Considering the Bible

Conditional Security – 1 Timothy 1:5-11

2023-10-19

1 Timothy 1:5-11

5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,
10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

What a fantastic passage on the purpose of the law. When I first came to know the Lord, this basic truth, that the law was provided for sinners, law breakers, rebels and such, stunned me. I thought it was to provide guidance for the morally upright, and to a point this may be true, but external standards are provided to show we cannot maintain the standard without help, without inner strength, without the desire to please someone.

Yes, the law is good and holy, but as Paul mentions, we have to use it lawfully, or for the purpose for which it was given. It provides condemnation! But before I delve into that topic, let us consider how the passage above applies to the topic of this series.

How does 1 Timothy 1:5-11 read in relation to conditional security? I have read this passage many times, and confessedly, always dwell on the law topic within the verses, but let me refer you to verse 5 & 6.

First off, Paul speaks of the goal of his teaching or instruction. He aims to direct believers into love. This love comes from a pure heart. This love comes from a good conscience. This love comes from a sincere faith. Love is the aim of the apostles teaching. Not a spurious, feely touchy love that ebbs and flows with emotional highs and lows. This love is to be a consistent, nature based loved, a love based on character, a character developed by knowing the Lord, as opposed to knowing a law.

I hope this isn’t shocking to any of my readers, for love is the core of Christianity. Love that is found in and sourced out of the Lord Jesus, and His self sacrificial life. Paul saw the destination (or was aiming at) this condition for the believers as he taught them.

But what if believers decide this isn’t to be the focus of their faith, the target to shoot for as they live amongst others? Paul speaks of these that have swerved from this target, wandering into vain discussion. They have swerved! I understand this to mean they were on course at one time, they had caught sight of the target and was well on the way. Until. Until something pulled them away. Something distracting, tantalizing, shiny and bright!

The law.

Oh how the law feeds to the pride we live in. If (when) I focus on the law, I become a judge. A judge that has to condemn, and that conveniently turns a blind eye to my own rebellion. Love has to be jettisoned from our focus in life, for the law has no room for mercy, love or patience.

These believers that Paul refers to as swerving are not understanding what they are dabbling in, becoming those who teach (instead of learning?) and disassociate from the just, turning to the lawless to provide guidance for life. Yet the law was intended to condemn. My friend, the law either condemns, or feeds a self righteous heart.

I don’t know about you, but I want to know of the grace of God, the love of Jesus, the consolation of the Spirit, the encouragement of the saints.

Decades ago, I heard a preacher quote this diddy

The law commands but gives me neither feet nor hands,
A better thing the gospel brings, it bids me fly and gives me wings!

Trust in the Living God, and out of this trust, from following the Messiah, the law will be worked out in your life, without focusing on it.

Focusing on the law will not provide the growth, encouragement or joy the gospel provides. It will not! This passage reminds me of many passages in the New Testament that speak to this topic, but to close, I offer Galatians 5:7-10.

Note Paul’s warning of the teacher in verse 10

Galatians 5:7-10

7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.

Thanks for reading, and I pray that the Spirit will give illumination to each of us as we seek to follow.

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Life of David – 1.07

2023-10-18

Saul Chosen, Anointed and Proclaimed to Be King

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.

In our last study, Samuel provided Saul the message that he was going to be king over the people of God, and that he was to reign over them and protect them from enemies. In this portion of Scripture, Samuel addresses the nation, informing them of how God see’s their decision, demanding a king to be like the rest of the nations.

1 Samuel 10:18,19

18 And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’
19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.”

How does God understand the Israelis decision to demand a king? We have mentioned His understanding of this decision a number of times, but this passage makes it abundantly clear. The nation of Israel, the people of God, have rejected God from being their king.

Rejected! Wow. That is so harsh Samuel. Surely the people of God did not intend to hurt God’s feelings, or make it seem like He wasn’t good enough to be King. Surely this option of installing a human king was allowable, for the people of God had multiple judges before and currently a prophet had been leading them for decades by now. Installing a king – What difference does that make?

Well, when Samuel used the term “rejected”, he wasn’t candy coating the message. The Hebrew word is מָאַס mâʼaç, and is translated in numerous ways. Abhor, cast away, despise, disdain, become loathsome… I think you get my point.

By demanding a king, a human king that is, the people of God showed their disdain for God, considered God loathsome, and were casting God to the side. They knew of a better way, and rejected the very One who created them, redeemed them, rescued them and protected them.

Earlier I had asked why installing a king was such a big deal. Can anyone provide a guess? I have my opinion, (I always have my opinion!) but I would like to see if any of my readers have a better idea. Let me know in the comments.

The last phrase of this passage is where I would like to end for this post. Notice that Samuel tells the nation to present themselves before the LORD. The twelve tribes of Israel were to “take a stand” before the LORD, and in our next portion of this Scripture, we will discover how the king was chosen. Samuel knows who is going to be king, and Saul knows who is going to be king, but to have their king, the nation needs to present themselves before God, understanding they have rejected God.

We will look at the choosing next time, but consider how you would feel, if you were told that a decision you made amounted to rejecting God. Then told to present yourself before Him.

Uncomfortable much?

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 14

2023-10-17

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 DESTINY

Genesis 3
24 He drove out the man…

John 12
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Consider.

One was driven from his place of honor and dignity, restricted from being able to return. The second Adam, instead of being driven from the presence of God, came to draw all men to the Father.

One was acted upon, in that he had no choice but to leave. The second Adam acted to provide access to the presence of God. He had choice and used it to our benefit.

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 – JEHOVAH NISSI (THE LORD MY BANNER) – 14

2023-10-16

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

14

JEHOVAH NISSI (THE LORD MY BANNER)

Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,

This name of God comes out of a bloody war with the Amalekites, a nomadic tribe, with the men of Israel led by a young man named Joshua. It is actually the first time we come across this young man, who is destined to bring the Israelites into the promised land.

Joshua was the physical arm of God in the fight, but the source of power and authority over the Amalekites is to be recognized in the actions of Moses on the hill. Joshua, as he was fighting would see Moses pleading with God for victory. Even in the act of prayer for victory, we find that Moses needed assistance from Aaron and Hur, in holding up his arms in prayer, so that Joshua would recognize the continual effort of prayer being performed.

Eventually, Joshua gained the victory over the Amalekites by the sword.

The victory was to be recorded in a book, in front of Joshua, declaring that the Amalekites would be destroyed from under heaven. The last verse of chapter 17 insinuates the war with the Amalekites would continue through multiple generations. In addition to the written declaration of continual victory over the Amalekites, witnessed by Joshua after his first military campaign, Moses built an altar. This altar is called Jehovah-nisssi.

As I have been under various teaching through my pilgrimage on this ol’ planet, teachers have described this banner as a long cloth like flag, used as a commemorative display in the marching of the troops. As I have done a bit of study, it seems there was no physical banner or flag referred to here, but that the altar is commemorated, or named after the Lord, and the character of the Lord that is emphasized at this altar is that He is the standard or rallying point the Israelites were to recognize in their battles.

The Lord is the rallying point that the armies of the Lord were to look to. A tremendous lesson for a young, impressionable man named Joshua as he prepares (unknowingly) for battles with the Canaanites in the promised land.

Look to the Lord! He is the rallying point for His people in the midst of war!

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 – 2:25.01

2023-10-15

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.

For this particular verse I would like to provide two posts, specifically due to the multiple issues dealt with in relation to Paul, Epaphroditus and the church back in Phillippi.

2:25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,

Paul has completed his discussion on Timothy, on his reintroduction of his companion in the gospel to the Philippians, of his hopes to provide Timothy to them quickly, and of his desire to visit them also. For this post, He takes on the subject of a man named Epaphroditus. This is the epistle’s first mention of him, but the Philippians knew of this man. It is he who came from Philippi to bring Paul the latest gift from the church. See Philippians 4:18.

It turns out that though Epaphroditus delivered the gift to Paul, he had become sick, even to the point of death.

Let’s consider if you were Epaphroditus for a moment. You are entrusted with delivering a gift to the father of your church in a far away city, and to provide a blessing to him in his trials. Instead, you become a “burden”, sick and needing care in a strange and foreign city, possibly depending on the one you came to bless for help during the sickness. The sickness became so dire, death was a possibility. (See Philippians 2:30)

The church had heard of his illness (See Philippians 2:27) and internal discussions most likely ensued within the church. Some may have thought it not wise in sending Epaphroditus, since he had become a burden for Paul. Paul may have anticipated this attitude and due to this, provided a gentle corrective to the church, speaking of Epaphroditus in five glowing terms.

Nevertheless Paul provides five descriptors of this man, reinforcing his opinion of him to the Philippians, and in the process, opening our eyes to the character of this man of God.

We shall review those five descriptors in our next post, but for this one, I would like to return to the general outlook of the apostle Paul.

He described his desire to send Timothy, and only placed a condition on it due to an outside influence – that is the determination if he would keep his head after his trial ended. I mentioned that in his decision, he had to “look away” from the Philippians and on his own situation in order to explain his thinking.

He looked away from the Philippians.

Remember – he is on trial for his life, and his concern centers on a church hundreds of miles away. A bit selfless in my opinion.

Such is it also with this servant of the church, Epaphroditus. He speaks of the Christ like character Epaphroditus exhibits in his mission to Paul, and of his love to the church. Though he was in prison, and the church had sent him to Paul for ministry, Paul was sending him back. It was necessary to send him back to the church.

Might it have been due to the sickness? Might it have been that Epaphroditus was simply homesick, desiring to be with his brothers and sisters? The motivation Paul is under is not clear to me, but one thing is clear. Epaphroditus was sent by the church for the sake of Paul, and again, Paul finds a way to send the blessing back, to accept less than the church or Epaphroditus intended.

Paul considered others. Does anyone hear Philippians 2:3 ringing in their ears?

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Yes, Paul was writing about the Christian life, or should I say, Paul was living out the life of Christ, and as he needed to, wrote it out for the church to benefit from.

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 54.01

2023-10-14

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.

In our introduction to this psalm, we considered the Ziphites, those treacherous, man pleasing Israelites who sought to rat out David to king Saul. Since then, I have found that the Ziphites were a clan of one specific tribe of Israel. The tribe they belonged to was of the tribe of Judah, David’s own tribe!

This betrayal reminds me of the betrayal of Judas, in that David surely expected to have confidence in his own tribal family, and yet we find David once more reflecting the future greater King Jesus in his betrayal by a confidant. Truly the Ziphites are a picture of Judas, in that both were in close association with David/Jesus, and both the Ziphites/Judas used sensitive information for their own act of betrayal. They gave up their “friend” to a godless authority, who was a replacement for God in their lives.

But alas, I need to focus on the Psalm, for that is the purpose of our time together. Let’s consider David’s thoughts.

Psalm 54

1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?” O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might.
2 O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Selah

David calls out to God in prayer, seeking salvation from the treachery of his clansmen. From those who were his very family! How this must have added to the emotional pressure to drive David into despair! Yet, he seeks salvation by the name of God, which is in my mind, a fantastic turn of phrase for David to record.

Save me by your name.

I am currently enjoying, by the providence of God, a study in the Names of God as revealed in the Scriptures, and when the term “name of God” comes up, multiple characteristics of our Savior are brought to mind. David, in looking to God for his rescue in this betrayal, depends on the character of God, the God he has understood, the God he has experienced. A saving God, not only from a bear and lion when he was in the fields, but from a giant named Goliath. He experienced God as a saving God, and to that “type” of God he called out to. It was no theoretical deity he was calling out to!

He also looks for vindication by the might of God. Vindication is an interesting term, for when I think vindication, I think revenge. Earlier in the Psalms, David has requested vindication (See Psalms for Psome – Ps 43.01). Based on these earlier studies, I am not convinced David is simply looking for a one sided judgement against the Ziphites, for though he states “vindivcate me”, using the term vindicate is a request to judge, or to execute judgement. David is allowing God to make a judgement on who is the guilty party, and though David may have a clear conscience in the circumstance, yet he is allowing God to teach. He is not simply pointing a finger to the Ziphites and seeking God to condemn them, to pass some sentence on them. He is asking for God’s judgment on both parties!

Centuries later another man seeking God’s will, provides this humble attitude for our instruction, reminding us that God is the ultimate Judge, and that we all shall be judged by Him, and not by our own feelings, confidence or reasonings!

1 Corinthians 4

3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

But who were those whom David sought salvation from? How did David describe his fellow clansmen?

Strangers

Those Ziphites were strangers. David, how can you say that? They are men of Israel, even of your own clan of Judah! Yet even in this description, we are given a chance to remember that bloodlines mean nothing in the family of God. True, they came from the same father, from Israel’s fourth son Judah, many years ago, but that did not guarantee their standing before God. Numerous passages in the Old Testament contain this Hebrew word, and the word is translated sometimes as “foreigners” with some ominous implications. Two passages, from the prophet Isaiah, may provide this understanding.

Isaiah 1:4, 7

Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.

Note in the first verse, the very nation of Israel is called out a utterly estranged. They have become as foreigners the the very covenant of God they belonged to. Not three verse later, the same term describes the foreigners/strangers are those who devour the land. The Ziphites are described in the same manner as the Babylonians who destroyed the nation of Israel, taking them into captivity.

Ruthless

David continues to describe the Ziphites as ruthless men. These men had sensitive information for the king of Israel, and calling them ruthless describes their intent and actions. They we influential, and had the information to destroy the future king of Israel. As we often hear nowadays, “Information is power”! So true for the Ziphites and they used this information ruthlessly.

David’s last description in verse 3 simply states the source of this decision by the Ziphites to betray their own brother. They do not set God before themselves! Selah, or take a moment to consider this statement!

Those who seek favor from a God replacement must not be setting the True God before themselves. How could someone seek a man’s favor when they know God actively in their lives? David is giving us the source of the Ziphites core condition in this short phrase. They have decided (whether actively or passively) to not set God before their eyes!

Conversely, the believer will set God before their eyes in a purposeful, intentional way. Without this core action on the part of the believer, we will fall into justifying socially acceptable deeds, such as informing on an enemy of the state, or simply gossiping about a work mate, instead of understanding God’s ways and seeking to follow His will.

As believers, we need to know the will of God and be willing to reject the attraction of socially acceptable behavior. What think ye?Shall we not, as believers, seek to avoid looking like strangers to the covenant God has provided, and acting as ruthless men?

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Names of God – JEHOVAH MEKODDISHKEM (THE LORD WHO SANCTIFIES YOU) – 13

2023-10-13

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

13

JEHOVAH MEKODDISHKEM (THE LORD WHO SANCTIFIES YOU)

Leviticus 22:32 And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you,

To be sanctified.

This is the Lord’s work in our lives and it is His character that motivates this work in our lives, His nature to sanctify us, to make us holy and set apart.

When I first became a believer, I carried with me the thought that to be holy meant to be sinless. Now of course our Holy God is sinless, but I as a believer understand I am not. The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I am sure of my sinnin’ tendencies!

Yet He sanctifies his church, of which yours truly is in. How can that be?

A good friend and brother in the Lord once described sanctification with the following anecdote.

As a youngin, he and his brother would work to make a few pennies during the week and wait with baited breath until the ice cream truck would pull into the neighborhood. Each week, the two boys would have their pennies in their sweaty little hands, but this one particular afternoon, my friends brother had lost his coins.

Around the corner came the truck and my friend got himself a nice fresh ice cream cone, but in the back of his eye, he noticed his brother yearning for it, and maybe coming to get it.

What did he do?

He sanctified that ol’ ice cream cone. He licked every part of that ice cream, and if I know him at all, he probably licked the cone two or three times. There was no chance his big brudder was gonna eat any of that sweet frozen treat.

He sanctified that treat. He made it his own. He set it apart from everyone else, especially his brudder!

Of course this story leaves much to be desired in deep theological renumerations, but hey – it has stuck with me and when I think of our God in this way, I am reminded that He is the God Who sanctifies His people

And in that sanctification, He draws us into a life of peace and holiness, a life of love and sacrifice, a life that is a natural response of someone who is so “licked”!

Praise His name for His kindness and continual working in our lives. He is so good!

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 – 2 Timothy 3:13-15

2023-10-12

2 Timothy 3

13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul exhorts his true son in the faith to continue in his acquired learning, in that which he has believed. If, as I understand the OSAS (once saved always saved) teaching, this continuance in the faith must be delegated to the rewards teaching. And that may be the correct understanding. But it is an option of understanding, even an understanding that brings into the text some presuppositions.

Lets take a look at the context, starting in 3:10.

2 Timothy 3

10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,
11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra–which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

Paul is reminding his young disciple of his past commitment to his teaching, and out of that teaching, the non-didactic character of the apostle, of Paul’s purpose, faith, love, steadfastness, and his persecutions

His persecutions! He settles on the persecutions topic in the next verse, expanding his description of his sufferings, by reminding Timothy of Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. Let’s remember with Timothy of those incidents in those cities.

Antioch

Paul’s time in Antioch may be found in Acts 13:13 – 52. Paul and Barnabas had success in Antioch, even to the point that the people begged that these things might be told them the next sabbath. The people were hungry for the truth, and eventually a church grew in the city. This was bad news for those who enjoyed a tendency towards jealousy. Yes, the Jews, upon seeing the crowds following after Paul’s teaching, grew jealous, and as 13:50 states, they stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, eventually driving them out of the city. The text doesn’t describe the persecution, whether it be political, social or physical, but only the reason for it. Jealousy controlled the Jews, and the Jews drove the apostles out!

Timothy wasn’t present in Antioch, for we don’t meet him until Acts 16, but the stories swirled about and the witness of the believers included the story of the Antioch persecution.

Iconium

Iconium was Paul and Barnabas’s next stop after Antioch, and the passage referred to may be found in Acts 14:1-21. After a period of preaching, a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. Paul and Barnabas were quite successful in reaching out to the Greek population. But the text also relates of the success of the Jews in reaching out to the Greek population. The unbelieving Jews reached out to the Greeks, influencing their minds against Paul. They actually became somewhat zealous in their actions for the Greeks. Nevertheless, the city became polarized over the teaching, leading to an attempt to stone Paul and Barnabas. Upon finding out the population’s intent, Paul and Barnabas headed for the next city.

It turns out Paul and Barnabas just put off the inevitable!

Lystra

Lystra was the next stop for Paul and Barnabas, (Acts 14:8-23) and again the message was received, albiet with some misunderstanding. For Paul and Barnabas, they had to correct the Lystrian population from understanding they were gods having come down to them. After some corrective teaching, the Lystian’s settled down, but still had too high of a view of the apostles. Nevertheless, the Jews from Antioch and Lystra arrived on the scene, ready to fix that. After a short period of persuading the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city.

How fickle these Lystrian folk were!

Summary

Paul experienced the physical persecution we most commonly associate with the apostle Paul’s missionary journeys in Lystra. Yet these three cities are brought to Timothy’s mind in describing persecution, and it appears not only that of physical persecution. Prior to the stoning, it is obvious that intimidation, gossip, backbiting, malicious rumors, emotional blackmail, and numerous other non physical efforts at derailing the gospel were tried. Persecution is not only physical, and in mentioning these three cities as a group, Paul may be bringing this to Timothy’s mind.

12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

The core issue! All who live godly shall suffer persecution! This is the subject of this passage. Timothy – get ready, for if you continue in the faith, as you have seen Paul in his faith, persecution will be your reward, your companion in your ministry. Now that we have a context somewhat established, let’s continue with the portion we began with.

13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Some will go from bad to worse, while you Timothy, you need to go in the opposite direction. There is no neutrality here, for Paul’s introduction of these evil people and their moral degradation, is a contrast to Timothy’s expected growth in the Lord. But in this growth, there will be resistance, and that resistance may take some form of persecution.

Paul’s exhortation then to continue is in the context of persecution, not simply believing in some fact of the gospel in some past decision. Is it fair to say that Timothy’s expected growth will include persecution, and if denied, growth will not occur? If so, does this imply that a deadness has settled on Timothy’s life and witness?

My friends, be honest with the text and consider Paul’s thoughts here. Is he simply speaking of rewards, and that if persecution is avoided, we only loose some rewards? Or might it be that if no persecution occurs, this may speak of greater things than what we want to admit? If we avoid every possible hint of persecution, is this a red light that should be going off in your mind, alerting us to a truth we naturally want to avoid?

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for considering these thoughts and may the Lord teach us all that which we need to know!

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Life of David – 1.06

2023-10-11

Saul Chosen, Anointed and Proclaimed to Be King

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. Let’s continue with our look into the man who would become Israel’s first king, if only to consider the historical condition David enters into as he soon appears in our study.

1 Samuel 10:1

1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.

In this passage we find Saul receiving his office as king and two mandates for the remainder of his life.

Saul was to be Prince over God’s people Israel

Saul went from being a donkey hunter to replacing God as the king of Israel. Heady stuff! To be a prince over God’s people.

Not only is Saul to be king over a nation, but it is a nation that has been miraculously created and rescued from dangers and threats since it was established, without the need of a king. Talk about filling a position that is not required, other than to satisfy the whim of a population that seeks to walk away from God. I don’t know about you, but I do not envy Saul being given this honor!

Three times Samuel refers to the LORD in this passage, using the tetragrammaton, the four letters that represent God’s self existent revelation of His person. Is Samuel possibly reminding Saul that God, who placed him on the throne, is not some territorial god that is “one among many”, but that He is the eternal self existent God that depends on no one and provides for all?

No matter what, Saul has his work cut out for him and Samuel provides two mandates from the Lord as to his mission in life as king of Israel.

Saul is to reign over the people of the LORD

As I said, Saul has his work cut out for him, replacing the Lord in reigning over the LORD’s people. Yes, it is true that theoretically he was not to be independent of God, but to find direction, strength, wisdom, understanding, patience, and all the other components required to reign over God’s people per God’s direction, from God and God only.

But what is it to “reign”?

Some of my brothers in the faith would say that to reign is to control, to influence each citizen of the kingdom in all their decisions and actions, requiring all to be compliant to the whims and wishes of the monarch. I suppose this may be the intent of leader who is insecure, or that is power hungry. Would you agree that both of these types of leaders do not represent God’s wishes in a leader?

Consider that if God chooses a man for a position, the security comes from God, and if for some reason God decides to move the man onto some other responsibility, that is simply a matter of obedience to the will of God.

If the leader is power hungry, and has exorbitant demands, continually increasing in his authority over the people he reigns, he becomes a dictator. Under a dictator, the people always suffer, for he is not there to serve the people, but to abuse his position and take what is not rightly his.

As King, Saul was to reign over the LORD’s people. Although not comparable in every way, there are some similarities to the leaders in the New Testament church. All of God’s leaders have some commonalities in their work for God. For those who may be interested, I considered what it meant for a New Testament leader to rule in the church in a blog years back. (Christian Accountability – Rule).

Let me know if a king over Israel could rule his people using the same method as described in Hebrews 13. I would suggest that the king of Israel was to primarily be a servant of the people, to direct the people into a society that honors God and promotes both internal and external peace for it’s citizens.

Saul is to save the people of the LORD from their enemies

As mentioned above, the second mandate given to Saul from the LORD was to save them from their enemies. This has been the LORD’s desire throughout Israel’s history and should not surprise us as a specific task. He is not tasked with developing a new social order, creating a different type of economy or producing a new style of worship to their God.

He is to protect them, save them from threats. Given the history of God’s method of protection prior to Saul’s arrival on the scene, we should not understand that this requires a multiplicity of horses and chariots, of increasing the size of the army, or of building defensive battlements, unless directed by God of course. But this hasn’t been the typical direction God has taken this nation!

Consider the unorthodox methods God has used to deliver the nation prior to Saul being installed as king.

Use a famine to direct a small family into a strange nation (Egypt).
Allowance of the people to become slaves for a great delivery to be performed.
Use a stutterer to confront the most powerful man on earth, demanding the slave be let go.
Ten plagues, with protection for the people of God for each plague.
Split the Red Sea to save the people and defeat the Egyptians.
Rain manna down from heaven to supply for the nation.
Parade around a town for a week until the walls fall down.
Send out a coward out to fight and defeat the Midianites, with only 300 farmers.

Need I go on?

To be the king of Israel, from a historic perspective, meant that conventional methods of protecting the nation were not typical. The nation of Israel was to be completely different, not only in their worship, but also in who they looked to for their safety. Saul is now under the microscope of every citizen of Israel, and he has only One hope.

That hope turns out to be the One he is replacing as the leader of the nation.

Yes I surely do not envy Saul’s position. It is a good thing that the LORD is not a power hungry dictator or an insecure monarch, but is the perfect and rightful King. He was ever ready to provide guidance to Saul for his success. God is also ever ready to provide for us as we seek His guidance and do as He directs. He has never stepped down from His throne, and we can be thankful it is a throne of grace, ever ready to provide help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Adam 13

2023-10-10

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

CREATED

Genesis 2
7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

1 Corinthians 15
45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

In our last post, we considered the fact that both Adam and Jesus were created, or that they “became”. At a point in time in history, both men, Adam and Jesus came into existence.

Adam became. Jesus became.

In this post, I would like to consider that the similarities for these men ends at that point. Adam became a living being. He was a recipient of life. To be alive was not of any meritorious effort on his part. He simply became a living being.

Jesus, in his humanity, became a life giving spirit. Consider the difference for a moment. The one who received life lost it all. The One who provides life, voluntarily gave His life up to provide for the betrayer! How unequal! How unfair! How gracious is He! So much to meditate on, and a fantastic thought to carry through the day!

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Names of God – JEHOVAH JIREH (THE LORD WILL PROVIDE) – 12

2023-10-09

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

12

JEHOVAH JIREH (THE LORD WILL PROVIDE)

Genesis 22:14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

What a God we have!

Most of my readers will recognize the background to this famous verse, where Abraham is provided a sacrifice to replace Isaac, his son of promise. Such a wonderful picture of a replacement for our sakes, and a picture of the Father, not only providing a sacrifice for our sakes, but actually becoming that sacrifice, in the person of Jesus Christ.

This self sacrifice that God rescued Abraham from He took upon Himself. He provided the Lamb of God for the sacrifice that was required!

And in the midst of this self sacrifice, He has provided a life line to His creation, being able to provide for us in very specific ways that we can now realize come the the very hand of God. These reminders of His care for us come at just the opportune time, and if in prayer for these specific needs, provide great encouragement to the saint.

As a personal story, my wife and I were living in the USA many years ago, without the ability to work, being in a school for training. We had one child, less than a year old and our food supplies were dwindling at the time. Due to that, our little boy was not receiving the sustenance he needed from his mother and she prayed that night, without my knowledge, that God would provide food for little Josh.

The next day as I was picking up my mail, I noticed an envelope with some coin in it. A very unusual occurrence! As I was pondering what was going on, the finance manager for the school walked by and noticed my puzzlement. He was a super friendly guy and let me know that there had been a currency exchange error with the last gift from our friends in Canada. It was a bit of change in our favor.

If I recall it was $0.87. Ever the complainer, I grumbled that there wasn’t more to help us in our need, but nevertheless I headed home to see my little family. Upon arriving I told wifey of the “cash fall” we just fell into, and she asked me to go to the school snack stand to pick up some milk for little Josh.

Can you guess how much that milk cost for our little boy? I think you know!

Our God is the God who provides in more ways than we recognize, but in those times when He gets specific, it creates an encouragement to trust in His loving care.

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 – 2:24

2023-10-08

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.

2:24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

In our last post, we saw that Paul was considering his own circumstances in the light of benefitting others, specifically as to when he would send Timothy away from his presence. Consider that in sending Timothy to the Philippians, he would suffer the loss of his closest confidant.

Yet Paul was the ever hopeful apostle, for he trusts that he too will come to visit the Philippians, to see his dearly loved church. He was anticipating a quick resolution to this restraint he was experiencing – which many understand to have stretched out to two years of delay! Yet if his imprisonment lasted two years and if the letter was written early in this period, Paul had time ahead to wait on the Lord. Thus the important phrase Paul uses to allow for God’s will to override his own will.

This is another theme that recurs over and over again in Paul’s writings, and is a great reminder for us as believers today. Though we may have hopes and plans for the future, these plans always need to be under the authority of the Lord.

To say “in the Lord” in this verse may also be understood as “if God allows”, or “as the Lord directs”. Nothing is written in stone for Paul, as even in his planning, he is pliable to the will of God. He makes plans in efforts to provide ministry to the Lord, yet does not presume he has it all under control. At this point in Paul’s life, he is understanding the mysterious ways of the Lord – that is that God wanted him imprisoned in order to further the gospel!

That is so against my thinking. Would not Paul’s freedom produce the greatest benefits, more church plants, a further distribution of the gospel, greater use of his last few years? It seems the Lord had other plans and Paul had learned that though plans are good and are to be made, the Lord’s will is the overarching action that shall, if necessary, overrule our plans, hopes and dreams.

This is a hard truth for myself, and maybe for you also. We have plans that may have been carefully developed, with many resources and much effort directed to an end, yet in the midst of all our plans, we need to always remember the Lord’s will is to be submitted to.

In that submission, we shouldn’t consider submitting to His will out of a reluctant, “it’s inevitable” stance, but reflecting on Paul’s experience, see that His will produced much greater impact on the future of the church than a few more church plants or a few more chapters in the book of Acts. The letters written through this “delay” in Paul’s ministry have carried on through two millennium, impacting souls that Paul could not have reached.

His will is not only for His good, but for our benefit, even if it seems difficult or “disruptive” to our plans for the present time!

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Psalms for Psome – Ps 54.00

2023-10-07

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 54

1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?” O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might.
2 O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Selah

As we begin in Psalm 54, some background information is critical to consider. Even David, at the time of his writing this psalm, provided the reason for this psalm of thanksgiving, and it will do us well to understand his situation.

David was on the run from king Saul. He had been anointed king of Israel, and Saul was having none of it. As the king of Israel, Saul had the resources of the government, and of those who seek his allegiance as the authority in the nation.

As an aside, this is one of the fallouts when we replace God in our lives with a human leader. The transferred allegiance to a mortal leader can divert from God’s will, even becoming a tool to persecute those who seek to follow God. So treacherous and yet such an appearance of godliness!

Let’s take a moment to review the passage in 1 Samuel 23, where the treacherous Ziphites approach king Saul to inform him of David’s whereabouts.

1 Samuel 23

19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?
20 Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.”
21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me.
22 Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning.
23 See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

I am curious if the king required his subjects to “rat” on David. Had an edict, or law been passed that required citizens of the nation of Israel to report on David’s whereabouts? I haven’t found anywhere in the text where Saul formally distributed an edict amongst the citizens of Israel, requiring the citizens to inform on David’s whereabouts. Yet it must have been common knowledge that Saul was after the future King. Hearing of the King’s desires can be as powerful as a formal law for those who seek the Kings favor. And of course, as we read in this background passage, the Ziphites were definitely seeking the king’s favor.

https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/david-saul-cave/ — freebibleimages.org

The Ziphites were from the area defined in the map to the right, which also provides the location of Horesh, where David was in hiding, and where the Ziphites were able to locate him. Yet notice the distance to Gibeah, where the Ziphites had to travel to inform Saul of this development. It is close to 25 miles as the crow flies, approximately a days journey for the Ziphites to get to Saul. A days journey there and a days journey back! These folk were determined to get on Saul’s good side!

They bring him good news, and then he, as king of Israel, sends them back for verification. Never enough eh? Give me more information says Saul. This is the spirit of a bossman, a man who is never satisfied, a proud man that uses people.

Notice also that king Saul blessed these folk, but as we well know, these men were treacherous men, seeking to find favor with a king that has had the kingdom taken from him. Did the Ziphites know of Saul’s loss of the kingdom? That is uncertain, but Saul’s vengeful character, his selfish manner and his desire for power should have given the Ziphites guidance on the wisdom of sharing this information.

They should have considered who they were telling secrets too, for I was once told that if a man complains about someone to me, he will complain about me to someone. It is a rare man (or woman) who considers the person’s character he reveals info to, instead of simply looking for instant gratification, as the Ziphites seem to be seeking. Certainly, the Ziphites were ignoring Saul’s character, being deceived by his godly platitudes and were not recognizing the type of man they were revealing sensitive information to.

It is our wisdom to understand those we share sensitive data with, as the Lord himself has informed us in the gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 7:6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Definitely the need for wisdom is paramount for us as believers in today’s treacherous world, and yet we can have confidence in sharing the love of God with those we come in contact with. He is good, and provides direction in our lives as we look to Him. In all our discussions with those we come in contact with, let us not seek the favor of anyone other than the Lord Himself.

I have spent a bit of time reviewing the context of David’s condition as he writes this Psalm. We shall return to our Psalm in our next post, where David pours out his heart concerning the impact these Ziphites were causing in his attempt to stay alive.

May God bless you as you seek his way this wonderful day.

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Names of God – JEHOVAH EL GEMUWAL (LORD GOD OF RECOMPENSE) – 11

2023-10-06

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

11

JEHOVAH EL GEMUWAL (LORD GOD OF RECOMPENSE)

Jeremiah 51:56 for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the LORD is a God of recompense; he will surely repay.

A bit of background will help in considering this verse

Jeremiah had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem by the nation of Babylon, and at this time in his ministry, the nation had realized the truth of his message. They had been conquered, and much suffering had been experienced by the people of Israel. In their sufferings, doubts and questions kept rising to the surface for those undergoing this terrible time. One of these questions may have been…

How could a righteous God allow the continuance of this marauding nation to so brutally abuse His people?

In this verse Jeremiah delivers an answer to the people of God in His very name. Remember, a name of someone, in the Word, typifies their character, their essence or identity as to who they really are.

God is a God of recompense!

Jeremiah speaks of a destroyer coming upon Babylon, and that she will experience the very capture and defeat she brought upon Israel. She is not invincible, though we often think of world powers this way. Babylon was on her way out and she would be be shamed and defeated because God is a God of recompense.

When I first found this name, I associated recompense with vengeance, and there is some overlap.

Consider

Deuteronomy 32:35 – Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’

And yet, the term for recompense has an additional component of reward that provides another angle I hadn’t considered.

Isaiah 35:4
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
    “Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
    will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
    He will come and save you.”

Notice that Isaiah speaks of vengeance and recompense and associates it with “coming and saving His people”.

My association of recompense with personal judgement against myself may be bad thinking, for the recompense is for those who reject the Living God, who walk away from Him, who refuse to trust Him. For those who cling to the hope of God, as Isaiah promises,

… He will come and save you

Understanding His recompense depends on where you stand in relation to His presence and person.

He is a God of Recompense and because of that believers may rest in the truth that in the end, His purposes will be accomplished and those who love Him will be saved through trusting His heart of love, as seen in the One who hung on the cross for you and I.

Jesus is the God of Recompense and for that I thank Him and praise His name.

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 – Colossians 1:15

2023-10-05

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

The Word often uses physical realities to describe spiritual truths, and this evident in phrases such as “Lamb of God” or “Bread of Life” when describing the Messiah. Any one versesd in the Old Testament will understand the association of the Messiah with the Lamb of God designation, not only from Genesis 22, but the millions of lambs sacrificed in the Temple service to God for the covering of sin. Another example is the Bread of Life, again hearkening back to the journey through the wilderness for the children of Israel, and the manna that came down to give them sustenance for the day. The Messiah is the sustenance believers need and using the metaphor of “Bread of Life is a fantastic way to communicate this truth.

But when I come to Colossians 1:15, I am not following the same thinking. It just didn’t make sense for me, and, as a paradox is wont to do, it took me outside of my usual way of thinking.

OK – So the issue is the phrase “image of the invisible God” How can we as earthbound believers understand this? The truth of God’s invisibility is not the issue for the Word constantly speaks of His invisibility. A couple of verses will suffice to support this thinking.

John 3:18 No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen

So what is your problem Carl? Paul refers to an image! What is an image if it isn’t visible? What makes this an even greater challenge for my little literal head is that the Greek word translated as image is εἰκών eikṓn, sometimes may be describing a physical person, such as a man, in 1 Corinthians 11:7

1 Corinthians 11:7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.

Why is that an issue Carl, for Paul is describing a physical man in Colossians 1:15, when He is writing of the Lord Jesus.

I suppose my issue, my confusion, is that I want to be literal in my understanding of “image”, that what I see is what is there! I admit that at times in my thinking, I was literally wooden in my understanding of this verse, thinking that the physicality of Jesus, His body, the way it appeared to the human eye during His time on earth, communicated the image of the invisible God. The term “image” was one I took literally and I did not allow for any other way to look at it.

Story Time

When my family and I were visiting with my brother a few years ago, after being apart for over two decades, something occurred that makes this verse a bit less paradoxical! We were all enjoying getting together, and many of my family took interest in my oldest son Josh, for he was in a rock band, had made some cross country tours and put out a couple albums by then. He was in his twenties, slim as a rail with dreadlocks and the whole look! Meanwhile, overweight Carl is sitting in a chair, with his super short hair and super conservative look.

And the funniest thing happened. My brother came up to me and said that Joshua is just like me!

Now as I have described, it is obvious that we do not appear to be alike, and he is the more handsome of the two of us. Yet in that moment, I think a little light went on, and this verse became a bit clearer. Joshua, as an image bearer of myself, since he is my son, expresses that image in his personality, his manner of expression, his character, his emotional reaction to items, etc….

He doesn’t look like me (and for that I think we are both thankful!), but he looks just like me!

So in all my wrestling over this paradox, these concepts and ideas, I am starting to see I should not consider “image” to be a literal physical object, but that it may simply represent non tangible items that can be seen. This has been a difficult subject to try to explain, (if I explained it at all) and if any of my readers have a discussion point to bring up, it would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading!

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Life of David – 1.05

2023-10-04

Saul Chosen, Anointed and Proclaimed to Be King

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 9:15-16

15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel:
16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”

We last left Saul and his assistant having met with some women coming out of the city, and receiving instructions as to how to find the seer Samuel.

This short passage provides instructions to the other participant in that meeting, as the Lord prepares Samuel for a fateful time with the future king of Israel. Remember, this is the man that will take over the leadership of the nation of Israel, and not only that, but a new office is being created here, that is the office of a king, effectively overshadowing, at least in Samuels thinking, that of his office of prophet.

You have to wonder what is going on in the prophets mind prior to this meeting. Earlier we have considered that the demand for a king by the nation of Israel amounted to the rejection of God as their king, (1 Samuel 8:7) and this surely affected Samuel, as God’s representative! Yet God, in the midst of His rejection by the nation, sought to protect His prophet from thinking it was the nation rejecting him.

What may be of greater interest in my thinking is – What is going on in the Lord’s mind at this time?

Let’s consider what is happening. The Lord provides Samuel direction on when he will meet the future king, where the king is from, and the method of placing Saul in the office of king. All of this is for Samuels benefit.

If I were to guess God’s next message to Samuel, is that judgement will fall on the nation of Israel due to their rejection of God. Fire and brimstone, plagues, poverty, death, destruction, pestilence, starvation. But that is only my guess. After all, this is a rejection of the One who not only created Israel, but rescued the fledgling nation from the grip of Egypt, provided a land of milk and honey to them, and protected them as they fought their battles.

But take note of the Lord’s (not my) thoughts.

For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.

What? What type of God do we worship? In the midst of the nation’s rebellion, God sees their suffering and responds out of mercy to a traitorous people. He actually will use the people’s sinful choice of a king for their own benefit, and rescue them from the Philistines!

Don’t get me wrong – judgement will come, for even back during Moses time, this rejection was foretold.

Deuteronomy 28:36-37 “The LORD will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.

This future judgement based on their rejection of God’s ways, including the demand for a king, would also exhibit the patience and longsuffering of the Lord, for it would be centuries of God’s pleading with the nation before they were led away, experiencing the prophecy of Moses.

God’s reaction in this passage speaks volumes of the God I know so little of. He is gracious in the most extreme way, in the midst of a betrayal by the nation, He provides a salvation for them.

Is it any surprise, when we consider the grace of the Father with Israel over 3,000 years ago, that His ultimate saving action would only magnify this exhibition of His mercy and grace? On the cross, He provided a far greater salvation to those who hated Him and sought to destroy Him?

Let’s face the facts. He is good and He is good all the time! Take time today to thank Him for His many mercies!

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Adam 12

2023-10-03

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

CREATED

Genesis 2
7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

1 Corinthians 15
45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Adam became. Jesus became.

Though both of these men are alike in one manner, in that they both “became”, (were brought into existence at a point in time), the similarities end at that point. We shall consider the differences in our next post, but for this particular post I would like to settle on the thought that both these men “became”. The man Adam, and the man Jesus, both became flesh at a point in time, and lived in a flesh and bone body on the face of this earth, both experiencing the temptations and trials of life in a damaged creation.

Both were “created”, and though both would walk entirely different paths in relation to God, they are the two men in this creation who have influenced this world the greatest.

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Names of God – JEHOVAH ELOHIM (LORD GOD) – 10

2023-10-02

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

10

JEHOVAH ELOHIM (LORD GOD)

Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

Two primary names of God combined together.

We have considered both of these primary names earlier in our thoughts. Elohim and Jehovah (Jahweh)

In combining these two primary names, we have a personal God, as revealed to Moses, yet the strong God of the creation of all things.

Remember that El speaks of power, might, even authority, and when Moses combines the personal name of Jehovah with Elohim, he introduces a tension for the believer to live in.

Is He the almighty, supreme Elohim that is unapproachable, intimidating, beyond our understanding and above all of our thoughts and understanding?

Yes He is!

Is He the eternal, self existent Jehovah (Yahweh) that reveals Himself to men, making the move to open relationship with a broken world, eventually becoming the self sacrificing Messiah willing to die a cruel death for our sakes?

Yes He is!

Brothers – How can we reconcile in our understanding this spectrum of our God? It is too wonderful and beyond comprehension! And yet the Lord promises the believer peace in their understanding, (even if there is tension), a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ 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!

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Philippian Bits – 2:23

2023-10-01

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.

2:23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me,

Let’s remember that Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians from a Roman jail. Many consider Paul’s reference to “how it will go with me” as to his future trial. Paul is facing a trial that will determine his future, a life or death decision that he is fully aware of. Even in the midst of these circumstances, he writes letters to churches (Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon) that need his counsel. These letters have influenced generations of believers and Paul’s ministry is alive an well even within our own day.

Let us also consider that it seems in every verse that Paul writes to this church, his concern for others rises to the surface and overrides his own situation.

From the famous verse of Phil 1:24

Philippians 1:24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

to the well known passage at the beginning of Chapter 2, Paul is looking to the needs of others.

Such is the case in this verse. When Paul is writing this short verse, he speaks of a condition upon which he will send Timothy. He anticipates sending Timothy, even saying he hopes to send him to them. One condition though, and that is how it will go for him. When Paul describes how this decision on sending Timothy will be made, he uses the Greek word ἀφοράω (aphoráō) which may be understood as the action of “looking away from something to see something else”

So in my simple mind, the verse may be expanded to…

…as soon as I “look away from something to see something else” how it will go with me.

What is Paul looking away from when he pens this thought? Might it be his concern for the Philippians that he is looking away from, and considering his circumstance to make plans. Consider that even in looking at his plight, it is to plan on how the Philippians may benefit from receiving Timothy.

Does Paul not look at his own situation unless it is in order to benefit someone else? Is his life and death situation not important enough to dwell in, to contemplate and review constantly in his own thoughts? Apparently, at this point in Paul’s life, he is concentrating on others, and he is experiencing joy.

Might we learn from this short verse a powerful truth. Although somewhat hidden under the translation of a tiny word “see”, it is an obvious truth throughout this great epistle, that looking to the needs of Jesus and others is the path to joy in the end.

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Psalms for Psome – Ps 53.03

2023-09-30

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.

We are visiting Psalm 53, which upon even a cursory review, sounds very familiar. So it should, for it is almost identical to Psalm 14, and with that similarity, I would like to consider the similarities and differences each Psalm is communicating. This post will consider verse 3 of the two Psalms.

Psalm 14 Psalm 53
3 – They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. 3 – They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Psalm 14:3and Psalm 53:3 are identical in all aspects but for one. Is there a difference between turning aside and falling away? Let’s consider this difference in today’s post.

Psalm 14 Psalm 53
turned aside fallen away
Strongs H5493, סוּר çûwr, soor Strongs H5472, סוּג çûwg, soog
Genesius’ Hebrew Lexicon defines this term as – to turn aside, to go away, to depart. Genesius’ Hebrew Lexicon defines this term as – to go away from, to draw back. This term is sometimes associated with backsliding, or moving away
TWOT #1480a TWOT #1469

I gotta admit something. I am trying to find a difference between Psalm 14:3 and Psalm 53:3, but I can’t!

Though the action taken by the fool is defined by two different Hebrew words in the verses, the Hebrew words are very closely associated (synonyms?). The translation given also provides similar, if not identical actions. The fool turns away from God. The fool falls away from God. Granted, as I took my preliminary read of the two verses, I started thinking falling away is less of an intentional act than turning back, but again the Hebrew words do not allow me to follow that seeming difference.

All that to say, the message is the same. The fool departs from God! This is simply a logical outworking of the contemplation of the heart – no God! No restrictions, and no responsibilities to behave properly with our neighbor! I gotta admit that I sometimes pull a magnifying glass out and try to study little differences in words, when I really just need to pull back and look at the big picture.

Note that David is returning to the concept of corruption. Remember in verse 1, David stated that “They are corrupt”. In this verse, David is describing the group of fools as having “become corrupt”. Which is it David?. They are corrupt or they are becoming corrupt?

Individual or Social?

Although I have no authority in backing up this suggestion, I would like to offer a thought for your consideration. In verse one, might David be referring to an individual fool, and that as an individual, the corruption is a fact. The internal heart condition is in a state of corruption, the degree of which may be different for each fool. Is the corruption evident? Possibly, even probably to a degree, but as the fool continues in his heart contemplation of rejecting God, the evidence of corruption becomes clear.

In verse 3, David includes the descriptive term “together” which I think may hint at the corruption of a group, in contrast to the individual. Is it not true that as an individuals inner corruption becomes evident, it emboldens others to reveal, even boast in their their corruption, allowing for the social fabric to show forth its total corruption. Notice that the verse starts out with this group inclusion thought, by stating “They have all fallen away”.

The last phrase may also support this idea of a group of fools being addressed, in that David emphasizes a singular fool in the midst of the group when he states… “there is none who do good, not even one.” Let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.

With all this analysis, let us remember that the departure from God, corruption that follows and eventual evil acts produced, flows from a heart that rejects God. Every day that we ignore God and His will, we slip towards corruption, to falling away, and to evil acts. This ought not to be, for as the people of God, He has called us to life (not death & corruption), to walking uprightly (not falling away), and to being fruitful believers instead of workers of iniquity.

Spend some time with the One who gives life, righteousness and the fruit of love. He is the fountainhead of all blessing!

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Names of God – EL ROI (GOD OF SEEING) – 9

2023-09-29

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

9

EL ROI (GOD OF SEEING)

Genesis 16:13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

Knowing what we know of the LORD (Jehovah / Jahweh), it seems obvious that He is an all-seeing God. But for a proud woman (Hagar), rejected by her mistress (Sarai), and given up by her husband (Abraham), this verse speaks of the revelation of God who she had heard of from Abraham.

Abraham had taught his household the fear of the Lord, and in this teaching, Hagar must have experienced some influence in her life. Hearing of a God that Abraham knew was one thing. Having this God visit you at your deepest point of sorrow and rejection is another.

What we know of Hagar is that the God who revealed Himself was One that had seen her plight. Few women in this time had been delivered a message from God, and this Angel of the Lord provided her guidance that may not have been too enjoyable.

Sarai had dealt harshly with her, so harshly that Hagar sought refuge out of the camp, away from the community she had been associated with for many years. Yes she had found a spring, and it may have been her hope to find a rescuer at the spring, but the Angel came to visit her before she found an option to choose from.

The stranger brought new that was bad and good.

The bad news was that she had to go back to her mistress, the one who death harshly with her, and was required to submit to her. It seems that the status of being Abraham’s wife went to Hagar’s head, and verse 4 speaks of her looking down on Sarai with contempt. This child she conceived was her opportunity to elevate herself in the tribe, being the only wife able to provide for Abraham a seed. Such an important opportunity provided her a status she had never known, and didn’t quite handle properly.

A continual humbling may be ahead for Hagar, a reminder that she was a second class wife, (at least in Sarai’s eyes), and difficult relationships between the two continued for many years.

The good news was that a young child would be born, that he would be called Ishmael, and that he would be the father of many. The nation of the Ishmaelites grew from this seed, and have been a thorn in Israel’s side for much of her history.

Hagar called the God of Abraham the God of seeing, for He not only saw her affliction at the present, but also her past and future, of her child’s future, and of the leader he would become over his kinsmen.

She saw the One who sees! In her deepest affliction, (brought on by her own contempt and pride), her eyes were ready to see the One who Abraham had spoken of. And she returned to the camp, with a humbled spirit and a willing attitude to do as instructed, for she experientially knew of the God who sees, instead of simply hearing the story of Abrahams God

God is a mysterious One, who uses affliction to open our eyes, and suffering to release the wax from our ears. He is a good God that does not seek to waste any pain we experience in this life, but is willing to take our loss and provide greater good than we can imagine.

Although not directly associated with our name of God for this post, when I think of loss in the believers life, and God’s gracious provision, I usually think of Joel 2:25

Joel 2:25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.

God is good and He is the God who sees, not only our good intentions (few as they may be) but also our weakness, pain, rejection, abandonment and loneliness. He sees us, and for this we must be thankful, for He watches over us, working His good will in the midst of this messy 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!

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Conditional Security – Colossians 2:4-8

2023-09-28

Paul is writing to a church he has never visited but he has heard of some troubling teaching in this church, and he sets out to provide these believers the correction we find in this epistle.

It seems there were those who entered into the young church in order to influence believers into a life of religion, or a way of rule keeping on the surface as opposed to cultivating a heart that seeks to listen to God’s spirit. It is so common, for there will always be those gospel gunslingers that seek to put another notch in their belt when they can influence one more soul into their way of minimizing the Christ and maximizing their way of life. With that said, let us consider the passage below, and see if it has any relevance to the “Conditional Security” teaching that we are discussing in this series.

Colossians 2:4-8

I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

First, let us all agree that Paul is addressing believers, and not just any believers, but that are firm in their faith in Christ. They are solid, and depending how long they had been following Christ when Paul writes this, may be considered mature believers. They had received Christ Jesus the Lord in the past. Sometime in the past, they had entered into life by confession of sin, repentance and faith in the crucified One.

Paul then provides some teaching, even a command for these believers to follow.

So walk in Him. Does Paul provide any guidance on the way to walk in Him? Yes of course, for we are to walk in Him in like manner that we entered into life with the Son. By confession of sin, repentance and faith.

You know I was very surprised when I performed a study years back, a study on the word repentance, and I sought to find out all I could about the term. Although I am convinced that repentance is fundamentally a “change of mind”, this “brain switch” brings about a life change inevitably. What shocked me in my study was that the preponderance of times repentance was preached, it was directed to those of the community of faith. Not to ordinary dirty sinners! What? Sinners are to repent, and they will upon their realization of who God is and of His authority. But so much repentance preached to those of faith!

Yet the Word seems to emphasize the need for the faithful to repent of sinful attitudes and actions. I understand that when Paul says to walk in Him, he is directing us to a life a repentance and submission to Him, and that is how we “So walk in Him”.

Have you went through a period of repentance towards God in some attitude or action recently? A life of repentance is a life of holiness, realizing the dominance of sin in your life, and a life of humility, realizing your utter dependency on the Savior.

So, Paul says, as you have received Him, so walk in Him. This action of walking speaks of a day to day experience, a continuation of that initial seed of faith.

It was of concern to my previous OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) way of thinking that after he speaks of faithfully walking with the Messiah, Paul mentions the danger of being taken captive. The term captive speaks of being taken away as booty, to be lead away from the truth.

Now I don’t want to make too much of this term, for I know some consider this phrase as describing the believers condition as being restricted from his full potential, even held back from living the true life, of being held under the sway of bad teaching.

As the mind goes, so goes the life!

Nevertheless, the term does speak of the one deceived as being led away as a captive, even as a slave. Might the implication be that the ownership has changed? To become a slave implies an ownership exchange.

No that can’t be what Paul is teaching, for then he would be in error, because (as I used to think) the Bible teaches OSAS, and any verses that may seem like a challenge must be ignored, or at least understood under the OSAS teaching.

Dang – It sure was easy when I let a man tell me what to believe!

What think ye?

Might Paul be hinting around, warning these mature believers, those who are firm in their faith, that they may need to consider their standing before God? He has been of this concern before with some in his churches…

1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

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Life of David – 1.04

2023-09-27

Saul Chosen, Anointed and Proclaimed to Be King

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 Saul meets Samuel, and things start to change for this man.

1 Samuel 9:11-14

11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place.
13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.”
14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

Saul and his servant are so close now. By chance, as they were climbing up the hill to the city, they met some young women, and asked about the prophet. Sure – he is here, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place

Sacrifice on the high place? What is going on there? We must remember that Jerusalem and the temple were not the center of worship at this time, but the tabernacle. By the time of Samuel’s call into the ministry as a young child, the tabernacle may have been replaced with a permanent structure in Shiloh, since it was referred to as the temple of the Lord

1 Samuel 1:9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.

1 Samuel 3:3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

Ok, so the temple was available for worship, yet we find the prophet going to a small city for a sacrifice. On a high place no less. The prophets condemned this behavior multiple times in later years, as we see in 1 & 2 Kings.

1 Kings 3:3 Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

2 Kings 17:11 and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the Lord.

So, some may think of this as an inconsistency in the message of the Bible, that one prophet sacrifices on a high place and other prophets condemn that action. But consider the expanding knowledge God provides, revealing greater and deeper truth as His people grow. What yesterday was not revealed and “allowed” at a later time is revealed and restricted. It is a common theme through the Word, and best described in a passage by another man called Saul at one time.

Romans 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

So, let’s get back to our original passage in 1 Samuel. We see Saul and his servant climbing the hill, and as soon as they enter the city, Samuel appears, heading toward them, on his way to the sacrifice. Saul’s meeting the prophet was that quick. No hunting through the city, no delay or avoidance by the prophet, even though it is a mission that is based on the nations rejection of God.

Samuel comes out to them, obedient to God’s command, as we will see in our next passage. He obeys what I would consider to be a very discouraging task, that is to meet the man who will replace God, and by association his prophet, by the nation of Israel. To do that which is displeasing in order to please the One sending him is part of the believer’s life.

Is there something that is ahead for you that is displeasing to you, yet you know it needs to be dealt with? Unless it is time dependent, that is, it is something that cannot be done until a specific time, take care of it today.

One of my favorite verses on this topic is Proverbs 22:13

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”

Today is a good day to do what you need to do.

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Let Me Tell You a Story – Fellowship

2023-09-26

I’ll admit it. As a young believer, I grew up in the Lord in a Baptist church and when we spoke of fellowship, we all knew what it meant! Pot providence. (Christians don’t dare believe in luck, therefore pot providence.) A typical gathering in the basement of the old church with Miss Betty’s best rhubarb pie, fried chicken and of course casseroles of exceeding abundance and variety. Looking back, I am shocked at the number of varieties of casseroles that would show up.

Yes – Baptist fellowship was, for a large part of my young church going life, centered around food. Of course, we all know that fellowship is to be centered around the Lord Jesus, but sometimes the breaking of bread, that is munching on casseroles, fried chicken, multiple pies and cakes, hamburgers, hotdogs, french fries, green beans, – must I go on?) actually enables a bonding that the Lord desires with His people. The logic, I think, was that having a meal with another believer is a means to an end, and that is of sharing with others what we have, taking time to be with others around the table. Jesus broke bread with His disciples and during these times, He spoke some of His deepest and richest teachings, sharing His heart with His disciples.

Yes, fellowship still is a food thing for me, and I want to let you know that if a brother invites you to a meal, be thankful. I know – that is so obvious, but my story for this post involves a group of believers that attended our home Bible study years ago. We had about 4 or 5 families coming pretty regular, enjoying a couple hours chatting about life and reading the Word.

After a few months, my wifey wanted to host a meal with the group on a Sunday after church, just to let our hair down a bit with everyone. Thought it was a great idea, and since we usually got together around 3 on a Sunday afternoon, we asked all if a couple hours early would be good this one time. All agreed, and my wife started planning.

Barbecue, tater salad, pies, french fries, salads, and a couple casseroles, if I remember correctly. She really done it up good, and I was anticipating a real good feast with folks around the table. Except, that isn’t what happened. Most of the families that came enjoyed the taste of the food, but two of the families refrained from eating. The stood off in the distance, sat on the couch, and waited for the remainder of the group to finish.

I need to let you know that the two families belonged to a denomination that I wasn’t familiar with, yet in their studies, they seemed very earnest, very passionate. One topic seemed to get stuck in their throat as we had been getting together, but that is something that we all understood and realized they had their convictions. No problem.

Yet when they declined to break bread with us, that became an incident that was telling of a general attitude of those committed to this church. We were not worthy to share a meal with.

How hurtful for the young church after the resurrection, to be split in factions due to religion! How that burned in Paul’s heart, and I somewhat understand. It has been decades since this incident, but Sweetie and I came away from it hurt, shocked and somewhat disbelieving it even happened. In the end I think we have come to understand that doctrine is not the be all and end all. For you see the Word states that without love, we are nothing. A judgmental attitude towards those who claim the name of Jesus, though in a different denomination, is a damaging, destroying attitude that simply brings death to a body of believers.

Galatians 5:14, 15 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

When a brother offers you something, be grateful, share in it, and bring the love of God into it. It is the best way for both giver and receiver to maximize the blessings available!

As an aside, it seems coincidental that Paul brings into the passage above the concept of biting and devouring. Could he be referring to the same problem in the Galatian church? No matter – I just know that I am gonna sign off get myself a burger – this talk of food has got me hunnery!

Remember – God is good, and His children are to mimic Him.

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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Psalm 14	Psalm 53

3 – They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.	3 – They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Psalm 14	Psalm 53
turned aside	fallen away
Strongs H5493, סוּר çûwr, soor	Strongs H5472, סוּג çûwg, soog
Genesius’ Hebrew Lexicon defines this term as – to turn aside, to go away, to depart.	Genesius’ Hebrew Lexicon defines this term as – to go away from, to draw back. This term is sometimes associated with backsliding, or moving away
TWOT #1480a	TWOT #1469

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Strangers

Ruthless

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Saul was to be Prince over God’s people Israel

Saul is to reign over the people of the LORD

Saul is to save the people of the LORD from their enemies

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Story Time

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Individual or Social?

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