Author: chuck

1 Thessalonians
1 – 3

Verse 1:6 opens with a description of the salvation
experience for most:

 and you
have modeled your lives after ours just as we are modeling ours after the Lord.
You took to heart the word we taught with joy
inspired by the Holy Spirit, even in the face of trouble.

When we receive Jesus, we experience joy and are filled with
the life the word gives us. It’s easy to do as we are taught. Where it becomes
a problem is after some time when the world starts to consume our beliefs. I
know it still happens to me after 40 years of a walk with Jesus. It’s been up
and down, yet in the past 40 years all roads have led back to Jesus.  The key point is to rely on the Holy Spirit
through good and bad.

Verse 1:10 shows we have been waiting for a while:

and how you now await the
return from heaven of His Son, whom He raised from the dead—namely,
Jesus—our rescuer from the wrath to come.

Throughout history we have been searching for that moment
when Jesus will return and clean the mess up. The early church was expecting
this to happen quickly and free them from the bonds of Rome. Through each
dictator and evil leader, Christians have hit their knees praying for Jesus’
return to hasten. The key that we forget is all peoples need to hear the good
news. Today we are closer to that than any other time, but it’s still some time
off in my opinion.

Verse 3:9 asks and interesting question:

What thanks would ever be enough to
offer God about you for all the jubilant celebration we’ll feel before our God
because of you?

When you think about it all should rejoice over the salvation
of just one. It’s the idea of the prodigal son, where the lost son gets a great
feast. We need to focus on God’s joy and salvation on this world not just our
own personal experience. Here is a tough question, if a killer of your child
received salvation would you rejoice? We have to continue to remind ourselves
that we are forgiven by God as we forgive here on earth. Even in this situation
we should overcome the desire to hate and feel joy over their salvation. No one
ever said this walk would be easy … refer to 1:6.

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Luke
23 – 24

Verse 23:8 has Jesus before Herod:

Herod was fascinated to meet Jesus
for he had heard about Him for a long time. He was hoping he might be treated
to a miracle or two.

If you had someone before you who had reported to do
miracles, would you not want to see one? The interesting thing was the way
Jesus did his miracles; it was not to satisfy a hard heart, but rather to
change hearts. Look at all that were done, they were not done to impress people
but rather to change their hearts. Often God is mocked by unbelievers who want
a believer to walk across their swimming pool, yet nothing happens. Why? I am
sure if God revealed himself, the short term impact would be great but unless
the miracles were directed at the heart they would be forgotten quickly.

Think about it, God parted the Red Sea and the hearts of
Israel were quickly turned away for a Golden Calf. Yet Jesus walked on water
and 2000 years later He is changing hearts with that story. Am I a miracle of
God or medicine? All I can say is I was dead and now I am alive!!!  I thank God for that as much as I can!!

Verse 23:45 has symbolic significance:

and at some point during this
darkness, the curtain in the temple was torn in two.

The significance of this is very critical when looking at
our relationship with God. You see before that point man had to interface with
priests who would go behind the curtain and interface with God. Now God is open
to all, He is not behind a curtain. Today we do not need to go someplace
special to communicate with God. With the tearing of the curtain, God
symbolically showed He is open to all.

Now as we read the Bible we notice Moses, Noah, or even post
temple prophets like Jonah and Elijah never went to the temple to communicate
with God. I often wonder if God had man erect the temple as a reminder of His
glory and man twisted it to be the only way to interface with God. Jesus
tearing down the temple was not suddenly giving us access to God, but rather
showing everyone they have access.

Now one suggestion is the temple curtain was primarily for
confession of sins, and the sacrifices involved. When Jesus died on the cross
this ended the need since His sacrifice covered all. No longer do we have to
pack up our unblemished lamb, travel to Jerusalem and have the ritual to
cleanse us of our sins. Now we just need to confess the sins and repent before
Jesus.

Verse 24:38 Jesus tries to calm his disciples:

Why are you upset? Why are your
hearts churning with questions? 

Think about it they were thinking they were seeing a ghost
and not Jesus in flesh. It is easy to see how someone you saw die is suddenly
standing before you can cause some questions. Jesus is trying to bring them
peace and show them He is the Messiah. The whole triumphal march into Jerusalem
a week earlier was the disciple’s procession into battle to over throw Rome.
They did not thing the Messiah was going to lead them to HIS death on a cross.
They did not see the larger picture that the life here on earth would have evil
dictators and His salvation was not a short term freedom but an eternal
salvation and union with God.

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Ezekiel
37 – 42

Verse 37:1 starts the famous “dry bones living again” story:

The Eternal had a hold on me, and
I couldn’t escape it. The divine wind of the Eternal One picked me up and
set me down in the middle of the valley, but this time it was full of bones.

I often am reminded of great worship songs when doing my
reading and will play them in the background. Today is New Life Worship’s
“Great I Am” where one verse talks about “dry bones living again”. This is
another story that you have to believe in faith, also as you read it’s not
clear if this was something that really happened or a vision. I tend to believe
a vision even though all things are possible with God; it was more imagery to
show Israel being reborn from their exile.

Verse 37:19 shows them God’s ultimate will:

tell them I say, “Watch as I take
Joseph’s stick (the one held by Ephraim) and the ten Israelite
tribes of the North, your compatriots, and put it end to
end with Judah’s stick. The two sticks will become one in My hand.”

God never intended on Israel to be split into two separate
nations, the power of man did that. God is showing them that He will reunite
them as one nation not split as He originally intended. As reading these two
prophecies I wonder if the Babushka principle is in effect where we are seeing
this prophecy happening on a larger scale today.

Verse 38:2 continues with a fulfilled prophecy and one that
may happen again:

Son of man, turn your face toward Gog in the
land of Magog, the highest ruler of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him,

Often these are interpreted to be Russia or Turkey and when
you see what is happening with Israel one has to wonder if these prophecies
were not just for that period. These two nations are referenced in Revelations
but without geographical reference, which means it could be anywhere. We cannot
say for sure if John was using an illustration to describe nations “like” Gog
and Mangog or if they were the actually nations locations since they did not
exist in John’s time. Either way, it’s spooky to think about this really
happening again.

Verse 40:5 starts the description of God’s temple to be
rebuilt:

I saw a wall surrounding the temple. The
measuring reed in the man’s hand was about 10½ feet long. He measured the wall
and found it to be about 10½ feet thick and 10½ feet high.

The temple must have been a fantastic structure and the
detail was amazing. I often wonder if this is what God wanted or if it was a
way to remind man about how amazing God is. I know today the modern church
often has awesome buildings with unique architecture, but is the building what
God wants or as illustrated by Jesus our bodies are His temple since He lives
in us. Either way it would have been cool to actually seen this structure
standing, you should Google a model and notice how small the Dome of the Rock
(which stands in the middle of the old temple grounds) is in comparison.

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Proverbs
13

Verse 13:1 is a very important way to live life:

A wise child is attentive to his
parents’ instruction,
    but the mocker is deaf to correction.

We must be open to correction for all, not just our parents.
If we feel we are above correction, then we are not wise! This applies more to
work that anything else, since our first 20 years are under the influence of
parents, the next 40 to 60 years are under the supervision of bosses. If we
ignored our bosses instructions our work life would be quite difficult. I am
currently living in a difficult state because I ignored my bosses instructions
and instead of “manning up” I often “bucked up”.

Verse 13:3 is a great one on thinking about what you say:

Those who guard their speech insure
they will take another breath,
    but those who talk without thinking guarantee their
demise.

We tend to speak first and think later. How many times have
we said “I wish I hadn’t said that?” I know for me it’s more often than not. We
need to follow much of James teachings and be slow to speak so we are less
likely to have to remove the foot that gets stuck. Unfortunately this teaching
is evaporating from our society and people tend to speak their minds. For some
reason “getting it out” and “expressing one’s self” hurts others more than
helps us. Better to be silent and thought a fool than open your mouth and
remove all doubt – A. Lincoln.

Verse 13:11 is interesting and a statement on society today:

Money earned hastily is easily
lost,
    but hard-earned money continues to grow.

We all think that winning the lottery will make all things
well. Interestingly a study done by major lottery winners show that they tend
to be in worse financial shape within years of winning that before then won. We
think that it will solve all our problems yet we don’t correct the root
problems of our financial issues. These studies prove true time and time again,
so work hard and earn money. If you get rich that way, you’re less likely to “blow
it”.

Verse 13:20 is important in choosing friends:

One who walks with the wise becomes
wise,
    but whoever keeps company with fools only hurts
himself.

In my life I thought I could “save” those I was with and
surrounded myself with people living a “fool’s life” according to scripture.
Lascivious living won over diligence and honor. We need to have close friends
who can hold us accountable, otherwise we get sucked into the “fool’s life” as
I did. Drinking and spending every dime on racing was more important than
saving for the future. Sure it was fun at the time, but long term I am looking
at financial issues that require major discipline. Dave Ramsey’s saying “If you
will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else” is paramount
since working hard in old age and dealing with major debt stress. believe me
when I say this, can KILL you!!

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Psalms
87 – 89

It’s good to be home, still trying to get over the jet lag
and a red-eye home, but I am feeling healthy and happy. The trip was wonderful,
went to Portland to watch Devon compete in Dew Tour. After that Vern joined us
for a trip to Grants Pass for a nice day just enjoying everyone’s company.
Finally flew down to Southern California for a visit with my parents. My father
is doing surprisingly well considering he had just finished the 4^th
round of chemo. Mom has some issues with her back that need attention.

Verse 87:7 ends the song of the sons of Korah:

Those who sing and those who dance
will say together,
    “All my fountains of joy are in You.”

The phrase “all my fountains” caught my eyes here since one
of my favorite Chris Tomlin songs is named that.  What does “all my fountains” actually mean?
Think about it how many of us think about our joy springing up like a fountain?
Our joy in the Lord should be uncontainable like a natural spring or fountain.
I think of Old Faithful, the geyser in Yellowstone park that bursts a plume of
water every 91 minutes. Think of your joy in God that way and not a dribbling
drinking fountain from school.

Verse 88:4 is an example of a Job like Psalm:

I’m like the poor and helpless who
die alone,
    left for dead, as good as the unknowable
sea of souls lying under our feet,

Often in life we feel like this, the question is are we
going to complain or be joyful? One must only look at Paul who was beaten and
jailed, yet still looked at the love God has for all of us. Life was never
promised to be a “rose garden,” as the song reiterates (“I beg your pardon; I
never promised you a rose garden”). God says we will have troubles and strife;
we need to keep our faith in him. Our faithful enduring is a hall mark of our
faith, we need peace in the torment. We need to learn how to spring joy from
all our fountains.

Verse 89:24 is from a more uplifting Psalm:

My faithfulness and unfailing love
will never leave him;
    through My name, strength and power will be his.

God’s unfailing love is something we need to understand even
in times of pain and struggle. Again as I write this I am listening to “One
Thing Remains” by Jeremy Riddle which says “Your love never fails, never gives
up, never runs out on me.” Yes even in times we think God is distant, if we
open our minds we can see his love and influence. We just need to remember God
is in everything and often the pain we experience is due to man’s freewill, ours
or someone else’s.

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2 Kings
16
– 20

Verse 16:3 caught my eye as odd:

He walked the wicked path
of Israel’s kings, and he even made his own son go through the fire as
a child sacrifice. He did this, modeling the abhorrent
practices of nations whom the Eternal had exiled to make way for the
Israelites.

Here the king actually sacrifices his own son which seemed odd. Other
translations make it more blatant on what was supposedly done, until you dig
into history a bit. This was a common practice in these times to walk between
two fires of Molech which often times burns the person going through the fire.
It is a symbolic sacrifice and not a blood one. Although detestable to God it
was not giving his son in death, but rather just putting him through pain.

Verse 17:17 has this practice show up again:

They made their children pass
through the fire, they performed witchcraft and divining, and they committed
evil in the eyes of the Eternal and provoked Him to burn with anger.

I can see why God’s anger is starting to boil.

Verse 18:5 has a new king of Judah:

Hezekiah put his trust in the
Eternal One, Israel’s God. Before and after his righteous reign, no
other king ever compared to him in Judah.

Interesting how “no other king ever compared” to Hezekiah.
You would think they would dedicate more pages to his history, although I guess
3 chapters are ok. What he is remembered for the most is the defeat God gave
the Assyrians during his reign. The coolest think about this is you find
mention of Hezekiah’s situation in King Sennacherib and the battle in the
writing of a Greek historian, Herodtus. Often people dismiss the Bible as tales
purposefully woven together, but reading stories like this we see historical
accounts outside scripture.

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Leviticus
19
– 21

Verse 19:9 is an interesting law from God:

When you harvest the crops of your
land, do not gather the grain all the way to the edges of your
fields or pick up what was overlooked during the first round of harvesting.

God is not looking to crush the poor, quite the contrary He
protects them even in the Hebraic Law. God loves all and knows that life will
have the rich and the poor. The rich cannot look at the poor as not working
hard enough or being lazy. Many of the hardest workers I know are not well off
and require assistance. So what God is saying is leave some in the fields for
travelers and poor to gather, don’t try to squeeze out every last dime from the
crops.

Verse 19:31 gives us a warning:

Do not turn to mediums or consult
with those who communicate with the spirits of the dead. Do not go near
them, or else you will defile yourselves. I am the Eternal your God.

This is a very specific warning that most of us unknowingly
ignore often. Think about how many times you have read your horoscope? That is
exactly what this is warning about. Psychics and palm reader are today’s
mystics we need to avoid. Often we get sucked into them because the “know” so
much about us. There are two explanations there, the first being more “main
stream” that they just know what’s common among people who come in and exploit
those common bonds to make the people feel special. The second one is more
sinister and less accepted, but they are communicating with demons who know your
past. Once they have your trust then they can say anything about the future and
you’ll give them money to find out more. Either way God is warning us to avoid
them for a reason.

Verse 20:13 is the homosexual law which is often quoted:

If a man has sexual relations with
another man, they have participated in a detestable act. Both men are to be put
to death, for their blood is on them.

People like to quote this over and over to condemn the
homosexual lifestyle, but forget that adultery has a death sentence also for
both parties. Why does grace cover that offense and not homosexuality?
Personally I am unresolved in this issue and really don’t care to try to figure
it out. I know God loves all humanity and wants them to love him. I know the
majority of homosexuals I have talked with were “born” that way and I have a
tough time understanding how God would allow that to happen if it’s
“detestable”. So I just figure if it’s a sin, the Holy Spirit will straighten
that out in them, my only job is to share the love of Jesus.

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Colossians
3 – 4

Verse 3:13 is a very key concept we need to understand:

Put up with one another. Forgive.
Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because
you should act in kind.

“Forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us!” Paul is emphasizing I think the most key element of the
Lord’s Prayer, forgiveness. If we expect God to pardon our (going to use an
extreme example) committing adultery with the secretary then we need to
“pardon” our partners committing adultery with the milk man. That is what the
key is here. If you cannot let go of people who has sinned against you, don’t
expect grace on the judgment seat.

One of the key differences between the Lord’s Prayer, who
says forgive ME as I forgive others, and Paul’s statement is the Lord has
already shown us grace so therefore show others. Jesus’ words are very specific
and almost impossible to live by, see the example and consider your response
(note – the “well they did it so it’s ok the I did it” is not the right
forgiveness).  Grace is the only way we
can be forgiven, since we always seem to harbor some resentment and almost no
one could stand to Jesus’ standards.

Say your child is murdered and the killer is set free by the
legal system because the police did not read him his rights. Suddenly your pain
is distributed across the killer, the police and the legal system for not
punishing this killer. Could you forgive all three or would you want justice?
That is why I say it’s impossible to follow Jesus’ words. I pray that this is
an example of how we need to live, but Paul’s words are what we should strive
for over time.

Verse 3:23 is another very important point from this
chapter:

So no matter what your task is,
work hard. Always do your best as the Lord’s servant, not as
man’s,

How many times have we said “they don’t appreciate my hard
work, so I’m taking a sick day and going to the lake”? We are not called to get
noticed by our boss, but rather get noticed by God. I can say my last position
was easy, I was not respected for my experience and I did not put in my best
effort. I could do the work on schedule without breaking a sweat. The problem
for me was the leadership expected me to work on a level I was capable of not
per the job description or pay. Was this why I was laid off or a contributing
factor? I am not sure, but I do know I was not working for God in my day to day
tasks, but rather for me.

Doesn’t matter who the “man” is when we work, we need to
focus on God and his approval, even if it means we get laid off anyway. Now
with my former job I will say I got “beat down” more than once when I produced
innovative changes or designs. One got me publically cussed out on two separate
occasions. After 2 years of floundering with the old design, the company has
embraced my design on the next project. Of course I did not get credit for the
new design or being right. Was that an excuse to underperform? No, but I used
it to justify just doing my job from that point forward. That attitude may have
cost me my position.

Luke
21 – 22

Verse 21:3 & 4 talk about the widow’s mite:

³ I’m
telling you the truth, this poor widow has made a bigger contribution than all
of those rich fellows. ⁴ They’re just giving from
their surplus, but she is giving from her poverty—she’s giving all she has to
give.

This is often used to guilt people into giving more. I have
heard it more than once from the pulpit used in this manner. It’s never said,
give us all you got, but it is implied. The point is not the giving but the
heart, we are to give and not worry about what it costs us if we have faith God
will provide.

For space reasons I am not going to print out verses 21:16
and 18 and ask about the contradiction. Verse 18 says not a single hair will be
harmed yet we just read in 16 that some may die. That is a problem and I am not
sure I understand why this is the case. Verse 19 also says “by enduring all
these things” tells us that harm may come, but the end ties it up in making
sure we understand that the “no harm” was not for now, but in the afterlife.

Verse 22:22 is one of the most import verses when it comes
to giving:

 As it has
been determined, the Son of Man, that first fruit of a new generation
of humanity, must be betrayed, but how pitiful it will be for the
person who betrays Him.

Most versions don’t highlight this but the Voice did. Think
about God asking for our first fruits and the examples He has used over time.
The most difficult one was Abraham being asked to sacrifice his first born son
of Sarah, Isaac. But rarely do we look at God’s own example of giving His first
born, Jesus. This is the ultimate in showing mankind the importance of giving.
The Voice added these words to clarify the meaning of the original text which
is an awesome image for showing us the importance of God’s love and His
directives for our lives.

Verse 22:27 talks about the change in perspective needed to
really follow Jesus:

Who is greater right here as we eat
this meal—those of us who sit at the table, or those who serve us? Doesn’t
everyone normally assume those who are served are greater than those who serve?
But consider My role among you. I have been with you as a servant.

Jesus did not come to rule over us, but to serve us. That is
the way we should all live! Imagine how many marriages would still be whole if
both parties severed one and other first. Imagine how many businesses would be
thriving if the CEO’s served their employees and customers. Imagine how few
“family feuds”  there would be if
everyone had a servant mentality. This is the key point of Jesus’ ministry is
to love others first and stop worrying about number 1.

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Ezekiel
31 – 36

Verse 32:18 describes the fate of Egypt:

Son of man, grieve for the vast
population of Egypt. Deliver Egypt and her foreign allies to the lowest regions
of the earth, to the pit where they may join the rest of the dead.

The Hebrew word is Sheol which is unclear to the exact
meaning. We have interpreted it as a pit or place where we go when we die. The
actual translation is “to ask a question” since no one is really sure what
happens after death. The Jewish people often believed there was this pit that
we go until the final days when we’d be united with God. I have heard many call
Sheol “the pits of hell”. The verses that follow imply this is not the greatest
place. It’s a dark and shadowy place where the dead souls hang out until final
judgment.

Verses 33:4 & 5 describe our inaction to God’s call:

and if someone hears the alarm and
ignores it, allowing that army to come and capture him; then it is his own
fault for not taking appropriate action. His blood will be on his
own hands. If he had done something, he could have saved his life and
the lives of others. 

This is true to this day, we have heard the call to Jesus
and the consequences if not followed. God has made the individual responsible
for their action. Interesting how this verse appears to be a move from
corporate (nation of Israel) to the individual. Often we would see the nation
punished as a whole, now it appears to be getting personal.

As you notice also, the person sounding the alarm is
responsible to sound it, if he does not and the people die because of this that
individual bears the responsibility for the corporate loss. This is critical
about professing the salvation Jesus; we need to sound the alarm. Assume you
know someone who has never heard the love of Jesus and we have lunch with them.
They have a piano drop on their head and die leaving the restaurant, where is
their salvation? Will you be punished for this inaction? I don’t believe so
with the grace of Jesus, but it is possible and we should not surrender the
responsibility of evangelizing.

Verse 34:8 implies that we are the sheep in need of a
shepherd:

As surely as I, the Eternal Lord,
live, because My sheep are without a shepherd, because they have become prey
for all the wild beasts to feed upon, because my shepherds have not gone in
search of My sheep but have only looked out for themselves and not watched
after and cared for My flock;

Although we are individually responsible to accept the
salvation offered by God through the blood of Jesus, the shepherds are
responsible for guiding God’s people. We have seen time and time again how one
can quickly twist and pervert the word of God, so we need to ensure we have a
good shepherd. They need to be true to the word of God without twisting the
word.

Again I tend to beat this example into the ground, but will
use it again. Joel Osteen is the leader of one of the largest churches in the
world. I decided to watch one of his sermons which was wonderful about Zerubbabel
rebuilding the temple. It all steamed around him saying “begin again”. I
decided to search that verse and over 3 more reads of the Bible and a detailed
search on BibleGateway through all the English versions, I have not found that
verse. What does this mean in the long run? Is Osteen evil and needs to be
silenced? I don’t know, just know he embellished the truth in the Bible to make
a good sermon that was advertised as Biblical, but had no foundation in
scripture.

Proverbs
11
– 12

Verse 11:2 is one of those “pride” proverbs:

When pride comes, shame is not far
behind,
    but wisdom accompanies those who are humble.

We tend to focus on ourselves and get in trouble. Pride
tends to get us into a ton of trouble when we let it go rampant. We tend to
think we are “awesome” and then eventually discover that is wrong, shame
follows quickly. Boastful people will be fact checked or challenged by someone
with greater skills, this produces shame. Interestingly, when this happens to a
humble person they learn from the experience, where the proud wonder how it
could happen.

Verse 11:15 focuses on our lending:

Trouble compounds when you guarantee a
stranger’s debt,
    but you’ll be safe if you refuse the pledge.

This reminds me of a line from Hamlet: “Neither a borrower
or a lender be.” This is a very important principle one must learn otherwise
you will be chasing bad debt often. I tend to look at loaning money as a gift
more than a loan, if paid back wonderful otherwise I don’t like the stress
involved worrying about collection. Unfortunately most of the world doesn’t
think that way!!

Verse 12:2 talks about how we should live:

The Eternal prefers those who do
good,
    but He condemns those who plot evil.

We need to focus on pleasing God first and not our own
desires. God does not ignore them; he just wants our focus off them and on Him.
When our focus twists inward we start to ignore the will of God and often get
misguided into evil plots. Suddenly the idea “they can afford it” becomes a
logical statement which causes us to do unwise things. God will provide and
loves to make you happy, let Him focus on you and you focus on Him. The
servant’s mentality is the point here.

Psalms
84 – 86

Verse 84:2 contains words than many speak, but few believe:

How I long to be there—my
soul is spent,
    wanting, waiting to walk in the courts
of the Eternal.
My whole being sings joyfully
    to the living God.

Face death and see if you long to go! I can say that facing
death is not something that anyone wants; sure we believe it will be better on
the other side but do we live that way. That is a key question we look forward
to a better afterlife than our current one, but do we live that way? Do we face
death bravely or in fear?

I wish I could say I saw the “other side” when I died, but I
cannot. I can say the medicine that they gave me to induce a coma gave me
amnesia for a few days, so I may have no memory of the event. I can say death
scares me since that is it for life on earth.

Justice will come before Him,
    marking out a path, setting a way for His feet.

Justice is a key factor to God! I wonder if God would look
at the justice system that exists today and sees “justice.” Is there a mockery
of justice today or true justice? It seems to me that those who have money win,
period. The system has been made so complex that a uneducated person cannot
figure out the nuances and must spend tons of money on a lawyer to defend
themselves. Having been in court tons of time, those who have the most money
tend to win, so this verse gives hope to those who have unjustly lost.

Verse 86:7 is a natural response to trouble:

When times of trouble come, I will
call to You
    because I know You will respond to me.

Often times we just cruise through life until trouble
happens, then we pray. You need to pray through good and bad, trouble will
always come. The great thing of staying connected is when God answers you will
recognize it. Otherwise, God may answer your prayer of panic and you will not
notice the answer since your expectations are way different from Gods.

We must focus on knowing God and being content through the
good and the bad. I died and had a ton of people pray for my life. I am here
today, was that prayer or just the bodies amazing ability to recover? One story
stuck with me, Patty and Aimee were in
my room praying while I was in a coma and I started to respond. The
nurse freaked and had them stop praying because according to the doctor I
should not be out of the coma. They were able to get a rise from me while I was
in a induced coma!!

My heart has been through trauma, but in less than three
months I went to a Nuclear Stress Test. The doctor review my initial images
asked me “why was this test ordered?” That said to me everything looked NORMAL.
Was it God or the body? Considering the medical staff who sees this day in and
day out call me a miracle, I choose God!!

2 Kings
11
– 15

Back into the mess Israel created deciding they needed a
monarch in place of God. As you remember Saul was the first anointed king since
he was the “image” people wanted. David became anointed king and for about 15
years before taking the throne. Even he failed the people eventually, showing
man cannot have unlimited power on their own. From this we see the beauty of
the present system of government in the USA, and it’s flaws … but that could be
a book if we went into it too much.

Verse 11:12 has a young man hidden from his mother who was
driven with power becoming king:

Jehoiada then escorted the king’s
son and placed the crown atop his head. He gave him the testimony of
dedication, and he anointed Joash as king. In that moment, his
kingship was made official. Then every one clapped and cheered.

Athaliah mother of king Ahaziah killed all the heirs to the
throne when she found Ahaziah had been killed. Joash was very young but hidden
from the queen for 6 years until this “coronation” ceremony. As you may guess, Athaliah
finds out and confronts the young king only to be killed with all her
supporters. God is great, but unless we are willing to surrender to him fully
man tends to mess things up.

Which gets me back to the good ‘ole US of A. Here we have a
great system of government to ensure that no one person can gain control as a
monarch. Unfortunately, one could argue the last few presidents seem to do as
they wanted, ignoring the established checks and balances. I argue it’s not one
man, but rather an underlying evil all driven by money. Money has corrupted the
system that was once creating a great nation. Now it’s in a rapid state of
decay, all because our leaders turned away or were forced from God.

The rest of the reading gets very confusing since Joash of
Judah was also called Jehoash. As we get into his 37^th year of
reign, another Jehoash also became king of Israel.

Anyway during this story one of the most amazing stories in
the Bible is told involving Elisha. Verse 13:21 talks about a dead man being
tossed on Elisha’s bones:

During the springtime, while
a group of men were out burying a man, they spied a gang of bandits approaching
them. They became afraid, so they threw the dead man’s
body into Elisha’s grave. As soon as the dead man’s body touched the bones of
Elisha, the dead man miraculously came back to life and stood
up.

This was a man just touching Elisha’s bones! He had already
been dead a while since he had decayed to bones, so that makes this an amazing
story. Imagine being there and tossing the dead man into the pit only to have
him arise. That would freak me out for sure!!

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Leviticus
16
– 18

Verses 16:21 & 22 talks about the infamous “scapegoat”:

^21-22 Aaron
will place both his hands on the goat’s head and confess aloud over it all the
guilt, rebellion, and wrongdoings of the people of Israel. In this way,he
will transfer the sins of the people onto the goat’s head; then another man who
has been selected for this special task will drive the goat
into the wilderness. When the man releases the goat into the desert, it will
carry all the offenses of God’s people away into the desolate wastelands.

When the thought of a “scapegoat” comes up today we tend to
think of things differently. Merriam-Webster defines it as “a person who is
unfairly blamed for something that others have done.” The “unfairly” part is
what gets most people goat when reading this, since there is no unfair part. We
are all of sin no matter how righteous we may be, we fall short of God’s glory
and needed that goat.

Jesus has stepped in to be the sacrifice for our sins and
become that scapegoat. The difference was he was not led to the wilderness, but
rather the cross!

Verse 17:11 deals with the blood:

You see, the life of the body is in
the blood, and I have directed that you are to take blood and offer it on the
altar to atone for your lives and cover your sins. It is the
life flowing in the blood that atones for you and
covers you. 

The blood is the key to life; it transports everything we
need to each part of the body. Without it we’d not have life. Sure each part
has an important role, but the blood is the “glue” that makes it all work. The
lungs bring it air which the blood then transports the oxygen to all the parts
of the body. The stomach brings in nutrients which the blood again transports
over the body. Without the blood we would be nothing and that is why God
emphasizes the importance of the blood.

Chapter 18 is one of those chapters that many get hung up
on. It’s the incest chapter and the one that says gay sex is wrong. It gives
almost every family relationship and that sex is wrong in that relationship. It
becomes comical and opens up the door for so many jokes. I did want to touch on
verse 18:22 which is the homosexual relationship verse:

You are not to have sexual
relations with a man in the same way you do with a woman; such a thing is
detestable. 

Bible thumpers get on this verse and hammer it home when
talking about the homosexual lifestyle while ignoring other parts of the Law
that are blatantly overlooked. The Law is something mankind cannot live to and
why we needed Jesus. Now the logic on why this is not allowed is simple, since
God wanted His people to prosper.

The big question is the morality of this. Often people say
David and Jonathan had a “relationship” and the “thorn” in Paul’s side was
homosexuality. The science side shows the mating of the two serve no purpose
other than self-satisfaction. At the same time I have known homosexuals from a
very young age who exhibited this behavior. So does God hate gays? No way! Does
God hate the sin? I cannot tell if it’s a sin for gentiles, so I don’t know. I
have heard both sides of the story and know many who love God yet hate the
Church because of their stance. Multiple gays have confided in me that they
would love to be straight, but have no interest in the other sex. Would God
have made them that way or is this payback for generational sin? Again I
ultimately cannot answer those questions and just want each and every person to
know the salvation of Jesus.

Colossians
1 – 2

Verse 1:10 is part of a very powerful prayer:

 May their
lives be a credit to You, Lord; and what’s more, may they continue
to delight You by doing every good work and growing in the true knowledge that
comes from being close to You.

I would love to have the passion for others that Paul has in
his writings. Often times my life and prayers become so self-centered, even in
a crisis. Others will be suffering and in need of prayer and I will mention them
in between my litany of demands to the Lord. This prayer is one of those model
prayers we need to use for two reasons. First, it’s focused on others and not
inward. Second and most important, it requires our action to create followers.
Our inward focus needs to change to create followers of Jesus.

We cannot sit and say “my gift is … and not discipleship”.
We are all called to be disciples in Jesus, doesn’t matter if we are working on
mission trips or at our normal 9 to 5 jobs. Our focus is to share the love of
Jesus to all, not just those who are safe.

Verse 2:18 is a great warning to followers of Jesus:

Don’t be cheated out of the prize
by others who are peddling the worship of heavenly beings and false humility.
People like this run about telling whoever will listen what
they claim to have seen; but in reality they testify only to an inflated mind,
saturated in conceit—not in the Spirit.

I concerns me how
much we see this today. New age believes look to the universe and self for your
needs. Scientology is one of the leading systems that is coming of age that
show our direction is lost. They are showing how to tap into the powers of the
universe without acknowledging the creator.

I will drift off
onto one of my tangents on demons! I am also concerned the “universe” maybe
demonic influence that can manipulate things to seem fantastic while losing
connection with The Eternal. We need to keep focused on the prize and keep our
minds in the Bible. Double check everything, that is Biblical;-)

Luke
19
– 20

Verses 19:6 & 7 show Jesus being kind to a tax
collector:

⁶ Zaccheus
scrambles down and joyfully brings Jesus back to his house. ⁷ Now
the crowd sees this, and they’re upset.

See in that day and age the tax collectors were considered
the evil group for two reasons. First, they were taking the hard earned money
from their own people and giving it to Rome. Second, working with that much
money they often over taxed and pocketed the excess. So they lived lavishly,
while everyone else lived poor and under the thumb of Rome. So when Jesus
joined this man, it didn’t matter what transpired, there was something wrong
with his associating with this kind of person.

NOTE – The IRS today is becoming this evil since they are
wielding their power for political and control means.

When I read this story I think of the BMX’er ‘Mustache’ Greg
who use to have “Jesus is for losers” sloppily taped on his helmet. I just
assumed he was mocking Jesus and did not talk to him about it. Finally when I
did it became clear he was right. Jesus did not come to this world to save the
righteous, but rather the losers! Unfortunately, those of us who think they are
righteous are fooling themselves.

Verse 19:14 is the opening of the 10 servants who get money:

After he departed, the people under
his rule despised him and sent messengers with a clear message: “We do not want
this man to rule over us.”

I find this an interesting story since this line almost
sounds like the outcome will be like the vineyard owner’s parable in chapter 20
where his son is killed. But it ends up quite benign and I wonder why this was
put into the story. This parable teaches us to use our resources wisely and
those who do well will be given more, and those who do nothing will lose what
they had. It’s a story of life! Now does it justify today’s pillaging of the
economy? No and again I cannot say 100% that these rich men are not of God and
are being blessed wildly, it just doesn’t smell right.

Verse 19:30 has Jesus getting his donkey colt:

Go to the next village. When you
enter, you will find a colt tied—a colt that has never been ridden before.
Untie it and bring it here. 

This fulfills Genesis 49:11 and Zechariah 9:9 where the
Messiah, or Anointed One as used in the Voice, rides into Jerusalem on a
donkey. One could argue this was forced by someone who knew scripture, for
show. But the fact they found what he said they would find is amazing. There
will be many questions like these that will be thrust upon us to bring doubt.
The key is to remain faithful in your belief, don’t worry about asking, just
search for the truth not just give up because the question sounds logical.

The second more telling juxtaposition is consider how Caesar road
into town. He was on a white stallion with a great army, while Jesus was humbly
riding in on a donkey colt with his rag tag party. Unfortunately the Pharisees
were looking for more pomp and circumstance out of Jesus that what was
delivered. Hence why most did not accept him as the Anointed One.

I can’t leave without talking about verse 20:25 and the
impact it had on our lives.

Well then, you should give to
Caesar whatever is Caesar’s, and you should give to God whatever is God’s.

I once owed a great deal to the tax man in sales tax. I had
two options, lie and say the business failed or hire an accountant to help me
pay the taxes. I prayed on what to do and played “weegie board” Bible and
opened randomly to a page and with eyes closed pick a verse. I landed on this
one. I rejected it as chance and went on. A few days later I did the same thing
hoping for a better result, I landed on Matthew 22:21 which was the same verse
in Matthew. So the state got $45k because I believed God was involved in this
decision.

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Ezekiel
25 – 30

As we read these chapters you will notice a theme, God asks
Ezekiel to prophesize to each of these nations. Each one he project doom and
gloom. Verse 25:2 is the basic theme to each segment:

Tell them to listen to the word of
the Eternal Lord:

(to Ammon) Because you delighted in
the desecration of My sanctuary, because you rejoiced when Israel became a
wasteland, and because you cheered when the Judeans went into exile,

Do harm to Israel and face dire consequences. These nations
all were mighty and powerful in their day yet only God protected Israel. All
the other nations are only found in history books, they no longer exist.
Chapter 25 sees the prophecies against Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia.
Chapters 27 & 28 are dedicated to Tyre only while 29 & 30 focus on
Egypt. Both were great nations which God lays to waste because of what they did
to Israel.

Verse 28:2 is God’s message to Tyre concerning their pride:

Son of man, go to the prince of
Tyre, and give him this message. This is what I, Eternal Lord, have to say:

    Your heart
is swollen with pride—
        a pride that says, “I am a god.
        I sit on a divine throne in the
heart of the sea.”
    But I assure you, prince, you are
nothing more
        than a mortal man—a
man of mortal destiny.
    Even though you have the self-confidence of a god,
        you are made entirely of
flesh and blood.

A consistent theme
in the Bible is God’s handling of people with “pride”. The Bible over and over
again shows the problem of pride. It’s a common point in my writings because
it’s something that bothers me when confronted and makes me feel like a
hypocrite when I am boastful. Pride separates us from God because it makes our
focus inward and not outward. Tyre was focused on themselves and getting all
they can, much like many nations today.

Verses 29:13 &
14 shows why Egypt is the only nation still around:

¹³ After
40 years have passed, I am going to gather the Egyptians from the nations where
I scattered them. ¹⁴ I will restore their fortunes
and lead them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their ancestors. There,
Egypt will begin again, but this time as an insignificant
kingdom.

Interesting how
Egypt was the only nation spared and are not the power they once were.  They still exist today and have risen a tad
in power, but only because of the Suez Canal. They control the flow of commerce
between Europe and America and the southern Middle East, which is where the
majority of our energy comes from these days. In reading this it is not real
clear on the reason why God spared Egypt from total annihilation. So say
because they originated near Pathros and because of this God showed mercy.

You look at the
lineage of Noah’s son Ham, his son Mizraim settled in this region and
intermarried with the people. That showing the nation of Egypt has Jewish
roots. This is a logical reason for God’s mercy.

Proverbs
10

Verse 10:1 opens the fortune cookie chapters of Proverbs:

The proverbs of Solomon:
A wise son makes his father glad,
    but a foolish one fills his mother with sorrow.

These next few chapters are what is considered antithetical
parallelism, or the one line is positive and the other is the negative.
Interesting how the wise son makes dad happy, but the fool falls on mom. I like
this one since it highlights why wisdom is important, to make your parents
happy. Each of us have done things that have gotten our parents to get angry or
be filled with sadness … and some are still doing it in their 50’s.

Verse 10:4 talks about work:

A slack hand produces nothing
but poverty,
    but an industrious hand soon takes
hold of riches.

Most Proverbs must be read and dwelled on for some time to
see how they apply to your life. Unfortunately they tend to become “one-liners”
and cliché’s rather than helpful adages. Think if you worked with a slacker and
just out of the blue shared this Proverb. Would the reaction be positive or
negative? What if you were the slacker, yet did not perceive it that way?
Solomon wrote these to get YOU introspectively reviewing your actions, not to
barf on others who desperately need them.

Verse 10:32 is the last in this chapter of gems:

The lips of the right-living
understand what is proper,
    but the mouths of wrongdoers twist and pervert
the truth.

As with most of these one verse Proverbs this is a gem. Also,
it cannot be used “against” or “on” anyone else but oneself. I look at
politicians today and both parties can use this against the other, and I
believe both would believe in their heart they were “right-living”. Maybe in
tis example the “right-living” are not in politics? See this is where
introspective thought is necessary! We are all wrongdoers on some level, the
problem is do we twist the truth to our advantage.

I do often, without thinking. If I am caught, it’s a reflex
action to hunker-down in CYA mode. Katy catches me and I can never give a solid
answer to why I do it. I honestly don’t know when in my life I developed that
reflex, but it’s amazing how easy it is to engage. Fortunately, I am not good
at it so now I tend to be honest, except for stupid things like answering why I
went to QT. We must remember, twisting the truth be it where you were last
night or the candy bar you got at QT have the same eternal consequence.

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Psalms
81 – 83

Verse 81:1 tells us what we should be doing more:

Sing with joy to God, our
strength, our fortress.
    Raise your voices to the True God of Jacob.

We should sing joy no matter what happens in life. We need
to look at Paul as our example who we noted previously this month that he is
content and joyous in plenty or lack, in comfort or pain, doesn’t matter. We
need to embrace Psalms like this in our pain and misery more than is plenty.
Now don’t do what many do and dismiss God when things are going good since it
will often distract us from God.

I believe the key is not coming to God complaining about this and that, but
thanking Him for the lesson. Approach life with JOY and not in discontent, it
will be much easier no matter what is happening in your life. Keep your “eyes
on the prize” and remain focused on God no matter what is happening in your
life.

Verse 82:3 highlights the problem with lesser gods:

“Stand up for the poor and the
orphan;
    advocate for the rights of the afflicted and those in
need.

The Psalmist is addressing the major differences between God
and the other gods worshiped. Many are made up idols from man’s imagination,
similar to my views on Scientology but that will take a long time to unwrap.
Let’s just say a sci-fi writer creates a religion is dubious. Anyway most of
these gods from ancient times, I believe, were real yet part of Satan’s band of
demons. Satan wanted the glory from God, as with the other fallen angels. These
fallen angels have powers, just not complete and holy like God. Also, their
interested reflect inwards and not outwards.

The God of Israel asks for worship, but His interests are in
the least. That is the key differentiating factor between God and the other
gods, caring for others. The worship is desired as a secondary aspect to our
relationship, the love comes first. Take our children; it takes an unruly child
to get a parent not to love them. You see it all the time in interviews of murderer’s
mothers; they still love their child unconditionally. God is the same way, say
thanks often and He will respond positively … ignore blessings and He will
start to drift away, still loving you enough to have you learn how to survive.

Verse 83:18 ends with the Psalmist wanting people to know
God:

May they know that You and You
alone,
    whose name is the Eternal,
    are the Most High, the Supreme Ruler over
all the earth.

Granted in this case the revelation will come after
supernatural events happen to put them in dire circumstances. It almost reminds
me of the words of a person shooting another by saying “prepare to meet God.” I
pray that everyone has this revelation, be it dramatic or subtle, just not
harmful.

The question posed in today’s lesson is if God really loves
us, unlike the lesser gods, why does He do harm or allow harm? That is a key
and critical question that is not easily answered and is often posed by
atheists or followers of other gods. Think about that one …

2 Kings
6 – 10

Elisha in verse 6:6 performs an amazing feet:

Where did it drop into the
river?

The man showed Elisha where it
had dropped into the water, and Elisha took a stick and tossed it into
the river. Then the iron of the ax floated to the
surface.

When you think about it the man was stressed about losing an
axe he borrowed. Elisha showed God cares about the little things. Think about
it, sure losing an axe is a bummer, but honestly what did it matter? Sure he’d
have to replace it, but surely the man would not lose much more. It was an
accident, yet God wanted these prophets to know He cares about even the
smallest details in our lives.

Verse 6:16 has Elisha comforting his servant:

 Have no
fear. We have more on our side than they do.

This is true always. All over the Bible God talks about not
having fear, yet as people we do all the time. Fear is a natural reaction to
danger, but often we perceive things as danger unnecessarily as danger. The
most common fear we have is a perceived threat or even an imaginary problem.
How often do we get worked up about some event that we are sure is true, only
to find out there is not threat or problem? I can answer that as “all the
time.”

See God does not want us to have fear over life, honestly
what comes, comes. Do your daily work and things will tend to work out. Sure it
may not be 100% what you expect, but nothing is worth the fret. Trust God and
things tend to work out for the best. I know it’s has been that way so far over
50+ years of my life. The things that got me worked up 10 years ago are distant
worries this morning.

Verse 10:27 ends Jehu eradicating all Baal worship from
Israel:

They tore down Baal’s sacred pillar
and proceeded to tear down the rest of Baal’s temple. Ever since then, that
place has been designated as a latrine, even to this day.

After slaughtering all the Baal worshippers by tricking them
into the temple, Jehu does the ultimate insult. This was once a place of
worship to Baal who was considered the highest god among these people. They
said Baal was the creator of the universe. God often shows His superiority over
man’s gods, like he did in Egypt with the 10 plagues. Each one targeted one of
Egypt’s gods and now in the ultimate insult, Baal’s temple is now a place to
take a crap!

Leviticus
13
– 15

In these chapters the main focus is on skin diseases and
emissions. I find it interesting that today if we contracted leprosy, our first
stop would be the doctor. During this time the priests were trained to
recognize the problem so the person could be quarantined. This protected the
nation from a rampant infection.

Verses 13:38 & 39 talk about an instance of what is
done:

³⁸ If a man
or a woman discovers bright shiny spots on the skin, including
bright white ones, ³⁹ the priest must check them
out. And if he determines that the bright spots on the skin
are pale, this is only a minor skin rash; the person is clean.

The Law goes into great detail on how these instances must
be contained and handled since there was no real treatment. The goal was to
contain the infected and ensure the greater population’s safety. The priest
therefore needed to be trained and skilled in determining if this was a danger
or not. So we get chapter after chapter detailing skin problems and what to do
when identified. Unfortunately I glossed over much of this since skin problems
today may be treated by a dermatologist, but most seems to repeat itself. I did
not see a huge difference between the various skin conditions discussed.

Verse 13:56 highlights a section concerning clothing and
other items we may be in contact with:

But if the priest examines it, and
the affected area has faded after it has been washed, the priest must rip the
affected material out of the garment, leather, or woven or knitted material.

There is great detail to ensure their clothing is clean
also, to the point of inspection. Many skin problems are contracted from
contact with clothing that has mildewed or rotted. Again modern cleaning
techniques have developed to ensure this does not happen, but we often leave
wet stuff in our gym back for too long and have to throw it out.  I find it interesting how much emphasis there
is on ensuring the nation is safe from disease. This is much of why I believe
the nation of Israel has become targets, for example instead of adopting the
Jews habits during the black plague, people died and detested the Jews for
remaining healthy.

Verse 15:16 gets to the things that really matter:

 If a man
ejaculates, then he must bathe his whole body with water and remain impure
until dusk.

Now we get to be sophomoric and see how many times I can use
“ejaculate” in a paragraph. I often wonder if they were talking about nocturnal
ejaculations or manual ejaculations, since later it discusses ejaculations
while in bed with a woman. This makes me wonder, since that ejaculation will
keep them impure until dusk implying activity during the day was normal. I
wonder what is in the ejaculated semen that makes it impure. I can’t do this
anymore!!

I think the point is to ensure purity throughout the nation
and its people. The point is not to make these emissions wrong per-se but
rather to ensure people remain clean at all times. These details are not to
show the sexual side of man, but rather to show how much God cared for His
people that every last detail is spelled out. No matter how uncomfortable it
makes us today, these are natural functions that need to be addressed.

Philippians
3 – 4

Verse 3:2 opens with a warning:

Watch out for the dogs—wicked
workers who run in packs looking for someone to maul with
their false circumcision.

During this time in the church there was a battle between
the Jewish Christians who believed that one should be a Jew in order to follow
Jesus, therefore following the Law was part of following Jesus. Never mind the
fact Jesus said “I came to fulfill the Law”, they still pushed this agenda.
Their belief was a “faith plus” belief which you find often in the world today.
Their plus was being Jewish and living by the Law, today it’s more works based
which is a whole different tangent.

Either way it doesn’t matter what we do, we are saved by
faith alone and nothing more. That is the point Paul is trying to drive home
since once the relationship becomes a acts based one legalism creeps in and
faith is pushed out. Suddenly we become the Pharisee who prayed how good he was
because of all he did, while the tax collector prayed for mercy. It’s all faith
and after that what we do is to show the love of Jesus, not to convict others.

Verse 3:14 gives us perspective on life:

I am sprinting toward the only goal
that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear
God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the
Anointed.

The problem with life is our goals often do not mesh with
God’s. We tend to focus on the immediate issue or crisis which quickly pushes
aside God. Sure often the crisis will bring us closer to God in the end, but
often it starts by drawing us away. Suddenly we are sprinting towards a project
that MUST be finished now. In the end we turn and run towards that next project
when we really should be like Mary resting in Jesus and not Martha preparing
the feast.

Don’t get me wrong, we cannot spend our lives resting in
Jesus without working, but we need to know balance and ensure time is always
given to Him. Now one would say Paul did not do this and was always taken care
of during his ministry. Maybe that is the point!! We should spend our lives
resting in Jesus and if it means getting the job done, then it’s being done for
Jesus.

Verses 4:12 & 13 talks about what Paul went through:

¹² I know
how to survive in tight situations, and I know how to enjoy having plenty. In
fact, I have learned how to face any circumstances: fed or hungry, with or
without. ¹³ I can be content in any and every
situation through the Anointed One who is my power and strength.

I am learning this, reluctantly! We have had to make
adjustments based on my lack of income and major bills looming. After 6 years
of struggling to get out of a huge hole, we are getting ready to dig another.
Sure we are being fed and always seem to have something in the end to pay
bills; it’s the stress that is literally killing me. Today I am learning to be
content in each, but not rest in that contentment and still work.

This brings up the old joke of the man sitting on the roof
in a flood. His neighbors came to help him, he said “I am waiting for God to
save me.” A rescue boat pulled up to help and he said “I am waiting for God to
save me.” Finally a helicopter came and he again said “I am waiting for God to
save me.” When the flood waters finally took his life he asked God why he did
not save him, God said “I sent your neighbors, a boat and a helicopter, what
more did you want?” Don’t be waiting for an opportunity when it’s looking right
at you! We kills the Messiah because He did not fit our mold, don’t miss read
what God has in store … but be content in all that happens.

Luke 17 – 18

Verse 17:1 ensures we understand we live in a fallen world:

Jesus (to His
disciples): You can’t stop temptations to do wrong from coming.
But how tragic it will be for the person who becomes the source of the
temptation! 

Once saved by the blood of Jesus does not mean our life will
be pure and holy. Far from it in many cases, we get sucked back into the sins
that led to our salvation. Often we may have a conversion, but our friends do
not and unfortunately they have a huge influence over most. This is why it’s
best to be surrounded with likeminded believers to help each other when
temptations come, because they will.

This is why it is so critical to be into a daily (or more)
prayer time, a daily Bible study and have a circle of close friends who believe
the same. Often we need to shirk our old friends because they will be driven
(by Satan) to get you back to the party animal you once were. We must be
vigilant to watch for temptation and it’s grips in our lives and run from it!

Verse 17:33 is the ultimate paradox:

If you try to hold on to your life,
it will slip through your fingers; if you let go of your life, you’ll keep it.

This is difficult to swallow, especially for us guys who
tend to be control freaks. To just say ok, and let go is one thing that most
people find impossible. Even after almost losing my life forever, while being
dead and assume lost mentally once revived, I rejoice at my life, but still
have difficulty just saying ok, wherever this takes me is fine. We must learn
to trust the Lord in his direction for our lives, even if it doesn’t include a Porsche.

These two are the ultimate struggles for most of us, letting
go and not getting sucked away. Our salvation is not dependent on failing at
either, but our life here on earth is. God’s plan may include a rich life or it
may include being a poor martyr in some far off land. Remember the potter makes
fancy vases as well as trash receptacles for a purpose.

Verse 18:27 ends the parable of the rich man who was asked
to give it all and refused:

Remember, what is humanly
impossible is possible with God.

Jesus used the camel through an eye of a needle comparison
when talking about the rich going into heaven. And this gives eternal hope to
all those with money who are grasping it. Your salvation is not dependent on
you being poor, but because money has a grasp on all of us, money can replace
God often. I know my focus is more on money than on God much of my life. I
freak out about not having enough for bills, for judgments or life in general.
When God has shown me over and over not to worry since God has provided with or
without a job. Things are desolate now having mountains of medical bills
looming, a judgment and no job, but we seem to always sell the right thing and
have enough for the next round of life. All is good and God is great!! Just let
go, flea from temptation and know it’s all possible with God!

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Ezekiel
19
– 24

Sit down and get ready for a long read with a bunch of very
depressing prophecies. Chapter 19 talks about the lioness and her cubs which a
metaphor for Judah and her kings which is not real clear when reading this
alone without knowing the history. Verses 20:21 & 22 show God withholding
his anger:

²¹ But the
children also rebelled against Me. They strayed from My laws and ignored My
commandments, even though they knew that one who follows My
rules will live. They polluted My Sabbaths, and they were not careful to keep
My rules. So I told them that I would pour out My anger upon them and express
My wrath against them in the wilderness. ²² But for
the sake of My good name and reputation, I
suspended their punishment. I chose not to profane My name in the eyes of those
nations who had witnessed Me bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. 

The key is God does not want to tarnish his name since
people on the outside would look at this punishment as overboard. For whatever
reason God cannot contain his anger this time and in verse 21:31 talks about
what he is going to do with the rebellious people:

I will pour out My anger over
your head, I will breathe fiery wrath on you, I will give you
over to barbaric men (artists of destruction who love to mutilate and
kill). 

Interesting as I read this our Friday’s men’s group did a
study this morning on anger. The main verse we looked at was Isaiah 54:9 which
states:

I think this is like the time when
Noah lived.
        I promised that I would never
again destroy the world by a flood.
    So now I am promising never again to be so angry
        and punishing as I was when I
sent you away.

He will not flood the world again, but He will send in
invaders to kill every last one of the polluted people.  God tells Ezekiel to warn the people of his
coming sword that will indiscriminately slice through the people of Israel
without concern. The people just ignore him thinking it is some obscure
parable.

Chapter 23 God actually uses a parable to describe the
nations of Israel and Judah. Verse 23:4 compares their capitals to prostitutes:

The older sister was
named Oholah, and her younger sister was named Oholibah. They married Me, and
they gave birth to many sons and daughters.

Oholah is Samaria (the
mother city of Israel), and Oholibah is Jerusalem (the mother
city of Judah).

This chapter is very graphic and shows the disgust God has
for what the people are doing in ignoring his greatness. I again often read
Ezekiel with the Babushka Doll Principle in mind, where this is a prophecy for
them then, but also could be one for us today. I get concerned with what is
happening in Israel and our world today as we spin closer and closer to assured
destruction. We look at the historical ramifications of these prophecies then
and have to wonder if they are not happening again today.

So in reading this today one has to ask, if God gets
angry is it ok for us to get PO’ed? We look at the New Testament and see Jesus
turning over the money changers table in anger, or was it an outburst? In this
instance if you read the scriptures, it was not an outburst of anger, but
rather a controlled discipline. We just have seen so many images of Jesus in
anger doing this we just assume since that’s how we would respond it’s how God
responded. No I still wonder about Ezekiel and if this was a “had enough”
outburst or a controlled discipline.

Proverbs
8 – 9

This reading focuses on Lady Wisdom with a brief touch on
Lady Folly. We need to focus of ensuring we learn wisdom.  Verse 8:5 shows wisdom is for all:

You gullible people, acquire
insight.
        You naive ones, cultivate a
heart that truly understands.

We really all have to think of ourselves as gullible every
day and strive to “acquire insight.” Unfortunately if we think of living with
wisdom of Solomon most if not all would be fooling themselves. Also remember,
with all Solomon’s wisdom he fell into following lesser gods and demonic
incantations. That is why we must be vigilant in our daily quest for knowledge
in our Lord!

Verse 8:19 tells us of the reward:

My reward is better than gold, even
the purest gold;
        and my profit is greater than
the highest quality silver.

Wisdom is more valuable than any earthly item, yet we tend
to throw it away for riches. As you read and remember lust is the other thing
that tends to shut ones brain off from wisdom. We tend to follow the next
flashy thing be it a car, a job, a movie star or a cute secretary and not
wisdom. Again based on the number of wives and “concubines” Solomon had before
his kingdom fell apart, I really wonder how wise he really was!!

Verse 9:17 takes us down the other path in life:

Lady Folly: Stolen water tastes so
much sweeter!
        Bread secreted away is much
more satisfying to eat!

Folly will tell us that leisure is more important than work.
Folly will tell us to take the easy path and not pass through the “narrow gate”
of Jesus. After 50+ years of living I can say without a doubt that “bread”
earned from the sweat of ones brow is much sweeter than “bread secreted away.”  I am on food stamps right now and the only
thing I can say is thank you to all who fund the government. This is a first in
my life and am humbled to have to take charity.
I can say it’s not “sweeter” than getting a pay check and using my own
money. Although I have to admit we tend to buy more organics, not sure if
that’s because they are “free” or because the need for pure foods from my
cardiac arrest, but technically the food has been a tad better.

Psalms
78 – 80

Verse 78:7 stands out as a command that we quickly see was
ignored:

tell them to put their
confidence and hope in God,
And never forget the wondrous things He has done.
    They should obey His commandments always

This is a long
Psalm that takes us through all the wonders God showed His people with Moses in
Egypt, yet they still drifted. Today God no longer talks to us through powerful
miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, but often through more personal ones.
God has shown himself before Israel only to have them worshiping a golden calf
shortly after, so as we see throughout this Psalm and history, the big stuff
doesn’t change a nation it’s the little personal stuff that does over time.

It’s really amazing
when you read how rebellious God’s chosen people were and how much grace He
showed them along the way. Even when this spilled out to the entire world
through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Jews tried to force the legalism of the law
onto the Way. It just amazes me how history keeps repeating itself and makes me
wonder if another angel will fall after “the end-times”.

Verses 79:12 &
13 shows one of the problems with people:

¹² Pay
back each of our invaders personally, seven times
    for the shame they heaped on You, O Lord!
¹³ Then we, Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,
    will pause and give You thanks
forever;
    Your praise will be told by our generation to the next.

The ole’ we are in
trouble, help us and we will “give You thanks forever” becomes old after
millennium. We constantly seem to have conditions on our thanks and our praise
of God. We hit a big deal, we get healed, we get a great job, or some other
wonderful event we are quick to give God praise, but get stricken with cancer
and the praise is gone. We then had conditions over how we will serve God based
on our healing.

I started this blog
5 years ago or so and was hoping for riches from donations or an instant book
deal. Heck I get over joyed when 2 people look at the posts in a week now. I no
longer do this for hopes of money, but rather sharing my reality with God’s
word to hopefully help some individual through their struggle with salvation or
faith. My faith was conditional then and now I pray I have worked through that,
and if not, I pray God will continue to show me how I need to be mentally with
Him.

Some say I over
intellectualize this stuff and do not follow my heart. They may be right, but
at the same time I want to make sure I am not following a false prophet who
calls on demons for feelings of salvation in their followers. Kundalini is one
thing I see creeping into the church. Many say Jesus has a Kundalini awakening
and that was why He was such a great man. See the problem? Kundalini is
represented as a serpent who and they represent Jesus as a man, who uses this
serpents power. Understand, that their “Jesus” is not God, but rather just a
possessed man.

I’ll end with verse
80:3 that is a prayer I pray even when I feel in tune with God:

Bring us back to You, God.
    Turn the light of Your face upon us so
that we will be rescued from this sea of darkness.

As we see throughout history from Psalm 78 mankind can drift
wildly from God’s will. Bet if you talked to anyone about their drift and it
would seem right at the time. The golden calf would have seemed logical
especially if a demon had attached itself to the idol to give good feelings.
This could get me going on a long subject on how feelings tend to guide us down
the path of destruction. I can’t tell you how many marriages have been
destroyed because feelings guided the person and not God’s word of fidelity.
Again, a long topic, but the key is strive and pray for following God.

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2 Kings
1 – 5

Most of first and second Kings is fast paced chapters for
each king, yet the opening of 2 Kings focuses on Elijah and Elisha. There are
some classic Bible stories in these chapters which should be read to understand
the glory of God. Verse 1:4 is God’s message to the king:

This is the message of the
Eternal to Ahaziah: “You have made your bed, and you will lie in
it. You will never leave your bed in your upper room; it will become your
grave.”

The saying was not in scripture, but used to have us more
easily understand the meaning of the translation, hence the italics. The point
to the king is you have already made the choices that have created the
direction you are on. It’s like the person, like myself, who ate poorly and
then expects God to heal them in the last hour. As we know this can be done,
but most often it’s not. Death bed conversions will give a person entry into
the kingdom, but will not suddenly reverse a life time of abuse to one’s body.

Chapter 2 has Elijah and Elisha both parting the Jordan.
This story often gets forgotten along with Joshua parting the Jordan when
compared to Moses’ experience parting the Red Sea. Think about it, none of
these men actually parted anything, they just called on the power of God.

Verse 2:21 has another amazing story with Elisha:

 He then
walked outside to the water spring and tossed some salt into it.

Elisha: This is the
Eternal’s message: “This water is now entirely pure. It will no longer bring
death or cause the earth to be barren.”

This was a bitter spring that was not useable for the
population nearby. God changed all that through Elisha to give them a useable
spring.

Chapter 4 has the story of the woman with the oil that never
ran out. This again is another amazing story of God’s faithful act helping man
out in a time of need. It also has the story of a woman who was older and
barren who bore a son. Verse 4:37 is the end of her son being brought to Elisha
dead:

She fell to the floor before
Elisha’s feet, bowing to the ground, and she wept with happiness.
She picked up her son and left the room with him.

Elijah and Elisha were great prophets who were able to
channel God’s power. Here a child was raised from the dead and later in the
chapter a large crowd was fed to satisfaction with little resources.  These stories sound a lot like Jesus’
stories. I don’t remember these being talked about much in the Christian
church, but it’s something that is amazing all the same.

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Leviticus
10
– 12

Verse 10:2 is one of those events I don’t understand:

 Flames
erupted from before the Eternal and burned up Nadab and Abihu. They both died
in the presence of the Eternal One.

Here they were doing something wrong and it cost them their
lives. I often read events like this and wonder why God would kill people
because they did not follow procedures correctly.  Where is grace in this? Why would Nineveh be
spared because they repented, yet Nadab and Abihu are not given that chance. If
you look at this closer, they were Aaron’s sons and therefore had been in the
presence of God and therefore should have known better. Also, in verse 1 it
says the fire was “unauthorized” yet in the KJV it calls the fire “profane”
which gives us a better understanding to why they were killed. In a nutshell
they should have known better.

Chapter 11 contains the food laws. Again I don’t think it
was meant to be a sin eating pork, but rather a good guide to eating. God
wanted to set aside his people and therefore wanted to ensure they were
healthy. We get to Peter’s vision in Acts which shows God saying it’s ok to eat
food outside the Law assuming it’s blessed. This is in direct conflict with the
Law! Why? I am not 100% sure but the Law was set aside to show what was the
standard and we are not expected to be able to uphold it. No chapter 11,
in  my opinion, was more guidelines and
not hard lines.

Chapter 11:22 is good news:

You may eat the following insects:
locusts, destructive locusts, desert locusts, and grasshoppers. 

We can eat bugs!! See to all the parents who grab the bugs
out of their children’s mouth, it’s ok!!

Verse 12:2 starts a question on a conflict:

Go, talk with the
Israelites, and tell them, “If a woman conceives and gives birth to a boy, then
she will be ritually unclean for seven days, just like she is unclean when she
is menstruating.

Why then in verse 5 does it double the time if she had a
girl? This is a non-scientific study, but in watching Katy during both
pregnancies. Vern, the first, was more difficult. She was sick and recovery
seemed to take longer, Devon was much easier. Now one would say D was the
second one, but have read this over and over again concerning pregnancies. So
maybe God was protecting women, since there is a difference in carrying and
delivering a girl over a boy.

Philippians
1 – 2

Verse 1:18 tends to justify all churches:

So what do we do then? Listen. What
matters is that in every way, regardless of the motives—whether
pure or shady—the great story of the Anointed is a cause for joy. I will
continue to rejoice 

We tend to bash those who preach the Gospel with unsavory
tactics. For example we look at prosperity preachers as not preaching the
Gospel with pure intentions. See they get people to give based on those givers
receiving great wealth. Most never prosper as promised, other than the pastor.
If that pastor is preaching the Gospel of salvation correctly, then let them
go. Many will be saved because of their dynamic oratory skills.

Verses 2:3 & 4 remind us not to follow our own agendas:

³ Don’t let
selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift
your heads to extend love to others. ⁴ Get beyond
yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and
secure your neighbors’ interests first.

Interesting we see Paul almost contradicting himself again.
One chapter we read it’s ok if some preach the Gospel do so with selfish
motives, yet here is says don’t let those emotions take you over. The point is
if someone gets caught up with prideful and selfish ambitions, yet still
preaches the Gospel our job is not to condemn. At the same time Paul is warning
us not to personally be consumed with those desires. The key is being like
Jesus and set aside your ambitions for the ambitions of others.

Imagine if the world operated this way!!

Verses 2:14 & 15 command us to stop internal conflicts:

¹⁴ Do all
things without complaining or bickering with each other, ¹⁵ so
you will be found innocent and blameless; you are God’s
children called to live without a single stain on your reputations among this
perverted and crooked generation. Shine like stars across the land. 

What people see on the outside is very important since the
enemy will want many to find something conflicting with the message. If there
is internal bickering, this could crush a new believer’s faith. They receive a
message of salvation that says one thing and then the body of the Church is
doing something different. This is why conflicts need to be addressed, but not childishly
handled.

The second part is key since we are called to have faith
like a child, but not get sucked into childish acts of pride and selfishness.
Ever watch two children who want the same thing, it can get downright ugly in
the struggle for number 1. Think about children as the ultimate narcissist, yet
God’s children are different, they share!!

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Luke
15
– 16

Verse 15:7 gives us some insight to God’s heart:

This is how it is in heaven.
They’re happier over one sinner who changes his way of life than they are over
99 good and just people who don’t need to change their ways of life.

Jesus goes through a series of parables to drive this point
home. One is about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. Notice how it
escalates in value as he moves from one story to the other. The key we need to
take is God is not unhappy with us who diligently follow, but is excited when a
lost one is saved. Once he was excited for our salvation or return to the Way.

We just need to watch our jealously about special treatment
one may get for leading a lascivious life. We need to make sure we are not the
older brother and instead join in the celebration. Jesus used the older brother
and did not finish his story because he was putting the Pharisees into the
older brother’s position to see what they would do. Put yourself into his shoes
and think about what you would really do in your heart. Would your response be
jealously or joy?

Verse 16:8 is a parable I still don’t fully understand:

When the manager’s boss realized
what he had done, he congratulated him for at least being clever. That’s how it
is: those attuned to this evil age are more clever in dealing with their
affairs than the enlightened are in dealing with their affairs!

Here the manager was stealing from him and yet when he
negotiates down the debt others owe him, he is happy. I don’t get what the
point really is here. It almost seems like it ok to do as you wish. If someone
owed me $50 I would not want someone else to negotiate that down to $20 without
my knowledge. Sure I am forgive it entirely, it’s not someone else’s decision.
Hence why I don’t get the story.

In this story you have an unsavory character who is about to
lose his job and he negotiates his masters debt to ensure HE had a place to go
afterwards. The master recognized this unsavory manner and commends his
actions.

Verse 16:9 clears this story up a bit:

Learn some lessons from this
crooked but clever asset manager. Realize that the purpose of money is to
strengthen friendships, to provide opportunities for being generous and kind.
Eventually money will be useless to you—but if you use it generously to serve
others, you will be welcomed joyfully into your eternal destination.

First, we are to use money that we have been entrusted to
make friends not for our own pleasures. In this we will be showing people the
love of Jesus! It still is an odd story, but we need to remember it’s not our
money and to do good with helping others. In the process it will help us in a
time of need.

Ezekiel
13
– 18

Verse 13:10 is chastising those who are not telling the
right thing:

t is because these false prophets
have lied to My people and led them off course, saying, “Everything
is peaceful and fine,” when nothing is peaceful or
fine. When the people build a weak and wobbly wall, the
false prophets are right behind them, coating it with plaster.

This is happening while Ezekiel is trying to tell the
pending doom approaching Israel. As with most of us, we don’t want to hear what
bad is on the horizon but rather something that is good. This was the problem
Ezekiel had since he was telling the people what they did not want to hear, he
was rejected for those telling of a prosperous future. We do this today,
unfortunately most doom-and-gloom’ers or boomtown predictors are not doing this
for God, but rather personal gain. They piece together facts to fit their story
omitting others for selling their newsletter or book. When the truth is told
today it often gets lost in the static!

The only other comment is the wall that is built isn’t worth
doo-doo. It eventually collapses and is what Nehemiah eventually rebuilds in 52
days.

Verse 14:5 lets us all know God is going to keep at us:

I am going to recapture the hearts
of Israel, all of whom have deserted Me for their idols.”

How many of us have drifted after idols of today? The
clothes, the latest technological gizmo from Apple, the cars or shoes all
become idols in our lives today. Today we dismiss God through science and chase
stuff as idols. We worship the latest pop star that has sold out for success. I
know my drift was a few years, only to be “recaptured” by God in a solid way. I
look at Revelations and often wonder if this keeps getting pushed back like the
destruction of Nineveh Jonah predicted.

Chapter 16 through 19 is a parable of Israel. Verse 16:15 is
the first flip:

But you trusted in your own beauty
and used your fame to become a whore. You slept with every man who was simply
passing by. 

This analogy Israel is a woman raised by God and yet flips
around from a faithful bride to a prostitute. God uses this analogy often to
describe many instances where we drift from God, be it worshiping Lucifer to a
Porsche the distractions from God are many. We need to be purposeful in our
chasing Him. My favorite subject is Evolution vs Creationism and often engage
the other side which gets me wondering if I am wrong in my beliefs. I need to
be in the Word daily or I would be a mess, or more of a mess than I am today.

Verse 18:30 makes me feel better about life:

The person who sins will die. The
child will not be punished for the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent be
punished for the guilt of the child. The righteous will be credited with
righteousness. The wicked will be charged with wickedness.

When things go wrong in life we often like to blame a
“generational curse” and not look at what we are doing wrong. It’s easier to
think “the family is cursed” than to accept the mess we made. This should give
one peace and also unrest knowing they need to accept the blame. Now am I
saying there are no “generational curses”? No, but most of these are learned
from the parents and therefore are not righteous.

2

Proverbs
7

Verse 7:1 opens with a statement to his son:

My son, live according to what I am
telling you;
    guard my instructions as you would a treasure deep within
you.

Solomon wants to make sure his son follows the righteous path
and not drift like grandpa. I thought of his later drifts in life and figured
it was the “do as I say, not as I do” proverbs. Also, I was hoping we would
move away from the evils of deceiving women, unfortunately that is not the
case.

Verse 7:5 starts the warnings:

And they will keep you from the
arms of another woman—
    protect you from the enchantress who
entices men into her bed.

I think as men we don’t take these serious as a threat to
our families and faith. Granted I lived most of my life in ignorance of
potential advances. One instance early on in my marriage I was left a note. It
was talking about a song by Heart and ended in XOXO. I showed it to Katy and
asked what it meant. She explained the song was about two people in
relationships that just wanted to mess around and the XOXO was “hugs and
kisses.”

We had a good laugh over that, but at the same time it was
disturbing that someone would make that suggestion. When you look at the
statistics, affairs break up marriages more than anything else except maybe
money.  So although Solomon’s advice is repetitive,
there is a reason for this we men need it drilled into our heads.

The second best advice I have heard was expounding on 1
Corinthians 6:18 and telling us to run from sin. In the example PK gave he had
a women come into his office to discuss marital problems and made an advance.
His response was to drop everything and run home, literally. He did not stop or
say why he was leaving, he just ran away.

Solomon gives an example of a married woman enticing a young
man into her arms for the rest of the chapter. It drives home how everyone
needs to avoid sin and when faced with temptations like this to run away.
Unfortunately later in life Solomon did not do this and got sucked into a
vortex of worshiping lesser gods. So we need to learn from both Solomon’s words
and his actions.

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Psalms
75 – 77

Verse 75:4 shows a theme which is scattered throughout the
Bible:

“I discipline the
arrogant by telling them, ‘No more bragging.’
    I discipline the wicked by saying, ‘Do not
raise your horn to demonstrate your power.

Why is this? Think about it arrogant braggarts eventually
want more glory than God. They want the glory for what was achieved and not
God. Sure life may seem like we did this or that, but in all honesty God needed
to be given credit for all. Satan wanted this credit and has created an
environment where you’re considered a freak to give God credit and not consume
it yourself.

Verse 76:12 shows what God does with this spirit:

He squashes the arrogant spirit
of the rulers
    and inspires fear in the hearts of the
kings of the earth.

God wants us to know He is in control, we may be in charge
of our little spot in this world but ultimate control is in God’s hands. The
little things that make the big things possible were orchestrated by God. I
know this will open the “then why do bad things happen to good people”
question. Again this is a long discussion on free will, which I addressed a few
thoughts back. God is not some praise crazed dictator, He just wants credit to
be where credit is due.

Verse 77:9 is a time in Israel when they are not being
blessed as they were before:

Has the True God forgotten how to
be gracious?
    In His anger, has He withdrawn His compassion?”

Has God forgotten you? How many times have I felt this? The
Psalmist was David’s “music director” so I can only assume it was during the
times after Bathsheba or when He did not listen to God’s orders totally. Either
way it’s not that God has abandoned us, but rather we need to go deeper.

People often call this “winter” in their seasons where God
seems distant. It may be punishment for wrongs done, or it may be giving us the
opportunity to go deeper into exploring God. Often “winter” is when God is with
us, but whispering rather than making it obvious or yelling.

1 Kings
19
– 22

Verse 19:2 will open a dialogue on occult and Satan:

Jezebel sent an urgent message
to Elijah.

Jezebel’s Message: May
the gods kill me and worse, if I haven’t killed you the way you killed their
priests by this time tomorrow. Your end is near, Elijah.

Satan is just
repeating history here with the success he had with Nimrod and Semiramis in
Babylon. Jezebel took over Ahab’s heart and almost destroyed Israel. Notice how
much attention the author places on Ahab’s rule, partially this is due to the
evil he did.

Verse 21:29 shows
that Ahab was trying to make things right with God:

Eternal One: ²⁹ Have
you witnessed Ahab’s repentance? He has shed his pride and wickedness
and humbled his heart before Me. Therefore I will not send evil
against his house while he is still alive; instead I will send it during the
lifetime of his son.

I look at this
passage and go back to Jezebel and how she controlled the game. Often we hear
about the “Spirit of Jezebel” which describes a woman trying to take over men
of power. As we read Ahab’s rule we see Jezebel quickly turns him away from God
in almost every instance.

Before this Jezebel
had sent letters to kill two men and signed it with Ahab’s name. The leaders
obeyed assuming it was legit and executed these men. As with Semiramis, Jezebel
took over the rule of Ahab and almost destroyed Israel. Satan decided to try a
play that worked in Babylon and almost succeeded in destroying Israel.

We see the numbers
faithful to God had dropped to 7000 due to Elijah showing God’s glory on Mt.
Carmel. Yet God did not let this happen and ended the rule. Unfortunately we
end with verses 22:52 & 53 where the next king returns to evil and Baal
worship:

⁵² Ahaziah
committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path
of his father and mother and Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) who caused the Israelites
to live sinful lives. ⁵³ He gave his heart
and life to Baal and offered his services and worship to him. This
caused the Eternal God of Israel’s wrath to be provoked just as it had
at the wickedness of his father.

I can’t say this
enough but Satan is working all the time to destroy our relationship with God.
Semiramis, Jezebel and the goddess Asherah all represent evil and a conduit
Satan uses to get perform this task. The enemies of God are great, and the
woman appears to be the conduit to destruction.

Why? We need not
look any further than David and Solomon, both great kings who allowed women to
affect their rule. In David’s case, he appears to have been redeemed yet the
ramification went generations onward. Solomon did not appear to repent in his
later life and was led astray into demonic conjuring’s and such. Unfortunately,
we see this over and over again today where a man’s weakest “link” appears to
be his sex drive. Look at the fall of most of our great leaders today, there
are a few financial falls, but most can be linked to sex as the root.

We men MUST run
from evil and hold true to God’s word. The Lord ’s Prayer says “deliver us from
evil” where I like Jabaz’s prayer that says “keep me from evil”. I honestly
would rather not be in the mire of it, but at the same time as warriors for
Jesus we often cannot avoid it. So maybe “protect me from evil” is better?

On last thought
about the number of prostitutes mentioned in the Bible, think about this the
church is the bride of Christ and therefore a church that has prostituted
itself is far away from Jesus. Now this requires an exercise, but google
symbols for baal then look at the Vatican on Google Maps … see what you find
(look at the square).  I am not judging
the Catholic Church, but I wonder why an Asherah pole along with other symbols
is there.  They key is be vigilant to
know evil and it’s various forms, be it Jezebel or a symbol or monument, say to
President Washington.

Leviticus
7 – 9

Verse 7:1 opens with the guilt offering instructions:

Here are the instructions for
the ritual of the guilt offering; it is most sacred. 

As I read the instructions to each of these offerings, it
does not seem as clean as just cutting a lamb’s throat.  After draining the blood, splattering it
around and then dealing with the fat and organs, it must be horribly
bloody.  This is especially the case when
it is done for the people and each of their offerings. My sister took some
pictures of sacrificial offerings somewhere in the Middle East, it was very
bloody.

Verse 7:19 in the middle of this gives a very important
instruction:

Do not eat meat that comes in
contact with any impure thing. Burn it up completely. As for any remaining meat
that is pure, people who are ritually clean may eat it.

Today we assume the power of antibacterial soaps and
refrigeration will keep us safe but food borne illness is still a common cause
of death today. The Israelites figured out cleanliness and ensuring their food
was as safe as it could be. You look at their dietary and cleanliness laws and
you see why the nation was often targeted. Ironic that instead of adopting
their diet, hygiene or farming (like in modern day Israel) the enemy will
attack to destroy the nation. If Europe had learned from Israel in the Middle
Ages the Black Plague would not have been as bad.

Verse 8:12 has Moses anointing Aaron and his sons:

Moses poured some of the oil on
Aaron’s head and anointed him to set him apart as head of the priestly
order.

Anointing with oil is something I still do not understand
much. I have been anointed a few times, had oils spread around the home and
other places yet I don’t understand why it’s done. Well I do see God asks us to
do it and that should be good enough, but I wonder why a special blend of oil.
Do most who anoint these days ensure they get that blend or do they just use
vegetable oil? I understand the meaning of being set aside for God, just don’t
understand why it is oil.

Verse 9:23 is something I pray for often:

Moses and Aaron entered the
congregation tent. When they returned, they blessed the people, and the Eternal
One’s glory appeared to all the people.

How much easier explaining God would be if He appeared to
the people. We could easily point to God and say “see He is real”. As we see
over and over again, when God does this it helps that generation, but is
quickly lost in future generations. God needed to bring us the Holy Spirit with
Jesus in order for us to understand personally. Unfortunately it is not a
definitive light in the sky, but it gives each and every one who receives Jesus
an understanding of God. So pray for God to reveal himself, but don’t expect it
to happen in a grand display, but rather a subtitle display.

Ephesians
4 – 6

Verse 4:6 gives us an understanding of God:

one God—the Father over all who is
above all, through all, and in all.

If we describe energy, it always was and always will be,
travels through and in everything but has no consciousness. God is therefore
above all since He is conscious. I find it interesting that an ancient text
written some 2000 years ago hammers the point home. We need to understand God in
a different light, not as an old man in the sky, but as everywhere and in
everything. He is beyond a body and that is what makes Jesus so important! He
became confined in a body!

Verses 4:25 – 31 need to be read in toto, but look at verse
4:26 & 27:

²⁶ When you
are angry, don’t let it carry you into sin. Don’t let the sun set with
anger in your heart or ²⁷ give the devil room to
work. 

This is a subtitle command, but just because we know God
doesn’t mean we will not get angry. Heck Jesus blew up in the temple with the
money changers and God did it a bunch with Israel, so it’s normal to feel this.
The problem is when we let our anger fester, that is when Satan can grab a foot
hold. It’s like a wound, if you clean it and bandage it the wound will heal, do
nothing and it gets infected. Don’t let anger take you over, deal with it and
let it go.

Verse 5:3 opens and interesting topic:

Listen, don’t let any
kind of immorality be breathed among you. Any demoralizing behaviors (perverse
sexual acts, uncleanliness, greediness, and the like) are
inappropriate topics of conversation for those set apart as God’s people. 

Often times this stuff infiltrates the church either through
gossip or testimonies. Gossip is something that can destroy a body of Christ,
because often the full picture is not given and tends to glorify the one
gossiping. Testimonies start becoming more “brag-imonies” showing everyone how
bad one was before and lose the salvation of Jesus. Paul is warning us because
it becomes a way evil can infiltrate the church.

The focus no longer is on Jesus but rather the sin and once
one starts focusing on sin more than Jesus the body follows. If you have ever
observed an accident, you focus is on the accident and not the road. Often this
leads to pile ups since the people just follow where they are focusing. It’s
the same with sin, you focus on perverse sex and suddenly you crave it. That is
why our focus and emphasis must be on Jesus and nothing less.

y would be ���O

Luke
13
– 14

Verse 13:4 asks a pointed question:

Speaking of current events, you’ve
all heard about the 18 people killed in that building accident when
the tower in Siloam fell. Were they extraordinarily bad people, worse than
anyone else in Jerusalem, so that they would deserve such an untimely
death?

This is the ultimate question of “why do bad thing happen to
good people.” Jesus answers this very quickly in the next verse with “of course
not”.  Do I have a concrete answer beyond
this? Absolutely not, we have no understanding of why people die “before their
time.”  I know my personal experience of
almost total death was a wake up. It was a reminder that my life could end
tomorrow and live that way today. Don’t waste opportunities for there may not
be a tomorrow.

Verse 13:8 is a verse of hope for those lost in this world:

The vineyard keeper replies, “Give it
another chance, sir. Give me one more year working with it. I’ll cultivate the
soil and heap on some manure to fertilize it.

This is on the fruitless fig tree. The vineyard keeper is
God and He is not willing to give up on any of us. This means all of us; we all
could be that fruitless fig tree. This is not just for the unbelievers, but
also ones receive salvation if we get stagnant and stop sharing Jesus with
others. God is so gracious that he would rather delay final judgment to see if
we’d change than just cut us down. We see this over and over again in scripture
from Adam to Jonah to Peter, we all get a second chance.

Verse 14:26 is one of the most debated and complex verses
recorded of Jesus:

If any of you come to Me without
hating your own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and yes,
even your own life, you can’t be My disciple. 

We are told by Jesus to love and the 10 commandments say
honor your father and mother, but here Jesus is saying to hate them. So why is
this and how do we resolve the conflict of everywhere else in scripture? First
we notice as Jesus is getting to the end of his ministry, His words become more
direct and controversial. The greatest factor fighting for our faith is family
and friends. How many have gotten into discussions over religion only to be
shot down by a loved one.

Now I like to pick on Solomon and will do so again. If we
look at his life, early on his wisdom had him striving for God. Late in life
his wives had him following other gods and idols. This had huge ramifications
on Israel and the repercussions are felt even today. So Jesus words have
meaning here where Solomon needed to hate his wives and not blindly follow them
down a path of destruction.

Unfortunately it seems to be in conflict, but think about
the audience being mostly converted Jews. If you were following Jesus,
especially early on your family would be opposed to you most likely. Therefore
not listening to them would be most wise. But would hate be the right word?
Look at love, in today’s world we tend to say love and most define it as the
Greek’s do in Eros. The Greek word used here is “miseo” which is translated to
hate in most NT cases, but “avoided” in many OT cases. See how difficult it
becomes to get the true meaning.

We are not to hate our family, but rather avoid them if they
are in conflict with Jesus’ message. And maybe not avoid them but rather avoid
following them down wrong paths. Who knows? I think what is being shown here is
the clash of love of family verse love of God and Jesus is addressing it
directly.

Ezekiel
7 – 12

The one negative to jumping around the Bible is I was
wondering why the people were still doing wrong after seeing the fire from
heaven, then after looking back I remembered it was Elijah and not Ezekiel.
Different times, but same ole sh … stuff. Verse 7:5 gives the initial warning:

This is what I, the Eternal Lord,
have to say:
        Wave after wave of evil is
coming!

Again we see Israel is drifting away and needed some
correction. This time it appears to be severe. As God is taking Ezekiel through
the visions, he starts to plead with God not to destroy the people. God then
shows him the evil they are doing in the temple and outside. He gains insight
that often most would not see. Verse 8:13 is God explaining why:

This isn’t even the worst of it. You
will see them doing things far more shocking than this.

God does this a few times and Ezekiel understands. Through
all this over some time, Ezekiel keeps warning the people of Israel of the
coming doom. They eventually mock him and figure Ezekiel is not a prophet since
his visions have not come true yet. This then opens even more visions and more
warnings, only to be mocked again.

Ezekiel must feel like the guy on the corner with “The End
Is Near” placard. Sure it’s near, but unbelievers mock people like this since
the end doesn’t happen quickly. So these people warning the world are mocked,
like Ezekiel. I fear what will happen to us if this continues, will retribution
be even worse?

Verse 12:2 has more visions that Ezekiel must use to warn
the people:

 Son of man,
you are living among a rebellious lot. They have eyes, but they do not see.
They have ears, but they do not hear.

The vision opens with God warning Ezekiel on why he must do
these things. The people are rebellious and are ignoring him. So “The End Is
Near” and we can see many of these things repeating today. We read Revelations
which is John’s warning to our time and we see the same doom over the world and
not just the nation of Israel. Just because it’s unfolding doesn’t mean it’s
true … right??? Don’t be like the people in Israel then, be ready!

���O

Proverbs
5 – 6

Verses 5:3 & 4 is Solomon continuing to warn men about
lust:

³ You see,
the lips of a seductive woman speak honey-sweet words;
    they are smooth like oil and enticing.
⁴ But in the end, she is bitter,
    turning the stomach and rotting the soul;
    she cuts as deep as a double-edged sword.

I read this and wonder is it Solomon warning himself or
bitterness over his father’s way. Either way this is basically a repeat of what
he warned about in verses 2:16-19, so there is emphasis either way. If you see
how many “wives” and “concubines” David and Solomon had one has to wonder about
their own lust. It seems if you like someone, marry them have sex and then pile
them in the closet with the others was the way of kings. So reading these words
makes me wonder, how bad was their lust? We look later in Solomon’s life and
this lust splits the 12 tribes of Israel.

Today with one wife as the standard, these words take on a
different meaning. Also, I think that was God’s original intention and am not
100% sure why He allowed it during this time. Either way, life’s lesion is know
the one you are “falling in love” with and then get married before having sex.
That is not the way it’s done in the word today, but God does things
differently than the world today.

Verse 5:15 sums this up:

Here’s what you should do to be
satisfied:
    go home and drink in the pleasures of your
own cistern, your wife;
    enjoy the sweet, fresh water that
has been there all along, flowing from your own well.

Life would be much simpler in this nation if every man would
do this. Granted he has to have a willing partner to return that love, but even
if not that does not justify drifting away from her. Imagine all the broken
homes working things out instead of just flushing it all away for selfish
desires. One must wonder how much better our country would be if this was the
case.

Verse 6:26 moves from one side to the other:

For you can buy a harlot with a
loaf of bread,
    but sex with another man’s wife will cost you your
life.

This is the other side to adultery, and the hazards one must
be aware of. For some odd reason a woman can have sex with someone else’s
husband and that just is wrong, but a man has sex with another’s wife and it
means death. I think the reason this came to be is macho mentality. Women who
are wronged for the most part are hurt, men seek revenge. Either way take these
words to heart and don’t fool around outside YOUR own marriage!!

so���O

Psalms
72 – 74

Psalm 72 is titled “A Song of Solomon” and ends showing it
was a prayer by David for Solomon. Verse 72:2 shows the hope going into
Solomon’s reign:

May he be honest and fair in his
judgments over Your people
    and offer justice to the burdened and suffering.

The hope in Solomon being a great king was played out early
in his reign. But one has to wonder if the dysfunction in David’s family was
the root to Solomon failing in his later years? In my view Solomon was one of
the greatest and worst kings for Israel. In his early years he was wonderful
and his wisdom helped him rule fairly. In his later years he let his lust for
women over take his heart and soul worshiping other gods. This eventually led
to Israel and Judah splitting.  

As we have seen in 1 Kings there are many very awful kings
that did many more egregious things that Solomon. I still think Solomon was
dangerous because when he drifted he documented his work for future
generations. The Lesser Key of Solomon is one of the most dangerous books he
made since it reveals how to call up demons. It is used today by most Satanic
cults with devastating results. This is the danger of Solomon since his
deviation into evil still lives today.

Verse 73:2 shows feelings many of us have:

You see, there was a time
when I envied arrogant men
    and thought, “The wicked look pretty happy to me.”

This opens a series of writing by Asaph, who was a Levite
musician David appointed to lead worship. So you can imagine his words are
important to saves.  Do you envy those
with confidence? This happened to me recently at my former job. A young
engineer just out of school was brimming with confidence. His technical skills
were good and he made sure people knew when he fixed things. In the 5 years he
got transferred and promoted, when my 30+ years of experience stayed stagnant.

Part was my fault and most was he oozed confidence and
promoted himself well when things went good. Let me be clear, this young man
was not wicked and I am happy for his success, but there were times I envied
his arrogance and success. Now in reading this did both Asaph and I break the
commandment of coveting? I believe mine was based in this and it’s implied in
the reading of Psalm 73, so where is line drawn?

Verse 74:10 asks a very import question:

O True God, how much longer will
the enemy mock us?
    Will this insult continue against You forever?

This is an important question since it’s definitely still
asked today. We have the hope of Jesus’ return as they had the hope of the
Messiah then. One has to ask are we waiting for something that will never
happen. Reason I question this is because God had paradise and that did not
change Satan to fall with 1/3 the angels. Adam and Eve were in paradise and
they were deceived. Will post tribulation paradise get corrupted by a disturbed
angel or person? Can we shed the envy that seems to embedded in our DNA to live
peacefully in paradise?

something I��KbO

1 Kings
14
– 18

We start into a series of kings for Israel and Judah that
seem to drift wildly from God and His will. Sure we get the few that please God
it seems the majority seem to do evil. Initially in the reading we see the end
of Jeroboam’s reign as his wife is given a disturbing word from God through the
prophet Ahijah. Verse 14:12 is where she is told she will lose her son:

Get up quickly, and
go back to your home. As soon as you set foot in the city, your son will
die. 

Imagine getting this news and there is nothing you can do
about it! I would hate not being able to comfort him or ensure he knew we loved
him. That would be a worse pain than anything I could think of.

Verse 16:25 is a continuation of kings who fail before God:

Omri committed evil in the
Eternal’s eyes. He was more wicked than any wicked king who had
lived before him, and there were a lot of wicked kings who lived before
him.

Think about these
words and remember the history so far, there was a bunch of evil before. Now
skip to verse 16:30 and we see his son Ahab was worse than he was. How can Israel
slip so wildly from God? Chapter 17 introduces
the great prophet Elijah who comes to show God is wanting them to follow
Him and not Baal. Elijah and Elisha are the only two in the OT who raised the
dead. The story is verses 17:17 – 24 and is wonderful to read.

Now chapter 18 is
the famous showdown between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400
prophets of Asherah. This too is a great story where Elijah taunts them
to demonstrate God’s superiority. Verse 18:27 has Elijah mocking them:

At about midday, Elijah began
provoking them.

Elijah: You have to
shout louder than that! The one to whom you cry out certainly must be a god!
Perhaps he is daydreaming or napping or away from his heavenly throne.
Perhaps he is in a deep sleep, and you must wake him up. Shout louder!

Once they give up he does the same and repairs the altar
destroyed. He uses 12 stones to represent each tribe of Israel in the repair.
He also digs and trench and drenches the offering and wood with water. Once
complete he asks God to consume the offering and in verse 18:38 God responds:

 Right then
the Eternal One’s fire landed upon the altar. The flames consumed
the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the ground. The flames even drank
up all the water in the ditch. 

No waiting or hesitation, God just did it. Sometimes I wish
I could call on God like this, but God had Elijah do the set up so it’s
different from my wish. We sometimes forget God’s will verses our will. Sure I
would love to show without a doubt God existed to my evolutionist friends. But
faith is about them getting it, not God giving it. As we saw in previous
chapters and will see in later chapters, God can do something amazing and a few
generations will have forgotten it and do what feels right and not what IS right.
We need a balance of small experiences of faith to strengthen our knowledge of
God.

Leviticus
4 – 6

Ugh, sometimes the nuts and bolts of the law just bore me to
death. Verse 4:3 is the start of repeat sacrifices based on status and what
animal to use:

If the person anointed as priest
commits a sin, he brings guilt on the people and they suffer the
consequences. So the priest must offer the most valuable
animal—an unblemished, young bull—to Me as a purification offering for sin.

I took this for a few reasons. First it was the first of a
long line of scenarios on who and what should be sacrificed based on what type
of offense. While most are “unintentionally  sins” but even so have
consequences. The other thing I notice is how Jesus is always described as the
“lamb of God” yet never the “young bull”. Now as you read further to 4:32 we
see the lamb:

If a person presents a lamb for the
purification offering for sin, then he must bring an unblemished female.

This then shows something wrong in the sex of Jesus.
Interesting through my watching YouTube I found some lady saying she honors the
female Jesus. It was bazar to say the least since at this time Rabbis were men.
Anyway, I just found this interesting and was struggling for something to write
and this caught my eye.

Verse 5:7 caught my eye since it takes into account poor
people:

But if the guilty person is
poor and cannot afford to offer a lamb, then he must bring to Me two
turtledoves or two pigeons as a purification offering for sin. One of these
will act as the purification offering and the other will be a burnt offering.

When you think about it, this is very important. Often we
get the idea God is for the rich or you will become rich following God, where
this shows without a doubt that God loves the poor and the poor follow him as
well. It also shows that God will not necessarily lift you from poverty.

As we get into the Law you will notice that much of it looks
like todays legal system. It’s actually kind of cool that something so old that
is considered by non-believers to be outdated is the basis of our legal system
and laws today.

Ephesians
1 – 3

Verse 1:11 shows us there is a plan:

In Him ¹¹ we
stand to inherit even more. As His heirs, we are predestined to play a
key role in His unfolding purpose that is energizing
everything to conform to His will.

The idea we are in the grand plan of things to come is
amazing. When you think about this, it’s exciting and scary at the same time
since he does not really say what the plan is and the only examples we have are
him and the other disciples who were jailed, beaten and killed. Today one could
not “sell” Christianity if it included a public flogging or some jail time. We
have repackaged it to a cleaner more sanitary version. But then again we live
in a place and time where being a Christian only draws ridicule in some arenas,
granted many countries still execute Christians, for the most part we are safe.
Ironically today with any ridicule we tend to draw back into our shells.

Verses 2:8 & 9 we see what the salvation of Jesus is in a nutshell:

^8-9 For it’s
by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was
not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and
simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go
around bragging that you must have done something amazing. 

This is pointed first to the Jews but today to the people
who think works gets you salvation. The beauty of this verse is it shows nothing
can be done on our part other than believing in Jesus. All the work was done on
the cross. It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s all been done.

Now this verse can make believers lazy, since all the work
is done. Salvation does not mean we do nothing, it just means what we do will
not gain us anything. The difference is the heart, we are doing works to show
the love of God, not to gain the love of God. It’s that simple, nothing you do
will save you, but what you do may affect the salvation of others.

Verse 3:6 talks about a mystery:

Specifically, the mystery is
this: by trusting in the good news, the Gentile outsiders are becoming fully
enfranchised members of the same body, heirs alongside Israel, and
beneficiaries of the promise that has been fulfilled through
Jesus the Anointed.

But the salvation of all through Jesus is no mystery to any
person other than some the Jews. Since the beginning of time they were the
chosen ones then suddenly they must share their God with everyone. If you
follow the OT you will see God bless nations that follow him and are not
Jewish. So God’s love of the world is nothing new. Paul’s message was to show
the Jesus came for all, not just the Jews. How cool is that?

EN-US;
mso-���O

Luke
11
– 12

Verse 11:9 spoke to me about my unanswered prayers:

So listen: Keep on asking, and you
will receive. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the
door will be opened for you. 

This is the kingdom answer to a short parable in verses 5-8;
we need to not give up on our prayers. We are told to pray “never ceasing” but
we also need to be aware of God’s will. Time allows us to mold our prayers with
guidance from the Holy Spirit. Say we wanted an elephant, which would be
illogical since most do not have the room for it. Over time we would adjust the
prayer from an actually beast to maybe a small statue.

Verse 11:36 is critical to look at OUR outlook:

 If your
outlook is good, then your whole life will be bright, with no shadowy corners,
as when a radiant lamp brightens your home.

At times life sucks, you injure yourself, have a heart
attack, lose the big deal, or whatever. The key to this is our attitude! Sure
physical problems stink, but are you alive? There is joy in that! The thing we
find with big deals is God always seems to present us with a bigger deal in the
future. See life is going to have its ups and downs; it is our response to
those points that determines our life’s lamp. Are we going to focus on almost
croaking or the fact we are alive for another glorious day? Paul was in prison
and sung with joy, why can’t we?

Verses 12:25 & 26 speak to me:

²⁵ Which one
of you can add a single hour to your life or 18 inches to your height by
worrying really hard? ²⁶ If worry can’t change
anything, why do you do it so much?

Oh how I worry too much and in the end it doesn’t really
matter. Nothing can change if I worry or not. Now does that mean don’t be
concerned? Not always, see I have seen the carefree get into serious messes
because they don’t “worry” about the details. There is a distinct difference
between the worry about things we cannot control and those that we can. If we
don’t “worry” often we do not take action.

With my calves cramping for years, I was sure it was
“compartment syndrome” and was relieved when needles were poked into the
compartments. I looked at vascular problems, but did not worry or concern
myself with that since it seemed to be fixed. Guess what? One of the first
indications of plaque build-up and heart problems for many are cramping calves.
So my inaction from lack of “worry” may missed a chance to have it investigated
and avoided my heart attack.  The key is
worry and act on things you can, then don’t worry anymore!

o:p>!��8�O

Ezekiel
1 – 6

When you first dive into this it seems impossible to match
the imagery to reality. I mean a 4 faced, hooved, winged creatures with large
wheels that have eyes seems impossible to imagine even today with modern
machines. He heard a voice and fell to his face at the end of chapter 1. In
verse 2:2 he arose with some assistance:

As soon as the voice spoke, the
Spirit entered me and lifted me to my feet; I listened to what the voice told
me.

Imagine being so intertwined with God that spirits would
lift you up off the ground!!  How would
you respond as this was going on, would you freak out or would you just go with
the flow here? Either way I am not sure my response.

Verse 3:3 starts talking about eating a scroll:

The Voice: ³ Son
of man, swallow this scroll I am giving you, and let it fill your stomach.

So I ate it, and these
words of God tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

When I first read this I was waiting for his stomach to turn
sour, but it never did. In researching this the only other place this is done
is in Revelations 10, where eating is sweet, but it sours the stomach. Anyway,
this was done so that he would have the words the Lord wanted him to say.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could type a speech out and eat it so the words
were there for us!!

Being a health food nut … go figure I had a heart attack
because of plaque buildup from high cholesterol … but when I read Ezekiel, I
can’t help but think of bread. Verse 4:9 has the perfect bread to sustain life
for a long time:

 Then take
wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; store them together in
one crock; use them to make bread for yourself during the siege.
Eat the bread during the 390 days you are lying on your left side.

This mix has been shown to have what every person needs to survive.
How cool is that? God gives him a mix of grains to live off that has an ideal
mix of fiber, protein, carbs and nutrition to live off of for a long time. The
only thing that was odd is God required him to cook it using human fecal
matter, where Ezekiel eventually persuaded God to use the tradition cow dung.

Through this all the focus was on God telling the people of
Israel He was mad and would destroy them. It gets quite graphic and seems like
there is no way out, even if they repented. I fear this anger is soon to follow
for the nation and maybe the world. Again the Babushka Doll principle may be in
play here where these visions have an immediate fulfillment but at the same
time there may be a future event embedded in the vision. This is still to be
determined as if it will happen or not. But the initial visions seem like
either they were visited by UFO’s or it may be future war machines we have not
seen yet. It becomes a rabbit hole most don’t want to get sucked into!!

Proverbs
4

Verse 4:5 is the best advice on can receive:

Whatever it takes to gain
Wisdom, do it.
        To gain understanding, do
it! Never forget this!
        Never stray from what I am
telling you.

Wisdom and understanding today I fear is lost in the youth.
They base everything on technology and believe their grasp of it leads to
wisdom. Sure being a good “gamer” may eventually make for a good F-18 pilot,
but knowing what to do outside the “box” comes from experience and with that
wisdom. Unfortunately, that does not come from your X-Box! Today’s “wisdom” is
gained from weed or other enlightening drugs and it is worthless. Christians
today feel they gain “wisdom” from the Holy Spirit, which often is their own
desires overriding God’s will.

We shy away from reading the book of wisdom, or the Bible,
because it’s a daunting task. I suggest either get the guide I have been using
for the last few reads or start with the Gospels, the rest of the NT, Psalms,
Proverbs, finish the OT, Genesis, and finish out to Job. Sorry an awful book to
end on, but that’s how I first read the Bible. I drifted too much into details,
the key is gain wisdom from God and not your free will, since that will deceive
you often. The best place to start is the Word!!

Verses 4:11 & 12 give us hope:

¹¹ I have
pointed you in the way of wisdom;
    I have steered you down the path to integrity.
¹² So get going. And as you go, know
this: with integrity you will overcome all obstacles;
    even if you run, you will not stumble.

I will take this into reality and say you will stumble from
time to time, but the key is surrounding yourself with people of integrity to
ensure when you do stumble they can pick you up! Evil will always be there to
trip you up. The man who wrote these words, Solomon, stumbled in his later
years and destroyed the nation of Israel. So don’t think YOUR integrity will
“overcome all obstacles” in life without God’s help and the help of good
council.

Verse 4:16 talks about this:

For evildoers are so
twisted they cannot sleep unless they have caused harm;
    they’ll lie awake all night until they figure
out a way to cause someone to stumble.

Often these evildoers focus their energy on the wise so they
can point to their fall as hypocrisy as a whole across those of faith. That is
why the great teachers of our time are often attacked with affairs or money,
because a public fail is easy to exploit. One thing , don’t think that since
you are not in the public eye you will not be exploited. No evil knows no
boundaries and all of faith are at risk.

are very u���O

Psalms
69 – 71

Verse 69:4 highlights one of the problems with the Jewish
nation:

My enemies despise me without any
cause;
    they outnumber the hairs on my head.
They torment me with their power;
    they have absolutely no reason to hate me.
Now I am set to pay for crimes
    I have never committed!

Think of it, was Israel really the land flowing with milk
and honey? Did years of strife and war change that or did Israel make it that
way? If you look at how Israel started to repopulate Palestine around 1880 we
see what may have been going on with David. As they started move back into
their homeland they did some amazing things, they made a land that eventually
supported millions verse the few thousand they had before. They drained swamps,
leached salt from the land and used innovative farming techniques to support populations
much larger than their neighbors.

Was this happening to David? Did the fact God was blessing
his nation make the others jealous and envious? Instead of learning and
adopting techniques from the Israelites, as in recent times, they became mad
and fought them. If you see someone blessed by God what is your response? That
has always been the key with Israel, people get angry at the blessing God has
given them instead of embracing it with JOY and trying to emulate it.

Verse 69:24 may be part of the reason Jesus was rejected so:

Pour out Your fiery wrath
upon them!
    Make a clean sweep; engulf them with Your
flaming fury.

David wanted to fight and destroy his enemies, while Jesus
said love your enemies. Israel was waiting for a savior, who like David would
crush and destroy their enemies and restore Israel to its glory. Most of
David’s writing has him completely obliterating his foes and not show mercy or
grace. Jesus turned the status quo over and taught love towards their foes,
which was foreign to them. Now in Israel today we think it is a very closed
population, but they support more Arabs with their technological advancements
than neighboring Jordan does, so maybe they have adopted a “love thy enemy”
approach?

Verse 71:20 is one that I relate to:

You have made me see hard times:
I’ve experienced many miserable days,
    but You will restore me again.
You will raise me up
    from the deep pit.

I feel this way today! I was laid off in November and
suffered death in May without a job and still face mounting medical debt from
that event. Our properties are becoming a burden, but may also be our saving
grace. See through all this I whine, yet we have been taken care of through the
sale of rentals. The equity in them allowed us to float for a while. I want to
be restored to a “glory” I have never obtained. Sure making good money as an
engineer and being a land baron was my vision, but it wasn’t reality. We always
were more in debt than in excess. So my prayers are very unlike David’s who is
asking for restoration, I am asking to be “restored” to a place in my head and
not reality.

1 Kings
10
– 13

The queen of Sheba came to Solomon with many questions and
in verse 10:3 we find what she came for:

Solomon gave her an answer to every
question. The king knew all the answers, and he explained all she asked. 

This was the greatness of Solomon; his wisdom gave him
insight to all matters of things. The Queen came to test Solomon and he passed
all her “tests”. Interesting she made the journey just to see if the stories
about Solomon were true and in finding this so she gave him lots of gold and
spices.

Verse 11:1 is where Solomon’s wisdom fails him:

King Solomon loved countless women
from other countries—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, Hittites—as well
as Pharaoh’s daughter.

Where this helped solidify alliances with other nations
politically, it destroyed the nation from within. Verse 11:2 is the reason why
this was not allowed by God:

 All the
countries of the king’s lovers were heathen countries
that the Eternal One had warned the Israelites about: “Do not mingle with them,
and do not allow them to mingle with you. They will corrupt you and
lead you away from Me. They will seduce your hearts to follow their
own gods.” But Solomon clung to these lovers. 

Sure enough, Solomon drifted from God and this is the period
I believe he started the Lesser Keys of Solomon or the conjuring up of demons
and spirits. The Bible does not say this, but based on what it does say where
he followed other gods and built temples in their name leads me to believe this
was when he started to do this.

Verse 11:4 sums up Solomon’s life:

Solomon followed the Lord during
youth and middle age, but when Solomon was an old man, these women
seduced him into following other gods. His heart was led astray and no
longer completely belonged to the Eternal One, his True God, as his father
David’s heart did.

He could have been the greatest of kings, but instead let
his “dick run his life” (excuse the expression). As soon as his lusts took over
he justified the political gains over the loss of blessing from God. I have
always had problems with this since here was a man with great wisdom, why did
he miss this. I think we see how lust and earthly desires can override even the
greatest of kings … so learn to run away from all things that could corrupt
your relationship with God.

Leviticus
1 – 3

Now we start the Law as God told Moses. Verse 1:2 opens with
instructions on sacrifices:

Moses, I want you to go talk
with the Israelites and tell them how to perform ritual offerings:
Any time one of you brings an offering to Me, you must bring the offering from
the animals of either the herd or the flock.

The first instruction is for Moses to “talk” with the
Israelites and not just order. Ritual offerings and sacrifices are something
the Christian Church does not participate in and therefore is foreign to us
other than scripture. But these are the keys to understanding the significance
of Jesus dying on the cross.

Verse 1:4 opens our eyes on how we should confess to Jesus:

The person offering the
sacrifice shall place his hand on the head of the living animal,
and the offering will be accepted to atone for the person’s sins.

This is the key to Jesus dying on the cross; he took this
one sacrifice on himself. He was the only pure and perfect sacrifice for our
sins. As you read you will notice God wants the best and not a blemished
sacrifice and this is the significance of Jesus being the final one. We live in
a time where this would be considered barbaric and hence why many don’t
understand why Jesus had to die, but reading these chapters gives one insight
to the whys.

Verse 2:14 talks about a grain offering:

If you present a grain offering
from the first ripe grain of your harvest to Me, bring fresh new grain, crushed
and roasted in the fire.

Often we look at sacrifices and we need to go back to Cain
and Abel to understand the significance. Why was Cain’s offering not pleasing
to God yet Abel’s was? The reason was Cain’s offering was “some of the
crops he had grown from the ground,” while Abel’s was “the
choicest cuts from the firstborn of his flock.” It wasn’t that Cain was
offering grain, it was that he was not offering his “first ripe grain” but
rather what he had, like an afterthought.

Verse 3:1 again focuses on the quality of the offering:

Eternal One: Any time
one of you presents a sacrifice from the herd as a peace offering, you must
offer only an unblemished cow or bull before Me.

The key is in giving to God don’t give your torn worn out
things, but rather your best. God did this for you in His son Jesus, so why to
follow His example? Now I am NOT saying sacrifice YOUR sons, but rather give
your first and best!

Galatians
4 – 6

As we continue in Galatians, Paul’s tone still is very
harsh. We need to look at why so we can understand what we are reading. The
early church had many different factions that believed this or that. The church
in Galatia built their doctrine around the law being the key to living a life
with Jesus. So Jew and non-Jew both were required to follow the Hebraic Law in
Galatia. This mindset was what Paul was fighting.

Verse 4:18 shows a common “trap” that we still get caught
in:

Listen, there’s nothing wrong with
zeal when you’re zealous for God’s good purpose. And what’s more,
you don’t have to wait for me to be with you to seek the good.

Just because the pastor, youth leader or small group leader
is not there doesn’t mean we need to put on hold our seeking the truth. We
don’t have to wait for anyone, especially today with the Bible and the internet.
Today we can study and understand truth without much effort. Also, we don’t
have to have a defined “mission trip” to help others! Just do what is right all
the time, not just when things feel right.

Verse 5:1 talks about our freedom from the Law:

 So stand strong for
our freedom! The Anointed One freed us so we wouldn’t spend one more day under
the yoke of slavery, trapped under the law.

Many parts of the
Law are good to follow today, but not as strict acts, but rather boundaries for
a blessed life. Tithing is something many point to as something we don’t need
to follow, but Jesus reminded us it’s not the tithe that’s God’s but rather the
entire store house! Also, Cain and Abel were giving back to God well before the
Law was written; showing giving back to God is “required” outside the Law.

I also like to touch on the food laws since they have had an impact in my
health. The Jews took it as a sin to eat pork. Peter showed us it’s not a sin,
but rather a guideline. One could argue the dietary Laws are the foods that
provide us the best nutrition for our bodies. Each non-allowed food in the diet
like pork, catfish and shrimp are all processors of toxins. Each takes junk in,
digests it and stores it in their flesh. You can see the potential harm in this
if you eat the toxic food. Hence the Law is not a book of sins, but has many
guidelines that are good for us to live by, but not so strict as we have to
confess the pork we ate yesterday.

Verses 5:14 &
15 tie into our last reading with the Law boiled down:

¹⁴ For the whole
law comes down to this one instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself,”^[ so ¹⁵ why
all this vicious gnawing on each other? If you are not careful, you will find
you’ve eaten each other alive!

We miss this often and get to proverbially eating each other.
Think of business today, where it’s “dog eat dog” and “each for their own” and
then look at the successful companies that come in under the radar. These
companies don’t have a star leader, but rather a servant leader who wants
success for all, which gives him success. Jim Collins’ book Good to Great looks
at this with companies and although does not reference the Bible, you can
easily see the principles at work. If we work out of love, the goal is not
covering our asses, but rather ensuring success for all, be it our co-workers,
our team or our bosses.

Verse 6;15 has Paul summing up what the people need to know:

Let me be clear: circumcision won’t
save you—uncircumcision won’t either for that matter—for both
amount to nothing. God’s new creation is what counts, and it counts
for everything.

You won’t be saved tithing or eating the right things, no
these are just guides to the best life God wants for us, not requirements for
salvation or to have fellowship with God. No salvation is simple and following
God is just as simple. Accept, Believe and Confess for salvation and LOVE all
as you would yourself is the key to following God. It’s not ceremony, but
rather a transformation with the heart.