I am reporting in from the nation of Israel, more technically, the southern tip, Eilat, which is on the Red Sea. I was with a group of Christians who worshipped on the sand by the Red Sea tonight. It was great! We have been fortunate to see some of Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula, into Israel, over to Jordan to see the ancient city of Petra, and now back into Israel. More on these matters in a later blog.
I want to mention worship in this blog. There are so many places that reference worship to God in the Bible. But I want to cite Revelation chapter 4 & 5. In chapter 4 we see worship to God in a vision straight to Heaven. The creatures around the throne are saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." Later it is said, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." This is a beautiful sight of worship in heaven!
And chapter 5 is just as great! Chapter 4 is to God, simply. Chapter 5 is to the Lamb, Jesus. Verse 6, "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if slain..." And those around the throne were saying, "....you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." And later, "In a loud voice they sang: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!' "
Our Lord is worthy, for sure, to be praised and worshipped; and He wants to be. Let us do this here on earth as it is in Heaven. Praise be to God who offers us salvation through His only Son. Shalom.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
We Need Each Other
We need each other. The Lord knew that and taught that. Let's look at a few Bible passages that show that to us. "No man is an island." No, scratch that. That isn't the Bible. That was John Donne around 1600 AD.
Jesus began his ministry by gathering 12 men around him. These were men who would live with Him, learn from Him and carry on His work after He was gone. That there were twelve relates to the 12 tribes of Israel as well as 1)there would be a great amount of work to be done in the years ahead, and 2)there was a need for witnesses, men who had "accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us.....(and) become a witness with us of His resurrection," (Acts 1:21,22). As great as Jesus was, He needed these men. We see Him developing close friends; note His love for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (John 11:5) and His special relationship with the apostle John (John 20:2).
In the Garden of Gethsemane just before Jesus is taken captive, judged and killed, Jesus greatly needed the support of His friends. In Mark 14, He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch."
So far the teaching seems rather easy, but here is one that is not. James 5 says, "Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed."
For sure, the Bible is clear that we need each other on an individual basis, as friends, and as supporters. But the teaching is clear that we need to be bound together as a "church" as well. Let's get the best out of this life that we can. And much of it comes from the association with God's people. Have a good week!
I will be away for 2 weeks. The computer goes with me, so hopefully I will get to post here and the blog goes uninterrupted. If not, come back in a couple of weeks. Thanks for reading.
Jesus began his ministry by gathering 12 men around him. These were men who would live with Him, learn from Him and carry on His work after He was gone. That there were twelve relates to the 12 tribes of Israel as well as 1)there would be a great amount of work to be done in the years ahead, and 2)there was a need for witnesses, men who had "accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us.....(and) become a witness with us of His resurrection," (Acts 1:21,22). As great as Jesus was, He needed these men. We see Him developing close friends; note His love for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (John 11:5) and His special relationship with the apostle John (John 20:2).
In the Garden of Gethsemane just before Jesus is taken captive, judged and killed, Jesus greatly needed the support of His friends. In Mark 14, He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch."
So far the teaching seems rather easy, but here is one that is not. James 5 says, "Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed."
For sure, the Bible is clear that we need each other on an individual basis, as friends, and as supporters. But the teaching is clear that we need to be bound together as a "church" as well. Let's get the best out of this life that we can. And much of it comes from the association with God's people. Have a good week!
I will be away for 2 weeks. The computer goes with me, so hopefully I will get to post here and the blog goes uninterrupted. If not, come back in a couple of weeks. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Helping Others
Comments made on the last blog posting prompt me to give some Bible references to helping others. I'll admit right up front that I do not have all the answers to this subject; but the Bible does give us direction on it. And certainly it is an important subject, probably a necessary one for each of us to face in our own lives.
First, I would like to say that we don't see the "church" being set up as a social institution. In the New Testament we see the church having a lot of functions, but it is primarily geared to spreading the Word and providing for the needs of other Christians (note 1Corinthians 16, and referenced again in 2Corinthians 8 & 9). And we don't see the "church" being fun oriented, about ball teams and parties, etc.
We can also note that it was not the primary goal of Jesus to address the social needs of the world. He came to seek and save the lost. The angel said in Matthew 1:21 to Joseph, "He will save His people from their sins." And the miracles were not done to see how many people could be healed; He could have healed the whole world, both then and for all time. That was not His purpose. Note (John 20:30-31).
On the other hand, we can get a lot of understanding about the role of the individual Christian by looking at the example of Jesus and His followers. Surely there can be no better example of helping others than Jesus' story of the good samaritan in Luke 10:30-37. The lawyer asked Jesus, "who is my neighbor?" And the neighbor was the one who went out of his way to help the wounded man, even though the helper here was a Samaritan, hated by the Jews. He had a good excuse to not help; but he wasn't looking for an excuse, only to do the right thing. The story says , "He had compassion. And Jesus sums it all up by saying, "Go and do likewise." Now that is profound.....and challenging.
So the message is clear. We must "Go and do likewise." May God help us to do just that!
First, I would like to say that we don't see the "church" being set up as a social institution. In the New Testament we see the church having a lot of functions, but it is primarily geared to spreading the Word and providing for the needs of other Christians (note 1Corinthians 16, and referenced again in 2Corinthians 8 & 9). And we don't see the "church" being fun oriented, about ball teams and parties, etc.
We can also note that it was not the primary goal of Jesus to address the social needs of the world. He came to seek and save the lost. The angel said in Matthew 1:21 to Joseph, "He will save His people from their sins." And the miracles were not done to see how many people could be healed; He could have healed the whole world, both then and for all time. That was not His purpose. Note (John 20:30-31).
On the other hand, we can get a lot of understanding about the role of the individual Christian by looking at the example of Jesus and His followers. Surely there can be no better example of helping others than Jesus' story of the good samaritan in Luke 10:30-37. The lawyer asked Jesus, "who is my neighbor?" And the neighbor was the one who went out of his way to help the wounded man, even though the helper here was a Samaritan, hated by the Jews. He had a good excuse to not help; but he wasn't looking for an excuse, only to do the right thing. The story says , "He had compassion. And Jesus sums it all up by saying, "Go and do likewise." Now that is profound.....and challenging.
So the message is clear. We must "Go and do likewise." May God help us to do just that!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Books
I recently began reading two books. One was called "The Shack"; it had been recommended by a friend. The other was "Jonathan Livingston Seagull." I have several criteria for a good book. A strong beginning is a positive. Remember that Snoopy in the comics, when he fantasized himself as an author, would always start with, "It was a dark and stormy night...", a great start. Another rule that I have is that if the book hasn't grabbed me by 100 pages, I'm done. I gave The Shack 130 pages and found that I couldn't do it. It was very Biblical; it is obvious that the writer knows a lot of Bible, but it seemed to be humanizing God too much. Then I ran across Jonathan Livingston Seagull and enjoyed the beginning so much. But the theology got heavy and inaccurate, and short though it is, I bailed. For example, it brought in incarnation (many lives) and said heaven is not real.
I came to the conclusion from these two cases that I don't want my understanding of "truth" to come from mere men. Certainly there are many good books that will encourage us, build our faith, motivate us, etc. But when it comes to philosophy, to knowing what is and what isn't, what is really true, what the real purpose of our lives is, what is the end of a man, and where we come from, I only want my teaching to come from the Bible. It can become very irritating to read some author's opinion of all this, especially when it is obvious that their opinion is tainted in some way.
Here is some Bible truth. Jesus was asked, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:36+). Note Paul's teaching to Timothy, "..continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2Timothy 3:14+).
I will read other books. But I will always remember that the real and only source of Truth is God's Word, the Bible. (And at the risk of seeming contentious, we can't get truth from Mohammad, or the Koran, or the Book of Mormon, or the Watchtower Society, or the myriad of other man made offerings.) See you next week!
I came to the conclusion from these two cases that I don't want my understanding of "truth" to come from mere men. Certainly there are many good books that will encourage us, build our faith, motivate us, etc. But when it comes to philosophy, to knowing what is and what isn't, what is really true, what the real purpose of our lives is, what is the end of a man, and where we come from, I only want my teaching to come from the Bible. It can become very irritating to read some author's opinion of all this, especially when it is obvious that their opinion is tainted in some way.
Here is some Bible truth. Jesus was asked, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:36+). Note Paul's teaching to Timothy, "..continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2Timothy 3:14+).
I will read other books. But I will always remember that the real and only source of Truth is God's Word, the Bible. (And at the risk of seeming contentious, we can't get truth from Mohammad, or the Koran, or the Book of Mormon, or the Watchtower Society, or the myriad of other man made offerings.) See you next week!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Pivotal point of the Bible
There are a number of occurences in the Bible that could be named as critical events. One might even could argue that there are several instances that are absolutely the key most important happenings of all time; e.g., the birth of Christ and the death of Christ But I would suggest to you that the number one pivotal point of all time is recorded in Acts chapter 2. Here is the reasoning.
Up until Acts 2, all of God's people are still under the Jewish Law that was given to Moses. At the time of Jesus' birth the people were under Jewish Law. During Jesus' life, He and His family kept the Jewish Law. Just before His death, Jesus was taking the Passover feast with the 12 apostles as a good Jew would do. So, all during Jesus' life Christianity has not started. Jesus talked about it, taught them about the Kingdom to come, did lots of preaching, but He did not start His church. All through the 1st four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there is a readying but no church.
The church starts in the book of Acts. In Acts 1, Jesus ascends into heaven where He will reign over His Kingdom at the right hand of God. In Acts 2, we find the Holy Spirit ascends upon the Apostles who are waiting in Jerusalem for this to happen because Jesus told them to. And right here in this chapter, in this series of events, the whole history of man changes. Peter and the rest of the apostles stood and Peter tells the people that this is it! This is the "last days" that the prophet Joel had foretold. This is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that Jesus had foretold. He told them that they had just killed the Son of God, Jesus. The people listening were "pricked in there hearts, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 2:37-38). In verse 47, it says, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Note that there now is a "church" and the first church occurs here in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 2.
If you haven't done so lately, read the first several chapters of the book of Acts. This is the beginnings of the Christian era--very important. Thanks for reading. Feel the love.
Up until Acts 2, all of God's people are still under the Jewish Law that was given to Moses. At the time of Jesus' birth the people were under Jewish Law. During Jesus' life, He and His family kept the Jewish Law. Just before His death, Jesus was taking the Passover feast with the 12 apostles as a good Jew would do. So, all during Jesus' life Christianity has not started. Jesus talked about it, taught them about the Kingdom to come, did lots of preaching, but He did not start His church. All through the 1st four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there is a readying but no church.
The church starts in the book of Acts. In Acts 1, Jesus ascends into heaven where He will reign over His Kingdom at the right hand of God. In Acts 2, we find the Holy Spirit ascends upon the Apostles who are waiting in Jerusalem for this to happen because Jesus told them to. And right here in this chapter, in this series of events, the whole history of man changes. Peter and the rest of the apostles stood and Peter tells the people that this is it! This is the "last days" that the prophet Joel had foretold. This is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that Jesus had foretold. He told them that they had just killed the Son of God, Jesus. The people listening were "pricked in there hearts, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 2:37-38). In verse 47, it says, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Note that there now is a "church" and the first church occurs here in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 2.
If you haven't done so lately, read the first several chapters of the book of Acts. This is the beginnings of the Christian era--very important. Thanks for reading. Feel the love.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Something More Powerful
You may be familiar with the verse in I Corinthians 10:13 that says, "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." That is a powerful thought, that God makes an escape route for us; that He is personally involved in our lives that much. And as great as that is, I believe there is an even more powerful opportunity for us. Here goes:
In the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:13, Jesus taught us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." I am convinced for two reasons that this means that God will take us away from temptation before it ever occurs, if only we ask Him to do so. The two ways are that I understand the Bible to say that, and secondly I have seen it work too many times in my life. It works! Notice this passage in Jude 24. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless in the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen!!!" God can keep us from stumbling. The secret is to want to be kept from stumbling and then to pray about it. That is why Jesus taught us to pray, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." As I said at the beginning of this treatise, it is nice that we have a way of escape, but even better that He will "deliver us."
I will have to admit that there have been times and circumstances in my life when I didn't want the temptation to be removed before it ever appeared. But especially in the last few years I have prayed for deliverance and gotten it. If I saw a particular temptation coming, and often we can see ahead to a potential problem, I would ask God to just remove it. And amazingly, He took it away. I didn't even have to rely on my strength or on God's strength. It just disappeared.
God communicates with us through His word, the Bible, and He affects our lives in that way. But He also takes a direct role in our lives if only we will have complete faith in Him and if we will but ask Him. As Jude says, He will "keep you from stumbling, and present you faultless..." Praise be to God!
Thank you for reading. See you next week.
In the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:13, Jesus taught us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." I am convinced for two reasons that this means that God will take us away from temptation before it ever occurs, if only we ask Him to do so. The two ways are that I understand the Bible to say that, and secondly I have seen it work too many times in my life. It works! Notice this passage in Jude 24. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless in the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen!!!" God can keep us from stumbling. The secret is to want to be kept from stumbling and then to pray about it. That is why Jesus taught us to pray, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." As I said at the beginning of this treatise, it is nice that we have a way of escape, but even better that He will "deliver us."
I will have to admit that there have been times and circumstances in my life when I didn't want the temptation to be removed before it ever appeared. But especially in the last few years I have prayed for deliverance and gotten it. If I saw a particular temptation coming, and often we can see ahead to a potential problem, I would ask God to just remove it. And amazingly, He took it away. I didn't even have to rely on my strength or on God's strength. It just disappeared.
God communicates with us through His word, the Bible, and He affects our lives in that way. But He also takes a direct role in our lives if only we will have complete faith in Him and if we will but ask Him. As Jude says, He will "keep you from stumbling, and present you faultless..." Praise be to God!
Thank you for reading. See you next week.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Who Impressed Jesus?
Jesus interacted with lots of people during His ministry. But who impressed Him?
Certainly He had friends like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And there was the apostle John whom He loved. But what strangers impressed Him? When He called His apostles from their jobs and lives, He said, "follow Me." But He doesn't praise them especially; He expects obedience. The men on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 had good conversation with Him, but we don't see Jesus praising them.
So who received great praise from Jesus? I like what He said to the centurion in Luke 7:1-9. The centurion's servant was near death. The centurion said to Jesus, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof....Say the word and my servant will be healed." "When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!'"
Another case is with the woman in Matthew 15:28. Her child was demon-possessed. She had a conversation with Jesus asking for mercy, and saying, "Lord, help me." (Isn't this what we often pray?) Jesus recognizing her deep faith concluded with, "O woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire."
So, to me, the answer is faith; that is what impresses Jesus. In the Bible we see that faith and trust go hand in hand. We must trust Him enough to do what He says, to live as He says live. We must not be too in love with this world, or with ourselves, or in a single word, self. As Hebrews 11:6 says, we must "believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It sounds simple enough, but it isn't really. It means changing the whole order of priority of our lives. But remember this: He is the "rewarder." Nothing else in this world rewards like Jesus does. Let's do it!
Certainly He had friends like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And there was the apostle John whom He loved. But what strangers impressed Him? When He called His apostles from their jobs and lives, He said, "follow Me." But He doesn't praise them especially; He expects obedience. The men on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 had good conversation with Him, but we don't see Jesus praising them.
So who received great praise from Jesus? I like what He said to the centurion in Luke 7:1-9. The centurion's servant was near death. The centurion said to Jesus, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof....Say the word and my servant will be healed." "When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!'"
Another case is with the woman in Matthew 15:28. Her child was demon-possessed. She had a conversation with Jesus asking for mercy, and saying, "Lord, help me." (Isn't this what we often pray?) Jesus recognizing her deep faith concluded with, "O woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire."
So, to me, the answer is faith; that is what impresses Jesus. In the Bible we see that faith and trust go hand in hand. We must trust Him enough to do what He says, to live as He says live. We must not be too in love with this world, or with ourselves, or in a single word, self. As Hebrews 11:6 says, we must "believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It sounds simple enough, but it isn't really. It means changing the whole order of priority of our lives. But remember this: He is the "rewarder." Nothing else in this world rewards like Jesus does. Let's do it!
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