5/9/14

5/9/14

After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the lord! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold. (1 Samuel 5:1-5 NLT)

I have always been intrigued by this passage. The Israelite people have fallen away from God. They have been letting the lifestyle if the people around them influence them. They even lost the Ark of God in battle. The symbol of the presence of God....in enemy hands. But the presence of God is a blessing to those who fear Him, and a cancer to those who chase after other gods. We see that literally in this passage. I love how when the Ark is in the temple of Dagon, that even this statue, made by human hands is made to fall on it's face before the Ark. Was the ark God? No. But it symbolized where God's presence was. Where the Ark was kept, the holy of holies, was where the high priest would go to meet with God, and atone for Israel's sin. God's presence was made known around the Ark in a deeper way than any other place. Did Dagon decide that he needed to fall before the Ark? No. God made the "god" fall before the Ark to show the Philistines that Dagon is not even real, and has no power. And then He brought a plague on them. God used this situation to turn the people back to Himself, and prove to the people once again that He is their God.

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Thursday, May 8

THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2014

1 Samuel 2:22–4:22

John 5:24–47

Psalm 106:1–12

Proverbs 14:30,31

 

 

In the reading from John 5:31–47 today, Jesus details the multiplicity of testimonies about His life and ministry.  We understand from this passage that both past and contemporary figures confirmed His authenticity and that the very Word of God pointed to Him as Messiah.

 

Let’s examine the testimonies about Jesus, which serve as a foundation of our faith and trust in Him:

 

1.       The testimony of John the Baptist.  Here, Jesus refers back to John’s statements in John 1:29–34 concerning Jesus:

 

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’  I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

 

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

 

In C. S. Lewis’s classic Mere Christianity, he explains that Jesus’s claims about Himself force us to consider Him as a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord of the Universe.  By accepting John’s testimony, Jesus then carried the Messiah’s mantle as the One Who would become the final Passover Lamb. 

 

 

2.       The testimony of God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  God the Father testified to Jesus’s authenticity through an audible voice at least twice during Jesus’s ministry:  at His baptism and at the Transfiguration.

 

At His baptism, we find evidence of the Trinity’s unity.  The Lord Jesus Christ submits to His earthly calling and symbolically foretells His death (into the water) and Resurrection (out of the water).  The grave (the water) would not hold Him.  The Holy Spirit descends as a dove, indicating His presence and empowerment in Jesus’s life and ministry.  God the Father then speaks:  “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well-pleased.”  At the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father offers similar encouragement and support, admonishing Peter, James, and John to pay attention:  “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well-pleased.  Listen to him!”

 

 

3.       The testimony of His work.  Jesus explains that “the works that the Father has given me to finish – the very works I am doing – testify that the Father has sent me.”  Again, Jesus invites us to consider the liar vs. lunatic vs. Lord question.  By declaring His mission to have come from the Father, He brought upon accusations of blasphemy and extreme scrutiny to His ministry.  Given the large number of witnesses to His life and ministry – and the purity of the testimony concerning His work – we may have confidence that His work’s testimony does point to Him as Messiah.  As Hebrews 7:26 explains, Jesus rightly serves as High Priest because of His absolute purity:  “Such a high priest truly meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”

 

 

4.       The testimony of the Scriptures.  Jesus indicates that those Scriptures related to “eternal life” indeed “testify about me” and that Moses “wrote about me.”  By these statements, Jesus connected His life and ministry to the many Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah.  Two such significant prophecies come to us in Isaiah 53, which, although written 800 years before Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem, describes the Passion in extensive detail, and Deuteronomy 18:14–22. 

 

In the Deuteronomy passage, Moses explains:  “The Lord your God must raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.  You must listen to him….  I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth.  He will tell them everything I command him.”  God the Father’s affirmation at the Transfiguration and Jesus’s own statements tie Him to this prophecy from Moses and further solidify Philip’s claim:  “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)  In addition, Jesus explained the same on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection:  “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (Luke 24:44)

 

 

Lord Jesus, may we rejoice today in the validity of the many testimonies about You.  Thank You for undertaking a ministry with many witnesses, none of whom could point to anything but blamelessness in You.  Thank You that the Scriptures clearly testify to Your uniqueness and worthiness to be called Messiah and Lord of the Universe.  Thank You that the Trinity is completely unified in their declaration that You are Savior of the world.  Help us to bring glory to Your Name and to share this testimony about You with those whom You have prepared to hear.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

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May 5 - Forgetfulness and apologies; staying the course and testimony

Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22

John 4:4-42

Psalm 105:10-15

Proverbs 14:25

Apologies, first and foremost.  I am amazed at how forgetful I've become.  Here it is, Wednesday, and it just occurred to me I'd forgotten to blog on Monday.  So sorry.

It is two days after I was supposed to write my blog, so I already know how the story of Ruth turns out.  Widowed at a young age, rather than return to her own family and her own people, to seek another husband and have a shot at what likely was seen as a respectable and blessed life, she chose to stay with, and serve, her mother in law, who had nothing else to offer her.  This sure looks like an example of dying to oneself.  Think about it: could Naomi have been any more explicit?  She had nothing to offer Ruth, not even the certainty of food on the table, as Ruth had to go glean behind those harvesting the wheat, something which it seems was somewhat risky.  

We know how this turns out.  God had a plan all along, and Ruth wound up gleaning in Boaz's fields; Ruth goes from the desperation of gleaning for scraps under potentially dangerous circumstances to the marriage to an honorable and prosperous man.  When she did not know how it was going to turn out, it must not have been easy.  But she stayed the course, and God rewarded her steadfastness.  I pray to learn two things from Ruth - the ability to discern what is asked of me, and the steadfastness to stay the course.

One other thing from today's readings - in the NT reading we see the story of the Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus at the well.  What I find interesting comes towards the end of the reading, where "many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did.""  What struck me about that was that they believed not because the Samaritan woman tried to convince then; she simply spoke the truth of her experience with Jesus.   Again, I pray two things - that I experience our Lord in as remarkable a manner, and that I be able to testify to the event.  What happens after that is up to Him.

Tuesday May 6

Ruth 2-4

John 4:43-54

Psalm 105:16-36

Proverbs 14:26-27

"The official pleaded, "Lord, please come now before my little boy dies." Then Jesus told him,  "Go back home. Your son will live!"  And the man believed what Jesus said and started home."

John 4:49-50

"Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death."

Proverbs 14:27

I love the connection here between the passage in John and in Proverbs. There was a government official who sought out Jesus because he was desperate. His son was dying and he believed that Jesus was his only hope. He begged Jesus to come heal his boy. But Jesus didn't need to go anywhere to do this. He told the man to go home and that his son would live. I love that the official believed what Jesus said. He didn't question Him. He didn't ask "How will You do this?" or "How do I know You'll really do this for me?" He just believed.

Proverbs 14:27 says that fear of the Lord is a live-giving fountain. This man feared Jesus and believed Him and obeyed Him. Because of Jesus' love and compassion and because of this man's faith and fear of the Lord, his son escaped the snare of death.

If you ever feel desperate, Jesus will always be there for you in your situation. He was able to heal a boy who was more than 20 miles away just speaking. There is nothing He can't do for you.

5/2/14

5/2/14
Then she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" When he woke up, he thought, "I will do as before and shake myself free." But he didn't realize the Lord had left him. So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison. But before long, his hair began to grow back.

Then Samson prayed to the lord, "Sovereign lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes." Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands, he prayed, "Let me die with the Philistines." And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime. (Judges 16:20-22, 28-30 NLT)

When we were kids, those of us who went to Sunday school, learned about the "hero's" of the Bible. And included in these hero's was Samson. This guy was a powerful man of God who got his strength from his log hair. But the thing that the stories didn't portray, the thing that they left out, was that, yes, Samson was a man dedicated to God by his parents, and he had great strength, but, Samson was a man who could not resist women, and even further, women who did not follow after his God. Samson had a problem. He had a problem with his eyes. He had a lust issue, and it tricked him into making some bad decisions. He lusted so hard that he forgot about what God proposed for him. And so God allowed his capture, and God allowed his captors to take away from him his problem. They took his eyes. We might think that Samson's story is about his hair, or even about a sly woman, but it is about a man that could not control the lust of his eyes. What he saw controlled him, because he did not rely on God to be his guide. There is a big difference between being dedicated to God, and being devoted to God. Did God use Samson? Yes. But just think of the potential that was wasted because he did not lean on God. Even Samson believed that his strength came from his hair, but the truth was, when his hair was cut, the vow his parents made to God was broken, and God left him. It says in vs. 21 that "The Lord left him." So I'll ask this question: what sin are you dealing with, are you holding on to, that reduces your potential for God? Only by clinging onto God, and through his strength can we overcome the sins that rule over our lives. God is, has been, and always will be the answer. Turn those sins over to the God who sees all the potential that you have. He created it, and he doesn't want to see you bogged down by the "sin that so easily entangles." (Hebrews 12)

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Thursday, January 31

THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2014

Judges 13:1–14:20

Luke 1:29–51

Psalm 102:1–28

Proverbs 14:15,16

 

 

“The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.  Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

 

“Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.  Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’

 

“‘Nazareth!  Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.

 

“‘Come and see,’ said Philip.

 

“When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.’

 

“‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.

 

“Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’

 

“ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.’

 

“Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree.  You shall see greater things that that.’  He then added, ‘I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’” (John 1:43–51)

 

 

This passage provide a beautiful introduction to the disciple’s call to evangelism.  While evangelism may involve apologetics (defending the faith through rational argument), more often than not, it takes the form of an invitation.  We pray that God would draw Himself near to our friends, and then we take opportunities to share about the wonderful Lord Jesus Christ and invite others to approach Him.  God gives us the awesome privilege of joining with Him in His self-revelation to His people.

 

Please note here that Philip had developed a strong understanding of Jesus’s exalted role in history:  that He had fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, a claim that Jesus would later make and that would draw charges of blasphemy from the Jewish religious leaders.  Philip simply introduce Nathanael to the very nature of Jesus, gently and within a context that Nathanael will understand.  The text suggests an immediacy and urgency to the potential meeting with this Jesus of Nazareth.

 

As with most people, Nathanael reacts strongly to the mention of Jesus.  He dismisses the authenticity of the Lord Jesus because of His lowly hometown.  The emergence of the Messiah from a small town, and not Jerusalem, did not sit well with popular Jewish understanding.

 

Please focus in on Philip’s response to Nathanael’s incredulity:  “Come and see.”  What a great interaction!  Instead of becoming defensive, Philip remains positive and encouraging.  The invitation is still open, despite Nathanael’s apparent close-mindedness.  Philip understood that simply interacting with the Lord Jesus would melt away Nathanael’s hardness.

 

Indeed, Nathanael does come to follow Jesus after understanding His powerful foreknowledge of Nathanael’s character and location.  Philip had succeeded in setting up an encounter between Jesus and Nathanael, whom Jesus loved and longed for.

 

In a similar fashion, we have the privilege of sharing this “Come and see!” invitation with a world hungry to meet the Lord Jesus.  Coming to Christ involves representing from our sin and trusting in His holy sacrifice as an antidote to the wrathful debt we could never repay.  As St. Augustine prayed, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

 

 

Lord Jesus, give us wisdom to offer “Come and see!” invitations to those whom we love.  Help us know You better and to treasure our time together.  Cast out those distractions and interruptions that keep us from fully grasping the depth of Your love.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

 

“I Love to Tell the Story” (http://bit.ly/1mj6UtM)

A. Katherine Hankey

 

 

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;

It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

 

I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,

To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

 

I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems

Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.

I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;

And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.

 

I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat

What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.

I love to tell the story, for some have never heard

The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.

 

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.

And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,

’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

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Judges 11-12:5, John 1:1-28, Psalm 101:1-8, Proverbs 14:13-14

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Judges 11-12:5, John 1:1-28, Psalm 101:1-8, Proverbs 14:13-14

 

I can think of many famous game changers in my lifetime, as well as those pivotal moments in history that changed everything as we know it.  I remember when the Challenger exploded, when the Berlin Wall fell, 9/11, when Steve Jobs presented the IPhone for the first time, when D called me that he got the job in Stamford.  Total game changers.   John 1, to me, was a game changer to the Jewish people, the Church, and is a cornerstone to what we believe and know about the person of God.  It was in high school that the light bulb went on and I realized what this chapter meant.  "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Then jumping down to verse 14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."  God = The Word = Jesus Christ.

 

I read through this chapter a few times, and each time something else grabs me.  There are three things that gave me comfort, smiles, and peace.  First, I love the word in verse 14, "dwelling."  In my footnotes this ancient word it means, "to pitch a tabernacle" or "live in a tent."  During the Old Testament, God lived in designated area, a tabernacle, the Holy of Holies.  Now, in John 1, the whole definition and meaning of "dwell" and this view of place is being changed.  Since this chapter declares God as being The Word and we know that The Word is Jesus Christ, we know that God came to dwell, or live with His people.  When people saw the face of Jesus, they saw the face of God.  This is the Incarnation of Jesus Christ that ultimately took him to the cross.   It's a game changer because many times in the Old Testament, God was above and separated from the people.  They heard His voice, but there was a clear distance.  Now, through Jesus, that gap was filled.

 

The other two words that jumped out to me more than any other time are "grace and truth."  We see these two words in verse 14 and then in verse 17.  They are tied together and both mentions are linked with Jesus.  In verse 14, The Word comes from the father in grace and truth.  In verse 17, "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."  Jesus was the Messiah. He came to deliver His people…He came to deliver us.  But He did not come with strength and might, nor did he come with power and authority.  He came with GRACE and TRUTH.  These attributes are direct pictures of God's glory that was seen through Jesus and why He came to Earth, and how He came to Earth.  The Jewish people already had the law (as we have been reading year to date,) but it is through Christ that God demonstrated His grace.  These are words and truths that I believe in and give me comfort.  This is a picture of love and this is what I lean on.  I put my trust in the truth of Jesus and I have awe in his grace that happened on the cross.