Ezekiel 1 – 6

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

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

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

Verse 3:3 starts talking about eating a scroll:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 4

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

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

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

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

Verses 4:11 & 12 give us hope:

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

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

Verse 4:16 talks about this:

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

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

Psalms 69 – 71

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 71:20 is one that I relate to:

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

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

1 Kings 10 – 13

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 11:4 sums up Solomon’s life:

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

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

Leviticus 1 – 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 2:14 talks about a grain offering:

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

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

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

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

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

Galatians 4 – 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke 9 – 10

The reading opens with Jesus sending out the 12. Later chapter 10 opens with Jesus training and sending 70 more disciples out to teach the gospel. Interesting the same instructions are found in Matthew 10 and Mark 6 when he sends the 12 out. Why is chapter 10 the only mention of 70?

Verse 9:17 ends the story of feeding 5000 plus:

Everyone eats. Everyone is satisfied. Nobody goes away hungry. In fact, when the disciples recover the leftovers, they have 12 baskets full of broken pieces.

Robert Morris has a great teaching on this passage, check it out at:

http://12stone.com/message/principle-multiplication/

He talks about this passage and why it was this way. Think about it the 12 did not have faith that they could feed all the people. The leftovers were doggie basket for the 12!! It’s a bit of God’s humor injected into the story and emphasizes that reliance on God. It also shows them that they are way beyond anything natural.

Verse 9:24 is a sobering message:

If you try to avoid danger and risk, then you’ll lose everything. If you let go of your life and risk all for My sake, then your life will be rescued, healed, made whole and full. 

This often gets twisted into the investment and gambling world and needs to be watched. What Jesus is saying is take risks proclaiming His name, not just take risks!! It mean more then when proclaiming Jesus could cost you your life. It means the same today if you travel in Islamic countries. Vern did a mission trip in east Africa and needed to be silent of her faith. See in that same region a few died spreading the gospel. Now is this saying all Christians need to flow into the Middle East to become martyrs for Christ? No, but it does mean stand tall and be strong in professing your love and faith in Jesus.

Verse 10:29 is the end of different slant to a similar theme:

The scholar was frustrated by this response because he was hoping to make himself appear smarter than Jesus.

Scholar: Ah, but who is my neighbor?

This is presenting the “two greatest commandments” in a different light. This time a scholar is saying what they are and getting frustrated when he is told he is correct and to live that way. This leads into the story of the good Samaritan which becomes the example of the “neighbor” for the scholar. We must learn to love all, not just those nice to us or who we respect.

Lamentations 1 – 5

Verse 1:3 opens with the underlying premise of Lamentations:

Carried off to a foreign place, Judah is exiled in misery
    and debased by affliction and hard labor;
She cannot find rest living among the pagan nations.
    She tried to run and hide, but in her distress pursuers have overcome her.

This book is one of the more depressing books in the Bible. You have to understand the period in which it was written around 586bc. If you remember the reading in Jeremiah, it was the period where Babylon had taken and destroyed Israel. The torment they are going through is reflected in the writings.

Verse 2:3 talks about what happened:

Cut down by God’s anger,
    the pride and strength of Israel falls;
He withdrew His right hand and stood back and allowed Israel’s enemies
    to wreak havoc in the land.
God has burned and consumed Jacob
    in an insatiable fire.

Israel was handed to their enemies by God and they lost their protection. As we move through this book we see the “setup” for Jesus happening. Israel has lost their ability to repent and save themselves. I pray we are not doing this today, but based on many of the modified gospels being preached today (namely the prosperity gospel) I fear we may be too late.

Man is like electricity, we follow the path of least resistance. That is until we hit a shunt, switch or diode, or a path like Israel’s that is stopped by God. The road God wants us down is not easy, but is not a complex one either.

Verse 4:10 captures the despair they must have been living:

Just imagine the injustice: loving mothers
        are forced to cook their babies’ flesh.
    Children have become their food!
        All because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Turning into cannibals to survive is awful. It’s unclear if this is an illustration of the despair or if it actually was happening. Either way the though is unnerving and gives us a glimpse into what happened some 600 years before Roman occupation and Jesus. No wonder they were looking for a warrior and not who they got!!

Proverbs 2 – 3

Verse 2:8 starts our rapid fire run through the verses:

God protects the paths of those who pursue justice,
    watching over the lives of those who keep faith with Him.

Justice is the key, not only doing what is right for yourself, but for others. Life can be mixed at times and often our sense of justice becomes myopic where justice sometimes equals “just us.” We have to pursue justice for all, like our founding fathers did some 240 years ago. Today justice has become perverted by those who have money, the law has become too complex and full of nuances to navigate without shelling out bucks for a lawyer.

Verse 2:12 starts a list of benefits to using wisdom:

Wisdom will keep you from following the way of evildoers,
    of those who twist words to pervert the truth,

Much of proverbs is single verse “fortune cookie” nugget of wisdom, much of the first few chapters the nuggets are expanded on the next few verses, as with this one. Read it in more detail and gain insight on why we must embrace developing wisdom. To the men who read this verses 2:16-19 are a must read since it focuses on wisdom dealing with women.

Verse 3:3 reminds us where to focus our attention:

Stay focused; do not lose sight of mercy and truth;
    engrave them on a pendant, and hang it around your neck;
    meditate on them so they are written upon your heart.

Remain focused on mercy and truth, the rest of life will fall into place. If you remain honorable, you will never get into shady dealings. If you focus on mercy, you will not take advantage of people when they are down.

Verse 3:6 is my favorite of today’s reading (and will be the last one to discuss):

Give Him the credit for everything you accomplish,
    and He will smooth out and straighten the road that lies ahead.

This is something I do not do often enough, even when talking about recent experiences with death. Often I forget to mention that God has spared my life. If things had happened only slightly different I would either not be here today, or be a bowl full of mush. I do this whenever I accomplish something too! A win, a successful project, a kind gesture or whatever, I tend to forget to give “credit” to God first or if at all.

Psalms 66 – 68

Notice something in the next few Psalms. Verse 66:4 is the first mention:

The entire earth will bow down to worship You
    and will sing glory-songs to You;
    they will sing praises to Your name!

It seems like there is a subtle move from God’s chosen people to the all the nations. Is this setting us up for Jesus or has God always been there for every nation? We look back at how he blessed King Hiram but granted that was after this was written, so who knows.

Verse 67:4 is very similar:

May all nations celebrate together, singing joy-filled songs of praise to You
    because You judge the people fairly
    and give guidance to all the nations of the earth.

Is this acknowledging that God is with all nations and not just Israel? I know the OT gives us the impression that most nations worship pagan gods and worthless idols, with Israel being the only nation in God’s favor. But when nations honor and praise God, they are blessed also, just as our nation once was.

Verse 68:3 focuses on our personal relationship with God:

But may those who are righteous rejoice
    in the presence of the True God—so may they be glad and rejoice.
    Yes, let them celebrate with joy!

The key to the relationship with God is a pure heart. God cannot stand sin and therefore we need to be cleansed before God. In OT days that required an animal sacrifice. Today Jesus took the place as the final sacrifice. Today we just need to repent and confess in the name of Jesus to be “righteous” before God and to be in His presence. How cool is that?

1 Kings 5 – 9

This reading talks about Solomon the builder as he rebuilds the temple, his palace and the nation. Verse 5:3 starts with Solomon giving the reason why he is to begin building:

You remember that David did not have the opportunity to construct a temple honoring the reputation of the Eternal his God, because of my father’s involvement in the warfare which plagued him until the Eternal suppressed all of his enemies under his feet. 

Part of the reason was David was busy in battles, but another reason was he had too much blood on his hands and the Lord wanted the construction performed by a purer hands. Also, since Solomon had great wisdom, he was working with other kings and nations to help in his projects. Hiram was one of the major contributors to these projects and Solomon made sure he was kept happy.

Verse 6:1 gives you an idea at the time frame of this project:

During the second month called Ziv in the 4th year of Solomon’s reign, 480 years after the Israelites had departed from Egypt, Solomon began constructing the Eternal’s temple.

480 years between Moses and the people leaving Egypt to Solomon finishing the temple. When you read the Bible it’s only a few chapters, but if you add the number up we see the time. Imagine if you had to wait 10 years for a promise? See we look at time much different than the Eternal, since he is working with infinity and we have at best a 100 year bound from start to finish.

Verses 6:12 & 13 is God’s if then statement for His blessing on Israel:

Eternal One: ¹² Regarding the temple which you are building: if you live by My laws and enforce My ways, if you honor My instructions by keeping them, then I will honor the promise I made to your father, David, and establish that promise with you. ¹³ I will live among the Israelites, and I will not abandon the community of Israel, My people.

Simple follow God’s ways and all will be fine. Oh how I wish I could do that regularly. We all tend to drift and fortunately the grace of Jesus with the Holy Spirit usually gets us back on the right track. Some of us it takes longer than others, but God does not seem to abandon us. Now as you read Kings you will see God does not abandon His people, but for a season. So as harsh in writing sound, God’s compassion for us will save us with true repentance.

In writing this I have The Voice of Truth by the Casting Crowns playing. Man what a powerful song using Peter and David as prime example of faith facing a stormy sea and a giant. We tend to put God in a box or temple when He is much greater than that. We forget that this building is not God’s home, but rather the point of interface between the people and God. This was for the people and not for God!!

Final quick note, verse 9:12 shows Hiram had some problems with Solomon’s gifts:

Hiram traveled from Tyre to view the cities Solomon was giving to him, but he was not satisfied.

This seems like it could become a thorn in Solomon’s side, but 2 verses later Hiram is giving him 9000 pounds of gold. As with most relationships communications is the key and although not noted, Solomon must have communicated with Hiram to quell his anger. Since someone not satisfied would not give that much gold shortly afterwards.

Exodus 37 – 40

Verse 38:1 sums up the end of Exodus:

Bezalel made the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood. He made it square—seven and a half feet long by seven and a half feet wide—and four and a half feet high.

First comment I have concerning this reading is it’s full of minutia of the temple and the priest’s clothes. Base, linen, alters, lampstands and the covenant chest are all described in these chapters. I think many miss the point of how God commanded these powerful symbols to be created for a clear understanding of the separation between Him and mankind. The attention to detail is important since this is where God resides with his people.

Second comment is Bezalel is mentioned throughout this reading. He is the artisan in charge of making sure all the details are correct. You notice he either does the work or collaborates with the craftsman to finish the work.

As you read chapter 40, you suddenly see this is a portable tabernacle. It made me think of when we were doing church at the high school. Every Sunday we took the school and set up our stuff to make it a church. Like the Israelites did, we would systematically set up the areas to ensure God could be worshiped and the focus not be on where they were, but rather on God.

Chapter 40 has Moses given the schedule on when to set up and worship in this tabernacle. Also, he anoints everything and everyone to ensure the blessing of God is on its entirety.  In the end we see the people build the tabernacle to specification and God blesses them.

Galatians 1 – 3

In looking at verse 1:4, I wish there was more of this in the church today:

Frankly I am stunned. I cannot believe that you have abandoned God so quickly—even after He called you through the grace of the Anointed One—and have fallen for a different gospel.

We see many led astray by people preaching a gospel that is not pure. I pray to have the ability to know the difference if this ever happens. I have only experienced it a few times and it’s spooky. The most memorable was watching Joel Osteen who quoted scripture that to this day I have not found. This has concerned me since the message was focused on “beginning again”. Not going to lambast Osteen for being a false prophet, but it concerned me that he may be corrupting the word of God.

Verse 1:12 reminds me of what we are facing today:

It is not a legend I learned or one that has been passed down from person to person, ear to ear. I was gifted with this message as Jesus the Anointed revealed Himself miraculously to me. 

Today there is a huge push to say the story of Jesus is not real. After 2000 years people are saying it’s a myth and if there was a Jesus, He was just a man. Funny how there is no evidence to suggest Jesus was not who the stories claim. The early Christians who were killed are not considered fake. So if Christians were being martyred for a fake story, that no one of that time every claimed was fake. The only claims were that Jesus was NOT the Messiah, and not that He did not do all that was written. But 2000 years later, we suddenly have the insight to tell when something is a story and when something is truly history.

Think about it, if the story was a fraud one would think it would have been squashed by people early on. Those who knew Jesus or were there could provide first-hand accounts of what happened. The only ones are from people who confirm what Jesus did. Also, you cannot dismiss what’s happening in the church today.

Verse 3:10 is something I struggle with often:

Listen, whoever seeks to be righteous by following certain works of the law actually falls under the law’s curse. I’m giving it to you straight from Scripture because it is as true now as when it was written: “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t live by and do all that is written in the law.”

Do we follow the Law or not as a Christian? This is a big dilemma for many. Paul makes it clear there is no way we can follow the Law, and if we try we are held to its standards and not Jesus’. Yet take the food Laws, they are for our health but if you think it’s a sin for eating pork then there is a problem. So it becomes a quandary, if you follow the food Laws are you then judged by the whole Law?

Luke 7 – 8

Verse 7:25 Jesus is asking the people about John the Baptist:

What were you looking for? A man in expensive clothing? Look, if you were looking for fancy clothes and luxurious living, you went to the wrong place—you should have gone to the kings’ courts, not to the wilderness!

If you think about this, even if someone had been of means, they would have been ousted quickly. We tend to reject what is not the status quo in society. If John had been preaching the coming Messiah, then the people would have most likely rejected him as a fraud, thus pushing him into the wilderness.

Verses 7:33 & 34 are a perfect juxtaposition of why people should not try to judge someone from God:

³³ You can’t win with this generation. John the Baptist comes along, fasting and abstaining from wine, and you say, “This guy is demon-possessed!” ³⁴ The Son of Man comes along, feasting and drinking wine, and you say, “This guy is a glutton and a drunk, a friend of scoundrels and tax collectors!” 

I expect the same thing to happen on Jesus’ return. The ones in power who will lose much if Jesus actually returns will reject the return and call out his flaws. There is a statue in Davidson, NC that has Jesus curled up sleeping as a homeless man on a park bench. People who expect Him to return on a chariot of fire will reject a humble return on a park bench. Hence “they” will say similar things.

Verse 7:49 ends the story of the prostitute washing Jesus’ feet with her tears, drying them with her hair and applying perfumed oil on them:

Who does this guy think He is? He has the audacity to claim the authority to forgive sins?

This was the response of the people we was guests with; they saw this woman and judged her based on past transgressions. Jesus was judging her based on her remorse and desire for forgiveness. We must watch and not fall into these kinds of traps, where our self-righteous mindset ignores the word of God!!

I think the Voice has one of the clearest explanations of the sower’s story and suggest reading verse 8:10-15 on your own. I like the way it clearly shows what actually happens to the word in man.

Verse 8:37 ends the story of the man possessed with many called Battalion in this version and Legion in others:

The people are scared to death, and they don’t want this scary abnormality happening in their territory. They ask Jesus to leave immediately. Jesus doesn’t argue. He prepares to leave, 

They are not amazed that this once insane man is now sane, but rather the money that was lost when the heard of pigs committed suicide. In this case money trumps God!! Think about how this is the case in most lives; Jesus is the one to follow until it really starts to cost. We need to ensure we focus on the good that happens and not the lost pigs!!

Jeremiah 47 – 52

Verse 48:7 follows a theme for the next few chapters:

You depended on your own works and your own wealth,
        and now you will be humbled and taken captive.
    Your so-called god, Chemosh, will go with you into exile
        along with his priests and officials.

The next few chapters are the destruction of various nations who drifted and worshiped other Gods. God is a jealous God in so much as He want acknowledgement for all that transpires on the earth. These lesser gods like Chemosh may be just statues or fallen angels with limited powers. Either way God does not like misdirected worship and praise.

We see it today with “The Secret” or the law of attraction. You give something up to the universe and the universe then aligns itself to make it happen. Suddenly God is completely out of the equation and we have people tapping into this power without acknowledging the source. Much in the same way the people of Moab worshiped Chemosh, many today are worshiping this cosmic universal energy that gives them stuff.

Verse 48:26 got my attention:

Make Moab drink deeply from this cup until he is drunk, for he has exalted himself above the Eternal. Make him drink until he wallows in his own vomit; then he will be ridiculed by all who see him.

When you think about this it’s a very sad place to be. I know I have been there a few times and am not proud of them. People tend to get upset at you or take advantage of you in the process. It’s very sad and ugly.

Verse 48:35 talks about ending the idol worship:

I will put an end to idol worship in Moab, to those who make offerings on shrines in high places and burn incense to so-called gods.

When God says He is putting an “end to idol worship” that is a very final statement. Ironically, He ends it one place and it pops up another. Over and over again our rebellion against an authority keeps us searching for powers without responsibility. Hence why people end up worshiping gods, idols or the universe.

Interestingly chapter 51 ends with “the messages of Jeremiah end here” yet it continues with another chapter. The final chapter is more a history chapter than anything else, it just tells what happened. 

Proverbs 1

Verse 1:4 opens with why Solomon is writing these Proverbs:

These proverbs teach the naive how to become clever;
    they instruct the young in how to grow in knowledge and live with discretion.

One can learn a ton from one single verse in this book, it’s designed that way. Many you can dwell on for hours before you are clear in understanding, where many are instantly understood. Enjoy as we read through and share your favorites as we read.

Verse 1:10 is a message we all should have gotten at an early age:

My son, should your less honorable peers pressure you to do what is wrong,
    you should be strong enough not to go along.

The phrase “if all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you” comes to mind. How many times in my youth did I let this happen. I went from drinking to trying weed to doing some stupid stuff just because my “friends” wanted to. Oh how I could have saved a bunch of the stupid tax if I had listened to my own logic. Funny thing is when we get in situations where “less honorable peers pressure” us we tend to justify it and think it’s our idea. Key is do what is right!!

Verse 1:33 sums up why we should listen to Solomon:

But those who listen to me now will live under divine protection;
    they can rest knowing they are out of harm’s way.

The only thing I don’t like about this is it makes life sound rosy following God. It’s not! Look at Paul, Peter, James and others who followed Jesus. They died listening to God! I think what Solomon is trying to say is the “self-inflicted” pain or the pain getting wrong advice will be limited. We will still have the hiccups in life, but we will be better prepared to “roll with it.”

Psalms 63 – 65

Verse 63:1 is a powerful opening:

O True God, You are my God, the One whom I trust.
    I seek You with every fiber of my being.
In this dry and weary land with no water in sight,
    my soul is dry and longs for You.
    My body aches for You, for Your presence.

How many of us can say they seek God “with every fiber of my being?” How many of us have our soul’s “long” for the presence of God? I know when things were “down” and I was coming from my death, I yearned for God. But as the weeks plod on, and normalcy returns to life, I remain thankful but not seeking “with every fiber of my being.” Why is that? Why when in crisis do we turn to God, but in normal day to day life we may acknowledge Him, but praying tends to become routine and loses passion.

I think we need to read Psalm 63 more than once in a while to regain the passion we once had for following our Lord!

Verse 64:1 opens like many of our prayers today:

O True God, hear my voice! Listen to my complaint!
    Guard my life; keep me safe from my enemy’s threats.

We tend to want God to fix our problems and ailments rather than bask in God’s glory. Sure God wants to hear our complaints and petitions, but not all the time. One thing I learned these past weeks is how casual I have always taken God. Sure He is Lord in  my life, but say a magnificent healer that I wondered. It’s taking a while to sink in, but my story is not a normal one. I have talked with paramedics who have never seen my story play out. I am a novelty at the doctor’s office, since I am the one who survived.

Was it God? Was it just a coincidence that the timing worked perfectly? I tend to believe it was God and not just dumb luck. Now I just need to convince my inner self;-)

Verse 65:13 ends the reading:

Meadows are clothed with frolicking flocks of lambs;
    valleys are covered with a carpet of autumn-harvest grain;
    the land shouts and sings in joyous celebration.

God is not just some old man in the sky, but rather He is everywhere and in everything. He is not just man’s God, but rather God over all. We tend to personify God too much and put limits on His character. But when the earth explodes with bounty, It’s just as much a joyous celebration as church was this weekend!

1 Kings 1 – 4

This opens with David on his death bed and his sons struggling for the throne. Adonijah in the initial struggle comes out on top, until David in verse 1:30 names Solomon his successor:

today I will uphold what I promised to you by the Eternal, the God of Israel, when I said, “Your son, Solomon, will reign as king after me. He will inherit my throne.”

I have always found it interesting how David chose his youngest as his successor, since tradition usually had the eldest. Although since Saul did not hand his throne down to family and David was the first to do so, guess there really was no tradition at this time.

Verse 2:4 has simple rules for David, Solomon and their successors:

for the Eternal will be faithful to His promise to me throughout your life. He promised me, “For as long as your sons are devoted to Me and live by My truth and embrace it with all their being, your offspring will always sit upon Israel’s throne.”

It’s a simple order, yet we find the family does not follow it over time.

Verse 3:9 is one of the most telling verses on Solomon:

Please give Your servant a listening heart for judging Your people and for knowing the difference between what is good and what is evil. Who is capable of judging Your chosen ones, a great people?

He is not looking for “wealth and pelf and fame and name and all of that noise” (Pippin- Simple Joys), the world’s definition of “happiness,” but rather what would make him a great ruler. This is very important in Solomon’s initial kingdom, since people came from far and wide to see him and experience his wisdom. This makes Solomon one of the great leaders of Israel!

Exodus 33 – 36

They have just been chastised for making the golden calf and are ready to move forward. Verse 33: 3 lays out what God had decided:

Travel to the land that flows with milk and honey,the land of your inheritance. However, because you are such an incredibly stubborn people, I will not be going with you. Otherwise, I would completely destroy you during the journey.

Imagine loving someone so much, but not being able to be around them because they infuriated you so much? I know many in our family who say that about me. They love me but can’t be around me.

Verse 34:14 clarifies why God is this way:

because you must not worship any god except for Me. My name is Jealous, and I am a jealous God.

I believe one of the reasons God does not want us worshiping these idols and gods is many are the ones cast out with Satan. They are trying to be like God and therefore gather the wrath of God, since he cast them out of heaven. This is the constant battle between man, demons and God where we are trying to elevate ourselves to God like levels.

Take the books “The Secret” it tries to break down “the law of attraction” into some scientific thing that over powers any belief of God. Heck all I have to do is want it and the “universe” will get it for me, without having to pray to God to get it. I have become God like in this case!! See the danger? The book focuses on God being a genie to give you things and not a ruler over all.

Verse 35:21 ties offerings from the heart vs forced:

Then all those whose hearts and minds moved them came back, bringing their valuables as a contribution to the Eternal One for the congregation tent, all its service, and the sacred garments. 

See the difference? Those who changed their “hearts and minds” gave offerings pleasing to God. God does not want you to seem forced to give something you do not wish, rather He wants you to give from love. It’s that simple, don’t give from the law, but give from the heart and then you will see what was talked about in Luke 6:38.

2 Corinthians 11 – 13

Verse 11:3 is the fear of most church planters:

But now I’m afraid that as that serpent tricked Eve with his wiles, so your hearts and minds will be tricked and you will stray from the single-minded love and pure devotion to Him.

Imagine pouring your heart and soul into a church plant only to have them stray from God! Paul is in a rough position with the church in Corinth, since it appears they drift wildly from “the way”. After this for the rest of the chapter Paul makes his case how much you can expect to endure for Jesus. It’s not a road of easy, happy go lucky happenings, but rather a narrow and difficult path. Today’s church seems to miss this in many of their messages; we are not expecting resistance or trials along the way.

Verse 12:2 caught me in something I wanted to explore:

Fourteen years ago, there was this man I knew—a believer in the Anointed who was caught up to the third heaven. (Whether this was an in- or out-of-body experience I don’t know; only God knows.)

Interesting how most translations include the mention of the “third heaven”, but rarely is it ever talked about in church. The common definitions among those who deal with the multi-heaven theology is the first heaven is here on earth, the  second heaven is on earth but is the domain the demons and other entities move about and the third heaven is God’s domain. So seeing into that must have been fantastic!!

Verse 12:7 talks about Paul’s “thorn”:

To keep me grounded and stop me from becoming too high and mighty due to the extraordinary character of these revelations, I was given a thorn in the flesh—a nagging nuisance of Satan, a messenger to plague me!

It has never been said what his “thorn” was a physical ailment to a tormenting by Satan to even a sin like homosexuality. We will never know but often let it play into our agenda in our walk. All we do know is it challenged Paul throughout his days.

Verse 13:4 sinks in a bit when you think about it more:

Now it’s true that He was crucified in weakness, but it’s also true that He lives by God’s power. For we who belong to Him are weak in Him, but we will live with Him by God’s power for you.

I read this initially and wonder if God’s power is if we live in Jesus, but if we just “belong” to Him it’s not the same. Jesus did die in weakness, but in the end revealed God’s power to all. Now how cool is that?

Luke 5 – 6

Verse 5:15 shows a common problem Jesus has:

Even though Jesus said not to talk about what happened, soon every conversation was consumed by these events. The crowds swelled even larger as people went to hear Jesus preach and to be healed of their many afflictions.

How often did Jesus say “don’t talk about what happened” and the word gets out anyway? I often wonder if Jesus really didn’t want the word out or if he was protecting His life from the Pharisees? Either way, the word always seemed to get out and it stirred the passions of the Pharisees.

When asked why Jesus spent so much time with sinners He responds in verse 5:31:

Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do.

Over the years one of the riders, Mustache Greg,  we use to judge had a sticker on his helmet that said “Jesus is for losers”. Finally after almost ten years of judging him for being a blasphemer we finally talked. I asked him about it and he said because it’s true, Jesus did not come for the righteous, but rather for the sinners or losers. I was immediately humbled and apologized for a decade of judgment.

Now Chapter 6 from verse 20 is full of piercing commands that one could write a book on.  Verse 6:27 is one of the hardest ones to get:

If you’re listening, here’s My message: Keep loving your enemies no matter what they do. Keep doing good to those who hate you.

Love your enemy, easy to say but hard to do. How many of us would love on someone who stole our fortune? How many of us would love on someone who spat in our face? How many of us would love on someone who murdered our child? See these are easy words to say, but very hard to follow.

Verse 6:38 is another we tend to miss:

Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give.

God wants us to give! He said himself it will come back more than we can imagine. I can point you towards Robert Morris for an example. He once gave it all, two cars, his house and savings. Within hours of him saying “top that God” had arranged to give him a jet with a pilot!! I am not saying give it all away, Mr. Morris had built up a life of trust and understanding. The last thing I want is everyone giving their homes away for selfish reasons only to be homeless. The key is give and give freely without worry to the cost. And please in all this be a joyful giver!!

Ok, I am not one for asking for help, my daughter actually started this when I was in a coma. We are un-insured, un-employed and facings large legal actions that happened when I was “dead”. 

https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/tgp4/chuck-smillie-and-family-fund

Thanks for the help and support

If you cannot give or help support our needs please spread the word and help my family out of this tough one!

Jeremiah 42 – 46

Verse 42:3 opens with the people asking Jeremiah for guidance from God:

Pray that the Eternal your God will tell us where to go and what to do.

As you read the story you find out that the people really didn’t want this, but rather to be told what they wanted to hear. How many times have we done something like this ourselves? We ask for guidance and when we get it we don’t like it only to change direction. Verse 42:10 is very clear on what God wants of his people:

“If you will stay here in this land, I will bless and protect you. I will rebuild you and not tear you down. I will plant you anew and not uproot you. For I deeply regret the disaster I had to bring upon you.

But if they go to Egypt the “wars <they> fear and the famine <they> dread will follow <them> into Egypt.” (v42:16) Seems like a simple option, say and prosper or leave and die. The choice is clear, but not what the leaders wanted to hear. They wanted to be “safe” in their minds and said “these words are lies!” (v43:2) With that their minds were made up, even though Jeremiah attempted to sway them, off to Egypt and death was the decision.

Verse 44:10 is God lamenting their disobedience:

To this day, I’ve seen no evidence of sorrow or regret for what has been done by My people. They have shown no reverence for Me, nor have they obeyed My law and the decrees I set before them and their ancestors.”

They go into Egypt worshiping idols and other gods without any though to the one true God who saved them so many times. God will play only so long with our insolence and then he breaks. As you read on He still gives them an opportunity to save themselves, but they choose to do what they want.

The sad part of this story is we still see this rejection every day in the church. Sometimes it’s by teaching and other times it’s the congregation just saying no. There has been some questionable teaching, mostly notably the “Prosperity Preachers” who require you to give to them to receive “monetary blessings from God”. They twist scripture out of context to get hoards to believe that giving to Pastor XYZ will give them great wealth and therefore happiness.

I wonder what God truly thinks about us today? Does Jesus really cover a multitude sins or are we just a ticking time bomb? I know I live in fear sometimes of doing things wrong and not figuring it out until it’s too late. Revelations is “a coming” and we need to be ready!

Job 41 – 42

For some reason I am glad to end this part of the study. Job is not one of those books I clearly understand or even get why it was allowed. I do enjoy verse 41:1 and beyond:

Eternal One: Now let us not stop here.
    What of Leviathan?
    Can you haul it in on the end of a hook
        or strap down its tongue with your line?

Throughout the Bible we tend to dismiss creatures of fantasy like the Leviathan. This huge creature that comes from the water yet breathes fire is from fables and fairy tales. Or is it? Maybe there are dinosaurs that did in fact breathe fire? Think about all the cultures around the world that have almost the exact same “fable” of dragons. Just consider this, maybe they did live on the earth with man, hence the commonality of the stories. So do you consider this truth or fable?

Job 42:4 is Job acknowledging God’s words to him:

 You said, “Hear Me now, and I will speak.
        I’ll be asking the questions, and you will supply the answers.”

How many times have we actually listened to what God had to say? I know in my prayer time, I tend to do all the talking without listening to answers to comments. I think we all need to just settle down and let the Holy Spirit guide us. We need to learn which little voice in our head is God and which is our own nature.

Verse 42:13 is the only one that tends to bother me:

He also fathered 7 more sons and 3 more daughters.

If you remember before any of this started he had 7 sons and 3 (Job 1:2) and Satan took them almost immediately in the story (Job 1:19). Sure God replaced his family, but again how could you not continue to mourn for those originally lost? The final verse 42:17 says “Then Job died, old, and satisfied with his days.” Again it almost seems like the children were more like cattle than family. Sure let’s just give you 10 more children that should satisfy the fact I let Satan kill your original 10.

See I would harbor bitterness towards God and THAT is why I do not like this book!

Psalms 60 – 62

Verse 60:7 opens my eyes how God works on this earth:

Gilead belongs to Me, and so does Manasseh;
    Ephraim is the helmet that protects My head;
    Judah is the scepter through which I rule;

Notice in this verse and the next one God talks about how he uses nations to work for him. Judah, the tribe of David and the linage of Jesus has always meant to rule. I think it’s cool how this personifies God, but at the same time shows He is beyond bounds. You may need to read verses 60:6-8 a few time to see if either I am nuts or you observe it the same way. Either way we see how God uses nations and people to do his bidding, not necessarily just coming down and doing it supernaturally.

Verse 61:2 is one that we need to realize:

You are the One I will call when pushed to the edge,
    when my heart is faint.
    Shoulder me to the rock above me.

This is so true as we get pushed to the edge most have a “come to Jesus” moment and try to fix it all then. Unfortunately, more often than not, we need to have that moment BEFORE we get pushed to the edge. I know many salvations are in crisis, yet slowly slip after things get back to normal. We need to rely on God not while on the edge, but during our day to day lives. Once you can rely on God to help you through the mundane, the heart attack is no big deal.

Verse 62:2 is so important it’s repeated in verse 6:

He alone is my rock and my deliverance,
    my citadel high on the hill; I will not be shaken.

One thing we have to remember is this messed up world we live in with our flawed lives has one unmovable standard, God. We tend to take the flaws and focus on why God is not correcting them, where often times it’s just life. Sure we have bad hearts, accidents and cancer show up in our lives but it’s not that God is orchestrating it, but rather it’s just happening. See our bodies are flawed or lives are not perfect and that is where our connection with God must be. See God is the perfect rock we must rest our broken and weary bodies on.

2 Samuel 20 – 24

Verse 20:1 shows the divide David had in his kingdom:

A worthless troublemaker, Sheba the Benjaminite, the son of Bichri, blasted a trumpet and silenced everyone.

Sheba: We don’t have any share in David, no interest in the son of Jesse! Israel, let’s go back to our tents and show loyalty to only our own tribes!

David was to unify the nation of Israel, but as you may expect with a nation that was so hard headed in the wilderness, this is not as smooth as David would like. As we continue reading we see that it takes time and some strife to bring the nation of Israel back under on king. We see in Chapter 21 that some of this was punishment for things Saul did not do as king, so David had a deep pit to dig out of.

Verse 22:28 is a theme I like to point out when I can:

For You rescue weak people,
        but the proud You bring low.

God really has a problem with the braggadocios and the proud. We see this over and over again with people think it’s more them than God and they get humbled. I use to have this happen over and over again in racing; when I was fast it was ME. When I was trying to get fast I was talking with God on how that could happen. Problem was when it was all about ME, I tended to get humbled quickly, either by a fast new guy, a mechanical issue or a major crash. Not saying the God mixed up the day to humble me, but rather as we get full of ourselves we start overlooking details that could save our skins.

Verse 24:24 ends with David acknowledging an offering is not a gift from someone else you decided to give:

David: ²⁴ No, I will buy these things from you. Name your price. I will not make an offering to the Eternal One, my True God, that has cost me nothing.

Often we tend to give from excess and not from scripture. See we are told to offer 10% of the first fruits. This tends to follow with all offerings that God is looking for some skin in the game from the giver. We are not told to give till it hurts, but rather out of joy. So David is not only doing that, but making sure it is HIS offering and not another’s.

Giving is so hard to discuss, but it is something that is critical in our relationship with the Lord. I would suggest Robert Morris’s book the Blessed Life if you want to dive into the Biblical reasons for giving.

You may or may not know, on May 17^th I had a full on cardiac arrest. I died. I was without pulse or reparation for some time after this. Some may say it’s a miracle I am alive today, and I can agree to a point.

My heart was going to fail, that was a given after this event, just when. I am not a Cheetos eating loafing bum, but rather was just getting back from a run. Looked at my wife and hit the ground. A couple fortunate events happened; the EMT’s were not on call and were there in minutes. I didn’t collapse outside or in my room which I was headed to next.

Thanks to the EMT’s who spent 45 minutes putting every chemical they could to restart my ticker, they “paddled” me 7 times, and spent the rest of the time performing CPR. They got a pulse minutes before the hospital. Now they took over and did even more stuff that I am not aware of, other than a few days in ICU there, then was moved for surgery and was in and out of ICU there.

Either way, on Monday I walked out of the hospital on my own power! You may say I am a miracle; I would refine that and say I am a miracle of circumstances. If one event would have been out of order, I would no longer be on this earth. SIMPLE.

God touched my life, my families and I hope my friends, who came out of the woodwork to help. Now to find out what’s next!

I must respectfully disagree. See most Christians don’t look into New Age because they’ve been told it’s evil. At the same time many believe Kundilini is not demonic.

Dig into SRA, DiID , The Black Awakening and cults and you will understand why Kundilini seems safe and righteous … But miss that the Father of Lies makes evil seem ok. It’s all done to separate us from God. We need to be vigil and read the Bible … Suggest ESV for a clean NT … The CJB for a good OT interpretation … The Voice for an easy to read translationally accurate version. This way you’ll understand what God is fighting with … Kundilini seems safe when it’s really not.

Also think about Jesus’ statement that we need to have child like faith. Most incorrectly interpret as blind faith … Where any of us who have children it is a litany of question … So Jesus was saying it’s ok to ask questions to honestly discover the truth!

Exodus 29 – 32

Verse 29:37 explains the reasoning behind the purification of the altar:

For seven days you must purify the altar and consecrate it. As a result of these rituals it will be most holy and anything that touches the altar will become holy.

Through much of the reading we get a feel for the details God gave to his people for honoring Him. Today we look at this as a bunch of ceremony that often seems unnecessary. It obviously was important to do since God required it. The only question that I have is we to take our relationship with God a bit more reverent?

Think about this for a moment. I think of a moment in Crocodile Dundee where Mick is asked about God, he said “me and God are mates”. This implies that his relationship with the almighty is like any drinking buddy. I wonder if our casualness with God is ruining our relationship with Him. Maybe we should approach God with a bit more reverence than we tend to today. Although David’s prayers were sometimes out of shear frustration, he came to God with total respect and dignity.

Now as we read each chapter we see procedures for dress, procedures, materials, altars, Sabbath laws and blending anointing oils and incense. Notice is verse 30:33 has a definite warning:

Whoever makes a similar blend or anoints anyone who is not ordained as a priest will be cut off from the community.

Today I believe we can go to any “Christian” book store and purchase the recipe for anointing oil and incense, even though each recipe has this warning. Why is this? Is this ok with God? What if I were to purchase this or make it and then anoint someone? Would I be “cut off” from God? Do we just consider this OT and ignore it? Understand I don’t know the answer now, but do know the answer then and feel maybe we should take this more serious that just mixing and making a buck.

I love reading these chapters because interspersed with God’s Commandments and Laws are history lessons on what was going on at the time. Chapter 32 is the famous story of the “golden calf” which most believe is the reason Israel was not allowed into the Promised Land. No God just killed a bunch as an example. Verse 32:19 shows Moses as not some cool dude:

As soon as Moses arrived at the camp, he saw the calf and the revelry around it. His anger flared, and he hurled down the stone tablets and they shattered at the foot of the mountain.

His anger is something he has been working on all his life. Think about how he was in exile for 40 years after murdering an Egyptian. He has anger issues, which one could say was righteous indignation, in this instance caused him to shatter the tablets God inscribe the Law on. These were not just some rocks he had, but rather something made before him by God!! The people had no clue the significance of these tablets and just assume Moses lost it again. We must all learn to control our wrath, let God’s furry deal with things and not ours. Although God lost it just as much as Moses earlier, so maybe “righteous indignation” is ok.

2 Corinthians 9 – 10

Verse 9:6 opens a dialog on giving:

But I will say this to encourage your generosity: the one who plants little harvests little, and the one who plants plenty harvests plenty.

This goes way beyond talking to people about Jesus and you will see it includes giving. Read though verse 9 and you will see the promises of God blessing you if you cheerfully give. I think these are verses that hurt many people and get abused by “preachers”. We cannot go into this deeply, but would suggest Robert Morris’s The Blessed Life. It goes deep into giving and allows you to understand the heart of a giver. He has literally given it all away only to be blessed with more, that he gave away.

The key point you need to take from this is giving is not about getting, but rather blessing. We need to bless people without expectation of God blessing us, sure it’s way cool when he does, but it’s not necessary for our giving to continue. I think we need to give not till it hurts, but rather give in joy. That is what this passage says! If it brings you great joy to tithe, then tithe. If it brings you great joy to give houses away, then give houses away. If you don’t have joy giving $20 into the plate, then don’t!!

Verse 10:8 makes sure we understand our job is not to convict:

I’m not embarrassed, even if it seems to others I have gone overboard in speaking about the power the Lord has given us to edify and encourage you and not to destroy anyone who strays.

People who stray from the Lord often have targets on their backs by many in the church. They want them back and sitting in the pews. Paul is saying just keep doing what you are doing, to encourage not destroy. He does not want us on fire convicting every backslid believer, rather focus on the words “edify and encourage” so we can build up the body. If the Holy Spirit convicts, then let it do so. IT’S NOT OUR JOB!!

Verse 10:11 is critical:

 They need to understand this: whatever we say through our letters when we are away, that is exactly what we will do when we are looking you in the eye.

I have watched someone who was new to the faith have it crushed when their pastor failed them in their eyes. A pastor I know made a big deal on giving up smoking and how it was God who gave him the power to quit. It was miraculous how he went from a chain smoker to nothing. This was awesome, until he was so frustrated in life; he started back up and made up for lost time. This crushed the new followers since he had led them to Jesus and were now seeing it as folly. Do what you say and say what you do, have honor and character!

Luke 3 – 4

Notice when reading Luke he gives more historical details and time frames so people can understand the period when Jesus lived. Also notice he gives scripture references for the prophecies which Jesus fulfilled. Verse 3:4 references Isaiah 40:3-5:

 As Isaiah the prophet had said,

A solitary voice is calling:
“Go into the wilderness;
    prepare the road for the Eternal One’s journey.
In the desert, repair and straighten
    every mile of our True God’s highway.

John the Baptist was preparing the way for the Lord. I often wondered how much interaction these two had since John’s mother Elizabeth and Mary were cousins. Mary spent the first few months of her pregnancy with Elizabeth so I assume John had contact with Jesus. We read these accounts and it’s like they first met when Jesus was baptized, but I have to wonder.

John’s message was hard hitting and in their face. Verse 3:13 had his response to the tax collectors asking what God wanted:

Stop overcharging people. Only collect what you must turn over to the Romans.

This why Matthew was considered a questionable “disciple” since he was of this ilk. See the tax collectors collected more than they sent to Rome to line their pockets. This made them very unpopular with the Jewish people and John the Baptist calls them out on doing this.

Verse 3:16 sets the stage for Jesus:

I baptize you with water, but One is coming—One far more powerful than I, One whose sandals I am not worthy to untie—who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

They are still expecting Jesus to overturn Rome and free them, but did not expect what actually happened. Again I wonder if the Church today would reject Jesus if He came in another way than on a white horse with smoke and pageantry. Be aware and don’t reject someone saying they are Jesus just because they are in jeans and a tee.

Chapter 4 opens with the Devil tempting Jesus. Verse 4:13 caught my attention:

The devil had no more temptations to offer that day, so he left Jesus, preparing to return at some other opportune time.

When does Satan come back to tempt Jesus? Or does he return to corrupt Judas? Which leads me to the question if Judas and Jesus were working together without anyone else’s knowledge? Think about it Jesus knew, but did He help Judas along the way? One of the “Gnostic Gospels” is that of Judas which implies this was orchestrated since it had to be done.

Notice in the remaining of the chapter, he heals and then get over run by people wanting the same thing. I can see how “healing ministries” get so much support. There is a lot of pain and hurt in this world which these ministries take advantage of. Not saying that all a frauds, but it’s been shown how many are “setups” and stage “healings”. That just shows the enormity of the problem and how much he would be in demand today!! Could you imagine the riots that would follow Jesus just trying to get to Him? Now we can understand the pressure He felt.

Jeremiah 37 – 41

Verse 37:2 shows the problem with new rulers:

Neither young Zedekiah nor his inexperienced advisors nor the people of Judah themselves listened to what the Eternal said through His prophet Jeremiah.

As Jack Nicholson as Col. Jessep in A Few Good Men said, “you can’t handle the truth”. Unfortunately, most new leaders can’t handle the truth; they want what tickles their ear and be happy. We can see this in almost all the new leaders of our time, it’s become a narcissistic job, where image is more important than leadership. Case in point is our current occupant in the White House. The White House traditionally has a dog, and this was no different except for the occupant named the dog after himself.

Anyway I don’t want to drift too far down the rabbit hole of today’s political scene and rather notice it was no different then. Verse 37:19 was Jeremiah’s Jack Nicholson moment:

I told you nothing but the truth about Babylon from the beginning, so why am I in this cell? Meanwhile, your so-called prophets keep telling you, “Don’t worry, the king of Babylon will never attack you or this land,” and they go unpunished?

We naturally want to hear what we want. If someone today came to you and said sell everything the market will crash tomorrow, where everyone else is buying like there is no tomorrow and making good money who would you listen to? Would it be the “gloom and doom” or the “happy days are here again” advisor?  If someone said you would win the lottery tomorrow, while another said your fortune would dissolve if you did that, would you buy the ticket or not? Zedekiah is not different than the majority of us, he wants to hear the good and ignore the bad.

We do the same with Jesus’ teachings. We take the good and dismiss the bad. We focus on “praying in Jesus’ name” to get blessings, yet oddly forget that all the money is His and we should at the very least tithe. Sure we can say “the church is spending too much on the building, the staff or fruitless projects, we should give the money directly to the poor!” We feel good and then oddly forget giving to the poor. I think of Robert Morris’ teaching about giving. At one time he gave a house, two cars and emptied his bank account only to have God out give him. See God want’s obedience and not fellowship.

As you finish the reading it’s painful to see how the king wants to obey, but ignores God and loses. We can learn a bunch from this story and must sometimes feel the pain before we start to follow God’s prompts anyway. But keep stories like this in the back of your head to really understand what God can do if we do not obey fully.

Job 39 – 40

In starting this reading I cheated and looked ahead … only 2 more chapters!! Sorry, but Job is in my opinion a difficult book to read since it’s a story that is horrible and I have still not reconciled why God would have allowed this much suffering and death to satisfy a “bet” with Satan. Verse 39:1 has God continuing his talk with Job:

Eternal One: Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth?
        Do you attend at the doe’s delivery?

As science and knowledge increases we can actually predict these times closer and closer, but definitely not in the wild, but rather in a controlled environment. The thing I find interesting when I studies science and biology in college is that although it’s not definitive, it’s truth. I look at what is not known and see God, most will not accept a God and assume it’s all the beauty and randomness of nature.

Not to berate this issue, let’s look at what God is saying to Job. Basically, He is showing Job how little he actually knows about life and this world. Now verses 39:13 – 18 point to the ostrich and point out how odd the bird is, yet as dumb it appears it has a purpose. Although it can’t fly, it flies on the ground!

Verse 40:15 gets me back on the subject of science:

But before you undertake My challenge,
        turn your attention to Behemoth,
    The beast which I fashioned along with you.

When describing this beast it appears to only fit one animal in the fossil record and that’s a dinosaur. Now creationists will say the large dinosaurs were only large lizards adapted to their environment and has food became more scares they adapted and became smaller.  Science will say something completely different and claim they were monstrous beasts that roamed the earth millions or even billions of years ago who became extinct because of radical “climate change”. Maybe account proves that man and dinosaurs walked the earth together at one time. Can we prove this?

Yes and no, the only real convincing argument that man and Dino did not walk the earth is because bones of man and Dino do not appear together. We will take away anomalies like Malachite Man assuming they got their either by forgery or through mining which no other evidence was found with the fossils. Also, we will ignore a T-Rex bone that still had marrow in it, since that would imply a recent death or a very well preserved bone over billions of years. Although this data tends to suggest the Bible may be right we cannot prove it since a good theory can be falsifiable and any data that proves the Bible would be considered a forgery. Funny how that works.

Psalms 57 – 59

Once again we see David struggling with foes and trying to save his life. Verse 57:4 describes the fear he has:

I am surrounded by lions;
    I lie in a den of ravenous beasts.
Those around me have spears and arrows for teeth,
    a sharpened blade for a tongue.

We have seen this description of lion’s dens in the Bible with Daniel. Granted Daniel came after, but we see in both cases they were spared the wrath of their predators. David’s of course were figurative while Daniel’s were literal. As we read this we can feel the tension David has and see it come out in prayer.

This often gives me comfort since there is a belief that prayers should not be “selfish” but rather for others. We see time and time again examples of David’s prayers where he is praying for his skin. Sure he is the leader of a great nation and one could say his wellbeing is that of the nation. But we do not need to fear saying prayers for ourselves; we just need to balance them. I like the “formula” of confess first to open the pathways to the Lord, praise God’s glory, give thanks for something specific, petition for others and then finally petition for self. It’s simple and when things are tough, I eliminate much and go straight to the “self-petitions”.

Verse 58:2 is a petition of David not to destroy:

No, your real selves have been revealed. You have wickedness in your heart,
    and many people have suffered by your hands.

As we work with others and see how the story changes we can relate to this. I think the “salesman” is the one we see this most often. They want to be your best friend and will do anything for you, until they make the sale when this “friend” and their promises evaporate. You are suddenly stuck with a vacuum that sucks (pun intended). I think with everything we need to be on guard and not be so impulsive. We need to test with Biblical truth first to ensure we are not going down the wrong path with investments or fads.

Verse 59:17 ends with praise:

I will lift my voice to sing Your praise, O my Strength—
    for You came to my defense.
    O God, You have shown me Your loving mercy.

We need to lift up our praise to God all the time!! It’s something we don’t do often, especially when we get hung up life’s problems. We need to sing praises on those also since it’s strengthening us for future events.

2 Samuel 15 – 19

Verse 14:15 sets the stage for today’s reading:

David could see now that he had been outmaneuvered, so he called for his advisors in Jerusalem and instructed them.

David: Gather your things, and let’s flee from the city right now, or we won’t escape Absalom’s revolt. Hurry, or he will catch us and kill us and anyone left in the city.

David’s son Absalom was leading a revolt and instead of fighting, David retreats. I find it interesting that when David is challenged by outsiders, he fights, but when it comes from within either from his king Saul or his son Absalom he runs. David respects God to the point he will accept whatever is thrown at him. This is a virtue that we all should learn, since most of us tend to “buck up” and fight when challenged. Often times this resistance is just what we need to get back on track.

I believe also this is a sign of David’s dysfunctional family. He loves God enough to pursue Him, but somehow forgot to raise a family in the process. It appears that Bathsheba was just a byproduct of this problem and not the reason.

Verse 18:33 is a result of what happened when David found out about Absalom’s death:

Then the king was stricken with grief. He went to a chamber over the gateway and wept as he went.

David: O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!

David had a similar response when he discovered Saul was dead, in both cases these men were hunting David down to kill him. Interestingly, Joab, the man who killed Absalom confessed what he had done and accepted any punishment, including death. David showed mercy and did not have Joab put to death.

Now the end of chapter 19 starts showing the kingdom starting to split as Israel and Judah are already considered separate. I wonder if this has always been going on since Saul’s death and I assume it’s because David came from the tribe of Judah and therefore they remained loyal. So where many assume the split was with David’s infidelity, it was going on before David became king.

Exodus 25 – 28

Verse 25:8 gives the use for the offerings described in the previous verses:

 Direct them to build a holy sanctuary in My honor so that I can dwell among them.

As we get into building a moveable sanctuary for God we need to think of what Jesus did for us. That is a very important aspect to understanding what He did for us. I am still not sure I understand why an omnipresent God needed a special place to hang out and interface with the people.

Verse 25:10 describes the size of the covenant chest:

I want them to build a covenant chest made from acacia wood. It should be 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

For some reason I always imagined it larger. I often wonder what ever happened to it, if it is lost in some warehouse or just has been lost to rot and decay. What would the world be like if it was found again? But we have to read more to see it’s power;-)

Verse 26:33 is a critical piece of the temple to understand the significance of Jesus:

suspended beneath the clasps that hold together the curtains; and place the covenant chest, which holds the sacred tablets, behind the veil. The veil will separate the two rooms and serve to divide the holy place from the most holy place.

See the veil is critical when you go to Jesus’ death on the cross. This veil was torn, not from the bottom up, but from the top down opening the Most Holy Place to all. The Israelites were looking for a triumphant leader to free them from Rome at that time, not to free them from the Law and sin!! The theological discussion could go on for days on this subject, but look at the importance of each level and how fewer and fewer can get in as the significance goes up.

One thing I don’t like about the sanctuary and the temple is how God is being put into a box. God is so much bigger than a Most Holy Place that even if that was the point of interface to His realm it seems to narrow God.

2 Corinthians 6 – 8

Verse 6:1 opens with a tough comment:

As for those of us working as His emissaries, we beg you not to take the grace of God lightly.

“Do not take the grace of God lightly” is a bold statement and something I think we all tend to do from time to time. Think about our past and what we have been forgiven of and what God puts up with. I know I have been all over the board in life and still am considered a loose cannon at times. I hope I amuse God more than annoy Him, and that’s why His grace is something we should never take lightly.

Now in verse 6:4 we see words like “great endurance” and “persevere even in anguish and hardship” and think burden. Yet this morning at Men’s Step Up we studied Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus says words like “My yoke is easy and My burden is light”. So what is it? Are we going to have an easy life or a hard one? Jesus did not say it was going to be easy, but rather the main tool used by a beast of burden is the yoke and it will be easy. Meaning we can get through the hard life with faith in Jesus … basically what Paul is saying!!

Verse 8:3 really demonstrates giving as God desires:

I watched as they willingly gave what they could afford and then went beyond to give even more.

They were not giving from abundance, but through poverty and in excess from that. Verse 2 shows that God blessed this act with abundance. Now this is not to be a give to get message, but rather if we give with a pure heart God will many times bless us beyond what we could imagine. I just finished a Robert Morris book, The Blessed Life, which went into giving. He is a great example of one with the gift of giving. He once tried to out give God and gave two cars, his home and all the cash they had only to get a jet given to them. God is always greater than we can imagine.

Verses 8:13 & 14 is on the same thread:

^13-14 The objective is not to go under so others will have some relief; the objective is to use this opportunity today to supply their needs out of your abundance. One day it may be the other way around, and they will need to supply your needs from what they have. That’s equality.

See God does not want you to hurt giving, but understand that you will be cared for. Think about it this is the ONLY thing that He dares us to test Him on!! The reason God talks about money so much is that is really shows your heart. If you think it is yours it will be yours, if you know it is God’s you know he will change things for the better in your time of need.

Luke 1 – 2

A sentence from verse 1:3 caught me attention:

Like those other servants who have recorded the messages, I present to you my carefully researched, orderly account of these new teachings.

People try to discredit the Gospels as being written well after Jesus walked the earth or being second hand accounts as in Luke. Like most if not all historians today, Luke gathered his information from taking with people who witnessed the events. He ministered with Paul, so he was with many of the disciples and could talk with them about what they remembered.

The first two chapters are devoted to the foundation of Jesus’ ministry and prophetic validation. We have the birth of John who was the one making the way for Jesus and the birth of Jesus, in Bethlehem in the line of David. Verse 2:10 highlights something with Luke’s focus:

Don’t be afraid! Listen! I bring good news, news of great joy, news that will affect all people everywhere.

Here the Lord’s Messenger is talking to shepherds in the field. Luke does not mention the Magi or the kings who traveled great distances, but rather the disadvantaged ones. The phrase “Jesus is for LOSERS” is driven home in Luke. See Jesus came to free the losers, not the righteous. He came for the shepherds as well as the kings, He came for all!!

Verse 2:46 is one of those verses that caught one eye:

After three days of separation, they finally found Him—sitting among a group of religious teachers in the temple—asking them questions, listening to their answers.

The common understanding is they all came to Jerusalem as a family and left without noticing Jesus was not with them. Realize at this time Jesus was almost considered a man and would not have been traveling at the side. Also, they were traveling in a caravan, so it would have been easy to miss him. This is the only account of any significance between birth and when He comes on the scene in his 30’s. I often wonder why, but at the same time notice he was asking questions and listening, not preaching as many believe. He was learning and expanding his knowledge. I often wonder if He was asking the questions to press the leaders understanding. I believe this shows the start of Jesus’ training as a rabbi.

Jeremiah 32 – 36

Verse 32:27 is obvious, but needs to be said:

Look! I am the Eternal, the God of all living things. Is anything too difficult for Me?

We tend to limit God and place Him in a box confined to our understanding of nature. God is above nature and therefore the Laws which are in place do not apply. Consider this the study of quantum mechanics is showing a realm in which the natural laws we know today don’t apply, therefore giving us a glimpse into God’s domain.

Verse 33:5 shows a Messianic Prophecy:

In those days, when the time is right, I will cause a righteous Branch to sprout from the old stump of David’s lineage; He will do what is right and just in the land.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and we can see this to be true. Unfortunately during the time Jesus walked the earth and even to today those that do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah are waiting for a king to save the nation like David did. We can easily see 2000 years later how this prophecy 700 or so years before Jesus was fulfilled by Jesus, it’s really cool!!

Verses 33:20 & 21 (note the Voice breaks this up funny, so I am just taking what is prevalent) gives Israel the strength of Gods bond to them:

Eternal One: ²⁰ If you can figure out a way to break My covenant with the day and with the night so they do not always arrive on schedule, the very rhythm of life on this earth, ²¹ only then will My covenant with My servant David be broken and his son not rule from his throne. Only then will My covenant with the Levitical priests who minister before Me be null and void.

You will have to violate major laws of nature to have this happen, and that shows the love God has for his people. And the beautiful thing is I believe God has transformed those who follow Jesus and are not of Jewish descent.

Verse 36:23 is not only a problem then, but today also:

The king listened as Jehudi read column after column of the scroll. As soon as he finished reading three or four columns, Jehoiakim would take a knife, cut that section out of the scroll, and then throw it on the fire.

Somehow many think they can ignore portions of the Bible or just “cut that section out” of the Bible. I think homosexuality is one of those that people have a tough time with. I know I sure do, since I know many from an early age we obviously gay. I believe they were born that way, so how could God make a child who is loving, just to the same sex, and not be ok with God. Some argue the OT Law just applied to Jews and Paul’s NT writings are about “bath houses” and promiscuous behavior. Some also say the “thorn” in Paul’s side was his homosexual tendencies.

Me I don’t know and am not worried about it. My job is to share the love of Jesus with anyone who will listen and if they are gay not to judge. Figure at worse their salvation will be secure! I’ll let the Holy Spirit work in them if “natural” homosexuality really is a sin to God. 

Job 37 – 38

Verse 37:2 has Elihu continue his monologue unchallenged:

Listen! Listen to the raging anger in His voice,
        the rumbling that’s coming from His mouth.

He is comparing the storm to God’s furry and might. For some reason we think we can control God or feel we know what God needs to do. After some time I am learning God wants our prayers and petitions, but not our demands. God is so much bigger than a genie to meet our needs, often there a bigger things in play here than just our desires.

Also, we do stupid things and expect God to bail us out. I can think of multiple accidents I have had that have caused major injuries and can pinpoint what I did wrong. The high-slide in turn on at Sears Point was running too lean. The Cow Palace, did not maintain my suspension. Heck can look at the credit card debacle and although the crash was out of my control how we prepared and handled it was not. God has protected me, but he lets me feel the pain of my misteaks.

Verse 38:4 is God addressing Job:

Where were you when I dug and laid the foundation of the earth?
        Explain it to me, if you are acquainted with understanding.

The whole of chapter 38 is God addressing Job asking foundational questions. (ha ha get the pun … didn’t even realize it until I wrote it) Verse after verse God is asking Job and I assume the reader questions about His might. As I read this I want God to proclaim this to the scientific community, specifically the “historical” scientists who are trying to answer things like how we got here.

We should all dog ear this this chapter so we can return to it often when God is not doing what we expect. Sure we look at the blessings God has given us and assume this is all for us when it’s for his glory and his alone. God is so much bigger than our eternal fathers and the great thing is he is also so much bigger that he can be all that AND our eternal father to EACH and every one of us. How cool is that?

So next time you are in a “woe is me” mindset read Job chapter 38 and understand the enormity of God. Also understand his blessings and love towards you personally. Think about your children and how we raise them to be adults. It’s not good for a 16 year old to still be spoon fed and the same is for us. God is raising us for use in his kingdom, not so we can have all our wishes granted every day.

Psalms 54 – 56

Verse 54:1 starts a Psalm of lamenting his betrayal to Saul:

Liberate me, O God, by the authority of Your name.
    Vindicate me through Your legendary power.

Most read this and consider the pressures of this world to be what David was lamenting. In reality his life was in danger and he had people hunting him and trying to kill him. We on the other hand, for the most part, only have a slight possibility to be in this position for a moment (robbery namely). So we need to remember that this is not lamenting not getting the promotion, but his running for literally his life. So when trying to apply these Psalms of David to your life remember the circumstances were often times different.

Verse 55:4 shows David’s angst:

My heart seizes within my chest; I am in anguish!
    I am terrified my life could end on any breath.

If you think about it our next breath could be our last. Even being healthy and lying in bed, a rock from the cosmos could land on us and extinguish us instantly. We never know! Now does that mean live in fear of death? Or  does that mean enjoy life and “do as thou wilt” (the Satanic Law)? Granted again this is from a man who is being hunted and later will be king over a nation where everyone wants them off the map. The one thing we can learn from this is lean into David and believe in God’s divine plan for your life. That does not mean be reckless, but don’t worry about things you cannot control.

Before we leave this your health and heart is something YOU CAN control! Don’t think for a minute that God has a plan and it will happen. If we do not follow God in our eating, finances and general moralistic lives our plan may not be fulfilled if we are fat, broke and suffering some STD!

Verse 56:1 is something I pray often:

Show mercy to me, O God, because people are crushing me—
    grinding me down like dirt underfoot—all day long.
    No matter what I do, I can’t get myself out from under them.

I personally need to pray this in earnest at least once a week. Fortunately mostly it’s “mental attitude” sins which if not arrested quickly can lead the body into some dark places. It freaks me out that “thoughts” can equal the same physical sin. My biggest “mental” sin is looking at other women. I have learned over the years to keep my eyes glued on Katy but simple things like an attractive host of a news show that interests me starts to make that show off limits. Advertisements are the most dangerous since they just show up and I need to be quick on the refresh. I would not dishonor my wife in a physical act and try my hardest not to do so in a mental act as well.

Jesus said looking at another woman with lust is no different than sleeping with her for a reason. 

2 Samuel 10 – 14

This is the story that causes problem with Israel for some time. The dysfunction of the family can be seen and the damage of David’s sin is apparent. Verse 11:1 lays out one fundamental issue:

In the springtime of the year, the season when most kings took their soldiers out to fight, David stayed in Jerusalem and sent Joab out as general in charge of David’s men and the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and put the city of Rabbah under siege.

First campaign David stayed back and got himself in trouble. He lusted after Bathsheba and got her pregnant. To cover up his sin he ended up killing her husband Uriah by ordering him to the front lines and having everyone else fall back, leaving him stranded.

Everyone points to this as the downfall of his dynasty, but I suggest it was just a symptom. David was a “ladies man” right from the start with a harem of wives and just women for sex (concubines). He had lustful urges and could not contain them, eventually those urges ended up in his affair. The only difference between this one and the others was this was with a married woman. Why was it ok for David to have sex slaves that he was not married to, but it was not ok for him to have the affair? Neither were ok, just one lead to murder.

Verse 12:4 is the end of a story the prophet Nathan told David:

Now a traveler came to the city to visit the rich man. To offer a proper welcome, the rich man knew he needed to fix a meal, but he did not want to take one of the animals from his flocks and herds. So instead he stole the poor man’s ewe lamb and had it killed and cooked for his guest.

This was a story about what David had just done, my question is was the ewe Uriah or Bathsheba?

Now the dysfunction of his family continues with Tamar sister of Absalom. She was tricked to help her half-brother Amnon who raped her and ruined her life. In return Absalom waited, but eventually too revenge and killed Amnon. This was just another sign of David’s lust.

Now I am not saying “blended” families are wrong, this was not a “blended” family. This was David’s lustful urges creating multiple off spring that he could not or would not raise and teach the ways of the Lord. He just assumed they would learn by example and they did. They did by learning not controlling their urges and taking revenge. Unfortunately this dysfunction is rampant among the family with it continuing through the generations. But one could say it’s not David’s sins, but rather our nature that caused these problems.

Exodus 21 – 24

Here we go verse 21:2 condones slavery:

If you purchase a male Hebrew slave, he will be your servant for six years only. When the seventh year arrives, he will go free without having to pay a price for his freedom.

There you have it; the Bible condones slavery so the south was Biblically correct. Or was it? Having just watched 12 Years A Slave the horrors of the south were shown. How could the Bible condone that? It doesn’t! You could do a very long study on the culture and the use of the word, but to simplify things a few critical points. First the never condone harsh or sub human treatment. Second, it’s very short term. Third, it’s not by force but rather economic reasons. Forth, it would be considered more “indentured servitude” or “interns” as they are called today. No slavery in the Bible is nothing close to what the south had going in the 1800’s.

Verse 21:22 are laws about killing the unborn:

If two men are fighting with each other and happen to hit a pregnant woman during the quarrel causing her to give birth prematurely (but no other harm is done), then the one who hit her must pay whatever fine the judges determine based upon the amount demanded by the woman’s husband.

I find this very interesting since the punishment is not death. The standard argument against abortion is a pregnancy is a life. If you were to strike another and kill them, you would be put to death. Why is this not the case for an unborn baby that dies. This only condones accidental strikes. Verse 23 clears this up a bit since an abortion is not an accidental occurrence it could be considered a “life or a life” punishment.

Verse 22:29 is the foundation of the tithe:

You must not hold back or delay your offering from the bounty of your harvest or the juice of your vineyard. Dedicate every one of your firstborn sons to Me.

This is critical to understand. God has always asked for your first, not because he needs them but rather to show your allegiance to God. Think about Cain’s offering and why it was not pleasing to God. It was not pleasing because it was done over time, where Abel’s was the first. The tithe is not an out dated Hebraic Law, but rather a foundational Biblical truth. It was from the beginning and God himself gave His first born as a sacrifice for you!! So when the plate passes, before paying bills, pay that first 10%, it’s not a Law it’s a must to show one’s trust in God. 

2 Corinthians 4 – 5

Verses 4:7 & 8 talk about the people God uses:

⁷ But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us. ⁸ We are cracked and chipped from our afflictions on all sides, but we are not crushed by them. We are bewildered at times, but we do not give in to despair.

Granted not all Christians are crack pots, but some often wonder! I really love this analogy about how God uses imperfect people to show His glory. I think of the story of Samson where you had what appeared to be a perfect man, but he was heavily flawed on the inside. Over and over we have stories of the least likely people having God work through them.

Paul is a cracked pot; he was persecuting Christians and was going to destroy the church in Damascus when something happened along the road. God used him in a powerful way with all his problems. Make me have hope that all my cracks and flaws will be used some day to advance the kingdom in a powerful way.

Verse 5:13 makes me think how some must think coming into a “Night of Worship” at 12 Stone:

If we seem out of control or act like fanatics, it is for God. But if we act in a coherent and reasonable way, it is for you.

In normal services we are often reserved, but when the body gets together to worship without worry of alienating others it’s fun. I think if a non-believer were to walk into a church with people waving their hands, praying in tongues prostrate on the ground, they would leave laughing. But to the body this should be ok and normal, even if you are very reserved.

Verse 5:17 talks about the change in us:

Therefore, if anyone is united with the Anointed One, that person is a new creation. The old life is gone—and see—a new life has begun!

This is a verse paraphrased often when people are baptized and represents what really happens to our cracked pots from the inside. I think the greatest movie example of this was the end of Bogart’s film Treasure of Serra Madre. In the end they are packing their gold in non-descript bags covered in furs. The robbers assume they are making the furs seem more and dump the entire treasure on the road and take the furs. Often people may look at us on the surface and assume we are trash when there is worth about to bust out of burlap bags!!

Mark 15 – 16

Verse 15:15 starts the torture that Jesus went through to his death:

When Pilate saw that he could not persuade the crowd to change its mind, he released Barabbas to them and had Jesus publicly whipped, which was the normal prelude to crucifixion. Then he had Jesus led away to be crucified.

Pilate has tried to release Jesus and not kill Him, yet the people insisted. Now he is being beaten, ridiculed and mocked before his death. As you look back to prophecies you will see many that match the events here. Mark does not embellish the story much with flowery comments but rather give bullet points of the events.

Verse 15:28 is another one of those points I wonder why it’s missing in some accounts:

[²⁸ And the Hebrew Scripture was completed that said, “He was considered just another criminal.”]

This is quoting from Isaiah 53:12 which says:

Because he exposed his very self—
    laid bare his soul to the vicious grasping of death—
And was counted among the worst, I will count him among the best.
    I will allot this one, My servant, a share in all that is of any value,
Because he took on himself the sin of many
    and acted on behalf of those who broke My law.

The exact quote is not in here and I can only assume that is a translational issue, but either way the ramifications are significant when you look at Isaiah writing this some 700 years before Jesus walked the lands. It’s significant when you really look at it from a big picture. At the same time we need to explore this deeper, because inconsistencies like the text not being in all manuscripts or it not matching exactly are ammo for non-believers or weak in faith to dismiss Jesus as real. If you read Isaiah 53:10-12 you see there is no one else that matches this prophecy other than Jesus. It’s very cool once you study more.

Mark 16:15 & 16 spell out the Gospel simply:

¹⁵ Go out into the world and share the good news with all of creation. ¹⁶ Anyone who believes this good news and is ceremonially washed will be rescued, but anyone who does not believe it will be condemned.

Believe and get baptized, it’s that simple. The difficult part is following Jesus. We have so many parts tugging at all aspects of our beliefs. We have some saying salvation is secured and that’s it, this of course gets twisted to mean “do what thou wilt” on earth. Or salvation requires works, which gets twisted into works are required for salvation. The key with any “doctrine” or religious “dogma’s” is to verify them and allow the Holy Spirit to help you understand the translation.

Jeremiah 27 – 31

Verse 27:2 opens with an analogy of a yoke:

Eternal One: Make a yoke out of leather straps and wooden bars, and place it upon your neck as you would upon an ox.

For the next few chapters this analogy is used by God, Jeremiah and Hananiah (a false prophet) to describe what Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon would do. I notice that one thing Satan does is say things people want to hear and not based in reality at all. One of the problems of churches today is we get too involved in the marketing and the message and not the reality.

Sure God is awesome and God will do great things, but often that is not the case. We need to endure hardships to learn the lesson God intends for us. I believe it’s what we do yoked that determines the hardship we endure. If you are like the dwarfs and whistle while we work in the mines than maybe our suffering will be shorter and if not shorter we are having fun.

As we get into chapter 30 and 31, the Messianic prophecies begin. Verse 30:9 promises a king from David, a Messiah:

Instead, they will serve the Eternal their God, and I will raise up a descendant of David their king to rule over them.

Now Jesus does not rule over them, but rater is Lord over then. Big difference, a ruler controls his people often begrudgingly where a Lord offer the option. It’s your choice, not the rulers.

Verse 31:22 is said to predict the virgin birth:

How long will you drift this way and that,
        My renegade daughter?
    Take heart—for now the Eternal will do a new thing on the earth:
        a woman will surround a man.

Looking at a few versions it’s hard to draw this analogy, but studying the Hebrew word for man (gerber) we see this man is a champion or hero.

Verse 31:31 talks about the new covenant:

Look, the days are coming when I will bring about a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

When people heard this I can see why they were expecting something different than a meek, homeless guy making the “old” covenant even harder. Think about it, every time Jesus talked about the Law, he made it more difficult. Adultery now includes ones thoughts, giving went from 10% to all and the list can go on. We need to understand that Jesus is not more restrictive, but more freeing. Sure we have higher goals, but we have greater grace and can stumble the path of life without fear of death.

Job 35 – 36

As we march ahead Elihu is continuing his monologue to Job. Verse 35:12 explains the power of prayer:

And so, in the absence of such prayers,
        God does not answer the cries of the people
        because they cry with the arrogance of the wicked.

As true as this may seem, it’s not always the case. I know in my life God has answered my cry without me praying specifically for it. I can also think of many times I was on my knees and crying without an apparent answer. In most of those cases He was making sure I understood what got me there and what I needed to do to correct it.

We tend to look at prayer as a wish list that should be granted and not a petition. The key is focusing on God’s will and not ours. His will be done, not ours!

I enjoy reading Elihu because he makes a lot of great points. At the same time I see many of his statements are lacking a complete understanding of God’s character. Not saying I have it figured out at all, like the verse above it’s true to a point but not always the case. We need to understand God is so much more than a genie or a punisher, He is everything.

Psalms 51 – 53

Verse 51:4 raises an eyebrow:

It was against You, only You, that I sinned,
    for I have done what You say is wrong, right before Your eyes.
So when You speak, You are in the right.
    When You judge, Your judgments are pure and true.

This was David’s Psalm after Nathan called him on his affair with Bathsheba. I say this is wrong from the first line. Sure David sinned against God, but NOT only God. He ordered her husband Uriah the Hittite into harm’s way so he would die to cover up his affair. He wronged his many wives by lusting after yet another. His actions set Israel on an odd twist because of dysfunction in his family. Granted his in ability to be faithful to one woman was there way before Bathsheba and may be the root of his family problem. The affair just tipped the scales in his families problems.

Sure God likes to use the least likely to show his glory, and He does it here too. Think about it, David was a lowly shepherd and became a mighty warrior and leader of Israel. In later life he became a murderer and an adulterer, yet still is the line our savior Jesus came from. If he had been faithful and honorable, would Jesus have been needed? Would David’s character spread across the nation?

Verse 53:1 talks about people faith:

The foolish are convinced deep down that there is no God.
    Their souls are polluted, and they commit gross injustice.
    Not one of them does good.

As you know I am one to focus on the atheistic bend in science today. Men like Copernicus broke from the traditional beliefs of the church, but did not bend his faith. Today it seems like the main role of science is to disprove God and crush religion. Don’t believe me study Jerry Coyne. Over 20% of his work attempts to prove religion to be “perverse”. One of the greatest minds of all times was a theist and Albert Einstein focused on the NOW and things we could change.

It’s foolish to look at nature which shows cause and effect work. Science is be able to date the universe and earth showing there was a beginning that just happened. Now without ever observing something spontaneously happening in nature we are led to believe that nature occurred from a multitude of “Big Bangs.” You have the cosmological Big Bang where the universe came from nothing. Next you have the biological Big Bang where life started from inorganic matter. Next you have the anthropological Big Bang where this life became the diversity we see today, from bacteria to man. Finally you have the psychological Big Bang where our minds developed conscious and the ability to think outside survival mode. It’s impossible to observe any of this in nature today and just take the models science provides without a creator on faith that it happened their way.

2 Samuel 5 – 9

Verses 5:13 & 16 show David in a different light:

^13-14 After the move from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more women from Jerusalem, took more concubines, and fathered more sons and daughters: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

David may have been mighty and walking with God but he had the “thing” for the ladies, that we shall see will be his downfall. Two as one has always been the pattern since Genesis 2 and Adam and Eve. For some reason a few look at actions of Abraham, Joseph, David and Solomon to say polygamy is ok. Sorry but that is not how God designed us from day 6, just because it’s in the Bible does not make it a Biblical Truth we all must live by.

One other thing I noticed from this verse is the mention of Solomon and the absence of Absalom. I have to wonder sometimes about the historical accuracy of some of these sections and ask why some sons were missed.

Verses 6:15 & 16 caught my end:

So David and the house of Israel carried the covenant chest of the Eternal One up to the city of David with shouts and the sounding of the trumpet. When Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Eternal without thought for how he looked, she hated him.

This is what I like about David; he does what he feels like. If he is so happy that he cannot control his joy for the Lord, then he only worries about God and not what people think here on earth. Interestingly Michal is the last hope for Saul’s bloodline to be heir to the throne and God ended that as she chastised David.

Honestly that is the way we should all be when worshiping God, with no regard to earthly opinions. I know it has taken a long time for me to be comfortable just raising my hands in church, but that is almost a half a century of believing worship is private. My anal-retentive ways would find it difficult to dance like David in church or out. The key is I don’t judge or get mad at those who do, I think it’s cool!!

Chapter 9 has the story of Mephibosheth, Jonathan (Saul’s son) son. He was crippled and allowed to get Saul’s inheritance and spend his life in the palace. That was kind of David and shows he honors those who ruled before him. Think about it he was a subject of Saul when he was anointed king by Samuel and yet he did not seize the throne by force. He continued to honor the king even after his death.

David was a class act less his thing with the women.