither should we allow a single sin in our lives to cause us to stink before God:

2 Corinthians 2:15 (ESV)
15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

When we allow sin in our lives or in the life of those in the church we allow a dead fly to corrupt a great meat.   

Jesus’ Ministry is the Gospel - Mark 1-2

Jesus’ Ministry is the Gospel

Mark 1:14-15 (ESV)

Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

We might want to add to the above verse, the following:

Mark 1:21 (ESV)
And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.

Mark 2:2 (ESV)

2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.

Mark 2:25 (ESV)

25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him:

When Jesus came to the earth He not only came to fulfill the Word, He came to preach the Word.  The Gospel message was throughout the Old Testament.   Both John the Baptist and Jesus quoted the OT frequently.    Jesus, bound by the Word to fulfill the Law, was also the teacher of the Word.  Make no mistake about earthly ministries today, we are bound to preach God’s Word.  The world neither wants our opinion or is moved by our vain thoughts.   The only thing that moves the world to repentance and knowledge of the truth is THE TRUTH of God’s Word.  Even the Son of God came to preach the Word.  How can we do less?  

What Happens When We Prioritize God? Isaiah 56-61

 What Happens When We Prioritize God?

Isaiah 58:13-14 (ESV)

13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,

from doing your pleasure on my holy day,

and call the Sabbath a delight

and the holy day of the LORD honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,

or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

14 then you shall take delight in the LORD,

and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;

I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

The world is rushing around to get the latest version of the latest gadget and misses the very thing they need.  We rush to get our Starbucks coffee so we can relax and enjoy, but then drink it as we drive in haste to another meeting.   We work day and night to accumulate so we have, but we can’t enjoy what we have because we work day and night.   The nation of Israel was not so far different than us.  They had come to place in their lives where the world had attracted them and the shinning things of life had mesmerize them.   When the world’s goods take priority in our lives we lose sight of what is important.   

In the above text the prophet Isaiah is speaking to Israel.  He is telling them what will happen if they prioritize God in their lives.    They were abusing their relationship with God.  God had told them not to work on the Sabbath and trust Him instead.  He wanted one day that they would be totally focused on Him.    He wanted the other days, as well, but the Sabbath was intentionally set aside.  They became so distracted by what the world could offer, they failed to obey God.  It should be noted that they had no technology, entertainment systems, or fast transportation.  Never-the-less they were still drawn away from God and His Word.  It is not “things” that change our priorities, it is our hearts.   In the above passage Isaiah tells them that God will do the following if they prioritize God in their lives:

1.  God will take delight in them.  Imagine having the God of the universe “delighting” in you!

2. God will make you ride on the heights of the universe.   Note Habakkuk 3:17-19

3.  God will supply the very substance you need to survive and maintain your legacy.   Remember, Jesus said He was the Bread of Life.   This is how God meets those needs. 

When we prioritize God in our lives, God prioritizes His care for our lives.   

Pious Judgment - Job 22

Pious Judgment

Job 22:17-18 (ESV)

17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’
and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

In chapter 22 of Job, one of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, gives his final speech to Job.   Eliphaz is caught in the mindset that only wicked suffer.  So, since Job was suffering, Job was wicked.  They had no context in their mind for the suffering of the innocent (which we know Job was based upon the first two chapters of the book).   Eliphaz begins this chapter by outlining all the things Job has apparently, in his eyes, done wrong.  He states:

Job 22:6-9 (ESV)

6 For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have given no water to the weary to drink,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 The man with power possessed the land,
and the favored man lived in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty,
and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.

All of these Job denies in chapter 23.   Yet, Eliphaz is on a mission to fit Job’s situation INTO HIS theology.   As Eliphaz describes Job’s life it is interesting to note that in chapter two of the book we read the Eliphaz came from a far distance to talk to Job.  It is interesting the depth of knowledge of Job’s life (in the above condemnation) that Eliphaz claims to have.   

As Eliphaz unfolds Job’s life he begins to compare it with the life of the wicked.   His theory is that if he can make that connection (they look the same) then he has a reason for Job’s suffering (the sin the same).  But, note what he says in verses 17-18.   He states that the wicked live in contempt of God (not Job, based upon chapter one) and they claim that God is not in their affairs (not Job, based upon chapter one).   Then Eliphaz makes a bold statement.   He tells us that the wicked don’t recognize that it is God who gives them good things, prosperity.  This, too, is not Job based upon chapter’s one and two.   He goes on to say that the “counsels of the wicked is far from” him.  In our vernacular we would say, “Not that I know what the wicked life is like.”   Eliphaz is a pompous and pious soul who, instead of bringing comfort to Job, desires to condemn Job.   It is true that the wicked act as though God is not there.  It is true they fail to give glory for their blessings, that only He can give.   But, it is not true that JOb is wicked.   The pious (Eliphaz) love to claim knowledge of righteousness, but not experience of evil.   Their counsel is often judgmental at best and condemning at most.  Job will defend himself in the next chapter.  But, he should not have to.  It is the pious who demand a defense from their accused.  

God’s Love Secures God’s People - Psalms 30-32

God’s Love Secures God’s People

Psalms 31:21-22 (ESV)
21 Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
22 I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
when I cried to you for help.

In Psalms 31 we are reading a song of David when he was in a very bad place.   Earlier in the song he wrote:

Psalms 31:11-13 (ESV)
11 Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,
especially to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the whispering of many—
terror on every side!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.

Those who were his friends, were not.  Security he thought he had, was not.   The strength he thought he had, was not.  And, he confesses why all these failed:

Psalms 31:9-10 (ESV)
9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.

His “iniquity” had separated him from God.  Yet, it is God’s unfailing and steadfast love that brought David out of this siege of his soul.   He desires God’s mercy and receives it.   He receives it because God is loving.  He concludes the song with this stanza:

Psalms 31:23-24 (ESV)
23 Love the LORD, all you his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!

David was cut off from God’s sight because of his own sin and the wickedness of those around him.  Yet, he pleas for mercy and grace and God’s loving kindness rescues him.   That should give us all, as David states, strength and courage.  

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

Why Didn’t Samuel Know the Lord Earlier? 1 Samuel 1-5

 Why Didn’t Samuel Know the Lord Earlier? 

1 Samuel 3:2-7 (ESV)

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.

4 Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

6 And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

Samuel is a key figure in the story of God’s plan with Israel.  He is a prophet that God uses to introduce God’s bringing a king into the lives of Israel (Saul and David).   To read verse seven, above, just seems odd.  Samuel, at this point in the story, is serving God in the Tabernacle.   He is an apprentice to Eli and Eli’s two sons.   Yet, it is stated that he didn’t “yet” know the Lord.  But, remember, his mother had dedicated him to the Lord at an early age.  He as constantly around the daily sacrifices.  He saw all the remnants of the sacrificial system and how it pointed to God.  Eli would have (should have) talked to him about spiritual things.   As the above passages states, Samuel was apparently old enough to be alone.  He was old enough to be called.  Yet, he still didn't know The Lord.  What does this say about salvation, election and child baptism?  His mother "committed" him to The Lord, yet, he didn't know The Lord. What does this say about Eli and his ability as a priest to teach others the knowledge of God?   What does this say about, “knowing the Lord?”   Jeremiah would later write (and quoted by the writer of Hebrews):

Jeremiah 31:33-34 (ESV)

33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

This is the moment God is writing His laws on Samuel’s heart.   From this point forward he would “know the Lord.”   In our above passages it states that at this point in Samuel’s life the word of the lord “had not been revealed to him.”  Now Samuel was hearing the word of the Lord, audibly.  God would write it on his heart and he would become the famous Samuel we all know.   God is the one who initiates His grace on those whom He will.  Samuel being dedicated as a baby did not cause him to know the Lord ... it did put him in a place to hear the call.  Samuel being in the Tabernacle everyday and assisting in serving the sacrifices everyday did not cause him to know the Lord ... but it put him in a place to hear the call.   Knowing the high priest did not cause him to know the Lord ... but it did put him in a place to hear the call.   Only God can write His laws on their hearts.   

Power, Not Talk!! 1 Corinthians 3-4

 Power, Not Talk!

1 Corinthians 4:17-20 (ESV)

17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

The context of a Biblical passage is paramount to understand the authors purpose and/or intent.   The above verse, taken in context, is Paul’s response to leadership in the church at Corinth who are promoting themselves.   These leaders are self promoting and self-serving.   In chapter three we read about them soliciting a specific following of certain members.   Their self-serving attitude was to promote themselves above the Gospel and, certainly, beyond Paul’s influence.   Paul is sending this letter to correct several mis-steps in faith the have caused the Corinthian believers to “act as mere humans:”

1 Corinthians 3:3-4 (ESV)

3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

Paul wants these believers to live at a different level.  He is encouraging them to realize that the Gospel has changed how they live.  He is imploring them to leave the confines of this bad leadership and live out load for Christ.   He has sent Timothy to influence them to change their walk.    In the above passage he tells them that they are partakers of the divine nature and members of the Kingdom.  That Kingdom is characterized by “power.”   These leaders were all talk. Paul is telling the church that he is coming to them and will be glad to discover the source of the power.   The word for “power” in these verses is the Greek word that we derive our English word, “dynamite.”   Paul is telling them that his source of dynamite is the Gospel.  Note:

Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Paul is confident about his power.   He is bold. He is part of the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God has the very power of Christ at its core.   Christians are not mere words.  We are filled with the power of God through the Spirit by being in Christ.   The entire power of the Trinity dwells within us.  

Man Plots Evil and Works God’s Plan Instead - Matthew 26-28

 Man Plots Evil and Works God’s Plan Instead.

Matthew 26:1-5 (ESV)

1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” 

You cannot read these four verses without noticing the soverign concert between 26:1,2 and 26:3,4.  In the first two verses we have God’s plan laid out by Jesus to His disciples.   He states, “We must go to Jerusalem because in two days I am gong to be “delivered” up to be crucified.    In verses three and four we read that at the same time the chief priests and high priest were “plotting” their evil deed to crucify Jesus.   Verses three and four are the fulfillment of verses one and two.   Man, in his evil attempt to destroy God, rather, fulfills God’s plan.   

God uses the evilness of Satan and mankind to accomplish His tasks and plans, often through those He chooses to work His plan.   Here are some examples where this happens in Scripture: 

1. We can read Job 1-2 to see how God uses Satan’s evil desire to destroy Job and God uses it to reveal Job’s righteousness, instead.  We can also see how Satan used the evilness of mankind to inflict pain on Job. 

2.  We can read where God used the evilness in the hearts of Joseph’s brothers to put Joesph where he needed to be.  (Genesis 50:20).   God uses Potipher’s wife’s evil desires for lust to move Joseph to a prison just in time for him to network with Pharaoh’s servants.  

3.  We can see how God used the evilness of Laban to make Jacob (Israel) rich and powerful.   From Laban’s trickery God produced twelve tribes.   

God uses the evilness of mankind to move us where He wants us.   Mankind may plot, but God directs:

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

9 The heart of man plans his way,

but the LORD establishes his steps.

God’s Righteousness Will Not be Dismayed!! Isaiah 51-55

 God’s Righteousness Will Not be Dismayed!!

Isaiah 51:4-6 (ESV)

4 “Give attention to me, my people,

and give ear to me, my nation;

for a law will go out from me,

and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.

5 My righteousness draws near,

my salvation has gone out,

and my arms will judge the peoples;

the coastlands hope for me,

and for my arm they wait.

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

Toward the end of the prophet’s book, Isaiah comes to the most wonderful words of the prophecy in chapters 51-55.   God is promising the remnant of Israel that through the Messiah God will give them peace and righteousness.   The above passage outlines the core of that message.   He tells them the following:

1. His righteousness will be “light to the peoples” (v. 4).   He is telling that through their Messiah the world will be blessed.  That is you and me.   

2.  His righteousness brings hope for those who wait for it and seek it (v. 5). God is providing His righteousness all the way to the “coastlands.”  He brings hope to all who wait for it. 

3. His righteousness will never be destroyed, diminished or dismayed (v. 6).  Although all the elements of the world will vanish, the righteousness of God is permanent.   The word dismayed could be translated “to break down.”   God’s righteousness will never crack, fade, wane, slight or shrink once it is provided through the Messiah to those of faith.   

God’s salvation and righteousness comes from Him by His acts of sacrifice through Christ’s death.   It is entirely of Him and that is why we have great assurance of faith that our salvation is secure.  

The Sage vs Reality - Job 20-21

The Sage Advice Should Match Reality 

 Job 21:27-30 (ESV)

27 “Behold, I know your thoughts

and your schemes to wrong me.

28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?

Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’

29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads,

and do you not accept their testimony

30 that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,

that he is rescued in the day of wrath?

To understand the above verses taken from chapter 21 of Job, we should really know what Job is responding to out of chapter 20.   Zophar, one of Job’s three friends, gives his second and final speech to Job.   Zophar is no longer in the mode of “comforting” Job (that was the three friends original plan upon on traveling together to meet Job).   Zophar, in chapter 20, has simply turned to what he knows, his own bias experience.  He sees Job’s pain and suffering through the framework that only the wicked suffer this way. He has no room in his mind for suffering for those who are innocent (as Job clearly is as stated in chapters one and two). 

In response to Zophar, Job starts to challenge him and his two other friends.   Job tells them, “I know your thoughts.”   He then uses sarcasm to say to them, in essence, if you were listening to the people on the street you would know that the wicked do prosper.   Zophar refused to see the obvious of reality.  Chapter 21 is Job telling them all that the wicked DO prosper.  So, their arguments about Job suffering because he is wicked does not past the test of reality. 

Zophar and his friends are the classic Sage who thinks they know things. Note how Zophar started his speech:

Job 20:2-4 (ESV)

2 “Therefore my thoughts answer me,

because of my haste within me.

3 I hear censure that insults me,

and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.

4 Do you not know this from of old,

since man was placed on earth,

Zophar has “aged” wisdom.  Yet, he is stuck in his own bias as he can’t see the reality around him.  Again, he has NO context for the suffering of the innocent.    His “wisdom” does not meet the reality of life.” Such is the wisdom of the world.  

God Hear! We Have Access to God - Psalms 27-29

 God Hears. We have Access to God!

Psalms 28:1-2 (ESV)

1 To you, O LORD, I call;

my rock, be not deaf to me,

lest, if you be silent to me,

I become like those who go down to the pit.

2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,

when I cry to you for help,

when I lift up my hands

toward your most holy sanctuary.

Psalms 28:6 (ESV)

6 Blessed be the LORD!

For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

In the above verses we have the song of King David crying out to God to hear him when he prays.   His fear is that he will be like those who go down to the pit.  This is a word picture for the wicked who cannot approach God.  David is speaking about entering the “holy sanctuary.”  This is the Temple.   Remember, under Jewish ceremonial law, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies.   He could only do that once per year.   God, through that system, set up a shadow of what the reality would be. Note what the writer of Hebrews states:

Hebrews 10:11-12 (ESV)

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

The shadowy ceremonial law could not take away sins.  It could only cover sins, once per year.   What David is seeking in the above verse is access to God.  That is what our Hebrews 10:12 passage states.  After Christ’s sacrifice, we can now approach God.  Hebrews goes on to say:

Hebrews 10:19-21 (ESV)

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

This is what David is writing about in this psalm.  He is writing about having access to God, through faith in a better sacrifice.   Toward the end of the verse he rejoices that God has “heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.”   David looked forward to Christ’s sacrifice in faith, as we look back on Christ’s sacrifice in faith.   God hears through the sacrifice of His Son, who gives us access to Christ.  

Mindful Constraints - Ruth

 Ruth 1:11-14 (ESV)

11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

Mindful Constraints

Naomi is in a bad spot.   She has lost her husband and her two sons to a famine.  Her husband, Elimelech, took Naomi and their two sons to Moab during a famine that had impacted all of the land of Judah.   While in Moab, Elimelech and his two sons die.  But, not before the two sons take on two wives: Orpah and Ruth.    

Naomi, after the deaths, decides to return to Judah and tells the two widows to leave her and return to their people. This is where we pick up the above story.   Naomi has lost everything.   She is caught in a thinking pattern that is about to hold her back.   She is hindered by both a cognitive anchor and an assumed constraint.  

A cognitive anchor is when we believe something can only be right when it looks a certain way.   A cognitive anchor is where we “think” we should go or how it should look when we get there.   Naomi tells Ruth and Orpah that she has no plans to have another baby that they can marry.  In those days that would be the normal way to solve the problem.   She states, “I am too old to have a husband.” She is locked in the thought of “what it should look like” based upon past ways to solve problems.   She is forgetting the story of Sarah and Abraham, who gave birth in old age.   But, she could only see one solution.  Yet, God had another plan. 

She also was caught in a mindset of an assumed constraint.   An assumed constraint is a false narrative we create in our heads that prevents us from getting where we ought to be.   We might say we create assumed constraints that prevent us from reaching our cognitive anchors.   In this case, she “assumed” the girls would want to “refrain” from marriage, unless Naomi gave brith to a son.   As a result of these negative approaches to problem solving Orpah leaves Naomi and returns to Moab.  But, Ruth clings to a hope that Naomi does not share. 

As Ruth returns home with Naomi we read “the rest of the story.”   God had a plan. Naomi did not see it.   But, God would provide a man for Ruth (Boaz), a near relative to Naomi.  In her “hurt,” Naomi could not see the hand of God.  She did not see through the pain that God was still on the throne and could solve this problem in a miraculous way.  She is in so much pain that when she returns to her land she refuses to allow others to call her Naomi (which means “pleasant”) and rather tells everyone back home to call her Mara (which means “bitter”). 

God does a marvelous things, however, despite her hurt.   God, through Boaz, gives Naomi a grandson.  Note the end of the book:

Ruth 4:17 (ESV)

17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Obed will be the grandfather to King David and Jesus will be a descendent of them all.   So, through the pain and suffering of loss, God did something for Naomi (and ultimately for us). He changed her cognitive anchor to allow her to see life in a different pattern and he changed the false narrative in her head about her assumed constraint.   Naomi had logical thoughts.  But, God’s ways transcend our logic.  He makes things happen we can’t imagine.   This is what God does as He unfolds His plan for us.   

Even an Esau Matters to God - Genesis 36-39

 Genesis 36:1 (ESV)

Esau's Descendants

1 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).

Genesis 36:9 (ESV)

9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

Genesis 36:15 (ESV)

15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,

Genesis 36:19 (ESV)

19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

Genesis 36:40 (ESV)

40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,

Even an Esau Matters to God.

To better understand the significance of the above genealogy of Esau, we have to read the following:

Malachi 1:3 (ESV)

3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”

Romans 9:13 (ESV)

13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

The story of Jacob and Esau is important in God’s Word.   In the above passages we see the genealogy of Esau.   In the next chapter (37) we see the genealogy of his brother, Jacob (Israel).   These names all matter to God.   But, it is striking that even though God is said to “hate” Esau, we have this long list of his descendants, who became “chiefs” in the land.   In the book of Hebrews he is used as an example of someone who disdained God and cast off God’s blessing:

Hebrews 12:16 (ESV)

16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

Yet, we see that God kept the promise of Isaac (Esau’s father) and made a great nation out him (Genesis 27:39-40).  God keeps His promises.   And, even though Esau was not of the “elect” (Romans 9) we see that God still took interest in him and fulfilled promises surrounding him.   The lesson to learn here is that God blesses those He wills and gives blessing even to those who reject Him.  God is sovereign and in control.   God sees all the affairs of mankind, whether they are of the elect or not.