The Old Testament is full of prophecies. God chose to speak to His people through the voice of other people. And this is true in the NT, as well. The NT is written by mere men with their own styles and their own way of writing and expressing themselves. Yet, God is directing the writing, inspiring ("God-breathed") the writers to say what He wants said. This, of course, is what is happening throughout the OT, too. In fact, we see that in the OT there are many cases where God is not only directing these writers as to what to say, He is telling of the future events to come. We will mention a few of these here as examples of future prophecy.
The book of Nahum, a book not familiar to most people, is written to warn the people of God that calamity was coming at the hands of the Assyrians. We might remind ourselves here that God is always in control. He is in control of the rise of nations and the fall of nations. And we might prefer that He always supports the good nation and brings down the bad. But what we see happening, as recorded in Nahum, for example, is that God will sometimes use a bad, evil nation to punish His people for their transgressions.
Another example of a book that prophesies doom on His people is the book of Habakkuk. Again, this is a book, often described as a Minor Prophet because of its short length, that is not so well known. But in this book of the OT, prophecy is being made of the coming power of Babylon. The term "Chaldeans" is used in some places, which is the same as the Babylonians. God is warning His people that they are about to face the terror of the Babylonians.
In both of these cases we see that the prophecies came true. The Assyrian Empire was huge and the captors vicious. Following that, the Babylonian Empire conquered much of the known world including God's people, the Israelites.
There are many things that we can learn from this. One is that when God speaks, even through His prophets, it always comes true. Another is that God is, in fact, in total control. And we can apply these warnings to ourselves; that is, we need to draw closer to God to avoid the punishments that can come....as individuals and as a nation. We learn that God will only put up with just so much rejection from His people. His is very patient....more than patient...but there are limits.
We need to pray that God will give our country, and our world, leaders that will help us get back closer to following Him and His ways. And we can approach Him for His help so that HE will be praised.....not for our benefit....but for HIS. He wants to be praised....and He deserves to be praised. Let us praise God!
Thanks for reading. May you receive all of God's blessings!
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Friday, September 25, 2015
Three Great Emotional Events
The Bible is full of heavy emotion, great emotional events that tug at our souls. In this blog I will mention 3 great events that are particularly so to me. Keep in mind that the whole Bible centers around the coming of Jesus. That is, the Old Testament builds to the coming of the NT, the coming of Jesus. And of course, the NT is all about Jesus and what we are to do as His Followers. So it is not surprising that no matter how far back or forward in the Bible we go, we see that the emotion of Jesus is shown.
We begin with the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22. God told Abraham to take Isaac to a place that He would show him and sacrifice Isaac on an altar. As they journeyed for three days and proceeded to climb Mount Moriah, Isaac turned to his father and asked, "Father." "What is it, my son?" "We have fire and wood, but where is the sacrificial lamb?" We can feel the emotion building in this trip and this conversation. And we can see that this is a type of God giving His only Son to be sacrificed. We know the end of this story is God stopping the sacrifice of Isaac......but not stopping the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus the Christ.
This brings us to the most emotional of all events, the betrayal and torture and trial and death of our Lord. You know the story so I won't try to tell it all here....I couldn't do so anyway. But think of not only the pain and emotional stress of our Lord, but even the effect on His mother, His family, the apostles, the women that had helped Him, on all of the followers who had to stand by as He died.
That brings us to the final event to be cited here. It has always been a very emotional scene to me of seeing the great event recorded in Revelation 19. Here we see the Lord sitting on a white horse, draped in a cloak that is soaked in blood amidst an army of people on white horses, all draped in fine linen, pure and white. This is a view into heaven, a look into the future, of God's saved people who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb. It is us.....all clean and pure...because our Lord has taken our sins upon Him; thus, the blood soaked cloak He wears. That is an amazing sight! He is called "Faithful and True" and His name is Word of God. Written on Him is "Lord of Lords and King of Kings." And there is a name on Him that no one knows. To me this is a most emotional sight.
Thanks for reading. Keep the faith. Follow Him.
We begin with the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22. God told Abraham to take Isaac to a place that He would show him and sacrifice Isaac on an altar. As they journeyed for three days and proceeded to climb Mount Moriah, Isaac turned to his father and asked, "Father." "What is it, my son?" "We have fire and wood, but where is the sacrificial lamb?" We can feel the emotion building in this trip and this conversation. And we can see that this is a type of God giving His only Son to be sacrificed. We know the end of this story is God stopping the sacrifice of Isaac......but not stopping the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus the Christ.
This brings us to the most emotional of all events, the betrayal and torture and trial and death of our Lord. You know the story so I won't try to tell it all here....I couldn't do so anyway. But think of not only the pain and emotional stress of our Lord, but even the effect on His mother, His family, the apostles, the women that had helped Him, on all of the followers who had to stand by as He died.
That brings us to the final event to be cited here. It has always been a very emotional scene to me of seeing the great event recorded in Revelation 19. Here we see the Lord sitting on a white horse, draped in a cloak that is soaked in blood amidst an army of people on white horses, all draped in fine linen, pure and white. This is a view into heaven, a look into the future, of God's saved people who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb. It is us.....all clean and pure...because our Lord has taken our sins upon Him; thus, the blood soaked cloak He wears. That is an amazing sight! He is called "Faithful and True" and His name is Word of God. Written on Him is "Lord of Lords and King of Kings." And there is a name on Him that no one knows. To me this is a most emotional sight.
Thanks for reading. Keep the faith. Follow Him.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Proof of Creation
It is interesting that God told us immediately at the beginning of the Bible that He created the earth. You are familiar with the wording:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." He continued by telling in some detail the process, the order, by which He did that. But there are many other references to the creation in the Bible. We look at a few mentions in this blog.
Psalm 19: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork."
Isaiah 40:21, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in."
And here is the purpose of man: "..For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2: 10
And how do we know that there is a God...and that He created the universe? Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse..."
The Bible makes clear that God's power and creation can be seen just by looking up...and around you. His creation is obvious. And those who don't know if there is a God are without excuse because these things can be "clearly seen."
God made sure that we are told that He created the world...and He made sure that we can see that He created the world and all around it, all of the universe. Let us praise Him!
Thanks for reading. God bless.....
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." He continued by telling in some detail the process, the order, by which He did that. But there are many other references to the creation in the Bible. We look at a few mentions in this blog.
Psalm 19: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork."
Isaiah 40:21, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in."
And here is the purpose of man: "..For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2: 10
And how do we know that there is a God...and that He created the universe? Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse..."
The Bible makes clear that God's power and creation can be seen just by looking up...and around you. His creation is obvious. And those who don't know if there is a God are without excuse because these things can be "clearly seen."
God made sure that we are told that He created the world...and He made sure that we can see that He created the world and all around it, all of the universe. Let us praise Him!
Thanks for reading. God bless.....
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Practical Advice
Sometimes practical advice is practical, but not much fun to give....or receive. Today we look at Romans chapter 12 to see the teaching of Paul to us as Christians. We will put this advice into 3 categories:
Consecration
"I Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
We are taught that our bodies are the "temple of God." Often, we would like to just do what we want to do. But we learn from God's Word that this isn't what is best for us; and it isn't what pleases God.
Transformation
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
The solution to do what God wants of us starts in the mind. As we think, so do we do.
Evaluation
"For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
The following verses to this would seem to put the emphasis on "not thinking of himself more highly than he ought to think" in our relationship to other members of the church. People are given various gifts, but we are not all the same. Still, each is important...and each relies on the strengths and abilities of the others.
God wants our bodies, our minds, our service, our all. If we do His will, we will do much better. Only in serving God do we find real meaning in life.
Thanks for reading. Feel the love.....
Consecration
"I Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
We are taught that our bodies are the "temple of God." Often, we would like to just do what we want to do. But we learn from God's Word that this isn't what is best for us; and it isn't what pleases God.
Transformation
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
The solution to do what God wants of us starts in the mind. As we think, so do we do.
Evaluation
"For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
The following verses to this would seem to put the emphasis on "not thinking of himself more highly than he ought to think" in our relationship to other members of the church. People are given various gifts, but we are not all the same. Still, each is important...and each relies on the strengths and abilities of the others.
God wants our bodies, our minds, our service, our all. If we do His will, we will do much better. Only in serving God do we find real meaning in life.
Thanks for reading. Feel the love.....
Saturday, September 5, 2015
The Greatest Promise Ever Made
I always enjoy superlatives: the greatest, the least, the first, the last. Here we will look at the greatest Promise ever made. And the beneficiary of that promise was you and me.
We go to Genesis 12, early in the Bible, to see the promise that was made there.
"Now the Lord had said to Abram (Abraham): 'Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' "
This initially was a promise just made to Abraham. It would later be repeated to Isaac, Abraham's son, and to Jacob, Abraham's grandson. We find at the time of this promise that Abraham and all of his family are living in Ur of the Chaldeans. This is in southern Mesopotamia, today the nation of Iraq. And we see that this promise was really several promises; that he would be given a land (today the land of Israel); that his people would become a great nation; and the final promise was that through Abraham all of the families of the earth would be blessed. This final promise is the one that has great significance to us, since this promises the coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
In order to be true, this promise requires that Jesus be a direct descendant of Abraham. And when we look at the history of the Old Testament we see that this occurs. The OT follows the family of Abraham down through the ages. It follows Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, then Judah all the way down to the parents of Jesus. Now we know that Jesus is actually fathered by the Holy Spirit. But from an earthly sense, Jesus was born of a father of the tribe of Judah, directly descended from Abraham himself.
One thing we learn from this story is that God always keeps His promises. Note this passage from 2 Peter 3: "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
The Lord loves us, promised that He would bless us through the seed of Abraham, sent His Son to die for us....so that none of us would perish. But He expects us to do His will. And thus...we must. What a great blessing!
Thanks for reading. Have a blessed, God-filled week!
We go to Genesis 12, early in the Bible, to see the promise that was made there.
"Now the Lord had said to Abram (Abraham): 'Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' "
This initially was a promise just made to Abraham. It would later be repeated to Isaac, Abraham's son, and to Jacob, Abraham's grandson. We find at the time of this promise that Abraham and all of his family are living in Ur of the Chaldeans. This is in southern Mesopotamia, today the nation of Iraq. And we see that this promise was really several promises; that he would be given a land (today the land of Israel); that his people would become a great nation; and the final promise was that through Abraham all of the families of the earth would be blessed. This final promise is the one that has great significance to us, since this promises the coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
In order to be true, this promise requires that Jesus be a direct descendant of Abraham. And when we look at the history of the Old Testament we see that this occurs. The OT follows the family of Abraham down through the ages. It follows Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, then Judah all the way down to the parents of Jesus. Now we know that Jesus is actually fathered by the Holy Spirit. But from an earthly sense, Jesus was born of a father of the tribe of Judah, directly descended from Abraham himself.
One thing we learn from this story is that God always keeps His promises. Note this passage from 2 Peter 3: "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
The Lord loves us, promised that He would bless us through the seed of Abraham, sent His Son to die for us....so that none of us would perish. But He expects us to do His will. And thus...we must. What a great blessing!
Thanks for reading. Have a blessed, God-filled week!
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Separation
Did you ever just open your Bible and see what is before you, what message might jump out from the arbitrary page? I did that this morning and landed on Daniel chapter 12. My first thought was "There is no way that I am writing about Daniel 12." But I looked at the page and here is what it said:
"At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."
Now, I don't know when these things will occur, but it seems clear that this prophesy, written hundreds of years before Christ, will happen....and there will be a great separation between those who followed the Lord and those who did not. It reminded me of other passages in the New Testament that teach the same thing. This passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 tells of some of these end-time things:
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (died), lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from the heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
This teaching is comforting, but only to those who are "in Jesus." And there is a great separation to come...as we read here.
There are many other passages that teach about this subject, but we will look at one more only. Note the end of the Sermon on the Mount at the end of Matthew chapter 7:
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
The message is certainly clear. There are two choices in life.....and only two: we follow Jesus or we don't. Lets "do."
Thank you for reading. Have a great week!
"At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."
Now, I don't know when these things will occur, but it seems clear that this prophesy, written hundreds of years before Christ, will happen....and there will be a great separation between those who followed the Lord and those who did not. It reminded me of other passages in the New Testament that teach the same thing. This passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 tells of some of these end-time things:
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (died), lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from the heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
This teaching is comforting, but only to those who are "in Jesus." And there is a great separation to come...as we read here.
There are many other passages that teach about this subject, but we will look at one more only. Note the end of the Sermon on the Mount at the end of Matthew chapter 7:
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
The message is certainly clear. There are two choices in life.....and only two: we follow Jesus or we don't. Lets "do."
Thank you for reading. Have a great week!
Friday, August 21, 2015
Adoption
Adoption is a beautiful thing. Yes, I guess we would all like to be born into our family, a full blooded member. But anyone who has ever adopted a child knows how special this one is. There is just nothing like it. The Bible calls us adopted children of God. Now, how special is that?
Note how Ephesians addresses His beloved Christians: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will...."
This passage shows that God planned to have His special people before He even created the world. He didn't specify then which people would accept His adoption, but He planned a great adoption to come. We know from other passages that God will accept any and all who will come to Him.
We see a discussion in Galatians 4 about the adoption process that God has provided. "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."
It is a wonderful thing to be adopted into the family of God. Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ can enjoy this privilege. And from all that we learn in the Bible, God takes care of His own. He knows His people (note John 10) and provides eternal life for his people.
The only challenge then for us is to be one of His people...a follower of His Son, Jesus Christ. Remember that He loves you....more than you or I can possibly know.
Thanks for reading. Feel the love.
Note how Ephesians addresses His beloved Christians: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will...."
This passage shows that God planned to have His special people before He even created the world. He didn't specify then which people would accept His adoption, but He planned a great adoption to come. We know from other passages that God will accept any and all who will come to Him.
We see a discussion in Galatians 4 about the adoption process that God has provided. "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."
It is a wonderful thing to be adopted into the family of God. Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ can enjoy this privilege. And from all that we learn in the Bible, God takes care of His own. He knows His people (note John 10) and provides eternal life for his people.
The only challenge then for us is to be one of His people...a follower of His Son, Jesus Christ. Remember that He loves you....more than you or I can possibly know.
Thanks for reading. Feel the love.
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