Let Us Try...

Isaiah 43:2, John 3:5, Genesis 7:12,24, John 1:26, Acts 2:3-4

2007-04-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

What:
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
You will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.

12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

26 "I baptize with water," John replied,"but among you stands one you do not know."

3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of flame that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

I read the verses in Isaiah and John 3 this morning during my daily quiet time and the other ones came into my mind about the same time. God is incredible and the Bible just amazes me at its complexities, especially regarding prophecy!

God's peace be with you all.
Nils

Psalm 25:7-8 and 25:15

2007-03-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

What:
7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You are good, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
Apply:
1) In our youth we must learn right from wrong, it doesn't come to us naturally. Children are born amoral and must be taught how to think, act, and live.
2) David prays to God: don't remember my sins and rebellion, remember me according to Your love. For those loved by God, He remembers them according to His love not according to their sins. That is how we can face the day with confidence; it has nothing to do with us, but rather everything to do with God. (hence: His love, not our sins)

What:
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare.
Apply:
Romans 3:23 says that we're all short of God's glory because of the sins we've committed. The snare, in this case, is sin which only God can free us from. So, David says to keep our eyes on God when we seem to be snared, so that He Who Is Able can set us free! If we focus on the snare, we will be wrapped up in its cords and be drug down, hurting our relationship with the Living God. Our focus must be on Christ, even when our only desire is that of Adam's, to hide ourselves (Genesis 3:10) in the vain hope God won't see, so that we who are redeemed are not submitted to anything or anyone other than God.

I haven't kept this blog post up as I had wished, so here's an entry and I'll try and get at least one or two up each week. 1 John 2:6, 2 Timothy 2:2. - Nils

March 28th - Thnks to Christof fro poinitng ot my spellin typ-pos!

1 Chronicles 27:23-24a

2006-12-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

What: David did not take the number of the men twenty years or less, because the Lord had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the shy. Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish.

Refer to 1 Chronicles 21

Apply: This explains why the census of the army cause the wrath of God to be poured out on Israel. David was incitedby the devil (1 Chron 21:1) to count his fighting men, but God brought him to the mat through the prophet Gad giving him three options. David threw himself on God's mercy and a plague fell on Israel which the Lord stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah. This cross reference is an excellent example of how the Bible explains itself. The section in 1 Chron 21 has always confused me, until I final read the second selection which illuminated the why behind the Lord's wrath.

Psalm 119:33-40

2006-10-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

33 Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees;
then I will keep them to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace I dread,
for you laws are good.
40 How I long for your precepts!
Preserve my lfe in your righteousness.

John 10:3,5

2006-10-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

What: The watchman opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out... But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.

Apply: If we are not the sheep of Jesus' flock, we won't recognize (can't recognize) Hisvoce, so we'll be lead away by the thief or the stranger, the "one who clims in some other way" (vs 1b). But if we instead flee from that stranger's voice and respond to Jesus' voice, then we know we are His own. If we listen to His voice, which implies obediance (John 14:21), and flee from the thief (James 4:7) then we know that we truly are His.

We are compelled to follow the the voice of Christ and repelled by the voice of the thief.

Reference Verses:
John 14:21 - Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.

James 4:7 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

2 Timothy 2:22 - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

1 Corinthians 10:14 - Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

1 Samuel 3:19

2006-10-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

What: The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.

Apply: This reminds me of the ritual sacrifices of the temple, where a sacrifice was considered worthless if the blood was spilled on the ground. It was supposed to go into bowls that were used for sprinkling on and around the altar to make atonement. The Lord spoke to Samuel and he honoring what the Lord had spoken, as it came from God. The Lord fulfilled all that He prophesied to Samuel and Samuel was careful with what he said when he spoke God's Word. Also, this verse imples that the Lord's Word is necessary for his growth: Samuel ate it up, he didn't let even a single crumb fall on the ground. If you read on into verse 20, you'll see that because of this, Samuel was known to be an established prophet of God in all of Israel ("...from Dan even to Beersheba"). Eli's sons (1 Sam 2:12-36) were wicked and abused the office of the priest treating the sacrifices and the temple with contempt, and Eli did nothing, as a result they all died on the same day and the Ark of the Lord was lost to the Philistines. Samuel did all he was commanded and God established him in Eli's place.

These are the practical points I gather from this scripture:

1. When God speaks, listen; when you speak, say no more and no less than what God said. Be accurate, we face judgement for misusing the Word of the Lord. Be careful of what you say.

2. When God speaks, all He says is true and will come to pass. Trust His Word!

3. Whatever place the Lord establishes you, do what is right in the eyes of the Lord there. Don't take advantage of your position in His Kingdom or your freedom or treat His commands with contempt.

4. Only God makes us grow. We plant and water but can do no more. The Lord has given us food for our souls ( Matt 4:4, John 4:34) his Word and to do His Will. Don't let any of your words fall to the ground!

This post has been updated to clarify what I've said. My big brother Mike showed me where I'd made an error in calling what the Lord spoke to Samuel as "the Lord's Words", this is what he had to say:

Only one thing, extremely minor. God doesn't call His word the "Lord's words." Notice that
it is always singular and not plural, as in "the word of the Lord" (over 200 occurrences)
and not word(s) of the Lord. Why is this important? It is especially important when you
capitalize "Word" b/c there is but one Christ as there is but one Word. It is singular b/c the Word of God, all 67 books (to include us 100 mile an hour taped Bible
epistles) must be united and universal to all. The plural form states plurality which is never
good.

My newest memory verse is going to be John 3:34 which uses the word "rhema"
or something that is spoken or said. It is pluralized. The word "logos"
(though it has an "s" at the end) speaks of God's living capitalized Word.
We must be careful not to confuse the two. I think you did in your writing.

Thanks for spotting that Mike! That helps clarify why the second part of 1 Sam 3:19 says "let none of his words fall to the ground" indicating that the words were what Samuel spoke as opposed to God Word! That was the most difficult part of the verse to understand whether that was "the Word" or Samuel's treatment of it. It was Samuel's treatment of what God spoke to Him that is reflected in the fact that he "let none of his words fall to the ground".

Look up Proverbs 9:8 when you get a chance, it's good advice for anyone that desires to serve God and show others how to do the same.

2:6 ﻝﻭﻻﺍ ﺎﻨﺣﻮﻳ

2006-10-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

يَلْتَزِمُ أَنْ يَسْلُكَ كَمَا سَلَكَ الْمَسِيحُ 6
!كُلُّ مَنْ يَعْتَرِفُ أَنَّهُ ثَابِتٌ فِي الْمَسِيحِ،

John McArthur on Discipleship

2006-09-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

This article is an excellent read, I highly recommend it.

Bringing Light to the World
If we are following Christ, we will be making disciples.
by John MacArthur

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ can never be reduced to merely producing Christian character in ourselves or loving one another, as important as those things are. Being a disciple of Jesus means making other disciples, because that is what our Lord has commanded us to do...

Article

Acts 18:26

2006-09-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

What: He [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogues. When Priscilla and Aquilla heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

Why: Apollos knew the scriptures and the baptism of John, he spoke with fervor and taught accurately about Jesus. Priscilla & Aquilla, who were mature believers, saw this and invited him to in to show him more, to teach him about God's way more adequately (def- meeting the requirements especially of a task), so he came and learned, then left on a mission.

Apply: There are guys in the church that know and believe but are not fully equipped. By inviting them in to learn more we will be able to help them more fully (adequately) grasp the fullness of God's way, so that they can turn around and do the same for others. We must seek willing, faithful, teachable men, both within and outside of the church. Most of our Churches still don't really teach more than the baptism of John (repentance of sin) so we have the onus when we see their faith and hear their fervor to teach the baptism of the Holy Spirit to those people and invite them to see how much more there is to following God according to His way. They have had basic instruction, but not the hard teachings which are the ones that lead toward maturity in Christ. If the baptism of John was sufficient for salvation then Jesus would never have had to come and endure crucifixion, death, and be ressurected.

Define "God's Way": I think this means His reasons and His methods for our life. We need to know, for the most part, why He does what He does and how He does it. Then we can conform our minds thru the Holy Spirit to His thoughts and apply His methods in our lives to follow Him in "His Way".

Joshua 10:9,11,13b

2006-09-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

What:
After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by suprise... As theyfled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites... The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed for about a full day.

Context:
Joshua and Israel had destroyed Jericho & Ai, but were tricked into a treaty with the Gibeonites, when the kings of 5 neighboring Amalekite nations hear about the treaty they decided to attack Gibeon for revenge, causing Joshua to march his entire army out to save Israel's new servant nation.

Apply:
Even though Israel was tricked into a treaty with Gibeon, they kept it even when it meant they had to bail out Gibeon militarily. Joshua's oath was made before the Lord on behalf of Israel and he understood how it was binding, breaking it would invite the wrath of God yet again. Because he feared God, he sought his guidance then lead the entire army of Israel on an overnight forced march, allowing him to catch the Amalekites by suprise, God delivering them into their hands as He had promised. Now an all-night march is a gruelling affair especially when it is followed imeadiately by 36 hours of non-stop combat! But the Lord blessed them by smashing the retreating Amalekites with large hailstones, killing more thant the whole Israelite army slew by the sword, and he stopped the sun to give them the time to capitalize on slaying the fighting men of their enemies before they could reach the protection of their cities.

The lesson here is two-fold:

1. Fear God even when it means you will be subjected to gruelling, difficult, or distasteful work; the Lord knows that it will try your mettle and test your endurance, His reasons for such endeavors are just, righteous, pleasing to Him, and ultimately beneficial to you; know that He will bless/honor your obediance to His commands.

2. Make the most of your opportunities. Joshua saw that he could completely crush the armies of the 5 nations of Amalekites if he just had enough daylight, so he asked God to delay the sun, and God gave him his request. He was able to do in a day and a half what would have probably required at least 5 sieges and at least 5 battles to accomplish. God gave Joshua the initiative and he and his men just had to keep at it until they got the job done.

Romans 7:18,20-21,25b, 8:1-2

2006-08-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

What: I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out... Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: when I want to do good, evil is right there with me... so then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful natuer a slave to the law of sin. Therefire, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Apply: This is just fascinating, to grasp these words and understand them: the mind of Christ lives and operates in this body of sin! We are proof that this is true: our desire is to do good, to live righteously, and to please God, yet our actions so often conflict with our desires. I do the things that I do not want to do, yet I have seen the power of Christ become more abundant in my life, causing an attrition of sins. The result is that , though I am still imperfect and do sin, God causes me to submit to His commands more and more, and when I am finally rescued from this body of death, I will serve God with all my being, perfectly made, refined by test and trial. (This is my hope!)

Romans 10:17

2006-08-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

What: Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.

Context: Paul is in the midst of explaining why God allowed the Israeliets to transgress so that He could show mercy and grace to the Gentiles.

Apply: Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ. Why? Becasue power accompanies the Word of God. When God speaks, His Spirit moves, and when we hear (and His Spirit enables us to understand (1 Cor 2:12 & Mark 4:12)) then faith (Heb11:1) wells up from within us like a fountain. God's Spirit and His Word always work in tandem. Does your faith lack? Are you weak willed and easily led astray by temptation? Hear the Word of God, listen to all He says so that your faith will not lack and you obedience may become complete.

Related Verses: Genesis 1:2-3, Luke 9:20 & Matthew 16:15-19, Matthew 8:26-27

Numbers 16:3,16-17,35

2006-08-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

What: They came a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly" ... Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tommorrow - you and they and Aaron. Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it - 250 censers in all - and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also." ...and fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

Context: Korah, a levite, and 250 others rebelled against God and Moses' God-given authority andpresumed that every Israelite was holy and could be a priest. So God proved their wickedness by swallowing up their families and belongings in the earth and burning up the 250 men that offered incense, rejecting them and their offering. After this, the Israelites were angry at Aaron & Moses, so God slew 14,750 with a plague that was stopped only when Aaron, the actual priest, atoned for their sin and stood between the living and the dead offering incense.

Apply: This is common occurence in the modern churches where people make the same claims as Korah and his rebels did, that all men are holy before God, that "God loves everyone, regardless". It just doesn't add up. If this is true, then why does God detest the wicked? (Proverbs 21:16; Genesis 38:7-10; Deuteronomy 31:15-18; 1 Samuel 2:9-10; 2 Kings 17:11; Job 20:28-29, 27:13-14, 34:18-19, 35:12, 38:12-13; Ps 1:1-6; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Thes 2:11-12; Heb 1:8-9; Rev 2:2-3) Deuteronomy 9:6 says "Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people." Clearly, God did not view "the Lord's assembly" to be holy, as Korah had claimed. Jehu, a prophet, had this to say to Jehoshaphat (in 2 Chronicles 9:2) : "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD ? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you." The wicked do not love God but hate Him. And Psalm 5:4-5 says: "You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong." So who is right? Does God approve of everyone? Does He call everyone holy?

2006-08-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

30 Jul 06 - 1 Cor 10:31-33, 11:1

2006-08-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

What: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the Church of God - even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Context: Paul was talking about how to interact with non-believers regarding eating meat sacrificed to idols.

Apply: Vers 32 says "don't cause anyone to stumble..." Practically, by participating in or giving approval to activities that draw men away from God, even though they do not believe, we are causing them to literally stumble. We're giving mixed messages by not demonstrating the example of Christ. We make an obstacle in their way that hinders their heart from responding to God, we numb conviction by our approval or active participation.

Related Verses: 1 Peter 1:13-16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

First Post?

2006-08-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

This is my first post, my first blog... let's see what we can do here!