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We seek nothing less than thy Kingdom, oh Holy God, from the fountain of love we find in thy Spirit to our embrace of that final man. May the demons of our afflictions and divisions scurry to dimensions unknown. Thus cleansed, may we join all men as we humbly bow before your throne.
Response to Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20
Purpose and Prophecy of Passover Deuteronomy 16:1-8
The last we looked at Passover was March 19th as we reflected on Numbers 28. To see all comments to date on the Passover, type 'Passover' into the 'search this blog' engine to the right. Passover is celebrated on the first full moon (14th day) of the month of Abib which begins on the first new moon of Spring. In 2010, Passover was celebrated on March 30. Christians will celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following Passover. Deuteronomy 16:1-8 reminds the Israelites of the reason for the Passover. He ties this instruction for its observance in the promised land together with the feast of unleavened bread, also detailed in Numbers 28. This is the first reference to the unleavened bread as the "bread of affliction" and applying these seven days to the rememberance to life in Egypt before their deliverance. This then may change our earlier reference to yeast as a mold or blemish, representative of sin and instead represent life without the joy of the Lord! Yeast then, is something to look forward to such as the eighth day and the coming of the Lord. Moses also applies the meaning to quick and speedy deliverance - the reminder that there was no time to do regular work - as the Israelites were suddenly released from their toil and their lives were thus changed forever.
This ritual that the Passover could only be kept at the designated place is a carryover of God's intent to gather the people together in rememberance and celebration first intoned in Exodus 23:14-17. Exodus 23:17 "Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord." As we will find in Judges, the requirement to come together in worship and celebration was with good reason. In fulfillment of this passage, Jesus Christ not only ate his last supper in Jerusalem, but became the fulfillment of the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world just outside its walls. Jesus also chose the place where the meal would be prepared and eaten with his disciples (Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22:7-13 - John does not mention the preparation, but jumps right into the dinner conversation in John 13.)
Of Bounty and Unity Deuteronomy 16:9-17
When the Israelites crossed the Jordan into the promised land, a new era began in their history. No longer were they slaves of Egyptian bondage. No longer were they wanderers for 40 years in the desert. The day they crossed over, the manna ceased and they relied on the providence of the Lord in the promised land. The feast of weeks commemorated that first day of harvest in the promised land, looking forward to the promised coming of the Lord following 7 full weeks culminating in the celebration of pentecost. (50th day). On that day, they would bring their offerings and celebrate the second coming together of the people with the celebration of the feast of tabernacles (God is with us) perhaps commemorating the coming of Jesus Christ and the generation who would share in His life and ministry. Today, we anticipate God's coming once again through a myriad of beliefs and understandings as we present our offerings before His throne.
It is important to remember our common travels on this earth and to celebrate our anticipation with one another. This past week, I have seen Mormon missionaries and Jewish Rabbi's walking along the road. I know that they anticipate our Lord's coming along with me. Rich and poor, slave and free, from all 7 continents and every faith. Seeking relationship with the Father remains our common bond and we are called to come together in worship and praise and to seek His face. Deuteronomy 16:16-17 "Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. "Every man (perhaps leader today) shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you. This may have been written to the Children of God listening that day across the Jordan, but it also speaks to each of us who wish to be considered Children of God today. Whatever your understanding, it is good to come together and worship and bow before our Lord and Maker in a celebration of peace with Love, Praise, Thanksgiving, offering the bounty of our lives before Him.
The Coming Kingdom of Equity, Justice, and Righteousness Deuteronomy 16:18-17:20
Knowing people cannot govern themselves, God required government and courts. He knew the problems of perversion both within communities and of justice. It would make sense from Deuteronomy 16:18-20 that governments would be used to control the people and that the people would have tools in place to control the governments. Allowing everyone to worship according to the way they see fit is an invitation for disaster. Judgment from every angle must ascribe virtues of equity, wisdom, justice, and righteousness. Leaders should be representative of all the people so that the poor would have just as much say as the rich - and just as much access to leadership positions.
First and formost, is the greatest commandment. Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 28 alludes to the possibility that God has allowed evil Spirits upon the earth as manifestations of our desire to worship apart from Him. Any idolotry is considered an abomination to God as any of us would even consider that the creator of the heavens and the earth could possibly be ridiculed in an edifice of wood or stone or embodied in a mountain, star, planet, man, beast, or any part of His vast creation. Any such abomination must be forbidden for God to grant His peace and blessing in our midst.
As with our supreme court, the High Priest was the ruler and final authority in Israel up until the time of the Kings, and after the Babylonian captivity. They had governors and other positions in post exilic empires, but the High Priest was generally revered as the highest authority through the time of Jesus until the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Unless one attempts to rip apart the book of Deuteronomy, it is apparent God spoke through Moses that a King would eventually come. This in itself became a prophecy also regarding the Messiah. For although many Kings came beginning with Saul, none followed the rules prescribed for the King until Jesus Christ. Knowing once again that this was written by the Jews, we know the tone was not written for one accepting that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah! Beyond the fact ancient documents confirm the historicity of Deuteronomy, we also may assume by this writing that it was not written after the first Kings had risen to the throne.
The Deuteronomical law did not specify which tribe the King would come from, therefore, the first King Samuel anointed to be King was Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. This again reflected an error in prophecy and showed that Saul was doomed from a time much earlier as Jacob had uttered prophecy in genesis 49:10 in blessing his third son, Judah; "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his."
Following the demise of the tribal unity of Israel - following Solomon's reign, 10 tribes split from two tribes. Judah then became a separate country from Israel with only the tribe of Benjamin at his side. The 10 tribes of Israel were then governed by Jereboam of Ephraim, son of Joseph fulfilling Genesis 48:17-19 "When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to him, 'No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.' But his father refused and said, 'I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.'
Even today as we serve as Children in the Kingdom of God, it is good to have organization and leaders of men who are willing to follow an ethical code as prescribed in Deuteronomy 16:18-17:20.
Response to Luke 9:7-27
Like and Let Die. Luke 9:7-9 (Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-39)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great Herod the Great of Matthew 2 was "born 74 BC, died 4 BC in Jericho, according to other data, 1 BC"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Antipas "Antipas was a son of Herod the Great", "In 39 AD Antipas was accused by his nephew Agrippa I"
Antipas was also known as 'Herod the tetrarch' of Luke 9:7. Luke spends the least time on the death of John the Baptist, but also ties this story into the Herod of the crucifiction story as Luke 23:8 becomes an extension of Luke 9:9.
Nothing Short of Miraculous Luke 9:10-17 (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, John 6:1-13)
Sandwiched around our visit with Herod of Luke 9:7-9 is the going and coming again of the 12 apostles from their mission excursion. Luke 9:1-6 is referenced by the return of verse 10. Jesus took them to the north shore of the Sea of Galilee east of the Jordan, but the people followed them and would not allow the rest he sought. He had compassion and taught them. It was from this location, near Bethsaida http://bibleatlas.org/bethsaida.htm that the feeding of the 5000 took place. The miracle is found in all four gospels. Only Luke mentions that it was near Bethsaida and only John mentions that it was the time of the Passover, the beginning of Spring just before the wheat and barley harvest.
Mark compared this story to the ministry of the Pharisees as they asked for a sign. Jesus reminded the disciples of the amount of baskets which had been picked up following the feeding of the 5000 and of the 4000. In this story, 12 baskets of scraps were picked up. The later feeding of the 4000 is not mentioned in Luke but in Mark the disciples are reminded that following that miracle 7 baskets were picked up. When I commented on Mark 8:11-21 I mentioned how this reflected the 7 lamps on the lampstand to the left of the altar in the tabernacle and the 12 loaves of bread set on the table to the right. Jesus ministry was filled with signs and wonders and this is one of the greatest!
Jesus knew the disciples needed rest. He desired to decommision them and find out about their missionary experiences, He had sought solace. Yet, when he could not escape the crowds, he had compassion on them. He welcomed them. He taught them. He organized them. He fed them. He cared for them. It does not appear He judged them. It appears His message was one of Love and Peace and Forgiveness followed by a time of celebration and fellowship. I noticed in this lesson today, Jesus did not talk about the kingdom of hell, but only of the Kingdom of Heaven. Perhaps there were no Pharisees present.
Follow Our Leader Luke 9:18-27 (Matthew 16:13-28, Mark 8:27-9:1)
Did you notice verse 19 reflects the same thing Herod had been hearing in verses 7-9? Although he had built quite a reputation and had talked to the multitudes about repentance, forgiveness, and salvation; and although He had shown great power and glory, there was still much confusion as to who He was. And yet, when the disciples were asked, Matthew Mark and Luke all say it was Peter who spoke up and said "Thou Art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:16 KJV) (John also attributes this affirmation to Peter in John 6:69). As this association would eventually become a cry of blasphemy by those who knew not what they were doing, Jesus asked that this knowledge and declaration not become public knowledge just yet. That time would come after His death and would lead to the martyrdom of most if not all of the apostles. Even today, such profession can lead to martyrdom in many parts of our world at the hands of those who know not what they are doing.
Each of us understands our Holy Books differently. That is a fact of life! If my belief is correct, each of us has a spiritual dimension and personality that is unique and individual. Through many teachers, most (if not all) of us have come to know our Creator in some way and have some sort of identity with Him. Most (if not all) of us today have also heard of Jesus Christ and have some sort of identity associated with Him. Do not imagine Him to be the image created by some faith group! Read these gospels recorded from that very first century from men and women who walked and talked with the man. As with many spiritual leaders who have become the focus of religious persuasions throughout our world, we do not have the actual written word or verbal recordings of Jesus Christ, yet it would appear all four gospels were written less than 50 years following Jesus life on earth.
I truly don't believe you have to know some magic code to earn salvation or to share it with your neighbor. A few things I do know; I cannot save myself from sin; - I cannot achieve righteousness on my own - and I cannot save anyone. I do believe that I can tell you that your sins are forgiven and that God is reaching out to you in love, and that He paid your debt through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I do believe you can tell this good news to your family, friends, and neighbors without fear. But, I may be wrong and there are so many who believe differently than I that I challenge you to pick up your copy of the Bible and study it for yourself. Don't wait until you have all the answers before you start sharing your faith because that day will never come as long as we live on this earth. Give a Bible to a friend and study it together. Be quick to hear how God is working in their life. Be slow to speak and come across as a know it all (tough one, I know). Be slow to anger when others don't agree with your point of view.
Jesus challenges you in this reading to make this your life goal - to share the good news. Don't be ashamed. Make it your first priority! Take up everything that you are - happiness - sadness - worries - praises and follow Him and go out into the world and spread the good news of your salvation and theirs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3NelRb1LY4
Response to Psalm 72
In the Service of the King Psalm 72
We have visited Psalms by the sons of Korah, Asaph, David, Jeduthan, but this is the first referred to as a Psalm of Solomon. And yet, verse 20 refers this prayer to David as He appoints Solomon to be annointed King in his stead. (I Kings 1:28-40). Psalm 72:20 claims this is the final prayer of David. Perhaps this was part of His declaration at Solomon's coronation. Under Solomon's reign, Israel's borders would reach their greatest extent and Israel would experience its glory years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalms_of_Solomon "the Psalms of Solomon is a group of eighteen psalms (religious songs or poems) that are not part of any scriptural canon" "The 17th of the 18 Psalms has a similarity to Psalm 72"
Many consider Psalm 72 to be a Messianic Psalm, looking forward to the eternal Kingdom of the one to come - which many in the world attribute to Jesus Christ. A similar Psalm can be found in Psalm 24, yet that Psalm is more easily recognizable of divine intent. Psalm 72 certainly carries the theme "May the King reign forever" which was a common phrase for royalty given a study quick study of ancient history or literature.
My comments on this Psalm will once again be in the form of a prayer of a child of God seeking to do His bidding on earth. Apply it to Christ, apply it to Solomon, or apply it to yourself as you devote yourself, body and soul to your everlasting Father. It never hurts to personalize the prayers in the Bible as you seek your connection with God.
We seek thy justice and righteousness, Heavenly Father, may we find acceptance as your children. Help us to visualize our fellowman through your love and treat the downtrodden with compassion and understanding. We seek your blessing Lord against adversity. Guide us as we seek prosperity for all mankind.
We intend to sing thy praises throughout our days, Dear Lord, may blessings of our love enrich our fellowman. We desire to be instraments of peace throughout our dying world. Bless our efforts dear Lord and may our children's children carry our vision unto fruition.
We seek nothing less than thy Kingdom, oh Holy God, from the fountain of love we find in thy Spirit to our embrace of that final man. May the demons of our afflictions and divisions scurry to dimensions unknown. Thus cleansed, may we join all men as we humbly bow before your throne.
Lord, you have promised your love and we stand witness to your salvation. Lord be our fortress and that sure defense against our foe. Lift the fainthearted and encourage the downtrodden and deliver us from evil. Protect us from ourselves as we seek to dignify what we have so easily discarded under our dillusion.
Bless us we pray dear Father, as we seek the glory of thy name. Provide for us and lead us and show us thy salvation day unto day. Bless our health and our children that we may spread your love to your children and tell them of your mighty works. We commit our cause to you and to your Kingdom now and forevermore.
For you alone are worthy! You alone have become our salvation. Your Love is boundless, your peace flows abundantly like a river baptising all within its path. May your Kingdom come! May your will be done! Throughout the earth as it is in Heaven. Lead on Oh King Eternal. May your glory fill the earth.
Response to Proverbs 12:8-9
The Beauty of Wisdom (quotes from the Book of Wisdom)
Wisdom 6:12 "Resplendent and unfading is Wisdom and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her."
Wisdom 6:20 "The desire for Wisdom leads up to a kingdom."
Wisdom 6:24 "A great number of wise men is the safety of the world"
Wisdom 7:15b-16a "He is the guide of Wisdom and the director of the wise. For both we and our words are in his hand, as well as all prudence and knowledge.
Wisdom 9:17 "Who ever knew your cousel, except you had given Wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?"
Obtain Wisdom for she will serve you well. Yet man shall not live on wisdom alone. Put into practice the things she teaches you regarding practical living as you pray to God each night.
Sweet Dreams
Until Tomorrow
Rick
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
March 30, 2010; Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23, Luke 8:40-9:6, Psalm 71:1-24, Proverbs 12:5-7
You alone are God. Let our light shine that others might experience your presence. Grant us the comfort of your peace today. We come before you with praise and thanksgiving with heart, soul, and mind for your faithfulness unto us oh Lord our God, for you alone are worthy of our praise. We shall tell of your righteous acts and we shall be your arms and feet to bring your love to the wounded, the broken hearted and to the end of the wickedness of man.Response to Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23
The Curse of Religious Empowerment Deuteronomy 13
Matthew 13 shares the parable of the sower and the difficulty of the masses to understand. Jesus goes on to tell the story of the wheat and the tares. He shares the parable of the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl, the dragnet. The chapter finishes as Jesus returns to his hometown and closes with the words of Matthew 13:58 " he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." And yet, the chapter has one of the most profound verses of scripture given the treasures of faith each of us are bound to find. This is Matthew 13:52 "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."
How can this be when Deuteronomy 13 recommends that anyone who disagrees with sound doctrine should be put to death? II Thessalonians 2:1-12 "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
Matthew 24:24; "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - if that were possible. (also see Mark 13:22).
Deuteronomy 13 may be the most unlucky chapter in the Bible. It has been used by the Jews to destroy prophets, bringing the condemnation of Jesus, ("O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.") It was used to destroy Jesus; (Matthew 26:65-66; "Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered.) It resulted in the stoning of Stephen. Paul persecuted the early church because of his understanding of this teaching, yet faced death on numerous occasions under judgment of the same scripture. John's brother, James - an apostle - died to the pleasure of the Jews and Peter was miraculously saved. Christians faced death by Jews and today by Muslims. Reformists faced death by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Splits and divisions have been justified as religious groups throughout history have imagined their understanding of scripture held highest ground.
And yet, who to date has realized the law stated to Love? What denomination or faith has looked at the law and said this isolationism and these divisions of man are anti-chirst! What powerful delusion is this causing us to believe these lies, causing us all to be condemned? Yesterday we studied Deuteronomy 12. The passage referred to Love God + Love Man on numerous occasions. We reflected on the multitude of scriptures that called us to love all men on earth. We found these virtues of love, joy, and peace to be completely divine and jealousy, rage, envy, strife to be completely against his Spirit. We investigated the demons and idols of our imaginations that have resulted in spiritual realities. We have imagined the miracles and powers of Jesus to have been given for us alone. We have granted d'evil a mighty power to destroy and our Savior and Lord nothing more than a crack in a rock that none of us can get through. We live in the dilusion. We have made Christ and everything that He represented to be anti-Christ. We have developed our own rules and accusations and judgements. We have set ourselves on God's throne as righteous against the perversions of mankind. We have sought our spiritual leaders on earth and set them up before the One True God who desires to meet us face to face. If we see God today when we look in our mirror and reflect upon ourselves, we must fall on our knees and defeat the anti-Christ with every part of our being and step out in Love God + Love Man.
Jesus Christ did not claim to be God. He said I and the Father are one. They had truly become one in the Spirit. He claimed it to be an error to call Him good for no one was good but God alone. (Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19) He also wants us to be one within the Spirit of God. (John 17:21-23) As I walk in the Spirit of Love, I become one with God. Heaven is the completion of that union! Jesus Christ was the way - He became God's atoning sacrifice so that all men could find that unity with their Father. He alone paid the penalty for sin. Many men have died as martyrs unto themselves as they refused to follow the religions of the world, and thereby became good witnesses leading to revivals and courage in ideological faiths, but only Jesus Christ died so that all men might be saved. This was according to the plan of God who made reunification possible. Jesus Christ became the truth. He chastised religious practice that would separate righteousness from the masses and continued to refine the Levites to have a heart for the sinner. He continually pointed man back to the Father and told the sinner their sins were forgiven, go and sin no more. He repeats that good news moment by moment for all of eternity. He became eternal life and He rose again and ascended unto the Father and became His mighty right hand and outstretched arm, preparing our eternal home and calling all men back to the garden. He did not exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, nor did he set himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. He only claimed to possess a unity with the Father.
In the baptism of John, there was a man who had been born again as a new son or daughter of God. This child of God was symbolically blessed by His Holy Father with the Spirit of unity as water (or fire as both reflect the cleansing power of the Spirit) covered his head. Jesus, too, as a sign and a seal for our understanding also entered the river to be baptised by a man. God claimed Him as the first of many brethren as He confirmed His call to Jesus and John in all of our hearing: "This is my beLOVEed Son, listen to Him."
Until we release our divisions and judgments in the light of God and follow the words of Jesus Christ to Love all men as ourselves; until we fall on our faces before God as his children requesting forgiveness for our fellowman (as exemplified by Moses), we will not see Christ's return. (II Thesalonians 2:7-8) "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming." Until that day, we will continue to kill one another in the name of God as required by the curse of Deuteronomy 13.
Legalistic Drowning Deuteronomy 14:1-21
Genesis 1:31 "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."
Genesis 7:2 Take with you seven (or seven pairs) of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
Romans 8:16 "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Acts 10:14-16 "'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.' The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven."
Would you like to follow all the rules of the Bible? If you would like to reflect on the Epistle of Barnabas as he attempted to explain these nutritional laws and their symbolism, check my blog from February 21 on Leviticus 11. I don't think most of us worry too much about the hoofs or whether the sea creatures we partake of have fins or scales. (Are catfish outlawed?) Would you like to honor the memory of the dead and wear special clothes in their honor without consideration that you have somehow become defiled?
James 2:8-13; "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!"
Romans 3:10-18 "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.' ( Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20) 'Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.' (Psalm 5:9) 'The poison of vipers is on their lips."(Psalm 140:3, Luke 3:7) 'Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.' (Psalm 10:7) 'Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.'(Isaiah 59:7-8) 'There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Psalm 36:1)
Therefore, I will not comment further on the unclean and clean animals referenced in this passage exept to apply a moral of the passage as "honor God in what you say and do." and do not become overwhelmed in lording these rules over your fellowman. Whatever your religious practice, do not boil a kid in its mother's milk. Do not destroy the new convert within the rules and regulations of your religious practice. God will feed the young child within your presence and you will observe the power of God within your midst if you will choose to honor Him with your hearts and lives as you reach out to your fellowman and bring him or her into your fellowship. He will dress the new convert in new clothes - and you can help - as bridesmaids and groomsmen.
A Celebration in Righteousness Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Isaiah 45:24-25 "They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.' "All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult."
In a sense, the service of the Levites was a curse (Genesis 49:5-7). They received no inheritance but the sin of the people. The people were asked to take care of them. (Deuteronomy 14:27). Numbers 18:1-7 also limited the people other than the levites from coming near the temple. Therefore, we might presume that not all people are called to enter a house of worship. Some may even find such attendance to be an inconvenience, and it is not the purpose of those called of God to enter to hold such a bar over their fellowman! (boiling the kid in its mothers milk.) And yet, it is important to set aside a tithe to be used towards the coming together within the Kingdom of God.
II Corinthians 8:11-14; "Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality,
With such gift, celebrate with family and friends, sharing in love and celebration as required by the law. (Deuteronomy 14:26 "Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.) Some may say this may only be done in the house of God, but Matthew 18:20 states: "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
With this teaching, don't imagine for a moment that I have recommended against going to church and supporting community and worldwide ministry. This would go against every teaching previously relayed regarding loving and honoring God. And yet, if your friend or neighbor is not at that stage and they are not willing to go to the house of God, there is nothing stopping you from celebrating with one another through socializing within the community and through community events and activities. I believe this also follows Deuteronomy 12:20-28. The teaching of "you shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk" and don't suck the life out of the animal may very well be speaking of friendship evangelism. Be friends with the world and quit pretending to understand God beyond his commandment to love by applying any form of judgment or condemnation. Yet, keep yourself pure as you apply the fruits of the Spirit. Drink, but not to the point of debauchery, and not if it is offensive to those you are with.
Freedom From Debt and Poverty Deuteronomy 15
Houses and Lands! Riches and esteem! The haves and the have nots! Glory, glory, glory to man. The first step of Love is forgiveness. The world is absorbed in financial bondage. The last thing the rich could imagine might be to forgive debts and start over, but that is exactly what must happen. The option is to continue to watch bankruptcies and forclosures, death and suffering, war and international demise. More and more people are entering poverty as a few with aptitude and opportunity prey on societal corruption. If the common worker were not burdened by debt and paid a fair wage, they could afford healthcare and increase the demand for all products and services. The poor could afford to get married and invest in healthy relationships, avoiding the need for state funded abortions. The destitute would find release from depression and low self esteem and find renewed motivation to work instead of relying on social assistance. The need for taxes would decrease, yet the tax base would flourish! And yet, it will take the courage of all of mankind to forgive one another our debts and to serve one another. The release from the bondage of depression can happen overnight and does not need to come by war or international collapse. We can experience capitalism with heart governed by socialistic controls over our greed. We can start again uniting all men and offering life, liberty, justice, the pursuit of happiness, freedom, hope, and a future.
If we truly want to govern the world by biblical standards, this is the best place to start. This is righteousness. This is love in action. Seven year cycles and a year of jubilee. Not a bad plan for our modern planetary crisis nor the opportunity for celebration as one body. This is the undiscovered country!
'Loving the Lord Our God With All' Deuteronomy15:12-23
All men are created equal, but sometimes, circumstances cause one man to serve another. Nowhere in the Bible does it say slavery is wrong, but it is governed by the same laws of catch and release. Slavery again offered a humane way to care for the poor. How dare we hold slave owners in such low regard as though we were more righteous than they. However, just as we should not beat our wives or children, we should not mistreat slaves as anything but members of our own households. Love your fellowman, rich and poor alike, slave or free, employer or employee, male or female, domestic or alien, clean or unclean.
The requirement of the tithe and presenting ourselves before our God in fellowship and holiness is visited again in Deuteronomy 15:19-23. If our offering is found to be impure, which all of our offerings are bound to be, we must offer ourselves to the Lord in the fellowship with our communities, both religious and otherwise.
Response to Luke 8:40-9:6
Power and Great Glory Luke 8:40-56 (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43)
Jesus is returning from the cleansing the unclean man of the Gerasenes. ( Josephus (Life, IX, 42) refers to Gadara as possessing territory "which lay on the frontiers of Tiberias" (= the Sea of Galilee). That this territory reached to the Sea may be inferred from the fact that ancient coins bearing the name Gadara often portray a ship.) http://www.textexcavation.com/exorcismgadarene.html
He is met by Jairus, ruler of a local synagogue who well may have witnessed Jesus healing powers and may well be included with those who had concern about His preaching about the forgiveness of sins. Regardless of any possible disagreements on faith, Jesus went with him with no apparent complaint or judgment on his faith or previous conduct (any speculation good or bad is only that). Before they reached Jairus home, they recieved information that his daughter had already died. Jesus cautioned him immediately not to fear but only believe. They went to the home and made entry through the gathered mourners who knew well that the girl had died, even though Jesus attempted to dissuade them. In the solace of the girl's room, Jairus daughter was raised from death by the power available through the ministry of this man, Jesus Christ.
This story is reflected in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Little is changed between the gospels and each tells the story of the woman with the flow of blood on the road toward Jairus house. Jesus brings to light the fact that her faith has made her well for all who were following. Luke 8:48 "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."
This is not unlike his earlier statements: Luke 4:35 "Be quiet, Come out of him!" Luke 5:20 "Friend, your sins are forgiven." Luke 5:24 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Luke 6:10 "Stretch out your hand." Luke 7:14 "Young man, I say to you, get up!" Luke 7:48 "Your sins are forgiven." Luke 7:50 "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Luke 8:39 "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." The Centurian of Luke 7 understood this authority Jesus had best. Luke 7:6b-8 "I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
How is our faith? Do we deserve to be healed? Do we believe Romans 14:8 "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord?" Do we believe that on the other side of death, our Father will grab our outstretched hand, and say those words of Matthew 25:23 "Well done, good and faithful child! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in my happiness!"
I Corinthians 15:51-52a "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye." Revelation 21:3b-5a "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'" We shall all be healed. He holds the power and He is mighty to save. And yet, perhaps you are still in bondage to your sin and your circumstances in life and cannot believe this good news. Perhaps you are more reflective of the man with no hope from John 5:6 "When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?'" He will not force anyone's hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJcHat3b-PE&feature=related
Step Out in Faith Luke 9:1-6
Do you truly believe the good news of Salvation? Have you doused your childlike faith with the burden of theology? Do you believe your God has the power to heal? Do you believe you are a sinner saved only by the grace of God? Are you willing to loose the bonds of your neighbor and forgive him or her of any wrongs against you? Do you believe if you, a man can forgive sins that your Father in heaven would not be willing to do the same? Are you willing to share your faith in this good news by loving your world?
Perhaps you're still saying "Its too hard! I don't have the power to heal!" Jesus answered in Luke 5:23 "Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?" Do you have the power to forgive your neighbor? I think you do. Can you tell them you believe God loves them and you've heard He loves them too? I think you can. Can you pray for healing? I know you can and you just might be amazed!
Don't just leave it all with mere words though, take action - be involved in the process. Step out in faith. If you meet rejection to your friendship, shake it off and step into the next opportunity. Don't press it, just let faith (love) be part and parcel of everything you are.
Response to Psalm 71:1-24
Rebellious children, I know them right well. Wicked? Yes! But in need of love and dealing with the trials of life all the same. They have a knowledge of God, but a need to go their own way. Just like the righteous, they deal with affliction, sin, and the consequences of bad choices. Like every person I have ever met, each of them has been in touch with God from their youth. Yet, my rebellious children were not princes intent upon usurping the throne.
This introduction may be totally off base as there is no heading confirming that it is a Psalm of David. However, I could not help but wonder whether it represents David's flight from his son Absalom in II Samuel 15-18. (A messenger came and told David, 'The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.' Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, 'Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword.' II Samuel 15:13-14). What we do know is that the Psalmist depicts himself to be aged and in distress.
Needless to say, I believe wickedness is a dillusion of our imaginations as we consider individuals outside of our limited comfort zones to be the representatives of wickedness. Even Absalom and Ahithophel showed righteousness in their lives. Earlier in David's life he was on the run from Saul who also sought after God, but God had turned his back on him. Had he not, we would not have the wonderful Psalms of David which reflected the tragedy of the Cross and made the Bible the book of amazement it is today. To judge Saul, Absalom, or Ahithophel as wicked just because David depicts them as such in the Psalms is a grievous mistake. Each of them had succombed to evil actions and wicked behaviour just as the demon posessed man we reflected on yesterday in Luke 8:26-39. Most of us have also.
Thus, with many words, I have presented the conclusion that we all possess righteousness and wickedness. My children have sensed that much of my own behaviour in their lives stemmed from wickedness, yet I am able to pray right along with the Psalmist. The world outside of your faith generally assumes there is some sort of evil or wickedness within the walls of your house of worship; Thus, my consideration that wickedness is a dillusion of our imaginations regarding our fellow human beings. Lets consider the prayer of this Psalm as we consider the afflictions of our imaginations represented by the very real demons amongst us.
If we run to thee Lord as our place of refuge, protect us from shame. Hear us as we call Lord - rescue us, deliver us, and save us. Be our rock of refuge as life tends to overwhelm us. Command the enemy to leave us Lord, for in thy strength and righteousnes have we placed our faith. Deliver us from evil Lord, for our heart is faint in his seemingly cruel grasp.
O Sovereign Lord, you have been our hope, our confidence, and our prayer since childhood. You have strengthened and provided for us to this day. We will ever praise you. Bless our hope in you Oh Lord and avoid our shame as our community is watching to witness the justification of our faith. Our mouth shall tell of your great love and your glory forevermore.
As age creeps in and death draws near, do not forget your children Lord. Keep our light burning as our world looks on. Let no one say 'His God has left Him' and fall away on our account. Stay ever near us and cause our worship to forever pass through our lips that others may take note and glorify our Rock and our Redeemer.
We choose this day, Father, to forever hope! We choose this day, Father, to forever praise! We affirm that your righteousness and salvation is beyond man's comprehension. We proclaim the knowledge you have provided of your mighty acts! We proclaim your glory and majesty on display through the amazing history of your awesome creation.
From our earliest days, Lord, you have spoken to us so that today we can proclaim your wonder! As we near the end, Lord, turn not away from your children. Guide us as we share your love with our fellowman and lead us in your path toward everlasting life. We believe, Lord, that your love and righteousness shall reach the very ends of the earth. Your Kingdom reigns on earth as it is in Heaven. You alone are God.
So let our light shine that others might experience your presence. Grant us the comfort of your peace today. We come before you with praise and thanksgiving with heart, soul, and mind for your faithfulness unto us oh Lord our God, for you alone are worthy of our praise. We shall tell of your righteous acts and we shall be your arms and feet to bring your love to the wounded, the broken hearted and to the end the wickedness of man.
Response to Proverbs 12:5-7
Remember those cartoons with the angel on one shoulder and d'evil on the other? Such is this Proverb. The perseverance of plans built on faith, hope, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, meekness, and self control will mend broken relationships and meet with justice. They shall build a house that not even the gates of hell can overcome. Yet, plans built upon revenge, strife, division, hate, dishonor, and the like will end in heartache, bloodshed, and disillusionment.
His instructions are worth patient effort (try a lifetime)!
Until Tomorrow
Rick
The Curse of Religious Empowerment Deuteronomy 13
Matthew 13 shares the parable of the sower and the difficulty of the masses to understand. Jesus goes on to tell the story of the wheat and the tares. He shares the parable of the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl, the dragnet. The chapter finishes as Jesus returns to his hometown and closes with the words of Matthew 13:58 " he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." And yet, the chapter has one of the most profound verses of scripture given the treasures of faith each of us are bound to find. This is Matthew 13:52 "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."
How can this be when Deuteronomy 13 recommends that anyone who disagrees with sound doctrine should be put to death? II Thessalonians 2:1-12 "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
Matthew 24:24; "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - if that were possible. (also see Mark 13:22).
Deuteronomy 13 may be the most unlucky chapter in the Bible. It has been used by the Jews to destroy prophets, bringing the condemnation of Jesus, ("O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.") It was used to destroy Jesus; (Matthew 26:65-66; "Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered.) It resulted in the stoning of Stephen. Paul persecuted the early church because of his understanding of this teaching, yet faced death on numerous occasions under judgment of the same scripture. John's brother, James - an apostle - died to the pleasure of the Jews and Peter was miraculously saved. Christians faced death by Jews and today by Muslims. Reformists faced death by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Splits and divisions have been justified as religious groups throughout history have imagined their understanding of scripture held highest ground.
And yet, who to date has realized the law stated to Love? What denomination or faith has looked at the law and said this isolationism and these divisions of man are anti-chirst! What powerful delusion is this causing us to believe these lies, causing us all to be condemned? Yesterday we studied Deuteronomy 12. The passage referred to Love God + Love Man on numerous occasions. We reflected on the multitude of scriptures that called us to love all men on earth. We found these virtues of love, joy, and peace to be completely divine and jealousy, rage, envy, strife to be completely against his Spirit. We investigated the demons and idols of our imaginations that have resulted in spiritual realities. We have imagined the miracles and powers of Jesus to have been given for us alone. We have granted d'evil a mighty power to destroy and our Savior and Lord nothing more than a crack in a rock that none of us can get through. We live in the dilusion. We have made Christ and everything that He represented to be anti-Christ. We have developed our own rules and accusations and judgements. We have set ourselves on God's throne as righteous against the perversions of mankind. We have sought our spiritual leaders on earth and set them up before the One True God who desires to meet us face to face. If we see God today when we look in our mirror and reflect upon ourselves, we must fall on our knees and defeat the anti-Christ with every part of our being and step out in Love God + Love Man.
Jesus Christ did not claim to be God. He said I and the Father are one. They had truly become one in the Spirit. He claimed it to be an error to call Him good for no one was good but God alone. (Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19) He also wants us to be one within the Spirit of God. (John 17:21-23) As I walk in the Spirit of Love, I become one with God. Heaven is the completion of that union! Jesus Christ was the way - He became God's atoning sacrifice so that all men could find that unity with their Father. He alone paid the penalty for sin. Many men have died as martyrs unto themselves as they refused to follow the religions of the world, and thereby became good witnesses leading to revivals and courage in ideological faiths, but only Jesus Christ died so that all men might be saved. This was according to the plan of God who made reunification possible. Jesus Christ became the truth. He chastised religious practice that would separate righteousness from the masses and continued to refine the Levites to have a heart for the sinner. He continually pointed man back to the Father and told the sinner their sins were forgiven, go and sin no more. He repeats that good news moment by moment for all of eternity. He became eternal life and He rose again and ascended unto the Father and became His mighty right hand and outstretched arm, preparing our eternal home and calling all men back to the garden. He did not exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, nor did he set himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. He only claimed to possess a unity with the Father.
In the baptism of John, there was a man who had been born again as a new son or daughter of God. This child of God was symbolically blessed by His Holy Father with the Spirit of unity as water (or fire as both reflect the cleansing power of the Spirit) covered his head. Jesus, too, as a sign and a seal for our understanding also entered the river to be baptised by a man. God claimed Him as the first of many brethren as He confirmed His call to Jesus and John in all of our hearing: "This is my beLOVEed Son, listen to Him."
Until we release our divisions and judgments in the light of God and follow the words of Jesus Christ to Love all men as ourselves; until we fall on our faces before God as his children requesting forgiveness for our fellowman (as exemplified by Moses), we will not see Christ's return. (II Thesalonians 2:7-8) "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming." Until that day, we will continue to kill one another in the name of God as required by the curse of Deuteronomy 13.
Legalistic Drowning Deuteronomy 14:1-21
Genesis 1:31 "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."
Genesis 7:2 Take with you seven (or seven pairs) of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
Romans 8:16 "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Acts 10:14-16 "'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.' The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven."
Would you like to follow all the rules of the Bible? If you would like to reflect on the Epistle of Barnabas as he attempted to explain these nutritional laws and their symbolism, check my blog from February 21 on Leviticus 11. I don't think most of us worry too much about the hoofs or whether the sea creatures we partake of have fins or scales. (Are catfish outlawed?) Would you like to honor the memory of the dead and wear special clothes in their honor without consideration that you have somehow become defiled?
James 2:8-13; "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!"
Romans 3:10-18 "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.' ( Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20) 'Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.' (Psalm 5:9) 'The poison of vipers is on their lips."(Psalm 140:3, Luke 3:7) 'Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.' (Psalm 10:7) 'Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.'(Isaiah 59:7-8) 'There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Psalm 36:1)
Therefore, I will not comment further on the unclean and clean animals referenced in this passage exept to apply a moral of the passage as "honor God in what you say and do." and do not become overwhelmed in lording these rules over your fellowman. Whatever your religious practice, do not boil a kid in its mother's milk. Do not destroy the new convert within the rules and regulations of your religious practice. God will feed the young child within your presence and you will observe the power of God within your midst if you will choose to honor Him with your hearts and lives as you reach out to your fellowman and bring him or her into your fellowship. He will dress the new convert in new clothes - and you can help - as bridesmaids and groomsmen.
A Celebration in Righteousness Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Isaiah 45:24-25 "They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.' "All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult."
In a sense, the service of the Levites was a curse (Genesis 49:5-7). They received no inheritance but the sin of the people. The people were asked to take care of them. (Deuteronomy 14:27). Numbers 18:1-7 also limited the people other than the levites from coming near the temple. Therefore, we might presume that not all people are called to enter a house of worship. Some may even find such attendance to be an inconvenience, and it is not the purpose of those called of God to enter to hold such a bar over their fellowman! (boiling the kid in its mothers milk.) And yet, it is important to set aside a tithe to be used towards the coming together within the Kingdom of God.
II Corinthians 8:11-14; "Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality,
With such gift, celebrate with family and friends, sharing in love and celebration as required by the law. (Deuteronomy 14:26 "Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.) Some may say this may only be done in the house of God, but Matthew 18:20 states: "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
With this teaching, don't imagine for a moment that I have recommended against going to church and supporting community and worldwide ministry. This would go against every teaching previously relayed regarding loving and honoring God. And yet, if your friend or neighbor is not at that stage and they are not willing to go to the house of God, there is nothing stopping you from celebrating with one another through socializing within the community and through community events and activities. I believe this also follows Deuteronomy 12:20-28. The teaching of "you shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk" and don't suck the life out of the animal may very well be speaking of friendship evangelism. Be friends with the world and quit pretending to understand God beyond his commandment to love by applying any form of judgment or condemnation. Yet, keep yourself pure as you apply the fruits of the Spirit. Drink, but not to the point of debauchery, and not if it is offensive to those you are with.
Freedom From Debt and Poverty Deuteronomy 15
Houses and Lands! Riches and esteem! The haves and the have nots! Glory, glory, glory to man. The first step of Love is forgiveness. The world is absorbed in financial bondage. The last thing the rich could imagine might be to forgive debts and start over, but that is exactly what must happen. The option is to continue to watch bankruptcies and forclosures, death and suffering, war and international demise. More and more people are entering poverty as a few with aptitude and opportunity prey on societal corruption. If the common worker were not burdened by debt and paid a fair wage, they could afford healthcare and increase the demand for all products and services. The poor could afford to get married and invest in healthy relationships, avoiding the need for state funded abortions. The destitute would find release from depression and low self esteem and find renewed motivation to work instead of relying on social assistance. The need for taxes would decrease, yet the tax base would flourish! And yet, it will take the courage of all of mankind to forgive one another our debts and to serve one another. The release from the bondage of depression can happen overnight and does not need to come by war or international collapse. We can experience capitalism with heart governed by socialistic controls over our greed. We can start again uniting all men and offering life, liberty, justice, the pursuit of happiness, freedom, hope, and a future.
If we truly want to govern the world by biblical standards, this is the best place to start. This is righteousness. This is love in action. Seven year cycles and a year of jubilee. Not a bad plan for our modern planetary crisis nor the opportunity for celebration as one body. This is the undiscovered country!
'Loving the Lord Our God With All' Deuteronomy15:12-23
All men are created equal, but sometimes, circumstances cause one man to serve another. Nowhere in the Bible does it say slavery is wrong, but it is governed by the same laws of catch and release. Slavery again offered a humane way to care for the poor. How dare we hold slave owners in such low regard as though we were more righteous than they. However, just as we should not beat our wives or children, we should not mistreat slaves as anything but members of our own households. Love your fellowman, rich and poor alike, slave or free, employer or employee, male or female, domestic or alien, clean or unclean.
The requirement of the tithe and presenting ourselves before our God in fellowship and holiness is visited again in Deuteronomy 15:19-23. If our offering is found to be impure, which all of our offerings are bound to be, we must offer ourselves to the Lord in the fellowship with our communities, both religious and otherwise.
Response to Luke 8:40-9:6
Power and Great Glory Luke 8:40-56 (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43)
Jesus is returning from the cleansing the unclean man of the Gerasenes. ( Josephus (Life, IX, 42) refers to Gadara as possessing territory "which lay on the frontiers of Tiberias" (= the Sea of Galilee). That this territory reached to the Sea may be inferred from the fact that ancient coins bearing the name Gadara often portray a ship.) http://www.textexcavation.com/exorcismgadarene.html
He is met by Jairus, ruler of a local synagogue who well may have witnessed Jesus healing powers and may well be included with those who had concern about His preaching about the forgiveness of sins. Regardless of any possible disagreements on faith, Jesus went with him with no apparent complaint or judgment on his faith or previous conduct (any speculation good or bad is only that). Before they reached Jairus home, they recieved information that his daughter had already died. Jesus cautioned him immediately not to fear but only believe. They went to the home and made entry through the gathered mourners who knew well that the girl had died, even though Jesus attempted to dissuade them. In the solace of the girl's room, Jairus daughter was raised from death by the power available through the ministry of this man, Jesus Christ.
This story is reflected in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Little is changed between the gospels and each tells the story of the woman with the flow of blood on the road toward Jairus house. Jesus brings to light the fact that her faith has made her well for all who were following. Luke 8:48 "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."
This is not unlike his earlier statements: Luke 4:35 "Be quiet, Come out of him!" Luke 5:20 "Friend, your sins are forgiven." Luke 5:24 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Luke 6:10 "Stretch out your hand." Luke 7:14 "Young man, I say to you, get up!" Luke 7:48 "Your sins are forgiven." Luke 7:50 "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Luke 8:39 "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." The Centurian of Luke 7 understood this authority Jesus had best. Luke 7:6b-8 "I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
How is our faith? Do we deserve to be healed? Do we believe Romans 14:8 "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord?" Do we believe that on the other side of death, our Father will grab our outstretched hand, and say those words of Matthew 25:23 "Well done, good and faithful child! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in my happiness!"
I Corinthians 15:51-52a "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye." Revelation 21:3b-5a "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'" We shall all be healed. He holds the power and He is mighty to save. And yet, perhaps you are still in bondage to your sin and your circumstances in life and cannot believe this good news. Perhaps you are more reflective of the man with no hope from John 5:6 "When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?'" He will not force anyone's hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJcHat3b-PE&feature=related
Step Out in Faith Luke 9:1-6
Do you truly believe the good news of Salvation? Have you doused your childlike faith with the burden of theology? Do you believe your God has the power to heal? Do you believe you are a sinner saved only by the grace of God? Are you willing to loose the bonds of your neighbor and forgive him or her of any wrongs against you? Do you believe if you, a man can forgive sins that your Father in heaven would not be willing to do the same? Are you willing to share your faith in this good news by loving your world?
Perhaps you're still saying "Its too hard! I don't have the power to heal!" Jesus answered in Luke 5:23 "Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?" Do you have the power to forgive your neighbor? I think you do. Can you tell them you believe God loves them and you've heard He loves them too? I think you can. Can you pray for healing? I know you can and you just might be amazed!
Don't just leave it all with mere words though, take action - be involved in the process. Step out in faith. If you meet rejection to your friendship, shake it off and step into the next opportunity. Don't press it, just let faith (love) be part and parcel of everything you are.
Response to Psalm 71:1-24
Rebellious children, I know them right well. Wicked? Yes! But in need of love and dealing with the trials of life all the same. They have a knowledge of God, but a need to go their own way. Just like the righteous, they deal with affliction, sin, and the consequences of bad choices. Like every person I have ever met, each of them has been in touch with God from their youth. Yet, my rebellious children were not princes intent upon usurping the throne.
This introduction may be totally off base as there is no heading confirming that it is a Psalm of David. However, I could not help but wonder whether it represents David's flight from his son Absalom in II Samuel 15-18. (A messenger came and told David, 'The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.' Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, 'Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword.' II Samuel 15:13-14). What we do know is that the Psalmist depicts himself to be aged and in distress.
Needless to say, I believe wickedness is a dillusion of our imaginations as we consider individuals outside of our limited comfort zones to be the representatives of wickedness. Even Absalom and Ahithophel showed righteousness in their lives. Earlier in David's life he was on the run from Saul who also sought after God, but God had turned his back on him. Had he not, we would not have the wonderful Psalms of David which reflected the tragedy of the Cross and made the Bible the book of amazement it is today. To judge Saul, Absalom, or Ahithophel as wicked just because David depicts them as such in the Psalms is a grievous mistake. Each of them had succombed to evil actions and wicked behaviour just as the demon posessed man we reflected on yesterday in Luke 8:26-39. Most of us have also.
Thus, with many words, I have presented the conclusion that we all possess righteousness and wickedness. My children have sensed that much of my own behaviour in their lives stemmed from wickedness, yet I am able to pray right along with the Psalmist. The world outside of your faith generally assumes there is some sort of evil or wickedness within the walls of your house of worship; Thus, my consideration that wickedness is a dillusion of our imaginations regarding our fellow human beings. Lets consider the prayer of this Psalm as we consider the afflictions of our imaginations represented by the very real demons amongst us.
If we run to thee Lord as our place of refuge, protect us from shame. Hear us as we call Lord - rescue us, deliver us, and save us. Be our rock of refuge as life tends to overwhelm us. Command the enemy to leave us Lord, for in thy strength and righteousnes have we placed our faith. Deliver us from evil Lord, for our heart is faint in his seemingly cruel grasp.
O Sovereign Lord, you have been our hope, our confidence, and our prayer since childhood. You have strengthened and provided for us to this day. We will ever praise you. Bless our hope in you Oh Lord and avoid our shame as our community is watching to witness the justification of our faith. Our mouth shall tell of your great love and your glory forevermore.
As age creeps in and death draws near, do not forget your children Lord. Keep our light burning as our world looks on. Let no one say 'His God has left Him' and fall away on our account. Stay ever near us and cause our worship to forever pass through our lips that others may take note and glorify our Rock and our Redeemer.
We choose this day, Father, to forever hope! We choose this day, Father, to forever praise! We affirm that your righteousness and salvation is beyond man's comprehension. We proclaim the knowledge you have provided of your mighty acts! We proclaim your glory and majesty on display through the amazing history of your awesome creation.
From our earliest days, Lord, you have spoken to us so that today we can proclaim your wonder! As we near the end, Lord, turn not away from your children. Guide us as we share your love with our fellowman and lead us in your path toward everlasting life. We believe, Lord, that your love and righteousness shall reach the very ends of the earth. Your Kingdom reigns on earth as it is in Heaven. You alone are God.
So let our light shine that others might experience your presence. Grant us the comfort of your peace today. We come before you with praise and thanksgiving with heart, soul, and mind for your faithfulness unto us oh Lord our God, for you alone are worthy of our praise. We shall tell of your righteous acts and we shall be your arms and feet to bring your love to the wounded, the broken hearted and to the end the wickedness of man.
Response to Proverbs 12:5-7
Remember those cartoons with the angel on one shoulder and d'evil on the other? Such is this Proverb. The perseverance of plans built on faith, hope, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, meekness, and self control will mend broken relationships and meet with justice. They shall build a house that not even the gates of hell can overcome. Yet, plans built upon revenge, strife, division, hate, dishonor, and the like will end in heartache, bloodshed, and disillusionment.
His instructions are worth patient effort (try a lifetime)!
Until Tomorrow
Rick
Monday, March 29, 2010
March 29, 2010; Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32, Luke 8:22-39, Psalm 70:1-5, Proverbs 12:4
Lord, may all who thus seek thee find the joy of your salvation. May we join the mighty throng in singing How Great Thou Art! Yet, we are weak and fragile Lord, and we stand in need of thy shelter and protection from the coming storms in our lives. Be with us forever, we pray! Be our mighty rock and my fortress as we offer you our lives forevermore.
Response to Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32
The Power of Love Deuteronomy 11
Matthew 22:37-40 "Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
List of verses on "Love thy neighbor"
(Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:5/10:12/11:1.13.22.27, Zechariah 3:7, Matthew 7:12/19:19/22:37-40, Mark 12:31, Luke 6:27-36/10:27, John 17:23, Romans 12:9-20/13:8-10, I Corinthians 8:9/9:19-23/13:1-13, Galatians 5:13-15, Ephesians 4:3/5:2, Colossians 3:14, I Thessalonians 4:9-10/5:8, I Timothy 1:5-8, Hebrews 5:12, James 2:8-9, I Peter 1:22-23/2:15-17, I John 1:5/3:10-24/4:7-21.
Who has time to name off all the references to these commandments in the Bible. I have done an exhaustive search and had to stop halfway through my list before finding all correlating verses. There are certainly more verses regarding that simple phrase "Love God + Love Man." Unfortunately, too many of the writers of the early church made the same mistake as Judaism and imagined the verses only referred to the brethren. The same mistake has been made by many Muslims. And, yet, when the prophets utter the words of salvation and redemption, they struggle not to include all of mankind. Indeed, as one reads the words of these passages, it becomes extremely clear that the command reflects our relations with all mankind. Without this understanding, there can never be peace among men. Without that purity in worship and deed, the man of God succombs to temptations of all sorts of disires of the flesh and never finds true peace with God.
We too can consider God's discipline, his majesty, his mighty hand and outstretched arm, his signs, the destruction of the enemy bringing lasting ruin as he covered them in the water of the Red Sea, how he destroyed self righteousness, and established his Kingdom. Yet, we see not only His power displayed through Moses as he dealt with Egypt and prepared the Israelites to cross over the Jordan, but also His power displayed through Jesus Christ as he dealt with sin and death and is preparing all men to cross over that threshold into the Kingdom of God Himself.
And yet, each of us must experience the milk and honey of true faith as we come into the Kingdom. We must provide that milk of love and the sweetness of hope and of joy and of peace as we welcome new believers into the fold. If we ever ere from that purity of faith and lose our fellowman, we must seek their forgiveness as we serve to honor our Father. Even when we speak of sin, we must have the courage to honor him by speaking with meekness and love. We must possess the courage to encourage. This is not new age or weak teaching, this appears throughout scripture to be the will and command of God.
If we will choose to follow this decree, we will find peace in our world. If we serve one another in love, our financial dispairity will disappear. Men and women will find the opportunity and the will to work and to take care of one another. Families will stay together and be bound together in honor and love. Wars will cease. Men will gather together to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs as brethren honor their Father in heaven - One God, One Family, One Unit. And God will greatly grant all the desires of our hearts. This has all been made possible by God through his offering and the willing participation of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, fill your hearts and minds with these virtues of love, joy, and peace. They are not effeminate, they are divine. Truly, through love, we find our breastplate of righteousness. Through peace, we carry a sword of valor. Through wisdom, we don a helmet towards salvation. Through honor, we find unity and blessing from Dad.
Zechariah 2:10-11; "'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the Lord. 'Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.'"
Zechariah 3 "Then he showed me Joshua (A variant of Jeshua) the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan (the accuser/adversary) standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?' (right out of hell on earth?)
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Take off his filthy clothes.' Then he said to Joshua, 'See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.' Then I said, 'Put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.
The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 'This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.'
'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes (facets) on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
'In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,' declares the Lord Almighty."
We've Got to Come Together Deuteronomy 12:1-32
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgfsTAk0oP4
It is worthwhile to compare our religions. I would highly recommend schools allow a realistic understanding of the various faiths of the world and set them up in comparison. As I have commented on Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, I have reflected how God spoke to Moses regarding many of the religious cultures which had developed from that first mention of worship in Genesis 4. Cain became jealous of God's apparent acceptance of Abel's sacrifice and disregard for his own. Thus, the jealousy over religious practice and who is greatest in the Kingdom of God began. God attemtpted to thwart the coming crisis in Genesis 4:6-7 "Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Cain disregarded the advice of God and took matters into his own hands:
Genesis 4:8-11; "Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?'
'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?'
The Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.'"
So, how can we know what is right so that we might be accepted? I suggest we compare the Bible to our other Holy Books. Forgetting for a moment that it stems from the Torah and is strongly Hebrew, it is difficult to imagine that it is not a collection of some of the oldest history available to man. For that reason alone, this book should be a mainstay of educating our children in the history of man. As an item of social studies, the Bible again, proves an invaluable tool as it is so strongly associated with well over half of the worlds populations. Any curriculum of history or social studies should as a necessity include a study of the Bible, the Koran, and the Bagavad Gita. As this represents a major portion of literature, perhaps speech class would also be a good venue as students could display their own culture and association within our blended societies.
The fact of the matter is, religion represents the history of man from earliest times. The knowledge of religions representation among us would serve to educate, rather than confuse the masses. Why do our religions reflect one another so closely and what has God said about how he would like to be honored.
Again, the Bible seems most clear and perhaps most beneficial to the masses as it calls for love and peace which we all have come to understand this is an absolute necessity for the survival of mankind. Therefore, perhaps we could easily move from the second command we have been considering (Love Man) and spend some time on Loving God.
According to the Bible, He chose to reveal his plan for redemption and salvation of the human race through Jesus Christ. In preparation, He spoke through the law and the prophets of the Jewish race as He brought them out of the historic culture of ancient Egypt and educated them amongst the cultures of ancient Arabia. He bestowed upon them a blessing, not based on their own righteousness, so that they could become a blessing both by their written word, their historical symbolism, the powerful display through their divine relationship, and through their omen of the promised child of redemption. They were blessed to be a blessing and to provide an answer for all of us of how God wished to be honored.
Genesis 18:17-19 Then the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
Deuteronomy 12 prepares symbolism as God speaks through Moses to all of humanity regarding this first commandment. Tear down the high places and remove the graven images. No longer imagine me to be a God of rain or thunder, of fertility or your beast of burden. I am so much more than any part of my creation. I no longer desire that you worship apart from one another, but to join as one around my table. I have chosen this people to unite all men. I grant them the priviledge to name a place of which I shall call my own. In that place I shall call all men unto me. It is here I shall unite my people. It is in this place of worship I shall accept your worship and your vows, your sacrifices and your offerings. It will be in this place your men shall join in celebration and this shall be my representation on earth. Worship together. Sing praises together. Through this people and in this place, all men shall come to know me. I am the Lord and there is no other.
Live your lives and enjoy your families, but remember me and come together to celebrate with my children before me. You are not to do as we do here today, as everyone worships as he sees fit. The worship practices of man have gotten completely out of hand to the point some have even sacrificed their children. Therefore, I desire your worship as one body in one place. Your worship shall bring glory to my name, for I am the Lord your God and there is no other. When you come before me, present yourselves holy and blameless. But as you enjoy life together and eat of the bounty of my creation, share with one another regardless of purity. Yet honor my blessing to you by committing the lifeblood (speak of morality on earth, but eternal life is mine) back to the earth from whence it came in praise and thanksgiving. Do not partake in the lifeblood of any beast of creation. (The Spirit shall return to the Creator)
Eventually, David would choose Zion as His holy hill. Jerusalem would become the Holy city. The God of Israel would be revered by the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans. The city became a Christian city - yet would eventually fall into Muslim hands. As World War II ended, it became a holy city of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Eventually this God of the Israelites spoken of in the Bible will be understood and honored throughout the world as Savior and Lord as all nations as their people pilgramage to God's Holy Hill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM8dWbYgJeI&feature=related
Isaiah 45:18-24 For this is what the Lord says - he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited - he says: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right. "Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it - let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.' "All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame."
Wisdom 5:1-2 "Then shall the just one with great assurance confront his oppressors who set at nought his labors. Seeing this, they shall be shaken with dreadful fear, and amazed at the unlooked for salvation."
Response to Luke 8:22-39
Be Still and Know Luke 8:22-25 (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:36-41)
On March 26th, we reflected on the growing reputation of Jesus in response to John's question of Luke 20: "'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' "
Luke 4:32 "They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. Luke 4:36;" All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" Luke 5:15; "Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Luke 5:26; "Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." Luke 7:16; "They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people.". And yet, Luke 5:21; "The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Add to this the response of His own apostles as they witnessed His power even over wind and sea. Luke 8:25 states: "In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
As we face our own stormy seas, Jesus question from the same verse is still given to us today: "Where is your faith?" Listen as God speaks into our storm:
Psalm 46:6-10 "Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxx-c4dII7c
The Reality of d'evil Luke 8:26-39
If you are like me, passages like this one are difficult as we are not accustomed to witnessing demon possession. However, there are some among us that would have no problem believing in such evil as it is very present in their lives. I would not be surprised if I have even dealt with them in my own family and within myself. We just don't recognize them as such. The reality of our afflictions are with us everyday. They are a part of what makes us who we are.
Are these ghosts? Are they escapees from Hell? If that is the case, the power of Hell is immediately diminished as as it cannot hold evil. What does the very existence of these spirits have to say about the power of God? All these questions are beyond our understanding at present. What we do know is that they are real and that they abide under the authority of God.
Many within our world not only believe such a dimension exists, but invite such a dimension into their lives. This again becomes a matter of free will. Knowledge and history show that possessions can be passed down generational lines. They may take the form of possession, addiction, and very likely, mental, physical, and spiritual disease. The field of psychology should be very aware of their presence and take into account the spiritual dimension and power available through faith and prayer.
For this very reason, sorcery and witchcraft are spoken against within the Bible. The very temptation of Eve shows that the power of evil available to man has been around since the beginning of our era of history - which the Hebrew calendar claims was 5770 years ago. What came before requires the guesswork and theories of our imaginations while we remain in the flesh.
Deuteronomy 32:16-41 "They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God - gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 'I will hide my face from them,' he said, 'and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains. "I will heap calamities upon them and spend my arrows against them. I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign. Young men and young women will perish, infants and gray-haired men. I said I would scatter them and blot out their memory from mankind, but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, 'Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this.' "They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them.
If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be! How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede. Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness. Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras. "Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults? It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them." The Lord will judge his people and have compassion on his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free. He will say: "Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter! "See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. I lift my hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.
Perhaps man has more of a power within creation than He ever imagined. God created the heavens and the earth with the fruit of His Spirit, yet man wanted to know of good and evil and was given the power to create demons of faith and they are very real. We can choose to continue to grant them power, or we can release them back to the power and authority of God Almighty in repentance seeking forgiveness and choose to know only good.
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2003/20030210.htm "Gadara was one of the Decapolis, or 'Ten Cities,' Gadara can be found across the Yarmuk river valley opposite the sea of Galilee to the southeast, yet the land of the Gerasenes borders the sea of Galilee on the east side of the Jordan.
As mentioned, this passage shows the weakness of evil spirits in the face of the power of God. Being unclean spirits, it is worthy to note that although they begged not to be cast into the abyss, they entered swine and together rushed headlong into the abyss - and their destruction. The human being, thus cleansed, stood holy and clean before God Almighty who once again showed that he was mighty to save. He was found clean of body and soul, clothed anew and sitting at the feet of the master. Yet, they responded to the holiness of God with a similar reaction to Peter when He realized who this man was. "All the people of the region of the Gerasenes (center of Greek culture) asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear."
This man, now clean was not allowed to remain at the feet of Jesus, nor follow Him to distant lands. He was sent to his own culture and people to be a witness to the power and love and mercy of the One True God who had released him from his earthly demons.
Response to Psalm 70:1-5
So, what are your demons? What manifestations have you allowed to cloud your view of this God of Love? Are you held in bondage to fornication, impurity, greed, gluttony, covetousness, idolotry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, carousing, envy, drunkenness, adultery, lying, murder, dishonor, lust, anger, malice, filthy language, homosexuality, extra-marital sex, pornography, slander, swindling, judgment...?
Pray the words of this prayer and ask God to release you of these demons as you seek to know the Truth that He will make available to you.
Lord, deliver me! Lord, make haste to help me. Take away my shame and confusion from the demons that cloud my mind. Send them to the abyss in dishonor as they have kept my heart from you. Shame them for believing they could ever separate me from your love for eternity.
Lord, may all who thus seek thee find this joy of your salvation. May we join the mighty throng in singing How Great Thou Art! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQeAJYC-1Sk
Yet, I am weak and fragile Lord, and I stand in need of thy shelter and protection from the coming storms in my life. Be with me forever, I pray! Be my mighty rock and my fortress as I offer you my life forevermore.
Response to Proverbs 12:4
The first three verses of Proverbs 12 spoke of the man. This verse turns toward the woman, but does not leave the virtue of righteousness. She who stands firmly beside her Husband before God is a crowning jewel within the community bringing respect both to herself and her husband. Yet a loose woman is a disappointment and a concern for all.
Again, choose righteousness and faith. It will bless your life on earth until that day that our Father calls us home.
Until tommorow
Rick
Response to Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32
The Power of Love Deuteronomy 11
Matthew 22:37-40 "Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
List of verses on "Love thy neighbor"
(Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:5/10:12/11:1.13.22.27, Zechariah 3:7, Matthew 7:12/19:19/22:37-40, Mark 12:31, Luke 6:27-36/10:27, John 17:23, Romans 12:9-20/13:8-10, I Corinthians 8:9/9:19-23/13:1-13, Galatians 5:13-15, Ephesians 4:3/5:2, Colossians 3:14, I Thessalonians 4:9-10/5:8, I Timothy 1:5-8, Hebrews 5:12, James 2:8-9, I Peter 1:22-23/2:15-17, I John 1:5/3:10-24/4:7-21.
Who has time to name off all the references to these commandments in the Bible. I have done an exhaustive search and had to stop halfway through my list before finding all correlating verses. There are certainly more verses regarding that simple phrase "Love God + Love Man." Unfortunately, too many of the writers of the early church made the same mistake as Judaism and imagined the verses only referred to the brethren. The same mistake has been made by many Muslims. And, yet, when the prophets utter the words of salvation and redemption, they struggle not to include all of mankind. Indeed, as one reads the words of these passages, it becomes extremely clear that the command reflects our relations with all mankind. Without this understanding, there can never be peace among men. Without that purity in worship and deed, the man of God succombs to temptations of all sorts of disires of the flesh and never finds true peace with God.
We too can consider God's discipline, his majesty, his mighty hand and outstretched arm, his signs, the destruction of the enemy bringing lasting ruin as he covered them in the water of the Red Sea, how he destroyed self righteousness, and established his Kingdom. Yet, we see not only His power displayed through Moses as he dealt with Egypt and prepared the Israelites to cross over the Jordan, but also His power displayed through Jesus Christ as he dealt with sin and death and is preparing all men to cross over that threshold into the Kingdom of God Himself.
And yet, each of us must experience the milk and honey of true faith as we come into the Kingdom. We must provide that milk of love and the sweetness of hope and of joy and of peace as we welcome new believers into the fold. If we ever ere from that purity of faith and lose our fellowman, we must seek their forgiveness as we serve to honor our Father. Even when we speak of sin, we must have the courage to honor him by speaking with meekness and love. We must possess the courage to encourage. This is not new age or weak teaching, this appears throughout scripture to be the will and command of God.
If we will choose to follow this decree, we will find peace in our world. If we serve one another in love, our financial dispairity will disappear. Men and women will find the opportunity and the will to work and to take care of one another. Families will stay together and be bound together in honor and love. Wars will cease. Men will gather together to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs as brethren honor their Father in heaven - One God, One Family, One Unit. And God will greatly grant all the desires of our hearts. This has all been made possible by God through his offering and the willing participation of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, fill your hearts and minds with these virtues of love, joy, and peace. They are not effeminate, they are divine. Truly, through love, we find our breastplate of righteousness. Through peace, we carry a sword of valor. Through wisdom, we don a helmet towards salvation. Through honor, we find unity and blessing from Dad.
Zechariah 2:10-11; "'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the Lord. 'Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.'"
Zechariah 3 "Then he showed me Joshua (A variant of Jeshua) the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan (the accuser/adversary) standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?' (right out of hell on earth?)
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Take off his filthy clothes.' Then he said to Joshua, 'See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.' Then I said, 'Put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.
The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 'This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.'
'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes (facets) on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
'In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,' declares the Lord Almighty."
We've Got to Come Together Deuteronomy 12:1-32
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgfsTAk0oP4
It is worthwhile to compare our religions. I would highly recommend schools allow a realistic understanding of the various faiths of the world and set them up in comparison. As I have commented on Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, I have reflected how God spoke to Moses regarding many of the religious cultures which had developed from that first mention of worship in Genesis 4. Cain became jealous of God's apparent acceptance of Abel's sacrifice and disregard for his own. Thus, the jealousy over religious practice and who is greatest in the Kingdom of God began. God attemtpted to thwart the coming crisis in Genesis 4:6-7 "Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Cain disregarded the advice of God and took matters into his own hands:
Genesis 4:8-11; "Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?'
'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?'
The Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.'"
So, how can we know what is right so that we might be accepted? I suggest we compare the Bible to our other Holy Books. Forgetting for a moment that it stems from the Torah and is strongly Hebrew, it is difficult to imagine that it is not a collection of some of the oldest history available to man. For that reason alone, this book should be a mainstay of educating our children in the history of man. As an item of social studies, the Bible again, proves an invaluable tool as it is so strongly associated with well over half of the worlds populations. Any curriculum of history or social studies should as a necessity include a study of the Bible, the Koran, and the Bagavad Gita. As this represents a major portion of literature, perhaps speech class would also be a good venue as students could display their own culture and association within our blended societies.
The fact of the matter is, religion represents the history of man from earliest times. The knowledge of religions representation among us would serve to educate, rather than confuse the masses. Why do our religions reflect one another so closely and what has God said about how he would like to be honored.
Again, the Bible seems most clear and perhaps most beneficial to the masses as it calls for love and peace which we all have come to understand this is an absolute necessity for the survival of mankind. Therefore, perhaps we could easily move from the second command we have been considering (Love Man) and spend some time on Loving God.
According to the Bible, He chose to reveal his plan for redemption and salvation of the human race through Jesus Christ. In preparation, He spoke through the law and the prophets of the Jewish race as He brought them out of the historic culture of ancient Egypt and educated them amongst the cultures of ancient Arabia. He bestowed upon them a blessing, not based on their own righteousness, so that they could become a blessing both by their written word, their historical symbolism, the powerful display through their divine relationship, and through their omen of the promised child of redemption. They were blessed to be a blessing and to provide an answer for all of us of how God wished to be honored.
Genesis 18:17-19 Then the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
Deuteronomy 12 prepares symbolism as God speaks through Moses to all of humanity regarding this first commandment. Tear down the high places and remove the graven images. No longer imagine me to be a God of rain or thunder, of fertility or your beast of burden. I am so much more than any part of my creation. I no longer desire that you worship apart from one another, but to join as one around my table. I have chosen this people to unite all men. I grant them the priviledge to name a place of which I shall call my own. In that place I shall call all men unto me. It is here I shall unite my people. It is in this place of worship I shall accept your worship and your vows, your sacrifices and your offerings. It will be in this place your men shall join in celebration and this shall be my representation on earth. Worship together. Sing praises together. Through this people and in this place, all men shall come to know me. I am the Lord and there is no other.
Live your lives and enjoy your families, but remember me and come together to celebrate with my children before me. You are not to do as we do here today, as everyone worships as he sees fit. The worship practices of man have gotten completely out of hand to the point some have even sacrificed their children. Therefore, I desire your worship as one body in one place. Your worship shall bring glory to my name, for I am the Lord your God and there is no other. When you come before me, present yourselves holy and blameless. But as you enjoy life together and eat of the bounty of my creation, share with one another regardless of purity. Yet honor my blessing to you by committing the lifeblood (speak of morality on earth, but eternal life is mine) back to the earth from whence it came in praise and thanksgiving. Do not partake in the lifeblood of any beast of creation. (The Spirit shall return to the Creator)
Eventually, David would choose Zion as His holy hill. Jerusalem would become the Holy city. The God of Israel would be revered by the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans. The city became a Christian city - yet would eventually fall into Muslim hands. As World War II ended, it became a holy city of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Eventually this God of the Israelites spoken of in the Bible will be understood and honored throughout the world as Savior and Lord as all nations as their people pilgramage to God's Holy Hill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM8dWbYgJeI&feature=related
Isaiah 45:18-24 For this is what the Lord says - he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited - he says: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right. "Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it - let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.' "All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame."
Wisdom 5:1-2 "Then shall the just one with great assurance confront his oppressors who set at nought his labors. Seeing this, they shall be shaken with dreadful fear, and amazed at the unlooked for salvation."
Response to Luke 8:22-39
Be Still and Know Luke 8:22-25 (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:36-41)
On March 26th, we reflected on the growing reputation of Jesus in response to John's question of Luke 20: "'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' "
Luke 4:32 "They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. Luke 4:36;" All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" Luke 5:15; "Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Luke 5:26; "Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." Luke 7:16; "They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people.". And yet, Luke 5:21; "The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Add to this the response of His own apostles as they witnessed His power even over wind and sea. Luke 8:25 states: "In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
As we face our own stormy seas, Jesus question from the same verse is still given to us today: "Where is your faith?" Listen as God speaks into our storm:
Psalm 46:6-10 "Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxx-c4dII7c
The Reality of d'evil Luke 8:26-39
If you are like me, passages like this one are difficult as we are not accustomed to witnessing demon possession. However, there are some among us that would have no problem believing in such evil as it is very present in their lives. I would not be surprised if I have even dealt with them in my own family and within myself. We just don't recognize them as such. The reality of our afflictions are with us everyday. They are a part of what makes us who we are.
Are these ghosts? Are they escapees from Hell? If that is the case, the power of Hell is immediately diminished as as it cannot hold evil. What does the very existence of these spirits have to say about the power of God? All these questions are beyond our understanding at present. What we do know is that they are real and that they abide under the authority of God.
Many within our world not only believe such a dimension exists, but invite such a dimension into their lives. This again becomes a matter of free will. Knowledge and history show that possessions can be passed down generational lines. They may take the form of possession, addiction, and very likely, mental, physical, and spiritual disease. The field of psychology should be very aware of their presence and take into account the spiritual dimension and power available through faith and prayer.
For this very reason, sorcery and witchcraft are spoken against within the Bible. The very temptation of Eve shows that the power of evil available to man has been around since the beginning of our era of history - which the Hebrew calendar claims was 5770 years ago. What came before requires the guesswork and theories of our imaginations while we remain in the flesh.
Deuteronomy 32:16-41 "They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God - gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 'I will hide my face from them,' he said, 'and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains. "I will heap calamities upon them and spend my arrows against them. I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign. Young men and young women will perish, infants and gray-haired men. I said I would scatter them and blot out their memory from mankind, but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, 'Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this.' "They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them.
If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be! How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede. Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness. Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras. "Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults? It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them." The Lord will judge his people and have compassion on his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free. He will say: "Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter! "See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. I lift my hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.
Perhaps man has more of a power within creation than He ever imagined. God created the heavens and the earth with the fruit of His Spirit, yet man wanted to know of good and evil and was given the power to create demons of faith and they are very real. We can choose to continue to grant them power, or we can release them back to the power and authority of God Almighty in repentance seeking forgiveness and choose to know only good.
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2003/20030210.htm "Gadara was one of the Decapolis, or 'Ten Cities,' Gadara can be found across the Yarmuk river valley opposite the sea of Galilee to the southeast, yet the land of the Gerasenes borders the sea of Galilee on the east side of the Jordan.
As mentioned, this passage shows the weakness of evil spirits in the face of the power of God. Being unclean spirits, it is worthy to note that although they begged not to be cast into the abyss, they entered swine and together rushed headlong into the abyss - and their destruction. The human being, thus cleansed, stood holy and clean before God Almighty who once again showed that he was mighty to save. He was found clean of body and soul, clothed anew and sitting at the feet of the master. Yet, they responded to the holiness of God with a similar reaction to Peter when He realized who this man was. "All the people of the region of the Gerasenes (center of Greek culture) asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear."
This man, now clean was not allowed to remain at the feet of Jesus, nor follow Him to distant lands. He was sent to his own culture and people to be a witness to the power and love and mercy of the One True God who had released him from his earthly demons.
Response to Psalm 70:1-5
So, what are your demons? What manifestations have you allowed to cloud your view of this God of Love? Are you held in bondage to fornication, impurity, greed, gluttony, covetousness, idolotry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, carousing, envy, drunkenness, adultery, lying, murder, dishonor, lust, anger, malice, filthy language, homosexuality, extra-marital sex, pornography, slander, swindling, judgment...?
Pray the words of this prayer and ask God to release you of these demons as you seek to know the Truth that He will make available to you.
Lord, deliver me! Lord, make haste to help me. Take away my shame and confusion from the demons that cloud my mind. Send them to the abyss in dishonor as they have kept my heart from you. Shame them for believing they could ever separate me from your love for eternity.
Lord, may all who thus seek thee find this joy of your salvation. May we join the mighty throng in singing How Great Thou Art! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQeAJYC-1Sk
Yet, I am weak and fragile Lord, and I stand in need of thy shelter and protection from the coming storms in my life. Be with me forever, I pray! Be my mighty rock and my fortress as I offer you my life forevermore.
Response to Proverbs 12:4
The first three verses of Proverbs 12 spoke of the man. This verse turns toward the woman, but does not leave the virtue of righteousness. She who stands firmly beside her Husband before God is a crowning jewel within the community bringing respect both to herself and her husband. Yet a loose woman is a disappointment and a concern for all.
Again, choose righteousness and faith. It will bless your life on earth until that day that our Father calls us home.
Until tommorow
Rick
Sunday, March 28, 2010
March 28, 2010; Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22, Luke 8:4-21, Psalm 69:19-36, Proverbs 12:2-3
Response to Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22
"Faithing the Giants" Deuteronomy 9:1-5
Psalm 143:2-5 "Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.
Until we turn away from our own righteousness, God will leave us scurrying around and dying in the wilderness. Until we gather together in confession and call unto God in unity for Him to forgive our calumny against God and man, he will not attend to our needs. Children of God, we must lead the way in repentance, forgiveness and love and trust that God will attend to our battles. We must come before Him in worship and praise for all the things He has done and is yet to do.
Repentance and Forgiveness Deuteronomy 9:6-24
John 8:7 "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." If we feel that God has abandoned us, look again, He is writing in the sand. What He is writing is quite simple. "Love God + Love Man!" Stop breaking the rules.
Know therefore that the Lord your God is not going to solve your problems because of your righteousness, for we have provoked God! We are stubborn, greedy, and rebellious. We have cast our religions into beasts of burden that serve our own needs and understandings. We have cried out to God in complaint and judgment regarding our fellowman and we have put the Lord our God to the test. We have cast our God into a mold of wrath and judgment and told the world to be afraid, be very afraid.
Children of God, it is time to fall on our knees and confess our sins! It is time to grant forgiveness to our fellowman and to pray for salvation and forgiveness for all mankind with an understanding that we all stand united before our Loving Father who only asked that we Love Him and Love His children; all colors, all nations, all cultures. It is time to fast and pray and humble ourselves as members of humanity and ask them politely to join our cause.
A Second Chance Deuteronomy 10 (or 3rd or 4th...or...)
Carve out a place in your heart, your soul, your mind, and with all your strength write these words of the Lord into the core of your being. Love God + Love Man. If we want peace on earth, it is going to have to come from us. God will not provide this gift to us without our intent and forethought. Yet, he will bless our efforts. We did not go to war before our hate built up within us. We did not become bitter enemies until we allowed it to happen. God did not leave us, we fashioned our own ideologies. His word has not changed.
God gave us a simple constitution. Yet, as if 10 commandments were too difficult to understand - which they were, weren't they. Thankfully Jesus showed up and dummied them down for us. "Love God + Love Man." Religions have risen and fallen as fathers have died and children have reinterpreted religious practice. Aaron, Levites, Judaism, Christianity, Muslim, and other cultural practices throughout time. And yet, the basic law never changed.
Genesis 1:28 "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue (seduce) it. Man knew only of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, meekness, and self control. Yet, he yearned for more and degraded morality and worship. They succombed to envy, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, and murder. They hid from God in embarassment and eventually blamed him for their afflictions. And yet, salvation from all our problems on earth rest in that simple code. Love God + Love Man.
Therefore, oh man, what does the Lord require of you? First, remove your manhood! Remove your pride and your stubborness. Offer a sacrifice of body soul and spirit before the Lord your God. Humble yourselves before Him and bow before your God who never relinquished any part of heaven or earth except in your minds. Love the Lord your creator and your God. Serve him by seducing His creation. Love it! Care for it! Serve within it with faith, hope, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, meekness, and self control. Above all, care for the widow, the orphan, and the alien within your midst. God is a jealous God, visiting iniquity on all who would forsake His little children. Those on whom He has the greatest compassion.
Do you want peace on earth? Press God's buttons. Bow before Him with praise and thanksgiving. Humble yourself before God and man. Forgive men of their debts. Love your enemies. Help the widow, the orphan, and the alien. That's got to be my platform in politics and religion.
Response to Luke 8:4-21
Cultivating Children of God Luke 8:4-21 (Matthew 12:46-13:23, Mark 3:31-4:20)
In Matthew and Mark's telling of the parable of the sower, Jesus family was the beginning of this story. Luke shares their visit at the end. Regardless, I feel it is important to understand the fact that his Mother and brothers are present for all the crowd to see and to know this is an integral part of Jesus teachings regarding the parable of the sower. In addition, the sandwich of the telling of the story and the explanation of the story around the reason for parables in all three gospels is of major importance. Again, part of the fabric of this commentary is a separation of eternal salvation from salvation from adversity on earth. I truly believe the latter represents the majority of scripture, and that few have understood this meaning. And yet, it is "salvation from adversity on earth" on which I will comment.
As children of God, it is our responsibility to be sowers. Whatever we understand about the kingdom of God we naturally share with friends and neighbors. Some will be offended by our faith and will treat it as something of an oddity fit for scorn. Some may on occasion be inspired, yet fail to cultivate their interest through lack desire or opportunity to spend time learning more. Others may experience frustrations with faith due to religious impurities dealing with common temptations and adversities of life.
This should not be a surprise! Isaiah 8:9-10 described our world thus: "'You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' / This people's heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes."
Therefore, if someone seeks to join the family of God, He promises that He can be found. He has given us His word. By following Him, we can be nurtured within his presence daily. By spending time hearing his words, we may know and understand the secrets of the kingdom. But for those who refuse cultivation, even what they think they know will be taken from them.
To be considered a child of God, He says we must not only hear His word, but put it into practice. We must follow His law. If we claim to Love God, we must show that love by honoring Him with our lives and loving our fellowman. We must keep our soil tilled and ferilized in such a way that others are drawn by our fruit, and can enjoy the sweetness of our Lord.
Response to Psalm 69:19-36
A Lesson in Comparison and Contrast Psalm 69:19-36
Psalm 4:4-5 "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.
Ephesians 4:26-27 ""In your anger do not sin" Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Luke 6:32-37 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
Luke 23:33-37 "When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
Now, compare the words of the Psalmist with the word of the Lord. Tell me the words of Psalm 69:22-28 are not in direct contradiction with the words of Christ on the cross. He did not die to save himself, he died to save mankind! David's humanity is on display for all to see! Anybody in their right mind would be a fool to take Psalm 69:22-28 and choose to pattern their life according to those verses because someone said these were the word of God! The common bond of these two passages is the sourness of life represented by the vinegar - the afflictions we all deal with from humanity. Our prayer must be patterned after the contrast given by Jesus as his affliction would lead directly to His death and He prayed "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
God knows our shame. Our foes are well known to Him. He is well aware of our afflictions and pain. He has already granted eternal salvation. He expects nothing less than our praise and thanksgiving. He offers His love and forgiveness through our love and forgiveness of others. Through a heart of compassion and honor, he will release our chains. James 1:2-4 states "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Proverbs 12:1 claims: "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid."
Response to Proverbs 12:2-3
If we choose to honor our fellowman through our prayers, chances are quite good we will meet with God's favor. If we attempt to chastise or bring judgment upon our fellowman through our thoughts and prayers, we are bound to receive condemnation. Such condemnation serves to destroy a man and keep Him separated from the Love of God, but by seeking God's love and peace through expressing that love and peace with our fellowman, the foundation of our lives, families, communities, nations, and world shall be firmly established.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FHqzbI2pqY
Until Tomorrow
Rick
"Faithing the Giants" Deuteronomy 9:1-5
Psalm 143:2-5 "Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.
Until we turn away from our own righteousness, God will leave us scurrying around and dying in the wilderness. Until we gather together in confession and call unto God in unity for Him to forgive our calumny against God and man, he will not attend to our needs. Children of God, we must lead the way in repentance, forgiveness and love and trust that God will attend to our battles. We must come before Him in worship and praise for all the things He has done and is yet to do.
Repentance and Forgiveness Deuteronomy 9:6-24
John 8:7 "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." If we feel that God has abandoned us, look again, He is writing in the sand. What He is writing is quite simple. "Love God + Love Man!" Stop breaking the rules.
Know therefore that the Lord your God is not going to solve your problems because of your righteousness, for we have provoked God! We are stubborn, greedy, and rebellious. We have cast our religions into beasts of burden that serve our own needs and understandings. We have cried out to God in complaint and judgment regarding our fellowman and we have put the Lord our God to the test. We have cast our God into a mold of wrath and judgment and told the world to be afraid, be very afraid.
Children of God, it is time to fall on our knees and confess our sins! It is time to grant forgiveness to our fellowman and to pray for salvation and forgiveness for all mankind with an understanding that we all stand united before our Loving Father who only asked that we Love Him and Love His children; all colors, all nations, all cultures. It is time to fast and pray and humble ourselves as members of humanity and ask them politely to join our cause.
A Second Chance Deuteronomy 10 (or 3rd or 4th...or...)
Carve out a place in your heart, your soul, your mind, and with all your strength write these words of the Lord into the core of your being. Love God + Love Man. If we want peace on earth, it is going to have to come from us. God will not provide this gift to us without our intent and forethought. Yet, he will bless our efforts. We did not go to war before our hate built up within us. We did not become bitter enemies until we allowed it to happen. God did not leave us, we fashioned our own ideologies. His word has not changed.
God gave us a simple constitution. Yet, as if 10 commandments were too difficult to understand - which they were, weren't they. Thankfully Jesus showed up and dummied them down for us. "Love God + Love Man." Religions have risen and fallen as fathers have died and children have reinterpreted religious practice. Aaron, Levites, Judaism, Christianity, Muslim, and other cultural practices throughout time. And yet, the basic law never changed.
Genesis 1:28 "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue (seduce) it. Man knew only of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, meekness, and self control. Yet, he yearned for more and degraded morality and worship. They succombed to envy, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, and murder. They hid from God in embarassment and eventually blamed him for their afflictions. And yet, salvation from all our problems on earth rest in that simple code. Love God + Love Man.
Therefore, oh man, what does the Lord require of you? First, remove your manhood! Remove your pride and your stubborness. Offer a sacrifice of body soul and spirit before the Lord your God. Humble yourselves before Him and bow before your God who never relinquished any part of heaven or earth except in your minds. Love the Lord your creator and your God. Serve him by seducing His creation. Love it! Care for it! Serve within it with faith, hope, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, meekness, and self control. Above all, care for the widow, the orphan, and the alien within your midst. God is a jealous God, visiting iniquity on all who would forsake His little children. Those on whom He has the greatest compassion.
Do you want peace on earth? Press God's buttons. Bow before Him with praise and thanksgiving. Humble yourself before God and man. Forgive men of their debts. Love your enemies. Help the widow, the orphan, and the alien. That's got to be my platform in politics and religion.
Response to Luke 8:4-21
Cultivating Children of God Luke 8:4-21 (Matthew 12:46-13:23, Mark 3:31-4:20)
In Matthew and Mark's telling of the parable of the sower, Jesus family was the beginning of this story. Luke shares their visit at the end. Regardless, I feel it is important to understand the fact that his Mother and brothers are present for all the crowd to see and to know this is an integral part of Jesus teachings regarding the parable of the sower. In addition, the sandwich of the telling of the story and the explanation of the story around the reason for parables in all three gospels is of major importance. Again, part of the fabric of this commentary is a separation of eternal salvation from salvation from adversity on earth. I truly believe the latter represents the majority of scripture, and that few have understood this meaning. And yet, it is "salvation from adversity on earth" on which I will comment.
As children of God, it is our responsibility to be sowers. Whatever we understand about the kingdom of God we naturally share with friends and neighbors. Some will be offended by our faith and will treat it as something of an oddity fit for scorn. Some may on occasion be inspired, yet fail to cultivate their interest through lack desire or opportunity to spend time learning more. Others may experience frustrations with faith due to religious impurities dealing with common temptations and adversities of life.
This should not be a surprise! Isaiah 8:9-10 described our world thus: "'You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' / This people's heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes."
Therefore, if someone seeks to join the family of God, He promises that He can be found. He has given us His word. By following Him, we can be nurtured within his presence daily. By spending time hearing his words, we may know and understand the secrets of the kingdom. But for those who refuse cultivation, even what they think they know will be taken from them.
To be considered a child of God, He says we must not only hear His word, but put it into practice. We must follow His law. If we claim to Love God, we must show that love by honoring Him with our lives and loving our fellowman. We must keep our soil tilled and ferilized in such a way that others are drawn by our fruit, and can enjoy the sweetness of our Lord.
Response to Psalm 69:19-36
A Lesson in Comparison and Contrast Psalm 69:19-36
Psalm 4:4-5 "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.
Ephesians 4:26-27 ""In your anger do not sin" Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Luke 6:32-37 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
Luke 23:33-37 "When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
Now, compare the words of the Psalmist with the word of the Lord. Tell me the words of Psalm 69:22-28 are not in direct contradiction with the words of Christ on the cross. He did not die to save himself, he died to save mankind! David's humanity is on display for all to see! Anybody in their right mind would be a fool to take Psalm 69:22-28 and choose to pattern their life according to those verses because someone said these were the word of God! The common bond of these two passages is the sourness of life represented by the vinegar - the afflictions we all deal with from humanity. Our prayer must be patterned after the contrast given by Jesus as his affliction would lead directly to His death and He prayed "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
God knows our shame. Our foes are well known to Him. He is well aware of our afflictions and pain. He has already granted eternal salvation. He expects nothing less than our praise and thanksgiving. He offers His love and forgiveness through our love and forgiveness of others. Through a heart of compassion and honor, he will release our chains. James 1:2-4 states "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Proverbs 12:1 claims: "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid."
Response to Proverbs 12:2-3
If we choose to honor our fellowman through our prayers, chances are quite good we will meet with God's favor. If we attempt to chastise or bring judgment upon our fellowman through our thoughts and prayers, we are bound to receive condemnation. Such condemnation serves to destroy a man and keep Him separated from the Love of God, but by seeking God's love and peace through expressing that love and peace with our fellowman, the foundation of our lives, families, communities, nations, and world shall be firmly established.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FHqzbI2pqY
Until Tomorrow
Rick
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