"You must purge the evil from among you" seems to be a theme I am picking up on in Deuteronomy. I did a search on it on biblegateway.com and it found that phrase seven times - all in Deuteronomy. Here are the evils to be purged:
13:5 False prophet, someone who tries to turn Israel from the Lord
17:7 Worshipping other gods
19:19 Someone who testifies falsely (in this one not death, whatever bad he intended against the one he testified falsely against)
21:21 A rebellious son
22:21 A bride who is found not to be a virgin
22:24 A man sleeping with another man's wife - both are put to death
24:7 Someone who kidnaps as a slave or to be sold
There are other things where the Lord demands that they are to be stoned to death, but these are all the cases where he adds that they are doing so to purge the evil from among them.
This just points out to me God's holiness and his intolerance of sin. I am thankful for a risen Savior who washes our sins and paid the penalty.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Deuteronomy 19-21
Deuteronomy 21 talks about how to handle a rebellious son. He says to bring to the elders at the gate and tell them how rebellious he is. Then the whole town is to stone him to death! Whoa, can you imagine being that parent?
Honestly, my first thought was "I would never do that. Good things my parents didn't!" With this attitude am I really saying that my children are more important to me than obeying God? I started thinking about verse 21: "You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid."
I don't think that it pleases God for us to lose our children. But I think he is making a statement about how critical it is to purge evil from our lives. God needs to be the absolute most important thing. Family is important and is a gift from God, but even it cannot be more important to us than He is.
I understand the principle, I hope it's something that's never tested!
Honestly, my first thought was "I would never do that. Good things my parents didn't!" With this attitude am I really saying that my children are more important to me than obeying God? I started thinking about verse 21: "You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid."
I don't think that it pleases God for us to lose our children. But I think he is making a statement about how critical it is to purge evil from our lives. God needs to be the absolute most important thing. Family is important and is a gift from God, but even it cannot be more important to us than He is.
I understand the principle, I hope it's something that's never tested!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Deuteronomy 13-15
Deuteronomy 13 is about how passionate for purity we should be. God says that if we discover any false prophets that we should put them to death. I don't think that this is something that God expects from us now, but I think that he does expect us to not be around people who are trying to preach something besides Jesus as truth. How will we know if it is a false prophet? He just showed us a miraculous sign, after all. If he says "Let us follow other gods." I have recently been made aware of someone in my office who is a Mormon. This seems to me the classic example of something that kind of looks Christian, but adds to it and tries to entice people to worship other gods, so to speak. In response to this, I've been trying to do some google research on the beliefs of the Mormons. I'm going to try looking in some places besides the internet, but in the meantime I'll just pray often.
Deuteronomy 15 shows God's passion for taking care of the people around us. He talks about how important it is to take care of the poor.
Deuteronomy 15:10-11 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
I've had to really examine my own attitudes toward the poor. Having rental property I do run into poor people. They tell me all kinds of stories of why they can't pay rent. They try to deceive me and take advantage of me and it doesn't feel good. I don't want to be generous with them because then they've won, I've taught them how to take advantage. The Bible says not to think of it that way. Don't worry so much if you're being taken advantage of. Our responsibility is to take care of the poor. They know when they ask for a loan and it's almost the year of Jubilee that they won't be required to repay. The poor of that day also knew how to work the system. God didn't say to try to teach them a lesson in hard work, he says in verse 7 and 8"Do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs." and then in verse 10 "Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."
God knows that this person won't repay you, but what you're doing is good so He will repay you.
People above money - Lord open my eyes around me to people in need and help me not to be tightfisted with them.
Deuteronomy 15 shows God's passion for taking care of the people around us. He talks about how important it is to take care of the poor.
Deuteronomy 15:10-11 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
I've had to really examine my own attitudes toward the poor. Having rental property I do run into poor people. They tell me all kinds of stories of why they can't pay rent. They try to deceive me and take advantage of me and it doesn't feel good. I don't want to be generous with them because then they've won, I've taught them how to take advantage. The Bible says not to think of it that way. Don't worry so much if you're being taken advantage of. Our responsibility is to take care of the poor. They know when they ask for a loan and it's almost the year of Jubilee that they won't be required to repay. The poor of that day also knew how to work the system. God didn't say to try to teach them a lesson in hard work, he says in verse 7 and 8"Do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs." and then in verse 10 "Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."
God knows that this person won't repay you, but what you're doing is good so He will repay you.
People above money - Lord open my eyes around me to people in need and help me not to be tightfisted with them.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Deuteronomy 7-12, Mark 12
I know I may have said this many times before, but I continue to be amazed by the amount if time that the Bible gives to our attitude towards money. Deuteronomy 8 is a great example of that.
Deuteronomy 8:12-14. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18. You may say to yourself, " My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.". But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
The Lord is to be our focus, he is the source of our blessings. Although we may work hard and from that comes material blessings, we must not lose sight that our body and mind come from God - without him we have nothing.
Along wih this theme is Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
And in Mark 12 Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. Jesus answers in verse 30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." When the person who asked him this question agreed and said that it was more important than all burnt offerings Jesus says "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
So, even though Deuteronomy 10:12 makes it sound like not big deal, it's just loving him with all your heart and soul and then you're all set, I have been thinking all day about what does this mean. What does this mean to me today? What does this mean for my tomorrows? What does this mean to the way I raise my kids? What does this mean for how I do my job? What does this mean for how I greet my neighbors? What does it mean for church?
Do I study scripture differently when it's my way of getting to know Him, Him that I love with all my heart and strength? Do I listen differently to sermons on Sunday, which it's lessons on how to live when I love him with all my heart? Do I greet the beggar on the street differently, when he is made in the image of the One that I love with all my heart and strength? Do I behave differently at work, knowing that I am representing the One that I love? Is there any area of my life whatsoever that is the same? Is there any part of the day when I'm not thinking of Him?
Deuteronomy 8:12-14. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18. You may say to yourself, " My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.". But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
The Lord is to be our focus, he is the source of our blessings. Although we may work hard and from that comes material blessings, we must not lose sight that our body and mind come from God - without him we have nothing.
Along wih this theme is Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
And in Mark 12 Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. Jesus answers in verse 30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." When the person who asked him this question agreed and said that it was more important than all burnt offerings Jesus says "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
So, even though Deuteronomy 10:12 makes it sound like not big deal, it's just loving him with all your heart and soul and then you're all set, I have been thinking all day about what does this mean. What does this mean to me today? What does this mean for my tomorrows? What does this mean to the way I raise my kids? What does this mean for how I do my job? What does this mean for how I greet my neighbors? What does it mean for church?
Do I study scripture differently when it's my way of getting to know Him, Him that I love with all my heart and strength? Do I listen differently to sermons on Sunday, which it's lessons on how to live when I love him with all my heart? Do I greet the beggar on the street differently, when he is made in the image of the One that I love with all my heart and strength? Do I behave differently at work, knowing that I am representing the One that I love? Is there any area of my life whatsoever that is the same? Is there any part of the day when I'm not thinking of Him?
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Numbers 35-36, Mark 10
In Mark 10:14-15 Jesus says "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
In The Message it says "Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."
As a mother of young children, it makes me ponder which character traits Jesus is referring to. The Message is on to something in the simple way that children see the world. They don't ponder deep theology and argue about the fine points. When people pass by on the street, they say hi to absolutely everybody. They don't see the people who are poor and dirty as anything but people who probably want to hear about their stuffed dog, the same as the well dressed guy in the nice car. Ethan is pretty sure that we should have a cross mounted on the top of our house to make sure that everyone knows about Jesus. It's not a part of themselves that only comes out on Sunday, they wouldn't know how to make the separation between their religious selves and the part of themselves they can talk about freely. It's all just matter-of-factly part of them.
Interestingly, this story in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke transitions right into the story of the rich man. As I read the scriptures this is the theme that seems to be the most talked about: money needs to be prioritized after God and people. The theme of the whole chapter seems to be the first will be last and the last first. Children do not depend on money. To my kids, quarters are something that is kind of fun to spin on the table. To this rich man it means more to him than the kingdom of God. How do we go from here to there? In a word: slowly. So slowly that we don't realize that now it means more to us than God does.
I am grateful to God for this journey of "training" and bringing this point before me often. I want to be more like the child and less like the rich man.
In The Message it says "Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."
As a mother of young children, it makes me ponder which character traits Jesus is referring to. The Message is on to something in the simple way that children see the world. They don't ponder deep theology and argue about the fine points. When people pass by on the street, they say hi to absolutely everybody. They don't see the people who are poor and dirty as anything but people who probably want to hear about their stuffed dog, the same as the well dressed guy in the nice car. Ethan is pretty sure that we should have a cross mounted on the top of our house to make sure that everyone knows about Jesus. It's not a part of themselves that only comes out on Sunday, they wouldn't know how to make the separation between their religious selves and the part of themselves they can talk about freely. It's all just matter-of-factly part of them.
Interestingly, this story in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke transitions right into the story of the rich man. As I read the scriptures this is the theme that seems to be the most talked about: money needs to be prioritized after God and people. The theme of the whole chapter seems to be the first will be last and the last first. Children do not depend on money. To my kids, quarters are something that is kind of fun to spin on the table. To this rich man it means more to him than the kingdom of God. How do we go from here to there? In a word: slowly. So slowly that we don't realize that now it means more to us than God does.
I am grateful to God for this journey of "training" and bringing this point before me often. I want to be more like the child and less like the rich man.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Numbers 32-34
These chapters start with the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh asking if they could take their inheritance on the side of the Jordan River that they were on already. This angers Moses because he thinks they are asking this to avoid the war that is involved in taking the countries on the other side. They promise to go to war with them, but would still like to settle on this side of the Jordan. This satisfies Moses and he allows it as their inheritance.
The next chapter is a summary of everywhere that they have camped since they left Egypt, living like Nomads wandering the desert.
The next chapter the Lord gives the boundaries of the land they are to conquer and assigns leaders to the 12 tribes.
I kept thinking "I wish I had a map! I have no idea what this all means." Then I remembered: I have google. I found a map and an interesting article about the archaeological support (or lack thereof) for the story told in the bible.
This is one of those days that I just find interesting. I didn't come across any new truth for my life, it was more a history lesson, but I think it is important in helping me to understand the context of the things to come.
The next chapter is a summary of everywhere that they have camped since they left Egypt, living like Nomads wandering the desert.
The next chapter the Lord gives the boundaries of the land they are to conquer and assigns leaders to the 12 tribes.
I kept thinking "I wish I had a map! I have no idea what this all means." Then I remembered: I have google. I found a map and an interesting article about the archaeological support (or lack thereof) for the story told in the bible.
This is one of those days that I just find interesting. I didn't come across any new truth for my life, it was more a history lesson, but I think it is important in helping me to understand the context of the things to come.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Numbers 26-31, Mark 8-9
When the Israelites rebelled in the desert they Lord told them that they would all die and only their children would see the promised land. Now all are dead except for Caleb and Joshua, the spies who trusted the Lord. Therefore they took a new census as they prepared for war. Moses too was told that he would not be entering the promised land because of he failed to honor God as holy n front of Israel when bringing water from the rock. At this time God tells him to appoint Joshua as his replacement, the man to lead Israel when they go out and when they come in. I wonder how old he is, since all his peers are dead. Or did the Lord cause the other generation to die more quickly except for Caleb and Joshua? There were stories of plagues, so maybe so.
The Lord commands Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites. They had sent their women to seduce the men and cause them to worship their gods after Balaam refused to curse them. The Israelites fought the Midianites and killed every man. The Bible makes a special point of mentioning that when they killed every man, they also killed Balaam. I don't know why this bothers me except for he had been an example to me of someone who followed the Lord and had a relationship with Him that wasn't an Israelite. He was an example to me of how Israel was an example to the world of the Lord's power and a tool used by him to show Himself to the world, but not that worshipping him was reserved only for the Israelites. "Look", I thought "here is a man who is known as a prophet among these people who God honors his curses and blessings. God tells him what to say and where to go." I would have thought that God would save him from dying by the sword to repay his faithfulness. I wonder why he did not.
Mark 8:35-38 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.
I'm trying to let this soak in. I am trying to think how this translates into how I should live my life. I do try to be good at my job, but I don't think that this verse is saying there's anything wrong with it - unless I compromise my relationship with Jesus to profit in this life. I don't really read anything in the Bible that says "if you believe in me, suddenly life will become so much easier". That's why we do this spiritual training. When the hard times come (and they will) we are spiritually fit enough where we can weather the hard times and persecution.
I often feel like the Father described in Mark 9:22-24 who says to Jesus "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
This is my prayer today as well: "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"
The Lord commands Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites. They had sent their women to seduce the men and cause them to worship their gods after Balaam refused to curse them. The Israelites fought the Midianites and killed every man. The Bible makes a special point of mentioning that when they killed every man, they also killed Balaam. I don't know why this bothers me except for he had been an example to me of someone who followed the Lord and had a relationship with Him that wasn't an Israelite. He was an example to me of how Israel was an example to the world of the Lord's power and a tool used by him to show Himself to the world, but not that worshipping him was reserved only for the Israelites. "Look", I thought "here is a man who is known as a prophet among these people who God honors his curses and blessings. God tells him what to say and where to go." I would have thought that God would save him from dying by the sword to repay his faithfulness. I wonder why he did not.
Mark 8:35-38 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.
I'm trying to let this soak in. I am trying to think how this translates into how I should live my life. I do try to be good at my job, but I don't think that this verse is saying there's anything wrong with it - unless I compromise my relationship with Jesus to profit in this life. I don't really read anything in the Bible that says "if you believe in me, suddenly life will become so much easier". That's why we do this spiritual training. When the hard times come (and they will) we are spiritually fit enough where we can weather the hard times and persecution.
I often feel like the Father described in Mark 9:22-24 who says to Jesus "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
This is my prayer today as well: "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"
Friday, July 16, 2010
Numbers 20-25, Mark 7
In my reading today Israel is starting to make it's way to the promised land and having to fight with some of the people around them to do so. They've killed all the people of a few different groups and this is making the others nervous. Israel asks merely to travel through, but the kings refuse and this is when they fight. Balak, the king of Moab, knows that Balaam is a man who "those you bless are blessed, ad those you curse are cursed" and wants Israel to be cursed. The Lord prevents him from cursing Israel and so Moab decides a different plan. They try to entice Israel to worship their gods and seduce them with their women.
Numbers 25:3 So Israel joined in worshipping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them.
As Moses gives the command to kill those involved in this practice, right before their eyes an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into his tent. This so angers Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, that he follows them in with a spear and drove the spear through both of them at once. This vigor for defending the Lord stopped the plague (I'm catching on the "The Lord's anger burned" means he sent a plague on them) .
Numbers 25:11 (the Lord speaking) "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them."
This really got me thinking. Do I zealously defend the Lord's honor? I'm not going to spear anyone, of course, but I wonder if there's more that we can do? We don't bow down to other idols, but we do sometimes like sex and money more than we should.
Colossians 3:5-6 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Admonish, not in judgement, but in love.
Open my eyes Lord to things that dishonor you. Give me wisdom for what you would call me to do to defend your honor.
Honestly, this makes me very uncomfortable. The idea of admonishing another Christian makes me very nervous. Who do I think that I am? My interpretation of the Bible is better than theirs? Mostly I pray for wisdom to be sure that I am truly doing what God is calling me to do for his honor. The case of Phinehas it was so clear that what this man was doing was causing the Lord's anger. May the Lord give me the same clarity and the same zeal.
Numbers 25:3 So Israel joined in worshipping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them.
As Moses gives the command to kill those involved in this practice, right before their eyes an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into his tent. This so angers Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, that he follows them in with a spear and drove the spear through both of them at once. This vigor for defending the Lord stopped the plague (I'm catching on the "The Lord's anger burned" means he sent a plague on them) .
Numbers 25:11 (the Lord speaking) "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them."
This really got me thinking. Do I zealously defend the Lord's honor? I'm not going to spear anyone, of course, but I wonder if there's more that we can do? We don't bow down to other idols, but we do sometimes like sex and money more than we should.
Colossians 3:5-6 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Admonish, not in judgement, but in love.
Open my eyes Lord to things that dishonor you. Give me wisdom for what you would call me to do to defend your honor.
Honestly, this makes me very uncomfortable. The idea of admonishing another Christian makes me very nervous. Who do I think that I am? My interpretation of the Bible is better than theirs? Mostly I pray for wisdom to be sure that I am truly doing what God is calling me to do for his honor. The case of Phinehas it was so clear that what this man was doing was causing the Lord's anger. May the Lord give me the same clarity and the same zeal.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Numbers 17-19
God responds to the rebellion of the Israelites against Moses and Aaron by affirming Aaron. All the leaders of all the tribes put their names on their staffs and then put them in the Tent of Meeting, where God lives. The one he affirms as leader will sprout. Aaron's staff not only sprouted but also blossomed and produced almonds!
The Israelites were trying to say that some others were sent by God, so this sign affirming Aaron told them (beyond the ground swallowing the others, I guess) that they were wrong. They respond in mortal fear "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?"
It makes me wonder: is this how I respond to correction? God goes into details on cleansing from sin by burning a red heifer. This is how he wants them to respond, he wants them to seek forgiveness. Do I respond in fear? Or do I respond by humbly asking for forgiveness?
The Israelites were trying to say that some others were sent by God, so this sign affirming Aaron told them (beyond the ground swallowing the others, I guess) that they were wrong. They respond in mortal fear "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?"
It makes me wonder: is this how I respond to correction? God goes into details on cleansing from sin by burning a red heifer. This is how he wants them to respond, he wants them to seek forgiveness. Do I respond in fear? Or do I respond by humbly asking for forgiveness?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Numbers 15-16, Mark 6
One thing that I have learned from this "training log" that I wasn't necessarily expecting, is that although I started a blog to give me some public accountability, but what I have learned is that doing a journal like this forces me (if that's the right word) to think about what I'm reading and what it's teaching me about the character of God and how to live my life in a way that pleases him.
Numbers 15 and 16 is the story of a man who gathered firewood on the Sabbath and the Lord commanded that he be stoned to death for his disobedience. The next story is the story of a rebellion against Moses and Aaron where God caused the earth to open up and swallow the rebel men and their families. When this happened the Israelites didn't repent, they grumbled against Moses and Aaron saying "You have killed the Lord's people". God made straight who were his people by striking them with a plague that killed 14,700 people.
This is on the heels of the story of the spies sent to look at the land they were heading two where only two of the twelve spies had faith that the Lord could give the land to them, all the rest thought the people already there were too powerful for them. These people experienced the 10 plagues in Egypt and the parting of the red sea. It causes me to think of times when I doubt. Times when I say "I know the Lord was faithful before, but this is different. I'm not sure I can trust him with this."
Mark 6 has the story of Jesus walking on the water to meet the disciples. Vs 51-52 says "Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened."
What? The disciples, who had witness miracle and miracle and heard as he preached wisdom to the people. The disciples, who had just gotten back from a mission to preach repentance where they also were given the ability to drive out demons and heal sick people. Their hearts were hardened?
Lord, open my eyes and heart so that I am not like the Israelites or the disciples: witnessing your power but not believing. Help me to believe.
Numbers 15 and 16 is the story of a man who gathered firewood on the Sabbath and the Lord commanded that he be stoned to death for his disobedience. The next story is the story of a rebellion against Moses and Aaron where God caused the earth to open up and swallow the rebel men and their families. When this happened the Israelites didn't repent, they grumbled against Moses and Aaron saying "You have killed the Lord's people". God made straight who were his people by striking them with a plague that killed 14,700 people.
This is on the heels of the story of the spies sent to look at the land they were heading two where only two of the twelve spies had faith that the Lord could give the land to them, all the rest thought the people already there were too powerful for them. These people experienced the 10 plagues in Egypt and the parting of the red sea. It causes me to think of times when I doubt. Times when I say "I know the Lord was faithful before, but this is different. I'm not sure I can trust him with this."
Mark 6 has the story of Jesus walking on the water to meet the disciples. Vs 51-52 says "Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened."
What? The disciples, who had witness miracle and miracle and heard as he preached wisdom to the people. The disciples, who had just gotten back from a mission to preach repentance where they also were given the ability to drive out demons and heal sick people. Their hearts were hardened?
Lord, open my eyes and heart so that I am not like the Israelites or the disciples: witnessing your power but not believing. Help me to believe.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Numbers 3-6, Mark 4
The beginning of Mark 4 is the Parable of the Sower. The story says that there is a farmer who sows seed. Some gets eaten by birds, some is sown in shallow soil, some is choked by weeds, and some fell on fertile soil that grew and produced a crop and multiplied. This story is about our hearts, and how receptive we are to the word.
Mark 4:18-19 says "Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful."
I find this interesting in. The seed doesn't die, like the seed eaten by the bird or in shallow soil. It's still there, it's just doing nothing. It is unfruitful. And what makes it unfruitful? Being distracted by things that are temporary. What does it mean to be fruitful? I looked up "fruit" to see other references to it in the bible. Some that are explanatory to me are:
Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
Ephesians 5:8-9 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)."
Colossians 1:6 All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.
It seems that there are two kinds of fruit: internal and external. Internal fruit being the fruits of the spirit, being a better person as you could only be as brought about by the Spirit of the Lord. The external fruit is spreading the gospel and growing the church.
I think it's interesting that money is brought up here - again. The deceitfulness of wealth. What does this mean? How is wealth deceitful? In my opinion, wealth promises things will be easier, things will be better, the more money you have the happier you are. So we pursue it. We want the stuff. If only my house was bigger, my car was better, my clothes were nicer; maybe then. In my time in public accounting I saw many wealthy people. Some of them were happy and had great families and friends and others had very messed up family lives. Money does not create or prevent happiness. It's easy to get caught in the trap that if we just had more stuff we'd be happier so be careful when you think about money.
Dear Lord, help me to hear the word and accept it. Please help me to bear fruit: thirtyfold, sixty, or a hundred.
Mark 4:18-19 says "Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful."
I find this interesting in. The seed doesn't die, like the seed eaten by the bird or in shallow soil. It's still there, it's just doing nothing. It is unfruitful. And what makes it unfruitful? Being distracted by things that are temporary. What does it mean to be fruitful? I looked up "fruit" to see other references to it in the bible. Some that are explanatory to me are:
Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
Ephesians 5:8-9 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)."
Colossians 1:6 All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.
It seems that there are two kinds of fruit: internal and external. Internal fruit being the fruits of the spirit, being a better person as you could only be as brought about by the Spirit of the Lord. The external fruit is spreading the gospel and growing the church.
I think it's interesting that money is brought up here - again. The deceitfulness of wealth. What does this mean? How is wealth deceitful? In my opinion, wealth promises things will be easier, things will be better, the more money you have the happier you are. So we pursue it. We want the stuff. If only my house was bigger, my car was better, my clothes were nicer; maybe then. In my time in public accounting I saw many wealthy people. Some of them were happy and had great families and friends and others had very messed up family lives. Money does not create or prevent happiness. It's easy to get caught in the trap that if we just had more stuff we'd be happier so be careful when you think about money.
Dear Lord, help me to hear the word and accept it. Please help me to bear fruit: thirtyfold, sixty, or a hundred.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Numbers 1-2, Mark 3
Numbers 1 is the counting of the Israelites by tribe: 603,550 in all. Numbers 2 is the instruction of how they should line up and camp. While it is kind of interesting, I'm unclear as to the wording they use. Before each number of each tribe they say "All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families." This, by itself, is not curious to me, but that it was repeated over and over is.
One of the stories of Mark 3 is the pharisees accusing Jesus of being possessed by Satan and that is what empowers him to drive out demons. Jesus responds that this doesn't make sense, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Then he says that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a sin without forgiveness.
What? There is a sin without forgiveness? I've read this passage before, but still didn't feel like I understood it so I started looking at commentaries online and googling and ran across this blog post that helped me to understand. The unforgivable sin
Here's an exerpt:
"So in my opinion, the unforgivable sin, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, consists in misusing one’s training and education in the Scriptures to publicly and knowingly slander the Holy Spirit by misleading people into thinking that He is Satan. Clearly no one who does this can be forgiven, because it is through the Holy Spirit that we are forgiven. Also, no one who thinks that the Holy Spirit is Satan will permit himself to be guided by Him or filled with Him or given gifts by Him. So just as pulling the main breaker in your house means that you can never receive electricity, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit means that you can never receive forgiveness, because it turns off the tap through which forgiveness flows!"
We are to live the exact opposite. Our life is meant to exist to bring glory to God! I just want to learn how to do that better.
One of the stories of Mark 3 is the pharisees accusing Jesus of being possessed by Satan and that is what empowers him to drive out demons. Jesus responds that this doesn't make sense, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Then he says that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a sin without forgiveness.
What? There is a sin without forgiveness? I've read this passage before, but still didn't feel like I understood it so I started looking at commentaries online and googling and ran across this blog post that helped me to understand. The unforgivable sin
Here's an exerpt:
"So in my opinion, the unforgivable sin, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, consists in misusing one’s training and education in the Scriptures to publicly and knowingly slander the Holy Spirit by misleading people into thinking that He is Satan. Clearly no one who does this can be forgiven, because it is through the Holy Spirit that we are forgiven. Also, no one who thinks that the Holy Spirit is Satan will permit himself to be guided by Him or filled with Him or given gifts by Him. So just as pulling the main breaker in your house means that you can never receive electricity, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit means that you can never receive forgiveness, because it turns off the tap through which forgiveness flows!"
We are to live the exact opposite. Our life is meant to exist to bring glory to God! I just want to learn how to do that better.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Leviticus 26-27 , Mark 2
Leviticus 26 starts out describing the life of the Israelites if they love and obey him: a utopia. Plenty of food, no wild animals, and enemies flee before them. And then it goes on to describe what life will be like if they are disobedient: the land will not be productive, enemies will eat their food, they'll flee before enemies that aren't even there, always looking over their shoulder. The land will get its sabbath when enemies carry them away and leave the land without inhabitants. I can understand why people would think that when bad things happen it is a curse from the Lord for disobedience. We know how this story ends. Israel is very disobedient and God causes other countries to carry them off. But all the bad things that happen are meant to bring them back to repentance. Even in the bad things, God means it for good.
In Mark 2 Jesus begins to let the teachers of the law know that he is God by not only healing but also forgiving sin. This is the story of the paralyzed man whose friends lower him down through the roof to see Jesus. Jesus healed many people. but why does he look at this man and say "Son, your sins are forgiven"? He must have known that this man needed to hear that, that he needed forgiveness. And then to prove his authority he also heals the man. Verse 12 says "This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" It must have been Jesus' preaching that caused them to give glory to God for this, or how would they know who to give the credit to?
And then, this man that claims to be God - he calls a tax collector to be his disciple and then eats with "sinners". He sure is breaking all the rules about what it means to be religious! I think that we, today's Christians, can learn from this lesson especially. I don't think that "sinners" should be our counselors and best friends, but they should be people that we spend time with and try to show them God's hope.
I do have a person that I work with often that I know goes to church because he thinks it will make his kids better people, but doesn't understand that we go to church to spend time with other believers and to celebrate this awesome God that we serve. If you take just the morality, you miss the real prize: our precious Savior. He himself is our prize. Jesus spent time with unbelievers and talked to them about what it meant to follow God. I've been feeling him call me to just have lunch and talk to him what and why I believe. It's kind of scary to do something like this! But this is part of training for a crown that lasts.
In Mark 2 Jesus begins to let the teachers of the law know that he is God by not only healing but also forgiving sin. This is the story of the paralyzed man whose friends lower him down through the roof to see Jesus. Jesus healed many people. but why does he look at this man and say "Son, your sins are forgiven"? He must have known that this man needed to hear that, that he needed forgiveness. And then to prove his authority he also heals the man. Verse 12 says "This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" It must have been Jesus' preaching that caused them to give glory to God for this, or how would they know who to give the credit to?
And then, this man that claims to be God - he calls a tax collector to be his disciple and then eats with "sinners". He sure is breaking all the rules about what it means to be religious! I think that we, today's Christians, can learn from this lesson especially. I don't think that "sinners" should be our counselors and best friends, but they should be people that we spend time with and try to show them God's hope.
I do have a person that I work with often that I know goes to church because he thinks it will make his kids better people, but doesn't understand that we go to church to spend time with other believers and to celebrate this awesome God that we serve. If you take just the morality, you miss the real prize: our precious Savior. He himself is our prize. Jesus spent time with unbelievers and talked to them about what it meant to follow God. I've been feeling him call me to just have lunch and talk to him what and why I believe. It's kind of scary to do something like this! But this is part of training for a crown that lasts.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Leviticus 25, Mark 1
Leviticus 25 is the Lord's commands about giving the land a rest every 7 years and having a year of Jubilee every 50 years. In the year of Jubilee all the land sold within the time frame goes back to the original family who had owned it. Sales price for land is calculated based upon the number of year left until the year of Jubilee, knowing that it will be going back to the original owner at that time. I find this interesting, especially since they hadn't settled in their land yet.
Mark 1 is the beginning of Jesus' ministry. It starts with John telling people to repent of their sins and then he would baptize them. I thought it was a little weird, to be honest, not being familiar with the Jewish culture. Why would he start a ritual of river dunking? So, good 'ole google to the rescue. I found out that it was based on the purification ritual from the priests when people made the required sacrifice and went from unclean to clean. Well, that's just what I was reading about in Leviticus. I wasn't excited about reading that, but I like that it's given me better understanding of other parts of scripture. So John is acting as a priest and cleansing people from their sins. Maybe this is why verse 14 says so matter of factly "After John was put in prison" as I can see where this would be very offensive to the Jewish people. The sons of Aaron were put to death for doing ceremonies they were not supposed to perform, after all.
The other story that was impactful to me was the calling of the disciples. They must have had some familiarity with Jesus because when he called out to them on a boat they immediately left their nets and followed him. This made me thing. When Jesus calls to me, do I drop everything that I am doing for something more important? Or do I tell him to wait a minute, I'm busy?
Mark 1 is the beginning of Jesus' ministry. It starts with John telling people to repent of their sins and then he would baptize them. I thought it was a little weird, to be honest, not being familiar with the Jewish culture. Why would he start a ritual of river dunking? So, good 'ole google to the rescue. I found out that it was based on the purification ritual from the priests when people made the required sacrifice and went from unclean to clean. Well, that's just what I was reading about in Leviticus. I wasn't excited about reading that, but I like that it's given me better understanding of other parts of scripture. So John is acting as a priest and cleansing people from their sins. Maybe this is why verse 14 says so matter of factly "After John was put in prison" as I can see where this would be very offensive to the Jewish people. The sons of Aaron were put to death for doing ceremonies they were not supposed to perform, after all.
The other story that was impactful to me was the calling of the disciples. They must have had some familiarity with Jesus because when he called out to them on a boat they immediately left their nets and followed him. This made me thing. When Jesus calls to me, do I drop everything that I am doing for something more important? Or do I tell him to wait a minute, I'm busy?
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Leviticus 23-24
Leviticus 23 is the Lord telling Moses about the Festivals that they are to observe, which I thought was a fun thing to learn about as we prepare to celebrate 4th of July. Passover, seems to me, is similar to 4th of July in that they both are celebrating independence from another country. However, Passover was a much bigger deal to the Israelites. The Lord mightily delivering them from the Egyptians by using many miracles. He established this time to remind the Israelites of his power and his care for them.
Leviticus 24 tells the story of a man who gets into a fight and during this fight he blasphemed the Name of the Lord with a curse. The punishment for this was for all of the people who heard him to lay hands on his head and then the whole community stoned him to death. vs. 16 "Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel." Whoa, he takes this very seriously! One thing that I think I'm learning from Leviticus is how holy God is. We love him, we serve him because that is the best life and not because we are afraid of him. Having said that, we should fear him. Not in the way we fear monster, aliens, and wild animals but in the way that we fear the President. We respect the position that he is in and because of that we have fear when we bring shame to that office. There are obvious flaws to that parallel, I know. I think sometimes we focus so much on the God that loves us (and he does) that we forget that he is all-powerful and he really hates sin. He doesn't laugh it off. He wants us to take it seriously also which is why he has Israel take part in the punishment of the blasphemer.
God, please expose any sin in my life and help me to take it as seriously as you do.
Leviticus 24 tells the story of a man who gets into a fight and during this fight he blasphemed the Name of the Lord with a curse. The punishment for this was for all of the people who heard him to lay hands on his head and then the whole community stoned him to death. vs. 16 "Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel." Whoa, he takes this very seriously! One thing that I think I'm learning from Leviticus is how holy God is. We love him, we serve him because that is the best life and not because we are afraid of him. Having said that, we should fear him. Not in the way we fear monster, aliens, and wild animals but in the way that we fear the President. We respect the position that he is in and because of that we have fear when we bring shame to that office. There are obvious flaws to that parallel, I know. I think sometimes we focus so much on the God that loves us (and he does) that we forget that he is all-powerful and he really hates sin. He doesn't laugh it off. He wants us to take it seriously also which is why he has Israel take part in the punishment of the blasphemer.
God, please expose any sin in my life and help me to take it as seriously as you do.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Leviticus 21-22, Matthew 28
Leviticus 21-22 is the instruction of priests on when they can and cannot eat the holy food. The thing that impressed me the most is that the priests are held to a higher standard or behavior. This reminded me of another passage:
James 3:1 Dear Brothers and sisters, no many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.
I think the reason for this is stated in the first part of Leviticus 21:6 "They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God." The priests are who people look at as the strongest representation of God, and as his representative he holds them to a higher standard. This is not something to be afraid of, but to be aware of and aspire to be the best representative that we can, being aware that our behavior reflects on what people think of our savior.
I was reading someone else's blog this morning about how we worry so much about drinking alcohol, women in office, music style but hardly any time thinking about how to reach the lost in our world. This lead right into my reading of Matthew 28 which ends with the great commission.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
I've been giving a lot of thought as to what this means as a practical thing in my life. Our church is choosing 3 people to pray for for a year - that's a start. God, give me eyes to see the lost around me. God me your courage to talk to them and remind me that you are with me always, even to the end of the age.
James 3:1 Dear Brothers and sisters, no many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.
I think the reason for this is stated in the first part of Leviticus 21:6 "They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God." The priests are who people look at as the strongest representation of God, and as his representative he holds them to a higher standard. This is not something to be afraid of, but to be aware of and aspire to be the best representative that we can, being aware that our behavior reflects on what people think of our savior.
I was reading someone else's blog this morning about how we worry so much about drinking alcohol, women in office, music style but hardly any time thinking about how to reach the lost in our world. This lead right into my reading of Matthew 28 which ends with the great commission.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
I've been giving a lot of thought as to what this means as a practical thing in my life. Our church is choosing 3 people to pray for for a year - that's a start. God, give me eyes to see the lost around me. God me your courage to talk to them and remind me that you are with me always, even to the end of the age.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Leviticus 19-20
Leviticus 19:2
Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy".
This sets the tone for the entire chapter. Then the Lord goes on to explain what you do to be holy:
- Respect your parents
- Observe the sabbath
- Don't make metal idols
- Show respect for sacrificed food
- Leave food for the poor
- Don't steal
- Don't lie
- Don't swear things in His name that you don't follow through on
- Pay the wages you owe
- Don't defraud your neighbor
- Don't deny justice to either the poor or the rich
- Don't slander
- Don't hate your brother in your heart
- Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.
The list goes on but it was quite interesting. Holiness seems to boil down to putting others before yourself and not being selfish. Many of these laws dictate the condition of your heart, which would not be enforceable by any human priest or court. In a world where we are taught to "look out for number one" and "if you don't look out for you, no one is going to" it makes me think about how I'm living my life. Do I leave "food in the corner of fields for the poor to pick up?" He doesn't say that you should pick it and give it to them, but that you provide something for them to harvest for themselves. I'm not a farmer but I'm going to give some thought to how I can provide opportunities for those less fortunate than I.
Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy".
This sets the tone for the entire chapter. Then the Lord goes on to explain what you do to be holy:
- Respect your parents
- Observe the sabbath
- Don't make metal idols
- Show respect for sacrificed food
- Leave food for the poor
- Don't steal
- Don't lie
- Don't swear things in His name that you don't follow through on
- Pay the wages you owe
- Don't defraud your neighbor
- Don't deny justice to either the poor or the rich
- Don't slander
- Don't hate your brother in your heart
- Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.
The list goes on but it was quite interesting. Holiness seems to boil down to putting others before yourself and not being selfish. Many of these laws dictate the condition of your heart, which would not be enforceable by any human priest or court. In a world where we are taught to "look out for number one" and "if you don't look out for you, no one is going to" it makes me think about how I'm living my life. Do I leave "food in the corner of fields for the poor to pick up?" He doesn't say that you should pick it and give it to them, but that you provide something for them to harvest for themselves. I'm not a farmer but I'm going to give some thought to how I can provide opportunities for those less fortunate than I.
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