Friday, October 31, 2008

Out Of Town And Living A Lie, Who Cares?

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 12:10 And because there was little food to be had in that land, he went down into Egypt. 11 Now when he came near to Egypt, he said to Sarai, his wife, Truly, you are a fair woman and beautiful to the eye; 12 And I am certain that when the men of Egypt see you, they will say, This is his wife: and they will put me to death and keep you. 13 Say, then, that you are my sister, and so it will be well with me because of you, and my life will be kept safe on your account.

14 And so it was that when Abram came into Egypt, the men of Egypt, looking on the woman, saw that she was fair. 15 And Pharaoh's great men, having seen her, said words in praise of her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 And because of her, he was good to Abram, and he had sheep and oxen and asses, and men-servants and women-servants, and camels.

17 And the Lord sent great troubles on Pharaoh's house because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 Then Pharaoh sent for Abram, and said, What have you done to me? why did you not say that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say that she was your sister? so that I took her for my wife: now, take your wife and go on your way. 20 And Pharaoh gave orders to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and all he had.

Genesis 13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt with his wife and all he had, and Lot with him, and they came in to the South. 2 Now Abram had great wealth of cattle and silver and gold. 3 And traveling on from the South, he came to Beth-el, to the place where his tent had been before, between Beth-el and Ai; 4 To the place where he had made his first altar, and there Abram gave worship to the name of the Lord.

OBSERVATION

Question: Was Abraham in God’s will when he left Canaan and went to Egypt?

God had just sent him to Canaan and showed him the land that Israel was going to be given and then it looks like in Genesis 12:8-9 that he just kept right on going beyond the area that God was going to give to his people. It looks like Abram wasn’t too excited about the land that God picked out.

Sure there was a famine but God had already promised to prosper Abram but he sought refuge from the famine by going to Egypt, a place that would continue to be a draw for Israel; I think that Egypt must have been an awesome country with a lot of worldly appeal.

It seems to me that Abram wasn’t living for God right now. I think that he is in a place that he isn’t supposed to be and he begins living a life that he isn’t supposed to live, perhaps he thought that a little lie away from home wouldn't be a big deal. He starts off a new life with a lie that Sarah isn’t his wife; if you are telling lies to protect yourself then look around and see where you went wrong because you are probably not where God wants you to be.

God sent trouble to Pharaoh and caused Abram to be sent packing, just like his grandchildren are going to be pushed out after the 400 years of bondage. Now Abram is on track as he returns to the place where he worshiped God at Bethel. God has a way of “encouraging” his children back to Bethel.

APPLICATION

The Lord is good to his children and even in discipline he is looking out for their own good and is longing to bring us back to a relationship with him.

PRAYER

I want to always stay close to you father and do what is pleasing to you, help me to rely on you when there is a “famine in the land.”

Just a thot’: God sent trouble to Pharaoh but how did he know that it was caused by Abram’s lie? We can bring trouble on others by our disobedience to God.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Longing For A Better Country.

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, Go out from your country and from your family and from your father's house, into the land to which I will be your guide: 2 And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing: 3 To them who are good to you will I give blessing, and on him who does you wrong will I put my curse: and you will become a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.

4 So Abram went as the Lord had said to him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went away from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, and all their goods and the servants which they had got in Haran, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan.

6 And Abram went through the land till he came to Shechem, to the holy tree of Moreh. At that time, the Canaanites were still living in the land. 7 And the Lord came to Abram, and said, I will give all this land to your seed; then Abram made an altar there to the Lord who had let himself be seen by him. 8 And moving on from there to the mountain on the east of Beth-el, he put up his tent, having Beth-el on the west and Ai on the east: and there he made an altar and gave worship to the name of the Lord.

Hebrews 11:13-16  All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

OBSERVATION

God longs for us to be obedient to him especially when he doesn’t show us all the details of how he is going to accomplish something through us. That’s where faith comes in, if he told us all the details then it wouldn’t be faith.

When I was a kid I would get in the car with my parents and go for a Sunday drive to who knows where but I always knew that we would end up back at the house.

As a child of God we should be traveling light as we pass through this strange land . It is easy to get loaded down with a bunch of stuff and the bills to match. Our countries economic disaster caught a lot of people off guard, its a shame for Christians to live so strapped down that they don't have the resources to help out people in need. There is no way that you can give alms to the poor if you are one.

APPLICATION

I will keep on "longing for a better country—a heavenly one"

PRAYER

Help me Lord to keep my eyes on what you have in store for me in eternity and not on all the things that get us bogged down in this life.

Just a thot’: The Egyptians were always giving their stuff away to Abram and his descendents.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Let's Make A Name For Ourselves

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 11:1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, “Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Pride as the book of Proverbs sees it:

Proverbs 9:12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if your heart is full of pride, you only will have the pain of it.

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, there comes shame, but wisdom is with the quiet in spirit.

Proverbs 15:25 The house of the man of pride will be uprooted by the Lord,

Proverbs 16:5 Everyone who has pride in his heart is disgusting to the Lord: he will certainly not go free from punishment.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a stiff spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 19:29 Rods are being made ready for the man of pride, and blows for the back of the foolish.

Proverbs 29:8 Men of pride are the cause of violent acts in a town, but by wise men wrath is turned away.

Proverbs 29:23 A man's pride will be the cause of his fall, but he who has a gentle spirit will get honor.


OBSERVATION

God is very clear that he does not like pride (conceit or arrogance), nobody else likes that kind of people either. The problem with pride is it allows you to set yourself up as “in charge” but the truth is that the only one that is truly in charge is God.

The people at Babel were supposed to spread out and populate the earth but instead they found an awesome location and everybody said “let’s hang out here” and they said “let’s make a name for ourselves”, direct disobedience to God’s command and looking for recognition.

The power of “they said” is a mighty force, often peer pressure to go the wrong way but peer pressure can be good if we have the right peers:

Psalms 122:1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Isaiah 2:3 And the peoples will say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will give us knowledge of his ways, and we will be guided by his word;

APPLICATION

Be careful in your successes that you don’t think highly of yourself. Listen to the right crowd so you don’t get off track.

PRAYER

Keep me humble in everything that I do, for there is nothing good that I can do in my own power.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Don't Forget To Appreciate.

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 8:15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

Genesis 9:12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

OBSERVATION

It’s a shame that the rainbow has become a symbol of the homosexuals, just another of their perversions of something that God gave to his children.

Noah was told by God to get into the ark and he waited until God told him to get off the ark, he was always obedient.

Noah was also thankful and he couldn’t wait to worship God for his salvation. Oh how slow we are to be thankful for the devastation that we have been saved from and to worship our savior who provided our way of escape.

APPLICATION

I need to be more aware of the salvation gift that God has freely given to me. He is my ark of protection for this life and for eternity and I need to be thankful all the time. I have truly been blessed and it should show everyday.

PRAYER

Thank you Lord for your protecting love for me, may I always show my appreciation.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Mercy In The Midst Of Judgement

SCRIPTURE

And destruction came on every living thing moving on the earth, birds and cattle and beasts and everything which went on the earth, and every man. 22 Everything on the dry land, in which was the breath of life, came to its end. 23 Every living thing on the face of all the earth, man and cattle and things moving on the face of the earth, and birds of the air, came to destruction: only Noah and those who were with him in the ark, were kept from death. 24 And the waters were over the earth a hundred and fifty days.
And God kept Noah in mind,
-Genesis 7:21 – 8:1

So my wrath will be complete and my passion will come to rest on them; and they will be certain that I the Lord have given the word of decision, when my wrath against them is complete.
-Ezekiel 5:13

And the Lord went past before his eyes, saying, The Lord, the Lord, a God full of pity and grace, slow to wrath and great in mercy and faith;
- Exodus 34:6

OBSERVATION

God’s justice cannot be restrained forever, we may think that he doesn’t know or doesn’t care but it is because of his mercy that you are being spared. Noah’s neighbors had the whole time that the ark was being built to consider what was going on so when destruction came their way they could only blame themselves.

God’s mercy comes through during the destruction of everything else, “God kept Noah in mind.” What a very, very personal display of God’s love. The rest of the world is in chaos and ruin but God kept Noah in mind.

APPLICATION

I will remember that God is in control, something that I definitely need to remember during this election time. My God is a just God that wants a very personal relationship with me.

PRAYER

Thank you for your love and mercy, thank you that you give us room to blow it and then you give us time to repent.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Obedience Brings Grace


SCRIPTURE

Genesis 7

1 And the Lord said to Noah, Take all your family and go into the ark, for you only in this generation have I seen to be upright.

4 For after seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, for the destruction of every living thing which I have made on the face of the earth.

5 And Noah did everything which the Lord said he was to do.

10 And after the seven days, the waters came over all the earth.

12 And rain came down on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

24 And the waters were over the earth a hundred and fifty days.

OBSERVATION

What a picture of God’s grace that Noah and his family were saved because Noah was an upright man and he walked with God. Just get the spray paint out and paint the name on the front of the boat, I would have named it grace. Grace alone and nothing else had saved them.

The world had plenty of time to repent but instead they probably stood around and mocked Noah. It was business as usual for everybody else. I am sure that they went to their shops and stores to get to work, homes were being cleaned, plans were being made. Plans that would never be since they were coming upon their judgment day.

And as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the day of the Son of man. They were feasting and taking wives and getting married, till the day of the overflowing of the waters, when Noah went into the ark, and they all came to destruction. –Luke 17:26, 27

Verse 5 says that Noah did everything that God told him to do but imagine if Noah had only been partially obedient. What if he left off the door or he built the ark the wrong dimensions or didn’t waterproof it the correct way. Only complete obedience is acceptable to God.

APPLICATION

Would God have wanted to save me from the flood?

When he tells me to do something I must be completely obedient, partial obedience would have been fatal for Noah and the animals.

PRAYER

Lord I pray that you will find me faithful and obedient to what you have taught me in your word.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

An Ark Full Of Grace

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 6:5-13 And the Lord saw that the sin of man was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts of his heart were evil.

6 And the Lord had sorrow because he had made man on the earth, and grief was in his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will take away man, whom I have made, from the face of the earth, even man and beast and that which goes on the earth and every bird of the air; for I have sorrow for having made them.

8 But Noah had grace in the eyes of God.

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was an upright man and without sin in his generation: he went in the ways of God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 And the earth was evil in God's eyes and full of violent ways. 12 And God, looking on the earth, saw that it was evil: for the way of all flesh had become evil on the earth.

13 And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come; the earth is full of their violent doings, and now I will put an end to them with the earth.

OBSERVATION

This scripture always makes me wonder how bad the people had gotten that God decided to do away with them and start over.

Next thing I wonder is this, the Bible says that Noah lived for God but how did his wife or sons live or the son’s wives?

We have already learned that God is love and now we learn that God is righteous and just. God will not tolerate evil and he tells us not to tolerate it either but to overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:21 says: Do not let evil overcome you, but overcome evil by good.

The next thing that I learn about God is that he is full of grace. Noah and his family were saved by God’s grace and that’s the only way that we will be saved from our sins as well.


The grace of that ark with all it's protection and provisions that they needed was sufficient to save. What a picture of God’s grace through Jesus Christ our provision and protection today and for eternity.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says: My grace is enough for you, for my power is made complete in what is feeble.

APPLICATION

I know that my God will save me like he said he would, he has saved before and he will save again. I want to be a righteous man like Noah was, full of faith despite how bizarre it is to build a huge boat nowhere close to water.

PRAYER

Thank you for your grace which sustains me in this evil world. I pray for the upcoming elections, that we will have a pro-life president. Please forgive us for straying away from you.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Walking Away From God

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 4:1 And the man had connection with Eve his wife, and she became with child and gave birth to Cain, and said, I have got a man from the Lord. 2 Then again she became with child and gave birth to Abel, his brother. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a farmer.

3 And after a time, Cain gave to the Lord an offering of the fruits of the earth. 4 And Abel gave an offering of the young lambs of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord was pleased with Abel's offering; 5 But in Cain and his offering he had no pleasure. And Cain was angry and his face became sad.

6 And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? and why is your face sad? 7 If you do well, will you not have honour? and if you do wrong, sin is waiting at the door, desiring to have you, but do not let it be your master.

8 And Cain said to his brother, Let us go into the field: and when they were in the field, Cain made an attack on his brother Abel and put him to death.

9 And the Lord said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I have no idea: am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the earth. 11 And now you are cursed from the earth, whose mouth is open to take your brother's blood from your hand; 12 No longer will the earth give you her fruit as the reward of your work; you will be a wanderer in flight over the earth.

13 And Cain said, My punishment is greater than my strength. 14 You have sent me out this day from the face of the earth and from before your face; I will be a wanderer in flight over the earth, and whoever sees me will put me to death. 15 And the Lord said, Truly, if Cain is put to death, seven lives will be taken for his. And the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one might put him to death.

16 And Cain went away from before the face of the Lord, and made his living-place in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.

OBSERVATION

Imagine living back in the day when God was talking to people on a daily basis, he talked to Adam and Eve and he talked directly to Cain.

Next imagine having that kind of direct conversation with God and talking to him so disrespectfully. What a smart alec talking back to God saying "am I my brothers keeper?" God nails him for killing his brother and his only concern is that the punishment is too harsh. What a callous heart!

Cain left "the face of the Lord" and we do not know if he ever came back.

APPLICATION

I don't want to be found east of Eden ever again. I have been away from the Lord before and lived my own plans and agenda but I don't want to go there anymore.

PRAYER

Father I pray that I will follow you all the days of my life, I submit it all to you.

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him -Job 13:15

Friday, October 10, 2008

Faith Is A Verb

SCRIPTURE

And those, whose faith has made them good in God's sight, must live by faith, trusting him in everything.
Heb 10:38 (Living)

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.
Heb 11:1 (Living)

You can never please God without faith, without depending on him.
Heb 11:6 (Living)

These men of faith I have mentioned died without ever receiving all that God had promised them; but they saw it all awaiting them on ahead and were glad, for they agreed that this earth was not their real home but that they were just strangers visiting down here. 14 And quite obviously when they talked like that, they were looking forward to their real home in heaven.

If they had wanted to, they could have gone back to the good things of this world. 16 But they didn't want to. They were living for heaven. And now God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has made a heavenly city for them.
Heb 11:13-16 (Living)

But others trusted God and were beaten to death, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free--trusting that they would rise to a better life afterwards.
Heb 11:35

OBSERVATION

Want to know how to please God? One thing that is essential to please him is that you must have faith. How do you know that you have faith? Others will be able to see you using it, faith should be a verb.

  • If Abraham had not packed his bag and left town, we would never know.
  • If Noah hadn’t built a really huge boat, we would never know.
  • If Moses didn’t go talk to Pharaoh, we would never know.
  • If Joshua didn’t cross the Jordan River and circle the city of Jericho for six days with no results then we would never know that he believed that on day seven the walls would fall.
  • If David hadn’t picked up the rock and loaded up his slingshot, we would never know.

These are just a few of the men that exercised faith, if they had not used it we wouldn’t know that they had it. I need to be sure that my actions testify that I have faith.

APPLICATION

I need to step out with confidence when God tells me to do something. Its time to live dangerously for God.

PRAYER

Lord, increase my faith.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Draw Near To God

SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 10:19-39

So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded.
Hebrews 10:35 (NIV)

OBSERVATION

Con-fi-dence (kon fi dens) n. 1. full trust; belief in the reliability of a person or thing.

What do you have confidence in? Full or complete trust is very difficult, there are too many let downs in this life, there have just been too many times that we have been disappointed.

The confidence that we should have in Jesus Christ is legitimate, we have every reason to believe that he will do what he says. He came back from the dead, he didn’t break that promise, how much easier is every other promise to fulfill so then we can know for sure that he has the power to do it.

We should have the confidence to go straight to God because of the access that Christ made for us (verses19-22). Christ gave us permission to “draw near to God” we can do it ourselves, we don’t need to go see the priest at the temple and bring part of our herd to be sacrificed. The sacrifice has already been made just go before the father with a “sincere heart.”

This confidence should make us excited, we should be living with zeal and we should be passionate about what God has done for us, he has loved us so much and we should do what we can to demonstrate that kind of love to others (verses 23-25).

WAKE UP CHURCH! How can so many people stay home from church or maybe worse yet almost everybody shows up like a “dead man walking.” Do you need me to spell out why you should be so alive?

• Remember the love that God has shown us
• Remember that we have direct access to our creator
• We have been given hope
• Look for ways to out love each other

How can anybody reject God and all his benefits? Don’t think that everything will be well with you if you reject the Savior (verses 26-31), there is no other way to “draw near to God.”

Why would you reject him, it is difficult enough for those that do accept Christ as their Savior. Some Christians have suffered hard times (verses 32-34) but at least they know that it will be good for them if they have lived out God’s will and kept the faith (verses 35-39).

APPLICATION

I will remember to draw near to God everyday.

PRAYER

Lord, increase my faith, thank you for allowing me to draw near with confidence. Please wake up your people to how good you have been to them so that they will be excited and live with passion.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

What Can Wash Away My Sin

SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 9:11-24

OBSERVATION

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! The perfect high priest came to earth with the perfect sacrifice. We saw last week in Hebrews that we have a sympathetic high priest, now today we learn that Jesus is our high priest that made the perfect sacrifice for our sin.

A sacrifice that was made once for all time,

A sacrifice that was given for all mankind.
Eternal redemption he did give,My life for him I will live

Christ died to rescue those who sinned,
Now before God he is our friend.

All men will die that is our destiny,
His salvation to all those waiting patiently.

APPLICATION

Jesus died for me, I will live for him.

PRAYER

Thank you Jesus for the perfect sacrifice that you gave on our behalf.

Monday, October 06, 2008

God Will Lift Up Your Head

SCRIPTURE

Heb 6:18-20 (Living)  He has given us both his promise and his oath, two things we can completely count on, for it is impossible for God to tell a lie. Now all those who flee to him to save them can take new courage when they hear such assurances from God; now they can know without doubt that he will give them the salvation he has promised them.

19 This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven, 20 where Christ has gone ahead to plead for us from his position as our High Priest, with the honor and rank of Melchizedek.

OBSERVATION

Have you ever seen the face of a person without hope? On a mission trip in Athens I was at a refugee center that was providing for the most basic needs for food, clothing and language skills but more important than these they were giving out some hope, it was the good news about Jesus. Although there were many unhappy faces there I remember one man in particular that I was moved by, he seemed to be very troubled, alone and without hope for a better day.

What a terrible sight to see a person without hope, you never hear of hope as a basic necessity but I say that it is almost that important, for without hope life doesn’t seem worth showing up for. No matter how things look today with hope you can draw strength that tomorrow will be a better day but without hope you cannot see yourself making it through the difficulties of this day.

Those that know their loving creator and have a relationship with him have hope in this life and a hope for eternity. Hebrews 6 says that those who have their hope in the Lord have an anchor for their soul, firm and secure.

It brings to mind the despair that the disciples experienced when Jesus was sleeping through a storm that was big enough to sink their boat, then when his sailing companions finally went to him for help then they received the peace that they needed. They received peace and calm, is that what you need?

I remember the woman and man that were caught in adultery and the woman was thrown down at Jesus feet, they didn’t know it but that was just the place that she needed to be. Miraculously he quickly sent her accusers away without a confrontation and then he offered forgiveness, maybe that is what you need today.

Think about how many people with leprosy that Jesus healed. According to my Bible dictionary leprosy was a “skin disease that eats inward to the bones, rotting the whole body piecemeal" what a terrible way to die. Jesus touched these people and offered them hope by cleansing their bodies and bringing healing to them. Do you need a new body today?

Do you need hope, then renew your hope from the only source of hope. The psalmist said “I would have despaired and perished unless your laws had been my deepest delight.” The Lord will renew your hope when you look to his word (Psalms 119:92).

As much trouble as David saw and yet he was still able to say in Psalm 16 “You have let me experience the joys of life and the exquisite pleasures of your own eternal presence.”

How awesome! Despite our circumstances God will give us joy! But wait the best is yet to come because after my time on this planet is over then I will forever enjoy the “exquisite pleasures” of being in God’s presence.

APPLICATION

Help me to remember that my time here is short and I will then be in the pleasure of your presence.

PRAYER

Jesus make me an encouragement to my wife and others that need to be lifted up.

Friday, October 03, 2008

A Warning To The Baby Christian


SCRIPTURE

Heb 5:11-14 (NIV)  We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Heb 6:1-2 (Living)  Let us stop going over the same old ground again and again, always teaching those first lessons about Christ. Let us go on instead to other things and become mature in our understanding, as strong Christians ought to be. Surely we don't need to speak further about the foolishness of trying to be saved by being good, or about the necessity of faith in God; 2 you don't need further instruction about baptism and spiritual gifts and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

1 Cor 3:1-2 (NIV)  Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.

OBSERVATIONS

Rick paraphrase:

You are still baby Christians so it is difficult to teach you anything beyond the basics that you know from the Old Testament. You know the teachings about repentance, faith, baptism, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and the eternal judgement. It is wrong that you are still immature and focusing on these teachings and still trying to learn them, well then you are not going to understand the teachings about righteousness. -Heb 5:11-14 (RIC)

Digging the word will help me:
• To keep myself pure
• See what is on the inside, that sword opens you right up
• Teaches me how to live to please God
• Shows me my loving God and Savior

APPLICATION


I remember a couple of days ago I learned about God’s word being a double-edged sword. I better use the sword so that I will grow as a Christ follower.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
Psalms 119:9-12 (NIV)

PRAYER

Keep me faithful to meet with you each morning to study your word.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Jesus - Our High Priest And Savior

SCRIPTURE


Hebrews 2:17-18 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 3:1-2 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him,

Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 5:9-10 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

OBSERVATION


The priest job in the Old Testament was to make the sacrifices and gifts to God for the sins of God’s people. The earthly priest had gotten way out of control and sometimes they were worse than the people that they were supposed to be helping were. Consider Eli and his sons or the corruption of the priest during the time of the kings. Even a high priest had Jesus put on trial and sent him to Pilate to advocate his death.

We needed a better High Priest one that would be pure, just, accessible to us, merciful and faithful.
 
5 Ways We See Jesus Serve as a Priest (crossway.org)

Now we have the best High Priest that has been through the struggles and the pain that we have experienced, he has dealt with the temptations that the devil sent his way. He is the most merciful high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses.

This should give us confidence to approach his throne to receive mercy and grace because he has been there and done that. Be confident, don’t be afraid of him because he knows how much we struggle to do the good things that we want to do. (Romans 7:15). Have some respectful reverence for who he is but don’t be afraid of the one that loved us enough to die for us (John 3:16). Christ is our High Priest, and he is the only source of our eternal salvation.

APPLICATION


I will approach Christ boldly with reverence for the forgiveness of my sins, he already knows how hard I struggle and what it feels like to struggle so it should be easy to tell him about it.

PRAYER


Thank you Jesus for washing my sins away and for coming down to my world to experience my struggles and pain.