October 18: Mark 1:1; John 1:1-18; Luke 1:1-4

NOTE:  I am sending this post out a day early due to upcoming travel.  Pastor Scott Taylor and I will be heading to the Dominican Republic today to encourage 18 pastors from Ministerios Bendiciones, a network of churches in and around Santo Domingo, the country's capital and largest city.  We would sincerely appreciate your prayers for safe travels and great opportunities to build into our brothers.  One of these pastors is José Medina, who had visited Grace Church in early May.  Thank you for your support!

 

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2012

Mark 1:1; John 1:1–18; Luke 1:1–4

 

 

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:13,14)

 

Today begins our reading of the New Testament, which speaks of the life, death, and resurrection of our great Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the birth of His church.  As you have gathered from our study of the Old Testament, Jesus's appearance on earth is not a mere coincidence; rather, God had ordained from the beginning of time that His coming to the people of Israel would occur in that very day.

 

What implications does the Incarnation have?  We will look at several key outcomes.

 

1.  Confidence in His revelation.  Previously, God had revealed Himself primarily through prophets, stretching from Moses to Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.  Now, God has sent us His Son, and, as John notes in the passage above, we may see the "glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."  Jesus Christ, the Holy and Anointed One (the meaning of "Christ" or "Messiah), would serve as God's chosen Servant and the chief revelation of His Person and character.  In our day, we may rejoice because of His revelation.  As Jesus explains in Matthew 11:27, "all things have been committed to me by my Father.  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."  Also, in Colossians 2:9, we read:  "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."

 

2.  Confidence in His power.  As John points out, Jesus created the universe along side God the Father:  "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (1:3-5)  He is capable of doing all things.

 

3.  Confidence in the knowledge that God knows our struggles.  We can never call God "distant"; we may feel that way, but he is intimately involved in our broken world.  Through Christ, we may clearly see that God understands the challenges of our lives:  "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)

 

4.  Confidence in how to handle truth.  In v. 14, John explains that Jesus "came from the Father, full of grace and truth."  As we approach difficult circumstances, we can follow Jesus's example.  We must mix applications of truth, which can sometimes appear cold and calculating, with grace, which represents an unmerited favor or gift.  Naturally, our characters will lean towards one element or another.  In Christ, however, we see a perfect balance.

 

5.  Confidence in the demonstration of humility.  The great mystery of the Incarnation lies in what Jesus has given up so that He might provide new life for His followers.  Despite our shortcomings, Jesus relinquished a throne in heaven to be born in a dirty stable.  What amazing love!  As Paul indicates in Philippians 2:5–8:

 

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

 

"Who, being in very nature God,

      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but made himself nothing,

      taking the very nature[b] of a servant,

      being made in human likeness.

 And being found in appearance as a man,

      he humbled himself

      and became obedient to death—

         even death on a cross!"

 

 

6.  Confidence in our mission.  When we first read Jesus's call to discipleship, we may be overwhelmed by the cost:  "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" (Luke 9:23-25)  Yet, Jesus gave everything for us; will we live in thanksgiving to Him?

 

7.  Confidence in His proximity to us.  The promises of Psalm 23:4 come true in Christ Himself:

 

"Even though I walk

       through the valley of the shadow of death,

       I will fear no evil,

       for you are with me;

       your rod and your staff,

       they comfort me."

 

8.  Confidence in our hope.  Due to Christ's resurrection, we may trust that there is eternal life and resurrection for those who believe.  Long ago, Abraham believed such promises, but we have the evidence to prove it:  "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.  He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,  even though God had said to him, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'  Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death." (Hebrews 11:17-19)

 

9.  Confidence in His sacrifice.  Jesus's Incarnation means that God had become man.  This God-man could become a perfect sacrifice for fallen people; only in such a Person could God and man be truly reconciled.  It is a profound mystery, but Paul explains this sacrifice:  "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

 

 

QUESTIONS

 

1.  What does the Incarnation mean for you?

2.  Are you looking forward to God's revelation in your life?  What could you do to hear His voice more clearly?


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October 16

Writings of the Apocrypha

When I was in college, I took a class called Literature of the Bible. The purpose of the class was to study the Bible as a piece of literature. Our professor assigned the New Jerusalem Bible as the version we would study. This was my first experience reading the books of the Apocrypha. I understand why these books are not included in the Hebrew Old Testament (see today's reading in the Daily Bible for more details.). However I was grateful for the opportunity to study them.

The book of Tobit was probably the most memorable. At one point in the story, Tobias falls in love with Sarah and wishes to marry her. But Sarah has a problem. She had been married seven times and all seven of her husbands died on the night of the wedding. Despite the fear that he may face the same end, Tobias married Sarah. On the night of their wedding, he prayed this prayer:

You are blessed, O God of our fathers;
Blessed too is your name
For ever and ever.
Let the heavens bless you
And all things you have made
For evermore.
You it was who created Adam,
You who created Eve his wife
To be his help and support;
And from these two the human race was born.
You it was who said,
"It is not right that the man should be alone;
Let us make him a helper like him."
And so I take my sister
Not for any lustful motive,
But I do in singleness of heart.
Be kind enough to have pity on her and on me.
And bring us to old age together.
~ Tobit 8:5-7

In this situation, I was impressed by Tobias' faith. He was afraid that he may die if he married Sarah. In his fear, He turned to the Lord, knowing He was the only One who could bless them with many years together.

I am looking forward to starting the New Testament this week. I pray that all of us, even those like me who have struggled with the end of the Old Testament, will see this as a fresh start and recommit themselves to the journey.

Monday October 15th - Our New Testament Journey is About to Begin!!!

We have come to the end of the Old Testament.  66 books that act as an arrow pointing to the one who will fulfill the scriptures it contains.  We have read the prelude to the next chapter (or in this case testament) of the story being told. 

Matthew 5:17-18  "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

Christ the Messiah is the bull's-eye that the Old Testament arrow was pointing to.   With his birth we see the beginning of the two testaments coming together to complete and tell one consistent story. 

I want to encourage each of you to pray for God to open up your eye's, heart's, and mind's to see Christ, the fulfiller of the law, the promised Messiah, the prophecies of old come to life, in a way you have never seen him before.  He is not a one-dimensional character created in the mind of man.  Christ is God in the flesh (John 1); he is our savior, redeemer and friend.  We know these things, we have heard these things but let us go into the New Testament with a desire to see him MORE clearly, to experience him in ways we never have, and to deepen our love to levels we didn't even know were possible.

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

God's word is alive and active.  Let it work in your hearts and lives in new ways.  Let us finish this bible in a year reading stronger then we started so that we can finish as new creatures in Christ from when we started in January.

I love you all and I pray for God's spirit to work in each of your lives.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Friday, October 12, 2012

I am currently on a retreat and writing this blog from my phone so I will be short and to the point - Holy Spirit lead me - Nehemiah has returned to Jerusalem to "dedicate the wall;" that is, to rejoice in the Lord for restoring His people and their place of worship. Problem is - upon Nehemiah's return, it is obvious that everyone has turned their back on God once again. Yet, God has compassion once again and waits for His people to turn back to Him. They do, thankfully, with the godly rebuking of Nehemiah.

Let God's grace touch your heart today. All the sin you'll ever commit in your life is a drop of water compared to God's ocean of grace. How could you not run towards that?

"Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster." (Deuteronomy 30:15) I don't know about you, but I choose life. I hope God's grace will encourage you to do the same.

God Bless,
Anthony

October 11: Nehemiah 8-10

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012

Nehemiah 8–10

 

 

Today’s passage recounts the people’s corporate confession before God within the governorship of Nehemiah and the priesthood of Ezra.  We can see the value of their godly leadership and the genuine nature of the people’s confession.  Their hearing of the Word of God brings them into true repentance and points out some key lessons.  Indeed, the Word brought forth a response, as God promised, and “faith comes by hearing and that by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

 

1.  The Israelites’ history provided many cycles of God’s compassion and human nature.  We find this nature in ourselves.  When we are in despair, we are quick to call out to God, but we are often spiritually indifferent during good times.  When we find His Word too hard to take, we may turn aside or even “shoot the messenger.”  In short, we, like the Israelites, struggle with the question of kingship.  Whom will we serve?

 

Previously, the Israelites had often exhibited the principles during the time of judges:  “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 17:6; 21:25)  While God had declared Himself their true King, the people had longed for an earthly king and would worship whatever brought them near-term benefits.  Please remember that the people had turned away from the One Who led them from Egypt and had guided them through the desert, sensing that Moses had abandoned them:  “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will go before us.  As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’“ (Exodus 32:1)

 

At a later point, the people specifically demanded a king:

 

“So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’

 

“But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.  And the Lord told him:  ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.  As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.  Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.’“ (1 Samuel 8:5–9)

 

In today’s recorded prayer, we see the people’s acknowledgement of the forefathers’ stubbornness and hardness of heart.  At many points, God had warned the people, but they failed to acknowledge Him.  Later, He had brought temporary judgments on them, “but in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.”  His compassion did not allow Him to completely abandon the wayward people.  God’s lovingkindness and grace compelled Him to keep loving in spite of the people’s sin.

 

 

2.  True prayer lifts up God’s Name.  Often, we may find ourselves badgering God for our “wants” in prayer.  Instead, true prayer should exalt God’s Name and recognize His beauty and majesty.  Please remember that, in Biblical times, a person’s name encompassed the entirety of the reputation and the character of the person.  The people had prayed:  “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.  You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.” (Nehemiah 9:5b,6)

 

 

3.  Ezra and Nehemiah’s leadership points the people to godly principles, while so many before them had drawn the people into greater worldliness.  It is important to consider some differences between worldly and godly leadership:

 

a.  Worldly leadership seeks personal gain, while godly leadership seeks to honor God.

 

b.  Worldly leaders wish to exalt themselves, but godly leadership commit themselves to humility and servanthood.

 

c.  Worldly leadership desires to use others, but godly leadership calls others to holiness and accountability.  Worldly leaders happily adopt a laissez-faire attitude if it remains in their best interests, but godly leaders care about people enough to challenge them.  Here, we see the leaders calling the people to bring their firstfruits of their crops:  “We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the Lord each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.” (10:35)  These offerings would demonstrate not only 1) God’s faithfulness, but also 2) the people’s commitment to His authority on ongoing basis.

 

 

QUESTIONS

 

1.  How have you seen God’s compassion poured out in your life?

2.  How can you lift up God’s Name in your prayer this week?

 

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Nehemiah 7, 11-12

Nehemiah 7, 11-12

 

I just came home from a week long Leadership Conference in Houston, TX.  If you don't know, I'm a store manager for Starbucks and have worked for the company for over 10 years.  My peers have dubbed me "the cheerleader" because I love my company.  Our theme last week was "Leading through the eyes of humanity," and I left inspired and excited to get back to my team.  Our values at Starbucks is a list of 5 and includes "integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and drive, and passion for everything you do," just to name a few.  These values came to mind as I read about Nehemiah this morning as he governed and lead his people…God's people.       

Jerusalem is built, the walls are up, the people are back in The Land.  Now, Nehemiah has the task of populating the capital city.  He was a leader of the people and his actions were decided based on the good of the people and from the influence of God.  He kept the gates closed for protection, even if it was not traditional during this time.  He credits God, with, "So my God put it into my heart…" (7:5) when placing nobles, officials, and leadership in place.  This leadership team was placed based on their "integrity" and how fervent their fear of God was. 

From reading the numbers and redistribution of families and people, it seems he was very thorough, complete, and paid attention to who the families were.  He was fair and just.  He had the best interest in mind of the families and tribes by putting 1 out of 10 in Jerusalem.  Keep in mind that the placement of these families will be influential through the centuries when other ruling nations take over.  We see the tribes of Benjamin and Judah.  Jesus came from the line of Judah. 

In all these tribes, everyone had a role and job (like the body of Christ.)  We see the priests, the scribes, the people who worked the land, the gate keeper and watchmen.  The descendants of Asaph were still around and sang in the courts just like they has centuries before.  The city of Jerusalem is growing, and Nehemiah is focused on building it to God's glory and honor.  There is worship and praise to God and I will just imagine it happening in the streets and echoing through the halls.  There are lessons we can learn from Nehemiah, even in chapters that are easy to skim through (oh more numbers and names I can't pronounce.)  But really.  Many of us may be in leadership roles in one capacity or another, or may be in a leadership position one day.  Be wise and seek God…

 

October 9

Nehemiah 4:8
They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.

Nehemiah 4:14
"Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives and your homes."

Nehemiah 6:15-16
So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

The Israelites had the difficult task of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. It was made worse because of the opposition they faced. Their enemies were angry at their efforts and constantly taunted them and threatened them with violence. The workers started to become discouraged. Building the wall was demanding by itself. But they also had to endure attacks from their enemy. They started to lose their strength. Then Nehemiah reminded them of their great and awesome God. He was still there with them and He would fight this battle for them. Fast forward to the end of the 52 days, and we see that the wall is complete and their enemies have given up because they know that they can't fight against God!

Have you ever noticed that when you are trying to do God's work that you often face opposition? We have an enemy, just like Nehemiah did, and he is trying to stop us from obeying God. How do we fight against such attacks? Just like Nehemiah did: He reminded himself and all the people that God was on their side and He would fight (and win!) this battle for them.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be going to the women's retreat in Spofford. It will be my ninth time going. Every year, I am asked to prepare the music for the weekend and I am honored to do it. I love music and I love that I can use it to honor and bring glory to God. But every year, a couple of weeks before the retreat I start to feel attacked. It's not an outward threat of violence, like Nehemiah faced. It's an inner attack. It's a voice telling me that I'm not good enough, that what I'm doing doesn't really matter, that I will not be prepared, that I will not do a good job, that I will not make a difference. With my own strength, I am helpless against these attacks. They will reduce me to a weak, fearful, useless person, which is exactly what my enemy wants. The only hope I have is to call on the name of my God for help and strength. With His power, my enemy is exposed for what he is: a liar. Once I realize that these thoughts are nothing but lies, only then can I continue doing the work that God called me to do. He is my defense, He is my strength, and He is the truth.

I must admit that I fall for Satan's tricks more often than I should. I know that there is only one escape and at times I am slow to remember, causing grief that I don't need to experience. My prayer is that we will all be quick to remember what to do when the enemy is working against us.

Romans 8:31
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?