7.12.2010 Community Bible Reading

Church History in One Sentence (Maybe More Than Just One Sentence): 
David Brainerd in 1739, was called by the holy spirit to be a missionary to Native Americans in the United States.  He would be the influence and hero of the missionary field for men like William Carey and Henry Martyn. His biography was written by Jonathan Edwards. 
He was a man who lived a lot of his life inward... at least thats what I get from listening to the second chapter.  But I liked how he talks about his relationship with God, I need to apply my walk with God to my scripture.   He also speaks plainly about praying daily, "Spent much of the day in prayer."   


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 20:  The LORD speaks to me today!  He gives me guidance through the holy spirit.   Like a good father he teaches us the right and wrong way to conduct ourselves in a worship based community.   Are children valuable here?  Or were they saying if you give even the smallest amount to other Gods, than you are to be cut off from the people?  A note on Nakedness, what is to be seen and what is not to be seen, it affects the heart to see certain things and other things are holy under God.  The LORD alone sanctifies us:   Scarlet Letter a Crimson A.   


 We are to be witness's to the world, this can be done in two ways:  One telling others that God loves them but then being disconnected from the way of Christ, or B.  Walk with God, smile on others, left others up, show the love that God has for us, onto others; prayers for others, show that God loves his Children in such a way that there is an abundance of strong love.  I choose B.  Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone.


1 Chronicles 10:
When our LORD dies, we die.   Saul fell on his sword and then the rest of his household fall on their swords.   We are to be drawn into the LORD, if our LORD is pronounced dead, then are we dead?  The reason given for Saul's death was that he did not turn to the LORD for guidance he turned to a medium.   Let us be careful to be sons of God and follow our father's advice.   In God we serve all in humility.   Our lord is glorified when we are weak, because his glory is shown by carrying us through.  


Ezekiel 14
Saul turned to the IDOL of "Worldly Wisdom", thus he was cut off from God.  
"the punishment of the prophet (true or false)* and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike."   The LORD makes a proclamation here.   He states in summary that he alone will make the land profitable or desolate.  He will deliver some out of the land while destroying the rest. He will send the four acts of judgement:  sword, famine,  wild beast, and pestilence to cut off from it man and beast! He is proclaiming that he will not allow moral pollution to go wild like weeds.  We are here to glorify God alone.  


*one definition of prophet that I liked was: 
((dispenser of material sense before the conscious facts of Spiritual Truth) One who goes forward with an opinion with out first going to the Bible to seek clarity))


Philippians 4
Be real in your walk with God.   Focus on behavior that is matching to the role we are, "Sons of Our LORD through Adoption" .   This does not mean that we act the brat, rather we act like noble men who are ready to serve like our LORD served us.   We out of love show the embracing power that is JESUS CHRIST.  
We should also keep our minds on good thoughts and not corrupt them with things that are rotten, this makes me ponder if some of the books in my collection are corrupting influences?  If they are corrupting should I get rid of them?  Also it is difficult for me not to want the applause of men, this is one of my idols that I need to rid myself of today?!
Prayer:  

Today  I ask that God show me the idols of my heart, and that I repent of these IDOLS.  Today I seek you first and foremost LORD in establishing harmony in our household.  

7/10/2010	Psalm 82	Psalm 83	Psalm 84	Psalm 84
7/11/2010	Psalm 82	Psalm 83	Psalm 84	Psalm 84
7/12/2010	Leviticus 20	1 Chronicles 10	Ezekiel 14	Philippians 4
7/13/2010	Leviticus 21	1 Chronicles 11	Ezekiel 15	Colossians 1
7/14/2010	Leviticus 22	1 Chronicles 12	Ezekiel 16	Colossians 2
7/15/2010	Leviticus 23	1 Chronicles 13	Ezekiel 17	Colossians 3
7/16/2010	Proverbs 28	1 Chronicles 14	Ezekiel 18	Colossians 4

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.

7/7/2010	Leviticus 18	1 Chronicles 7	Ezekiel 11	Philippians 1
7/8/2010	Leviticus 19	1 Chronicles 8	Ezekiel 12	Philippians 2
7/9/2010	Proverbs 27	1 Chronicles 9	Ezekiel 13	Philippians 3
7/10/2010	Psalm 82	Psalm 83	Psalm 84	Psalm 84
7/11/2010	Psalm 82	Psalm 83	Psalm 84	Psalm 84
7/12/2010	Leviticus 20	1 Chronicles 10	Ezekiel 14	Philippians 4
7/13/2010	Leviticus 21	1 Chronicles 11	Ezekiel 15	Colossians 1

CBR 7.8.2010

Church History in One Sentence (Maybe More Than Just One Sentence):  
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 8
1-32 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 12
v. 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.

Timothy 
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.   

7/6/2010	Leviticus 17	1 Chronicles 6	Ezekiel 10	Ephesians 6
7/7/2010	Leviticus 18	1 Chronicles 7	Ezekiel 11	Philippians 1
7/8/2010	Leviticus 19	1 Chronicles 8	Ezekiel 12	Philippians 2
7/9/2010	Proverbs 27	1 Chronicles 9	Ezekiel 13	Philippians 3
7/10/2010	Psalm 82	Psalm 83	Psalm 84	Psalm 84
7/11/2010	Psalm 82	Psalm 83	Psalm 84	Psalm 84
7/12/2010	Leviticus 20	1 Chronicles 10	Ezekiel 14	Philippians 4

CBR 7.7.2010

 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. 

Leviticus 18

It was necessary for Christ to shed his blood for the sins of his people.  However, when he did that his people were absent, except for a small remnant of true believers.  Yet we did do all of the things God warned us not to do.   We were a cursed nation and needed a way for total repentance.   We needed a clean start.  God has given us this clean salvation through the LORD Jesus Christ. The world did not know him, yet we went looking for answers to our feebleness in the world.   He came to his own and his own people did not receive him.   Why did the people not receive God?  Why did we continue to sin?   Why do we, as Christians, think that the Jewish people do not see a need for the Messiah?

 1 Chronicles 7

God fulfilled the promise made to the people of Abraham.   He pointed to the stars and said, your household will be as plentiful as these stars.  So many tribes, and so many fallen men.   We are responsible to teach the statues of God so we can proclaim the righteousness of God.  He had made a strong army for his (God's) purposes in his kingdom. (Your kingdom come, your will be done.)  Yet, they went their own way in the world.   They looked towards the livestock of the world as riches, not the richness that is/was promised in the LORD.  When was the first Bar Mitzvah?  When did they begin to learn to read the Torah?  If the Chosen people were prosperous why were they not thankful to God?

Ezekiel 11

We are called to put our trust in the LORD, yet we fail to do that.  We look to a fallen world to find blessings.   We look to a fallen world to find signs.  We look to fallen world to find reassurance.  Our faith alone makes us well.   He was in the world, but we were blinded by the bling bling bling.   We did not revere his ways, we whored against him.  He came to his own and we made a golden calf.  What about the holocaust?  Does God answer our need of reassurance here in Ezekiel 11:15b-17?  How did seeing ourselves as the chosen people keep us far from God? How does it still keep us far from God? * The word chosen here can go for any group that takes pride in being the ones with the gifted adoption,  I do not mean merely Jewish People.   

Philippians 1

Paul wrote this while in Prison.  They could lock up his physical body but they could not lock up his spirit or his ability to lead the church away from the body.   His faith was still strong in the building up of the body of believers, even when he has no signs except a cage of solitude.  This shows how God can use all people to save the people of Abraham.  The chosen tribes looked at the situation in the world as the sign of God's providence. They gave up because their faith was feeble. God was in the world for he created it.  But the signs of the times were bright shinny things that made man fall deep into despair.   However, he, the LORD never gave up on the people he created in his image.  

7/5/2010	Leviticus 16	1 Chronicles 5	Ezekiel 9	Ephesians 5
7/6/2010	Leviticus 17	1 Chronicles 6	Ezekiel 10	Ephesians 6
7/7/2010	Leviticus 18	1 Chronicles 7	Ezekiel 11	Philippians 1
7/8/2010	Leviticus 19	1 Chronicles 8	Ezekiel 12	Philippians 2
7/9/2010	Proverbs 27	1 Chronicles 9	Ezekiel 13	Philippians 3
7/10/2010	Psalm 82	Psalm 83	Psalm 84	Psalm 84
7/11/2010	Psalm 82	Psalm 83	Psalm 84	Psalm 84