Good Morning Everyone
Today we are launching a new ministry of Friday devotionals on this blog. Our vision is to provide something every Friday that is relevant to God's Word while embrassing the practicality of life. Our goal is to expand the ministry of God's Word to as many platforms as we possibly can; we are that passionate about it. Up until now, there have been primarily only two writers to the blog. Over the next several weeks you will be seeing new authors with a diversity of perspectives but one tremendous love for God. We hope that what you read will be a blessing to you. Without further adieu let me introduce our pick for today "A Better Way to Go" by Susan Hassan. Be blessed!
The fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love the cool crisp air, the changing leaves, and even the crunch of fallen leaves under my feet. I so enjoy it that I will even drive in to work on back roads despite it taking longer, just so I can surround myself with that beautiful fall foliage. The magnificence of the brilliant landscape reflects a magnificent God. Who but God would create a tree that turns bright red, golden yellow or deep crimson? It is the last hurrah before the cold winter sets in and I purpose to enjoy it while I can.
The odd thing is that I have always driven on those same back roads on my way home from work not just on my way in. Why didn’t I notice those same breathtaking colors? The same beauty that has captured my attention to the point of changing my direction during my morning drive is still there. I just don’t see it. Could it be that those daily routines that fill our day can obscure our vision that much?
I think we can all find countless miracles that God’s provides for us each and every day if we just expand our field of vision. Maybe we should take a break from focusing all our attention on just going from point A to B while missing the entire road trip along the way.
Be encouraged. God never changes; His daily provision is always there. Sometimes we just fail to see it.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Temple - Past and Future
Taught by Toby G.
Notes by Linda G.
Today Toby taught from Ezra 6:13-21. She began her teaching by refreshing our memory of the events that had occurred in the building process to date. The Israelites had been given permission to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple. They began building and encountered much opposition. The opposition was overcome and the Temple was completed. She detailed that there were three waves of exiles that had returned from Babylon. The first group is covered in Ezra 1-6, under Zerurbbababel, the second group returned in Ezra 7-10. We will see the return of the third group in Nehemiah 1:1-&:3.
There was a progression of events that were shared by all three groups of the returning exiles. 1) God stirred those in authority to act on behalf of His people, 2) the people faced almost constant opposition, 3) with the Lord’s help they overcame the opposition and were given the aid that was needed. This progression can also be seen in Exodus.
The next portion of scripture Toby covered was Ezra 6:13-15. This tells us that the Temple was rebuilt. Toby noted that to get to this point in the history of the nation of Israel it took many years and was fraught with tests and trials but that the actual completion is recorded in only three verses. This event had been prophesied in Jeremiah 29:10 ‘This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place”.
Toby noted how important it was to the priests and Levites that the construction was done properly. There could only be one Temple. Although the Israelites could pray and worship at synagogues, the only place that the blood sacrifice for sin could be made was on the Temple Mount. For the preceding 70 years there had been no sacrifice for sin. How thankful we should be that because of the shed blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, we can freely go to the Father to receive forgiveness for our sins!
In Ezra 6:19-22, Toby spoke of the Passover celebration that followed the completion of the temple. This was the first time this festival of the Lord would have taken place in 70 years because the sacrifice could not be made according to the law without the physical temple. Even though the reconstructed temple was much smaller when compared with Solomon’s temple there was still much rejoicing. The remnant that had returned had witnessed the faithfulness of the Lord. This was a purified remnant. They had been chastised by the Lord for their sin yet they had received God’s mercy. The celebration of the Passover marked a new era for the nation.
Toby now fast-forwarded in history to give us a more complete understanding of the Temple – its past and its prophesied future. As recorded in the scriptures, the second temple – the one we have just seen rebuilt, is destroyed. To date, it has not been rebuilt. In it’s place on the Temple Mount now stands the Dome of the Rock. This is one of the oldest Islamic structures in the world. Over the course of history Israel had ceased to be a country. In our not so distant past, it had been ruled under Britain, referred to as the Palestinian Mandate. The Jewish people had been treated very badly. Britain desired to placate the Arab nations, as both Jews and Muslims felt they had a claim to the land.
Around 1948, Toby pointed out, that once again we see the three-fold progression of events that we saw in the Exodus and the return of the Babylonian exiles: 1) the Israeli people began to return to their homeland, 2) they faced opposition, 3) by the divine hand of the Lord they overcame the obstacles. In the history of the world, no other ethnic group that has lost its homeland has survived to once again become a country. This could only happen through the hand of the Lord!!
At this point in the class, Annie stepped in to give us insight into the prophetic aspects of the Temple. Right now, the Temple Mount site is off-limits to any Jewish or Christian people who would want to have any type of religious service there. You will be asked to leave even if you are simply praying. The Muslims believe that this is the site where Muhammad ascended to heaven. According to scripture the Temple will be rebuilt (see Ezekiel 38). In both Daniel 9 and Matthew 24 there are references to the fact that in the end times sacrifices in the temple would be forbidden. In order for this to occur there would have to be a temple in which the sacrifices could be made. She made it clear that the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on the site of the Dome of the Rock will come with divine intervention.
Next Toby covered the controversy surrounding the rebuilding of the third Temple that is occurring in present day. There are three different movements that are currently involved in this undertaking. One of these organizations is called the Temple Mount Institute. They are currently compiling the physical effects that would be needed in the Temple. One thing that has proven to be a change is the acquirement of the Red Heifer. The ashes of the red heifer are necessary for purification prior to entering the sanctuary of the Temple proper. The heifer has yet to be located as it is very rare.
The Jewish people themselves are divided on this issue. The Reformed Jews are against the rebuilding. They do not want to go back to the time of physical sacrifices nor do they want to return to the times of the levitical priesthood. Religious Jews are awaiting this. Of major importance is the reestablishment of the Levitical Priesthood through the descendants of Aaron. With the scientific use of DNA, now approximately 50% of those claiming to be from the line of Aaron have been verified.
The class ended with a short discussion of how we felt about the issue. It was noted that the Jewish people quote the same scriptures that we do regarding the Messiah – but they are still awaiting His first appearance while we as Christians await his second coming. It was mentioned that this is in God’s timing, not ours. Christians throughout generations have believed that they were entering into the end times, yet it does seem that we are closer than ever before.
Notes by Linda G.
Today Toby taught from Ezra 6:13-21. She began her teaching by refreshing our memory of the events that had occurred in the building process to date. The Israelites had been given permission to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple. They began building and encountered much opposition. The opposition was overcome and the Temple was completed. She detailed that there were three waves of exiles that had returned from Babylon. The first group is covered in Ezra 1-6, under Zerurbbababel, the second group returned in Ezra 7-10. We will see the return of the third group in Nehemiah 1:1-&:3.
There was a progression of events that were shared by all three groups of the returning exiles. 1) God stirred those in authority to act on behalf of His people, 2) the people faced almost constant opposition, 3) with the Lord’s help they overcame the opposition and were given the aid that was needed. This progression can also be seen in Exodus.
The next portion of scripture Toby covered was Ezra 6:13-15. This tells us that the Temple was rebuilt. Toby noted that to get to this point in the history of the nation of Israel it took many years and was fraught with tests and trials but that the actual completion is recorded in only three verses. This event had been prophesied in Jeremiah 29:10 ‘This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place”.
Toby noted how important it was to the priests and Levites that the construction was done properly. There could only be one Temple. Although the Israelites could pray and worship at synagogues, the only place that the blood sacrifice for sin could be made was on the Temple Mount. For the preceding 70 years there had been no sacrifice for sin. How thankful we should be that because of the shed blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, we can freely go to the Father to receive forgiveness for our sins!
In Ezra 6:19-22, Toby spoke of the Passover celebration that followed the completion of the temple. This was the first time this festival of the Lord would have taken place in 70 years because the sacrifice could not be made according to the law without the physical temple. Even though the reconstructed temple was much smaller when compared with Solomon’s temple there was still much rejoicing. The remnant that had returned had witnessed the faithfulness of the Lord. This was a purified remnant. They had been chastised by the Lord for their sin yet they had received God’s mercy. The celebration of the Passover marked a new era for the nation.
Toby now fast-forwarded in history to give us a more complete understanding of the Temple – its past and its prophesied future. As recorded in the scriptures, the second temple – the one we have just seen rebuilt, is destroyed. To date, it has not been rebuilt. In it’s place on the Temple Mount now stands the Dome of the Rock. This is one of the oldest Islamic structures in the world. Over the course of history Israel had ceased to be a country. In our not so distant past, it had been ruled under Britain, referred to as the Palestinian Mandate. The Jewish people had been treated very badly. Britain desired to placate the Arab nations, as both Jews and Muslims felt they had a claim to the land.
Around 1948, Toby pointed out, that once again we see the three-fold progression of events that we saw in the Exodus and the return of the Babylonian exiles: 1) the Israeli people began to return to their homeland, 2) they faced opposition, 3) by the divine hand of the Lord they overcame the obstacles. In the history of the world, no other ethnic group that has lost its homeland has survived to once again become a country. This could only happen through the hand of the Lord!!
At this point in the class, Annie stepped in to give us insight into the prophetic aspects of the Temple. Right now, the Temple Mount site is off-limits to any Jewish or Christian people who would want to have any type of religious service there. You will be asked to leave even if you are simply praying. The Muslims believe that this is the site where Muhammad ascended to heaven. According to scripture the Temple will be rebuilt (see Ezekiel 38). In both Daniel 9 and Matthew 24 there are references to the fact that in the end times sacrifices in the temple would be forbidden. In order for this to occur there would have to be a temple in which the sacrifices could be made. She made it clear that the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on the site of the Dome of the Rock will come with divine intervention.
Next Toby covered the controversy surrounding the rebuilding of the third Temple that is occurring in present day. There are three different movements that are currently involved in this undertaking. One of these organizations is called the Temple Mount Institute. They are currently compiling the physical effects that would be needed in the Temple. One thing that has proven to be a change is the acquirement of the Red Heifer. The ashes of the red heifer are necessary for purification prior to entering the sanctuary of the Temple proper. The heifer has yet to be located as it is very rare.
The Jewish people themselves are divided on this issue. The Reformed Jews are against the rebuilding. They do not want to go back to the time of physical sacrifices nor do they want to return to the times of the levitical priesthood. Religious Jews are awaiting this. Of major importance is the reestablishment of the Levitical Priesthood through the descendants of Aaron. With the scientific use of DNA, now approximately 50% of those claiming to be from the line of Aaron have been verified.
The class ended with a short discussion of how we felt about the issue. It was noted that the Jewish people quote the same scriptures that we do regarding the Messiah – but they are still awaiting His first appearance while we as Christians await his second coming. It was mentioned that this is in God’s timing, not ours. Christians throughout generations have believed that they were entering into the end times, yet it does seem that we are closer than ever before.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
What Are You Going To Do About It?
What would you say is the purpose of a question? Your initial response might be, to search out an answer. I would agree. I am told that there are seventeen different categories of questions with varying shades of purpose to each. Questions can be given to test your knowledge, they can be rhetoric or open ended… the list goes on.
The ancient rabbis would ask questions much as our contemporary teachers might, but their purpose often had a single motivation, to provoke thought. Their queries might even seem harsh and confrontational at times. It is important to realize that debate was key to the study of scripture and the rabbis believed that an excellent student was one who was a good arguer. We need not be offended when we are probed in this venue since the very nature of the rabbis teaching style is to produce spiritual growth.
In the gospels you see Jesus using this type of teaching as he would often ask questions without ever providing an answer. When Jesus was anointed at Bethany by the woman with the expensive perfume, much to the annoyance of the disciples, he asked “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (Matt 26:10) This question was meant to point them to what they already knew, in this case, their propensity to place money over grace.
This week as we continue our journey through Ezra we find our progress paused by a question. We have just closed Chapter 4 where we left the exiles despondent and unable to continue the work on the temple. We learned that they had been harassed by their enemies through discouragement, fear and frustrating counsel. To put it plainly they gave up on the work due to unrelenting opposition.
Fast forward almost twenty years where we find ourselves turning the pages of Ezra to Chapter 5. A question is cast as a shadow over the exiles living in Jerusalem by the prophet Haggai. “Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” (Haggai 1:3) He begins to point out to the exiles that they ought to consider there ways, since their neglect of the temple symbolized their neglect of God. Because of their abandoned priorities life became very hard for them. Drought settled in the land and the crops became sparse. The people were frustrated and disappointed.
A good question can cause us to temporarily take a breather and think about what we are doing? A few months after Haggai’s question another prophet, Zechariah, comes with a direct encouragement from God “’Return to me’, declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will return to you’” (Zech 1:3). Zechariah reminds them that their God was a God of mercy and that He assured them that Zerubbabel would, in fact, rebuild the temple. (Zech 4:9).
God used these two men to urge the people to reconsider their lives and to reevaluate their priorities. The confrontational question posed by Haggai did not go unheeded, “the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Hagaii.. (Hagaii 1:12). What was the result of that obedience? God declared “I am with you”. (Hag 1:13)
Have you felt your life filled with frustration and disappointment? Maybe it is because you have given up on something that God has asked you to do? Perhaps you have been overtaken with fear, discouragement or frustrating counsel? Is your spirit urging you to return to the work that you once abandoned?
Maybe you might know someone who God has given a vision to do something in His name? Perhaps they have given up and are overwhelmed with discouragement and frustration? Could you be that prophetic voice to them? Could you take the time to remind them of what God has asked them to do? Maybe you could also remind them that if He has asked them to do it, He will be with them.
Then would you be willing to help?
“Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jeruasalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.” Ezra 5:2 (emphasis mine)
The ancient rabbis would ask questions much as our contemporary teachers might, but their purpose often had a single motivation, to provoke thought. Their queries might even seem harsh and confrontational at times. It is important to realize that debate was key to the study of scripture and the rabbis believed that an excellent student was one who was a good arguer. We need not be offended when we are probed in this venue since the very nature of the rabbis teaching style is to produce spiritual growth.
In the gospels you see Jesus using this type of teaching as he would often ask questions without ever providing an answer. When Jesus was anointed at Bethany by the woman with the expensive perfume, much to the annoyance of the disciples, he asked “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (Matt 26:10) This question was meant to point them to what they already knew, in this case, their propensity to place money over grace.
This week as we continue our journey through Ezra we find our progress paused by a question. We have just closed Chapter 4 where we left the exiles despondent and unable to continue the work on the temple. We learned that they had been harassed by their enemies through discouragement, fear and frustrating counsel. To put it plainly they gave up on the work due to unrelenting opposition.
Fast forward almost twenty years where we find ourselves turning the pages of Ezra to Chapter 5. A question is cast as a shadow over the exiles living in Jerusalem by the prophet Haggai. “Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” (Haggai 1:3) He begins to point out to the exiles that they ought to consider there ways, since their neglect of the temple symbolized their neglect of God. Because of their abandoned priorities life became very hard for them. Drought settled in the land and the crops became sparse. The people were frustrated and disappointed.
A good question can cause us to temporarily take a breather and think about what we are doing? A few months after Haggai’s question another prophet, Zechariah, comes with a direct encouragement from God “’Return to me’, declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will return to you’” (Zech 1:3). Zechariah reminds them that their God was a God of mercy and that He assured them that Zerubbabel would, in fact, rebuild the temple. (Zech 4:9).
God used these two men to urge the people to reconsider their lives and to reevaluate their priorities. The confrontational question posed by Haggai did not go unheeded, “the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Hagaii.. (Hagaii 1:12). What was the result of that obedience? God declared “I am with you”. (Hag 1:13)
Have you felt your life filled with frustration and disappointment? Maybe it is because you have given up on something that God has asked you to do? Perhaps you have been overtaken with fear, discouragement or frustrating counsel? Is your spirit urging you to return to the work that you once abandoned?
Maybe you might know someone who God has given a vision to do something in His name? Perhaps they have given up and are overwhelmed with discouragement and frustration? Could you be that prophetic voice to them? Could you take the time to remind them of what God has asked them to do? Maybe you could also remind them that if He has asked them to do it, He will be with them.
Then would you be willing to help?
“Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jeruasalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.” Ezra 5:2 (emphasis mine)
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The LORD Has Done Great Things!!
Taught by Jan S.
Notes by Linda G.
As sometimes happens, a written re-cap of the lesson does not really do justice to the actual class. Today was one of those times. Jan teaching was filled with dramatic presentations. She reenacted the emotions that the Israelites would have felt as they were leaving Babylon and returning back to Jerusalem and the emotions that they would have felt as they encountered opposition.
After 70 years in exile they would have been filled with anticipation and joy at the prospect of returning to their homeland. Psalm 126 captures this joy…
When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
And we are glad.
Bring back our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.
When the Israelites returned to their own land they were probably met with suspicion or resentment by the current inhabitants of Jerusalem. (As a reminder from Arlene’s teaching last week…when a people was taken captive to a foreign land, the captor would then send people from his own country back to live in the land that had been captured. In this case, Assyrians had been sent to settle in Jerusalem. They worshiped the God of Israel as the god of the land, but they also continued the worship of other gods.) When the Israelites began to rebuild the temple, these other people – who were actually the enemies of Israel, wanted to help (under false pretenses). Jan taught that the Israelites discerned that it was for them alone to rebuild the temple. They were God’s chosen people – who worship the Him alone. Also, they had been the ones commissioned by King Cyrus.
Their refusal of help was countered by opposition from their enemies. The opposition first came in the form of verbal accusations. They wanted to discourage the Israelites and make them afraid (see Ezra 4:4-5). Later on letters were sent by the enemies to the Babylonian rulers with the intent to stall the rebuilding of the temple. These letters cast suspicion on the Israelites actions and questioned that they had true permission from the Babylonian kings to rebuild in the first place. As a result of these tactics rebuilding of the temple was halted for 14 years.
After a time, two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, were called by the Lord and spoke encouragement to the people. Then the work on the house of the Lord resumed. Again, the Israelites were opposed by their enemies. “But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received” ( Ezra 5:5). The enemies had again written letters to the king, expecting that they could once again stall the rebuilding. [Something to ponder, our enemy will work in the same way. He will use the tactics on us that he has used effectively in the past. We need to wise to his schemes.]
When King Darius received this letter a search was made of the Babylonian archives. A scroll was found that detailed the original decree written many years ago by King Cyrus. This is what King Darius then decreed:
*let the temple be rebuilt
*the costs are to be paid by the Babylonian treasury
*the items from the temple that had been taken are to be returned
As Jan taught, we need the temple more than God does. He doesn’t just want our sacrifices, He wants our hearts. This account also shows that although the letter to King Darius was sent with evil intent, God used it for good. The Israelites then went back to work and completed the temple in four and one half years (see Ezra 6:13-18). After the temple was complete the exiles celebrated the Passover feast. This truly was a reminder of the faithfulness of the Lord. As they had escaped Egypt many years ago by His hand, He had also helped them to rebuild the temple (see Ezra 6:22).
Jan concluded her teaching with the question, “What is God saying in this?” and “What can we take away from this lesson?”. A discussion ensued by the class. Some of the responses were:
*trust in the Lord, He will provide
*how our perception of the opposition effects our reactions
*the need for encouragement
*the need to live in today and not worry about tomorrow
*how the enemy wants to keep us from trusting God
*although opposition is hard, we need to press through to victory
*God is doing a work in rebuilding, even if we can’t see it
*the need to pray Scripture
*that the process of rebuilding makes us who we are
Jan’s final summation: “God will use anyone He wants to fulfill His plans (even the most unlikely). He is sovereign".
Notes by Linda G.
As sometimes happens, a written re-cap of the lesson does not really do justice to the actual class. Today was one of those times. Jan teaching was filled with dramatic presentations. She reenacted the emotions that the Israelites would have felt as they were leaving Babylon and returning back to Jerusalem and the emotions that they would have felt as they encountered opposition.
After 70 years in exile they would have been filled with anticipation and joy at the prospect of returning to their homeland. Psalm 126 captures this joy…
When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
And we are glad.
Bring back our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.
When the Israelites returned to their own land they were probably met with suspicion or resentment by the current inhabitants of Jerusalem. (As a reminder from Arlene’s teaching last week…when a people was taken captive to a foreign land, the captor would then send people from his own country back to live in the land that had been captured. In this case, Assyrians had been sent to settle in Jerusalem. They worshiped the God of Israel as the god of the land, but they also continued the worship of other gods.) When the Israelites began to rebuild the temple, these other people – who were actually the enemies of Israel, wanted to help (under false pretenses). Jan taught that the Israelites discerned that it was for them alone to rebuild the temple. They were God’s chosen people – who worship the Him alone. Also, they had been the ones commissioned by King Cyrus.
Their refusal of help was countered by opposition from their enemies. The opposition first came in the form of verbal accusations. They wanted to discourage the Israelites and make them afraid (see Ezra 4:4-5). Later on letters were sent by the enemies to the Babylonian rulers with the intent to stall the rebuilding of the temple. These letters cast suspicion on the Israelites actions and questioned that they had true permission from the Babylonian kings to rebuild in the first place. As a result of these tactics rebuilding of the temple was halted for 14 years.
After a time, two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, were called by the Lord and spoke encouragement to the people. Then the work on the house of the Lord resumed. Again, the Israelites were opposed by their enemies. “But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received” ( Ezra 5:5). The enemies had again written letters to the king, expecting that they could once again stall the rebuilding. [Something to ponder, our enemy will work in the same way. He will use the tactics on us that he has used effectively in the past. We need to wise to his schemes.]
When King Darius received this letter a search was made of the Babylonian archives. A scroll was found that detailed the original decree written many years ago by King Cyrus. This is what King Darius then decreed:
*let the temple be rebuilt
*the costs are to be paid by the Babylonian treasury
*the items from the temple that had been taken are to be returned
As Jan taught, we need the temple more than God does. He doesn’t just want our sacrifices, He wants our hearts. This account also shows that although the letter to King Darius was sent with evil intent, God used it for good. The Israelites then went back to work and completed the temple in four and one half years (see Ezra 6:13-18). After the temple was complete the exiles celebrated the Passover feast. This truly was a reminder of the faithfulness of the Lord. As they had escaped Egypt many years ago by His hand, He had also helped them to rebuild the temple (see Ezra 6:22).
Jan concluded her teaching with the question, “What is God saying in this?” and “What can we take away from this lesson?”. A discussion ensued by the class. Some of the responses were:
*trust in the Lord, He will provide
*how our perception of the opposition effects our reactions
*the need for encouragement
*the need to live in today and not worry about tomorrow
*how the enemy wants to keep us from trusting God
*although opposition is hard, we need to press through to victory
*God is doing a work in rebuilding, even if we can’t see it
*the need to pray Scripture
*that the process of rebuilding makes us who we are
Jan’s final summation: “God will use anyone He wants to fulfill His plans (even the most unlikely). He is sovereign".
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Exhausted From Sorrow
“When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.” Luke 22:45
Have you ever been so physically and spiritually worn out that you couldn’t do anything, not even pray? Have you found yourself in a difficult situation for any length of time and then one day you realize that it is about to get worse.
Maybe you have been struggling financially for so very long and one day out of the blue you find in your mailbox an unexpected bill with no resources for payment. Or maybe, you have been in a difficult job for quite a while and have been praying that things would turn around, instead you find yourself demoted or relocated to a different department. Perhaps you have been praying over an ongoing illness and instead of receiving healing, you are diagnosed with still another malady. That is exactly the context that the disciples are facing in our scripture today.
Here is the setting. “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation’. He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed”. Luke 22:39-41
What follows is the sacred yet familiar account of Jesus asking the Father to take the cup of suffering that he was to endure from him. Jesus resolved that it not be his will but his Fathers that remained. There are several indications that this was a time of intense prayer. In the text it tells us that “he knelt down and prayed”. At this time and in this culture, prayer was usually done standing up. One commentary suggested that he might have actually fallen on his face in anguished prayer.
The second indication can be found in verse 44. “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” The language is plain, Jesus’ prayer was earnest.
You might be wondering, why write this devotional? Is she about to condemn the disciples for falling asleep rather then praying? No just the opposite. I read a quote just recently and it got me to thinking. It reads, “Strenuousness of prayer is demanded by the energy with which Satan is pressing his suit”. (Beck, “Imitatio Christi,” 39; cf.R.E. Brown, Death of the Messiah, 188-189)
Could it be that the more intense the battle with the enemy, the more intense our season of prayer ought to be? When the battle heats up do we get exhausted from our sorrow or do we step up our prayer lives. At this time things were suddenly going very wrong for this band of disciples. They were starting to realize what was ahead both physically and spiritually and the reality of it overwhelmed them. The disciples behavior stands in stark contrast both to Jesus’ initial instructions and to Jesus’ own behavior. Jesus was moved to more intensive time in prayer while the disciples were paralyzed by their circumstances.
But Luke’s portrait of their failure is not a condemning one. Luke excuses their behavior on account of excessive sorrow. Luke wasn't and God isn't insensitive to what we are going through when we are too overcome even to pray. Jesus repeats his instructions to “pray that you may not come into the time of trial”. Luke 22:46 We can assume that their failure on Mount of Olives was neither final nor fatal.
Perhaps you have found yourself in a season of prayerlessness due to overwhelming circumstances and your prayer life has spiritually fallen asleep. The best thing you can do is to recognize that if the battle is this intense, then satan is after you. If he is after you with that kind of voracity then you can be assured that victory waits on the other side of that battle.
While Jesus wasn’t delivered from the cup that God had asked Him to drink, God did send an angel to give him the strength he needed to accomplish what God asked Him to do. “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.” (Luke 22:44) While Jesus endured great suffering, he achieved an everlasting victory just three days later when he rose from the grave. God may not deliver you from whatever situation that has clouded your life, but he will strengthen you and bring you through it. There is a victory waiting on the other side.
If you are overwhelmed with excessive sorrow and unable to pray, can I be so bold to suggest you get with some prayer friends in Christ and tell them. Allow them to strengthen you through their prayers and bring refreshment where there is exhaustion. Then follow the example of Jesus and step up to a season of such intense prayer that the enemy would have no choice but to put his tail between his legs and flee.
"Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wait. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up." James 4:7-10
Have you ever been so physically and spiritually worn out that you couldn’t do anything, not even pray? Have you found yourself in a difficult situation for any length of time and then one day you realize that it is about to get worse.
Maybe you have been struggling financially for so very long and one day out of the blue you find in your mailbox an unexpected bill with no resources for payment. Or maybe, you have been in a difficult job for quite a while and have been praying that things would turn around, instead you find yourself demoted or relocated to a different department. Perhaps you have been praying over an ongoing illness and instead of receiving healing, you are diagnosed with still another malady. That is exactly the context that the disciples are facing in our scripture today.
Here is the setting. “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation’. He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed”. Luke 22:39-41
What follows is the sacred yet familiar account of Jesus asking the Father to take the cup of suffering that he was to endure from him. Jesus resolved that it not be his will but his Fathers that remained. There are several indications that this was a time of intense prayer. In the text it tells us that “he knelt down and prayed”. At this time and in this culture, prayer was usually done standing up. One commentary suggested that he might have actually fallen on his face in anguished prayer.
The second indication can be found in verse 44. “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” The language is plain, Jesus’ prayer was earnest.
You might be wondering, why write this devotional? Is she about to condemn the disciples for falling asleep rather then praying? No just the opposite. I read a quote just recently and it got me to thinking. It reads, “Strenuousness of prayer is demanded by the energy with which Satan is pressing his suit”. (Beck, “Imitatio Christi,” 39; cf.R.E. Brown, Death of the Messiah, 188-189)
Could it be that the more intense the battle with the enemy, the more intense our season of prayer ought to be? When the battle heats up do we get exhausted from our sorrow or do we step up our prayer lives. At this time things were suddenly going very wrong for this band of disciples. They were starting to realize what was ahead both physically and spiritually and the reality of it overwhelmed them. The disciples behavior stands in stark contrast both to Jesus’ initial instructions and to Jesus’ own behavior. Jesus was moved to more intensive time in prayer while the disciples were paralyzed by their circumstances.
But Luke’s portrait of their failure is not a condemning one. Luke excuses their behavior on account of excessive sorrow. Luke wasn't and God isn't insensitive to what we are going through when we are too overcome even to pray. Jesus repeats his instructions to “pray that you may not come into the time of trial”. Luke 22:46 We can assume that their failure on Mount of Olives was neither final nor fatal.
Perhaps you have found yourself in a season of prayerlessness due to overwhelming circumstances and your prayer life has spiritually fallen asleep. The best thing you can do is to recognize that if the battle is this intense, then satan is after you. If he is after you with that kind of voracity then you can be assured that victory waits on the other side of that battle.
While Jesus wasn’t delivered from the cup that God had asked Him to drink, God did send an angel to give him the strength he needed to accomplish what God asked Him to do. “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.” (Luke 22:44) While Jesus endured great suffering, he achieved an everlasting victory just three days later when he rose from the grave. God may not deliver you from whatever situation that has clouded your life, but he will strengthen you and bring you through it. There is a victory waiting on the other side.
If you are overwhelmed with excessive sorrow and unable to pray, can I be so bold to suggest you get with some prayer friends in Christ and tell them. Allow them to strengthen you through their prayers and bring refreshment where there is exhaustion. Then follow the example of Jesus and step up to a season of such intense prayer that the enemy would have no choice but to put his tail between his legs and flee.
"Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wait. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up." James 4:7-10
Friday, October 15, 2010
It Isn't What It Seems
Every so often something happens in my life that is just so bold and audacious that the only way to get it out of my system is to put words on a page to it. The other day, I was out trimming my petunias when a chipmunk literally ran alongside of my right foot and into my garden. Several years ago, I would have delighted and thought that was the cutest and coolest thing. Not any longer. Imagine right by my foot! The audacity!
Why the change of heart? My husband and I make an attempt, and I use that terminology loosely, to grow raspberries and strawberries each year. The first few years we were relatively successful but we haven’t had much luck more recently. Puzzled by this, one day I happen to look out my window and saw this chipmunk chomping on the lone strawberry that was on our plant. I don’t mean a little nibble; he had that thing in both paws and was gorging on it.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love God’s creatures but really one needs to draw a line. My preconceived thoughts about chipmunks immediately vaporized into reality. What I once thought as a cute and loveable creature of God quickly became my arch enemy. It gave new meaning to Jesus’ admonishment “to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing”.
As I pondered my problem, I asked myself what things do we accept and put up with in our lives that we write off as cute and harmless and aren’t really what they seem at all. How about our possessions that we think we own but really own us as we struggle to pay for and maintain them. I thought about those friendships that drag us down spiritually but seem innocent enough. Then of course we have our technology, as we DVR our programs and google our research but inevitably find ourselves going past that benefit into mindless hours of worthless pursuits. Or how about the mountain of insecurity we accept as part of who we are, that keeps us from stepping out in the boldness and courage that God calls us to, but we mask as a sense of false humility. Have I gone too far? But I am speaking to myself.
I think all of us have these cute things in our lives that we don’t even recognize as having a destructive side to them. Maybe it is because we haven’t looked at them from a different perspective. Do you have some things in your life that when viewed through fresh eyes might fall into this category? I do and I am currently working on putting them into perspective. God’s desire is for us to live an abundant life. Could it be that these kinds of things that we accept as permissible are really the very things that are keeping us from experiencing the fullness that God wants for us? Why not ask God to show you?
So, what is the moral of this post? Beware of rodents in cute chipmunk attire!
Why the change of heart? My husband and I make an attempt, and I use that terminology loosely, to grow raspberries and strawberries each year. The first few years we were relatively successful but we haven’t had much luck more recently. Puzzled by this, one day I happen to look out my window and saw this chipmunk chomping on the lone strawberry that was on our plant. I don’t mean a little nibble; he had that thing in both paws and was gorging on it.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love God’s creatures but really one needs to draw a line. My preconceived thoughts about chipmunks immediately vaporized into reality. What I once thought as a cute and loveable creature of God quickly became my arch enemy. It gave new meaning to Jesus’ admonishment “to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing”.
As I pondered my problem, I asked myself what things do we accept and put up with in our lives that we write off as cute and harmless and aren’t really what they seem at all. How about our possessions that we think we own but really own us as we struggle to pay for and maintain them. I thought about those friendships that drag us down spiritually but seem innocent enough. Then of course we have our technology, as we DVR our programs and google our research but inevitably find ourselves going past that benefit into mindless hours of worthless pursuits. Or how about the mountain of insecurity we accept as part of who we are, that keeps us from stepping out in the boldness and courage that God calls us to, but we mask as a sense of false humility. Have I gone too far? But I am speaking to myself.
I think all of us have these cute things in our lives that we don’t even recognize as having a destructive side to them. Maybe it is because we haven’t looked at them from a different perspective. Do you have some things in your life that when viewed through fresh eyes might fall into this category? I do and I am currently working on putting them into perspective. God’s desire is for us to live an abundant life. Could it be that these kinds of things that we accept as permissible are really the very things that are keeping us from experiencing the fullness that God wants for us? Why not ask God to show you?
So, what is the moral of this post? Beware of rodents in cute chipmunk attire!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Handling Opposition
Taught by Arlene Solomon 10/12
Notes by Linda G.
As Chapter 4 of Ezra opens, we see that the returning exiles are met with some serious opposition as they rebuild the temple. “Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia (Ezra 4:4-5).
Arlene began her teaching by explaining how she approaches her study of a particular passage, she often finds herself asking questions. Looking at Ezra 4, a relevent question might be “If we are doing the work of the Lord then why does God allow opposition?”. She gave us four possible reasons:
1)God wants to prove our faith genuine. (See 1 Peter 1:3-9) The trials we face test the reality of our faith. Trials help us to see what we truly believe. She pointed out that you have no idea what you believe until you are forced to believe it. It is easy to believe God for a job for one week but make that a year and it gets a whole lot harder. God wants to prove our faith genuine.
2)Some things are learned only through opposition. Often it is only through opposition that our prayer lives or our time in the word are prioritized. As we face opposition we also learn who we are in Christ. According to Ephesians 1:4-8 we are blessed, chosen, adopted, forgiven, redeemed and loved. It is in these desperate times that we have to make a choice to believe that this is how God sees us.
3)God wants to sift what is useless for what is useful. He wants to remove those things that may be standing in the way of what He wants to do in our lives so that we can be more useful to Him. Some of the things Arlene mentioned were: pride, self-sufficiency, our own agenda, idols and a lack of perseverance. God wants our motives to be pure. (See Luke 22:31-32).
4)God wants to turn us inside out. We have the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us and often it is only through adversity that His power is obvious. God's desire is that the Spirit be magnified in our lives while things of the flesh diminish. This is our hope: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Cor 4:16-18).
The next logical question Arlene asked was “How do we handle opposition?”.
Sometimes praying that God would move the opposition isn't always the answer. Sometimes God wants us to be moved by it.
There were four different kinds of opposition the Israelites faced in Ezra 4. They were deception, discouragement, fear and bad counsel.
In Ezra 4:2 we learned that the enemies of Israel were attempting to make the Israelites think that they were just like them. While they indeed worshiped the God of Israel, they also worshiped other gods as well. God had appointed Zerubabbel and Jeshua to oversee the building. Zerbabbel was from the direct line of David and Jeshua was a son of the last pre-exilic priest. God was preserving the purity of his chosen people to prove His faithfulness to them. It wasn't so much about bloodlines as it was about the faithfulness of God to preserve His chosen ones. The leaders were able to recognize this deception and refused their help. Because of this, these enemies set out to "discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans" (Ezra 4:4)
We examined the four ways the enemies opposed them in more detail.
1) Deception- means to be led astray or wander from the truth. This is important for us to study becasue the Word tells us that in the last days deception will increase. We see this in 1 Tim 4:1, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons”. If deception is going to increase it is crucial that we learn how to recognize it.
Arlene gave three areas in which we can be deceived as portrayed in scripture.
1) Enemy (Genesis 3:13)
2) Others such as a) false prophets (Jer 6:13) b) brothers (Jer 9:4) c) friends (Jer 9:5)
3) Ourselves through a) our own hearts (Jer 37:9) b) our own self-righteousness (Jer 2:34-38) c) idols in our lives (Jer 3:23) d) the pride of our hearts (Jer 49:16)
She pointed out that all of the scriptures fell within the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the prophet that was sent to warn Judah of the impending disastor that would come if they didn't repent. The times were marked by pervasive deception.
Yet we need not be at the mercy of deception. God has given us the ability to exercise discernment. “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:9-11).
The word found in this scripture for discern is a word in the Greek that means approved or tested. It carries the notion of testing something whether it should be received or not. Discernment is the ability to pick out what is best.
Discernment is not having a critical spirit. The Lord does not give us discernement for us to pick out what is wrong. He gives it so we can pick out what is best. Arlene gave us a very practical example of this. When shopping for oranges she will go through the bin picking up and looking for the heaviest – these are the ones with the most juice. It is not that she discards the ones she doesn’t find acceptable…but she holds on to the best. She doesn't declare that the oranges she left behind are wicked and should burn for all eternity. She just takes what is best and is on her way. This is how we apply discernment in the spiritual sense.
So the big question is how do we get discernment? (all the following points came from 1Cor 2-3)
Arlene gave us five ways: 1)start with prayer, 2) loose carnality & worldliness (i.e. jealousy and quarreling) – it will surely quench the spirit(1 Cor 3:1 & 3), 3) going deeper into God’s word (1 Cor 3:2) by studying it, doing it , 4) we need to follow God, not man (1 Cor 3:3) 5) we need to prioritize things of God over things of the world.(1 Cor 3:18-20)
After spending a length of time on deception we returned to our list of oppositions the Israelites faced from their enemies.
2) Discouragement - we learned that discouragement in the Hebrew represented two words. Both of those words dealt figuratively with "the hand". One word symbolized power with a lifted hand. When examining these two words together the word picture was as if the hand that was lifted in power had been dropped. In scripture hand is often associated with power. Discouragement denotes a loss of power. What Arlene pointed out was that satan can not give us power he can only take it. If we are discouraged it is because we have chosen to give our power to him. He has no right to it. She also pointed out that Jesus' desire is to restore our power to us as illustrated in Luke 6 when he healed the man with the withered hand. Jesus gave him his power back.
3) Fear was also a weapon used against them. A commonly used acronym is ‘F’ false – ‘E’ evidence – ‘A’ appearing – ‘R’ real. How often do we fall for this? Fear puts us in a place where our emotions are ruling us. We need to learn to discipline our minds with the Word of God to overcome this overwhelming obstacle. The prescription for this can be found in Proverbs 31:18 “She tastes and sees that her gain from work [with and for God] is good; her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust]" AMP. We need to have that same agressive stance that the Proverbs 31 woman had.
4) Frustrating counsel. Arlene asked the class what we would look for in a counselor. Here are some of the replies: wisdom, understanding, someone who gives the Word – not their opinion, trustworthy, experienced, someone who’s walk is in line with their words, someone of prayer.
Very sadly, we see the result of the opposition the returning exiles faced in Ezra 4:24, “Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia”. We can draw a parallel from this temporary defeat. Just as the Israelites stopped the work because of deception, discouragement, fear and frustrating counsel, we can too. Don’t give up!!
The best way to beat the enemy at his game is to allow God to use the opposition for us and not against us. Allow it to enpower you by:
• Letting deception bring discernment
• Allowing discouragement to bring courage through Jesus
• Use fear to discipline your mind
• Let bad counsel point you back to God
Notes by Linda G.
As Chapter 4 of Ezra opens, we see that the returning exiles are met with some serious opposition as they rebuild the temple. “Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia (Ezra 4:4-5).
Arlene began her teaching by explaining how she approaches her study of a particular passage, she often finds herself asking questions. Looking at Ezra 4, a relevent question might be “If we are doing the work of the Lord then why does God allow opposition?”. She gave us four possible reasons:
1)God wants to prove our faith genuine. (See 1 Peter 1:3-9) The trials we face test the reality of our faith. Trials help us to see what we truly believe. She pointed out that you have no idea what you believe until you are forced to believe it. It is easy to believe God for a job for one week but make that a year and it gets a whole lot harder. God wants to prove our faith genuine.
2)Some things are learned only through opposition. Often it is only through opposition that our prayer lives or our time in the word are prioritized. As we face opposition we also learn who we are in Christ. According to Ephesians 1:4-8 we are blessed, chosen, adopted, forgiven, redeemed and loved. It is in these desperate times that we have to make a choice to believe that this is how God sees us.
3)God wants to sift what is useless for what is useful. He wants to remove those things that may be standing in the way of what He wants to do in our lives so that we can be more useful to Him. Some of the things Arlene mentioned were: pride, self-sufficiency, our own agenda, idols and a lack of perseverance. God wants our motives to be pure. (See Luke 22:31-32).
4)God wants to turn us inside out. We have the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us and often it is only through adversity that His power is obvious. God's desire is that the Spirit be magnified in our lives while things of the flesh diminish. This is our hope: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Cor 4:16-18).
The next logical question Arlene asked was “How do we handle opposition?”.
Sometimes praying that God would move the opposition isn't always the answer. Sometimes God wants us to be moved by it.
There were four different kinds of opposition the Israelites faced in Ezra 4. They were deception, discouragement, fear and bad counsel.
In Ezra 4:2 we learned that the enemies of Israel were attempting to make the Israelites think that they were just like them. While they indeed worshiped the God of Israel, they also worshiped other gods as well. God had appointed Zerubabbel and Jeshua to oversee the building. Zerbabbel was from the direct line of David and Jeshua was a son of the last pre-exilic priest. God was preserving the purity of his chosen people to prove His faithfulness to them. It wasn't so much about bloodlines as it was about the faithfulness of God to preserve His chosen ones. The leaders were able to recognize this deception and refused their help. Because of this, these enemies set out to "discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans" (Ezra 4:4)
We examined the four ways the enemies opposed them in more detail.
1) Deception- means to be led astray or wander from the truth. This is important for us to study becasue the Word tells us that in the last days deception will increase. We see this in 1 Tim 4:1, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons”. If deception is going to increase it is crucial that we learn how to recognize it.
Arlene gave three areas in which we can be deceived as portrayed in scripture.
1) Enemy (Genesis 3:13)
2) Others such as a) false prophets (Jer 6:13) b) brothers (Jer 9:4) c) friends (Jer 9:5)
3) Ourselves through a) our own hearts (Jer 37:9) b) our own self-righteousness (Jer 2:34-38) c) idols in our lives (Jer 3:23) d) the pride of our hearts (Jer 49:16)
She pointed out that all of the scriptures fell within the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the prophet that was sent to warn Judah of the impending disastor that would come if they didn't repent. The times were marked by pervasive deception.
Yet we need not be at the mercy of deception. God has given us the ability to exercise discernment. “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:9-11).
The word found in this scripture for discern is a word in the Greek that means approved or tested. It carries the notion of testing something whether it should be received or not. Discernment is the ability to pick out what is best.
Discernment is not having a critical spirit. The Lord does not give us discernement for us to pick out what is wrong. He gives it so we can pick out what is best. Arlene gave us a very practical example of this. When shopping for oranges she will go through the bin picking up and looking for the heaviest – these are the ones with the most juice. It is not that she discards the ones she doesn’t find acceptable…but she holds on to the best. She doesn't declare that the oranges she left behind are wicked and should burn for all eternity. She just takes what is best and is on her way. This is how we apply discernment in the spiritual sense.
So the big question is how do we get discernment? (all the following points came from 1Cor 2-3)
Arlene gave us five ways: 1)start with prayer, 2) loose carnality & worldliness (i.e. jealousy and quarreling) – it will surely quench the spirit(1 Cor 3:1 & 3), 3) going deeper into God’s word (1 Cor 3:2) by studying it, doing it , 4) we need to follow God, not man (1 Cor 3:3) 5) we need to prioritize things of God over things of the world.(1 Cor 3:18-20)
After spending a length of time on deception we returned to our list of oppositions the Israelites faced from their enemies.
2) Discouragement - we learned that discouragement in the Hebrew represented two words. Both of those words dealt figuratively with "the hand". One word symbolized power with a lifted hand. When examining these two words together the word picture was as if the hand that was lifted in power had been dropped. In scripture hand is often associated with power. Discouragement denotes a loss of power. What Arlene pointed out was that satan can not give us power he can only take it. If we are discouraged it is because we have chosen to give our power to him. He has no right to it. She also pointed out that Jesus' desire is to restore our power to us as illustrated in Luke 6 when he healed the man with the withered hand. Jesus gave him his power back.
3) Fear was also a weapon used against them. A commonly used acronym is ‘F’ false – ‘E’ evidence – ‘A’ appearing – ‘R’ real. How often do we fall for this? Fear puts us in a place where our emotions are ruling us. We need to learn to discipline our minds with the Word of God to overcome this overwhelming obstacle. The prescription for this can be found in Proverbs 31:18 “She tastes and sees that her gain from work [with and for God] is good; her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust]" AMP. We need to have that same agressive stance that the Proverbs 31 woman had.
4) Frustrating counsel. Arlene asked the class what we would look for in a counselor. Here are some of the replies: wisdom, understanding, someone who gives the Word – not their opinion, trustworthy, experienced, someone who’s walk is in line with their words, someone of prayer.
Very sadly, we see the result of the opposition the returning exiles faced in Ezra 4:24, “Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia”. We can draw a parallel from this temporary defeat. Just as the Israelites stopped the work because of deception, discouragement, fear and frustrating counsel, we can too. Don’t give up!!
The best way to beat the enemy at his game is to allow God to use the opposition for us and not against us. Allow it to enpower you by:
• Letting deception bring discernment
• Allowing discouragement to bring courage through Jesus
• Use fear to discipline your mind
• Let bad counsel point you back to God
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Note from Comfort
Comfort and family wish to thank the women fellowship, greeters, food ministry, and all the church members for their prayers, and concern shown toward my family and I throughout my surgery and recovery. I thank everyone for all the love shown to me and my family. I'm recovering very well thanks to all your prayers. Words cannot express my heart-felt gratitude for all your support and caring during my sickness. I am truly grateful for your kindness toward me at my time of need. Thank you all.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Praise The Lord!
Taught by Janet R. 10/5
Notes by: Linda G.
As I was putting together the notes for today’s class I knew it was going to be a little more of a challenge than some I have done in the past few weeks. Today Janet taught on worship from Ezra 3. Some things you can learn from studying God’s word but there is something so special about worship that you only ‘get it’ from experience. Prior to Janet’s teaching this morning, Arlene opened with a song on praise followed by communion. This set the tone for the lesson that would follow.
The three themes in this chapter are remembrance, sacrifice, and praise and worship. Janet began her teaching with a short history of worship for the Jewish people. Going back to the time of Moses, worship was an integral part of their relationship with God. Many of their corporate times of worship were celebrated at appointed festivals which are still celebrated today. Some of the festivals that were celebrated are as follows: Passover – a remembrance of the Jews deliverance from slavery in the land of Egypt; Pentacost (Feast of Weeks/Shavout)- originally an agricultural festival celebrating and giving thanks for the "first fruits" of the early spring harvest , celebrated 50 days after Passover; Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) – This is the celebration of the Jewish New Year; The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur ) - was a time of fasting & searching out sins, a time to repent in order to be in correct relationship with God and fellow man.
In Chapter 3 of Ezra the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths (Succoth) is being celebrated. This feast commemorates the shelter of the Israelites during their 40 years in the wilderness. During their time of exile in Babylon, the Jews were not able to worship the Lord as He had required (see Exodus 25-27). The altar was a necessity in being able to worship as the Lord desired. “Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God “ Ezra 3:2 (NIV). The altar was a place of sacrifice and where incense would be burned continually. The altar that the former exiles built was erected on the very foundation that had been laid by King Solomon in the first temple. At this time construction on the new temple had not yet begun.
Janet then spoke of some of the Hebrew words that denote praise. She spoke of ‘Halal’. This word is the primary Hebrew word for praise. Our word "hallelujah" comes from this. It means, "to be clear, to shine, to boast, show, to rave, celebrate, to be clamorously foolish." In scripture, an example of this could be
found in Psalm 113:1 - "Praise (HALAL) ye the Lord, Praise (HALAL) O ye servants of the Lord, praise (HALAL) the name of the Lord."* Janet also spoke of ‘Yada’. This is a verb with a root meaning, "the extended hand, to throw out the hand, therefore to worship with extended hand." An example of this is found in Psalm 63:4 - "Thus I will bless Thee while I live, I will (YADAH) lift up my hands in Thy name".*
In class Janet led a discussion based on the following verse: “Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices” Ezra 3:3 (NIV). We spoke about all the different ways in which we worship the Lord – both in community and in private. Going back to “Yada’, we can worship the Lord by lifting our hands. This position of worship can flow from different longings within us. We may lift our hands to signify humility before or God or reverence of His awesomeness. It could represent surrender. (It was noted that when a side surrenders to another in battle, it is really to a place of safety.) It was also noted that our worship flows from who God created us to be – our personalities, our culture. As we worship God, it is between Him and us. There may be a time when God calls us to worship Him exuberantly but there are also times when we are called to worship Him in deep reverence and quietness. We need to keep our eyes on Who we are worshiping - not each other. We want to worship ‘in spirit and in truth’. We want to block out distractions. We want to be confident that the Lord we worship hears us and pleased with what we offer Him.
Class ended today the way it began..with a time of worship. I ask you now, my sisters, to have some time with the Lord on your own. Choose some of your favorite worship music or even delve into the Psalms and worship The One who loves you unconditionally!
*taken from: http://www.farsipraise.net/blog/2006/08/7-hebrew-words-for-praise.html
Notes by: Linda G.
As I was putting together the notes for today’s class I knew it was going to be a little more of a challenge than some I have done in the past few weeks. Today Janet taught on worship from Ezra 3. Some things you can learn from studying God’s word but there is something so special about worship that you only ‘get it’ from experience. Prior to Janet’s teaching this morning, Arlene opened with a song on praise followed by communion. This set the tone for the lesson that would follow.
The three themes in this chapter are remembrance, sacrifice, and praise and worship. Janet began her teaching with a short history of worship for the Jewish people. Going back to the time of Moses, worship was an integral part of their relationship with God. Many of their corporate times of worship were celebrated at appointed festivals which are still celebrated today. Some of the festivals that were celebrated are as follows: Passover – a remembrance of the Jews deliverance from slavery in the land of Egypt; Pentacost (Feast of Weeks/Shavout)- originally an agricultural festival celebrating and giving thanks for the "first fruits" of the early spring harvest , celebrated 50 days after Passover; Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) – This is the celebration of the Jewish New Year; The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur ) - was a time of fasting & searching out sins, a time to repent in order to be in correct relationship with God and fellow man.
In Chapter 3 of Ezra the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths (Succoth) is being celebrated. This feast commemorates the shelter of the Israelites during their 40 years in the wilderness. During their time of exile in Babylon, the Jews were not able to worship the Lord as He had required (see Exodus 25-27). The altar was a necessity in being able to worship as the Lord desired. “Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God “ Ezra 3:2 (NIV). The altar was a place of sacrifice and where incense would be burned continually. The altar that the former exiles built was erected on the very foundation that had been laid by King Solomon in the first temple. At this time construction on the new temple had not yet begun.
Janet then spoke of some of the Hebrew words that denote praise. She spoke of ‘Halal’. This word is the primary Hebrew word for praise. Our word "hallelujah" comes from this. It means, "to be clear, to shine, to boast, show, to rave, celebrate, to be clamorously foolish." In scripture, an example of this could be
found in Psalm 113:1 - "Praise (HALAL) ye the Lord, Praise (HALAL) O ye servants of the Lord, praise (HALAL) the name of the Lord."* Janet also spoke of ‘Yada’. This is a verb with a root meaning, "the extended hand, to throw out the hand, therefore to worship with extended hand." An example of this is found in Psalm 63:4 - "Thus I will bless Thee while I live, I will (YADAH) lift up my hands in Thy name".*
In class Janet led a discussion based on the following verse: “Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices” Ezra 3:3 (NIV). We spoke about all the different ways in which we worship the Lord – both in community and in private. Going back to “Yada’, we can worship the Lord by lifting our hands. This position of worship can flow from different longings within us. We may lift our hands to signify humility before or God or reverence of His awesomeness. It could represent surrender. (It was noted that when a side surrenders to another in battle, it is really to a place of safety.) It was also noted that our worship flows from who God created us to be – our personalities, our culture. As we worship God, it is between Him and us. There may be a time when God calls us to worship Him exuberantly but there are also times when we are called to worship Him in deep reverence and quietness. We need to keep our eyes on Who we are worshiping - not each other. We want to worship ‘in spirit and in truth’. We want to block out distractions. We want to be confident that the Lord we worship hears us and pleased with what we offer Him.
Class ended today the way it began..with a time of worship. I ask you now, my sisters, to have some time with the Lord on your own. Choose some of your favorite worship music or even delve into the Psalms and worship The One who loves you unconditionally!
*taken from: http://www.farsipraise.net/blog/2006/08/7-hebrew-words-for-praise.html
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Davening
Hello Everyone:
Never let it be said that when a question comes up in Bible Study that I am not on it. It is kind of my obsession, I mean hobby to root these things out. ;-)
Someone brought up today the practice of rocking back and forth that is often accompanied when Jewish people pray. This practice is known as davening. This rocking motion during prayer is a way of expressing that one's whole self, body and soul, is caught up with God. The movement of the body mimics the flickering flame of a candle, calling to mind the saying that "the candlestick of God is the soul of a man".
I got this information from a wonderful book called Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg. An excellent resourse if you want to delve deeper into the Jewishness of Jesus.
Never let it be said that when a question comes up in Bible Study that I am not on it. It is kind of my obsession, I mean hobby to root these things out. ;-)
Someone brought up today the practice of rocking back and forth that is often accompanied when Jewish people pray. This practice is known as davening. This rocking motion during prayer is a way of expressing that one's whole self, body and soul, is caught up with God. The movement of the body mimics the flickering flame of a candle, calling to mind the saying that "the candlestick of God is the soul of a man".
I got this information from a wonderful book called Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg. An excellent resourse if you want to delve deeper into the Jewishness of Jesus.
Game On!
Ordinarily, I am not a competitive person. Quite frankly, any kind of rivalry rarely piques my interest. My family is filled with sports fanatics and competition can originate from almost any venue. From athletic exhibitions to grades to how much one can devour in a single meal. You name it and it can turn into a challenge of Olympic sized proportions. When these kinds of events start up, I generally shake my head and seek out a safe quiet place away from the bedlam. You can imagine my surprise when after reading an article last week in USA Today, that I felt the lure of the contest rise up in me.
There was an article that reported the results of a survey birthed by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. It was a test that measured the level of religious knowledge in the U.S, (September 28, 2010) and it was given to 3,412 adults with questions relative to the Bible, major religious figures, practices and beliefs. There were 32 questions on the exam and the average score was 16 correct.
Here are the test results for some of the major religious groups:
Atheist/Agnostic 20.9
Jewish 20.5
Mormon 20.3
White Evangelical
Protestant 17.6
White Catholic 16.o
White mainline
Protestant 15.8
Nothing in
Particular 15.2
Black Protestant 13.4
Did you notice who number 1 is? It seems that Atheists and Agnostics know more about the fundamental beliefs of most religions then we do. I thought to myself, how can I expect to reach people for Christ unless I am aware of what other belief systems are teaching?
Someone brought up an important point. They said that the Atheists/Agnostics are probably seeking and have studied and concluded that no religion (atheists) or all religion (agnostics) appeal to them. I have to be honest, I don’t like that this religious group knows more then I do about spiritual matters.
We as Christians are called to love God with our whole hearts, souls and minds. I was convicted by this article, in my pursuit to love God with my whole heart and soul have I neglected to give Him my mind as well? Have I yielded it to Him completely? Have I allowed Him to teach the things that He wants me to know so I would be better equipped as His servant? Or am I primarily focused on the things that minister to me alone? Both are important, but I need to keep it in balance.
Not long ago, I was praying and I felt God point me to a particular area that He wanted me to study in the Jewish faith. It would be hard and grueling and to be honest the thought of it left me exhausted. I didn’t tell anyone because they might, you know, keep me accountable. I put it on the shelf and never did anything about it. Last week, a friend of mine, who had no knowledge of this, invited me to a class on that very thing. Obviously, God was serious.
I will be taking that class. I think I want to be smarter then the average atheist/agnostic about other’s belief systems. I am feeling that competitive urge stirring up in me again as I write this article. Right now for me, faced with this kind of challenge, there can only be one response ‘Game On!’
Here are some sample questions from the test.
1) Mother Teresa was…Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon or Hindu?
2) Vishnu and Shiva are central figures in …Islam, Hinduism or Taoism?
3) The Bible figure most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering is…Job, Elijah, Moses or Abraham?
4) The person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation was …Martin Luther, Thomas Aquinas or John Wesley?
5) The religion that aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering, is …Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism?
The answers will be left by me as a comment.
There was an article that reported the results of a survey birthed by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. It was a test that measured the level of religious knowledge in the U.S, (September 28, 2010) and it was given to 3,412 adults with questions relative to the Bible, major religious figures, practices and beliefs. There were 32 questions on the exam and the average score was 16 correct.
Here are the test results for some of the major religious groups:
Atheist/Agnostic 20.9
Jewish 20.5
Mormon 20.3
White Evangelical
Protestant 17.6
White Catholic 16.o
White mainline
Protestant 15.8
Nothing in
Particular 15.2
Black Protestant 13.4
Did you notice who number 1 is? It seems that Atheists and Agnostics know more about the fundamental beliefs of most religions then we do. I thought to myself, how can I expect to reach people for Christ unless I am aware of what other belief systems are teaching?
Someone brought up an important point. They said that the Atheists/Agnostics are probably seeking and have studied and concluded that no religion (atheists) or all religion (agnostics) appeal to them. I have to be honest, I don’t like that this religious group knows more then I do about spiritual matters.
We as Christians are called to love God with our whole hearts, souls and minds. I was convicted by this article, in my pursuit to love God with my whole heart and soul have I neglected to give Him my mind as well? Have I yielded it to Him completely? Have I allowed Him to teach the things that He wants me to know so I would be better equipped as His servant? Or am I primarily focused on the things that minister to me alone? Both are important, but I need to keep it in balance.
Not long ago, I was praying and I felt God point me to a particular area that He wanted me to study in the Jewish faith. It would be hard and grueling and to be honest the thought of it left me exhausted. I didn’t tell anyone because they might, you know, keep me accountable. I put it on the shelf and never did anything about it. Last week, a friend of mine, who had no knowledge of this, invited me to a class on that very thing. Obviously, God was serious.
I will be taking that class. I think I want to be smarter then the average atheist/agnostic about other’s belief systems. I am feeling that competitive urge stirring up in me again as I write this article. Right now for me, faced with this kind of challenge, there can only be one response ‘Game On!’
Here are some sample questions from the test.
1) Mother Teresa was…Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon or Hindu?
2) Vishnu and Shiva are central figures in …Islam, Hinduism or Taoism?
3) The Bible figure most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering is…Job, Elijah, Moses or Abraham?
4) The person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation was …Martin Luther, Thomas Aquinas or John Wesley?
5) The religion that aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering, is …Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism?
The answers will be left by me as a comment.
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