Considering the Bible

Conditional Security – Hebrews 12:6-9

2023-12-07

Hebrews 12:6-9
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

In the book of Hebrews, the author gives us 5 warnings as believers throughout the book. We are entering the fifth warning here and the author is developing the Father/son relationship, emphasizing the corrective posture of both our earthly father and our heavenly Father.

Within this particular passage, it is possible to understand the authors intent to simply spur on believers in the midst of trials. Many of the exhortations may focus on spurring on believers, and not enter into any conditional security topic. And yet, some of them may breach our topic of consideration in this series. With that said, for the next few posts, we are going to sit in this chapter and consider a few of the author’s messages in Hebrews 12 to the first century Hebrew believer.

In our first entry into this amazing chapter, we come to verse 6, where the author lays down the topic of discipline for the believer, and the reason believers experience this painful turn of events in their lives. He is quick to define the Lord’s motives, and that is not out of anger or frustration, which many earthly father’s experience, but out of pure love for His children. Don’t get me wrong – a good father, though angry and frustrated, will attempt to correct his son out of a foundation of love for the child. A non child, a neighbors child, or a young one he comes across in the grocery store does not affect the father as his own son’s bad behavior. No – it is the relationship that is emphasized in this passage as the motivating factor of discipline, and out of that, the proper response we are to exhibit towards our heavenly Father.

The exhortation to endure is a key element in this passage from the author. To endure takes on many descriptions throughout the book of Hebrews, but for brevity of this post, note the varied ways the author speaks of enduring just in chapter 12.

12:5 do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him
12:9 shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live
12:13 so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed
12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God
12:15 See to it ….that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
12:16 See to it …. no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal
12:25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking

Some of these phrases we will deal with in later posts, but for our current passage, note verse 8 & 9, where I believe the author speaks of living in relation to discipline. Our mental and spiritual repose before the Father, that of respect and subjection to His authority over our lives, provides assurance of our continuing in the life He has provided us out of grace and mercy.

Be subject to the Father and live.

Does this ring of an ongoing relationship with the One who saved us? Of a continual ongoing respect to the Father that is required in order to live?

Of course, if my thinking is correct, I have to consider the apostles reference to “live”” as being alive in Christ, to be of a resurrected reborn man or woman of God, one who has claimed and practiced the Christian life. This seems obvious to me at this time, for why would the apostle simply speak of physical life. If only physical life, the very discipline of the Father, which may end in martyrdom, would be contradictory.

For example, might the apostle be trying to say – Endure discipline, to the point of physical death so that you may live (physically?) It doesn’t make sense to me, but I am open to your comments, and hope to hear your thoughts on this passage.

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Life of David – 2.06

2023-12-06

The Lord Rejects Saul

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.

Saul’s Repentance

1 Samuel 15

24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the LORD.”
26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
28 And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

Saul, hearing of the his loss of his kingdom from God’s prophet, repents. Sort of.

He admits to sin before the Lord, though not specifically of any one act of sin, and even now may be trying to convince Samuel that it was the peoples fault for this act of rebellion.

His act of repentance/regret illustrates the motivation of the typical politician, that is to seek the favor of the people and not the Lord. How often have you heard of a politician changing his stance on a topic due to a change in the general consensus of the ones he governs? So typical. So unwise for a leader to be led by the people as opposed to the Lord.

This was the third time Saul had fallen into this trap of being a man pleaser, and his time of having the blessing of God on his Kingdom rule was closing up on him.

Saul was finished. Desperate to maintain some control over the situation, Saul turned to physical violence. Tearing the robe of Samuel was no accidental occurrence. Saul was desperate to keep Samuel near, and Samuel was done with Saul, wanting to leave a man he had anointed before God to be the king of Israel.

Two wills are pictured in this narrative, with a torn robe the outcome. This robe refers to a garment worn over the tunic, usually representing a man of rank or authority. In Samuel’s case, his robe identified him as the man of God, and Saul’s grasping and tearing of the robe was a desperate act of gaining Samuel’s attention. Saul was successful in gaining Samuels attention, but it only reinforced the message of rejection.

Your kingdom is torn from you Saul.

At this point in history Saul’s kingdom ceased to be, yet he still sat on a throne. The true king was in the background, and when Samuel informs Saul that the kingdom has been given to a neighbor that is better than him, I am sure David came to mind. If the thought was not fully formed in Saul’s mind at Samuels declaration, it would be very soon, for the people would speak of David as one better than Saul.

1 Samuel 18:7 -8 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?”

After all, Saul, being the one who listened to the people, must have immediately heard in the back of his mind their estimation of David’s skill and Samuel’s description of his competition for the throne. Of course, there was no actual competition for the throne, for when the Lord declares a judgement, it stands. No human manipulations, severe as they may be, will affect the outcome. Unless….

Unless we seek the Lord’s favor, humble ourselves before Him, and seek His mercy, admitting to the authority of God’s will over our own. In Hs mercy and wisdom, His tremendous grace towards us, He has previously relented from judgement upon a deserving people. In other instances the judgement has fallen. He is kind and good to those He loves, even in difficult trying times!

May His will be done.

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Let Me Tell You a Story – Rats!

2023-12-05

Romans 5:2-5

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

I was listening to a podcast recently – forgive me if I don’t recall the name of the presenter, but as I was listening, he told a story of a scientist who drowned rats for science sake. Yes – rats! I told my wifey ’bout this and she was all in – She hates the vermin and would like to see them all perish.

Nevertheless, this scientist spent copious amounts of time studying rats and their responses to being in a tub filled with water. Two types of rats were studied. First, a dozen or so of the domesticated rat, the type that experienced interaction with humans. These rats, once they were placed in a tub they could not escape from, were initially docile, floating about for a short period of time. Eventually, within a minute or so, they began to swim about in the tub, looking for a way of escape. A few drowned fairly quickly, (do I hear my wife cheering?) but a majority of these domesticated rats swam valiantly for days, finally drowning from exhaustion.

What did the scientist learn? At this point nothing to speak of other than the hope of the domesticated rat was quite amazing.

The second stage was to use wild rats, rats that had to continually fight the elements, swim through rivers and fast rushing streams, fighting off all enemies. First thought as I listened was that these rats would survive much longer than the “soft” domesticated rats, but such was not the case. After a few minutes of discovering their predicament, all the wild rats simply rolled over and died.

Did you expect that outcome? Do you have any idea why this unexpected outcome occurred? Let’s push on to the next stage in this scientists study. This next stage may hold a key to this mystery.

The scientist tried the same experiment with a twist. Using domesticated rats again, the scientist placed a number of the rats in the same tub, and proceeded to let them fight for their lives. At the point of drowning and succumbing to death, the scientist pulled each rat out of the water, dried the rat off, resuscitated the rat and provided care to a level state of life.

Once the rats had been stabilized, the scientist placed them in the same tub.

What might you expect from these rats. The scientist discovered these rats would fight for far longer than the previous struggle, and the only difference was that the rats had HOPE, hope of being rescued from a death experience.

HOPE.

Without it we are just waiting for our death. With it we can experience far greater perseverance than previously thought possible. Of course we are greater than rats, yet at times we may sense we are only treading water, waiting for the inevitable. We are just keeping our nose above the waves, second by second, minute by minute. But for us as believers, there is hope of rescue, for we have experienced that first “plucking out of danger”, as the rats were plucked from the water and resuscitated. We have a new life and a living hope, granted to us by our Savior. He provides that hope, and from that hope, we can exercise a tenacity to hang on in the darkest of situations.

If you are suffering through a difficult time, hang on. He is our Hope, our Saving God, and He has impeccable timing.

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Names of God – AMEN – 28

2023-12-04

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.

28

AMEN

Rev. 3:14 And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

Our God is named Amen. But other than our using this word at the end of a prayer, do we understand what it means? Prior to doing any further reading, take a second and consider what you think “Amen” means.

Take a look at the Hebrew word translated as amen in the Old Testament – אָמֵן ʼâmên, aw-mane. Ok now take a look at the Greek word translated as amen in the New Testament – ἀμήν, Hebrew אָמֵן.

See any similarity?

You should since the Greek word is the Hebrew word. The similarity is that the Hebrew word is the Greek word, it did not go through a transformation to be included in the Greek vocabulary.

Take a second look at the Greek term – ἀμήν. By replacing the Greek letters with the English equivalent, we get amen. The word refuses to change or to be morphed by the sands off time. And that is somewhat typical of the word meaning itself, for it has a root meaning of firmness, faithfulness.

To be the amen, is to be the faithful one, the one who is firm, unshakable, true and trustworthy.

The Laodiceans were to understand that God’s name, the name of Jesus Christ, is trustworthy, firm, and faithful. The phrase immediately after our Name of God being considered, is reiterates the very same thought.

He is the Faithful, Firm and Trustworthy God, who is the faithful and true witness.

Can we trust Him?

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.

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Philippian Bits – 3:1

2023-12-03

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.

3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Paul is begninning a section in Philippians where he begins to warn the church of the enemy within the church, or that will come to visit the church. Instead of this section starting out with dire warnings (for they will come) or descriptions of terrible teachers pouncing on the church (for they will arrive also), Paul starts out with joy. Not a doctinal stance, or an exhortation to prayer, (which is such a required practice for the believer) but joy.

He says to rejoice in the Lord. First off, a truly joyful believer is indominable, to the extent that the believer finds his joy in Jesus. Not in religion, or church attendance, or law keeping or ceremoniual bathing or sacrificial giving, or increasing population of the church. No – the joy in tho be found in the Lord only, and this is a settled joy that increases and increases as we walk with Him and see His activity in our lives in a daily way.

The joy I experienced at salvation was intense, very emotional, and unattainable to maintain. Now don’t hear when I say the intensity of the joy was unattainable to maintain as a cop out, for as I have sought to walk with Him, He has provided a settled, calming joy, a joy that does not spike and plummit, as emotional trips so often do. This joy is somewhat unnoticable until it is touched by a sadness, by a disapointment, or by a trial. Although the joy of the Lord is resident in me, it is with the difficulties that the joy comes into full bloom.

I found a quote from the preacher F. B. Meyer, regarding our cooperation in the cultivation of this joy. We are not to consider this experience of joy to be something we are passively recieving, but based on our relationship with the Lord, and His guidance in our thinking.

“It is a duty for us to cultivate this joy. We must steadfastly arrest any tendency to murmur and complain; to find fault with God’s dealings; or to seek to elicit sympathy. We must as much resist the temptation to depression and melancholy as we would to any form of sin.” (Meyer)

Was it not even within this letter that believers were told to not gripe or complain. Complaining, murmuring, disputing and whining are joy busters, for when we complain, we are not looking to the Lord but to our problems, not seeing God’ blessings but our supposed needs.

To rejoice in the Lord is an exercise of focusing on Him, and though times may be good or bad, our eyes are to be peering to Him for our daily strength. The Joy of the Lord is not “ours” but His, and a believer’s effort to generate it independant of Him is an exercise in futility. The joy of the Lord is not something that can be generated by self help books, or by an act of the will to be happy, but to look to Him in our day to day lives, listen for His voice.

In focusing on Him (and not seeking joy), we actually recieve love joy peace…

Rejoice in the Lord. It is actually a command! Go ahead – be sullen AND in the midst of being sullen, realize you are in sin!

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

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

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Psalms for Psome – Ps 55.04

2023-12-02

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.

12 – For it is not an enemy who taunts me– then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me– then I could hide from him.
13 – But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
14 – We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.
15 – Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

In our last post we considered David’s prayer for confusion on the counsel to his son Absolom, in the beginning of the rebellion. David, if my understadning of this psalm is correct, addresses Ahithophel. Ahithophel, who was David’s equal, a familiar friend, a companion. David, in using the term companion, is describing Ahithophel as a friend who is gentle, one who is docile towards him. No violence, no treachery, no underhandedness. As David speaks of him as a “familiar friend”, he introduces the concept of knowledge, of understanding each other as friends. Ahithophel was not an aquaintence of David, but had a deep friendship with the king, appearing to be open and honest with each other.

The king speaks of the sweet counsel he shared with Ahithophel, even in the temple of God. While David was in the temple, Ahithophel was with him. David and Ahithophel shared times of being before God together, sharing a faith, and communing with God together. Who could David trust more? To whom would David share his greatest vulnerabilities? Who could hurt David the greatest?

It is obvious in this passage that to be a familiar friend, a companion, a man that has your trust, is to open yourself up to the greatest treachery. But to love and to be loved, this consideration cannot be considered. It will poison the relationship, so if there is a back stabbing, it will not only come as a stunning surprise, but the pain and shock associated with this turn will be deepest! So it is for David, and so is his reaction so understandable.

In our past we had some believers turn on us, believers we trusted, and that we thought were trustworthy. For the period when we experienced abandonment and rejection, shock carried the day. How could this happen? I will not detail it out for it is in the past and the Lord has provided healing for us, and hopefully for them. Nevertheless, to be betrayed by a friend is a very deep cut!

And David wanted blood! He is a warrior, a fighter, a man who enters battle intent on winning, dominating over the enemy, crushing those who oppose him.

Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive

For David to speak thus is to see his pain come out, to see his sense of justice come to the surface. In no uncertain way was David going to allow this to go unpunished, and he sought justice before the Lord, asking the Lord to let them enter Sheol alive! Whatever that specifically meant for the Old Testament believer is beyond me, but it can’t be good!

During our time of betrayal, when the shock lessened and I had some lucid thoughts, I must confess I had evil thoughts towards my friends who hurt us. The Lord moved us on, and a healiing eventually came, but I can somewhat identify with David’s heart.

There is One who did not seek death over His enemies, but entered into death for His enemies. He is altogether different than David in this regard, and exercised grace greater than any I entertained within my own life.

He is the One who did not seek justice over his enemies, but showered grace and mercy upto those who spit on Him, cursed Him, whipped Him, and nailed Him to a cross, eventually killing Him through a slow agonizing death. He is so much greater in His acts of love, grace and mercy, than we can imagine, little llone to compare with His weak and fragile creation.

He is the Lord, and He has experieinced the treachery of His creation, reacting to it in grace and love towards us. He is so different!

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Names of God – ALTOGETHER DESIRABLE – 27

2023-12-01

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.

27

ALTOGETHER DESIRABLE

Song of Songs 5:16 His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

This passage is found in the Song of Songs, otherwise known as the Song of Solomon. It is an erotic poem between a young woman and a man, likely Solomon. As a literal poem it speaks of the physical love experienced between and man and a woman, and in parts, becomes very explicit.

Yet, as a believer, if we consider the Word to always represent Christ, to picture Him, to foreshadow His person or mission, it is not difficult to see this forgotten book as a wonderful expression of the intimate love God desires with His people.

This should not shock my reader, for Israel was considered the wife of Yahweh, and we are the Bride of Christ. Our lives are but a shadow of the reality, and the relation a man has with his wife includes not only a friendship that surpasses any earthly competitor (or at least it should) but a sharing of our bodies with each other. This is a tremendous blessing from God and only because of the warped society we live in do we shy away from this truth.

After her beloved had attempted to find her, and yet missed meeting with her, she lamented His disappearance. Her heartbreak in not being with Him pored out in a description of His person.

Take a few seconds and consider this love struck ladies description of the only one she wanted.

Song of Songs 5:11-15
His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool.
His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh.
His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires.
His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars.

After this description of her lover, she speaks the verse we are considering today.

He is altogether desirable.

She found nothing in this man undesirable, and the combination of all his attributes only increased the total effect He has on her. She was awestruck, and as she expresses earlier on, she is sick with love. He consumed her attention so she saw no one else.

Jesus is altogether desirable, if we have eyes to see!

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.

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Paradoxical Passages – 2 Corinthians 8:9

2023-11-30

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Through poverty to wealth? Dat don’t make sense for me, and, as a paradox is wont to do, it took me outside of my usual way of thinking.

When I think of riches, I automatically resort to the number of greenbacks I possess or to the value of my estate. Such a poverty driven way of thinking!

When Paul is teaching the Corinthians, he is speaking to a congregation that surely had the same problem. Paul uses this settled mindset and twists it back to correct thinking. He is the excellent teacher, taking his students from where how they think to a better, correct way of thinking, a better focus, a better understanding of reality.

This is the intent of many of the paradoxes we see in the Word, for as the Lord or His apostle provides a paradox, it first off, at least for me, arrests my thinking and causes me to consider what the message is really intended to be.

We must remember that our thoughts (previous to the renewing of our mind) are not necessarily in the proper context or have the correct view. To say that riches equates with greenbacks and estate values is the primary method we earth dwellers have to quantify any riches we feel we have attained, and sadly how many of us see our worth!

Paul is bringing a paradox of wealth and poverty to our mind to realign us into a correct understanding of worth.

What is it that brings value and worth in your life? Who is the One that provides true riches, value that cannot be bought with “filthy lucre”. You can kinda tell I am an ol’ coot, using that ol’ KJV phrase from 1 Timothy 3:3. No matter, this paradox, after I been thinking and ruminating on it for a few moments, flips our concept of wealth and worth on it’s head, and elevates those who sacrifice for others as the ones who are truly rich.

As Scripture always does, this truth is modelled perfectly in the Lord Jesus Christ, who became poor so that He could make others rich.

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

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Life of David – 2.05

2023-11-29

The Lord Rejects Saul

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.

Saul’s Rejection

1 Samuel 15
20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”
22 And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”

Can anyone hear Adam in Saul’s voice? Saul did all the good stuff, and those “people” did the bad stuff. It is called blame shifting and Saul is adept in this artform of communication. Can you hear Saul boasting of his obedience, his uprightness, his stellar estimation of himself?

I have obeyed
I have gone on the mission
I have brought Agag
I have devoted

And of course, if he is going to elevate himself, someone has to take the fall, someone has to assume responsibility for an action that is not right.

But the people took….

Even as Saul brings this to Samuel’s attention, I am starting to think Saul may have realized he was in the wrong before God, and was seeking to deflect blame, to place it on the “people” You know how it goes – she gave me the apple!

We will consider his reason for throwing “the people” under the bus shortly, but for now, Saul was about to get an earful from the prophet of God. There was no getting away with the consequences of his decisions. Samuel would see to that!

But first, lets consider the passage as it speaks of two men and two ways of relating to God. Saul and Samuel. Sacrifice or obedience.

First off, take note that Saul’s sacrifice cost him nothing. He wasn’t sacrificing his personal property, or possessions. This which was to be sacrificed was someone else’s property. If anything, this act of “sacrifice” only elevated his estimation of himself in his own mind. Look how I go above and beyond the call of God. Saul takes the truth of the sacrificial system, warps it to his own desires, and tries to come off smelling like a rose.

Samuel, on the other hand, even though living under a sacrificial system, is speaking of the source motivation of any sacrifice. Samuel is not saying that sacrifice is wrong, for the Lord had commanded a sacrificial system through Moses. No – the sacrificial system was not the problem if understood in the light of God’s desire for His people. The sacrificial system was to be performed out of a heart seeking to obey the Lord, to seek to please Him and not I. To sacrifice included a personal cost!

Years later, another king, in a time of trial and seeking the Lord’s favor, came to the realization he needed to provide a sacrifice to the Lord. During that time of testing, this king was offered real estate and livestock as a gift from a subject, without any cost, with no strings attached. This king knew better!

2 Samuel 24:24

But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Saul was short-circuiting the system to gain favor for himself. He sought to use religion to gain influence with God, and reputation with the people, even to impress God’s prophet. Saul was about to sacrifice that which cost him nothing, to please a God he didn’t love or trust. Saul was self deluded and Samuel could not have been clearer, but alas it was too late, for Saul’s kingdom was finished.

It was years before Saul actually was physically off the throne, but his kingship before God came to a crashing halt that day.

It occurs to me that another king had a kingdom come crashing to a halt one day, and yet he still has tremendous influence over many. Two millennial ago, a usurper king was stripped of his kingdom when the true King rose from the dead, giving the old king the boot and receiving authority over all to Himself. As with Saul, the enemy of our souls still seeks to influence his previous kingdom even though the True King is in the background.

David has been in the background for much of Saul’s story, being prepared for his time as King, going through suffering and trials to build him into the man Israel needs.

Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

The true King is sitting on His throne, and though it appears the old king still has authority, it is only through deception and distraction. The true King is on His throne and for that we can be thankful, praising His Name in front of that old serpent!

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.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Adam 18

2023-11-28

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

ADAM

His Death Provided Her Salvation

Genesis 3:6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Hebrews 2:14
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

Adam joined his wife in death, but was not the one to deliver her. In his decision to join her, he sacrificed his life for her, as did Jesus for us.

Although it is hypothetical, consider the ramifications for Eve if Adam had not joined her in this decision. If he had not joined her in death – she would have had no hope of any offspring and therefore no deliverer to rescue her. No – in joining her in death he suffered for his decision. He, as we all are, was impotent to save himself, little lone his wife. Yet even in this act of joining her in death, it reflects the Lord’s heart for His bride, in that He suffered through death to be the Deliverer, the Savior of all.

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Names of God – ALPHA AND OMEGA – 26

2023-11-27

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.

26

ALPHA AND OMEGA

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Recently we were considering this verse regarding the description of Jesus as the “Almighty, the One who has authority over heaven and earth.

In this description of God, John is speaking of the Lord God’s message, for both of alpha and omega are letters of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and end letters of the Greek alphabet.

When we think of the alphabet, we are considering the very building blocks of all written communication. To reveal that He is the Alpha and Omega is to speak of Him as the foundation of God’s written communication for us.

John speaks of Jesus as the Logos in an earlier writing. Jesus is the Word, the message that we need to hear, the full communication of God to man.

God’s full message in living form!

Matthew 17:4,5
And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (emphasis mine)

Jesus. Listen to Him.

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!

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Philippian Bits – 2:30

2023-11-26

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.

2:30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

What is going on in this verse? Is Paul laying a guilt trip on the Philippians? This seems so out of character for this letter.

My first reading of the verse seems to imply that Paul was expecting a service from the Philippians that they were not willing to provide. But that cannot be the intended meaning, for this church is the one church we know of that repeatedly provided support for the apostle.

So when Paul brings up the “lacking in your service to me”, what in tarnation is he trying to say?

Let’s take a step back from the specific situation to the general lifestyle of believers. We are all to serve one another, to be a community of caring for one another whether we are 5 feet from our brother or 500 miles from our brother. But this physical distance makes it impossible to physically serve those who are a distance away form us. It is an impossibility!

The Philippians sent Epaphroditus to provide for Paul the funds from those in the church, and to supply assistance, or service for a period of time to the apostle. To be within “5 feet” from the apostle, providing a service to their loved apostle through the physical presence of the missionary they sent. The Philippians were lacking, (as all churches are) in providing service due to the physical world we live in. Paul is making a statement of fact, as opposed to laying a guilt trip on those he loved.

It is good to remember that we all are always debtors to our brothers, that we all owe love to our brothers and sisters. We all are debtors to our brothers and sisters.

Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

The only One who does not owe us love is the One who provided the most scandalous love possible. He is the One who loves the most unlovely, the most hateful, despised and rejecting people imaginable. The grace of God is uber abundant!

We must remember that He is the One who, out of sheer grace, provided this love we walk in every day, and is the example for us to follow. Out of His love towards us, we are to love others.

We “owe” it to them, for He is worthy.

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Psalms for Psome – Ps 55.03

2023-11-25

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 55.03

9 – Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 – Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 – ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.

As suggested in our first installment on this Psalm, I am of the opinion this psalm is cry out to God in relation to the rebellion of David’s son Absolom, and his trusted advisor, Ahithophel, Bathsheba’s grandfather. David understood that success for the rebels depended on good planning, and wisdom in the fight. David resorted to a two pronged approach. Seeking the Lord for his safety, and strategic use of available resources.

First off, this prayer is David’s cry for help to the Lord in a very specific way, as he seeks to defeat those who rose up against him. Secondly, to divide (or confuse) the message Absolom hears will bring the greatest oppotunity for David to survive this threat.

David’s strategic use of available resource becomes available when he flees the city of Jerusalem, at such a low point in his life. As he is ascending the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered, he was informed that Ahithophel, his counsellor joined with his son Absolom in the rebellion. With Ahithophel, success (humanly speaking) was guaranteed for Absolom.

Yet in this lowest of low points for the king, a man comes to his service. Hushai the Achite arrived before the king with his coat torn and dirt on his head. He was in deep sorrow for the king and faithful in his friendship to David. As he presents himself to David in his sorrow, David – the warrior that he is – is not shy is seeing Hushai as a resource to defeat the rebellion. He surely is a bright star in David’s dark night.

Also note that Ahithophel and Hushai had history in David’s inner circle, and I assume they knew each other well. For Hushai to take on the espionage that David requests is very dangerous, for Ahithophel must surely know of Hushai’s prinicpal station in life as David’s friend.

1 Chronicles 27:33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.

Having laid the background to my understanding of this time in David’s life, and having Hushai go into the enemy camp with the goal of frustrating Ahithophel’s wisdom for Absolom is genius. But it is only the plans of a man, of a king on the run. Hence the cry out to God in verse 9 of our psalm.

Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.

David saw the opportunity with Hushai, but realized the only success he truly had was in God providing the confusion needed for Absolom to make a critical mistake. Without Hushai, Ahithophel would have singular influence over Absolom. David may have seen this this as the critical point of success or failure in returning the the throne.

David’s prayer of confusion, of dividing thier tongues, of have two conflicting messages provided to Absolom, was only a plan, good as it was, but the execution and direction of Absolom’s decisions were dependent only on God. And David knew it!

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

The Lord indeed turns the heart of a king (and serf) wherever He wills, and David, in his prayer, was not shy about seeking God’s favor in the current crisis. David used the offer of Hushai’s service to set up a situation that God could turn Absolom’s decision into foolishness.

I believe David’s specific cry for help had this background in his mind. He sent a spy into the midst of the enemy, and provided an alternate message to Ahithphels counsel. Now it was up to God to steer Absolom’s decision. For further reading, see 2 Samuel 17:1- 23 for Hushai’s success with Absolom. Note how Hushai catered to Absolom’s pride with his counsel!

Considering the situation, that is Hushai’s sudden turn from his friend David and Ahithophel’s suicide based on Absolom’s decision to follow Hushai’s counsel, for Absolom to continue with Hushai’s counsel seems most unwise for Absolom. Why did he continue with his decision? Do I hear that pride motivator Hushai introduced into the argument ringing in the air?

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

God is good, and God can use even the pride of man to bring glory to his name. May his name be praised.

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Names of God – ALMIGHTY – 25

2023-11-24

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.

25

ALMIGHTY

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

We have earlier considered the Old Testament reference to “Almighty” in our fifth post in this series, as in Names of God – EL SHADDAI (ALMIGHTY GOD) – 5. The passage we considered was in the early narrative found in Genesis 17, when God spoke to Abraham at 99 years old!

This Greek name bears much of the same message, yet I sense an expansion of the thought.

Let me try to explain.

The term for almighty in the Greek is παντοκράτωρ pantokrátōr, made up of πᾶς pâs, referring to each, all, any or everything and κράτος krátos, referring to dominion, power and strength. Now at first glance, you may ask what is the difference in this description beyond that in the earlier post, when Abraham was spoken to. And granted there may not be much, for I do not want to go beyond what the Word is trying to communicate to us.

Yet when Abraham was spoken to, it was in relation to his own life, his progeny, his offspring. It was in relation to a single individual, a man of faith, following God to the best of His knowledge.

In our current study, this message is given to multitudes of believers, and speaks of national, even global dominion as the One who was crucified has been granted all authority on earth and heaven.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Although I cannot speak for how Abraham understood the self revelation of God in relation to being almighty, we New Covenant believers have no reason to limit the extent of His control of the universe. As John records, multitudes are now expressing the truth of His reign over all!

Revelation 19:6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

All things are within His sight and as the King, He has control over all things. He decides to allow or to redirect, to permit or to restrict, to let happen or to force change.

He is the Sovereign King and as the King, He is the Almighty. Can we rest in that truth?

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.

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Conditional Security – Galatians 5:1-4

2023-11-23

Galations 5:1-4

1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. –

In Paul’s writing, I do not recall a time when he is harsher, more blunt or shocking than in this passage. There may be a passage in Romans or 1 Corinthians, but I gotta remind myself – this isn’t a competition. This passage is simply a tough one to take in no matter how you approach it.

Tough Issue 1

Paul is in the midst of reprimanding the church in Galatia for their desire to use the law for a basis of sanctification, for living correctly in front of God, for maintaining a relationship with the Lord. The first issue that is tough for me to understand is the fact that Paul does not speak of sanctification in this passage, but justification. The same justification the same author speaks of in Romans 3:24

…justified by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

or how about Romans 5:1

…since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

My point is bringing these two (out of many possible verses) to our discussion is that Paul refers to justification as a past act, not a continual act. That is, when I repented, and placed my faith in the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice for me, I was (past tense) justified. At that point, as I understand the Word, the process of sanctification began, a continual process of becoming like Him, of following His and His will for me, frail and incomplete as that is.

So why does Paul bring up justification, as opposed to sanctification? He is addressing his message to believers, and he is going back to the very foundation of their Christian life, the point of rebirth! Are we to see this dependence on the law, circumcision in this particular instance, to be so serious that justification is nullified?

Ok, might Paul be referring to those who simply think they are Christians in the Body, and trying to reveal to them their utter error in never trusting Christ? Why would Paul address them as believers if they are not? Does that not introduce confusion into the passage, especially for those who truly are believers? I don’t understand Paul shifting gears in relation to who he is talking to in this passage.

Tough Issue 2

To be severed!

Tough issue number two. When Paul speaks of “severed” from Christ, he is referring to one who had not been severed earlier. Let me try to explain my thought.

When my son is cooking chicken for his ol’ dad to enjoy a good supper, I see him with his cleaver “severing” the leg from the body. The leg was attached, but upon the act of severing, it is no longer attached. For something to be severed speaks of it being attached previously. For Paul to use such a term speaks of separation from Christ (by their choice – for it surely is not the Lord’s choice), that by choosing to trust in some religious act instead of in Him, they are in reality choosing that religious act over finding life in Christ. It is an either/or situation, not a “let’s improve the Christian life with the law” type of situation!

Tough issue 3

Fallen away from grace.

Either the reader of this letter trusts in Christ or trusts in an outward act of religious show, but out of this decision flows the issues of life and death. To be fallen from grace, by attaching oneself to the Law, is an act that for Paul has dire consequences.

The term used for fallen away is ἐκπίπτω ekpíptō, and it is in the aorist tense. Since I am no Greek guru, I understand from my research this is typically considered to be an act in the past, a completed act, as the English translation communicates. It isn’t a process of falling, but of having fallen. Although it may seem I am laboring with tenses in many of the points I bring up, it is my desire to be clear with the text, to try to take the text and understand his original message.

And that message is a tough one!

If I were to summarize Paul’s message, I would have to say. Trust Christ and do not trust religion! Religion will kill you!

And if you teach that religion is the way of life, take a gander at Galatians 5:12. Surely there was no love lost between Paul and those who would unsettle believers from their trust in the Savior

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Life of David – 2.04

2023-11-22

The Lord Rejects Saul

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.

Todays passage is a very popular passage on the topic of obedience, found in the middle of Saul’s Judgement

1 Samuel

17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel.
18 And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’
19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?”

Saul just came back from putting up a monument of himself and Samuel has the grace to say – “Though you are little in your own eyes”. But does he?

Some versions translate this phrase as a past tense action on Saul’s part, as in “Although you were once small in your own eyes” which makes some sense. Saul was small in his own eyes at one time, when he was out looking for the donkeys, or hiding in with the equipment. But those days are gone.

Saul was given the privilege and honor of being the first monarch in Israel, the first man to be given a throne. As we have mentioned earlier, his position was demanded by the people, and was provided by the Lord. But the power got hold of him. And we all know that power has a corrupting influence on the human condition.

So, let’s consider how power brought this man to this point in the story. What is the effect of power on a man or woman? One effect of power is a lack of understanding of how much power is actually granted to you. In this instance, Saul assumed he had more authority, more power than God by openly disobeying a clear command.

Try to understand Saul’s situation. Folks around Saul would succumb to his wishes, to his demands, sucking up to him to get his favor. He was the one to be pleased, to be honored. A whole nation would bend the knee to him. It was all about him!

This false image of power Saul lived in, giving him the allusion of being the center of the universe, also brought out the covetousness that resides in every human heart.

Notice Samuel’s question – Why did you pounce on the spoil… Samuel uses the verb pounce, not describing a military action, but could be translated as to “dart greedily”. Saul was exercising his “right” to take what he wanted. This is typical of those in power, for the expansion of wealth of those in power is common.

This action of not obeying the voice of the LORD was evil in the sight of the LORD. Saul’s self image of ultimate authority and of covetousness was something that could not be tolerated in the first king of Israel. In any king of Israel.

Except One!

The only King of Israel that will never be dethroned is the One who had all the power, all the authority and yet relinquished His position, suffered for us and became poor for our sakes. His every actions are so anti-typical of Saul, and provide believers another support in our understanding that His kingdom will never fall, His kingdom will never loose her King.

He will reign forever!

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.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Adam 17

2023-11-21

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

ADAM

DEATH IN A GARDEN

Genesis 3:23
therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

John 19
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

When I speak of death in the garden, I am not referring to the act of dying in a garden, for we know that Jesus did not die in a garden, but on a rugged hill named Calvary, the place of the skull. Not a picture of life and abundance, but of death and suffering.

Yes, John says there was a garden “in the place where He was crucified”. My understanding is that the garden was close by and could be generally considered to be “in the place” where He was crucified. The garden would be His final resting place, until He ruined the plans some had.

For Adam, his rebellion was in a garden, and the judgement of God came down upon Adam in the garden, for the Lord sent him out of the garden to work in a broken world. Jesus entered the broken world, being judged and condemned by sinners, only to enter death willingly through His obedience in a garden. His prayer to the Father in the garden set Him on a path of suffering and death that Adam had once experienced in kind. You see, Adam lost his unending fellowship with God, which is all he had known, and his fall into sin must surely have been horrific!

Jesus in all of eternity past, had never experienced any loss of fellowship with the Father ever. After the garden, Jesus entered into a death march.

Adam in a garden due to rebellion resulted in rejection from a garden into judgement and death.

Jesus in a garden, due to obedience, resulted in a judgement and death on a cross and into a tomb, representing death, in a garden.

The message of this word picture is that a garden was originally a place of life for Adam. Though he lost that life, a new (and better) life has been restored to us by Jesus, for in the garden, Jesus brought life and immortality to all of creation.

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.

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Names of God – ADVOCATE – 24

2023-11-20

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.

24

ADVOCATE

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

An advocate is an old term we don’t use often in our society, as we commonly think of one who argues in our favor as a defense attorney, a lawyer that we pay to defend us in front of a judge. The lawyer performs his duties being motivated by a paycheck at the end of the week, as one who stands before a condemning judge, physically apart from us, pleading before the judge, seeking to the judge of our innocence, sometimes by revealing a partial truth, or by exposing only some of the facts. Of course, I may be a bit jaded towards lawyers, for I am sure there are some who seek to do right, speak the truth and desire justice to be performed.

Our Advocate in heaven is quite different.

He is the truth, and will not shy away from expressing the “guilt” of our actions, for John notes that “if anyone sins”. Jesus is our advocate, and John reminds us that He is righteous, not us!

He is in relation with us, and not simply seeking a paycheck. He is not motivated by “filthy lucre”, as the old KJV sometimes refers to money.

He is beside us, associating with one of God’s children that has sinned, standing beside me, representing me as the Righteous One before the Father.

No – let’s reread that passage once more – the passage says we have an advocate with the Father. Our advocate in not merely standing in front of the judge, representing his client, but is an advocate with the Father. Am I pressing this too much to think that the personnel relationship Jesus has with the Father, that this relationship also bears weight in our representation before the Father?

Not only has He died for our sins, and out of that tremendous gift of grace towards us, have the right to defend us before a judge, but on top of that advantage, Our Advocate is with the Father.

One final thought to consider in this passage is that John does not refer to our Father as a judge in this passage. Our advocate is with His Father.

Truly, I am sure that as we consider the descriptions of the Lord, we will find more than we expect, as we slow down and consider the ramifications of the passages we sometimes gloss over.

Our Advocate is much more that a legal representative before a judge due to our sin.

So much more!

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.

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Philippian Bits – 2:29

2023-11-19

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.

2:29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men,

In our last post on this wonderful letter between an apostle and his church, we found him giving to the church their apostle back, for Epaphroditus was a sent one from the church to provide funds and service to Paul. Now Paul was sending him back, and in this verse he reiterates the response they are to have and express when they receive him back from the expedition they sent him on.

Rejoice. The predominant response Paul is concerned about in Epaphroditus reception back into the church is that of joy. This is the second time he has mentioned it in regard to Epaphroditus in as many verses. Yes – Rejoice!

Yet Paul adds one more response he is expecting, and that is to honor this servant. He has not simply travelled to Paul, provided the funds from the church and travelled home. He has experienced a sickness, a near death sickness, that most likely was the result of this trip.

This is another picture of the Lord Jesus, who ventured to this condemned world with the intent of experiencing suffering and death, and to return to the Father. Epaphroditus, in his mission to provide for Paul, mirrored Jesus at least in the experience of facing death.

I assume that as he ventured to Paul in Rome, he did not expect to face death. Jesus did.

He knew what was in store for Him prior to his leaving the glories of heaven, and He came anyway. He was not delivered from death, as we find out of Epaphroditus in our next verse, but he entered death, to come out of the grave three days later. Although Epaphroditus provides a picture of the Lord in his experience on earth, it is only a picture, and does not express the depth of experience the Lord travelled through for us.

In all of this, Paul has one more response the Philippians were to express to the returning soldier for Christ, and that is to honor him. They are to hold Epaphroditus, and men like him, in high regard, to prize them as good soldiers of Christ, and to relate to them as precious men of faith. We shall find that the reason for this honor in our next verse, in that Epaphroditus was on the edge of the grave due to his service for Christ.

The point is the church was not to carry any sort of feeling of failure in regard to Epaphroditus, but that they were to honor him. He was a servant who suffered in the midst of his mission, completing his task for the church and impacting the apostles life with his humilty and commitment to Christ.

This is a man who is to be honored by the Philippians. A man who is a reflection of the Lord Himself, and to this day, should be considered a soldier who faithfully served His Master.

May we also be a faithful servant to our King.

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

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Psalms for Psome – Ps 55.02

2023-11-18

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 55

4 – My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 – Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
6 – And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
7 – yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 – I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”

Oh my goodness, do I resonate with this passage.

How often have I been under some type of stress, and my first reaction is to flee. Run away. Some nights my stomach is in knots, fearing the day’s events. As I take my time in the morning on my walk, I often want to succumb to the temptation to simply walk away from the days events. Don’t get me wrong, for these events are not life and death situations as we know David is impacted by, but though the depth of my fears may be far less than David’s, the reality of wanting to escape is just as real.

At times, the only thing that pulls me back from the brink of escaping a pressure situation is that there is no advancing in the faith if the wind is always at your back. An old Scottish preacher, by the name of Alexander Maclaren, made a statement that rings true for all believers.

“So the psalmist’s wish was but a wish; and he, like the rest of us, had to stand to his post, or be tied to his stake, and let enemies and storms do their worst.”

Remember that David is facing near death on a daily basis within this psalm, and to make matters even worse, the threat is from a close friend. The wind in his face was tornado-like, and his daily experience was one of anguish, terrors of death, fear, trembling and horror.

Horror! This term is rarely used in the Old Testament, and David is admitting to being overwhelmed by this horror. What he was experiencing I cannot tell, and cannot relate to. Yet this passage smacks of the suffering the Messiah experienced on His way to the cross. He did not turn back, nor fly away on the wings of a dove, but fully embraced God’s will. And out of that obedience, He sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us in our times of anguish and fear.

He is good, and He is good all the time

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Names of God – A GOD MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS – 23

2023-11-17

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. At this point in our study, we will begin with “A God Merciful and Gracious”, the twenty-third Name of God on my list. 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.

23

A GOD MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS

Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

What a good way to start out with on our third phase in the Names of God series. Merciful and Gracious. As I new believer in the church, I was told that grace is getting what you don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting what I deserve.

Does that make sense?

Yet, this merciful term has a bit more to it that just not getting what we deserve, as if that didn’t provide enough to be blessed by. This word “merciful” also includes the concept of compassion and somewhat surprised me when I think of merciful. Remember, merciful, in my mind, speaks of the refrain of some action or judgement upon a person that deserves it. To add the idea of compassion brings to mind the motivation behind the my concept of mercy.

When I consider the mercy of God, I commonly think only of the actions of the Lord (or better said, the refraining of rightful actions) and not His motivation in refraining from a judgement. Yet our God is a compassionate God, a God whose heart is that of a Father, seeking the best for His children, teaching, guiding, warning and loving His children.

The second term only strengthens this thought, for the psalmist reminds us of the graciousness of our God, a descriptor that blows up for us in the New Covenant. But for God to be understood as gracious is definitely not only a New Testament descriptor, for there are multitudinous passages referring to our God as gracious in the Old Covenant.

Moses, the law giver, did not understand God to be a harsh, dictatorial God, but when Moses met God, after he destroyed the first two tablets of the law, God began His self revelation to Moses, with the very same description we are considering today

Exodus 34:6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

Moses, out of anger in seeing the Israelites sinning, through down the tablets of the law, a picture of us all “breaking the law”. And God reveals Himself as a God merciful and gracious.

Our God is a most surprising God and His name is to be praised

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.

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Conditional Security – Hebrews 2:1-3

2023-11-16

Hebrews 2:1-3

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
Hebrews 2:2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,
Hebrews 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

We have been working through multiple passage under this series and it is somewhat surprising that this passage has been neglected till now. It is such a powerful passage warning us of our tendency to drift away from the message of the grace of God, and the great salvation He has provided!

When I embraced the OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) teaching, I looked at this verse as a passage that was delivered to the lost, and the danger of their rejecting the great salvation the Lord provided for the world. This was the result of reading the third verse only, with a set of OSAS goggles on, interpreting the verse the way I was told to interpret it.

Lets consider the immediate context, and the specific message of the third verse.

Context

The author is speaking to Christians, including himself! Notice how he refers to “we” a couple of times in the first verse. Yes I have heard that the we could be referring to Hebrews, and not Christians since the author may have been Jewish, but honestly, this seems to be such a stretch to avoid the obvious. Consider the author’s fear of drifting away in the first verse. The direction of movement is away from the gospel, which implies there may have been a time when the audience (and the author) were closer to the message.

The entire book of Hebrews is speaking to believers who are on the edge of abandoning their faith, and for the author to change the audience in this small passage makes no sense for me. There will be a number of these passages in Hebrews, where the author addresses the audiences dangerous position. His audience contains Christians, those who believed in the Jewish Messiah, leaving behind a dead religion, a religion whose purpose was to bring them to faith, not to be a competition to the truth!

Specific Message

Again, as an OSAS adherent, I read the third verse thusly.

Hebrews 3:3 how shall we escape if we ~~neglect~~ reject such a great salvation?

How often have you heard a preacher or teacher read this verse, and then go on as if he is teaching it to an audience of lost souls, that they are rejecting the gospel? As if the church is full of lost souls, and that if any believers are in attendance, they are allowed to listen, but it doesn’t really apply to them.

The term the apostle uses is neglect, and refers to an attitude of negligence, carelessness of disregarding the truth we have been given. A few chapters later, the apostle uses this same Greek word in a bit different way, for he speaks of God showing no concern.

Hebrews 8:9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.

The same Greek word (ἀμελέω ameléō, G 272), but the one “neglecting” is God, and the ones being neglected are the very ones who considered the truth they had been provided as unimportant. Note that the author reminds the Hebrew believers that the Hebrews of history did not continue in the covenant they had been provided! Might it be that the Hebrews of old neglected the covenant, made light of the covenant? Surely this is the authors intended message!

Don’t make light of the gospel. We are in a life and death battle, a battle that will have consequences.

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Life of David – 2.03

2023-11-15

The Lord Rejects Saul

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.

Today’s post we will review Saul’s Justification.

1 Samuel

14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”
15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

Notice Adam in this verse anywhere? Blameshifting on steroids! THEY brought the sheep.. THE PEOPLE spared the best…. Regarding that which was in obedience to the command, Saul joined in on that activity – WE have devoted the rest to destruction.

Stop! Samuel had had it.

He knew Saul was going to loose the kingdom, and this was the trigger that set off the announcement. Samuel had just spent the night hearing from the LORD, and it wasn’t good news. The man that was to be the replacement for God in the nation of Israel has lost his position, is being kicked “out of the garden”. There are some minor similarities of Saul with Adam, but then again, there are some similarities of Saul with me!

Saul was brought short by Samuel, in the midst of his blameshifting and justification of his actions. So religious, wanting to sacrifice the best of someone else’s sheep and oxen! Quite a sacrifice! No matter, for this is the beginning of the end for Saul, and he falls hard!

Our next post will review the judgement that was to fall on this man named Saul.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Adam 16

2023-11-14

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

ADAM

HIS DOMINION

Genesis 1
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Matthew 28:
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

In Adam’s creation, God granted him dominion over all created beings, even over “all the earth”. Did Adam do anything to deserve this tremendous act of benevolence? Dang, the only thing he did was to “become”, if you know what I mean. He was completely passive in his own creation, and all of creation previous to his own. He came into this creation with nothing but the love of God shining down on him, and the beauty of creation encircling him.

Within this condition, God provided Adam the kingdom of the earth, for that is what dominion is speaking of, that is Adam was granted the right to rule over the entire creation. This appointment of ruling was granted out of absolutely nothing Adam did. Please understand my point for it may seem I am laboring to make it.

I assume by now you understand though Adam and Jesus were both granted dominion, Jesus far excels the example of Adam, for He did not have a perfect creation to rule over as Adam, but took a broken world, and suffered to redeem it, and out of a sinless life and vicarious death for our sake, was granted all dominion (authority) in heaven and earth.

A picture they say is worth a thousand words, but the picture of the “dominion of Adam” over earth barely scratches the extent of Jesus’ kingdom. And to return to the thought of deserving the kingdom, as we said with Adam, he did nothing to deserve the dominion over God’s creation. Jesus did everything to deserve the dominion He has been granted. And why? Because He is worthy!

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Tough Issue 1

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Tough issue 3

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Context

Specific Message

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