For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
4:9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Paul is recapping his previous teaching here and laying responsibility on the believer for his level of joy in the Lord.
Since verse 4 – Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice, Paul has been laying out certain Christian practices that he has written down for the believers, and here testifies that these practices are not merely theoretical. He has lived these practices in front of the believers; the church themselves witnessing the outworking of the practice of prayer, and the filtering of Paul’s thought life.
Prayer and the inner life. Paul speaks of how his witness was fully evident to the Philippians. They had learned of his lifestyle and dedication. They had received of his ministry. They had heard of his sacrifice. And finally, they had seen how God had worked in his person. He was a believer that practiced what he preached, and out of that practice, no one could deny the evidence!
One final item on this short passage from Philippians 4:8-9. Prior to his expression of gratitude for the Philippians gift, he provides the promise of the presence of God with them as they practice these disciplines.
In the midst of this promise, Paul defines our God as the God of peace. The God of peace will be with those who practice these things.
Are you struggling with peace in your life? Do you have a sense of upheaval and stress? Back in verse 7, after an admonition to prayer, speaks of the peace of God guarding our hearts and minds. In this verse, we are offered the God of peace to be with us.
The peace of God and the God of peace! In the midst of an admonition for the believer to pray and think properly, Paul gives us great encouragement to practice the disciplines of prayer and Christian thinking.
May the Lord help us in our lives to honor Him and to follow after the commands Paul provides us for our good!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 61
8 So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day.
In our previous post, I skipped over the concept of vows. He had mentioned vows in verse 5, and I find this repetition to be worthy of a short discussion. Let’s read verse 5 once more.
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows;
David had earlier mentioned that God had heard his vows. In our final verse, he speaks to the Lord, reminding Him that he will perform his vows.
It is interesting that the vows are not connected with the results he is requesting. It isn’t a tit for tat type of discussion here. David isn’t entering into a bargaining stance with the Creator of all, hoping to get one over on Him.
We have all heard of the fox hole vow – Get me out of this trouble God and I will serve You the rest of my life. Yet this rarely sticks, and as soon as the trial is over, so is the remembrance of the vow.
But notice that is David’s final statement to the Lord, the cause and effect seems to be turned on it’s head. My common understadning of vows in relation to God goes something like …
I will continually and constantly, out of a previous legal obligation, perform my promise as a payback for a previous rescue! (I know it sounds crass, but that is how my little brain works!)
No, notice that David states that he will sing praise, in order to perform his vows to God.
God does expect us to keep our vows, especially our vow to follow Jesus, but we cannot follow properly simply out of a spirit of obligation. Now don’t get me wrong, we are obligated to Him due to His great sacrifice, yet in the goodness of God, He has provided the power, the energy, the strength to perform our vow, to follow after Him as we sing praise to Him. As we have a spirit of joy in our lives, thankful for His goodness and mercy, may we be faithful “singers’ of His goodness.
Even for those of us whose natural singing voice leaves much to be desired. Yikes!
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
83
CLUSTER OF HENNA BLOSSOMS
Song of Songs 1:14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi.
In the Song of Songs, Solomon writes of the passion between a farm girl and the mighty King of Israel. Often the love between the two is described in words of beauty and grace, speaking of their unrelenting desire for each other.
In this verse, the farm girl is describing her love as a “cluster of henna blossoms”. At first glance, I thought this may describe a beautiful flower, a flower that provided a scent that was irresistible, a flower that was favored above all other flowers.
All of that may be true, but when I did a bit of research I found the Hebrew word translated as henna blossoms is כֹּפֶרkôpher, ko’-fer, and is primarily describing a cover, and by extension describes a redemption price, a ransom, even a sum of money.
Early in the Old Testament, this term was used to describe the pitch that covered the ark.
Genesis 6:14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
In our verse today, the farm girl refers to the King as her redemption, the ransom she needs for her life, her protection from danger and as a covering to keep her safe.
So much more than simply a favored flower, but the very protection only the King could provide her, for she speaks of the Kings redemption as for her, that is .. to me He is a cluster of henna blossoms.
This is her estimation of her lover. All the world might think something else of the King, but she knew He was her hope and life.
She represents the ones who have trusted the Messiah for their hope and life. May we constantly be of the same desire as this lowly farm girl.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.
(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)
I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.
The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.
To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.
Occasionally I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!
This post will consider the song Drown – by Grammatrain.
These guys only lasted a few albums and that is a shame. I find myself going back to them even after decades of first hearing of them.
Take a listen!
Drown – by Grammatrain
my spirits take me to another place i never have to know my real face in my brown bag i know i cannot die my sour breath to you will testify hey man do you wanna drown while your bottle drinks you down (i hear you say) save me, save me hey man do you wanna drown my treasured poison, you control my days you spin my life while i forget my name i’m in a prison of my own demise see no escaping through my red-lined eyes
Let me know what you think of the lyrics, and of the tunes!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 18:20-29
20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law.” 22 And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king’s son-in-law.” 23 And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” 24 And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” 25 Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. Before the time had expired, 27 David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 28 But when Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29 Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.
Ok, so last we met, we saw King Saul invite David into his royal family via marriage to his elder daughter. Of course, David was to be granted this priviledge due to his taking on Goliath and defeating him, but Saul forgot about the gift’s he promised and negotiated another agreement with David for the hand of Merab, his elder daughter.
But lo and behold, on (or very near) the day of the wedding, Good ol’ King Saul took this benefit away from David, bringing shame upon his name and confusion to his heart. How could David understand what was going on? The king was surely mad, and by that I mean both mad (angry) and mad (insane).
With our passage this morning, we are going to experience a bit of deja vu, in that Saul and his henchmen take advantage of his daughters feelings to put David in the path of certain death.
Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and with every bit of news that crosses the kings desk, Saul seeks the good of his daughter. No that is incorrect!! He seeks how he may take advantage of a situation for his own advancement, and this time is no different.
Let’s offer David another opportunity to join the royal family, and in the offer, provide a situation that may eliminate Saul’s greatest threat. The previous offer, for Merab, was to fight the Lord’s battles for Saul. Saul wanted to have control, provide direction to David, get in the mix, interfere and potentially direct David into dangerous situations, raising the likelihood of death in battle.
What is truly amazing is that David retains his humility through this emotional roller coaster ride, again referring to himself as not worthy of entering the royal family. He considered himself a “poor man” having “no reputation”.
What was David thinking when the king’s servants spoke of Saul’s love for David, and of all his servants loving him? The king had just recently thrown two spears at David, and shamed him in front of the nation by reneging on the marriage to Merab?
Whatever David thought, the offer was provided to him. The price of Micah’s hand for marriage? One hundred foreskins of the Philistines.
This was an attainable, specific, measurable goal for David, so he set out to complete his side of the bargain and “force” king Saul’s hand in providing Micah as his bride. And to make a point, good old David, when asked to walk a mile, walked two miles. He brought back two hundred foreskins, which meant two hundred Philistines had met their maker.
Saul got what he said he wanted, yet his frustration level must have been boiling over. Of course the Phillistines weren’t the problem! The Philistines were the solution, but they did not come to Saul’s request, and in loosing two hundred soldiers, only elevated David in stature, causing Saul greater fear of his dominance.
And now, he had two of his children committed to the enemy. It was bad enough for Saul when Jonathon had shown allegiance to David, but now it appeared that his daughter was also seeing the benefit of being associated with a believer in the Lord, a man who was led of the Spirit, and of a humble heart.
So it is with the kingdom, for as we exercise a humbleness, and desire to love our enemies, even after two spear throws, and a show of disgrace, the kingdom will expand, one by one.
Or the enemy will only slip into greater darkness, with more bile rising in his throat, and a commitment to fighting the believer! So it was with Saul, and he continually set himself as David’s enemy, even as his father-in-law.
Truly, this passage speaks of the division of family due to deeper allegiances that are offered, deeper even that blood. Micah made the wise choice, as did her brother Jonathon. They followed David.
Centuries later, Jesus, the Greater David, described this realignment of family in the following words.
Matthew 12:48-50
But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Who is your sister? Who is your brother? It all depends on who your Father is!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.
(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)
I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.
The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.
To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.
Occasionally I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!
This post will consider the song
Deeper – by Alice Cooper
Every time I think of Alice, I am amazed that he has confessed Christ and the life he has lived. In my mind, he is the rock equivalent of Johnny Cash, and both men lived a hard life, turning to Jesus for their sanity and salvation.
This song comes off of his 2nd album, Dragon Town in his trilogy of creation, the fall and redemption. Take a read and listen below!
Deeper
We must complete the trip Try not to lose your grip No sight of solid ground And never look straight down
Deeper, deeper Deeper, deeper
Your claustrophobic brain Sucking you down the drain The walls are closing in The air is gettin’ thin
The elevator broke It went right through the floor It left a burning hole Down and down and down we go
We’re in a deadly spin Hating this spin we’re in Our helpless panic grows Down and down and down we go
Daylight is at an end You’ll never see again You’ll soon embrace the sight Of this cold eternal light
The elevator broke It went right through the floor It left a burning hole Down and down and down we go
We’re in a deadly spin Hating this spin we’re in Our helpless panic grows Down and down and down we go
The elevator broke It went right through the floor It left a burning hole Down and down and down we go
We’re in a deadly spin Hating this spin we’re in Our helpless panic grows Down and down and down we go
The elevator broke It went right through the floor It left a burning hole Down and down and down we go
We’re in a deadly spin Hating this spin we’re in Our helpless panic grows Down and down and down we go
Alice is a entertainer and instructor!
Take a listen!
Deeper – Alice Cooper
Let me know what you think of the lyrics, and of the tunes!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
82
CLOUD OF THE LORD
Exodus 40:38 For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.
What blessings can we find in our current name we are looking at today? What truths may we take from this verse that will elevate and honor the name of the Lord?
This verse associates a cloud with the Lord, which was very common in the Old Testament, not only during the exodus and wanderings, but also during the days of Solomon’s temple.
For our verse today, we read that during the day, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle. In many depictions, the cloud appears to be a large, expanding pillar of smoke over the tabernacle, specifically over the holy of holies. Similarly, the fire is depicted as being in the same general configuration.
This may be true but I would like to offer my reader an alternative depiction of the cloud. You see, this particular text says the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle, and the fire was in the tabernacle at night.
In my imagination, which sometimes runs amok, I imagine the cloud was actually enveloping the tabernacle, actually covering the tabernacle. One of the effects of this situation may be the hiding of the tabernacle from view.
Why might I suggest that? Often in the Word, clouds are used to veil something. A passage depicting that action may be found in Exodus 24:15-16
Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
Later, when the tabernacle had been constructed, we find that a few verses prior to our verse, the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and that Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting.
Exodus 40:34-35
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Yes, there are descriptions of the cloud being a pillar when the Israelites are being led to a destination, but when the camp had settled in an area, it seems the cloud took on a different “form”, that the cloud covered the tabernacle.
This understanding brings a different perspective for myself, for instead of the cloud simply designating the location of the presence of God, the cloud may actually be revealing the holiness and righteousness of God.
Let me explain.
In Psalm 97, the psalmist speaks of a cloud and thick darkness in the context of how unapproachable God is.
Psalm 97:2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Later in the Psalms, the psalmist speaks of a cloud covering the tabernacle, and fire providing light in the night.
Psalm 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night.
This passage recounts our verse above, and provides two subsequent verses where God provided answers to prayer, or should I say demands of the people. The Lord provides for them according to their desires.
Psalm 105:40-41 They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.
In my understanding, the Cloud of the Lord speaks of His righteousness, His holiness and His justice, even in the midst of His very presence with His people. In the presence of a people who would not conform to His will, and yet He stayed with them, caring and exhibiting His gracious love and mercy to them.
We truly do not deserve our merciful God, and we would do well to remember His “otherness”, how He is not like us, but so much more.
As Paul stated in one of His letters to Timothy, God
…alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
As I was considering the approach to this verse, my automatic first thought was to provide a definition and example for each word within this list of thought contents Paul is describing here for the Christian. That may have been a good approach, but then I started to think about the layers of meanings within the list. You know, the foundational thought contents, such as truth and honor that Paul was providing for the believer, and that as the list progressed, each of the couplets of thought contents only became rarer, possibly harder to find in this old world.
Let me explain. We, as believers, should have a grasp of the truth, for we are to be students of the Word and the Word is truth. Out of that truth, we surely can find honorable things to think on. From the precepts and principles of the Word, our task is to understand the truth to determine what justice and purity is, and from that determination, judge that which is lovely and commendable. Further refinement of our thoughts include a test of excellence and praise, the highest form of Christian thought.
You may notice that as the topics a believer is to think on are described, the range of correct thought content narrows. This should be of no surprises to the believer, as we are not to have an “open mind”, accepting all messages about all topics, but to have a discerning mind, not only filtering out unacceptable thoughts, but also refraining from accepting those thoughts we have been exercised to reject.
A simple example may help.
As I have come to know a friend, I have found that he has many qualities about him that define him. Each of these qualities, by my determination are true. He is a giving man, a man of compassion, a man of service. And yet if I am honest, the truth also bears witness that he is a man who exaggerates the truth, who tells stories and “amplifies” his message unnecessarily. Each of these qualities are true, and if Paul stopped the list with only “Think on whatever is true” I would be justified in dwelling on not only his good but bad character traits.
Paul does not allow us to do that, for he filters out those things that are not honorable, not just, not pure, not lovely, and not commendable.
In providing this list, Paul has two things in mind per my understanding. Filter out that which is non-Christlike in our thinking, and Focus on Christlike thoughts.
When I dwell on this verse, an Old Testament verse comes to mind in providing the result of this type of thinking.
Proverbs 23:7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you….
The true quality of the man is found in his inwardly calculating, not in his outward message. If we change the way we think, we actually come into harmony with the will of God and become the people of God that He can use.
And yet, this is a restricted, might I say self guarded way of thinking, that is our responsibility to perform and maintain. The exercise of thinking this way is surely reflected in what we consume and dwell on during the day. Our consumption of true but negative things surely misses the mark, as the consumption of true but ugly things misses the mark.
Yes this is a restricted, some may even say a closed mind approach to our thoughts, yet we all know that there are evil, sinful and destructive ideas floating in our world that are only intending to pull us down.
Consider what you feed your heart and mind my friend. It will be either a blessing or a burden to you, in your efforts to dwell on those things described in our passage today.
One more thought. This list is truly an amazing list of filters for the believer, but consider this list in the description of the thoughts of our Lord. His thoughts are continually dwelling on those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise.
Are we in tune with Him, and is He finding your life one of truth, honor, justice, purity, loveliness… It would be to our benefit, not only to practice this for our life on this old globe, but also to provide our Master with content from our lives to dwell on.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 61
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! 7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
When we last read David’s prayer, he had turned a corner, due to his looking back to the faithfulness of God and the promise he had received of the kingdom.
Our first verse, verse 6, when I initially considered it, made me think of David himself, how he was stating that the Lord would prolong the king’s life in the midst of this emergency. God would prolong the kings life, and then he begins to state the impossible.
The kings life would extend to many generations? He already was an aged man, and he has the audacity to state the Lord would extend his life for “many generations”? Never mind that – consider the next statement, that the king shall abide before God forever!
OK, so we have a shift in the topic from the immediate rescue of David by prolonging his life, to one of two topics
First topic that came to my mind is that he is referring to his eternal state, that he would abide before God forever, no matter his time of death on this old earth.
And yet the subject seems to change in verse 7, where David looks to another king, whom he asks God to prepare mercy and truth to preserve the King.
Can anyone imagine who that King is? When I see mercy and truth, I automatically think of John’s gospel, where he speaks of grace (mercy) and truth in the person of Jesus
John 1:17b … grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Does it not make sense that David, in his time with God, at a dark, deeply difficult time, would be caught up with the promised King who would reign forever.
It is only through the reign of Jesus that any of us can expect to have our lives extended through many generations, even forever.
Jesus has been enthroned forever, according to David’s prayer. David was restored to his throne, as the promise of God was maintained for David.
Not only was David restored to the throne for his final days, but in the big picture, his life has been extended through the power of the resurrected King, who was full of mercy and truth.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
81
CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD
Romans 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is our last description of God, referring primarily to the Christ, His Anointed One, in our list of Names of God. Later on, we shall come across the name “Christ” in additional descriptions of our God, but we will wait until they occur for discussion on them.
For our current consideration, we have “Christ Jesus the Lord”.
This name combines the human name of the Christ, along with the reference of the Lord, designating Jesus as the Master.
We spoke of the use of “Lord” combined with Christ in our last post, and with this post we have the added clarification of who the Christ is.
Jesus, the lowly preacher from Bethlehem, associated with Nazareth, and considered a troublemaker and false prophet, even the illegitimate son of Mary – He it is that is the Christ.
He was not the typical teacher. Many would listen and walk away befuddled, or challenged by the message like they had not been challenged before. Even when describing Him amongst His peers, those who were rabbi’s and teachers of the law, He did not fit into any conventional party line.
As a matter of fact, His teaching often offended those steeped in the laws and teachings of the ancients, and caused many times of heated questions being thrown at Him by his fellow rabbis.
But that is just the point. They were not fellow rabbis, for He was (and is) Christ Jesus, the Anointed One, the One chosen of God to provide grace and truth to those most in need. They were not His peers, but His students, yet they knew it not, and would not submit to the Christ, since God’s choice was Jesus.
But Jesus was not their choice!
Yet the truth stands and God’s choice, His Anointed is Jesus. The Master. The teacher and instructor for those who will recognize Him.
Christ Jesus the Lord.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Many on the news and internet are speaking of very difficult times coming for those of us in the western hemisphere. Those in the east have been experiencing difficult times for decades, and we need to remember them in our prayers. Whether it be the Uyghurs in China or believers in North Korea, there have been difficult times for many that we in the west simply can not imagine.
Difficult times are not a recent development for believers, or have not been experienced by believers before. Difficult times are what this post is about. A specific difficult time, in the days of Jeremiah.
With all that said, I want to recount last Sunday during worship service, where the church was led through the great hymn – Great is thy Faithfulness. As we sang this hymn, it occurred to me that this truth was taken from Jeremiah’s pen, when he wrote it in the saddest book of the Bible.
Lamentations 3
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations is a book describing the horrors of a war with the Babylonians, and the eventual conquering of the nation of Israel. The Babylonians defeated the nation of Israel, destroyed the city of David, desecrated the temple, and was deporting all those Israeli’s that had not yet been murdered.
Get a grip on that my friend. Jeremiah saw the temple go down and the people of God decimated, with the land becoming barren, and in the end, he was hated by those few that remained.
And yet he declared
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.
In Jeremiah’s eyes there must have been nothing but discouragement, disappointment, and despair. Yes – he had been promised the nation would rise up again, but that would be seven decades later.
Yet Jeremiah wrote.
his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
The nation had been corrupt, the priesthood had been compromised and was worse than the neighboring heathen. The people sinned and blamed everyone else for the nations condition. No one was following the Lord, but only following their own desires and wants. There was no earthly help for the nation, for the people who made up the nation were sick, nearing death and had refused any spiritual help.
And yet Jeremiah penned the great passage
they (God’s mercies) are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
In the midst of trials, difficult times and possible future devastation in our lives, let us practice this discipline of Jeremiah, recognizing the mercies of God in our lives, and realizing His faithfulness to us.
He truly is good, and He is good all the time!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 18:17-19 17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? 19 But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.
Ok Saul, you promised your daughter to any man who would take on the Philistine giant, a chapter back, in verse 25. Riches and tax free status for the family, along with the hand of the kings daugther, actually becoming of the royal family. Haughty rewards for knocking ol Goliath down.
1 Samuel 17
25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
It is a good thing David didn’t depend on the word of the King to motivate him to take Goliath out. This reward of a kings daughter (and the other rewards) obviously had not been granted to David as yet, and as it turns out, this promise from the Israeli King was quickly be forgotten. An unfaithful party always wants to renegotiate!
Now to get the kings daughter – forget the riches and tax free status – David had to perform more tasks, life endangering tasks, tasks that would seemingly accomplish Saul’s not too secret desire for David’s demise. Saul offered his eldest daughter Merab, IF David would fight the LORD’s battles for Saul. Notice that little phrase that Saul inserted into this agreement David was offered.
Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.
What is this all about. Of course David was on the team, and had shown himself to be sold out to God in his life, in battles that he would be called upon to fight, and service to his king. Is Saul seeking to hide his intentions, or rather reestablish his authority over David, and by doing so, hoping to control his actions, maybe directing David to more dangerous areas of battle.
Was he seeking to increase his influence over David, through obligations that this marriage would create? Was Merab in love with David or a tool for Saul? We may never know!
What a dastardly fiend this Saul is turning out to be! Let’s be clear. This is not Saul coming good on a promise he gave David earlier. This is an alternative offer for him, that brought with the hand of the king’s daughter, added responsibilities to the king. A new agreement! What a loving family David is offered to join!
Notice David’s attitude, in that he exhibited a humble spirit in the face of his enemy, in the face of a man who had reneged on an earlier promise! Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel…?
David was in a great place in this circumstance, having not been self elevated by the honors he had been granted. He was a humble servant.
In David’s humility, it appears the agreement for marriage was completed, and the plans for David and Merab’s wedding were progressing quite nicely. Expectations were established, and the nation most surely have heard the rumors, that a lowly shepherd boy, turning into a valiant warrior, was now entering into betrothal with the kings daughter, and soon to be a part of the royal family!
If it wasn’t for a settled humility that David lived in, this may have become a most heady time in his life.
Up until the wedding day that is. I can imagine Saul playing this game up until the very day of the wedding, keeping David in an elevated place of distinction before the entire nation.
Comes the wedding day, and Merab is no where to be found. Or is it that David is restricted from the wedding? And who is this Adriel the Meholathite? Where did he come from? His name will show up later in the story of David, but we shall be patient until then for any further information on this fellow.
Saul had successfully pulled the rug out from under David, and the shame that cascaded down on David must have been excruciating. How could he show his face amongst those who he led and fought with, and how could he explain the circumstances, the actions of this mad man who was king of Israel, and who was to be honored by all.
David was placed in a very difficult position by the king, and yet his commitment to God gave him the strength to keep his focus on higher things.
David’s depth of character shines bright in these passages.
He truly was a man after God’s heart, and provides such a great shadow of the True, Greater David, the One who would take our shame and disappointment!
Let us remember His faithfulness, his commitment, and His surety of promise to us. Let us be thankful the reneging spirit of Saul is not the Spirit of the Lord!
For He is faithful, and He is good.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Absalom
Suspended between heaven and earth
2 Samuel 18:9 And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
John 8:28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
Back in the fourth installment of the Absalom series, we discussed how Absalom was hung on a tree, being a shadow of the Messiah.
This post will focus on the spatial location of the men as they hung on a tree. To be specific, both men hung between heaven and earth. The significance for Absalom hanging between heaven and earth seems to be somewhat strange. Why would the author bring this phrase into the story line? That is an unknown in my mind, other than for the author to show Absalom’s utter helplessness, that he had no where to find support from, or that he belonged neither on earth or in heaven. Pure conjecture on my part regarding Absalom.
Regarding Jesus, the image of Him suspended between heaven and earth is much more obvious to me. The only support He had was the nails through His body, and His determination to complete His mission while on earth. He was (and is) the perfect God man, representing both earth and heaven. He was (and is) the only One who bridged the gap between heaven and earth for us while on He hung on the bloody cross.
He sacrificed Himself for the likes of Absalom and myself. He is so good and He is calling out to you, even today.
Consider Him, hanging between heaven and earth in order for you to know the true God and His Son Jesus Christ.
May His name be praised today.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
80
CHRIST THE LORD
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Here we have the Christ being defined as the Lord.
At first glance we may assume Luke is combining Christ with the primary name of God as LORD, as in Genesis 2:4, using the Tetragrammatron JHVH.
Not so.
If I had been in Luke’s shoes, I would have emphasized the connection of this young baby with the eternal One, the Creator of heaven and earth, the omniscient One who is all powerful.
But we can be thankful that I was not in Luke’s shoes at the time, writing this passage of truth. I would not have done this passage justice.
No.
Luke brings to our ears the message that Christ is the Master. To say that may seem redundant, for as the Jewish nation was awaiting their Anointed King to arrive, it should have been obvious to all that He would be the Leader, the Master, the One who would be obeyed.
That is the expectation of the masses. The Christ was the One who would be the Master, the One to follow after and to go behind as He conquers those who were oppressing the nation, and that they would eventually become the nation above all other nation. What heady expectations!
Yet Luke provided this description of the lowly baby, for He would turn out to be completely beyond the expectation of the crowd, as He would be the Servant of prostitutes, the Teacher of the tax collector, and the self sacrificial Lamb of God.
To understand the Christ as being a servant, a teacher and a martyr, Luke wisely reiterated the Christ as the Master, for without that description no one would understand, no one would bend the knee to such a “disappointment” of their expectations.
He was a totally different type of Master than expected!
As you have walked with the Anointed One, have you morphed in you understanding of who He is as a Master? Do you understand His way of life, his method of conquering His enemies through service, sacrifice and selfless love?
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
If my readers remember our last post, I had mentioned that Philippians 4:6 was a favorite memory verse, I often resorted to when I was anxious and troubled. I suppose the command was last post and the benefit is this post.
Have you noticed that under the grace of God, when He gives a command, He also provides a blessing associated with it. Case in point with this pair of verses.
Command – Don’t be anxious but pray about everything
Result – Peace of God guarding our heart.
What a great God we have when He provides a command to honor Him and to help us and it turns out the result is a blessing. Amazing, yet let us look at this passage for a moment to “understand” our blessing.
When I think of peace, I often think of a cessation of hostilities between two warring factions, whether it be two neighbors or two nations. Peace that is established for the most part out of fear that the alternate is not desirable.
Is this what is communicated with us in this passage? Simply a cessation of hostilities? Let us remember that within the Godhead there is and never has been any type of “war” within the fellowship of the persons of the Trinity.
This peace of God is much more than simply a truce amongst parties. When Paul speaks of the peace of God, I sense he is speaking of the tranquility and harmony found within the Godhead. What else might the peace of God represent? He is not describing some type of peace found by the the cessation of any warlike activity within my own heart and mind. This peace is otherworldly, found only in the Godhead and is amazingly offered to the saint.
I would have been content to simply have the lack of anxiousness that is replaced by the activity of prayer. This would have been sufficient in my mind, but the Lord does not skimp on His blessings to the believer. We often – too often – run past the blessings in our hurried lives, only to become anxious and worried. What a rat race!
Yet let us continue considering the blessing of the peace of God entering our lives. No – that is not what Paul is speaking of now, is it? He says the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
To Guard
The specific word Paul uses is not found very often in the New Testament. As a matter of fact it is only found in three other verses.
2 Corinthians 11:32
At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me,
This passage speaks of closing up all exit points in a city to restrict Paul from escaping. We get a general idea here that this guarding is not primarily against an outside attacker, but to restrict the release of one who is already within the city. There is a difference, and it may come up again in our little study.
Galatians 3:23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
Here we see Paul teaching of the purpose of the law, and that we were “held captive” under the law. Again this concept of a prisoner occurs in our brief study on the word “guarded” Paul uses. Interesting. Lets quickly review our last verse.
1 Peter 1:4-5 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
This passage is somewhat more interesting and I included verse 4 to get a sense of where Peter is headed with this passage. Notice that Peter refers to believers being guarded through faith, and that our inheritance is being kept (or guarded) in heaven for us. Although the two actions of guarding use different Greek words, this passage speaks of the Lord watching over not only our lives but our inheritance. He is truly a perfect Father.
But let us refocus on Philippians 4:7. Paul tells us that this otherworldly peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Might Paul continue to use the image of restriction in the guarding, as in 2 Corinthians and Galatians? Is it that the peace of God actually restricts us from falling into anxiousness and worry?
In all of this, we may have missed the most important part of the verse. Notice that the peace of God guards our heart and minds in Christ Jesus.
As we pray, offering up our requests to God, we are actually conforming to the image of Christ in a small way. Of course, as believers, our standing is in Christ Jesus, but Paul is describing an experience we may enter into as we practice the Christian life.
What thinkest thou? Does the peace of God guard us from outside enemies, or in the midst of trials, simply keep us secure in Christ Jesus?
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 61
4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah 5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
First, lets remember that I am approaching this psalm as from the hand of David, during a most dangerous time in the reign of the King. Rebellion had broken out and his very son had committed the treason. To make matters worse, it looked very promising for Absolam, and that David may be facing his last days on earth.
In David’s cry to God, he speaks of dwelling forever in the tent of the Lord. At this time in the life of the nation, the Temple had not been constructed, and the tabernacle was still a temporary structure, per the wishes and will of God. So when David uses the term “dwell”, he uses a term that sometimes has the connotation of dwelling for a time, to temporarily dwell. This makes sense if the context of the Psalm is as I have suggested. He may only have a few days left in the land. Things were looking very dark.
But notice that he uses the term dwell, sometimes signifying a temporary sojourn, with a qualifier. He wants to stay forever in the tent. Forever in the tabernacle, that would soon be taken down, for the construction of the Temple.
So what gives here?
David is more than a five year planner, figuring out things that need to be accomplished in a set time frame. He is looking long term here, speaking of his eventual demise and permanent state with the Living God.
We also see that he is not only looking to the Lord for his permanent dwelling, but that he is requesting permission to reside under the Lord’s protection, seeking refuge from danger. With this very next phrase, is David requesting protection from the danger that is on his doorstep, and that may bring him to the gates of his grave?
I cannot imagine the strain he is going through, and the multiple conflicting thoughts racing through his head and heart. Yet in the midst of the confusion, he looks to the Lord for his help, whether it is by life or through death.
At this point, starting in verse 5, David turns a corner and begins to remember his God, and the promises he has received from the hand of God.
The very promise David recalls is the promise that seems to be hanging in the balance with this rebellion. David recalls that God had given him “the heritage of those who fear your name”. He is referring to his rule over the people of God, those who fear God’s name.
How could Absalom frustrate the will of God? It seems this very contradiction is a comfort to David in the midst of his present circumstances. Wherever David was during this trial, he resorted to his past experience with the Lord and looked away from his circumstance that seemed so dark. This is the practice of the saint who has walked with the Lord, has seen His faithfulness, and trusts in the midst of a trial that the Father’s heart has not changed.
He is the faithful One, and as we sojourn through our lives down here, it is wise to consider His faithfulness in the midst of trials that come upon us.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
79
CHRIST OUR LIFE
Colossians 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Our life does not consist of hours and minutes, for that is simply a period of time that allows us to serve and self maintain.
Our life does not consist of consuming bread, for that only extends our physical life.
Our life does not consist of labor, for that only enables us to buy the bread we consume.
Our life does not consist of the vanity of pride, which we are caught up in and that distracts us from truth.
Our life does not consist of acquisition of things, such as cars, homes and clothing, for that only provides shelter for us as we live on this globe.
Our life, according to Paul, consists of the Anointed One, the Christ.
Our life is actually invisible to us currently, but there shall come a day when we shall see the centrality of Him, that He is our life.
Until then, we walk by faith, and seek to know Him better, in order that He may consume us, weaning us from those things we so often consider to be our lives.
Let us thank Him for all He is to us, that He is our life, and that we may live in Him, content and finding Him sufficient for all our needs and wants.
He is the Christ, our life.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
It all depends on “them”. Who are the “them” in verse 16.
I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
I can see that this passage may refer to them as being teachers not in the Body of Christ, but allowed by the Body of Christ to hear their teaching. Teaching that provided justification for sin, and of the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans teaching is unclear in my mind, and at this time, I do not think I should explore this specific topic. Sufficient for the topic at hand is that the church of Pergamum was allowing heretical teachers into their fellowship.
Who is the “them”?
So when the Lord speaks in verse 16, stating that He will “war against them”, a couple of questions rise up.
Believers?
Are these teachers believers? Have they wandered from the truth, and need to be retaught with the Sword of the Lord, which often speaks of the truth of the Scriptures. After all, in the introductory verse to this church, Jesus describes Himself as the One who has the sharp two edged sword.
Revelation 2:12 ESV – “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
Previously, in the book of Revelation, Jesus is described as the One from whom a sharp two-edged sword came out of His mouth, representing His words.
Revelation 1:16 ESV – In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
Finally, we all recognize the passage in Hebrews where the Scriptures are associated with a two edged sword.
Hebrews 4:12 ESV – For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
If they are believers, they stand in a precarious position, and hopefully the truth of the Scriptures will bring them back into the narrow way. We know the Scriptures have that power and with the help of the Spirit, we know that those who have taught error can repent and return to the faith.
Unbelievers?
If these “them” are unbelievers, it is uncommon to use the “sword” image as a weapon against unbelievers.
If these teachers entered into the fellowship without bending the knee to the Lord, the fault may lie at the doorstep of the church itself, for accepting those who know not the Lord. This is pure conjecture on my part, without any judgement from myself as I have often been deceived by those who say they are believers but have taught error!
Nevertheless, if these “them”, upon whom the Sword of Jesus mouth will be weilded, are unbelievers, will come upon them if the church does not repent.
The command is for the church to repent.
If the church does not perform corrective action upon these false teachers, thereby instructing the false teachers of their error, Jesus will come to the church.
To the church of Pergamum, which harbors false teachers, accepting them in a spirit of inclusion and diversity(?).
As you can tell, this passage is not clear in my mind as to the recipients of the judgement, and it’s intended result. No matter though, for the picture presented is not a desirable situation and as the church, we need to be vigilant in who we accept as teachers for our sometimes “itchy” ears.
If, as you read this post, you have suggestions to assist in understanding the message, I would appreciate your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks again for joining me in this series.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 18:12- 16
12 Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
Fear. A natural result of departing from the Living God. Yet even in this maelstrom of emotions that Saul was experiencing, some lucidity seemed to come to him occasionally.
Yes the Lord had departed from Saul, and Saul was reminded of this daily as he saw David minister to him in his royal court. Saul had lost the kingdom, lost the Lord, and lost his sanity, and David was obviously becoming the benefactor of this transition of privilege.
So in the midst of envy, possession and fear, Saul made another decision. His failure to kill David must have only amplified his feelings of inadequacy, and this constant reminder when he saw David may have fueled this decision to send him out to war.
Yes, send David out into the wars.
Saul sent David out so he can find some temporary peace. Anything to provide relief from this constant realization that his future was in trouble. And David represented this trouble, a very obvious reminder that his days were numbered.
Yes, send David out into the wars.
Men die in war and David’s “luck” may just run out. How illogical to think that the one whom God has chosen to replace Saul would be in danger of being a victim in battle. This is typical of those who do not consider the reach of the saving hand of God.
Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
If God’s hand is on a man (or woman), that one is indestructible until God has accomplished His will through and in them.
David would experience success in all his undertakings, which only fueled Saul’s fear of David more. The passage shows the growth of Saul’s fear, in verse 12 to Saul’s fearful awe of David, in verse 15. Fearful awe.
David was simply listening to the Lord, acting with wisdom, performing his duties and doing as required. Twice in our passage, (verse 13, and 16) we find that David “went out and came in before the people”. David was becoming a man of the people, gaining in recognition and stature in the eyes of the nation he served.
But in David’s faithfulness, two very different reactions resulted.
The people of Israel and Judah loved him.
King Saul only saw David as a greater threat, and became more fearful. It seems that Saul’s short term solution to his problem only added to his long term problem of David’s ascension in the nation.
So what could Saul do? What could he do to control David, to gain power and influence over David?
What could he do? Killing him didn’t work. Having Israel’s enemies kill him didn’t work.
In our next installment, King Saul finds another way of controlling David.
See you then.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Absalom
Pierced in the side
2 Samuel 18:14 Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. …
Both Absalom and Jesus suffered the piercing of the side to ensure their death.
Both Absalom and Jesus suffered this at the hands of their enemy.
Both men were struck in the heart by a piercing.
It is said that the spear entered Jesus side and pierced the heart, and this can be seen by the blood and water that flowed from His side.
Both men were pierced while helpless to defend themselves. One of them never expected this type of death. One of them fought to undergo this humiliation.
It is truly amazing that we have a Savior that would be so humbled, even to the point of being identified with a man such as Absalom.
Or myself.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
78
CHRIST OF GOD
Luke 9:20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
Our name of God this morning is found in the gospel of Luke, and comes as an answer to Jesus direct question to Peter.
Who am I Peter?
This is the question of the ages for everyone to answer. Many confessed willingly, without being challenged, such as the woman at the well in John 4. The woman was clearly taught by the Master that He is the Christ.
John 4:25-26 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
With Peter, Jesus had spent a couple years with the Master and had seen or been a participant in all of the Master’s miracles so far. Not only that, he had been the recipient of his wife’s mothers healing and an amazing amazing catch of fish.
Who am I Peter?
The conversation started out as a simple request from the disciples about the rumor mill amongst the crowds on who Jesus was. Of course as we read the verses prior to Peter’s confession, Jesus was praying alone, and the Lord simply stopped in His prayers, asked a general question about the crowds, and then focused in on Peter.
Who am I Peter?
The Christ of God.
The Anointed of God.
Note the definite article “the”. He is not a Christ of God, one of many. He is the Christ of God, the One anointed by God to fulfill all the promised of God throughout the Old Testament, that would be the deliverer, the King of Israel, and the King of Kings.
Immediately after this confession, Jesus forbid them from speaking of it, and began to tell them of his future sacrifice. How utterly unexpected! I tell you we often do not consider the astounding multiple shocks these disciples underwent to follow after Him. Speaking of death when He should be speaking of reigning. Speaking of silence when they should be shouting from the rooftops.
But He was the Christ, the Anointed One, and His directions were to be followed. Thankfully, the apostles, confused as they were, continued to follow.
And Peter was the one who confessed, after the Christ of God had finished prayer.
I wonder who Jesus was praying for?
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
As a believer, I assume those of like minded faith have found the value of memorizing portions of Scripture. To have passages of Scripture available for the Spirit to bring to mind at instantaneous moments of decision making is an invaluable blessing and resource. I mention Bible memorization as this particular verse is one of the very first I committed to memory, and have found it to be a verse that I come back to so often, for I am an anxious fella.
To be anxious is to be troubled with cares, and often associates itself with those things that are directly connected with one’s own interests. That may seem obvious, but saying it out loud seems to make the action of being anxious just a little bit more foolish.
Yet I worry, fret, care about and am troubled by many things that will, in the end either not come to pass, or if they do, will not be of the concern that I feared.
My anxiousness belies a core problem in my heart. Can anyone suggest what that problem may be from our text? I can suggest two problems in a persons life that is riddled with anxiousness.
Lack of Prayer
Paul provides the first problem, or should I say the first solution to an anxious life. Prayer and supplication. The addition of the term “supplication” implies a need that has to be requested for, a time of asking, of requesting. Prayer itself is the more general term of our communicating (and communing ) with God. Supplication adds to this passage an aspect of need, of a humbleness of knowing that we are not “all that”.
Our realization of our need in our prayers may be our greatest need! That our needs are not simply a grocery list of wants that we speak out repeatedly, but a heart issue that makes the spirit waken, that reaches out with a passion at times, begging for an answer. I think of David’s prayers in the book of Psalms, and of his emotional phrases he approaches God with.
One of my favorite passages, when I think of David’s prayers, is found in psalm 5. I especially like the way the Message delivers David’s cry out to God.
Psalm 5:1-3
Listen, God! Please, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries? King-God, I need your help. Every morning you’ll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend.
He was going to “wake up” God if he had to, and he wouldn’t give up.
How passionate have you been with the Lord lately? Does He know what you care about, or that you just have cares?
Complaining Spirit
One of the most crippling spiritual diseases I have been a victim to is being a victim, living a life of complaint and comparison with others. What a slavish, horrible existence, for just when you think you have a leg up on someone, another person seems to have a better life than yours.
Of course, with a complaining spirit, there is no need to address God in prayer, for it is a foregone conclusion that He will not do anything for you. You are trapped in a life of lack, an existence that sees scarcity and shortcomings. What a life!
Yet with an attitude adjustment, in the very same conditions, that life can become one of joy and fruitfulness, if a thankful spirit is exercised. This is a choice for the most part and with the Spirit of God residing in us, pleading with us to rise up out of a victim mentality and able to provide the strength to be a thankful believer, life can instantly be one worth living.
Thankfulness is a fantastic attitude to exercise, for it spreads good feelings and creates feeds the good attitude as it grows in my heart. A thankful spirit is a victorious spirit, and makes trials and troubles so much easier to bear. Trials and troubles will come, but why take them on without a thankful spirit?
Earlier, I mentioned that anxiousness is a choice and one of the two verses I think of when it comes to anxiousness, besides our verse this morning, is in Matthew 6
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
Jesus questions why we are anxious. The very questions create the space where we should realize how foolish these concerns and cares are. Do not be anxious.
Instead of being anxious,
seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Prayer and thankfulness can and will replace an anxious life, but it is a choice that we need to exercise on a daily basis.
May the Lord bless you as you seek Him and His righteousness.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 61:1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; Psalm 61:2 from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, Psalm 61:3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
It seems no one is sure of when this Psalm was written or even if it was King David. Some suggest this psalm was written during the Babylonian captivity. I tend to look at the psalm from a traditional approach and consider this Psalm to be of David, and the situation he finds himself in is the rebellion of Absalom.
David was on the run, across the river Jordan, and eventually makes it to the city of Mahanaim, where he gathers reinforcements and prepares for the battle of Ephraim, where his son is defeated.
Prior to the battle, David is in the weakest position he has experienced. If this psalm comes from the hand of David, it is at this point where I feel he may have given us his passage. Having crossed the Jordan, he is away from the temple, from his city, from the throne, and essentially running for his life.
He may have felt like he was at the ends of his kingdom, near the extent of his authority, the limits of his national borders, as he travelled away from his capital. When he refers to the end of the earth, the phrase may be translated the ends of the “land” also, and makes better sense, at least in my mind.
As he is on the run, priorities come to his heart, and as his hopes and dreams are seemingly being dashed by his own blood, he calls out to God as was his habit.
Hear my cry. Pay attention to my prayer O Lord. Not only pay attention, but also understand my prayer. This type of boldness of the Psalmist is what I find so refreshing, so challenging. He had been in enough experiences with Almighty God that he could speak to Him in this manner.
I often come to the Lord with a cowering sense of subjugation, a head bowed and a knee bent attitude, which is due His Person, and yet the one who is on the run is looking up to God, standing in front and requesting (demanding?) an audience with the Most Holy.
Is this stance of David one out of pride of association, out of a familiarity of relationship with the Father? David admits his heart is faint. To be faint originally meant to be covered over, or enveloped. He was completely distracted or consumed in heart with the circumstances and out of this weakness looked to the Lord for three requests
Guidance to
David was looking for His Rock, the God who never changes, is solid in His Person and that gushes forth living water when least expected. David sought a higher position, knowing that both in military battles and spiritual safety, being higher is preferred. He was not looking to stay where he was, to wallow in his experience but to seek higher ground, to the Rock who is always higher.
Guidance Away
David sought God in his deepest and weakest experiences. But let us not miss that he seeks a position or place that is higher than him. He is not looking to himself for any direction, and it may be read that he is looking for guidance away from his own wisdom, abilities or strengths.
He is looking for guidance to God away from a dependence on his own, for he knows he is faint, at his end, distracted from his priorities, and without resources.
A Historic Haven
The Refuge, his Strong Tower against his enemy, who turns out to be his own son. How conflicted David must have been, distracted in his decisions and faint of heart. No matter what David looked to accomplish, he would wrestle with his decisions, having contrary desires pulling at him. Restore his kingdom, but loose his son, or loose the kingdom and die a traitor at the hand of his son.
To put it bluntly, David was in the worst of situations and he had no idea what to do. He desperately needed guidance, and he needed to get out of his own headspace, where he found no solution that was acceptable. He needed a place of refuge, and that place of refuge was His God.
It is good to remind ourselves that David is not crying out to God for a first time in this instance. Notice that he refers to God as having been his refuge in times past. His previous trials, though arguably of lighter concerns than the present trial, trained his heart to reach out to the God of Israel. This experience was critical, for now David was drowning in this trial, and he naturally had experience with his God as his refuge, as a strong tower from which he might be protected.
As we go through trials, no matter the size or complexity, run to the Father for your help. Not only will this please the Father, and deepen your dependency on the ever faithful One, but it will prepare you for trials that may be heading your way.
Not matter the trial or temptation, He is the One we need to resort to. He is the One who is our Strong Tower. Don’t refuse the great blessing of God’s guidance and protection as you go about your day today.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
77
CHRIST JESUS
Romans 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
When my list of the names of God revealed todays topic, that is the name “Christ Jesus”, I want to be honest with you – I was intimidated with addressing the Master’s name in a proper, accurate respectful and loving manner.
Not that His majesty would be affected by my failure in properly describing Him, for His being cannot truly be tarnished by a lowly believer trying to do his best for Him.
After all, He is the One who can take a cripple and make him walk, or find a mute deaf man and provide communication skills to him. He is the One who is always showing grace, exhibiting His mercy, providing patience and longsuffering to His disciples, bringing them from glory to glory.
He is the Anointed One (Christ), the Savior (Jesus).
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Considering the Bible 