My Journey Through The Bible

Proverbs
23 – 24

Verse 23:1 is something most don’t need to think about,
except for one situation:

When sitting down to eat with a
ruler,
    take a moment to think about who you are
with and what you are doing.

When you think about it, most of us will never sit with a
president, a prime minister or king, so we don’t need to be too concerned about
our table manners. On the other hand we sit down daily with our God and commune
with Him, formal or not. We need to consider what we are doing and not just
start with the whine!!! Give this relationship the respect it deserves.

Verses 23:4 & 5 can be applied to society today:

⁴ Do not
overwork yourself just to become wealthy;
    have enough sense to know when to quit.
⁵ As soon as you become fixed on riches, they vanish.
    For suddenly they sprout wings
    and become like a soaring eagle flying
high in the sky.

Work-a-holics are nothing new but society today is driving
everyone that direction. The move to empower and masculine women has made their
drive for the might dollar just as aggressive as men, so no longer are children
being tended to by family but rather by a for profit center designed to keep
them safe and nothing more. I think we have lost it and need to turn off the
tube and disconnect from the marketing hype. Realize your job is not you and
ten years later it will be the same, but your family will be ravaged. Money is
temporary, God is eternal!!

Verse 23:13 is key to raising children:

Do not withhold discipline from
children,
    since corporal punishment will not kill them.

There is a fine line here. We are not to beat our children
to an inch of their lives, but not coddle them and say it’s ok. Discipline must
be administered, but in a loving and kind way. Yes spanking is required and has
been the only known corrective action to children’s misbehavior for millennium.

Verse 24:10 reminded me of the poem “If”:

If you fall apart during a crisis,
    then you weren’t very strong to begin with.

The poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling stated it this way: “If you
can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.”
The key to life is realizing crises will happen and the only way to get through
them is to be calm. In extreme instances freezing or falling apart will kill
you. We must understand that we are here not only to show faith in God but our
trust in Him. It’s easy to show this when things are good, it’s critical when
things are bad.

Verse 24:17 & 18 is something our society tends to
ignore these days:

¹⁷ Do not
celebrate when your enemies fall,
    and do not rejoice when they trip up;
¹⁸ Or else the Eternal will know and be upset with
you,
    and He will release them from His anger.

A Mad About Sports comic from decades ago summed it up and
although I can’t quote it exactly I will lay it out. It had two frames with
reporters asking the winning pitcher about the game, the “old” frame had a
humble pitcher thanking his team and giving them credit, the “new” frame had
him taking all the credit. We do the same thing in conflicts, we gloat over the
loser instead of honoring their accomplishments as well.  Be aware of the second verse. I think Malcom
Smith from On Any Sunday epitomized this when interviewed, he talked about how
fun it was and told stories about everyone’s experience.

Psalms
108
– 110

 Verse 108:3 reminds us to give thanks:

I will stand and offer
You my thanks, Eternal One, in the presence of others;
    I will sing of Your greatness among the nations no
matter where I am.

What do you think when you hear David giving thanks? Here
was a shepherd who was the lowest in his family who became king of Israel. He
won battles, lead a nation, was rich beyond most dreams and he was the head of
the savior of the world. Sure it’s easy to be thankful when that is going on in
one’s life! But how about us today? We are mired in debt, struggling through
day to day fights without sign of success and we are asked to be thankful.
YES!! I believe David was a man after God’s heart, he was not always number 1,
remember David was a bathroom stop for King Saul who was trying to kill him.

We must be thankful in the good times as well as the bad.
God will reveal why the bad times were required.

Verse 109:5 talks about how a David’s actions were repaid:

Though I treat them well, they
answer me with evil;
    though I give them love, they reply with a gesture
of hatred.

Imagine helping
someone and they turn on you? Has that happened to you ever? I know often times
we will help someone thinking it’s what they need and when things break down we
wonder if that was the right thing to do. One thing we need to realize that
it’s our witness when things are going wrong that is more valuable than when
things are good. Would your response be attack or bless them more? That is the
difference between a hypocrite and a follower of Jesus!!

Verse 110:1 starts
a Psalm that has been quoted often:

The Eternal said to my lord,
    “Sit here at My right hand,
    in the place of honor and power,
And I will gather your enemies together,
    lead them in on hands and knees;
    you will rest your feet on their backs.”

This was apparently
the most quoted Psalm by writers of the New Testament as well as people
connecting David’s lineage to Jesus who is seated at the right hand of God
today. This is what is affectionately called the Babushka Principle. A Babushka
doll is a doll within a doll and the Babushka Principle is a meaning with a
hidden meaning. This psalm directly talks about David’s reign and indirectly
talks about his family remaining in that position to finally Jesus who is
seated at the right hand of God in heaven.

1 Chronicles
25 – 29

David’s reign ends and we get a Reader’s Digest version of
what happened. There are many details that are left out of this account and a
few added. With that there are many details missed by other stories. Verse 25:1
interested me by its wording:

David and the heads of the
Levites, also known as the commanders of the army, selected for the
service some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. These men were expected
to serve in the temple by prophesying with lyres, harps, and
cymbals. These are the singers who performed these duties in order of
their descent. 

The word “prophesying” with musical instruments interested
me in the meaning. What exactly does it mean? I always considered “prophesying”
telling people what was going to happen and not entertaining them. I checked
other versions of the Bible and the wording is consistent telling me this is
accurate. I can understand how one could handle “prophesying” in music with
lyrics, but they don’t say that. I assume they are doing this via song for the
impact and remembering. I suspect many are Psalms we read today.

As we go to David’s final days in verse 28:1 he addressed
Israel:

At the end of his life, David
assembled in Jerusalem all the officials of Israel to instruct them in
how to run both the state and the religion after his death. These officials
included the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions
that served the king, the commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, the
managers of all the royal property and livestock, the officials, the warriors,
and all the valiant men.

This is a man who was after God’s heart from day one, sure
he messed up along the way but haven’t we all (NOTE – This is NOT justification
for adultery). I believe you look at all the stories in the Bible we see God working
through the unexpected and the flawed. Even King Saul had his flaws of not
wanting his anointment. David had a lot to teach the nation without much time.
So he came before them and laid it on the line. As complex as we try to make
it, follow God with all your hearts is the message.

Verse 28:20 has his charge to Solomon:

Be strong, courageous, and
effective. Do not fear or be dismayed. I know that the Eternal God,
who is my God, is with you. He will not abandon you or forsake you until you
have finished all the work for the temple of the Eternal.

1’st Chronicles ends with Solomon being set as king by
David. This was unprecedented in “tradition” but as with David the youngest
became the king. This book does not talk about the struggles Solomon had with
his brothers who felt they had the birth right to the throne. We must learn
from this that we need to listen to God and not man’s rules.

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Numbers
13
– 15

Verse 13:18 has God sending the people to scout the Promised
Land:

I want you to tell us
about the land and especially about its people—are they strong
or weak? Are there a lot of them or only a few?

This is actually the start of a very big problem, but God
wanted the people to understand what they were going into. He wanted them to
understand the beauty and the problems.

Verse 13:33 has the report:

We saw the massive Anakites
who descended from the ancient Nephilim! We look like grasshoppers
compared to them, and they know it.

They had seen the 10 plagues, parting of the Red Sea, water
from a rock and Manna from heaven yet they did not have faith God would conquer
the “giants”.  I can never understand how
they could do that yet at the same time I do it daily. We have what seems to be
a God prompt to move to the West. I had the heart problem, my father got cancer
and the children all moved to the west. We had no reason to stay other than the
anchor called the farm.

A developer came by and made an offer the day after we
decided to move!! This seemed to be God!! Anyway we found a “perfect” home
which we wanted to make an offer, but the developer pushed back closing for 6
months. During that time we determined it wasn’t “perfect” and finally found
the spot. Well during this time the “giants” or neighbors fought the zoning and
appear to have won. Was this a mistake or should we have faith the God will
conquer our “giants”? I started to look for other avenues to get the money and
finally realized I am doing EXACTLY what the Israelites did.

I am back to settling into waiting on God, I just hope and
pray my brief panic did not cause us to be stuck in the “wilderness” for 40
more years!!  I must realize it’s not me
but rather GOD who is in control … I am just in charge of making sure we are
operating in FAITH!!

Verse 14:11 has God ranting:

 How many
times will this ungrateful people turn their backs to Me? How
long will they persist in their faithlessness, refusing to
recognize all the wondrous signs I performed in their midst? 

He was going to kill ‘em all, but Moses convinced Him not to
do that. The punishment was wander the desert for 40 years until that
generation died off. Harsh but in reality fair punishment for a lack of faith
that God will provide.

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2 Timothy
3 – 4

Verses 3:2-5 hit me huge today:

² You see,
the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious,
arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be
ungrateful, unholy, ³ uncaring, coldhearted,
accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. ⁴ Expect
them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given
to loving pleasure more than they love God. ⁵ Even
though they may look or act like godly people, they’re not. They deny His
power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these. 

I started with just one verse and kept seeing more critical
stuff. The first part that stuck me was the word “narcissistic”. We have become
a country full of people who will post intimate feelings and details of life on
Twitter, Instagram or Facebook for all to read. We vacation it makes our
“timeline”. We eat something special and it makes our “timeline”. Heck, some
even post when they have bodily functions happen. I am just as guilty as the
next guy. Unfortunately today we have the “narcissist and chief” running our
country who feels it necessary to take “selfies” at important state events.

I could pick each one and show everyone how even people
thinking they are following the Way are drifting. “Money-grubbing” is another
one that has overtaken everyone since this has become less a world of the
rising tide lifting all boats, to a jump in my rocket and thrive. People tend
to be more “arrogant” because they now have access to volumes of data, so in
hours one can become an “expert” on any subject and command conversations. As
you can see this whole section speaks to so many of us, on many levels.

They key is to know it’s happening within ourselves and
correct it ASAP!! Don’t say “that’s me and grace will cover my sin” but rather
change. I think we will all be shocked when we stand before God and find that
knowingly sinning is an awful offense against HIM.

Verses 4:2 & 3 are more encouragement and warnings to us
today:

² go out
and preach the word! Go whether it’s an opportune time or not!
Reprove, warn, and encourage; but do so with all the patience
and instruction needed to fulfill your calling³ because
a time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching. Instead,
they will live by their own desires; they’ll scratch their itching ears by
surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles
and tell them what they want to hear. 

We need to stop planning and go forth to tell all about Jesus.
Tomorrow cannot wait, it’s not our choice. We need to also watch since many are
preaching false doctrines that may lead people away from God. The “COEXIST”
movement is one of the most dangerous. The main intent is not to have religions
argue and kill each other, but rather love and live harmoniously. The
underlying intent is to dilute the core message that Jesus is Lord and the WAY
to salvation. It’s not something earned or obtained, but rather something given
freely by God to all who believe.

Verse 4:7 is Paul’s farewell to his brothers in Christ:

I have fought the good fight, I
have stayed on course and finished the race, and through
it all, I have kept believing.

Think about this Paul has finished his ministry on earth and
is preparing to “be with God.” Later it talks about “crowns” and the like which
kind of bother me since it implies heaven will be a class society also. We need
to realize that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, all will bask in
God’s glory equally! The death row repentance to the lifelong worker in Jesus
will all share equally in God’s kingdom. Does that mean stop? NO WAY!! We need
to keep fighting to death for Jesus.

John
13
– 15

Verse 13:34 has Jesus giving his disciples new marching
orders:

 So I give
you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the
ways that I have loved you, and demonstrate your love for others in those same
ways. 

Jesus’ teachings were actually quite simple, love God and
love one and other. All His stories stemmed from this concept. Unlike the
Jewish Pharisees of His time, we have overly complicated a very simple message.
Just love each other as Jesus loves us, how simple can it be and how messed up
we have made it. I think of wars in the name of God and how absurd that
actually is when applied to Jesus’ teachings.

Verses 14:6 & 7 are some of the most critical verses in
Christianity:

Jesus: ⁶ I
am the path, the truth, and the energy of life. No one comes
to the Father except through Me. ⁷ If you know Me,
you know the Father. Rest assured now; you know Him and have seen Him.

How much more can be said? The path to God is not righteous
acts or attaining some enlightened state, but rather just believing in Jesus.
It’s that simple! New Age religions and cults tends to twist past this and
believe God is everything and somehow we are a god because of this with the
same power and will. This is so far from the truth. I love the way The Voice
adds “energy of” to the first verse since it’s a critical concept to understand
and would take some time to explain.

Verse 14:12 is one of those verses I ponder quite often:

I tell you the truth: whoever believes
in Me will be able to do what I have done, but they will do even greater
things, because I will return to be with the Father. 

How many of us believe and wonder why we do not have the
power to heal or raise the dead? Heck Jesus’ own words here and He specifically
says we “will do even greater things!” So when? Over 2000 years do we have
another person who has raised the dead? Was I raised from the dead by prayer?
What is “greater things” anyway? Jesus healed the lame, made the blind see and
raised the dead, so what have (and I will make this personal since I can’t
answer it either) you done “greater” than Jesus?

We need to know it’s not us but God doing these “greater”
things!!

Verse 15:5 is one that we need to understand:

I am the vine, and you are the
branches. If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit. Without
Me, you will accomplish nothing.

Jesus spends time with the vine and branch analogy to ensure
we understand that we need to get off our butts and GO DO! But do so in Him and
not to gain status with Him. See Jesus will provide all we need if we remain in
Him. We will get pruned if we do not remain in Him, so keep it simple and
follow His lead and not YOURS!

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Joel
1 – 3

 

Verse 1:17 talks about a devastating famine to spread over
the land:

The seeds the farmers
planted have shriveled beneath the ground;
    all the storehouses are empty; their supplies
are gone.
The barns are breaking down
    because there is no more grain to fill them.

Joel is
prophesizing a very grim time due to Israel’s drifting from God’s way. Unfortunately
these writings are general enough they could be applies to many times over
Israel’s history. Unfortunately it’s unclear if these may be events yet to
happen or if they were events averted from Israel repenting much as Nineveh did
during Jonah’s prophetic visions.

Verse 2:8 is
another rewrite the Voice did I wish to explore:

Organized—no soldier crowds
another.
    Independent—each man marches straight ahead.
Together—they are unstoppable as they break through the defenses
    and do not break off the attack.

Again this is a poetic license the Voice uses to expand a
verse so we can gain understanding of the scripture. Fortunately unlike other
versions that do this the Voice has appeared very true to the original meaning
or intent. I cannot say this for 100% sure, but when compared to other
versions, I gain clarity when reading the Voice.

Verse 3:10 makes me wonder about the former USSR and their
hammer and sickle:

Hammer your sickles into swords.
    Forge your pruning shears into spears.
For this final battle, even the weakling must say, ‘I am a
warrior!’

The famous symbol for communism does not have Biblical
roots, but it sparked a synapse to explore this possibility. In the USSR the
hammer represented the industrial working class while the sickle represented
the peasant farming class. They may have tried to tie it to religious imagery
via this verse, but I could not find any reference. Also, if the Soviets were
trying to discredit religious beliefs, they would not have chosen such an
obscure reference. In this case the hammers are used to transform the sickles
into weapons.

Verse 3:17 makes me wonder if this has happened:

Eternal One: Then you
will know that I am the Eternal, your God,
        and I live in Zion, My sacred
mountain.
    Jerusalem will be My holy city;
        never again will foreign invaders infiltrate
it.

As we know through history, Israel has been in turmoil since
this was written. Only recently has the area seemed stable and I say that
through the aspect of Israel being a nation again. In no way have they been
secure and based on the number of non-Jews in the country it appears to have
been “infiltrated”. So I ask again, has this happened yet since this does not
appear to have come to be true.

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Proverbs 22

Verse 22:2 talks about wealth:

Rich and poor have something in
common:
    both are created by the Eternal.

This is something that gets us into a spin since you can say
if God created rich and poor then He created good and evil. Think about this a
bit before reacting. God created everything and therefore must have created
Satan and evil. How can this be or did evil just happen out of creation? See
the rabbit trail one can go down and spin into some very complex theological
problems and see where New Age religion spawned from.

One could argue that God is everything and creation was
polluted by evil. Evil made rich and poor to ensure there was envy. Therefore
Solomon missed the point and society was originally meant to be truly blind and
naked.

Verse 22:7 shows many of Jesus’ teaching come from
scripture:

The rich lord it over the poor,
    and the borrower is the slave to the lender.

I think of Polonius’ words “neither a borrower or a lender
be” when reading this proverb. Although Jesus did not restate this proverb, his
teachings show that one should not live beyond one’s means. I think the most
critical passage on lending was in Luke 7 where two men were forgiven their
loans, but this was not used to show the “evils” of borrowing rather the grace
God gives to all.

Verse 22:13 is one I want to look at in detail:

A lazy person says, “A lion! Right
outside!
    I will surely die in the streets!
    Yet another good reason to stay in today.”

Interestingly most versions do not have the last line and
the Voice has italicized it meaning it is not translated from the scripture.
But the addition gives us a better understanding to what it means. You would
have to read in the meaning otherwise. A slothful person could read other
versions and say yes I would not want to die either. The point is not that one
may die, but rather it becomes another excuse for being lazy.

Verse 22:22 is another one to ponder if wealthy:

Do not cheat poor people just
because they are vulnerable
    or use shady tactics in court to crush
those already suffering;

We have actually been accused of this on projects. We get a
“hard” quote and once the project starts the person feels they need more which
justifies stealing from us. I hope we were not trying to cheat the person, but
rather give them some work during slow times. But it’s interesting to see how
people view “cheating” where often a wage that was agreed upon suddenly becomes
a cheat when it’s much less than the owner. A poor person may view something a
cheat which a rich would not, so this is a difficult proverb to follow. The key
is the way you handle your business, if you know you are taking advantage of a
person that IS cheating.

Before I start, forgive me since my mind is not in this
today. We had a very contentious zoning meeting last night were things were
misrepresented and did not go our way. So emotionally I am a bit of a wreck
since this was something that God’s hand seemed to be on. I can’t tell if this
was God saying slow down for me or if it was him teaching me to control my
emotions or if it was not a God thing to begin with. Fortunately the Psalms
were really only a history lesson and were not deep theologically.

Verse 105:40 caught my attention since we just read the
story:

They asked, and He sent them coveys
of quail,
    satisfying their hunger with the food of heaven.

Since we just read this in Numbers I love that the word
“covey” is used. Covey is defined as a “small party or flock of birds” which is
laughable in this instance. Go back to the story in Numbers and see the
difference. Psalms makes it sound all nice and rosy, where the actually story
had so many birds the people had them “coming out their noses”. This is far
from a “covey” and more like an infestation.

The reason I pick on this is we see this so often throughout
history. The truth is embellished. Here the Psalmist made it seem like God
blessed them with quail for a plea. In reality this was far from the original
story where the people complained over what God provided to the point where God
gave them excess to prove a point.

Verse 106:23 sometime makes me wonder if God is
“unchanging”:

Therefore, He declared in
His anger that He would wipe them away.
    If Moses, His chosen one,
Had not pleaded for the people,
    His anger would have destroyed them.

Think about what the people did then and what they are doing
today. Many of the churches have built a golden calf in a prosperity gospel. We
tend to focus on glitz and not God. Our belief structure is being manipulated
away from God today I wonder when the proverbial hammer will fall. Granted the
people just witnessed God demolish the Egyptian gods with the 10 plagues and
part the Red Sea, I don’t see it as much different today.

The key is Moses was the “stopgap” to God destroying his
people. This happened more than once trough the wilderness to the point Moses
could not handle it and asked to die. Think about the immense responsibility
one must have to protect 600,000+ people. This with being the only conduit to
God, Moses must have been beside himself.

Oh how the debate on how to handle the
poor in society has gotten ugly in politics. On one side we need
fiscal responsibility and stop wasting money. On the other side we have a glut
of poor needed help. So what is the answer?

One side says stop benefits and shore
up the economy. While this is responsible, I tend to dismiss it since the “shore
up” includes making sure the “military industrial complex” is still funded, but
that’s another story. We still have a glut of poor. Now the other side says we
need to be compassionate and help the poor. Ironically the fiscal responsible
side tends to follow Jesus more and the other side will throw that in the face.
They point out that Jesus was a “socialist” and would help the poor, while
dismissing the “teach a man to fish” verse.

The point is not to take a moral high
ground but rather to point the problems in both. There will always be poor,
Jesus said so when Mary was chastised for pouring expensive perfume on Jesus’
feet. So how do we deal with the issue, since it appears to be unsolvable?

Again since we are in a WWJD (What
Would Jesus Do) mindset what’s the answer? Show compassion and help the poor,
but not by force or the point of a gun. You cannot legislate morality but you
can live it. Be that light on the hill, help the poor when you can and be
personable.

Now does this mean give a beggar all
your money? No since this will not help the beggar.

Does this mean pass him by and not help
since he is “making enough”? No since we cannot judge his situation.

Does this mean hire the person when you
can? Not sure there since often you can invite more trouble doing this if the
person is unsavory.

So what’s the answer, WWJD? I can definitively
say I don’t know for sure. What I do know is government is not the answer and
local Christ based services are closer to the mark. We cannot ask the
government to do what Jesus would do but not show or tell the love of Jesus! We
cannot expect a person who does not know Jesus to follow him by “the point of a
gun”. In all cases the first commandment is not followed and that is FREEDOM!!
And yes the first commandment is freeing Israel, the “Christian” commands 1 and
2 need to be combined.

We cannot be free to follow Jesus and
be told how to do it. We need the Holy Spirit to ensure we do this right and
then we need to know how to listen!! So give freely, share the Gospel freely
and love unconditionally. If we all followed Jesus and stopped trying to one up
each other, the end would be a perfect free market utopia.

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1 Chronicles 20 – 24

Verse 20:1 shows David’s changing leadership:

In the spring (the time when kings wage wars because the spring harvest was over, farm work eased, and soldiers could live off the land), Joab led the army to ravage the land of the Ammonites and overthrow their capital city, Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem during Joab’s campaign.

David stayed home while his army fought. One thing I have noticed missing from Chronicles so far has been the story of Bathsheba, although I

believed mentioned as Bath-shua in this book the affair was not mentioned. This was the time David broke from God more than just taking a census, but alienated himself by adultery and murder during this campaign. I wonder why the story made the book of Samuel and not Chronicles.

Verse 20:6 caught my interest because of the “giants” described:

War also broke out at Gath, where there lived a tall man who had 24 fingers and toes—6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot—who was descended from the giants.

One of the biggest debates between science and the Bible is the validity of “creation”. Science has dismissed it since their story could not occur in 10,000 years but rather billions. Here we have a story of a battle with giants that seem more like a “cave man” than a human. Why would the Bible have a story like this if the story of the earth is billions of years and not recent? If it was recent then “cave men” could be fighting man and not man evolving from “cave men.” See verses like this open the possibility to the timeline being way different than what science purposed.

Verse 21:17 is one I like:

David (calling out to God): ¹⁷ Wasn’t I the one who commanded the census? I, the shepherd, certainly have sinned and done evil; but what have the rest of the nation,Your sheep, done? Eternal One, my True God, please punish only me and my father’s household, not all of Your people.

David is talking responsibility for his actions and puts himself before his people. This form of leadership that seems to be lost in today’s corporate world. The “king” or CEO will lay his workers down for his bad decisions and live comfortably under a “golden parachute”. David may not be a great example of ensuring his kingdom is treated fairly since his palace seemed ornate. But I have a problem with a CEO that makes over 300x his AVERAGE worker, which seems embedded in greed and not helping their employees.

Don’t get me wrong I am a “capitalist” and believe in the free market. I do thing the “kings” should live much better than their employees, but because they are taking the risk of losing it all if they blow it. Not because they have earned a kingdom by knowing the right people or making tons of money for investors while they strip a company of worth to the employees. Throw the dog a bone and hope he doesn’t bite while keeping all the valuable meat in your freezer to gorge on later.

Adam Smith talked about the “Invisible Hand” of the market and how that drives things more than anything. What has been lost in his writing are those of morals and compassion. He never talked about shifting your manufacturing overseas to labor practices long outlawed in our country to create a product that no one needs but wants because of good marketing. But rather learn your market and ensure you can maintain your workers livelihood.

Numbers 10 – 12

Verse 10:3 has some monumental logistics behind that one verse:

When you blow both trumpets, everyone should gather with you in front of the congregation tent;

How many people is “everyone”? When you think about it this is no big deal if you are talking a few thousand, but if you go to 11:21 we see the number is 600,000. Imagine that number of people and trying to communicate with them using no amplification. Either your valley needs perfect acoustics or everyone needs to be perfectly silent for Moses to be heard. Also, if you have ever been to an event that huge, you know moving around is not easy and slow. So to get 600,000 people to a place where they can hear what is said is a difficult task.

Verse 10:36 had me confused looking at the last line:

And when the chest settled down again, Moses would say,

Moses: O Eternal One, turn back ten thousand to Israel’s numbers.

What did this mean? The footnote to Moses’ words says “Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.” NIV says “Return, Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.” KJV says “Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.” CJB is “Return, Adonai of the many, many thousands of Isra’el!” ESV says “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” This again is one of those places I don’t think we are ever going to understand what was actually said. I believe the Voice was a literal, but none really make sense. The nerd in me had to explore and notice this is one of those places where we get in needless arguments.

Verse 11:15 shows Moses’ frustration with the people:

If You plan to treat me like this, then just kill me now. If You care about me at all, just put me out of my misery so I do not have to live out this distress.

Then verse 11:20 shows God’s frustration:

but every single day for an entire month. Meat, meat, and more meat. You’ll eat meat until it comes out of your noses and you can’t stand it anymore. For you’ve rejected Me, who is with you, by asking why you left Egypt.”

Imagine having 600,000 people “sharing” their problems with you. I often wonder why or pastor at 12 Stone, PK, is so difficult to access. I have “important” things I need to say to him. I am sure of the 25,000+ congregation he has more than one or two like me. He has to buffer people like God eventually did for Moses. Just look at the frustration Moses had, he would prefer death over the pressure!! God either was dealing with those same pressures, or helped Moses by giving them what they wanted in EXCESS!!

I read this and think of the story, Brewster’s Millions. In the movie this down and out orphan was to inherit millions from his new found father, but before he did so he had to learn the value of money. So Brewster was given 30 million to spend in a month with nothing to show as an asset. At the end he was so burnt out that he almost gave up the inheritance. This is the same thing God did with the people of Israel, gave them what they wanted in excess. Wonder if the makers of the movie paid royalties to God?

2 Timothy 1 – 2

Verse 1:8 is a difficult sell:

So don’t be embarrassed to testify about our Lord or for me, His prisoner. Join us in suffering for the good news by the strength and power of God.

Think about this verse and if it was sold today. Sure the preachers focus on this based on our individual suffering and equate it to what Paul is talking about. In reality he is talking about persecution for our beliefs. You think being ridiculed by an atheist is difficult, imagine being jailed and beaten. In the United States we don’t understand the suffering Paul was talking about and probably would not sign on to being a Christian if we did.

We have become a self-centered nation with little regard to the bigger picture. Christianity today has been repackaged by many into what I fear is a false doctrine. When Jesus says “I never knew you” to those who think they are faithful, this is disconcerting. When following Jesus is marketed as a path to wealth or success we have missed the mark. When reading and listening to others outside the Bible, research what they are saying in FULL context. You will learn something and grow deeper, but also protect yourself from false doctrines that could jeopardize your salvation.

Verse 2:5 talks about our path with Jesus:

Look at it another way: if someone competes as an athlete, he won’t win the race and be crowned with the wreath if he breaks the rules.

Paul is warning Timothy in this letter about people falling away from the true Gospel and making up their own ones. As stated before this is a huge reason for reading your Bibles daily. You understand the faith and teachings from the word and not someone’s misunderstandings of scripture. Often people are more sinister and are preaching a false Gospel on purpose to lose souls for Jesus. Be vigilant to death on this quest.

Verses 2:17 & 18 has Paul dealing with the fall out of a drifting faction:

¹⁷ Once these empty voices start to speak, Timothy, they infect and spread; and soon the body is consumed with its cancer Hymenaeus and Philetus fell victim to it, ¹⁸ and they walked away from the truth by claiming that the day of resurrection has already arrived. They are clearly disrupting the faith of some who are not well grounded.

Just like the body being infected by a microscopic germ, the body of Christ can be infected by a few false teachings. Again don’t be caught saying “Lord, Lord” and having Jesus reply “I never knew you”. If you read my blog this is a huge concern since often very logical arguments are presented against scripture, and one can either agree or dig deeper for the truth. After 40 years of bouncing all over the place, I have come to a stronger understanding of what the message truly is. It’s actually quite simple and bound in love! Just DO IT!!

John 10 – 12

Verse 10:11 foreshadows what Jesus’ purpose is:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep in His care.

He did just that and laid down His life so all humanity could live through Him! He was using the analogy of the time to ensure the impact was understood. For those who have lost a pet, we understand how diligently we hunt for them. Now would we die for Fido? If we had to think about it, no, but in the moment I don’t think we would consider our safety to protect our pets.

Now apply this to our children and you get the picture. If you stood before a killer holding your child, I can guarantee the last thing on anyone’s mind is saving their skin over their child’s. Even if little Joey does not think this, it’s embedded in our “parental” DNA and will never change. Once we understand God’s love is like that we can snuggle into His arms today!

Verse 11:48 looks very familiar:

If we don’t stop this now, every man, woman, and child will believe in Him. You know what will happen next? The Romans will think He’s mounting a revolution and will destroy our temple. It will be the end of our nation.

This is a bit of a stretch, but follow me and you will understand, I hope. This was the same mentality of the Jews before entering in the Promised Land. They did not think they could conquer the inhabitants in the land and did not have faith in God. This may actually be the same thing with Jesus. God may have intended to have Him deliver them from the control of Rome, but because they could not believe this they killed Jesus.

That lack of faith in God delivered all of mankind from the grip of sin. Think about it, Jesus may have been the mighty warrior they were getting to conquer Rome, but was not expected like David going against Goliath. The difference was David proved himself, Jesus was killed before He could. God made lemonade from those lemons. I know this is in NO WAY scripturally correct through the prophecies, but is used to illustrate a possibility. What if the Pharisees accepted Jesus and not killed Him?

Verse 12:24 gives another foreshadowing:

I tell you the truth: unless a grain of wheat is planted in the ground and dies, it remains a solitary seed. But when it is planted, it produces in death a great harvest.

Jesus is the grain whose death produced a great harvest of believers in God. Through this one obscure person from a remote place salvation has been won for billions! The key is not to rest on what satisfies us, but ensure all mankind has heard the Gospel of Jesus.

First, this is madness, I agree that Trump should have reprimanded the White Supremacist group in his first statement, but to ignore the violence on the Anti-fa/BLM group would have been wrong also. Now I am tagged a racist!! With that said, I did watch a detailed documentary where they interviewed people from both sides. Sorry but as “wack-a-doo” the Anti-fa/BLM folk are the other side was down right scary!! While Anti-fa came armed with mace and bats bringing the fight to them, the

White Supremacist’s and Nazi’s had AR-15′s and handguns to defend their right to be repugnant. They said they would kill … WHY??? For a differing opinion? Is that worthy of death? It also discredits the “peaceful protest” thing. 

At the same time I don’t have a problem with Trumps words since he denounced both sides. I remember the old saying “two wrongs don’t make a right” and think how it somehow got confused. Since one wrong believes they are right because of how horrible the view of the “other side” is. 

Sorry I digressed, ultimately the protest was about a statute of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate General. He is a hero to the White Supremacist group since he was one of the top Confederate leaders who in their mind agreed with them and he was evil to the Anti-fa since he represented the ugly oppression of the black slaves. Because both of the skewed views of Robert E Lee, there have been a few quoting him and showing that he was a good man. The favorite to throw in the face of the “left” is :

“In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country.

“ – Robert E Lee

The next line was omitted but needs to be shown as well:

“The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically.”

– Robert E Lee

I think Mr. Lee believed that slavery was better, but I also believe he did not see the atrocities slave owners did. Please also understand that a Bible believer knows the Bible allows slavery which I believe was used to justify the acts, I also believe that they did not learn the full Biblical definition of slave which was really more like indentured servitude, where freedom is possible after 7 years and is a voluntary entry by the “slave”. They ignored the first commandment which was really freedom (search the blog for a full explanation of why or CLICK THIS ARTICLE … Prager Vid that does a better job). 

I found the letter these quotes came from HERE and found it enlightening. The last line I think says wonders about today’s society:

“Is it not strange that the descendants of those pilgrim fathers who Crossed the Atlantic to preserve their own freedom of opinion, have always proved themselves intolerant of the Spiritual liberty of others?

“ – Robert E Lee

Anti-Fa is this epitomized! They will shout down any opposing view and destroy property to ensure it never happens. Case in point is Ben Shapiro and Ann Coulter when  they tried to speak at UC Berkeley. Seems like any Trump event is tagged and attacked, who is the real problem here? Are all Trump supporters White Supremacists or are they normal Americans being cast as that for propaganda and evil?

The 

White Supremacist

‘s yell their BS and cause chaos by just being, but they can stand on their own and they are shown fools. ARRRGGGHHH no matter what is said, the other side will spin it into a web of BS to support their CRAP!! Sorry, but Trump did say it right and both sides were bad … although I don’t believe there were many “fine people” on either side though!!

Anyway, Lincoln also addressed this in his second inaugural address:

“Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.” – Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln’s words can be used today, although I don’t believe most in either group really know God or follow him closely. Both groups follow their pride and their will above God’s. Whereas Lincoln’s and Lee’s words make me believe both were men of God!! God has been lost to both groups today and shows the need for a revival in the Church. 

Another quote from his address caught my eye:

“Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”“  – Abraham Lincoln

As we fight among ourselves again to a fervor not seen in a while, we have to ask will God allow us to tear ourselves apart and then rebuild a new nation? Or will we be like the Greek or Roman nations and soon be taught in history class.

My view does not dismiss the feelings of blacks who see a flag or a statute erected during the fervor of segregation in the 50′s and 60′s and are enraged. I understand and do agree the monuments should be removed and flags should be changed, I just don’t get the rage of today’s youth who never lived through the riots and the blatant disrespect. Have any today had to drink from a “colored only” fountain? I know many feel disrespect, but this is fading as time goes forwards, we just need to let this die. People’s hearts take time to change (except for those who receive Jesus, then things happen fast) and violent protests get no one on anyone’s side. Maybe instead of macing a Nazi, we should show them the love of Jesus and change a heart!!

To kind of close thing up with this ramble. I notice my view on the “Google Manifesto” received sharp criticism from some. Again maybe I just don’t read “between the lines” well, but while I took no offense a friend who engaged in my folly pointed out why they were upset at the memo. They said women have been told 

that they are not suited for or are unable to do because of their sex. To which I pointed out fighting Hulk Hogan and the WWF was not suited for women. Their response was “women can do whatever they want, include enter the ring with Hulk Hogan if they want to .“ To which I said “then the WWF would have to be fake!” I guess I don’t get it … President Trump called it like it was and I believe the words of Lincoln and Lee ring as true today and they did over a 100 years ago.

Hosea
8 – 14

Verse 8:2 explains on why Israel is facing judgment:

Still Israel calls out
to Me, “Our God, we know you!”
        But even with your words of
worship, you abandon our agreement.

This becomes a
problem with all of history, we tend to drift from God. Why? Satan! It’s really
that simple, everything used to wedge between us and God is on purpose. Today
the biggest wedge is not other gods but rather no God. Think about science and
how it’s used to explain away God. Our psyche is being hammered away from any God.
Heck since creation has an explanation that can be demonstrated on a lower
level, how can there be a God.

As I sit this
morning I wonder if we are on the verge of having another punishment. Hosea
prophesied against Israel’s drift, why not now? Revelations seems to be lining
up in short order.

Verse 9:1 talks
about the perceived joy before the fall:

Don’t rejoice, Israel! Don’t
shriek in ecstatic joy like the other nations!
    You’ve prostituted yourself and been unfaithful to your
God.
You eagerly expect that you’ll get your prostitute’s pay at the threshing
floors with a rich harvest.

The image of the prostitute is used often when looking at
how we all tend to drift away from God. We sell our souls for the next new
trinket. We have dismissed family to strive for work. I moved away from my
family only to have them follow and just move away again. It’s normal in
today’s world. I am not saying moving is prostituting ourselves to Satan, but
it has become an “accepted” wedge driven into that unit.

George Bailey could wait to leave Bedford Falls, only to
find it was the most important community in his world.

Verses 11:8 & 9 (actually end of 8) shows God’s grace:

My heart is changed within Me,
        and all at once My compassion
is stirred up.
⁹     I will not carry out My
burning anger;
        I will not destroy
Ephraim completely.
    For I am God, not a human being; I am the Holy One in
your midst;
        I won’t unleash My anger for
an attack.

God has done this throughout history. Heck Jesus is the
ultimate gift to mankind knowing He would most likely be rejected. The amazing
grace God has is beyond comprehension.

Proverbs
20 – 21

Verse 20:1 will start another rapid fire review of some valuable
lessons:

Too much wine begins
to mock you,
    too much strong drink leads to noisy
fights,
    and whoever is misled by either is not wise.

Never does the Bible say don’t drink, but rather don’t drink
in excess. This is why, they tend to deceive you into thinking you’re actually
able to do things. “I’m invincible” is a common mindset of the inebriated with
a “watch this” as ones final words.

Verse 20:4 points out the importance of putting work first:

A slacker procrastinates when it is
time to plow;
    so when it’s time for harvest, there are no crops in
the field.

Today our work ethic does not directly affect our crop
yield, but it does our ability to purchase food. Food stamps help feeding those
in need, but helps promote slackers at the same time. Verse 20:13 reemphasizes
the importance of a good work ethic:

Do not fall in love with sleep, or
you will awake a poor person.
    Stay awake, get to work, and you will
have more than enough food.

Got to point out verse 20:29 as we all age:

The best asset of youth is the
strength of the body,
    but the beauty of age is gray hair.

Although since my “incident” I have been eating better and
getting in shape. Maybe I can regain my “best asset” while keeping my “beauty
of age”? This is the age ole “fountain of youth” quest, clinging to something
once lost.

Verse 21:2 is actually a critical one to ponder:

Everyone may think his own
way of living is right,
    but the Eternal examines our hearts.

This is the source of most conflicts since ones opinions
feed their pride and often lead to destruction. We have to have two critical
attitudes; one is listening to others and have a fluid mindset. There are some
things it’s important not to drift from but how often are arguments started
because one believes the other is thinking something that is far from their
minds? Read Crucial Conversations for a good understanding of how we view the
world.

Verse 21:5 talks about planning:

A well-thought-out plan will work
to your advantage,
    but hasty actions will cost you dearly.

This is important for one to consider. How many times have
we started out doing something in a rush only to have to do it over and over
again?

Verse 21:17 talks about going overboard:

Those who live to party, who
pursue pleasure, will end up penniless;
    those who enjoy lots of wine and rich
food will never have money.

Unfortunately the culture in today’s society is party first
and have fun today. We have lost the idea that our hard work upfront in the
spring leads to food for the winter since we can just scrape by on the dollar
menu at Wendy’s year round.

Verse 21:23 is emphasized by James in the NT:

Guard your words, mind what you
say,
    and you will keep yourself out of trouble.

Lord knows this was a problem of mine in the past since I
would often speak my mind without thinking of the consequences. We need to
think before speaking and throttle our words since often we speak without true
understanding of the situation. These may be extreme in some cases where you
can crush someone’s feelings without knowing their story. Again read Crucial
Conversations to gain some awesome tools.

Psalms
102
– 104

 Verse 102:2 makes me think about how most of us pray to God:

Do not hide from me
    when my days are filled with anguish;
Lend Your ear to my wailing,
    and answer me quickly when I call.

Why is it we cry out to God mostly in “anguish” and not in
joy? I am just as guilty as the next one even with experiences that should be
filled with praise and joy. Think about how many people who claim no belief in
a higher power seem to call on God at their death. We need to really fill our
prayers with gratitude more than “anguish” since “anguish” will always be
there.

As you read Psalm 102 you will see he changes from “wailing”
to praise. We are nothing when you think about it, we live in a huge world
which has a long history and a long future, with millions more dealing with the
same problems. Think about that next time you are “wailing” to God and He
responds to you. That alone should be joy and happiness!! Praise God first and
then petition Him with your wailing.

Verse 103:12 gives us an illustration of God’s grace:

You see, God
takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and
removes them.
    As far as east is from the west, He removes
them from us.

The only warning that should go with this is it’s not an
excuse to just go crazy. God is wonderful and His grace covers all our sin.
Once we confess them, our slate is wiped clean. I really think the key to this
is in Jesus’ words “go and from now
on avoid the sins that
plague you.” (John 8:11) As God will forgive us of our sins, our responsibility
is to sin no more. So walk the narrow path in God’s will and don’t run back to
him for forgiveness, especially when you know you are doing wrong.

Verse 104:13 talks about the water cycle:

And the clouds, too, drink up
their share,
    raining it back down on the mountains from the upper
reaches of Your home,
Sustaining the whole earth with what comes from You.
    And the earth is satisfied.

You have two ways to look at the earth. One is this
intricate system of life just randomly happened without help. The other is God
created and worked out every detail. Think about it the water cycle described
here is one of those details that one actually has to have more faith in
believing it’s random than planned. Why?

Based on nature we see a cause and effect cycle, the sun
heats the salty sea and causes evaporation. The water vapor rises and cools
causing it to form clouds. Once the clouds grow to a point the water vapor
starts to combine and fall back to the ground as pure water as rain. The rain
collects to form creeks and rivers that eventually replenish the seas
evaporation. Believing this all happened in nature randomly requires more faith
than believing there was a “causer”.  I
could write a book about God’s influence on creation vs nature just happening.

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1 Chronicles
15
– 19

Verse 15:1 talks about King David’s passion:

David founded the city of
David as his capital and built his palaces there. But
in his zeal to rebuild Jerusalem and build his palaces, He prepared a
place for the covenant chest of God in a tent adjacent to the palace.

Again we see a differentiation between the city of David and
Jerusalem, again I am not sure why but here it is again.

Notice he rebuilds the city and his palace before building a
place for God. For someone whose focus early on seems to be “upwards” this
always seemed odd. But as we see he eventually gets around to it only to have
God hold him off to a later generation. One of the reasons that has been given
other places is the blood on David’s hands from war. If you think about it since
the Messiah was tied to David and not his father Jesse or son Solomon we can
understand why the Jewish people expected a great warrior and not a humble
servant in Jesus.

Verse 16:3 has an interpretation question I wanted to look
at:

He gave a loaf of bread, a date roll,^* and
a raisin cake to every man and woman in Israel.

Usually these notes are highlighted by a hyperlink from the
source I copy from and looks very ugly, but I wanted to note the “*” and the
word “date roll” and how it was interpreted. The Voice says the “meaning is
unclear” and we look at other interpretations to wonder what’s going on. The
Hebrew word they are attempting to interpret is “’eshpār” which is only seen one other place.

We get into a place
where non-believers and KJV only says how can you trust anything you read in
the Bible. First this is a fallacy since we are talking some kind of food and
not some significant theological point, so with most versions of the Bible I
believe we are safe. With that said I will point out some “new age” crap is
creeping into these newer versions of the Bible, I will pick on The Message
this time and The Lord’s Prayer.

Verse 6:10 is
normally interpreted as “Bring about Your kingdom.  Manifest Your will
here on earth,  as it is manifest in heaven.” The KJV is the traditional “Thy
kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” But The Message
reads “Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what’s best— as above, so
below.” Not much different between the Voice and the KJV, but you see the
subtitle difference between The Message’s interpretation?

“As above, so
below” is the wording that is so wrong. It’s really being highlighted in today’s
pop culture with a move bearing the same words as its name. It initially became
famous in from the demonic Baphomet pointing to heaven and hell. This is when
those who question interpretations really get credence. Research this and I
believe you will see Luciferian “new age” beliefs and sayings creeping into
scriptures. While I am very hesitant on questioning an interpretation since
they are rigorously checked by people much smarter than me, but this one seems
odd.

Sorry for the
tangent and not focusing on the reading but that one verse reminded me of this
discrepancy in The Message and I wanted to bring that forward. Does that mean
you can’t have faith in the Bible? Does it mean all of Christianity is a false
religion? No way on either! What this does show is how we need to be vigilant
in our study, not accepting anything as Gospel unless we are sure. I will say
the video I watched made sure the preacher reading The Message’s version of the
Lord’s Prayer was slowed down to make him sound evil when reading those words,
so there is a bunch on manipulation of the details everywhere, my warning is be
cautious and diligent in your studies, especially of newer interpretations of
the Bible.

Numbers
7 – 9

Verse 7:30 is an example of most of chapter 7:

On the fourth day, Elizur (son of
Shedeur), head of the Reubenite tribe, presented the offering.

Each tribe over and over repeats the same offering. So this
paragraph is repeated 12 times with only the first line changed. I believe this
is the root of why God had to send Jesus because the people became more about
the rituals than the meaning behind them. It was a checklist of being holy and
not a relationship. As I read this I often wonder how much is God inspired and
how much was more man? God set all these rules, regulations and rituals to
follow, almost like a checklist so it’s understandable how many of the Jewish
people reduced the Law into a checklist that could not be met.

Christians tend to overlook most of the OT because it’s
difficult to follow in the context of Jesus. Ironically the only thing the
churches then to focus on is tithing and homosexuality outside the Ten
Commandments. We must understand that we are no longer bound by any of the Law.
Jesus talks about using our money for God’s will and not mans, so that ends
tithing. Tells us to judge not, so that ends the homosexual debate. The food
Laws and Peter’s vision explain how all the Old Testament Laws need to be
handled, on a personal basis.

I tend to follow the food laws, more because I believe it’s
God’s intended diet for mankind. I still eat pork and shrimp from time to time
and do not believe it’s a sin. It’s just not optimum food for my body, but
still food. We need to listen and believe the voice of God and don’t get caught
up in legalism.

Verse 9:10 is God’s response to a problem with following the
letter of the law:

Tell the Israelites, if any one of
you or your descendants becomes ritually impure due to the
necessity of handling a dead body, he can nevertheless still celebrate
My Passover a month after everyone else does. Likewise, those who
are on the road, a long way from My tent, can celebrate
Passover to the Eternal then too.

This is the problem with the legalistic aspects of the Law,
you must celebrate Passover but if you cannot then what does one do. The law
today is so complex just because of this, the spirit of the law cannot be
followed. Think about zero tolerance and not bringing guns on school grounds.
Kids have been arrested and suspended for pointing a finger and going bang or
nibbling a piece of bread to look like a gun. Instead of embracing that firing
a gun is fun and often necessary for food or protection, we make children think
they are mentally ill for playing.

This is what the scene was when Jesus came, a bunch of
difficult laws were only made more and more difficult to understand or follow.
Common sense was lost then and appears to be lost today. It only seems like we
are setting up for a return of Jesus. Of course I am sure they said the same
thing when Rome was crumbling, when the Crusades were happening and when Hitler
ruled, things will suck always we need to have joy in the misery knowing the
peace eternity with Jesus has to offer.

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1 Timothy
4 – 6

Verse 4:1 opens with a warning we all need to heed:

But even so, the Spirit very
clearly tells us that in the last times some will abandon the true faith
because of their devotion to spirits sent to deceive and
sabotage, and mistakenly they will end up following the
doctrine of demons.

For some reason we think Satan will present evil to us and it
will be obvious. Think about it Hitler was able to get a nation to do some of
the most heinous acts in the name of Jesus. It will be difficult for those who
are weak in faith to distinguish between what is from Satan and not God. That
is the key to studying and reading scriptures, we need to know when we are
presented a false Jesus.

Think about how you’d answer for doing this. Would you say
“I was deceived; you can’t hold that against me”? Then God would reply “I gave
you a study guide to me, yet you obviously did not read it or you would have
known.” Yes we are accountable for deception as much as knowingly disregarding scripture,
the question is would deception cost us salvation?

Verse 5:1 is starting to mean something to me:

Respect an elderly man. Don’t speak
to him sharply; appeal to him as you would a father. Treat younger men as
brothers, 

As I get older I often wonder why I would deserve respect of
anyone. I often get called out by my children for hypocrisy and wonder why I do
things yet say others. I can think of many younger who I agree with totally and
many older I think of as fools. I think Paul is saying respect your elders, not
necessarily follow them. Honestly, I think this gets abused so often that means
we must accept what is said without question.

This got abused in the 60’s with the “don’t trust anyone
over 30” mantra.

Verse 6:5 warns us about works:

and these people constantly bicker
because they are depraved in their minds and bereft of the truth. They think
somehow that godliness is the way to get ahead.

We cannot move ahead because of what we do, but at the same
time I often wonder if we fall behind because of what we don’t do. Think about
this a little, is it a greater sin to do evil not knowing or to know and still
do it? Some would say a sin is a sin of equal proportion, but some scripture
imply that sinning with knowledge is worse. In this instance is NOT actually
doing what is required worse that doing it for status? Both are wrong and both
I believe have consequences, just have no idea what they are.  Go DO …

John
7 – 9

John 7:4 gets you thinking about why Jesus hit the scene
then:

No one who seeks the public eye is
content to work in secret. If You want to perform these signs, then step
forward on the world’s stage; don’t hide up here in the hills, Jesus.

I think of a line in the song Superstar in Jesus Christ
 Superstar when I read this verse. “Why’d you choose such a
 backward time and such a strange land? If you’d come today you would have
 reached a whole nation Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication.” Think about
 it, a man in the back waters of Israel has become the most known historical
 figure of all time. There is no one more written about or studied than ever
 and He started in an animal stall with no agent to promote Him.

Verse 7:41 solidifies the
 unassuming nature God took in Jesus:

This
 is God’s Anointed, the Liberating King!

Still
 Others: Is it possible for the Anointed to come from Galilee?

Again why not NYC today?
 You’d reach the world within seconds with just one miracle in Times Square.
 Instead God choose a backwards place and a backwards time to reveal himself
 in Jesus to save the world. Again why? I think that is an easy question to
 answer! If God came as expected into this world, the people could say this
 figure was a great man, where someone with no status or power could only
 become this way by being real. We see this over and over again from Moses who
 was not an eloquent speaker all the way to Paul who was persecuting the faith
 before becoming the most influential writer of the NT. God wants to make sure
 we all understand His glory and not get lost in the “cult of personality”.

Verse 8:41 is interesting:

but
 you are doing what you have learned from your father.

Jews: We
 were not born from adulterous parents; we have one Father: God.

Think about it, they knew
 his “parents” were not married before conception of Jesus and they are
 rubbing it in. They assume Joseph was Jesus’ father and not God, therefore he
 was from an “adulterous” union. I just find it interesting how things have
 not changed and the tabloids today dig for dirt and use it for their
 advantage.

Vere 9:4 highlights a
 potential problem today:

While
 it is daytime, we must do the works of the One who sent Me. But when
 the sun sets and night falls, this work is impossible.

Where Jesus is talking
 about darkness and evil many could interpret this differently. See there has
 always been a movement of sun worship and how people like Peter Joseph try to
 tie the Jesus story to astrological events and attempt to distance it from
 reality. They will distort verses like this and say, see the SUN and the SON
 are one in the same. In context and reality this is nothing further from the
 truth, but could be twisted.

This is why I tend to
 stress we ALL need to read the scriptures and understand them ourselves. See
 if we take what others say blindly we can be led astray. Also, I am not
 saying read it once, but always. It’s a huge book with a ton of truth and
 something you cannot possibly get in one read. Also, things tend to make more
 sense after reading them over remembering other parts that had not been read
 prior. I take my evolution of the “trinity” from not possible to being true
 as an example of how you can keep learning each time you read. Let the Holy
 Spirit guide you and not men!!

Hosea
1 – 7

Hosea is one of those odd stories where he is instructed to
marry as an illustration of Israel. Verse 1:2 is God’s instruction to do just
that:

This is the word the Eternal spoke
through Hosea first.

Eternal One (to
Hosea): Go and marry a woman who is a prostitute and have
children who come from this unfaithfulness. This will represent how the
land of Israel has abandoned Me and become a prostitute to
other masters!

Hosea married Gomer and had three children who represent
Israel and their unfaithfulness to God. The story is one of those odd ones that
actually illustrates God’s love for his people. Gomer represents the people of
Israel and how they abandon God’s directives and love while Hosea represents
God. In the story Gomer leaves Hosea and goes back to a life of prostitution.

While this may be a great illustration to the people of
Israel, it was difficult on Hosea all the same. But God shows through his
children that things may change by changing his son’s name from Not My People
to My People and his daughter’s name from Shown No Mercy to Shown Mercy. Just
as things can change for Israel if they decide to follow God, things can change
for all of us in obedience to God.

Verse 4:12 talks about what the people are doing:

They expect to hear oracles from a wooden idol,
        to get guidance from a
diviner’s wand!
    For a spirit of prostitution is leading them astray—
        that’s why they’re so
unfaithful to their God and are becoming prostitutes.

Spirit’s that try to lead us from God are real and we need
to be aware of them. Satan has learned if he cannot get man to worship him, he
will get their worship away from God. So as people get sucked away from God,
wooden idols and mystics become the source of guidance and not God’s word. This
is very dangerous and can be seen today in New Age thinking like saying God is
everything and is all of us. Be vigilant and alert to stuff like this.

Verse 6:2 sounds like another story elsewhere in the Bible:

He’ll bring us back to life after
two days;
    He’ll raise us up on the third day, and we’ll live with
Him.

This actually sounds more like the story of Jesus in the
Bible that what we are told. Think about it, Jesus died on a Friday, was
buried, then less than 48 hours the stone is rolled away and he is alive. Last
time I checked, 48 hours is 2 days. I know this is a technicality, but it’s
always bugged me. Now many historians say the events on Easter Sunday actually
took place on a Monday, but this verse implies the standard narrative is
correct. It’s just cool to be able to read this 2800 or so years later and put
the puzzle together.

Proverbs
19

Verse 19:1 talks about being poor:

Better to be poor and live with
integrity
    than a fool with a foul mouth.

I believe God and Jesus’ focus on wealth is not to have us become
prayers for wealth, but rather using those blessings to serve God. See once you
let money rule your life, God becomes second. That is the problem with wealth
and power; suddenly it controls your life and not allowing God to work. God
wants us to enjoy life and prosper, but He wants us to do so with integrity and
obedience.

Verse 19:6 is sad but true:

Many try to win the favor of a
generous person,
    and everyone is a friend to someone who gives gifts.

It’s amazing how many friends you get when they expect
something. As nice as friends are, close friends are more valuable than the
ability to be generous. At the same time this does not mean be stingy and not
give, just realize many of these friends may be shallow.

Verse 19:8 shouts for us to gain wisdom:

Whoever gains a wise heart loves
his own soul,
    and whoever preserves understanding experiences true goodness.

We tend to stop trying to learn as we grow older, but this
impedes our growth. Sometimes we just become a “wise guy” as we age and not
gain wisdom. Look for that before you consider resting on your “laurels.”

Verse 19:18 talks about discipline:

Discipline your children while
there is still hope of influencing their future,
    so as not to play a part in their destruction.

I fear this is being disposed of in today’s world. The
parents now live in fear of DFCS knocking down the door because of childhood
bumps and bruises. I have lived this with Devon and worse recently with
Miracle. Because she rides horses she always looked beat up, and it took three
or four interviews with DFCS to clear the matter up. I’m not saying beat your
children, but a loving corrective spank is critical for their development,
otherwise we as parents serve our children poorly.

Verse 19:21 talks about impulses and why we need to control
them:

The impulses of the human heart may
run wild,
    but the Eternal’s plan will prevail.

We tend to follow our impulses more than God’s word. Heck
“if it feels good, do it” has been rammed down our throats and has taken a hold
in society. Many today strive for pleasure than pleasing. This mindset has
developed into major problems like debt and infidelity where delayed
gratification is not an option. We want it now and it is killing our
relationship with God, unless He is dishing out blessings.

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Psalms
99 – 101

Verse 99:8 talks about God answering the people in the
wilderness:

You answered them, Eternal our God;
    You were, to them, a God who forgives,
    yet You did not ignore what they did
wrong
    and punished them fairly as well.

As we go through life we find this to be true. God forgives
but there are still consequences for a sin. I see this with a friend whose son
was murdered; he has forgiven the person but still expects him to serve his
jail time. I think we tend to feel forgiveness is getting away with murder but
rather it’s more freedom from the angst of the people affected by the sin.

Think about it this way, using my friend’s example, you have one of two
choices. You can live in anger and stress about the loss while suffering the
negative health effects from these emotions. The other option is to forgive and
let go the stress. Either way the loss will never change, you are not going to
get freedom from the loss but you will have freedom from the burden of
resentment. As for the perpetrator , your forgiveness is not releasing them of
the punishment just the peace they are forgiven.

Verse 100:3 is from “one of the best known and most loved
psalms”:

Know this: the Eternal One Himself
is the True God.
    He is the One who made us;
    we have not made ourselves;
    we are His people, like sheep grazing in
His fields.

They compared it to Psalm 23 which I believe most can quote
even if they can remember the number, but I read this anew and fresh. That was
after reading it at least 3 times prior! I don’t remember this Psalm being
quoted or mentioned in sermons yet the Voice considers it with Psalm 23. This
is actually one that should be talked about since it deals with gratitude and
thanksgiving. That is something that is often missing from prayers and
discussions. We always tend to focus on the negatives during “prayer requests”
with rare praises. When praises are given resentment and jealousy often happens
with others.

Honestly we are going to have problems, that is a given in
life. Just because you become a Christian does not mean everything is suddenly
going to be sunshine and blue skies. The glory of a life in Jesus is not the
good times, but rather the supernatural peace during the bad times. That is
something we should live in gratitude for no matter what!!

Verse 101:1 has David singing thanks:

I will sing of God’s
unsparing love and justice;
    to You, O Eternal One, I will sing praises.

God is love and love is justice who needs to be praised.
Again we tend to get into the rut of prayers based on “life’s little problems”
and not the glory of God. I am coming up on a year of being unemployed and am
not having too many problems. I could wallow in the misery that I am uninsured,
have no income, eating through reserves I may have had and worrying about
providing for my family each month. At the same time things couldn’t look
brighter with a possible new job as a perfect fit for my experience. Our farm
may be selling and our family could be reunited because of this. And if none of
this happens? Who cares I just keep plugging away at every opportunity given to
us.

1 Chronicles
10
– 14

Verses 10:13 & 14 describe Saul’s demise:

^13-14 Because
Saul disobeyed the Eternal One and trusted in the counsel of a medium instead,
he died at the Eternal’s hand; and the Eternal gave the kingdom to the
great king David, son of Jesse.

This starts to get a little confusing since Saul was
introduced as king when he was being killed by the Philistines. Then 11 -14
talks about David and tend to jump back to before Saul’s death, so there is not
a consistent timeline. Saul was Israel’s first king and was not of God’s will.
The people chose Saul because of his looks and ignored the fact he hid from
what they wanted. So I guess that’s why not much time was spent talking about
Saul.

Verse 11:7 talks about the “City of David”:

After the conquest David
lived in Zion, so it became known as the “city of David.” 

I always considered Jerusalem as the “City of David” and not
Zion. In doing a study many say all three names are synonymous and therefore
the same place, but they differentiate later in this chapter by not calling
Zion but rather Jerusalem. I cannot say I understand what is actually the
truth, just what scripture says. I guess they have not found relics of Zion and
just assumed it to be Jerusalem.

One last note is David’s men are selected based on their
abilities in battle. We see this in chapter 11.

Verse 14:16 talks about David’s obedience:

David obeyed God’s command, and he
defeated the army of the Philistines from Gibeon to Gezer.

This is key to David’s life and should be a model for ours.
When David ignored God’s commands and went on his own will, things fell apart.
How many times have you had problems and when looking back we see failures in
our obedience to God. Sure we can get back on track, yet often the scars from
our drift remain for decades to come as with David. God forgives and helps
restore things to normal, people on the other hand remember and hold bitterness
for life sometimes.

Numbers
4 – 6

Verses 4:5 & 6 talks about the care given to temple
objects:

 ⁵ When
it’s time to break camp, follow these instructions: Aaron and
his sons shall take down the screen curtain and cover the covenant chest. ⁶ Over
that, they shall lay a sea-cow skin, and over that, a pure blue cloth.
They shall then slide in the chest’s poles.

This chapter goes through the care of the temple objects. I
find it interesting the procedures put in place to move the temple gear when on
the move. I also question why it’s so critical that only a select few handle the
objects or face death. Is it God raining death onto mankind or mankind killing
those who touch the sacred items? I know there have been instances where God
did destroy those who touch sacred things, but why was this the case?

As I read this yesterday’s reading is sitting in me and
makes me wonder if reading the OT is folly since it points to Jesus, but has a
bunch of stuff like this that does not make sense unless you really dig in and
study to understand. Even when it makes sense it’s difficult to explain to
someone with a basic foundation in the Bible. As I finish the last few months
of this version I am faced with a decision on which way to go, find another
version or focus on Jesus’ message and maybe tie in OT topics. I am sure God
will prompt me when the time comes.

One other thing about the “sea-cow skin”, since the manatee
is the sea-cow and as far as I know is not on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
As you look at other versions we see that is one of those words that never
really came over from the early scriptures since it is a large aquatic mammal.
Just one of those things that makes one wonder what it actually was. Maybe a
“water buffalo”?

Chapter 5 shifts to a list of sins and the punishment that
accompanies these sins. Verse 5:6 is one of those examples:

Tell the Israelites that sinning
against each other is just like abandoning Me. All incur guilt, men and women
alike.

This applies today; the only difference is the grace of
Jesus. One thing we tend to get lost in is the idea Jesus’ grace covers all
sins and therefore we are permitted to sin. This is far from the case and sin
separates us greater knowing we are doing what is wrong than unintentional
sins. I think both OT and NT explain the penalty of sin, but we tend to believe
grace will cover all. This is true to a point, but if we know it’s wrong and
still proceed I wonder what our cost really is?

Verse 6:2 starts a chapter on the Nazirite vow:

 Tell the
Israelites that when anyone of them, man or woman, takes the special Nazirite
vow, which distinguishes this Israelite as set apart for Me, 

I am interested in the significance of this vow and what it
meant then. The vow described here is a period of one’s life where they honor
this vow. Interestingly there have been those that appear to have a permanent
vow, like Samson, but this has no real foundation in scripture unless someone
deemed the “period” to be a lifelong pursuit. Anyway an interesting vow and
curious about the eternal purpose.

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1 Timothy
1 – 3

Verse 1:4 really caught my eye for an interesting reason:

Tell them to turn away
from fables and endless genealogies. These activities just cause more arguments
and confusion. Instead, they should concern themselves with welcoming
in and bringing about the reign of God, which is all about
faith. 

I immediately focused on this because of the word “fables”.
When you read this with “endless genealogies” I immediately think to the
stories of in Genesis, Numbers and Chronicles where there are some very huge
God stories that are difficult to believe and a ton of genealogies. Doing a
quick version check the KJV uses “fables”
and the NIV uses “myths” . The point is for new believers who have not
experienced God, think about how much easier it is to believe in miracles when
you experience them.

To expose God to a new believer with stories of Moses and
the Red Sea will cause more “arguments” than connection. Also, after 40 years
the “endless genealogies” still cause confusion for me. So focus on Jesus and
what He has done for YOU!! Verse 1:7 talks about how many believers drift into
legalism of the law and forget the grace and forgiveness of Jesus. Key is don’t
lose sight of grace and the salvation God offered through the blood of Jesus.

Verse 1:15 says it all:

Here’s a statement worthy of trust:
Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, came into the world
to save sinners, and I am the worst of them all.

That is what this book can be boiled down to, simple!!

Verses 3:2 & 3 starts the qualifications and
disqualifications for those who lead the church:

² Here
are the qualifications to look for in an overseer: a spotless
reputation, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, sensible, respectable,
welcoming to strangers (allowing them into his home), and gifted to
teach. ³ Disqualify any drunk or violent man. Look
for a gentle man; no belligerent fellow can follow this calling. And he should
be free from money lust.

Key point here is finding the right leaders. This may seem
meaningless to most, but is very critical in order to ensure a unified message
and ability to stay on mission. You get someone who compromises their
character, suddenly that may creep into the church and cause many to fail. This
is why it’s critical for the overall mission to maintain integrity so it does
not fail. I have seen churches fall and the damage done to its members is
devastating on an eternal level!!

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John
5 – 6

Verse 5:9 is the result of a man who Jesus commanded to
walk:

 At the moment
Jesus uttered these words, a healing energy coursed through the man and
returned life to his limbs—he stood and walked for the first time in 38
years. But this was the Sabbath Day; and any work, including
carrying a mat, was prohibited on this day.

Here a man walks
after being lame for 38 years and the Pharisees focus on him carrying a mat. I
mean really, that someone can take their “theology” to that extreme. Think
about it, God gave Israel a standard through the Law. But the leaders added to
it and kept making up things to their beliefs. Do they really think God is
upset at this lame man carrying a mat or is joyous that people see His power
through this man?

I think this is a
perfect example of why nations collapse and why ours is on the verge of having
some major problems. Everyone takes the law and tries to improve it since many
try to game the system. Instead of enforcing the laws with logic, they need to
make things like zero tolerance where a first grader gets suspended and
interrogated by police for pointing his finger and going bang. Logic and common
sense are lost today as it was then.

Verse 5:39 speaks
to me often:

 Here you
are scouring through the Scriptures, hoping that you will find eternal life
among a pile of scrolls. What you don’t seem to understand is that the
Scriptures point to Me.

There are two things here that are critical to understand.
First is we tend to get so wrapped up in our studies we miss God. There is a
fine line between learning about God and following Him. Often we go to sermons,
small groups, church functions, volunteer at the church and maybe lead a team
only to ignore God. There is a funny story from our men’s group where a guy
kept getting a “God prompt” to stand on his head in a QT by the drink section.
He finally submitted and went to do it, before doing so he explained what he
was about to do to the attendant. To which his reply was “I was just praying if
you are real God have someone stand on their head now.”

While study sharpens our understanding of God, don’t let it
overtake your life so you don’t submit to God. Second revelation is from study
and that is the scriptures point to Jesus. When you dig into the Bible with the
Jesus “goggles” on you see everything in the OT points to HIM. From righteous
man and God in paradise to redeemed man and God in paradise, it all points to
Jesus. I can pull references out the “wazoo” but best thing I can say is read
it, but don’t think that is the only thing you need to do.

Verse 6:13 is the clean-up from feeding the 5000 with 5
loaves and a few fish:

They filled 12 baskets with
fragments of the five barley loaves.

Just a quick comment from Robert Morris that God gave each
of the disciples a “doggie bag” for their service. How cool and funny is that!!

Verse 6:53 freaked a few people out:

I tell you the truth; unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not know life.

Many of his disciples left him, outside the 12, based on
this comment. When you think about it, without explanation this is gross. This
often makes me wonder about the importance of rituals like baptism and
communion since they both seem important in Jesus’ words. I know it’s not
required, but to me it should be honored.

Daniel
7 – 12

Most of Daniels prophecies are cryptic and difficult to
understand. Many may point to times already past but I want land on the forth
beast in chapter 7 and discuss it a bit further. Verse 7:8 talks about what
happens with the beasts horns:

As I stared at the creature
and wondered about the ten horns, suddenly another
horn grew out of its head, smaller than the rest. Three of the
first horns were pushed up from their roots to make room for the little horn.
It appeared to have eyes like a human and a mouth that boasted
and bragged of its great exploits.

The reason I am focusing on this is it’s described as “end
times” prophecies and not something that has already passed. We also see this
ten horned beast pop up in Revelations chapter 17. The interesting thing is
what this may mean today.  I am going to
drift a bit into modern conspiracy theory.

Today we have many government officials talking about a “New
World Order” or NWO without too much questioning. The NWO by most is linking
the world’s economies so there are less problems in trading. If you research
this more it’s a Luciferian belief of uniting the nations (UN) into a one world
government.

Now before you leave this blog forever understand this is
only a though of what this all may mean and not considered fact. If you look
how the OT constructs from God and righteous man in paradise to Jesus and the
NT destructs Jesus to God and redeemed man in paradise we see in both there is
talk of a one world language and government. In the OT Nimrod and the Tower of
Babel was the fate of this system. In the NT Revelations 13 you see the one
world government created before it all falls apart.

So there is Biblical basis for what people are concerned
with in government today and the NWO is considered a one world order of
government. Now back to the 10 horned beast and what it represents. Since a one
world government would be almost impossible to implement the idea is the beast
is the one world government and the 10 horns are 10 district leaders who
control their localities.

The horn that rises up and pushes three horns is considered
the NT anti-Christ who will most likely rise up from the Middle East and start
the end times clock discussed in later chapters of Daniel. So as we read these
prophecies we need to not just read them as old writings of the past, but as
documents that could apply today. Many that seemed fulfilled often are hidden
as a meaning inside a meaning or known as the Babushka’s Doll Principle. Is this interpretation true? Have
no idea, but it makes sense when looking at our world today verse other
interpretation of these visions.

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Proverbs
17
– 18

Verse 17:6 talks about generations:

Grandchildren are the crowning
glory and ultimate delight of old age,
    and parents are the pride of their children.

This of course assumes the child is not drifting into a life
of crime and sin. Even still children light up our lives with joy and pride.
Family is more of a bond than anyone can imagine until they have children of
their own. We bond to our parents and grandparents, but it’s very different the
other way and I can’t explain it well. But I did not understand what God’s love
really was until I held my first child. It didn’t matter what that blob of
flesh we called Veronica did, I loved her unconditionally to the point it hurt.
Even “falling in love” does not equal the love for a child!!

Verse 17:7 talks about words from fools:

Elegant speech sounds odd when it
comes from a fool,
    and a lie on the lips of a leader is even more out
of place!

If you took a script and gave it to a fool and a respected
member of the community to read on the street corner, you would be amazed at
the different response. People tend to look at the source before deciding if
they will listen to the content. Unfortunately this is true and could have us
miss important information. I like to use the person with a placard that says
“The End is Near” as an example. To Christians we know this to be true, but to
those that need salvation he’s a fool. So we need to learn how not to be
perceived as a fool.

I get this all the time when discussing evolution with
scientists. As soon as they understand I am a creationist, the discussion gets
ugly since they consider me a fool. Everything I say afterwards is dismissed
and often never heard. Some will entertain me to the point of at least
understanding it took years of study in the Bible and science to develop my
belief. So often you can be deemed a fool without any knowledge of you.

Verse 18:11 talks about wealth and security:

The rich think their wealth
is their sturdy fortress;
    they imagine it to be an invincible wall of
security.

Think about how we have been programmed to believe this in
the world. For some reason we think wealth can buy us security, happiness, joy
and almost any other please desired. Unfortunately this is so false it is
dangerous. The quest for happiness is one of the most dangerous quests in the
land. We all think we must be happy all the time in order to be satisfied when
in reality we need to be at peace when all around us is falling apart.

God never said we would be born again into wealth an
prosperity but into a new relationship with Him. The world is not going to
suddenly change into sunshine and rainbows; it will still have its troubles. We
need to learn to lean on Jesus for the peace through trials and tribulations in
this world. That is the key to “happiness”, not thinking it’s tied to never
ending fun.

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Psalms
96 – 98

Verse 96:4 demanded comment:

For the Eternal is great indeed and
praiseworthy;
    feared and reverenced above all gods,
the True God shall be.

Can you guess why? The statement “above all gods” is
critical even today. There is a “doctrine” that there is only one God, all
others are figments of man’s imagination. We have seen God go against the
Egyptian gods with the 10 plagues, and with them these gods could respond to
the first 4 and then they were impotent. Why is this critical to understand?
God is difficult to understand and it’s very difficult to have the idea of 1
God that we cannot see over multiple unseen ones.

Follow me here; the big danger in this world today is
Luciferian doctrine. See they accept and honor all gods; yet look at the God of
Israel as a lesser god. Follow me here since this may explain much of the
unexplained. The belief is God created earth to confine our souls in a dark and
difficult place. Their “end times” has God being removed as controller of the
earth and Lucifer takes His place to free mankind from death that God forced on
Adam. Sorry to drift here, but it is something we need to understand since
there is an underlying movement today that believes this to be “gospel”.

Verse 97:7 talks about idols:

Those who worship idols,
    who boast in the impotent creations of human hands,
will be shamed.
    Worship Him, all you gods.

Again we are looking at lesser gods, but also idols. An idol
is a created thing people start to worship like God. They may be anything from
a golden calf, to a statue of a popular figure, to a fancy sports car. The key
to idols is our focus leaves God and gets attached to a fancy trinket that will
rot with time. The lesser gods love this since it takes the attention of God if
they cannot capture it. We need to be on guard that we do not get sucked into
this no matter how prosperous we may get in our lives.

Verse 98:9 actually ties back into verse 96:13 since the
subject is similar:

In the presence of the Eternal
because He is coming
    to judge the earth.
He is coming,
    and His judgment will be what is right for the world
    and just to all people.

God is coming to judge the world eventually. This has been
talked about since the beginning when He judged and destroyed the earth with
water. Now we are waiting for this to happen again, but this time with fire. We
often look at how long those “The End Is Near” placards have been around. Heck
Jonah was wearing one for Nineveh and was disappointed when they repented.
Nineveh eventually reverts back, but the generation that repented saved their
hides. I often wonder if we reach the brink, only to be saved by a repentant
nation. Either way it is ‘a coming’!

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I have been watching Eli Stone again, got both seasons on DVD now!! This is a 2008/09 series and it’s funny seeing how they seem to be in touch with today or we are just dredging up old stuff to make it sound new. First thing I saw was Eli was reading the news paper and “labeling” each story. After running through the list he came upon a story and labeled it “Fake News”. It was funny to see this casually mentioned when today that’s all we seem to hear. 

A pastor at 12 Stone, Chris Huff, just recently blogged on this and mentioned a site: http://futureoffakenews.com . This site shows how easily a clip can be manipulated to seem real. Check this out it’s spooky!!

Can’t we just take a look at the source of “Fake News” and really label it for what it really is … propaganda. Not to start NAME CALLING and implying “propaganda” means the groups are Nazi’s, it’s sad how this term has been corrupted by the Nazi’s since they use it so well. But Edwin Bernays who developed “propaganda”, first implemented for Beach Nut bacon and hence why we ate a “hearty” bacon and eggs breakfast for decades. 

Anyway, watching the fiasco in

Charlottesville, VA we see “white supremacists”  battle with “counter protesters” which immediately biases the clash in favor of the “counter protesters” who were Black Lives Matters and Anti-fa groups (both of whom are know agitators who will push, yell, spit and spray mace in your face and then cry brutality when one blows up and strikes back). Again, who was the original founders of the “protest”, it was Unite the Right. Who were the people who applied? Were they are white

supremacists

group or a Republican group? This is my point, none of this is mentioned which biases our view of what happened.

Now back to Eli before I go:-) In another “prophetic” vision from this show, Eli and Frank (aka Dr Chen) were discussing his fathers “prophetic” diary which was outlining Eli’s present from his father who had been dead for 10 years. Anyway, Eli decided not to read it but was considering it to see if George Lucas did another Star Wars. Was this prophetic or foreshadowing by the studio or just dumb luck? Considering Disney owns Lucas Films and ABC (who produced ABC) one could say it was a studio stunt, but who really knows;-)

1 Chronicles
5 – 9

Verses 5:1 & 2 describe why Ruben did not get the
birthright:

Because Reuben slept with his
father’s concubine, he forfeited his rights as the firstborn of Israel, his
monetary inheritance and his political position as the leader of the nation of
Israel. Although Reuben’s inheritance and birthright were given to Joseph,
Judah’s descendants became the rulers of Israel.

And even though Joseph got the right, Judah and the house of
David ended up ruling Israel. As dry as this reading may be it is fascinating
how you see many great characters show up. Although this does not help with our
heritage it does help understanding the importance of those in the nation of
Israel.

Verse 6:31 talks about the covenant chest:

After the chest of the covenant
came to rest in the tent of the congregation, King David appointed
the following Levites to be the musicians in the temple. 

The covenant chest is an important object to the Israelites
since it’s a direct connection to God. The only part of the Bible that God
physically wrote are contained in this chest, that is awesome when you think
about it. Also, we need to remember the power of the chest when they carried it
in faith to battle, they won.

Verse 9:23 shows the roles given to a few in these chapters:

They and their sons guarded the
gates of the temple and the congregation tent.

The gatekeepers control the flow and the safety of the
temple. This role was given to a few families in the Levite tribe and their
sole role was gatekeepers. How many would be born into a job and be happy with
it? Today it seems like “the family business” is a thing of the past and the
spirit of George Bailey is in us all. Sure George eventually kept and loved the
ole’ savings and loan, but his desire was to travel the world and escape
Bedford Falls (for those who have never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life” you won’t
get the reference, sorry but watch it;)

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Numbers
1 – 3

Verse 1:2 opens with why this is named “Numbers”:

Add up exactly how many Israelites
there are, but don’t merely count them. Identify all the people by
their clans and families, right down to the individual name of every male.

As with many chapters in other books, these first few verses
are full of lineage and sizes of the tribes. It’s quite mundane for the most
part. I am sure people of the nation of Israel can dig through their lineage
and find their families, but most Christians do not have a tight coupling to
the tribes of Israel and therefore it is difficult for us to dig in an enjoy
these chapters.

Verse 1:19 shows the difficulties Moses had completing God’s
orders:

This Moses did in the wild desert
area of Sinai, just as the Eternal One had directed him to do.

Imagine being in a hostile environment moving a truckload of
pennies and then suddenly the person who you were moving the pennies for asked
you to count them. It’s very similar what God was asking Moses to do, but there
was a reason, so they would know the manpower they had when taking the Promised
Lands. Of course God did not reveal that reason to them and eventually this was
the reason they spent 40 years wandering the wilderness.

Verse 3:12-13 are difficult to get when you take it into
perspective:

^12-13 As
you know, all firstborn children of each woman belong to Me. I made
that clear when I killed all the Egyptian firstborn but spared Israel and its
animals, setting them apart just for Me. But rather than giving all Israel’s
firstborn to Me, I accept the Levites as a substitute. They will be Mine. I am
the Eternal One.

Most people, including me, don’t really understand this.
They immediately apply this to animals and sacrificing the first born from each
in the flock. We get into the meaning and see that the Levites are the
substitute sacrifice for the human children just as Jesus is the substitute
Lamb for a sin sacrifice. See how it all ties together when you look at the OT
with a “Jesus filter” on.

2 Thessalonians
1 – 3

Verse 1:5 is conflicting to much of the Gospel:

Your sufferings prove that God’s
judgment is right! The result: your sufferings have made you worthy—worthy of
the kingdom of God, which is the very reason why you are suffering in
the first place! 

Think about how often we are talked to about how peaceful
our lives will be trusting in Jesus. Yes it’s peaceful, but we interpret that
as “easy”. God never said “easy” but peace can be obtained through any
suffering. I don’t think we need to seek suffering, but life provides plenty of
opportunities without us seeking it.

Verse 1:9 talks about not happens if we reject the gift of
salvation:

And what’s to become of them? They’ll
pay for what they’ve done; their punishment will be eternal destruction. And
what’s worse? They’ll be banished from the Lord’s presence and
glorious power.

We always think of the evil ones in the world will like in
torment, suffering in hell. Often I wonder if the lake of fire is hell, but
often I wonder if it’s a place where our souls end. “Eternal destruction” may
be final and not eternal torment. Think about it this way, we have a choice to
live eternally with God through the blood of Jesus or never exist again.
Conservation of energy takes us from spirit to heat and poof we are gone,
eternally.

Verse 2:9 is very critical to remember:

Still the rebellious one arrives
with all sorts of power, performing signs and fake miracles sanctioned by
Satan;

Satan will not reveal himself as Baphomet, the ugly goat man
considered his image, but rather “like” Jesus in semi glory fooling many. He
will have power, he will perform signs and wonders since that will be the
easiest way to seduce mankind. Be ever vigilant and test any potential
“savior”. We are told many will come in the name of Jesus to fool us.

I had to touch on verse 3:11 since often I feel like this:

 You see, we
are hearing that some folks in the community are out of step with our
teaching; they are idle, not working, but really busy doing nothing—and
yet still expect to be fed!

We live in a
society where comics will write books on how to look busy doing nothing. Often
times I get sucked into too much stuff that seems important and needing action
but is really just wasting time. I use to be hooked on YouTube videos on the
Illuminati and conspiracies. Sure it’s important to be aware, but often we desire
so much knowledge we end up doing nothing with that knowledge because we are
too busy collecting knowledge. Make sense?

I think of
philosophers as the epitome of this idea. They spend time talking about and
studying the ills of society doing nothing to correct it. Sure they may create
a YouTube video explaining what is wrong and how bad we are for doing it, but
actually getting into the trenches and doing the work is not part of their
game. No their work is study and being busy while doing nothing.

John
3 – 4

Verse 3:5 talks about the meaning of “born again”:

I tell you the truth, if someone
does not experience water and Spirit birth, there’s no chance he will make it
into God’s kingdom.

Life comes from inside the womb for life here on earth,
outside the world we know is a different kind of birth. The connection with God
is not physical, but rather through the spirit, hence why we need to be reborn
in a new spirit to gain this connection. I often read this and believe that the
baptism is necessary to gain life with God. Many believe it’s an option, but
this implies it may not be.

Now we can’t ignore verse 3:16 since that is a foundational
verse in Christianity:

For God expressed His love for the
world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will
not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life.

The Voice once again words this slightly different, but with
the same meaning and impact. God, a higher power, above all, gave his “first
born”, his “first fruit” to admonish the sins of all mankind. Think of how
powerful that statement alone is! God not only asks us to give our firsts to Him,
but He did that also. This is the one verse salvation story, just believe and
you are in.

Verse 4:14 has Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman offering
her eternal life:

I offer water that will become a
wellspring within you that gives life throughout eternity. You will never be
thirsty again.

First this conversation was a big deal then, the Jews did
not associate with the Samaritans in any way. Jesus talking to her startled her
and dropped her guard. She was offering water to quench ones immediate need,
where Jesus was offering her eternal life. Big difference.

Verses 4:22 – 24 talks about the changes that are happening
to everyone’s relationship with God:

^21-24 Woman,
I tell you that neither is so. Believe this: a new day is coming—in
fact, it’s already here—when the importance will not be placed on the time and
place of worship but on the truthful hearts of worshipers. You worship what you
don’t know while we worship what we do know, for God’s salvation is coming
through the Jews. The Father is spirit, and He is seeking followers whose
worship is sourced in truth and deeply spiritual as well. Regardless of whether
you are in Jerusalem or on this mountain, if you do not seek the Father, then
you do not worship.

The question was, where does God want us to worship. Jesus
points out worship is in the heart and not in a place. Worship constantly!!

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Daniel
1 – 6

As we open in Daniel we see a bunch of famous stories that
will be difficult to comment on each one. You have the Daniel fast, many dream
interpretations, his three friends being tossed into a fire and the den of
lions. All these stories show to the glory of God over man’s ideas and of
lesser gods. Most of this story takes place in Babylon and if you remember a
study of that civilization from Nimrod on up, it’s a place of great evil. All
the cults and evil stems from Nimrod and Semiramis, so we now understand the
evil that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah faced.

Verse 1:12 has Daniel entering into the “fast” which only
included veggies and water:

Please, do us a favor. Put
us, your servants, to the test for the next 10 days. Give us a vegetarian diet
and water.

Daniel is doing without the food from the kings table which
is not part of the Hebraic Law as it was not prepared or violates foods
allowed. The four focus on eating veggies only and nothing more. Honestly that
diet would serve us all well and I call it that over a “fast” since I tend to
think of “fasts” as more doing without food altogether. The point here is after
the 10 days they were healthier, I think all of us will find that to be true
today with all the processed foods we eat.

Verse 2:28 says it all:

But there is a God in heaven who
can reveal such mysteries. The dream you dreamed and the visions you saw, King
Nebuchadnezzar, unveil the future and disclose what will
happen at the end of the age. Now I will tell you what you dreamed and the
visions you saw as you slept in your bed.

He was pointing out that no man could reveal mysteries, but
God could. I think one of the danger points in this world today is missing this
point. Mystics can see what happened through the demons, but they can only
observe the world. Only God knows what is going on in our heads. No man or
entity can do this. (Sorry about little explanation on the demon thing, but
research modern fortune tellers … they can tell your past from demons and make
you think they somehow know truth because of this).

Verse 3:25 is a critical verse in the Old Testament:

Then why do I see four men,
completely unbound, walking around in the middle of the fire? They don’t appear
to be hurt at all. And the fourth  . . . he appears to be like a
son of the gods.

Many say the “son of the gods” was actually the son of God,
Jesus in the fires with these three men. This is exciting when you look at it
this way since it’s a record of the son of God on earth well before he was born
to Mary. How cool is that when you find little nuggets like this in scripture.

Proverbs
16

Verse 16:2 has always been a tough one for me:

Even when you think you have good
intentions,
    He knows your real motives.

What drives us deep down? Is it really to honor God or get
something in the end? I know often my inner drive is more based on “what’s in
it for me” more than honoring God. It drives me up the wall since God does know
my inner thoughts. I started the blog assuming God would bless it with some
agent reading it and signing a book deal. Over a thousand posts later and we
may get 1 or 2 visitors a week, but now doing it to expand my knowledge and
pray it helps another find Jesus.

Verse 16:8 shows us the power of want:

Better to have little and stand for
what is right
    than to become rich by doing what is wrong.

Jesus was not anti-wealth, but rather anti-separation from
God. Money tends to get us busy and redirected to places away from God. This is
saying avoid the distractions and be happy in what you have.

Verse 16:18 has been paraphrased into almost a cliché:

Pride precedes destruction;
    an arrogant spirit gives way to a nasty fall.

“Pride comes before a fall” is this verse boiled down. I
personally have experienced pride in racing before I literally fell. I was “hot
poo-poo” then I crashed and suffered injuries, everything from concussions to
ruptured disc in the back. All were preceded by me thinking I was some great
rider.

Verse 16:32 addresses our drive:

It is better to be a patient man
than a mighty warrior,
    better to be someone who controls his temper than
someone who conquers a city.

Asking someone to be patient today is a whole new ball game.
No longer do we have to prepare food, but rather drive through gives it to us
now. No longer do we need to go to the library to research a project, but we
can answer deep questions at the kid’s ball game with our iPhone. No longer do
we need to go to a “special store” to purchase porn, now we can watch it at our
kid’s ball game.  Patience is a lost
virtue.

I think the second line is more important since most
impatient people tend to have an inability to control their temper. That causes
more damage than anything!! A short outburst can destroy years of trust or
respect. This cuts deep with me since my closest friends have been decimated by
my sharp temper, Mike Lanning was the first. I blew up just playing around and
stuck him with a heavy gage wire “whip” leaving a long lasting welt and a
permanently damaged relationship. This is really the key to patience, not doing
something stupid.

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Psalms
93 – 95

Verse 93:1 opens with the majesty of God:

The Eternal reigns, clothed in
majesty;
    He is dressed in power;
    He has surrounded Himself with strength.

We like to think of God in the positive but when contrasted
with verse 94:1 we see the difference:

O Eternal God of vengeance,
    O God who sets things right, shine upon us.

Again when you read this as the ones being protected it has
a different meaning than the ones that are being scolded. Israel has been in
both positions during their history. As for God’s vengeance I am not real
concerned with it since I pray I do not see it and if I do it’s deserved. I
also do not wish His vengeance upon others who have wronged me. I would rather
their hearts change to love God and repent than to be crushed.

Verse 94:8 talks about the mindless in this world:

Think, brainless people;
    stupid people, when will you get it?

I think back to the last few election cycles and no I am not
saying the brainless people voted for Obama, but rather all voters appeared
brainless. We were not voting for the best candidate but rather the lesser of
two evils. You had the two extremes of corporate greed and personal entitlement
who were basically the same. Neither talked about freedom and people refused to
find a positive in their man but rather negatives in the other. I feel the
electorate no longer studies or pays attention but rather follows the whims of
their desires.

I have been off cable for 5+ years now and have been happy.
On a recent road trip I, the hotel had cable and I watched. Boy was I shocked
how the news was focused on the latest fad of nude vacations and Hollywood
gossip. Nothing was done on the turmoil in the Middle East, the economy or
corporate mischief, NOTHING. We have fell into a world where propaganda on any
side, including the “conspiracy theorists”.

As “believers” we are no different going into our
“sanctuary” each weekend, assuming nothing interrupts this, and are fed what a
person feels is truth. I am not saying we cannot trust our pastors, but they
really need to be preaching to “smart” pews. I am not saying we need seminary
school to attend church, but how about read from the book being preached from!
If we don’t we can be manipulated into believing false doctrine. Also, we need
to study to grow anyway since most preachers assume there are “new believers”
in the pews and they need to teach to them, since it can’t hurt for seasoned
Christians to hear the Gospel again.

The problem with this preaching is no one ever grows outside the basic Gospel.
The Bible says we can do more than Jesus!! How many have raised the dead,
healed an ill person or proclaimed the Gospel in defense of ardent atheists? If
someone asked you if the Bible was true, what would your response be? Then if
they asked how could the universe have been created in 6 days when science has
proven it was 13.7 billion years, how would you respond? What if they
questioned if Jesus was real, how would you respond? This is the problem with
church today, no one gets out of first grade unless they go to seminary. READ
YOUR BIBLES DAILY!

1 Chronicles
1 – 4

The first part of Chronicles is a genealogy from Adam,
obviously not complete but through the great names of the Bible. You see many
names and the history of many of the world’s nations. Often people “poo-poo”
the Bible as a bunch of sand script yet they cannot refute the accuracy, from
Genesis 1 and on. This gives a logical explanation of how the other nations
stem from Adam. Interestingly “science” is now finding the “first” man appears
to be from the region in the Middle East. So this may not just be a boring
piece of analogy but rather a critical piece of history for the people of the
world.

Verse 3:5 has part of David’s lineage that Solomon was born:

There, Bath-shua (the daughter of
Ammiel) gave him 4 sons: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon;

Bathsheba bore Solomon, David’s successor. As we know she
was the adulterous affair that had David commit murder to cover it up. Kings
shows us the turmoil and problems that arose from this affair with succession
to the throne. The power struggle would eventually split the nation of Israel
and lead them into exile. When reading these verses you don’t get any story and
just lineage, you have to remember the history behind each name to see how the
nation grew.

Verses 4:9 & 10 contain the only story embedded in these
initial chapters:

⁹ Jabez,
whose name commemorates his mother’s labor pains, was more honorable than his
brothers. ¹⁰ He asked the God of Israel, “Please
bless me and extend my territory. Let Your hand be with me and guard me from
harm so I will not experience pain as my mother did.” And God did
just that.

The “Prayer of Jabez” has become one of the most talked
about verses in the Old Testament because of a book with that title by Bruce Wilkinson.
If you get the chance read it, the book expands on this prayer in detail. It’s
a short read but very interesting. In a nutshell the nagging question is why
Jabez? Why through verse after verse of names does Jabez stand out?

There is nothing more mentioned on Jabez for the rest of the
Bible other than these two verses. The prayer is amazingly simple and powerful.
First it asks for blessing and then protection. In other translations it says
“keep me from evil” unlike the Lord’s Prayer that says “deliver me from evil”,
Jabez is asking to be protected and shielded from evil.  I like that better than delivery from evil. I
know we are never going to be completely isolated from evil and sin, but asking
for protection from it is important.

Often our naiveté is our protection. I had an instance early
in our marriage where  I got a note from
a co-worker. It was unsigned and confusing so I asked Katy if she knew what it
meant. The song it referred to was one of “hooking up” while in relationships
and the “XOXOXO” at the end was “hugs and kisses”. I am glad I had no clue
since that’s an evil I don’t want to be delivered from!!

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Leviticus 25 – 27

Verse 25:3 & 4 shows the land also needs a time for
rest:

³ Plant your
fields, take care of your vineyards, and harvest your crops for six
years; ⁴ but when the seventh year arrives, I want
the entire land to have a Sabbath rest to Me. Do not plant your fields or prune
your vineyards during this seventh year. 

God taught the people of Israel how to farm and knew the
land needed to take a break. I am not sure I follow farming today real closely
but assume with modern day chemicals they do not tend to let the land rest.
This is part of the reason I believe Israel has been despised; they made a dry
and arid land fruitful. God also blessed them for doing this.

See not only do people need a break, so does all of nature.
Nothing can work all the time without failing in one way or another. Part of
the negative for not letting the land rest is the farmer only returns to the
soil what makes the plant look nice and not what makes it healthy for us.
Everyone looks at God’s Laws from the aspect of us living to His standard, when
much of them are helping man live a full and rich life. Is it a sin to not let
the land rest? No, but it will ensure a healthy and abundant crop.

Verse 25:36 says we need to help the poor and not take
advantage of them:

 Let him
borrow, but charge no interest and do not look for ways to profit from
his need. Instead, fear God, and allow your fellow citizen to live alongside
you. 

I often think of banking today which is supposedly run by
elite Jewish bankers. I often wonder how they justify having savings earn
almost nothing, but a poor person has to pay exorbitant interest on their
borrowing. The world has been turned upside down and no one is honoring what
God intended. The poor do not need the government to help them, they need the
community to do that. Today we just step aside those in need without thought.

Verse 26:6 is the promise:

 I will see
to it that you have peace in your land. You will be able to go to bed at night
without a worry on your mind. I will take away the dangerous animals that roam
your land, and no armies will invade your land. 

This alone is immediately questioned since God quickly let
his land get invaded. You must read on from verse 26:15 to verse 33 to see the
conditions that must be met to remain in the blessing of God. This in a way is
the first programming language ever! There are a bunch of “if – then”
statements that will lead to Israel being removed from their blessing. As we
see reading along, this happens often and sometimes very dramatically.

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1 Thessalonians
4 – 5

Verses 4:3 & 4 are important in living a life God has
set for us:

³ Now this
is God’s will for you: set yourselves apart and live holy lives;
avoid polluting yourselves with sexual defilement. ⁴ Learn
how to take charge over your own body, maintaining purity and honor.

Two of the biggest weaknesses in man are their sex drive
and desire for wealth. For the majority, sex tends to be a driving factor,
especially as we develop into men. The drive to reproduce is natural and the
fact that it’s pleasurable only compounds the problem. Paul specifically
tackles this desire with the men of Thessalonica.

Greed will block God and following His ways and can
control your attention; sex overpowers the will to remain pure. Follow me here,
ignoring God is one thing money does, but you get into sexual sins and that
drive will lead down a path of destruction. Sex destroys our relationships on
earth since it becomes more about using people than helping them. Sure in
extreme cases greed does this but the majority of people remain ethical, just
not connected.

With sex, one loses their connection with God because
they override the voice telling them what is moral. In addition it violates
God’s plan and laws. “Sexual defilement” is not avoiding sex, but rather what
is considered loose living. I know more people whose marriages have crumbled,
whose bodies now have incurable diseases and often are driven to suicide that I
care to. I pray that every man thinks before getting sucked into sexual
immorality including porn. All this will lead to problems in the future if not
addresses leaving you with a hollow life. God is not making rules to ruin our
lives but rather to make the “full” and fun.

Verses 5:14 – 21 are important for living a whole life:

¹⁴ Brothers
and sisters, we strongly advise you to scold the rebels who devote
their lives to wreaking havoc, to encourage the downcast, to help
the sick and weak, and to be patient with all of them. ¹⁵ Make
sure no one returns evil for evil, but always pursue what is good as it affects
one another in the church but also all people. ¹⁶ Celebrate
always, ¹⁷ pray constantly, and ¹⁸ give
thanks to God no matter what circumstances you find yourself
in. (This is God’s will for all of you in Jesus the Anointed.) ¹⁹ Don’t
suppress the Spirit. ²⁰ Don’t downplay
prophecies. ²¹ Take a close look at everything, test
it, then cling to what is good. ²² Put
away every form of evil.

This is so full of truth it is mind blowing. Help those in
need! Protect and uplift your community! Celebrate! Pray! Keep away from evil!
And in this all make sure you test everything to ensure it is true to God’s
word. Don’t just take the word of the preacher, but rather understand fully
what he is saying by diving into the Bible!

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John
1 – 2

Verses 1:8 & 9 talks about John the Baptist and Jesus in
a different perspective:

⁸ but John
was not the Light. He merely pointed to the Light. ⁹ The
true Light, who shines upon the heart of everyone, was coming
into the cosmos.

Jesus is he light and is God. We see this by the phrase
“coming into the cosmos” since God’s realm is different from ours. The idea of
a first, second and third heaven are alluded to here. In a nutshell God resides
in the third heaven, we live in the first and the second is the spirit world.
God came to dwell in our world as a light to all. John the Baptist pointed to
that person.

Verse 1:29 shows Jesus entering the scene as an unlikely
man:

The morning after this
conversation, John sees Jesus coming toward him. In eager
astonishment, he shouts out:

John the Baptist: Look! This
man is more than He seems! He is the Lamb sent from God, the
sacrifice to erase the sins of the world! 

 

John the Baptist reveals Jesus to the world. He came as the
underdog, born in the wrong city, in the wrong time and doing the wrong thing …
at least as the people believed the prophecies to say. He was born poor and
meek, yet he continues to turn the world on its head. How is it the name of
Jesus freaks people out more than any other prophet before or since? Because He
is real!! This day John points to an unlikely face in the crowd and alludes to
his true mission on this earth, to die for our sins as the final sacrifice.

Verse 1:46 highlights His unlikely character:

Nathanael: ⁴⁶ How
can anything good come from a place like Nazareth?

Philip: Come with me,
and see for yourself.

Think about this statement, Jesus was unexpected as the
savior. Again the people were expecting a mighty warrior to restore Israel to
its glory and free them from Rome. Instead they had this poor carpenter from
Nazareth, you can see why God received resistance.

Verse 2:9 talks of Jesus’ first miracle:

After tasting the water that had
become wine, the headwaiter couldn’t figure out where such wine came from (even
though the servants knew), and he called over the bridegroom in
amazement.

The next verse shows even more how God loves this world by
the statement “You have held back the best for last.” Think about it, the
tradition was to serve the good stuff first and once the party goers get a
little tipsy the cheap stuff is brought out. But God is saving the best for
last! This is to show the people God’s love for us is so great that He will not
only “save our bacon” but also give us the best doing so. If you think about
it, that is what God is doing with Jesus. He saved His best to save the world,
not a valued heard animal but His one and only son.

be living

I know we are Off Topic on energy, but as you may know I are a engineer and therefore have a awful command of the English language. I also get distracted with technical crud.

Question to you is: Do you believe in climate change and if so how far down the rabbit hole do you go? Think about this a while … 

If you have read this blog in detail you know where I stand, firmly in the IDK group. Yes, I agree there is change in the climate. No, I do not believe man made climate change is a crisis. We would have to get into detail on the data, but lets just say the margin of error for the data collected before 1990 is well within the “change” we are seeing today. Basically the data in the early 1900′s and late 1800′s was a bucket and a thermometer where today is a buoy (Argus) that dives to a specified depth and collects data with tuned instruments. 

But I digress to the point today of how can we go “green” today? Lets say we replace all the power generated today with wind. What would that take? It has been calculated that based on a windmill taking 15 acres, the entire area of the USA would be require. Same results with solar. 

Now ask yourself how much MORE energy would be needed if we all converted to electric cars? When you finally start looking at this it’s unreasonable to consider it. Also, it does not take in the environmental impact of the waste from the “solution” in batteries, pureed birds from windmills or heat generated from solar panels. Also, the solutions cost so much more and make a few rich causes me to raise an eyebrow.

We need to consider real green solutions since solar and wind require a ton of land. Why not hydro? This was the FIRST green solution but because of fish issues we cannot do this. Really, FISH ADAPT!! To verify look at the Stickleback and it’s history to see this in action.

Finally nuclear is something no one wants to touch, but is a realistic solution to our power problems. It’s simple, takes little space and will be cost effective but no one wants the risk. 

We need to understand, no one wants a dirty planet but at the same time we do not want an elite group of sociopaths to rule the world either and that is what today’s environmental movement is. For further support of this statement research Technocracy!

My point is when people say the “science is settled” first does not understand science and second is not wanting progress to be made.

THINK BEFORE BELIEF!!! The same goes with God, and that is really what this blog is about;-)

Ezekiel
43 – 48

Often I get started in the morning wanting to write my
though. Often, like today, I have nothing. My schedule is read in the evening
and comment in the morning. In reading Ezekiel I get so lost in the imagery
wondering when it applied. Is he prophesizing things that have passed already
or things to come? I get lost and confused, then I don’t know what to say. This
is how I am this morning.

Verse 43:9 reveals the “rules” for God living among the
people of Israel:

Now it’s time for the people to
change—to put away their whoring and the monuments to their dead
kings. If they do that, then I will dwell among them forever.

Life with God is easy, just follow and obey so He will not
ignore you. Again I look at God saying he will “dwell” among us as something
odd. Why? If God is omnipresent as is His nature, He is and always will be
everywhere. So for Him to imply he will “hang out” with Israel if they are good
is a misnomer since He has always been “hanging out” with man since day one.
The only question is if He reveals himself to us on a regular manner.

Verse 44:12 & 15 give us an understanding of the new
order in the temple:

¹² But
because they acted as a stumbling block to Israel and helped the people worship
their worthless idols, I have made an oath that they must pay
for the wicked things they have done. This I, the Eternal One, promise.

¹⁵ “As for the Levitical priests who are the descendants
of Zadok—the ones who took care of My holy place even as the rest of Israel
strayed—they will draw near to Me and serve Me. They will stand before Me in
the sanctuary and present offerings of fat and blood. 

God is just and has an order, since the priests allowed the
people to stray wildly from the “way”, He needed to punish them and reward
those who did not stray. Today we are so far from the “tribal” system, if one
messes up the error does not appear to be “generational” or impact their family
past the immediate consequences. Jesus has taken away this and made it
personal!! Thank God for that!! (Granted not worried about generational
problems being passed down or from with our family)

The remainder of this book describes how the land is to be
divided and how the system will “work” together. (Man I am a nerd calling the
nation of Israel a “system”) The land is divided for the various tribes and the
temple centered in it all. Notice in chapter 48 when mentioning the tribes, we
see Manasseh and Ephraim mentioned in the allotment, but not in the 12 written
over each of the 4 gates. It’s confusing to say the least.

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Proverbs
14
– 15

As with most chapters in Proverbs we will rapid fire a bunch
of these. Verse 14:8 talks about the importance of wisdom:

It takes wisdom for the clever to
understand the path they are on,
    but the fool is deceived by his own foolishness.

How often do we look back and wonder why we did something?
People who have cheated on their wives are the most common group where
everything looked rosy on the other side until they realize what they lost. We
need to carefully look at every direction we take and ensure we are following
God’s  path in our lives.

Verse 14:15 talks about believing everything you hear:

The gullible believe anything they
are told,
    but clever people know to question every step.

Facebook is the place where we talk about current events.
Recently we saw WWF wrestler “The Undertaker” died, on the surface it was sad
and ironic until you read the article. His girl found him dead, shook him,
yelled at him and hit him with a folding chair with no success at revival.
Alas, The Undertaker is not dead and we were spoofed into a cheesy promo. We
need to challenge everything, including what we read and what is preached in
the Bible. When we question everything we find we learn the truth better.

Verse 15:1 is a famous Proverb that is often used in fortune
cookies:

A tender answer turns away rage,
    but a prickly reply spikes anger.

We need to carefully consider what we say when responding to
others. Often the first response is not always the best. James 1:19 told us to
be “slow to speak” meaning think before giving your opinion. We find most times
your initial response is based on a misunderstanding of the actual
circumstances. So be try to respond with a well though response.

Verse 15:5 has already been talked about but should be
looked at again and put into the context of bosses and people of authority.
Verse 15:15 is important in gaining knowledge:

Those who have understanding hearts
hunger after knowledge,
    but those with no understanding feast on foolishness.

We must learn to understand and not close out every
argument. I have spent decades researching evolution and have a much clearer
understanding, not because I took evolutionist or creationists word, but looked
at both carefully and formed an opinion. Granted it’s not accepted to date by
either party, but wait for the “book” to see how it’s received.

We will end with verse 15:16 to understand our quest for
riches:

It is better to live with less and
honor the Eternal
    than to have riches and carry the burdens that come
with them.

Jesus addresses this with the story of the rich man and sums
it up with it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
comparison. We often forget that Jesus ends this “with God all things are
possible” meaning it’s difficult but with God it’s possible. This Proverb
reminds us that we should be happy with what we have and not struggling for
what we want. That often removes our connection with God, since the money and
wealth become our idols.

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Psalms
90 – 92

Verse 90:10 we see man has become frail:

We may journey through life for 70
years;
    some may live and breathe 80 years—if
we are strong.
Yet our time here is only toil and trouble;
    soon our days are gone, and we fly away.

Sure our lifespan has grown longer since this period, but
considering how old the early patriarchs of the Bible were even 80 years” ain’t
nothing.” This verse shows that we will not have it easy. Sure we live longer
and have much less that will do us harm we still seem to believe our life is
“only toil and trouble.” I hate to pick on Devon as an example, but his job is
ride stunt BMX bikes and listening to him complain about work is almost
comical. Yet in our own paradigm we all struggle through life and have
difficulties. It’s not all peaches and cream, but God has never promised that.

In reading the Psalms we often forget that the Bible is not
a book of truths, but more. Sure many will think blasphemy, but follow me here.
The Bible is actually broken into 5 different types of writings. We have
commands, promises, examples, historical accounts and truth. For the most part
the Psalms are examples of prayers but are often considered truths or promises.
I bring this up because verse 91:8 tends
to imply we will not suffer:

Only your eyes will witness
    the punishment that awaits the evil,
    but you will not suffer because of it.

See if this was
read as a promise or truth we’d be screwed going through life. We’d think there
were no worries about getting caught in the punishment that awaits evil. If you
look at Revelations we will not be punished, but will suffer because of it.
Since this is an example, it’s man’s hope that all things will be rosy without
pain. It does not mean we will not suffer, but that is our hope. As you know we
see people that live a life of evil and never see hardship, while the most
Godly around us are struggling and suffering.
This is an example of a prayer and not a promise from God.

Verse 92:15 is a
truth embedded in the prayer:

To display that the Eternal is
righteous.
    He is my rock, and there is no shadow of evil
in Him.

I have gone through the argument that this is not truth and
that God has changed in the Bible. Look at the Exodus from Egypt and we can see
God had a short fuse and just questioning His promise that they will take the
Promised Land even with formidable forces living there was questioned and that
cost them 40 years in the wilderness. Today we have tons questioning God’s will
and commands without reproach. It seems through Jesus, God has mellowed.

Again these words are blasphemy to many but there is logic
to them. Now we look at what had transpired just before this questioning and it
was very grand including prating the Red Sea, the plagues, producing water from
a rock and being over fed with quail. There was NO reason the people should
have been questioning God then. Today we have a difficult time proving God, we
can’t say remember God parting the sea? I can say “I’m alive” that’s a miracle,
while one could point to science and say it brought me back.

Think of Gideon and his questioning God. He had a command
and kept messing with his fleece before he followed God’s commands. Why did God
not “smite” him with punishment the first question? As you can see I still
struggle with God being a rock and not changing. The one thing I do know is He
is always there for me, I just may not like his answer until maybe decades
later.

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2 Kings
21 – 25

Verse 21:4 begins the end of the kings ruling over the
Jewish people:

He constructed altars in the
Eternal’s temple to foreign, pagan gods. This was the temple the
Eternal had spoken of when He said, “My name will dwell in Jerusalem.”

As we have seen right from the start when Israel wanted to
be ruled by a man and not God, things broke down. We find in each king
problems, some greater than others but all had their weaknesses. God never
wanted us to be ruled by man, but rather follow His guidance. Manasseh had
not followed God and as prophesized by others (including recently read in
Ezekiel) the land will be over run and destroyed.

Verse 22:11 has the last “good” king find the book of the
Law in the temples ruins:

While the king listened to the
words of the book of law, he was filled with sorrow, and he
tore his garments. 

This repentance actually spared Josiah actually witnessing
the impending doom. God felt compassion over Josiah’s true remorse. Josiah did
all he could to warn and change the hearts of the people, but as we read it was
only temporary. Sometimes I wonder if my remorse is true or plastic, since if I
did tear my clothing I would second guess myself and think it was for show. See
Josiah did not know the stories of before, he had no model to go on and when he
heard God’s word it moved him.

Verse 25:9 sees the end of the first temple:

Nebuzaradan set fire to the
Eternal’s temple, the palace, and every house in Jerusalem. He burned down
every large house and structure in Jerusalem. 

God did as He promised through the prophets before. As with
most prophetic visions the people eventually dismiss them when they go
generations without being fulfilled. If you read all the New Testament,
everyone expected Jesus to return and free them from Rome. The prophecies were
not fulfilled in their life time or in the past 2000+ years. The “End is Near”
placard is getting old even in our generations.

Everyone talks of “God’s time” but don’t take it to heart.
We want the riches and glory now, not some time in the future. The big score
has replaced decades of hard work and savings. We want it now and why not, we
can ask difficult questions in the middle of nowhere and get the answer quickly
on our phones. So a prophecy that is 2000 years old does not seem real, even
though we are witnessing much of what was written today.

We have been saying that with each new evil dictator that
rises. That is the anti-Christ and then end is near. Only time will reveal if
it’s right or not, unfortunately my belief is the anti-Christ will seem great
until he turns. Sure time will tell, but the end IS near.

 

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Leviticus
22 – 24

Verse 22:20 gives us an example of giving:

You should not offer any animals
that are diseased, weak, or injured or have any defects. Such a
sacrifice is not acceptable for you. 

Think about it God is not asking for the ones that we cannot
use, He wants the perfect ones. It’s not that God needs your money, your best
lamb or the first fruits, it shows they do not have a hold on you. It all comes
down to financials, the best will bring more money than something with a
defect. If we have faith that God provides, then we should have no problem
giving our best and first.

Now we think God is a selfish ruler making rules He cannot
live by, but think about it the ultimate sacrifice was God’s first born son.
Jesus was a perfect human who did not sin and suffered a painful death on the
cross. This was the final sacrifice as a perfect example of how it should be
done. Like Abraham who took Isaac as God’s required sacrifice, God provided
that perfect sacrifice in substitute. God has done the same for us!

Now does that mean He has given his only son as a sacrifice
so we do not need to give any more? Jesus was the final sacrifice for our sins,
but not the final sacrifice to show our devotion to God. We need to still give
our first and best to show God we honor Him first. It’s rather simple, money is
the root of evil and if it does not have control over our life than we can work
for God.

Verse 23:22 has an odd law just dropped in here:

Whenever you harvest the crops in
your land, do not harvest all the way to the edges of the fields or pick up
what was overlooked during harvest. Leave them for the poor and the strangers
living with you. I am the Eternal your God.

It’s called “gleaning” in the Kings James Version and again
is another offering to the poor. Again it’s showing we don’t let money control
our lives. Think about it, a farmer would not leave any crop on the ground or
not harvested so to get the most reward out of their investment. Heck some
would justify that God would want us to use our money wisely and manage it
well. He does not want us to look at the poor and pass judgment on what they
should or should not do, rather give from our harvest. It’s not that they get
this sitting on their butts, but rather they still have to harvest and work.

Verse 24:20 shows some “old sayings” are Biblically sound:

If he breaks a man’s bone, his own
bone must be broken. If he puts out a man’s eye, his own eye must be put out.
If he knocks out a man’s tooth, his own tooth must be knocked out. Whatever a
person does to harm another must be done to him in return.

The old saying an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”
when it comes to justice is actually Biblical. With many old sayings that we
believe are Biblical we end up seeing they are sayings for guys like Ben
Franklin. We tend to believe these saying as Biblical and some may be
theologically correct, many miss the mark. In this case it’s part of the
Hebraic Law and is one most Christians ignore since they have “forgiveness”.
It’s all or nothing with the Law and we see the problem with the early church.
Paul was dealing with Christian Jews that believed the Gentiles coming into knowing
Jesus needed to follow the Law as part of being a Christian.

Paul is right we are not bound by the Law and with that we
should never be in a situation that requires following laws like this. We
should never let anger overwhelm us to the point we take someone’s eye out.
That is more the point that the Holy Spirit, if truly followed, will not
require adherence to a set of laws since we will be living as God desires. Does
that mean we are allowed outside the law? Is it God given to find a soul mate
outside your marriage? Is it God given to be able to afford the financing of a
new car?