Tools (October 1)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
                           Matthew 4:1 NIV

This passage can give us comfort during our 'desert' times of challenge, trial, temptation and uncertainty. We know that this temptation from the devil was faced by Jesus as son of man, before he began his ministry as Son of God.

Satan, during this temptation, wanted to force Jesus into using His special gifts or tools as Son of God to face the temptation.  In this passage, we read of no such use of special gifts or tools.  Instead we read of Jesus fasting (I am certain he prayed too) and responding to the devil's challenge of turning rocks into bread by saying, "Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Jesus responded to the two other temptations with Scripture and with a statement to be gone and, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."

Jesus did not use any special powers, gifts, or abilities he might have used as Son of God during the temptation in the desert.  Instead, Jesus was victorious over the devil by using only tools that are available to all people.  The tools he used were fasting, prayer, the Spirit, and his knowledge of scripture. 

After the temptation, the devil left him.  I recollect an other translation that included the words 'for a more opportune time.'  The devil is always lurking.

Consider our reading in Job 1:7, of Satan's response to the Lord's question about where Satan had come from: "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

Jesus defeated the devil with tools that you and I have available.  We need to use the tools of prayer, fasting and being led, strengthened, encouraged, supported and protected by the Spirit.   We also need to recollect that God is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent.  The devil only knows what God has revealed to him.  The devil is not omnipotent, nor is the devil omnipresent.

Consider God's strength and, like Jesus, rely on God's strength, his tools, not your own, when facing life's temptations. 

How do you face temptations?

What tools do you use to face temptations?  

Do you put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6)?

Pray for strength as you face life's daily temptations.

In Christ,

David P  

The Gospels

I just made a late addition to my presentation for Sunday and will discuss who the authors of the Gospels are, their intended audiences and the different purposes for writing. I'll save for Sunday the dates of their writing and some other items. With any luck, I might even be right.

Matthew was written by Matthew, the disciple. Matthew was writing predominantly to a Greek audience (likely Greek Jews), and his primary theme was proving that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. Mark was not a disciple, but certainly a close associate of them, known to Peter and Paul. Mark's audience were Roman gentiles, perhaps even wider than that, and his purpose was to show that they also had a place in Jesus' kingdom and that it was reserved for the Jews only. Luke wrote his book to what was likely his Roman patron, Theophilus, but certainly with the intent that it would be further distributed. Luke, being a physician, was attempting to give a uniform account of Jesus to Gentiles as to avoid confusion as well as establish a baseline of truth for the inclusion of Gentiles into the Christian church.

John did his own thing. John was writing for Greeks, and his purpose was to expand upon and augment the other three Gospels. Whereas the other Gospels have their similarities, a reading of John will show that he described different events. In the end, this is merely informational, since the purpose of all the Gospels, despite their intended audience of the time, is for ALL of us today. The only thing we need to know is that they tell the life and times of Jesus, the Messiah, foretold from of old as the eventual savior of the world. As we progress through the Gospels, we need to keep one extremely simple point in mind:

Up until Christ's time, salvation was obtained through observance of the Law. Jesus' primary message was that his death and resurrection was the ultimate fulfillment of the Law. It was the 180-degree reversal of everything the Jews had been taught, with the addition that GENTILES were able to receive the same thing also. Pretty heady stuff. I know us Germans and Scandinavians will change our minds on a dime, but these were, after all, a stiff-necked people.

Never let that point stray far from your mind as you see the reactions of the people that interact with Jesus, since he's still telling us to do the same exact thing--to reject the world and all it would tell us and follow him. It wasn't easy then, and it's not supposed to be easy now--and no one ever said it would be.

Scott

Truths (Sept 30)

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and the bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, and of incense, and of myrrh.
                                   Matthew 2:11 NIV


Upon reading Matthew 2:11, the idea to consider unpacking the truths in the verses of God's word was put on my heart.  Let us consider some of the truths in the above 38 words.

The Magi came to the house.  They responded to what they knew to be true.  These magi were wise men, astrologers from Persia.  They knew of the prophecy of a Messiah.  While they were in the East, they saw the Star of Bethlehem, they responded to their knowledge and to current events in a concrete, direct, and active way.  We too need to be led by the Spirit and in faith respond.

Baby Jesus, God incarnate, was seen with his human mother, Mary.  The Magi saw the Man: God; who would, be the fulfillment of the law, suffer, die on the cross, rise from the grave, ascend to heaven.  Again they responded to their perception, their sight, by worship and in unity bowed down.  We to, with the Spirits help, are directed to worship in unity.

The magi opened up their treasures, their gifts, and presented them to God.  Again a response, this time a response in worship of stewardship.  God's plan included these gifts to provide for support during a journey to Egypt.  

Gold, the wealth to support the family during the travels.  Incense, to provide an aroma pleasing to God.  Myrrh, to point to the death Christ would suffer at the hands of man.

How do we respond and apply the truths of God's word to our life?

How active are we in worship?

What kinds of gifts do we bring to the Lord?

Pray for the Spirit to open your eyes to truths, to apply God's word to your life and  to direct your response, your worship, and your stewardship.

In Christ,

David P  

Merry Christmas!

Yes indeed, we've reached Christ's birth, and it's a story with which we're quite familiar. My post today will be extremely brief, and it's been in my head for the last six months or so.

Whenever we reach the Christmas season, during that joyous time, do we ever contemplate that Christ had to come to this Earth because of our sin? Imagine Christ ruling in heaven, and the utter humility of having to change from divine to human, to fetter his omnipotence and omniscience in our puny human faculties.

It's a rhetorical question, but shouldn't we spend as much time in the season of Christmas apologizing to God that he had to sacrifice his son on our behalf in the first place?

Scott

No Room (Sept 29)

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in clothes and place him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
                                     Luke 2:6-7 NIV

One can almost envision Linus Van Pelt, walking out on to the school stage where he recited these verses to Charlie Brown, near the end of the animated show, "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  If you have not seen it, try to, it is a show where Charlie Brown, of the peanuts gang, created by Charles Schultz, learns the meaning of Christmas.  He learns that Christmas' meaning is not wrapped up in glitter and general celebration, but rather in the birth of a child, Jesus, some 2,000 years ago.

The words of today's passage all point to God's plan.  The time came for Mary to give birth, it was not Mary's time, but rather the time in God's plan for Mary to give birth.  His bed was not fancy, but rather a manger.  This manger probably was made out of rock, for animals tend to eat wet wood.  Being in a manger reflects a His humble beginning.  Jesus came for all from the least to the greatest. 

No room in the inn.  Think of our lives, how crowded they are.  People do not speak of a single priority, but rather many priorities. Draw an analogy between an inn and our lives. Jesus was in the manger, in the stable, for there was no room in the inn.  Do we have room, or how do we make room for Jesus in our inn/lives?  Is there room for Jesus in our homes, at work, in school, at play, or as we come and go.

Remember, God tasked the Israelites to keep His Word on their lips, hearts, and minds as they woke up, ate, and as they came and went from here to there.  Jesus, the incarnation of God's Word, should today be kept on our lips, minds, and hearts on a moment by moment basis.

How can a person make room for Jesus in life?

How do you make room for Jesus in your life?

Pray for room to open up in your life for bible study, church, service and fellowship.

In Christ,

David P

Purpose (Sept 28)

Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most Excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
                                  Luke 1:3-4 NIV

Today we enter the New Testament with our reading in Luke's Gospel.  Today's text can be applied to us readers as we have in a sense, via our daily reading, have carefully investigated the old testament.  Via our daily reading, we have seen many truths presented chronologically, in an orderly account.

Luke tells us in today's verse of his purpose in writing, so that "most excellent Theophilus," would "know with certainty the things," he was taught.  As we read the Bible, we can give pause, thanks and consideration to the purpose God laid on various individuals words to put down and preserve for all.
 
God had several purposes in giving the Old Testament; to record history, provide wisdom, prophecy, poetry, point to Jesus, and to reveal His plan, love, sovereignty and attributes to us.

God's purpose, plan, love and other attributes are revealed in the New Testament as well.  As we read the New Testament, give pause to God's purpose for the gift of the New Testament books. 

How have you seen God's plan and purpose revealed in the Old Testament?

What insights have you gained in your reading of the Old Testament?

Pray for the Spirit to keep your eyes open as you read the New Testament.

In  Christ,

David P

The Song of Zechariah

First and foremost, welcome to the New Testament! It took a long time to get here, but the time spent in the Old Testament will help us better understand what the people of Israel were looking for and what they expected.

Luke 1:67-79 contains the Song of Zechariah, and I won't print all the verses here (in case you haven't noticed, I'm now linking to an online Bible whenever I reference a Bible verse and don't print it out. If you're getting this post by email, the link should work as well). There are several elements of this song:

--salvation from our enemies (v71)

--rescue us from...our enemies (v74)

--guide our feet into the path of peace (v79)

As we read Zechariah's song, we have no doubt that God did (and will still) fulfill those words, but the question we have to ask ourselves will be the key question of the New Testament, which is:

JUST WHO WAS/IS THE ENEMY?

Without dwelling on it too much, I suspect that any hearer of that song considered that enemy to be Rome--they were the enemies from whom Israel needed salvation. However, living as we do in the Age of Grace, we know that the answer is much bigger than that--we know that the way that Zechariah's son, John the Baptist, would prepare for Christ would lead to the total and complete victory over sin and its hold over us. 

As you all know, this will be the primary misunderstanding of the people of Israel during Christ's ministry. Indeed, it took his closest associates every bit of the three years he spent with him to figure it out themselves (see John 16:25-32, on p1434). Everyone was looking for a worldly kingdom, or in other words, setting their sights far too low. Just as we're no different than the Old Testament people who continually disobeyed the Lord and refused to follow his commands, we too still want the secular world defeated in this life and place. We have even less excuse for thinking like this, since we have the gifts of the entire Bible, 2 millennia of commentary and understanding and the opening of our hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit to assist us. We will probably spend the next three months shaking our heads and saying "Wow, they were IN CHRIST'S PRESENCE, and they still didn't understand." In all fairness, do we?

Scott

The Inter-Testament Period

It can be mildly jarring to be reading the Bible, seeing numerous references to Egyptians, Philistines, Assyrians and Persians in the Old Testament and then come to the New Testament and see no references to these former world powers. To quote from a movie that I'll guarantee none of you have seen, "Wha' happen?"

The book of Malachi was written around 400 BC, and at that time, the people of Israel were still under Persian rule. This would continue for the next seventy years until 330 BC, when Greece, under Alexander the Great, vanquished and united the known world into a large kingdom that spanned from Greece to India, a kingdom larger than the continental United States. He was only 25 at the time, which is an amazing feat. It turned out to be short-lived kingdom, since Alexander died in 323 BC at the age of 32. Without his leadership, the kingdom splintered.

Alexander's kingdom split into eastern and western sections. Initially, the eastern part, centered in Egypt and based on a dynasty founded by Ptolemy, would control Israel from 322 BC until 198 BC, at which point the Seleucid kingdom, which is modern-day Iran and Iraq, assumed control. This dovetails nicely with much of Israel's history to this point--going all the way back to their captivity in Egpyt, it always seemed as if Israel was always under the control of either a western kingdom (Egypt) or eastern one (Assyria/Persia).

Up to this point, no matter who ruled Israel, they were allowed to practice their religion. They still worshiped at the temple, offered sacrifices and observed the holidays and festivals, but in approximately 175 BC, Antiochus became the Seleucid emperor. I'll save myself the effort and quote directly from the Wikipedia entry:

"Antiochus pursued a Hellenizing policy with zeal. This effectively meant banning traditional Jewish religious practice. In 167 BCE Jewish sacrifice was forbidden, sabbaths and feasts were banned and circumcision was outlawed. Altars to Greek gods were set up and animals prohibited to Jews were sacrificed on them. The Olympian Zeus was placed on the altar of the Temple. Possession of Jewish scriptures was made a capital offence. The motives of Antiochus are unclear. He may have been incensed at the overthrow of his appointee, Menelaus,or he may have been responding to an orthodox Jewish revolt that drew on the Temple and the Torah or its strength and encouraged by a group of radical Hellenizers among the Jews."

That's not good. Prior to that, it had been the ISRAELITES that had eliminated sacrifices, ignored holidays, etc. (this is a joke--feel free to laugh), but we can only assume that the people of Israel had actually kept the promise they had made in Ezra and Nehemiah that they would follow the law. Either way, this desecration of  the Temple and forbidding of the practice of their religion was too much, and a revolt, led by Judas Maccabee, overthrew the Seleucid rule.

Israel continued this period of self-rule for the next 100+ years, rivaling that of the high point of Israel's history, the second part of David's reign and Solomon's reign. That would come to an end in 63 BC, when a relative upstart on the world stage, the Roman Republic, would defeat Palestine under Pompey's leadership. I use the term Roman Republic correctly, since it wouldn't become the Roman Empire until 29 BC, when Octavian adopted the title "Augustus" ("Exalted One") and established supreme rule over Rome and its territories. Any vestiges of a republic (such as elections and the dual nature of Roman rule that was the custom prior to that time) were erased, and the Roman Empire came into being. 

We will see the effects of Roman rule throughout the New Testament, and it is a reality that would prove problematic at times until the adoption of Christianity by Constantine in 325 AD, but by that point, the Bible had been long-written. What we'll see plenty more of in the New Testament is how internal enemies (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, etc.) would be just as formidable a barrier to Christ's message and its spread as any world government. Things haven't changed all that much in our world today, since we seem to have almost as many problems from so-called fellow believers as from outside agencies. Some things never change.

Scott

True Instruction (Sept 27)

True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips.  He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.
                                                 Malachi 2:6 NIV

Here in Malachi, this section is entitled, "God Warns His Priests."  We need to realize that with Christ, we too are a part of a royal priesthood.  We are representatives, ambassadors, and servants of Christ.  We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit at baptism, and as a result have direct access to our Father through prayer.

As such, being representatives of Christ, we need to grow in that role on a moment by moment basis by daily reading of the
Word, by fellowship with believers, by attendance at worship and by sharing of our time, talent and treasure.  Such activity will, through the work of the Holy Spirit, with peace and uprightness, and other Spiritual fruits build up or grow the kingdom of the Lord.

As representatives of Christ, let us with the Spirit's Help, direct and turn others from sin.  Let us not be stumbling blocks to other's Spiritual growth.

How do you view your role, on a moment by moment basis, of instructing others?

Where do you need the Spirit's help to illuminate dark areas in your life?

Pray for the Spirit to guide your path to be committed to telling the story on a moment by moment basis.

In Christ,

David P

For Everyone (Sept 26)

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;  for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
                                         Joel 2:32 NIV

Today's verse directs us to the fact that the Lord is for everyone, not just a certain group or limited few.  We have all been created by God and as a result are special in His sight.  God had a perfect plan for mankind.  However as a result of action by Adam and Eve, we live in a fallen and fractured world with much darkness.

Joel tells of signs which point to nearness of the judgement day.  Joel does give hope to all that "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."  That is very reassuring. 

God has provided a way for us to be restored by the work of His Son, Jesus on the cross.  One only needs to believe in that work and Jesus' message to be saved.    

Peter eloquently described on Pentecost, the appropriate response to the Lord's work when he said, in Acts 2:38, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Again, note the 'every one' in Peter's statement.  God is the God of all, not just a select few.

Our task is to get the word out in this world of darkness.  To with love, understanding, and acceptance, to follow the Spirit as we are guided to do our task.

How do you call on the name of the Lord?

How do others know that you call on the Lord?

Pray for opportunities, to share the Gospel message with love and joy to others.

In Christ,

David P

Old Testament Review (Part One)

For the next three days I'll elaborate on comments I made on Sunday, September 25th in my attempts to summarize the Old Testament. My post today will focus on the importance of remembering, a common theme in my writings.

In our Old Testament readings, we saw many occasions where the law and history of the people of Israel were reviewed. Examples include:

Deuteronomy 4--a review prior to entry into the Promised Land

Joshua 8:30-34--Joshua reviews the Law in its entirety

Almost all of 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles--genealogies, kings, events, etc.

Nehemiah 13 from today's reading is the final occurrence in the Old Testament, and in all instances, the rationale was the same--they needed to remember their history and to know from where their special relationship with God derived, as well as what he expected of them. 

We do the same exact thing today--we commemorate birthdays, anniversaries, memorable events, and when we reach those milestones, we reflect, and sometimes remind others, on what makes them special. My older daughter was home this weekend, and she wanted to see The Lion King in 3-D. Her younger sister couldn't make it home, otherwise that would have been a fun family outing, since I'm pretty sure that's the first movie the four of us saw together. When we get together in a couple of weeks, I'm going to ask them what their favorite movie that we saw together was (I'm pretty sure I know the answer, and I've narrowed it down to Monsters Inc. or Finding Nemo--I'll keep you posted). 

If history was just a bunch of dry events that occurred that have no relevance or meaning to us today, we'd be wasting our time reviewing it, but for us, it was nine months well-spent. As I mentioned yesterday, we are all much more familiar with the New Testament because we're exposed to it so much more--twice as many readings from the lectern, much more common theme material for sermons and Bible studies, and a greater source of comfort--it's the Gospel, as opposed to the Law. I'll elaborate on a pretty simple theme on Thursday, but without the Law, not only is there no need for the Gospel, but the Gospel is impossible to explain. 

The next time you find yourself reading the Old Testament and finding your mind wandering, remember that it's the integral prelude to the New Testament. Imagine walking in on Hamlet at the beginning of Act V, Scene I, at which point Hamlet picks up a skull and states to his companion, "Alas, poor Yorick--I knew him, Horatio." Unless you've seen the previous four acts, you have no idea who Hamlet or Horatio is, or why he's holding a skull. It would  be impossible, and the Old Testament is just as vital for our understanding of the New.

Scott

Direction

They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.

But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our forefathers so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces.  Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us.  They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please.  We are in great distress.
                    Nehemiah 8:8 and 9:36-37 NIV

The above verses can lead us to consider The Word of God' direction and the direction of mankind's self will. 

Nehemiah 8:8 explains that at the time of Nehemiah, reading from the Book of the Law of God, or God's Word needed to be explained to be understood.  At that time, there were rabbis or teachers to explain the Word so that it could be understood. 

Today, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit in addition to our pastors, other teachers, and other study helps to explain the Word of God so that it can be understood.  However; by mere human understanding, the Word of God in its depth and value is difficult and impossible to fully discern and understand.  God's wisdom and understanding  is so much greater than our wisdom and understanding that we need to rely on the Spirit to lead us to the meaning and message that God intends for us at any given moment. 

The Word of God truly is alive and as such it meets us where we are in our journey.  As such, different meanings and values surface when we read the same passage at different times. 

God gave his Law, Promise, Plan, and Guidance to the Israelites.  As a result of the Israelites sin by not following Gods Law, Promise, Plan and Guidance: We read in Nehemiah 9:36-37 of slavery in the land God gave their forefathers and an abundant harvest going to kings who "do as they please," with the Israelites bodies and cattle.  Also as a result the Israelites were in "great distress."  Remember in Romans 6:23 it is stated that the wages of sin is death.

Now with the New Covenant, with the work of Christ, with the gift of the Holy Spirit; we need to as Peter stated in Acts 2:38, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

The Holy Spirit is our helper, our guide, our director to point us to Christ, to intercede for us when we do not have the words to pray, to give us understanding of what we read in scripture and to provide Spiritual Gifts.

How do you prepare yourself to read, understand, and apply the Bible in your life?

Do you, through prayer, seek God's direction, will and kingdom?

How do you ask the Spirit to illuminate the areas in your life that need to be cleansed and for the strength to repent?

Pray.

In Christ,

David P

The Old Testament Summarized

You'll have to take my word for it, but I had already prepared my lesson for this Sunday, September 25th, at which time I'll do my best to summarize the Old Testament. I probably could have saved myself significant time and effort if I had just read ahead a couple of days to Nehemiah 9:7-37.

In 31 verses, Ezra described the history of the people of Israel, from the covenant between Abram and God through their current situation as "slaves in the land you gave our forefathers" (v36). Ezra reminded the people of the promises they had made throughout their history and their almost-constant falling away from that promise. I'll have some major Old Testament themes in my presentation on Sunday, and I plan to discuss them in the blog next week, but believe me, this will be a major one, one I have commented upon frequently in the past.

Another of my themes will be the simple observation that things haven't changed at all in the modern world. We're just as much slaves to sin as the people of Israel were. We still cede the harvest that God promised to Adam to the "kings you have placed over us," the modern-day idols that we put between ourselves and God. As comforting as it would be to say to ourselves "Tut, tut, people of Israel, thank the Lord WE'RE not like that today," well, that's just not true. Anytime you find yourself saying those words to yourself, I kindly refer you to this brief parable of Jesus, pretty high on my list of favorite parables (I think it came in at #2 when I taught a class on them). The only thing that's changed is that we have many more opportunities to sin.

In case you can't tell, I'm very much looking forward to my presentation on Sunday--in many ways, it really wrote itself (to the extent that we really believe that), usually a pretty good sign to me that I'm on the right track. Ezra was reminding the people how far they had fallen because of their disobedience, and the contrition the people showed was real and genuine. At one point (Nehemiah 7:10), Nehemiah stated "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." It's a small mention, but it was a precursor to Christ's message of forgiveness and redemption through him, and in case you didn't already know (but I'm sure you did), that's the major theme of the NEW Testament.

Scott

A Lamp to my Feet

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
                                           Psalm 119:95 NIV

Psalm 119 is a Psalm of praise to God.  As one reads the Psalm, one notes the characters of the Hebrew alphabet from "Aleph" to "Taw".  In a very real sense, this Psalm is giving praise to God from A to Z.  God has done it all for us throughout history and He perfected His work with the Life of Jesus Christ.

One can consider what happens when God's will is placed first, consider Pentecost when God's Spirit was outpoured.  There was such complete unity that one could hear and understand anthers language without the aid of a human interpreter.

Also one can consider what has happened in the Old Testament when man follows man's will to ignore God's will.  Sin, death, confusion, disunity and failure result.  In Genesis, when Adam and Eve disregarded God's will and ate the apple, disunity resulted.  Also in Genesis, in the tower of Babel account, man disregarded God's will and language confusion resulted.

One can consider Moses and his seeking God's will through prayer and by that prayer, saved the Israelites from God's wrath.  Remember when Moses was faced with challenges, "...he fell facedown," Immediately.

Through prayer, time in scripture, worship attendance and other studies, one can, with the Spirit's help, seek God's will, guidance and wisdom. 

Let God, through His word, prayer, and Spirit's work be that lamp to your feet and light to your path.

How and when do you pray?

Pray that prayer is a growing part of your ministry.

In Christ,

David P 

His Love Endures Forever

In case you missed the theme of Psalm 136, it would be "His Love Endures Forever." Since his love for us will endure forever, we should probably reciprocate, and the 26 verses of this psalm give us all the reasons we'll ever need to love the Lord forever. To summarize them:

1. He made us

2. He saved them and us from our enemies

3. He gives us everything we need

Does anything else really need to be said?

Scott

The BEGINNING of Wisdom

First, a couple of comments on Psalm 119. I like it so much that I think we'll read it aloud this coming Sunday during class (this is a joke--feel free to laugh). Having said that, it's not as long as you think--granted, it is 176 verses, but its word count (a little over 2,500 words) is similar to the Sermon on the Mount, which covers Matthew 5-7. You should have noticed that it was quicker reading than you anticipated.

My post today is based on Psalm 111:10:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom

I commented on this a bit in my post on April 25th with every intention of returning to it when we reached this verse. We Christians have a tendency to view things that the Lord tells us to BEGIN with as the end. Two examples:

1. Prayer--the hymn "With the Lord Begin Thy Task" (#540 in the Red Hymnal, the only TRUE hymnal) states in verse 2 "Let each day begin with prayer, Praise and adoration." 

2. We see in the Psalm verse that fearing God is the beginning of wisdom.

Many times, we think that once we pray on something, that's the end of the matter. I'll grant that sometimes, it is--consider asking for healing. If you're not a doctor or in other ways able to heal someone, chances are that's as far as you can take that request, and it is indeed in the Lord's hands, but not necessarily. You can convince someone to see a physician, undergo a course of treatment, make lifestyle changes or any number of things that can bring about healing. However, if you just pray to God to do it and leave it at that, you might not have done all you could have done.

Wisdom is the same thing. The Bible is all we need to understand God and how we should live our lives, but it's not all that we'll ever need in this life--it simply provides the foundation upon which all of the knowledge we acquire in this life should be critiqued and utilized. The Psalmist tells us that in ten simple words--all of our homes have foundations, but we live in the parts of the house that were built on the foundation. 

Amongst certain strains of Christianity, there is an antipathy toward secular knowledge, espousing that it taints or cheapens God's word. As is my wont, I usually won't argue with those people (I won't win, so what's the point?), but I won't agree with them either. All of the knowledge accrued throughout human history only reinforces the grandeur and majesty of the Lord. In a universe that has a radius of 13.5 billion light-years (and, due to expansion, is actually bigger than that, but my head starts exploding when I think about that), in a world that has such accumulated knowledge in science, medicine, engineering and every other discipline, God is greater than all of that, and was indeed, through creation, the genesis of it. What he expects from us is to take that wisdom, grounded in him, and use it to further his kingdom throughout the world. To do any less is to take the gifts of knowledge and wisdom that he's bestowed upon us and let them sit idle.

Scott

Heart Placement (Sept 20)

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
                                      Psalm 112:7 NIV

If a person's heart is in the right place, steadfast in the Lord; think of the peace, comfort, strength, joy, and delight that person has on a daily basis.  Consider the Lord and His attributes; strong, creative, abundant, forgiving, just, judge, unchanging, steadfast, almighty, eternal, incomparable, savior, source of life, and many others. With one's heart being steadfast with trust in the Lord and the Lord's plan, how can one be shaken by a bit or a lot of bad news?

Remember we are not given any challenges greater than we can stand and we are always given an open door; although sometimes it is hard to see the passage or open door during the challenging time.  With trust in the Lord, even though the passage is not easy to see, with a heart trusting in the Lord, the Lord will guide one through the difficult and challenging passage.

Placing one's heart in anything other than the Lord is placing one's heart in an idol.  We have read of many examples of idols causing Israel to lose their focus on God and lose their separation from surrounding nations. 

We have seen how idols are really worthless and other than cause division, strife, and cause people to stumble, do nothing.

What places do people misplace their hearts?

Where do you place your heart?

Pray for the wisdom to place your heart, with delight and joy, steadfastly in the Lord.

In Christ,

David P

Delight in Lord (September 19)

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by water and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers.
                                 Psalm 1:1-3 NIV

Today and for the next few days we read some undated Psalms that are perhaps written after the exile.  If one needed to pick an approximate date of the writing, 440 BC might be a reasonable choice for the writing of this group of Psalms.

Recollect that Psalm 90, a Psalm of Moses, was the first Psalm we read on March 23.  This Psalm considered the shortness of life and we read that it was written shortly before Moses death, near the time the Israelites entered Canaan, about 1400BC.  Doing the math, we realize that the Book of Psalms was written over about 1000 years, a millennium.  The Study Bible advises that the Psalms were compiled in the 3rd century BC and as a group were used in the temple of Zerubbabel and Herod, the second temple as a prayer book.

The Psalms have given us wisdom; provided us examples of prayers of joy, thanksgiving, need, and have given us insight into how leaders of the Israelites sought God.  The study Bible has a heading to the table of the 5 books or divisions of the Psalms: "Instruction in the Godly Life under the Reign of God."

The writers of the Psalms were acknowledging God as King and, in a very real sense, the writings illustrate seeking the kingdom of God first.  

Today's beautiful verse acknowledges Old Testament Law and many prophecies of earlier and latter prophets.  These verses teach that one who would use these as a prayer need to shape their lives according to the Law and take refuge, delight, or find confidence and joy in Yahweh.

Also consider that if we were reading the Bible in cannonical order, this passage would immediatley follow the end of the book of Job.  In that place, the verse illustrates God's steadfastness and truth in His promises.  Recollet; Job suffered greatly, clung to his faith in his suffering and did receive great blessing for his delight in the Lord during his time of great loss and suffering.


Where are we told by advertisements, media, and other sources to seek blessing, delight and prosperity?

Where do you look for blessing, delight and prosperity?

Pray for the Spirit's guidance and wisdom to be committed to a growing relationship with God.

In Christ,

David P

I Remember This Verse!

About three or four years ago, Jerome Nathan led a Bible Study on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Since I've never considered the Old Testament to be my strong suit, I always enjoyed when Jerome chose to do Old Testament classes, since it was highly likely that we would be covering events with which I was less familiar, and that was certainly the case with that study.

Today's reading contained a verse that I immediately recalled from that study, because it reminded me of a comment I made during our Sunday discussion about a month or so ago. Nehemiah 4 describes  opposition to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. To make my point, I'm going to separate Nehemiah 4:9 in two--here's the first half:

But we prayed to our God...

Always excellent advice, particularly in times of peril or distress, but as Pastor Fay described in his sermon today, we should take advantage of prayer whenever we can, because it's not an obligation, but a privilege. Here's the second half of that verse:

...and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

Some would argue that the first half of that verse made the second half unnecessary.  Others (like me) would assert that the prayer the people made to God was answered by telling them to prepare themselves for possible attacks. For those of you that were in attendance at the Sunday where I discussed the importance of being prepared at all times (and for those that weren't, there's no excuse--you can watch the video here--go to the 13:45 mark), I referenced a quote attributed to Oliver Cromwell that states "Put your faith in God, but keep your powder dry."

There will be times when God works for us, but there will be many more times when he instead will work THROUGH us, and this minor verse in Nehemiah is one small example. I won't claim to be the ultimate authority or final word on the subject, but the common admonition for us is to BEGIN everything with prayer, not END it. If it were that simple, we'd simply pray that the Lord do what we wish and sit back and wait for it to occur. I don't think that's a reasonable course to take, and lets us off the hook for our own responsibilities in accomplishing things as stewards of the Lord's kingdom. Sometimes it is that simple--the Lord delivers us or provides for us in such a manner that we're left in awe to comprehend how and why he did it, but it will be much better for us to be pleasantly surprised when that happens than constantly disappointed when it doesn't. God answers our prayers--just don't be surprised when that answer involves action on our part.

Scott

Delighted Servants (September 18)

"O Lord, Let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name.  Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man."
                                    
I was the cupbearer to the king.
                                           Nehemiah 1:11 NIV

Today we start Nehemiah.  One of the points of his book is his dream and that the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt.  His name means that God is consolation.  As cupbearer and servant to King Artaxerxes, he had a place of honor, respect and was a trusted advisor.  For King Artaxerxes to release Nehemiah from his role was a sacrifice for the king and is an example of the awesome power of the Lord.

In reading about Nehemiah, I learned that in the Bible, a wall can mean a physical structure; however a wall can also be a metaphor for salvation.  For example in Isaiah 26:1 NIV it states: "We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.  In addition, walls can represent God's protection: Zechariah 2:5; where  as a wall of fire is what God describes Himself to be.

In being committed, Pastor Vokt, on Sept 4th, spoke about delight and referenced Zephaniah 3:17:  The Lord God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you.  He will quiet you with his love.  He will rejoice over you with singing.  In addition we were taught that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart in an analogy to these familiar hymn lyrics: Seek ye first the kingdom of God...and all these things will be added unto you.    In addition, with delight in the Lord, our joy and our confidence is in God alone; not in our circumstance, possessions, place or anything else.

God listened to a delighted wall-building cupbearer.  God will listen to your prayers too.

How are you delighted in knowing that God hears servants prayers?

Were do you find your joy and confidence?

How do you give thanks knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus?  (Romans 8)

Pray to find delight in the Lord and to focus on His service.

In Christ,

David P 

Separation (September 17)

After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
                                   Ezra 9:1 NIV

OK...The Hebrew were enslaved in Egypt and God led them out of Egypt.  For about 3 days, The Hebrew were contented. After those 3 days, the accounts we have read are of wandering from God's plan and a return to or toward God's plan, law, and holiness.  That pattern continues even in today's reading.

The Hebrew are being led back to their homeland after years of exile in Babylon.  What do they do when they return.  They begin to loose their separation from the surrounding nations. 

Being holy is being set apart to and for God.  As a result of the loss of separation from the surrounding nations, one might say that the Hebrew are loosing their holiness or their separation apart to God. 


Looking at ourselves, we need to consider if there is enough evidence in our lives so that someone would know we have faith in Christ our Savior and that we are set apart to and for God. 

Is there any conflicting evidence in our lives others may see that would cause others to wonder about our lives being set aside?

What activities might be hidden away by a Christian, for those activities would cause others to wonder?

(The prophet Daniel spoke of the abomination that causes desolation.  One might consider that abomination to be the beast in Revelation.  That beast could be anything that takes the high place that Christ has in our lives.  In other words an idol.)


Pray for the Spirit to illuminate and provide strength and courage to you and to those who struggle with activities, idols, and other challenges that may be hidden away and could lead to desolation.

In Christ,

David P

Artaxerxes' Letter

I rarely miss the opportunity to take a complicated subject and do my best to make it more confusing, and I was presented such an instance with today's reading. My NIV Study Bible has a note on Ezra 7:11, which is the beginning of Artaxerxes' letter to Ezra which gave his blessing for the return of the people of Israel to their native land.

What was that note, you ask? It reads as follows:

"Many regard the letter of Artaxerxes I [I didn't mention it yesterday, but this Artaxerxes was the first of three] as the beginning point of Daniel's first 69 'sevens' (Daniel 9:24-27). Others regard the commission of Nehemiah by the same king as the starting point of this prophecy (Nehemiah 1:1,11;, 2:1-8). By using either a solar calendar with the former date (458 BC) or a lunar calendar with the latter date (445 BC), one can arrive remarkably close to the date of Jesus' public ministry."

I'm sure after my outstanding presentation on Daniel 9:24-27 this past Sunday (the highlight of which was "Beats the heck out of me what these verses mean"), I'm sure all are clear on the meaning of these verses, but today's reading does add a little bit of context to this prophecy. If you recall, common interpretation of these verses states that these "sevens" refer to seven-year periods, and 483 years (69 * 7), as the NIV note states, comes very close to the time of Jesus' ministry. The literal nature of these seven-year periods then takes on a metaphorical one, since there will be a gap between the 69th and 70th year, when the Great Tribulation will occur in the final seven years of this world's history. I don't understand this gap, and not because it's too deep, but because I have absolutely no clue how a literal interpretation magically becomes a metaphorical one--in the normal course of textual criticism, you can't switch interpretative methods in mid-stream. But that's just me, and as I hopefully have made clear in both my writing and statements, HOW this will occur is irrelevant as long as we're prepared for it WHEN it happens.

Nonetheless, these are happy times for the people of Israel. The temple has already been rebuilt, and now Artaxerxes has set aside significant resources for the Jews to re-establish their city. For a people who have been exiled twice, in one case never to return, this shows again how God used people of this Earth to achieve his goals, and that no obstacle is too great for the Lord to overcome. All through Jeremiah, God told the people that their exile wouldn't be permanent and to prepare for their eventual return. We need to have the same attitude and always be prepared for our return from our exile, the separation from God that our sin caused. Just as in Daniel's prophecy, we don't  need to be able to explain in detail the meaning of these verses--we just need to be prepared should we find ourselves in those times. As I've stated over and over, God doesn't care that we know what to do, but demands that we do what we know. 

Be prepared.

Scott

Humble Leadership (September 16)

and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king's powerful officials.  Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.
                                 Ezra 7:28 NIV

Ezra's book deals with the return from captivity and the temple's rebuilding.  He was a priest living in exile, in Babylon.  His name probably means "Helps." He was courageous in front of enemies, persistent in his study of the law, and remained humble, giving honor to the Lord.  He was important in starting repentance among the Jews who returned from exile to the homeland.

In today's passage, Ezra clearly gives glory and honor to the Lord's hand being upon him thus allowing him to gather leading men to return them to the homeland.  Ezra, in this passage shows his ability to avoid pride, and reliance on self to accomplish an extraordinary task.  It was not Ezra's ability that allowed him to do the task, but rather that the Lord extended good favor to him.

With the triumphs Ezra accomplished, one can respect his remaining humble before the Lord and not considering himself great.  It was an act of God to keep Ezra humble, just as it was an act of God to allow Ezra to gather the leaders and have safe travel to the homeland.  He was truly a humble leader with God's hand upon him.

How have you seen a person's attitude change with a success?  With a string of successes?

Where do you place the glory and honor when you have a success in your life?

Pray for leaders everywhere to seek and delight in doing God's will for the good of all.

In Christ,

David P

Artaxerxes

It's getting hard to keep these Persian kings straight. As such, here's a list of the Persian kings, with the years of their reigns, courtesy of Wikipedia:

King	Reign
Cyrus	550-530 BC		538 BC	First return from exile under Zerubbabel
Cambyses	530-522 BC	Not mentioned in Bible
Bardiya	522 BC	Not mentioned in Bible
Darius I	522-486 BC
Xerxes	485-465 BC			Esther
Artaxerxes I	465-424 BC		458 BC	Second return under Ezra
			432 BC	Last return under Nehemiah

In particular, I enjoyed Ezra 4:15, which states:

In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place of rebellion from ancient times.

That's not the half of it. The people of Israel had been troublesome and rebellious to THEIR OWN KINGS, let alone the people in the surrounding countries. What else should anyone expect from a stick-necked people? The people that wrote that letter (Bishlam, Mithredath and Tabeel) are described in the NIV Study Bible note for Ezra 4:7 as spies for Artaxerxes, people who kept him informed on events that occurred in his far-flung kingdom (you'll see just how far-flung in a map I'll show on Sunday--don't you just love my maps?). 

When you compare the events in today's reading with the events immediately prior in Ezra 4, which described the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel (which we read about on September 8th), we can see that things have changed. For one, the events described in Ezra 4:1-6 occurred under the reign of Cyrus, almost 100 years prior to today's events--a lot can happen in 100 years. Second, Cyrus was authorizing the rebuilding of the temple. One can plausibly argue that it's hard to build a temple without a city around it, but the objections being made to Artaxerxes are with regard to the rebuilding of Jerusalem itself--the temple had been completed some 60-70 years earlier.

No matter what happens, there will always be obstacles to our "temple-building" events in today's world. Some will be nuisances, some will be true obstacles (the hostility toward Christianity that exists in parts of the world, and by that, I mean the parts where your Christianity can cost you your life), but none are insurmountable. To the extent that he wishes and that it extends his kingdom, God will remove our obstacles. It won't always be in the time frame or manner of our choosing, but his will WILL be done. Our job isn't to complain about what isn't happening, but to be ready for when God removes the obstacles and allows us to continue to fulfill the Great Commission. After all, what's the point of complaining about those impediments if we're not ready to act when God eliminates them?

Scott

Success (September 15)

Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.
                                       Esther 10:3 NIV

What a recipe for success, for growth in stature, for expansion of territory...serve others first!  The goal of success is a difficult goal to achieve, for we do not all measure earthly success in the same way.  Only a handful would, after reading the above verse, argue that Mordecai was not a success.  Because he worked for good and spoke up for welfare of all, he was held in high esteem and was second only to the king.

I suspect that Mordecai worked for the good and the welfare of all with much love, humility, and kindness.  His door probably was always open.  I am certain that he was hospitable.  If someone had a concern, Mordecai most likely listened attentively hearing intonation, pace and pressure of the concern.  He heard not only with his mind, but also with his heart and spirit.

If we all followed Mordecai's example as a servant, think of how individuals, families, communities, nations, and the world would change for the better.  Service to others was the key to  Mordecai's success.  Service to others was the call of the Son of Man, Jesus, for He told us that he came to serve, and not to be served.  Jesus was very successful, for He finished his work and by His work, He did please His Father

How do you define success?

Is it a place you can go to by being served, or by serving others?

Pray for all to have the strength, wisdom, and courage to serve.

In Christ,

David P

Irony

In the literary sense, irony is either the most misunderstood concept or simply the most incorrectly used. Many times, people will use the term "ironic" to describe events that are merely coincidences ("I was thinking about Fred, and ironically, he called me ten minutes later"--that's not irony). One definition I found online for irony is:

Situational irony involves an incongruity between what is expected or intended and what actually occurs.

And believe me, we have a case of situational irony in today's reading.

David's post of today does an excellent job of describing Haman's activities, and I suggest you read it first. After Haman had his audience with Esther and Xerxes and brags to his families and friends of what occurred, we're told in Esther 5:14:

His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows built, seventy-five feet high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the dinner and be happy.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the gallows built. 

We're all familiar with the phrase "Be careful what you wish for," which for today we can re-purpose as "Be careful what you plan for," because as the events of today's reading proceed, it ends with this unfortunate end for Haman as described in Esther 7:9-10:

Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Hang him on it!” ¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided. 

 Now THAT'S ironic--as events transpired, the plans that Haman had made for Mordecai were instead flipped on him. How often does that happen to us in our lives? We exert tremendous effort in trying to order our lives and plan for all eventualities, and despite our best efforts, there will be times when things not only don't go our way, but go the exact opposite of what we intended. Granted, more often than not, the end result for us won't result in us getting hanged, but it again underscores a theme that seems to be coming out of my mouth and my keyboard with increased frequency--I have nothing against planning, but being prepared will benefit us far greater.

Haman went to great lengths to ensure that his plans were successful--he got the backing of the king, had the money and the armed forces necessary to carry it out and had communicated them throughout the 127 provinces. He had done EVERYTHING, had planned down to the minutest detail how the eradication of the Jews would occur, and it was all for naught--because it wasn't GOD'S plan. My take-home message is a pretty simple one--as we plan our lives, do we spend the time attempting to discern if what we're doing is God's plan? And if the answer to that is "No," what are we going to do about that?

Scott