Old Testament
1. Nazarite vow..."either men or women,...setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way." This vow required the man or woman to:
- Abstain from wine, wine vinegar, grapes, raisins, and according to some - alcohol and vinegar from alcohol
- Refrain from cutting the hair on one's head
- Avoid corpses and graves, even those of family members, and any structure which contains such
- The most "famous" Nazarite in the bible was Samson.
2. Blessing the people
- "May the Lord bless you and protect (keep) you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you .
May the Lord show you his favor (bless you)
and give you his peace.
- This should sound familiar...sounds like benediction at the end of Sunday morning service.
3. The Tabernacle is set up, anointed and set apart.
4. The furnishings, altar and utensils are also anointed and set apart. This section lists the dedication offerings brought by the leaders of each tribe of Israel at the time the altar was anointed.
5. Then...
- "Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s (of the Covenant)cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The Lord spoke to him from there." The direct and unmistakeable voice of God...wow!
New Testament
6. Warnings about false teachers.
7. The widow's offering.
- We have all heard this verse used and much more often misused to get people to "dig deep and give (to me)." Especially by those TV evangelists.
- "For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on."
- This is not just about money to your favorite televangelist. At least, I don't think so. This goes back to the discussion about our hearts. This woman beleived so strongly in the message she was receiving and in the promise of God's blesings that she gave from her heart. And, she gave her heart...to God.
- Back at the beginning of this we talked about tithing. Tithe where you are fed, where you are spiritually nutured. And don't give just to get the numners in or for credit on your account with God. We give to God's house so that others can be nurtured. But our gift ultimately is to God.
8. Beware of false prophets...people claiming to be the Messiah.
- Remember Jim Jones ( of Jonestown) and David Koresh (Waco) and Move organization.
9. A few of the disciples want to know when this will happen. "What sign will show us that these things are about to be fulfilled?"
- They are still looking for the inside track.
- As usual Jesus doesn't give them a specific answer. History will continue in it's usual fashin. we will continue to hate, harm and kill each other.
- But our job, our goal in all this is to endure.
- "...But the one who endures to the end will be saved." If you hold on, if you stick with Jesus, you won't be sorry, you'll be saved.
Psalm
10. "But as for me, God will redeem my life."
11. "So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave."
12. We will all die, our bodies fade away...but what will happen to you after?
Proverbs
13. "The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing"
- I beleive this speaks to our eternal happiness.
See you next post...
Showing posts with label Ark of the Covenant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ark of the Covenant. Show all posts
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Exodus 39-40:38; Mark 1:1-28; Psalm 35:1-16; Proverbs 9:11-12 (New Living Translation)
Old Testament
1. The bible gives a lot of detai about the making of the Ark, Tabernacle, Tent, and clothing the priests.
- For many people this ranks right up there with reading the geneologies. I think we have so many specifics because God is establishing a culture with the children of Israel. And learning the details can lead us to understand the specifics of the will of God. For us Gentiles, these specific items and ornamentaions don't mean a lot. They are not part of our culture. But it's the ideas behind them that should strike a cord with us.
2. Each of the items mentioned has a specific meaning...for instance, pomegranates. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 commandments of the Torah. However, the actual number of seeds varies with individual fruits. The pomegranate is one of the few images which appear on ancient coins of Judea as a holy symbol, and today many Torah scrolls are stored while not in use with a pair of decorative hollow silver "pomegranates " For the same reason, pomegranates are a motif found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric on vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork.
3. The work is finished. Moses inspects it, and blesses the people.
4. The tabernacle is set up. And the Glory of the Lord fills it!
5. And the Lord led them---a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.
New Testament
6. We have finished the Gospel of Matthew, and begin the Gospel of Mark today.
7. The Gospel of Mark, is anonympous, but was attributed to Mark, a disciple of Peter.
8. Overview of Mark - It narrates the life of Jesus from John the Baptist to the Ascension. It concentrates particularly on the last week of his life. It very quickly describes Jesus as a heroic man of action, an exorcist, a healer and miracle worker. It calls him the Christ (the Greek translation of Messiah), the Son of Man, and the Son of God.
9. Mark begins with John, the Baptist (or baptizer). John had strange habits camel hair clothes, eating honey and locusts, living and preaching in the wilderness.
10. Interestingly, John is regarded as a preacher and ascetic regarded as a prophet by four religions: Christianity, Islam, Mandaeanism and the Bahá'í Faith.
11. John is the messenger (or forerunner, or precursor) of Jesus' coming.
12. John recognizes Jesus, and states his unworthiness. He baptises Jesus nonetheless.
13. The Holy Spirit escends on Jesus and compels Him to go into the wilderness, where He is tempted by the devil for 40 days. The wild animals and angels took care of Him.
14. John gets arrseted.
15. Jesus calls His first disciples...Simon, and his brother Andrew...the brother James and John. (Remember James and John's mother from Matthew...trying to get them seats next to Jesus.)
16. Jesus casts out evil spirits. Amazingly, the evil spirits recognize jesus as "the Holy One sent from God," but the rest of the audience doesn't know who He is. This is, according to Mark, the beginning of Jesus' fame.
Psalm
17. “Lord, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”
Proverbs
18. "Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life."
See you next post...
1. The bible gives a lot of detai about the making of the Ark, Tabernacle, Tent, and clothing the priests.
- For many people this ranks right up there with reading the geneologies. I think we have so many specifics because God is establishing a culture with the children of Israel. And learning the details can lead us to understand the specifics of the will of God. For us Gentiles, these specific items and ornamentaions don't mean a lot. They are not part of our culture. But it's the ideas behind them that should strike a cord with us.
2. Each of the items mentioned has a specific meaning...for instance, pomegranates. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 commandments of the Torah. However, the actual number of seeds varies with individual fruits. The pomegranate is one of the few images which appear on ancient coins of Judea as a holy symbol, and today many Torah scrolls are stored while not in use with a pair of decorative hollow silver "pomegranates " For the same reason, pomegranates are a motif found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric on vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork.
3. The work is finished. Moses inspects it, and blesses the people.
4. The tabernacle is set up. And the Glory of the Lord fills it!
5. And the Lord led them---a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.
New Testament
6. We have finished the Gospel of Matthew, and begin the Gospel of Mark today.
7. The Gospel of Mark, is anonympous, but was attributed to Mark, a disciple of Peter.
8. Overview of Mark - It narrates the life of Jesus from John the Baptist to the Ascension. It concentrates particularly on the last week of his life. It very quickly describes Jesus as a heroic man of action, an exorcist, a healer and miracle worker. It calls him the Christ (the Greek translation of Messiah), the Son of Man, and the Son of God.
9. Mark begins with John, the Baptist (or baptizer). John had strange habits camel hair clothes, eating honey and locusts, living and preaching in the wilderness.
10. Interestingly, John is regarded as a preacher and ascetic regarded as a prophet by four religions: Christianity, Islam, Mandaeanism and the Bahá'í Faith.
11. John is the messenger (or forerunner, or precursor) of Jesus' coming.
12. John recognizes Jesus, and states his unworthiness. He baptises Jesus nonetheless.
13. The Holy Spirit escends on Jesus and compels Him to go into the wilderness, where He is tempted by the devil for 40 days. The wild animals and angels took care of Him.
14. John gets arrseted.
15. Jesus calls His first disciples...Simon, and his brother Andrew...the brother James and John. (Remember James and John's mother from Matthew...trying to get them seats next to Jesus.)
16. Jesus casts out evil spirits. Amazingly, the evil spirits recognize jesus as "the Holy One sent from God," but the rest of the audience doesn't know who He is. This is, according to Mark, the beginning of Jesus' fame.
Psalm
17. “Lord, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”
Proverbs
18. "Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life."
See you next post...
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Exodus 37-38:31; Matthew 28:1-20; Psalm 34:11-22; Proverbs 9:9-10 (New Living Translation)
Old Testament
1. More information about building the Ark, the Mercy seat, the Tent of the meeting.
2. Some thing I have never noticed before, Bezalel is from the tribe of Judah. Remember the tribes? Well, gues who else are members of this tribe? King David for one. And, Jesus is referred to as "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah." Coincidence?
- On a more secular note, remember the lion in the "Chronicles of Narnia", well guess who that is supposed to represent? See, it's all around us, but we don't look, or maybe we just don't see.
3. There are also now 603,550 men over the age of 20 in the nation of Israel. Look back at Genesis. When Jacob and the boys joined Joseph, their total number was 78. See what this "remnant" has become. What a mighty God!
New Testamet
4. I didn't spend a lot of time on the Passion of Christ yesterday, but every time we read it or hear it it should give us pause. Think what an amazing sacrifice Jesus made to bring us back into relationship with God, the Father. He was beaten, scourged, mocked, hung on a cross, and died for us. There is no other gift like this.
5. Jesus did all this of His own free will to redeem us.
6. The angel of the Lord rolled the stone away, asssures the women that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.
7. The women come to visit the tomb, while the men are hiding back in town.
8. The guards are given a large bribe to perpetuate the lie that Jesus' body was stolen by the disciples.
9. The Great Commission- Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Let's really look at these verses.
- Jesus has been given all authority, and He bestows it on us. This is our mandate. To take that authority and try to elimnate, tell evryboby the Good News of Jesus Christ, teach all nations to do all the things that Christ commanded. And the best part..."I will never leave you"
- It says to take authority and tell everyone. It doesn't say go out and make little Baptists or Methodists or Pentacostals or Unitarian. I am using these as examples only. There is nothing wrong with being any of these.
- But, but, but...What are the great commandments? There are only two...
- Love God above all else. Put no thing and no person before or above Him.
- Love your neighbor as yourself. Do you? Or maybe you don't think so well of yourself. Well you should work on that. God made us just the way we are...and as they say on TV, "God doesn't make junk." Anyway, Love your neighbor...
10. And, teach these new disciple...
11. "...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Be absolutely 100% sure of this, He is always with us.
12. And, back to the disciples. They saw Him and still doubted, even though they worshiped. I'm having a little trouble here...maybe someone out there can help me. How do you douby and worship at the same time?
Psalm
13. "Search for peace, and work to maintain it."
14. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." The Lord is after our hearts, not just our minds...Christ came to redeem the broken-hearted, to recue the sin-sick soul.
Proverbs
15. "Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more."
16. "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment."
- That's what this site is all about. Get some knowlege of the Holy One for yourself...read your bible. Don't just take at face value what people say is in the bible.
Almost forgot, Happy Valentine's Day...
"My children, the three acts of faith, hope, and charity contain all the happiness of man on earth." - John Vianney
See you next post...
1. More information about building the Ark, the Mercy seat, the Tent of the meeting.
2. Some thing I have never noticed before, Bezalel is from the tribe of Judah. Remember the tribes? Well, gues who else are members of this tribe? King David for one. And, Jesus is referred to as "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah." Coincidence?
- On a more secular note, remember the lion in the "Chronicles of Narnia", well guess who that is supposed to represent? See, it's all around us, but we don't look, or maybe we just don't see.
3. There are also now 603,550 men over the age of 20 in the nation of Israel. Look back at Genesis. When Jacob and the boys joined Joseph, their total number was 78. See what this "remnant" has become. What a mighty God!
New Testamet
4. I didn't spend a lot of time on the Passion of Christ yesterday, but every time we read it or hear it it should give us pause. Think what an amazing sacrifice Jesus made to bring us back into relationship with God, the Father. He was beaten, scourged, mocked, hung on a cross, and died for us. There is no other gift like this.
5. Jesus did all this of His own free will to redeem us.
6. The angel of the Lord rolled the stone away, asssures the women that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.
7. The women come to visit the tomb, while the men are hiding back in town.
8. The guards are given a large bribe to perpetuate the lie that Jesus' body was stolen by the disciples.
9. The Great Commission- Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Let's really look at these verses.
- Jesus has been given all authority, and He bestows it on us. This is our mandate. To take that authority and try to elimnate, tell evryboby the Good News of Jesus Christ, teach all nations to do all the things that Christ commanded. And the best part..."I will never leave you"
- It says to take authority and tell everyone. It doesn't say go out and make little Baptists or Methodists or Pentacostals or Unitarian. I am using these as examples only. There is nothing wrong with being any of these.
- But, but, but...What are the great commandments? There are only two...
- Love God above all else. Put no thing and no person before or above Him.
- Love your neighbor as yourself. Do you? Or maybe you don't think so well of yourself. Well you should work on that. God made us just the way we are...and as they say on TV, "God doesn't make junk." Anyway, Love your neighbor...
10. And, teach these new disciple...
11. "...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Be absolutely 100% sure of this, He is always with us.
12. And, back to the disciples. They saw Him and still doubted, even though they worshiped. I'm having a little trouble here...maybe someone out there can help me. How do you douby and worship at the same time?
Psalm
13. "Search for peace, and work to maintain it."
14. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." The Lord is after our hearts, not just our minds...Christ came to redeem the broken-hearted, to recue the sin-sick soul.
Proverbs
15. "Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more."
16. "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment."
- That's what this site is all about. Get some knowlege of the Holy One for yourself...read your bible. Don't just take at face value what people say is in the bible.
Almost forgot, Happy Valentine's Day...
"My children, the three acts of faith, hope, and charity contain all the happiness of man on earth." - John Vianney
See you next post...
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Exodus 35:10-36:38; Matthew 27:32-66; Psalm 34:1-10; Proverbs 9:7-8 (New Living Translation)
Old testament
1. More instructions regarding the Ark of the Testimony and the Tabernacle. And, if you read carefully, it sounds as thogh eveyone contributed either in mateials or deed.
2. God has gifted certain craftsmen with the skills they need to perform their tasks. We will cover it in more detail later in the New Testament, but God gives us all specific skills or gifts. The Lord, I think, is generous in His gifting, but none of us has all gifts and talents at our disposal!
3. If you are interested in reading about spiritual gifts, see 1 Corithians 12 (in the New Teastament). It clearly says that we are given these gifts for the common good. Not our own good or our own knowledge, or so we can show off...but for the common good.
Read the whole chapter, it gives a wonderful illustration using bodily senses.
Examples of spiritual gifts:
- utterance of wisdom
- utterance of knowledge
- faith
- gifts of healing
- working of miracles
- prophecy
- discernment
- tongues
And all of these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses! ...as the Spirit chooses!
In plain English, some of us can lead, or preach, or sing, or prophecy, or even
discern...but I don't think there is anyone who can do all of these things exceptionally well. Now, being human, many of us think we can do it all...but we are commanded to do as the Lord has gifted.
3. The people give and give, and it's too much for the craftsmen to use. Moses must restrain the people from bringing things.
- When is the last time you heard that from your church or your favorite TV ministry...stop bringing / giving / sending in money, we have too much?
- This leads me to a random thought about tithing. Tithe in it's purest sense means 1/10th, or 10%. Tithes are to be given, I believe, as thanks to God, for what He has given us. For all He does for us. For all we take for granted. And what do we have that has not come from God?
- I think many people misunderstand tithing and give out of a place of fear. The fear is that God won't keep giving them what they want, won't keep giving what they have asked for, or take something away from them. The fear that people wround them will think less of them.
- Or worse, they confuse it with a membership fee.
- We tithe as thanks, not as obligation or duty. As a covenant with God...not with other men. We strive to help those places and organizations which feed us spiritually. And that is why we go to service, isn't it. To be fed and replenished, so that we can go back out and help feed a hungry world?
- How many of you know people who go to church every Sunday, pay their tithes or dues, and get back to everyday life as soon as the service is over. Sunday worship is just a bump in the road of a very busy life...well, it shouldn't be.
- I am not saying that you should or shouldn't tithe. You should know what it is and understand why you do it. Anyway, back to today's text.
4. Instructions for the Tent of the Meeting.
New testament
5. Simon of Cyrene was the person compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion at Golgotha.
6. The soldiers give Him gall to drink. Actually some of the other gospels much more clearly say that on arrival at Golgotha, Jesus was offered wine laced with myrrh to lessen the pain, but he refused it.
7. Jesus is crucified...His crime,"King of the Jews"
8. Two theives were crucified also.
9. Look carefully at the passage, verse 43. When the leading priests say, " He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ... These are the chief priests talking, the leaders of the people. His crime, in their minds does not seem that He proclaimed that He was King of the Jews...but that He trusted God, and God did not act in a way the priests deemed appropriate.
10. The prayer that Jesus says can be found in Psalm 22:1. We talked about this particular Psalm briefly in January.
11. As Jesus dies, the veil is torn.
- Looking back at Exodus, this is the veil outside "The holiest of holy" place. Here only the high priest can go to offer atonement for the sins of the people. He can only go once a year, and has to waer a bell and rope, so God doesn't carry him away.
12. The soldiers belive that this was the Son of God.
13. Joseph of Arimethea claims the body and puts it in his tomb.
14. The Pharisees obtain a Roman guard so that the disciples don't steal the body to try to fool everyone about the resurrection. Who is the fool?
Psalm
15. "I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises." That wouldn't leave a lot of room for what uasually comes out of our mouths. Hmmm....
16. "I will boast only in the Lord"...Only in the Lord, from which comes all my help and hope.
17. "I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears."
- There's a lyric by Selah, that says, " God will take away all your pain, IF you choose to let them go."
Proverbs
18. "But correct the wise, and they will love you."
- Perhaps we should check our reaction when someone tries to correct us. Or when we do it to others. Is our correction factual? Is it in love?
See you next post...
1. More instructions regarding the Ark of the Testimony and the Tabernacle. And, if you read carefully, it sounds as thogh eveyone contributed either in mateials or deed.
2. God has gifted certain craftsmen with the skills they need to perform their tasks. We will cover it in more detail later in the New Testament, but God gives us all specific skills or gifts. The Lord, I think, is generous in His gifting, but none of us has all gifts and talents at our disposal!
3. If you are interested in reading about spiritual gifts, see 1 Corithians 12 (in the New Teastament). It clearly says that we are given these gifts for the common good. Not our own good or our own knowledge, or so we can show off...but for the common good.
Read the whole chapter, it gives a wonderful illustration using bodily senses.
Examples of spiritual gifts:
- utterance of wisdom
- utterance of knowledge
- faith
- gifts of healing
- working of miracles
- prophecy
- discernment
- tongues
And all of these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses! ...as the Spirit chooses!
In plain English, some of us can lead, or preach, or sing, or prophecy, or even
discern...but I don't think there is anyone who can do all of these things exceptionally well. Now, being human, many of us think we can do it all...but we are commanded to do as the Lord has gifted.
3. The people give and give, and it's too much for the craftsmen to use. Moses must restrain the people from bringing things.
- When is the last time you heard that from your church or your favorite TV ministry...stop bringing / giving / sending in money, we have too much?
- This leads me to a random thought about tithing. Tithe in it's purest sense means 1/10th, or 10%. Tithes are to be given, I believe, as thanks to God, for what He has given us. For all He does for us. For all we take for granted. And what do we have that has not come from God?
- I think many people misunderstand tithing and give out of a place of fear. The fear is that God won't keep giving them what they want, won't keep giving what they have asked for, or take something away from them. The fear that people wround them will think less of them.
- Or worse, they confuse it with a membership fee.
- We tithe as thanks, not as obligation or duty. As a covenant with God...not with other men. We strive to help those places and organizations which feed us spiritually. And that is why we go to service, isn't it. To be fed and replenished, so that we can go back out and help feed a hungry world?
- How many of you know people who go to church every Sunday, pay their tithes or dues, and get back to everyday life as soon as the service is over. Sunday worship is just a bump in the road of a very busy life...well, it shouldn't be.
- I am not saying that you should or shouldn't tithe. You should know what it is and understand why you do it. Anyway, back to today's text.
4. Instructions for the Tent of the Meeting.
New testament
5. Simon of Cyrene was the person compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion at Golgotha.
6. The soldiers give Him gall to drink. Actually some of the other gospels much more clearly say that on arrival at Golgotha, Jesus was offered wine laced with myrrh to lessen the pain, but he refused it.
7. Jesus is crucified...His crime,"King of the Jews"
8. Two theives were crucified also.
9. Look carefully at the passage, verse 43. When the leading priests say, " He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ... These are the chief priests talking, the leaders of the people. His crime, in their minds does not seem that He proclaimed that He was King of the Jews...but that He trusted God, and God did not act in a way the priests deemed appropriate.
10. The prayer that Jesus says can be found in Psalm 22:1. We talked about this particular Psalm briefly in January.
11. As Jesus dies, the veil is torn.
- Looking back at Exodus, this is the veil outside "The holiest of holy" place. Here only the high priest can go to offer atonement for the sins of the people. He can only go once a year, and has to waer a bell and rope, so God doesn't carry him away.
12. The soldiers belive that this was the Son of God.
13. Joseph of Arimethea claims the body and puts it in his tomb.
14. The Pharisees obtain a Roman guard so that the disciples don't steal the body to try to fool everyone about the resurrection. Who is the fool?
Psalm
15. "I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises." That wouldn't leave a lot of room for what uasually comes out of our mouths. Hmmm....
16. "I will boast only in the Lord"...Only in the Lord, from which comes all my help and hope.
17. "I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears."
- There's a lyric by Selah, that says, " God will take away all your pain, IF you choose to let them go."
Proverbs
18. "But correct the wise, and they will love you."
- Perhaps we should check our reaction when someone tries to correct us. Or when we do it to others. Is our correction factual? Is it in love?
See you next post...
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Exodus 23:14-25:40; Matthew 24:29-51; Psalm 30:1-12; Proverbs 7:24-27 (New Living Translation)
Old Testament text
1...."But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you...I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land."
God says He will be an enemy of our enemies, and therefore our strong protector and defender. We have but to obey.
More importantly, He says that the enemy will be driven out "little by little" until we become stronger. Have you ever asked God for something that was obviously too "big" for you to handle? We all have. Then, like children, we are hurt when we don't get what we want or think we deserve.
I think that what we often consider setbacks are actually times of preparation and testing. A little more education. A better understanding of the problem...how to work around certain issues.
If we could have everything "our little hearts desired", just for the asking...what would those things mean to us...and what lessons would we learn? I submit they would mean nothing. And nothing is what we would learn. No wisdom would be gained.
There's a quote by Colin Powell which seems to fit...There are no secrets to success. It is the result of hard work, learning and failure"...and I would add faith. It's all a process.
2. After Moses reads the Book of the Covenant the Israelites all responded, "We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.”...but we know they didn't.
3. God gives plans for offerings for the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant. Specific plans for the "furniture" to be used.
New Testament text
4. "No one knows the day or hour..."
- Always be ready!
- Always be faithful!
Psalm
5. ..."When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered...You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent".
When we are sad, lonely, depressed, beaten up or down by the world, we are quick to call on the Lord for His help.
But when we are successful and feeling prosperous who do we credit? Sad to say we usually credit ourselves, and not God! But the Lord God is forgiving and merciful. And we if truly repent (turn away) from our sin and selfishness we are forgiven...
Proverbs
6. Don't wander down wayward paths...The path of wisdom. That's where we need to be.
Ash Wednesday
7. Ash Wednesday is a time for repentance and the beginning of Lent. Ashes were used in ancient times, according to the Bible, to express penitence. Dusting oneself with ashes was a way of expressing sorrow for sins and faults. An ancient example of one expressing one's penitence is found in Job 42:3-6. Other examples are found in several other books of the Bible including, Numbers 19:9, 17, Hebrews 9:13, Jonah 3:6, Matthew 11:21, and Luke 10:13.
However...some Christians who do not celebrate Ash Wednesday say that the practice is not consistent with Scripture and is of pagan origin. They usually cite Matthew 6:16–18, where Jesus gave prescriptions for fasting: "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
These groups argue that Jesus warned against fasting to gain favor from other people and that he also warned his followers that they should fast in private, not letting others know they were fasting.
The ashen Cross on the forehead does not represent the fast, but the mortal condition of human existence.
See you next post...
1...."But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you...I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land."
God says He will be an enemy of our enemies, and therefore our strong protector and defender. We have but to obey.
More importantly, He says that the enemy will be driven out "little by little" until we become stronger. Have you ever asked God for something that was obviously too "big" for you to handle? We all have. Then, like children, we are hurt when we don't get what we want or think we deserve.
I think that what we often consider setbacks are actually times of preparation and testing. A little more education. A better understanding of the problem...how to work around certain issues.
If we could have everything "our little hearts desired", just for the asking...what would those things mean to us...and what lessons would we learn? I submit they would mean nothing. And nothing is what we would learn. No wisdom would be gained.
There's a quote by Colin Powell which seems to fit...There are no secrets to success. It is the result of hard work, learning and failure"...and I would add faith. It's all a process.
2. After Moses reads the Book of the Covenant the Israelites all responded, "We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.”...but we know they didn't.
3. God gives plans for offerings for the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant. Specific plans for the "furniture" to be used.
New Testament text
4. "No one knows the day or hour..."
- Always be ready!
- Always be faithful!
Psalm
5. ..."When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered...You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent".
When we are sad, lonely, depressed, beaten up or down by the world, we are quick to call on the Lord for His help.
But when we are successful and feeling prosperous who do we credit? Sad to say we usually credit ourselves, and not God! But the Lord God is forgiving and merciful. And we if truly repent (turn away) from our sin and selfishness we are forgiven...
Proverbs
6. Don't wander down wayward paths...The path of wisdom. That's where we need to be.
Ash Wednesday
7. Ash Wednesday is a time for repentance and the beginning of Lent. Ashes were used in ancient times, according to the Bible, to express penitence. Dusting oneself with ashes was a way of expressing sorrow for sins and faults. An ancient example of one expressing one's penitence is found in Job 42:3-6. Other examples are found in several other books of the Bible including, Numbers 19:9, 17, Hebrews 9:13, Jonah 3:6, Matthew 11:21, and Luke 10:13.
However...some Christians who do not celebrate Ash Wednesday say that the practice is not consistent with Scripture and is of pagan origin. They usually cite Matthew 6:16–18, where Jesus gave prescriptions for fasting: "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
These groups argue that Jesus warned against fasting to gain favor from other people and that he also warned his followers that they should fast in private, not letting others know they were fasting.
The ashen Cross on the forehead does not represent the fast, but the mortal condition of human existence.
See you next post...
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