Each week I'll write about a new Scripture that reveals the friendship of God, but there will be times I get busy and can only discuss two or three new Scriptures that reveal the friendship of God. Let’s start with the basics, make them part of our thinking, and then move on to other wonderful promises, principles, precepts, and parables. I’ll number them so you can start with a fresh one each time you return. I will quote the New King James Bible (NKJV), unless I’m putting the Scripture’s message in my own words to help us understand what’s going on.
1. The first promise in the Bible. March 13, 2015
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." Genesis 3:15 (NKJV)
It’s interesting that God did not write any more than He needed to here. This promise is the basis for the entire rest of the Bible, yet it is so brief that it includes, but does not state, a ton of stuff that will be revealed later in the Bible. Distinctly stated here is God’s promise that He will not let the First Couple and their children languish forever in sin. Her descendant will destroy the serpent’s (Satan’s) power, his head, while Satan will destroy her descendant’s “heel.” Or, the Seed’s blow will destroy Satan; and Satan’s blow will wound the Seed. God was saying, “I will get you back to my side. Believe my promise. I will give you final victory over sin.” Being Ultimate Truth, this promise of His was as good as an oath. He willingly bound Himself by His word; and obligated Himself, to puny people who'd just rejected Him. Think about that. I would never take an oath with my pet, or the three-year-old next door. He respected us enough, and cared about us enough, to commit Himself inexorably to helping us at His own cost.
To do this, we find out later, He will have to be the descendant of Eve who breaks the power of sin and, therefore, of death. This is the amazing foundation of the Bible that John later wrote was one of the absolutely necessary things we have to believe, or God cannot help us at all. (I John 5:10-12, II John 9) In other words, if we can't believe that He was a good enough friend to join us in our misery, then we are not capable of letting Him help.
So, the foundational promise of the Bible, and of this world we live in, is that God wanted us back at His side so badly that He joined us Himself. We were drowning in sin, so He jumped in with us so He could pull us out. He never did sin Himself, but He endured all the consequences of sin that we do; shame, fear, hopelessness, depression, helplessness, pain, and death.
Never think that you are alone. Never think that He does not care.
2. Was God a friend
to Cain? March 14, 2015
In Genesis 4 we have the first story after the sin of Adam and Eve. If you read it now it will be easier for you to catch what I’m saying about it. As we will see, the story of Cain and Abel is one of the most important in the Bible.
If God were Cain’s friend, wouldn’t He have accepted Cain’s offering? If my grandson brings me a badly colored drawing, does it have to be perfect before I will accept it? Does God have a bad attitude about perfection?
Abel and Cain were brothers. Both had the same parents, Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had been told about killing animals in a sacrifice on the way out of the Garden. (Genesis 3:21) So, in our story, Adam, Eve, and Abel were sacrificing the way God had asked them to. They were killing animals in a life-giving tragedy of death that pointed toward the Seed who would come and save them from death. (Not merely an offering, then, but a sacrifice in the offering.) We may offer something that is no sacrifice, which Cain did. It is no tragedy if a carrot dies. A carrot cannot be a picture of the real person who would die for our sins.
After God warned Cain about his attitude, Cain went and argued with Abel, presumably over their worship rites. I think Cain wanted Abel to agree with him that his worship was just fine, but Abel wouldn’t. Afterward God judged Cain by cursing the ground for him. No longer would Cain be the king of the carrot-growers. Now, you and I might think that that was a light sentence, but not Cain. He told God it was entirely too harsh. God told him that He would put a mark on Cain so that none of the burgeoning population of brothers, cousins and nephews would exact justice on him. So, on a merely personal level, first God warned Cain, then He backed off from the death penalty, and then He marked him for safety’s sake. This, after Cain had refused to worship Him correctly, killed His faithful friend Abel, and accused Him of injustice. Yes, God was kind to Cain.
But there is a much deeper truth happening here than we see at first glance, which is why it is worth a little more of our time. Consider that Abel offered a sincere, obedient sacrifice to His Creator. Consider that Cain killed his righteous brother. Consider that Cain’s prayer is almost a mirror opposite of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13. In essence, Cain said to God, “You are not my Father, or you wouldn’t do this to me. You are not just. You withhold from me what I need. You put me in danger. I don’t trust you.”
If we say the story of Cain a certain way we can see why it is in the Bible. “A just man offered the proper sacrifice to the Lord, for which his angry, legalistic brother killed him.” Abel is the first human picture of Jesus in the Bible. Cain is a picture of the angry Pharisees who refused to give God what He really wanted: worship, obedience, and friendship. Peter invited those Pharisees into the church of Jesus’ friends, and many accepted. Cain did not, however. He left the presence of God, and discipled his children in anger. (4:23-24)
This story, then, at the very beginning of human history, is supposed to get us to think about all the big issues of life. Shall we worship the way we want, or the way God has told us to? Might He not know why He asked us to do things a certain way better than we do?
Are there times when we should recognize that our trials are God letting us give ourselves consequences? Should we follow our first impulse of anger toward God, or should we do what Cain did not, apologize to God? Who’s in charge of our lives? Who ought to be in charge? What right do we have to rearrange God’s order in anything? And, do we do any better than Cain at researching what God actually did say to us about how to do things? When we get in trouble with God, isn’t it often because we’ve never bothered to research what He has told us on the subject? (Marriage, divorce, alcohol, war, politics, economics, adultery, truth, love, holiness, etc.) If we, like Cain, simply want what we want, and do what we want, we will not have much better results than he did.
Let’s start today by assuming that God has told us important things because He loves us and wants us to do well. His first act of friendship was to give us Life! His next was to give us guidance. Let’s listen to Him for a bit.
In Genesis 4 we have the first story after the sin of Adam and Eve. If you read it now it will be easier for you to catch what I’m saying about it. As we will see, the story of Cain and Abel is one of the most important in the Bible.
If God were Cain’s friend, wouldn’t He have accepted Cain’s offering? If my grandson brings me a badly colored drawing, does it have to be perfect before I will accept it? Does God have a bad attitude about perfection?
Abel and Cain were brothers. Both had the same parents, Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had been told about killing animals in a sacrifice on the way out of the Garden. (Genesis 3:21) So, in our story, Adam, Eve, and Abel were sacrificing the way God had asked them to. They were killing animals in a life-giving tragedy of death that pointed toward the Seed who would come and save them from death. (Not merely an offering, then, but a sacrifice in the offering.) We may offer something that is no sacrifice, which Cain did. It is no tragedy if a carrot dies. A carrot cannot be a picture of the real person who would die for our sins.
After God warned Cain about his attitude, Cain went and argued with Abel, presumably over their worship rites. I think Cain wanted Abel to agree with him that his worship was just fine, but Abel wouldn’t. Afterward God judged Cain by cursing the ground for him. No longer would Cain be the king of the carrot-growers. Now, you and I might think that that was a light sentence, but not Cain. He told God it was entirely too harsh. God told him that He would put a mark on Cain so that none of the burgeoning population of brothers, cousins and nephews would exact justice on him. So, on a merely personal level, first God warned Cain, then He backed off from the death penalty, and then He marked him for safety’s sake. This, after Cain had refused to worship Him correctly, killed His faithful friend Abel, and accused Him of injustice. Yes, God was kind to Cain.
But there is a much deeper truth happening here than we see at first glance, which is why it is worth a little more of our time. Consider that Abel offered a sincere, obedient sacrifice to His Creator. Consider that Cain killed his righteous brother. Consider that Cain’s prayer is almost a mirror opposite of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13. In essence, Cain said to God, “You are not my Father, or you wouldn’t do this to me. You are not just. You withhold from me what I need. You put me in danger. I don’t trust you.”
If we say the story of Cain a certain way we can see why it is in the Bible. “A just man offered the proper sacrifice to the Lord, for which his angry, legalistic brother killed him.” Abel is the first human picture of Jesus in the Bible. Cain is a picture of the angry Pharisees who refused to give God what He really wanted: worship, obedience, and friendship. Peter invited those Pharisees into the church of Jesus’ friends, and many accepted. Cain did not, however. He left the presence of God, and discipled his children in anger. (4:23-24)
This story, then, at the very beginning of human history, is supposed to get us to think about all the big issues of life. Shall we worship the way we want, or the way God has told us to? Might He not know why He asked us to do things a certain way better than we do?
Are there times when we should recognize that our trials are God letting us give ourselves consequences? Should we follow our first impulse of anger toward God, or should we do what Cain did not, apologize to God? Who’s in charge of our lives? Who ought to be in charge? What right do we have to rearrange God’s order in anything? And, do we do any better than Cain at researching what God actually did say to us about how to do things? When we get in trouble with God, isn’t it often because we’ve never bothered to research what He has told us on the subject? (Marriage, divorce, alcohol, war, politics, economics, adultery, truth, love, holiness, etc.) If we, like Cain, simply want what we want, and do what we want, we will not have much better results than he did.
Let’s start today by assuming that God has told us important things because He loves us and wants us to do well. His first act of friendship was to give us Life! His next was to give us guidance. Let’s listen to Him for a bit.
3. The perfect
salvation! March 18, 2015
In the last article we saw that God gave mankind very specific requirements for sacrifices. He did the same in the New Testament. If you think about it, there are some restrictions on what we must do to be “saved” (the Bible’s word) from sin and death. It must cost people nothing, for some people have nothing. It must require no effort, for some people are dying or sick or paralyzed and can do nothing. It must be free to all, for all are humans regardless of origin, sex, age, or color. The means of salvation must have something to do with friendship, for God created us to be His friends.
When we see the thief dying on the cross (Luke 23:39-43), and hear his prayer, we understand quickly that Jesus came to give us the perfect salvation. The thief had no offering; he was naked on a cross. He could not be baptized; the Romans would have objected! He could not join a church; there were none, and if there were they would not have accepted him! He could not sacrifice; could not offer; could not make a pilgrimage. The only thing he could do was repent, believe, and call. So he said to the other thief, “we deserve our fate.” He confessed his sin. He called Jesus, not teacher or rabbi, but “Lord.” He declared that although Jesus had promised eternal life to all who chose Him, and forgiven sins, and accepted worship, and taken the name of Yahweh as His own, that Jesus had done nothing wrong! He believed everything Jesus had said. And finally, he humbly asked Jesus to remember him when He was come into His kingdom. It is interesting that both Peter and Paul summed up the requirement of salvation this way; “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:9,13)
Only a Friend would make the requirement for salvation becoming His friend! Believing Him, as Eve did not; choosing Him, as Eve did not; and going to Him, as Eve did not. All of us are born with Eve’s predilection for sin, all of us agree with her sin over and over, and all of us must give it up to become His friends. (As Eve did.) Only a Friend would make it that easy. Only a Friend would make it that simple.
In the last article we saw that God gave mankind very specific requirements for sacrifices. He did the same in the New Testament. If you think about it, there are some restrictions on what we must do to be “saved” (the Bible’s word) from sin and death. It must cost people nothing, for some people have nothing. It must require no effort, for some people are dying or sick or paralyzed and can do nothing. It must be free to all, for all are humans regardless of origin, sex, age, or color. The means of salvation must have something to do with friendship, for God created us to be His friends.
When we see the thief dying on the cross (Luke 23:39-43), and hear his prayer, we understand quickly that Jesus came to give us the perfect salvation. The thief had no offering; he was naked on a cross. He could not be baptized; the Romans would have objected! He could not join a church; there were none, and if there were they would not have accepted him! He could not sacrifice; could not offer; could not make a pilgrimage. The only thing he could do was repent, believe, and call. So he said to the other thief, “we deserve our fate.” He confessed his sin. He called Jesus, not teacher or rabbi, but “Lord.” He declared that although Jesus had promised eternal life to all who chose Him, and forgiven sins, and accepted worship, and taken the name of Yahweh as His own, that Jesus had done nothing wrong! He believed everything Jesus had said. And finally, he humbly asked Jesus to remember him when He was come into His kingdom. It is interesting that both Peter and Paul summed up the requirement of salvation this way; “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:9,13)
Only a Friend would make the requirement for salvation becoming His friend! Believing Him, as Eve did not; choosing Him, as Eve did not; and going to Him, as Eve did not. All of us are born with Eve’s predilection for sin, all of us agree with her sin over and over, and all of us must give it up to become His friends. (As Eve did.) Only a Friend would make it that easy. Only a Friend would make it that simple.
#4. The Grace Thing. March 19, 2015
Grace is a word we hear, but let’s define it. The original word, Karis, simply meant to be beautiful. In the Bible, though, God finds sinners beautiful, which they do not deserve. So, grace is forgiving someone who does not deserve it; loving someone who does not deserve it; and dying for someone who does not deserve it. Paul begins all of his letters with “grace and peace to you.” Meaning, if you understand the grace God has shown you, you will have peace in everything that’s going on. And then in every letter Paul describes the grace that God has shown us, and the peace that we can have if we understand His love. God’s intention toward us, then, has always been to act in grace toward us, and tell us about it so we may receive Him. When we do, His grand purpose is fulfilled in our lives; we have peace because of our relationship with Him, and the joy that comes from fellowship with Him and his people. And, He has the joy of another friend.
Grace is a word we hear, but let’s define it. The original word, Karis, simply meant to be beautiful. In the Bible, though, God finds sinners beautiful, which they do not deserve. So, grace is forgiving someone who does not deserve it; loving someone who does not deserve it; and dying for someone who does not deserve it. Paul begins all of his letters with “grace and peace to you.” Meaning, if you understand the grace God has shown you, you will have peace in everything that’s going on. And then in every letter Paul describes the grace that God has shown us, and the peace that we can have if we understand His love. God’s intention toward us, then, has always been to act in grace toward us, and tell us about it so we may receive Him. When we do, His grand purpose is fulfilled in our lives; we have peace because of our relationship with Him, and the joy that comes from fellowship with Him and his people. And, He has the joy of another friend.
#5. The Glory of the Lord March 21, 2015
In Numbers 14 we see the Lord blow His stack with His new friends, the people of Israel. They were refusing to enter the Promised Land. They were not sure He could help them win! After He turned the river to blood, turned the sun off and then back on, parted the Red Sea, and all the rest. So, He thundered in verse 21, “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord!” That is, His glory. From statements like this we misunderstand His motives entirely. Would He really desire the praise of tiny people like us? Is that all this is about?
To understand His anger we have to remember where He was taking them. Three times the population of Earth had not bothered to keep His worship the center of their lives, and so had lost it. (After the Fall, after the Flood, and after Babel.) So, His purpose in calling Israel was to create a world center for worshiping and knowing Yahweh. Not because Yahweh (His creator-name, Exodus 6) is vain, but because people need Him. He does not want anyone dying without ever having heard about His salvation. And here was Israel, refusing to enter the Promised Land! Instead of showing the world the glory of the Lord, they are shaming Him! Instead of recommending Yahweh to the world, they are testifying that He’s not much help in a pinch!
God was upset, not because He wouldn’t get a world center for adulation, but because their stubborn fear would cost the rest of the world a chance to know the gospel. God is never worried about His praise, He is only ever worried about our souls. It’s this way, no matter what anyone tells you; the most important thing in the world for God is us. He made this world for us, died for us, and will join us for eternity. So, the most important thing in the world for us is God. He has made us, offered us a new chance at life, cleared our debt, and given us joy. As two spouses each think of their partner’s welfare, as they might each want to bless the other, we and God are. He thinks about me all day long (Psalm 139:16-18) I think about Him all day long (Ephesians 5:18-20). As two friends would.
In Numbers 14 we see the Lord blow His stack with His new friends, the people of Israel. They were refusing to enter the Promised Land. They were not sure He could help them win! After He turned the river to blood, turned the sun off and then back on, parted the Red Sea, and all the rest. So, He thundered in verse 21, “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord!” That is, His glory. From statements like this we misunderstand His motives entirely. Would He really desire the praise of tiny people like us? Is that all this is about?
To understand His anger we have to remember where He was taking them. Three times the population of Earth had not bothered to keep His worship the center of their lives, and so had lost it. (After the Fall, after the Flood, and after Babel.) So, His purpose in calling Israel was to create a world center for worshiping and knowing Yahweh. Not because Yahweh (His creator-name, Exodus 6) is vain, but because people need Him. He does not want anyone dying without ever having heard about His salvation. And here was Israel, refusing to enter the Promised Land! Instead of showing the world the glory of the Lord, they are shaming Him! Instead of recommending Yahweh to the world, they are testifying that He’s not much help in a pinch!
God was upset, not because He wouldn’t get a world center for adulation, but because their stubborn fear would cost the rest of the world a chance to know the gospel. God is never worried about His praise, He is only ever worried about our souls. It’s this way, no matter what anyone tells you; the most important thing in the world for God is us. He made this world for us, died for us, and will join us for eternity. So, the most important thing in the world for us is God. He has made us, offered us a new chance at life, cleared our debt, and given us joy. As two spouses each think of their partner’s welfare, as they might each want to bless the other, we and God are. He thinks about me all day long (Psalm 139:16-18) I think about Him all day long (Ephesians 5:18-20). As two friends would.
#6 March 29,
2015
When I married my wife I believed that she was a good person who shared priorities and commitments with me. I felt that she was a person of integrity who could commit to me and my children. As the years (and the trials) went by, this belief turned into a conviction. I trusted her. Our shared trials were fundamentally blessings in this regard, if in no other; after a while I knew I could trust her with anything. Think of this, then; if Sharon and I had never had a problem, I still would not know today, even after many years, if I could trust her. That is, I could not be sure that she is my friend unless our friendship is tested by trials. She stayed with me through some awful times, though, so I do know that she is my friend. In a sense, if we have no trials, we can have no friends. Without a trial we’ll never know whom we can trust! A trial is a chance for you and your loved ones to shine like the jewels you are. God let the three boys go into the fiery furnace so people could see His power, but also so the Babylonians could see the courage, determination, and grace of those three boys. Whom will you count on during a catastrophe; a sheep or a fighter? Those boys were fighters, and God wanted Babylon to know it. We don’t rejoice that we can have trials, but we can rejoice that we have a Friend who is wise enough to choose just the right trials for us. Romans 8:28
When I married my wife I believed that she was a good person who shared priorities and commitments with me. I felt that she was a person of integrity who could commit to me and my children. As the years (and the trials) went by, this belief turned into a conviction. I trusted her. Our shared trials were fundamentally blessings in this regard, if in no other; after a while I knew I could trust her with anything. Think of this, then; if Sharon and I had never had a problem, I still would not know today, even after many years, if I could trust her. That is, I could not be sure that she is my friend unless our friendship is tested by trials. She stayed with me through some awful times, though, so I do know that she is my friend. In a sense, if we have no trials, we can have no friends. Without a trial we’ll never know whom we can trust! A trial is a chance for you and your loved ones to shine like the jewels you are. God let the three boys go into the fiery furnace so people could see His power, but also so the Babylonians could see the courage, determination, and grace of those three boys. Whom will you count on during a catastrophe; a sheep or a fighter? Those boys were fighters, and God wanted Babylon to know it. We don’t rejoice that we can have trials, but we can rejoice that we have a Friend who is wise enough to choose just the right trials for us. Romans 8:28
#7 The Only Way to Hurt God April 1, 2015
There’s danger in becoming a friend. You open yourself up to hurt. My wife can bless me like no one else in the world, but she can hurt me, too. While she has never betrayed me, friends do, and it is an awful thing to go through. Once you’ve been burned a couple times you hate to go too near the fire. This is one reason people hesitate to get too involved in a church. Church members are not always godly, not always kind, not always honest. You and I have seen a few church members lie about others, cheat others, and steal from others. It is a fact that somewhere right now there is a church member doing any terrible sin you can think of, including murder. Thank God, most of the church members I know are the finest in the world, but some are serious fakes, using their church as a vehicle for hurting people.
The thing is, when God took you and me as friends He opened Himself to hurt, knowing He would be forgotten, betrayed, left, accused, resented, and blamed, by us. When I resent God for the decisions He makes on my behalf, it hurts Him, for He is my friend. In John 6:66-67 we’re told that many of Jesus’ disciples were giving up on Him and turning away when He asked the twelve, “Will you also go away?” Peter told Him no, they wouldn’t, but of course they did. When Peter told people at the temple, “I do not know Him!” and sealed it with several oaths, do you suppose it hurt Jesus’ feelings? When Judas sold Him to death, didn’t that hurt?
God is represented as a Person all through the Bible, with all the feelings that we have. Indeed, we are created in His image, so any feelings we have we got from Him! Galatians 5:22-25 gives us a list of the actions and feelings that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, called the fruit of the Spirit. These actions (like love and long-suffering), and these feelings (like joy and peace) originate with God. Their essence is in God’s mind and nature. He is at once the strongest and the most sensitive Person in creation, stronger than any father and more sensitive than any mother. For Him to create us, then, knowing we would sin, was not only hard because of the necessary atoning death of His Son, but the ongoing hurts we would give Him during our lives. Once think of God as a Person, and not a Force, or a giant Computer, and you will quit blaming Him so much. Let us give Him joy, not grief. Let us thank Him more than we blame Him! Let us make His heart glad with praise, not because He is vain, but out of the gratitude of one friend for another Friend.
There’s danger in becoming a friend. You open yourself up to hurt. My wife can bless me like no one else in the world, but she can hurt me, too. While she has never betrayed me, friends do, and it is an awful thing to go through. Once you’ve been burned a couple times you hate to go too near the fire. This is one reason people hesitate to get too involved in a church. Church members are not always godly, not always kind, not always honest. You and I have seen a few church members lie about others, cheat others, and steal from others. It is a fact that somewhere right now there is a church member doing any terrible sin you can think of, including murder. Thank God, most of the church members I know are the finest in the world, but some are serious fakes, using their church as a vehicle for hurting people.
The thing is, when God took you and me as friends He opened Himself to hurt, knowing He would be forgotten, betrayed, left, accused, resented, and blamed, by us. When I resent God for the decisions He makes on my behalf, it hurts Him, for He is my friend. In John 6:66-67 we’re told that many of Jesus’ disciples were giving up on Him and turning away when He asked the twelve, “Will you also go away?” Peter told Him no, they wouldn’t, but of course they did. When Peter told people at the temple, “I do not know Him!” and sealed it with several oaths, do you suppose it hurt Jesus’ feelings? When Judas sold Him to death, didn’t that hurt?
God is represented as a Person all through the Bible, with all the feelings that we have. Indeed, we are created in His image, so any feelings we have we got from Him! Galatians 5:22-25 gives us a list of the actions and feelings that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, called the fruit of the Spirit. These actions (like love and long-suffering), and these feelings (like joy and peace) originate with God. Their essence is in God’s mind and nature. He is at once the strongest and the most sensitive Person in creation, stronger than any father and more sensitive than any mother. For Him to create us, then, knowing we would sin, was not only hard because of the necessary atoning death of His Son, but the ongoing hurts we would give Him during our lives. Once think of God as a Person, and not a Force, or a giant Computer, and you will quit blaming Him so much. Let us give Him joy, not grief. Let us thank Him more than we blame Him! Let us make His heart glad with praise, not because He is vain, but out of the gratitude of one friend for another Friend.
8.
April 11, 2015
"They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." Malachi 3:16-17 (NKJV) God promised in the book of Malachi that when He sent Jesus and John to Israel He would look for people who were studying the Bible together, fearing Him, and meditating on His name. When Jesus came He found several young men who were already neighbors, business partners, friends, and followers of John. He called these young men to follow Him, promising that He would “make” them “fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:17ff) Or, He would use heat, pressure, love, and the Word, to help them become the “jewels” that adorn the Church. (As Malachi promised.)
"Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall… The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones…" (Jewels!) Revelation 21:14-19 (NKJV) God could have decorated His holy city with anything He cared to. Light, trees, stardust, rainbows. He chose the names of His friends. Peter. James. John. Andrew. Matthew. “These are the men who trusted me with their lives. These are my jewels. I love them for their value and their beauty.” God could think of no better thing to decorate His holy city with than the names of the men who started the church. He loves you no less. He respects your entrusting your eternity to Him just as much. I suspect that your name will be written in smaller letters just below theirs! To God, you are a ruby.
To sum up; God’s treasure is not gold (people walk in it in the Holy City) nor jewels (God decorates with them), but us. We are His treasure. The holy city, the world, and even the universe, were created only for us to live in. You are, as God said in Exodus, His personal treasure.
"They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." Malachi 3:16-17 (NKJV) God promised in the book of Malachi that when He sent Jesus and John to Israel He would look for people who were studying the Bible together, fearing Him, and meditating on His name. When Jesus came He found several young men who were already neighbors, business partners, friends, and followers of John. He called these young men to follow Him, promising that He would “make” them “fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:17ff) Or, He would use heat, pressure, love, and the Word, to help them become the “jewels” that adorn the Church. (As Malachi promised.)
"Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall… The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones…" (Jewels!) Revelation 21:14-19 (NKJV) God could have decorated His holy city with anything He cared to. Light, trees, stardust, rainbows. He chose the names of His friends. Peter. James. John. Andrew. Matthew. “These are the men who trusted me with their lives. These are my jewels. I love them for their value and their beauty.” God could think of no better thing to decorate His holy city with than the names of the men who started the church. He loves you no less. He respects your entrusting your eternity to Him just as much. I suspect that your name will be written in smaller letters just below theirs! To God, you are a ruby.
To sum up; God’s treasure is not gold (people walk in it in the Holy City) nor jewels (God decorates with them), but us. We are His treasure. The holy city, the world, and even the universe, were created only for us to live in. You are, as God said in Exodus, His personal treasure.
9. April 14, 2015
“And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders as a memorial….You shall make the breastplate of judgment. (For the high priest to wear, who was a picture of Jesus.) And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones… And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes… So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the LORD continually.” Exodus 28:12,15-30 (NKJV)
Every time the people of God went to the tabernacle they were reminded that God carries them both close to His heart and on His shoulders. He bears us in His strength when we are helpless, and carries us close to His heart at all times. In Exodus 19 God said we would be His treasure. Now He specified the sort of treasure they are to Him; jewels. Jewels are formed by heat and pressure. (Trials.) We wear them for adornment because they are valuable and beautiful. To God, His people are valuable (we were worth His Son’s life), and beautiful (because we are His friends).
“And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders as a memorial….You shall make the breastplate of judgment. (For the high priest to wear, who was a picture of Jesus.) And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones… And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes… So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the LORD continually.” Exodus 28:12,15-30 (NKJV)
Every time the people of God went to the tabernacle they were reminded that God carries them both close to His heart and on His shoulders. He bears us in His strength when we are helpless, and carries us close to His heart at all times. In Exodus 19 God said we would be His treasure. Now He specified the sort of treasure they are to Him; jewels. Jewels are formed by heat and pressure. (Trials.) We wear them for adornment because they are valuable and beautiful. To God, His people are valuable (we were worth His Son’s life), and beautiful (because we are His friends).
10.
April 28, 2015
A teacher asked Jesus what the most important commandment was and Jesus answered, 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment." Mark 12:29-31 (NKJV)
It’s easy to feel that God is asking too much here! All my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength? Why? Because I owe Him? Because I ought to? Too often we get into this mode of thinking, because it is true, we do owe Him, but that spoils the mood, doesn’t it? If I kiss my wife because I owe her doesn’t that rob the action of its meaning? Would she want to be kissed because of my sense of duty? Would anyone?
Because we do not really think of God as a person we deny that He ever has any feelings. But He is not a giant computer in the sky! He is a real Person.
Jesus was quoting Moses in Deuteronomy. Moses and Jesus (Old Testament and New Testament) agreed that this was the most important command God ever gave! Why? Why did God want us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?
Because that is how He loves us.
With all of His heart. There is nothing in His heart but love for us.
With all of His soul. He has a passion for us that reaches every part of His being. (Think about that!)
With all of His mind. He knows us completely, every fact about us, and loves us completely.
With all of His strength. Wow! That is pretty strong!
The Creator had the desire to create us and this universe, the soul to create it with beauty, the intelligence to do it perfectly, and the ability to do it as He pleased. And all of His being is focused on loving us!
I guess that, really, I have nothing to worry about this week! I guess I do need to make this truth the foundation of my life after all!
A teacher asked Jesus what the most important commandment was and Jesus answered, 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment." Mark 12:29-31 (NKJV)
It’s easy to feel that God is asking too much here! All my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength? Why? Because I owe Him? Because I ought to? Too often we get into this mode of thinking, because it is true, we do owe Him, but that spoils the mood, doesn’t it? If I kiss my wife because I owe her doesn’t that rob the action of its meaning? Would she want to be kissed because of my sense of duty? Would anyone?
Because we do not really think of God as a person we deny that He ever has any feelings. But He is not a giant computer in the sky! He is a real Person.
Jesus was quoting Moses in Deuteronomy. Moses and Jesus (Old Testament and New Testament) agreed that this was the most important command God ever gave! Why? Why did God want us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?
Because that is how He loves us.
With all of His heart. There is nothing in His heart but love for us.
With all of His soul. He has a passion for us that reaches every part of His being. (Think about that!)
With all of His mind. He knows us completely, every fact about us, and loves us completely.
With all of His strength. Wow! That is pretty strong!
The Creator had the desire to create us and this universe, the soul to create it with beauty, the intelligence to do it perfectly, and the ability to do it as He pleased. And all of His being is focused on loving us!
I guess that, really, I have nothing to worry about this week! I guess I do need to make this truth the foundation of my life after all!
11. May 13, 2015
In the seventh chapter of II Samuel we are told that David had a great idea. He decided that he wanted to build a permanent dwelling for God in his capital Jerusalem. Since Israel wasn’t wandering anymore, David didn’t want God wandering! He wanted to toss the tent (tabernacle) that God was in and build a beautiful new home.
So God responded, basically, “I never asked for this. I never said I wasn’t happy with the tent.” For years I read this as a rebuke, because it kind of sounds like that. If we read it from the perspective of friendship tho (and I think we must because of what God does next) it becomes so different. God was really saying, “David, of all the people I know, you are the only one who has wanted to do something like this. And I never mentioned it to anyone! Thanks so much! I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. Because you are a man of war I don’t want you to build the house. I will let your son do that. But I will build you a house; an eternal dynasty! Your son will rule on your throne in your name forever!”
David was blown out of the water, and told God so. But the thing is, that this is a tremendous friendship moment between God and David. Each thought of the other’s desires. Each tried to bless the other. Each did touch the other with their gesture of friendship.
You cannot outgive or outbless God. This is not a financial equation, it is a friendship relationship! When we give up something for Him He does see, and blesses us accordingly. Not with money as such, but with insights, wisdom, peace, and ministry. The next time you are tired when you begin a ministry or denying yourself something you really want for His sake or enduring something while trying to praise, think on this friendship moment. Remember how much David’s gift meant to God. Remember that your gift to Him means just as much as David’s.
In the seventh chapter of II Samuel we are told that David had a great idea. He decided that he wanted to build a permanent dwelling for God in his capital Jerusalem. Since Israel wasn’t wandering anymore, David didn’t want God wandering! He wanted to toss the tent (tabernacle) that God was in and build a beautiful new home.
So God responded, basically, “I never asked for this. I never said I wasn’t happy with the tent.” For years I read this as a rebuke, because it kind of sounds like that. If we read it from the perspective of friendship tho (and I think we must because of what God does next) it becomes so different. God was really saying, “David, of all the people I know, you are the only one who has wanted to do something like this. And I never mentioned it to anyone! Thanks so much! I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. Because you are a man of war I don’t want you to build the house. I will let your son do that. But I will build you a house; an eternal dynasty! Your son will rule on your throne in your name forever!”
David was blown out of the water, and told God so. But the thing is, that this is a tremendous friendship moment between God and David. Each thought of the other’s desires. Each tried to bless the other. Each did touch the other with their gesture of friendship.
You cannot outgive or outbless God. This is not a financial equation, it is a friendship relationship! When we give up something for Him He does see, and blesses us accordingly. Not with money as such, but with insights, wisdom, peace, and ministry. The next time you are tired when you begin a ministry or denying yourself something you really want for His sake or enduring something while trying to praise, think on this friendship moment. Remember how much David’s gift meant to God. Remember that your gift to Him means just as much as David’s.
12. May 14, 2015
In our Sunday evening Bible study we’ve been going through Deuteronomy. Now, this book does not look very inviting at first glance. It is a series of five sermons that Moses preaches right before he dies and Israel crosses the Jordan River. Who wants to read old sermons? Give me action instead! But this is a critical book for understanding everything in the Bible. It tells you what the first four books of the Bible meant, and what the rest of the books of the Bible will be about. We might compare it to Ephesians or Romans. Matthew and the gospels are important, Acts is important, but you need another book that summarizes them and explains them.
When we get into the book of Deuteronomy then, guess what we find? Let’s take one section and see what ideas permeate the book.
Do you see a pattern? “God has been your Friend, so be His friend. God has been your Friend, so be His friend. God has been your Friend, so be His friend.” And so on for quite a ways. The central thought of this fundamental summation of the Bible is, then, a reminder of the friendship relationship that exists between us and God!
So often we, as selfish people, get caught up in the benefits or the duties of being a Christian. Moses boiled it all down to one big idea in Deuteronomy, though. Rejoice in God’s desire to be your friend, and be His friend. Be a friend to Him. Live like a friend; choose like a friend; speak like a friend; think like a friend. This will take some getting used to, but you can do it.
In our Sunday evening Bible study we’ve been going through Deuteronomy. Now, this book does not look very inviting at first glance. It is a series of five sermons that Moses preaches right before he dies and Israel crosses the Jordan River. Who wants to read old sermons? Give me action instead! But this is a critical book for understanding everything in the Bible. It tells you what the first four books of the Bible meant, and what the rest of the books of the Bible will be about. We might compare it to Ephesians or Romans. Matthew and the gospels are important, Acts is important, but you need another book that summarizes them and explains them.
When we get into the book of Deuteronomy then, guess what we find? Let’s take one section and see what ideas permeate the book.
- 10:14-15 God the Creator chose your fathers to
love.
- 10:16
So, you should quit
being a pain in the neck and let Him be lord!
- 10:17-18 The Mighty Creator God is just, wanting equal
justice for everyone, acting as a friend to all.
- 10:19-20 So,
you should love the people He loves, and be loyal to Him.
- 10:21-22 Your Mighty Friend multiplied you into a great
nation while you were slaves.
- 11:1 So, you should love Him and obey
Him.
Do you see a pattern? “God has been your Friend, so be His friend. God has been your Friend, so be His friend. God has been your Friend, so be His friend.” And so on for quite a ways. The central thought of this fundamental summation of the Bible is, then, a reminder of the friendship relationship that exists between us and God!
So often we, as selfish people, get caught up in the benefits or the duties of being a Christian. Moses boiled it all down to one big idea in Deuteronomy, though. Rejoice in God’s desire to be your friend, and be His friend. Be a friend to Him. Live like a friend; choose like a friend; speak like a friend; think like a friend. This will take some getting used to, but you can do it.
13. May 16, 2015
“You shall have no other gods but me.” Throughout the Bible God makes demands like this. In Deuteronomy He commands Israel to execute any prophet who recommends anyone but Yahweh for worship. How can we not see this as selfish? Shouldn’t Israel have just argued with people who believed differently? Is God being selfish to demand all of our attention all of the time? Is He really that self-centered?
As I considered this for our Sunday evening Bible study it seemed to me that even here He was acting out of our best interest. Who knows what a marriage is, but God? He made men and women. Who knows what people need to have peace? He made each of us, and knows our individual set of needs and desires. Who can help people with their sin? No one but God. Who can get us to the Holy City? No one but God. Who can change our hearts? No one but God. So, any other path but His, with any other goal than Him, is a dead end street. Literally leading to death. It was out of concern for us, not for Himself, that He commanded His people to look only to Him. Jesus said he was the only Way to God, the only Truth about God, and the only Life found in God. Of course He wants us to find Him. He is our only Hope.
“You shall have no other gods but me.” Throughout the Bible God makes demands like this. In Deuteronomy He commands Israel to execute any prophet who recommends anyone but Yahweh for worship. How can we not see this as selfish? Shouldn’t Israel have just argued with people who believed differently? Is God being selfish to demand all of our attention all of the time? Is He really that self-centered?
As I considered this for our Sunday evening Bible study it seemed to me that even here He was acting out of our best interest. Who knows what a marriage is, but God? He made men and women. Who knows what people need to have peace? He made each of us, and knows our individual set of needs and desires. Who can help people with their sin? No one but God. Who can get us to the Holy City? No one but God. Who can change our hearts? No one but God. So, any other path but His, with any other goal than Him, is a dead end street. Literally leading to death. It was out of concern for us, not for Himself, that He commanded His people to look only to Him. Jesus said he was the only Way to God, the only Truth about God, and the only Life found in God. Of course He wants us to find Him. He is our only Hope.
14. June 2, 2015
Goliath was a terrible person. Yes, he was big, but he was also terrible. Deuteronomy 18 tells us that the land of Canaan was filled with magic, killing babies, and talking to the dead. If you look on a map the ancient city names (from the days when the giants ruled) were things like spell, oracle, lightning, and annihilation. Goliath’s own name means to “strip you naked and send as a slave into exile!” Leviticus forbade Israel to do as the locals did, tattoo and cut their flesh for the dead. So, Goliath was big and armored, yes, but he was also a wicked sorcerer who probably had marked himself up in accordance with his demon-worshiping religion.
It was no wonder that Saul, and all the rest of the Israelites refused to fight him. The only wonder is that anyone dared to run out on the field with him! But David did… because he knew that God was his Friend. He knew that God was full of truth and full of grace; that God was fully committed to his welfare, and had completely forgiven David for any sins he had committed. Knowing this, David ran toward the giant yelling, “How dare you say nasty stuff about my friend God!”
Saul, though, could not fight Goliath because God was not his Friend. Saul never worshiped God. He never prayed except in public when he was on a platform, and never read his bible to see how he could please God. Every story about Saul except one is about him disobeying God, and even in that exception he used terrorism to gain his purpose. If God is not our Friend we can’t face anything. If He is our Friend we can face everything. He wants to be our Friend; now it is not His choice, but ours to make. This week, let’s act like we want to be His friends. Friends talk, and listen, and give, and receive. Being full of grace, they also forgive each other when one does something the other doesn’t like. Have you forgiven God for choices He has made for you? Are you His friend?
Goliath was a terrible person. Yes, he was big, but he was also terrible. Deuteronomy 18 tells us that the land of Canaan was filled with magic, killing babies, and talking to the dead. If you look on a map the ancient city names (from the days when the giants ruled) were things like spell, oracle, lightning, and annihilation. Goliath’s own name means to “strip you naked and send as a slave into exile!” Leviticus forbade Israel to do as the locals did, tattoo and cut their flesh for the dead. So, Goliath was big and armored, yes, but he was also a wicked sorcerer who probably had marked himself up in accordance with his demon-worshiping religion.
It was no wonder that Saul, and all the rest of the Israelites refused to fight him. The only wonder is that anyone dared to run out on the field with him! But David did… because he knew that God was his Friend. He knew that God was full of truth and full of grace; that God was fully committed to his welfare, and had completely forgiven David for any sins he had committed. Knowing this, David ran toward the giant yelling, “How dare you say nasty stuff about my friend God!”
Saul, though, could not fight Goliath because God was not his Friend. Saul never worshiped God. He never prayed except in public when he was on a platform, and never read his bible to see how he could please God. Every story about Saul except one is about him disobeying God, and even in that exception he used terrorism to gain his purpose. If God is not our Friend we can’t face anything. If He is our Friend we can face everything. He wants to be our Friend; now it is not His choice, but ours to make. This week, let’s act like we want to be His friends. Friends talk, and listen, and give, and receive. Being full of grace, they also forgive each other when one does something the other doesn’t like. Have you forgiven God for choices He has made for you? Are you His friend?
15.
June 3, 2015
In Acts 4 Peter and John were threatened by the leaders of the Temple for healing a sick man on their premises and then saying that Jesus did it. (verse 10) Public opinion kept them from doing anything serious to them then, but the threat was there. Eventually, of course, the apostles did lose their lives for saying that Jesus was still alive. (Acts 12:1-2)
But let’s focus on the prayer of the disciples after Peter and John were released. (verses 23-30) Basically they only said two things in this prayer:
a. God, take note of those threats!
b. God, help us to keep talking about Jesus!
They wrote God a blank check with their lives. They did not ask for safety! They did not ask for a heart change in those leaders! They just said, “You know what is going on. Do what you think is best.” Because they knew that He is a God of truth and grace (a Friend) they knew they could trust Him to make the right decision for them.
And then they asked, “Help us be your friends, and the friends of sinners, by telling everyone we know about you and your salvation.” Remember, Jesus had quoted Deuteronomy and told his questioner, “The greatest law is to love the Lord with all your heart, and the second is to love your neighbor.” This prayer fulfilled both. They loved the Lord enough to let Him decide what needed to happen in their lives, and loved the lost around them to want to keep talking no matter what happened. They were the friends of God.
In Acts 4 Peter and John were threatened by the leaders of the Temple for healing a sick man on their premises and then saying that Jesus did it. (verse 10) Public opinion kept them from doing anything serious to them then, but the threat was there. Eventually, of course, the apostles did lose their lives for saying that Jesus was still alive. (Acts 12:1-2)
But let’s focus on the prayer of the disciples after Peter and John were released. (verses 23-30) Basically they only said two things in this prayer:
a. God, take note of those threats!
b. God, help us to keep talking about Jesus!
They wrote God a blank check with their lives. They did not ask for safety! They did not ask for a heart change in those leaders! They just said, “You know what is going on. Do what you think is best.” Because they knew that He is a God of truth and grace (a Friend) they knew they could trust Him to make the right decision for them.
And then they asked, “Help us be your friends, and the friends of sinners, by telling everyone we know about you and your salvation.” Remember, Jesus had quoted Deuteronomy and told his questioner, “The greatest law is to love the Lord with all your heart, and the second is to love your neighbor.” This prayer fulfilled both. They loved the Lord enough to let Him decide what needed to happen in their lives, and loved the lost around them to want to keep talking no matter what happened. They were the friends of God.
16. June 26, 2015
David was a shepherd boy, lost in the world of sheep and small problems when God yanked him out of that peaceful (boring) world and set him on the path toward ruling over Israel. By the time of his death David was one of the great kings of the area, beholden to no one, afraid of no one, though he was sitting astride a crucial trade route.
His story started with a bang, when he killed Goliath in open combat before the assembled warriors of Philistia and Israel. When Saul’s son Jonathan gave him his robe to wear at court, David had the apparel of a prince, the home of a prince, the expectations of a prince (money, a princess, and a throne), and the duties of a prince (running the army). How great is this going to be!
But Saul saw the handwriting on the wall, and decided to fight God over David taking his throne. For the next 13? years David’s life was running, and fear, and hunger, and hiding. For over a decade he was a prince in name only, running a ragtag group of refugees around the wilderness. Twenty times David had serious problems (like Saul throwing a spear at him), and twenty times God saved him. Finally in I Samuel 27:1 David declared, “I’ve had enough. I’m going to die doing this. I’m going to leave Israel and go to Philistia and let them protect me.”
David, David. What a failure. As I considered this material for my next sermon I thought, What this really is, is a story of a great friendship.
It didn’t sound like it when David said this and left, but it was. You see, David forgave God for letting him get into 20 scrapes, and then God forgave David for running away. Friends forgive each other, and each had a lot to forgive. Now, I am not saying that God ever sinned in his relationship with David, but He did make some decisions for David that David could have deeply resented. His parents were in danger, so he moved them out of Israel to Moab. Every week he had to come up with food for 600 men plus families. Every day he might be caught and killed by Saul. He lives in a cave. He drinks water out of creeks. He sleeps on rock. All because God called him from the sheepfold. David can’t see the glory that is coming; all he can see are the daily problems and fear. So, he must forgive God… and he does.
And, God forgave David for giving up on Him. He protected his family, and gave him the throne, and together they made Israel a safe place to live again.
Don’t give up on God. Forgive Him when He decides to let you have a problem. Every problem for you, as it was for David, is only a lesson on the reality of this world, the faithfulness of God, and the power of obedience. God knows what problems you need so you can develop into a great friend. (Full of truth and grace.) So forgive God this week when He lets you have a problem, and stick it out. You’re going somewhere.
David was a shepherd boy, lost in the world of sheep and small problems when God yanked him out of that peaceful (boring) world and set him on the path toward ruling over Israel. By the time of his death David was one of the great kings of the area, beholden to no one, afraid of no one, though he was sitting astride a crucial trade route.
His story started with a bang, when he killed Goliath in open combat before the assembled warriors of Philistia and Israel. When Saul’s son Jonathan gave him his robe to wear at court, David had the apparel of a prince, the home of a prince, the expectations of a prince (money, a princess, and a throne), and the duties of a prince (running the army). How great is this going to be!
But Saul saw the handwriting on the wall, and decided to fight God over David taking his throne. For the next 13? years David’s life was running, and fear, and hunger, and hiding. For over a decade he was a prince in name only, running a ragtag group of refugees around the wilderness. Twenty times David had serious problems (like Saul throwing a spear at him), and twenty times God saved him. Finally in I Samuel 27:1 David declared, “I’ve had enough. I’m going to die doing this. I’m going to leave Israel and go to Philistia and let them protect me.”
David, David. What a failure. As I considered this material for my next sermon I thought, What this really is, is a story of a great friendship.
It didn’t sound like it when David said this and left, but it was. You see, David forgave God for letting him get into 20 scrapes, and then God forgave David for running away. Friends forgive each other, and each had a lot to forgive. Now, I am not saying that God ever sinned in his relationship with David, but He did make some decisions for David that David could have deeply resented. His parents were in danger, so he moved them out of Israel to Moab. Every week he had to come up with food for 600 men plus families. Every day he might be caught and killed by Saul. He lives in a cave. He drinks water out of creeks. He sleeps on rock. All because God called him from the sheepfold. David can’t see the glory that is coming; all he can see are the daily problems and fear. So, he must forgive God… and he does.
And, God forgave David for giving up on Him. He protected his family, and gave him the throne, and together they made Israel a safe place to live again.
Don’t give up on God. Forgive Him when He decides to let you have a problem. Every problem for you, as it was for David, is only a lesson on the reality of this world, the faithfulness of God, and the power of obedience. God knows what problems you need so you can develop into a great friend. (Full of truth and grace.) So forgive God this week when He lets you have a problem, and stick it out. You’re going somewhere.
17.
June 27, 2015
As I studied for our Sunday evening Bible study I reflected on the various odd laws that we had been reading in the previous weeks. Previously in the week Tom and I had realized that the commands at the end of I Thessalonians were all meant to counteract specific temptations that come up during trials. Because Moses was writing for the culture that would exist after moving in to the Land, the commands in Deuteronomy were each designed by Moses to counteract the temptations that beset a successful community. They are each worth meditating on.
Every command in the Old Testament, and every command in every book in the New Testament, has as its basis the friendship principle. Jesus summed up the sermon on the mount with, “Treat everyone else the way you would like to be treated. You start the cycle of love.” And, Moses said in Deuteronomy, “You love the visitors among you, for you were visitors in Egypt and you were not loved.” (10:19) This week, be a friend to everyone you contact, and so fulfill the will of your heavenly Father. They need a friend, and God has put you where you are to be a friend.
As I studied for our Sunday evening Bible study I reflected on the various odd laws that we had been reading in the previous weeks. Previously in the week Tom and I had realized that the commands at the end of I Thessalonians were all meant to counteract specific temptations that come up during trials. Because Moses was writing for the culture that would exist after moving in to the Land, the commands in Deuteronomy were each designed by Moses to counteract the temptations that beset a successful community. They are each worth meditating on.
- Give honest testimony in trials. 19:15-21
Friends want justice to rule, not
fear.
- When you’ve been attacked, offer peace
first. 20:10-11 Friends always offer friendship to others first.
- Watch out for your neighbors’
animals. 22:1-4 Friends
exercise compassion all the time.
- Don’t take a bird and her eggs. 22:6-7 Friends take the long view in their actions,
for the good of all.
- Build
a railing around your roof 22:8 Friends
protect others from their own lack of care.
- Forbid
harlotry 23:17-18 Friends don’t let other hurt themselves or sell their souls for a bowl
of soup.
- Deal with problems, fairly. Don’t let them fester. Mt. 18:15-20, John 7:24
- Offer your enemies peace if you can. Mt. 5:23-24, Mt. 18:15
- Love your neighbors, even if they are
odd and wrong in their views. Luke
10:30-37
- When you build a life or a church, avoid
future problems by building correctly from the start. Mt. 9:17, 7:15-20,
14:28-33
- Protect your weaker members with good
rules. Mt 28:19-20 (teach them my
commands)
- Repentance brings forgiveness (Luke
7:40-50), but then we keep from sin. (John 8:11; “Go, and sin no more.”
Every command in the Old Testament, and every command in every book in the New Testament, has as its basis the friendship principle. Jesus summed up the sermon on the mount with, “Treat everyone else the way you would like to be treated. You start the cycle of love.” And, Moses said in Deuteronomy, “You love the visitors among you, for you were visitors in Egypt and you were not loved.” (10:19) This week, be a friend to everyone you contact, and so fulfill the will of your heavenly Father. They need a friend, and God has put you where you are to be a friend.
19. July 2, 2015
Have you had anyone hurt you who won’t tell you they’re sorry? This is a thorny problem, isn’t it? If you hold it against them it hurts you, not them. They’re going on about their day happy as can be while you’re upset! What’s the good of that? On the other hand, if we decide to say, “Oh, that wasn’t so bad, I’ll just let it go,” you’d better really be able to do that, because if you don’t it will fester in your heart forever. I know people who have held grudges for seventy years, and those years have not been kind to them. So, hold it against them and hate them, or let it go and continue to resent them down inside where no one can see. Neither is healthy.
No one can have a healthy relationship with someone they don’t trust. The element of truth must exist between two people or they can’t be together. Confession is the speaking of truth; agreeing together on what happened. (In the Bible in the Greek, homo-logew; saying the same thing.) In a relationship it is rare that only one person is completely at fault, so it always helps to sit down and talk it through. I have had times when people flat-out denied the truth, though, so there was not much to talk about. Our relationship died. (This is what Jesus was trying to avoid in Matthew 18:15.) When this happens, or the other person moves away, or the other person dies, it is still necessary for someone to speak the truth. Gary Smalley recommends writing a letter to that person in which you express all your hurt, and what you think happened, among other things. I have done it, and it is a very healing act. Of course, the relationship cannot be healed until they speak the truth, but at least the anger is not in your own heart any more.
Both men and women refuse to do this. Women, because it brings back all the old hurts. Men, because they should be strong enough not to need such nonsense. Accordingly, there are millions of people walking around with old anger squelched deep down inside that ruins a little bit of every day for them.
Friends don’t hate. They do what their Friend God does; He stands ready to clear the past and put it all behind Him. He rejects the sin but offers grace to the sinner if only they will admit the truth. If the person who hurt you will talk, talk to them. Share how you felt when they did whatever it was. If they care about you they will listen.
But as you wait, don’t focus on your hurt, focus instead on God’s omniscience; He knows all about their sin. Focus on His omnipotence; He can protect you from further harm. Focus on His justice; He will one day punish all unrepentant people perfectly. Focus on His wisdom; He knows what that person needs, and what you need. He will act at the right time in the right way. Wait, as David said, on the Lord. He wrote about waiting for his good Friend in Psalm 27.
Have you had anyone hurt you who won’t tell you they’re sorry? This is a thorny problem, isn’t it? If you hold it against them it hurts you, not them. They’re going on about their day happy as can be while you’re upset! What’s the good of that? On the other hand, if we decide to say, “Oh, that wasn’t so bad, I’ll just let it go,” you’d better really be able to do that, because if you don’t it will fester in your heart forever. I know people who have held grudges for seventy years, and those years have not been kind to them. So, hold it against them and hate them, or let it go and continue to resent them down inside where no one can see. Neither is healthy.
No one can have a healthy relationship with someone they don’t trust. The element of truth must exist between two people or they can’t be together. Confession is the speaking of truth; agreeing together on what happened. (In the Bible in the Greek, homo-logew; saying the same thing.) In a relationship it is rare that only one person is completely at fault, so it always helps to sit down and talk it through. I have had times when people flat-out denied the truth, though, so there was not much to talk about. Our relationship died. (This is what Jesus was trying to avoid in Matthew 18:15.) When this happens, or the other person moves away, or the other person dies, it is still necessary for someone to speak the truth. Gary Smalley recommends writing a letter to that person in which you express all your hurt, and what you think happened, among other things. I have done it, and it is a very healing act. Of course, the relationship cannot be healed until they speak the truth, but at least the anger is not in your own heart any more.
Both men and women refuse to do this. Women, because it brings back all the old hurts. Men, because they should be strong enough not to need such nonsense. Accordingly, there are millions of people walking around with old anger squelched deep down inside that ruins a little bit of every day for them.
Friends don’t hate. They do what their Friend God does; He stands ready to clear the past and put it all behind Him. He rejects the sin but offers grace to the sinner if only they will admit the truth. If the person who hurt you will talk, talk to them. Share how you felt when they did whatever it was. If they care about you they will listen.
But as you wait, don’t focus on your hurt, focus instead on God’s omniscience; He knows all about their sin. Focus on His omnipotence; He can protect you from further harm. Focus on His justice; He will one day punish all unrepentant people perfectly. Focus on His wisdom; He knows what that person needs, and what you need. He will act at the right time in the right way. Wait, as David said, on the Lord. He wrote about waiting for his good Friend in Psalm 27.
20. July 13, 2015
Numbers 14:21 Then the LORD said: "I have pardoned, according to your word; but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD- ” (NKJV)
It sounds here like God’s saying, “Since you’ve shamed me I’ll make sure that I’m glorified everywhere else.” He was saying much more than that. Being a Friend, He was worried about much more than His fame. He had called Israel to set up a worship center for the whole world, and they were refusing to do that by shamefully refusing to enter the land because “He cannot protect the children.” When God thunders that His glory will be seen throughout the world it is not for His sake, but for the Gentiles’ sakes who need to hear about His salvation. He was upset, not because Israel was shaming Him, but because if they persisted in their rebellion certain Gentiles (you and I) would not hear the gospel and be saved from our sins. He was not worried about His fame, He was worried that you and I would never be born again! He was not angry because of their foolishness, He was angry over the results of it hurting seekers! Often in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, this sort of statement appears. When we say that He is only concerned about His reputation we demean Him. He is concerned about you.
Deuteronomy 10:15
“The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.” 16 “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.” (NKJV)
Allow me to paraphrase these two verses and make them one statement. “The Lord has been your good friend, so you be His good friend.” In fact, this is the general pattern of this entire book, which is important because of the nature of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is foundational to the rest of the Bible, summarizing the lessons from the first four books of the Bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Accordingly, Deuteronomy is heavily quoted throughout the Bible by Isaiah and Jesus and Paul and others. When we understand that the basic theme of Deuteronomy is “God is your friend, so you be His friends, His people’s friends, and strangers’ friends,” we should expect to find that theme everywhere else. We do, if we look for it. The first half of Ephesians is, “God has been your good friend; He has chosen you and given you all spiritual blessings.” The second half of Ephesians is, “So you be friends to each other. Don’t fight, work at getting along, love your wives, and obey your husbands.” In the doctrine of friendship that is illustrated in the first four books of the Bible and plainly stated in the fifth book of the Bible, then, we have a simple theme that explains every other passage of Scripture.
Matthew 5:3-21
The Sermon on the Mount is the constitution of the Church that Jesus created. Since Jesus was doing what Moses did, creating a new culture of love, we should not be surprised to see the same pattern in Jesus’ seminal sermon:
Acts 3:19
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out… (NKJV) To become God’s child we do not have to do a mighty work or live a righteous life. We only have to commit an act of friendship, choosing God over our sin, and turning away from the sin that offends God. All sin includes both Eve’s sin and Adam’s sin; Eve chose her desires over God, and Adam chose Eve (his desires also) over God. When Peter offered salvation from sin to Israel at Pentecost he was asking them to say, “I want God more than I want sin – in fact, I hate the sin that keeps me from God.” Remember that one of Deuteronomy’s last statements is, “You can choose God and live; it is not arduous, but easy to choose Him” (30:11-14). But John and Jesus both said the same exact thing when they began to preach, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within your grasp; just choose God!” We left God by choosing sin over Him, and we return to Him by choosing Him over sin. This is why all works-oriented theologies are wrong. Salvation is about friendship. I serve Him because I love Him, not because I have to. And He puts up with me because He wants to, not because He committed Himself to a bad job. Peter, Moses, John, and Jesus all agree; just choose God to become a Christian, and then choose Him every day to find peace as a Christian.
Numbers 14:21 Then the LORD said: "I have pardoned, according to your word; but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD- ” (NKJV)
It sounds here like God’s saying, “Since you’ve shamed me I’ll make sure that I’m glorified everywhere else.” He was saying much more than that. Being a Friend, He was worried about much more than His fame. He had called Israel to set up a worship center for the whole world, and they were refusing to do that by shamefully refusing to enter the land because “He cannot protect the children.” When God thunders that His glory will be seen throughout the world it is not for His sake, but for the Gentiles’ sakes who need to hear about His salvation. He was upset, not because Israel was shaming Him, but because if they persisted in their rebellion certain Gentiles (you and I) would not hear the gospel and be saved from our sins. He was not worried about His fame, He was worried that you and I would never be born again! He was not angry because of their foolishness, He was angry over the results of it hurting seekers! Often in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, this sort of statement appears. When we say that He is only concerned about His reputation we demean Him. He is concerned about you.
Deuteronomy 10:15
“The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.” 16 “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.” (NKJV)
Allow me to paraphrase these two verses and make them one statement. “The Lord has been your good friend, so you be His good friend.” In fact, this is the general pattern of this entire book, which is important because of the nature of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is foundational to the rest of the Bible, summarizing the lessons from the first four books of the Bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Accordingly, Deuteronomy is heavily quoted throughout the Bible by Isaiah and Jesus and Paul and others. When we understand that the basic theme of Deuteronomy is “God is your friend, so you be His friends, His people’s friends, and strangers’ friends,” we should expect to find that theme everywhere else. We do, if we look for it. The first half of Ephesians is, “God has been your good friend; He has chosen you and given you all spiritual blessings.” The second half of Ephesians is, “So you be friends to each other. Don’t fight, work at getting along, love your wives, and obey your husbands.” In the doctrine of friendship that is illustrated in the first four books of the Bible and plainly stated in the fifth book of the Bible, then, we have a simple theme that explains every other passage of Scripture.
Matthew 5:3-21
The Sermon on the Mount is the constitution of the Church that Jesus created. Since Jesus was doing what Moses did, creating a new culture of love, we should not be surprised to see the same pattern in Jesus’ seminal sermon:
- God is your friend; He offers you membership in his kingdom. 5:3-10
- God is your friend; He has a great mission for you; He wants you to
become salt and light. 5:13-16
- So, you’ll be His friend if
you keep my words, for you’ll be keeping the law as no one ever has. 5:17-20
- And, you should be His friend by loving your enemies. 5:21-26
Acts 3:19
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out… (NKJV) To become God’s child we do not have to do a mighty work or live a righteous life. We only have to commit an act of friendship, choosing God over our sin, and turning away from the sin that offends God. All sin includes both Eve’s sin and Adam’s sin; Eve chose her desires over God, and Adam chose Eve (his desires also) over God. When Peter offered salvation from sin to Israel at Pentecost he was asking them to say, “I want God more than I want sin – in fact, I hate the sin that keeps me from God.” Remember that one of Deuteronomy’s last statements is, “You can choose God and live; it is not arduous, but easy to choose Him” (30:11-14). But John and Jesus both said the same exact thing when they began to preach, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within your grasp; just choose God!” We left God by choosing sin over Him, and we return to Him by choosing Him over sin. This is why all works-oriented theologies are wrong. Salvation is about friendship. I serve Him because I love Him, not because I have to. And He puts up with me because He wants to, not because He committed Himself to a bad job. Peter, Moses, John, and Jesus all agree; just choose God to become a Christian, and then choose Him every day to find peace as a Christian.
21. July 22, 2015
The oldest written book of the Bible is Job. Moses wrote about earlier things, but he wrote 4-5 centuries after Job was composed. It is interesting that Job asks most of the big questions that the rest of the Bible answers. One that becomes a common theme throughout the Bible is, “Can you infer my relationship with God from my circumstances?”
His three friends were sure that they could, while Job said, “God is not that sort of friend, to punish you when something is not quite perfect in the relationship. I haven’t betrayed Him, and my problems are not about that.” At the end of the book God has Job sacrifice for the sins of the three men who dared to insult Him by saying that He does reward our imperfections with judgments here on earth.
One the big points of Job’s story is, then, that no matter what is going on in our lives God loves us the same as He always has. His love is unconditional. His love does not change when we fail Him.
So here’s the thing for us to make part of our thinking. Because he was poor, sick, and alone, his friends thought he was condemned by God, under wrath, and incapable of prayer or right thinking. The loss of his health, his family, and his wealth robbed him of his security, his legacy, and his reputation, so his friends thought. But God was going to do great things through Job, even during his trials. Job asked for a mediator between him and God, and God eventually sent Jesus. Job asked for a book that would explain his sin, and God eventually wrote the Bible. Job wished that God would understand his sufferings, and God became a man who died on a cross. Job wished that he could go to God and explain his issues to Him, and God cleared the way to the holy of holies for us. (Hebrews 10:19-22) So, God allowed Job’s trials so Job would call for all the things God wanted to do for us! So that He could give them in answer to a human’s prayer. Job’s suffering was not pointless!
Furthermore, consider the terrors that drove Job low. Chaldeans and Sabeans attacked, and fire and wind fell upon his family. But remember that Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees just about the same time Job was written. While Job was suffering from the Chaldeans God was calling one in order to begin the Hebrew race! Remember that the children of Abraham walked thru a wilderness accompanied by a Pillar of Fire, and that a great Wind brought Israel through the Red Sea. Remember that at Pentecost the first Christians received Fire and Wind, the Holy Spirit, to accompany them in beginning the Church. Remember also that the Church eventually embraced Gentiles to the shock of all. (Acts 10-11) So, in the first chapter of the oldest written book of the Bible we are given the outline of the Bible! God will call a Chaldean to father the Hebrews, and eventually the Holy Spirit (wind and fire) will create a church that is largely gentile. (Represented by the Sabeans.)
His friends thought Job was forsaken by God. His neighbors and enemies thought Job was forsaken by God. His wife thought he was forsaken by God. There were times he feared that he was forsaken by God. But none of that mattered. It only matters what God thinks of us. Our enemies, our friends, and even we can be completely wrong. God called Job friend, servant, and child; that’s all that matters. God asked Job to partner with Him during the hardest, bleakest hours of his life to show us what faith and love look like, to pronounce the needs of the human race, and to rebuke the notion that He will ever beat on us for our failures.
Exactly the same thing was said of Jesus. “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4 NKJV) There will be times when you and your friends wonder if God has withdrawn His blessing from you. Forget their criticism and ignore your fears, and think again on who God declares you to be, if you are indeed His child; His partner, His servant, and His friend. You are eternally His, a citizen of heaven, married to His Holy Spirit, and His personal treasure. Worship, and listen to Him, and find peace.
The oldest written book of the Bible is Job. Moses wrote about earlier things, but he wrote 4-5 centuries after Job was composed. It is interesting that Job asks most of the big questions that the rest of the Bible answers. One that becomes a common theme throughout the Bible is, “Can you infer my relationship with God from my circumstances?”
His three friends were sure that they could, while Job said, “God is not that sort of friend, to punish you when something is not quite perfect in the relationship. I haven’t betrayed Him, and my problems are not about that.” At the end of the book God has Job sacrifice for the sins of the three men who dared to insult Him by saying that He does reward our imperfections with judgments here on earth.
One the big points of Job’s story is, then, that no matter what is going on in our lives God loves us the same as He always has. His love is unconditional. His love does not change when we fail Him.
So here’s the thing for us to make part of our thinking. Because he was poor, sick, and alone, his friends thought he was condemned by God, under wrath, and incapable of prayer or right thinking. The loss of his health, his family, and his wealth robbed him of his security, his legacy, and his reputation, so his friends thought. But God was going to do great things through Job, even during his trials. Job asked for a mediator between him and God, and God eventually sent Jesus. Job asked for a book that would explain his sin, and God eventually wrote the Bible. Job wished that God would understand his sufferings, and God became a man who died on a cross. Job wished that he could go to God and explain his issues to Him, and God cleared the way to the holy of holies for us. (Hebrews 10:19-22) So, God allowed Job’s trials so Job would call for all the things God wanted to do for us! So that He could give them in answer to a human’s prayer. Job’s suffering was not pointless!
Furthermore, consider the terrors that drove Job low. Chaldeans and Sabeans attacked, and fire and wind fell upon his family. But remember that Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees just about the same time Job was written. While Job was suffering from the Chaldeans God was calling one in order to begin the Hebrew race! Remember that the children of Abraham walked thru a wilderness accompanied by a Pillar of Fire, and that a great Wind brought Israel through the Red Sea. Remember that at Pentecost the first Christians received Fire and Wind, the Holy Spirit, to accompany them in beginning the Church. Remember also that the Church eventually embraced Gentiles to the shock of all. (Acts 10-11) So, in the first chapter of the oldest written book of the Bible we are given the outline of the Bible! God will call a Chaldean to father the Hebrews, and eventually the Holy Spirit (wind and fire) will create a church that is largely gentile. (Represented by the Sabeans.)
His friends thought Job was forsaken by God. His neighbors and enemies thought Job was forsaken by God. His wife thought he was forsaken by God. There were times he feared that he was forsaken by God. But none of that mattered. It only matters what God thinks of us. Our enemies, our friends, and even we can be completely wrong. God called Job friend, servant, and child; that’s all that matters. God asked Job to partner with Him during the hardest, bleakest hours of his life to show us what faith and love look like, to pronounce the needs of the human race, and to rebuke the notion that He will ever beat on us for our failures.
Exactly the same thing was said of Jesus. “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4 NKJV) There will be times when you and your friends wonder if God has withdrawn His blessing from you. Forget their criticism and ignore your fears, and think again on who God declares you to be, if you are indeed His child; His partner, His servant, and His friend. You are eternally His, a citizen of heaven, married to His Holy Spirit, and His personal treasure. Worship, and listen to Him, and find peace.
22. July 23, 2015
God the Father said at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased. You listen to Him! He’s done everything right. He’s made good furniture and sold it for an honest price. He’s studied His Bible and knows it inside and out. He’s obeyed the parents I gave Him. He’s loved His neighbors, tho some were unlovely. I couldn’t ask for anything more. He’s great!”
But have you ever noticed what the very next event in Jesus’ life was? 40 days of starving in a wilderness, followed by the hardest temptations of his life. Your circumstances do not reflect your relationship with God. While Jesus was in the wilderness and on the cross everyone thought God hated Him, but that was not the case. In fact they were partners working to bring salvation to everyone on earth.
What hard thing are you going thru? Are you praying? If you are, do you know all the ways God is answering your prayers? God worked in the hard circumstances of Job, Abraham, Daniel, David, Hannah, Sarah, Ezra, Haggai, Jesus, and Paul, to do His amazing works. He answered their prayers in ways they never knew. He worked in their hearts in ways they never realized. Trust His wisdom, love, and power. He wants the best for everyone, He knows what needs to happen, and He can do whatever needs to be done. Partner with Him by waiting, praying, listening, and thinking, and amazing things will happen.
God the Father said at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased. You listen to Him! He’s done everything right. He’s made good furniture and sold it for an honest price. He’s studied His Bible and knows it inside and out. He’s obeyed the parents I gave Him. He’s loved His neighbors, tho some were unlovely. I couldn’t ask for anything more. He’s great!”
But have you ever noticed what the very next event in Jesus’ life was? 40 days of starving in a wilderness, followed by the hardest temptations of his life. Your circumstances do not reflect your relationship with God. While Jesus was in the wilderness and on the cross everyone thought God hated Him, but that was not the case. In fact they were partners working to bring salvation to everyone on earth.
What hard thing are you going thru? Are you praying? If you are, do you know all the ways God is answering your prayers? God worked in the hard circumstances of Job, Abraham, Daniel, David, Hannah, Sarah, Ezra, Haggai, Jesus, and Paul, to do His amazing works. He answered their prayers in ways they never knew. He worked in their hearts in ways they never realized. Trust His wisdom, love, and power. He wants the best for everyone, He knows what needs to happen, and He can do whatever needs to be done. Partner with Him by waiting, praying, listening, and thinking, and amazing things will happen.
23. September 4, 2015
I have not made any new entries for a bit, since I was busy battling the computer to get my book Your Best Friend Forever published. (Seen elsewhere on this site.) My next book will be, I think, about God’s partnering with us in our transformation into His image. This is only attractive to us, of course, if we think God is a good Person. That was the intent of this first book; to show that God is indeed a good Person. Not distant; not critical; not cruel; not dead; not a giant computer in the sky; not a Force who created us and forgot us; not aliens who transplanted us here; but a good Person who wants to be our Friend. I am willing, then, to go through the painful process of becoming like God because God is so cool.
We are not used to talking about God as if He were a person, but He is the first Person. The Father is not a human, but He is a person. He is the Creator who made all persons. A person is someone who thinks, works, wants, loves, or breathes… or will when they grow older.
It may help if we separate the office someone holds from their nature. If I say that President Washington was important, influential, and powerful, this would be true, but it would only tell us a little about him. If I tell you that he was also a cool guy, a nice person you’d like to be around, and then tell you the things that he did that were nice, I’ve changed your perception of him. Before you might have respected him but hated him; now you might wish you could have known him.
God is the Creator, but He is also cool. I like God because He does things only a good person, a friend, might do. Like:
We will continue to examine the ways our Lord, Savior, and Friend is cool, next time.
I have not made any new entries for a bit, since I was busy battling the computer to get my book Your Best Friend Forever published. (Seen elsewhere on this site.) My next book will be, I think, about God’s partnering with us in our transformation into His image. This is only attractive to us, of course, if we think God is a good Person. That was the intent of this first book; to show that God is indeed a good Person. Not distant; not critical; not cruel; not dead; not a giant computer in the sky; not a Force who created us and forgot us; not aliens who transplanted us here; but a good Person who wants to be our Friend. I am willing, then, to go through the painful process of becoming like God because God is so cool.
We are not used to talking about God as if He were a person, but He is the first Person. The Father is not a human, but He is a person. He is the Creator who made all persons. A person is someone who thinks, works, wants, loves, or breathes… or will when they grow older.
It may help if we separate the office someone holds from their nature. If I say that President Washington was important, influential, and powerful, this would be true, but it would only tell us a little about him. If I tell you that he was also a cool guy, a nice person you’d like to be around, and then tell you the things that he did that were nice, I’ve changed your perception of him. Before you might have respected him but hated him; now you might wish you could have known him.
God is the Creator, but He is also cool. I like God because He does things only a good person, a friend, might do. Like:
- Finding us when we have given up.
- Calls us to fellowship with Him, not as
equals, but as friends.
- Gave us baptism so we could feel completely
clean around Him.
- Gave us a communion table so we could
fellowship with Him.
- Gave us a church to find friends in.
- Committed to living in our hearts forever.
- Weeping over every lost sheep.
- And more!
We will continue to examine the ways our Lord, Savior, and Friend is cool, next time.
24. September 9, 2015
God does a lot of fascinating things in the Bible. There are themes that run the length of the bible that newer translations hide by not translating the words of the original texts, but interpreting the text for us and giving us a poor version of what God said. (I do not say you should not read them, but when you want to know what the original text actually said, it is good to check the KJV or the NKJV.) For instance…
Need I comment? The God who seeks us out for face to face fellowship was struck in the face. The soldiers did not dare look him in the face when they beat Jesus. The High Priest, the spiritual leader of Israel, struck Jesus on the face. In death Jesus’ face was hidden from men until the resurrection, when they saw His face again. And now, let’s consider our last batch of verses.
Bless the name of the Lord.
God does a lot of fascinating things in the Bible. There are themes that run the length of the bible that newer translations hide by not translating the words of the original texts, but interpreting the text for us and giving us a poor version of what God said. (I do not say you should not read them, but when you want to know what the original text actually said, it is good to check the KJV or the NKJV.) For instance…
- Cain was driven from the face of
men and God Genesis 4:14
- Abraham, though, was honored with a
meal face to face with God.
Genesis 18:2ff
- Rachel covered her face with a
veil, a picture repeated later of God and His bride. Gen 24:65
- Jacob the sinner was honored with seeing
God’s face Gen 32:30
- Esau the wealthy, strong brother fled
Jacob’s face Gen 36:6
- Moses fled from Pharaoh’s face Ex 2:15
- Moses hid his face from God at
the burning bush Ex 3:6
- At the Red Sea Egypt fled from the
face of Israel Ex 14:25
- God spoke with Moses face to face,
as
with a friend. Ex 33:11
(And when Moses left, Joshua stayed behind in the tabernacle to pray.)
- God sets his face against men
who sin Lev 17:10, 20:3, 26:17
- God’s face shines on those who
love Him Num 6:25
- Moses reminds Israel that God spoke
with them face to face from the mountain
Deut 5:4
- Our guardian angels behold God’s
face in heaven. Mt. 18:10
- The Sadducees and Pharisees spit in
Jesus’ face Mt 26:67
- The soldiers covered Jesus’ face as they beat Him Mk. 14:65
- The High Priest struck Jesus on the face when he asked him who He was Lk 22:64
- Jesus’ face was bound with a cloth in death
Jn 11:44
Need I comment? The God who seeks us out for face to face fellowship was struck in the face. The soldiers did not dare look him in the face when they beat Jesus. The High Priest, the spiritual leader of Israel, struck Jesus on the face. In death Jesus’ face was hidden from men until the resurrection, when they saw His face again. And now, let’s consider our last batch of verses.
- Now we see Jesus as thru a glass,
darkly; but then face to face I
Cor 13:12
- We will see God face to face,
for we shall be like Him I John 3:2
- I hope to see you face to face II Jn 12, III Jn 14
- Jesus will present us faultless
before the presence of God’s glory (face
to face) Jude 24
- We will see Him face to face for
eternity, for we will be as holy as He is!!!
Rev 22:4
Bless the name of the Lord.
25. September 25, 2015
In our church we have three people (that I know of) who have terminal illnesses. Fortunately, all three have their disease under control, but it has to be hard waiting for your doctor to say, “Things have turned. Your time is up.”
Paul wrote at least one of his letters under this same burden. In II Timothy he tells his younger friend that he is about to be executed any day now, but he has peace. Why? Because he has a cool God.
He says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (1:7) Then he tells us how we can live without a spirit of fear. “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His.’” (2:19) What is the solid foundation? “…God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began… (1:8-9)
The foundation of our life, even when we are told we’re dying, especially when we are told we’re dying, is that God has saved us, not by our works, but because He wanted us. The seal of our salvation that lets us sleep at night is, “And He knows who His kids are!” (And, He knows where we are. Indeed, if we are sick it is because He has allowed it for a high, great purpose that we might not understand until we see Him.)
If we know that He has already saved us because He wanted to; if we know that He knows who we are, and where we are; if we know that all things work together for our good, for His purpose; then we can live in peace while we wait to die. And, really, no matter our physical condition, that is what we are all doing, right? An old movie said, “We are all on furlough from death.” We were dead, and we will be dead, so this is just a short reprieve. Ah, but you and I are all on furlough from heaven, are we not? This life is just a short absence from our Father and loved ones. Some of us are just closer to seeing them than others. So, let us use our days as Paul did:
And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! (2 Timothy 4:18)
In our church we have three people (that I know of) who have terminal illnesses. Fortunately, all three have their disease under control, but it has to be hard waiting for your doctor to say, “Things have turned. Your time is up.”
Paul wrote at least one of his letters under this same burden. In II Timothy he tells his younger friend that he is about to be executed any day now, but he has peace. Why? Because he has a cool God.
He says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (1:7) Then he tells us how we can live without a spirit of fear. “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His.’” (2:19) What is the solid foundation? “…God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began… (1:8-9)
The foundation of our life, even when we are told we’re dying, especially when we are told we’re dying, is that God has saved us, not by our works, but because He wanted us. The seal of our salvation that lets us sleep at night is, “And He knows who His kids are!” (And, He knows where we are. Indeed, if we are sick it is because He has allowed it for a high, great purpose that we might not understand until we see Him.)
If we know that He has already saved us because He wanted to; if we know that He knows who we are, and where we are; if we know that all things work together for our good, for His purpose; then we can live in peace while we wait to die. And, really, no matter our physical condition, that is what we are all doing, right? An old movie said, “We are all on furlough from death.” We were dead, and we will be dead, so this is just a short reprieve. Ah, but you and I are all on furlough from heaven, are we not? This life is just a short absence from our Father and loved ones. Some of us are just closer to seeing them than others. So, let us use our days as Paul did:
And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! (2 Timothy 4:18)
27. October 4, 2015
In the recent shootings we find ourselves asking ourselves again, “If God loved those Christians in Oregon, why did He let them die?” The Bible shows us many examples of God letting people die too early, to bless them.
None of these people sought death or wanted to die, but all of them ended up blessing the Lord for their death when they got to heaven. And that is the real criteria for judging a friend; not how it looks like his action will feel, but how it turns out, and what his real motive was.
We can never know why each of those Christians in Oregon died, and how they were actually blessed by their early death. Only God knows that. All we know, and all we can know, is that God our Friend holds all of our lives in His hands, and He alone knows when it is best for us to join Him in eternal life.
When Jesus called the 12,and you and me to follow Him, He meant for our whole life. That is what we have done, and must do, daily. The time and manner of my passing is in my good Friend's hands, and I trust Him to do it right.
In the recent shootings we find ourselves asking ourselves again, “If God loved those Christians in Oregon, why did He let them die?” The Bible shows us many examples of God letting people die too early, to bless them.
- He let Jeroboam’s child die because he was a good kid; He did not want him going thru the family destruction. I Kings 14:13
- He was going to let Hezekiah die at age 38; Hezekiah cried; God relented; and Hezekiah gave birth to Manasseh the monster.God did not want Hezekiah to ruin his legacy by living too long and doing a wrong thing, but Hezekiah insisted.
- He let Samson redeem a nasty life by dying a noble death at age 40.
- He let Jesus die at age 33 to accomplish a great purpose, the redemption of mankind.
- He let James die at age 33 to show how a believer in Jesus’ resurrection faces death.
- He let Abel die a young man to testify to his faith in the coming Messiah.
- He let Stephen die a young man to demonstrate that the church was producing men and women just like Jesus.
- He let Zechariah the prophet die at the hands of King Joash to demonstrate that some people still followed YH, believing in Him to the death, valuing Him more than life.
- He let Paul die at age 60 to put the stamp of belief on all that he had written, said, preached, and lived.
- He let Peter die, crucified, to vindicate himself, by proving that he really did love Jesus more than his life (as he said earlier when he told Jesus he would never deny Him).
- He let Matthew be martyred, as a thanks to Jesus for saving him from a living death of lying, cheating, and betraying his nation.
- And all the rest of the apostles, for various reasons we can only imagine.
None of these people sought death or wanted to die, but all of them ended up blessing the Lord for their death when they got to heaven. And that is the real criteria for judging a friend; not how it looks like his action will feel, but how it turns out, and what his real motive was.
We can never know why each of those Christians in Oregon died, and how they were actually blessed by their early death. Only God knows that. All we know, and all we can know, is that God our Friend holds all of our lives in His hands, and He alone knows when it is best for us to join Him in eternal life.
When Jesus called the 12,and you and me to follow Him, He meant for our whole life. That is what we have done, and must do, daily. The time and manner of my passing is in my good Friend's hands, and I trust Him to do it right.
28. October 9, 2015
There are several passages in the Bible that focus on the friendship God has with us. One of the most important is the book of Deuteronomy, the cornerstone of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Jesus built on this concept in His teachings, though the language and circumstances might keep us from seeing it.
In John 15 He told his disciples that they were His friends. He would not call them servants, He said, because He had told them all that the Father had shown Him. You don’t fill servants in on the Big Ideas, He said, you just tell them what to do. He envisioned a much higher relationship with us than that. He told them in this chapter:
Moses lived in the word, loved God and Israel enough to stand up to Pharaoh, and was willing to die to save Israel from their punishment for the calf. (Exodus 32:32) By demonstrating a heart of love he glorified the Father, saying with his life and lips that He was a good God who did good things in people’s hearts.
David lived in the word, learning what was already there and adding to it as Moses did. He paid a heavy price for his people during the years King Saul tried to kill him, but loved them and the Lord every day. By enduring, forgiving, loving, and sacrificing, he glorified God with his life and his lips. (Psalm 21)
Who do you know who glorifies God with their sacrifice and love? Do the people around you have anyone to watch do that? Do they have any living examples of holiness (love) to follow to God? You can be that example. It only takes a choice.
There are several passages in the Bible that focus on the friendship God has with us. One of the most important is the book of Deuteronomy, the cornerstone of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Jesus built on this concept in His teachings, though the language and circumstances might keep us from seeing it.
In John 15 He told his disciples that they were His friends. He would not call them servants, He said, because He had told them all that the Father had shown Him. You don’t fill servants in on the Big Ideas, He said, you just tell them what to do. He envisioned a much higher relationship with us than that. He told them in this chapter:
- 15:7 If you live in me, and if my words live in you, you can ask anything and it will be done for you… since we are such good friends your desires will line up with His desires, and He will be happy to answer your prayers.
- 15:10 If you keep my commandments (notice that Jesus does give commands) you will live in my love… because all of His commands are to love. See verse 17.
- 15:11 Obeying His commands to love always fulfills His purpose in us, which is to bring us joy! Love always brings joy. It is sin and selfishness that taint love.
- 15:13 If we love we’ll do what Jesus did for us; die for each other. Daily we don’t perish, but we must deny our desires and please our friends if we’re to make them feel loved. Any friendship will require some sacrifice at some point. The thing is, we won’t mind.
- 15:8 When we live in Christ, and live in His word, and love each other sacrificially, then we’ll glorify God… Because His wonderful program of transformation is working in our lives, healing us and healing others!
Moses lived in the word, loved God and Israel enough to stand up to Pharaoh, and was willing to die to save Israel from their punishment for the calf. (Exodus 32:32) By demonstrating a heart of love he glorified the Father, saying with his life and lips that He was a good God who did good things in people’s hearts.
David lived in the word, learning what was already there and adding to it as Moses did. He paid a heavy price for his people during the years King Saul tried to kill him, but loved them and the Lord every day. By enduring, forgiving, loving, and sacrificing, he glorified God with his life and his lips. (Psalm 21)
Who do you know who glorifies God with their sacrifice and love? Do the people around you have anyone to watch do that? Do they have any living examples of holiness (love) to follow to God? You can be that example. It only takes a choice.
29. October 15, 2015
“It is eleven days journey to Kadesh Barnea from Mount Horeb.” Of course, it took much longer than that. Forty years of sitting. People dying. Depression. Frustration. Rebellions, like Korah’s.
Before we scorn Israel, though, we need to realize how long it takes us to learn anything, or to get where we are supposed to be. I am slow to learn a lesson, and often have to learn it several times before it is part of my thinking. How quickly could we achieve peace in our marriage if we learned the lesson God had for us the first time we quarreled? How much faster would my church heal and grow if I learned quickly what God wanted me to know? Maybe I need to work harder at listening, instead of worrying or grumbling. (Like Israel.)
But even the wilderness was, in the end, a gift from God. They had forty years to recover from slavery. Forty years to raise a generation that had never known slavery. Forty years to read Genesis and Leviticus, and think about the covenants, the patriarchs, and God’s faithfulness. Forty years to reset their relationships on the foundation of love, not fear. Forty years to eat God’s superfood, manna, and grow tall and strong. Forty years to learn indelibly the fact that God was with them in the Pillar, did provide water and food for them and their livestock, and would keep all His promises to them in a harsh land. Indeed, the forty years was a blessed time of fellowship! Listen to how God describes the forty years:
"Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the LORD, the firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; disaster will come upon them," says the LORD.' " Jeremiah 2:2-3 (NKJV)
After Korah’s rebellion there were only two rebellious incidents, and then their graduation exam. In Numbers 21:17-18 they came to a place with no water, but they did not complain. They sang and dug! And so Jeremiah’s book of judgment on Israel begins with this caveat; God remembers the time of His betrothal with Israel in the wilderness, and will blast the people who hurt Israel in Jeremiah’s day. (For the memory of that great love that He shared with Israel in the wilderness.)
So, what seems like it must have been horror was actually a close time of fellowship. This is true of our trials today. It is during trials, not easy times, that we draw more closely to our Father/Friend, leaning on His arm, whispering in His ear our sorrows.
“It is eleven days journey to Kadesh Barnea from Mount Horeb.” Of course, it took much longer than that. Forty years of sitting. People dying. Depression. Frustration. Rebellions, like Korah’s.
Before we scorn Israel, though, we need to realize how long it takes us to learn anything, or to get where we are supposed to be. I am slow to learn a lesson, and often have to learn it several times before it is part of my thinking. How quickly could we achieve peace in our marriage if we learned the lesson God had for us the first time we quarreled? How much faster would my church heal and grow if I learned quickly what God wanted me to know? Maybe I need to work harder at listening, instead of worrying or grumbling. (Like Israel.)
But even the wilderness was, in the end, a gift from God. They had forty years to recover from slavery. Forty years to raise a generation that had never known slavery. Forty years to read Genesis and Leviticus, and think about the covenants, the patriarchs, and God’s faithfulness. Forty years to reset their relationships on the foundation of love, not fear. Forty years to eat God’s superfood, manna, and grow tall and strong. Forty years to learn indelibly the fact that God was with them in the Pillar, did provide water and food for them and their livestock, and would keep all His promises to them in a harsh land. Indeed, the forty years was a blessed time of fellowship! Listen to how God describes the forty years:
"Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the LORD, the firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; disaster will come upon them," says the LORD.' " Jeremiah 2:2-3 (NKJV)
After Korah’s rebellion there were only two rebellious incidents, and then their graduation exam. In Numbers 21:17-18 they came to a place with no water, but they did not complain. They sang and dug! And so Jeremiah’s book of judgment on Israel begins with this caveat; God remembers the time of His betrothal with Israel in the wilderness, and will blast the people who hurt Israel in Jeremiah’s day. (For the memory of that great love that He shared with Israel in the wilderness.)
So, what seems like it must have been horror was actually a close time of fellowship. This is true of our trials today. It is during trials, not easy times, that we draw more closely to our Father/Friend, leaning on His arm, whispering in His ear our sorrows.
30. October 27, 2015
Monday I was driving home from the Pigeon River country after looking for deer sign, always a good workout and a recovery day from the stress of Sunday. A driver going by flagged me down. When I stopped he asked me if I knew where a bridge was on the Pigeon River. I told him there were two in the area. He showed me a map a girl had given him who was canoeing (depending on him for a ride out), on which she had drawn directions to a bridge I knew. I told him, “You go down here until you come to a sign that you won’t see, turn right and go past a lake that you won’t see, and then keep going too far and you will come to the bridge, if that’s the right one.” As soon as I said it I realized he might not find it, and he was the only way this girl and her friend had to get out of a wilderness before morning. So, I led him to the bridge. She was not there. He said, “She left at 3:00 and it is now 6:00. I’ll bet she just hasn’t had time to make it this far yet.” Well, that could be a problem since it gets very dark at 7:00 and if she miscalculated she’ll be canoeing in the dark in a swamp, unable to tell the water from the land. If either has fallen in they’ll be extremely cold since it gets down to 35 degrees at night this time of year. They can’t walk out if they lose the canoe or it gets pinned against a log by water pressure, since it’s miles through a swamp and a forest in any direction, in the dark, without a compass. If there are 100 logs lying across the stream (which does happen) they will have to keep jumping out of the canoe to lift it over them, a very cold, tiring process. Also, they asked a man who had never been to the pickup point to get them home. (If he had not met me he would not have found it.) They left late in the afternoon, leaving themselves no leeway for accidents or problems, in a wilderness area. What a crazy endeavor!
I told their driver that he should not continue in the direction that we came in since loggers had destroyed the road 10 miles ahead of us and he replied, “I’m glad you told me that, because I’m almost out of gas.” (!!!)
Ah, but isn’t everyone who has no Bible just like those girls? People who don’t know their Bible have no light by which to judge the world around them; have no compass to tell them how to get out of the swamp they’re in; have a short time to figure stuff out before the darkness falls; and have no one waiting at the bridge to take them home. Most of them don’t even know there is a bridge, or someone they can ask for help. Take pity on the poor folk around you today who really, really need light in their lives.
Monday I was driving home from the Pigeon River country after looking for deer sign, always a good workout and a recovery day from the stress of Sunday. A driver going by flagged me down. When I stopped he asked me if I knew where a bridge was on the Pigeon River. I told him there were two in the area. He showed me a map a girl had given him who was canoeing (depending on him for a ride out), on which she had drawn directions to a bridge I knew. I told him, “You go down here until you come to a sign that you won’t see, turn right and go past a lake that you won’t see, and then keep going too far and you will come to the bridge, if that’s the right one.” As soon as I said it I realized he might not find it, and he was the only way this girl and her friend had to get out of a wilderness before morning. So, I led him to the bridge. She was not there. He said, “She left at 3:00 and it is now 6:00. I’ll bet she just hasn’t had time to make it this far yet.” Well, that could be a problem since it gets very dark at 7:00 and if she miscalculated she’ll be canoeing in the dark in a swamp, unable to tell the water from the land. If either has fallen in they’ll be extremely cold since it gets down to 35 degrees at night this time of year. They can’t walk out if they lose the canoe or it gets pinned against a log by water pressure, since it’s miles through a swamp and a forest in any direction, in the dark, without a compass. If there are 100 logs lying across the stream (which does happen) they will have to keep jumping out of the canoe to lift it over them, a very cold, tiring process. Also, they asked a man who had never been to the pickup point to get them home. (If he had not met me he would not have found it.) They left late in the afternoon, leaving themselves no leeway for accidents or problems, in a wilderness area. What a crazy endeavor!
I told their driver that he should not continue in the direction that we came in since loggers had destroyed the road 10 miles ahead of us and he replied, “I’m glad you told me that, because I’m almost out of gas.” (!!!)
Ah, but isn’t everyone who has no Bible just like those girls? People who don’t know their Bible have no light by which to judge the world around them; have no compass to tell them how to get out of the swamp they’re in; have a short time to figure stuff out before the darkness falls; and have no one waiting at the bridge to take them home. Most of them don’t even know there is a bridge, or someone they can ask for help. Take pity on the poor folk around you today who really, really need light in their lives.
31. November 13, 2015
“That was also regarded as a land of giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day.
Deuteronomy 2:20-22
In just a few words Moses throws the failure of Israel to enter the Promised Land from Kadesh Barnea into a new light. The events of the passage above happened during the life of Abraham, the relative of Lot, who was the father of the Ammonites. Esau was Abraham’s grandson, and he took the land of Seir long before Joseph his nephew was taken to Egypt. After the family of Joseph went to Egypt, there was another 400 years of slavery. Now, I say all of that to say this; when Israel balked at fighting giants to win the land of Canaan (Numbers 14), they already had the example of unbelievers who had already done the same thing. As they wept the night after the spies’ report they were blown away by a task others had already done! God was not asking them to attempt a crazy thing never done before, but to follow Him in something He’d already helped others do.
(If anyone deserved to lose their land and their lives it was the giants. There are biblical indications that they were magicians as well as warriors.)
In our lifetime God will call us to do hard things. If we follow Him in doing them we will feel a great sense of accomplishment, and if God really did call us to do them, we will also have helped people. When we consider rebuilding a marriage, or healing a church, or starting a business, or taking on a ministry, or calling our wayward children back to Him, then, we need only look around us to find examples of others whom God has already helped. If He was there for them He will be there for us. If He forgave them, He can forgive us. If He can use them, He can use us. Someone in your church has already gone through what you are facing. Talk to them, and hear of the Lord’s faithfulness, and follow Him.
“That was also regarded as a land of giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day.
Deuteronomy 2:20-22
In just a few words Moses throws the failure of Israel to enter the Promised Land from Kadesh Barnea into a new light. The events of the passage above happened during the life of Abraham, the relative of Lot, who was the father of the Ammonites. Esau was Abraham’s grandson, and he took the land of Seir long before Joseph his nephew was taken to Egypt. After the family of Joseph went to Egypt, there was another 400 years of slavery. Now, I say all of that to say this; when Israel balked at fighting giants to win the land of Canaan (Numbers 14), they already had the example of unbelievers who had already done the same thing. As they wept the night after the spies’ report they were blown away by a task others had already done! God was not asking them to attempt a crazy thing never done before, but to follow Him in something He’d already helped others do.
(If anyone deserved to lose their land and their lives it was the giants. There are biblical indications that they were magicians as well as warriors.)
In our lifetime God will call us to do hard things. If we follow Him in doing them we will feel a great sense of accomplishment, and if God really did call us to do them, we will also have helped people. When we consider rebuilding a marriage, or healing a church, or starting a business, or taking on a ministry, or calling our wayward children back to Him, then, we need only look around us to find examples of others whom God has already helped. If He was there for them He will be there for us. If He forgave them, He can forgive us. If He can use them, He can use us. Someone in your church has already gone through what you are facing. Talk to them, and hear of the Lord’s faithfulness, and follow Him.
32. November 25, 2015
This morning I was working through Genesis with a new believer. When we stopped I asked him if he had any thoughts so far, and he said, “I keep thinking about that rainbow.” Well, let’s think about the rainbow for a moment.
Today’s modern crossbows and compound bows are always bent, but that is not the case with ancient models. They are basically straight sticks. To make them usable you put them between your legs, loop one end of the string around your bow, bend the bow between your legs, and loop the other end of the string on the bow. (There are grooves that hold the string in place.) Then you can put an arrow on the string, pull the bow even further, aim, and release.
If the rain-bow is bent, then, it is drawn and ready to fire. The truth is that we deserve judgment, and God will judge us. But His judgment is deferred, as He shows the world grace that it does not deserve. (God’s real glory, grace and truth. John 1:14) The bent bow in the clouds is both a thing of fear and blessing, as it reminds us that judgment will happen, but we have this day to seek Him, to help others find Him, and to worship. The rain-bow is not a promise of unlimited days, but of this moment only.
But more; God did not make the bow monochrome, but multi-hued for us. Its beauties are never-ending, as its spectrum is displayed. Within that spectrum is every glorious color we can delight in. As we delight in those hues, we must remember that it is a picture of the spectrum of His grace to us. The beauty of grace (God finding sinners beautiful) can be seen in its many variations: compassion, empathy, patience, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. The person who reads their Bible could do a lot worse than to look for all the variations of grace within its stories and statements. God’s patience with Hezekiah; His mercy to Paul; His forgiveness for Peter; His longsuffering with Israel; His dreams for Moses. And oh, the glories of His gracious patience with me! As I take too long to learn anything, and take steps backwards, and cherish my hurts, and mourn the loss of my (small) dreams, and get upset with others, and want silly things. Think on the beauty of the rain-bow, find a color you love, and say, “That is the color of God’s compassion for me.”
This morning I was working through Genesis with a new believer. When we stopped I asked him if he had any thoughts so far, and he said, “I keep thinking about that rainbow.” Well, let’s think about the rainbow for a moment.
Today’s modern crossbows and compound bows are always bent, but that is not the case with ancient models. They are basically straight sticks. To make them usable you put them between your legs, loop one end of the string around your bow, bend the bow between your legs, and loop the other end of the string on the bow. (There are grooves that hold the string in place.) Then you can put an arrow on the string, pull the bow even further, aim, and release.
If the rain-bow is bent, then, it is drawn and ready to fire. The truth is that we deserve judgment, and God will judge us. But His judgment is deferred, as He shows the world grace that it does not deserve. (God’s real glory, grace and truth. John 1:14) The bent bow in the clouds is both a thing of fear and blessing, as it reminds us that judgment will happen, but we have this day to seek Him, to help others find Him, and to worship. The rain-bow is not a promise of unlimited days, but of this moment only.
But more; God did not make the bow monochrome, but multi-hued for us. Its beauties are never-ending, as its spectrum is displayed. Within that spectrum is every glorious color we can delight in. As we delight in those hues, we must remember that it is a picture of the spectrum of His grace to us. The beauty of grace (God finding sinners beautiful) can be seen in its many variations: compassion, empathy, patience, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. The person who reads their Bible could do a lot worse than to look for all the variations of grace within its stories and statements. God’s patience with Hezekiah; His mercy to Paul; His forgiveness for Peter; His longsuffering with Israel; His dreams for Moses. And oh, the glories of His gracious patience with me! As I take too long to learn anything, and take steps backwards, and cherish my hurts, and mourn the loss of my (small) dreams, and get upset with others, and want silly things. Think on the beauty of the rain-bow, find a color you love, and say, “That is the color of God’s compassion for me.”
33. December 13, 2015
The Bible is an amazing book. So many authors from so many backgrounds, and yet some overarching themes run through every book. Grace. Judgment. Mercy. Holiness. Sin. Punishment. Patience. Loyalty.Though Daniel and Paul might not be able to enjoy the same meal together (or perhaps they could; perhaps Daniel matured in his views to one day agree with Paul), every author had the same grand concept of the same magnificent God. The God who was loyal, but merciful to those who wandered. Holy, but patient with those who tried Him. In the end of the End of the Bible, Revelation, John sums up with an invitation; Come. Making the book of Revelation in essence a tract! This is what will happen if you don’t repent. This is what will happen if you do. So come.
But come to what? To the holy city, the city of light and golden streets, the city of purity and love, the eternal city, the city that will never see a tear?
No. To the Isle of Patmos. John is on a desert island, imprisoned for knowing Jesus. On Sunday evenings we’ve been studying the concept, “My circumstances do not define me.” That was most certainly true of John. He was not a hopeless prisoner, he was an eternal citizen of the City of Light. John was calling people to join him in the hard circumstances that following Jesus can bring, knowing that Patmos is only part of the road to God and His city. The Holy City lies just on the other side of that Hill of Problems. Let’s join John in the testimony of Jesus, accepting the Patmos that lies in our path, so we may one day find ourselves in the City of Light… as our Friend has wanted all along.
How bold to call me to suffering! But John was sure that I would be, in the end, pleased with the result.
The Bible is an amazing book. So many authors from so many backgrounds, and yet some overarching themes run through every book. Grace. Judgment. Mercy. Holiness. Sin. Punishment. Patience. Loyalty.Though Daniel and Paul might not be able to enjoy the same meal together (or perhaps they could; perhaps Daniel matured in his views to one day agree with Paul), every author had the same grand concept of the same magnificent God. The God who was loyal, but merciful to those who wandered. Holy, but patient with those who tried Him. In the end of the End of the Bible, Revelation, John sums up with an invitation; Come. Making the book of Revelation in essence a tract! This is what will happen if you don’t repent. This is what will happen if you do. So come.
But come to what? To the holy city, the city of light and golden streets, the city of purity and love, the eternal city, the city that will never see a tear?
No. To the Isle of Patmos. John is on a desert island, imprisoned for knowing Jesus. On Sunday evenings we’ve been studying the concept, “My circumstances do not define me.” That was most certainly true of John. He was not a hopeless prisoner, he was an eternal citizen of the City of Light. John was calling people to join him in the hard circumstances that following Jesus can bring, knowing that Patmos is only part of the road to God and His city. The Holy City lies just on the other side of that Hill of Problems. Let’s join John in the testimony of Jesus, accepting the Patmos that lies in our path, so we may one day find ourselves in the City of Light… as our Friend has wanted all along.
How bold to call me to suffering! But John was sure that I would be, in the end, pleased with the result.
34. December 18, 2015
(excerpt from a letter sent to a young friend in prison)
I thought I’d share with you the basics of what we’ve been studying Sunday evenings. My basic theme is, “Our circumstances do not define us.”
Daniel was not a captive, tho he thought so and Babylon thought so. God had designed for him to be a “light to the Gentiles” in that country, bringing glory to the Creator, encouraging his fellow Israelites, and letting God demonstrate thru him that He was the only God.
Moses went from condemned infant to prince of Egypt to useless Midianite shepherd to foolish prophet to leader of a new nation. Through it all, of course, he was called by God to lead his people out of slavery, to write the foundation of the Bible, to create a new culture, and to speak for God. His fantastic missions required a man that was supremely educated but supremely humble, so God let him experience both the highs and lows of this world so he could eventually brush all that aside and just be God’s friend/servant.
Paul experienced highs and lows as well, of course. From proud Pharisee to banished baby believer to church planter to author of Scripture to prisoner in Rome. He was finally able to say, “In whatever state I find myself in, I am content.”
The world was wrong when it thought the 3 boys were fools, when it thought Jeremiah was helpless, when it thought John was safely hid away on Patmos, when it thought Israel was lost in the wilderness, when it thought Jesus was safe in the grave, when it thought the church would slink away after his death, when it thought Lazarus was beyond hope. God may allow circumstances, but our definition is always far above our circumstances, even if they are exalted or pleasant. The world cannot exalt us or please us more than God, ever, but our circumstances (good or ill) can distract us from who we really are in Christ.
In Christ we are sons of God (Romans 8:14-17), friends of God (I Cor. 1:9), transformed by God (II Cor 3:18), delivered by God (Galatians 1:4), chosen warriors of God (Ephesians 1:4, 6:11), the workmanship of God (Philippians 1:6), completed in Christ (Colossians 2:10), God’s sermon to all (I Thessalonians 1:8), lovers of men and God (II Thess 1:3-4), given a trust by God (I Tim 1:11,6:20), powerful, wise lovers with God (II Tim 1:7), teachers of God’s truth (Titus 2:1), equal brothers in Christ (Philemon 1), outside the camp with Jesus (Hebrews 13:13), the patient wise who belong to God (James 1:4-5), the kept by God (I Peter 1:5), partakers of God’s nature (II Peter 1:4), little children of God (I John 2:1,12, etc), people of God’s truth (II John 1-2,4), the committed on God’s side (3,11), preserved by God, delivered by Jesus to God (Jude 1,24), God’s Conquerors (Revelation 2:7, 22:1-5). God wants us to read these letters and know how He defines us.
Every book of the Bible was written to people who were in a hard place by people who had gone thru hard times. The three worst events in the Bible that caused the worst circumstances for people also caused the most wonderful books of the Bible to be written: slavery in Egypt (the Pentateuch), captivity in Babylon (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah, etc), and the death of Jesus (the gospels, Acts, and every NT letter).
One theme of every book, letter, poem, proverb, psalm, doctrine, and event of the Bible is that while we may not enjoy our circumstances, they do not define us.
God alone defines us. He calls us beloved, servant, child, and friend. When we take His definition of us for our own, we will have renewed our thinking (Romans 12:2), given up our old way of thinking (Romans 12:1), and we will be transformed to be just like Him. (II Cor. 3:18, Mt. 17) His blessed mission is to help us become full of truth and grace like He is. What a wonderful friend.
(excerpt from a letter sent to a young friend in prison)
I thought I’d share with you the basics of what we’ve been studying Sunday evenings. My basic theme is, “Our circumstances do not define us.”
Daniel was not a captive, tho he thought so and Babylon thought so. God had designed for him to be a “light to the Gentiles” in that country, bringing glory to the Creator, encouraging his fellow Israelites, and letting God demonstrate thru him that He was the only God.
Moses went from condemned infant to prince of Egypt to useless Midianite shepherd to foolish prophet to leader of a new nation. Through it all, of course, he was called by God to lead his people out of slavery, to write the foundation of the Bible, to create a new culture, and to speak for God. His fantastic missions required a man that was supremely educated but supremely humble, so God let him experience both the highs and lows of this world so he could eventually brush all that aside and just be God’s friend/servant.
Paul experienced highs and lows as well, of course. From proud Pharisee to banished baby believer to church planter to author of Scripture to prisoner in Rome. He was finally able to say, “In whatever state I find myself in, I am content.”
The world was wrong when it thought the 3 boys were fools, when it thought Jeremiah was helpless, when it thought John was safely hid away on Patmos, when it thought Israel was lost in the wilderness, when it thought Jesus was safe in the grave, when it thought the church would slink away after his death, when it thought Lazarus was beyond hope. God may allow circumstances, but our definition is always far above our circumstances, even if they are exalted or pleasant. The world cannot exalt us or please us more than God, ever, but our circumstances (good or ill) can distract us from who we really are in Christ.
In Christ we are sons of God (Romans 8:14-17), friends of God (I Cor. 1:9), transformed by God (II Cor 3:18), delivered by God (Galatians 1:4), chosen warriors of God (Ephesians 1:4, 6:11), the workmanship of God (Philippians 1:6), completed in Christ (Colossians 2:10), God’s sermon to all (I Thessalonians 1:8), lovers of men and God (II Thess 1:3-4), given a trust by God (I Tim 1:11,6:20), powerful, wise lovers with God (II Tim 1:7), teachers of God’s truth (Titus 2:1), equal brothers in Christ (Philemon 1), outside the camp with Jesus (Hebrews 13:13), the patient wise who belong to God (James 1:4-5), the kept by God (I Peter 1:5), partakers of God’s nature (II Peter 1:4), little children of God (I John 2:1,12, etc), people of God’s truth (II John 1-2,4), the committed on God’s side (3,11), preserved by God, delivered by Jesus to God (Jude 1,24), God’s Conquerors (Revelation 2:7, 22:1-5). God wants us to read these letters and know how He defines us.
Every book of the Bible was written to people who were in a hard place by people who had gone thru hard times. The three worst events in the Bible that caused the worst circumstances for people also caused the most wonderful books of the Bible to be written: slavery in Egypt (the Pentateuch), captivity in Babylon (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah, etc), and the death of Jesus (the gospels, Acts, and every NT letter).
One theme of every book, letter, poem, proverb, psalm, doctrine, and event of the Bible is that while we may not enjoy our circumstances, they do not define us.
God alone defines us. He calls us beloved, servant, child, and friend. When we take His definition of us for our own, we will have renewed our thinking (Romans 12:2), given up our old way of thinking (Romans 12:1), and we will be transformed to be just like Him. (II Cor. 3:18, Mt. 17) His blessed mission is to help us become full of truth and grace like He is. What a wonderful friend.
34. January 1, 2016
To announce Jesus’ birth the angel told the shepherds, “Unto you is born this day a savior.”
This Greek word means to make something safe. In Galatians Paul expanded on this concept of Jesus, saying, “…our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age..” (Galatians 1:3-4) In the Greek“deliver” means to rescue. Sometimes brave men go into hostile territory to rescue a friend; that is this word. Jesus entered this hostile world for us and delivered us from all its evils.
Every section of Galatians, then, is about something Jesus delivered us from. For example, He delivered us from wrong doctrine and false teachers when He gave us the one true gospel. (1:6-9) We are not slaves to legalism or license; He rescued us from that! We do not need to keep a denomination’s rules to be His child; He rescued us from that!
In the next section Paul describes his awful former life (1:13) that Jesus personally delivered him from. I was born again when I was a child, so I can only imagine what I’d have been without Jesus, but I’m enough of a sinner to know it would not have been good. Can you imagine your life without Jesus? If you’re not yet a believer, Galatians was written so you too could understand how Christ can make you free.
In 5:19-21 Paul reminded us of all the activities and desires that we used to be slaves to, but then he listed the wonderful things we can fill our lives with now; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If you are not yet a believer, you can’t understand the blessedness that lies in this list.
The overall idea of this book is that we’re now free of all the worldly elements of our hearts that used to drive us. (5:1) But what is it exactly that frees us from the world’s loves, priorities, dreams, and lusts? The knowledge of the love of God.
If I know that God my Friend loves me so much that He will avenge all of my hurts, then I am freed from holding grudges and keeping a list. I am free to let Him do whatever needs to be done.
If I know that God my Friend loves me so much that He watches over me all day long, I don’t have to fear the dark, pills, disease, gossip, poverty, war, or any other awful thing. I can live free from all fears.
If I know that God my Friend loves me, I can be sure that He will get me to His side when I pass away. Death will be an inconvenience for others, not a horror for me. So death, where is your sting? I am freed from your terror!
If I know that God my Friend loves me, I am freed to share what I have with others.
If I know that God my Friend loves me, I am freed to go anywhere, say anything, brave any danger, annoy any king, witness to any person.
If I know that God my Friend loves me so much that His Son would die for me, then I am freed from all guilt, all shame, all sorrow for my past sins. How could Paul heal from the awful things he did? By first believing that His Friend forgave Him, but also that He was a loyal Friend to those believers Paul had killed. God was their Friend too, so Paul could rest in His loyalty to those innocents.
Jesus said, “I will make you free indeed.” Galatians points us to the good Friend who wants us free from every shackle. 2016 can be the year you drop your chains. Read the Bible again, not for information, but asking yourself on every page, “What does this story/psalm/letter tell me about God’s love?” And you’ll feel yourself becoming free.
To announce Jesus’ birth the angel told the shepherds, “Unto you is born this day a savior.”
This Greek word means to make something safe. In Galatians Paul expanded on this concept of Jesus, saying, “…our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age..” (Galatians 1:3-4) In the Greek“deliver” means to rescue. Sometimes brave men go into hostile territory to rescue a friend; that is this word. Jesus entered this hostile world for us and delivered us from all its evils.
Every section of Galatians, then, is about something Jesus delivered us from. For example, He delivered us from wrong doctrine and false teachers when He gave us the one true gospel. (1:6-9) We are not slaves to legalism or license; He rescued us from that! We do not need to keep a denomination’s rules to be His child; He rescued us from that!
In the next section Paul describes his awful former life (1:13) that Jesus personally delivered him from. I was born again when I was a child, so I can only imagine what I’d have been without Jesus, but I’m enough of a sinner to know it would not have been good. Can you imagine your life without Jesus? If you’re not yet a believer, Galatians was written so you too could understand how Christ can make you free.
In 5:19-21 Paul reminded us of all the activities and desires that we used to be slaves to, but then he listed the wonderful things we can fill our lives with now; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If you are not yet a believer, you can’t understand the blessedness that lies in this list.
The overall idea of this book is that we’re now free of all the worldly elements of our hearts that used to drive us. (5:1) But what is it exactly that frees us from the world’s loves, priorities, dreams, and lusts? The knowledge of the love of God.
If I know that God my Friend loves me so much that He will avenge all of my hurts, then I am freed from holding grudges and keeping a list. I am free to let Him do whatever needs to be done.
If I know that God my Friend loves me so much that He watches over me all day long, I don’t have to fear the dark, pills, disease, gossip, poverty, war, or any other awful thing. I can live free from all fears.
If I know that God my Friend loves me, I can be sure that He will get me to His side when I pass away. Death will be an inconvenience for others, not a horror for me. So death, where is your sting? I am freed from your terror!
If I know that God my Friend loves me, I am freed to share what I have with others.
If I know that God my Friend loves me, I am freed to go anywhere, say anything, brave any danger, annoy any king, witness to any person.
If I know that God my Friend loves me so much that His Son would die for me, then I am freed from all guilt, all shame, all sorrow for my past sins. How could Paul heal from the awful things he did? By first believing that His Friend forgave Him, but also that He was a loyal Friend to those believers Paul had killed. God was their Friend too, so Paul could rest in His loyalty to those innocents.
Jesus said, “I will make you free indeed.” Galatians points us to the good Friend who wants us free from every shackle. 2016 can be the year you drop your chains. Read the Bible again, not for information, but asking yourself on every page, “What does this story/psalm/letter tell me about God’s love?” And you’ll feel yourself becoming free.
35. January 2nd, 2016
In Deuteronomy 1:22-33 Moses gave one of his last addresses to Israel before he died. He was recounting how they got here, something all of us should do once in a while. What decisions led me to here? What part did God have in my situation, and what part did I have?
Anyhow, he recounted how they sent in spies to see what the job was. (A biblical thing to do; Jesus told people to count the cost before they started to follow Him.) The problem was, they were slaves. The report was, “God has brought you to a land that is everything you have ever dreamed about, but there are wicked people there.” Whereupon they refused to even try. The problem was not that there were bad guys in Canaan, or that God had occasionally let them down. (He hadn’t.) The problem was that the people who left Egypt were slaves, not friends. It will indeed cost them things that slaves never do to conquer their new home:
But their Friend brought them to this hard place, not to watch them squirm, but so they could grow, become powerful, do, and win. They can’t win or grow unless they strive. If God has brought you to a place of striving it is because He loves you and wants you to win with blood, sweat, and tears. He is your Partner/Friend who does not want you to sit as a slave, but to commit as a Friend. 2016 will have times of hard, difficult, seemingly fruitless work; but through it all, your Friend will be waiting for you to partner with Him.
In Deuteronomy 1:22-33 Moses gave one of his last addresses to Israel before he died. He was recounting how they got here, something all of us should do once in a while. What decisions led me to here? What part did God have in my situation, and what part did I have?
Anyhow, he recounted how they sent in spies to see what the job was. (A biblical thing to do; Jesus told people to count the cost before they started to follow Him.) The problem was, they were slaves. The report was, “God has brought you to a land that is everything you have ever dreamed about, but there are wicked people there.” Whereupon they refused to even try. The problem was not that there were bad guys in Canaan, or that God had occasionally let them down. (He hadn’t.) The problem was that the people who left Egypt were slaves, not friends. It will indeed cost them things that slaves never do to conquer their new home:
- A personal investment; but slaves complain; they never invest.
- Danger; but slaves never fight for masters they resent.
- < >Foresight; if they don’t go in, what will happen? They’ll starve in the wilderness! And if they go back to Egypt, what will happen?They’ll be worse slaves than before!
- The possibility of dying in battle, but slaves don’t die willingly for their masters.
- Taking responsibility for getting a home. But slaves blame their masters for everything, or they look to their masters to provide everything for them.
But their Friend brought them to this hard place, not to watch them squirm, but so they could grow, become powerful, do, and win. They can’t win or grow unless they strive. If God has brought you to a place of striving it is because He loves you and wants you to win with blood, sweat, and tears. He is your Partner/Friend who does not want you to sit as a slave, but to commit as a Friend. 2016 will have times of hard, difficult, seemingly fruitless work; but through it all, your Friend will be waiting for you to partner with Him.
37. February 10, 2016
In Deuteronomy 1:38-40 Moses is reminding Israel of the first time they refused to enter Canaan. They had 3 fears; 7 armies of big, healthy warriors, each more numerous and larger than they were; walled cities that are nasty to defeat; and giants.
I bet you have 3 fears you could name. Loneliness? Uselessness? Gossip? Bills? Critics? Illness? Death?
But listen to Moses; “Don’t be afraid of them! Yahweh, who is your God, will fight for you just like He did in Egypt, as you watched.” This book is The Book Of The Friend (as is every book of the Bible). As your Friend has helped you in the past, He will help again. Take a moment and recount all the amazing things He has already done for you. Think on those things (Philippians 4:6-8), and God’s amazing peace will protect your hearts and minds. We worship our Friend, not our problems. We focus on our Friend, not our issues.
38. February 11, 2016
This morning I was doing a Bible study with a friend in another Book Of The Friend, Revelation, and came across a parallel verse to the one above. In 3:8 I read a great verse for the coming year: “ See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” God has an open door standing in front of you. What is it? What does He want you to do that is new? Do you have a little strength? Do you care about His Bible? Have you refused to deny His name? Then He has something wonderful for you to accomplish, and not in your own strength. Being your Friend, He wants to partner with you in doing it, so both of you can enjoy it together.
39. February 12, 2016
In the last two thoughts we compared the open door that God offered Israel at Kadesh Barnea with the open door He has for you right now. But as Israel, we have to know that we can’t do this wonderful thing, whatever it is, on our own. Paul was criticized for being less that perfect, but he replied, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant…” (2 Corinthians 3:4-6) I am not enough, but He has made me enough! He has designed me, made me, called me, gifted me, equipped me, sent me, and partners with me right now to do amazing things!
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7) What’s better, Israel’s strength or God’s strength? My strength or God’s strength? I am not enough, but He makes me enough! Thank you God, who always makes me triumph in Christ! (II Cor. 2:14) Israel did win, and so did Paul, and so will you.
In Deuteronomy 1:38-40 Moses is reminding Israel of the first time they refused to enter Canaan. They had 3 fears; 7 armies of big, healthy warriors, each more numerous and larger than they were; walled cities that are nasty to defeat; and giants.
I bet you have 3 fears you could name. Loneliness? Uselessness? Gossip? Bills? Critics? Illness? Death?
But listen to Moses; “Don’t be afraid of them! Yahweh, who is your God, will fight for you just like He did in Egypt, as you watched.” This book is The Book Of The Friend (as is every book of the Bible). As your Friend has helped you in the past, He will help again. Take a moment and recount all the amazing things He has already done for you. Think on those things (Philippians 4:6-8), and God’s amazing peace will protect your hearts and minds. We worship our Friend, not our problems. We focus on our Friend, not our issues.
38. February 11, 2016
This morning I was doing a Bible study with a friend in another Book Of The Friend, Revelation, and came across a parallel verse to the one above. In 3:8 I read a great verse for the coming year: “ See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” God has an open door standing in front of you. What is it? What does He want you to do that is new? Do you have a little strength? Do you care about His Bible? Have you refused to deny His name? Then He has something wonderful for you to accomplish, and not in your own strength. Being your Friend, He wants to partner with you in doing it, so both of you can enjoy it together.
39. February 12, 2016
In the last two thoughts we compared the open door that God offered Israel at Kadesh Barnea with the open door He has for you right now. But as Israel, we have to know that we can’t do this wonderful thing, whatever it is, on our own. Paul was criticized for being less that perfect, but he replied, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant…” (2 Corinthians 3:4-6) I am not enough, but He has made me enough! He has designed me, made me, called me, gifted me, equipped me, sent me, and partners with me right now to do amazing things!
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7) What’s better, Israel’s strength or God’s strength? My strength or God’s strength? I am not enough, but He makes me enough! Thank you God, who always makes me triumph in Christ! (II Cor. 2:14) Israel did win, and so did Paul, and so will you.
40. March 10, 2016
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)
A movie came out a while ago called Blood Diamond. Wikipedia says that some diamonds are labeled this because they’re mined in an area going thru war, and sold to support one’s cause. As we consider the coming Easter, let us remember the blood church that Jesus bought with His own blood; the blood people He sought; and the blood sinners He’s still seeking.
God demanded a payment for sin, and God (the Son) paid it. God could not fellowship with sinners, so God (the Spirit) gave us new hearts. We could not imagine God for ourselves, so God gave us the Bible. We could not live by ourselves, so God gave us a complete world to sustain us. We could not choose Him all by ourselves, so He called us. We could not live alone, so He created the Church. We could not minister to each other, so He gave us spiritual gifts. We could not live for very long under the curse, so He removed the curse and will give us eternal bodies in an eternal city.
There is no other word for that but Friend. He has done it all for us. We have but to accept, and then partner with Him in friendship.
This Easter, remember all the elements of our salvation; the birth (He joined us in humanity), the baptism (He joined the repentant), the life (He joined us in living a hard life), the torture (He joined us in the trials sins give us), the cross (He joined us in the death sin brings), the resurrection (He joins us in death and then brings us all out of the grave with Him), and the Reception into Paradise (we get to join Him).
In all of this, He was our good Friend when we had no friends. He did what no one else could do, what no one else wanted to do, and what no one else knew how to do.
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)
A movie came out a while ago called Blood Diamond. Wikipedia says that some diamonds are labeled this because they’re mined in an area going thru war, and sold to support one’s cause. As we consider the coming Easter, let us remember the blood church that Jesus bought with His own blood; the blood people He sought; and the blood sinners He’s still seeking.
God demanded a payment for sin, and God (the Son) paid it. God could not fellowship with sinners, so God (the Spirit) gave us new hearts. We could not imagine God for ourselves, so God gave us the Bible. We could not live by ourselves, so God gave us a complete world to sustain us. We could not choose Him all by ourselves, so He called us. We could not live alone, so He created the Church. We could not minister to each other, so He gave us spiritual gifts. We could not live for very long under the curse, so He removed the curse and will give us eternal bodies in an eternal city.
There is no other word for that but Friend. He has done it all for us. We have but to accept, and then partner with Him in friendship.
This Easter, remember all the elements of our salvation; the birth (He joined us in humanity), the baptism (He joined the repentant), the life (He joined us in living a hard life), the torture (He joined us in the trials sins give us), the cross (He joined us in the death sin brings), the resurrection (He joins us in death and then brings us all out of the grave with Him), and the Reception into Paradise (we get to join Him).
In all of this, He was our good Friend when we had no friends. He did what no one else could do, what no one else wanted to do, and what no one else knew how to do.
41. March 15, 2016
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all,
having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)
Blood is one of the most amazing things God has ever created. Our blood:
So, to lose your blood is to lose your life; as Leviticus says, “the life is in the blood.” When Jesus allowed His blood to be taken from him on the cross, then, and spilled on the sand, He was pouring out His life for us. As Mary poured out her fragrant oil for Him, He poured out His life for us.
The blood that had nurtured Him would now nurture us. The blood that healed His body before, now heals us. The blood that took his cells’ waste away, takes our sin away. The blood that fought disease in His body ought to be proof against disease in His new body, the Church. The blood that warmed Him when He was cold, brings vitality and energy to the Church when it is taught. The blood that carried His mother’s DNA, carries His DNA of truth and grace in the Church, the blueprint of all that should happen in our churches.
As we approach Easter may we contemplate the gift of Jesus of His blood, which He only had because He joined us on this earth. Truly He is our friend, who laid down His life for His friends. (John 15:12-14)
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all,
having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)
Blood is one of the most amazing things God has ever created. Our blood:
- Carries within it the blueprint of our bodies
- Brings oxygen to our cells
- Brings digested food to our cells
- Takes waste from each cell (being both our garbage truck and the vehicle we receive our food in)
- Fights disease
- Brings energy when we are cold; exercise warms us up because of our blood flowing thru us
- Clots when we are cut, to preserve life
So, to lose your blood is to lose your life; as Leviticus says, “the life is in the blood.” When Jesus allowed His blood to be taken from him on the cross, then, and spilled on the sand, He was pouring out His life for us. As Mary poured out her fragrant oil for Him, He poured out His life for us.
The blood that had nurtured Him would now nurture us. The blood that healed His body before, now heals us. The blood that took his cells’ waste away, takes our sin away. The blood that fought disease in His body ought to be proof against disease in His new body, the Church. The blood that warmed Him when He was cold, brings vitality and energy to the Church when it is taught. The blood that carried His mother’s DNA, carries His DNA of truth and grace in the Church, the blueprint of all that should happen in our churches.
As we approach Easter may we contemplate the gift of Jesus of His blood, which He only had because He joined us on this earth. Truly He is our friend, who laid down His life for His friends. (John 15:12-14)
42. March 29, 2016
In Isaiah 53 we read,
3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
When the disciples saw Jesus risen from the dead, they realized many wonderful things.
But my focus here is on God’s friendship. In Isaiah we saw what the Jews, the Romans, and even His friends thought when they saw the Father let Jesus suffer. “He must not approve of something Jesus said or did.” But Jesus’ circumstances had nothing to do with the Father’s approval. And He knew that! On the cross he said, “Father, forgive them…” Still praying to the Father, tho the Father let Him suffer!
And He said, “I thirst.” For water? No, for righteousness, again, so He can reunite with the Father.
And He said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (‘The Father will not let my soul languish; He will bring me to His side; He is faithful to me.”)
And He said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” When it was time for Him to die He released His hold on His earthly body and let go, confident in His Father’s love. His relationship with the Father did not depend on His circumstances. He did not say, “I have a bill I can’t pay so the Father must not love me anymore.” He did not say, “I have a hard thing to do, and it isn’t going away, so the Father must not like me.”
As in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry He was able to look past his circumstances and believe in the Father’s love. His Father had said twice, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased,” and did not have to repeat it every day for Jesus to believe it. Yet God has told us over and over of His love for us in His word, and the first time something goes wrong we doubt Him. The problem does not lie with His truthfulness, but with our hearts. We’re not used to having people say the complete truth to us.
So when He said to us, "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. (Jeremiah 31:3) , He meant it. Every word. He should not have to repeat it. This week, no matter what happens, it will still be true.
In Isaiah 53 we read,
3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
When the disciples saw Jesus risen from the dead, they realized many wonderful things.
- Jesus loved me a lot!
- Everything the Old Testament Bible predicted did come true! I can trust all of the Bible!
- They did many terrible things to Him, but now He lives. He is impervious.
- I guess if I follow the Lord like Jesus did I don’t have to fear death either! I can do anything!
- When I die I won’t be a ghost! I will live forever as a whole person!
- Rome is unable to hurt Him, really. So is Israel, or any other nation.
- So are Satan and his demons helpless against Him.
But my focus here is on God’s friendship. In Isaiah we saw what the Jews, the Romans, and even His friends thought when they saw the Father let Jesus suffer. “He must not approve of something Jesus said or did.” But Jesus’ circumstances had nothing to do with the Father’s approval. And He knew that! On the cross he said, “Father, forgive them…” Still praying to the Father, tho the Father let Him suffer!
And He said, “I thirst.” For water? No, for righteousness, again, so He can reunite with the Father.
And He said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (‘The Father will not let my soul languish; He will bring me to His side; He is faithful to me.”)
And He said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” When it was time for Him to die He released His hold on His earthly body and let go, confident in His Father’s love. His relationship with the Father did not depend on His circumstances. He did not say, “I have a bill I can’t pay so the Father must not love me anymore.” He did not say, “I have a hard thing to do, and it isn’t going away, so the Father must not like me.”
As in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry He was able to look past his circumstances and believe in the Father’s love. His Father had said twice, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased,” and did not have to repeat it every day for Jesus to believe it. Yet God has told us over and over of His love for us in His word, and the first time something goes wrong we doubt Him. The problem does not lie with His truthfulness, but with our hearts. We’re not used to having people say the complete truth to us.
So when He said to us, "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. (Jeremiah 31:3) , He meant it. Every word. He should not have to repeat it. This week, no matter what happens, it will still be true.
43. May 19, 2016
Deuteronomy 30:9-10 “For the LORD will rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul.”
We need to see two things here. First, that God rejoiced over Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph while they followed Him. Now, that is a stunner, for these men did not live perfect lives. Abraham lied about his wife being his sister and lost her, twice. Isaac lost his wife the same way. Jacob cheated and stole from his brother, and lied to his father. Joseph began as a selfish brat. How can God rejoice over these people?
If my son is good for three weeks but then steals my car and smashes it, which would I focus on, the three weeks or the terrible incident? You got it. But God does not do that. He expects failures from us, and rejoices when we get it right. He knew we would not live perfect lives when He called us, but He was a good enough Friend to still call us; and a good enough Friend to rejoice in our victories, while forgetting our failures. You do not have to live with the fear that God is not very happy with you most of the time. He is your Friend. He is cheering for you.
44. May 21, 2016
Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Has it ever struck you that God could have been ashamed of Paul?
Paul had a lot of Christians killed! Peter denied Jesus at a crucial moment! Levi was a traitor to Israel! Simon the Canaanite was a terrorist! Epaphras was, like every other Greek, a hedonist! But God was not ashamed to send these men out, bearing His name. (Christ-ians.) God is not ashamed of your past, either. He came to save us from our past, give us a new now, and deliver us to a great future. The past is dead. Is it dead for you? Or do you still think about it sometimes and wish you could do it over? That might not be all bad, but don’t live there. The past is dead.
45. May 23, 2016
Have you ever noticed that God does most of His wonderful miracles while picking up after His people?
Israel moved to Egypt and never came back, so God had to free them thru miracles. Israel sinned and was taken into captivity by Babylon, so God had to walk thru the fire with the 3 boys, tell the future to Daniel, and humble Nebuchadnezzar to keep them safe. Elimelech and Naomi ran away during a famine, married their boys to daughters of a wicked culture, and never returned, so God had to execute judgment and bring Naomi back… with a new convert in tow. Abraham lost Sarah twice, so God had to free her from two different kings. Lot moved to Sodom, so God had to help Abraham rescue him from 5 kings. Jacob ruined his life, so God had to help him rebuild it. Samson got his eyes put out, so God had to bring down the house. Paul fought with Barnabas over Mark, so God had to double the teams by pairing Paul with Silas. Paul rebelled and went to Jerusalem, so God had to put him in a safe house in Rome under arrest. Onesimus ran away, so God had to have Paul write a letter asking Philemon to begin rewriting the culture.
Did you catch the one error that kept cropping up in the last paragraph? “Had to.” God could have let all of them stew in their juices, as it were, but He did not. He was their good Friend, working blessing even thru their stupid sins. And, He was the only Person big enough, smart enough, and nice enough to want to work out their wrong actions to blessings. He was their Friend without their knowing it! He was their Friend while they blamed Him for their problems! He was their Friend in every silly or stupid or scary situation they got themselves into. He’ll be my Friend tomorrow when I do something else that’s not too bright. PTL
Deuteronomy 30:9-10 “For the LORD will rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul.”
We need to see two things here. First, that God rejoiced over Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph while they followed Him. Now, that is a stunner, for these men did not live perfect lives. Abraham lied about his wife being his sister and lost her, twice. Isaac lost his wife the same way. Jacob cheated and stole from his brother, and lied to his father. Joseph began as a selfish brat. How can God rejoice over these people?
If my son is good for three weeks but then steals my car and smashes it, which would I focus on, the three weeks or the terrible incident? You got it. But God does not do that. He expects failures from us, and rejoices when we get it right. He knew we would not live perfect lives when He called us, but He was a good enough Friend to still call us; and a good enough Friend to rejoice in our victories, while forgetting our failures. You do not have to live with the fear that God is not very happy with you most of the time. He is your Friend. He is cheering for you.
44. May 21, 2016
Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Has it ever struck you that God could have been ashamed of Paul?
Paul had a lot of Christians killed! Peter denied Jesus at a crucial moment! Levi was a traitor to Israel! Simon the Canaanite was a terrorist! Epaphras was, like every other Greek, a hedonist! But God was not ashamed to send these men out, bearing His name. (Christ-ians.) God is not ashamed of your past, either. He came to save us from our past, give us a new now, and deliver us to a great future. The past is dead. Is it dead for you? Or do you still think about it sometimes and wish you could do it over? That might not be all bad, but don’t live there. The past is dead.
45. May 23, 2016
Have you ever noticed that God does most of His wonderful miracles while picking up after His people?
Israel moved to Egypt and never came back, so God had to free them thru miracles. Israel sinned and was taken into captivity by Babylon, so God had to walk thru the fire with the 3 boys, tell the future to Daniel, and humble Nebuchadnezzar to keep them safe. Elimelech and Naomi ran away during a famine, married their boys to daughters of a wicked culture, and never returned, so God had to execute judgment and bring Naomi back… with a new convert in tow. Abraham lost Sarah twice, so God had to free her from two different kings. Lot moved to Sodom, so God had to help Abraham rescue him from 5 kings. Jacob ruined his life, so God had to help him rebuild it. Samson got his eyes put out, so God had to bring down the house. Paul fought with Barnabas over Mark, so God had to double the teams by pairing Paul with Silas. Paul rebelled and went to Jerusalem, so God had to put him in a safe house in Rome under arrest. Onesimus ran away, so God had to have Paul write a letter asking Philemon to begin rewriting the culture.
Did you catch the one error that kept cropping up in the last paragraph? “Had to.” God could have let all of them stew in their juices, as it were, but He did not. He was their good Friend, working blessing even thru their stupid sins. And, He was the only Person big enough, smart enough, and nice enough to want to work out their wrong actions to blessings. He was their Friend without their knowing it! He was their Friend while they blamed Him for their problems! He was their Friend in every silly or stupid or scary situation they got themselves into. He’ll be my Friend tomorrow when I do something else that’s not too bright. PTL
46. July 1, 2016
During our evening Bible studies last month I realized that all of John’s books (which God used to finish the Bible) declared that God became a human, and if you don’t believe this, you are not a Christian and you won’t be in heaven.
John 1:10-13
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
1 John 4:2-3
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.
2 John 1:7-11
For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh… Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God…. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
Revelation 1:16-18
He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
Now, these books also all have the theme of our transformation into godly people.
John 1:11-12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
1 John 3:2-3
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
2 John 1:4
I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth...
3 John 1:11-12
He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself.
Revelation 22:2-4
And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
Why these two themes? Because they’re married. Jesus only came so He could help us become godly people. If we don’t believe that God was a good enough Friend to join us, then we don’t believe the central fact of His salvation. Said simply, “God became a man so that men could become like God.” This is why men reject the Deity of Jesus. They refuse to accept the miracle, not of God joining humanity, but of God loving us enough to want to join us in this sinful world. Love like that demands a response! That they don’t want to give. No, they would rather be smart, elite, wealthy, and accepted by the world, and so they lose a priceless relationship.
During our evening Bible studies last month I realized that all of John’s books (which God used to finish the Bible) declared that God became a human, and if you don’t believe this, you are not a Christian and you won’t be in heaven.
John 1:10-13
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
1 John 4:2-3
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.
2 John 1:7-11
For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh… Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God…. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
Revelation 1:16-18
He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
Now, these books also all have the theme of our transformation into godly people.
John 1:11-12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
1 John 3:2-3
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
2 John 1:4
I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth...
3 John 1:11-12
He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself.
Revelation 22:2-4
And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
Why these two themes? Because they’re married. Jesus only came so He could help us become godly people. If we don’t believe that God was a good enough Friend to join us, then we don’t believe the central fact of His salvation. Said simply, “God became a man so that men could become like God.” This is why men reject the Deity of Jesus. They refuse to accept the miracle, not of God joining humanity, but of God loving us enough to want to join us in this sinful world. Love like that demands a response! That they don’t want to give. No, they would rather be smart, elite, wealthy, and accepted by the world, and so they lose a priceless relationship.
Isaiah 41:2-4
Who raised up one from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword, as driven stubble to his bow?
Who pursued them, and passed safely by the way that he had not gone with his feet?
Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last I am He.
When the northern kingdom of Israel sinned, God allowed Assyria to grow in power until they could conquer Israel and remove the citizens to other countries.
When the southern kingdom of Judah sinned, God allowed Babylon to grow in power until they could conquer Assyria and Judah, and remove the citizens to other countries. This was when Daniel and his friends were taken.
When Babylon sinned, God allowed Persia to grow in power until they could conquer Babylon. Isaiah 45 is a fascinating passage in which God tells Cyrus, king of Persia, that He will let him conquer Babylon, and have all its wealth, if he will let Israel return to their home. Cyrus does, and they do.
In chapter 41 God points out that only He is responsible for Cyrus’ power. He is the One who raises kings and deposes them. He is the real King. He is the only Power. He sees the rage of the nations, and He laughs. (Psalm 2) He is the king who strides thru the nations, pushing and pulling, resetting, placing, moving. (Habakkuk 3) He whispered, and an evil Caesar called for a registration that would allow Mary to return to Bethlehem to have her child. He sent His star, and Magi traveled to see the child.
And in His turn Jesus cleared the temple, though Sadducees, Pharisees, Levites, and soldiers opposed Him.
Our God has all power. But what do we follow, too often?
Isaiah 41:5-7
The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came.
Everyone helped his neighbor, and said to his brother, "Be of good courage!"
So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith;
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, "It is ready for the soldering";
Then he fastened it with pegs, That it might not totter.
We follow idols that we have to nail to the floor so they don’t totter! Insurance. Equity. Savings. Movements.
Let’s lean on the only power in the world this week, and rejoice in His coming for us at Christmas.
So friends, you have made it this far with me without realizing that I was not doing random passages in Isaiah. Rather, Isaiah 40-41 is when God helps Israel rethink who He is, so that they can get ready to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem. He’s told them He knows where they are; that He can bring them out of the countries where they were taken, easily; that He is the Creator; that no one can oppose Him. So that He can finally say,
Isaiah 41:8-10
But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
Isaiah told us that God knows everything, has all power, is everywhere, sees us, gives the leaders of the earth whatever power they wield; and is both transcendent and immanent at the same time. (He is greater than all, but walking with you, right now.)
This is the God who moved the mightiest king on earth to call a registration; who placed His Son into a virgin; who set up the Magi 500 years before; who raised up Herod to use him as an opposite image of Himself; who called for His Son to be born in Bethlehem, and He was; who sent Magi to attend His needs, and they did; who arranged Bethlehem to have an inn, and it still did after 1000 years; who does His will, for us, when we need it.
Christmas is not the time when we remember what a perfect world this is! It is the time when we remember that God invaded our nasty world, with its nasty leaders, to plant a King of Love in our midst. Not caring what any of the earthly leaders thought of His plan of grace. Power, justice, mercy, and love. That is Christmas.
Isaiah 41:10-11
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
As we enter this New Year, then, we know that He is with us, holding us up. That’s good, because I will have to handle things I’m not strong enough or smart enough for, this year. People in my church will have problems I can’t help them with. My church will face problems I have no experience for. (We are going to build in the spring.) This nation may have to blow North Korea up to protect California, Hawaii, and Guam, to say nothing of Japan and other nations. I can’t handle any of that, but God will hold me up. He will get me through it. He will teach me amazing things as I listen to Him.
Jeremiah 33:1-3 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, "Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'
Isaiah 41:14-15
"Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you," says the LORD and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
So many wonderful things in these verses!
a. Jacob was transformed into Israel; God loved Jacob, and wanted him to become Israel. So, He called Jacob, and worked in his life to help him repent. Through, of course, trials. God loved you when you when you were a stinky Jacob, and is helping you become Israel, “the one who prevails with God in prayer.” God wants you to wrestle with Him and win!
b. Your Redeemer. We see from Ruth that only a relative can redeem us, buy us back. God became our near relative when Jesus was born as a completely human baby. “The Holy One of Israel” is God’s name in Isaiah for a reason. The word “One” in this name is “Ish.” It means man! Isha means woman. This should have been translated, “Holy Man of Israel.” Who was that? The God who became completely human! To join you in your problems, so He could understand your suffering (Hebrews 2:10-18) and save you from it.
c. So, we fear not! God is helping us! We are not doing this by ourselves! Not our jobs, not our ministries, not our prayers, not our suffering, not our rejoicing, not our sickness, not our power. He is the Holy Man of Casey, of Ben, of Rachel, of Nancy, of Ray, of Fred, of __________.
"Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff.
Now we come to the point of Isaiah 40-41. God wanted Israel, and us, to be a sledge!
A sledge was 2-3 feet wide, and 3-5 feet long. It had sharp things on the bottom. Oxen would drag it around a field, perhaps with children or stones piled on it for weight. After a while the grain would be in a pile in the center of the field, with the stalks on the outside edge.
The sledge, then, was to the filed an Unstoppable Force as it mowed down the grain and produced the fruit of the field. Which is what God said He wants us to become! An unstoppable force for Him! Which is what the early church was; first leading thousands of Hebrews to the Lord, then thousands of Gentiles, then hundreds of thousands, then millions, until today representatives of Jesus are everywhere on earth, braving every danger imaginable. And, winning.
But you and I don’t feel strong, do we? Our children or our neighbors hurt, and we don’t know what to do. Our pastor or deacon is a jerk, and we don’t know what to do. We have an illness, and we don’t know what to do. We have a bill, and we don’t know what to do. Or we think we know what should be done, and we can’t.
Nevertheless! God envisioned you and me to be powerful in the place we reside. Now, sometimes the power we wield does not show its effects for a while. A dam may be fatally flawed, but not release the water for hours. A tree may withstand a saw for a long time, but the saw will win sooner or later.
The power of God is available to us, through prayer, obedience, suffering, patience, kindness, and steadfastness. Be the water that pushes on the dam. Be the saw that patiently cuts the foundation. Be the wind that carves a path in rock. Be the stone in the middle of the stream that the fishes hide behind.
Endure, withstand, hold fast, stand fast, and persevere. Be a sledge.
Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
God did not create the church to be a weak, impotent force. He created it to carry His power into the world. But, the church is full of people; He has given us each life so that we each can carry His power into the world.
We’d all rather say, “I don’t mind if the Church is powerful, but I’d rather not have the responsibility myself.” But God doesn’t want you to be weak, to feel weak, or to live weakly. He wants you to be a sledge.
This is why He had Paul write Philippians. Let’s read together over the next days the words of power that He placed there for us to read, and for each one of us to make our own.
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
The Creator is at work in you! He has been working in you, and for you, all of your life, and long before your grandmother was born. He has spent all your life giving you the tools and experiences you need to become a powerful force for good. He began the work of salvation in you, and will continue it; but He also began the work of transformation in you, and is continuing it today.
Jesus told us the key for this. He said, “Follow me,” to the 12. God said “Follow me,” to Abraham. Moses said “Follow me to God,” to Israel. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Jesus,” to Timothy. Our part is to follow Jesus. He will do a great work in us, helping us to become the people whom He can use to do the greatest work of all: helping others.
This is the beginning of power; to know what is really important, better, more worthy, more crucial, more in need.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
A basic requirement for power is discernment. What is most important, in the problems around us? What is more important? What must be dealt with first? How shall we tackle it? Do we wait, or go? Fight, or yield?
Philippians 1:9-10 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent…
Fishing is good, but Bible study is excellent. Shopping is good, but giving is excellent. Bowling is good, but helping other people is excellent.
What are you worried about that is just not that important?
What do you think you need that you have managed to live without so far?
What do your friends/spouse/boss/employee/neighbor really need from you?
What is a good use of your energy?
(Sometimes it really is necessary to crash; but some of us spend our entire lives crashing.
The most powerful hammer is useless and destructive unless it is well-aimed. Let’s let God aim us this week.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
None of us really want the responsibility of being powerful. What should a powerful person say? Do? Wielding power is scary. Let’s remember, though, that the Spirit in you is laying upon your heart a really important need right now. He will lead you into things you never dreamed of, but wouldn’t it first be nice to be able to do the stuff that is near your heart, and not feel impotent? Let’s continue in Philippians.
The heart of Philippians explains the point of the book.
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Because the Spirit who was in Jesus, is in you, giving you God’s nature
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
Or, He did not cling to His godly attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence
7 but made Himself of no reputation,
In the Greek, emptied Himself
taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
Our Lord served us; met our needs; gave up His desire for heaven and holiness, and helped us where we were
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. There is no humbler place than the cross!
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
First, in the resurrection when He embarrassed the powers that tried to prevent it
Second, in the reception of Jesus into heaven (He is never said to ascend, but to be received; His Father approved of Him, and exalted Him to His side)
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, some day
of those in heaven, the angels, the demons, and Lucifer too
and of those on earth, everyone alive
and of those under the earth, everyone buried
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Not all tongues can call Him Friend or Brother or Savior, but all will call Him Lord!
Paul’s point is simply this: that Jesus served us in our need, so the Father made sure He won.
Servants win.
Servants have all real power.
Servants change lives.
Servants endure.
The rest of Philippians will expound these ideas.
Ain’t God great? So go today, and serve someone.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
Last time we saw that Jesus won, and was exalted by God, because He was willing to become a lowly servant. This is the central point of Philippians. When we serve we win. When we serve people trust us. When we serve we model truth and grace. The demons that plagued Israel before Jesus’ advent were users, not servants. They used men as toys to torture, not letting them stand or find peace or use their hand.
But the leaders of the day were users as well. They taxed so they could have money to spend on themselves. They fought wars so they’d have more money, more power, and more fun. (It is impossible for any war to be fought with both sides fighting for the right, tho both may think they are.)
This whole book, then, is calling us to be servants so we can win. Servants don’t;
Here’s the catch; it is not enough to want to look like a servant. You have to choose to love people so that their needs are more important than your desires.
Philippians 2:3-4 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
So the book of Philippians is not about joy. Joy is in there, but it is only incidental to the main idea. The main idea is that God’s children serve, and servants have power.
Philippians 1:12-14 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
In this passage we have both serving and power. Everyone sees that Paul’s loyalty is to Christ, and that it is as strong as chains; timid brothers in Christ have seen this, and have become bold. With the gospel, boldness is all. If the gospel is hidden in a closet like a gun it has no power at all, but if it is used and released it can free people.
A gun (pardon the simile) does not rely on the intelligence of the owner; if it is fired it will shoot. It does not rely on the wisdom or genius of the owner. If it is fired it will shoot and hurt people.
The Gospel does not rely on the genius of the speaker. If it is spoken, it will work on the listeners that God meant it for. If it is released it will save people.
Serving leads to power, in all arenas, in all cultures, in all venues, in all societies. All politicians try to position themselves to be seen as a “servant of the people.” Serve (meet needs), and you will have power. People will give you power in their lives. The glory of the gospel is, Jesus became our need-meeter servant for a while, to prove His love and worth, so the Father has exalted Him over all. Follow Jesus, and God will honor you.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
Philippians is about the power serving brings you. Of course, we can’t serve unless we have serving hearts.
Paul exp0lained how his heart changed once he knew Christ.
3:5-11 (I was) circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.” Born to the right family, raised in Bible-centered tradition. Plenty of zeal for God, and living a good life; but it wasn’t enough, and it wasn’t what his heart wanted.
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” Raised in a great tradition, but he did not have God. He chose Jesus and His righteousness over the best things he could do for himself. Because he wanted to be blameless before God, but also because…
“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
He wanted to live forever, but he wanted Life now, in this world.
-that I may know Him!
-that I may know the power of His resurrection!
-that I may know the fellowship of His sufferings!
-that I may be conformed to His death!
Giving up our rights in order to serve others leads to resurrection power as we suffer with Jesus.
But suffering is ok, because we are servants with Jesus!
We are fellowshipping with Him in our trials!
We are getting to know Him as no one with an easy life can!
And in so doing, we are becoming a mighty sledge with teeth.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
Everything in our lives starts with our deciders. Your decider ought to be your mind, as you relate the things you know to the things that you and others need. Too often our decider is our emotions; I’m angry so I yell, I’m hungry or depressed so I eat, I’m lonely so I have an affair. God calls us to know facts (primarily with the filter of the bible), think, decide, act, and then feel. God says that feelings follow actions. (Rev. 2:4-5. He told the church at Ephesus that they had left their first love, so they needed to; do the things they had done earlier, to regain their feelings of love.)
So, Paul told the Philippians that he hoped they would gain discernment; to be able to tell what is valuable, and what is not; what is important and what is not; what is worth doing and what is not.
Philippians 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent…
Fishing is good, but on a Sunday morning church is excellent. Bowling is good, but on a Wednesday evening prayer meeting is excellent. TV can be good, but your Bible is excellent. My fun is good, but ministry is excellent. My desires are important, but the needs of others are far more important. (If I am a servant.)
…that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Paul wanted them to be servants so that they could win (as Jesus did), have power with the Father (as Jesus did), help others (as Jesus did), and live rejoicing in all situations (as Jesus did). He wanted for them the Jesus life, full of satisfaction and fulfillment. Fishing is good relaxation, but it never is fulfilling. Only ministry does that. If you do not feel fulfilled, you need to serve others more and your desires less. Paul’s point is, you can! And as you serve, you will become a sledge with sharp teeth; effective in God’s work, helping people.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
The reason that Paul was so effective was that he was a servant, and everyone knew it. They knew by his sacrifices that they were important to him. People like the jailer, whose life Paul had saved by staying in the jail after the earthquake. (Acts 16) People like Lydia who knew that Paul had left home on a great random journey, just looking for people like her. People like the possessed girl, whom Paul freed. It was no surprise to them, then, when they read in paul’s letter to them:
But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Philippians 1:12-14
He doesn’t like his chains, but he accepts them because people like the Philippians are hearing about Jesus. Of course this leads to power. You give power to people you trust. You elect pastor, or a mayor, because you trust him. When you don’t trust him, you find someone else.
Now, all the while Paul was sitting in jail, hating where he was, he was not making money. He was not fishing. He was not saving for retirement. He was not going to birthday parties. All he was doing, was leading a core of believers to the Lord in the heart of the palace, while writing letters to followers in various places. Here is the leader of the Resistance, in the clutches of the Empire, writing the letters that would take the Empire down!
A servant doesn’t cry about all the stuff he can’t do. He rejoices in what he can do, particularly for God. God is the great Creator with a plan, who sees all that is going on, and will use our lives to the best possible purpose. Amen?
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
We have powerful weapons on our side; prayer, the Bible, wisdom, insights, discernment, knowledge, and the natural wit we were all endowed with. That is a good thing.
But, we also have a lot of old wounds. Unfortunately, all our weapons can be turned aside by our scars, and we forget who the real enemy is.
Philippians 2:1-4 … fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
A wound always sucks up all of our attention. If I have a broken leg, how can I help others walk? I need to heal myself before I can help others. But, this can make us self-centered as we focus on our hurts. Our wounds can make us draw back, and focus inward, or they can teach us compassion; humility; empathy; and grace. “Let each of you look out, not only for your own interests, but for others.”
My son Nathan was choked by a bully in the football locker room for telling the bully to quit what he was doing. As Nathan complained to me later, I reminded him that some people go thru this every day. He didn’t want to hear it. I found out later that that bully’s father had just been accused of child molestation; was about to lose his job; and could go to prison. He wasn’t a bully after all, but a victim of his father’s misguided lust. His future was completely at risk, he was suffering all the shame his father deserved, and he was just lashing out at the closest people around. How many bullies in our schools have the same sort of at-risk family situation that they can’t handle?
Do we Christian adults ever lash out because our dreams, or our future, or our needs, are at risk? Do we ever look like bullies to others?
Is the bully in your life lashing out because they are hurting, and they don’t know how to handle it? Can you have some empathy for them? Talk to them, and listen to them?
Of course, in the next breath Paul goes on to say, “So determine to be a servant like Jesus, who helped others while He was being hurt. The Father saw this, and rewarded Him.”
This is the path to the power of unity, when we quit looking inward and give the guy next to us a hand up. Maybe between the two of us we’ll have two good legs.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
Here is a mysterious saying of Paul that I’m not sure most of us can agree with:
Philippians 1:15-18 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will… in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
It is hard to rejoice that fakers are preaching Jesus. Won’t they do much harm?
Yes, and they do a lot of harm. People are discipled into odd ways of thinking that are wrong; most of them never see the error. And most of the ones who do see the error of their mentors, just quit looking for a good church. How can Paul say this?
He can say this because the good news about Jesus is powerful, no matter what nitwit is giving it out. I came to the Lord thru a sermon by an ungodly man. I met a girl who repented of her sin, and asked God to forgive her based on Jesus’ act on the cross… who had been witnessed to by Jehovah’s Witnesses. A friend at the factory I used to work at accepted the Lord at Adventist meetings, and started attending his local Baptist church. Usually phony preachers talk about money, or health, or some other wrong emphasis, but when they do slip up and mention the real gospel, people are saved.
You don’t have to feel powerful to give a powerful gospel. Zechariah talks about the artisans who were going to create the stories of Jesus and terrify nations. An artisan creates a tool that is beautiful. That is what the gospel is, and you have it. Yes, we feel weak, but a 98 pound weakling can carry a machine gun. Weaklings, unite! And carry the gospel.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
As we consider this letter to the church at Philippi we should remember how it began. Paul and Silas served the Lord by leaving on a missions trip. They served Him again when they followed His direction, going to Macedonia rather than Asia. They served Him and Lydia when they told the women’s prayer group about Jesus; they served the girl by kicking the demon out of her; and they served the jailer by saving his life.
As a result of their service, they have the joy of new friends, the power of new praying friends, the fellowship of new believers, and the fulfillment of having helped people. Lydia and her friends know whom they should be praying to, now; the girl is free; and the jailer’s family have clean hearts. As the Lord uses them to serve other Philippians the church will grow, blessings will increase, and the support group will build.
Serving (helping someone else for their sake) someone else always leads to joy (Ph 2:2), peace (Ph 4:9), exaltation (Ph 2:9-11), unity (2:3-4), success (Ph 2:13), contentment (Ph 4:11), power (Ph 4:13), pleasing God (Ph 4:18), and family (Ph 3:1). If any of these things are important to you, learn to serve!
People with wounds tend to draw inward. Don’t do that. Look outward. Help someone else, and you too will become a sharp threshing sledge; powerful, successful, relevant, needed, and appreciated.
Who raised up one from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword, as driven stubble to his bow?
Who pursued them, and passed safely by the way that he had not gone with his feet?
Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last I am He.
When the northern kingdom of Israel sinned, God allowed Assyria to grow in power until they could conquer Israel and remove the citizens to other countries.
When the southern kingdom of Judah sinned, God allowed Babylon to grow in power until they could conquer Assyria and Judah, and remove the citizens to other countries. This was when Daniel and his friends were taken.
When Babylon sinned, God allowed Persia to grow in power until they could conquer Babylon. Isaiah 45 is a fascinating passage in which God tells Cyrus, king of Persia, that He will let him conquer Babylon, and have all its wealth, if he will let Israel return to their home. Cyrus does, and they do.
In chapter 41 God points out that only He is responsible for Cyrus’ power. He is the One who raises kings and deposes them. He is the real King. He is the only Power. He sees the rage of the nations, and He laughs. (Psalm 2) He is the king who strides thru the nations, pushing and pulling, resetting, placing, moving. (Habakkuk 3) He whispered, and an evil Caesar called for a registration that would allow Mary to return to Bethlehem to have her child. He sent His star, and Magi traveled to see the child.
And in His turn Jesus cleared the temple, though Sadducees, Pharisees, Levites, and soldiers opposed Him.
Our God has all power. But what do we follow, too often?
Isaiah 41:5-7
The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came.
Everyone helped his neighbor, and said to his brother, "Be of good courage!"
So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith;
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, "It is ready for the soldering";
Then he fastened it with pegs, That it might not totter.
We follow idols that we have to nail to the floor so they don’t totter! Insurance. Equity. Savings. Movements.
Let’s lean on the only power in the world this week, and rejoice in His coming for us at Christmas.
So friends, you have made it this far with me without realizing that I was not doing random passages in Isaiah. Rather, Isaiah 40-41 is when God helps Israel rethink who He is, so that they can get ready to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem. He’s told them He knows where they are; that He can bring them out of the countries where they were taken, easily; that He is the Creator; that no one can oppose Him. So that He can finally say,
Isaiah 41:8-10
But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
Isaiah told us that God knows everything, has all power, is everywhere, sees us, gives the leaders of the earth whatever power they wield; and is both transcendent and immanent at the same time. (He is greater than all, but walking with you, right now.)
This is the God who moved the mightiest king on earth to call a registration; who placed His Son into a virgin; who set up the Magi 500 years before; who raised up Herod to use him as an opposite image of Himself; who called for His Son to be born in Bethlehem, and He was; who sent Magi to attend His needs, and they did; who arranged Bethlehem to have an inn, and it still did after 1000 years; who does His will, for us, when we need it.
Christmas is not the time when we remember what a perfect world this is! It is the time when we remember that God invaded our nasty world, with its nasty leaders, to plant a King of Love in our midst. Not caring what any of the earthly leaders thought of His plan of grace. Power, justice, mercy, and love. That is Christmas.
Isaiah 41:10-11
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
As we enter this New Year, then, we know that He is with us, holding us up. That’s good, because I will have to handle things I’m not strong enough or smart enough for, this year. People in my church will have problems I can’t help them with. My church will face problems I have no experience for. (We are going to build in the spring.) This nation may have to blow North Korea up to protect California, Hawaii, and Guam, to say nothing of Japan and other nations. I can’t handle any of that, but God will hold me up. He will get me through it. He will teach me amazing things as I listen to Him.
Jeremiah 33:1-3 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, "Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'
Isaiah 41:14-15
"Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you," says the LORD and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
So many wonderful things in these verses!
a. Jacob was transformed into Israel; God loved Jacob, and wanted him to become Israel. So, He called Jacob, and worked in his life to help him repent. Through, of course, trials. God loved you when you when you were a stinky Jacob, and is helping you become Israel, “the one who prevails with God in prayer.” God wants you to wrestle with Him and win!
b. Your Redeemer. We see from Ruth that only a relative can redeem us, buy us back. God became our near relative when Jesus was born as a completely human baby. “The Holy One of Israel” is God’s name in Isaiah for a reason. The word “One” in this name is “Ish.” It means man! Isha means woman. This should have been translated, “Holy Man of Israel.” Who was that? The God who became completely human! To join you in your problems, so He could understand your suffering (Hebrews 2:10-18) and save you from it.
c. So, we fear not! God is helping us! We are not doing this by ourselves! Not our jobs, not our ministries, not our prayers, not our suffering, not our rejoicing, not our sickness, not our power. He is the Holy Man of Casey, of Ben, of Rachel, of Nancy, of Ray, of Fred, of __________.
"Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff.
Now we come to the point of Isaiah 40-41. God wanted Israel, and us, to be a sledge!
A sledge was 2-3 feet wide, and 3-5 feet long. It had sharp things on the bottom. Oxen would drag it around a field, perhaps with children or stones piled on it for weight. After a while the grain would be in a pile in the center of the field, with the stalks on the outside edge.
The sledge, then, was to the filed an Unstoppable Force as it mowed down the grain and produced the fruit of the field. Which is what God said He wants us to become! An unstoppable force for Him! Which is what the early church was; first leading thousands of Hebrews to the Lord, then thousands of Gentiles, then hundreds of thousands, then millions, until today representatives of Jesus are everywhere on earth, braving every danger imaginable. And, winning.
But you and I don’t feel strong, do we? Our children or our neighbors hurt, and we don’t know what to do. Our pastor or deacon is a jerk, and we don’t know what to do. We have an illness, and we don’t know what to do. We have a bill, and we don’t know what to do. Or we think we know what should be done, and we can’t.
Nevertheless! God envisioned you and me to be powerful in the place we reside. Now, sometimes the power we wield does not show its effects for a while. A dam may be fatally flawed, but not release the water for hours. A tree may withstand a saw for a long time, but the saw will win sooner or later.
The power of God is available to us, through prayer, obedience, suffering, patience, kindness, and steadfastness. Be the water that pushes on the dam. Be the saw that patiently cuts the foundation. Be the wind that carves a path in rock. Be the stone in the middle of the stream that the fishes hide behind.
Endure, withstand, hold fast, stand fast, and persevere. Be a sledge.
Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
God did not create the church to be a weak, impotent force. He created it to carry His power into the world. But, the church is full of people; He has given us each life so that we each can carry His power into the world.
We’d all rather say, “I don’t mind if the Church is powerful, but I’d rather not have the responsibility myself.” But God doesn’t want you to be weak, to feel weak, or to live weakly. He wants you to be a sledge.
This is why He had Paul write Philippians. Let’s read together over the next days the words of power that He placed there for us to read, and for each one of us to make our own.
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
The Creator is at work in you! He has been working in you, and for you, all of your life, and long before your grandmother was born. He has spent all your life giving you the tools and experiences you need to become a powerful force for good. He began the work of salvation in you, and will continue it; but He also began the work of transformation in you, and is continuing it today.
Jesus told us the key for this. He said, “Follow me,” to the 12. God said “Follow me,” to Abraham. Moses said “Follow me to God,” to Israel. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Jesus,” to Timothy. Our part is to follow Jesus. He will do a great work in us, helping us to become the people whom He can use to do the greatest work of all: helping others.
This is the beginning of power; to know what is really important, better, more worthy, more crucial, more in need.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
A basic requirement for power is discernment. What is most important, in the problems around us? What is more important? What must be dealt with first? How shall we tackle it? Do we wait, or go? Fight, or yield?
Philippians 1:9-10 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent…
Fishing is good, but Bible study is excellent. Shopping is good, but giving is excellent. Bowling is good, but helping other people is excellent.
What are you worried about that is just not that important?
What do you think you need that you have managed to live without so far?
What do your friends/spouse/boss/employee/neighbor really need from you?
What is a good use of your energy?
(Sometimes it really is necessary to crash; but some of us spend our entire lives crashing.
The most powerful hammer is useless and destructive unless it is well-aimed. Let’s let God aim us this week.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
None of us really want the responsibility of being powerful. What should a powerful person say? Do? Wielding power is scary. Let’s remember, though, that the Spirit in you is laying upon your heart a really important need right now. He will lead you into things you never dreamed of, but wouldn’t it first be nice to be able to do the stuff that is near your heart, and not feel impotent? Let’s continue in Philippians.
The heart of Philippians explains the point of the book.
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Because the Spirit who was in Jesus, is in you, giving you God’s nature
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
Or, He did not cling to His godly attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence
7 but made Himself of no reputation,
In the Greek, emptied Himself
taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
Our Lord served us; met our needs; gave up His desire for heaven and holiness, and helped us where we were
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. There is no humbler place than the cross!
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
First, in the resurrection when He embarrassed the powers that tried to prevent it
Second, in the reception of Jesus into heaven (He is never said to ascend, but to be received; His Father approved of Him, and exalted Him to His side)
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, some day
of those in heaven, the angels, the demons, and Lucifer too
and of those on earth, everyone alive
and of those under the earth, everyone buried
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Not all tongues can call Him Friend or Brother or Savior, but all will call Him Lord!
Paul’s point is simply this: that Jesus served us in our need, so the Father made sure He won.
Servants win.
Servants have all real power.
Servants change lives.
Servants endure.
The rest of Philippians will expound these ideas.
Ain’t God great? So go today, and serve someone.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
Last time we saw that Jesus won, and was exalted by God, because He was willing to become a lowly servant. This is the central point of Philippians. When we serve we win. When we serve people trust us. When we serve we model truth and grace. The demons that plagued Israel before Jesus’ advent were users, not servants. They used men as toys to torture, not letting them stand or find peace or use their hand.
But the leaders of the day were users as well. They taxed so they could have money to spend on themselves. They fought wars so they’d have more money, more power, and more fun. (It is impossible for any war to be fought with both sides fighting for the right, tho both may think they are.)
This whole book, then, is calling us to be servants so we can win. Servants don’t;
- Enjoy criticizing people
- Judge people
- Enjoy arguing
- Fight progress
- Ignore needs
- Prefer their desires over others’ needs
- Use people
- Manipulate people
- Etc!
Here’s the catch; it is not enough to want to look like a servant. You have to choose to love people so that their needs are more important than your desires.
Philippians 2:3-4 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
So the book of Philippians is not about joy. Joy is in there, but it is only incidental to the main idea. The main idea is that God’s children serve, and servants have power.
Philippians 1:12-14 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
In this passage we have both serving and power. Everyone sees that Paul’s loyalty is to Christ, and that it is as strong as chains; timid brothers in Christ have seen this, and have become bold. With the gospel, boldness is all. If the gospel is hidden in a closet like a gun it has no power at all, but if it is used and released it can free people.
A gun (pardon the simile) does not rely on the intelligence of the owner; if it is fired it will shoot. It does not rely on the wisdom or genius of the owner. If it is fired it will shoot and hurt people.
The Gospel does not rely on the genius of the speaker. If it is spoken, it will work on the listeners that God meant it for. If it is released it will save people.
Serving leads to power, in all arenas, in all cultures, in all venues, in all societies. All politicians try to position themselves to be seen as a “servant of the people.” Serve (meet needs), and you will have power. People will give you power in their lives. The glory of the gospel is, Jesus became our need-meeter servant for a while, to prove His love and worth, so the Father has exalted Him over all. Follow Jesus, and God will honor you.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
Philippians is about the power serving brings you. Of course, we can’t serve unless we have serving hearts.
Paul exp0lained how his heart changed once he knew Christ.
3:5-11 (I was) circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.” Born to the right family, raised in Bible-centered tradition. Plenty of zeal for God, and living a good life; but it wasn’t enough, and it wasn’t what his heart wanted.
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” Raised in a great tradition, but he did not have God. He chose Jesus and His righteousness over the best things he could do for himself. Because he wanted to be blameless before God, but also because…
“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
He wanted to live forever, but he wanted Life now, in this world.
-that I may know Him!
-that I may know the power of His resurrection!
-that I may know the fellowship of His sufferings!
-that I may be conformed to His death!
Giving up our rights in order to serve others leads to resurrection power as we suffer with Jesus.
But suffering is ok, because we are servants with Jesus!
We are fellowshipping with Him in our trials!
We are getting to know Him as no one with an easy life can!
And in so doing, we are becoming a mighty sledge with teeth.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
Everything in our lives starts with our deciders. Your decider ought to be your mind, as you relate the things you know to the things that you and others need. Too often our decider is our emotions; I’m angry so I yell, I’m hungry or depressed so I eat, I’m lonely so I have an affair. God calls us to know facts (primarily with the filter of the bible), think, decide, act, and then feel. God says that feelings follow actions. (Rev. 2:4-5. He told the church at Ephesus that they had left their first love, so they needed to; do the things they had done earlier, to regain their feelings of love.)
So, Paul told the Philippians that he hoped they would gain discernment; to be able to tell what is valuable, and what is not; what is important and what is not; what is worth doing and what is not.
Philippians 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent…
Fishing is good, but on a Sunday morning church is excellent. Bowling is good, but on a Wednesday evening prayer meeting is excellent. TV can be good, but your Bible is excellent. My fun is good, but ministry is excellent. My desires are important, but the needs of others are far more important. (If I am a servant.)
…that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Paul wanted them to be servants so that they could win (as Jesus did), have power with the Father (as Jesus did), help others (as Jesus did), and live rejoicing in all situations (as Jesus did). He wanted for them the Jesus life, full of satisfaction and fulfillment. Fishing is good relaxation, but it never is fulfilling. Only ministry does that. If you do not feel fulfilled, you need to serve others more and your desires less. Paul’s point is, you can! And as you serve, you will become a sledge with sharp teeth; effective in God’s work, helping people.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
The reason that Paul was so effective was that he was a servant, and everyone knew it. They knew by his sacrifices that they were important to him. People like the jailer, whose life Paul had saved by staying in the jail after the earthquake. (Acts 16) People like Lydia who knew that Paul had left home on a great random journey, just looking for people like her. People like the possessed girl, whom Paul freed. It was no surprise to them, then, when they read in paul’s letter to them:
But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Philippians 1:12-14
He doesn’t like his chains, but he accepts them because people like the Philippians are hearing about Jesus. Of course this leads to power. You give power to people you trust. You elect pastor, or a mayor, because you trust him. When you don’t trust him, you find someone else.
Now, all the while Paul was sitting in jail, hating where he was, he was not making money. He was not fishing. He was not saving for retirement. He was not going to birthday parties. All he was doing, was leading a core of believers to the Lord in the heart of the palace, while writing letters to followers in various places. Here is the leader of the Resistance, in the clutches of the Empire, writing the letters that would take the Empire down!
A servant doesn’t cry about all the stuff he can’t do. He rejoices in what he can do, particularly for God. God is the great Creator with a plan, who sees all that is going on, and will use our lives to the best possible purpose. Amen?
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
We have powerful weapons on our side; prayer, the Bible, wisdom, insights, discernment, knowledge, and the natural wit we were all endowed with. That is a good thing.
But, we also have a lot of old wounds. Unfortunately, all our weapons can be turned aside by our scars, and we forget who the real enemy is.
Philippians 2:1-4 … fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
A wound always sucks up all of our attention. If I have a broken leg, how can I help others walk? I need to heal myself before I can help others. But, this can make us self-centered as we focus on our hurts. Our wounds can make us draw back, and focus inward, or they can teach us compassion; humility; empathy; and grace. “Let each of you look out, not only for your own interests, but for others.”
My son Nathan was choked by a bully in the football locker room for telling the bully to quit what he was doing. As Nathan complained to me later, I reminded him that some people go thru this every day. He didn’t want to hear it. I found out later that that bully’s father had just been accused of child molestation; was about to lose his job; and could go to prison. He wasn’t a bully after all, but a victim of his father’s misguided lust. His future was completely at risk, he was suffering all the shame his father deserved, and he was just lashing out at the closest people around. How many bullies in our schools have the same sort of at-risk family situation that they can’t handle?
Do we Christian adults ever lash out because our dreams, or our future, or our needs, are at risk? Do we ever look like bullies to others?
Is the bully in your life lashing out because they are hurting, and they don’t know how to handle it? Can you have some empathy for them? Talk to them, and listen to them?
Of course, in the next breath Paul goes on to say, “So determine to be a servant like Jesus, who helped others while He was being hurt. The Father saw this, and rewarded Him.”
This is the path to the power of unity, when we quit looking inward and give the guy next to us a hand up. Maybe between the two of us we’ll have two good legs.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
Here is a mysterious saying of Paul that I’m not sure most of us can agree with:
Philippians 1:15-18 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will… in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
It is hard to rejoice that fakers are preaching Jesus. Won’t they do much harm?
Yes, and they do a lot of harm. People are discipled into odd ways of thinking that are wrong; most of them never see the error. And most of the ones who do see the error of their mentors, just quit looking for a good church. How can Paul say this?
He can say this because the good news about Jesus is powerful, no matter what nitwit is giving it out. I came to the Lord thru a sermon by an ungodly man. I met a girl who repented of her sin, and asked God to forgive her based on Jesus’ act on the cross… who had been witnessed to by Jehovah’s Witnesses. A friend at the factory I used to work at accepted the Lord at Adventist meetings, and started attending his local Baptist church. Usually phony preachers talk about money, or health, or some other wrong emphasis, but when they do slip up and mention the real gospel, people are saved.
You don’t have to feel powerful to give a powerful gospel. Zechariah talks about the artisans who were going to create the stories of Jesus and terrify nations. An artisan creates a tool that is beautiful. That is what the gospel is, and you have it. Yes, we feel weak, but a 98 pound weakling can carry a machine gun. Weaklings, unite! And carry the gospel.
Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth! (Isaiah 41:15)
As we consider this letter to the church at Philippi we should remember how it began. Paul and Silas served the Lord by leaving on a missions trip. They served Him again when they followed His direction, going to Macedonia rather than Asia. They served Him and Lydia when they told the women’s prayer group about Jesus; they served the girl by kicking the demon out of her; and they served the jailer by saving his life.
As a result of their service, they have the joy of new friends, the power of new praying friends, the fellowship of new believers, and the fulfillment of having helped people. Lydia and her friends know whom they should be praying to, now; the girl is free; and the jailer’s family have clean hearts. As the Lord uses them to serve other Philippians the church will grow, blessings will increase, and the support group will build.
Serving (helping someone else for their sake) someone else always leads to joy (Ph 2:2), peace (Ph 4:9), exaltation (Ph 2:9-11), unity (2:3-4), success (Ph 2:13), contentment (Ph 4:11), power (Ph 4:13), pleasing God (Ph 4:18), and family (Ph 3:1). If any of these things are important to you, learn to serve!
People with wounds tend to draw inward. Don’t do that. Look outward. Help someone else, and you too will become a sharp threshing sledge; powerful, successful, relevant, needed, and appreciated.