Isaiah 56 – 61

Verse 56:1 opens with an awesome comment:

Eternal One: Take care that you do what is right and fair,
        because before you know it, I will come to save you;
    Soon you will see how I rescue.

This is something we all need to consider; when the chips are down and we are in a hole God will rescue us. Not saying it will be tomorrow, we see that is never the case with God. The second 40 years of Moses’ life he was stuck in the desert learning to humble himself. Joseph was sold as a slave for 20 years before his purpose was revealed.

Life often sucks and we seem to think God is silent, we are in bondage with debt or in a dead end job. What is God’s purpose? Maybe God’s purpose is to teach you something or develop a necessary skill. I know recently during my trials, God has been teaching me to be more faithful that he will provide.

In 2007 we saw the economy turn and tried to ride it out on credit, not thinking it would go as long as it did. I had been out of engineering for 7 years and had little hope getting back into that game. In 2008 our debt peaked in December and at the same time I got a junior engineering position (most of my peers could have been my children). Today after long hard struggling with paying down debt and settling obligations, we are now out of credit card debt!!

As we dive into this prophecy we see two distinct splits, the chastising the ones who left and giving hope to the faithful. Verse 57:8 God calls out hypocrisy:

You declare your obedience to Me, but all hidden away—as if I couldn’t see;
        behind the very door and doorpost, you set up your shrine.
    You turned your back on Me and snuck off to be intimate with other deities;
        you made promises to them and bound yourself to them all tight and close.

I think we tend to believe there is one God, which there is, but the “deities” may in fact be fallen angels and not just manufactured idols. Follow me here, Satan and his cast of many wants to be worshiped as God so they will do what it takes to distract us. The newest one is “The Secret” which did explain God to me, but has a hidden danger of trying to elevate us to a “god”. See if you can use God’s natural laws to your advantage, suddenly God is less important.

They key is don’t put a façade of following Jesus and then worship some idol or yourself in the background. This is the danger that God was chastising Israel about, they lost focus. DON’T DO IT, KEEP IN THE WORD!!! Test everything outside of the Bible on pure scripture and not feelings. Feelings will get you in a bunch of trouble, into bad relationships, debt and idol worship. Learn to test them also!!

Isaiah 56 – 61

Verse 56:1 opens with an awesome comment:

Eternal One: Take care that you do what is right and fair,
        because before you know it, I will come to save you;
    Soon you will see how I rescue.

This is something we all need to consider; when the chips are down and we are in a hole God will rescue us. Not saying it will be tomorrow, we see that is never the case with God. The second 40 years of Moses’ life he was stuck in the desert learning to humble himself. Joseph was sold as a slave for 20 years before his purpose was revealed.

Life often sucks and we seem to think God is silent, we are in bondage with debt or in a dead end job. What is God’s purpose? Maybe God’s purpose is to teach you something or develop a necessary skill. I know recently during my trials, God has been teaching me to be more faithful that he will provide.

In 2007 we saw the economy turn and tried to ride it out on credit, not thinking it would go as long as it did. I had been out of engineering for 7 years and had little hope getting back into that game. In 2008 our debt peaked in December and at the same time I got a junior engineering position (most of my peers could have been my children). Today after long hard struggling with paying down debt and settling obligations, we are now out of credit card debt!!

As we dive into this prophecy we see two distinct splits, the chastising the ones who left and giving hope to the faithful. Verse 57:8 God calls out hypocrisy:

You declare your obedience to Me, but all hidden away—as if I couldn’t see;
        behind the very door and doorpost, you set up your shrine.
    You turned your back on Me and snuck off to be intimate with other deities;
        you made promises to them and bound yourself to them all tight and close.

I think we tend to believe there is one God, which there is, but the “deities” may in fact be fallen angels and not just manufactured idols. Follow me here, Satan and his cast of many wants to be worshiped as God so they will do what it takes to distract us. The newest one is “The Secret” which did explain God to me, but has a hidden danger of trying to elevate us to a “god”. See if you can use God’s natural laws to your advantage, suddenly God is less important.

They key is don’t put a façade of following Jesus and then worship some idol or yourself in the background. This is the danger that God was chastising Israel about, they lost focus. DON’T DO IT, KEEP IN THE WORD!!! Test everything outside of the Bible on pure scripture and not feelings. Feelings will get you in a bunch of trouble, into bad relationships, debt and idol worship. Learn to test them also!!

Job 21 – 22

Verse 21:7 is a question all must ask today:

Why do the wicked live
        on an ever-upward path to long life and riches?

This is a fallacy that riches and long lives are the means to success. As the Beatles say, “Money can’t buy you love.” Or for that matter it can’t buy happiness. Our earthly mindset is the hot car, big house and fancy toys are the measure of a successful life, where God shows that most are not so successful financially and often die young. The key to significance is what matters after you die? The car or the souls saved?

Focus on God, if money comes thank Him! In today’s society we see the “banksters” destroying our economy while living large at our expense. The idea they would fraudulently make loans, package them with a false rating, insure them and get rich while at the same time evicting the person who bought the home and taking that asset to boot, is awful. Then to do this without acknowledging God, or if they do it’s not the God of Israel. We must realize money is a tool for God’s work and not something we just have fun with. Just because some wicked make it hand over fist does not mean God condones their actions.

Verse 21:26 goes back to my initial comment:

But they lie down together in the same dust,
        covered by the same blanket of worms.

We all end up in the ground! The only ones I know that are remembered are the ones who made a significant impact on society. The ones who got rich and then committed suicide because of their fraud are forgotten the next day (note the 12 bankers who committed suicide in recent weeks, name one). Significance comes from what is left behind, a legacy of kindness and service or greed and debauchery. The kind will honor your death; the greedy will just look for what you left them. Look for what matters on the last days, not what makes you happy today.

Verse 22:3 has Eliphaz continuing to ignore what Job is saying:

Is the Highest One made happy if you are righteous?
        Does He profit from your perfect ways?

After some time I am even upset at Job’s friends. They are limited in their scope and looking at the world. They believe their pious remarks are true and cannot see past the reality. Don’t do this no matter how much you know about God and the Bible, you will never know enough!!

Psalms 30 – 32

Psalm 30 appears to be written at one of David’s low points, most likely when being chased by Saul. Verse 30:3 gives on this impression:

You lifted me from the grave with a mighty hand,
    gave me another chance,
    and saved me from joining those in that dreadful pit.

One only has to look back at how many times Saul nearly killed David or at least had the chance to. Also, this could be his asking forgiveness for his transgressions with Bathsheba. Either way we get to see the forgiving grace of God and how he’s not ready to strike us down for our sins, but rater wants to embrace us. The key is respect and honor in this relationship. Treat your earthly father like crap and he may write you out of his will, although he will still love you. It’s no different with God, He wants respect and dignity.

Verse 31:2 is something to note:

Hear me, Lord! Turn Your ear in my direction.
    Come quick! Save me!
Be my rock, my shelter,
    my fortress of salvation!

If the phrase “turn Your ear” sounds familiar, David uses it 6 times in the Psalms. Each time I read it I think the same thing. God is always listening, it’s the response we expect that is the idea we are being ignored. Often we pray and don’t get the response we expect, and assume God is not listening. Many times it is decades later that it becomes clear that God WAS listening, He just knew better. So when you think you are in “winter” or God is not listening, know that His lack of response does not mean he is not listening.

Verse 32:3 is a key to our relationship with God:

When I refused to admit my wrongs, I was miserable,
    moaning and complaining all day long
    so that even my bones felt brittle.

We must be in a constant state of confession, not just a pray once and all will be forgiven. Also, repentance is more than just praying for forgiveness, but not continuing in the sin. I think about how many times I confess and continue, thinking somehow I am blessed. In reality it’s not about the words, but the actions or lack there of. Jesus said “go and sin no more”, not you are forgiven over and over again … have fun!! David knows this an is showing in his prayer. Notice most of the times David sinned, it was the only time. Sure he and his family paid the consequence many times, the sin was forgiven.

1 Samuel 1 – 5

Hannah was childless and was in turmoil about not having children. Interesting how they start this story focusing on her despair, but as you will see like everything God does it has a purpose.

Verse 2:7 has her praying:

The Eternal One makes both poor and rich;
        some He humbles, and others He honors.

When you think about it we often place God as being in total control of the world, when I think He is more hands off. More like a director of a crazy free form orchestra. Only when things get way out of hand does He jump in. Also, when the sting section needs some guidance he may nudge them from time to time. But I don’t think God makes the poor, He just gives us the environment to be either way. I know that many say being born poor is so much more difficult to pull yourself out, but that is more generational in problems than God making people poor.

Anyway as we see with Hannah, God may have made her barren for a season to get His end result. Hannah made a promise to give this child to the church and after she did verse 2:21 shows God’s response:

The Eternal One showed his favor toward Hannah again, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters, and her son Samuel grew up in the presence of the Eternal One.

This is a key point, never once did God promise this nor did Hannah expect it. She was made a promise and kept it. This is a trap with tithing, since most pastors’ promise a blessing or that Malachi’s “testing” will show God’s blessing on you if you tithe. Hannah is the example of how life should be done, in pure obedience without expectations. Sure it would be nice to have a ton of money, but don’t expect it dropping that 10% in the plate. We not only do things out of obedience, but joy. Why should we expect something on the “flip-side”?

The rest of the reading focuses on Eli’s sons, who are taking advantage of their positions and end up paying the ultimate price. I find it interesting how Eli dies shortly after his sons and often wonder was he paying the price for their sins? One of the problems was they lost the “covenant chest” which caused problems for those who had it.

Verse 5:12 shows why it was a “hot potato”:

and those He did not kill, He struck with swollen, painful tumors. Their suffering was so intense their cries could be heard in the heavens.

City after city the chest gets moved and they fall into the same despair. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this chest. Stay tuned and in 7 days (or readings) we will find out!

Genesis 40 – 43

Joseph is in prison and things get interesting. Verses 40:2 & 3 talk about his new guests:

^2-3 Pharaoh was angry with his two attendants, and so he put the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

During the time these two were in prison, both had a dream. Joseph interprets both dreams for them and quickly the dreams come true. Unfortunately for the baker, his dream was fatal for him. Although the cupbearer did promise Joseph to mention him immediately like he promised, this did not happen until two years later where in chapter 41 he finally does.

Verse 41:16 has Joseph addressing the Pharaoh:

I cannot do this, but God will answer Pharaoh’s request and relieve your concerns,

Think about this, he has an ability to get out of prison. The Pharaoh is asking to interpret a dream and a “yes” would get him out, instead he say “I cannot”. Think about this, in the 20 years away he has learned to humble himself before God and give God the credit. Think about how God choose an arrogant young buck to save Israel, but first he had to humble himself. And that took 20 years!!

As you read this story it is amazing how circumstances are set in place for Joseph to save the nation of Israel. If Joseph had been a humble servant to his older brothers, he would have never been sold into slavery. If the queen had not been manipulative he would have never been tossed in jail. If he had not been in jail the cupbearer would never had known God would interpret dreams through him. If the cupbearer had instantly got Joseph out, he may not have been in the position to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, which put him in the position to save the nation of Israel.

Think about this the next time you are in need and living in a low spot. God may just be molding you for something great, if not he may just be correcting a behavior not pleasing to God. Either way, like Paul, we should be joyful in all things, because there is an ultimate purpose in everything even though we may not see it in the moment.

Verse 43:30 has this odd game Joseph is playing with his family:

 Joseph hurried from the room because he was overwhelmed with affection for his brother and was afraid he would cry in front of everyone. So he went into a private room and wept there.

I am not sure why he did not initially come out and disclose who he was to his brothers, but his emotions got the best of him often. This was the second time he ran from his brothers so not to cry in front of them. I assume he may have been worried that they were going to do him harm, or maybe he just wanted to ensure his family would be fully reunited. What ever the reason, this is an interesting one as to the workings of God in saving Israel.

1 Corinthians 3 – 4

Verses 3:1 & 2 talk about growing:

¹ My brothers and sisters, I cannot address you as people who walk by the Spirit; I have to speak to you as people who tend to think in merely human terms, as spiritual infants in the Anointed One. ² I nursed you with milk, as a mother would feed her baby, because you were not, and still are not, developed enough to digest complex spiritual food.

This is critical in churches today when you think about it. Think about the pews today, there are a huge range of people with knowledge. The preacher has multiple audiences from never hearing the Gospel, to ones who have read the Bible multiple times. Who does the preacher teach to? If I taught about healings and tongues, it may help the seasoned believer but the new one will hit the doors running. So preachers teach to the “lowest common denominator” in churches today.

The problem is the preacher gets a glazed over crowd who has heard the salvation message hundreds of times. The church never grows and stagnates like Paul is seeing in Corinth. How do we as parishioners fix this? We either sit and glaze over or take an active role in the church, building every deepening small groups and study on your own. The church is restless today, it’s your job to personally change this and grow the old as well as the new. Small groups and community is where this has to happen!!

Verse 3:21 is a warning on pride:

So there is no reason for anyone to boast in human leaders. You already have it all.

We have to watch ourselves and ensure we don’t allow our leaders to become higher than God. I see this at 12 Stone with PK, who is a great teacher. But often the growth may not be changing him, but in talking many times the conversation is PK and not Jesus. I often get concerned that the larger a church gets and the better the teacher is, the message gets watered down. Now I will say PK has fired some sermons that surprised me the pews weren’t empty the week later, so he remains hard hitting and in your face.

Verse 4:15 sums up where our focus should be:

You may have 10,000 instructors in the faith of the Anointed One, but you have only one father. In Jesus the Anointed I have become your father through my efforts in spreading the good news.

Who cares if there are thousands of teachers, we should focus on the word of God and not the personalities.  I believe that is a trap we all fall into. Heck I confess some “idol” worship with PK myself. I think I could come up and talk with him like he is a friend, but he would not know me from Adam. Well he may know about Adam much better than he would ever know me. The key is focus on God and not the talking head; they will not always be there for you, where God will!!

Matthew 26 – 28

This is the first of four times we get to relive Jesus’ death on the cross. Chapter 26 has a bunch of stories including the last supper, praying in the garden, Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denials. Each verse could be deconstructed into a book or sermon easily, so excuse the short and choppy thought today.

Verse 26:37 caught my eye in how it was worded:

Then He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and He grew sorrowful and deeply distressed.

Why did Matthew not say John and James the two sons of Zebedee? I think it’s interesting how different details are mentioned in each account and often wonder if there are significant meanings or it’s just the way he described John and James.

Verse 26:75 ends with Peter realizing he did what he denied he would:

And Peter remembered. He remembered that Jesus had looked at him with something like pity and said, “This very night, before the cock crows in the morning, you will deny Me three times.” And Peter went outside, sat down on the ground, and wept.

In the moment he was protecting his life and not denying Jesus. But when the cock crowed the third time he did this he realized that Jesus was more. Jesus saw the future and Peter could do nothing. Even knowing the future did not change it!

Verses 27:9 & 10 are interesting to me since they talk about prophecy:

 And when the priests bought Potter’s Field, they unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy made long ago by the prophet Jeremiah: “They took 30 pieces of silver, the price set on the head of the man by the children of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the Potter’s Field as the Eternal One instructed.”

There reference is in Jeremiah 32:6 -9 and I don’t necessarily get this from my reading of different versions. To me Jeremiah is describing a specific transaction and it does not seem to match the one in Matthew. Now I am not a scholar in anyway and rely on Google for my checks and cross checks. One has to jump around a bunch into different chapters before it’s clear, but this and the Zechariah reference you can quickly see the prophecy, it’s just not crystal clear in the reading and reference.

Verses 27:51 & 52 are noted of interest:

⁵¹ At that instant, the temple curtain was torn in half, from top to bottom. The earth shook; rocks split in two; ⁵² tombs burst open, and bodies of many sleeping holy women and men were raised up.

Verse 51 has to be mentioned since it referrers to the veil between man and God. Once Jesus died that veil was torn from God to man or top to bottom. But rest is what gets me. We often read it as these are the events compressed between his death and resurrection. Yet when you read this it says “bodies” and not Jesus. What is being described here sounds like a horror movie and not something I would like to be a part of. Who were the “sleeping holy women and men” anyway? And notice “women” are first, is this evidence that the women can’t preach mantra is false?

This is the part of the story that is hard for most to get, until it resides in their hearts. That is the key about all this … either it is real to you personally or it’s just a story; a bad one at that when you think about it. Imagine selling this as a movie or book today!! No way would they buy it. 

Isaiah 51 – 55

Verse 51:6 mentions events to happen:

Don’t worry—look up at the sky and down at the earth.
        The sky will disappear like smoke; the earth will wear out like a well-used garment;
    Every last thing may perish and dissolve, but My salvation is for all time.
        My justice will not end.

When he says “sky” does he mean the atmosphere, the sun or cloud cover? Now we could say this will happen, but at the same time he may just be using a metaphor to ensure we understand God is unchanging. We cannot imagine anything so catastrophic that would cause any of these events to happen, unless you listen to the “Climate Change” scientist, who imply we will do this to the planet. Either way, my belief is this is not an event in the future so much as it’s showing God’s never ending justice.

This is the problem with reading prophetic writings, first trying to understand what they mean and then always trying to apply it to today. Sure many can be traced back in history, but most are vague and often open to interpretation. I liken this to the “sky is falling” crowd in the stock market. I have been watching the market since 1980 and have seen its ups and downs. There has always been people predicting a major crash and depression since I have been watching. I did allow them to influence me a bit and therefore did not ride a market that was under $1000 to over $16,0000.

Verse 55:2 makes me think he is talking to us today, me specifically:

I don’t understand why you spend your money for things that don’t nourish
        or work so hard for what leaves you empty.
    Attend to Me and eat what is good;
        enjoy the richest, most delectable of things.

The corner “convenience” store is the biggest culprit. You get your gas and a snack. Something that is “empty” in calories and does nothing for you is often purchased. I personally spend over $100 a month on crap from the local QT and justify it by running. But imagine if we just ate what God said was good for us! We would all be in much better shape. I wonder if the people had the same problem with snacks when Isaiah wrote this or if he was targeting the 7-11 generations.

Job 19 – 20

Verse 19:2 shows Job’s frustration with his friends:

O how long! How long will you torture me and pound me with your chatter?

Here he is continuing to endure his friends (and find out they are not done) and their opinions. When you think about what his friends are doing, the phrase “opinions are like as….., everyone has one” comes to mind.  Imagine being in misery and having these guys just telling you what you did wrong.

Verse 19:25 made me notice a reference to the future:

Besides, I know my Redeemer lives,
        and in the end He will rise and take His stand on the earth.

In reading this it talks about a redeemer who in OT times would buy one out of slavery or buy something back that was taken away. I note a few things that make me think Job may be talking about Jesus. First the “Redeemer” is capitalized indicating a specific person, this along with the two capitalized He/His references later tend to indicate Jesus. Second “He will rise” implying Jesus who rises again. Finally “take His stand” implying ruling over the earth, again implying Jesus.

Now in all fairness this may be an implication or bias in this translation since most of the English versions are mixed with person reference to a general one. We like to read in a messianic reference when we can, but sometimes we may force it when it’s not there. In this case maybe Job is just looking for someone to vouch for him.

Verse 20:5 is not always the case:

The celebrations of the wicked have been brief,
        and the joy of the profane lasts only a moment.  

Honestly I have known people for decades that have lived lives which would be perceived as wicked, yet are successful throughout their lives. I dread that they are doomed, but often wonder if it’s just luck or if God is really in the mix of prosperity? It’s always been one of those things we assume and can point to major celebrity “flame outs” but often it’s not the case. 

Psalms 27 – 29

Verse 27:1 is the hope we all should have and believe:

The Eternal is my light amidst my darkness
    and my rescue in times of trouble.
    So whom shall I fear?
He surrounds me with a fortress of protection.
    So nothing should cause me alarm.

Often we go through life wondering if God is with us. We give names to these seasons, summer when things are groovy, fall as we slip away, winter as we fell abandoned and spring as our relationship blossoms.  Often we feel we are in “winter” since God is not doing what we assume He should. David knows this and knows God is with him no matter what. Think about David’s “winter”, he went from the king’s right hand guy to being the king’s most wanted. Heck the king poo’ed on David in a cave, so he has been in darker spots then most of us.

We need to realize that winter is just a time where we need to recognize God is working in our lives, just not in the way we expect. When you are broke and pray for a lottery win, just because God does not answer that prayer doesn’t mean the stage is set for you to rise out of poverty. We just have to learn patience!

Verse 28:2 has me reviewing translations:

Listen to my voice.
    You will hear me begging for Your help
With my hands lifted up in prayer,
    my body turned toward Your holy home.

I wanted to see if “hands lifted up” was translated as “worship” in other translations, since we translate this for 4 words, being everything from hands lifted up to face down on the ground. All translations that I checked were consistent, so off this rabbit trail and figure what it means. How many times have we asked God to listen to our voice, again assuming we are knowing what is best. So when thing don’t go as expected, like getting poo’ed on by our king, we assume God is not listening.

Through many of David’s Psalms or prayers we see his asking for help like God is not listening. We cannot judge God’s ears based on actions we are expecting. Heck after 6 years I now see why our farm did not sell when it did. I though God was ignoring me or I had sinned to “blow” the deal, but rather all along it was his timing. Since if it had sold we would own junk now and not learned important lessons. Also, if the deal had not happened at all we may have walked on the property for short term ease.

Ruth 1 – 4

The story of Ruth is a sad one with Naomi losing her husband and two sons. Her daughter in law latches on to her and works tirelessly in the fields. Verse 1:14 starts with Ruth clinging to Naomi not wanting to leave:

At this Orpah and Ruth wailed and wept again. Then Orpah kissed Naomi, said goodbye, and returned the way she had come. Yet Ruth refused to let go of Naomi.

For whatever reason, she felt obligated to Naomi and would not go back to her family. They lived life together after Naomi accepted her resolve. During this time Ruth was sent to gather the gleanings from the fields during harvest. One of the field owners took notice of how she worked and insisted she work with his workers who were instructed to leave a little extra for Ruth.

After this went on for a while, Ruth and Boaz became closer. Verse 3:3 Naomi instructs Ruth to pursue Boaz, since he could rectify her son’s death by marrying Boaz:

Bathe and perfume yourself. Put on your best dress, then go down onto the threshing floor. Be careful, though. Don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.

In the next verse Naomi instructs here to “uncover his feet and lie down.” This has sexual connotations but as you will see they do not consummate the relationship. Instead Boaz, knowing the law first offers her to another younger family member. When he rejects the offer, Boaz marries her and they have a son.

All in all this story is just interesting, but appears to have no significance. We saw that yesterday with Chapter 38 of Genesis where plopped right in between the story of Joseph is Judah sleeping with an assumed prostitute and conceiving twins. It didn’t make sense why this story was there, until verses 4:18-22, where all is clarified.

You read that Boaz was in the blood line of one of Tamar and Judah’s twins, Perez. Verse 4:22 shows the son of Ruth and Boaz, Obed, was significant:

Obed was Jesse’s father. And Jesse was the father of David.

Yes if this odd story hadn’t happened as it did, the great king David would have never been and with that the savior Jesus would not have lived. I have read these chapters 4 times now, once in the same order, and never noticed the connection between Genesis 37 and the story of Ruth. Both just seemed to be odd stories that were just dropped into the Bible, until you actually see the connection.  

HOW COOL IS THAT?

Genesis 36 – 39

We open the reading with Esau’s family lineage. Interesting to note that in this case, the Edomites are blessed through God’s promises, proving the promise was not exclusive to Jacob. After this we start the story of Joseph, Jacob’s most loved (v 37:3) and that gave Joseph a bit of an attitude. It didn’t help that he had two dreams that had his family bowing to him. Joseph let this get to his head and was prideful and arrogant. This cause strife in the family and eventually lead to his brothers plotting against him.

In the end Joseph was not killed but sold into slavery, but the brothers told Jacob/Israel that he was mauled by an animal. Dad’s response in verse 37:34 was what one would expect:

Then Jacob wailed in agony and tore his clothes with the depth of emotional pain only a father could feel upon losing a child. He dressed in sackcloth and mourned his son for a long time.

I could not imagine how I would respond if I got word that one of my children died. We see Joseph mourns for quite some time.

Now chapter 38 is one that seems to be dropped into the story with no real logic. It’s about Judah and his three sons, the eldest marries Tamar and then gets God upset to where he is killed. Then the next in line marries and does the same thing and dies. Finally, Judah keeps his third son away and this causes Tamar to be upset. It ends with Judah fathering twins (Perez and Zerah) with Tamar.

Now this is one of those chapters that one scratches their head for many reasons. The first is passing ones wife from brother to brother. Then the deception of Judah into being tricked and the fact Judah slept with a “prostitute” is unsettling. Then why is this story dropped into the story of Joseph? Judah’s line plays a key role in Israel’s later history. We find that King David and his eventual grandson, saves the world. It’s interesting that the one who was stepped on and pushed out of the way at birth is again the saving grace of Israel.

Even in slavery Joseph is blessed in all he does and follows God closely. Verse 39:20 is the resulting consequences of denying sex with his masters wife:

So Potiphar, Joseph’s master, put him into prison and locked him up in the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. Joseph remained there for a time.

So honoring God, Joseph is humbled even more by doing the right thing and still being jailed. Yet instead of being angry with God, he humbles himself and honors God, who continues to bless him even as a slave in prison (now think how low that has to be). This is often what happens to the most prideful of the world, we get humbled. And I said we, since I often times get full of myself and don’t give credit to God.

This is something I personally need to work on, because often this innocently starts as being embarrassed to acknowledge God in  my life, I guess that comes from years of being in engineering where the Flying Spaghetti Monster gets more credit when God is talked about. I tend to initially not give credit which morphs into taking credit, which often times results in humbling. I pray that I have learned my lessons, but even then it seems to be difficult. Like today, I am out of work, over extended in debt and we are closing on a house we have paid off. God is big time in the mix here, yet I rarely give credit. Sure I imply, but even among Christians I withhold this story out of embarrassment of the blessing. I am looped when it comes to logic!

1 Corinthians 1 – 2

Verse 1:10 opens with a warning to Christians not to get caught up in personalities:

My brothers and sisters, I urge you by the name of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, to come together in agreement. Do not allow anything or anyone to create division among you. Instead, be restored, completely fastened together with one mind and shared judgment.

This is a hard line since there are many great teachers and often we get into almost a cult following them. We need to know that it’s about Jesus and not Billy Graham, Pat Robinson, Joel Osteen or Creflo Dollar. In our own community here in Atlanta we have many huge churches with awesome teachers. I know my church, 12 Stone, get accused of being a cult since every campaign gets seen throughout the community. Another I recently attended was Mars Hill in Portland. In both cases the teaching is awesome and on point, but often I wonder do many get wrapped up in the “cult of personality”?

Preachers have a tough job with this as their church grows to make sure the people are following Jesus and not them. It’s hard not to get wrapped up in the fame when you can fill an arena as I have seen with Joyce Meyers. Suddenly people are wrapped up in your fame and less on the teaching. For you personally, find good Bible teaching teachers and follow Jesus first.

Verse 1:18 give you some understanding on why people think we are nuts sometimes:

For people who are stumbling toward ruin, the message of the cross is nothing but a tall tale for fools by a fool. But for those of us who are already experiencing the reality of being rescued and made right, it is nothing short of God’s power.

Honestly, the story is unbelievable when you think about it. This thing we call God made everything, then focused on a family that grew but was rebellious. It had murder, adultery, parting of large bodies of water, healing of sick, raising of the dead and a homeless guy who gets executed only to come back and save the world. If you don’t know God this is a “tale for fools.” One thing that people have a hard time with is why not today! Why is this kind of stuff not happening today? Maybe it is and like when the people walked across dry ground in the Red Sea only to rebel shortly thereafter.

If God didn’t realize that personal change and experience is the way to man’s heart, not a grand spectacle, we would have more people walking on water and parting the seas to prove to themselves over and over that God is real. No this story becomes real when you realize it is and can see past the science and live in the glory.

Verses 2:15 & 16 are ones I marked and circled:

¹⁵ A person who walks by the Spirit examines everything, sizing it up and seeking out truth. But no one is able to examine or size up that kind of spiritual person, ¹⁶ for the Scripture asks, “Does anyone know the mind of the Lord well enough to become His advisor?” But we do possess the mind of the Anointed One.

First thing is we need to have childlike faith, so what does that mean? Think about what we are taught, that childlike faith is not questioning anything concerning a story and just accepting it like a child. But for those who have children we know what it looks like. Sure they may accept something for a short time, but the litany of questions that follow solidifies this verse. So ask, pray and keep asking. Don’t look at the pastor as an orator, but rather a teacher who can answer questions. If something stumps you keep asking.

Personally it took almost thirty years of being a Christian to understand and accept the “trinity”. Up to that point I assumed it was more to reconcile the fact we were not to worship any other God, while we worshiped Jesus. So therefore Jesus had to be God or we would be in violation of one of the 10 Commandments. I took the Bible as literal, where God was Jesus’s father and they were two different beings. Well you’ll have to get my book to understand how I reconciled it, but now I understand through Quantum Mechanics that they are one in the same.

The other thing I note is verse 16 where we don’t have the mind of God, but we do possess the one of Jesus. This again is hard to reconcile with the trinity, but again we have the image of God or his energy. The mind of Jesus is the soft quiet voice that leads us through each day.

Matthew 23 – 25

Verses 33:2 & 3 open a chapter of condemning to the religious elite of the time:

² The Pharisees and the scribes occupy the seat of Moses. ³ So you should do the things they tell you to do—but don’t do the things they do.

“Do as I say not as I do” is a famous “father proverb” to their children. I know I must have given that to our children multiple times and can remember it once or twice growing up. Each after this starts with “Woe to you Pharisees, woe to you who teach the law, hypocrites!” Then it gives a laundry list of problems with their teachings and actions. Verse 23:13 I think is one of the most ominous of these warnings:

Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. There is such a gulf between what you say and what you do. You will stand before a crowd and lock the door of the kingdom of heaven right in front of everyone; you won’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from doing so.

I get concerned that Jesus will say this to the church today. Go to some of those “faith healers” who fake healings to line their pockets. Or maybe the prosperity preachers who preach give the dollar with faith so it will grow, to line their own pockets. Or maybe the ones who say once you accept Jesus as your savior your name is sealed. I have no idea the line that will be drawn, I just do no the key is in this book and it must be read so you understand it clearly. Don’t rely on others to interpret scripture and context for you. Fact check every sermon on your own, and if you notice deception bring it up to the elders. Be diligent and keep watch for false teachings. (NOTE – often times you will not expose false teachings but understand why they were correct!!)

Chapter 24 is one to read as a whole, since it is the foundation of end time prophecies. You will notice that the seals that get open in Revelations match what Jesus is teaching his disciples. As you read these you will notice that many of these signs are happening today. Do we need to hunker down or spread the word? Think of it this way if you saw a man walking towards an open manhole texting, would you save him or film him for YouTube?

Verses 25:35 & 36 are one of those keys that can help and hurt us at the same time:

³⁵ You shall be richly rewarded, for when I was hungry, you fed Me. And when I was thirsty, you gave Me something to drink. I was alone as a stranger, and you welcomed Me into your homes and into your lives. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave Me clothes to wear; I was sick, and you tended to My needs; I was in prison, and you comforted Me.

How many times have we stepped over a bum asking for help? I know I do more times than I care to admit. We often times look and expect others to help or the government to step in. Heck our system of welfare is based on the collective helping the needy in numbers that individuals alone cannot do. Churches do the same with their collection in helping needy people. With both working we get the idea our taxes and donations are helping those in need and we don’t need to take the time. That is something we need to squash today! If someone is in need help them, but help them as you would the savior of the world and not a “street rat”!! That is the key! And imagine if every Christian did this, while investing time teaching them to fish, the government and churches would have less work to do as a whole.

Isaiah 45 – 50

This is a complex situation, Israel is being delivered by Cyrus who although they are not the chosen ones, God is blessing them. Verse 45:5 states this fact:

I am the Eternal One; there is no other God but Me,
        and even though you don’t know Me, I am preparing you for victory.

God is speaking to people that do not know Him to reveal His glory to them and to deliver Israel from slavery. This shows God will help anyone to meet his end goal.

Verse 45:8 is another potter analogy which shows the people truth:

How bad it will be for anyone who disputes with the very One who created him!
    After all, a human being is nothing more than one clay pot among many.
Imagine the clay saying to the potter, “What do you think you’re doing?”
    or “You don’t have the hands for this.”

Think about this analogy and what it means. We are created not to “do what we want” but rather to glorify the maker. We need to first acknowledge that there is a maker and that we are not evolved from some primordial ooze. People have a tough time with this since even when we accept God’s gift, we want it on our terms. We want our pot lined with gold and in a prominent spot, not used as a waste receptacle. I am not saying strive for a better life, just understand you are where you are to give glory to God.

Verse 47:2 brings to light the different economic “strata” in our society:

And with those delicate fingers grab the heavy millstones and grind the grain.
        Take off your lacy veil, lift your skirt, bare your legs, and
    Cross the mud and muck of the river on foot like any other slave.

Think about this statement, does it say the rich just rest on their laurels? We all need to get it and work like everyone else; wealth does not give us privilege but rather an ability to help others even more. I think that is the problem people have had with rich over the years, they become so obsessed with wealth that they lose perspective on people. When all is said and done how you treat others fills your funeral, not how much you have.

Think about this more. When you are dead, you are dead. All the money in the world will not stop this fact and therefore that should never be the focus in life. People often look at life and figure the stages of significance. First part is dependence on parents, then independence from all, to striving for wealth, to finally wanting significance. The key is when these steps happen and when they change. If you can get to striving for significance in your 20’s that rocks! The key is money only helps, people are what really matters in the end.

Job 17 – 18

Verse 17:1 shows Job is at the end of his rope:

Job: My spirit has collapsed; my days have been blotted out;
        the grave is prepared for me.

Have you ever been at this point? Have sure have to some extent, obviously not as sunk as Job, but “sucky” all the same. We get there from time to time; mine was a combination of debt, family and employment issues that were all culminating into a perfect storm. I felt it was best I wasn’t around anymore since I had caused the problems. But God took ahold of me and slapped me around a bit to straighten me out.

In my case the biggest key was learning money management, which after 6 years I am just starting to get. It started with the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace program. Although I knew the key to spending less than you make and keep doing it, I drifted big time. Well to make a long story short after 6 years we are slowly digging out of debt and learning to lean on God more.

Verse 17:6 needs a quick comment:

But God has turned me into a swear word for everyone;
        I have become a symbol of human darkness;
        I am the face on whom one spits.

I am not sure if there is a connection, but “job” to many is a swear word, or at least used with many cursing adjectives to describe the “job”. I could not find anything on the origins of how “job” became a word for our daily work, but I often wonder if it’s connected to Job?

Once again Bildad chimes in with his “opinion” on Job’s situation. Verse 18:21 sums up his feelings:

Surely this is the way it goes with all evil people;
        surely this is the lot in life for those who do not know God.

As we know all Job’s friends have no clue to what is really happening in the background. They would rather assume what they believe to be true than actually just help and comfort Job. Isn’t it funny how we often have to inject our opinions when things are bad. I know I do this often with Devon! He will just be venting and I take things personal. This puts me on the defensive and I “buck-up” and defend myself. That starts an argument which often escalates from my pride. Devon just wanted to have a “shoulder to cry on” and not a solution to my assumptions.

We need to take this from Job’s friends that often times it is best just to shut-up and listen than to interject our opinions.

Psalms 24 – 26

Verse 24:1 is something we really need to understand:

The earth and all that’s upon it belong to the Eternal.
    The world is His, with every living creature on it.

Everything is God’s, we own nothing. To put this into perspective when people start talking about the government owning our homes, we get upset. We can’t imagine that something would be able to take what we feel we own at their free will. Well when you think about it God is the same way. The only difference is God is not seen and therefore people don’t take this serious, where the government has guns and the ability to take things by force.

When all is said and done and we look at all the rich people in the world, the only consistent thing is they all die and leave what the acquired. The only “old” money I can think of are the Rothschild’s and that is only 300 or so years old. After that it’s more stories of families blowing it after the “responsible” one dies. In the end we own nothing and are only borrowing it for a very short time. Once we accept that we can be more thankful for what we have here on this earth.

Psalm 25 is the ABC Psalm which most translations do not pick up. In Hebrew the first word starts with the first letter of the alphabet. Unfortunately with most Hebrew to English translations this gets missed, since our words don’t always line up. The Voice has done a great job attempting to do this. A few notes, in the original text there are a few missing letters, showing that life is not always orderly. Also, in the English we are missing W, X, Y and Z. Finally, not how David handle adversity, he focuses on fixing him and not the problem.

Verse 25:4 jumps out to me:

DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One.
    Teach me to understand so I can follow.

Understanding God’s word and desires sometimes is not easy. I have struggled with “prosperity” for years, with images of what would be God’s plan. I finally have had to take to heart the previous verse. I struggle with trying to regain lost family riches, yet have not accepted the gifts God has given us today. We are in a tough time, on unemployment and almost out of money, yet a pending sale of two homes turn this around to the point where I can be more selective on the work I do. So although things seem awful, God has protected us and led us to his light.

Verse 26:2 ties into the other verse quite well:

Put me on trial and examine me, O Eternal One!
    Search me through and through—from my deepest longings to every thought that crosses my mind.

Think about asking this. Would you want to be before God today on trial for your life? Initially I would say no, but imagine what you would learn!! You could fix your flaws and serve God more purely. That is something that is tough, but would be more valuable to us that gold. Character matters in life more than money.

For an example of this just look at the banking sector today. They are taking advantage of peoples desires for more and then when it falls apart the government bails them out. You would think that would have caused them to examine their practices. Instead they are back at it and just trying to defraud more. Oh I pray I am examined and put on trial so I can understand what I am doing wrong. 

Judges 17 – 21

We read about Micah who admits to stealing money from his mother. Initially verse 17:2 seems like a great example in grace:

Micah (to his mother): ² Do you remember those 1,100 pieces of silver that were stolen from you? I heard you curse the person who took them. Well, I have them. I took them, and now I want to return them to you.

Micah’s Mother: May my son be blessed by the Eternal!

She forgives him and then makes an idol. What is going on here? Why are these people ignoring God, while quazi-following God? I think verse 17:8 really give us insight to what is happening:

In those days of the judges, there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what seemed right in his own eyes.

People so often can justify their version of truth Biblically. We often distort the Bible to fit what we want to hear or do, as with Micah’s mother. Having a household god seems right and they often can worship it. They may believe that their worship is going to God, but rather misses the mark.

I am rambling, but as you read to the end of Judges the key to the end is just this. People are doing what they think is right and not want God wants. We are doing this today with the “Prosperity Gospel” where preachers are selecting verses that work for their theology and rejecting the rest of the Gospel. Think about it, where do the disciples live lavishly and are blessed beyond their dreams?

Interestingly near the end the nation of Israel almost wipes one of their tribes. I still am trying to get this story, but it’s interesting how this tribe drifts from the one true God and needs correction. My question today is do Jews today relate themselves back to one of Jacob’s sons or is the “tribal” system gone completely?

Genesis 32 – 35

Jacob was wrestling with a “man” which may be God. During this he is told in verse 32:28 of a name change:

You will no longer go by the name Jacob. From now on, your name will be Israel because you have wrestled with God and humanity, and you have prevailed.

Interestingly it’s not until chapter 35 and God states the name change again that it finally changes. This is one of those sections that one has to wonder who the “man” was that he was wrestling and what the meaning of that was. Why did he dislocate Jacob’s hip?

Leading up to this encounter Jacob was stressing about meeting his brother. Now this man who conned is father and brother to get the birthright and blessing. He lied and manipulated events to be in his favor now had to face his brother. He faced God before having to face his brother. Interestingly in crippling Jacob, God is showing us that He is looking for the unlikely to build his nation, not just the rich, dynamic and powerful. What man would think as the logical choice, God realizes that would only provide doubt it was his glory.

Chapter 34 has a disturbing story about Jacob and Rachel’s daughter Dinah. A Hivite named Shecham rapes Dinah and then falls in love with her. He then asks her hand in marriage, yet ends up killed in a fit of revenge by her brothers. This story is disturbing and shows how barbaric many cultures are. In western civilization we consider this rare, but it still happens. I don’t have any comment other than people who read this somehow tie it into God’s truths, when it’s just a historical account and is no way an example of how man should live a Godly life.

The 12 tribes of Israel are not set and we see how the name arrived. The next story is of Joseph, where God takes the most unlikely once again.

Romans 15 – 16

Verses 15:1 & 2 sum up what’s next:

¹ So now what? We who are strong are not just to satisfy our own desires. We are called to carry the weaknesses of those who are not strong.² Each of us must strive to please our neighbors, pursuing their welfare so they will become strong.

This is something that often times we miss. If you remember Paul said earlier that we should not do something we don’t think is a sin while it is considered one of another “brother” in Jesus. This is a continuation of that, where we are to strengthen the relationship of others with the Lord, and this will help improve ours in the same manner. See “sacrifice” is not doing something that is comfortable for you, but rather going outside your comfort zone.

If we take yesterdays “first will be last and last will be first” order then this solidifies the understanding. The key is “love” and with that a love for your neighbors with service. We tend to fall into the “invite” trap expecting a sermon to help them and that is “service”. When they may be disabled and need some help, or they may just need a morale booster. We don’t know what their needs are but if you see something that will help, jump in and do it. Or just simply ask, it doesn’t matter what YOU may think their needs are, God knows for sure.

Notice in this chapter how often he prays for the people of Rome. Three times he specifically says “I pray” in chapter 15, showing his care and compassion for the people. Verse 5 is one where he prays for the people to join together to serve God. Verse 13 he is praying for joy and hope. Finally in verse 33 he prays for peace to all. Prayers I believe we are need prayed over us each and every week.

Verse 15:16 shows Paul’s focus is more for “gentiles” than it is for Jews:

His grace makes me who I am, a minister of the Anointed One, Jesus, called to serve the nations. The good news of God is the focus of my priestly work. In effect, these nations have become an offering to God, totally acceptable, indeed made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit.

The beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice was it was not isolated to just the Jewish people, but all peoples of the world. Like we saw in yesterday’s reading in Matthew, the king had a wedding and he eventually opened the door for all, since most of his “honored” guests rejected his invitation. Think about how many Jewish people today reject the fact Jesus is the Messiah, or for this version “the Anointed One”. He has the invite out to all, and our job is to show as many as we can the true loving salvation of his grace.

Finally I just have to touch on much of chapter 16 with a specific focus on verse 16:1:

I commend to you our beloved sister Phoebe; she serves the church in Cenchrea as a faithful deacon.

You don’t know how many times I hear that “men” are selected as leaders of the Church, while Paul clearly demonstrates here that is not the case. Throughout the Bible we see women leaders, yet many believe this is for leading other women and not the “body” of the church. At the same time as I am writing this I get concerned for those reading it in churches where this is doctrine and often preached that I may be shaking their faith. I want to be clear on this, I am not judging but rather commenting. On this your heart is the judge, if you truly believe God does not want women leading men then that is your faith. At the same time neither “camps” should be judging the other or criticizing, but rather being joyous that their view is from God.

Now at the same time the “truth” seekers would call this “relativism” where suddenly anything may be allowed in church. I disagree since these decisions are of the Holy Spirit. If someone is an alcoholic then their “doctrine” would be no drink and they would seek churches that do not promote this at all. In the case of social drinkers, they may consider this “doctrine” backwards.  Scripture is clear that the disciples drank wine and it is also clear that we should not get drunk. So if a church does not want alcoholics to stumble, the doctrine of no drink is foundational in scripture since they do not want their brother to stumble. They actually are doing what Paul is preaching … 

Matthew 20 – 22

Verse 20:16 is a picture of how God loves his followers:

And that is your picture: The last will be first and the first will be last.

This is the moral of the parable of the workers who all get paid the same, no matter how hard they worked. The ones who labored the most are jealous of the ones who did little work for the same pay. This is key to salvation and is needed to eliminate pride from the equation. Let’s say you just saved a murdering, raping, politician and then the rapture happened. Guess what, both would have the same place in heaven. So even if you have thousands of souls and they have no track record but a lascivious life they are now equal. You’re to have joy and satisfaction that one was saved by your actions, not jealousy that they get the same place as you.

Verse 21:21 is one of those verses that make others question their faith:

I tell you this: if you have faith and do not doubt, then you will be able to wither a fig tree with one glance. You will be able to tell mountains to throw themselves into the ocean, and they will obey.

How many of us have tried to do this? How about walk on water? How many have successfully done it? Sometimes it makes people question their faith, when they feel it’s strong, yet they cannot perform the same miracles that Jesus says only needs faith. I have no idea what to say on this since the scriptures are clear we should be able to do this, yet I know many who have tried and failed. So are we all short of faith or is the supernatural of those proportions not easily obtained? I have no clue, but pray it’s not a faith issue!

Verse 22:14 is another one of those verses that concern me:

For many are invited, but few are chosen.

Where is the line? Is it people who have not accepted the Christ? How about people who have accepted Him at some time, yet back slid? How about people who have been saved who later reject the “Christhood” of Jesus? How about follower who have not confessed their sins recently? How about those not living the message of Jesus? Or is it drawn with those with faith, but not in works? All these positions can technically be justified in scripture. Who are the few and are we part of them?

That is something we must take serious and read to get our own clear understanding. After 4 complete reads of the Bible and this being my fifth, it’s still not crystal clear on what the “rules” are for man.

Isaiah 40 – 44

Verse 40:1 has God giving Isaiah clear and concise instructions when talking to the people:

“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.

I read this and think of a movie called Ghost, this movie was about a guy who died and his ghost was trying to contact his wife. He found a “medium” that he could communicate through and went to his wife. Well he was basically saying what God said to Isaiah, but the “medium’s” (played by Whoopee Goldberg) response was: “Girl, you in danger”. This was in no way comforting to his wife.

Imagine knowing the future and having to tell people about it. What if you knew without a doubt the Jesus was returning tomorrow. Would you hide in a corner and pray or would you run around like a mad man telling everyone you could? The problem with being a mad man is you will not get much notice other than maybe a 72 hour lock down in the county “funny farm”. With something like this you have to comfort the people and not panic them. So that was what Isaiah was charged to do.

Verse 40:7 is directly conflict with Matthew 6:26 (saying birds are cared for and we are more important):

The grass withers, the flower fades
    as the breath of the Eternal One blows away.
People are no different from grass.

On one hand we are told we are important, on the other we are compared to grass. You know the same grass they walk on, that feeds their livestock and gets poo’ed on by them. So we have this view of self-importance, but are really nothing in the grand scheme of things. Sure we make our mark on the people around us, but as with Moses parting the Red Sea, we will be forgotten quickly. So although God cares about us like Matthew, in the end we are just like the grass.

 Verse 42:25 is shows the headache God is going through:

That’s why God sent all fury against Jacob
    in the shape of war, and we were burned.
    We experienced all this;
Yet we didn’t get it. God’s people did not take it to heart.

We can get hit against the head with a 2×4 and still not get it, at least that is often the case for me. God is talking to a people who have a long history of being delivered with miracles and then in short order they are worshiping false gods. I often wonder looking at today when God will just say enough.

I have postulated that Revelations has already happened. Think about Adam and Eve in Eden, they had paradise and how they fell. What if we were in Eden again and fell away again? Heck it’s happened over and over again, why not over and over again for ever? Think about it Satan as cast out of Heaven, so why not again. Sorry for the depressing though today, but we live for God and never forget and we never have to worry. Don’t let the future paralyze you, but at the same time never forget the past so we don’t repeat it in the future.

Job 15 – 16

Job is once again be assured by his friend Eliphaz with stating how his view is Job is paying for sin. Job finally unloads on them and rebukes their friendship. Verse 16:2 starts this onslaught:

Job: All the things from you sound the same.
        You are all terrible as comforters!

How many times has this happened with you? Your friends know how to fix the problem and will quickly tell you. Or they will point out the obvious, like “does that hurt” as you have a stream of profanities coming from your mouth while dancing like a wild man. Sure we all have them and often need to just say stop. Job does this since what he needs is comfort and what he gets is aggravation.

Verse 16:5 points out the other key issue here:

But I believe I would use my words to encourage you;
        my lips would move only to offer you relief.

As much as we’d like to voice our opinions, Job knows when to “bridle his tongue” (James 1:26) and just be there for someone. That’s what we must learn to do, control our opinions until we know the whole story. As they eventually learn they were wrong.

Psalms 21 – 23

Psalm 21 is a prayer of worship to God. Verse 21:3 talks about the abundant life God may give if asked:

True blessings You lavished upon the king;
    a crown of precious gold You placed upon his head.

I love the Psalms because they show us there is hope in prayer. Since most were written by David, we can see the history and time of each one. We get to see prayer in action. How cool is that? David was blessed after in an essence literally being poo’ed on my King Saul.

Psalm 22 dives into many Messianic Prophecies. Verse 22:18 is just one glaring example of one:

They make a game out of dividing my clothes among themselves;
    they cast lots for the clothes on my back.

This is a clear example of what happened to Jesus on the cross. One could read this two ways, the Psalm is a clear example of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled to prove He is the Messiah. The other, more current, one is the story of Jesus was fake. Interestingly, there is no historical documentation during the time of the original stories that refute them. I believe the story as written was true and nothing has proven otherwise. This is proof that Jesus is the Savior.

Psalm 23 is one of the most used in funerals. Verses 23:1 & 2 are one of the most quoted verses as times get rough:

¹ The Eternal is my shepherd, He cares for me always.
² He provides me rest in rich, green fields
    beside streams of refreshing water.
    He soothes my fears;

Unfortunately I don’t like the Voice’s read here. The NIV, KJV and others sound so much more harmonious and that is the real flow of Psalms. I would love to hear this in Hebrew and just listen to the flow.

Guess what Google did for us today!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYpjoUDqbU4

It sound beautiful even though I have no idea what is being said!!

Judges 12 – 16

Verse 13:1 is the end of a long string of Judges:

Once again, though, the Israelites did evil according to the Eternal God, and He gave the Philistines power over them for 40 years.

This is the “lead in” to the story of Samson. Interesting how Samson is the one chosen to lead Israel from the Philistines with all his flaws. First and foremost we can see what part of the body leads his decisions. Since his first wife was in direct conflict with his families instructions. Also, he sleeps with a prostitute and gives up his power to a pretty face.

The longer the Israelites are in Canaan the more corrupt they become, Samson is just one example. Even still it’s interesting how God uses these powers to save the people. In the end, Samson dies in a building collapse that he causes in his final act of strength.

So once again God uses the most unlikely people to save his people. Again they are eventually punished for their issues, but end up being the “heroes” of the day. In this case Samson dies but in the process saves his people.

Like the stories of many in the Bible we assume God uses the strong of faith or the prominent, when in reality he uses an ambitious swindler (Jacob), a prideful bragger (Joseph), a murderer (Moses), a ladies man (Samson), an adulterer (David) and a “bastard” kid (Jesus, am I going to burn for this??) to save the people and eventually the world. So look for the unlikely to be used in moving God’s kingdom forward.

Genesis 28 – 31

This section is the story of Jacob and his quest for a marrying his love Rachael. Verse 28:15 though brings an ominous message today:

Know I am with you, and I will watch over you no matter where you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done all I have promised you.

This is ominous today, because most of the prophecies have been fulfilled and the ones that haven’t appear to be cueing up on the horizon. So I take this as once it’s over … it’s over. Now is this because it will be God and “redeemed” man in paradise or God will be fed up? Now don’t worry, there is enough in scripture to support the first option, but out of context this could be a worry.

Now back to Jacob’s story and his adventure. After this dream he realizes his purpose with God and is instructed to go to Laban and marry one of his daughters. As you read the story notice how the tables get turned on Jacob. Remember the one who took advantage of his brothers hunger to gain the birthright and then deceived his father to get the blessing. Well for 20 years Laban takes advantage of Jacob because his love for Rachel, but he gets deceived and taken advantage of over and over.

Even as he is leaving, he had to work to get what was promised to him. Funny how God takes the one who took advantage of his brother only to be taken advantage of himself. Remember this story as you read the story of Joseph and see how God corrects his problems. A common theme in most of these stories is God’s selected person has some personal issues to deal with and it is masterful how it’s done.

Here Jacob sees the latter in a dream that indicates that he is God’s chosen one and then summarily spends 20 years as an indentured servant all while building the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. Now when you have spent many years in a difficult situation, know what the end result may be. Also, don’t expect it either, since that seems to cause problems with God.

Romans 13 – 14

Verse 13:3 gets into a very difficult subject for many to accept:

You see, if you do the right thing, you have nothing to be worried about from the rulers; but if you do what you know is wrong, the rulers will make sure you pay a price. Would you not rather live with a clear conscience than always have to be looking over your shoulder? Then keep doing what you know to be good and right, and they will publicly honor you.

But what if the leader is morally wrong? Then what, do you keep paying taxes into a corrupt system or break free? This country was founded by men who did not follow this verse and realize the corrupting influence that was destroying the colonies. See how this gets sticky. Also, today you can’t help not mention a recent book that dismisses Jesus as being a story to make good tax payers, which this chapter supports.

Today many in the Christian complain about Obama, and some even have called him the Anti-Christ. I don’t believe that to be the case, but do agree something isn’t right. Does that mean we quit paying taxes? Our system of elections is designed to purge evil every few years. Often we need to be reminded that this is our civic duty and not just submit to the current authority. Look at it this way, if enough people stop paying taxes, the government would default and we would be owned by our creditors, namely China. I would rather have this flawed system than theirs!! So pay your taxes.

Verse 13:10 really is God’s Law in a nutshell:

Does love hurt anyone? Absolutely not. In fact, love achieves everything the law requires.

If we just followed this, and realize it’s not the same “love” as we feel for our spouses or children, but a more compassionate love, then things tend to work smooth. It’s when selfish desires and pride work into the mix that life becomes a problem for all. If we loved someone, we would not care about petty things and focus on serving them, not the other way. Back to spouses; imagine if every marriage was based on this love first!! Divorce lawyers would be out of business!!

Verse 14:5 highlights the point Paul is making in Chapter 14:

There may be a believer who regards one day as more sacred than any other, while another views every day as sacred as the next. In these matters, all must reach their own conclusions and satisfy their own minds.

We get into petty bickering over this and that in scripture. For a while I was convinced that it was a sin to eat pork, while almost all my Christian friends though I was nuts. We turned to Peter’s visions and they said it was ok, I said it was allowing all into the family of Christ. My argument was once we are saved we are obliged to follow the Law.

Boy was I wrong, but the point is during my “belief” no one really should have corrected me since I believe in faith, at the same time I should not have tried to save people to my interpretation. Same goes with drinking, many churches have you believe it’s a sin to drink, while preaching of the disciples drinking with Jesus. But at the same time for many it is a sin and the church is providing sanctuary for those people. The key is read the Bible and let the Holy Spirit guide you. To a person who enjoys a glass of wine or an occasional beer, drinking is not a sin. To an alcoholic, having beer in your fridge while they are visiting you is a sin, since any drink is a sin to them.

Matthew 17 – 19

Sit down, strap in and let’s dive into a lot of subjects quickly. Verse 17:9 is interesting:

The four men hiked back down the mountain, and Jesus told His disciples to stay silent.

Jesus: Don’t tell anyone what happened here, not until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.

Interesting here since Peter, James and John first saw Jesus with Elijah and Moses with God and Jesus is saying be silent. Also, notice he says until he has been “raised from the dead”. That would be the first question out of my mouth as to what does that mean. He continues to answer the questions and provide insight into the prophecies that have been fulfilled for Him being the Messiah.

Jesus then heals a man who the disciples could not and goes on to explain to them why this was the case. In verse 17:20 he gives the “mustard seed” analogy and then verse 21 is as follows:

[21 But this kind is not realized except through much prayer and fasting.]

I was curious why it was in brackets so time to explore. The reason is the earliest manuscripts omit this verse which makes one wonder if Matthew revised this text or if it was revised but transcribers to clarify the meaning. Also, could this be a clue there was an earlier text that has not been found that included this verse. I read this as a clue that maybe we need to pray and fast more.

Verse 18:7 starts a series of critical warnings to all Christians:

Beware indeed of those in a world filled with obstacles and temptations that cause people to turn away from Me. Those temptations are woven into the fabric of a world not yet redeemed, but beware to anyone who lures righteous women and men off the narrow path.

I could write a book on this but need to trim down. I implore you to read through verse 14 to really get a flavor on what Jesus is warning them of in this world. I believe the biggest one in this world today is porn. I know more good men that have been drawn into the lure of this world. I know for a while I was caught up in it and fight it constantly to this day. Today it’s easy and dangerous! Men say I’m only looking, but what is though is often acted out upon. These warnings and instructions are critical to this very day!!

The next story is the man in debt who was forgiven by the king and then does not forgive a lesser debt. The king reversed his decision and threw him in jail. In verse 18:35 Jesus ties this together:

And that is what My Father in heaven will do to you, unless you forgive each of your brothers and each of your sisters from the very cockles of your heart.

All over the Gospels, Jesus warns us about forgiveness. The Lord’s Prayer even says forgive us like WE forgive others. Do we really want that? If not we need to change our ways immediately and learn to forgive as we desire God to forgive. God’s grace is not so great He will overlook this detail and we ARE warned!!

The last story is chapter 19 is the rich man who was asked to give it all. Without pointing out a specific verse what is often missed is the rich can join the kingdom as long as they are not worshiping their money over God. I know for a fact that money can be a huge distraction and can easily draw anyone away from following God. We are blessed and then start focusing more on the blessings then serving the one who gave them.

As I move into my next “quarter” of my life I am now searching for significance. My view was I needed riches to help others and that has really changed since riches only help others help others. Let me unpack this, often we donate to charities so missionaries can get their hands dirty and work with the needy. What if God gave us these riches so we could walk away from the rat race and personally help others? Our goal should be serving God to the grave. So as my next “quarter” comes in, I am moving towards significance and less towards comfort. Sure I would love a windfall, but will change direction on how it’s managed.

One last note on yesterday’s reading .. one of the reasons I decided to read the Voice was because of Isaiah 34:14 where the mention Lilith by name … long story but this is from a view that Lilith is one of the angels who were cast from heaven and ties into the porn problem today.

Isaiah 34 – 39

Verse 34:2 should break any mold about God being even tempered:

For the Eternal One is furious with all the nations. He has had it with their armies.
He has marked them for destruction, and has given them over to slaughter.

If God was, why would He get “furious”? Mankind has done what it always has done, throughout history. Rise from despair, worshiping God, then slowly move from bondage to prosperity only to get distracted and drift away. I believe every society in history will so this, be it following God or not. We gain comfort and become complacent only to lose it again. So why wouldn’t God get angry? And why haven’t we learned our lesson?

Verses 35:3 & 4 bring hope to the ones that worry:

3 So, with confidence and hope in this message,
strengthen those with feeble hands, shore up the weak-kneed and weary.
4 Tell those who worry, the anxious and fearful,
“Take strength; have courage! There’s nothing to fear.
Look, here—your God! Right here is your God!
The balance is shifting; God will right all wrongs.
None other than God will give you success.
He is coming to make you safe.”

Sure things may be rough, but have faith and don’t fret the rough spots since they are promised. Jesus never says rest in me I will satisfy all your desires and give you what you want. No He wants us to rest in Him to satisfy our desire for love and give us what we need in strength. That is the point, we need to be like Paul and have joy be it a free man with friends or in bondage for his beliefs.

Verse 39:6 sums up the real value of “stuff”:

“The time is coming when everything in your palace—everything of value kept, passed down, and stored by your ancestors to this present time—will be taken away to Babylon. Of everything that you showed this Babylonian contingent, nothing will be left. Absolutely nothing will remain here,” says the Eternal One.

When you get right down to it, what does it really matter in the long run? Nothing, absolutely nothing will change the fact that we can’t take it with us. The only thing we can rest on is glory in heaven, which if you use the crown analogy, requires a bunch of work. “Stuff” becomes a point of worship, be it a Golden Calf or a silver Porsche, we all tend to worship things over God, even the most holy of us. Focus on God, if you have the silver Porsche great, have fun and focus on God.

Job 13 – 14

Verse13:4 hit me this morning:

But you! You smear me with lies as if to help,
but as healers you are worthless.

How many times in life do you have friends who seem to make matters worse than better? Their opinions and ideas tend to get you in more problems than less. I know for me that is the way often. The only time that comes to mind actually worked out. We were at Riverside Raceway getting some track time and I wasn’t feeling it. I started to pack up, when my friend David barked at me and said you are doing the greatest thing in the world, get back on the bike and ride. I did and almost went off once the tires warmed up in turn 1!! I regained composure and had a great day.

So we should not always dismiss your friends, just know when what their saying is WRONG and not just what you DON’T want to hear!

Verse 13:13 and on is Job going right to God:

So keep your mouths shut around me, and let me speak to God.
And whatever may come, let it come.

I would love a relationship with God that was clear and easy to figure out. Part of me says I have it and another is still seeking. Case in point was a home we are trying to sell. We had an offer above asking that the appraisal came in significantly below asking. During this time I had another offer come it for more than the appraisal, cash and quick closing. I was stuck; I did not know what to do. The buyer had skin in the game, but would not go off the appraisal. I went back and forth till eventually settling on the higher offer.

I believe I understood God’s prompt and things seem to be working out perfectly, but it was not crystal clear. But as I have said, it will be clear in hindsight.

Verse 14:7 is the ultimate optimistic view:

You know, at least there is a kind of hope for a tree:
if it gets cut down, it may yet sprout again out of the roots.
And very likely then, its tender shoots will not die.

When all may seem at its darkest, God’s light will shine through if you keep the faith. My debt journey started in 2001 and it was darkest in 2008 when the real-estate deal fell through and our debt was well over a half a million dollars. God opened doors and things have been moving slowly, but positively since. All makes sense in the long run, just preserver.

Psalms 18 – 20

Verse 18:2 sums up how we need to look at God:

The Eternal is my rock, my fortress, and my salvation;
He is my True God, the stronghold in which I hide,
my strong shield, the horn that calls forth help, and my tall-walled tower.

We tend to fall away from God when things are not as we desire. But more often than not, God is being our Rock is limiting our desires more for what we need. I know over the years we have had things come up that have been our saving grace, or what we though was our saving grace, only to have it fall away. Then 6 years later it makes sense and we see life in a different light.

We had a land deal that would have cleared our debt and given us capital to buy the building our business was in. That fell through and shortly after that I got a “real” job and eventually the business closed. As we chugged along slowly paying the debt, we considered walking away from it and declaring bankruptcy. But that “deal” was still in the back of our heads. Well 6 years later our debt is reduced greatly from hard work and perseverance, as God desired, and we now have another similar deal.

I am still waiting for the finish, but one thing is for sure, God is in the mix. He has been steadfast and on task, not listening to my selfish desires. If all were to fail, again faith that something is on the horizon that will be better for the future. But all in all, this feels right. Timing seems awful, then amazingly makes sense.

Verses 19:12 & 13 hit me:

12 Who could possibly know all that he has done wrong?
Forgive my hidden and unknown faults.
13 As I am Your servant, protect me from my bent toward pride,
and keep sin from ruling my life.
If You do this, I will be without blame,
innocent of the great breach.

This is something I pray often, since I forget what I have done throughout the day and often need a smack upside the head to ensure I am repenting the right things. Repentance is ok, when you stop doing it, but is shallow otherwise. Again if we ask for general repentance without actually knowing what is wrong we fall short of what is asked.

The biggest problem in life is pride since it hurts everything we do. If we live towards others and less on our self, we tend to have peace. I know when things get out of control it’s when I think I am in the right and have to win. Doesn’t matter if the truth is being rammed down my throat, pride will have me dismiss this and move forward.

David is saying to humble yourself before the Lord and be open to his guidance. Learn to be humble and not prideful, to be able to understand God’s instructions. This way you can see your sin and pride.

Judges 7 – 11

Verse 7:2 is one of those verses we have to consider in everything we do:

You have too many warriors for Me to allow you to defeat the Midianites. As it is now, the people of Israel would just deny Me the credit and claim they had won the victory on their own.

So often we start taking credit for what God has done in our lives we stop giving thanks. I know I tend to get a case of the “I”s when talking about things that have happened in my life. It quickly goes from look what God has done to look with I did, with God’s grace, to just I did. It is easy to do since giving God glory in today’s culture is difficult. Sure when we are talking with our friends at Church, giving Him credit is easy; it’s going to work and doing the same with your “Flying Spaghetti Monster” friend (an atheist).

This was the same for Gideon; He wanted the people of Israel to know it was God who conquered the Midianites. Even then as you continue in the readings the people drifted from God quickly after Gideon died. Verse 8:33 shows this change:

As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites turned away from the Lord, and they began to prostitute themselves again to the Baals. They made Baal-berith their chief god.

Notice how often Baal comes up in the writings. Often we look at Baal as a false god, or none existent. But think of this, could Baal be one of the fallen angels when Satan (and/or Lucifer) was cast out of heaven? They would want to be worshiped like God and could do some amazing things to get the people on board. Notice how debauchery and “the flesh” seems to be the theme of Baal worship throughout the Bible.

Today Aleister Crowley, an occultist and author, preaches “do as thou wilt” giving everyone into just having fun. Those of us who followed that path in life and now follow Jesus know the lack of fulfillment one gets just having “fun”. Real joy is not found in Satan, Baal, Asherah or whomever, but rather in Jesus.

It’s interesting to watch God perform public miracles; bring the people back only to drift again within a generation. Has me think of the people I debate in science asking for proof of my God and me only being able to give evidence that they can explain away as chance. Now I know that “chance” is one thing, but “chance” over and over is proof, but that does not work.

As story from a friend is enough for me, but not for them. In a nutshell the family had been trying for 2 years to have children. They had been prayed over and the like from their friends and small group. One week, some visitors from Africa” who had the gift of praying for fertility came to their small group. One had a “prophecy” that they would be holding a son in 9 months. In 9 months they were holding a son … note they had just been giving the bad news two weeks earlier from their doctor that this was most likely not going to work.

How many generations will that story build faith before it is forgotten? No wonder God gets so upset with us, since He is doing this over and over.

Genesis 24 – 27

I am sorry but I have to mention this because it’s something I don’t get. Verse 24:9 implies something that seems odd:

The trusted servant took the oath, holding in his hand Abraham’s power to give life. He swore to do what his master required.

“Abraham’s power to give life” near his “thigh” is his “tally-whacker”. I read this and cannot imagine how or why someone would ever start that tradition. That would freak me out!!

Today is going to be a bunch of questions, like after Sarah’s death Abraham takes another wife and has more children, what comes of them? And in verse 24:67 Isaac takes a wife:

Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her as his wife and slept with her, and grew to love her deeply. In this way, Isaac found comfort in the wake of his mother’s death.

This is not a traditional love story, since the sex part comes before love. Sounds like modern day courtship!! I understand arranged marriages, but doesn’t mean I agree with them or accept them as “normal”.

Finally the story of Esau and Jacob always bothered me since Jacob manipulated his way into the head of the Jewish nation. Why did God allow this? He got the birth right by taking advantage of his brother’s hunger. In verse 27:24 he says “I am” Esau to his father and got the blessing by telling a lie to his father. How can that be a true blessing? And then why could he only “bless” one of his children? I want to “bless” mine “equally” and give them an “equal” share of the estate. No one is special or above the other.

Sometimes you have to ask why in Malachi he said that God hated Esau. Why did God grow the nation of Israel from a manipulative and lying mama’s boy over a self-centered independent one? Just questions, and am not yet happy with the answers I have found over the years. In the end, it’s God’s will and that’s all we really have to know about it.

Romans 11 – 12

Verse 11:18 is something we need to take to heart as we grow:

It doesn’t give you license to become proud and self-righteous about the fact that you’ve been grafted in. If you do boast, remember that the branches do not sustain the root—it is the system of roots that nourishes and supports you.

Paul is comparing the Gentiles being joining the family of God’s anointed like grafting a wild olive into a cultivated one. The major point is don’t get so full of yourself that you are part of God’s Kingdom, since that same graft could be pruned away. No our focus should not be on our salvation, but that of others. We need to be adding to the tree no resting in the comfort of the tree, therefore push pride away.

Pride is a killer in almost everything we do. Arguments and conflict are almost all the time based in pride of one of the parties. We “buck up” and ignore what the other party has to say and start to defend. I hate using the word “defend” since it implies an attack, but when we are trying to “defend” our point of view, we often attack. So if we all “sucked it up” and learned to listen with acceptance the world would get along much better.

Verses 12:1 & 2 really lay out how we should be as Christians:

1 Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. 2 Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete.

Does he imply we sacrifice ourselves like Jesus to die on the cross? No, but we should go way out of our comfort zone in helping others. Service is not a sacrifice if it’s a social event first. We really need to take the one line to heart and understand what Paul is saying. If we sacrifice our bodies, then we are doing as he desires which may lead us into a very uncomfortable life. But as we see in Paul, we can gain JOY in suffering!!

Verse 2 reminds me of how we tend to mold God into our image as some grey haired Adonis that sits on a throne in the sky sending lightning bolts of justice down. The world has molded God, so can you imagine how easy it will be to mold you? I can’t say this enough, but pray and grow from the inside out. The best way is to read your Bible every day. If not a chapter or section, just pick a verse and learn it in context, but do this daily!!

After being a Christian for 30 years I can say one thing, it’s hard to figure out God’s will. Often I miss the 2×4 being swung at me until it catches the backside of my head. This is one avenue I pray for daily, is more clear guidance. I can’t say how many times I have bought lottery tickets being sure it was God prompting me. Never have I won squat and finally realized that voice in my head is me wanting an easy way out. Paul had it easy, Jesus appeared before him! We have to pray and hope we can discern which voice is God and which is our own prideful desires.

Matthew 14 – 16

Verse 14:14 is a good snapshot of Jesus’ life:

Though Jesus wanted solitude, when He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, and He healed the sick and the lame.

Think about it, He didn’t do what He wanted but rather what needed to be done. We get into the selfish mindset often where we need “personal time” where we help ourselves. If you notice Jesus does eventually get that time, He just needs to help others first.

In today’s reading you get the stories where he feeds 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and two fish and 4000 with seven loaves and a “few” fish. Each time there is excess and everyone is amazed. In chapter 16 He uses these events into his teaching and in verse 16:12 the disciples get it:

And then the disciples understood: Jesus was not talking about the bread you eat, but about the food that feeds your soul. He was speaking in metaphor; He was warning them against imbibing the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

I love how Jesus works in lessons in all that happens in His life. In this case he was warning them about teachings that were corrupt. We need to be aware today of these teachings, specifically I think of the prosperity Gospel preachers. Where does it say we will get rich following God? No I see the disciples all being jailed and killed, not living in big houses and enjoying their pool. We will live life to the full, and full is not defined and Porsche’s and parties.

Now nestled between the two feeding stories is on where Peter walks on water. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and with faith stepped out of the boat and walked towards Jesus. While he was walking he realized what he was doing and began to sink.

Verse 14:31 Jesus’ catches Peter and calms him:

Immediately Jesus reached for Peter and caught him.

Jesus: O you of little faith. Why did you doubt and dance back and forth between following Me and heeding fear?

Honest question: How many have taken a step of faith and tried to walk on a pool or other body of water? I have more than once and often wonder is my faith really that weak? But if this were the case every person of true faith would be walking on water. This begs to question do we all have the same doubt that Peter had?

Think about it Peter was there first hand when Jesus was walking on water. Peter saw him change water to wine, raise the dead and heal the lame, yet he had doubt. How can any of us really have the faith that Peter had? That is a question that bugs me every day? He was there and did not have enough faith not to sink, yet we just read these 2000 year old stories and hope answered payers and “odd” life events are not just “common coincidences” but rather nudges by God. Our faith will be put to the test often, we need strength to keep pressing into it and don’t fear searching for the truth. As the X-Files use to say “the truth is out there.”

Isaiah 29 – 33

Verse 29:5 talks about Gods power:

But in an instant your ruthless enemies, who seem too many to count,
will become as fluttering dust, as wind-driven chaff.

“In an instant” are words I would love to hear many times in my life. Often we tend to want that “instant” to help bail us out of our own self-created mess. We want God to swoop in and save out backsides in order so we can do it again. Notice this time is after a long period without God in the mix. They were suffering and finally figuring out where they needed to turn to in life.

Often, if we got instantly bailed out every time we messed up, the end results would be we would end up in the same boat shortly afterwards. I know that has been my case in life. My first “bailout” was short lived as I did not end the credit cards, but started to use them more wisely. Please note when you have $225,000 in credit cards that cannot be “used wisely”. I continued to spend over what we brought in and eventually when the revenue slowed my credit bubble popped. Now 6 years later I have learned to spend less than you make and keep doing it.

Verse 30:12 is God talking directly to Israel:

But the Holy One of Israel says,

Eternal One: Because you refused to accept this truth, My word and purpose,
and trusted instead in deceit and manipulation, you will fall.

This again gets to the root of the problem; people are not accepting the truth. The world is getting more and more that way today, where we reject God’s truth only to form what we believe is our own. Science and Creation are one of those debates that are ongoing and are pushing God out of the equation. See randomness is what science believes as truth and therefore means no God. I could write a book on this subject alone, and should, but the root is we start doubting God and his presence in the world.

We are being “spanked” or will be soon for our rejection of God’s truth. I hope this isn’t the final one since that will be very ugly.

I will not post this, but look at verse 33:1 and think about how the banks are run today. I expect this will be a problem real soon, if it hasn’t already started. The banks did risky loans and are getting “bailed out” by the government. Eventually that will end and they will be not able to find more money and the house of cards will collapse.

Job 11 – 12

Verse 11:20 interests me in how Zopar talks about the wicked:

But the eyes of the wicked will grow dark as they lose hope;
they’ll find no escape, and in despair,
they’ll long only to breathe their last dying breath.

All these are great assumptions and feelings, but none are really fully grounded in the situation. All his friends assume they understand what is going on and each seem to have an ever increasing misunderstanding of what is really happening. I know when life happens outside of what I think it should be I go back to what may or may not be the underlying reason.

A good recent example was the sale of our farm a few years ago. It was all on, we would have been debt free at our peak and would have put any free cash into the building Board n Bike was in. The deal fell through after months of “counting my “chickens” before they hatched.” I started dissecting what I did wrong and why God would have allowed that deal to fall trough. I looked at every sin and mistrust of God and immediately assumed it was because I was still buying lottery tickets and not having faith God would provide in abundance.

Five years later I look back and realize it was His plan, since it had us considering selling the property I was sure was perfect for our “retirement home” but has it planned for the right time. See two things that needed to happen, first was money management. If I had paid off the $576k without learning how to budget, life would have been miserable quickly. Also, if we had dumped the remaining capital into the building in Buford, we would have an empty monolith, costing us money. Instead God had the perfect plan and I just assumed it was a spanking when the deal fell through.

Verse 12:12 speaks to me as I grow older:

But you tell me, “With age comes wisdom,
and a long life grants understanding.”

Often I think I am more a “wise guy” than a wise counselor. I wish wisdom would just happen, but it appears to have missed me in most cases. I am still learning by the “school of hard knocks.” It a common fallacy in most societies, that as we grow old we gain wisdom. Honestly if we fail to learn the Biblical meaning of our “hard knocks.” We just ramble though life without gaining insight. Debt was one for me. I have amassed a tremendous amount of debt twice, once was cleaned out quickly with a home sale, the other has been a long row to hoe, but has been a learning experience. The problem was the quick fix just gave me increased faith without any correcting measures.

Psalms 15 – 17

Verse 15:5 talks about living life with God:

The one who does not lend money with gain in mind
and cannot be bought to harm an innocent name.

If you live this way, you will not be shaken and will live together with the Lord.

This Psalm is a view on how to live together. One could cry “communism” but at the same time if everyone is working FOR God, then all is in harmony. Communism unfortunately is derived from the shellfish desires of man. This grows from peoples jealousy over those with money which grows from the shellfish desire to gain more than helping the community as a whole. Finally is coopted by peoples shellfish desires to control the “system”, which if was rooted in God would not need control.

No, most of life’s problems would not be if they were rooted in truly following God. Now I heard a dangerous quote this morning that I needed to comment on. The cult member said “They were protesting a papacy that burned you at the stake if you didn’t worship a God who tortured his own son to death to satisfy his need to punish sinners.” I can’t say enough about this, but it’s an example on how the Bible is twisted to push an agenda. Yes the church may have gotten over zealous in pushing the faith, but that in no way is condoned in scripture. But to twist God sacrificing his son to FORGIVE the sinners to “punish” them is dangerous “theology” and how people justify death in the name of God.

We are living in dangerous times where things like this can seem logical to the uneducated or non-believers. This is the reason it’s IMPORTANT to read scriptures and follow God closely. That way you can quickly see the fallacy in statements like this and not let them corrupt the faith. If you are reading this, understand the importance of reading scriptures first hand and complete. A snippet here with lies can quickly corrupt your understanding of God to, in extreme cases, justify murdering others. We MUST be on guard and follow God and His holy word. I am not saying ignore other people work, but rather to ensure you can discern what is truth.

The other two Psalms are prayers of David and it’s interesting to read them in full context. They both show the concerns and desires of a great leader. Verse 17:3 is one that people need to include more in their prayers:

You have searched me—my heart and soul—awakened me from dreaming and tested me.
You’ve found nothing against me.
I have resolved not to sin in what I say.

Would you ask to be “tested”? I know the “tests” I have undergone are not fun and to ask God for this is from a person desiring to be right with Him. Think about David’s life and how his transgressions are repented and forgiven, but the “consequence” have ramifications for generations to follow. So ask God to test your heart and for strength to endure what is in store, you will come out with a better relationship on the other side.

“They were protesting a papacy that burned you at the stake if you didn’t worship a God who tortured his own son to death to satisfy his need to punish sinners” – A random cult member

I just heard this quote and had to post it … dangerous times we are in where truth gets twisted. Yes the “Church” did kill for not worshiping God, but there was more to it histrically AND to twist it into a mis-representation of what Jesus did on the cross shows the danger of propaganda here.

Judges 1 – 6

In what appears to be a never ending cycle we see Israel drifting once again towards the gods of nations that live among them. Everyone points to God as being some brutal dictator that makes people bow to Him or they are destroyed. One of the reasons God commanded His people to clean how is He knew this would happen. It’s interesting how people resist God and will flock to other gods even after watching the Red Sea or Jordan River part.

Verse 3:7 introduces Asherah:

Israel committed what the Eternal considered evil: they forgot the Eternal, their True God, and instead worshiped the Baal and Asherah deities, the various local gods of the people of Canaan.

Although Baal was introduced early on we see Asherah for the first time in The Voice. We notice that although not mention in this version, others note Asherah Poles prior and later in the versions. Also, Asherah is supposedly Nimrod’s wife Semiramis, who is steeped in legends. What are Asherah Poles or obelisk anyway? In essence they are large phallic symbols to represent Baal’s “manhood” and placed throughout the land to worship Asherah.

Interestingly you find these all over the world; most significant is the Washington Monument. These Poles will often be found within a circle representing the woman and the act of sex. I know that is something we cannot wrap our heads around since one of the most famous monuments in our nation. God says tear them down and destroy them. I am NOT suggesting we tear down the Washington monument, but at the same time one has to wonder the origin, since the Washington was laid out by Freemasons.

Verse 5:7 is a stanza from the Song of Deborah:

But those from rural areas stayed away,
the destitute in Israel kept far off,
Until I, Deborah, arose
to be a mother to Israel.

One of the major complaints of the church is it’s “sexist” and does not view women well. Sure there are the biological differences that are undeniable, but this is not based in scripture. The story of Deborah is one of those where the triumphant characters are women. The two heroines are Deborah who leads them into battle and Sisera who drives a spike into the head of the king. If it was “scriptural” that women could not lead or have roles of power these stories would never have been included.

Chapter 6 starts the story of Gideon and his prompting. Verse 6:15 shows God uses the most unlikely to do His will:

But, Lord, how am I supposed to deliver Israel? My family is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least of my family.

Think about all the stories in the Bible, rarely do they take the most obvious choice for a leader. Moses was an outcast murderer and David was his brothers’ helper. God’s glory can be explained away if the logical choice is used since God’s power can be applied to man and not where it rightfully should be. God wants it to be clear who is working here in this world.

I have to comment on the fleece story since that always gets me. Is Gideon actually testing God twice? He hears a voice, tests the voice and then tests it again. I think I would have got it the first time, but then again I would want to be sure before risking my life and the life of others. So in a way this is a good way to be sure. I wish all decisions were answered this way!!

Genesis 20 – 23

Verse 20:2 is Abraham still not trusting God:

Because he was living in Gerar as a foreigner, Abraham once again told everyone that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her into his harem.

Interesting as you read on, you find out that Abraham was technically not lying since she is his half-sister. I believe this story is a perfect example of God’s grace since you have a man who is to be the head of the nation of Israel failing often. He lied twice about his wife, slept with a servant and laughed at God, yet when he was commanded to sacrifice his son, he did what he was told. Out of all those I could see not doing the first minor ones, but sacrificing my son would be something out of the question. I may go through the motions knowing this story, but I would not drop the knife. I would expect God to butt in before then.

Verse 23:13 has Abraham not accepting a gift:

and replied to Ephron so all those present could hear.

Abraham: Please, listen to what I have to say. I will gladly pay you a fair price for the field. Please accept it from me. That way I can bury my dead in peace.

Interesting that Abraham did this, I believe it was partially out of pride but also so he did not “owe” Ephron anything. Often when things are given, especially to those who are not in need, something is expected in return. I believe this is what Abraham was protecting his family from.

A lesson to learn here is discerning ones motives on gifts. If they are just giving out of love it should be no problem accepting gifts, but often it’s a “you scratch my back” arrangement. This is much the same with political gifts, where as the “donation” is given without “expectations”, most large donors want access. It’s a game that unfortunately gives an unfair advantage to the wealthy.

In this nation we call the donations free speech, yet is it “free” when it blocks access to people without money? That is where publically funded campaigns, where everyone gets the same access, is appealing. Also, easier access to the ballot would be a helpful since right now “the machine” is the only groups that have real access to getting on a ballot.

Sorry, sometimes I drift as I did today. I think what we need to learn from Abraham is God will forgive us and His will trump all.

Romans 9 – 10

Verse 9:3 is something we can say, but I believe Paul meant it:

It may sound extreme; but I wish that I were lost, cursed, and totally separated from the Anointed—if that would change the eternal destination of my brothers and sisters, my flesh and countrymen.

Think about it, would you lay down your eternal security for the security of others? That is the selfless love that Jesus was talking about when He said love others as yourself. This again is easy to say but not so easy to follow, as said it is “extreme”.

Now as we read this verse I did a bit of “translation” searching since when you read this there are some italic text. In The Voice translation they try to convey the meaning of the original scriptures. The italic texts within this translation are points they added. So I went to other translations to get a feeling for why and what was said. In doing this the translation seems solid, since when you read it in other versions specifically the OJB has names implying they were left out since this may be the only place mentioned.

Verse 9:21 starts the “potter” analogy and stems to question predestiny:

Doesn’t the potter have the right to shape the clay in any way he chooses? Can’t he make one lump into an elegant vase, and another into a common jug? Absolutely.

We all get hung up on greatness and stardom some time in our lives. As parents we support our children and telling them they are destined for greatness. This is most often just blowing smoke up our children’s posterior and not getting them ready for reality. I consider myself a Walter Mitty type and have honestly believed I was a grand vase to be the centerpiece of a king’s palace. When in reality I am just a fancy trash container.

The point is not to bash on me or trolling for people to respond with praise, but rather to state a more realistic view of life. Honestly we all can’t be a movie star or a professional baseball player, because who would be in the stands to watch and enjoy? Paths and choices are the key to life and living with God without expectations of grandeur for yourself is key. Maybe Verse 3 ties into this a bit?

Verse 10:1 is something we all miss from time to time, if not most often:

My brothers and sisters, I pray constantly to God for the salvation of my people; it is the deep desire of my heart.

Always pray and give focus to God. Is this saying lock yourself in your prayer closest 24/7? No, but it is saying be in focus and connection with God. Acknowledge Him throughout the day and in times of decision. I know I have broken that rule recently with trying to move. Things are working perfectly and appear to be going to right way, yet I am starting to push things along and not be patient. I believe we have found the perfect place and I am trying to secure it my way and not let God work.

As I drift into my daily drama, I want to come back and focus on the word “constantly” since it’s in italics. This is one of those verses I initial read and got it confused with 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, since that says pray without ceasing. This added word is for emphasis, but is changes the tone from other translations. Granted the meaning is not lost, it just implies Paul is always where other translations imply it’s a heavy burden. I think the key here is although the translation is tad different from others; the underlying point of praying for salvation of all is the key to our prayer life.

Job 9 – 10

Verse 9:2 asks an interesting question:

If one wanted to argue with Him,
even in a thousand questions he would not be able to answer Him once.

How many times have we argued with God over our problems or the injustice in the world? I know it’s constantly on my mind and tend to vent at God more than argue, since I can say all I want to and it’s unlikely that things will change outside His will. We fight and struggle for justice and fairness in our own opinion but rarely look at God’s when arguing. Honestly, we can never know why or even if something is being done for a reason or just circumstances.

As I am reading this I am reminded, “God will never give us more than we can handle.” So off to find the reference this is commonly attributed to 1 Corinthians 10:12 – 13, but it doesn’t say that. The verse is clear to note that God will not TEMPT us more than we can handle, but not give us burdens more than we can bear. So I found this was not a saying that could scripturally apply to Job.

Verses 9:21 & 22 are pointed about how our life on the world ends:

21 I am blameless, but I don’t know myself.
I hate my life.
22 Well, then this is what I say: it’s all the same.
In the end, He kills off both the innocent and the depraved.

It’s awful to think about, but we all end up in the ground as worm food. The key is salvation after death. Life after death is one of those concepts that we must take by pure faith, because the only evidence I have is from when my grandmother died. My mom was at her bedside and just before she died she called the names of her family members that had died. It wasn’t a calling for, but more of a greeting. Now my father explained it as missing them, since they never came to visit she missed them and called for them before leaving. I on the other hand believe they were welcoming her to “the other side” of our existence.

I think Job is evidence we often time do get more than we can handle. If anyone has sat bedside and cared for a loved one who is suffering, often times it is more than they can handle. The pain and agony that drugs do not seem to quell can be awful. We see active youths confined to wheel chairs in seconds, never to walk again. Through this all we beg and plea for healing from God and most times to no avail nothing happens.

We see suffering and misery only to ask why and rest on the miss guided assumption that God will not give us more than we can handle. I believe this is one fallacy that needs to be ended, because it’s a cliché that only gets people mad at God. I often wonder if the temptation thing is misguided also, since I know many Godly people who have been tempted into some sin that has destroyed their lives.

So the question is does God heap more pressure on us or does he allow life to happen. Since these bodies are not perfect we cannot expect pain not to happen. Since we tend to drift we cannot assume that God is tempting us when our sins results in further drifting. Also, this world is in change we cannot assume that our little piece will not have a catastrophic event happen. This is only where faith in God will help us through not make it easier. (I hope that made sense)

Isaiah 23 – 28

Today is another day of digging into prophecies while trying to determine if it’s pointing to times past or time ahead. Of course one always has to question if this is just the way of mankind without any divine influence. Think about it, extreme hardship and burden lead to cultural revolt, which tends towards more freedom, to growth and prosperity, to comfort, to complacency, to overburdened systems, to hardship. No nation has survived without cycles like this. Look at communist China, the change started in Tiananmen Square and is currently in a prosperous time.

It’s interesting how the message about Tyre could be applied to many places in the world Verse 23:18 talks about Tyre being restored after 70 years, yet returning to their wicked ways:

But everything Tyre earns—her profit, her goods—won’t be stored or saved: all will be devoted to the Eternal; her stocks will supply all the food and fine clothing needed by those who serve in the presence of the Eternal One.

This time the earnings will be moved towards the people who serve God. Interestingly as I wrote this I thought of my example about China. One could say this is what is happening with trade between us and China. Because of their ways persecuting Christians, the Chinese are restored as a trade country but their profits are being used for those that serve God or the USA. Now if you read this you may have gagged, but I am not saying this is the case but rather could be DISTORED to mean that.

Verses 24:5 & 6 almost make me wonder if it’s not today they are talking about:

5 The earth is polluted by those who live on it;
they pay no attention to God’s teaching.
They violate His directives and break the everlasting covenant.
6 Consequently, a nasty curse consumes the earth,
and those who inhabit it are to blame for it.
They’ll be burned up,
leaving very few people to survive.

Think of what “Climate Change” scientists are harping on! Our pollution will destroy the world, and that is this prophecy. One has to wonder if this was meant for today or for the city of Tyre around that time. Archeological digs imply this happened, but again one must ask if hold some future since these verses seem more general.

Verse 26:10 is interesting:

If grace is extended to those who do wrong,
the perpetrators never learn what is right.
Even when surrounded by upright people, they gravitate to evil
and never even notice the awesome beauty of the Eternal.

As Christians we are focused on saved by grace, but at the same time dismiss the punishment. Sure our eternal salvation may be secured by grace, but does that mean we avoid the spanking that is due? This implies NO! So although we are saved by grace we are not immune from punishment or the resulting consequences.

Psalms 12 – 14

Verse 12:1 sounds ominous since David was in the nation of Israel:

Help me, O Eternal One, for I can’t find anyone who follows You.
The faithful have fallen out of sight.

I sometimes tend to feel like this when debating a person on the topic of science and the Bible. Once it becomes ultra-technical and the name calling starts, the faithful tend to drop away quickly. I see this in many other debates, where once our faith is challenged we tend to fold and clam up. This may be where David is right now, like when he challenged Goliath.

Think about it a great nation stood before Goliath and shook. No one had the faith that God was going to prevail until David showed up. With no experience in war, he slayed Goliath with no armor or weapons other than a sling and a stone. If we really did follow God we would not back down, we would have faith that God will prevail. This can mean tackling an enemy or discussing our faith with non-believers.

Verse 13:1 is another emotion I often feel:

How long, O Eternal One? How long will You forget me? Forever?
How long will You look the other way?

Often we feel alone and abandoned in the world. When in reality we are never alone from God. I think the reason we feel alone is we pray for something and expect something to happen. When in reality, things happen much different, so when God does not match our expectations than God is forgetting us. I can point to more times that I have thought God was silent when the answer was different than what I expected.

Verse 14:1 is actually a warning to believers:

A wicked and foolish man truly believes there is no God.
They are vile, their sinfulness nauseating to their Creator;
their actions are soiled and repulsive; every deed is depraved;
not one of them does good.

We need to beware of engaging people who do not believe in God. Sure we need to spread the faith, but I have seen many who have found the engagements weaken their faith and cause problems. Jesus even sends His disciples in pairs. We should never engage the faithless without support, if not there at least a pastor to talk with afterwards.

So keep up the good fight, don’t be discouraged that God is not with you or that others are not following God firmly. The key is don’t fail on your walk!!

Joshua 21 – 24

As I read this reading, I underlined a bunch and enjoyed the story, but honestly got nothing to say. Chapters 21 and 22 discuss the problems in the division and some infighting about sacrificing on alters being used outside the proper place. Chapters 23 and 24 is a history to the people and Joshua’s last words.

Verse 24:14 I think fits today:

So remember: fear the Eternal and serve Him sincerely and faithfully. Put away from you any gods your ancestors served across the Euphrates River or in Egypt, and serve only Him.

Today we no longer worship gods per se, but rather we worship stuff and dismiss God. It’s different but the same trap. Satan has discovered the best way to get people to not worship God is to distract them. We just had an awesome sermon on comfort, we all pray for it. The problem is when we get it, we become complacent and stop furthering the kingdom.

Evil is there and Satan is really active!! I wish I could say more, but don’t get lost in the rush of emotions expecting them always to be there and then move to stuff to maintain them. No we need to focus on God and be happy with what we have. Learn to USE what we have for the glory of God so we can use what we get tomorrow. It’s really not for US, but rather a reward to keep up the fight.

The reason I am not connected today in a string of discussions with atheist on various YouTube channels. My energies have been used recently discussing evolution with biologists who dismiss God. Since I have limited background I need to study and understand what I am saying so not to sound like a fool and hopefully change a heart or two.

Sometimes I just babble and make sense, hope this does today;-)

Genesis 16 – 19

This is the story of the creation of the nation of Islam. In this Sari decides to take matters into he own hands and give her servant Hagar to Abram. Today we don’t understand this, but at that time this was actually a custom to keep the family lineage. We see the immediate conflict between Sari and Hagar throughout the period and when Ishmael is born. We get to see envy and pride both rear their ugly heads.

Time moves on and Abraham continues to age when at 99 years old God says Abraham will have another child. Verse 17:17 is his response:

Then Abraham fell on his face and erupted into laughter in a moment of private absurdity, as he thought to himself, “Yeah, right! How can a centenarian father a child? Am I supposed to believe that Sarah, my 90-year-old wife, is going to have a baby?”

This is the first LAMO or ROLF recorded, since to him and nature this would be impossible. But as we know with God nothing is impossible. Interestingly Sarah has the same response, to which God corrects both.

Notice the change in names? God changed Abraham’s and Sarah’s names to ensure people understood they were the head of a great nation. It seemed odd that God would not have named them right from the beginning as he does with Ishmael and Isaac. But I guess Abraham needed to meet the criteria first before being chosen.

Chapter 19 has the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Verse 19:8 caught me as a little odd:

Look—I have two daughters. Both are virgins. How about this: I’ll bring them out for you instead. You can do with them as you please. But please don’t do anything to these men. They are my guests. They deserve the protection of my home.

I don’t get if Lot was doing this knowing they would not go after them or if he was honestly giving his daughters up for the safety of some guests. This is one of those instances where God does protect both and ironically they continue to mess up, later getting dad drunk and having children with him.

The problem with stories like these is many take them as Biblical truths and not just stories. So in peoples mind God condoned their actions since it’s in the Bible. When this is just a story or history and not something we should live by. Remember the Bible has truths, history and examples (of both good and bad). So don’t take stories like this and assume they are what God agrees with or wants us to live by.

Romans 7 – 8

Verses 7:4 -6 discuss a subject I struggle with all the time and that’s the law. Verse 6 puts in in a nutshell:

But now that we have died to those chains that imprisoned us, we have been released from the law to serve in a new Spirit-empowered life, not the old written code.

That Hebraic Law is something I have struggled with for a long time. Reason being is we are always told to tithe, yet never told not to eat pork. Neither are sins based on Paul’s assertions, but are they not having us live a full life? Think about it, we have been released from the Law, but still should live by it. Not in the legalistic way the Israelites do, but rather for a better life in general.

God did not say don’t eat pork to be mean, rather to ensure we did not eat a meat that was from an animal that was designed for processing waste. What they eat goes right to their flesh and therefore has toxic properties that are not good for the body. Ever wonder why shrimp are used as indicator species? Because they retain all the toxins they consume in their flesh. Now many took “don’t eat pork” as being a sin since God said it.

Verse 8:5 has us understand the difference between living for God and not:

If you live your life animated by the flesh—namely, your fallen, corrupt nature—then your mind is focused on the matters of the flesh. But if you live your life animated by the Spirit—namely, God’s indwelling presence—then your focus is on the work of the Spirit.

That is the key, not to focus on the Law but rather on God’s will. It’s simple when you think about it, love others like you would love yourself and sin tends to stop. The idea eating pork or not tithing is a sin is wrong, but doing them does have you live a healthy and financially full life. Simple when you think about it.

I think verse 8:31 the key to life:

So what should we say about all of this? If God is on our side, then tell me: whom should we fear?

Honestly I live in fear often and really shouldn’t. When everything is going wrong, I panic then it all comes together perfectly. That wasted energy was just that wasted. We could have been living free and less focused on what may happen and not enjoying what was happening in the moment.

Matthew 7 – 10

Verse 7:11 is on the “Prosperity Gospel” top 10:

So if you, who are sinful, know how to give your children good gifts, how much more so does your Father in heaven, who is perfect, know how to give great gifts to His children!

For those who have had children or were one at one time, do you remember getting everything you wanted? I sure didn’t and I know my children will say the same. So why is it, we expect God to bow down to all our wishes? I look at my life and am thankful I did not get all our wishes. One in particular was large land deal, if it had gone through we would now own a monolith in Buford that cannot be sold or rented at this time. On and on I could go on with stories like this, but you get the picture “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” – Garth Brooks

Verse 7:21 – 26 is a section that questions the salvation of many. Here it’s clear that “only those who do the will of My Father” will inherit the kingdom. He later says that many who do cast demons and perform miracles in His name will not be known. This begs the question, how do we really know? Is it “enough” to read the Bible and talk about salvation with others? Or do we need to sell everything and go to Zimbabwe to serve those communities?

Verse 8:12 is another one of those bothersome verses:

But those who have feigned their faith will be cast out into outer darkness where people weep and grind their teeth.

What does God consider “feigned” faith? Is it saying the prayer, meaning it and doing nothing afterwards? Or is it just doing it because? I read Jesus’ words and the “once saved” crowd spooks me, since this and other verse imply more to “salvation” than just a prayer. I worry for all mankind that this becomes clear to all. Following Jesus is not just going to church on Sunday, but rather a change in heart that changes the way one lives their lives.

Verse 8:34 is one to note briefly on, since the town ran Jesus off after casting out demons in two men. Why was this? Most likely he cast them out in a herd of pigs who committed mass suicide. How would you feel if you entire livelihood just died because of what this man did for the crazy guys in the corners?

Verse 9:38 is very key to our work:

Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His harvest field.”

This is very clear that more workers are needed. I don’t know how many people I have talked with at church that fall into a volunteer for an internal task and never talk to anyone outside of the faith. We tend to settle into a safe environment and avoid conflict or ridicule. Heck coming to someone any professing so guy came to earth was God and saved us from our sins does not make sense to someone who has no clue what a sin is or if there is this unseen entity called “God”.

I know I have personally done this in a Small Group. I started a “Discipleship for Dummies” group with the intention of doing volunteer work and evangelism. We have met every week and talked about stuff, but have never took action other than one scheduled event that got rained out. I have failed, because I just kept comfortable.

Verse 10:37 is one of those verses that confound people:

you love your father or mother more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. If you love your son or daughter more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me.

The Greek word is “philia” in this context and is clear, but is very difficult to understand, especially 2000 years later. Sure we can “love” Jesus and want to serve him, but more than your children or parents? That is difficult to comprehend when you think about it. I am sure it was when the disciples were face to face with Jesus, so now it’s very hard to understand when Jesus is not physically with us.

I think Jesus is using radical language here not to say love Him more, but rather don’t love them so much as to avoid Jesus. I think He realizes that’s impossible to love someone you hardly know more than your own flesh and blood, but He wants to ensure we don’t put that love OVER our following Him.

Isaiah 18 – 22

Verse 18:4 opens with something than man seems to struggle with constantly:

Because the Eternal told me,

Eternal One: I am in control—calm and serene.
I am watching quietly from where I dwell
Just as surely as the heat shimmers in the blazing sun
and the dewy mists cool the warmth of a harvest day.

This is something we all have a problem with accepting. How many times have we said “I am in control”? I know that comes out of my mouth at least once a week. Also, how many times have we said that when all heck is breaking loose? I know for me it’s about 50%.

My most glaring time was trying to start a fire in a pool we were filling in. It would not start, so I put a “little” gas on it to motivate the fire to start. When I threw the match in the pool the concept that gas fumes are heavier than air didn’t really sink in until the fireball almost caught me on fire. Any piece of exposed skin had nasty burns and I had an out of control fire that was close to a gas line for the pool heater and a kudzu patch that would have caused a major forest fire if caught. So out came the hose … which is too short to get to the pool and I start putting the fire out. A guy saw the fireball mushroom cloud and pulled in asking if he should call the fire department. My response to him was “I am in control”!! Luckily, I did put it out and the red blistering face healed quickly, but I was nowhere in control or “calm and serene.”

Through the rest of the reading we see prophecies against Israel and the people who invaded them, since they went a little overboard. In the case of Israel, in their arrogance they thought that no one could touch them, since God was “in control”. Unfortunately they did not respect or acknowledge God in the process. They took “control” and paid the price of their actions.

I think these stories, which are throughout the Bible, help us understand that we are only really “in charge” of this life and not “in control”. If we follow the simple things that God asks of us, things may not be rosy, but we will be in His will. It’s simple to follow the “laws” if you love pleasing God. They are actually quite simple; focus of your personal health and eat right, focus on your financial health and spend well, love others as you would yourself and serve, and finally focus on God and go to Him always. Simple, but hard.