What do you do in the beginning of temptation? Do you have Coach to help you through it? Hebrews 1-4

Hebrews 2:17-18
Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

Who would you rather talk to for assistance with a problem you are dealing with:  An academic philosopher who can tell you "whys" and "theories," or, someone who has experienced the same experiences and has achieved a victory through them?   That is the writers of Hebrews point in the above text.   He is writing to the readers of the book to assure that they worship Christ as the exclusive answer for their salvation and issues of life.  They were tempted to worship angels, other "gods" and other human philosophies.    What the writer of Hebrews is saying in the above text is that Jesus was sent, in the same likeness of men, so that He could not only represent us as a worthy sacrifice to God for sin, but also so He could KNOW the same temptations we are tempted with, yet without sin.     We don't have a temptation that we go through without His understanding of it, because He was "been-there-done-that".    When we are in the beginning of temptation that is the time to cry for Christ, as He has experienced, fully, that temptation.  In Luke 4 we see that He was tempted while in the desert after fasting for forty days.   Our power over sin is directly proportion over our allowing Christ to "Live In Us" and to empower us.   He knows how to fight sin as He fought it and defeated it.  This is not some theory or philosophical debate.   This is not someone who loses and still wants to talk to us about to win.  This is about Christ, the Son of God, who overcame sin and death to give us the victory.  We are to come to Him to find mercy and help in the time of need.

 Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 10:21-22
... and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

What does your church look like? What should it look like? Acts 1-2

Acts 2:44
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;

We seldom think about or reflect or have an understanding of what the early church looked like.   We have, in our minds eye, our modern day church and we tend to project onto our image of the first church our current churches trappings and methods.   It should be noted int he passage above, and those that surround it, that the early church was instant and those in the "church" were immediately under pressure from the world to not come to Christ.  There was no building, no structure, no requirements, other than believing in Christ and demonstrating that belief by being baptized in front of everyone.   Property no longer mattered to these believers.   They did not "own" anything and, rather, they simply brought what they had (many lost everything by coming to Christ) to the body and the body shared, openingly.  Today, in our church experience, people tend to come to get.  They "join" a church because "they" like the worship, the preaching or the ministries.  Like a commercial retail store, they enter to see what is there and how they feel about it.   In the first church they joined to commit to Christ and to support the body for the purpose of giving their lives, their property, themselves to others.  In today's church we hire most of that done.   We have an elite group of commandos who do the work.  We have a pre-requisite for those are served.   We have an application process for those we can serve and are served.   It is not wrong to structure and modernize the church.   However, we may want to rethink and evaluate to make sure we haven't lost the meaning of the Body of Christ.  If my hands have to apply to serve my body, the body suffers.   If the body or any part of it acts selfish and out of line for the purpose of the body, the whole body suffers.   Qualify others and make sure we are serving real members of the body all you want.   But, in the process don't forget that Christ died for those minor parts of the body and expects them to grow and be used, as well.  

Do you follow the "flair" of the speaker, or the "content" of the speaker? Obadiah

Obadiah

As we read this one chapter book, we must submit ourselves to the teaching of someone we know nothing about.  All we know about Obadiah is contained in these twenty-one verses.   We don't know if he was a shepherd (like Amos); a priest (like Habakuk), or a son of royalty (like Zephaniah).  He was a prophet, like the others, because God declared him a prophet.   He is contained in the Bible as one of the Minor Prophets, even though we have to resume, reputation or rational for his being selected by God to be His spokes person.  Typically in the first few verses God delivers for us the story behind the author of the book.   Instead, for Obadiah, here is what we get:

 Obadiah 1:1
​ The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom—
We have heard a report from the Lord,
And an envoy has been sent among the nations saying,
“Arise and let us go against her for battle”—

What does this teach us?  In a time when our society is so captivated by "men" and their flare and fame, God was in the business, at least with Obadiah, to diminish the man and to exalt the message.   Unlike the world today, God was not concerned with WHO delivered the message but by WHAT the message was.    Edom (another name for Esau, Jacob's older brother) was about to be brought to task for his ill treatment of Jacob (Israel) throughout the ages.   That is the message that God is delivering (God is knowledgable and concerned about how we treat our brothers ... His children).   God is more concerned with us understanding the content and less concerned that we are impressed with the spokesmen.  That is not the world we live in today.  In today's modern church movement the Person is followed more than the content of the Preaching.   We are impressed with flair, appeal and presence and less concerned bout truth.   We are excited about delivery and ignorant about doctrine.   Obadiah was just a guy God used to carry the message.   He didn't that much of himself to include his bio in the beginning chapters.   He is just a guy who is obedient to his God.   His humility is a reflection of Christ.  Isaiah tells us that when Christ was to come he would not have a manner that would be electric ... no one would desire Him.   It is interesting who today's modern "Messengers" for God try to dress pedestrian (to feign commonness), only to create a look that is acute and notable for modern preachers to establish their "image."   Obadiah should be our hero.  Speak the Word and keep self out of it.  

What happens when you get accused of a false crime? Proverbs 26-27

Proverbs 26:2
Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not alight.

Everyone, at one time or another, has been accused of something. We tend to react differently to those accusations. Most defend or attack, others go into a shell and still others self-destruct. In this proverb we are given some vital truth that we would do good to hold onto in the shadow of an accusations. Just like a "sparro" flits from place to place, or a "swallow" flys eractically, so too a curse "without cause" does not land and stick. What Solomon is telling us is that a false accusations leaves no mark on us. I live on a boat and have little birds every morning land on the rails of the boat. They don't stay long. They end up leaving droppings and then fly away. So, too, a false acquisation. They leave a mess but there is no real damage and a powerful hose eventually cleans thins up. Many people will accuse us of many things. But, under God's watch and God's care, their accusations are just flittering birds and dartying sparrows. Don't get too caught up in their droppings. Once they are gone, take a shower and move on.

When you are in a depressed mode who do you turn to for help? Psalm 114-116

Psalms 116:7-9

Return to your rest, O my soul,

For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 

For You have rescued my soul from death,

My eyes from tears,

My feet from stumbling. 

I shall walk before the Lord

In the land of the living.

What do you do when your heart is stirred within you due to sin you have committed or due to sins others are committing toward you?   What do you do when you know you have failed God?  What do you do when you feel the burdens of others who are against you in some way or another?   The above verses answer that question and are full of insights for us on how to recover from something bad in our lives.  We don't know what the writer of this Psalm is actually experiencing in his life.  But, we do know he feels as though he is to the point of death:

Psalms 116:3

The cords of death encompassed me

And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;

I found distress and sorrow.

We do know that in his haste he has either righty said the following, or improperly applied the truth stated in a poor manner:

Psalms 116:11

I said in my alarm,

“All men are liars.”

This is a man under some pressure and the solution was not to seek psychology (a soft science that can only point out the obvious and the problem but deliver no spiritual solution).  The answer was for him to turn to God in praise for what God has done for him.   He uses the power of thanksgiving to praise God and to ware off sin, depression and bad circumstances.   When we sin we are so focused on us.   But, real recover comes from putting our focus on Him.   He has rescued our soul from death ... that is something to praise Him for.   He keeps us from tears ... He keeps us from further stumbling ... He allows us to walk in a place we don't deserve.   God is the God of rescue and restoration.    Rejoice in that today ... everyday!!!

Does God use you as His personal speaker of His Wisdom? 2 Chronicles 6-10

2 Chronicles 9:22-23

So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart.

Would it be wrong to desire the same thing we read in the above verse for yourself.  Years ago I started a speaking-coaching leadership business and this verse (along with 2 Chronicles 9:1) was to be the theme and mission statement of the business.   That was twenty years ago.    I desired then, and now, to have God give me wisdom I could share with the "kings of the earth" - because they came asking.   I have never advertised because I thought that is self promotion.  I have allowed God to bring to me who He wanted me to share His wisdom with and for what reason to share it.   Solomon sought God's Wisdom and God supplied it ... richly.   We, too, can seek God's Wisdom and He WILL supply it.   God will also bring the kings of the earth to us - or the peasants of the earth - to hear HIS wisdom.  Solomon was just the speaker system.   God doesn't need people like Solomon or me to convey His wisdom.   He has done that in creation (see Proverbs 8).   Yet, God chooses to use Solomon, here, to demonstrate His majesty.   When Solomon forsook that theme in his life he became just another man filled with pride and with arrogance.     God desires to use us if we will give Him the glory and give Him the credit.   

Did you know God limits even His biggest names in their service? Numbers 25-28

Numbers 27:12-14

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was; for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

God withholds leadership positions and blessings based upon sin in our lives.  This is a very important truth for all of us to know, learn, memorize and commit too in our lives.   David experienced it by not being allowed to build God a Temple.   In the above passage, Moses, is experiencing it when it comes to leading the people into the promise land.  There may not be a larger picture of leadership in the Bible than David and Moses.   Yet, both, because of sin, were not allowed to do something great and glorious for God.  Their desires were holy.  Their dreams were glorifying.    Yet, their lives had a level of sin that God limited what they could do for Him based upon that disobedience.   It should be noted that their disobedience was not necessarily a pattern of sin in their lives, but rather instances where they simply failed God in that moment.   David's sin is a little easier to understand as a limit to why God was restrictive to his leadership.  He not only committed adultery he had Uriah, the husband and valiant warrior, in essence, murdered.  Moses, on the others hand, as stated above, simply hit the rock to get water to come out, instead of speaking to it as instructed by God.  Previously he was told to hit the rock.  The second time he was told to speak to the rock.  But, his anger controlled him and that caused the sin.  David's lust and shame controlled him and that caused him to sin.   It matters not what the sin is and it matters not who the person is.  God is no respecter of persons.   Both men sinned and were limited in their ability to serve God.   This is a lesson I simply struggle with.  I am not in the "church" ministry because of such things in my life.  I accept that and need to further grasps it and not fight it.  I, too, must, like Moses, go up to the mountain and see the beauty of what God will allow others to do and be reminded that past sins matter to God.