Week 29
The Lord's Day, week 29!
Thoughts on Colossians 3 & 4:
· Colossians is a book all about Christ... as is the rest of the bible, but here specifically we get such a high view of Christ and some of what He has accomplished. In Chapter 3 we see Jesus brings to life the dead, makes us new, tears down all barriers between people, and grants us a peace that enables us to live a life of love towards one another. That's just this chapter! All of this has very practical application to life, it impacts all relationships within the home, husbands and wives, parents and children, slaves and masters, and it impacts all of our relationships outside of the home. We conduct ourselves with wisdom towards outsiders and our speech is always seasoned with grace... But when I think of our culture today, no passage here I think has more to say to this world than chapter 3 verses 9-11, "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices..." this is where it starts, Christian, stop lying to each other! If we are Christians we are reconciled to God and each other, period! No, we don't need to do more work, no we don't need to request forgiveness for sins we did not commit, but maybe some former family member from generations o.k. possibly took part in, and I don't need an apology for what might have happened to one of my family members from generations o.k. To ask for forgiveness for something you didn't do, is to lie. To request some apologize or atone for something they didn't do to you, is also to lie... But rather if you have been "renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created you..." this is the question, have you been? Have we been? Have we died to ourselves in Christ and raised to new life in Christ? Because if so then our language must now represent Him, and it does so but not speaking falsehoods, by not lying to ourselves and to our neighbors but rather we look to be as truthful as possible within our power. If we have been renewed then, "there is no distinction between...." Hear that, NO DISTINCTION! Absolutely none, you can't get around that, no, in Greek still means, NO. There can be no white church, black church, or anything church except for Christ's church, one Church. Now, sure, when it comes to actual distinctions, such as language, that's different, we need to be able to understand the message being preached. But that is not the same thing as being separated for the purpose of superficial identity markers. The question is simply, do we believe Christ is truly all, and in all? If He is, then there can be no debate here. Here is supreme, we are reconciled in Him and in Him we are one new man all connected to Him. We are reconciled because Christ has reconciled us, and praise God that He is powerful enough to do so!
Today is the Lords day! I'll be worshipping at the Haven, OPC in Bohemia this afternoon at 1pm if you don't have somewhere to go, please join us! 906 Church St. Bohemia, NY, 1pm. My wife worked last night and she is working tonight, so unfortunately I will not be doing anything at the house for fellowship I want to make sure she is able to stay well rested for work. Stay tuned for next week! Hope you all have a wonderful Lords Day! God bless.
Monday, week 29!
Thoughts on Leviticus 16 - 18:
· A couple of things stand out to me, first, how we approach God matters! We don't get to come to Him however we want, there are not many ways to God, there is only one way to God. Notice how Aaron, the High Priest was given specific instructions on how to approach the Mercy Seat. He needed to cleanse Himself, put on specific clothing, be sure to make a sacrifice for Himself, and then another one for the people, there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. God is completely Holy, and only that which is Holy can come before Him. Aaron's ritual wasn't meant as an end, but rather it was to be repeated every year and then passed on to those who would succeed him. The people kept out, not allowed to come into the presence of God but rather being granted a temporary peace with God through the sacrifices presented. Each year the high priest would have to do this ritual, keep in mind, this is separate from the other sacrifices that were done daily. This was a special sacrifice and the only time the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies to meet with God. Every year they were reminded of the fact that peace with God was not guaranteed, every year they were reminded that they are still unclean and sinful before God, every year being reminded of the fact that apart from the blood of a sacrifice they themselves bear their guilt and are worthy of death. Every year, looking ahead to a day where God would provide an ultimate sacrifice just as He did with Abraham. Every year looking to a day where God would provide an ultimate High Priest who would be able to make perfect atonement for the sins of Gods people, Every year looking forward to a day where all the people of God would be able to enter the presence of God, where there would no longer be a separation between the people and God, looking forward to a day where the presence of God would dwell in the people not just with the people, and that day which they look ahead to, is the day in which we get to live. Jesus is both the Final High Priest and the Final bloody sacrifice, and He purifies us in His blood that we would be made completely clean, He clothes us in His righteousness which can never be defiled that we would keep them for eternity, He makes final atonement that we wouldn't have to come back year after year, He presents us before God as the perfect, final and only mediator who pleads our case based on His works and our being found only in Him. What we take so for granted these Israelites could not have even imagined, that the Spirit of God is no longer hidden behind a curtain but because of the final sacrifice the curtain was torn and the Spirit of God now dwells within the people of God to be experienced in His fulness, having peace with God by the atonement made in Christs blood... I wonder how much of this Moses understood? or Aaron who just lost his sons? I wonder how much of this you understand, who now trust in Christ, do you see all you've been forgiven? Are we grateful for the fact that Jesus has fulfilled it all? Do I lives show that gratitude? I want mine too... Let's pray that God guide us into all truth that we would live lives that reveal we are indeed in Christ.
· Last thing, Leviticus 18, there is a law that we are to follow that supersedes all other laws. Gods Law. It's His law that matters, and we must know what His law says, when it comes to Gods morality it hasn't changed, it stays the same, and we can submit to local government as far as we are able, we should, but where it differs from Gods law we should seek Him first, submit to Him first, the laws of man are wicked when they deviate from what God has said. They have no foundation and therefore can shift with every changing wind, and they often do. God has given us a foundation, His word is what should govern all of our thoughts, and all of our lives, it's His world, He is creator and so what He says, goes...
Yesterday I heard a very encouraging sermon at the Haven, I'd encourage you to listen online if you get a chance, especially parents! God bless and hope you all have a wonderful day.
Tuesday, week 29!
Thoughts on 2 Kings 11 - 15:
· I knew a pastor who often spoke about his hatred of dichotomies, he felt that there just was never only two choices and that life was much more nuanced than that. I remember at the time thinking, the bible seems to really put things in the context of dichotomies though. There is good and evil, there is love and hate, there is the wide road and the narrow, the wide gate and the narrow gate, the Spirit and the flesh, heaven or hell, and I’m sure we can go on and on with all the ways in which the bible presents only 2 choices. Well as we read through 2 Kings we continue to see that there truly only are 2 choices, doing that which is right in the sight of the Lord, and that which is evil in the sight of the Lord. Now, the thing about this dichotomy is that doing that which is right in the sight of the Lord doesn't mean perfect obedience, and doing that which is evil doesn't mean always completely wicked. We see as we read through these chapters that the kings of Judah continued to do things that were wicked by leaving the high places up and allowing the people to continue to sacrifice and burn incense on them. We also see that at times Israel turns to the Lord, if even for a moment, and do things that honor the Lord. So, then what makes the difference? It's the condition of the heart, and when looking at nations it is specifically the heart of the king that is a reflection of the whole nation. The kings of Judah, continued to seek the Lord, continued to worship Him over all other gods, and the kings of Israel worshipped other gods and denied the Lord. It is the one who seeks the Lord to the end, that perseveres, that is the one who does that which is right in the sight of the Lord. But another thing we must notice is that doing right, doesn't guarantee that we are going to have an easy life. Judah still lost battles, we have one of the kings struck with leprosy, and throughout their rule life's hardships are not avoided. This is important for us to notice, doing that which is right in the eyes of the Lord doesn't mean receiving an easy life from the Lord. That's never promised! But the way in which we know if we have truly done that which is right in the eyes of the Lord is when we die still trusting in the Lord. That means even after losing battles, being struck with disease, losing loved ones, and whatever else God strikes us with, to do that which is right is to continue to trust Him, look to Him, have faith in Him and His promises and to do evil is to turn away from Him and trust in ourselves. That is the dichotomy we are faced with in life. There is no escaping it, will we trust Him, or not, will we have faith in Him or not, will we cling to Him, even in the midst of suffering... or not. Brothers and sisters in this life we only have a dichotomy before us, choose life or death, both will have pain, both will have suffering but only one of them give us hope and strength to endure, with a promise of future life apart from the suffering we endure in this one. Please, choose life, choose to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord by repenting and turning from our own wickedness and trusting only in Jesus. God bless.
It's a beautiful day today, at least it looks like it! I hope you enjoy it and glorify God in all you do!
Wednesday, week 29!
Thoughts on Psalms 84 - 86:
· Would you rather stand at the threshold or dwell inside a tent? Do you see the distinction being made here in Psalm 84? standing at the threshold, the entry way, where you are inside but you aren't the most comfortable, you get to see but not necessarily partake of everything inside, it's not exactly your dwelling you can only stand at the threshold. Whereas the one who dwells in the tent, he's at home, he's comfortable, he can lay down, sleep, eat, do it all because it's a dwelling place. Now, if you are a child of God, in one sense you don't just stand at the threshold, but that's not the point. The point is do you see that as more valuable than being able to dwell, to live and be at home? This world around us is constantly inviting us to make ourselves at home. To dwell in tents of wickedness, to see nothing wrong with it, to make our peace with it and too often we fall victim to it and go right ahead and make ourselves at home. Why? Because we don't see the value in just standing at the threshold of the house of God... Or to make my point a bit clearer, we just don't see the value and beauty of God and His Kingdom. In this world, there is a sense where we are at the threshold and not yet completely comfortable inside the kingdom, Jesus has said the kingdom of God is upon us and it is, His Kingdom has grown consistently since He ascended. As His church we are to actively pursue the discipling of the nations, teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded, which is to consider to spread the kingdom, but there is still a long way to go. The battle has been won, but the world has yet to yield all their weapons, and so for us it can still be uncomfortable, feeling like we are standing at the threshold, we know what it looks like inside, we know what it's supposed to be like, we know that God has won, and that all the nations that God has made will come to worship before the Lord (Psalm 86:9) But man, we just want in and want to kick our feet up already! But brothers and sisters, a day in His court is worth a thousand outside! That once the work is done, and Jesus returns, just that first day alone will make up for all of it, just those first moments alone will have made all of this seem more than worth it. So how do we do it.... By trusting in Him, it is the one who trusts in Him that is blessed, and so when the world tempts us to come on in and kick our feet up, we trust in Him, we cling to Him, we remember that the world has nothing to offer but temporary and fleeting semi-satisfaction... But God offers eternal peace in His eternal dwelling, don't fall for something that will never fully satisfy, when what will satisfy has been promised and is coming.
Thursday, week 29!
Thoughts on Proverbs 11 & 12:
· There's so much in these chapters, but I'm going to make one quick observation, and then look at something else a bit more in depth. First, chapter 11 verse 26, this is a very interesting proverb, the first part I think is simple enough. He who withholds grain, this is speaking of the greedy person. The one who has but will not share it with others, who keeps it all to himself. People look at him and they curse him, they hate him. He has so much and yet he is only concerned with himself. But you'd probably expect the next line to speak of giving it away, being generous with what he has, or something like that. We see in this same chapter that generosity is a good thing, we should be generous and willing to share what we have. But that's not what this proverb is looking at, instead it says, "the blessing will be on he who sells it". Yes, sells, not gives it away... This affirms a couple of key concepts that are often debated today, first it affirms the right to private property, the grain belonged to this man, it was his to do with as he pleases. Even in his being greedy, the problem wasn't that he had all that grain, but rather that he kept it all to himself, while others had no access to it. Secondly, it affirms his right to earn a profit, he who sells it, there's nothing wrong with him making a living off of what he has, in fact it's a good thing, the blessing will be upon him. I know today the culture is highly anti-capitalism, but the bible is pro-capitalism, it affirms some of the foundational principles of capitalism, like the right to property, freedom of the marketplace, the promotion of entrepreneurship and more. This doesn't mean that people don't pervert the system, of course, we are all sinful human beings, but there is no better system out there that affords people an opportunity to provide for themselves and for the community at the same time. That's what this proverb is affirming, this person provided grain for the community, and at the same time provided financial stability for his own family, it's a win for all, and he is the one who is blessed.
· Then chapter 12, we've all met the person who says, "I just tell it like it is" or " I can't help speaking the truth" these can at time be promoted as ultimate goods. In other words their lack of a filter is just a raw and uncut look at the truth and we should be willing to deal with it. I can at times be guilty of this, speaking the truth without a filter, but the bible calls that foolish. Verse 18, There is one who speaks rashly like the thrust of a sword... this is the fool, this who we don't want to be like, the truth is we can control it, we are supposed to work at controlling it and not let our tongues get ahead of ourselves. Yes, the tongue is extremely hard to tame, but the wise man's tongue brings healing, a prudent man conceals knowledge, notice all of this is in the same context of speaking truth, but control is a huge part of that truth. In this case it isn't exactly what we say, but perhaps "when" we say it... The time isn't always right now, often it's better to just listen, to take in information, to pray, to perhaps seek further wisdom, definitely seek wisdom from the word of God, all before we respond. We sometimes need to lay down enough cushion to so that our words would be heard and not just defended against. This is a huge area of failure for me, especially at home. In the season I am in, I am learning to stay quiet more, to listen more, to wait longer, to pray more, to trust God more, and it's been a slow process. I still make mistakes every day, that's how bad at this I was, but scripture is clear on this, a prudent man conceals dishonor. One way that has helped me, is to reflect on the offense, consider how I myself have been guilty of the same thing, repent of my own offense, then consider how I may have been receptive to correction before addressing, if it even needs addressing. Often it doesn't. I'm learning to never respond in anger, and that's so hard to do for me. But at the same time, it's helping me to be much less angry... we can seek truth, and should seek truth, but never apart from love. I wrote a blog on the other side of this too, and I still believe both are true, that what we say is very important too but let's also take heed in our person to person interactions of how and when we are saying things...
Friday, week 29!
Thoughts on Ezekiel 31 - 36:
· I have three points for reflection and prayer, first, consider Egypt and their judgement. Egypt didn't know God, they didn't have His word, or revelation and yet God has Ezekiel prophesy over them and their destruction. They were held accountable for their wickedness and were without excuse, and it was by their judgement that they would know the Lord. It doesn't matter if you live in a mostly Christian nation or an entirely Pagan nation, God judges nations and people both. Nations may be allowed to remain wicked for longer periods of time, God may even use wicked nations to punish other wicked nations, or to even punish His own people as in Babylon against Israel, but not even Babylon escapes judgement. In all of this, just as in last weeks reading, this is all that they will come to know Him as Lord. God has not left these nations without warning, even more so today because whereas with Egypt it was Ezekiel crying out and prophesying, today it is to be all of the church crying out and warning all the nations. Nations prosper at the will of God, and nations fall at the will of God. Our role in this world, according to the great commission is to disciple the nations, which involves a call to repentance and faith followed by being taught to obey all that God has commanded. Our nation is without excuse, all nations are without excuse, and God will make sure that all know that He is the Lord God... One way or another. Pray for repentance and faith for our nation, its leaders and its churches. Let our voices be heard that the blood of this land not be on our hands. Point number 2, we see that when a wicked person turns from their wickedness they are expected to practice justice and righteousness. These two words are similar, but yet they are different enough that we need to understand them rightly. Justice means to treat people the same before the law, it's the practice of impartiality before the law, God shows no partiality and expects His people to be like Him. It involves picking up the case of the poor and oppressed when their case is noble and partiality is being shown. It does not mean picking up their case for the sake of picking it up, for that would be the very definition of partiality and in turn make it injustice. Justice makes sure that the powerful and powerless are both treated exactly the same before the law, a murderer is to be executed, whether he has power or not, a thief is called on to make restitution whether he stole bread to feed his family, or he stole money to stack his bank account, both are wrong and both must be treated equally before the law. I know, our society says, but you have to take into account the poor person needed to eat... The law of God says no, you don't take that into account when it comes to treating him just. Look what happens when you treat the person rightly before the law. A person steals bread to feed his family, he gets caught, has to make restitution in order to make up for his guilt (this is the biblical standard, direct restitution). But he has no way to make restitution??? Now the one who was wronged, takes this person in, puts him to work, gives them a skill, a way to make a living and for that time the individual is provided for until the debt has been paid through labor, when complete the person can either continue to work for this person, or go out and find work somewhere else with this new skill that has been acquired, but the debt has been satisfied and all are better for it... Amazing how the Bible's standards are so much better than the worlds! But righteousness is different from justice in that it doesn't look at how we treat other people before the law, it instead looks inwardly at how obedient we are to the law. In other words, righteousness is tied to our obedience. Do we do that which the law requires? Have you repented? if so this means that you are now seeking to treat people equally before the law, and seeking to be obedient to the law. The wicked are unjust and do not obey the law, unrighteous. Pray today that the Lord will help you stand for biblical justice and give you a greater heart and desire to obey His law... Not because you need to earn your salvation, which brings us to point 3, but because He has granted you salvation by putting His Spirit in you, by removing your heart of stone and giving you a heart of flesh! Has He done this? Do you desire obedience, do you desire true justice, or are you satisfied with what the world calls justice and your self-righteousness? I hate my righteousness, I detest it with every fiber of my being, and know that apart from the grace of God in my life I have no ability to be righteous at all... I need the grace of God in my life to seek His Justice and pursue true righteousness which is only found in Jesus. Pray that God would, by His Spirit, lead you to hate your flesh, and live instead by His Spirit, pursuing true Justice and true righteousness in all of life.
This weekend i'll be attending the Haven again, I am considering having fellowship after at the house again. I'll know for sure tomorrow, just let me know if you are interested in attending! God bless and have a wonderful day.
Saturday, week 29!
Thoughts on Luke 21 & 22:
· I do believe there is such a thing as "systemic injustice", but I believe it because I see it in the bible. With all the talk of this today, I think it's worth some time to consider what is it? In the opening of Luke 21, which should be read in the context of the end of chapter 20, we see Jesus pointing to an issue of "systemic injustice". The civil Law of God required that the people of God cared for the widows, orphans, and the needy. Part of the temple offering was to be just for this purpose, but at the end of chapter 20 we see Jesus condemning the leaders of the temple, specifically He says of them, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats inn the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows houses and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation." Immediately following we have the widow who puts in the two copper coins... Jesus here is not teaching on the importance of giving, He is condemning a twisting of the system that has sought to take from the very ones it was meant to protect. He lifts up the widow and condemns those who would take from her rather than serve her. So where was the systemic injustice? It was in the wicked twisting of laws that the religious leaders had put in place to undo the Laws that God had in place to protect and provide for the least of these. You see what makes it systemic is the fact that there were man made laws in the system that allowed those who needed protection to be taken advantage of. This is exactly the type of thing the Old Testament repeatedly speaks against. When we are told to plead the cause of the poor, to fight for the oppressed, here's exactly when you should do that. Now, take that into today? To say there is a problem of systemic injustice, today, we must point to where those laws are that are causing people to be treated unfairly before the law of God. If we are Christians the Law of God is the standard, this is what kills me, because the world cannot have systemic injustice. Apart from a standard of justice rooted outside of man, there is no "injustice". Where do they get their standard of justice? The sad thing today is that there is plenty of true systemic injustice, look at legalized abortion, that is systemic injustice, it allows the most innocent among us to be murdered, sacrificed to the god of comfort. It's injustice because Gods law demands we protect the innocent, and here's a law that allows us to kill them put in place by men. Our penal system is another example of systemic injustice, God has laws that allow for restitution, ours provide no restitution, and no room for true redemption. Our tax laws are examples of systemic injustice, God says a government that taxes even 10% is a wicked government, ours takes 30% and wants to take even more. This can go on and on... But I hope you get the point, yes systemic injustice is real, but it must be properly defined according to a real standard. There is systemic injustice within the church also, look at the entirety of the prosperity gospel, modern day Pharisees and Sadducees making money off of the least of these by offering them a false hope, one rooted in materialism and separate from Christ. When people break the laws, even repeatedly, even over and over, that's not a systemic problem, that's a SIN problem and as Christians we know there is only one way to cure that problem. But a systemic problem is one that is rooted outside of Gods word, all man made systems are problematic, even our constitution is full of issues, but unless we are going to go back to Gods word and root all of our laws there, we shouldn't expect it to be otherwise. I hope this makes sense, and that when you deal with someone claiming that there is a systemic injustice problem, that you'd stop and ask them, "by what standard do you claim this?"
· There's also a whole lot in chapter 21 on end times, and I can go on here for a bit on this but I want to point to one verse, Jesus says in verse 32, "this generation will not pass away until all things take place." I don't care what position you take when it comes to end times, Pre-Mil, A-Mil, Post-Mil, these are the only biblical positions, a full-preterist view is unbiblical. But whatever position you take, you have got to be able to explain this verse without trying to undo the language... Did it all take place before "that" generation passed away or not? I'll attach a sermon that shares my view on this for some further explanation. Have a great day, God bless!