To My Girls,
Picking up at the end of Chapter 10, verse 15...Job is full of confusion. God, he says, you see my plight and my affliction. I am terrified. You hunt me down like a lion and then show your power by crushing me with your weight. God! Don't You see my great affliction and misery. Don't you care, God!?? No matter what I do..whether I am righteous or whether I am wicked...I am still in misery. Job then pleads with God to leave him alone and give him some rest so that he might find some comfort before he dies.
Listen to Zophar at the beginning of Chapter 11!! What a miserable comforter this guy is! Job know that God is exacting from you less than your iniquity deserves.
Now of course there is some truth there...the bible does say that the wages of sin is death but Zophar is not listening to Job's heart here. One of my pastors has wisely said that when someone criticizes you or speaks to you unkindly, the best way to handle it is to look for the truth in what they say and throw the rest out. This is very good advice. Oh that we would listen more and close our mouths even more! That we would pray for mercy both for ourselves and for others. I love what Chuck Smith says about this verse:
"I think only a fool would come to God and say Lord, give me what I deserve." Chuck is so right...when I come before the Lord I pray mercy...mercy and more mercy, please!
Now before Zophar had the arrogance to tell suffering Job that God was exacting less from him than what he really deserved, he reminds Job of what he (JOB) had said:
For you have said, 'My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in your eyes.' But oh, that God would speak, And open His lips against you,
Aaah..but God himself had already spoken his thoughts about Job in chapter 1.
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"
Now neither Job nor Zophar were privy to this...but we, as the reader, know what God thinks of Job...and yet we find him suffering and smitten by God.
Chapter 12 finds Job answering and responding to his three "comforters". Now verse 2 of chapter 12 is my favorite verse in the book of Job with a verse in chapter 13 running a very close second. Here is what Job 12:2 says:
No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you!
Ha...when you die wisdom will too! Can you hear the sarcasm in his voice. This is one of the reasons I love Job. He is godly and sarcastic! A winning combination! I have wisdom too, Job says. In fact what you guys are saying about God's justice and sovereignty are common knowledge. In addition, Job has gone through what they have not. He is going to shine a lamp on their ease and make them uncomfortable.
Look around men...the wicked do seem to prosper. Asks the beasts...even they get it! The strongest wins. And what's more, Job goes on to say, God controls it all. (vs 12-25).
Chapter 13 finds Job very very tired of his earthly companions and desiring to speak to His God and reason with Him. In fact Job tells his earthly counselors that the wisest thing they could do would be to shut their mouths. My second favorite verse in Job is below.
"Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it. What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God. But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians. Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom! --Job 13:1-5
Oh, that you would be silent, and it would be your wisdom. Don't you love that line! God tells us in Isaiah to come, let us reason together. And in James He tells us that if we lack wisdom to ask. Take counsel from God...spend time with Him in a trial..wait on Him. That is where your true help will come from.
Job goes on to say that in their attempt to defend God they are actually offending Him and talking deceitfully.
Their explanations of God's actions were not true. He then asks them if they are prepared to have God search their own hearts? Job tells them that even though he does not understand what he is going through or why he is going through it, he is going to trust him. Here is the famous line from the book of Job.
Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
I love that...Job is going to trust God no matter what He is doing and no matter what the outcome. Job's body here is a mass of open sores, his family has been taken from him and his wife has told him to curse God and die. AND YET...Job cries out in faith. What an encouragement!!! Okay...not so good that Job still wants to defend his ways before God and wants God to tell him the reason he is suffering...not exactly trusting God but still...
Job asks God for two things in verses 20 and 21...that He would not withdraw His hand from Him and that the dread of Him would not make him afraid. He is basically saying like Peter said...Lord to whom would I go...you have the words to eternal life. For me thinking about being without the Lord and His word is like falling into a very dark endless hole from which I would never emerge. Truly, the thought is terrifying. Verse 22 and 23 find him asking God once again to make him to know his transgression and his sin. What did I do Lord to merit this kind of misery?? Tell me!
Job wants to move on with his life but can't because God has his feet in the stocks...He is being held prisoner by his punishment and eaten away daily with despair.
Thus ends my notes on 10-13...
Love
Mom
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Summary of the Book of Job...
By Bill...
A friend and I are reading through the Bible chronologically and are now in the Book of Job. Here is a summary written by my husband for those who might be reading along with us and finding the book a bit difficult to comprehend.
Overall, Job illustrates two fundamental truths: no man is righteous and God is sovereign, and in the end, always compassionate and merciful.
Job, had an inaccurate understanding about who he was (a sinner), and who God is (all-powerful and utterly holy).
From our perspective, Job was a "good man", and it was because of his goodness that he became a target of Satan's long war against God. In effect, Satan, who currently has access to Heaven but one one day be cast down forever, challenged God regarding Job.
The challenge was this, paraphrasing: "Job only loves and worships you because you have blessed him with health, wealth and family. Take away these blessings and he will curse you."
Astonishingly, God gives Satan permission to test Job, but notice he can only do to Job what God allows during each testing.
First Job is bereft of wealth and family - even his wife advises him to "curse God and die!" But Job suffered all these things and remained steadfast - "The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord."
Satan then dares God to take Job's health away and watch him lose faith. God allows this trial as well, but puts definite limits to the afflictions that Satan was powerless to go beyond.
To this physical torture, so tormenting Job wished to die, and cursed the day he was born, was added the self-righteous hypocritical "sympathies of his 4 "friends".
But notice throughout the entire ordeal, while crying out to God, and attempting to defend himself to his companions, Job neither took his own life, nor dishonored God.
In the end, after some 39 chapters of physical and emotional testing, God revealed himself to Job, obliterating all his false pictures of self-righteousness, and displaying His true, awe-inspiring Being.
Job rightfully repented in dust and ashes.
Then God turned His attention to Job's useless friends and informed them that only through Job's prayers on their behalf would they avoid His judgment.They thought they knew God and His purposes, yet were worse in their hearts than Job, to whom they directed their torturous self-righteous superiority.
In the end, God blessed Job with precisely twice the blessings He had bestowed at first.
Job is a book which purposely shatters any conception we have about our holiness in light of God's perfect and radiant holiness.
God claims and exercises jurisdiction and judgment over all creation. No created being, including Satan, can operate beyond His knowledge and will.
And no one is righteous except God:
Here is what God says about natural man:
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18, NKJV).
Job, had an inaccurate understanding about who he was (a sinner), and who God is (all-powerful and utterly holy).
From our perspective, Job was a "good man", and it was because of his goodness that he became a target of Satan's long war against God. In effect, Satan, who currently has access to Heaven but one one day be cast down forever, challenged God regarding Job.
The challenge was this, paraphrasing: "Job only loves and worships you because you have blessed him with health, wealth and family. Take away these blessings and he will curse you."
Astonishingly, God gives Satan permission to test Job, but notice he can only do to Job what God allows during each testing.
First Job is bereft of wealth and family - even his wife advises him to "curse God and die!" But Job suffered all these things and remained steadfast - "The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord."
Satan then dares God to take Job's health away and watch him lose faith. God allows this trial as well, but puts definite limits to the afflictions that Satan was powerless to go beyond.
To this physical torture, so tormenting Job wished to die, and cursed the day he was born, was added the self-righteous hypocritical "sympathies of his 4 "friends".
But notice throughout the entire ordeal, while crying out to God, and attempting to defend himself to his companions, Job neither took his own life, nor dishonored God.
In the end, after some 39 chapters of physical and emotional testing, God revealed himself to Job, obliterating all his false pictures of self-righteousness, and displaying His true, awe-inspiring Being.
Job rightfully repented in dust and ashes.
Then God turned His attention to Job's useless friends and informed them that only through Job's prayers on their behalf would they avoid His judgment.They thought they knew God and His purposes, yet were worse in their hearts than Job, to whom they directed their torturous self-righteous superiority.
In the end, God blessed Job with precisely twice the blessings He had bestowed at first.
Job is a book which purposely shatters any conception we have about our holiness in light of God's perfect and radiant holiness.
God claims and exercises jurisdiction and judgment over all creation. No created being, including Satan, can operate beyond His knowledge and will.
And no one is righteous except God:
Here is what God says about natural man:
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18, NKJV).
Monday, September 26, 2011
Notes on Job Chapters 6-9
These friends of Job are really something else. But really we are all guilty of acting toward others as they acted toward Job. We are critical and condemning instead of caring. We try to explain God on our own terms from our own narrow perspective. Our God works with all of us differently. We can't put Him into a box. Eliphaz tells Job to practice what he preaches. He tells him that he was only reaping what he sowed and that if he was innocent he would not be suffering. Get right with God Job, and you will be blessed! HA! Thanks Eliphaz...you are all heart!
Don't base your advice on experience and emotion...they change. Base it on the word of God which never changes. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. See the person that stands in front of you. Don't miss the pain and the suffering. Look with your heart as well as your head.
Chapter 6-7
Job begins chapter 6 by telling us how heavy his grief is. No one...no one will understand your pain. No matter how well you explain it they cannot. They have not walked the same path you have. God, however, does understand. He has carried all your pain, grief and sorrow. His presence is always with you. Pour your heart out to Him.
Job feels targeted by God. His friends instead of being a comfort and providing words of encouragement have accused him of secret sin. Instead of applying soothing ointment to his wounds they were pouring salt into them and telling Job that the situation he found himself in was his fault. Jesus said that in the world we would have tribulation but to be of good cheer He had overcome the world. While we are in the world, we are to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Job desires death and God withholds it from him. This made me glad God does not answer all our prayers with a yes. Our knowledge is so limited! We see through the glass darkly. God sees it all and He knows best.
He goes on in verses 13-17 and tells his friends that they are like deceitful brooks. No comfort when the cold winds blow and provide no refreshment in the heat of the summer. (brook freezes...brook dries up)
The beginning of chapter 7 finds Job talking about the futility of life and in particular his life now. He speaks of his days as being spent without hope and says that his eyes will never see good again. Job doesn't see what all his suffering could accomplish. He wants God to either forgive him or take his life. He wants peace one way or the other. Job does not have God's eyes and does not see the end from the beginning. But we walk by faith not by sight.
Chapter 8 Bildad answers Job. God is just he says...for every cause there is an effect. If you are suffering, you must be in sin. Job agrees with him in chapter 9 that God is just, but still insists that he is blameless. By blameless Job does not mean sinless..he means spiritually mature. Job does not continue in any sin. He walks in the will of God. Job then lists his three complaints.
1. He can't contend with Him. (Now I like that I can't contend with God. If I could contend with Him, He would not be much of a God!)
2. He can't answer Him. Job is speaking of a courtroom. Since God is the Judge and He has all the power, He wins every time. Why bother, Job says. Job goes on to give a beautiful picture of God's sovereignty...well I thought it was beautiful. Verse 12 says this:
If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
I love that...who can say to Him, "What are You doing?"God is sovereign...He does what He wants. Paul says this about God's sovereignty in Romans 9:
But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
Now I really do not have any right to question God. Even though I know this, I still do. Job can't present any arguments with God because he has no right to present any arguments to God. We all know this and yet we still do. We contend with Him...we argue with Him. We complain about our circumstances. We whine about what He may or may not be doing in our lives.
In verse 33 Job wants a mediator between God and Himself but finds none. We have a mediator in Jesus who meets our deepest need. Jesus is the mediator between heaven and earth to whom God has committed all judgment.. This was, of course, not yet clear to Job but is crystal clear to us in the Gospel.
Job's Third Complaint begins in chapter 10. He does not understand what God is doing. To Job's human eyes God seems to be destroying His own work. If that is the case why was Job born in the first place. God could have saved himself a lot of trouble.
If I sin, then You mark me, And will not acquit me of my iniquity. If I am wicked, woe to me; Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; See my misery!
It doesn't seem to make any difference from where Job sits whether he is righteous or wicked...He is still in misery. Again the answer is in Job 9:33. We have a mediator in Him.
Don't base your advice on experience and emotion...they change. Base it on the word of God which never changes. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. See the person that stands in front of you. Don't miss the pain and the suffering. Look with your heart as well as your head.
Chapter 6-7
Job begins chapter 6 by telling us how heavy his grief is. No one...no one will understand your pain. No matter how well you explain it they cannot. They have not walked the same path you have. God, however, does understand. He has carried all your pain, grief and sorrow. His presence is always with you. Pour your heart out to Him.
Job feels targeted by God. His friends instead of being a comfort and providing words of encouragement have accused him of secret sin. Instead of applying soothing ointment to his wounds they were pouring salt into them and telling Job that the situation he found himself in was his fault. Jesus said that in the world we would have tribulation but to be of good cheer He had overcome the world. While we are in the world, we are to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Job desires death and God withholds it from him. This made me glad God does not answer all our prayers with a yes. Our knowledge is so limited! We see through the glass darkly. God sees it all and He knows best.
He goes on in verses 13-17 and tells his friends that they are like deceitful brooks. No comfort when the cold winds blow and provide no refreshment in the heat of the summer. (brook freezes...brook dries up)
The beginning of chapter 7 finds Job talking about the futility of life and in particular his life now. He speaks of his days as being spent without hope and says that his eyes will never see good again. Job doesn't see what all his suffering could accomplish. He wants God to either forgive him or take his life. He wants peace one way or the other. Job does not have God's eyes and does not see the end from the beginning. But we walk by faith not by sight.
Chapter 8 Bildad answers Job. God is just he says...for every cause there is an effect. If you are suffering, you must be in sin. Job agrees with him in chapter 9 that God is just, but still insists that he is blameless. By blameless Job does not mean sinless..he means spiritually mature. Job does not continue in any sin. He walks in the will of God. Job then lists his three complaints.
1. He can't contend with Him. (Now I like that I can't contend with God. If I could contend with Him, He would not be much of a God!)
2. He can't answer Him. Job is speaking of a courtroom. Since God is the Judge and He has all the power, He wins every time. Why bother, Job says. Job goes on to give a beautiful picture of God's sovereignty...well I thought it was beautiful. Verse 12 says this:
If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
I love that...who can say to Him, "What are You doing?"God is sovereign...He does what He wants. Paul says this about God's sovereignty in Romans 9:
But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
Now I really do not have any right to question God. Even though I know this, I still do. Job can't present any arguments with God because he has no right to present any arguments to God. We all know this and yet we still do. We contend with Him...we argue with Him. We complain about our circumstances. We whine about what He may or may not be doing in our lives.
In verse 33 Job wants a mediator between God and Himself but finds none. We have a mediator in Jesus who meets our deepest need. Jesus is the mediator between heaven and earth to whom God has committed all judgment.. This was, of course, not yet clear to Job but is crystal clear to us in the Gospel.
Job's Third Complaint begins in chapter 10. He does not understand what God is doing. To Job's human eyes God seems to be destroying His own work. If that is the case why was Job born in the first place. God could have saved himself a lot of trouble.
If I sin, then You mark me, And will not acquit me of my iniquity. If I am wicked, woe to me; Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; See my misery!
It doesn't seem to make any difference from where Job sits whether he is righteous or wicked...He is still in misery. Again the answer is in Job 9:33. We have a mediator in Him.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!
Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said:
“ Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.--Job 1:20-22
To My Daughters,
Did you catch what Job did immediately after he was told he had not only lost all his possessions but his children also? Now, you or I might be screaming at God, ranting, raving and/or making foolish charges. Not Job...He took it all to the Lord and released his emotion through worship! WOW!
Take the opportunity to do just what Job did when you are facing your own dark time...when you feel like everything is against you or when someone you loved has been taken away. Pray and ask the Lord to put the truth of His word in your heart at the very hour you need it. Worship Him because you know that His will for you comes from His heart of love. Worship Him because He works all things together in your life for your good and His glory. Worship Him because He is God and He is in control and He truly knows what is best for you. Worship Him because He sent His Son to die for you when you were still His enemy. Worship Him because He now lives to make intercession for you.
Job did not have the benefit of reading Chapter 1 like we all do. He had no idea what was happening behind the scenes. We know this was a test that God was allowing in his life. We know what God really thought of him. Job has been an example for countless through time. His story reminds us that even though it seems like God has forsaken us there is a lot going on that we do not see. These verses remind me of all that Job went through. No one was tested like Job. And yet he endured and was able to say this:
But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
Here is what James says about Job:
My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
If Job endured, then I can too and so can you! Job's choosing to worship the Lord at a time of such deep sorrow and loss is and has always been such a comfort to me as I face my own grief and sorrow. I can wait on the Lord who is compassionate and merciful. I can wait on Him who loved me enough to die for me. I can wait on Him because my hope is sure and certain in Heaven. I can wait because like Moses I choose to see the "invisible" by faith.
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Love
Mom
“ Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.--Job 1:20-22
To My Daughters,
Did you catch what Job did immediately after he was told he had not only lost all his possessions but his children also? Now, you or I might be screaming at God, ranting, raving and/or making foolish charges. Not Job...He took it all to the Lord and released his emotion through worship! WOW!
Take the opportunity to do just what Job did when you are facing your own dark time...when you feel like everything is against you or when someone you loved has been taken away. Pray and ask the Lord to put the truth of His word in your heart at the very hour you need it. Worship Him because you know that His will for you comes from His heart of love. Worship Him because He works all things together in your life for your good and His glory. Worship Him because He is God and He is in control and He truly knows what is best for you. Worship Him because He sent His Son to die for you when you were still His enemy. Worship Him because He now lives to make intercession for you.
Job did not have the benefit of reading Chapter 1 like we all do. He had no idea what was happening behind the scenes. We know this was a test that God was allowing in his life. We know what God really thought of him. Job has been an example for countless through time. His story reminds us that even though it seems like God has forsaken us there is a lot going on that we do not see. These verses remind me of all that Job went through. No one was tested like Job. And yet he endured and was able to say this:
But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
Here is what James says about Job:
My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
If Job endured, then I can too and so can you! Job's choosing to worship the Lord at a time of such deep sorrow and loss is and has always been such a comfort to me as I face my own grief and sorrow. I can wait on the Lord who is compassionate and merciful. I can wait on Him who loved me enough to die for me. I can wait on Him because my hope is sure and certain in Heaven. I can wait because like Moses I choose to see the "invisible" by faith.
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Love
Mom
Notes on Genesis 1-11 for Kathy...
Genesis 1: In the beginning God...there is no proven scientific fact that contradicts a word from the bible. The heavens declare His glory. 66 books, 40 different authors, 1600 years in three different languages...not one contradiction. Unified theme..God's glorious, gracious work of redemption.
Genesis 2: love and obedience involve choice...if God did not give us a choice our love would mean nothing. We would be like robots programmed to do His desires.
Eve was deceived, but Adam sinned with eyes wide open. Adam also did not accept responsibility for his sin but blamed Eve and ultimately God for his sin...the woman you gave me...
Sin always makes us hide from the Lord (Genesis 3:8) Tried to cover their sin with fig leaves...this is a picture of our efforts to come to God on our own terms. God gives us what we could never provide for ourselves...grace and infinite mercy which covers us now and for all eternity. Man's sin and nakedness would never be covered by our own efforts, but by the sacrifice of an innocent One, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. This is the first sacrifice in the bible...God had to kill an innocent animal to clothe Adam and Eve...Hebrews...without the shedding of blood, there is no covering and no remission of sins.
1st mention of the gospel in Genesis 3:15. This verse is the first indication that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, because the woman does not possess a seed; rather, she possesses the ovum, which is fertilized by the male's seed. Isaiah 7:14.
end of chapter 3: Tree of life...was protected. If Adam and Eve ate from it they would remain permanently in their fallen state with no possibility of redemption. Here is something beautiful: the picture of the cherubim and a flaming sword are also seen in the tabernacle, for over the mercy seat, sprinkled with sacrificial blood, were cherubim and the bright Shekinah glory of God. It is also seen at the empty tomb where two angels clothed in light sat at either end of a slab stained with the sacrificial blood of the lamb of God. Genesis 3 keeps man away from the tree of life...Jesus invites us to eat of the bread of life. Are you seeing how integrated a message the bible is...are you seeing that it was written outside of time...by someone who knows the end from the beginning.
Genesis 4: Cain tried to come to God on his own terms not God's. Abel came to God on God's terms. God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. It is only in Christ, in God's Son that we are accepted by God. He clothes us with His righteousness. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and life. No one comes to the father except through me.
Genesis 5
The summary of the New Testament Gospel is found in the genealogy in the Old Testament. Read and be amazed...
Read Genesis 5...it is the genealogy of Adam through till Noah. Chuck Missler dug into the meaning of the Hebrew roots that make up the names...Here is the treasure...the pearl of great price that he found.
Here are the names and their respective meanings.
Adam: (adomah) "man"
Seth: "appointed" (Genesis 4:25 tells us this)
Enosh: (from root anash, "to be incurable") "mortal", "frail", "miserable"
Kenan: "sorrow,:" "dirge," "elegy"
Mahalal'el: "the Blessed God--(mahalal) "blessed", ; (El) the name for God
Jared: (from the verb yaradh) "shall come down"
Enoch: "commencement" or "teaching"
Methusaleh: "his death shall bring:--muth, a root that means "death" ; shalach means "bring" or "send forth"
Lamach: "despairing (from which we get lament or lamentation)
Noah: (derived from nacham) "comfort" or "rest" (Genesis 5:29)
Reading the meaning of those names in order, here is what we get in English:
"Man [is] appointed mortal sorrow; [but] the blessed God shall come down teaching [that His] death shall bring [the] despairing rest."
Wow!!!!! The gospel!
Every detail in the bible is there by design...it is a supernatural book written outside of time. God's plan of redemption was not a knee jerk response reaction to the fall in chapter 3. God had ordained it before the foundation of the world.
Genesis 5 also makes me think of the verse from Romans...the wages of sin is death. All in Adam die. One exception Enoch whom the bible says walked with God...pictures the rapture of the church. (1 thes 4:17)
The ark of God...Jesus Christ is our place of refuge and safety. In Christ we are bulletproof. Notice the invitation of God...He does not say Noah go into the ark...he says Come...the Lord always gives us choice to come to him...never forces himself on us. And He always goes before us. Remember also that Noah preached for 120 years...no one came into the ark but those in his family..8 people. Also notice that it was God who closed the door. Once that door was closed it was too late for anyone else to come in...I am sure when the waters started to rise there was much clamoring...but God had shut the door. We are to take the opportunity to believe and Come while it is offered.
The ark rested on in the seventh month of the seventeenth day...this is the same day on the Jewish calendar that Jesus rose from the dead. The passover takes place on the fourteenth day...Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights...so on the same day the ark rested.
Genesis 9:27 "The descendants of Japheth are those of us who are of European ancestry. It is interesting to remember this prophecy, May he dwell in the tents of Shem. When the descendants of Shem rejected the Messiah, it was the European nations that picked up Christianity, and we dwell in the covering god gave to Shem, that covering of Jesus Christ. It is primarily the people of Japheth who have embraced the gospel and carried the gospel tot he rest of the world, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Noah thousands of years ago. At the end of chapter 11 we read that Abraham came from Shem.
Genesis 11:3 "asphalt for mortar" The builders of the ziggurat had the bricks for stone and a tarlike substance, asphalt for mortar. This triggered John Rockefeller to think that if there was asphalt there must be oil. Standard oil began exploring for oil over in the area of Iraq. That's when the oil deposits were found in the Middle East...following the bible made Rockefeller a rich man.
Genesis 11:31 Abram was supposed to leave his family in Ur and go to a land God would show him. Here though we see his father Terah leading the way. Abraham disobeyed God. It is interesting that Terah's name means delay... Haran is located halfway between ur and canaan...abram and family stayed here until Haran died. After his death Abram moves forward again.
Genesis 2: love and obedience involve choice...if God did not give us a choice our love would mean nothing. We would be like robots programmed to do His desires.
Eve was deceived, but Adam sinned with eyes wide open. Adam also did not accept responsibility for his sin but blamed Eve and ultimately God for his sin...the woman you gave me...
Sin always makes us hide from the Lord (Genesis 3:8) Tried to cover their sin with fig leaves...this is a picture of our efforts to come to God on our own terms. God gives us what we could never provide for ourselves...grace and infinite mercy which covers us now and for all eternity. Man's sin and nakedness would never be covered by our own efforts, but by the sacrifice of an innocent One, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. This is the first sacrifice in the bible...God had to kill an innocent animal to clothe Adam and Eve...Hebrews...without the shedding of blood, there is no covering and no remission of sins.
1st mention of the gospel in Genesis 3:15. This verse is the first indication that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, because the woman does not possess a seed; rather, she possesses the ovum, which is fertilized by the male's seed. Isaiah 7:14.
end of chapter 3: Tree of life...was protected. If Adam and Eve ate from it they would remain permanently in their fallen state with no possibility of redemption. Here is something beautiful: the picture of the cherubim and a flaming sword are also seen in the tabernacle, for over the mercy seat, sprinkled with sacrificial blood, were cherubim and the bright Shekinah glory of God. It is also seen at the empty tomb where two angels clothed in light sat at either end of a slab stained with the sacrificial blood of the lamb of God. Genesis 3 keeps man away from the tree of life...Jesus invites us to eat of the bread of life. Are you seeing how integrated a message the bible is...are you seeing that it was written outside of time...by someone who knows the end from the beginning.
Genesis 4: Cain tried to come to God on his own terms not God's. Abel came to God on God's terms. God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. It is only in Christ, in God's Son that we are accepted by God. He clothes us with His righteousness. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and life. No one comes to the father except through me.
Genesis 5
The summary of the New Testament Gospel is found in the genealogy in the Old Testament. Read and be amazed...
Read Genesis 5...it is the genealogy of Adam through till Noah. Chuck Missler dug into the meaning of the Hebrew roots that make up the names...Here is the treasure...the pearl of great price that he found.
Here are the names and their respective meanings.
Adam: (adomah) "man"
Seth: "appointed" (Genesis 4:25 tells us this)
Enosh: (from root anash, "to be incurable") "mortal", "frail", "miserable"
Kenan: "sorrow,:" "dirge," "elegy"
Mahalal'el: "the Blessed God--(mahalal) "blessed", ; (El) the name for God
Jared: (from the verb yaradh) "shall come down"
Enoch: "commencement" or "teaching"
Methusaleh: "his death shall bring:--muth, a root that means "death" ; shalach means "bring" or "send forth"
Lamach: "despairing (from which we get lament or lamentation)
Noah: (derived from nacham) "comfort" or "rest" (Genesis 5:29)
Reading the meaning of those names in order, here is what we get in English:
"Man [is] appointed mortal sorrow; [but] the blessed God shall come down teaching [that His] death shall bring [the] despairing rest."
Wow!!!!! The gospel!
Every detail in the bible is there by design...it is a supernatural book written outside of time. God's plan of redemption was not a knee jerk response reaction to the fall in chapter 3. God had ordained it before the foundation of the world.
Genesis 5 also makes me think of the verse from Romans...the wages of sin is death. All in Adam die. One exception Enoch whom the bible says walked with God...pictures the rapture of the church. (1 thes 4:17)
The ark of God...Jesus Christ is our place of refuge and safety. In Christ we are bulletproof. Notice the invitation of God...He does not say Noah go into the ark...he says Come...the Lord always gives us choice to come to him...never forces himself on us. And He always goes before us. Remember also that Noah preached for 120 years...no one came into the ark but those in his family..8 people. Also notice that it was God who closed the door. Once that door was closed it was too late for anyone else to come in...I am sure when the waters started to rise there was much clamoring...but God had shut the door. We are to take the opportunity to believe and Come while it is offered.
The ark rested on in the seventh month of the seventeenth day...this is the same day on the Jewish calendar that Jesus rose from the dead. The passover takes place on the fourteenth day...Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights...so on the same day the ark rested.
Genesis 9:27 "The descendants of Japheth are those of us who are of European ancestry. It is interesting to remember this prophecy, May he dwell in the tents of Shem. When the descendants of Shem rejected the Messiah, it was the European nations that picked up Christianity, and we dwell in the covering god gave to Shem, that covering of Jesus Christ. It is primarily the people of Japheth who have embraced the gospel and carried the gospel tot he rest of the world, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Noah thousands of years ago. At the end of chapter 11 we read that Abraham came from Shem.
Genesis 11:3 "asphalt for mortar" The builders of the ziggurat had the bricks for stone and a tarlike substance, asphalt for mortar. This triggered John Rockefeller to think that if there was asphalt there must be oil. Standard oil began exploring for oil over in the area of Iraq. That's when the oil deposits were found in the Middle East...following the bible made Rockefeller a rich man.
Genesis 11:31 Abram was supposed to leave his family in Ur and go to a land God would show him. Here though we see his father Terah leading the way. Abraham disobeyed God. It is interesting that Terah's name means delay... Haran is located halfway between ur and canaan...abram and family stayed here until Haran died. After his death Abram moves forward again.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
ENVY...AND ALL ITS COMPANIONS.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. --Genesis 37:3-4
For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.--Job 5:2
To My Precious Daughters,
So many of us are immersed in the sins of discontentment, and envy Looking around us we lament, "how come he, why not me or why shouldn't I? Envy brings along a host of other sins including malice and hatred. Envy is the pain we feel inside when someone gets something we want or we think we deserve. Malice is the satisfaction we feel when we see them fail. Slander usually follows. The person who lives in these sins, lives in a prison of their own making and defiles all who come into contact with them with their dissatisfaction, hatred and very often, hypocrisy.
Putting aside Jacob's sin of favoritism for this study, look at what envy, malice and hatred in the heart brought about for Joseph's brothers. Now God worked what they meant for evil for good and for the saving of the nation but it made them fall so far that they were able to throw their younger brother in a pit and have a picnic lunch surrounded by his pleas for mercy.
Beloved, be content with the possessions, the position and the circumstances that God has blessed you with. That is right...blessed you with. Take a few minutes to look back over your life and see how He has delivered you from your own desires. So often we think we know what we need to be happy. Don't go there...give it to the Lord. Allow Him to put you forward or keep you back. Position, power, prestige and possessions oftentimes come with very high price tags. Your God knows not only what you need but what you can handle. Psalm 84 tells us that the Lord will withhold no good thing from those who fear Him. Know this and surrender to His direction and will for your life. The Lord knows exactly what you need. He is your manufacturer and has already paid for you with the highest of prices...His Son's death on the cross.
All of us are vulnerable to envy and like other sins it begins in our hearts which the bible tells us are desperately wicked. Girls, keep your hearts with all diligence for out of the heart springs the issues of life and it is out of the abundance of the heart that your mouth will speak. Evil speaking is a symptom of malice, envy and deceit in your heart. Be ruthless with these sins. Feeding them or allowing them to fester will crowd your heart with selfish desires and wrong things and bring about your ruin. Fill your heart with Him and His word. Delight yourself in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart. What does that mean, you ask?
As you spend more and more time with the Lord and His word, His desires for you will become your own desires for yourself. You will begin to not want anything else but His presence and His will in your life. You will, in fact, fear going your own way. The more we get to know the Lord, the more we will delight in His presence. The better we know the Lord the more we will rely on Him because our eyes will be opened to our own fleshly weaknesses and sin. Gladly will we relinquish the control and direction of our life to Him who does all things well! Gladly will we commit it all to Him! His desires for us are from His heart of love for us. Trust Him to do it all well in your life. He can see around corners...He sees the end from the beginning. You do not!
Love
Mom
For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.--Job 5:2
To My Precious Daughters,
So many of us are immersed in the sins of discontentment, and envy Looking around us we lament, "how come he, why not me or why shouldn't I? Envy brings along a host of other sins including malice and hatred. Envy is the pain we feel inside when someone gets something we want or we think we deserve. Malice is the satisfaction we feel when we see them fail. Slander usually follows. The person who lives in these sins, lives in a prison of their own making and defiles all who come into contact with them with their dissatisfaction, hatred and very often, hypocrisy.
Putting aside Jacob's sin of favoritism for this study, look at what envy, malice and hatred in the heart brought about for Joseph's brothers. Now God worked what they meant for evil for good and for the saving of the nation but it made them fall so far that they were able to throw their younger brother in a pit and have a picnic lunch surrounded by his pleas for mercy.
Beloved, be content with the possessions, the position and the circumstances that God has blessed you with. That is right...blessed you with. Take a few minutes to look back over your life and see how He has delivered you from your own desires. So often we think we know what we need to be happy. Don't go there...give it to the Lord. Allow Him to put you forward or keep you back. Position, power, prestige and possessions oftentimes come with very high price tags. Your God knows not only what you need but what you can handle. Psalm 84 tells us that the Lord will withhold no good thing from those who fear Him. Know this and surrender to His direction and will for your life. The Lord knows exactly what you need. He is your manufacturer and has already paid for you with the highest of prices...His Son's death on the cross.
All of us are vulnerable to envy and like other sins it begins in our hearts which the bible tells us are desperately wicked. Girls, keep your hearts with all diligence for out of the heart springs the issues of life and it is out of the abundance of the heart that your mouth will speak. Evil speaking is a symptom of malice, envy and deceit in your heart. Be ruthless with these sins. Feeding them or allowing them to fester will crowd your heart with selfish desires and wrong things and bring about your ruin. Fill your heart with Him and His word. Delight yourself in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart. What does that mean, you ask?
As you spend more and more time with the Lord and His word, His desires for you will become your own desires for yourself. You will begin to not want anything else but His presence and His will in your life. You will, in fact, fear going your own way. The more we get to know the Lord, the more we will delight in His presence. The better we know the Lord the more we will rely on Him because our eyes will be opened to our own fleshly weaknesses and sin. Gladly will we relinquish the control and direction of our life to Him who does all things well! Gladly will we commit it all to Him! His desires for us are from His heart of love for us. Trust Him to do it all well in your life. He can see around corners...He sees the end from the beginning. You do not!
Love
Mom
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
All TheseThings Are Against Me!!
And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?" So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, "We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?" And he recognized it and said, "It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces." Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning." Thus his father wept for him. Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.--Genesis 37:30-36
To My Daughters:
We have all felt like Jacob at one time or another in our lives. Grief, loss and betrayal bring about such agony of spirit. We cry out in despair thinking that everything is against us. Our faith falters as we look at our circumstances . Jacob had great affection for Joseph and his heart was rent in two at the loss of his precious son. The most beautiful aspect of the story of Joseph for me is that the hand of God is apparent on each and every page. What a comfort this is!!! No matter what we may be facing in our life at this moment, God is in control. What others might mean for evil, God meant for good.
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Beloved, look to the cross when you doubt the love of God. The same God who sent His Son to die in our stead when we were yet His enemies, will do what is good for us continually now that we have been reconciled. May we learn to wait on our God and may He increase our faith to see that it all is, in fact, working out beautifully. May we all learn this lesson and react to difficulty not as Jacob (All these things are against me - Genesis 42:36) but as Joseph did (Man may have meant this for evil, but God meant it for good). God is sovereign and He does work all in the lives of those who have placed their trust in Him together for good. I am standing on Romans 8:28.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
And on Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
Love
Mom
To My Daughters:
We have all felt like Jacob at one time or another in our lives. Grief, loss and betrayal bring about such agony of spirit. We cry out in despair thinking that everything is against us. Our faith falters as we look at our circumstances . Jacob had great affection for Joseph and his heart was rent in two at the loss of his precious son. The most beautiful aspect of the story of Joseph for me is that the hand of God is apparent on each and every page. What a comfort this is!!! No matter what we may be facing in our life at this moment, God is in control. What others might mean for evil, God meant for good.
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Beloved, look to the cross when you doubt the love of God. The same God who sent His Son to die in our stead when we were yet His enemies, will do what is good for us continually now that we have been reconciled. May we learn to wait on our God and may He increase our faith to see that it all is, in fact, working out beautifully. May we all learn this lesson and react to difficulty not as Jacob (All these things are against me - Genesis 42:36) but as Joseph did (Man may have meant this for evil, but God meant it for good). God is sovereign and He does work all in the lives of those who have placed their trust in Him together for good. I am standing on Romans 8:28.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
And on Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
Love
Mom
JOSEPH A TYPE OF CHRIST...
I love the story of Joseph. Such a beautiful picture of Christ. Even if you do not know the Bible well you cannot miss some as you read through Genesis 37-50. John MacArthur uses the following verses to show Joseph as a type of Christ. There are many, many more. A. W. Pink lists 101 and others more.
1. Joseph was a shepherd of his father's sheep.
Genesis 37:2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
John 10:11, 27-29"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
2. His father loved him dearly.
Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.
Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
3. Hated by his brothers.
Genesis 37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
John 7:4-5 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
4. Sent by father to brothers.
Genesis 37:13-14 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am." Then he said to him, "Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
Hebrews 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
5. Others plotted to harm them.
Genesis 37:20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!"
John 11:53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.
6. Robes taken from them.
Genesis 37:23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.
John 19:23-24 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "THEY DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS." Therefore the soldiers did these things.
7. Taken to Egypt.
Genesis 37:26 So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
Matthew 2:14-15 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON."
8. Sold for the price of a slave.
Genesis 37:28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Matthew 26:15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
9. Tempted.
Genesis 39:7 And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me."
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
10. Falsely accused.
Genesis 39:16-18 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, "The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside."
Matthew 26:59-60 Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward
11. Bound in chains.
Matthew 27:2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
Genesis 39:20 Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.
12. Placed with two other prisoners, one who was saved and the other lost.
Luke 23:32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.
Genesis 40:2-3 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined.
13. Exalted after suffering.
Genesis 41:41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."
Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
14. Both 30 years old at the beginning of public recognition.
Genesis 41:46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
Luke 3:23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
15. Both wept.
Genesis 42:24 And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
Also see Genesis 45:2, 14,15; and 46:29
John 11:35 Jesus wept.
16. Forgave those who wronged them.
Genesis 45:1-15 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. "Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph: "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine." ' "And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.
Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.
17. Saved their nation
Genesis 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Matthew 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
18. What men did to hurt them, God turned to good.
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1. Joseph was a shepherd of his father's sheep.
Genesis 37:2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
John 10:11, 27-29"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
2. His father loved him dearly.
Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.
Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
3. Hated by his brothers.
Genesis 37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
John 7:4-5 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
4. Sent by father to brothers.
Genesis 37:13-14 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am." Then he said to him, "Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
Hebrews 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
5. Others plotted to harm them.
Genesis 37:20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!"
John 11:53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.
6. Robes taken from them.
Genesis 37:23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.
John 19:23-24 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "THEY DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS." Therefore the soldiers did these things.
7. Taken to Egypt.
Genesis 37:26 So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
Matthew 2:14-15 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON."
8. Sold for the price of a slave.
Genesis 37:28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Matthew 26:15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
9. Tempted.
Genesis 39:7 And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me."
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
10. Falsely accused.
Genesis 39:16-18 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, "The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside."
Matthew 26:59-60 Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward
11. Bound in chains.
Matthew 27:2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
Genesis 39:20 Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.
12. Placed with two other prisoners, one who was saved and the other lost.
Luke 23:32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.
Genesis 40:2-3 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined.
13. Exalted after suffering.
Genesis 41:41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."
Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
14. Both 30 years old at the beginning of public recognition.
Genesis 41:46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
Luke 3:23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
15. Both wept.
Genesis 42:24 And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
Also see Genesis 45:2, 14,15; and 46:29
John 11:35 Jesus wept.
16. Forgave those who wronged them.
Genesis 45:1-15 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. "Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph: "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine." ' "And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.
Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.
17. Saved their nation
Genesis 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Matthew 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
18. What men did to hurt them, God turned to good.
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
GOD'S GRACE CHANGES EVERYTHING!!
To My Daughters:
Spending lots of time in the "Joseph" section of Genesis. There is so much application here...so much to meditate on. This verse, however, in Chapter 44 really gave me pause this morning. (Judah is speaking to Joseph here)
Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.
Judah who had forsaken his brother Joseph and convinced his other brothers to sell him to a company of Ishmaelites as a slave was now willing to intercede for his youngest brother, Benjamin. In fact, he was not only willing to intercede, he was willing to take his place and become a slave so Benjamin could return to His father. Are you getting the beautiful picture that is being painted here?
Judah whose name means Praise...from whose descendants the Messiah would come....was not only willing to intercede for Benjamin...He was willing to take his place and become a slave. What a beautiful picture of what Christ does for us. He took our sin and the penalty for our sin upon Himself...died in our place so that we could return to our Father in heaven.
What's more...Judah is a picture of a changed life. He started off foolishly...see chapters 37 and 38 of Genesis, but by God's grace marked a new beginning here. I think the actual change occurred back in Genesis 43 where Judah told his father that he would be surety for Benjamin.
Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
Truly it was a new and changed Judah that stood before Joseph. This should be an encouragement to each of us today. God, by His grace, can give you new life. He can restore the years that locusts have eaten. He can work all things that have occurred in your life together for good. Your only job is to believe and trust Him to do the work That is what faith can do...and that is the only work of God...to believe. Judah saw his sin...he saw his need and humbled himself before God, his father and his brother, Joseph. God's response is seen in the blessing that comes to the entire world through the descendants of Judah...the Messiah. I love how Chuck Smith puts it: "God's Grace Changes Everything."
Love
Mom
Spending lots of time in the "Joseph" section of Genesis. There is so much application here...so much to meditate on. This verse, however, in Chapter 44 really gave me pause this morning. (Judah is speaking to Joseph here)
Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.
Judah who had forsaken his brother Joseph and convinced his other brothers to sell him to a company of Ishmaelites as a slave was now willing to intercede for his youngest brother, Benjamin. In fact, he was not only willing to intercede, he was willing to take his place and become a slave so Benjamin could return to His father. Are you getting the beautiful picture that is being painted here?
Judah whose name means Praise...from whose descendants the Messiah would come....was not only willing to intercede for Benjamin...He was willing to take his place and become a slave. What a beautiful picture of what Christ does for us. He took our sin and the penalty for our sin upon Himself...died in our place so that we could return to our Father in heaven.
What's more...Judah is a picture of a changed life. He started off foolishly...see chapters 37 and 38 of Genesis, but by God's grace marked a new beginning here. I think the actual change occurred back in Genesis 43 where Judah told his father that he would be surety for Benjamin.
Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
Truly it was a new and changed Judah that stood before Joseph. This should be an encouragement to each of us today. God, by His grace, can give you new life. He can restore the years that locusts have eaten. He can work all things that have occurred in your life together for good. Your only job is to believe and trust Him to do the work That is what faith can do...and that is the only work of God...to believe. Judah saw his sin...he saw his need and humbled himself before God, his father and his brother, Joseph. God's response is seen in the blessing that comes to the entire world through the descendants of Judah...the Messiah. I love how Chuck Smith puts it: "God's Grace Changes Everything."
Love
Mom
Monday, September 19, 2011
Love Does No Harm to a Neighbor...
Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.--Luke 6:1-11
To My Precious Daughters: Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla
Jesus gets to the heart of the issue in this verse.
Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”
What is the heart of the issue. The heart is that it is NEVER okay to put laws, traditions and regulations ahead of human need. The law of love is the key here. Romans 13:8 says this:
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
If we are owing no one God has placed in our loves anything but love then we are fulfilling the law. Romans 13 continues:
For the commandments, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," "YOU SHALL NOT MURDER," "YOU SHALL NOT STEAL," "YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS," "YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Did you get that last part? Love does no harm to a neighbor...if you are loving the people in your life with the love that God has shed abroad in your heart then you will always be fulfilling the law. Love is the perfect bond of perfection. Love is an adhesive! It is the bond of unity. Love encompasses all of God's commands concerning human relationships. If we truly love our neighbor...and our neighbor is the person whom God has placed in our line of sight at the moment...we will consider his needs as we consider our own. We will care for him as we care for ourselves and we will only do what is in his best interests. Do you see the enormity of what God requires...none of us can fulfill the law...we can't even come close to loving others this way unless the Spirit of God does the work.
Examine your own life through this lens...remember love in each and every situation and circumstance. Truly, love never fails.
Love
Mom
But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.--Luke 6:1-11
To My Precious Daughters: Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla
Jesus gets to the heart of the issue in this verse.
Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”
What is the heart of the issue. The heart is that it is NEVER okay to put laws, traditions and regulations ahead of human need. The law of love is the key here. Romans 13:8 says this:
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
If we are owing no one God has placed in our loves anything but love then we are fulfilling the law. Romans 13 continues:
For the commandments, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," "YOU SHALL NOT MURDER," "YOU SHALL NOT STEAL," "YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS," "YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Did you get that last part? Love does no harm to a neighbor...if you are loving the people in your life with the love that God has shed abroad in your heart then you will always be fulfilling the law. Love is the perfect bond of perfection. Love is an adhesive! It is the bond of unity. Love encompasses all of God's commands concerning human relationships. If we truly love our neighbor...and our neighbor is the person whom God has placed in our line of sight at the moment...we will consider his needs as we consider our own. We will care for him as we care for ourselves and we will only do what is in his best interests. Do you see the enormity of what God requires...none of us can fulfill the law...we can't even come close to loving others this way unless the Spirit of God does the work.
Examine your own life through this lens...remember love in each and every situation and circumstance. Truly, love never fails.
Love
Mom
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Stepping on God's Mercy...
But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.--1 Corinthians 10:5
To My Girls,
I have been studying this one verse for the past several days using The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge to cross reference each part. My study has taken me to Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Psalms, Hebrews and finally to the book of Jude.
Here is what I read in Numbers 14 that stopped me cold.
According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. I the LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.' "
Now these verses were not new to me. I have read them many times before. As I draw nearer and nearer to God, however, I understand more and more the preciousness of His presence in my life. Truly...I cannot imagine living here on this earth for a nano second without Him anymore. The thought of His rejection is intolerable and immediately makes anything else I might face in this life light affliction. It reminds me of the last line from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness that I studied in high school. "The horror, the horror!"
Murmuring and complaining, stepping on God's mercy, and ultimately unbelief...Psalm 78 tells the story of the children of Israel. Here is a portion....it is easy reading.
They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers. But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?" Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind. He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire. They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel. In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works. Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear. When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue; For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again. How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
The Israelites repeatedly and willfully broke the law of the Lord their God. They forgot His wonderful works...they forgot His goodness and His kindness to them. They turned away to idols. They lusted after things of the world and were never satisfied. They turned back when He brought judgment upon them but it was all form and no substance..their hearts were not in it. God's response to them was always tempered with His mercy. He knew their frame...that they were dust. But in spite of all the proofs of His love their hearts were still cold to Him. Now the Lord heard their murmurings, just like He hears ours and was greatly displeased. Many of their hearts were so hard that they were not broken by his judgments nor softened by His mercies. It is important I think to note that God expressed His displeasure with them by giving them their own way. Numbers 14: 1-2 says this:
So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!
and then 14:28-29
Say to them, 'As I live,' says the LORD, 'just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.
This is the wrath of abandonment. Proverbs chapter 1 verses 24 to 31 says this:
Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
Uh oh...They're going to get exactly what they wanted with no restraint. God is stepping back and leaving them to the consequences of their own sinful choices. They will be filled with their own way and their sin will be their ruin. Genesis 6:3 tells us that God's Spirit will not strive with us forever. The price for the Israelites as well as for us was/is staggering.
There are many times as I walk through the trials of this life that I feel that even with His presence it is all too much! But I can endure because He does the enduring. He performs all things for me and perfects all things that concern me. His plan for me here out of His heart of love. He works all together in my life for my good and His glory. I cannot fathom journeying through life here on earth without Him. He is my rock, my hope and my joy unending. It is in Him that I live and it is Him that I live unto. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Nothing can separate me from His love. Not even me.
I do not lose heart because He is always with me! My work is not in vain, and my hope is sure,
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. --Isaiah 40:28-31
Love
Mom
To My Girls,
I have been studying this one verse for the past several days using The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge to cross reference each part. My study has taken me to Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Psalms, Hebrews and finally to the book of Jude.
Here is what I read in Numbers 14 that stopped me cold.
According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. I the LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.' "
Now these verses were not new to me. I have read them many times before. As I draw nearer and nearer to God, however, I understand more and more the preciousness of His presence in my life. Truly...I cannot imagine living here on this earth for a nano second without Him anymore. The thought of His rejection is intolerable and immediately makes anything else I might face in this life light affliction. It reminds me of the last line from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness that I studied in high school. "The horror, the horror!"
Murmuring and complaining, stepping on God's mercy, and ultimately unbelief...Psalm 78 tells the story of the children of Israel. Here is a portion....it is easy reading.
They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers. But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?" Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind. He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire. They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel. In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works. Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear. When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue; For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again. How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
The Israelites repeatedly and willfully broke the law of the Lord their God. They forgot His wonderful works...they forgot His goodness and His kindness to them. They turned away to idols. They lusted after things of the world and were never satisfied. They turned back when He brought judgment upon them but it was all form and no substance..their hearts were not in it. God's response to them was always tempered with His mercy. He knew their frame...that they were dust. But in spite of all the proofs of His love their hearts were still cold to Him. Now the Lord heard their murmurings, just like He hears ours and was greatly displeased. Many of their hearts were so hard that they were not broken by his judgments nor softened by His mercies. It is important I think to note that God expressed His displeasure with them by giving them their own way. Numbers 14: 1-2 says this:
So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!
and then 14:28-29
Say to them, 'As I live,' says the LORD, 'just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.
This is the wrath of abandonment. Proverbs chapter 1 verses 24 to 31 says this:
Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
Uh oh...They're going to get exactly what they wanted with no restraint. God is stepping back and leaving them to the consequences of their own sinful choices. They will be filled with their own way and their sin will be their ruin. Genesis 6:3 tells us that God's Spirit will not strive with us forever. The price for the Israelites as well as for us was/is staggering.
There are many times as I walk through the trials of this life that I feel that even with His presence it is all too much! But I can endure because He does the enduring. He performs all things for me and perfects all things that concern me. His plan for me here out of His heart of love. He works all together in my life for my good and His glory. I cannot fathom journeying through life here on earth without Him. He is my rock, my hope and my joy unending. It is in Him that I live and it is Him that I live unto. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Nothing can separate me from His love. Not even me.
I do not lose heart because He is always with me! My work is not in vain, and my hope is sure,
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. --Isaiah 40:28-31
Love
Mom
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Christophobia: When the Lord Breaks You Down
Christophobia: When the Lord Breaks You Down: And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the...
A SERMON OF JESUS
May these words from Luke Chapter 6 renew your mind today as you meditate on them.
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
“ Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
For you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you[e] when all[f] men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.[i] And the ruin of that house was great.”
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
“ Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
Jesus Pronounces Woes
24 “ But woe to you who are rich,For you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you[e] when all[f] men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Do Not Judge
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit
43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Build on the Rock
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.[i] And the ruin of that house was great.”
Friday, September 16, 2011
Notes: Revelation Chapter 6.
The women's study I attend at my church is back from summer break and will be studying Chapter 6 in the Book of Revelation this week. You can do a search on this blog for Chapters 1-5 by typing Revelation in the search column.
NOTES: CHAPTER 6
Rev 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see."
In Chapter 5, Christ was the only One found worthy to open this scroll, which most bible commentators agree, is the title deed to the earth. Here we find Christ, the Lamb opening the first seal. This scroll contains 7 seals...all the judgments of God that will bring about the end of human history. The seventh seal contain the seven trumpet judgments and the seventh trumpet contains the seven bowl judgments. With the opening of the first seal the beginning of God's judgment on mankind begins.
The First Seal: False Peace
Rev 6:2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
The first four seals involve horsemen and riders...the four horses of the Apocalypse. The first horse, the white one, brings a false peace. Before the onslaught of real tribulation begins then, the world will be lulled into a deceptive peace. The world desires security and safety....this desire will play right into the hands of the Antichrist. The victory of this peace will not involve bloodshed. He will not conquer by military force but by deceit.
2Th 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 2Th 2:10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2Th 2:11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
Daniel 9:27 says it will be a peace brought about by agreement or covenant. The world will honor him and elevate him to a supreme leadership position because of what he has accomplished.
The Second Seal: War
Rev 6:3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." Rev 6:4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
Red is the color of blood...war and judgment has come to the earth. It is important to note here the words John uses..."and it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. It is clear that it is God who is in control here...it is God who is bringing about these judgments. The use of a great sword indicates the extent and magnitude of the war. The antichrist will obviously figure largely here to preserve his power. Daniel 8:23-24 says this:
"And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
God's people will be among those with whom he makes war. And this is only the beginning of sorrows.
The Third Seal: Famine
Rev 6:5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
Famine...worldwide war is destroying the food supplies The extent and magnitude of the famine is seen in the price of both wheat and barley and in the protection and preservation of other cooking supplies. This is bad but still only the beginning...
The Fourth Seal: Death
Rev 6:7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." Rev 6:8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
1/4 of the earth's population through war, famine and pestilence or by the beasts of the earth will be destroyed!
The Fifth Seal: The Prayers of the Saints...Divine Judgment is coming.
When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
The prayers of the saints. The persecution of believers begins very shortly after the tribulation starts and intensifies here at the midpoint of the tribulation after the antichrist sets himself up as God. Scripture literally says he makes war with them. Why are they slain...They are slain for the word of God and their testimony. The martyrs spoke God's truth to the unbelieving world in hopes of saving some from eternal destruction despite what it meant for their own continued existence. Their testimony to Jesus was loyalty demonstrated through their courage in speaking His word to others.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? This reminds me so much of the psalms and David crying out to His Lord and asking Him how long would evil continue without the hand of judgment. If the heart truly wants what is right and not vengeance for their own purposes, there is nothing wrong with these kind of prayers. The prayers of the saints here are in alignment with God's will and His purpose. AND GOD RESPONDS...
He gives them a white robe to symbolize their eternal righteousness in Him and then tells them to rest until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was complete. Aaah...enjoy your rest...your prayers have been heard and will be answered without delay.
The Sixth Seal: Physical Destruction
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
The prayers of the saints are heard and God acts to bring divine judgment upon the world....shaking both the earth and the heavens and causing the sun to become black and the moon like blood! This seal is so devastating and so terrifying that it can only be attributed to God.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.--Joel 2:31
Sadly, even as they acknowledge God's hand in the judgement, the reaction of the unbelieving world is not repentance but fear....overwhelming fear. They would rather die than face the wrath of the Lamb. All that was needed was an acknowledgement of their sin and need for God but their hearts had hardened.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. --2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12
Next is the seventh seal...within the seventh seal are the seven trumpet judgments...the last trumpet judgment contains the 7 bowl judgments. The worst is yet to come...John ends chapter 6 by rightly asking the question, "who is able to stand?" NO ONE. I cannot help but be reminded of Jonathan Edward's sermon...Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God or of Hebrews 10:31...It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
ADDENDUM
In reading different commentaries I discovered that Jesus end time message in Matthew 24 seems to fit well with the seven seal judgments described here. The following chart is from John MacArthur.
Matthew 24:4-5 - false peace - 1st seal
Matthew 24:6-7 - worldwide war - 2nd seal
Matthew 24:7 - Famine - 3rd seal
Matthew 24:7 - Earthquakes, death - 4th seal
Matthew 24:9 - Divine judgment - 5th seal
Matthew 24:29 - Cosmic darkness - physical destruction - 6th seal
Matthew 24:37 - Cataclysmic events (the seven trumpets) - 7th seal
NOTES: CHAPTER 6
Rev 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see."
In Chapter 5, Christ was the only One found worthy to open this scroll, which most bible commentators agree, is the title deed to the earth. Here we find Christ, the Lamb opening the first seal. This scroll contains 7 seals...all the judgments of God that will bring about the end of human history. The seventh seal contain the seven trumpet judgments and the seventh trumpet contains the seven bowl judgments. With the opening of the first seal the beginning of God's judgment on mankind begins.
The First Seal: False Peace
Rev 6:2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
The first four seals involve horsemen and riders...the four horses of the Apocalypse. The first horse, the white one, brings a false peace. Before the onslaught of real tribulation begins then, the world will be lulled into a deceptive peace. The world desires security and safety....this desire will play right into the hands of the Antichrist. The victory of this peace will not involve bloodshed. He will not conquer by military force but by deceit.
2Th 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 2Th 2:10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2Th 2:11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
Daniel 9:27 says it will be a peace brought about by agreement or covenant. The world will honor him and elevate him to a supreme leadership position because of what he has accomplished.
The Second Seal: War
Rev 6:3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." Rev 6:4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
Red is the color of blood...war and judgment has come to the earth. It is important to note here the words John uses..."and it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. It is clear that it is God who is in control here...it is God who is bringing about these judgments. The use of a great sword indicates the extent and magnitude of the war. The antichrist will obviously figure largely here to preserve his power. Daniel 8:23-24 says this:
"And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
God's people will be among those with whom he makes war. And this is only the beginning of sorrows.
The Third Seal: Famine
Rev 6:5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
Famine...worldwide war is destroying the food supplies The extent and magnitude of the famine is seen in the price of both wheat and barley and in the protection and preservation of other cooking supplies. This is bad but still only the beginning...
The Fourth Seal: Death
Rev 6:7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." Rev 6:8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
1/4 of the earth's population through war, famine and pestilence or by the beasts of the earth will be destroyed!
The Fifth Seal: The Prayers of the Saints...Divine Judgment is coming.
When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
The prayers of the saints. The persecution of believers begins very shortly after the tribulation starts and intensifies here at the midpoint of the tribulation after the antichrist sets himself up as God. Scripture literally says he makes war with them. Why are they slain...They are slain for the word of God and their testimony. The martyrs spoke God's truth to the unbelieving world in hopes of saving some from eternal destruction despite what it meant for their own continued existence. Their testimony to Jesus was loyalty demonstrated through their courage in speaking His word to others.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? This reminds me so much of the psalms and David crying out to His Lord and asking Him how long would evil continue without the hand of judgment. If the heart truly wants what is right and not vengeance for their own purposes, there is nothing wrong with these kind of prayers. The prayers of the saints here are in alignment with God's will and His purpose. AND GOD RESPONDS...
He gives them a white robe to symbolize their eternal righteousness in Him and then tells them to rest until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was complete. Aaah...enjoy your rest...your prayers have been heard and will be answered without delay.
The Sixth Seal: Physical Destruction
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
The prayers of the saints are heard and God acts to bring divine judgment upon the world....shaking both the earth and the heavens and causing the sun to become black and the moon like blood! This seal is so devastating and so terrifying that it can only be attributed to God.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.--Joel 2:31
Sadly, even as they acknowledge God's hand in the judgement, the reaction of the unbelieving world is not repentance but fear....overwhelming fear. They would rather die than face the wrath of the Lamb. All that was needed was an acknowledgement of their sin and need for God but their hearts had hardened.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. --2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12
Next is the seventh seal...within the seventh seal are the seven trumpet judgments...the last trumpet judgment contains the 7 bowl judgments. The worst is yet to come...John ends chapter 6 by rightly asking the question, "who is able to stand?" NO ONE. I cannot help but be reminded of Jonathan Edward's sermon...Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God or of Hebrews 10:31...It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
ADDENDUM
In reading different commentaries I discovered that Jesus end time message in Matthew 24 seems to fit well with the seven seal judgments described here. The following chart is from John MacArthur.
Matthew 24:4-5 - false peace - 1st seal
Matthew 24:6-7 - worldwide war - 2nd seal
Matthew 24:7 - Famine - 3rd seal
Matthew 24:7 - Earthquakes, death - 4th seal
Matthew 24:9 - Divine judgment - 5th seal
Matthew 24:29 - Cosmic darkness - physical destruction - 6th seal
Matthew 24:37 - Cataclysmic events (the seven trumpets) - 7th seal
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Christophobia: By Means of Death
Christophobia: By Means of Death: And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first cove...
ABANDONED BY GOD?
Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, and for your transgressions your mother has been put away. Why, when I came, was there no man? Why, when I called, was there none to answer? Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness;--Isaiah 50:1-2
To My Sweet Daughters:
Wait a minute, says God. I have not abandoned you nor have I put you away. You have sold yourselves. I have not deprived you of anything but your sin. So often we accuse God of not being there for us or abandoning us. We wallow in self pity, and point the finger at everyone else except us. Truly, we have no one to blame but ourselves for our own miseries. God calls on us to leave our sin and prevent our own ruin. He calls to us, but we do not answer. He desires fellowship with us, wants to deliver us and show us pathways of joy....but we ignore Him. Why? Do we think that He is unable or unwilling to save us??? No, beloved...God is willing...He has not abandoned you nor has He cast you off. He died for you when you were His enemy. He does not forget His people. His desire is that all be saved and come to eternal life in Him. It is you who have abandoned your God and His ways. It is you who have loved your sin more than you have loved your God. Answer Him when He calls. In Him and in Him alone is fullness of joy. Return.
"Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.--Isaiah 46:3-4
'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.--Isaiah 45:2-3
For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.--Isaiah 52:12
But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; --Isaiah 43:1-3
Love
Mom
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Eyes to See...
So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" --Luke 5:1-8
To My Daughters,
Peter humored Jesus by launching out into the deep and letting down his nets...Put yourself in Peter's place for a moment. He had just finished an entire night of fishing where he had caught nothing. The text tells us that he had already cleaned his nets. Peter was, I am sure, ready to go home and get some sleep! Instead, he does what Jesus tells him.
This is the moment that Peter saw Jesus for who He really was...the Messiah of Israel...the Son of God! Here is the verse that spoke to my heart ...When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"
Peter "saw" Jesus that day. I remember when I first "saw" Jesus. It was kind of like the day I was able to "see" those 3D puzzles...it was like I got new eyes. Psalm 36:9 says For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. Peter was now seeing things through the right lenses and in seeing Jesus for who He really was Peter saw himself for who he really was. A SINFUL MAN. The light of Jesus brought conviction to Peter's soul. If we really see Jesus, we will also see ourselves for who we really are and truly understand our need for a Savior and a Lord.
Ask God for the eyes to see Him this way each and every day. Peter had already seen many miracles. For some reason, however, a fish filled net is what opened his eyes. I think it is because it became personal...He saw that Jesus cared personally for him...his day to day existence...his day to day needs. This is still what touches my heart and opens my eyes daily as I remember how Jesus pulled me up from the miry clay, set my feet upon a rock and gave me not only eternal life but opened my eyes to understand His word which has enabled me to walk with His wisdom and grow in His grace. I was at the end of myself when I asked the Lord into my heart. I was tired of trying to run my life. Nothing I did worked. The rules and philosophy of the world kept changing...I had no solid ground....all I did well was to "sink". I knew as Psalm 94:11 says that my own thoughts were futile. His truth at that point became the treasure I sought daily whose light I have coveted to guide my life...I end this devotional as I ended yesterday's...
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Scripture is God-breathed... it is our armory...it is our haven....we need nothing more. In its light we see HIM!
Love
Mom
To My Daughters,
Peter humored Jesus by launching out into the deep and letting down his nets...Put yourself in Peter's place for a moment. He had just finished an entire night of fishing where he had caught nothing. The text tells us that he had already cleaned his nets. Peter was, I am sure, ready to go home and get some sleep! Instead, he does what Jesus tells him.
This is the moment that Peter saw Jesus for who He really was...the Messiah of Israel...the Son of God! Here is the verse that spoke to my heart ...When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"
Peter "saw" Jesus that day. I remember when I first "saw" Jesus. It was kind of like the day I was able to "see" those 3D puzzles...it was like I got new eyes. Psalm 36:9 says For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. Peter was now seeing things through the right lenses and in seeing Jesus for who He really was Peter saw himself for who he really was. A SINFUL MAN. The light of Jesus brought conviction to Peter's soul. If we really see Jesus, we will also see ourselves for who we really are and truly understand our need for a Savior and a Lord.
Ask God for the eyes to see Him this way each and every day. Peter had already seen many miracles. For some reason, however, a fish filled net is what opened his eyes. I think it is because it became personal...He saw that Jesus cared personally for him...his day to day existence...his day to day needs. This is still what touches my heart and opens my eyes daily as I remember how Jesus pulled me up from the miry clay, set my feet upon a rock and gave me not only eternal life but opened my eyes to understand His word which has enabled me to walk with His wisdom and grow in His grace. I was at the end of myself when I asked the Lord into my heart. I was tired of trying to run my life. Nothing I did worked. The rules and philosophy of the world kept changing...I had no solid ground....all I did well was to "sink". I knew as Psalm 94:11 says that my own thoughts were futile. His truth at that point became the treasure I sought daily whose light I have coveted to guide my life...I end this devotional as I ended yesterday's...
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Scripture is God-breathed... it is our armory...it is our haven....we need nothing more. In its light we see HIM!
Love
Mom
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The Answer
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written:
‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
and,
‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Dear Girls
Jesus answered each one of His temptations by quoting a passage from Deuteronomy. He OBVIOUSLY knew the word and used it as a defensive weapon. The man who makes the word of God His delight is blessed. Many many churches today are weak when it comes to the teaching of the word and because of this the sheep of their fold are weak and do not reproduce. They feed on sensation, feelings and methods and consequently, are blown about by every wind of doctrine. What the people of God need is a methodical verse by verse teaching of His word. This is what will enable them to grow in wisdom and grace. This is how they will become rooted and grounded in Him and begin to understand the depth, width and breadth of His love. This is how they will draw near unto God. Knowing the word of God is foundational to a fruit-producing, stable walk with the Lord.
Going to church and hearing the word taught once or twice a week is great but much more is needed. Your relationship with God is individual and personal. He wants YOU to seek Him with your whole heart. He wants YOU to meditate on and study His word. The secret things of the Lord and the treasures of darkness in the hidden places will be found by those who seek Him diligently and daily.
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
The meditation and study of His word is what will bring stability to your walk with the Lord. It is what will deepen your relationship with Him and thereby increase your dependence on Him. Knowing His word will enable you to be strong and to stand.. You may wonder why you can't stand against temptation...or why you can't stand in trials...or why you have no peace...or why you are not hearing from the Lord. The answer is because you have not made it a practice in your life to read, study and abide in His Word.
The Word is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword...it is alive...it buries itself in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. James tells us to receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save our souls. It is not only able to save our souls, it is able to make us stand against the trials of this life and the wiles of the enemy. Colossians tells us to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. We study the word to become rich in our understanding and knowledge of God....to grow in His grace and be transformed into His likeness. Out of the abundance of the heart your mouth will speak. If the word of God is filling you, then your mouth will speak psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to those around you. Second Corinthians 3:18 says this:
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The Spirit of God uses the word of God to transform us in the same image as our Lord. Romans 12 says this:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The word of God is the agent of that change....ask God to make His word your delight. Allow Him to do that work in your heart so that you put the study and meditation of His word first in your life. It is what will bring you into His presence. It is where you will find the resources and strength you need to endure to the end. Our resources and strength are limited...His are without end. Rely on Him. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the bible and is filled with meditations on the excellencies of the Word of God. Read it...pray through it asking God to give you the kind of desire that David had. 2nd Timothy says it all...
But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.--2nd Timothy 3:14-17
Love
Mom
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written:
‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
and,
‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Dear Girls
Jesus answered each one of His temptations by quoting a passage from Deuteronomy. He OBVIOUSLY knew the word and used it as a defensive weapon. The man who makes the word of God His delight is blessed. Many many churches today are weak when it comes to the teaching of the word and because of this the sheep of their fold are weak and do not reproduce. They feed on sensation, feelings and methods and consequently, are blown about by every wind of doctrine. What the people of God need is a methodical verse by verse teaching of His word. This is what will enable them to grow in wisdom and grace. This is how they will become rooted and grounded in Him and begin to understand the depth, width and breadth of His love. This is how they will draw near unto God. Knowing the word of God is foundational to a fruit-producing, stable walk with the Lord.
Going to church and hearing the word taught once or twice a week is great but much more is needed. Your relationship with God is individual and personal. He wants YOU to seek Him with your whole heart. He wants YOU to meditate on and study His word. The secret things of the Lord and the treasures of darkness in the hidden places will be found by those who seek Him diligently and daily.
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
The meditation and study of His word is what will bring stability to your walk with the Lord. It is what will deepen your relationship with Him and thereby increase your dependence on Him. Knowing His word will enable you to be strong and to stand.. You may wonder why you can't stand against temptation...or why you can't stand in trials...or why you have no peace...or why you are not hearing from the Lord. The answer is because you have not made it a practice in your life to read, study and abide in His Word.
The Word is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword...it is alive...it buries itself in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. James tells us to receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save our souls. It is not only able to save our souls, it is able to make us stand against the trials of this life and the wiles of the enemy. Colossians tells us to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. We study the word to become rich in our understanding and knowledge of God....to grow in His grace and be transformed into His likeness. Out of the abundance of the heart your mouth will speak. If the word of God is filling you, then your mouth will speak psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to those around you. Second Corinthians 3:18 says this:
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The Spirit of God uses the word of God to transform us in the same image as our Lord. Romans 12 says this:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The word of God is the agent of that change....ask God to make His word your delight. Allow Him to do that work in your heart so that you put the study and meditation of His word first in your life. It is what will bring you into His presence. It is where you will find the resources and strength you need to endure to the end. Our resources and strength are limited...His are without end. Rely on Him. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the bible and is filled with meditations on the excellencies of the Word of God. Read it...pray through it asking God to give you the kind of desire that David had. 2nd Timothy says it all...
But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.--2nd Timothy 3:14-17
Love
Mom
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Cast Your Cares Upon God
Spurgeon...
The Lord sends hard times. "You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and You have afflicted me" (Psalm 88:6-7).
The Lord sends good times. His is the sun that cheers and the frost that chills. His is the deep calm and the fierce tornado. To dwell on second causes is frequently frivolous. The world says, "It might have been prevented if..." Why conjecture about what would have been different if this or that had happened? This is folly.
As long as I trace my pain to accident, my bereavement to mistake, my loss to another's wrong, or my discomfort to an enemy, I am earthy and shall break my teeth with gravel (Lam 3:6). Yet when I rise to my God and see His hand at work, I grow calm and stop complaining. "I did not open my mouth, because it was You who did it" (Psalm 39:9).
David preferred to fall into God's hands, and all believers know that they are safest and happiest in divine hands. Raising objections with man is poor work. Pleading with God brings help and comfort. "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). This is a precept that will be easy to practice when you see that the burden came originally from God.
The Lord sends hard times. "You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and You have afflicted me" (Psalm 88:6-7).
The Lord sends good times. His is the sun that cheers and the frost that chills. His is the deep calm and the fierce tornado. To dwell on second causes is frequently frivolous. The world says, "It might have been prevented if..." Why conjecture about what would have been different if this or that had happened? This is folly.
As long as I trace my pain to accident, my bereavement to mistake, my loss to another's wrong, or my discomfort to an enemy, I am earthy and shall break my teeth with gravel (Lam 3:6). Yet when I rise to my God and see His hand at work, I grow calm and stop complaining. "I did not open my mouth, because it was You who did it" (Psalm 39:9).
David preferred to fall into God's hands, and all believers know that they are safest and happiest in divine hands. Raising objections with man is poor work. Pleading with God brings help and comfort. "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). This is a precept that will be easy to practice when you see that the burden came originally from God.
Don't Take My Word for It...
Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
You really cannot know the Lord or spiritual things unless you actually take that step of faith and experience it for yourself. Grace is accessed by faith...You will not know the peace, love and joy that comes from a life submitted to God in an intimate relationship unless you yourself take that first step.
I can tell you how wonderful it is...I can speak of His goodness and grace, but sadly you will only hear the words and not have any understanding of the depth that is behind them...the unfathomable depth of God. You cannot appreciate it because you have know first hand, "hands on" experience. You may even say aloud that you believe, but if your actions are not following your words than your heart is not there and Jesus wants your heart. Give Him your heart today! Taste and see that He is good today. Don't just take my word for it...experience it for yourself. Today is the day of salvation.
You really cannot know the Lord or spiritual things unless you actually take that step of faith and experience it for yourself. Grace is accessed by faith...You will not know the peace, love and joy that comes from a life submitted to God in an intimate relationship unless you yourself take that first step.
I can tell you how wonderful it is...I can speak of His goodness and grace, but sadly you will only hear the words and not have any understanding of the depth that is behind them...the unfathomable depth of God. You cannot appreciate it because you have know first hand, "hands on" experience. You may even say aloud that you believe, but if your actions are not following your words than your heart is not there and Jesus wants your heart. Give Him your heart today! Taste and see that He is good today. Don't just take my word for it...experience it for yourself. Today is the day of salvation.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
I Believe God.
Spurgeon...
:I believe God." This is a grand thing, to believe God when the winds are wild, to believe God when the waves howl like wild beasts seeking to devour you.
"I believe God." Faith that can stand a storm is faith's genuine breed. The common run of faith is fair-weather faith, which loves to see its beautiful image mirrored in a calm sea. But fair-weather faith is far away when the storm clouds are marshaling for battle. The faith of God's elect is a faith that can see in the dark, a faith that is calm in the chaos, and a faith that is brightest when everything is dark as midnight. Paul said, "I believe God," when he had nothing else to believe in.
"My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved" (Ps 62:5-6) .
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling" (Psalm 46:1-3):
:I believe God." This is a grand thing, to believe God when the winds are wild, to believe God when the waves howl like wild beasts seeking to devour you.
"I believe God." Faith that can stand a storm is faith's genuine breed. The common run of faith is fair-weather faith, which loves to see its beautiful image mirrored in a calm sea. But fair-weather faith is far away when the storm clouds are marshaling for battle. The faith of God's elect is a faith that can see in the dark, a faith that is calm in the chaos, and a faith that is brightest when everything is dark as midnight. Paul said, "I believe God," when he had nothing else to believe in.
"My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved" (Ps 62:5-6) .
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling" (Psalm 46:1-3):
God liveth still!
Trust, my soul, and fear no ill:
Heaven's huge vault may cleave asunder,
Earth's round globe in ruins bursts;
Devil's fullest rage may hinder,
Death and hell may spend their worst;
Then will God keep safe and surely;
Wherefore, then, my soul despair?
Mid the shipwreck, God is there.
Numbering Our Days
The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. --Psalm 90:10-12
Our time here on earth is so limited. We get older, our children get older. None of us know what we will face tomorrow. That thought in itself is frightening. Yet, I watch so many live their lives as if death was not even a possibility...no less on the horizon. They are careless and at times ruthless with not only their time but also with the precious gifts that God has blessed them with. Evaluate NOW, how you spend your time before it is too late. Take a hard look. It may not be pretty. It will say volumes about who and what you think is important. Make the changes where they are needed today. The way we spend each and every moment requires a decision. Many of us don't even think about it anymore. We just move through each of them doing the things we have always done. STOP for a "moment" and really "see" where your time is being spent. Change the course of your life now...
The biblical response to this question is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all else will be added to you. Amen! Doing anything else is vanity...it is like trying to grasp water with your hand. For me, His daughter, it is to abide daily under the shelter of His wing...to spend much time in His precious Word. I know how frail I am...I know that any moment could be my last. It is painful to live with this knowledge. It makes the moment beautiful but oh so poignant. It makes my dependence on Him so much greater and more complete the more I understand this and yes, courageously contemplate it. Do not be under any delusions about your mortality. We all know that death is coming someday...but most of us really do not expect it to happen soon. This thinking enables us to put off the important things in life...thinking we have time. In the light of eternity our time here is nothing! Life is short from this perspective no matter how long you live. Get right with God now. Spend time in His word daily. Abide in His love. Live in the moment with your loved ones now. Live in His mercy, His forgiveness and His love. Live in the beauty of the moment that He has blessed you with. You may not have another opportunity. Leave a legacy of Jesus...leave a legacy of love.
LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. --Psalm 39:4-7
Our time here on earth is so limited. We get older, our children get older. None of us know what we will face tomorrow. That thought in itself is frightening. Yet, I watch so many live their lives as if death was not even a possibility...no less on the horizon. They are careless and at times ruthless with not only their time but also with the precious gifts that God has blessed them with. Evaluate NOW, how you spend your time before it is too late. Take a hard look. It may not be pretty. It will say volumes about who and what you think is important. Make the changes where they are needed today. The way we spend each and every moment requires a decision. Many of us don't even think about it anymore. We just move through each of them doing the things we have always done. STOP for a "moment" and really "see" where your time is being spent. Change the course of your life now...
The biblical response to this question is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all else will be added to you. Amen! Doing anything else is vanity...it is like trying to grasp water with your hand. For me, His daughter, it is to abide daily under the shelter of His wing...to spend much time in His precious Word. I know how frail I am...I know that any moment could be my last. It is painful to live with this knowledge. It makes the moment beautiful but oh so poignant. It makes my dependence on Him so much greater and more complete the more I understand this and yes, courageously contemplate it. Do not be under any delusions about your mortality. We all know that death is coming someday...but most of us really do not expect it to happen soon. This thinking enables us to put off the important things in life...thinking we have time. In the light of eternity our time here is nothing! Life is short from this perspective no matter how long you live. Get right with God now. Spend time in His word daily. Abide in His love. Live in the moment with your loved ones now. Live in His mercy, His forgiveness and His love. Live in the beauty of the moment that He has blessed you with. You may not have another opportunity. Leave a legacy of Jesus...leave a legacy of love.
LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. --Psalm 39:4-7
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