God Uses Us to Serve Him - Acts 7-8

Acts 8:36-40 (ESV)

And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The preaching of the Gospel brings about salvation:

Romans 16:25-27 (ESV)

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Philip first began his ministry waiting on tables:

Acts 6:3-6 (ESV)

Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

He then became a proclaimer of truth.   He started in the kitchen and ended up in the pulpit.   That is what God does.  With the power of God’s word lives are changed by those whose lives have also been changed.   

Luke 16:10 (ESV)

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Man Has Wicked, But Useless Plans - Nahum

Nahum 1:9-11 (ESV)

What do you plot against the LORD?

He will make a complete end;

trouble will not rise up a second time.

For they are like entangled thorns,

like drunkards as they drink;

they are consumed like stubble fully dried.

From you came one

who plotted evil against the LORD,

a worthless counselor.

The book of Nahum is the sequel to the book of Jonah.   Jonah went to Nineveh (capital city of Assyria, reluctantly but eventually.   The Assyrians repented.  At least for a while.   Then the next generation of Assyrians returned to evil.    In the above lines we read about the mindset of the Assyrians.  They (leaders and citizens) sat down to plot a way to conquer Judea and become the power they were before their previous faith based life.  They were a wicked and ruthless fighting machine.   Their plotting was wicked and evil in their minds.   But in God’s mind it was a joke.   Note how he describes their plans: 

1.  They are like entangled thorns. 

2. They are like drunk men.

3. They are like consumed stubble. 

Their plotting is coming from an evil counselor.   This is what happens when we go against the God of the universe.  Our plotting amounts to burnt stubble.   

A Godly Woman Works Willingly - Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31:13 (ESV)

She seeks wool and flax,

and works with willing hands.

In our society today the value of a woman is measured in some ungodly and unhealthy ways.    There is, of course, an extreme amount of emphasis placed on the female body and the outward beauty of the women.   The dollars spent, alone, on appearance and sexuality are staggering.   Little is placed on the intelligence of women today.  In fact, in most circles, the smarter the female the less influence she can have.  If she demonstrates her depth of knowledge she can enter the pool of influence, but often limited to only the shallow end of the waters.   There is even less emphasis placed on the industrialness of the women.   What she can do with her hands is often relegated to a lesser area of life.   Solomon, on the other end, seems to relish the women of industry.   She is rewarded for the work of her hands AND the work of her mind.   Notice in our proverb, above, that she is said to "look" for the wool and the flax and then looks to work it with her hands.   She uses her mind to find the wool; she uses her industrious skills to work it and she incorporates a great attitude of will and skill to do so with delight.   The example she sets for us in regard to virtue is amazing.   God has given her a mind, a heart and a will to accomplish much for God's kingdom.  It is does not appear to be a spiritual act, but it is for us.   We can see what God values.   God equips her and she uses that equipment to honor and glorify God, because that is what He values.  Whatever He values we should value.

God Protects Us! Psalm 120-121

Psalms 121:5-8 (ESV)

The LORD is your keeper;

the LORD is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The LORD will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

God keeps us!  The fact that God keeps us is amazing in and of itself.  The Hebrew word here for keeper, is very broad.  Note what Vine says about it:

i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.: — beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).

It is used 4468 times in the Bible and translated to these English words: 

AV (468) - keep 283, observe 46, heed 35, keeper 28, preserve 21, beware 9, mark 8, watchman 8, wait 7, watch 7, regard 5, save 2, misc 9;

God is watching and caring and protecting as the keeper.   Note what the above verse states about His keeping us:

1.  He keeps us from the sun, like shade, on a hot day.   Living where they were living at the time the nation of Israel would have really understood this thought process and word picture. God keeps us during these times. 

2. He keeps them during the night.   Remember with have homes and doors and security locks and even cameras watching over us as we sleep.  They did not.   Night time terrors were a real thing.  God keeps us during these times. 

3. He keeps us from evil.   There is all types of evil, both physical and spiritual.  God is watching over us. 

4. He keeps us as we navigate this world.  He is keeping us as we walk and engage with the world.   

The psalmist said all this this way in Psalm 91: 

Psalms 91:4-7 (ESV)

He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

God Keeps His Promises - 2 Chronicles 21-24

2 Chronicles 21:6-7 (ESV)

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

Throughout the books of Chronicles, we have the accounts of the leadership of the kings.  Although mostly they cover the kings of Judah, the point of the books is in the domain of leadership.   In the above passage we read that another king came into leadership and was corrupt.  This was often the story for both Israel to the north and Judah to the south.   But the beauty of the above passage is God’s response to another corrupt leader.  God made a covenant with David that he would always have a member of his family on the throne.   Despite the bad leadership each time, God kept His promises.  Ultimately God would bring Jesus to reign on the throne, but until then God had to allow the descendants of David to rule, as well.    At times, God keeps His promises to use despite our sin.  Many of these kings were wicked.  Yet God remembered His promises and allowed the kingdom to continue so that He could both fulfill His promise to David and establish His eternal kingdoms through Jesus.                                               

God Wants to Bring Us Into Rest - Deuteronomy 1-3

Deuteronomy 1:19-21 (ESV)

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land

“Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea. And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’

Moses led the people right up to the promised land.  He brought them out of Egypt through great wonders. He brought them across the Red Sea through the great power of God‘s hand. Now they were on the threshold of receiving God‘s promise. Yet here, in this very moment, is where they decided to doubt God. We often wonder why we don’t get what we wish for and what we hope for. Then again, God often brings us right to the impetus of the fulfillment of our desires, and yet, our lack of faith keeps us back. The nation could’ve had grapes as large as cantaloupes. But instead, their fear prevented them from moving forward.

God wants to bring us in to the land of rest. But our fear prevents us from seeing, because our hearts only see the danger.  When Joshua takes over the Leadership, this is what God tell him:

Joshua 1:8-9 (ESV)

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Sanctified, Once for All! Hebrews 8-10

Hebrews 10:8-10 (ESV)

When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The context of the above passage matters to understand what the writer is saying in these verses.   The writer has been making the case that Jesus is both the fulfillment of the old sacrificial system of bulls and goats and is a better and final sacrifice.    That has been the subject of the first nine chapters.  In the above verses the writer tells us the advantage of that for us.   Since the old system had to be done every year, the purity of the people demanded they come every year and make those sacrifices of bulls and goats.   But, as stated above, when Jesus came to fulfill the will of His Father, He did away with coming year after and year and once for all provided purity (sanctification) for those who come to Him, by faith.  His own body sacrifice was the end of all sacrifices and became our path to purity in Him.   We can rejoice that we don’t need to come and sacrifice and offer and confess over and over and over.   He did this once for all, and established our forever sanctification.