When we look at the Old Testament, we see that our God is a God of details. He was very specific with His people about what He wanted. We see this in the book of Exodus where God gives His directions to the people about how to build a place of worship, the Tabernacle, and how worship was to be done. The details are tedious...the reading is tedious...but one can see the point of this by reading Exodus chapters 25-30. Here is an excerpt:
"You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width-it shall be square--and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and it horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. Two gold rings you shall make for it....." This is the description that God gives for this one small part of the worship place, the Tabernacle.
Another example, speaking of the clothes that the priest shall wear:
"And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron you brother and his sons, that he may minster to Me as priest." The writing goes on to give great detail in the making of each one of these items.
One might ask why there is so much attention given to these items of worship. There could be several answers. But the first would be that this is what God wanted. And He wanted to be praised. He wanted anyone coming in worship to Him to be perfect in dress, appearance, and in the manner of worship. He is God, and He deserves to be worshiped in His own way. He also wanted obedience, wanted to see obedience in His people.
But then we go to the New Testament and look at the development of Christianity there, looking at the words of Jesus as He brought us a new way. The question arises, Is God different in the new age? And why don't we see this kind of detail being described in the NT? The immediate answer is that God certainly isn't changed. He is the same always. But the NT does describe to us a new kind of law. Here our Lord wants us to be priests, all of us (Revelation 1:6). Just as the OT priests, a small percentage of the people, were to approach God in a special way, a way beautiful to Him, the NT priests (we, as followers of Him) are now the priests that must approach God in a very special way. But the new way isn't in the details of the OT. The new way is in spiritual perfection. He wants us to be spiritually beautiful. We see this in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7, as Jesus taught the people to be special in heart, in nature, and in love.
Those of us who are followers need to be very careful in our approaching our Lord, to do so in great respect and praise, knowing that He is a God who cares about details, details of our lives, our hearts, our nature, our love....and our obedience.
Thanks for reading and have a great week. Feel the love.....
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
In The Beginning
There are at least two places in the Bible that talk about "In the Beginning." One is in the Old Testament and one in the New. I suppose that there is no other event anywhere recorded more important than this one. If there was no beginning of this world, then of course there would be no us...and no blog here to discuss it. So perhaps it is worth our time to consider the beginning.
It has always been interesting to me that the Bible begins with this one powerful statement, maybe the most powerful statement ever made: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." That answers a lot of questions like, how did the world and heavens get made? And is there a God? And the verses thereafter tell us how it all happened and in what sequence. Were it not for the first chapters of Genesis we would have no idea...except for the wild speculations that we sometimes hear from the "wise" of our day.
In the New Testament we read of the beginning in the first chapter of the book of John. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." In this passage we learn something new about the Creation, the beginning. We learn that the Word, Jesus, was there and not only there, but it was all made through Him. Thus we know that Jesus was, always was, always existed, always was active...and was active in the Creation.
For those of us who are believers, who are Christians, we know that these things are true. But for much of the world, much of society, these teachings, these facts are not so known or accepted. We know there is a God, that He made the world and all around it, and we are comforted in knowing that He is in control.
Praise be Him, the great and mighty LORD.
Thanks for reading and have a great and happy week!
It has always been interesting to me that the Bible begins with this one powerful statement, maybe the most powerful statement ever made: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." That answers a lot of questions like, how did the world and heavens get made? And is there a God? And the verses thereafter tell us how it all happened and in what sequence. Were it not for the first chapters of Genesis we would have no idea...except for the wild speculations that we sometimes hear from the "wise" of our day.
In the New Testament we read of the beginning in the first chapter of the book of John. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." In this passage we learn something new about the Creation, the beginning. We learn that the Word, Jesus, was there and not only there, but it was all made through Him. Thus we know that Jesus was, always was, always existed, always was active...and was active in the Creation.
For those of us who are believers, who are Christians, we know that these things are true. But for much of the world, much of society, these teachings, these facts are not so known or accepted. We know there is a God, that He made the world and all around it, and we are comforted in knowing that He is in control.
Praise be Him, the great and mighty LORD.
Thanks for reading and have a great and happy week!
Saturday, June 13, 2015
The Lord
It has been mentioned in this blog before that the most often spoken phrase from God Himself is, "I AM the LORD." It is obvious from study of the Old Testament that recognition of God as Lord is of extreme importance to Him.
In reading the Psalms, I noticed this phrase in Psalm 81:10. It says, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But My people would not listen to Me; Israel would not submit to Me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices." In this passage we see the rejection of God's people in old days. Perhaps the question here is, "Are we doing this today?"
And reading this passage I cannot help but think of Moses. He argued with God when God came to him and told him he would be leading His people out of Egyptian captivity. Moses did not think he was the man for this job...and put up quite a debate with God over the matter. But we know that God would not take no for an answer, and Moses was the chosen leader. He even said to God, "When I go to the people to tell them, who shall I say sent me?" And God said, "Tell them I AM sent you." God is the great I AM; not was... or is to be... but just I AM. He is and always is.
And Jesus addressed the importance of Moses several times. One good example is John 5:45, where Jesus says, "Do not think I came to accuse you before the Father. You have one who accuses you: Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me." All of the Jewish people of that day...and really any day....knew about Moses. But where Moses wrote about the fact that a Messiah would come one day, they didn't really believe or take note. And Jesus is saying that if they didn't heed Moses, they weren't going to heed Jesus.
And perhaps it is that way today to a large extent. People don't really care so much about Jesus. Yes, He is the only answer, but most don't care.
Let us care! Thanks for reading and have a great week.
In reading the Psalms, I noticed this phrase in Psalm 81:10. It says, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But My people would not listen to Me; Israel would not submit to Me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices." In this passage we see the rejection of God's people in old days. Perhaps the question here is, "Are we doing this today?"
And reading this passage I cannot help but think of Moses. He argued with God when God came to him and told him he would be leading His people out of Egyptian captivity. Moses did not think he was the man for this job...and put up quite a debate with God over the matter. But we know that God would not take no for an answer, and Moses was the chosen leader. He even said to God, "When I go to the people to tell them, who shall I say sent me?" And God said, "Tell them I AM sent you." God is the great I AM; not was... or is to be... but just I AM. He is and always is.
And Jesus addressed the importance of Moses several times. One good example is John 5:45, where Jesus says, "Do not think I came to accuse you before the Father. You have one who accuses you: Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me." All of the Jewish people of that day...and really any day....knew about Moses. But where Moses wrote about the fact that a Messiah would come one day, they didn't really believe or take note. And Jesus is saying that if they didn't heed Moses, they weren't going to heed Jesus.
And perhaps it is that way today to a large extent. People don't really care so much about Jesus. Yes, He is the only answer, but most don't care.
Let us care! Thanks for reading and have a great week.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
The Authority of Jesus
We find in the New Testament that Jesus had to establish His authority on speaking with the Jews. They didn't want to believe that He was really the Christ, the Messiah that had been foretold in the old scriptures. And so the Jews, especially the Jewish leaders, would challenge Jesus and His authority, saying that He had no right to claim to be the Son of God.
In John chapter 5 we find that Jesus healed a lame man, one who had been sick for 38 years and was unable to get into the healing waters. Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath. The man arises and carries his bed with him, prompting the Jews to criticize Jesus and the man. By Jewish tradition this could be worthy of death for Jesus, so they sought to kill Him.
To make matters worse, Jesus said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." Jesus was quite outspoken about His authority and position with the Father.
Jesus then followed this event with some very powerful statements that we should note:
"For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will."
"...he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."
Speaking to the Jews specifically, "Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father, there is one who accuses you--Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
In this last statement to the Jews He is referring to the fact that Moses, many generations before, had told them that a Messiah would be coming. But they were not believing that Jesus is the one. This hatred for Jesus would carry on through to the death of Jesus, to the insistence by the Jews on Jesus being crucified.
Jesus is truly the Son of God and is the only Way to truth and salvation.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
In John chapter 5 we find that Jesus healed a lame man, one who had been sick for 38 years and was unable to get into the healing waters. Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath. The man arises and carries his bed with him, prompting the Jews to criticize Jesus and the man. By Jewish tradition this could be worthy of death for Jesus, so they sought to kill Him.
To make matters worse, Jesus said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." Jesus was quite outspoken about His authority and position with the Father.
Jesus then followed this event with some very powerful statements that we should note:
"For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will."
"...he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."
Speaking to the Jews specifically, "Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father, there is one who accuses you--Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
In this last statement to the Jews He is referring to the fact that Moses, many generations before, had told them that a Messiah would be coming. But they were not believing that Jesus is the one. This hatred for Jesus would carry on through to the death of Jesus, to the insistence by the Jews on Jesus being crucified.
Jesus is truly the Son of God and is the only Way to truth and salvation.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
Sunday, May 31, 2015
A Special People
In Exodus 19, God was speaking to Moses, his spokesman: "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
There two points from this passage that we will consider in this blog entry. The first is that the people of God are very special to Him. For sure He loves everybody. But it is different for those who are followers and believers.
In the New Testament, Titus 2:14 speaks of Jesus, "who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people...." God knows His people, and they/we are special to Him.
Then there is 1 Peter 2:9 where the scripture says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."
And Revelation 1:5, "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen." To God we are kings and priests....pretty great stuff.
But there is the second point in the initial passage: We must obey. He will make us greater than we can even understand....but we must be true followers of Jesus, true to His covenant and His will. We must do it His way. We do that by reading and understanding His Word, the Bible....and then by following it, by following Jesus. Let's do it! Just do it!
And there it is....one more time. Thanks for reading. All the best to you!
There two points from this passage that we will consider in this blog entry. The first is that the people of God are very special to Him. For sure He loves everybody. But it is different for those who are followers and believers.
In the New Testament, Titus 2:14 speaks of Jesus, "who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people...." God knows His people, and they/we are special to Him.
Then there is 1 Peter 2:9 where the scripture says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."
And Revelation 1:5, "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen." To God we are kings and priests....pretty great stuff.
But there is the second point in the initial passage: We must obey. He will make us greater than we can even understand....but we must be true followers of Jesus, true to His covenant and His will. We must do it His way. We do that by reading and understanding His Word, the Bible....and then by following it, by following Jesus. Let's do it! Just do it!
And there it is....one more time. Thanks for reading. All the best to you!
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Judah
I was reading the 78th Psalm where the poet is recounting the sins of the Jewish people down through history but especially during the time after God had led the people out of Egyptian captivity. Speaking of God, it says towards the end of the Psalm, "Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved."
There is a lot of significance to this statement. It is noteworthy that much of the Old Testament follows the history of the tribe of Judah. Remember that Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob had 12 sons. One of the sons was Judah. And the key significance of Judah is that he is in the lineage of Jesus.
We remember that Jesus was born a Jew. His true father was God Himself, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. But Jesus had an earthly father, Joseph, and a mother, a virgin, Mary, both of whom were of the tribe of Judah. And all through the OT we see the centering of focus on the tribe of Judah.
It is interesting that the NT opens with these words, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers." There were 11 other brothers but not one of them is named here....because the emphasis is on the lineage of Jesus.
And going back to the psalm first quoted, it mentions the tribe of Judah, "Mount Zion which He loved." We read in OT history that when the 12 tribes finally located in the land of Israel, each tribe picked out the land that they wanted for their tribe. Judah went to the South where Mount Zion is located and the city of Jerusalem was built. So much Bible history is located in the area of Mount Zion and the city Jerusalem built upon it. And in this psalm it is described as "which He loved." God had and has a special love for this place. And for what it is worth, today there stands a Muslim temple, the Dome of the Rock, right in the middle, right where the Jewish temple once stood. But that is another subject for perhaps another day.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
There is a lot of significance to this statement. It is noteworthy that much of the Old Testament follows the history of the tribe of Judah. Remember that Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob had 12 sons. One of the sons was Judah. And the key significance of Judah is that he is in the lineage of Jesus.
We remember that Jesus was born a Jew. His true father was God Himself, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. But Jesus had an earthly father, Joseph, and a mother, a virgin, Mary, both of whom were of the tribe of Judah. And all through the OT we see the centering of focus on the tribe of Judah.
It is interesting that the NT opens with these words, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers." There were 11 other brothers but not one of them is named here....because the emphasis is on the lineage of Jesus.
And going back to the psalm first quoted, it mentions the tribe of Judah, "Mount Zion which He loved." We read in OT history that when the 12 tribes finally located in the land of Israel, each tribe picked out the land that they wanted for their tribe. Judah went to the South where Mount Zion is located and the city of Jerusalem was built. So much Bible history is located in the area of Mount Zion and the city Jerusalem built upon it. And in this psalm it is described as "which He loved." God had and has a special love for this place. And for what it is worth, today there stands a Muslim temple, the Dome of the Rock, right in the middle, right where the Jewish temple once stood. But that is another subject for perhaps another day.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Disappointed
If we pause to look back at the death of Christ, if we take ourselves back to the cross and imagine what it must have been like to view the dead body of Jesus on the cross, what a horrible sight it would have been. Of course, it was horrible for Him to have to endure the suffering and shame of all the events leading up to His crucifixion. But beyond that, it had to be terribly disappointing to the followers to have to view their Savior, their hope, there on the cross. And what a gory sight. He is dead, His body limp, draped, bloody, torn and tortured. The followers have left, as have the crowds. He is all alone. It is Friday...and oh, what a sad Friday it is.
But a new day awaits, for on Sunday everything will change. Jesus will arise from the dead and prove once and for all that our God has power over the grave. And just as Jesus had that power, He extends it to us. What a blessing!
But on this Friday, the followers were down, sad, disappointed. We see this attitude in the two guys walking on the road in Luke 24. Jesus joined them in walking and asked why they were so sad. They said: "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is third day since these things happened."
They said, "We were hoping...." A lot of people were hoping that Jesus would be their king. The people of Israel had been oppressed for generations, and now they wanted to be free. What a disappointment this Friday turned out to be; their Lord was crucified. What a bummer!
But the wonderful Sunday was coming! They couldn't see it then. They didn't understand the power that Jesus had over death itself. What a great God we have. He was great then....and He is great today, always and forever.
Praise God every day for His wonderful grace. Thanks for reading....once again.
But a new day awaits, for on Sunday everything will change. Jesus will arise from the dead and prove once and for all that our God has power over the grave. And just as Jesus had that power, He extends it to us. What a blessing!
But on this Friday, the followers were down, sad, disappointed. We see this attitude in the two guys walking on the road in Luke 24. Jesus joined them in walking and asked why they were so sad. They said: "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is third day since these things happened."
They said, "We were hoping...." A lot of people were hoping that Jesus would be their king. The people of Israel had been oppressed for generations, and now they wanted to be free. What a disappointment this Friday turned out to be; their Lord was crucified. What a bummer!
But the wonderful Sunday was coming! They couldn't see it then. They didn't understand the power that Jesus had over death itself. What a great God we have. He was great then....and He is great today, always and forever.
Praise God every day for His wonderful grace. Thanks for reading....once again.
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