 |
| Driving Through the Chaos |
Showing posts with label I Chronicles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I Chronicles. Show all posts
Jul 23, 2010
7.23.2010
Jul 19, 2010
CBR 7.19.2010
Memory Verse:
John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Leviticus 24:
(v 1-5)
There is a continual light before the LORD that light never goes out. The light glorifies our LORD, who is full of grace and truth.
(v. 5-9)
All God's required a sacrifice. But out LORD is different in that he requires a sacrifice of himself for the people he has created. He is enough to supply his own needs and those of his 12 tribes. Let us glorify in our glorious LIVING GOD.
Let us glorify that our God is not a terrible monster like the one described in the Apocryphal story of Bel and the Dragon. Also thank God that our people are not hungry like bad rulers, today markes Nero's reign of state sponsored terrorism. Our God requires our leaders to be under the LORDSHIP of our LORD JESUS Christ.
1 Timothy 3:2 2Now the overseer (bishop) must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
(V. 10-24)
Blaspheming the LORD is a serious offense to be carried out on young, old, strangers, insiders, Law of exact justice, not of revenge. Not private vengeance, but public justice. Also the members of the community prayed first before they conducted any of their business. They did not just act, but they sought the will of the LORD.
I Chronicles 15
David repented of his mistake and returned to God's way of conducting business. The whole tribe of Jerusalem celebrated.
Ezekiel 19 (Cartoons from kerrywaghorn.com)
V 1-9
Confidence outside of the LORD is no Confidence at all. Dark ways will be washed away by the glory of the Son and the Father, truth will shine.
V10-14
God desires men ready to follow his plans. A prowling lion will no longer be a terror in the land. Nations will capture the Lion in nets of righteousness. The Lion will lie in Babylonian dens as a rug to keep ones feet warm before the fire. Pride destroys nations. Had Zedekkiah submitted to the Babylonians, Jerusalem may have been saved. Had Jesus not died on the cross the promise of a New Jerusalem would not be assured.
1 Thessalonians 1
All is well for we stand confirmed that Christ Works in you. You stand amongst Greek and Egyptian Idols, but still the Holy Spirit has put "steel in your convictions!"(The Message) Jesus will come again. Be servants and worshipers and Spread the gospel. Be servants through your love and a signal to others to repent from their Idols to a true God, before it is too late. There is grace and truth in our relationship with the LORD.
Jul 13, 2010
CBR 7.13.2010
Church History in One Sentence (Maybe More Than Just One Sentence (Probably not Less)): Thomas Kelley born today in 1769. He was Ireland's Hymnal Writer.
- Praise the Savior, ye who know Him!
Who can tell how much we owe Him?
Gladly let us render to Him
All we are and have. - Jesus is the name that charms us;
He for conflicts fits and arms us;
Nothing moves and nothing harms us
When we trust in Him. - Trust in Him, ye saints, forever;
He is faithful, changing never;
Neither force nor guile can sever
Those He loves from Him. - Keep us, Lord, oh, keep us cleaving
To Thyself and still believing,
Till the hour of Thy receiving
The victorious Bride. - Then we shall be where we would be;
Then we shall be what we should be;
Things which are not now, nor could be,
Then shall be our own.
Scripture Memory
John 1:12-13
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Leviticus 21
The priests, the high priests especially are called to be holy, separate from the people, upholding the holiness that is the temple of God. Thank God Christ came so that all types of people can partake in the blessing of the LORD. Before only those who had no blemish could partake. Christ was perfect so the Liberator, could make total intercessions on our behalf. The high priest represented the holiness of God, so the Liberating King had to be without visible flaw. Jesus flies in the face of tradition: "He may not exhibit the usual tokens of grief, and may not defile himself with any dead body, the exceptions made for the ordinary priest being definitely withdrawn."
Interesting Note: Eunuchs were barred from the Congregation. But Jesus speaks in Matthew 19: 10The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."
11Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage[c]because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
Acts 8:26-2926 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south [1] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” (The Ethiopian Church was started by a Eunuch, some one way outside the moral boundaries of the Congregation in the OT).
- Also how did a Eunuch receive a Torah portion when he could not be part of a church?
- What is the story about the Torah section, how did it come into the hands of an Ethiopian Eunuch?
- It is important that the priest, pastor, and others involved in God's church present the solution for sin, the adoption of God's children into the fabric of Christ.
1 Chronicles 11
This is a pivotal chapter, often used in Emergent Pastor's Sermons. Here we find David becoming Sovreign Lord over his people. The people are subjugating themselves to be his vassal. Because David was chosen by God to be the Lord of his people his kingdom spread. "David's success's are due not him but to God's favor and presence in his life." (Notes from ESV Study Bible) David at this point is still humble and is good to his men. Description of the "A-Team" David's men of Valor. Uriah is listed in the men of valor. "David reckoned his success, not as from the mighty men that were with him, but from the might God, whose presence is all in all." Matthew Henry 362
God will give as a good father gives, he will also discipline like a good father disciplines.
Ezekiel 15
And the word of God... it has power alone to save us to call us back to him. David's success was only due to his good will with God, other wise 8"And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the LORD God."(ESV) Like a Good father God is there to reward his children, and to punish them when they need redirection.
Colossians Introduction:
Setting: Small Community Small Church
Key Characters:
Epaphras founded the churches of Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicia, He described to Paul the condition of his church in Colossae, which moved Paul to write a letter to this congregation. 
Paul : writer of the letter to the Church of Colossae. There is a lot here and I need time to digest it all, so here are some questions to guide my understanding:
Do we really know who we belong to? Do we know how to keep our eyes on beautiful things in him? Do we get that to mix anything with Christ is to pollute the Gospel? How do we stay faithful in the tumult that the devil has us envision every day, especially on the television set and in our media saturation? Interesting that the VOICE New Testament uses Everyone to describe who the mystery is for, while the ESV states the Saints. But both are in agreement with the mission statement: "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ." The Christian is to stand mature in an immature world.
We are adopted sons of Christ Hallelujah
Prayer: "LORD enable us to come to You, and seek to abide in you, and have your words abide in us all the time."
Jul 9, 2010
Proverbs 27:
I'm only human; I'm just a man
Help me believe in what I could be and all that I am
Show me the stairway
I have to climb
Lord for my sake
Teach me to take
One day at a time
One day at a time, sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking from you
Give me the strength to do everything that I have to do
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine
Help me today
Show me the way
One day at a time.
Could you remember
When you walked among men
Jesus, you know when you're looking below
It's worse now than then
Pushin' and shovin' crowd in your mind
Lord for my sake
Teach me to take
One day at a time
I Chronicles 9:
So I talked to my Pastor about struggling with I Chronicles and he told me to get for the church, Pratt's book on I & 2 Chronicles. I am excited for the day I get it. There are not many people with these names any more. My wife does not want to name our kids Bocheru. "Dude were not calling our kid Boche, I would rather have them named Carlton then that." It would be neat to see kids being named after the people mentioned in the historical record of Chronicles.
Gate keepers at the thresholds, protecting the house of God was a family affair. Important jobs were bakers, singers, guards born into the guild of their family. A lot of kin were born that were not mentioned here because they died early on. The role of the child was not big until he was 13, by then they knew the child would probably survive his youth.
Ezekiel 13
He warns us of who we must listen to! If it is too easy, or too alluring it may not be the gospel. But in community rooted to the bible one can decipher the truth through the direction and sway of the spirit of God.
Philippians 3
Paul had everything going for him, but now he finds his life in a prison cell. But somehow his faith is renewed when he is in jail. His life was set, he was a Benjaminite, the might men of valor, from the twelve tribes of Israel. They were the men to set off and defend the nation of Israel. From action to inaction he sets in jail and prays to God that the people will understand that to be in Christ is to gain it all, to be outside of Christ is to lose it all.
Scripture Memory
John 1:10-11
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Jul 8, 2010
CBR 7.8.2010
July 8, 303 AD Procopius asked to sacrifice to the Greek Gods, he smirked "There is no God but one only, the maker and creator of all the age. ... 'the rule of many is not good: let there be one ruler and one sovereign ruler." He was sent to the LORD by the hand of the Romans because he would not go quietly into the night.
Scripture Memory
John 1:10-11
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Scripture Thoughts:
Leviticus 19
19:1-28 (We the chosen people are called to be holy, not part of the world at large. Notice in Genesis 15:16 "the inequities of the Amorities is not complete." We do not need to get caught up in the ways of the Amorites or Baal believers who thirst after flies, we must repent and be cleaned by the renewing of our minds in scripture. "You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind." Do not intermingle. Then God tells the reader ways that we must be different than the other tribes that surround us. We are holy because God is holy. We were made in the image of God. Faulkner stated once (paraphrased) "There is nothing worse than a male gossip."
19:29-37 The lord commands us to stand within him in faithful obedience. He also proclaims that the stranger is welcome into your tribe as long as that stranger upholds the statutes of God. (v. 35) "We are no to pick and chose our duty, but must aim at standing complete in all the will of God." (Matthew Henry)
Memory Verse Link
We must keep our minds clear of worldly gilt, least we become blinded,
so that we can keep our eyes on the eternal prize.
1 Chronicles 81-32 Of the Tribe of benjamin
33-40 Of the tribe of Saul
The Memory of the Just is Blessed. (Matthew Henry)
I prayed first that God would help me make sense of I Chronicles that seems so difficult to me. My pastor helped me buy Richard Pratt's book on I&2 Chronicles. Hopefully, the book will come in time and enable me to understand Chronicles better. The list in Chronicles is not an exhaustive list of all of the men present in the Redemptive History so far. They are lists of important tribal leaders eg. Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, H. Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, Obama. v. 28
All these were Benjaminites. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil.) (Genesis 49:27) The Tribe of Benjamin were assigned to the calling of warriors, mighty men of valor.
Memory Verse Link:
We are called to be men of valor who courageously uphold the truth in a world that denys it.
Ezekiel 12v. 1-16
What I see is a man waiting for a train that will take him away from Sodom. We have no part in being caught by a drag net, we are dragged from the world with our without our consent. The LORD does not consult with us wither we think it ought to be a good idea to be one with him, but we must be prepared for a long journey.
v. 17-20
Anxiety and fear link up to create anger. Anger creates desolation. Desolation removes us from bettering our circumstances. (Need to explore this more).
v. 21-28
The LORD will do what the LORD wills, it is for us to give glory to the creator and fulfiller of all things. As Procupius said, "There is no God but one only, the maker and creator of all the age. ... 'the rule of many is not good: let there be one ruler and one sovereign." How much do we truly believe this? Are our God's any less real than the Greek Mythical Gods because we do not call them personal names?
Memory Verse Link:
v. 1 This is the passage that perhaps Jesus quoted, and John encapsulated
Philippians 2
Christ's Example of Humility
Christ made himself one with us, giving up the powers endowed to him by being God's son. He ate what the pigs ate even though a return to heaven would have been better. But his brothers did not know him, and threw him into a pit of dispair. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Lights in the World
We are all weak but we must carry the Gospel into the world as humble, timid servants of God.
Paul despite the pleasure he received in friendship from both Timothy and Epaphroditus, was willing to share his friends with another Church community.
Sometimes we must give up our strength in our church community to build up the strength in other church communities. In fact Paul does not grieve the loss of friends, but rather cheers when he hears the good news of the Gospel being renewed in outside Churchs. It is not a competition of who has the biggest churches, or the most christians per capita, it is a continued friendship and invitation to all believers across the globe.
Example of a believer from a mixed family background: (dad) Greek (mom) Jewish. He was at first timid in his approach to preaching the gospel. He was commissioned by Paul to deal with heretical false teachers and supervise public worship and the appointment of church officials. (Interesting to note that he was timid but asked to do a very public duty. This perhaps says something about how we might best approach teachers of heretical doctrine; with kindness and humility intended to build up the church by shining our light on false teaching.)
Epaphroditus
an example of life renewed in the flesh through faith. He had journeyed far to spread the gospel. His zeal left him exhausted. He was going to be able to return home to Phillipi and be a beacon of strength, like a light house is for a boat out at sea.
Memory Verse Link:
Questions: Would we elect leader like this to carry out our calling? How do we view our leaders, do we mock them because of their weakness's? Prayer: Glory be to God and his will and the work he does in our lives. Let our faith be renewed in friendships old and new, shared in our communion with the trinity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
