Saturday, April 9

Today we read Mark 7-8 and as I read through one thing really jumped out at me that I thought I would share with you. In Mark 7:15-16 we read, "There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." This is referring to the Pharisees following of all the laws, including the food laws. But I think it is interesting how much this can still pertain to us today, who don't follow the Old Testament Jewish food laws. We live in a society that focuses so much on food and health, and eat this not that. And I think that we often forget to really think about the things that are coming out from us. What does this mean exactly? I just had the discussion with some of our middle school students about our actions and lives reflecting whose we are. We must guard our hearts because the words we say and the things we do reflect what is in our hearts. Here Jesus is telling the people that what is more important than following the dietary laws is the way the people are living their lives. Were they a reflection of the God they claimed to follow? Are we a reflection of the God we claim to follow?

Thursday, April 7th

A lot of great leaders throughout the canon of scripture seem to answer their critics with statements and ideas that seem out of place. When Jesus was asked a question by some know-it-all legal expert about the legal definition of a neighbor; Jesus begins to tell a story about a robbery. (Luke 10:25-37) When Stephen is accused of blasphemy by the religious establishment, he answers with a scathing sermon/ history lesson. (Acts 6-7)

When you apply Job 27 and 28 to the rest of the previous chapters of Job I believe that you see a man who answers his critics without using a whole lot of “direct answers.” Chapter 27 starts off with Job affirming his innocence and letting his small audience know that he will not confess to a crime that he didn’t commit. He follows it up with a small lesson on the ultimate end of evil people.

I find chapter 28 fascinating in light of Job’s entire situation. He is answering his critics with a dissertation on wisdom. This speech seems to very much be a forerunner to Solomon’s writings on the subject. Job gives wisdom physical form and compares its true market value against all of the other “stock” of the day. Just in case you didn’t catch it; wisdom wins out. Wisdom is valuable above all else. With this I believe that Job is telling his “friends” to go seek wisdom and stop giving him a piece of their minds. Much like Jesus and Stephen, Job’s talk is given to address the true heart of the matter.

This leads me to ask a question about worldview. How do you see the world? Is it through the lens of scripture? What is your view of God, man, ethics and wisdom? I pray that we would all answer those questions on a personal level. Job would suggest that we are start with a healthy fear of the God that was able to turn his life upside down. (28:28) I wholeheartedly agree.

Tuesday April 5 posting on April 7 :)

I apologize for my tardiness in posting this week - I forgot to post my thoughts.

In 1 Samuel 16, we see where the Prophet Samuel is instructed to go and anoint the future king of Israel. This is a wonderful picture of the fact that what you see is not always what you get. David was the youngest of Jesse's boys and was not expected to be chosen by Samuel but the Lord knew something beyond age and appearance as the Lord knew the heart. We will see in David that he is a man after God's own heart yet has fears, and great failures in his life. But even with his failures we will see a heart that is sensitive to the Lord when confronted by his sin. Oftentimes the question is what do we do when we see our sin do we hide it or do we confess it so that there can be forgiveness and restoration.

In 1 Samuel 17-20 I notice three things; first, I see David's willingness to stand up for the Lord and the nation of Israel. David killed Goliath when no one else was even willing to fight him. He also killed 200 Phillistines and took their foreskins and gave them to Saul in order to marry his daughter Michal and this is after Saul's requirement for marriage was 100 Phillistine foreskins. David was willing to put his life on the line for the Lord and the people of Israel. Second, I see Saul's hatred and jealousy for David. No less than 4 times did Saul try to kill David with his spear, and the entire purpose of asking for 100 Phillistine foreskins was that Saul believed that David would die in the process. Third, I see a deep love between Jonathan, Saul's son, and David. This love began soon after the killing of Goliath and is also seen in Jonathan protecting David from his father. We also see a covenant between David and Jonathan that would last after the death of Jonathan as David has promised that he will care for Jonathan's family even as he is the king. We see David's courage to fight, loyalty to God and to country, and we see that David is a wonderful friend to Jonathan as Jonathan is to him.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Often we Christians try to present a godly life while in reality we are living a lie. Judah did the same thing during the time of Jeremiah. They were stealing, murdering, committing adultery, swearing falsely, worshipping idols but they would come to the temple and present themselves as godly people. Jeremiah 7:1-15 declares this truth. In fact, Jeremiah 7 - 10 gives evidence of God's accusations that Judah takes comfort in the temple while breaking God's commands (Jeremiah 7:1-8:3), rejecting the law (Jeremiah 8:4-17), living deceitfully (Jeremiah 8:18-9:9), grieving the prophet (9:10-26), and engaging in idolatry (Jeremiah 10:1-16). The Church is no different today. We come to church smiling and pretending that everything is great. When asked we say, "everything is fine." However at home our marriages are drowning in anger and deceit, our kids are sexually active and we hide our heads in the sand, and our finances are stretched to the limits. We lie to ourselves, to our loved ones, to those who could help us. Most importantly we try to lie to God. God called Judah to amend their ways and their deeds. He called them to be honest with themselves and not to take advantage of God's goodness. He tells them that if they don't amend their ways He will remove them from the land He gave them. Which He did. God calls us to amend our ways. To be honest with Him. To repent. Jeremiah 11:3-5 states: "Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I man confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day." These words say to us to "keep the Lord's Word, listen to my voice, and do all I command you in my Word so you will be blessed in all your ways." It is time for a moral inventory. How are you doing in your spiritual life? Are you doing what you know to be right? Are you keeping the Lord's commands? He is patient, but only for a time.

Sunday April 03, 2011

Sunday April 03, 2011

1 Corinthians 11 & 12

We are a Family United

In today’s reading, sermons could be preached on several different topics, such as the reverence of worship, the submission of equals, how to receive the Lord’s communion, using spiritual gifts and the order of ministries in the church. Today however, I will focus on the underlying issue of unity.

After reading through and considering the several topics, the notion that kept presenting itself was believers being unified for God. In chap 11, Paul first confronted the issue of poor worship practice. He noted the swing in attitude was causing a division in the church. In our own time, how often have we heard or seen a change in practice divide a congregation? Sometimes the division is necessary such as a church moving away from sound biblical principles but Paul dealt with a smaller issue that began causing a rift. His solution to the problem was to prompt the people to behave in a manner that was respectable to God and less of a distraction to other believers. This is a similar ideology used in chap 8 and 10, where Paul urged believers to avoid behaviors that would hinder another believer’s relationship with Christ.

Another unity problem Paul confronted was the Lord’s Supper not being conducted in an appropriate manner. After seeing people not only take the supper without considering what it represented but many wealthy followers gorged themselves early at the fellowship meal while others starved. Paul’s resolution was to remind believers about the purpose of the Lord’s Supper and to examine themselves to make sure they were worthy to receive it. In our own church, it is a regularity that our pastor first reminds us how the supper represents the sacrifice Jesus made for all sinners and secondly, we are asked to examine our relationships with Christ and others. As in Paul’s time, we are still held responsible for showing unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The final show of problems with unity comes in chap 12. This chapter is devoted to discussing the spiritual gifts God has given believers. Divisions were created in the Corinthian church as followers noted certain gifts to be more important or spiritual. In resolving this, Paul used the analogy of a human body to express the need for unity. He demonstrated that the church has many parts to it, like the body. Each part performs an essential task and is important to overall effectiveness of the body. We should remember that spiritual gifts come through the Holy Spirit and are used to lift up the church and draw others towards Christ. It is used to unify people for the glory God.

Saturday, April 2

As we looked at Mark 5-6 I saw two different responses of the people that were around Jesus. First, we see in Mark 5:15-17, that after Jesus cast out the demons from the man possessed by a legion, the people were scared. They even asked him to leave the region. Then in Mark 6:6, we see that Jesus marveled at the people's disbelief. However, we also see a second response to Jesus. This response is one of the people marveling at Jesus. They followed after him and wanted to be near him. One woman even knew that if she just touched his garment, then she would be healed. These two responses are still common today. Jesus and his message scare people at times but at other times cause people to marvel. Lives are changed by the message of Christ...but how is the question. And for those who claim life change, are they living as one that is scared of the message or as one that is amazed by the simple knowledge of Christ.

Friday, April 1, 2011

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 is an amazing verse. God knew Jeremiah before he was borned. Does he know you? Absolutely!!! He knows every child being formed in the womb of its mother. I wonder how many great leaders God knew and called in the womb only to be taken by abortion? I wonder how many great musicians, teachers, businessmen, pastors were called by God in the womb only to be killed by an abortion? It is a sobering thought that stems from this verse in Jeremiah. Jeremiah was known as the "weeping prophet." He lived during the reign of 5 kings of Judah. His calling occurs during the reign of Josiah. Josiah was a great king. He brought revival to his people. He restored worship again. Jeremiah will begin his ministry during this time. The first 6 chapters of Jeremiah were most likely written during the reign of Josiah. The first chapter records Jeremiah's call and message. The next 5 chapters address Judah's adultery to God's covenant with them. The themes are as follows: Jeremiah 2:1-3:5 Israel has been a faithless spouse. Jeremiah 3:6-4:4 Israel is called to repent Jeremiah 4:5-31 Disaster is coming Jeremiah 5:1-31 What will happen if Judah is unwilling to repent Jeremiah 6:1-30 God's response to His people is rejection Before we get pious let us not forget that we have a new covenant with God through Jesus Christ and we have His Word to guide us, but we have a nature like Israel's. We often stray from God's desire and will. The good news is that God offers us opportunities to repent. God is a God of second chances. Where are you today in your walk with God?