Haggai 1 – 2

Verse 1:9 talks about people’s focus:

You expected to be well rewarded for all your hard work. But as you see, you are getting back almost nothing. As you have brought in profits, I’ve blown them away. Why? I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will tell you why: My house has remained in ruins while each of you has been chasing after your own concerns.

We do this today without even thinking about it, our pursuits even when God driven once successful often become a distraction from God. I pray that once our family settles into an increase we don’t grow away from God, but rather closer. The people of Israel built their homes before honoring God. It’s not that God needs a great temple for a home, but rather wanted to see the people honoring Him as they prospered. I am not saying we should build lavish structures to honor God, but rather put Him first in our “concerns”!

Verse 2:3 asks the king to reflect on how things were verse now:

“Are any of you still living who saw how glorious My first house was before it was destroyed more than 60 years ago? How does this current one look to you now? In comparison to the first, does this one look like nothing? Of course it does.

We tend to think our work is something pleasing when generations before honored God much greater than we do now. I look at how church was the center of Christmas decades ago and now is the one time people go other than maybe Easter. We lose focus on God easily today with hundreds of channels, information at our fingertips in the woods and gadgets out the wazoo.

The focus should not be building churches and ornate buildings in “honor” of God, but rather focus our attention on God rather than the latest trinket. Solomon was right in Ecclesiastes when he said everything on this world is a mist, the only lasting memory of us will be the souls we saved and touched. Those memories go into eternity where the new home will be gutted in 50 years. Heck the Braves “new” stadium is being trashed after 20 years!! So build God, not your comfort.

Verse 2:19 talks to me about my wanting things now:

 ‘Is there seed left unplanted in the storage barns?’ No. But you must be patient. The grape vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate trees and the olive trees have not borne fruit yet. From this day on, I will bless you.”

It being Christmas and the question is what do you want. This was easy this year since my wants have diminished, but I still just buy what I need and not worry about it. This has developed into a problem we see throughout society, we want immediate gratification. We could not imagine planting and waiting months for fruit, heck even farmers are bringing their environment indoors and controlling the seasons such that they have fruit year round. We need to “wait for it” and not demand it now. Heck it’s taken God 10 or more years to answer a prayer, which is being delayed a few months and driving us nuts. We need to relax and wait for God!!!

Ecclesiastes 5 – 6

Verse 5:2 reminds me of the Book of James:

Do not be too hasty to speak your mind before God or too quick to make promises you won’t keep, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, watch your tongue; let your words be few.

In today’s world we all like to talk without a reason. Social media has taken this to the next level where somehow we think everyone in the world cares what our meal looks like. We all talk without really listening and just end up an impersonal mess. I often think this post is an example of my narcissistic rants. My point is we need to stop posting every personal detail of our day and start listening to others and see where we can help. The other byproduct of being silent is our foot tends to not need to be dislodged from our mouths as often.

Verse 5:7 is something I have been guilty of from time to time:

Daydreaming and excessive talking are pointless and fleeting things to do, like trying to catch hold of a breath. What good comes from them? It is better to quietly reverence God.

Dreams are good but at the same time fantasies can be detrimental in one’s life. I talk my “lottery” fantasy, where I was destine to win and therefore HAD to play. I would spend hours with spread sheets figuring out how I would invest and use what I won. This is what Solomon would have considered pointless, since it was fleeting and a waste of time. The key is dream big, but be based in reality. Do what you can and know God will do the rest. If winning the lottery is part of HIS equation, great, don’t focus on a dream and have it consume your thoughts.

Verse 6:5 ends a very morbid though of Solomon:

Though the child never sees the sun or knows anything, it still had more rest than the person who cannot enjoy what he has. 

In this the “child” is stillborn and never had a breath of life. He was comparing this  to those who live a life of hard labor and no joy. We need to look at Solomon’s words and understand that he “had it all” and was still depressed. Notice in his writings the focus on God brings him joy, so that is the lesson we must take from this. Nothing in this world means squat, the nice home we will  move into soon will be trashed in 40 years. The key in everything is it’s all fleeting, enjoy the moment but focus on God for the long term!

Psalms 128 – 130

Verse 128:1 talk about following God in “awe”:

Those who stand in awe of the Eternal—
    who follow wherever He leads, committed in their hearts—experience His blessings!

Today we do not tend to “stand in awe of the Eternal” since science has jaded our perception on God’s grandeur. We believe we know how things work and can point to creation possibly being a natural event that just happened. Miracles today, like me being alive after 50 minutes not being, are quickly explained away as “possible” in nature. Really the scientists who believe in God, like myself, look at the world with wonder and awe since we know how complex and improbable it is we exist today. That is amazing when you really think about it!!

Verse 129:5 talks about those who oppose Israel:

May all who despise Zion
    hang their heads in shame.
    May all who despise Zion recoil and run away.

When you think about it Israel has been in the center of many of the world’s conflicts. Why does everyone want this small piece of land in the Middle East? It does not have oil resources that will make it wildly rich. It does not really have any major value other than the coastline. The Jews who populate the land have used their God given intellect to enable the land to sustain their people. The why is simple, God is at the center and evil will try to destroy all that is God.

Verse 130:2 asks God to listen:

 Lord, hear my cry!
    Attune Your ears to my humble prayer!

In movies we try to personify God and show the enormity of the task at hand. In “Bruce All Mighty” he was overwhelmed with prayers just in the local vicinity. We need to understand that God hears ALL our prayers, unlike any individual. We think that if the “genie” doesn’t produce that instant that God is not listening. How many prayers have been ignored where in hind-sight they were not wise? God has the big picture that only He can understand. We have to know He is listening and will do what is right.

2 Chronicles 33 – 36

Verses 33:6 & 7 show some evil with the new king, Manasseh:

⁶ In the valley of Ben-hinnom, Manasseh offered his children as burnt offerings to those false gods and used every form of magic: witchcraft, divination, sorcery, and necromancy. Manasseh’s evil actions infuriated the Eternal, but the worst of his actions was ⁷ his installation of an image of a statue in the True God’s temple. Many years before when His glory entered the temple for the first time, God had spoken.

Manasseh was an interesting king to look at since he went off the deep end of evil, yet recovered back to the father. I believe this is a story of encouragement for those who were followers of God in their youth and drifted in young adulthood, like myself. As you dig into these verses you see “every form of magic” described and we tend to dismiss this. In reality this stuff is real and we get lulled into a state of disbelief since we have never personally experienced it. Also, the “propaganda” states it’s all fake anyway so we fall into a state of ignorance.

No evil is real and present in this world! It’s time to wake up and start understanding the spirit realm is active and that is where demons wreak havoc.

Verse 33:12 shows the end result of God’s punishment:

From this position of complete powerlessness, Manasseh finally humbled himself and begged the forgiveness of the Eternal God of his fathers.

The lesson we learn is God forgives even the most egregious acts from true repentance. They key is in the next verse where “from that day forward, Manasseh never doubted that the Eternal was the True God.” If you followed Jesus and drifted, you may return like the prodigal son to His loving arms!! JUST REPENT!!

Verse 34:19 was when young king Josiah found the book of the Law:

When the king heard those words, he realized how far his nation had drifted from God’s path, and he tore his clothes in mourning. 

How can I put this lightly but this is happening today. We may be “church goers” and even may lead small groups following God, but we look at that dusty Bible gather more dust. Many of us have the same thing Manasseh found in our homes with clean pages and unbroken bindings. We need to read the Bible with the same zeal Manasseh did when he found the Law!!

Josiah was one of those kings that did not enter leadership with a bias since he was 8. He went before God as a child, because he was one. We need to do the same! And remember how many questions your children asked at 8, do the same with God, he will answer!!

So today we looked at faith, repentance and reading our Bibles!! Some big lessons in something I initially though was dry:-)

Deuteronomy 1 – 3

Verse 1:3 & 4 set the stage for Moses’ talk:

^3-4 Now on the first day of the 11th month, 40 years after the nation left Egypt and sometime after Moses had defeated Sihon (king of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon) and Og (king of Bashan who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei), Moses began to give to a new generation of the Israelites each word the Eternal had commanded him to tell them. 

Here Israel is standing on the threshold of the Promised Land after 40 additional years after leaving Egypt. Moses shall address the people by first giving them a review of how they got to where they are this day.

Verse 1:17 is how judges were to operate then and show do so now:

Don’t show any favoritism when you judge; whether a person is important or unimportant, hear him out. Don’t be intimidated by anybody because it’s really God who is the judge; you are just His agents. If any case is too difficult for you, bring it to me, and I’ll handle it.” 

As I read this I thought of the many times I went before a judge. I have represented myself and had legal representation a few times. In many cases it seemed that the law was not review and the judge took the easy way out. Either way it seemed that as solid of a case I may have presented, the loss was confusing and seemed to go to the side with the money.

Verse 1:32 kind of says it all for them and us today:

But you still don’t trust the Eternal your God,

Think about how we interface with God in life today. We have all these promises we try to rest on, yet when we live in the world that says it’s false. I experienced something at Men’s Step Up this past week that encouraged me greatly. Here us old guys invited a group of “flat bellies” to sit with us and learn. At prayer time Jeff was talking about his hip replacement and the complications since. The young man with us dropped everything and had us pray over him. He trusted God in Jesus saying “will be able to do what I have done, but they will do even greater things.”

He taught me that we are not trusting God, but using Him as a “Make A Wish” genie. 

James 4 – 5

Verse 4:2 explores one of the Ten Commandments:

You crave something that you do not possess, so you murder to get it. You desire the things you cannot earn, so you sue others and fight for what you want. You do not have because you have chosen not to ask.

The terms covet versus desire often get confused in the world today. Why is that? The world has corrupted the meaning to make it seem like it is bad for those of faith to want cool stuff. No the difference is actually quite simple, desire causes us to work to obtain what we desire, covet on the other hand is wanting someone stuff. Think of it this way, Mick drives up in a Porsche, I look at and say cool. My desire causes me to work hard and earn money to buy one. My coveting says I want his Porsche and I will break many other commandments to obtain HIS Porsche, including lying, stealing or to an extreme a carjacking murder. Desire leads to work, covet leads to evil.

Verse 4:7 is encouraging:

So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure. 

Enough said!! Verse 5:5 takes says rich people will rot:

Your life on the earth has been one of luxury, pleasure, and endless consumption; you have feasted to your hearts’ content on animals you slaughtered, but now the day of slaughter comes for you.

IT DOES NOT SAY THAT!! If you read it carefully, again it talks about those who are rich and take advantage of those who are poor. This single verse out of context implies the “day of slaughter” will come to those who are rich when in context is talking about those who cheat others for their own advantage.

Verse 5:9 is simple and actually part of  The Lord’s Prayer:

Brothers and sisters, don’t waste your breath complaining about one another. If you judge others, you will be judged yourself. Be very careful! You will face the one true Judge who is right outside the door. 

This is something we need to really take to heart. If you harbor bitterness towards another who has wronged you, expect the same in heaven from God. That is EXACTLY what this is saying. Don’t waste the negative energy holding grudges, just forgive it and forget. Otherwise you will be waking up late at night stressing about it with no peace. Personally I take this literal and God will forgive me the way I forgive others, so I try to just let things go and forgive, no matter what the other person does.

Verse 5:12 is important:

It is even more important, my brothers and sisters, that you remember not to make a vow by the heavens or the earth or by anything. When you say “yes,” it should always mean “yes,” and “no” should always mean “no.” If you can keep your word, you will avoid judgment.

Now those who know me know I fail at this often. It’s a combination of forgetfulness and trying to do too much. I think of Bo Diddley’s saying “don’t write a check your tail can’t cash” (may be attributed to Flip Wilson) and try to live it but fail every week, if not every day. Last night after dinner the girls left and asked I clean up, I said OK!! They came back and I started, cleaned a few dishes then got distracted on another project. In the end, I did what I said, but disappointed the girls. So understand people take your word serious, think of it this way God will honor his word to you as you honor yours to others. THAT WOULD TERRIFY ME!! Glad I have not found scriptural support for that one.

To dig through the reading and answer the question for today, yes it’s ok to want a Porsche as a Christian. Just don’t covet and take another’s property but earn it!! Also, don’t “earn” it while taking advantage of others. The other key is not to make the Porsche the IDOL and keep God center!

Acts 11 – 12

Verses 11:1 & 2 open explaining why Peter’s actions were a problem:

^1-2 By the time Peter and his friends from Joppa returned to Jerusalem,news about outsiders accepting God’s message had already spread to the Lord’s emissaries^[a] and believers there. Some of the circumcised believers didn’t welcome Peter with joy, but with criticism.

Imagine your entire life believing one thing and then in an instant everything changes. You’d have some ’splaining to do to those who believed as you did. That is what Peter does, in detail about his vision and his action. From this the church started to grow again, after Stephen’s stoning. People began to spread the word more freely to non-Jewish people.

Verse 11:26 has the only use I have found so far of the word “Christ” in the actual translation in The Voice:

He found Saul and brought him back to Antioch. The two of them spent an entire year there, meeting with the church and teaching huge numbers of people. It was there, in Antioch, where the term “Christian” was first used to identify disciples of Jesus.

If you have been following my reading of The Voice, you may have noticed how this is the first reference to Christ. Now we can go nuts on to the actual translation of Jesus’ name, but I will keep focused on the “Christ” part of His name. Those who have grown up in the church have heard Jesus Christ, Jesus and Christ used as His name. In actuality, Christ is a transliteration of the Greek word Christos, which is Greek for Messiah. Throughout the history of the church, Christ became a second name and not a title.

It surprised me to see this in the actual text, as The Voice has used “Christian” in their comments they have refrained using it in the actual interpretation. Now I decided to do my translation search and the only place I found where Christian was not used was the CJB where “Messianic” was used. We see this today where Jews who believe in Jesus are called Messianic Jews. Sorry for focusing on this tangent, but this is why I have explored the different versions of the Bible, to encourage people to read one and not get lost in minor wording differences.

Heck some have said The Voice is from the devil since it “omits” Jesus from the translation. As you can see this is far from the truth and the actual translation appears to be solid so far and I have two months left in the read through. So be cautious of the nay say’ers against your version. Remember the KJV which has Church of England and Catholic doctrine as a basis is considered the only true translation for many Southern Baptist preachers. Ironically the Baptist evolved from groups persecuted by the Church of England. The only “raised eyebrow” was a translation from The Message that has the Luciferian “as above, so is below” sprinkled around its version (2 Chronicles 5 – 9, “are you not God in heaven above and ruler of all kingdoms below?”). NOTE – The goal is to have you QUESTION ALL translations as being wrong

Verse 12:17 ends a miraculous story of Peter’s rescue by God:

 Peter motioned for them to quiet down and then told them the amazing story of how the Lord engineered his escape.

Peter: Could you please get word to James, our Lord’s brother, and the other believers that I’m all right?

Then he left to find a safer place to stay.

Imagine being falsely imprisoned and then suddenly you are free. What would you do? Peter headed for the hills, but as we learn in Paul’s (Saul) story he was freed and remained to show the grace of God. What would you have done? 

Zephaniah 1 – 3

Verses 1:2 & 3 open with an ominous warning:

^2-3 Eternal One: I am going to wipe the face of the earth clean of every living thing.
        I will wipe away both people and animals;
    Even the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea will be swept away.
        Rubble and ruin will be all that is left with the wicked
    When I cut off humanity from the face of the earth.

It’s words like this that make me wonder if God is really like US. We are made in His image and we get hot tempered and blow up from time to time. Is that what’s happening here? This prophecy was given 2700 years ago and we are still here and people don’t seem to care “the end is near” while ignoring God. This is where I wonder if this is MAN’s interpretation of a God given vision? Did God speak these words or give them a vision of the future or a possible future. The “IF-THEN-ELSE” statement is in scripture if this is the case.

Verse 2:9 opened my eyes on some “innocent” acts we do:

 On that day, I will punish those who jump temple thresholds fearing pagan demons,
        those who exchange true religion for silly superstition,
    And those who use violence and betrayal to steal from others
        in order to make themselves and their king rich.

“Step on a crack, break your mother’s back” comes to mind. This superstition, like many others, is rooted in evil. Horoscopes, fortune tellers and the like are all “mystic” religions from the OT days packaged to seem fun and innocent. Really we do not need to be reading the daily horoscope or jumping over cracks or freaking out when a black cat crosses our path. These are all “innocent” obsessions that draw us away from God. If you dig deep you will find demons and witchcraft embedded in these little distractions.

Verse 3:5 states what may not be obvious to all:

Despite all this, the Eternal One is right there in her midst;
    nothing He does is wrong.
Every morning He delivers His judgment;
    He illuminates the right way to live.
Though, like the sun, He never fails to appear,
    it’s amazing that the lawbreakers aren’t ashamed of their actions.

Art helps us think of God as some individual in the clouds who has unlimited power with a great figure and a long flowing white beard. In reality He is not in our image limited to a meat suit, but rather a vast conscious energy that is everywhere. Our minds can’t grasp something like this even though we have a mini version in our bodies. Think about what drives this meat suit? What fires the neurons to get us to move, think, and cry? That energy IS the image of God!! Think about it and don’t put God in a box!!

Ecclesiastes 3 – 4

Verses 1:1 & 2 are simple yet profound:

Teacher: For everything that happens in life—there is a season, a right time for everything under heaven:

²     A time to be born, a time to die;
        a time to plant, a time to collect the harvest;

We tend to want to fight the seasons and not roll with them. We tend to think of this pertaining to the uncontrolled events like the weather, but also life events which seem never to have a schedule. We too experience seasons with our lives and relationship to God. Spring is a renewing of our spirits, summer we live in the abundance of life, fall things tend to slow down and winter seems dark with separation from God. The key here is this is normal in life and not to fight it but to rejoice in it.

Solomon was considered “clinically depressed” when he wrote this, but as you read we can see hope in his words. The key is not getting caught up in the world with short lived gratification, but rather long term joy and happiness with God. So focus on Him and not the cesspool we live in!!

Verses 4:2 & 3 are morbid when you think about it:

² It struck me that the dead are actually better off than the living who must go on living; ³ and, even better, are those who were never born in the first place. At least they have never had to witness all of the injustices that take place under the sun.

One can look at the horrible things happening in the world and understand why he would say this. Think about how Solomon could easily think this as he tried his hardest to make the world Godly and he failed. It would be depressing if all your works making things great and Hitler rose from that labor. The key is we are here and living, MAKE THE MOST OF THE LIFE WE HAVE.

Verse 4:4 talks about envy:

 Then I saw yet another thing: envy fuels achievement. All the work and skills people develop come from their desire to be better than their neighbors. Even this is fleeting, like trying to embrace the wind.

“Thou shall not covet” is one of the top ten in Laws. If you think about it, this leads to murder, adultery, stealing and perjury. Now Solomon takes it a step further and says it drives achievement. Now when you think about it envy is not the same thing since “covet” is a step further since want to the point of seeking to own something that belongs to another person, “envy” is just the desire of something. “Envy” in a way drives “achievement” since if someone wants something they will do what it takes to get it.

Solomon’s point is this is not bad, just a waste of time since the car or house will eventually fall apart. That IS a given!! Now is envy bad? Now uncontrolled envy may lead to coveting, but if you want something in general it’s not bad, it is when it becomes specific to another person’s items. That is the key between the Commandment and what Solomon is talking about. We are made to not “envy” others stuff when in reality wanting a car LIKE theirs is ok and drives ambition. It’s when we want their car that stealing becomes a logical outcome. Same can go with another’s wife, that goes from LUST to COVETING and adultery ensues.

Key points are we can learn from Solomon’s depression, we just need to not get sucked into it!

Psalms 125 – 127

Verse 125:2 give people comfort going while in Jerusalem:

Just as the mountains around Jerusalem embrace her,
    the Eternal, too, wraps around those who belong to Him—
    for this moment and for every moment to come.

We notice through history Jerusalem has been protected most of the time. It is only when Israel really drifts away from God that the protection is lost. We see this often in our personal lives as well. When we drift things may seem ok, but eventually melt down when we ignore God’s order.

Take sex and how the 60’s changed how it was accepted in society. Faith in God or not, it is undeniable a two parent household is the best environment for raising children. Did you know today more children are born to single parent homes in the USA that two parent homes? Yea everything seems fine, but that and the women’s movement that pulls mothers away from their children has changed our society immensely. It seems ok, but as we grow we see we are worse off than ever before.

Verse 126:2 made me giggle a bit:

Our mouths were filled with laughter;
    our tongues were spilling over into song.
The word went out across the prairies and deserts,
    across the hills, over the oceans wide, from nation to nation:
“The Eternal has done remarkable things for them.”

Here the Psalmist is rejoicing their trip to worship and I just think of all the arguments than happened in our home trying to make church on time. That has been almost a cliché that everyone jokes about but no one really addresses. I read this Psalm and pray someday our families are so in tune with God that we rejoice, like this Psalm.

Verse 127:1 talks about how we need God in everything:

Unless the Eternal builds the house,
    those who labor to raise it will have worked for nothing.
Unless the Eternal stands watch over the city,
    those who guard it have wasted their time.

Sure this was written by Solomon during his melancholy period but there is truth to be found. We see over and over again throughout history and our lives that if God is not in the mix things tend to be worthless. Our efforts are folly, since it is not for the ultimate glory of God. We need to keep God in everything, all the time, to remain in His blessing and purpose.

2 Chronicles 29 – 32

Verse 29:3 starts Hezekiah’s reign:

Hezekiah’s first action when he began to reign was reopening and repairing the Eternal’s temple.

Hezekiah is an interesting king, since he is one of the few who actually follow God during his reign. His time also was filled with problems, which give us insight to God’s nature and how he handles the world. First though we need to understand that God must come first. Hezekiah placed God first and did what was necessary to rebuild the temple in honor of God.

Verse 32:1 shows things were not all rosy for the king:

After his acts of faithfulness toward God, Hezekiah faced the greatest challenge of his reign. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities intending to conquer them for himself.

Think about it the largest kingdom was rising against Israel. Their numbers were much greater than Israel’s that it would have been a rout. But Hezekiah kept his faith in God and ensured the people understood this. Usually king’s faithful good works were rewarded with peace and prosperity, yet Hezekiah is faced with possible destruction.

How many times in our lives have we been in Hezekiah’s shoes? This is often when we are faithful and yet God seems to keep throwing obstacles in our path. How do we respond? Do we lean into God like Hezekiah or do we run from God thinking He abandoned us? In this story, Hezekiah leans into God and miracles happen to save Israel.

Verses 32:24-26 show the problems of success:

^24-26 Hezekiah became proud and neglected to appreciate the gifts he received. So the Eternal was angry with him and all of Jerusalem and Judah. When Hezekiah became deathly ill, he realized what he had done wrong. He humbled himself and prayed to the Eternal, who answered the prayer and healed him as a sign. The people of Jerusalem and Judah also humbled themselves so that He was no longer angry with His people during Hezekiah’s days.

Hezekiah starts thinking he had something to do with the success, I am sure the people were rejoicing feeding his pride. God quickly humbled him and he just as quickly realized what he was doing. In this he humbled himself before God and repented for his pride.

The key here is when things are going good, don’t take credit for anything. Humble yourself before God and be thankful. When people say “you did a great job” don’t let that get to your head, but realize it is God and give credit to Him!! Pride is the potential pitfall of success since often we get this idea that the army being defeated by an inferior force is somehow our doing. Success leads to humble thankfulness!!

Numbers 34 – 36

Verses 35:16 – 21 talk about specific types of death:

^16-21 If someone picks up an instrument—iron, stone, wood, whatever—and batters somebody else so badly that the victim dies, or if he otherwise kills with intent (fatally pushes with hatred or throws an object from some hidden place that kills its target), the perpetrator is guilty of murder. His punishment is death in return, and someone shall be assigned to kill him. The one to carry out this death penalty is called the “blood avenger.” Whenever the avenger has a chance to kill the murderer, he should do so.

Here is one of those consistency problems many have with how God handles man. We look at incidences of say Lot’s wife, Er, Nabad, Abihu and many others who God strikes down in anger. If you look at many instances where God strikes down others, it’s often for something that may seem minor like Lot’s wife looking back. Now here someone is a murderer and God does not strike them down, but requires another man to kill them.

This does not only seem inconsistent, but also against one of the Ten Commandments says “Thou shalt not kill” (KJV). I cannot address the consistency problems but can address the violation problem. When the KJV was translated, the word kill and murder were synonymous yet as the English language evolves and most translations say “Do not murder”. What is interesting is the KJV is the most quoted version of this Commandment since it gives the broadest ranges to even apply to eating meat. Anyway, at least death for a murder is actually Biblically correct.

Verse 35:33 gives more details on why this must be followed:

Failure to honor life in this way contaminates the very land itself. Do not pollute the land where you live by allowing blood guilt to go unpunished. Once the land has been subjected to such violence, it must be purified, so the blood of the one who caused bloodshed must be shed

The focus is keeping the people and the land pure. Once it’s ok to murder and do most other sins, it corrupts the people into a spiral away from God.

Verse 36:5 sparks another question:

The Eternal has said that these descendants of Joseph are right.

Zelophehad’s question was how the law applies to a unique situation. In this instance Moses acknowledges that the Law did not fully consider all permutations of possibilities. Now was this God trying to keep things simple and lawyers mucking things up or did God miss something? This verse implies that God missed this possibility and therefore had not considered it. This is where many look at an all knowing God as being wrong since God should have considered this in His first draft, so the Law would be “perfect” from day one. Is this why we challenge God?

James 1 – 3

Verses 1:2-4 opens with how we handle tests:

^2-4 Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing.

We always seem to think life will be rosy once we accept Jesus as our Lord, when in reality not much changes. Life is the same, or is it? The difference is how we view bad events in our lives. Do we spin off in self-pity or dependence on God? Think about it, what should change is not the problem but how we handle them. Do we show faith in God or do we spin out of control into a mire of depression? Verse 5 has the simple solution, pray for wisdom!!

Verse 1:19 starts a long dissertation on how the tongue is a problem:

Listen, open your ears, harness your desire to speak, and don’t get worked up into a rage so easily, my brothers and sisters.

I think this is what initially attracted me to James, his BLUNT approach and talking directly to me about my problems. Quick history, if you haven’t heard it, James was the first book I read in the Bible. I was waiting for D in the car and picked up my Bible to finally actually read it. James is where I landed and that inspired me to continue. That was around 10 years and 4 complete reads in 4 versions ago.

The key we need is right here, listen and process what is being said before making some story in our heads that causes us to stick our foot in our mouths. Crucial Conversations is a book that gives one some practical tools for doing just this, keeping important discussions from ratcheting into a mess.

Verse 1:22 is part two of the key to James’ writings:

Put the word into action. If you think hearing is what matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived.

In a nutshell he is saying “GO, DO” and not just live in our religious bubble. We need to step into action!! Vere 2:13 kind of sums the reason actions and mercy are so important:

although you can’t expect to be shown mercy if you refuse to show mercy. But hear this: mercy always wins against judgment! Thank God!

Think about it, the Bible is simple do to others as you would want God to do to you. Plain and simple words and direct from the Lord’s Prayer. We need to live as no other since we have to answer to one greater than no other. Oh as I run out of paper and time I could go on and on, James rocks!! If you could only see how much new stuff I pulled out of this 5^th or 6^th reading of James!! Read it all, over and over again … throughout your life!!

Acts 9 – 10

The story of what happened on the road to Damascus always get me thinking about motocross since one of my favorite tracks was near Damascus Maryland. Unfortunately two bad memories, a near accident where a car jumped on the road and almost hit us, smashing into another car. The other was not a complete memory since I tried to fly like superman off the front of my bike, only to not succeed and have it follow me and rupture a disk in my back. Anyway, not much theology there but just what crosses my mind reading this story.

Verse 9:5 is the key to what happened on the road to Paul:

 Saul: ⁵ Lord, who are You?

Then he hears these words:

The Lord: I am Jesus. I am the One you are attacking.

Saul of Tarsus, aka Paul, was off to Damascus to persecute the church. His goal was not to be all rosy and discuss this rationally, but rather to jail, injure and kill those following Jesus. As with most of God’s workers, He takes the least likely and does wonders with them. Otherwise, if you think about it, the GLORY could be redirected to the person and not God. Look at David, a meek insignificant son rises up to rescue Israel and lead them. If David had been the “obvious” choice like King Saul, the glory may be placed on him and not God.

Verse 9:15 has Ananias questioning why Saul:

Yes, but you must go! I have chosen him to be My instrument to bring My name far and wide—to outsiders, to kings, and to the people of Israel as well.

Here God is showing again the least likely to lead His church, like Peter who denied Jesus. We often take for granted what happened there, but it’s significant. Would you suddenly follow Hitler if he had a “change of heart”? Granted this is an extreme example, but not really when you read what Paul was doing.

Verse 10:14 is part of another story I like, Peter’s vision allowing people to eat pork:

No way, Lord! These animals are forbidden in the dietary laws of the Hebrew Scriptures! I’ve never eaten non-kosher foods like these before—not once in my life!

There was a strife in the early church since many believed a follower of Jesus was to adhere to the Hebraic law. This vision showed otherwise and in verse 10:14 Peter has clarity saying “It is clear to me now that God plays no favorites.” All are welcome into the church and it’s not about what kind of food they eat. All food is blessed is welcome to eat.

Now does this mean we can eat anything? Yep we can, as long as thanks is given to God. Now should we consume pork as a staple? Nope, I believe the “Food Laws” became legalistic by man but were intended to show man the natural food chain. If we analyze the foods not allowed by God, they are the scavengers of the world, the ones who clean the messes. Their digestive system is very simple and the “toxins” consumed by them are quickly release into the flesh. It’s not that God does not want us to enjoy a BLT, but that the B could have harmful toxins and although our digestive system can cope with limited intake it should not be consumed normally. See it’s not a sin to eat pork or other “off limit” foods, but rather not the best fuel for the body.

Habakkuk 1 – 3

Habakkuk is questioning God why he must destroy his people. Verse 1:3 I assume is his response to visions God gave him:

Why do You force me to see these atrocities?
    Why do You make me watch such wickedness?
Disaster and violence, conflict and controversy are raging all around me.

But then again it may be what he is experiencing. I keep going back and forth on this one. Either way, imagine if Habakkuk came today, would he have the same response. Think about how isolated we are from the world today, if we don’t like what we see we just turn off the TV, although most tend to become glued to the atrocities and often waste time gawking.

We get so caught up in life’s problems we often do nothing. We wait on God to “save” us from the transgressions. I hope the we are not like Israel when Jesus came expecting a savior that looks one way and getting something unexpected. Often that little voice that says “do” means take action. Speak up, step out and take action, often we need to be God’s hands and feet to make an impact in the world.

Verse 1:13 had me say “really”:

Your eyes are too pure to even look at evil.
    You cannot turn Your face toward injustice.
So why do You stand by and watch those who act treacherously?
    Why do You say and do nothing
When the wicked swallows up one who is more in the right than he is?

Think of it this way, if God is omnipresent, His eyes look on evil every day. Not saying that He condones or is not offended, but he looks at evil every day and cries.

Verse 2:5 talks about pride:

Indeed, wine betrays the proud man who is always restless.
    He has a big appetite; it is like the deep, dark pit of the dead.
Like death, he is never satisfied.
    He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the people for his own purposes.

A general theme of many writings about God is His hatred for the proud. Why is that? Think about a proud man, they don’t need God and can do it on their own. We need to follow a path of humble, thankful, adoration of God. We need to know all things flow from Him and we may never understand the whys until years or decades later. Habakkuk sees the world where the good suffer and the wicked prosper, like always, and is questioning. I understand and ask the same questions, God gives us some clarity on the whys in this book.

Ecclesiastes 1 – 2

Verse 1:2 starts the melancholy chapter of the Bible:

Teacher: Life is fleeting, like a passing mist.
        It is like trying to catch hold of a breath;
    All vanishes like a vapor; everything is a great vanity.

This is easy to do when you really start thinking about it. When you compare out life to time itself or to just the sheer number on earth today, it’s really nothing. We are no more than a flash in a chaotic mess. This is what Solomon started to realize as he gained more wisdom and saw the folly of it all. Every time I read this I think of Macbeth’s words “Out, out brief candle” and see that all we are is just a blip in time.

Not to get too depressed, because thinking of this can eat one up as we see with Solomon and Macbeth. We need to refocus not on the meaningless of our lives and understand the significance of Jesus’ death. Think about how He died for YOUR sins, yep that “vapor” was considered on the cross at Calvary. Also, think about how one man from a far off community in a backwards time has come to be the most well-known name in history.
Ask anyone about Hernan Cortez, Nikolai Tesla or Carl Linnaeus and you will get a blank start, but almost anyone can identify Jesus. Almost the entire world will take December 25, 2014 off to celebrate the birth of Jesus and almost every nation follows a date based on his death. So get amped, not depressed, that this man died for YOU!!

Verse 1:9 seemed true when written:

What has been, that will be;
        what has been done, that will be done.
    Nothing is new under the sun;
        the future only repeats the past.

Nothing new has happened until recently. When you think about it, the last few hundred years have milestones that may not be “new” as an idea but “new” as an invention. Think about the airplane, man always dreamed about flying but now man can. Or the iPhone, where man can organize and communicate anywhere desired. All these were desired, but the devices are new in a sense. Although listening to an early 80’s talk by Steve Jobs, the iPhone is not all that new.

Verse 2:10 is to all you workaholics:

Throughout this experiment, I let myself have anything my eyes desired, and I did not withhold from my mind any pleasure. What was the conclusion? My mind found joy in all the work I did—my work was its own reward! 

He eventually concludes the justification for hard work is really nothing but a waste. Work is great but as with everything it life it has little meaning. Once we are dead our memory is gone shortly after, it may linger with those that knew us but once they are gone that “vapor” is lost in time. Now does that mean eat drink and be stupid? No, honor God with working strong and although your memory may be gone the “pay it forward” will continue.

Psalms 122 – 124

Verse 122:4 talks about the significance of Jerusalem:

God’s people belong here. Every tribe of the Eternal
    makes its way to Jerusalem—
Just as God decreed for Israel
    to come together and give thanks to the Eternal.

This is a town of great significance in the world, think about all the battles and all the conflict there. Why is that? God for one has great opposition. Think about all the battles fought and the area of most consistent conflict is Israel. There have been more battles over Jerusalem than almost any other city in the world. God is being fought daily and will eventually win as long as we continue to follow.

Verse 123:2 talks about mercy from God:

Just as the eyes of servants
    closely watch the hand of their masters,
Just as a maid carefully observes
    the slightest gesture of her mistress,
In the same way we look to You, Eternal One,
    waiting for our God to pour out His mercy upon us.

Interestingly the Psalmist is talking about people serving their masters and compares it to God. When Jesus came to this earth He gave the ultimate example of serving by washing the feet of his disciples. Don’t twist this into “God must serve me”, but rather we need to serve God. We are to watch God and do what is right in this world, and hope for His mercy. Just because we are doing what is right does not mean we should expect a reward for every good deed, on the contrary we should expect NOTHING for our work for God. NOTHING!

Verse 124:4 talks about the obstacles we encounter during our lives:

Their hatred was like a flood:
the waters were rising and would have engulfed us;
    the streams were rushing past and would have overcome us.

Think about going to church every Sunday, is it smooth? Often there is a huge battle to get there and at the last minute we pull together things to look happy. Yesterday was one of those days, the flood gates opened and we were at battle. This time we did not make church, but rather just unwound driving. The enemy will put everything it can to stop us from worshiping The Eternal. We need to drive through this and realize we just need to relax and wade through the waters.

2 Chronicles 25 – 28

Verse 25:3 seems to be very common with kings:

As soon as he took power in the Southern Kingdom, Amaziah solidified his throne by executing his opponents, the servants who had assassinated his father Joash. 

For some reason Israel thought they needed to be led by a king, like the other nations. What happened was inevitable, the kings started acting like kings of other nations. The brutality of a monarch is to maintain their rule hence the beauty of today’s system of government in the USA. Granted we have flaws, but as far as we know Obama did not kill off any opponent who may usurp his power. The people can reset the two branched of the system each election cycle.

Now based on today’s reading it almost sounds like the people did not always follow their leader and may have chosen something far worse. Jotham was one who followed God yet the people ignored his leadership and “continued in corrupt lifestyles.”

Verse 26:15 caught my eye since it was an “invention”:

In Jerusalem, he positioned catapults to shoot arrows and great stones, a new invention by ingenious men, in the towers and on the corners of the city wall. Because of his impressive army, many of the surrounding nations knew about Uzziah and how God helped him win battles.

This was around 760 BC when they discovered the invention. When exploring the “catapult” on the internet the most common date is 399 BC, so why do they ignore the first catapult in the Bible? Part of the reason is they were described as “engines” and “devices designed by experts” to hurl arrows and large stones. Like with many other innovations, I contend the Israelites invented the catapult and are just not credited with it.

Verse 26:16 shows how quickly power gets to one’s head:

 But when Uzziah had built his army and he no longer thought he needed God’s help in battles, he became prideful and corrupt. He was unfaithful to the Eternal One, his True God, entering the Eternal’s temple to burn incense on the altar.

Suddenly the thoughts and power given by God are considered man born and pride takes over the relationship with The Eternal. How often when things are going good we quickly drift into a path of self-pride. We should continue to praise God and thank Him for all blessings. It’s an ugly path if we don’t remain humble before God and give Him credit.

Chapter 28 ends with Ahaz and his misdeeds before the Lord. Very Sad!

Numbers 31 – 33

Verses 31:15 & 16 talk about the people that were spared after the rout of the Midianites :

¹⁵ What were you thinking that you would allow these women to live?¹⁶ They are the ones, on the advice of that instigator Balaam, who are responsible for seducing our men by leading Israelites to reject the Eternal at Peor. They brought down on us that punishing plague that killed so many of the people of the Eternal One. 

This is the brutal part of God that I often wonder if it’s the history of man and not God’s directives. I do understand how God was keeping His people pure of evil and knew if they formed a nation around others with idols they would eventually adopt their worship away from God. It was recently suggested on a chat group the “Law” was part God and part man according to Jesus. I can say I cannot remember reading this, but will explore in the future.

I read the history of God with Israel in the OT and read this history of God in the NT and see a huge difference in how He interacts with those who are evil or doing evil. One is fire and brimstone while the other is pure grace. One will wipe a person out for thinking about something wrong while the other gives salvation to a murderer on the cross next to Jesus.

Verse 33:14 is part of a review chapter for Israel:

and then Rephidim. At that point, the people were getting desperate for water and ornery on account of their discomfort and thirst. There, God told Moses to produce water for them from out of a rock.

I find it interesting that the last three readings have been reviews of history for the people of Israel to understand the significance of where they are at during that period it was written. In the case of Acts and Hebrews it was to allow them to draw the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah and was there for their salvation. In this chapter it was to show the people how God was with them during all the hardship.

Again this is a theme of the Bible, we do not get glory before some hardship. Our faith while early on may be on fire, through trials it becomes forged into a solid belief. We need time to build up our relationship with God like a new driver needs to build up their trust with the parents before taking the family car on a long trip. 

Hebrews 11 – 13

Verse 11:6 opens a historical discussion on faith:

 Without faith no one can please God because the one coming to God must believe He exists, and He rewards those who come seeking.

I read this an almost think it’s actually a bad “thesis” since the read of chapter 11 is taking great men of the Bible and showing how they had faith. Take Moses and his “faith”. I reject that Moses had great faith since his early actions could be argued as more moral that of faith. And later if someone went to a mountain and saw a burning bush that did not consume the bush AND have the voice of God talking from it, that makes “faith” easy at that point.

Heck with me and my recent death, the more I talk with people the more I hear about others that had the same thing happen, yet they did not make it. I experienced a miracle and therefore it’s easier for me to have faith. But what about those who look at Moses’ story and say it’s just a story or my story and say it’s just luck, faith is more difficult for them.

Verse 12:2 is a simple instruction:

Now stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith. He endured the cross and ignored the shame of that death because He focused on the joy that was set before Him; and now He is seated beside God on the throne, a place of honor.

We really need to stay focused on Jesus. Sure reading the OT gives us insight on the significance of Jesus but often times we get into too much debate of things like the Law and its application today. Jesus is why we have faith in salvation!!

Verse 12:7 often is difficult to follow:

Endure hardship as God’s discipline and rejoice that He is treating you as His children, for what child doesn’t experience discipline from a parent?

When things go wrong do you see it as a curse or a blessing? I know I am trying to stop this “family curse” crap which has popped up even recently. As I look back at all the “curses” I personally have endured I see they all built character. We go back to all the great people of the Bible and God did not just make them great, he MOLDED them through hardship and trials. We need to reject the “curse” mentality and realize trials are just blessings making us stronger. “That which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger” – Friedrich Nietzsche, from a beer tee-shirt.

Acts 7 – 8

Verse 7:2 starts off Stephen talking:

 Brothers, fathers, please listen to me. Our glorious God revealed Himself to our common ancestor Abraham, when he lived far away in Mesopotamia before he immigrated to Haran.

From this point forward, Stephen is summarizing the history of the Jewish people and how it all points to Jesus. When you read the OT with the filter of knowing who Jesus is and his story, we see it all points to Jesus. This would take some time to unwrap but it all starts with righteous man and God in paradise and ends with redeemed man and God in paradise. It all points to Jesus.

Verse 7:60 is the end result of Stephen’s speech:

Then he knelt in prayer, shouting at the top of his lungs,

Stephen: Lord, do not hold this evil against them!

Those were his final words; then he fell asleep in death.

While he was being stoned to death as the first martyr for Jesus, this is what he prayed. We have a hard enough time praying for those who wrong us, much less while they are killing us, so Stephen’s act is something to be learned. We need to forgive other LIKE we wish to be forgiven. Imagine if God forgave like we did? We really need to take that part of the Lord’s Prayer to heart!!

Verse 8:19 has Simon asking for gifts:

I want to purchase this ability to confer the Holy Spirit on people through the laying on of my hands.

While Peter got upset, rightfully so, he missed that Simon wanted to accelerate the process and figured he could do so with money. This is something that is not Biblical anywhere, God takes time to groom his workers. If you think about it most are worked with for decades, while the disciples got 3 years of one on one with Jesus himself. Even so it was not purchase with money but rather time.

The key here is don’t expect to save the world with your new found salvation, rather dig in for the long haul and read your Bible!!

Nahum 1 – 3

As we read the book of Nahum we return to Nineveh that God spared in the book of Jonah. Interestingly this great city did not survive and faced the wrath of God described by Nahum. The archeological digs support the account of what happened in this book. A once great city became nothing.

Verse 1:2 starts with a statement about God:

he Eternal One won’t tolerate anything that distracts from Him
    and will avenge and settle the score on behalf of His covenant people.
The Eternal will serve up justice when His anger finally overflows.
    He brings justice to those who oppose Him
And sustains His fury toward those who work against Him.

I read this after watching a series from Prager University which explains the Ten Commandments in detail. The “thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain” was discussed and explained as it’s not saying God’s name in contract by rather “carrying” God’s name to do things evil. Those who oppose God like to point out how much evil was done in the name of God, like the Inquisition and the Holocaust, to discredit God. In reality they miss that these things were what was evil.

It seems like Nineveh was doing this since in Jonah they acknowledged God and repented yet the belief became so twisted by Nahum they were subject to God’s wrath. Just wonder if that was the ultimate “sin” of Nineveh since other nations and civilizations of the time with false gods still exist. Was Nineveh using God’s name to “work against Him”?

The key to chapter 1 is to show God is above ALL and is very slow to anger (as we saw in Jonah). Chapter 2 shows God’s vengeance and desire for justice.

Verse 2:7 is supported by archeological digs:

A decree is set and goes out: Nineveh will be ransacked.
    She is stripped and will be carried far away from home.
You can hear the young girls pounding their breaking hearts
    and moaning like terrified doves.

Today we see these writing were true; the great city of Nineveh was overrun by its neighbors and ransacked around the time of Nahum’s writings. The question is did Nahum record what happened or was this written before this happened? The belief is he wrote this a few years before the fall of Nineveh.  

Now I learned a new word, “theophany”, or God appearing to man. We see this daily in what many call “nature” or “Mother Nature”.  Chapter 1 describes how God is in everything and therefore “theophany” to mankind.

Proverbs 31

This proverb is from a mother to her son who will be or is already king. Verse 3 is sound advice:

 Do not waste your strength on women
        or invest yourself in women who would destroy even kings.

How many of men have been in trouble from women with intentions not of God? This is a difficult subject since half the world’s population is being warned against to the other half. Granted this proverb is really ensuring the king ensures his wife is one of virtue and not just a broad stroke against having a wife at all. I believe that relationships have been compromised in society because we do not follow God’s intentions.

As one great philosopher once said “don’t let your dick run your life” I think men miss this truth. Often we drift from relationship to relationship, trying to find the perfect “mate” by test driving. In the end it erodes the significance of marriage and man’s view of women. Women’s self-worth is driven by this since man’s desires are unchecked. Mom is not only protecting her son, but protecting women as well.

Verse 6 shows the other problem men have, drinking:

Rather, give liquor to one who is dying,
        and offer wine to those struggling with life’s harsh realities.

God never said don’t drink, but rather don’t get drunk. There is a difference here and where “drink” helps one unwind, “drunk” loosens one morality. Once morality is compromised, it becomes a downward spiral of looking the other way on offensives.

Verse 11 and on talk about the qualities desired in a “queen”:

She inspires trust, and her husband’s heart is safe with her,
    and because of her, he has every good thing.

I believe if men respected women in general, women would respect them more and be inspired to the qualities described in this proverb. Please note we are not trying to make a “subservient” gender, but rather a relationship built on respect of each other. Sure the king has the responsibility of a nation and needs harmony at home, all could be done if we just went back to the basics of the Ten Commandments.

I am thinking I will stop the “version” read and focus on some subjects to really understand. I believe the first is understanding why God required death for atonement of our sins in the first place. Was the sacrificial system put in place by God or by man trying to be like the other nations? It’s significant since Jesus may have been the ultimate correction to this system.

This VIDEO SERIES nails the true interpretation of the 10 Commandments. It’s really does a great job clarifying the meaning and they whys to each one. It also clarifies the differences between the Jewish and Christian 10 Commandments.

CLICK HERE

PLEASE NOTE – These are the only words WRITTEN by God himself, all others were “inspired by” God.

Psalms 120 – 121

Verse 121:1 & 2 talk about prayer:

¹ When I was in deep trouble, I called out to the Eternal,
    and He answered my call.
² I prayed: “Protect me, Eternal,
    from lips that lie
    and tongues poisoned with deceit.”

We often pray when we are in trouble, but how often do we pray when we are doing well? I have recently, but only because of MAJOR trouble before with my heart, I am thankful for each day! But how about those with normal lives? People often think we either have a bad path or a good one, with peaks and valleys. Rick Warren described them as Rail Road tracks, with good and bad happening at the same time.

Prayer steers the bad rail to God and hope while the good path gets directed to God and humility. If we remove prayer from this equation we get the bad path derailing to self pity and the good path derailing to selfish pride.  So while this Psalm gives us hope and encouragement to pray in rough times, we need to always remember to pray in the good ones as well. Also, notice the peaks and valleys are from lack of prayer.

Verse 121:1 asks a rhetorical question:

I look up at the vast size of the mountains—
    from where will my help come in times of trouble?

What is the answer? God of course. We keep our sights on Him and things may not get magically better, but we should gather perspective over things … if not pray!!

2 Chronicles 21 – 24

Verse 21:4 is one of those scenarios that may one say “huh”:

 Once Jehoram had taken over his father’s kingdom and had established himself, he killed all his brothers and some rulers of Israel so they could not challenge his right to rule.

Imagine being in a “system” where being the “boss” is rank in the family and once you obtain that position all your siblings want to be “boss” and the only way for that to happen is for you to die. Therefore in order to keep “them” from killing “you” the first order of business is kill “them” so they can’t kill “you”. It’s parts like these that people get all worked up about since the Bible is God’s Word and therefore it “condones” killing your family. Once must understand that much of the Bible is history and just what happened, not intended to be an example of how we should live our lives. So much of the stories about the kings are just history of what happened and examples of how God worked during these times.

Verses 22:11 & 12 show how David’s lineage survived through a very bleak time:

¹¹ But little did she know that Jehoshabeath, King Jehoram’s daughter, had stolen Ahaziah’s son Joash from among the king’s sons when Jehu’s soldiers were killing them. She hid Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and the sister of King Ahaziah, saved the Davidic line by protecting him from Athaliah’s murderous rage. Since she was the wife of Jehoiada the priest, Jehoshabeath¹² was able to hide Joash and his nurse in the temple of the True God during the six years of Athaliah’s reign.

The ancestors were all thought to be killed, but in reality one was saved and was able to carry on the lineage to Jesus. Details like this help us understand the barbaric methods used by evil, since Satan understands the ramifications of what will happen to him in the future.

Verse 24:11 talks about the church and giving:

Each day the Levites returned the chest to the king’s officer, where the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would empty the chest and return it to the temple gate. They emptied the chest every day because the people gave so much money.

Tithing in a mega church sometimes is odd to many since they see the lavish life or the ornate buildings their money is paying for and not “mission” work. In the Jewish temple it’s all about “glory” to God and ornate fixtures to honor Him. This has carried over to the Christian church in a way looking at the majesty of ancient cathedrals and modern day churches. It seem to miss the mark of Jesus’ teachings. At the same time often the “show” attracts new believers to explore deeper into Jesus’ teachings.

Do I have the answer on what to do? Often when I “tithe”, especially on big transactions/wins, I “spread” it out over a few ministries. The key really is giving without question or control, but to honor God and others with our “blessings”.

Numbers 28 – 30

Verse 28:2 starts the details of when to sacrifice:

Make clear to the Israelites that they should make their offerings for My food and fire offerings as a soothing aroma, when they bring their sacrifices at the appointed time.

As I read these I can understand the details and what is going on, but often I wonder why. Why is the death of an innocent animal required for redemption of sin? I understand the concept and how it applies to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, I just don’t understand the why’s of it. At the same time 2000 years after Jesus where we no longer need to kill an animal for the atonement of sin we lose the significance because like many of us we ask why.

This is after 40 years of being a believer, so don’t worry if you are new to the faith asking these questions. I understand the requirements and what it all means, just not sure why it was required in the first place.

Verse 29:12 talks about the requirements for the festival of Mine:

Mid-month, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you shall observe another ritual marking that day’s holiness, and you won’t work. Celebrate for a full seven days a festival of Mine.

The Jewish festivals are often week long events and have many rituals associated with them. Today I don’t believe they sacrifice the livestock, but they are still celebrated. It’s my understanding they are waiting to rebuild the temple before the sacrificial system can go back into place. It’s fascinating looking at the details that are required for each festival.

Verse 30:2 often makes me wonder why not today:

Whatever a man promises to God or others, whether a vow or a binding oath with a pledge, he must do. He is bound by his word: no excuses and no exceptions.

All one has to do is actually pay attention to politics and we see this has “gone out the window” in our society. As parents we often start the cycle and then it spirals out of control to the point where the leader of our country cannot give us a straight up promise. Most have to be lawyers to ensure they do not commit to anything and use words like “should” instead of “shall” or “may” as a qualifier.

This is gone and often is because there is so much to keep track of we forget. Maybe the devil has won with technology making it so difficult to keep on top of everything we “need to know”. Over and over we write “ checks our tails can’t cash” (Bo Diddly) and seem to forget the most important in our lives, our children. They are often “overdrafts” because we write too many checks and can never abide by half of them in a normal life. The key is follow this law with a passion, especially with your children.

Hebrews 8 – 10

Verse 8:7 talks about the significance of the covenants:

Remember, if the first covenant had been able to reconcile everyone to God, there would be no reason for a second covenant.

Hebrews main focus is to reconcile Jesus with the Jewish people. It is to make it crystal clear that Jesus was not just a prophet, but rather the “Messiah”. Part of that was to clarify within the old writings how Jesus fits this model and how a new covenant was foretold by Isaiah.

Verse 9:9 is explaining the significance of how Jesus opened the second tent for all:

That first tent symbolizes the present time, when gifts and sacrifices can be offered; but it can’t change the heart and conscience of the worshiper. 

The temple system gives us a system of interfacing with God. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross ended this need and opened the curtain for all. Remember when at Jesus’ death the curtain was torn? It was torn from top to bottom, signifying God tearing from the heavens. Jesus became the ultimate “High Priest” with the ultimate “sacrifice” for all sins, not just a temporary one from an earthly priest.

Verses 10:24 & 25 help to maintain our faith:

 ²⁴ Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, ²⁵ not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other, especially as the day of His return approaches.

I think one of the biggest problems many of faith have is becoming saved and then isolating themselves. They lose touch with others of faith and what they offer, so one tends to without a solid footing in Jesus. We need others for encouragement, for debate, to see the gifts of others and for the vitality. I know I often did this early on, thinking somehow I would be ok. I drifted and waned without a close knit group of believers to hold me accountable. The key is gather with a community of believers and stay in contact with them often.

Verse 10:39 ends with encouragement to those keeping the faith:

My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved.

I really think this is key, to keep the faith. We are living in a world that beats us down every time we turn, be it financial, relational or spiritual we are in a constant battle with negative and it’s easy to lose hope. We need to have faith that hope is the key to our faith. As we get older and more mature we see how many negatives are knitted together eventually for good. I keep looking back on 2007 and how the farm went under contract to be sold, it was big and we would be “saved”.  Well as events are knows the economy crashed and our deal fell through in zoning. This was horrible at the time, but turned out to be one of the greatest blessings. Why? It kept us from going bankrupt and taught us budgeting. Now after 7 years of struggling things look very bright again!! We kept hope and did not let the situation bring us away from our faith in God!

Acts 5 – 6

Chapter 5 is one of those passages that rarely gets talked about because of the finality of it all. Verses 5:1 & 2 are the charges before Peter:

Once a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira fully cooperating, committed fraud. He sold some property ² and kept some of the proceeds, but he pretended to make a full donation to the Lord’s emissaries.

In all honesty I am not a big fan of this either, since Ananias and his wife pay the ultimate price for doing this, their lives. Imagine if you were new to a church and the first sermon you heard was on this passage and the message was you need to tithe consistently and honestly. Would you sit tight and give without question or run for the hills?

I read this and think how OLD TESTAMENT. Really the grace that is given by Jesus should be enough to cover the sins and not kill off the followers. As you can see I have a problem with what happened here and note that no one died like this before Jesus.

Verse 5:15 also raises an eyebrow where Peter is the deity and not Jesus:

 The church’s renown was so great that when Peter walked down the street, people would carry out their sick relatives hoping his shadow would fall on some of them as he passed.

I often wonder why Peter became the focus here. Also, when Jesus spoke to the 12 that they would do things greater is this what He meant? Why does it seem to stop so early with believers? Or has it? My experience is a case in point.

Verse 6:4 has the early church realizing their message is getting muddled by service:

so we can maintain our focus on praying and serving—not meals—but the message.

The focus became on food distribution and not serving God. The message was lost because all the effort was taken up on logistics. Those who point to any branch or party of the government and say they are doing the work of Jesus miss this.  Just because they are doing things “like” Jesus does not mean they are doing things for the love of Jesus. I believe that is what the early church noticed early on.

Our service can overwhelm us at times where God takes a back seat because the need is so great. Think about it, Jesus even mentioned this when addressing Judas for chastising Mary, there will always be the poor. We need to ensure that our “works” and “deeds” are to deliver the Gospel and not just make everyone happy about “serviing”.

Micah 1 – 7

As I was reading Micah I was wondering if the prophecies were for today and not back around 780 BC. Verses 2:1 & 2 reminds me of the “banksters” today:

Beware, for disaster is coming to those who plan wickedness,
    who lie on their beds plotting evil.
When morning shines on them, they carry out their plans
    simply because they have the power to do so.
² They see fields they want and take them.
    They see houses, and they grab them up.
They persecute each landowner, taking all that belongs to him—
    including his freedom and his children’s inheritance.

I saw the economic system unravel in 2007/8 and first hand experienced issues in my own life. Leading up to this the banks were reckless with loans and only packaged them to make money and transfer the extreme risk to other investors. They gave loans to anyone with a pulse, I know because I was one of them. I was able to purchase 4 homes without a job or verifiable income. No in the end this has turned to be a blessing and not a curse, but it was for oh so many as we saw in the aftermath starting in 2007.

I can’t help but wonder if we are on the verge of another collapse, since the difference between now and back in the late 80’s early 90’s during the S&L crisis, no one is being punished.

Verse 2:11 makes me think of how the church has turned a blind eye on this profiteering:

If someone going on about nothing of worth wanders by and says,
        “I’ve come to preach to you of whiskey and wine,”
    Then these selfish people would hire him
        as their official speaker just because they like his message.

I think of prosperity preachers who condone this orgy of wealth and actually promote it in a way. They promote the advancement of money and often make it the idol of worship. I am not saying they may not have a God inspired message, but when you hear things like “what you donate today will come back 10 fold tomorrow” run for the hills.

Verse 3:11 makes me wonder again if this is a Babushka Doll Prophecy or targeted for a future time like today:

Her leaders exchange justice for a bribe; her priests teach, but for a price;
    her prophets divine for money,
Yet they have the gall to say as they lean on the Eternal,
    “He is on our side! Nothing bad will happen to us!”

The next verse has the resulting end “All of this is why Zion will be plowed flat as a field.” Again is this us today? Or has this been the way things have been since time began. Evil takes over and eventually gets crushed. I wonder if this is the case today.

Proverbs 29 – 30

Verse 29:3 talks about the adult children we all are during our lives:

An adult who loves wisdom and follows its ways gives his parents joy,
    but one who hangs out with women of the street will lose everything.

Interesting how so often proverbs and other teachings talk about children bringing joy to their parents, but rarely do they explore adult relationships with parents. With the age of emails and cell phones I can remain in contact with my parents daily, if they would get hip with Facebook, Instagram and other social medial it would be even easier. Now just because we can remain in contact is not always the source of joy, but I hope we as adults can bring a smile to our parents face.

Verse 29:7 talks about “benevolence”:

The just get involved with the poor and know their issues,
    but the wicked cannot comprehend such concerns.

We tend to dismiss the poor so often and step over them beggar on the way to the store. When in reality God says there will always be the poor and we must help them. We do not need to become all consumed with their wellbeing, but we should focus on at least helping when we can. How often I have heard they can help themselves and people turn away. Heck there are stories of well of beggars who make good money on street corners, hardening our hearts to those in need. No we need to follow the holy spirit and sometimes get dirty in helping those in need.

Verse 29:11 has me wanting to look at other translations:

A fool does not think before he unleashes his temper,
    but a wise man holds back and remains quiet.

I always like the italics in The Voice since they are additional words not translated directly from the original. The CJB version is my OT go to and says “ but the wise, thinking of afterwards, stills them.” The wording the voice uses does a good job of clarifying the meaning in this case. I like to see that since the concern with many translations is accuracy to the spirit of the original text.

Verse 30:18 reminds me of Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition skit:

There are three mysteries I find absolutely amazing,
    no, make it four I cannot comprehend:

We saw this same thing in Amos 1:13 where the writer says 3 no 4, like the cardinals in the skit. I can see now they were mocking scripture, but have to wonder why the writer did this. It was cleaver they used this because it would have gone over most people’s head, which tells me the writers for that group were Biblically based.

Psalms 119

This is the longest of the Psalms by a significant amount and is constructed in short descriptions of each letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It is expounding the virtues and glory of the “law” or “teachings” which is a translation of the Hebrew word “torah”. As Christians we tend to dismiss the Law as something that Jesus fulfilled, but it’s an excellent blueprint for living one’s life and this is what this Psalm is praising.

Verse 3 talks about gaining joy and happiness:

These are people who do nothing wrong;
    they do what it takes to follow His ways.

It’s the same today, follow Jesus and have peace. I think we have redefined happiness and joy to be living a life free of trouble, but it’s having joy through the mess knowing that all will be well in the end.

Verse 9 holds truth for the young:

How can a young person remain pure?
    Only by living according to Your word.

Ain’t that the truth! I can say during my youth in high school I followed Jesus, but did not claim Him. Rather I skipped the parties and such to keep myself in shape for racing. Then college came and I took a drink. I stopped following God’s word and instead drifted for 10 or so years before starting to reconnect with Jesus. So this is something we need to ensure we do in our youth to not have to clean up messes later in life.

Verse 34 continues to focus on understanding the Law:

Grant me understanding so that I can keep Your law
    and keep it wholeheartedly.

Often we don’t understand the law or why Jesus may ask something of us. Sometimes we just need to do before gaining that understanding. I will say it’s easier when things are clear to follow Jesus.

Verse 113 talks about those who “dabble” in faith:

I despise those who waver back and forth,
    but I love Your teachings.

Often we get into a mode where we believe but do not follow. We decide to drink to excess or do unsavory things to please our bodies assuming the “morning confession” is enough. Then we “wash, rinse and repeat” this pattern thinking we are living a holy life pleasing to God. What we are doing is abusing the “confession” loophole of our faith. God did not say, believe and confess each time you sin but rather go and sin no more.  I fear this is not the Psalmist words, but rather inspired from God’s own mouth. Act like each day could be your last and do so pleasing God!

2 Chronicles 16 – 20

Verse 16:9 talks about Asa’s conflicts with God:

The Eternal watches everything that happens on earth so that He may strongly support those who follow Him. By hiring mercenaries, you have acted foolishly and proven that you are not following Him. From now on, peace will elude you and you will surely fight wars.

While Asa fought for God in removing idols and turning the Israelites back to following God, he showed a lack of “faith” in making alliances with other nations. As I sit here this morning I am struggling with making an alliance with a “bank” so we can “win” our perfect home. Am I doing what Asa did? I pray not, but need to consider this will all happen yet will be messy in the process and I need to hold strong. “Faith” is easy in theory, but difficult when you have a nation about to invade!

Verse 16:12 shows an addition lapse in “faith” by Asa:

In the 39th year of his reign, Asa contracted a severe foot disease. Once again, he had the opportunity to look to the Eternal, but instead he relied on physicians.

Again, faith in practice and faith in theory are often different. When I dropped dead a few month ago was it a demonstration of faith that 911 was called or should Katy and Ella just prayed over me? I thank God that everything happened the way it did and I lived to tell our story, but did we rely on physicians and not God? At the same time the medical profession admits that a miracle happened for me to survive, so maybe they were “professional” confirmation of this fact. With everything hind sight is 20/20 and with Asa he had a prophet who warned him and we could see the failure. I wonder if Asa justified his actions as following God.

Verse 17:3 talks about the new king who assumed the role:

The Eternal was with Jehoshaphat because he ruled as David had throughout his reign and as his father Asa had at the beginning of his reign. Jehoshaphat did not seek the lords of foreign religions; 

Jehoshaphat is one of the few kings who followed the Eternal like David and Solomon had. There had been 4 generations that drifted away from God before Jehoshaphat and as we will see very few after. Saul was anointed king due to the demands of the people. God relented in protest knowing the end result would be a lack of faith in God. And we see only a few instance where this is not the case. Verse 20:20 shows Jehoshaphat leadership:

Early the next morning they went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. There Jehoshaphat’s message to Judah was not about courage in battle.

Jehoshaphat: Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Trust in the Eternal One, your True God, not in your own abilities, and you will be supported. Put your trust in His words that you heard through the prophets, and we will succeed.

 

Again I wonder today if these words are spoken for my benefit. I look to the tumultuous events that have led up to where we are today and in the middle of them was in panic and I am today (only not anywhere near like I have been before). We decided we wanted to move, I was laid off with a generous severance package, the land “anchor” went under contract, we found two perfect homes, sold a home locally to survive on, the contract got extended, lost the two perfect homes, found a better home and now are where we are at today. In hind sight it all has worked perfectly.

We have remained out of debt, did not move into an environment that was not “perfect” into homes that had problems like high power lines, commercial development, poor construction and major roads where Lilly would chase cars and cyclists. In addition to all this we have found what seems to be the “perfect” home/property that only needs a barn/apartment to finish it out. Knowing the past helps us move with faith in the future no matter if it’s present circumstances or those of a king some 3000 years ago. 

Numbers 25 – 27

Verse 25:8 is another anger moment that God exhibits that I don’t understand:

He charged into the Israelite’s tent and ran the spear straight through the bellies of the couple. That one act appeased God’s anger and put an end to the death cascading through the Israelite camp.

With the Torah you have a store interlaced with a bunch of rules and regulations the Israelites must follow to be holy before God. I read sections like this and wonder “if” God has really been the same over all time. Again I like the father/grandfather analogy where early on the people of Israel had God as their father and not the Christian Church has Jesus as “dad” with God being Grandpa.

From verse one we see “some of the men” had sex with Moabite women that cost them their lives. Yet today many in the church get involved with people outside the church and marriage all the time. Heck, I did and was not stuck down by God, instead I have a faithful wife and family.  This is why I make this “blasphemous” statement that God has not been the same over time.

Verse 27:7 is another one that I wonder about:

Zelophehad’s daughters make a good point. They’re right, so do as they ask. Give them an inheritance such as would be given to a son. They shall have land alongside their uncles’ families. 

Here a father’s daughters wanted to ensure their family got a share of land, since he had no sons. God’s response seemed to be a “I could have had a V-8” moment. It almost seems like God, in writing the Law through Moses, did not consider all possibilities. So He had to add things. Again this begs the question of God being the outside time, since if He was He should have considered this scenario. It’s almost like the Law was developed on the fly and that’s why it’s so intermingled with a story. Each situation required a new law, like today in the USA where the laws are so complex because man will always figure out the “loophole”.

Verse 27:18 & 19 starts the transfer of leadership from Moses:

^18-19 Single out Joshua (Nun’s son). In him is the breath of My Spirit. Before the whole congregation, bring him to stand before the priest, Eleazar. Put your hand on him, and commission him into leadership.

The Torah still has one more book before Moses leaves the scene, but God is preparing his predecessor in advance and He did with Moses. We see this time and time again that one is anointed and then is “trained” for some time. Like with Moses, David and even Jesus God does not immediately thrust them into their anointing. No with all they are trained over time to ensure their faithfulness to God.

Hebrews 5 – 7

Verse 5:2 talks about today’s subject, the high priest:

The high priest should have compassion for those who are ignorant of the faith and those who fall out of the faith because he also has wrestled with human weakness, 

Paul’s focus to the Hebrews is comparing the Old Covenant to the New. In this case he is looking at the high priest that they are all interfacing to God with their offerings and sacrifices. The high priest is the human interface to God and who Jesus became on our behalf. Jesus is the ultimate High Priest since He is the mediator for all with God and serves as both the priest and the sacrifice that “atones” for one’s sin, period.

Verse 5:12 talks about church today:

By this time, you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet I feel like you want me to reteach you the most basic things that God wants you to know. It’s almost like you’re a baby again, coddled at your mother’s breast, nursing, not ready for solid food.

Think about today and how church is done in most places. The pastor wants to ensure the basic message is given for each new believer that visits, without feeding the mature with solid food. Think about it this way, you have a school with K-12 and only one teacher. The teacher will teach to the lowest group justifying the older children can’t hurt hearing the basics again. From that you get a stagnant body that never grows.

Unfortunately the solution lies on you to grow with “small groups” and personal study time. Find a church that teaches and grows along with proselytizing to the babies. I find any service a good time to pray and worship God, then work with others to explore God deeper.

Verses 6:11 & 12 talk about when we may “retire” from working for God:

¹¹ We want you all to continue working until the end so that you’ll realize the certainty that comes with hope ¹² and not grow lazy. We want you to walk in the footsteps of the faithful who came before you, from whom you can learn to be steadfast in pursuing the promises of God.

We need to work “until the end” be that the end of our lives on earth or when Jesus returns. Either way there is not much saying we hit 65 and can retire from spreading the word.

Verse 7:15 is the crux of chapter 7’s message:

Doesn’t it seem obvious? Jesus is a priest who resembles Melchizedek in so many ways; 

I don’t have time this morning to dive into who Melchizedek  is and his significance. But he is being compared to Jesus often in this chapter. That is a significant message to the Jewish people and believe Melchizedek  background should be explored more for our education of Jesus’ significance over and above who He is today.

Acts 3 – 4

Verse 3:6 begs the question, why not today:

 I want to give you something, but I don’t have any silver or gold. Here’s what I can offer you: stand up and walk in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Anointed One.

I so want to try this, but I fear failure and the pain it may inflict on the crippled person so I remain quite. This is something where faith and fear collide big time. If we really had faith in Jesus allowing us to “do greater things” this should be a no brainer. How often have we seen faith healers fake it on TV or have someone’s hopes crushed when the “power of Jesus” doesn’t bring them out of their chair? I can’t say if I would ever try this because of fear, even though my faith is strong … it doesn’t make sense why we believe the Bible, but will not DO the Bible. As you may tell this is something I struggle with daily, even the morning after a huge blessing!!

Verse 3:25 once again ties in OT teachings to show Jesus:

You are the descendants of these prophets, and you are the people of God’s covenant to your ancestors. God’s word to Abraham includes you: “Because of your descendants, all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Genesis 22:18 and 26:4 both talk about this blessing to the world and not just Israel. This is the power of Jesus that it’s not a birthright but rather a gift to all. We don’t have to be born into the faith, but anyone can gain this blessing by just asking. We tend to complicate this too much but the bread crumbs are all over the Bible, we just need to follow them to Jesus.

Verse 4:11 should sound familiar from previous readings:

He is “the stone that you builders rejected who has become the very stone that holds together the entire foundation” on which a new temple is being built.

Psalm 118:22 is another bread crumb that links the OT writings to Jesus. I am sure they were not aware of the prophecy they were writing. They were expecting a warrior, yet they rejected Him and fulfilled these writings. They expected the rejection to be outside Israel and not from within. So Rome would have rejected the Messiah, not themselves. This is the power of hindsight, but also helping with the power of foresight.

Follow me here, Jesus is expected to return with much the same bravado that was expected in His first appearance on earth. Because of this don’t reject Him the second time!! Expect the unexpected and don’t think inside the box the church made or you may miss the joy of experiencing Him a second time.

Jonah 1 – 4

Jonah, like James, is one of my favorite books in the Bible because the message is short, sweet and poignant. Verse 1:3 has Jonah responding to God’s calling:

In hearing those instructions, Jonah got up and ran toward Tarshish from the Eternal’s presence. He went down to the port at Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. He climbed aboard, paid the fare, and made himself comfortable in the hold of the ship.

I always think of a song by Flock of Seagulls called “I Ran” that says “I ran so far away.” We read this and say “no way would we do that” yet we do it daily. Sure if it may be easier if there was a booming voice from heaven that spoke our name, but that is never the case for most of us. No we hear that little small voice that says “help that poor person and take him to dinner” or “donate your car to a needy single mom” or “correct someone’s theology in an anonymous internet chat room” and run. Well maybe the last one is not God, but we hear the other two and quickly justify them away as having no lasting impact. The eternal impact on someone giving their life to God because of a kind deed is unmeasurable in human terms, so don’t try and stop running.

Verse 1:15 is the resulting reaction from the crew on the ship once they realize this storm is because of Jonah not listening to God:

At that, they grabbed Jonah by his arms and legs and threw him overboard. And when they did, the raging sea grew calm.

Be very thankful we don’t have a crew toss us overboard every time we run from God. The one thing I do notice is things don’t go as “rosy” as I would like them when I disobey God. I think back to my borrowing problem and how God kept bailing me out until I would not stop. So the storm came, the seas of debt over came our boat, yet we braved the storm and continued to bail out the boat. In the end we are debt free and learned how to manage money better. Now it appears even though the seas are rough we are sailing where we need to go for the future.

Back to Jonah who was swallowed by a fish and spent three days in the belly much like the three days Jesus spent in the tomb before rising. Was this a coincidence or another bread crumb Jesus IS the “Messiah”? When you read the OT with the perspective of Jesus it all points to HIM!!

Back to Jonah who prophesized and then went to a hill to watch the destruction that never came. Why? Because Nineveh repented for their evil to God. Verse 4:1 is Jonah’s response:

The mercy God extended toward Nineveh upset Jonah terribly. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

How many times has God “blessed” someone we felt did not deserve it? What was our response, did you get mad? We need to work on this since it is Satan working on us trying to make us believe something is unjust. Heck, be happy if someone is “blessed” and not worry about the source, just praise God! Anyway chapter 4 is God doing a number on Jonah to show the importance of His grace and mercy. Interestingly it doesn’t say Jonah got it, but rather the last statement is God’s explaining how Jonah should think and not Jonah having a “V-8 Moment”.

This story packs a bunch into a short book and takes time to digest and understand. Just seeing Jonah being entombed for 3 days like Jesus is cool and seeing his human response to God’s unnatural request is a great study. 

Proverbs 28

Verse 28:5 reminds me of the justice system today:

Evil people are not able to understand justice,
    but those who pursue the Eternal understand it completely.

Today we are overwhelmed by laws and regulations that make almost anything we do possibly be interpreted as illegal. Even with this simple rights and wrongs get mired in legal mumbo-jumbo. Murder has been excused in this nation for so many reasons that today it’s likely you can get away with it. Either the criminal justice system is overwhelmed by laws they can’t enforce them all, so they go after the low hanging fruit like seatbelt violators. Lawyers will find some nuance in the law that will free their client or will have them declared nuts to lessen the punishment.

We ALL need to “pursue the Eternal” to correct this system of unbalanced justice.

Verse 28:6 talks about integrity:

It is better to be a pauper walking in integrity
    than a dishonest man, even if he is rich.

There are two levels here that need to be looked at one is integrity and the other is wealth. For some reason this is often used to say God does not like the rich, heck Jesus even said a rich man getting into heaven is more difficult than threading a camel through the eye of a needle. So God hates the rich! NO!! This is saying it’s better to LIVE with integrity than to be rich WITHOUT it. A rich man with integrity is ok in this equation AND Jesus’ words were finished with the statement “with God all things are possible.” So the rich are not evil and money is nothing more than a rock, the key is do not make it your idol!!

Verse 28:20 reminds me of the lottery and how many pray for it:

A reliable person will not escape blessings,
    but one who wants to get rich quick will not escape trouble.

We always expect God’s blessings to rain down on us like a big lottery win. Heck I got myself in over a half a million in debt expecting it to just get cleaned us as it always has before. I prayed for that lottery win, since before I would get into “deep” debt of maybe $40,000 and something would sell or happen to clean things up. Unfortunately this time I needed to learn that getting rich required more than just winning the lottery or selling something to clean things up.

When all was said and done we cleaned up our debt by reliably nibbling away at it. In the process we learned how to budget and spend within our means. This is following through as we lost our primary income source and had to adjust again. 

Psalms 117 – 118

All of Psalm 117 is short, sweet and to the point:

¹ Praise the Eternal, all nations.
    Raise your voices, all people.
² For His unfailing love is great, and it is intended for us,
    and His faithfulness to His promises knows no end.
Praise the Eternal!

 

We need to understand this and live it. We need as a nation to praise the Lord, not just in our quite little prayer room. Lift them up and praise God. The love He represents is unfathomable even looking at the sacrifice of His first born, Jesus. We really understand this when we become parents, but that is only a small portion of how much God cares for us, for YOU. Key is praise God!!

Verse 118:1 starts a Psalm containing the other key to interfacing with God:

Give thanks to the Eternal because He is always good.
    He never ceases to be loving and kind.

The idea we need to give thanks is difficult to understand in troubled times. Let’s take the worst case and the “tribulation” started tomorrow. Would you be thankful or sorrowful? Our day to day struggles sometimes seem catastrophic when in the middle, but as time goes on sometimes the worst event either turns into good or at the very least builds character. We cannot understand what will happen in the future that will make what seems to be a curse, a blessing.

Like Paul we need to praise God in all things, good AND bad. Heck we may die a long horrible death and suffer immensely and our witness in this time is critical. Think about it this way, it’s easy to thank God when things are good but more people notice your actions when things are bad. I have seen more torn from the faith by experiencing hypocrisy of apparent faithful leader.

Verse 118: 22 ties into Jesus’ words to Peter:

The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the very stone that holds together the entire foundation.

That “stone” has always been foundational in the story of God, from Moses who was a murderer to Peter the denier to Paul the persecutor to YOU. Notice God seems to work through those who least likely and not those on the center stage. That is a fallacy we fall into, but the dynamic leader is the least likely in God’s kingdom.

2 Chronicles 11 – 15

Verse 11:2 introduces a prophet that is rarely mentioned:

 But the Eternal spoke to Shemaiah, the True God’s servant and prophet.

Often God speaks to His people through prophets and many may have many levels of prophecies. It’s called the Babushka Doll Principle where there may be many different layers of meaning to different generations. With Shemaiah I don’t see this, he is blunt and to the point to the kings he serves.

Verse 11:23 shows some of dad’s wisdom wore off:

Rehoboam then wisely made some of his other sons governors of the territories and fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. He ensured their contentment and loyalty, giving them food and selecting their wives.

Often sibling rivalry destroys kingdoms. Each son believes they hold the key to the throne. When you look at this over history it’s a very common problem. In this case Rehoboam gave them all roles in his kingdom so not to cause conflict from idle minds. It was very smart to do this and protect his son who would be king.

As with other stories of kings we see the ones who follow God prosper and the ones who ignore Him fail.

Verse 15:2 has God speaking through another prophet:

Azariah: ² Asa and all of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, listen to me! God responds to you as you respond to Him: If you are with the Eternal, then He is with you. If you look for Him, then He will let you find Him. But if you abandon Him, then He will abandon you. So learn from the mistakes of your ancestors. 

Again, you’d think I would remember these two prophets considering I have read this book a few times, but alas I don’t. Azariah, like Shemaiah, was a “minor” prophet who prophesized for a king and his people. Again not layered prophecies appear to be here. 

Numbers 22 – 24

This reading is the story of Balak and Balaam. Balak want Balaam to curse Israel because of what they MAY do. Verse 22:12 is God telling Balaam how to respond:

 Don’t do it. The people whom Balak wants you to curse are already blessed.

Now Balaam is not an Israelite, but a man who knows and respects God. And he is being told by the Eternal One not to do what Balak requests. This story fascinates me since it does not directly address any Israelites, but rather two outside the nation who are struggling with what will happen. One is concerned about what will happen to Moab, while the other is concerned on what would happen if he went against God.

Verse 22:30 is one that you have to just say huh:

Donkey: ³⁰ Aren’t I the very same donkey you’ve always ridden? Have I ever been disloyal or hurt you?

Imagine you are on a trip and this stubborn animal starts to talk to you. What would you say? I love this story since it shows God can work through even a stubborn ass, so we all have hope of being used!! I often wonder about was the donkey actually speaking or did Balaam imagine it. God may have created the image in his head and although real to him, the guy next to him may have just seen a single sided discussion.

As I read these stories he tells Balak more than once to set up seven altars while not actually sacrificing anything. Verses 23:1 and 14 are two instance and I was expecting a Elijah moment where God comes down and consumes the offerings before Balak so he understood who was in control. Verse 24:10 shows Balak was furious:

 He was absolutely furious with Balaam, smacking his hands together with anger.

Balak (confronting Balaam): I can’t believe this! I brought you all this way and asked you to curse my enemies, but instead you actually blessed them. And you did that not just once, mind you, or twice, but three times. 

He is not getting his way, yet Balaam does not submit to a man but rather to God. This is something we need to do as often as we can, to ensure we are not listening to the world. Now when God talked with Balaam was this a audible voice or a still small voice in his head that he was able to decipher as God. Either way even without the “voice” we need to understand God’s will in our lives and what is man trying to tug us away.

Hebrews 1 – 4

The letter to the Hebrews is Paul’s writing to the Jews to ensure they understand Jesus and the impact He has on them. You will notice many reflections of prophecies in scripture to show the Jews Jesus is the Messiah (or the Anointed as used in the Voice). Verse 2:4 talks about what Jesus did while on this earth:

 God also testifies to this truth by signs and wonders and miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit lighting on those He chooses.

God has always given us signs and wonders, but through Jesus these were made personal. Where Moses was the conduit God used to do wonderful miracles for all to see, Jesus saved individuals to show God’s glory. Where parting of the Red Sea helped a nation, Jesus showed God cared about the least among us as he does the nation of Israel. That was the magic of Jesus!

Verse 2:10 confirms this to the Jews:

It only makes sense that God, by whom and for whom everything exists, would choose to bring many of us to His side by using suffering to perfect Jesus, the founder of our faith, the pioneer of our salvation.

Jesus was needed as the perfect sacrifice to show us God is with us. Again, you look at a single event like the parting of the Red Sea and it quickly becomes a distant memory even for those who lived it. Jesus, on the other hand, had made God personal and provided a tap into God’s greatness for everyone.

Verse 3:3 has Paul comparing Jesus and Moses:

But we value Jesus more than Moses, in the same way that we value a builder more than the house he builds.

Moses is the foundation of the Jewish beliefs; he wrote the Torah and provided their roots. To place this son of a carpenter above the bedrock of ones “religion” was not received well by many. Think about it, you believe something that is thousands of years old and has scholars who devoted their lives to this telling you something and then are expected to believe this poor, unassuming servant is the One you were expecting to free you from Roman oppression.

I would be like today if Jesus returned as a homeless man on the streets of Atlanta. The “church” was expecting white horses, chariots and fire coming from heaven and instead they are being told that this “street rat” is this man. We would need some convincing to accept this as true. We would really have to dig into the scripture and prophecies to be convinced this bum was Jesus returning to save us. That was Paul’s job here!

Acts 1 – 2

Luke was the writer of Acts and is considered the history of the Christian movement after Jesus’ death. Where Matthew, Mark, John and Luke were the story of Jesus’ life, Acts is the “rest of the story”. Verse 1:7 talks about our understanding of timing and history:

Jesus: ⁷ The Father, on His own authority, has determined the ages and epochs of history, but you have not been given this knowledge.

Many Christians focus on the “end times” and the prophecies of John in Revelations and other places in the Bible. We tend to get all caught up in what is happening in our world today and miss the smaller, bigger picture that we just don’t know. Instead of focusing on what may happen tomorrow, we should be focusing on what IS happening today. In recent years my focus has been on “end times” since they appear to be here now. 

In reality I will never know. Heck we have seen times that were much worse and could have been a start, but we have to go back to Jonah and Nineveh to see God’s compassion at work. Heck WWI or WWII may have been “it”, but when the people rallied behind God the wrath quickly shifted to compassion and it was delayed. Our focus should be on what has been done on the cross and what is happening in our lives today!

Verse 1:20 has Luke deciphering prophecies in scripture:

In this way, one of David’s psalms was fulfilled: “May their camps be bleak, with not one left in any tent.” But the psalms also include these words: “Let his position of oversight be given to another.” 

Often we read scriptures one way for decades and something happens to reveal to us the true meaning. In this case David’s psalm had been deciphered one way for generations, until Jesus actually fulfilled it. Many may call this a “Babushka Doll” where it has two meanings of his “generations” watching over and Jesus physically doing what was considered the impossible. Or it may just have been a misinterpretation of David’s words until Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Luke continues to point out hidden prophecies of Jesus in ancient scriptures that were fulfilled. In verse 2:38 Peter talks to the crowd:

Reconsider your lives; change your direction. Participate in the ceremonial washing of baptism in the name of Jesus God’s Anointed, the Liberating King. Then your sins will be forgiven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit will be yours.

In verse 41 we see 3000 came to the faith and followed Jesus. Imagine that happening today!! Was it Peter had an audience that had direct knowledge of Jesus and the scriptures who could not deny the truth or was the crowd clueless? I read turns like this and wonder how this would happen today. We no longer boldly go into places where we would be persecuted with the same passion. I think of the Middle East where Christianity once had a strong hold and is now a place where Christians die for their faith. Heck, we often avoid ridicule from speaking our faith in science class, much less in a place where we could die. Peter eventually died converting Jews and Gentiles, we need to become more bold in a very safe place here in the USA. Maybe then we will see numbers change for GOOD!!

Some fond memories were brought up this past weekend. In 1989 I was watching the news of the wall coming down and called my father to revel in the event. I mentioned I would love to be there and then like a bucket of cold water, he said “you don’t even have a passport”. To which I said if I can get one then I am going. Living close to San Francisco they had a passport office and said I could get one the same day with a ticket.

Anyway I purchased a ticket and went to Berlin a few days later. I arrived and jumped on a bus to Brandenburg to see what was happening. The first thing I noticed was Budweiser neon signs in every bar, my heart sunk because I was looking forward to good German beer. Then I got to Brandenburg and it was a bustle of commotion. I walked to a fence where a old man was standing just watching people flow in from East Berlin. He had a huge smile and a tears. That was the essence of what was happening.

I had a great few days just talking to people and walking around. It was wonderful. The Bud was not our Bud, but rather a Chekhovian beer that was wonderful. The first night I was suffering jet lag and walked around town at 3am, it was just as active at 3am as 3pm. 

Got to enjoy great food, great been and an awesome event in world history. The “Evil Empire” was crumbling and I was there!

A few things I did learn in talking to people. The East Germans got 50 mark, shopped the stores empty and went home. That made many of the West Berliners bitter. The US news fabricated many of the great stories we saw and they didn’t need to. The East Germans were very abrupt and rude, or as the West Berliners said, they were real Germans.

Finally I went through Check Point Charlie and saw the East. It was a stark contrast between the West. Where one side was colorful and bustling with life, the other side was grey and dead. No joy. That showed the difference between a communist society and a capitalistic one. Freedom and spirit vs  control and beat down.

Proverbs 26 – 27

Verse 26:4 reminds me of many arguments I have been in:

Never answer a fool on his own foolish terms,
    or you will become like him;

Most arguments are over pride and winning, not actual content. Often times we get into battles and it becomes controlled by the lowest common denominator. When we get sucked into a fools fight we become the fool! This reminds me of quotes often given to us growing up, “don’t stoop down to their level” or “keep the high road.” We need to understand that some people just want to “debate” until they are blue in the face.

I am constantly getting into online debates with “intellectuals” who have just gotten out of school and have no experience, but the debate rages because I become like them and just debate for debating sake. It becomes an incredible waste of time and gets me focused on things not important.

Verse 26:13 looked familiar:

A lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the road!
    A lion in the streets!
    Another good reason to stay in today.”

If this looks familiar it is … Proverbs 22:13 which I commented on a few weeks ago is almost an exact quote. As reading these Proverbs and the Psalms I notice many are repeated either in the same book or in other places in the Bible.

Verse 26:20 is one of those Proverbs that James probably took to heart:

When there is no wood, the fire goes out;
    when there is no one to spread gossip, arguing stops.

James in his book talks about the tongue and the power of it. Think about this, if gossip stops, most of the time arguments stop because it’s forgotten. In the case of gossip, that is the “spark” James is talking about that can start huge fires. We tend to focus on others and not look in the mirror. Maybe it’s to cover our ugliness.

Verse 27:1 is another familiar passage:

Don’t brag about what may happen tomorrow
    because you have no idea what it will bring.

We see in Matthew (6:34) and James (4:13-14) this advice rephrased. We can’t brag on something that has not happened yet. I know when I have, the opposite tends to happen which me has worried about today. Often we do the same but the other way, we don’t brag but rather worry. See how we can flip-flop between the two or get stuck on one or the other? I tend to do both without thinking. I get wrapped up in events only to have them go a different way from either my worry or boasting. Fortunately in most cases the path has been a beneficial path that neither changed. They key is don’t worry or brag about something that you have no control over in the first place. Just do today what you can for the kingdom.

Psalms 114 – 116

Verse 114:3 reminds us of the great power of God:

And the waters of the sea witnessed God’s actions and ran away;
    the Jordan, too, turned around and ran back to where it came from.

We are constantly being told that the Bible is a bunch of stories, lies and misrepresentations by those who do not believe. Heck even some who believe in God have dismissed the Bible as a book used to control mankind. These are two miracles that people tend to dismiss, believers also, since it is hard to imagine how any force in nature could make water move for people to walk on dry ground. We can’t imagine it so therefore dismiss it has ever happened. Even with the Big Screen showing of Moses parting the Red Sea we dismiss it as “special effects” and not real.

Ponder this, what if it was real and that is part of having faith? Jesus raised dead and today we see “science” do that all the time and dismiss the miracle as possible. See where I am going? We need to understand God is in everything and can manipulate the whole nature thing as He desires. Look closer at the impossible and you will see stuff like this is possible.

Verse 115:11 shows the “Holy Spirit” or “helper” has been around longer than we know:

All who fear and know the Eternal, put your trust in Him.
    He is their helper and defender.

Again we as Christians somehow think this is something new to the faithful, when it’s been around always. We need to understand that God has always been and therefore the “Holy Spirit” and Jesus have always been. That’s hard to imagine since we have personified all three, but again you need to stop doing that to really understand the enormity of God.

Verse 116:3 made me think of May 17^th:

Once I was wound in the wrappings of death;
    the terror of dying and the grave had a grip on me;
    I could not get away, for I was entombed in distress and sorrow.

I was being prepared for death and for a while was technically dead. Although I can remember nothing, no feelings or conscious memories, I do recall the “distress” I felt for much of the time before I hit the ground. I stressed over everything and that obviously was a factor into my experience. I still to this day do not understand WHY I was allowed to live. Again the paramedics and doctors all say I experienced a MIRACLE, but I have a tough time believing that since I have to ask why me! 

2 Chronicles 6 – 10

Verse 6:18 asks a very interesting question:

How can I think that this temple I have built will be suitable lodging for You when the heavens You created are not vast enough? Certainly we are not worthy to have You live among us humans. 

How can anyone assume we can make a building suitable for the Lord? I know the temples, mosques and churches attempt to do this. Does man really think they can contain God into a building? This is the problem with the personification of God. The Bible refers to God the father, Jesus as a man and The Holy Spirit as an individual when in reality they are one. Not three in one, but one.

Ok call me nuts but think about this God is omnipresent and omnipotent, how can a “body” do this? It can’t and therefore we must look at God differently. The only thing I can compare Him to is energy, which is everywhere, in different forms and easily moves between those forms. In the instance of Jesus, He was a man with the spirit of God as Him.

Verse 7:8 documents the celebration for completing the temple:

Solomon and all of Israel (from the border with Hamath in Aram to the river of Egypt) feasted for seven days, celebrating the temple dedication and Succoth, the Festival of Booths.

Where the Festival of Booths was not to dedicate the temple, but rather gives us a time frame of when it happened (close to harvest time). The festival was to celebrate the 40 years in the wilderness and coming to the Promised Land.

After Solomon dies his son Rehoboam takes control and verse 10:7 has Solomon advisor making suggestions for the new King:

 Listen to their concerns, show them kindness, and please them. Then they will be your subjects and will always respect you.

Instead he listened to his younger friends who wanted to build more and not give the people any rest. The resulting act caused a fracture in the nation of Israel where the tribes of Judah and Benjamin separated from the rest of the tribes. In this David’s blood line would remain king over the people, just not all.

This should have us all listening to God and not our young buddies who have no clue what a relationship with God really is like. Sure we can tune our “small voice” to understand when God is speaking to us, but most of the time elders are the best source since they have decades of refining this process.

Numbers 19 – 21

Verse 19:20 ends the purity sacrifice and the ritual:

Those who don’t so purify themselves shall be cast out of the community because they have scorned and polluted My holy place. Since the cleansing water hasn’t been splashed on them, they are impure.

The Law in many instances makes sense, but other times it doesn’t. It shows how it’s really impossible for a person to follow and therefore shows the need for Jesus. I often wonder why God gave Israel a path to follow He knew they could not. Or is that where free will comes in and they could have followed, but chose not too?

Verse 20:3 starts another story where Israel complains about no water:

 It would have been so much better if we had simply died along with the rest of our relatives, Korah, Abiram, and Dathan, right in front of the Eternal One.

This was the event that caused Moses to lose his ability to go to the Promised Land. I still am not 100% sure I understand the nuance of what Moses did to cause God’s punishment other than he took or did not give credit to God when bringing forth water from the rock.

Verse 21:8 is the solution God gave the people to counteract his punishment for their continued lack of faith:

and He instructed Moses.

Eternal One: Make a venomous snake that looks like the ones tormenting the congregation, and put it on a pole. Everyone who gets bitten can simply look at your serpent and be healed.

 

We here this story and take it as an image of a snake used to counteract an infestation of snakes. When reading this it’s clear to see the use of the snake. Well the other day I had someone use this story as “proof” the Kundalini existed in the Bible and was God. Not to get too into this perceived analogy, but Kundalini stems from yogic philosophy as a form of shakti or “corporeal energy”. While seeming benign, this is represented by a serpent that controls one body through the spine. Now it doesn’t take much to figure out that the serpent in the garden is now being represented here. So the question is who is right … it Kundalini an agent of GOOD or EVIL or NEITHER?

Philemon

We get a very short letter to Paul’s friend Philemon. Verse 10 shows the reason for the letter:

I make this request on behalf of my child, Onesimus, whom I brought to faith during my time in prison. ¹¹ Before, he was useless to you; but now he is useful to both you and me.

Onesimus is a salve whom Paul brought to Jesus and was saved. It is believed that this slave was important to Philemon as he may have been owned by him and escaped. The story is not clear but we know what is written by Paul.

Verses 15 & 6 give us insight on how we need to treat others:

¹⁵ Maybe this is the reason why he was supposed to be away from you for this time: so that now you will have him back forever— ¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but as more than a slave—as a dear brother. Yes, he is dear to me, but I suspect he will come to mean even more to you, both in the flesh as a servant and in the Lord as a brother.

Paul is sending him “back” which implies he had run away. Also, note how we should never create a “class” structure within the body of Christ. This is important since each may offer his skills to the people. This also shows the saving grace of the Gospel and how it’s for everyone and not the elite. We gain salvation through faith in Jesus and nothing more, not being more “religious”, or stronger or richer or whatever. It’s that simple!!

Verse 22 is a final word to Philemon:

One more thing: you should get a room ready for me as I hope to be released to you soon in answer to your prayers.

Paul is in jail and has the hope of freedom. He is the ever optimist. How many times have we been down and our worries are on the “jail cell”? I know I freak at times and cannot remove focus on the problem. History shows that none of that worry did any good. Paul is not worried of his freedom, he accepts it as a given. Now do the same!!