Hi Friends...
I've moved my commenting to the "One year Bible Study" group's bulletin board. Join our group and join the conversation.
td
1/30 I find it an interesting contrast that the story begins with Pharaoh trying to kill the sons of the Israelites using the midwives - and ends with the sons of Egypt being killed during the passover. I'm not sure what to make of it... it just jumps out at me.
Anywho - today we read about the first passover. This is extremely significant in that it is a fundamental element in the story of Jesus. Just as the lamb w/o defect had to sacrifice it's life that death might passover the house covered by its blood, so too Jesus, the lamb of God had to be sacrificed so that death might passover those who claimed coverage under his blood by faith. As we continue through the Old Testament we will continue to learn things to help us better understand the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
_________________
The Parable of the Vineyard Workers...
God gives us better than we deserve - It's a story of grace. The response is great. We love grace when we're the recipients of it. We hate it when someone else receives grace. I like to remember this story when I'm at funerals where people are whispering about whether the deceased was "saved" or not. This story reminds me that God is quite willing to show grace to those whom we judge "unworthy."
________
“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
FYI: This is my model for being a leader in the Body of Christ. 1/29 Pharaoh - a study in stuborness. Not too much more needs to be said than that.
The Matthew reading today is a good lesson in context. Taken separately, the story of the children coming to Jesus and the story of the rich young ruler certainly have merit - but it's when we take them together that they really find their voice. In the former Jesus says, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” In the latter, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." The difference? You tell me.
 1/28 5:23 reminds me of how Exodus is all about RESCUE. A couple days ago I pointed out how Moses was all about "RESCUE," having killed the Egyptian wanting to rescue his people on his own terms, and later rescuing the 7 daughters of the Midianite Priest. In 5:23 Moses reprimands God for having done nothing to RESCUE the Israelites. (Of course, Moses overlooks that fact that God had called Him to be the rescuer, had come to HIM through a burning bush, had given HIM the miraculous staff, and had brought HIM safely into and back out of the presence of Pharaoh. God's plan to RESCUE the Israelites was well underway - despite Moses' failure to recognize it.
HAVE YOU ever failed to recognize God at work in your life? Think about it. 1/27 "20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God."
In his hand he carried the staff of God. When I was a kid I carried my DeeDee (my blanket) everywhere. It was my "security" blanket. For Moses that staff became his security blanket. Before Pharaoh - at the Red Sea - striking the rock, everywhere Moses had that tangible reminder of God's presence to turn to when things got bad. WHAT DO WE HAVE? Perhaps the cross is our tangible reminder that God is with us. Perhaps the cross is our "staff of God" to carry with us as we head into the dangerous and frightening "Egypts" of our lives? 1/26 The thing that jumps out at me as I read the Exodus story this time is how Moses is a natural "rescuer." He runs to the aid of his Hebrew brethren - albeit by killing the Egyptian, and the very next thing he runs to the aid of the seven daughters of the Medianite Priest. I'm thinking God wants us to see that Moses is gifted as a rescuer - which is why God calls him to rescue Israel from slavery. It's also interesting how MOSES doesn't see this gift in himself - and tries to convince God that he's the wrong guy for the job. I WONDER WHAT GIFTS YOU HAVE that you fail or refuse to acknowledge and use for God? I bet you have some!
___________________
Matthew - "You don't have enough faith..."
It struck me today that maybe Jesus wasn't talking about their not having enough faith in him. It was their faith in him the caused them to try to heal the boy. Perhaps it was a lack of faith in themselves - a lack of faith in their ability to do great things through God's power. Perhaps that same lack of faith in self is reflected in Peter when his faith in Jesus propels him out of the boat and to walk on water - only to question his ability to walk on water and begin to sink. He lost faith in himself - not in Jesus. If he had lost faith in Jesus he wouldn't have called out to him for help! I can relate to that. I always have faith I Jesus... but I don't always have faith in my ability to be "faithful" as a follower of Jesus. HOW ABOUT YOU?
1/25 Happy Friday Kids! We get one last taste of Joseph's grace again today in Gen 50:14-22. He was the master of Romans 8:28 long before there was ever a Rome to write to. "Romans 8:28 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." I couldn't help notice the sharp contrast between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus. At the end of Exodus Joseph goes before Pharaoh and asks, "Let me and my people go..." to bury my Father's dead body - and Pharaoh was more than happy to oblige. Exodus will start out with Moses going before a Pharaoh ~400 years later and saying "Let my people go..." to which that Pharaoh will respond - "Over my dead body." It's a complete reversal of circumstances. It's always interesting to see the parallels between the Old and New Testament stories. The story of Jesus' life begins with the slaughter of children in Bethlehem. The story of Moses' life begins wit the slaughter of children in Egypt. We'll see lots of similar parallels as we continue to read throughout the year. Speaking of parallels: Saving the Hebrew people by putting someone in a floating object that they might be saved... Ring any bells? ___________________ Caesarea Philippi was the place where folks went to worship the various gods of their day. It's no coincidence that Jesus travelled there with his disciples to pop the question, "Who do you say I am? Amidst all of the various gods of our day... who do you say I am?" Peter comes up with the right answer saying that Jesus is the messiah - the son of the living God. It's not surprising that in the very next breath he turns on Jesus and says in effect, "Get on board with my agenda Jesus - My agenda doesn't include any crucifixion. It's about my plans - my power - my riding your coat tails to a plush office in the Temple in Jerusalem!" It's easy for us to profess our faith - to say, "I know who you are Jesus. You are the Messiah - the son of the Living God!" but like Peter, we too have difficulty surrendering our agendas to the often difficult agenda of God. Do you struggle like Peter? (I do) 1/23 Ok - I'm finally catching up after a very long two weeks of school. I thank you all for your patience and grace. Here's the deal. I'm going to move away from the blog and post my comments directly in the "One Year Bible Group" bulletin board. If you would like to be a part of the conversation simply 1) Join mychurch.org if you haven't already, 2) become a "member" of FaithPoint in mychurch, and 3) Join the group called "One Year Bible Group." It's just that easy! See you there! 1/10 OK - it's really 1/11 - but I crashed on the couch when I got home last night (Doh!). I had read and prepared my thought earlier in the day however, so here they are... (resolution in tact)
Genesis 24:1-2 NIV Genesis 24:1 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. That sounds nice doesn’t it? “The LORD had blessed him in every way.” Of course, having just read Abraham’s story, we know there were times when Abraham surely didn’t feel blessed. Do you think Abraham felt “blessed” when leaving home w/o direction in response to God’s call? How about when out of fear he had to lie about Sarai being his sister? How about when he believed he had to sacrifice his only son? Those must have been frightening, even horrifying times in Abraham’s life when he must have felt more “cursed” than “blessed.” It’s only from a distant perspective that we are able to see that “the LORD had blessed him in every way.” Perhaps that’s the case in our lives as well. As we face the crisis du jour it’s hard to remember that in the midst of the crisis God is blessing us, not cursing us. What crisis are you dealing with today? Remember that just beyond the crisis of the day is the Eternal God who “is blessing you in every way.”
1/9 Oh no... Not the "she's my sister" bit again! Why would he do that agai Anyway; today we learn God doesn't just speak to Abraham - but to others as well such as Abimelech. God is the God of all people in the story; the home team (Abraham & those in his line) and the away team (such as Abimelech). It's easy to forget as you read the OT, in which people wind up at odds with one another, that God isn't on one side or the other. God is the god of all people, no matter what side of a fence they may be on. A great example of that comes a little later in the next chapter when God tells Abraham regarding Ishmael, " 12 “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. 13 But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.” Even though Isaac is the chosen son and Ishmael is not, God cares for them both!
___________________ The testing of Abraham through the "near" sacrifice of Isaac. There's no description of it, but I can only imagine the incredible turmoil and anguish Abraham must have felt as he prepared to be "faithful" to God's request. What's more, the request made no sense whatsoever. God had promised to make nations through this son. Why sacrifice him? It makes no sense at all. All that being said, Abraham responded faithfully. Sometimes being faithful to the things God calls us to do can be painful - and seemingly foolish! And yet, in the end, God provided just what was needed (a ram) and made sure Isaac was not harmed. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! And did you notice this? Remember the story of Sodom & Gomorrah from yesterday? Abraham bent over backwards to save the righteous (and presumably Lot) in that story. Remember how he negotiated with God? If Abraham was so willing to negotiate for the righteous in Sodom & Gomorrah, why not stand up for his own son, the son of promise, Isaac?? Why not try to talk God out of this one, too? I don't have an answer... Perhaps you have a guess? _______________________ We believe in salvation by grace through faith (we'll talk more about that when we get to Romans) which means eternal life is gained not by what you do, but through faith in Jesus, who gained eternal life for all through his righteous life and sacrificial death (if what all that means is unclear to you, hang in there, we'll dig deeper into those subjects as they come up in the readings). Of course, being the smart people we are, when we hear that we are saved by faith and not by our actions, we naturally stop trying to be good. We think, "If our actions don't effect our salvation, then why worry about our actions?" Today's passage from Matthew reminds us that Jesus cares deeply about our actions, too! He tells us the "fruit" we bear (the results of our actions in life) are an important barometer of our faith! He also tells us in vv 21-23 that seemingly faithful, religious people, people who really put on a good game when it came to "playing church" will be left out in the cold - because their actions didn't match their rhetoric! In other words, they did walk the talk. How about you? Do your actions reflect your faith, or deny it? 1/8 How about Abraham negotiating for the salvation of Sodom & Gomorrah? What do you think? Can we negotiate with God? God's arm be twisted like that? If so, then who becomes God? God, or the one doing the twisting? Perhaps there's a deeper meaning than whether God can be negotiated with. Perhaps this is a reflection of God's mercy. We've seen it before. God showed mercy to Adam and Eve who deserved death, but instead got a 2nd chance (albeit out of the Garden). God showed mercy to Cain who deserved death, but instead received protection. God even showed mercy in the Noah story, in which we're told that everyone was corrupt - and yet humanity receives a 2nd chance through Noah & the ark. Here Soddom & Gomorrah deserve death - and yet God is willing to bend, and bend, and bend again that the righteous might be saved. In the end, it is only Lot & family (and things don't go too well for his wife) who are spared. We're told in verse 16 that it's because God was merciful to them. Even in the Old Testament there is "grace upon grace!" ________________________ So - in Sodom & Gomorrah we read about the men of the village wanting to have their way with the visiting heavenly guests. After Lot is saved we hear about his daughters having their way with their father. Did you realized the Bible had this kind of stuff in it? Did you think the things we see on Jerry Springer or MTV were a modern invention? Looks like somethings are timeless! ______________________ In Matthew today we hear Jesus saying not to worry about chasing after material things... that God will meet all our needs (not our wants, but our needs). Funny we should read that today. I spent the last two days commuting to DC by way of River Rd, which runs through Potomac, MD. For those who haven't been there, Potomac is lined with mansions the likes of which make the nicest houses in The Villages look like tool sheds. I was honored to be followed down the road this morning by a man in a brand new Bentley coupe. It made the $600 motorcycle I was riding look pretty cheezy. Big $$$. Anywho... On the way down I noticed there were Metro Bus stops all along the road. Almost one per mansion. I thought it strange that so many bus stops would exist on a road lined with mansions and Bentleys, but on my way home @ 4:30 I realized why. Each bus stop had a couple ladies who had spent the day working in the mansions of the incredibly rich, waiting to catch the bus home (or perhaps to their next job) that they might keep bread on the table. I struggle with Jesus' words today about meeting all our material needs in a world where some folks drive Bentleys while the ladies who clean the toilets of the rich wait for busses to take them to a 2nd job. Having just shared my experience, what do you make of Jesus' words today? What does it mean that we shouldn't worry about what we will eat, or what we will wear? Is a bus stop a couple jobs the best God has to offer? What say ye? --------------- Good words on judging others today. Always remember: Judgement is above our paygrade! 1/7 Hi kids. It's the 11th hour (literally) after a long day - but I'm still keeping my resolution. I apologize for not having my thoughts up sooner, but for the next two weeks this will probably be my routine. I'm going to empathy school - learning what it's like to commute to DC over the next two weeks (for Seminary classes). I'll be more sympathetic to those of you who do it 52 weeks a year! Anywho - I have a couple brief comments tonight and it's off to bed. You'll recall I mentioned earlier that we keep seeing a repeating pattern of people sinning by putting themselves in the position of God. For instance - Eve tried to gain God's wisdom..., etc. Well today, we see the same thing in Abram. God has promised Abram that GOD would give him a son who would bring him as many descendants as there are stars in the sky ((15:4). What does Abram do? Does he trust God? No, he turns to Hagar to make God's promise happen himself, which creates all sorts of problems as well will see. Yesterday, Abram was commended as having great faith (15:6). Today, he blows it! Can you relate to that? (I sure can!) ____________________ Today we get a CRITICAL PIECE of the BIBLE STORY! The covenant! God's promise to Abraham - again, offspring & land. Abraham's part of the covenant, circumcision. I'm not sure who's getting the better end of that bargain, but it is what it is! Anyway, the living out of that covenant will weave itself through the rest of the Old and New Testaments, so you may want to re-read it and keep it at the front of your mind as you continue to read throughout 2008. ___________________ In the Matthew reading there's a word that keeps being repeated. It's hypocryte. Jesus is not to folks who are obvious scoundrels, but to the folks who appeared to be deeply religious people in that day. Is there a dimension of your life that "appears" religious, but is really a facade? 1/6 Abram's a pretty swell guy! He gives Lot his choice of the land. He risks life and limb to rescue Lot. He refuses to keep any spoils from the rescue mission. No wonder God uses him to be the father of the chosen people! He gives a tithe (10%) to Melchizedek (Remember that name, it will come up again). ________________ "6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith." Abram's saving grace was not what he did (although all he did was great). His saving grace was his faith in God - which God counted as righteousness. It's righteousness that makes one worthy to be in the presence of God - and this is the first clue that righteousness comes not through works - but by faith. We'll see more of that as we go along. ________________ At the end of our OT reading we hear God's promise of the land - which we discussed today in worship. This is the initial promise - but the drama surrounding that land will be a key feature of the rest of our reading throughout the year - and continues to be a key issue in Mid-East politics to this day! _________________ Do you really believe that Jesus wants us to gouge out our eyes and cut off our hands? _________________ The pattern, "You have heard it said... , but I say to you..." is Jesus' way of getting back to the Spirit & Intent of the OT Law - which had been compromised and manipulated by its institutional caretakers over the centuries. Perhaps the closing passage (which I used for my message last Sunday) sums it all up: The OT Law is there to guide us in being perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. 1/5 The Tower of Babel - another example of Humans trying to be God. Adam & Eve tried to be God by eating the fruit and aquiring God's knowledge. Cain tried to be God by assuming responsibility for life and death. Now we have people wanting to be God by building a tower "to the heavens." Just another reminder that God is God, and we are not, no matter how much we want to be or how hard we try. In what ways are you usurpting God's power in your life - and presuming to be God yourself? __________________ Abram - the foundation of "God's Chosen People." And the foundation of God's covenant to God's chosen people, "7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” _________________________ It's interesting that Abram gets caught in a lie about Sarai being his sister, and yet seems to get away with it. Watch as we continue our way through the OT to see the numerous times God takes advantage of human failure to do great things. ________________________________ MATTHEW: The beginning of "The Sermon on the Mount" - aka - the Beatitudes. Jesus' first sermons sets a tone that will characterize his entire ministry: Everything the world holds dear is turned upside down. The world treasures "Spirited" people - and yet Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." The world treasures happiness - and yet Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn." The world treasures strength - and yet Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek." And so it goes... Right off the bat Jesus lets it be know that his is a message that is counter-cultural... a recipe for conflict. Salt that has lost it's saltiness? Light hidden in a bucket? Israel, God's chosen people from the time of Abram mentioned above, were called to be God's ambassadors - witnesses - examples to the rest of the world, that all might "taste" the goodness of God, and "see" God's goodness. Jesus was addressing a people who had long since lost sight of that mission... They didn't "taste" any different than the rest of the putrid world - and they had become a people who walked in darkness. How about you? Are you "salt & light" to those around you? How about the church today? Are we being faithful to this mission? vv. 17-20: Jesus repeats my sermon from last week :-) Because we're "forgiven" we think we don't need to be perfect. That may be true, but that doesn't mean that we're not called to be! Jesus makes it clear: He's not undoing the OT Law - he's fulfilling it - and we are expected to try our best to follow his example. 1/4 We've upgraded our mychurch account, which opens up new possibilities as to how we proceed with our One Year Bible study. The way we'll proceed (for now, at least) is I will continue to blog my comments (now in a blog called "My New Years Resolution") in order for them to be available as an RSS feed... Our daily group comments/conversations will be posted in private
Group Bulletins, with a new bulletin created for each day's comments. That way it's like an organized daily conversation, with a different bulletin for each day's conversation. First one in in the morning can create the day's bulletin w/ the day & date in the subject line (I've created an example). We'll see how well that goes and make adjustments as required. Thanks for your patience as we continue to perfect the process!
|
