Sunday, October 24, 2010
One Year Bible - October 8, 2010
JEREMIAH 10:1 - 11:23
"THE WAYS OF THE HEATHEN": When threatened, people start casting around for something to hang onto! Sometimes any old thing will do if it looks secure. Don't be trained in the lifestyle or ways of thinking of non-believers. Valuing the things that they value is "vain" - useless, worthless, empty, a waste of time and a waste of money. Are v 3-4 talking about a Christmas tree? I hope not! Just remember: v.5 says that it intrinsically cannot do either evil or good. Just don't allow it to become a substitute for God. V. 10 "The Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting king..." Any substitute of counterfeit for God that we are depending on, that has never created anything on earth or in heaven, cannot save us because they are perishing too (v.15).
EXILE IS CERTAIN: To be in exile is to be in a hostile environment, thrown entirely on the Lord for safety and for provision of every kind. If you are not part of God's remnant, (those who come through, not escape or "survive intact") then you will be nothing but the world's slave. But God's remnant are still under God's watch, still able to perform His purpose. Which will we be? No one can direct his own steps. You can be God's servant or the servant of sin.
WARNINGS & REBUKES (chap 11-23)!!!
CHAP 11: OBEY GOD OR DIE: The prophet must walk up and down the roads and streets and call out to people and hold out the "constitution" by which the nation was formed (their covenant with God). Compare yourself with the original agreement and see how you've failed. Obey God and be blessed. Disobey God and be cursed. Those were the terms under which God gave them the Land (living in the care and presence of God). V.8 says they breached the agreement and now they are subject to the curses.
CONSPIRACY: They conspired to overthrow God! They did all they could to subvert the authority of Scripture. They tempted people to follow their gods (themselves). Who did this? People inside the church! Remember Rev 13 shows us two beasts: a "world" beast and a "church" beast! The church-beast looked like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon! (13:11). It looked like a Christian, but was beastly (antichristian) in nature and in purpose. It's plan is to put its followers under the power of the world-beast. So we blend in. Then there will be no more witness to Truth. BUT - - - the punishment has already been set in motion, and God won't change His mind. Their prayers won't be heard. Their gods(substitutes and counterfeits) can't save them. Jeremiah's prayers can't help them.
What did they think they were doing? God's "wife" was practicing lewdness in His house! He will no longer shelter her in His house. They partook of the holy flesh from the Temple offerings, threw a pinch of incense to Baal's altar, and then rejoiced like nothing was wrong. (covering all their bases?)
MISUNDERSTOOD: Jeremiah was a priest, from the priestly family, living in a town of priests - - - Anathoth. Those are the people who are plotting to kill him for prophesying in the Name of the Lord. Silence him or slay him. God decided He would "visit" them.
RESPONSE: There is a conspiracy afoot in America today. A conspiracy to overthrow God. When I put it into writing, the very idea looks stupid. But in practice, it isn't even subtle any more. How does it work inside the church? With people refusing to hear the Truth of God's Word. With Christians too intimidated to practice their beliefs in public, outside their home or outside their churches. Silence us or slay us. That's their plan.
COLOSSIANS 3:18 - 4:18
HOUSEHOLD OF "AGAPE": "Agape" characterizes the core of our personality as Believers. "Agape" is an ATTITUTE and ACTION WORD for "love" in the NT. It means to give up one's self-interest to serve and care for another. It is neither grudging or demeaning. The testing ground for our new walk of faith is the home. The goal here is to do what the Lord expects, not what our society accepts. Men are to hold their wives in highest esteem, viewing them in the same way Christ views the Church! Just as men "agape" their wives, the wives "hupotasso" their own husbands (to place herself at the disposal of another - much like "agape"). What is interesting is that neither word means "affection"! The point being that knowing Jesus transforms all our relationships.
WISDOM TOWARD "OUTSIDERS": Everything we do, we do it in gratitude to God. When we react to what is going on around us, we do it God's Name, because that's Who we represent. Our lives are dead, and hidden in Christ. He indwells us and wants to express Himself through us, so we must live WISELY - navigating through a fallen world like Jesus would. Use our influence where we can, interfere when we must, and intercede always. We must "redeem the time" - use every opportunity. If we give ourselves to prayer, then we can recognize the opportunities when they come. Otherwise, it is difficult to know an open door when it's there. The important thing to remember is that ALL OF LIFE IS LIVED IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. Our lives must be integrated - all of one piece. Because of the Cross (sufferings, death and resurrection) of Jesus, both FOR us, and AS us, we can strip away our old disgusting behaviors and live like He would.
RESPONSE: I know that there are some things that I would ONLY do for Jesus! In fact, many of the things I do every day, are things I wouldn't do if He weren't looking! But, because I love Him, I get the dirt in the corners too. Because I don't want to do a sloppy job for Jesus, I chop the onions real small in the casserole. Because I want to please God, I am always gentle and uncondemning with vulnerable people when I help them. I don't take shortcuts when I clean Mom's feet and clip her toenails. I think about the woman washing Jesus' feet with her tears because of her gratitude. Jesus rescued me, set me free, healed me, washed me, loves me, is faithful to me ... gave me His grace, His Spirit, His power, His Word, His Name. I want to do a "BANG-UP" job at whatever He gives me to do!
PSALM 78:56-72
When Israel disobeyed and forgot their history, God chose Judah instead. He forsook the tabernacle in Shiloh, gave the Ark of His Presence to our enemies, burned the town and the people in it, and started over in Jerusalem. "Moreover" He abandoned the tribe of Joseph and Ephraim, and set His love and affection on Judah and Mt. Zion. And DAVID the faithful shepherd of the sheep, became the faithful shepherd of the nation.
PROVERBS 24:28-29
As an immature Christian, I could stay mad at someone for several weeks - even years! If an opportunity opened up to get even with them, I'd take it! And you know what? It never satisfied anything. It was never enough, never "evened things up". This is because with "fairness" doctrine, the goal keeps moving. There are a lot of emotions involved and so the bottom line keeps scooting around. Jesus said "resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Mat 5:39) This means that when someone offends us, we continue to be vulnerable enough that he can do it again.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
One Year Bible - October 7, 1020
JEREMIAH 8:8 - 9:26
"IS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD"? (8:20-22) "The summer is ended and we are not saved." False prophets have insisted that Jerusalem was in no danger ("peace! peace!") and became Jeremiah's most difficult problem. The truth is that things will get so bad that people will choose death rather than life. Jeremiah is pouring out his soul in grief. Rebellion is the serpent's venom. Bitterness is the adder's strike, and "cannot be charmed". But Jesus will bruise his head! YES! THERE IS A BALM IN GILEAD. HIS NAME IS JESUS!
CONFIDENCE IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE & JUDGMENT: We know that God makes a distinction in who is His (circumcised in their hearts) and who is not. People value wisdom, might and riches. They view the Word of God as worthless or irrelevant. In fact, they set up their value system in COMPETITION with God. They think they are blessed, even tho' they are alienated from God. God values lovingkindness (God's affectionate response to His own, full of favor, mercy and goodness) , justice, and righteousness. God loves us when none is required or even deserved. His "justice and righteousness" speak of His faithful protection by which He preserves His people in time of trouble. It defines the way God governs and regulates the world. It is always just and right. If we glory in anything, it should be in God alone. God hates that confidence by which men presumptuously boast in themselves, thinking they can take care of themselves. All men without God are miserable.
RESPONSE: The whole concept of "knowing God" was so foreign to me that I didn't even know that I didn't really know Him! I thought that if I was saved, I knew God. Now I know that I am only getting started with that knowing! And as my knowledge of God grows, I have to keep adjusting to what I know. This is because revelation about God is progressive and supplemental, enlarging and clarifying as we go on with the Lord. And we'll never plumb all the depths! There will always be more and more - on into eternity. With each revelation, more freedom comes because of His lovingkindness, justice and righteousness.
COLOSSIANS 3:1-17
CURRICULUM FOR CHRISTLIKENESS: Removing our automatic responses against the Kingdom of God.
THINK HEAVENLY THOUGHTS (1-4): We must break the power of the evil patterns that governed our lives when we were alienated from God. Our habitual patterns of thought, feeling and behavior are deeply entrenched, but are not who we are any more. Whatever we choose to dwell on, determines how we live. Our NEW man must purposely disrupt our thoughts with new ones that orient themselves around God. So we "set our affections on things above". "Set your affection" - means to set your mind on something that will determine your behavior. We are "savoring" the thoughts. It is the Greek word, "phroneo". The "things of the earth" are under a curse, and our obligation and relationship to them was terminated when we died "in Christ". To keep us safe, our lives are now "hid with Christ" and we are intimately bound to Him. The sign that the battle is over, is that Christ is "seated on the right hand of God". This means our thoughts need not dwell on "battles" here on earth. One day, we will be in heaven, physically - we will be where Jesus is - and must keep this goal before us. It is a waste of effort to spend all our thoughts on earthly things. So heaven becomes "north" on my compass. My thoughts always "default" to "things above". This allows my preoccupation with heaven to govern how I live minute-by-minute. THIS TAKES PRACTICE TO GET GOOD AT IT. I purposely interrupt myself to give praise and thanks to God. I resist the idea that happiness or contentment can be found in anything this world has to offer.
KILL OFF THE "OLD MAN" (OLD NATURE - NATURAL, EARTHY PERSON): the "old you". "Mortify" means "put to death" - - - what belongs to our earthly nature, our old self. These characteristics are of the FLESH - another NT word that refers to the SELF. This is strong language to address a strong enemy. The flesh is represented in the OT by all the Canaanite tribes that had to be butchered as the Israelites moved into the Land. They were to make no deals with them, kill them all, tear down all their objects of worship, and never marry any of them! Even in Colossians 3:5 "fornication, impurity, lust, evil desires and covetousness" are called IDOLATRY. God ALWAYS goes after idolatry because it is so repugnant to Him that we would prefer substitutes and counterfeits. These things manifest in a life that feeds on earthly philosophies of life.
So, like dirty, foul-smelling clothes, "take off" these old repulsive habits. Habits are just that - and can be changed by replacing them with new habits. Then, we put on our brand-new clothes and live in conformity of the One Who created us. When we "clothe ourselves with Christ", we lose class, gender and ethnic distinction.
"PUT ON CHRIST": Clothe yourself. (Eph 6:11 - same word) The chief item of clothing is "love". It is foundational (like a girdle?). "Peace" is our "umpire" - letting us know when we made an "illegal play." And we must be a THANKFUL people. INgratitude is the beginning of a downward spiral that ends in death.
WORD-SATURATED: As "the Word becomes flesh in us," our behavior more accurately manifests Jesus. It helps us to inter-relate with other parts of His body.
RESPONSE: Just a few details about the "how to..." For example, "killing our flesh", also called "dying to self", happens many ways. The most prominent way to deny the flesh is in obedience to God. Each time we deny the flesh to obey the Word or the Voice of God, we are killing more of it. We also deny the flesh when we worship God. Worship breaks the addiction to ourselves by taking us outside of ourselves and into the spirit realm. Serving others helps crucify the flesh also. Giving money not only denies our flesh, but also documents gratitude - and refusing to give documents INgratitude. Expressing appreciation helps breaks the repulsive habit of criticism and fault-finding. Rom 12:21 tells us to "overcome evil with good".
PSALM 78:32-55
COMPLAINING: Complaining is negative meditation and documents ingratitude. Complaining is usually rooted in anger, and it is self-righteous and self-centered. There is a degree of "entitlement" to it, too. People who complain often see themselves as victims, when Believers in Jesus are sacrifices who are full of power. Complaining is actually UNBELIEF. It blinds us to Truth and hinders the work of God in us. In Psalm 78, we learn that the people whom God miraculously provided for: (v.22-29) complained about the food and God's provision. (v.30-35) didn't believe God despite all He'd done for them. (v.36-37) Lied to God and didn't keep their promises to Him. (v.38-41) Were ungrateful and grieved the Holy Spirit. (v.42-55) forgot God's goodness and God's greatness. (v.56-58) were treasonous and betrayed God.
RESPONSE: My first reaction is to say that I'd NEVER do that! But I complain a lot! It is a very difficult habit to overcome. It must be overcome with "good" (Rom 12:21). When I am in a situation where I feel a complaint "welling up" inside me, I purposely interrupt my thoughts with 1 Thess 5:16-18, and "rejoice evermore" ("at all times".) and "give thanks in everything." I will keep you posted!
PROVERBS 24:27
This is why it is impossible to keep a farmhouse clean. There is always something that needs to be done outside.
One Year Bible - October 6, 2010
JEREMIAH 6:15 - 8:7
"THE OLD PATHS": (6:16) "There you will find rest for your souls". Return to the Cross of Jesus - start over. But no one would listen! Threats did no good. They tried to manipulate God with outward rituals of worship (their hearts weren't in it). God wants our hearts, not our stuff.
"THE FRUIT OF THEIR THOUGHTS": (6:18) (the results of all their scheming). They thought they could be better, stronger, richer, prettier, more famous, more loved, more popular, - by their alliances with earthly things. Now those earthly alliances will be what destroyed them. The strumblingblocks didn't cause them to fall into sin - they had already purposefully stepped into it. Now they would FALL into trouble. No matter what they do, they won't be able to avoid it. They won't be able to look for help from each other, because they will all go down. The enemy is cruel and has no mercy - you'd better be watching over your shoulder. He's already on his way and will pounce without warning. Like King Saul of old, they have been rejected.
WATCHMEN: YOU be a "tower and a fortress". Be someone that truly repentant people can come to for help. Unfortunately, nearly everyone is "grievous revolters" and will fly at you in their hardness of heart.
ON MY WAY TO CHURCH: There stood Jeremiah in the gateway to the churchyard, calling us: "if you change your ways and return to God, you will be allowed to escape judgment." First they were deceived by their leaders, then they became self-deceived. After all, they were on their way to church. But they had exchanged the God of goodness and greatness, for gods who did nothing for them. Then, they came and stood before Jehovah God pretending to be sorry and claiming to be delivered so they wouldn't feel guilty. They thought they could hide behind their church-attendance. But God said, "I have seen it."
TAKE A LOOK AT SHILOH: Shiloh was the old-days worship center, where the Ark was kept and the people worshipped. When the people acted like Jerusalem is now, God forsook Shiloh (wrote "Ichobad" over it - "the glory has departed") and the Ark went into captivity. The land was laid waste. Being a church-goer won't save you! "Do not pray for them...because I won't hear you." That is a scary thought! (prayer delays judgment) Their doom is sealed. All your sacrifices won't save you either when you persist in disobedience. They had set up their own will in competition with God's and they actually went backwards! They are worse off than their fathers.
"TRUTH HAS PERISHED": (7:28) Everyone is deceived - they have surrendered Truth. They have lost their bottom line! They live disoriented to Reality. God has "rejected and forsaken" them.
VALLEY OF HINNOM: An OT type of HELL. The NT word is "Gehenna" and designates the place of eternal punishment of the wicked. Judas is buried there. It was where Molech worship took place and children were sacrificed and burned at the altars. Rubbish fires burned continually out there for convenience in dumping offal and garbage. Because the people are polluted and have polluted all God gave them, and have actually participated in worship by sacrificing their babies, the valley will be filled with their dead bodies. There will be nothing to rejoice in any more. Even after you are dead, you won't rest. Your graves will be dug up and robbed of anything valuable.
WHY DO PEOPLE PERSIST IN CLINGING TO THEIR DECEIT? Why do some persistently backslide? No matter how many times they come to the altars, they walk away unchanged. What's up? Even animal and birds are smarter than that! These people don't appear to be embarrassed by their behavior either. They reject the Word and prefer their own reasonings and opinions. They seem to believe that God's grace and mercy will extend to them forever, and they can "change" when they want to! They talk about how good God is, and how wonderful He is to them, when God is actually taking everything away from them! They flatter each other with how wonderful they are and what good things they are doing. They think they can justify everything and laugh at their accusers. They ruin themselves thru deceit and go into slavery (bondage).
RESPONSE: People that I love and care about act just like this! They prefer their sin to the Presence of God! They seem to think they are free from all the rules that bind me! The truth is that I don't WANT to do what they are doing! It is self-destructive and grieves the Holy Spirit, Whom I love and to Whom I owe everything. Nothing feels as good as pleasing God feels. Nothing feels as good as a clean conscience either! Yes, it is work to come clean. But it is fueled by joy! It is pure misery to be governed by THUGS, who have no bottom line!
COLOSSIANS 2:8-23
THE ANSWER TO PHILOSOPHY AND VAIN DECEIT: We all know what "philosophy" is - "the love of knowledge" - but actually today it has come to be used to describe our foundations for how we live. So we have a "philosophy about God", a "philosophy about marriage", etc. Here, it says ”philosophy...that is according to the elements of the world, and NOT after Christ." Gal 4:3, 9 call it "beggarly elements of the world". They are deceptive and are an empty sham, with no substance. They are according to something that the Bible says is already in the process of "passing away" (Luke 21:33; 2 Peter 3:10). Heretical philosophies are a danger because they form a barricade against Trust and are misleading and seductive.
What is "True philosophy". . . which is "according to Christ"?
(1) All the fullness of deity lives in Christ Jesus (2:9). The word "fullness" strongly affirms His deity. Because He possesses "full deity", Jesus is completely equal with the Father and the Spirit . And it lives there "bodily" - Jesus was fully human while He was fully God the Divine without diminishing either part of Him. This means He was fully qualified to make atonement for us. He is our exclusive Head. There is no other.
(2) Believer are complete in Christ Jesus (2:10-14). Jesus possesses "fullness of deity", and Christians have fulness of Life from Him. We are identified with Him "who is head over all rule and authority". Jesus is fully sufficient, and we need no other. "Complete" means "fulness." How close is our identity with His? (v.11-12) Water baptism is NT circumcision. It is the SIGN of covenant (marriage). It is a virgin man coming into a virgin woman, thereby consummating the marriage covenant. When we are water baptized, we consummate our relationship with Jesus. It alters our spiritual makeup. We are no longer plain, natural humans. Additionally, when we entered the baptismal waters, as we went under the water, it was like burying the old man (stripping him off). When we rise up out of the water, it is a resurrection to "newness of life" (Rom 6:4). We ALREADY participated in Jesus' death and resurrection. No further charge can be brought against us.
(3) Redemption is complete because Christ has all Authority. (2:13-15) Christ's death on the cross "cancelled the written bond...." That is, the legal demands of the Law, which exposed sin and demanded satisfaction. It was like picking up all our IOU's and paying them. Our forgiveness is finall. "Thrones, dominions, rulers or authorities." have been stripped of their authority, disarmed, and left naked and defeated by Jesus. They have been "made a show of "- paraded through the streets of heaven, naked and in chains. Nowhere in the NT is Satan seen in heaven, following the ascension of Jesus. This is a reality settled in heaven and Satan can no longer accuse us to God.
LOGICAL OUTCOMES: (2:16-23) Regarding man-centered philosophies - rules and regulations puff up the flesh, producing self-righteousness and arrogance. People may "browbeat" us into feeling obligated to participate in these rites - but all those rituals and ceremonies and special days, in reality, point to Jesus Christ, by whom we are already "filled" - "complete".
RESPONSE: Any connection between sin and a believer is an unnatural one. We only sin because we WANT to. And as we grow closer to the Lord, we really don't even WANT to! We become "dead" to sin. It loses its appeal. Darkness has no claim on me. I owe it no obligation, because I have been bought back from the darkness.
PSALM 78:1-31
"DARK SAYINGS": (V.2) These are difficult parables, that demand the fear of God. These "dark sayings" ask two questions: (1) How could anyone have been so stubborn and rebellious again and again? (2) Why is God so amazingly patient and merciful to such a miserable bunch of people? The purpose of these "dark sayings" is to WARN against unfaithfulness.
To avoid apostasy or falling away of our children and grandchildren, we must teach them the goodness, greatness and glory of God, and to OBEY Him. NEVER PANIC (like Ephraim). And NEVER SETTLE for what we already have of God. The next generation will be either better or worse than this one.
PROVERBS 24:26
The truth is as good as a kiss on the lips! Especially coming from a guilty 6-year-old!
RESPONSE: Jeremiah accused the people of Judah of being "worse than their fathers", because they had "built" on the evil their fathers had already done. I have many regrets for the way I lived as an immature, inexperienced Christian in front of my children. It really hurts when I see my children doing or saying things I used to. I am grateful for good Churches and good friends who act as a rear guard when we "mess things up".
Sunday, October 17, 2010
One Year Bible - October 5, 2010
JEREMIAH 4:19 - 6:14
MY BOWELS! MY BOWELS! (Don't you just love King James English?) Jeremiah is in agony as he experiences "the fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil 3:10). God's heart is broken at being abandoned by His wife (Judah). "My people are foolish", and behaving like spoiled children, but note that they are still "MY people". They are sinning and won't be persuaded to repent. They are miserable but won't take the only way out! Their destruction will be sudden (without warning) and total. There won't be an opportunity to repent then - it will be too late! The fight took place at the borders for many years, but ended up from house-to-house, on the inside! The whole place became a wilderness because of "God's fierce anger". God will not help them. They are helpless. So, they make themselves look as good as they can to their enemies (like harlots). But "thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life." Addictions and obsessions turn against us after awhile. They are governed by a law of diminishing returns and don't make us happy any more. They are killing us.
ONE HONEST MAN: You won't find him in Jerusalem in the time of trouble! (He won't be in a "dishonest", counterfeit church.) When we forsake the claims of Truth, we turn ourselves over to thugs. And they have "refused to accept correction" and "hardened" their heart to Truth. Rich and poor alike are "whores" - forsaken God to take up with substitutes. How can God forgive them for this?
LIONS, WOLVES & LEOPARDS: They will be ravaged without mercy. If you forsake God, then you will be someone else's slave. They deserve their punishment and correction. They THINK they are getting away with their rebellion. They say "Peace, peace, when there is no peace." They don't believe what God spoke to Jeremiah, and have lost their fear of God. The enemy will tear down their walls - they will be vulnerable. The enemy will "eat up the harvest" - leaving famine in their wake, which is the "reward" of hypocrites.
"Why is God doing this to me?" (5:19) (5:21)They are spiritually deaf and blind - they are calloused toward God and like it that way. (5:22)They have lost their fear of God - which means they believe they live without consequences. (5:23-24)They are stubborn and rebellious. (They live by the "mind of the flesh" - which is hatred toward God, Rom 8:7) and are unrestrained.
(5:25) Their sins and iniquities have PREVENTED the good things of God. (5:26) They have become spiteful and malicious. (5:27) They are deceitful and treacherous. (5:28-29) They are powerful and corrupt. (5:30-31) Their leaders are misleading them with counterfeits, and the people want it that way. God's judgment is necessary. They've made it so.
HOW JUDGMENT COMES: (6:1) They will have to shift for themselves. God won't help them. (6:2-5) The attacks by the enemy will be vicious and when we feel most vulnerable (kicking us while we are down). (6:6-7) They had brought this on themselves. (6:8) The only way to prevent judgment is to repent and return to God. (6:9-17) Restates the above, only now Jeremiah is MAD (v.11)!
RESPONSE: Same song. Second verse. I think that people got accustomed to hearing Jeremiah spout off and just wrote him off as a cuckoo. They weren't listening to him anymore because they didn't agree with what he was saying. They would rather listen to some politician tell them what they wanted to hear. Then, when they are finally destroyed, they will be surprised. When God holds off judgment, it is so more people have time to repent. That doesn't mean that judgment isn't coming! And it doesn't mean that well-meaning, sanctified, good-living Christians won't suffer. We go down with the ship! That's real love, tho' - we don't abandon our stations just because we don't like what's happening. We stay and fight. Believers became slaves too - look at Ezekiel, Daniel, Shadrach, etc.
COLOSSIANS 1:21-27
ALIENATED BY IGNORANCE: Sometimes something you don't know can kill you. In our "former" condition, we were alienated from God - and that made us His enemies, "hostile" toward God. Our sinful minds are manifested by "evil deeds".
PURPOSE OF RECONCILIATION: "Yet now...." He has reconciled us "in order to present us..." "HOLY, BLAMELESS, BEYOND REPROACH". And our Christian walk ought to manifest this, just like our sinful minds manifested evil deeds. "IF you continue in the faith..." continuing in the faith is the test of the reality of our conversion. If you are, indeed, reconciled, then your faith will continue.
A MINISTER OF THE MYSTERY: There are some "woo-woo" people in the church who are always looking for mysterious or secret knowledge of the heavenlies. Well, here it is: Christ lives in all Christians: Jew and Gentile. The indwelling of the Messiah and its accompanying glory are incorporated into God's purpose for us to be an expression of God's glory. Christ's suffering is still a mystery to parts of the world, and as such, Paul is making sure that that suffering is known and understood and accepted. Because the happiest people in the world are those who know the mystery of Christ in them the hope of glory, satisfying their deep longings.
RESPONSE: When we really SEE and understand what God has done, our hearts should be grateful. I can feel my spirit jumping up and down, and if I could, I would turn a cartwheel. I will get one of my grandchildren to take care of that right now, then I'll feel better!
PSALM 77:1-20
STOPPING THE SLIDE INTO UNBELIEF: When God doesn't answer our prayers when and how we think He should, our emotions can carry us away into unbelief. Delay is a test of our faith in God. If we continue to focus on our problems, God gets pushed to the periphery and then our emotions can make us stupid. We can slow the momentum of trying to live without God with praise and thanksgiving. We "meditate" on God's goodness and God's greatness and God's glory - definition: "to mutter, to talk out loud to our own heart, self-talk". What we decide to tell our hearts will make or break us. Going through this kind of test forces growth and weans us from living by our feelings. God is sovereign over human events, and whatever has made me afraid is, in turn, afraid of God. My inability to understand how God is working is no sign that He is not at work. I just can't see His footprints. (v.19) He is actually leading me THRU the trial, not around it, and underneath are the care, concern and watchfulness of the Shepherd.
PROVERBS 24:23-25
When you are in a position to deal with evil, and are swayed instead by your own agenda, eventually "the people" will get rid of you, if God doesn't do it sooner.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
One Year Bible - October 4, 2010
JEREMIAH 2:31 - 4:18
CHEATING ON GOD: God divorced Israel, the Northern Kingdom because of their "adulteries". When we satisfy our abysmal hunger with counterfeits and substitutes, God considers that adultery. In the OT, if a woman lived as a prostitute with many lovers, her original husband was not allowed to take her back because she was considered "defiled" (polluted, no longer consecrated to one husband). God said that there wasn't anything they hadn't participated in, that they were such experts at sinning and polluting themselves, that they could give lessons! They weren't even embarrassed! At the same time, they were flattering God and asking Him not to be mad at them! Sin had "perverted their way" - took what was right and twisted it to benefit themselves.
WHY WE REPENT: (1) We recognize Him as the only true God, all else is deception. (2) Idolatry does not help us in time of trouble. (3) Only God can give salvation and deliverance. (4) Since abandoning God, we suffered the consequences and are self-destructing. (5) The remembrance of our sin is grievous and the burden of our shame is intolerable.
WHAT GOD EXPECTS: (1) If you are going to repent, then repent all the way. Come completely back to God in wholehearted worship. (2) Abandon all your substitutes and counterfeits. ("put your abominations out of My sight.") (3) You must never do it again (you will be trapped that much more securely). (4) You must give God the glory and honor that is due Him. (re-orient your life around God) (5) Repent of any hindrances in receiving mercy from God (arrogance, insensitivity, self-reliance). (6) Circumcision obligates one to keep the law; circumcision of the flesh obligates you to deny your flesh and cleave to God. (7) Cling to God lest His fury come against you and destroy you.
RESPONSE: I have to admit that I checked out my own repentance. Have I really renounced my substitutes? Is my life really oriented around God? Do I include Him in everything I do or think about? Do I make it a habit to repent of self-reliance? Am I insensitive to the Holy Spirit? Do I feel obligated to forsake my flesh in preference to what the Holy Spirit wants?
COLOSSIANS 1:1-20
ACHIEVING CHRIST-LIKENESS: Jesus Christ is all we need. Colossians is probably the best teaching on the sufficiency of Jesus for everything in the context of our daily experiences. Trials are our ordinary existence where we experience God-with-us. Every event is an opportunity to give Jesus "preeminence". We learn what it means to really be Jesus' disciple in context of our regular lives.
In our daily lives, we have two kinds of events: those that are imposed (trials, temptations, tests, all our "ordinary" life events); and those that we choose (what we will do with and about ourselves - disciplines, practices, habits). The Holy Spirit uses both of these to conform us to the image of Jesus. The Spirit of God enables us "to hear and do" what Jesus did. Every event counts. We must not discard any of them as not being the right time or the right event, etc.
GIVING CHRIST JESUS PREEMINENCE: We must develop new habits for our new life in Christ. Our behavior should be a manifestation of what has, in fact, come into our inner man - the Life of God. The first two chapters of Colossians give us the one foundational habit to form: giving Christ Jesus preeminence in "all things". I must instruct my heart and my mind to be thrilled with Jesus. To love and delight in the Father. My life must be re-oriented around Him. It takes "all wisdom and spiritual understanding". (1:9) "Wisdom" is the ability to see all of life from God's point-of-view, to navigate life here on earth in a successful manner. This "knowledge" spoken of is accurate, complete knowledge of the true nature of things. Obviously these can only come from God, working on the inside. Then we are "strengthened with all might,....for patience and longsuffering with joy." This accompanies transformation of the inner man, which takes MUCH "patience and longsuffering" because it is, after all, a process. The second two chapters of Colossians give us the practical working out of our new lives.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: (1:12-14) The Father initiated salvation that qualifies us for our inheritance - in this instance, SALVATION and all it entails. God calls us "saints in light" as opposed to having been subject to "the power of darkness". We have been "translated into the kingdom of His dear Son." Leaving the domain of darkness implies a new lifestyle for the saints. Redemption and forgiveness of sins is done for prisoners of war (who we were). Our obligations to the darkness are cancelled because we have been bought back "through His Blood". (1:20) The unsaved are incapable and unworthy of seeking reconciliation (Rom 3:11). Enemies do not deserve grace. God reconciled us while we were yet enemies. Now all things are reconciled to God, meaning God's legitimate reign over all creation is assured.
WHO JESUS IS: The reason Jesus must have preeminence in our lives is because of Who He is. (1:15) Jesus is the "exact eikon (image) of the invisible God." Jesus is the tangible, touchable manifestation of God. He is exactly God. He has the same nature and character as God (Phil 2:6), He is the embodiment of the Divine. He is better and more powerful than anyone else. (1:15) "the firstborn of every creature" does NOT mean Jesus was created or born. "Firstborn" is not about being born, but about being the Heir and Ruler, and it refers to supremacy. The firstborn is the heir of all that belongs to the Father. It is about Jesus' position and greatness. (1:16-17) "For by Him were all things created.... visible and invisible (like angels)." Creation is CENTERED in Christ. Jesus is the embodiment of Reality. He has authority over all things, encompassing everything, and so all the glory belongs to Christ alone. (1:16) "all things were created by Him, and FOR Him." All of it is for Christ's purposes. To serve Jesus alone, making Jesus the goal of creation. (1:17) "He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" , meaning that He holds it all together and that therefore Christ is unchanging. He preexisted all of Creation. He is the cause of creation and He is the bond that holds it together. This negates the possibility of true chaos. (1:18) "He is head of the body, the church" which means that He is God-with-us, and we are helpless without Him. (1:18) "The Beginning" means He established a NEW BEGINNING - - - the beginning of redemption. (1:18) "the firstborn from the dead", never to die again. He has supreme dominion and authority over death, so that He now has first place in everything. (1:19) "In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell." He holds all redemptive power - He is the only Way. (1:20) Jesus is the goal for reconciliation. Jesus' preeminence is seen on every point. He has absolute authority, not to be shared with any person, angel or demon.
RESPONSE: Whew! Jesus is the center of everything! Mankind is really messed up! We thought it all revolved around us! When we are born again, our new life was almost the exact opposite of our old life. We go from darkness and ruin, to light and glory. We must re-oriented our lives around Jesus, Who is now our Center. He is our Reality. He is our Goal.
PSALM 76:1-12
JUDGMENT AND DELIVERANCE: What appears to be a catastrophe was really God releasing and saving the righteous. It is important for God to KNOW US. It is a privilege to know God, but a better privilege that God knows us and sees us as His dwelling place.
PROVERBS 24:21-22
It is a contradiction to say that we are submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and then refuse to honor His designated authority. Those who recognize neither the monarchy of God or the monarchy of kings are dangerous. Sooner or later, they are judged. Just as they have sneaky habits, their ruin will sneak up on them.
Friday, October 15, 2010
One Year Bible - October 3, 2010
JEREMIAH 1:1 - 2:30
THE MAN: Jeremiah was a young man of about 30 years old when he began his ministry. He was from the priestly family, lived in a town of all priests, and was himself a priest. He never married, and was misunderstood by EVERYONE, including his family. He prophesied to the last five kings of the southern Kingdom of Judah. Of course, his prominent subject was the coming captivity of Judah by the Babylonians.
HIS MINISTRY: Jeremiah was a warm-hearted, personable man, but had to deliver a harsh, judgmental message. When false priests and prophets prohibited Jeremiah from appearing in public, God told him to put these prophesies in writing. King Jehoiakim destroyed the book and ordered Jeremiah to be arrested. So Jeremiah re-wrote the book! When Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonians would return again and again until they burned the city, the king accused him of being a traitor and put him into a below-ground dungeon with a mud floor. His message was never received by anyone. Never did he see any sign that what he was saying had any impact at all on these people. Yet, he preached for 42 years. Jeremiah lived through one good king and four evil (or wishy-washy) kings, and saw the total ravaging of the land by war and the carrying away of his people into slavery. He was left behind in a desolated place when he was about 80 years old. Jeremiah saw nations rise and fall, and he was absolutely certain that Jehovah was the power behind those events. He even called Nebuchadnezzar God's "servant". Eventually he was taken by force into Egypt, where he continued to prophecy and finally died. Tradition says he was stoned to death by Jews.
HIS CALL: When God intervenes in history, He begins with a baby. He creates each one of us genetically perfect for our assignment. How does He prepare us? "Go, for I am with you." And so God sets us in the midst of death and destruction (the "plague" of "sin and death") with His promise to perform His Word. We are called to warn people not to "forsake God". Turning to substitutes and counterfeits instead of God is considered "forsaking God" and will destroy a nation and the each individual in it. "Hewing out cisterns for themselves" shows the absurdity of our actions, because this water isn't flowing, it has to be "captured" and stored in the cistern. If it runs off a mountainside, it is dirty and not always plentiful - it disappoints and leaves us thirsty for more. Eventually, when the cistern is cracked, we are left with NOTHING (but our same addictions and obsessions.).
HIS LESSONS: (1) The sovereignty of God: God's control over all the nations of the earth. (2) The ruthless judgment of God that would be without mercy against people who refuse to repent. (3) The faithfulness of God Who always fulfilled His Word, no matter what. (4) He learned to suffer like God over the condition of His people who had turned away, and the tenderness of God that draws them back.
HIS MESSAGE: REPENT! (OT word, "return") . We forsake God, or "forget" God, or turn away from God, because we are arrogant, insensitive and self-sufficient. We find ways to protect ourselves from God. Repentance is ALWAYS movement TOWARD God. I "return" to Him in dependence and trust. I must instruct my heart to trust God and to believe what He says. Renewing my mind helps me to re-orient my heart toward God. Genuine repentance turns my heart away from earthly dependencies (broken cisterns) - to "drink" from God to fill my thirst. If my thirst is unmet, my repentance is incomplete, and I will turn back to my broken cistern. When the water is all leaked out, all I have left are addictions and obsessions.
WHAT IS SO APPALLING? Observe the people around you who don't know God. They don't keep changing gods! They are more faithful to their false gods that we are to the One True God! We should be appalled and shudder with great horror (2:12). God compares us to a mare in heat, lusting - sniffing the wind for a mate. When we forsake the living God, we become AVAILABLE to any and every force around us. God calls that "spiritual harlotry". We are so "thirsty" and needy, that we'll take up with anything!
RESPONSE: There is no greater bondage than to serve my own appetites. Nothing is ever enough. It is important that we stop ourselves from DRIFTING away from God. I don't think most Christians decide one day to walk away from God. It happens in increments. Well, so does sanctification, and re-orienting our lives around God. INCREMENTS - it can work FOR us or AGAINST us.
PHILIPPIANS 4:1-23
WOMEN WHO "LABORED" WITH PAUL: Gr: "sun/athleo" To wrestle in the company of. These were in the center ring with Paul, "in the Gospel". We can be assured they were preaching, teaching, praying right along with Paul and the other men.
"REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS": Yes! This is a command. Our joy is centered in the Lord. 1Th 5:16 says we are to be happy ALL THE TIME! This is a CHOICE, not a FEELING. When things are going wrong, we can still give praise and thanksgiving to God for His goodness and His greatness. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, therefore it is always resident in us. Joy is our first line of defense against weakness, failure, and diseases of the mind and body.
PEACE: Joy leads to inner calmness because our hearts are reassured. I am not being pulled in several different directions by philosophies, worries, fears, or other compulsive feelings. Peace is abandonment to God. Peace is the prevalence of order, or the result of bringing the war against UN-belief and UN-righteousness to a close. When those things are settled, we have peace regardless of what else is happening. Worry is really UNBELIEF. Someone else has said, "worry is practical atheism and an affront to God." Instead we pray. Prayer helps us grow in oneness with God and with His purpose. Prayer teaches me to "reign with Him". Prayer also helps me to break my addiction to living by sight. To be at peace is to have confidence that the outcomes are in God's hands, so I'm no longer striving to avoid or to save some outcome.
SATISFIED: (contentment) If we are not content in whatever state we are in, then we become open targets for covetousness. 2 Cor 6:10 says, "As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." What I need to get the job done, God will make provision for. If we are waiting for life to be "fair", we are unrealistic and unbiblical. Some people think that accounts have to be balanced before they are content, and they are never satisfied. Our satisfaction comes from the sufficiency, might and strength that are in God. We have access to all He has.
THOUGHT FILTERS: (4:8) To help us think straight, there are "filters" our thoughts should pass through. Basically, if the thoughts are MAD, SAD OR BAD, ditch them! Replace them with good thoughts. We don't empty our minds, we fill them with the thoughts of God. A "passing thought" is just that - "passing". Don't allow "dirty birds" to build nests in your brain. We dwell on Truth. Regardless of the bludgeoning of world-thought, circumstances or the devil, we orient our lives around God. That means we don't complain - because that is negative meditation. Complaining focuses on discontent, self-pity, anger, and it brings spiritual darkness. So we make a deliberate decision to dwell on God and what God said. We think about God's Works, God's goodness, God's person. Our lives depend on it. We can't be joyful, be peaceful, or be content without being centered on God.
RESPONSE: I can choose to believe and obey the Word, even when I don't feel like it. My heart may be insensitive or still have sin in it, but I can choose God anyway. Feelings of my own hypocrisy or unreality are just emotions and not worth considering. My choice is made with my WILL, not my emotions or feelings. My emotions will change as I expose them to Truth. I abandon myself to God and trust Him to help me hold fast to my decision, and bring my feelings along as I pressure them with Truth. Moving Truth from my head to my heart takes repetition.
PSALM 75:1-10
Keeping trials in life in perspective is one of the great secrets of life. God announces here that His judgment is sure to come at His "set time". What is perceived as chaos in the world, actually has order to it. It only LOOKS like the world is falling apart. God is setting the stage. An evil man's strength is not real because their power and authority is usurped by force, money or manipulation. They did not consider God to be the author of power. They think their authority is based on their own merits and that they are not accountable to anyone. It never occurred to them that their afflictions could have come from God. The truth is that everyone drinks from God's cup - the strength of the drink and of the misery is up to God alone, but the wicked drink the dregs.
PROVERBS 24:17-20
ENEMIES & THE WICKED: We can't gloat when they fall, we can't be happy when they get hurt (God will turn His anger toward us.). We should never be envious of anything the evil or wicked have or do, because they are only temporary. So what should we do about enemies and the wicked? Matt 5:39 says, "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." We are never to defend ourselves, never demand our own way, and never complain (Phil 2). However, we are not victims, we are voluntary sacrifices. There is a big difference. In Matt 5:44-46 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" I guess that's pretty plain. If we don't gloat, and don't try to avenge ourselves, God will take care of it.
One Year Bible - October 2, 2010
ISAIAH 66:1-24
Isaiah declared that God has done a "NEW THING: GOD HAS FORMED A PEOPLE FOR HIMSELF THAT ARE THE EXPRESSION OF HIS GLORY. Isaiah called them a REMNANT.
ISA 60: NEW LIGHT/UNDERSTANDING: We were made for trouble! We don't run from trouble, we get our hair messed up!
ISA 61: NEW PRIESTHOOD: We are here to BE a blessing, not just to receive one. We are called as reconcilers, healers, redeemers, rescuers, shelters, freedom-fighters.
ISA 62: NEW NAME: "Holy people". We partake in His Life because we are His Wife!
ISA 63: NEW MERCY: Jesus has shared His victory over sin, sickness, fear, death, poverty, Satan, and hell. The "Angel of His Presence" leads us to the Rest of faith.
ISA 64: NEW LIFE OF PRAYER: We can live in God's Presence all the time. We repent of all uncleanness, unconcern and unyieldedness because we NEED Him.
ISA 65: NEW HEAVENS & NEW EARTH: Heaven and earth are met in the Kingdom of God. Acts 14:22 says, "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." This tribulation is a sifting process - no flesh can inherit the Kingdom of God. (1Co 15:50). God's Kingdom is characterized by joy, long life, freedom, order and rest.
ISA 66: NEW CITY OF GOD (Heavenly Jerusalem, Zion): God's dwelling-place, His "resting place" in His people - - - is a "humble and contrite spirit, that trembles at My Word." A "humble and contrite spirit" is one that has been "smitten of God" , like Jesus (Isa 53:4) and Jacob (Gen 32:25), and Abraham (Gen 15:12), David (Psa 51:17), Apostle Paul. This is one who does not resist God, has the fear of the Lord, is obedient, addresses character issues without ducking. God makes His home in the submissive believer who loves Him and submits to His Word.
Heb 12:22-24 says, when we approach God in prayer: "But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."
A NATION BORN IN ONE DAY: "Sons".... This is multiple births - born-agains. God's dwelling-place!
JUDGMENT ON ENEMIES: God avenges the death of the prophets. Jesus laid this accusation right at the feet of Israel (Mat 23:29-36). It was the Sanhedrin that beat Peter and John, Acts 4-5; and stoned Stephen, Acts 6-7. The Jews instigated a "great persecution" against the church in Jerusalem, Acts 8. Even Herod, when persecuting the church did so to please the Jews, Acts 12:1-3. The Jews in Antioch stirred up the city against Paul, Acts 13:50. The Romans finally rescued Paul from the Jews, Acts 21:27-40. See also Rev 2:9. The righteous are blessed and the wicked are judged. God works out His purpose; we will not fall subject to the enemy's purpose.
RESPONSE: Of the wicked, God said, "they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations." Any time we have a preference for what WE want, over what God has said, we are headed for destruction. This verse reminds me of a 2-year-old who wants what he wants, and no one must interfere. In this "politically correct" climate, many times we aren't even allowed to say anything about what someone else is doing! We are expected to "be okay with it", just because they are! We may be going against the flow now, but in the invisible kingdom, or what I sometimes refer to as "the alternate universe", the Kingdom of God, things are not like that! In fact, that is our Ultimate Reality, so to keep from becoming disoriented to Reality, we must be in the Word of God all the time! Listen to the Spirit when He warns us. Don't be lulled to sleep, or tempted to "fudge" the lines. BE DISTINCT!
PHILIPPIANS 3:4-21
MANURE!: When I die to myself and replace earthly desires with a yearning to know God, then I forget what's behind (good or bad) and reach forward. If I don't have TIME to pursue God, then there are things in my life that still need to be counted as dung. Paul suffered "the loss of all things". He listed all those things in 3:4-8 that are irrelevant in his pursuit of God.
JOY: "FINALLY" - this is still part of the instructions for JOY! "Dogs" pervert the Gospel and keep us from joy. Good works, joyless religion, achievements, circumstances, feelings, are sacrificed for the sake of rejoicing in the Lord. They are immaterial, because REJOICING is a CHOICE. Joy is "being found in Christ...."
KNOWING CHRIST: Our goal in life should be to "know Christ" in CONTEXT, in a practical way. "the power of His resurrection" refers to that sense of VICTORY, FREEDOM AND JOY that comes because we no longer fear death. That power impacts us right now! "the fellowship of His sufferings" refers to LEARNING OBEDIENCE. Heb 5:8 "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered..." This means we deny our flesh in order to pursue God. It also means we have to put the past in the past and "press on". We are straining for the goal and it is in front of us. It is hard work to deny the flesh and re-orient our lives around God. But we are motivated by a desire to please God - keeping our eye on the goal.
THE GOAL: Our goal determines our decisions in life. I want to please God and not have to live with regret or shame. The Bible calls our goal, "the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." It is also called "perfection" - which means to finish our course. The "high calling" is also translated "the upward call". Heb 3:1 calls it "the heavenly calling." It must be "apprehended" which means "to seize upon or embrace". GOD HIMSELF IS OUR GOAL, OUR INHERITANCE, OUR "PRIZE". He is why we "suffer the loss of all things" (rights, reputation, and dignity). Knowing God must be "seized". It must be our priority. Lack of encouragement must not stop us. Discouragement over our sin must not stop us. Lack of information and knowledge should not stop us. Avoid the naysayers and those who would discourage you; they are actually "enemies" of God. We know God by knowing His Word, knowing His Spirit, knowing His ways, spending time in His Presence. BUT THERE IS ONE MORE: we follow the good example of someone who is a godly pattern. If we get discouraged, seek out someone who is already doing it. And finally, "stand firm" (4:1)
PSALM 74:1-23
Why does God allow evil people to harm His own people without lifting a hand to help us? When we are unable to see a meaning to our suffering and God appears to have forsaken us, our concept of God must move to a higher realm from our personal God, to the One Who made heaven and earth. People associate Christians with God Himself, so that any attack on us, is an attack on God's character, God's credibility and God's honor.
PROVERBS 24:15-16
The bloodthirsty hate the righteous. This is the seed of the Serpent persecuting the "Seed of the woman". When the righteous falls, he rises through repentance. The wicked man falls into destruction.
RESPONSE: It is immaturity that always looks for cause-and-effect. God has PURPOSE in mind.
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