John 9:7 (NASB) Jesus said unto him, “go wash in the Pool of Siloam,” (which is translated, Sent)
In parentheses the author of this passage seems to be telling us about a hidden meaning correlated to the pool being called "send" or "sent." The idea of Jesus being the one “sent of God” is obviously seen here. But the root of the meaning of “sent” has no direct correlation to Christ, it comes from the water flowing down from the stream right up to the outer wall of Jerusalem, the stream “sent” waters flowing to the city.
But there is a hidden message, one not quite as obvious, unless you study the Jewish culture and traditions of that time.
According to the SDA Bible commentary this event In John 9 took place right around the Feast of Tabernacles. According to the New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible: at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, as part of the end of their celebration, the Jewish people would go out from the city, beyond the wall, down to the pool of Siloam, near the Temple, there they would gather water, bring the water into the Temple and pour it over the altar.
The Feast of Tabernacles had a twofold symbolism. It was a festival of thanksgiving at the end of harvest time and also for seven days the people would live in tents. This was so that they could remember how their forefathers dwelt in tents in the wilderness for forty years. Jesus knew the Feast of Tabernacles was fresh in the people’s minds. Possibly they had just recently hauled buckets of water from the pool to the altar. The people could associate with going to the pool and gathering water on the last day of the Feast. The pool because of its close proximity to the temple was a source of water for cleansing purposes in the temple. Although the Feast of Tabernacles was the final holiday of the Jewish year, it began five days after Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement (the symbolic end and total removal of the existence of sin.)
The Feast of Tabernacles was a time of joyous celebration, the highlight of the year. The event completed the year of rituals for the sanctuary services. It was a dramatic change from Yom Kippur, the most solemn time of the year. At the end of the Feast of Tabernacles symbolically the wandering in the wilderness is over, the time of harvest is come (the second coming of Christ to redeem the earth.) By pouring water over the alter, the people were starting fresh for the new year of rituals to begin. The next Jewish festival to come was the Passover. In the next Passover, the time of fulfillment was to take place, Christ was to die.
So Jesus sent the man formerly born blind to the pool of Siloam where the last event of the Jewish calendar had probably just taken place, where the waters seemed to represent a cleansing and a fresh start. But also pointed forward to the start of the new year of sanctuary services, in which Christ Himself was to be the fulfillment as the true Lamb of God who was to die as the Passover Lamb.
In sending the blind man to the pool of Siloam Jesus was calling out to the Jews at that time, and down the ages through all time to the entire world- “I want to open your eyes! See that the time of fulfillment is now beginning. The true Lamb has arrived and the true sacrifice will take place at the very next Passover, I will be ready for the slaughter. Will you open your eyes and see what is about to happen or will you be blind to what I am going to do for you?”
Compare this story with a time in your life that God showed you something important that He wanted you to see? What kind of thing has God worked out in your life that seemed to be telling you something? Explain what happened and what you think God was telling you?
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Matthew 14:28,29
Matt. 14:28,29, (NLT) Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water." "Yes, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.
Jesus sent the disciples out on the boat in order to cross over to the other side, and again like once before a storm arose. This time Jesus was not in the boat with them to calm the waters when they thought they were going to die. They had learned that if Jesus was with them they would be safe. But this time Jesus was not with them. The storm was getting bad, it was the middle of the night, all they could think to do was row as hard as they could to get to the shore. Then suddenly they saw a spirit coming for them, was it the angel of death that took the lives of the firstborn in Egypt during the plagues? Was the angel of death now coming for them? They were not thinking clearly, this was a time of stress, they were tired and scared, and there was someone or something moving, walking on the water. That would be enough to freak anyone out. They had to be thinking, why did Jesus send us out on this boat? “We must be about to die.”
When fear reached the stage of hopelessness, Jesus tried to reveal Himself to them, coming to their rescue, but they didn’t recognize Him. Jesus called out to them and told them not to be afraid. He tried to tell them to have courage, I am on my way! In the storm once before, Jesus was right beside them asleep in the storm. This time Jesus wanted to take the storm out of them before He took them out of the storm of life.
They all must have wondered if it really was Jesus or just their imagination. But Peter, impulsive as always, asked Jesus to tell him to come out on the water with him if this was really happening. Jesus didn't say, "Sorry, Peter, but water-walking is Just for Messiahs only." No, he said one simple word: “Come.”
Peter climbed out onto the stormy waves and started walking on the water! But almost immediately after he started, he took his eyes off Jesus and started to regret this crazy idea. “Help me Lord” he shouted, as he began to drop beneath the waves. Immediately Jesus was at his side and lifted him up and walked with him back into the boat.
God calls us to do impossible things by faith. And sometimes, like Peter, we step right out to do them without thinking. And that is when Satan hits us upside the head. Life reminds us that drowning is a real possibility. Although it must have taken a lot of faith for Peter to take that first step out of the boat in the middle of the night with gust of wind and rain knocking him off balance and big waves rolling right
toward him. “What was I thinking?”
What kind of boat did Jesus tell you to get in? It is inevitable, if you are in Jesus’ boat long enough Satan is going to send you a storm. To have faith it is not always a requirement to walk on water. But it is a requirement to keep your eyes on Jesus and recognize His presence coming to your rescue, or possibly He has been beside you all along and you forgot He was there. Don’t let the circumstances make you forget that Jesus is never far away. If you want to walk on water like Peter did, you can. Storms are God’s specialty, claim the promise He made to Peter, “come.” The promise Jesus has always made to us, “come unto me” is ours to claim. If He is on the water, then there is no better place for you to be than there with Him too.
Remember Peter didn’t choose to go on a boat ride on his own. Jesus sent him. Be like Peter and believe you can do the impossible, if Jesus called you to be where you are, but the situation looks impossible, then it is time to do the impossible. It is time to climb out of the boat.
Describe the last storm of life you remember being in? Explain in detail how you responded to the situation? Did your response fall into one of these categories:
1. Did you try to row to the shore to get to safety as quickly as possible?
2. Did you quit and call the coast guard to rescue you out of the boat?
3. Did you ignore the storm and wait it out?
4. Did you forget Jesus was asleep in the boat and wake him up and request He calm the sea for you?
5. Did you say “Take me with you Lord,” please, take me out on the water with you?
Summarize why you think your response to the storm fit into one of these five categories? Or share and summarize your own different category?
Jesus sent the disciples out on the boat in order to cross over to the other side, and again like once before a storm arose. This time Jesus was not in the boat with them to calm the waters when they thought they were going to die. They had learned that if Jesus was with them they would be safe. But this time Jesus was not with them. The storm was getting bad, it was the middle of the night, all they could think to do was row as hard as they could to get to the shore. Then suddenly they saw a spirit coming for them, was it the angel of death that took the lives of the firstborn in Egypt during the plagues? Was the angel of death now coming for them? They were not thinking clearly, this was a time of stress, they were tired and scared, and there was someone or something moving, walking on the water. That would be enough to freak anyone out. They had to be thinking, why did Jesus send us out on this boat? “We must be about to die.”
When fear reached the stage of hopelessness, Jesus tried to reveal Himself to them, coming to their rescue, but they didn’t recognize Him. Jesus called out to them and told them not to be afraid. He tried to tell them to have courage, I am on my way! In the storm once before, Jesus was right beside them asleep in the storm. This time Jesus wanted to take the storm out of them before He took them out of the storm of life.
They all must have wondered if it really was Jesus or just their imagination. But Peter, impulsive as always, asked Jesus to tell him to come out on the water with him if this was really happening. Jesus didn't say, "Sorry, Peter, but water-walking is Just for Messiahs only." No, he said one simple word: “Come.”
Peter climbed out onto the stormy waves and started walking on the water! But almost immediately after he started, he took his eyes off Jesus and started to regret this crazy idea. “Help me Lord” he shouted, as he began to drop beneath the waves. Immediately Jesus was at his side and lifted him up and walked with him back into the boat.
God calls us to do impossible things by faith. And sometimes, like Peter, we step right out to do them without thinking. And that is when Satan hits us upside the head. Life reminds us that drowning is a real possibility. Although it must have taken a lot of faith for Peter to take that first step out of the boat in the middle of the night with gust of wind and rain knocking him off balance and big waves rolling right
toward him. “What was I thinking?”
What kind of boat did Jesus tell you to get in? It is inevitable, if you are in Jesus’ boat long enough Satan is going to send you a storm. To have faith it is not always a requirement to walk on water. But it is a requirement to keep your eyes on Jesus and recognize His presence coming to your rescue, or possibly He has been beside you all along and you forgot He was there. Don’t let the circumstances make you forget that Jesus is never far away. If you want to walk on water like Peter did, you can. Storms are God’s specialty, claim the promise He made to Peter, “come.” The promise Jesus has always made to us, “come unto me” is ours to claim. If He is on the water, then there is no better place for you to be than there with Him too.
Remember Peter didn’t choose to go on a boat ride on his own. Jesus sent him. Be like Peter and believe you can do the impossible, if Jesus called you to be where you are, but the situation looks impossible, then it is time to do the impossible. It is time to climb out of the boat.
Describe the last storm of life you remember being in? Explain in detail how you responded to the situation? Did your response fall into one of these categories:
1. Did you try to row to the shore to get to safety as quickly as possible?
2. Did you quit and call the coast guard to rescue you out of the boat?
3. Did you ignore the storm and wait it out?
4. Did you forget Jesus was asleep in the boat and wake him up and request He calm the sea for you?
5. Did you say “Take me with you Lord,” please, take me out on the water with you?
Summarize why you think your response to the storm fit into one of these five categories? Or share and summarize your own different category?
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Romans 12:9-14, 20-21
Rom. 12:9-14, 20-21 (KJV) "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
The context of this passage is in reference to the body of Christ. Therefore it describes the type of love we should have for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Brotherly love like God expects from us is the same kind of love the Son of God revealed when He came to die for us. God trusted Adam and Eve, he gave them Paradise, and they betrayed Him. The world has rebelled against God. We are so undeserving of the reckless forgiveness God has freely provided for us. Because of Gods compassion for us we should have the same kind of reckless love for our brethren. God was not narrow minded and turned off by our filthy condition. Anyone else would have taken one look at our planet and said, "those people down there are just gross, we need to just stay away from them." But God decided not to leave us in our filth to rot. God was broad minded enough to see potential for our restoration. When anyone else would have said, "They made their choices, now they will have to suffer the consequences." God said, there is no sacrifice too great I am not willing to make in order to save them.
Dan's paraphrase of Rom. 12:9-14, 20-21
Brotherly love is to be sincere and without hypocrisy. Don't just say that you love the people you fellowship with, but let your actions prove it. Definitely don't let your actions differ from your words. God knows the motives behind everything you do. So let your true motive always be for doing good. Having an evil motive should be far from you.
If you want to show your brothers and sisters in Christ that you really care for them then you need to learn ways to express your affection to them. This may include, small gifts of appreciation, greeting them with a hug, thoughtful notes and cards, remembering their birthdays and anniversaries, just look for anything that meets their everyday needs. Reach out to them socially, emotionally and spiritually. Be like a mentor, the goal is to demonstrate brotherly love. The key to making a relationship is starting with getting to know one another, so open up and learn about one another.
Build trust, if you tell them you are going to do a favor for them, get to it right away, procrastination shows your disinterest in them and tells them that you really don't care. If they want you to pray for them, don't just offer to pray for them later, why not pray with them right now about it. Together the two of you can pray fervently in the spirit with one another.
As brothers and sisters in the family of God you should be active in ministry together, and as you serve God, share the hopes and dreams you have for following Christ and then rejoice with one another as you see your dreams come true. When times get tough don't be a fly by night friend, but be there for them, be a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on. Be available for prayer in the spur of the moment, hard times are good times to be instant in prayer.
Give freely of what you have if your brothers or sisters need it more than you. If there is a need, open up your home and say my door is open to you, my refrigerator is your refrigerator.
There may be people in the church that have not treated you right. They may have talked about you behind your back or slandered your name. When this happens make sure you return their evil with kindness. Don't do to them as they did to you, but rather go pout of your way to seek to do extra special things for them. Difficult time happen to everyone, so be sure you are the first to come to their rescue. If something bad happens to them, don't give in to the temptation to rejoice in their suffering, rather weep with them in their pain.
Describe how you have been shown love like this by someone you have fellowshiped with? Have you show reckless love toward a brother or sister in Christ before, explain what you did?
The context of this passage is in reference to the body of Christ. Therefore it describes the type of love we should have for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Brotherly love like God expects from us is the same kind of love the Son of God revealed when He came to die for us. God trusted Adam and Eve, he gave them Paradise, and they betrayed Him. The world has rebelled against God. We are so undeserving of the reckless forgiveness God has freely provided for us. Because of Gods compassion for us we should have the same kind of reckless love for our brethren. God was not narrow minded and turned off by our filthy condition. Anyone else would have taken one look at our planet and said, "those people down there are just gross, we need to just stay away from them." But God decided not to leave us in our filth to rot. God was broad minded enough to see potential for our restoration. When anyone else would have said, "They made their choices, now they will have to suffer the consequences." God said, there is no sacrifice too great I am not willing to make in order to save them.
Dan's paraphrase of Rom. 12:9-14, 20-21
Brotherly love is to be sincere and without hypocrisy. Don't just say that you love the people you fellowship with, but let your actions prove it. Definitely don't let your actions differ from your words. God knows the motives behind everything you do. So let your true motive always be for doing good. Having an evil motive should be far from you.
If you want to show your brothers and sisters in Christ that you really care for them then you need to learn ways to express your affection to them. This may include, small gifts of appreciation, greeting them with a hug, thoughtful notes and cards, remembering their birthdays and anniversaries, just look for anything that meets their everyday needs. Reach out to them socially, emotionally and spiritually. Be like a mentor, the goal is to demonstrate brotherly love. The key to making a relationship is starting with getting to know one another, so open up and learn about one another.
Build trust, if you tell them you are going to do a favor for them, get to it right away, procrastination shows your disinterest in them and tells them that you really don't care. If they want you to pray for them, don't just offer to pray for them later, why not pray with them right now about it. Together the two of you can pray fervently in the spirit with one another.
As brothers and sisters in the family of God you should be active in ministry together, and as you serve God, share the hopes and dreams you have for following Christ and then rejoice with one another as you see your dreams come true. When times get tough don't be a fly by night friend, but be there for them, be a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on. Be available for prayer in the spur of the moment, hard times are good times to be instant in prayer.
Give freely of what you have if your brothers or sisters need it more than you. If there is a need, open up your home and say my door is open to you, my refrigerator is your refrigerator.
There may be people in the church that have not treated you right. They may have talked about you behind your back or slandered your name. When this happens make sure you return their evil with kindness. Don't do to them as they did to you, but rather go pout of your way to seek to do extra special things for them. Difficult time happen to everyone, so be sure you are the first to come to their rescue. If something bad happens to them, don't give in to the temptation to rejoice in their suffering, rather weep with them in their pain.
Describe how you have been shown love like this by someone you have fellowshiped with? Have you show reckless love toward a brother or sister in Christ before, explain what you did?
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
I Corinthians 13:4-8
1 Cor 13:4-8 (KJV) "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth."
Love is showing kindness. Kindness that is an end in itself. Love that doesn't expect a return. The kindness we share has the end goal of kindness alone.
Dan's paraphrase of 1 Cor 13:4-8
Love quietly waits for unpleasant situations to pass and through it all love remains kind. Love does not compare its lot in life against any body elses lot. He who has love does not need to show it off to other people nor does he want to be a show off himself. Love behaves right by being compassionate, sympathetic, empathetic, respectful, courteous, supportive and generous. However, love never does any of these things for ulterior motives. Someone without love may try to irritate the person with love in cruel ways but love will continue to show patient understanding toward them. Love will not imagine ways to get back at them. Love even becomes sad when tragedy falls on those who have provoked him and love is happy for them when they come to know and experience genuine love for themselves. Love puts up with all sorts of garbage because love has incredible faith that great miracles will soon take place and turn the garbage into treasure. Love has the power to fulfill the highest aspirations and accomplish unfathomable good. Love claims all the promises of God, not only for himself but for others also. Patiently trusting that everything will work out in the end, there is nothing love cannot fix. Although nothing of this earth will last forever, love is not of this earth. The love we have shown to others will never go away, its effects will follow people enriching lives in unimaginable ways and its ripples will only become wider encompassing the universe throughout eternity.
Describe how God's love has made a difference in your life? Compare your personal experience applying love with the ultimate love described in this passage?
Love is showing kindness. Kindness that is an end in itself. Love that doesn't expect a return. The kindness we share has the end goal of kindness alone.
Dan's paraphrase of 1 Cor 13:4-8
Love quietly waits for unpleasant situations to pass and through it all love remains kind. Love does not compare its lot in life against any body elses lot. He who has love does not need to show it off to other people nor does he want to be a show off himself. Love behaves right by being compassionate, sympathetic, empathetic, respectful, courteous, supportive and generous. However, love never does any of these things for ulterior motives. Someone without love may try to irritate the person with love in cruel ways but love will continue to show patient understanding toward them. Love will not imagine ways to get back at them. Love even becomes sad when tragedy falls on those who have provoked him and love is happy for them when they come to know and experience genuine love for themselves. Love puts up with all sorts of garbage because love has incredible faith that great miracles will soon take place and turn the garbage into treasure. Love has the power to fulfill the highest aspirations and accomplish unfathomable good. Love claims all the promises of God, not only for himself but for others also. Patiently trusting that everything will work out in the end, there is nothing love cannot fix. Although nothing of this earth will last forever, love is not of this earth. The love we have shown to others will never go away, its effects will follow people enriching lives in unimaginable ways and its ripples will only become wider encompassing the universe throughout eternity.
Describe how God's love has made a difference in your life? Compare your personal experience applying love with the ultimate love described in this passage?
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Hebrews 13:5
Heb 13:5 (NIV) Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:24-25.) I need to ask myself from time to time, “am I serving mammon?” If I am serving God I wouldn’t care about what I will eat or drink. But when I am serving mammon my wife and I may worry or fight over money. I have heard it said that in Christ’s day mammon was an actual pagan deity that represented prosperity. So that makes mammon the false god of prosperity. Much of the pagan idolatry at that time was connected to demonic forces, and today these demons are some of the Devils most powerful weapons to turn the hearts of Jesus’ followers away from God. Mammon is an evil spirit that causes men and women to give power and authority to money when money in reality it has no value and especially no power whatsoever. Mammon causes people to become fearful of running out of money when actually God supplies all our needs. Then mammon turns our hearts to love money and trust riches when our hearts are supposed to belong to God, and trust God alone. Once totally possessed by mammon people become corrupted by it then they will conspire in greedy ways to unethically acquire as much money as they can get.
A rich young ruler came to Jesus and wanted to know how to inherit eternal life, (Matt 19:16-21.) Jesus said “sell all that you have and give it to the poor, then come follow me.” How many of us could actually do something like that. When you are accustom to the finest clothes, the finest foods, servants waiting on your every need. Give it all away and live in destitution following around a Prophet, hated by the Priest and Pharisees. Jesus did. He was clothed in finer clothes than any human ever wore, ate the most perfect and delicious foods ever eaten from heaven. Angles served Him, and worshiped Him. He gave it all up and became a human child. Human birth is a nasty thing accompanied by blood and sometimes feces, as Mary cried with pain Jesus was born on the ground in a barn, He was wrapped in strips of cloth, and laid to sleep on straw in either a cow or donkey’s feeding troth. If only the rich young ruler had listened more carefully he would have heard Jesus say, “I have true riches for you, give everything you now have away, but you will lose nothing, and you will have treasure in heaven” The Bible asks the rhetorical question, “Can a man out give God?” I dare you to try.
It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, mammon can consume the hearts of all. The rich want more money and desire power from it so they collect it because they are afraid they may someday lose it. The poor have so little they protect what little they have. But protecting it is also another way of following Mammon. The story of the Widow’s mites is told in Luke 21:1-4 (NLT) and gives us a good example of how to have true riches. “While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. "I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has."” Jesus praised this woman's generous and sacrificial giving. As followers of Jesus, we should be willing to give all—whether money, time, or talents—its only real value is when we put it in the LORD’s hands to use. If Jesus was willing to be satisfied with living day by day on what God provided for Him, then I can too. I can live with less and I can stop desiring more and accumulating more things than I need. It is so easy to look at what other people have and start to resent what I am missing. Instead I should be praising God that He has provided just the sufficient amount that I needed today. When we become materialistic we are saying to God, you can’t take care of me well enough, or at least not the way I want to be taken care of, and our drive for materialism leads us to a love of money. The cure for the sickness of mammon is to trust God to meet all our needs.
Have you experienced times where you trusted God to meet all your needs? What happened? How did God fulfill this promise in your life?
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:24-25.) I need to ask myself from time to time, “am I serving mammon?” If I am serving God I wouldn’t care about what I will eat or drink. But when I am serving mammon my wife and I may worry or fight over money. I have heard it said that in Christ’s day mammon was an actual pagan deity that represented prosperity. So that makes mammon the false god of prosperity. Much of the pagan idolatry at that time was connected to demonic forces, and today these demons are some of the Devils most powerful weapons to turn the hearts of Jesus’ followers away from God. Mammon is an evil spirit that causes men and women to give power and authority to money when money in reality it has no value and especially no power whatsoever. Mammon causes people to become fearful of running out of money when actually God supplies all our needs. Then mammon turns our hearts to love money and trust riches when our hearts are supposed to belong to God, and trust God alone. Once totally possessed by mammon people become corrupted by it then they will conspire in greedy ways to unethically acquire as much money as they can get.
A rich young ruler came to Jesus and wanted to know how to inherit eternal life, (Matt 19:16-21.) Jesus said “sell all that you have and give it to the poor, then come follow me.” How many of us could actually do something like that. When you are accustom to the finest clothes, the finest foods, servants waiting on your every need. Give it all away and live in destitution following around a Prophet, hated by the Priest and Pharisees. Jesus did. He was clothed in finer clothes than any human ever wore, ate the most perfect and delicious foods ever eaten from heaven. Angles served Him, and worshiped Him. He gave it all up and became a human child. Human birth is a nasty thing accompanied by blood and sometimes feces, as Mary cried with pain Jesus was born on the ground in a barn, He was wrapped in strips of cloth, and laid to sleep on straw in either a cow or donkey’s feeding troth. If only the rich young ruler had listened more carefully he would have heard Jesus say, “I have true riches for you, give everything you now have away, but you will lose nothing, and you will have treasure in heaven” The Bible asks the rhetorical question, “Can a man out give God?” I dare you to try.
It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, mammon can consume the hearts of all. The rich want more money and desire power from it so they collect it because they are afraid they may someday lose it. The poor have so little they protect what little they have. But protecting it is also another way of following Mammon. The story of the Widow’s mites is told in Luke 21:1-4 (NLT) and gives us a good example of how to have true riches. “While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. "I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has."” Jesus praised this woman's generous and sacrificial giving. As followers of Jesus, we should be willing to give all—whether money, time, or talents—its only real value is when we put it in the LORD’s hands to use. If Jesus was willing to be satisfied with living day by day on what God provided for Him, then I can too. I can live with less and I can stop desiring more and accumulating more things than I need. It is so easy to look at what other people have and start to resent what I am missing. Instead I should be praising God that He has provided just the sufficient amount that I needed today. When we become materialistic we are saying to God, you can’t take care of me well enough, or at least not the way I want to be taken care of, and our drive for materialism leads us to a love of money. The cure for the sickness of mammon is to trust God to meet all our needs.
Have you experienced times where you trusted God to meet all your needs? What happened? How did God fulfill this promise in your life?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Hebrews 12:1-2
Heb 12:1-2 (NLT) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne.”
Heb. 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please God.” So it is important for us to know what faith is and how to apply it. I believe faith has three essential elements, in the same way that fire must have three specific ingredients to burn: oxygen + combustible material +heat, without any one of these ingredients fire cannot burn. Likewise faith must have these three ingredients to activate it: hope + plausibility + questioning, without any one of these ingredients faith cannot work.
1st - Hope: Hope is the active ingredient of faith, as heat is the active ingredient of fire. There must be something you are hoping for; otherwise having faith in it would be irrelevant. We ultimately have hope in the promises of God. Therefore, God’s promises acts as the catalyst that motivates our faith (a catalyst causes a reaction.) “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” Rom. 10:17.
2nd - Plausibility: The thing that you are hoping for must have at least the smallest degree of possibility. Something that is absolutely impossible or totally untrue is unworthy of faith. For example, one should not put any faith in the ability to become invisible or to jump off a building and fly. Plausibility is the fuel for our faith, the combustible material. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for,” (Heb. 11:1.) Substance means material. If it is plausible then it is the real or essential part of the element of that thing. A substance is the physical matter of which a thing consists. It is the REAL part of our lives. In the end, there must be substance in what we have faith in otherwise our faith in it will be impossible to maintain over a long period of time.
3rd - Questioning: A small degree of doubt must exist otherwise faith becomes a fact. “and (faith) is the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1.) However, there must be a balance because God never asks us to believe without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. But at the same time if something is a proven fact, faith in it becomes obsolete, for example, the fact that “the earth is round.” This fact needs no faith to accept it as truth because we already know it is 100% true. A hint of question will always exist in everything because God never removes the possibility of doubt. This is why our faith must rest upon evidence of things unseen, not things proven. Here is the dichotomy, on one hand; you can snuff out a fire by removing its source of oxygen, like you can snuff out faith by turning it into a fact. Likewise, on the other hand; if you have too much doubt, it will blow out the faith in the same way the wind blows out a match.
Hebrews Ch. 11 traced the history of some of the great men and women of the Bible leading up to Hebrews Ch. 12 (the huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith spoken about.) Let’s look at a few of them and see how their faith consisted of hope + plausibility + questioning.
We are told in Heb 11:7 that Noah was “warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” Noah had hope because God promised to save him from the flood, it was plausible because God said it would happen, and was there room for doubt? Sure there was, the whole earth covered in water, that was an enormous question! Abraham in Heb 11:8 was “called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” There was hope, God promised him the inheritance of a “city whose architect and builder is God.” Was this plausible, yes, the New Jerusalem, in Heaven is the city he looked for. Was there the possibility of doubt? Yes, there was. He searched for that city, but never found it, but still claimed it as the inheritance of his children. Abraham and Sarah were promised descendants as “numerous as the stars in the sky,” they had hope. But they were past the age of having children and had none up to that point, they had doubt, nearly too much doubt. This is what made Abraham’s faith so great, to anyone else the promise was implausible, but to Abraham, because God said it He believed it even though Sara laughed at the idea. Moses and the children of Israel “crossed the Red Sea on dry land.” They had hope; God promised them that he would deliver them from out of Egypt. The Egyptian army was swarming down upon them to kill them and take revenge on them for the plagues. They were trapped between the mountains on two sides, the Egyptians behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. To Moses the escape was plausible, so he struck the Red Sea with his rod, and the sea divided. Was there the possibility of doubt that God could rescue them? You better believe it.
The Christian life involves hoping in circumstances where the plausibility seems to be an enormous question. Do we have faith to overcome the doubt or not? To be able to trust God without questioning Him requires that we are spiritually strong. To become strong we need to give up those things that weaken our relationship with God. Our faith needs to be able to run life's race with endurance. The scripture suggest that we cast off any sins because they slow down or faith. Surrender your load of sins at the foot of the cross and by the power of the Holy Spirit start running by faith. To not just walk by faith, but in order to run by faith effectively, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. If we keep our eyes on Him we will not stumble. Looking away from Him in order to to look at ourselves or at the circumstances surrounding us makes the doubts grow so large that they can snuff out our faith. Finally, we need to be running this race for Christ, not for ourselves, because when we win the race and people see our great acts of faith we will glory God, who is the author and finisher of our faith.
God's promise to us is that if we are faithful, and continue follow him, we will stand before His throne and sing for joy a new song about how he redeemed us. (Rev 14:3)
Have you ever had faith that God could really do something outrageously big, almost implausible? What was it? Describe any hint of doubt you had that He would actually do it?
Heb. 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please God.” So it is important for us to know what faith is and how to apply it. I believe faith has three essential elements, in the same way that fire must have three specific ingredients to burn: oxygen + combustible material +heat, without any one of these ingredients fire cannot burn. Likewise faith must have these three ingredients to activate it: hope + plausibility + questioning, without any one of these ingredients faith cannot work.
1st - Hope: Hope is the active ingredient of faith, as heat is the active ingredient of fire. There must be something you are hoping for; otherwise having faith in it would be irrelevant. We ultimately have hope in the promises of God. Therefore, God’s promises acts as the catalyst that motivates our faith (a catalyst causes a reaction.) “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” Rom. 10:17.
2nd - Plausibility: The thing that you are hoping for must have at least the smallest degree of possibility. Something that is absolutely impossible or totally untrue is unworthy of faith. For example, one should not put any faith in the ability to become invisible or to jump off a building and fly. Plausibility is the fuel for our faith, the combustible material. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for,” (Heb. 11:1.) Substance means material. If it is plausible then it is the real or essential part of the element of that thing. A substance is the physical matter of which a thing consists. It is the REAL part of our lives. In the end, there must be substance in what we have faith in otherwise our faith in it will be impossible to maintain over a long period of time.
3rd - Questioning: A small degree of doubt must exist otherwise faith becomes a fact. “and (faith) is the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1.) However, there must be a balance because God never asks us to believe without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. But at the same time if something is a proven fact, faith in it becomes obsolete, for example, the fact that “the earth is round.” This fact needs no faith to accept it as truth because we already know it is 100% true. A hint of question will always exist in everything because God never removes the possibility of doubt. This is why our faith must rest upon evidence of things unseen, not things proven. Here is the dichotomy, on one hand; you can snuff out a fire by removing its source of oxygen, like you can snuff out faith by turning it into a fact. Likewise, on the other hand; if you have too much doubt, it will blow out the faith in the same way the wind blows out a match.
Hebrews Ch. 11 traced the history of some of the great men and women of the Bible leading up to Hebrews Ch. 12 (the huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith spoken about.) Let’s look at a few of them and see how their faith consisted of hope + plausibility + questioning.
We are told in Heb 11:7 that Noah was “warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” Noah had hope because God promised to save him from the flood, it was plausible because God said it would happen, and was there room for doubt? Sure there was, the whole earth covered in water, that was an enormous question! Abraham in Heb 11:8 was “called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” There was hope, God promised him the inheritance of a “city whose architect and builder is God.” Was this plausible, yes, the New Jerusalem, in Heaven is the city he looked for. Was there the possibility of doubt? Yes, there was. He searched for that city, but never found it, but still claimed it as the inheritance of his children. Abraham and Sarah were promised descendants as “numerous as the stars in the sky,” they had hope. But they were past the age of having children and had none up to that point, they had doubt, nearly too much doubt. This is what made Abraham’s faith so great, to anyone else the promise was implausible, but to Abraham, because God said it He believed it even though Sara laughed at the idea. Moses and the children of Israel “crossed the Red Sea on dry land.” They had hope; God promised them that he would deliver them from out of Egypt. The Egyptian army was swarming down upon them to kill them and take revenge on them for the plagues. They were trapped between the mountains on two sides, the Egyptians behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. To Moses the escape was plausible, so he struck the Red Sea with his rod, and the sea divided. Was there the possibility of doubt that God could rescue them? You better believe it.
The Christian life involves hoping in circumstances where the plausibility seems to be an enormous question. Do we have faith to overcome the doubt or not? To be able to trust God without questioning Him requires that we are spiritually strong. To become strong we need to give up those things that weaken our relationship with God. Our faith needs to be able to run life's race with endurance. The scripture suggest that we cast off any sins because they slow down or faith. Surrender your load of sins at the foot of the cross and by the power of the Holy Spirit start running by faith. To not just walk by faith, but in order to run by faith effectively, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. If we keep our eyes on Him we will not stumble. Looking away from Him in order to to look at ourselves or at the circumstances surrounding us makes the doubts grow so large that they can snuff out our faith. Finally, we need to be running this race for Christ, not for ourselves, because when we win the race and people see our great acts of faith we will glory God, who is the author and finisher of our faith.
God's promise to us is that if we are faithful, and continue follow him, we will stand before His throne and sing for joy a new song about how he redeemed us. (Rev 14:3)
Have you ever had faith that God could really do something outrageously big, almost implausible? What was it? Describe any hint of doubt you had that He would actually do it?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
II Timothy 3:16-17
2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV) “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
I found this translation using “God-breathed” to be fascinating, KJV – says, “given by inspiration of God.” But the Greek word is “theopneustos” (theh-op'-nyoo-stos); it actually means “divinely breathed in.” Today the word inspiration is used to describe a lot of things, including great works of art, modern inventions, classical literature, but inspiration is intended to obviously inspire us toward something, right? Worldly inspiration points us toward our own creativity, it is synonymous with what stimulates our thinking process, or encourages us to have greater insight. Worldly inspiration is a humanistic reaction. However, what better thing to be inspired by then God? Theopneustos tells me that, God is the ultimate source of inspiration because God breathed it. True inspiration does not originate with men but is sent by God. "For no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God." 2 Pet. 1:21, (TLB). The (NIV) says it “never had its origin in the will of man.” Inspiration is not just about a warm glow you get inside when you like something. It is not just flowery words or fantastic ideas or incredible techniques. Inspiration has a purpose, it has meaning, it is God’s relevant message to us. Amos 3:7, (NIV) says "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets." Even more astounding, inspiration tells us accurately what will happen. Because what the scriptures revealed “came true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens." Isaiah 42:9, (TLB). That is why the scriptures are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and teaching, that is why they are able to equip the Christian to walk the spiritual life. The scriptures are trustworthy and will bless you when you use them to guide your life. The scriptures are our standard for testing everything that claims to be true. And the scriptures are the source of knowledge for how we can inherit eternal life.
But even the scriptures have been and are often used incorrectly in order to mask a person’s actions that are not in line with the spirit of the scriptures. Actions that appear good on the outside but inside have a hidden and craftier motivation. Actions that deep down reveal things like superiority, conceitedness, criticism, rebellion, revenge, self-righteous, piousness, smugness, negativism, hatred, greed, envy, or strife. We use the scriptures incorrectly when we use them in order to get our own way. We use them incorrectly when they are used a rule book, to try to do what is right. They are used incorrectly when we use them for tearing one another down rather than building one another up in the faith. We use the scriptures incorrectly by using the scriptures to tell everyone else what to do without being connected to Christ. The fruit we produce in our lives shows whether or not we are using the scriptures correctly or not.
If you want to have fruit, the best thing to do is to buy a tree that grows fruit. Likewise, if you want to use the scriptures correctly then you need to be connected to the WORD in order to bear fruit in your life. The best thing to do is to let the scriptures connect you to Jesus. Disconnected fruit is no good, it falls to the ground, gets full of bugs and worms and rots, do not pretend to be fruitful or compel other people to be fruitlike either. Because a fruit tree, remember, is what bears fruit because it is a fruit tree, never in order to be a fruit tree. And a Christian does what is right because he is a Christian, never in order to be a Christian. The problem with how we sometimes use the scriptures is how we fail to personally connect to Jesus. Or we are so anxious to use the scriptures to make other people behave how we think they should behave that we forget that other people should connect with Jesus first too.
Here is how we can use the scriptures correctly; we need to take time, alone, at the beginning of every day, to seek Jesus through His Word and through prayer. That is it. When we use the scriptures this way, we come to know Jesus. Once we come to know Jesus then we can surrender our will to Him. Then we make a fresh connection with Jesus, new every morning, become recharged and inspired by Him, let Him breathe into you.
Have you ever experienced inspiration, "God's breath on you," during your devotional time? What did it feel like? Compare how you feel on days when you connect with Christ and the difference in your life on days that you don't?
I found this translation using “God-breathed” to be fascinating, KJV – says, “given by inspiration of God.” But the Greek word is “theopneustos” (theh-op'-nyoo-stos); it actually means “divinely breathed in.” Today the word inspiration is used to describe a lot of things, including great works of art, modern inventions, classical literature, but inspiration is intended to obviously inspire us toward something, right? Worldly inspiration points us toward our own creativity, it is synonymous with what stimulates our thinking process, or encourages us to have greater insight. Worldly inspiration is a humanistic reaction. However, what better thing to be inspired by then God? Theopneustos tells me that, God is the ultimate source of inspiration because God breathed it. True inspiration does not originate with men but is sent by God. "For no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God." 2 Pet. 1:21, (TLB). The (NIV) says it “never had its origin in the will of man.” Inspiration is not just about a warm glow you get inside when you like something. It is not just flowery words or fantastic ideas or incredible techniques. Inspiration has a purpose, it has meaning, it is God’s relevant message to us. Amos 3:7, (NIV) says "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets." Even more astounding, inspiration tells us accurately what will happen. Because what the scriptures revealed “came true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens." Isaiah 42:9, (TLB). That is why the scriptures are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and teaching, that is why they are able to equip the Christian to walk the spiritual life. The scriptures are trustworthy and will bless you when you use them to guide your life. The scriptures are our standard for testing everything that claims to be true. And the scriptures are the source of knowledge for how we can inherit eternal life.
But even the scriptures have been and are often used incorrectly in order to mask a person’s actions that are not in line with the spirit of the scriptures. Actions that appear good on the outside but inside have a hidden and craftier motivation. Actions that deep down reveal things like superiority, conceitedness, criticism, rebellion, revenge, self-righteous, piousness, smugness, negativism, hatred, greed, envy, or strife. We use the scriptures incorrectly when we use them in order to get our own way. We use them incorrectly when they are used a rule book, to try to do what is right. They are used incorrectly when we use them for tearing one another down rather than building one another up in the faith. We use the scriptures incorrectly by using the scriptures to tell everyone else what to do without being connected to Christ. The fruit we produce in our lives shows whether or not we are using the scriptures correctly or not.
If you want to have fruit, the best thing to do is to buy a tree that grows fruit. Likewise, if you want to use the scriptures correctly then you need to be connected to the WORD in order to bear fruit in your life. The best thing to do is to let the scriptures connect you to Jesus. Disconnected fruit is no good, it falls to the ground, gets full of bugs and worms and rots, do not pretend to be fruitful or compel other people to be fruitlike either. Because a fruit tree, remember, is what bears fruit because it is a fruit tree, never in order to be a fruit tree. And a Christian does what is right because he is a Christian, never in order to be a Christian. The problem with how we sometimes use the scriptures is how we fail to personally connect to Jesus. Or we are so anxious to use the scriptures to make other people behave how we think they should behave that we forget that other people should connect with Jesus first too.
Here is how we can use the scriptures correctly; we need to take time, alone, at the beginning of every day, to seek Jesus through His Word and through prayer. That is it. When we use the scriptures this way, we come to know Jesus. Once we come to know Jesus then we can surrender our will to Him. Then we make a fresh connection with Jesus, new every morning, become recharged and inspired by Him, let Him breathe into you.
Have you ever experienced inspiration, "God's breath on you," during your devotional time? What did it feel like? Compare how you feel on days when you connect with Christ and the difference in your life on days that you don't?
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