I am taking a break from Genesis for now to prepare for my final in my Old Testament Survey class. I figure one good way to remember everything is to write about it and then anyone who's interested can read it as well.
So one thing we have learned is how the Old Testament is laid out. I think most people know it is not in chronological order. There are 39 books in the OT. The first five are known as the Pentateuch. They lay the foundation for our lives, and outline the typical pattern of our walk with God.
You have Genesis, the book of beginnings. What was your beginning with your walk in Christ? I was 21, living the life of a party girl and going down hill fast. God brought me to Him using my my future husband at the time.
The book of Exodus is about deliverance. What did God deliver you from when you began your new life in Him? He delivered me from an empty, pointless life of partying, drinking, drugs, and sexual relationships. He delivered me from bondage of a low self worth and anger of past hurts.
Leviticus is a book of worship and holiness. What is your praise to God? I praise God that despite my horrible lifestyle He loved me. Despite everything that I was and quite frankly, everything that I still am, He loves me. He provides for me. He is my strength, my refuge, and my security. I know that I have NOTHING to fear because He is in control. I can just rest and rely on Him. I have so much more to praise Him for. More than I could ever write down.
Then we have the book of Numbers. The book of wanderings. They are whining and complaining and doubting God's will in their lives. I am sure this sounds familiar to everyone. What are you whining about, worried about, and or doubting in your life right now? I have the ongoing complaint of all of my struggles with my children. I whine often about just being exhausted by the end of the day, and have honestly, at times, wished I didn't have children, or at least not all 3. It's ridiculous really. I use to whine about how God wouldn't let me have children and now He has blessed me with the huge honor of 3 beautiful children without even the aid of fertility treatment and I am complaining? I should have nothing but praise, but instead I often complain.
The 5th book of the Pentateuch is Deuteronomy, a book of reminders, or second law. There are 3 major sermons taught in this book:
1. What God has done.
2. What God is doing.
3. What God will do.
After reflecting on the first 4 areas of our walk with Him, we can read this book and apply the messages to our lives comparing our lives to those of the Israelites. It's an interesting pattern that we can all actually relate to quite well. There are many timeless messages in the OT that shouldn't be forgotten about.
Next we have the Historical Books covering the rise of the Hebrew Nation
Joshua- the book of conquest
Judges- the book of cycles
Ruth- the book of the kinsman redeemer
1 & 2 Samuel- judges to kings & David's reign
The Monarchy Books which overlap a bit as they include:
1 & 2 Samuel- judges to kings & David's reign
1 & 2 Kings- united/divided kingdom & Israel and Judah fall
1 & 2 Chronicles- God's view of the Judah's kings
Next we have the Post Exilic books
Ezra- Rebuild the Temple
Nehemiah- Rebuild the Walls
Esther- Providence & Preservation
Then there are the Poetical Books
Job- Suffering and Sovereignty
Psalms- Worship
Proverbs- Wisdom
Ecclessiastes- Vanity
Song of Solomon- Romance
Then we have the Prophets divided into two groups:
Major Prophets- (Simply because they are longer):
Isaiah- Salvation
Jeremiah- Warnings
Lamentations- written by Jeremiah, mourning
Ezekiel- Restoration
Daniel- Destiny- God's sovereign plan for Israel
The Minor Prophets- (shorter, not in height, =D LOL):
Hosea- Loyal love
Joel- The Day of the Lord
Obadiah- Judgment on Edom
Jonah- God's Mercy on the Repentant
Micah- The Justice of God
Nahum- Nineveh's Judgement
Habakkuk- Judgment on Judah
Zephaniah- Future Global Judgment
Haggai- Construct the Temple
Zechariah- Preparation for the Messiah
Malachi- True Worship
Many of the books in the OT cover the same time period as another. The book of Job takes place at the same time as the happenings in Genesis, toward the end. Genesis covers 4000 years. The poetry books were written by David during his reign, Job, and Solomon during his reign. They express what they were feeling while the Monarchy books state the facts all concerning the same time period. There are many other overlaps like this through out the Bible that are good to know so you understand where they are coming from. The light goes on and it makes so much more sense when you understand the background.
So here's a walk through of the OT in 8 steps, coming from a reference guide compiled by Ron and Linda Sluder for the East Valley Bible Institute "Old Testament Survey" class.
1. 3 Cycles in Genesis:
Cycles of Sin, Judgment, Redemption, and Promise
1) Edenic- Sin was disobedience in eating the fruit, Judgment was the curse to follow, Redemption- Animal skin coverings, Promise was Gen 3:15 1st mention of Gospel and promised offspring of woman.
2) Noahic- Sin was continual disobedience and wickedness of man, Judgment was the flood, Redemption was the ark, and Promise was never to do it again Gen 9:27 rainbow reminder.
3) Abrahamic- Sin was the tower striving upward toward God (idea of self suficeincy), Judgment was confused languages, Redemption was tied together with Promise in the new nations of Israel and the line to the Messiah through Abraham.
2. Why did they end up in Egypt. Not just because of famine. They lost 3 things:
Purpose, to worship God and build altars.
Unity, sons of Jacob want to kill their own brother.
Seperation, intermarrying with the Canaanites, becoming of the world and not holy and separated for God.
3. God makes a nation with 3 ingredients: Exodus through Joshua
1) People - Jacob's family grows from 70 to 2 million in only 430 years.
2) Constitution - Law is given on Mount Sanai
3) Land - They divide and conquer Jericho under Joshua's leadership.
4. Problems: Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel
Judges: They didn't fully occupy the land and allowed the worldly Canaanites to remain and didn't listen to God. They did what was right in their own eyes instead. As a result they fall into 7 cycles of Sin, Servitude, Supplication and Salvation by way of a judge/leader.
Ruth: A bright spot in an otherwise terrible time. A redeemed pagan Moabite woman becomes Great Grandmother to David the future King and line to the Messiah.
Eli & Sons: Everything gets worse - Eli & sons die leaving no priest, the ark captured, no throne. Shiloh is burned leaving no capital, the Philistines are in control which means no land, and Israel rejects God leaving them no king. Then they cry out for a king for all the wrong reasons - to be like the other nations.
5.120 years of Monarchy: 1 Samuel - 1 Kings 11
Samuel: last judge and a prophet, transition from judges to kings.
1st: King Saul: people's choice, no heart for God, commits suicide after trying to kill David.
2nd: King David: God's choice, man after God's own heart, retrieves ark, conquers Jerusalem, loves God and wants to build a temple for Him. He sins big time with Bathsheba, but gives us Psalm 51 model of repentance.
3rd: King Solomon : Starts well. Asks for wisdom, writes most of Proverbs and Song of Solomon, but then gets out of hand w/ too many horses, wives, and too much money. All things God warned him against. He repents with Ecclesiastes but the nation still splits in 931 BC.
Each king reigns for 40 years.
6. Kingdom splits and prophets speak. 1 Kings 12- 2 Kings
10 tribes to Judah (south), and 2 tribes to Israel (North).
Israel has 19 bad kings and is captured by Assyria in 722 BC.
Judah has 20 kings, 8 good, and is captured by Babylon in 605BC
Prophets speak but no one listens causing them to end up in exile for 70 years.
7. Captivity/Exile End of 2 Kings, Ezekiel, Daniel
God uses their time in captivity to teach them through Ezekiel and Daniel about 5 points:
1) Man's sin.
2) God's righteousness
3) The need for repentance
4) Redemption for repentance
5) Consequences if no repentance
8. Return from Exile (prep for Messiah) (Ezra - Nehemiah)
Return happens in 3 groups. 1st group works on rebuilding the temple. 2nd group works on rebuilding the people, mass divorce from pagan wives. 3rd group works on rebuilding the walls in 52 days. (quite a feat)
Prophets: Haggai says build the temple, Zechariah says repent, Malachi says worship in truth. Haggai tells everyone that all that is going on will be better as this is all preparation for the Messiah to come.
Thus begins the 400 years of silence.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Genesis 5-8
Chapter 5
So in this chapter there's nothing too interesting too me, except that everyone seemed to live around 800-900 years old. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to live in a world like that for 800-900 years!! Of course, hell is even worse, and an eternity is obviously much longer. I thank the Lord for grace. We don't have it as bad here anymore, and we only live for about 80 years, and if we accept Jesus in our hearts as our Lord and Savior, and give up our fleshly life for new life in Him, we get to spend our eternity in a Paradise with Him. How great is that? We don't deserve any of it of course, because we're all wretched creatures by nature. Reading the Old Testament paints an interesting picture of what we are without Christ. It is only by His grace and power that we are able to do good in this world. Praise be to God.
We also learn that Noah is 500 when he begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth
Chapter 6
Verse 4 has me a bit confused. Are Nephilim giants? Are they good, bad, what are they? It seems they are a result of some sort of Godly beings joining with women and having children together. But then it says they were heroes. It certainly has me intrigued. I am lost on this one. If someone has some insight I am all ears, or possibly eyes, as the case may be.
Anyhow, God decides He's had it with the evil in the world and decides to wipe the slate clean. He gives Noah a huge job of making an ark big enough for his family and all the types of animals on the earth. Now I have heard many people say it is ridiculous to think that Noah could have gone out and gotten all of the animals to just come with him and get on this big ark. They're right, but that's not what happened at all. Verse 20 says that 2 of every animal would come to him. God sent them. Something I take from all of this, is when God gives us a job that seems difficult or just plain impossible, He is there helping us all the way. When it is truly His will, a job of Him, it will be finished. He will see too it. I think when we are struggling with jobs to the point of failure, we ought to question whether the job is really in God's interest or our own. Not that the going won't get tough when it's of Him, but we just need to be realistic in our evaluation of what we are doing and who it's really for.
Chapter 7
Everything happened the way God commanded and the floods remained on the earth for about 5 months! That is a long time to hang out on an ark with every species of animal to take care of. And I am sorry to bring this up, but that's a lot of poop patrol to deal with. Yuk!!
Chapter 8
So apparently the floods only started to go down after 5 months. They still had to wait on the ark. The ark landed on Mount Ararat, and there they waited. It's seems to me that they were on the ark for about a year and 2 months? It's hard to follow. But I think that's the gist of it anyhow. Finally God tells them they can come out.
Noah makes an altar and offers a sacrafice to the Lord, which pleases Him. Then the Lord says in verse 21 "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though [a] every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done..." The Lord Himself says that "every inclination of man's heart is evil". How then can anyone think it is us who chooses Him. Why would evil choose God? It wouldn't. Of course something else interesting, is how then can God find it in Himself to bless evil hearted people. Not one of us deserves it, and no Christian should ever think themselves any better than a non-Christian. God has amazing Grace, that we could never understand fully while on this earth in our fleshly bodies. He is Amazing! We are scum. Plain and simple.
So in this chapter there's nothing too interesting too me, except that everyone seemed to live around 800-900 years old. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to live in a world like that for 800-900 years!! Of course, hell is even worse, and an eternity is obviously much longer. I thank the Lord for grace. We don't have it as bad here anymore, and we only live for about 80 years, and if we accept Jesus in our hearts as our Lord and Savior, and give up our fleshly life for new life in Him, we get to spend our eternity in a Paradise with Him. How great is that? We don't deserve any of it of course, because we're all wretched creatures by nature. Reading the Old Testament paints an interesting picture of what we are without Christ. It is only by His grace and power that we are able to do good in this world. Praise be to God.
We also learn that Noah is 500 when he begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth
Chapter 6
Verse 4 has me a bit confused. Are Nephilim giants? Are they good, bad, what are they? It seems they are a result of some sort of Godly beings joining with women and having children together. But then it says they were heroes. It certainly has me intrigued. I am lost on this one. If someone has some insight I am all ears, or possibly eyes, as the case may be.
Anyhow, God decides He's had it with the evil in the world and decides to wipe the slate clean. He gives Noah a huge job of making an ark big enough for his family and all the types of animals on the earth. Now I have heard many people say it is ridiculous to think that Noah could have gone out and gotten all of the animals to just come with him and get on this big ark. They're right, but that's not what happened at all. Verse 20 says that 2 of every animal would come to him. God sent them. Something I take from all of this, is when God gives us a job that seems difficult or just plain impossible, He is there helping us all the way. When it is truly His will, a job of Him, it will be finished. He will see too it. I think when we are struggling with jobs to the point of failure, we ought to question whether the job is really in God's interest or our own. Not that the going won't get tough when it's of Him, but we just need to be realistic in our evaluation of what we are doing and who it's really for.
Chapter 7
Everything happened the way God commanded and the floods remained on the earth for about 5 months! That is a long time to hang out on an ark with every species of animal to take care of. And I am sorry to bring this up, but that's a lot of poop patrol to deal with. Yuk!!
Chapter 8
So apparently the floods only started to go down after 5 months. They still had to wait on the ark. The ark landed on Mount Ararat, and there they waited. It's seems to me that they were on the ark for about a year and 2 months? It's hard to follow. But I think that's the gist of it anyhow. Finally God tells them they can come out.
Noah makes an altar and offers a sacrafice to the Lord, which pleases Him. Then the Lord says in verse 21 "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though [a] every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done..." The Lord Himself says that "every inclination of man's heart is evil". How then can anyone think it is us who chooses Him. Why would evil choose God? It wouldn't. Of course something else interesting, is how then can God find it in Himself to bless evil hearted people. Not one of us deserves it, and no Christian should ever think themselves any better than a non-Christian. God has amazing Grace, that we could never understand fully while on this earth in our fleshly bodies. He is Amazing! We are scum. Plain and simple.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Genesis 4
In this chapter, of the book of beginnings, we have the first joining, if you will, of man and woman in intimacy, leading to the first person recorded to be born in the painful labor promised. I notice that Eve gives glory to God for the creation of this child, Cain. The next recorded birth is Abel.
As they grow up, Abel keeps flocks, while Cain does farming of land. They both bring offerings to the Lord, but Abel's is pleasing to God and Cain's is not. Cain then get's angry but God says something, that I found interesting, to Cain. He says basically, 'Hello? Why are you angry. If you do good do you not get rewarded? What do you expect when you give in to sinful desire. You should learn from this not to let sin get the best of you.' There's some words ponder. Anyhow, Cain doesn't take this well and as you know, murders his brother in anger. So now we have the first fight, and murder. Things are starting to get ugly.
To be honest, as I read this story, I think to myself, "What a horrible person to just think that it's OK to give the junk he has left over to God", but then I am reminded of the verse in Matthew 25:40 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' and I think to myself, "how many times, first of all, have I given God my left over time, but also how many times do I think it's somehow noble of me to give all the stuff I am not using to people who can't afford it. What have I ever truly sacrificed for God and the people he lays in my path." My mind is blank with examples. I have nothing. I rarely, if ever, truly sacrifice me, my time, and my things, and my wants for Him. So rarely that I can't even think of an example. Now granted, I don't think I could ever murder out of anger, but times were different then, and God doesn't measure sin, so I am no better than Cain.
So then Eve gives birth to another child, Seth who is said to take the place of Abel, although I wonder if Eve really felt that way. I certainly wouldn't. But again, things are different these days. Maybe our mindset is different. Anyhow, the very last words of the chapter state that at this time, many began to proclaim the name of the Lord. I wonder if this is when people started to see how much they need Him. It seems to me like that's what they're saying here.
As they grow up, Abel keeps flocks, while Cain does farming of land. They both bring offerings to the Lord, but Abel's is pleasing to God and Cain's is not. Cain then get's angry but God says something, that I found interesting, to Cain. He says basically, 'Hello? Why are you angry. If you do good do you not get rewarded? What do you expect when you give in to sinful desire. You should learn from this not to let sin get the best of you.' There's some words ponder. Anyhow, Cain doesn't take this well and as you know, murders his brother in anger. So now we have the first fight, and murder. Things are starting to get ugly.
To be honest, as I read this story, I think to myself, "What a horrible person to just think that it's OK to give the junk he has left over to God", but then I am reminded of the verse in Matthew 25:40 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' and I think to myself, "how many times, first of all, have I given God my left over time, but also how many times do I think it's somehow noble of me to give all the stuff I am not using to people who can't afford it. What have I ever truly sacrificed for God and the people he lays in my path." My mind is blank with examples. I have nothing. I rarely, if ever, truly sacrifice me, my time, and my things, and my wants for Him. So rarely that I can't even think of an example. Now granted, I don't think I could ever murder out of anger, but times were different then, and God doesn't measure sin, so I am no better than Cain.
So then Eve gives birth to another child, Seth who is said to take the place of Abel, although I wonder if Eve really felt that way. I certainly wouldn't. But again, things are different these days. Maybe our mindset is different. Anyhow, the very last words of the chapter state that at this time, many began to proclaim the name of the Lord. I wonder if this is when people started to see how much they need Him. It seems to me like that's what they're saying here.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Genesis Chapter 3
This is beginning of sin, death, and sorrow.
The serpent which is apparently deceitfully attractive convinces Eve that God lied to her about the forbidden fruit of the tree of Knowledge, my son now calls it the know/no tree, and that it will actually make her to know everything and she will not die. Eve, being human is very tempted as would we all be. I sometimes have cursed the ground she walked on especially when I was in labor, but truthfully I am no better than she and would have done the same. This is such an eye opener to the truth that no one is good. We don't deserve heaven but yet God chooses to give it, to us in no doing of our own.
Anyhow, as I read on I think of how I as a mother would have reacted with my children in a similar way. He gives Satan a message that he will be destroyed and spared not. At the same time, he promises a savior that will undo the mess that Adam and Eve started. Vs. 15 In the mean time he assigns a punishment to each of His children. He wants them to learn and He want's us to realize that without Him, we are nothing. We can learn so much from this story. That we shouldn't play with temptation, that God loves us in spite of our sinful nature, that we don't deserve anything we have and therefore should never complain, and that God keeps His promises.
One punishment of Adam and Eve that is so prominent in marriages is the desire for women to rule over men, and men to have rule over women, obviously causing a clash between the two. Thankfully God helps His children with this if they come to Him and ask for it. In the New Testament there is a wonderful amount of help to understanding our roles in marriage, so becoming knowledgeable of these and adding prayer for strength we can have peace in our marriages now. Thanks be to our Savior!
Wow, vs. 22 is interesting. I didn't realize this was in here. I never really thought about the tree of life and what it would do. I also find it interesting that God actually confirms what Satan said, almost word for word. Satan wasn't so much lying as he was making something bad, look good. That's scary. It's something to think about when guarding yourself against false religion and teachings.
The serpent which is apparently deceitfully attractive convinces Eve that God lied to her about the forbidden fruit of the tree of Knowledge, my son now calls it the know/no tree, and that it will actually make her to know everything and she will not die. Eve, being human is very tempted as would we all be. I sometimes have cursed the ground she walked on especially when I was in labor, but truthfully I am no better than she and would have done the same. This is such an eye opener to the truth that no one is good. We don't deserve heaven but yet God chooses to give it, to us in no doing of our own.
Anyhow, as I read on I think of how I as a mother would have reacted with my children in a similar way. He gives Satan a message that he will be destroyed and spared not. At the same time, he promises a savior that will undo the mess that Adam and Eve started. Vs. 15 In the mean time he assigns a punishment to each of His children. He wants them to learn and He want's us to realize that without Him, we are nothing. We can learn so much from this story. That we shouldn't play with temptation, that God loves us in spite of our sinful nature, that we don't deserve anything we have and therefore should never complain, and that God keeps His promises.
One punishment of Adam and Eve that is so prominent in marriages is the desire for women to rule over men, and men to have rule over women, obviously causing a clash between the two. Thankfully God helps His children with this if they come to Him and ask for it. In the New Testament there is a wonderful amount of help to understanding our roles in marriage, so becoming knowledgeable of these and adding prayer for strength we can have peace in our marriages now. Thanks be to our Savior!
Wow, vs. 22 is interesting. I didn't realize this was in here. I never really thought about the tree of life and what it would do. I also find it interesting that God actually confirms what Satan said, almost word for word. Satan wasn't so much lying as he was making something bad, look good. That's scary. It's something to think about when guarding yourself against false religion and teachings.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Genesis Chapter 2
In the beginning of this chapter Moses explains that after God created everything, he liked what he saw and now rested on the 7th day. According to the original Hebrew text the word used for day literally translates to a 24 hour period in the text that speaks of the creation. That's pretty amazing stuff.
Then Moses goes on to describe the beautiful garden God created for Adam. Then He brings the animals to be named by Adam. I wonder what Adam's vocabulary was. Did he know every word there was to know at that time? Or did it matter? Did he just make up the words as he went, since God knows all? Ok, I know I think too much. That's probably why I never make it through the whole Bible!
Now God decides that man should not be alone and so He creates for him animals. This confused me a bit since in Chapter one, the animals were said to be made first, then Adam. Although, all on the same day, so I am not sure what the deal is. Maybe the events aren't necessarily listed in order for each day. But these animals weren't enough for Adam. He needed someone more like himself and so God makes woman from his rib. He takes her as his wife and we have the first man and woman. The first marriage. Genesis is the book of beginnings. Unfortunately the next beginning is not so sweet.
Then Moses goes on to describe the beautiful garden God created for Adam. Then He brings the animals to be named by Adam. I wonder what Adam's vocabulary was. Did he know every word there was to know at that time? Or did it matter? Did he just make up the words as he went, since God knows all? Ok, I know I think too much. That's probably why I never make it through the whole Bible!
Now God decides that man should not be alone and so He creates for him animals. This confused me a bit since in Chapter one, the animals were said to be made first, then Adam. Although, all on the same day, so I am not sure what the deal is. Maybe the events aren't necessarily listed in order for each day. But these animals weren't enough for Adam. He needed someone more like himself and so God makes woman from his rib. He takes her as his wife and we have the first man and woman. The first marriage. Genesis is the book of beginnings. Unfortunately the next beginning is not so sweet.
Genesis Chapter 1: My thoughts and observations.
If anyone is reading, feel free to add comments, correct my errors, and share your thoughts. I am just writing my observations as I read through the Bible at my own pace, and keeping a record of that I have read. I have learned to stop making promises about what I will write. I will write when I can, and accept the fact that I have many other responsibilities write now. So don't hold your breath if you're tracking this. I promise nothing but God's good and perfect will, as I do not have control.
In this Chapter, God creates the Earth the Heavens, and the living creatures. He creates man. He gives them many beautiful things to enjoy. He gives them command over the animals. They are vegetarians at this time, and there is no death. The animals are simply for their enjoyment. Kind of like cats and dogs, and other various pets in our homes now. Can you imagine having a pet lion or bear? How cool would that have been?
I am fascinated by this firmament that Moses speaks of. Waters above it, and below it. I am having troubles picturing this. Are the waters above, further than the furthest star? When he says the firmament is the Heavens, is that where God's dwelling is? I would love to see a picture of what it means exactly as I am visual. Call me ignorant, what can I say. According to my study bible, the above waters were just there to create a green house affect in that period and no longer exist. Interesting.
In this Chapter, God creates the Earth the Heavens, and the living creatures. He creates man. He gives them many beautiful things to enjoy. He gives them command over the animals. They are vegetarians at this time, and there is no death. The animals are simply for their enjoyment. Kind of like cats and dogs, and other various pets in our homes now. Can you imagine having a pet lion or bear? How cool would that have been?
I am fascinated by this firmament that Moses speaks of. Waters above it, and below it. I am having troubles picturing this. Are the waters above, further than the furthest star? When he says the firmament is the Heavens, is that where God's dwelling is? I would love to see a picture of what it means exactly as I am visual. Call me ignorant, what can I say. According to my study bible, the above waters were just there to create a green house affect in that period and no longer exist. Interesting.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Poem from the first Bible printed in Scotland
This poem was in my Mac Aurthur Bible Handbook
It's such a great poem about the Bible. Just wanted to share.
Here is the spring where the water flows,
To quench our heart of sin:
Here is the tree where truth doth grow,
To lead our lives therein:
Here is the judge that stints the strife,
When men's devices fail:
Here is the bread that feeds the life,
That death cannot assail.
The tidings of salvation dear,
Comes to our ears from hence:
The fortress of our faith is here,
And shield of our defense.
Then be not like the swine that hath
A pearl at his desire,
And takes more pleasure from the trough
And wallowing in the mire.
Read not this book in any case,
But with a single eye:
Read not but FIRST desire God's grace,
To understand thereby.
Pray still in faith with this respect,
To bear good fruit therein,
That knowledge may bring this effect,
To mortify thy sin.
Then happy you shall be in all your life,
What so to you befalls:
Yes, double happy you shall be,
When God by death you calls.
It's such a great poem about the Bible. Just wanted to share.
Here is the spring where the water flows,
To quench our heart of sin:
Here is the tree where truth doth grow,
To lead our lives therein:
Here is the judge that stints the strife,
When men's devices fail:
Here is the bread that feeds the life,
That death cannot assail.
The tidings of salvation dear,
Comes to our ears from hence:
The fortress of our faith is here,
And shield of our defense.
Then be not like the swine that hath
A pearl at his desire,
And takes more pleasure from the trough
And wallowing in the mire.
Read not this book in any case,
But with a single eye:
Read not but FIRST desire God's grace,
To understand thereby.
Pray still in faith with this respect,
To bear good fruit therein,
That knowledge may bring this effect,
To mortify thy sin.
Then happy you shall be in all your life,
What so to you befalls:
Yes, double happy you shall be,
When God by death you calls.
Friday, March 21, 2008
What is good?
I been thinking a lot lately about how to minister to those who think that we get to heaven by being good people. I just thank God that that's not how. "Good", to the world, is quite different than "good" is to God. God is the very definition of good. So unless you are God, you are not good.
I understand what people are saying when they say you go to Heaven if you are good. They think that having a good heart and being willing to help people in need is good. Who wouldn't. But honestly, no one has a good heart 24/7, and no one is always willing to help people out. Everyone has bad thoughts every day. Even Mother Theresa herself. No one is perfect. Some might argue that God doesn't expect us to be perfect. He just wants us to try. What a life that must be......to try hard, every day, to be like God. Every day, feeling like a failure. I thank God for the gift of his son. He doesn't want us to try. He wants us to admit that we can't, without Him. When that happens He fills in the gaps. He carries us. He fills our heart with a Love that can only come from Him. When we stop trying, and start leaning on Him, we become more effective. He begins to use us more. And not in the ways that we might expect. What's important to us is not what is important to Him. Perfect for a woman in the world is having a beautifully decorated home and beautifully dressed children. Everything clean and organized and a perfect body, hairstyle, and make-up to boot. This isn't what God will do if we lean on Him, and so when we realize we're losing control, we stop leaning, and start standing on our own two feet again. What would happen, if we kept leaning?
Well, look at some of the most effective people in our church; the ones who are really serving God with all their hearts. There homes are humble, nothing spectacular, but they make you feel welcome and comfortable. Their family knows that they are loved but God is number one, and they are ok with not being center of attention. Their appearance is clean. Their clothes appropriate for the task at hand. Their hands are callused from serving God. They appear plain and simple to world. But to God, they are most beautiful.
I have been struggling so hard lately, because I feel like a failure. I now realize that I am a failure but not in what I was thinking. I am a failure because I have been trying so hard, by myself, to do what I think is important and failing miserably, when what I should have been doing is leaning on God. Trusting Him. Serving Him. I need to stop worrying about my home and how it doesn't compare to all the other homes because I am not good at decorating. I need to stop worrying about how I don't fit in because other women are so much better looking than me. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Do I want be beautiful to the world, or God? The answer to that should be obvious, but yet, I often find myself trying to please the world.
How free would I be, if I just leaned on Him? How much better would the lives around me be if I stopped trying to make myself look good, and started serving those around me? How many people might feel more loved and comfortable around me if I were real? If I let down my guard? If I stopped trying to be better and started admitting that I am not? How much better would the world be if we all did that? How many more people would come to God if we all did that? If we all just let God drive, and stopped trying to take the wheel when we thought He was going the wrong way and just had a little faith......oh the places we'd go!
Lord, I pray that you would just allow me to learn to lean on you. Lord, I pray that when I feel scared that You're taking me the wrong way, that I would be quickly reminded that You know exactly what You are doing. You are Lord, Creator of all, and most beautiful indeed. If anyone knows anything about beauty, and perfection, and what is worthy of good report, it is You. You alone are all these things and more. Lord help me to rest in Your grace. Help me to become a mighty servant for You. I know that I cannot be effective without You. I want to be your hands and feet. Please use me. You are Good.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen
I understand what people are saying when they say you go to Heaven if you are good. They think that having a good heart and being willing to help people in need is good. Who wouldn't. But honestly, no one has a good heart 24/7, and no one is always willing to help people out. Everyone has bad thoughts every day. Even Mother Theresa herself. No one is perfect. Some might argue that God doesn't expect us to be perfect. He just wants us to try. What a life that must be......to try hard, every day, to be like God. Every day, feeling like a failure. I thank God for the gift of his son. He doesn't want us to try. He wants us to admit that we can't, without Him. When that happens He fills in the gaps. He carries us. He fills our heart with a Love that can only come from Him. When we stop trying, and start leaning on Him, we become more effective. He begins to use us more. And not in the ways that we might expect. What's important to us is not what is important to Him. Perfect for a woman in the world is having a beautifully decorated home and beautifully dressed children. Everything clean and organized and a perfect body, hairstyle, and make-up to boot. This isn't what God will do if we lean on Him, and so when we realize we're losing control, we stop leaning, and start standing on our own two feet again. What would happen, if we kept leaning?
Well, look at some of the most effective people in our church; the ones who are really serving God with all their hearts. There homes are humble, nothing spectacular, but they make you feel welcome and comfortable. Their family knows that they are loved but God is number one, and they are ok with not being center of attention. Their appearance is clean. Their clothes appropriate for the task at hand. Their hands are callused from serving God. They appear plain and simple to world. But to God, they are most beautiful.
I have been struggling so hard lately, because I feel like a failure. I now realize that I am a failure but not in what I was thinking. I am a failure because I have been trying so hard, by myself, to do what I think is important and failing miserably, when what I should have been doing is leaning on God. Trusting Him. Serving Him. I need to stop worrying about my home and how it doesn't compare to all the other homes because I am not good at decorating. I need to stop worrying about how I don't fit in because other women are so much better looking than me. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Do I want be beautiful to the world, or God? The answer to that should be obvious, but yet, I often find myself trying to please the world.
How free would I be, if I just leaned on Him? How much better would the lives around me be if I stopped trying to make myself look good, and started serving those around me? How many people might feel more loved and comfortable around me if I were real? If I let down my guard? If I stopped trying to be better and started admitting that I am not? How much better would the world be if we all did that? How many more people would come to God if we all did that? If we all just let God drive, and stopped trying to take the wheel when we thought He was going the wrong way and just had a little faith......oh the places we'd go!
Lord, I pray that you would just allow me to learn to lean on you. Lord, I pray that when I feel scared that You're taking me the wrong way, that I would be quickly reminded that You know exactly what You are doing. You are Lord, Creator of all, and most beautiful indeed. If anyone knows anything about beauty, and perfection, and what is worthy of good report, it is You. You alone are all these things and more. Lord help me to rest in Your grace. Help me to become a mighty servant for You. I know that I cannot be effective without You. I want to be your hands and feet. Please use me. You are Good.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen
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