One Year Bible - October 27

JEREMIAH 51:1-53                                                                                                              
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF JUDAH: They violated the "everlasting covenant". (Isa 24:5) They had "forgotten" God (Jer 3:21).   (Jer 3:13) They disobeyed God.   In fact, the people plotted to overthrow God's influence and to undermine God's Voice and God's Word! They had compromised with the heathen and blended in. They were idolaters, preferring their substitutes (Queen of Heaven) and counterfeits to the living God! (Jer 2:12-13) They satisfied themselves with "broken cisterns", having forsaken God, "the fountain of living waters".

REASONS FOR THE JUDGMENT OF BABYLON the dwelling place for dragons: Bab Killed the prophets, murdered God's elect gleefully, arrogantly strove against the Lord, were enamored with their idolatry, blasphemously assumed power not theirs.  God said, "I am against you, O proud one and your day has come." (Jer 50:31)  Babylon would sink and never rise again (Jer 51:64).  "Like lambs to the slaughter" (Jer 51:40). The destruction will be so complete that it will make the whole earth shudder!

RESPONSE:  What makes people "forget" God and prefer substitutes?  Even substitutes and counterfeits that don't give any satisfaction?  We have three basic needs that we must trust God to fill:security; power; and status (wanting to feel like a person and not just a number)  And so they made unholy alliances with the surrounding nations, worshipped their heathen gods, even compromised it all and married their women - - - looking to meet their basic needs with substitutes! 

Jesus reassured us in John 7:37-39 that we could come and drink - "living water" - FREELY.  If we draw near to Him, He promises to draw near to us so that we can drink in His Presence. (Jam 4:8)  He comes to us ("draws near") with intensity, like a gushing fountain, without holding back.  WHOOSH!!!  The "living waters" come.   As we turn from our substitutes and couterfeits, and turn toward God, this is repentance.   He washes us first thing.  We do this anytime, and as much as we want.   Jer 2:11-13 says that heaven is appalled when we don't!  When we DISbelieve the grace of God to satisfy our hunger and thirst, we end up empty and desperate to find something that will ease the pain of being empty - and end up filling ourselves with substitutes.   We can LIVE in a GUSHER of the Life of God. WHOOSH!!!  We don't have to live with emptiness, despair or loneliness.  Jer 17:13 - God is the "fountain of life".  He gushes on us with love, His power, His goodness, His kindness, His power, His wisdom, His beauty, His protection, His sufficiency, His holiness, His righteousness.   Remember, God told Jeremiah that He wears us like underwear! (Jer 13:11)  We'll be so close that our counterfeits with disgust us.  The more we satisfy ourselves with God, the more our unwanted behaviors will drop off. We don't spend our energy trying to stop unwanted behavior, but in "abiding" (connecting ) to God. Anything less and we are doomed to failure. Jeremiah 31:25, "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." 

TITUS 2:1-15 (Be sure to read yesterday's blog about Titus) LIVING GODLY             
THE ATTACK! (against the invasion of the church by UNGODLINESS)  Chapter 1 said first of all to set godly examples in front of people, who would demonstrate true godliness.  But, even with that, be sure to guard against "rebellious talkers and deceivers - false teachers", whose behavior is no different than that of "outsiders". They must be attacked with TRUTH.

Chapter 2: Show them how its done in the context of daily life and routine! Our behavior is a manifestation of what we really believe (our doctrine) (Prov 23:7), so it is important WHAT we believe.  "Godliness" can be defined as "behavior that adorns the Gospel (actual word used in the original language for "Gospel" is "doctrine") in all things" (Titus 2:10).  This word "adorn" means to prevent harm, to garnish in harmony with its purpose, to make a thing look desireable, to put in order.  What "adorns" the Gospel? V.7-8 say it is our "pattern of good works, showing integrity, honesty, sincerity, and speech that can't be condemned".  We must never say or do anything that makes the Gospel, the Church, or Jesus look bad! 

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? Titus 2:11-14 tell us it is by "God's grace", which is His sufficiency, His might, and His power.  I like to define "Grace" as "God's willingness to use His power and ability on our behalf."   Grace brings us salvation, that is, we are no longer rooted in independence, but are grafted into Jesus Christ, who lives in us. Grace does more than bring us salvation from sin, it frees us from the POWER of sin.  As Christians, we only sin because we want to.  Grace, on the other hand,  teaches or trains us how to live godly.  We don't try harder; we train better.  Sanctification and purity are a series of new HABITS.  Habits are our "defaults" - what we do under pressure.  It is important to train new godly habits into us BEFORE we get pressured, BEFORE we are tempted to get angry, get afraid, wallow in self-pity, etc., etc.  Rom 12:21 says we don't simply overcome bad habits (evil); we overcome evil with good.  For example, to overcome a critical spirit, we express gratitude constantly (1Thess 5:18).  To do this, we must express our thankfulness and praise to God for His goodness and His greatness (1 Thess 5:16-18), especially when we don't feel like it.  We are forming a new habit of godliness and God will help us.  God has "redeemed us from iniquity" - "Iniquity" is when we know the truth, are warned by the Holy Spirit, and then sin anyway!  This is why it is so important that we "look for that blessed hope" - Christ's glorious appearing because it keeps us accountable for our behavior. 

RESPONSE:  When I worked in a secretarial position at a university, I made a little sign that I put on my computer that said, "Never make Jesus look like a jerk."  I knew that most of the people around me knew almost nothing about the Gospel except what I demonstrated. That meant that my life had to "adorn the Gospel".  We are supposed to manifest Jesus' compassion on people, Jesus' integrity, Jesus' transparency, patience, mercy, etc. etc.  The key to that lifestyle is to get out of the way, and let Jesus live His life in us.  We don't try harder, we train better - and our efforts go into learning to connect quickly with God, our source of power, might, and sufficiency.   And I connect thru praise, prayer and thanksgiving (say it, whisper it, sing it, shout it, get excited bout it). (1 Thess 5:16-18) Anyone who knows me, knows that I can't produce any kind of Christian life. I must draw from Jesus Who is in me.

PSALM 99:1-9                                                                                                                      
IMPORTANT:  Please refer back to the background information of Psalm 90-106: the "Numbers" Psalms - "Labouring" to enter in to God's Rest."   HOW do we achieve "GOD'S REST" (Heb 3 and 4)? We give thanks and praise to God for His goodness, greatness and glory.  We must not "oppose God" when He rescues us from temptation. We submit, obey, and thank Him and praise Him out loud, and experience being lifted up.

Psalm 99: "Holy, holy, holy". (v. 3, 5, 9)  We exalt the Lord: give Him preeminence in our hearts because He is absolutely HOLY, and even tho He judges unbelief, He also forgives without losing any of His holiness. "Holiness" refers to "distinction and separation".  God Himself defined it in Exodus 13:2 by saying "It is Mine".  "Holiness" implies consecration - something set-apart for a specific purpose, in this case, to give God pleasure.  God's throne, God's Kingdom, God's masterplan are all founded upon and administered in HOLINESS.  He is worthy of praise; God is absolutely faithful and He has absolute integrity.  Everything about God is separate and distinct.  And His saints belong to Him - are set-apart to give Him pleasure. 

PROVERBS 26:17                                                                                                              
Interfering in someone else's disagreement when not invited can be dangerous.  Stay out of things that don't concern you.  MYOB .

RESPONSE:  On the other hand, don't be afraid to get involved in other people's troubles when you are asked and the Holy Spirit says "go". Jesus DID say, "blessed are the peacemakers." (Mat 5:9)  Just remember that even if you are asked for help, they might not really want it when you give it, and you may still get bitten. 

One Year Bible - October 26

JEREMIAH 49:23 - 50:46                                                                                                        

PROPHESY TO THE NATIONS: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all prophesied to "the nations", nine nations specifically. These nations represent the FLESH and the world-spirit with its compromise, seduction, arrogance, self-sufficiency, independence, rebellion against God, persecution of and gnashing on Believers, its antichristian thought, systems and behaviors.

REMEMBER: The OT is the "Scriptures" that are "profitable for doctrine...." (2 Tim 3:16) and the NT is like a Commentary on the OT, showing us how the OT is fulfilled in Jesus and in us who know Him. The NT explains all the types, shadows, symbols, examples, etc. from the OT. We know from the Scriptures that we have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are not told to kill "the world", but to "overcome the world" (1 Jo 4:3-4; John 16:33). The devil is defeated and we overcome him too (1 Jo 2:13-14; Rev 12:11). The only enemy we are told to "kill" ("mortify"; "crucify"), is the FLESH (Gal 5:24; Col 2:20; Col 3:5;) therefore, the OT tribes that Moses and Joshua were told to destroy represent the FLESH.

So far, Jeremiah has addressed:

EGYPT: Represents the bondage to our sin nature that we came out of.  Egypt is the lure to turn back from God to seek for personal satisfaction, rather than living for the glory of God.

PHILISTINES: The carnal mind that wallows in SELF. They want the blessings of God without commitment or relationship.

MOAB:  proud, arrogant, self-sufficient, a mixture of flesh and spirit.

AMMON: Relative of Moab. The Flesh being "contrary to the spirit".

EDOM: Descendents of Esau. Antagonistic to the spirit, had a share in Jerusalem's downfall. Pride is idolatrous worship of myself!  And they were prideful and felt secure because they lived in the mountains.

DAMASCUS (Syria) (49:23-27): Damascus represents Mammon and the "love of money", what we depend on to give us strength, authority and sufficiency. It says here that "it cannot be quiet", which is a metaphor for the fact that they are full of trouble, restlessness and discontent.  It was a beautiful city set in an oasis in the Syrian desert, but not anymore. God would destroy it anyway. It reveals the restlessness of the flesh. 

KEDAR AND HAZOR (49:28-33): These are descendents of Ishmael and represent the FLESH again. The meanings of their names reveal prejudice, hatred and war. They were Arabs, Bedouin tribes who inhabited the deserts of Saudi Arabia.  They, too, represent the restlessness of the flesh, nomads who are never content, always looking for more. They tended to isolate themselves and be self-sufficient and self-confident. Independent.

ELAM (49:34-39): God characterized Elam by a BOW, the symbol of the ability to strike and injure at a distance. It would be like the "fiery darts of the wicked one" (Eph 6:16). The BOW is called "the chief of their might" - meaning they depended on it for power: "Might makes right" - which is a mark of immaturity, arrogance, a bullying spirit and self-sufficiency.  Elam today is Iran and God said He would restore their riches (oil?).

BABYLON (CHAP 50-51): The destruction and overthrow of Babylon is assured (see Rev 17-19). The meaning of the name is "religious confusion" - and reveals the antichristian world-spirit and its destruction will be total. Babylon was the most influential power on earth. It was judged because: (50:11) their "glad" destruction of Jerusalem; (50:17) Nebu's cruelty to the Jews; (50:24) they strove against the Lord; (50:28) to avenge the destruction of the Temple; (50:29-32) pride against God; (50:33) refusal to release the captives; (50:38) their infatuation with idols.

RESPONSE: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Babylon reveals the strength and might of the FLESH and of the world-spirit of antichrist. The superstructure is already weakened. We dare not trust in anything the world has to offer. And certainly don't listen to our carnal minds. God told us to plant gardens and build houses while we are here in the hostile environment of the antichristian society. "Occupy till I come." He said (Luke 19:13). Use our influence. (1 Thess 5:14-18)

TITUS 1:1-16                                                                                                                     
TO TURN FROM BEING "CRETAN" TO GODLINESS: Titus is only 3 chapters long, but packed with goodies. It is a letter from the Apostle Paul to his convert and "fellowworker", TITUS.  It helps to understand who Titus is: He was a Gentile believer, who refused circumcision when the Jews came after him in Jerusalem (Gal 2:3; Acts 15). We learn that after being mentored by Paul, Paul sent Titus to Corinth (2Cor 12:18) to "clean up" the immorality in that church. Now, in this letter, we learn that Paul sent Titus to Crete to "clean up" the hypocrisy and worldiness in the church of Crete. My conclusion is that Titus was tough! Firm but tactful. He had the courage of his beliefs to go into a church and straighten them out. Titus also had unquestioned integrity, honesty, and sincerity, and could minister from the standpoint of spiritual good health ("sound"). He knew and lived godliness.

CRETE: Titus 1:12-13 says that "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons...and this testimony is true!"  In addition, 1:15-16 says that they are "detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good deed."  The unbelievers formed a hostile environment for the church.  When they got born again and added to the church, they brought all their habits and preconceived ideas about life with them! The church-people's ignorance of Scripture and the influx of false teachers added to the problem. In Crete, the world had invaded the church, instead of the church invading the world. It was time to PUSH BACK!

TA-DA! THE SOLUTION: "SOUNDNESS", which is spiritual health, that leads to godliness. Titus 1:9 and 2:1 speak of "sound doctrine", 1:13 and 2:2 tell of "sound faith", Titus 2:8 of "sound speech".  Our beliefs determine our behavior so it is important WHAT we believe.  To arrive at "soundness" we must be impacted with REALITY - with Truth as set forth by God. This is very basic. Man is changed from the inside-out. When we truly believe something, it changes our outward life ("good deeds" appears five times in Titus).

THE ATTACK: First of all, set good examples before the people. The men Titus would approve for leadership were the OPPOSITE of the average Cretan! They were "above reproach" - "blameless". (Elders and Overseers/Bishops are the same thing - one is personal character and spirituality, and other is their function.) Character is formed by our DOCTRINE - what we believe to be Ultimate Reality, Truth.  One of their responsibilities as leaders and examples is to GUARD THE FLOCK against intrusion, so they must be able to teach Truth and "hold fast" against the Cretan and Jewish onslaught. As good examples, they don't lust after other women, do not nurse grudges, etc. etc.

RESPONSE: I think I would have liked Titus. He sounds like the perfect combination of insight, confrontation, and compassion. He had a touchy job, because no one wants to be told they are wrong. He probably had a good sense of who he was and what he was about, because I'm sure that some of the ones he confronted made accusations and tried to malign him. We can't let the criticism and accusations of others impact us or get "under our skin". Keep it on the outside. Our lives are made up of assignments from God - and when we keep our focus and remember Who we are working for (Jesus Christ), we can stay sweet.

PSALM 97:1-98:9                                                                                                                 

Please refer back to the background information of Psalm 90-106: the "Numbers" Psalms - "Labouring" to enter in to God's Rest."  HOW do we achieve "GODS'S REST" (Heb 3 and 4)? We give thanks and praise to God for His goodness, greatness and glory, that's how. We must not "oppose God" when He rescues us from temptation. We submit, obey, and thank Him and praise Him out loud, and experience being lifted up.

Psalm 90: Habitual unbelief leads to a life of eternal insignificance. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Psalm 91: When I "abide in the secret place of the Most High" by choosing to believe God and cling to Him (thru praise and thanksgiving), He becomes my refuge, my fortress, and my shield from insults, hurts, and the pain of my daily experiences.

Psalm 92:  It is ONLY praise and thanks to God, as the expression of my faith in Him, that gives me access to God's Rest and His Benefits.

Psalm 93: The fact that God is completely and totally in charge reassures my heart that it is safe to trust Him.

Psalm 94: I must never defend myself (make excuses), insist on my own way, or complain. God is the "judge of the whole earth" and will defend me if I need defending. I put my confidence in Him to uphold me. After all, He raised me up from the pit at a "dead lift"! (I didn't help at all!)

Psalm 95: By praising and thanking God out loud, I teach my heart to trust Him fully. NOT to do so reveals "an evil heart of unbelief" (Heb 3:12) and God will "loathe" me! (v.10) We will never find rest in our unbelief.

Psalm 96: We rejoice in the Truth that God reigns over all and brings righteous judgment. He made it all and will judge it all righteously.

Psalm 97: God is on His Throne and His Presence is full of terror and judgment as He righteously brings about His own purpose. The rebels are doomed and God's glory is revealed. "God preserves the souls of His saints and delivers them out of the hand of the wicked."

Psalm 98: Our God is Victorious! Our response demands "a joyful noise", "a loud noise", "singing".  Even all creation rejoices and expresses its joyful gratitude to God. Everything is subject to our King!

PROVERBS 26:13-16                                                                                                             
CHAPTER 26: DEALING WITH FOOLS (Please see last two days introducing this topic.) All discussion is from the book of Proverbs, where WISDOM is opposed to FOOLISHNESS. Fools are "worthless" by definition. Foolishness is contagious and fools cause dissension, strife, and destruction. Foolishness can, however, be "cured" if it is detected early (in childhood) and disciplined. Fools think they are not accountable for their beliefs or their behavior (they are "politically correct".), and hate what is holy and righteous. They do not possess wisdom, nor are they capable of getting wisdom, and would reject it if it offered itself to them - - - because he hates wisdom. They live in UNreality and UNtruth, and are disoriented to life as it really is. They are undisciplined and have a quick temper. He is a liar and deceiver and a gossip. He thinks that the only one he can rely on and trust is himself, ("wise in his own eyes") and thus, he is arrogant and self-righteous.

THE SOLUTION? The Cross of Jesus Christ. We drive foolishness from the heart of our children by teaching them the fear of the Lord (Prov 22:15).  It is a waste of time to try to "teach" a fool right behavior.  A fool must be taught the fear God, then to repent of his rebellion in trusting only in himself, and submit to the Gospel.  WHAT DOES THIS TELL ME? For the Christian Believer, sinning is "playing the fool"!!! It is a form of "spiritual insanity".

(continuation on Proverbs 26:13-16)

(12) A fool makes excuses for his laziness.
(13) A fool looks like he is busy, but is really just going back-and-forth. He's not actually going anywhere or making progress.
(14) In fact, he is too lazy and insolent to even provide himself the necessities of life!
(15) Self-conceit - thinks he already knows all he needs to. He's too lazy and too conceited to bother with instruction, and so he can't benefit from another's wisdom. His mind is truly blinded (Matt 15:14; 2 Pet 1:9; Rom 1:21).