Ezekiel 43 – 48

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 14 – 15

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

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

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

Verse 14:15 talks about believing everything you hear:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psalms 90 – 92

Verse 90:10 we see man has become frail:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Again these words are blasphemy to many but there is logic to them. Now we look at what had transpired just before this questioning and it was very grand including prating the Red Sea, the plagues, producing water from a rock and being over fed with quail. There was NO reason the people should have been questioning God then. Today we have a difficult time proving God, we can say remember parting the sea? I can say “I’m alive” that’s a miracle, while one could point to science and say it brought me back.

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

2 Kings 21 – 25

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leviticus 22 – 24

Verse 22:20 gives us an example of giving:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 Thessalonians 1 – 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 3:9 asks and interesting question:

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

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

Luke 23 – 24

Verse 23:8 has Jesus before Herod:

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

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

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

Verse 23:45 has symbolic significance:

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

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

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

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

Verse 24:38 Jesus tries to calm his disciples:

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

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

Ezekiel 37 – 42

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 13

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 13:20 is important in choosing friends:

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

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

Psalms 87 – 89

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 89:24 is from a more uplifting Psalm:

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

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

2 Kings 16 – 20

Verse 16:3 caught my eye as odd:

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

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

Verse 17:17 has this practice show up again:

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

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

Verse 18:5 has a new king of Judah:

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

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

Leviticus 19 – 21

Verse 19:9 is an interesting law from God:

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

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

Verse 19:31 gives us a warning:

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

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

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

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

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

Colossians 3 – 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke 21 – 22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ezekiel 31 – 36

Verse 32:18 describes the fate of Egypt:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 11 – 12

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

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

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

Verse 11:15 focuses on our lending:

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

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

Verse 12:2 talks about how we should live:

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

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

Psalms 84 – 86

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 86:7 is a natural response to trouble:

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

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

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

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

2 Kings 11 – 15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leviticus 16 – 18

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

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

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

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

Verse 17:11 deals with the blood:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Colossians 1 – 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke 19 – 20

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 19:30 has Jesus getting his donkey colt:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Movie Review of Noah, Staring Russell Crowe

Since this is a review of the DVD viewing, I assume most have already either read the reviews or seen the movie. My first comment of the movie was it was too long. Second they took an amazing story and ruined it. Since the movie had many atheists working on the story, it’s understandable why they would mess it up so badly. Since there is no way they could imagine the flood story being true, they needed to add their own story to make it work.Here are some technical issues I found with the movie (and yes it’s footnoted;)

The “watchers” that were fallen angels who were encrusted in the earth to become rock people helped Noah move the large timbers. I cannot recall any Biblical story that remotely resembles this at all. I also wonder how much of this has occult influences since the fallen angels were those who fell with Satan and are trying to become worshiped like God.

Having these rock people are there for two possible purposes. One is to show that the story is fantasy and was never real since it would be difficult for a family to build this on their own. Second it is more “occultish” trying to get us comfortable with thinking fallen angels can be worshiped. I often wonder if the guise of “atheist” is more a underlying worship of Satan, since Satan knows once God is gone the world becomes his.

The time line, although shown to be long, is not accurate according to the Bible. The Bible starts with Noah at 500 with 3 sons and when the rains start he’s 600 years[1]. This is a long time to build an ark and with the help of the Nephilim[2], a human kind that is much larger, this becomes very possible by men with what they had at the time. It is believed the Nephilim was what David’s “giant” was later in the Bible. Now this may tie back to the rock people in a roundabout way but again, there are no rock people in the Bible mentioned.

One last note on the Nephilim is they were the reason God was angry since man had cross bread with them to make a human/giant hybrid. That was the root problem ins Genesis 6 and the reason God was washing the earth.

During this movie Shem was the only brother that had a wife who was barren, Ham and Japheth were too young. The movie has Ham get a wife who dies when the floods start since Moses would not save her. It was definitely off track since the boys were at the very least 100 years old and had wives in the Bible before entering the Ark[3]. Unlike the movie who had Noah’s grandfather make Shem’s wife fertile and had two girls who became their brother’s wives. Just so it’s clear nothing like this is in the Biblical story of Noah.

In the movie, Noah was wondering a desolate and barren land with only one seed to create the vegetation to build the ark. Again this was a miracle, which I believe God is capable of, that makes the whole story difficult to believe. Again the time frame was 100 years from God saying build to the first drops. This is plenty of time to have a few forest stands grow to use naturally. The exaggeration discredits the Bible rendition very quickly since it becomes harder to believe with a magically appearing forest.

I was impressed that they depicted the springs flowing from the earth in addition to the rains[4]. It’s hard to understand a rain storm that is producing that much water would not harm anyone in the storm by the crushing volume coming down.

Now the Bible claims the waters flooded the earth for 150 days[5] and if you include the 40 days of rain, it’s 190 days or a little over 6 months, yet Shem’s wife bore two daughters on the boat, so their time line, even though Shem’s wife never was mentioned of having a child on the boat, is impossible. I will say the time line is difficult to figure out since it does say 10 months before the mountain tops were visible[6]

The magical smoke that kept the animals sleeping in the movie did not affect the humans was odd. I also could not find in the story how they fed and cared for that many animals. It must have been a monumental task to keep the area clean and keep them fed. The Bible says nowhere about how they cared for the animals. One note is they talk about “kind” and the Phylogenetic tree technically was formed. So one has to ask did the pairs on the ark go through evolution to create the diverse animal species we have today or did they have sub-species pairs of different kinds? (one note there were 7 pairs of clean animals and only 1 of unclean animals[7]

Back to the movie, in this one of Cain’s descendants, their leader, stowed away on the boat and was killed by Ham. This again is nowhere to be found in the Biblical description. I wonder if this was done to discredit the human race or to discredit the Bible’s rendition of being the last honorable man?

Now the Bible does claim that Methuselah lived 5 years longer than his son, Lamech, who was Noah’s father. So he could have been picking berries when the flood hit, but nothing is mentioned in the Bible, nor is Methuselah’s magical touch to Shem’s wife to produce twin girls from her barren womb.

Noah was considered the last of the righteous and worthy of saving[8] no mention of his sons being evil or him being a maniacal madman ready to kill his twin granddaughters. Now where is this story talked about and is used to discredit Noah and his family. Ham’s sub story about being bitter towards his father for leaving his found love in a trap and plotting to kill his father was never mentioned in the Bible and was again used by the producers to discredit Noah’s worthiness of being saved.

I am sure we can go on and on talking about how off base the story was when compared to the Biblical account, but the key here is to ask why was the movie done this way? Was it to discredit the Biblical account or was it just trying to make the story better? I also tend to look at more sinister motives as to subtle brain washing to discredit Christian and Jewish beliefs? I don’t know why it was done this way, but I will say that the $1.27 I paid for it at Redbox was too much for this movie. The CGI was even very poorly done!! So it wasn’t even a good technical product either. Watch out of morbid curiosity like I did, otherwise don’t waste your time!

Ezekiel 25 – 30

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 10

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

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

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

Verse 10:4 talks about work:

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

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

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

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

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

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

 asked 1st, you know the rules. Missing data doesn’t imply that all of the other data is wrong.
If that’d be your point then we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but when desert scribbles are more likely to you, we have a problem.
You have done it when I haven’t asked for it. When you have been asked you just simply ignore it. Your sources might be searchable, but then again all of the pages I stumble into are not credible, so I want to see the exact site.
You get the point, I just mistyped it for you.
Just tell them how your text starts off… F.E. : “It starts like +Joa Lampela "Got proof?… But whatever, this is fairly irrelevant.
That is why I didn’t want to get into it. I have to use "what ifs” and you missed the point of the entire sentence that you proved by missing the point.
So it is just a conclusion. You should’ve said so (if you did I’m sorry I didn’t notice). I could’ve disregarded that as your personal opinion straight away instead of asking for a hypothesis on it.
Well for now we could say science is wrong and let theories be scrutinized as much as people want to try. I am all for improving the world by correcting science and I have nothing against the idea of a god, but it just seems illogical in the light of evidence. 
But if it reflects absolute knowledge then where did they get that knowledge? If they get it from god why is it so imprecise? 
OK I want a link. All it literally takes is opening a new tab and searching for it, clicking your link of choice and [ctrl C] + [ctrl V]. I typed this in the time it would take for you to do that.
I think it is because Tesla got a bad reputation and asked for loads of money. He was also attempting to build a sky-laser that would hold the pace by threatening everyone. The pigeons too…

Psalms 81 – 83

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

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

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

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

Verse 82:3 highlights the problem with lesser gods:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 Kings 6 – 10

Elisha in verse 6:6 performs an amazing feet:

Where did it drop into the river?

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

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

Verse 6:16 has Elisha comforting his servant:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leviticus 13 – 15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Philippians 3 – 4

Verse 3:2 opens with a warning:

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

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

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

Verse 3:14 gives us perspective on life:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke 17 – 18

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

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

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

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

Verse 17:33 is the ultimate paradox:

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

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

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

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

Remember, what is humanly impossible is possible with God.

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

Ezekiel 19 – 24

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 8 – 9

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

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

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

Verse 8:19 tells us of the reward:

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

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

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

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

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

Psalms 78 – 80

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 Kings 1 – 5

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

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

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

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

Verse 2:21 has another amazing story with Elisha:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leviticus 10 – 12

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

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

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

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

Chapter 11:22 is good news:

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

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

Verse 12:2 starts a question on a conflict:

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

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

Philippians 1 – 2

Verse 1:18 tends to justify all churches:

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

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

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

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

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

Imagine if the world operated this way!!

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

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

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

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

Luke 15 – 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 16:9 clears this story up a bit:

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

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

Ezekiel 13 – 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 18:30 makes me feel better about life:

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

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

Proverbs 7

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

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

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

Verse 7:5 starts the warnings:

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

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

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

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

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

Psalms 75 – 77

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 Kings 19 – 22

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

Jezebel sent an urgent message to Elijah.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leviticus 7 – 9

Verse 7:1 opens with the guilt offering instructions:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 9:23 is something I pray for often:

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

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

Ephesians 4 – 6

Verse 4:6 gives us an understanding of God:

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 5:3 opens and interesting topic:

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

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

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

Luke 13 – 14

Verse 13:4 asks a pointed question:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ezekiel 7 – 12

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 5 – 6

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

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

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

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

Verse 5:15 sums this up:

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

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

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

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

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

Psalms 72 – 74

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

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

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

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

Verse 73:2 shows feelings many of us have:

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

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

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

Verse 74:10 asks a very import question:

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

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

1 Kings 14 – 18
 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At about midday, Elijah began provoking them.

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

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

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

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

Leviticus 4 – 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ephesians 1 – 3

Verse 1:11 shows us there is a plan:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 3:6 talks about a mystery:

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

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

Luke 11 – 12

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verses 12:25 & 26 speak to me:

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

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

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