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Heavenly Father, I ask that you would use the words of my mouth and that the thoughts and responses which may be generated here would be edifying to the body to your Glory and your Kingdom here on earth.
I must begin today by letting you know that I have no desire to bring glory to myself. I cherish your input and your challenge to my ideologies. However, it is my desire to study the Word of God, the Bible, the best selling book of all time. My ideas will conflict with many of yours as we study it together. That's exactly the point. I need you to challenge me - yourselves - in love.
Allow me to bring up perhaps the most challenging thought I have in relation to the faith I have grown up with. Unfortunately, when I state this, many choose to stop listening to my thoughts, and truly, I do not desire to cause quarreling, nor do I want to appear that I am so desperate for everyone to get along with me. Therefore, I thought I would provide some background to what has led me to this belief. Before listing my findings here, let me state my premise once again:
"I believe that the great and awesome day of the Lord which is coming is when God redeems all of Creation - that day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess the Lord Jesus to the Glory of God the Father!" (I'll share a peaceful concept of Armageddon when that topic arrives)
Few, if any, people I know agree. Last night I did a scripture study to back up this premise, but it got too late and I had to stop. Here is what I have so far, listed in order of how we find them in the Bible:
Numbers 21:8-9, Isaiah 29:22-24, Isaiah chapters 42-45, Isaiah 49:6, Isaiah 52:7-10, Isaiah 60:21, Luke 2:30-32, John 3:15-17, John 5:44-45, John 8:15-16, John 8:36, John 12:47, Acts 13:47, Acts 26:22-23, Romans 5:18, Romans 8:18-39, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:11-16, I John 4:7-11, I John 4:14, I John 5:16. I'll try to add some more tomorrow.
Needless to say, it is tough for me to swallow religions based on exclusionionary theology. That prepares us for our readings today. I hope to share these verses on my Twitter page @ TalkAboutLove2
Response to Exodus 17:8-19:15.
It is good to remember as we enter this passage that the Israelites left Egypt armed for battle. Therefore, they did have the spears with which to fight off the Amelakites. It is also good to notice that Joshua was the commander of the armed forces from the very beginning. This is the same Joshua that will take over Moses position as leader when the people enter the promised land.
God does mighty things when we lift up our hands and lift up those of our fellow man as they fight life's troubles. However, unfortunately, we see the same "my" tendancy of faith groups when they see the awesome power of God. It's great when Moses says of God; "The Lord is 'my' Banner." Absolutely! The Lord is mighty to save! He is our personal God, but He is not ours to keep or control. I personally would have rather heard Him say "The Lord is our Banner!" This power is yours for the asking - as long as you are operating according to His will. What is that will? That's a very good question! Let's find out together. I suggest it is the redemption of creation as mentioned above. Peace to Men on earth.
A second item of note I noticed is that Moses father-in-law was priest of Midian. This is the second time I noticed this so far this year. In Genesis 41:45 & 50 we were told that Joseph's father in law was Potiphera, priest of On (that is Heliopolis, Sun-city known for the worship of the Sun). I feel that Moses also mentions early mythology which was alive and well during his time in Egypt as seen in his mention of the Nephilim in Genesis 6:4. I feel it is important to be aware of Moses consistent mention of religious practice from earliest times. Beyond the Garden of Eden when man lived with God, the first mention of religious practice may be Genesis 4:26 during the life of Enosh, son of Seth. Religious practice was alive and well by the time the Israelites left Egypt. People knew of God and had many forms of worship and belief.
Something interesting happens now in our story! Moses is acting as prophet, priest, and judge for the people. Jethro supports him in his efforts to be God's representative to the people (prophet & priest), but recommends he delegate civil judgement amongst the people in a structured format. Later we will see the the priestly functions also are delegated amongst the Levite tribe, but Moses remains in the position of prophet.
We then watch as they set barriers up around the mountain and only Moses is allowed to enter the presence of God. Before doing so, the people are consecrated for three days. After 3 days, the Lord will come down..., we might just visit this concept of 3 days again - but that is left for another day. For now, work on consecration.
Don't miss Exodus 19:5-6; "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." The church should be known as the Kingdom of God as they serve their fellowman, but the United States should not be known as a Christian Nation as they attempt to dominate cultures. As a country, they certainly may act as a police nation, but should hesitate to claim they do it in the name of God as there has been no fleece and God does not need a military to serve His purposes.
Response to Matthew 22:34-23:12
It is fitting as we leave the Old Testament, that Moses has been set up as the spokesman for God. The beauty of the New Testament is that we are called - invited - to make this relationship personal.
We start by another summarization of the old Law by Jesus as he speaks witht he teachers of the law. In chapter 22:37-39, Jesus states: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (reference to Deut. 6:5)...And a second is like it; 'Love your neighbor as yourself! (reference to Lev. 19:18). This is similar to his statement earlier in Matthew 7:12; "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
Let's look at Matthew 22:44 which is in reference to Psalm 110:1; "The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." I could not help but to think that the seat at the right hand had been given to Jesus as He sits down next to our Heavenly Father. And then I thought - although David sees this as bringing the people of his Kingdom under his submission through violence & war, Jesus - the Prince of Peace (I know - broken record - but I believe this is so important!), will bring all people to Him through Love, Joy, Peace..., He's just waiting for us to figure it out and serve Him. Perhaps the weapons of war we are using today in Haiti, following the tragic earthquake can make all the difference.
Again, these are my thoughts and it is important you read the Bible for yourself and challenge these ideas. I relish Matthew 23:8 "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one teacher, the Christ (Messiah). What a different picture this is to Moses and the fiery mountain. If you have time, check out Hebrews 12:18-24.
Response to Psalms 27:7-14
Although I would like to quote this entire Psalm, let me again suggest you read it again as though Jesus were the one speaking, or that you were the one speaking. It is beautiful.
I will quote verse 13-14; "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." This reminds me of our reading from Matthew 22:32 yesterday: "He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
Response to Proverbs 6:27-35
Self control as a youth is tough enough, but shame on us if we have not mastered self control as older men. Sin destroys societies. The most beautiful gift God has given humanity is Love. The greatest expression of this is Sex. Abused, however, and it can be a source of the greatest pain. Perhaps you can relate to the pain you have felt from a broken relationship where sex was involved. Perhaps you have become numb to such pain, but I assure you, someone else feels it. The spurned lover, the desperate and lonely, the spouse and family broken by such an act. This is not only for married people, but for single also. What a gift we have to offer someone else. This is not a crime against God, this is a crime against self and society - but then again, aren't they all. We may be able to forgive stealing from the hungry, although they may face civil penalty - but to forgive adultery? That has to come from deep in the core of our being and is a tremendous source of hatred amongst brethren. If you haven't experience true love - and who has - you've missed out. If you've abused it, you can never have it again during your life on earth. Guaranteed, you won't be finding great sex in heaven by killing your fellow man. If you think so, you haven't read the Old Testament - and it is core to the majority of faith groups on earth today. Read it for yourself.
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Until tomorrow;
Rick
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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