Job 36-37: He Comes With Golden Splendor

The greatness of God is laid before us in this passage! God is mighty in strength and understanding (36:5): “Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’? (36:22-23)” Further, the author writes, “Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable (36:26).” God is infinite, and yet He works in time as we understand it. One of the strongest images that the Lord shows Himself through in time is outlined in the author’s illustration of God’s power over lightening. It is unfathomable that God scatters lightening around Himself (36:30), and he covers his hands with the lightening and commands it to strike the mark. Its crashing declares his presence (36:32-33). Elihu meditates further on this in chapter thirty-seven. After this Elihu then stops and poses the question, “Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror? Teach us what we shall say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of darkness (37:18-19).” We are too often blinded by our sin; we are drawn to lesser pleasures than the Lord. Our sight is in darkness and we need the Lord to draw up our eyes to Him. So that we might perceive that the Lord comes in golden splendor: “Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with awesome majesty. The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit (37:22-24).” This is a majestic God!

Psalm 45: A Fitting Song for a Glorious Love Story

Psalm 45 is humbling knowing that the church is not worthy of the love of Christ. It is astounding that this handsome King with grace on His lips rides in victory for the cause of truth, meekness, and righteousness. Further, that His arrows are sharp in the hearts of His enemies. We deserve to be the recipients of the King’s wrath against falsehood, pride, and wickedness. His sharp arrows are designed for hearts like ours. This psalm also describes the King’s throne as eternal; that He has loved what is right and hated what is wicked. This again marks our hearts as the target of His eternal righteous wrathful vengeance. We comprehend a sense of what we lack in the description of His abundance as He is anointed with the oil of gladness, and that His robes are fragrant with the scent of myrrh, aloe, and cassia. We are given a vision of the true and lasting enjoyment we lack in the image depicted of His ivory palaces with stringed instruments. Despite the wickedness of our hearts Jesus Christ has chosen to save His church.

He bore the wrath of God in the place of His church. In this way He has made the church, His bride, beautiful. Christ has made the bride glorious in her chamber, desires her beauty, has clothed her with robes interwoven with gold, and has established that she be led in robes of many colors to Himself, the King. When the bride is led to the King she has joy and gladness as she enters His palace. The church can rejoice in the manner of Isaiah, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels (Isa 61:10).”

If we are found in God’s church we may walk with joy and gladness as we are led to enter the palace of the King, even if it entails sleepless nights, toil, and hardship. We as the church must bow to Him because He is Lord, and He alone has completely and perfectly accomplished the salvation of His bride. If we repent of our sins and believe in the gospel we are found in the church, and we look forward to participating in the marriage supper of our King, Jesus Christ (Rev 19:6-10). Oh, how we should love the King! Oh, how we should love Christ’s church! Let us extend the invitation of the King to those who will repent and believe. Let the Spirit and the Bride say, “‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price (Rev 22:17).” This is truly a glorious salvation for the church accomplished through Christ’s substitution.

Shalom [שָׁלוֹם] Peace

For devotionals I’m currently reading Ephesians. In William Barclay’s commentary he had a good description of the word Shalom. I thought I’d share...

“[Regarding Ephesians 1:2's use of “Peace”] In Greek the word is eirene, but it translates the Hebrew word shalom. In the Bible the word peace is never a purely negative word; it never describes simply the absence of trouble and hardship and distress. Shalom means everything that makes for a man’s highest good, everything which is calculated to make him a man in the highest sense of the term, everything which is calculated to make life truly worth living. This Christian peace is something which is quite independent of outward circumstances. A man might live in ease and luxury and on the fat of the land; he might have the finest of houses and the biggest of bank accounts, and yet not have peace; on the other hand, a man might be starving in prison, or dying at the stake, or living a life from which all comfort had fled, and be at perfect peace. What is the explanation of it? The explanation is that there is only one source of peace in all the world, and that is doing the will of God. We know perfectly well that when in life we are doing something which we know we ought not to do, or when we are evading something that we know we ought to do, there is always a haunting uneasiness and dispeace at the back of our minds; and we know quite well that even if we are doing something very difficult, even if we are doing something which we do not want to do, if we know that it is the right thing there is a certain contentment in our hearts. 'In His will is our peace.' The only peace on earth is in the will of God.”

[Barclay, William The Daily Study Bible: The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians The Westminster Press, Philadelphia 1958 Pp. 87-88]

It’s interesting that every time I hear the word “peace” I think of it in the inactive/negative sense. That is, the absence of fighting, war, violence…etc. The active/positive aspect that Barclay discusses here is almost never thought of today [that I know of…if it is please give a reference…I’d be curious to read it]. Maybe next time we say or think of peace we will think of the active/positive aspect of it, and not just the inactive/negative aspect of it. Hopefully meditating and thinking of the positive aspect of peace will draw us to worship God not ourselves and our materialistic idols. Just something to think on.

In Christ
Noah

"Redeem The Time"

I read the following in my devotion this morning...

Ephesians 5:15-21
"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. [ESV]"

Right before this passage it says, "...when anything exposed by the light...becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'" [5:13-14 ESV]

So then, because of this light that has shone; we must look carefully at how we walk. Redeem the time [Eph 5:16 KJV]! How??

(1) Don't be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
(2) Don't be drunk, but be filled with the Spirit

(a) addressing one another in psalms hymns and spiritual songs
(b) singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart
(c) Give thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of your Lord Jesus Christ.

(3) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

I don't this is saying, "DON'T EVER HAVE FUN." I do think that this passage is giving us a good dose of sobriety in the Spirit that we don't take things nearly as seriously as we ought.

Brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us redeem the time today, for the days are evil. Life is a vapor (James 4:14)!

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen"

Appointment With Death

I was listening to a John Murray sermon on Hebrews 9:27-28:

"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. [ESV]"

After listening to the sermon I was thinking about life. I remembered a very close friend I had in college. The last night that I spoke with him we were talking about heaven, and we clearly had a disagreement [I'm sure he's forgotten, but it's still vivid to me]... He thought that this earth, and what we experience in life, here, is heaven. I told him that if this is heaven he's crazy. Life is really hard and it hurts to lose loved ones, and see people in general die.

Anyhow, I was making copies of letters for 4 + hours like I do every day, and I was thinking about my friend. I really loved that guy, but it's been probably 2-3 years. My flesh was starting to tempt me to desire the worldly things I desired when I was in college...you know...glory for myself, friends that are famous in the jazz industry, etc. Then I looked up and saw the cross on the top of the Roman Catholic church next to our building and my delusions of grandeur were broken. Then I remembered the passage above...

I'm clean in Christ...it is appointed for me to die, so redeem the time. I can play the guitar to God's glory in heaven.

For now, keep studying to prepare for the teaching and preaching of the gospel.
For now, keep groaning with the rest of creation waiting for adoption and the redemption of my body.
For now, tell people about who Jesus is and as Johnny Cash would say, "God's going to cut you down," if you don't repent.
For now, grasp for Joy in my saviour and His bride.
For now, enjoy the blessing Lindsey is in my life.
For now, enjoy His grace that I might breath another breath.
For now, sanctification.

When He appears it won't be to deal with sin, but it will be to take me home. When He appears we will be changed. Keep grasping and fighting this good fight of faith!

"God's Power in the Pentateuch"

This is just an observation as I've been reading through the Pentateuch [first five books of the Old Testament]...

God performed the plagues on Egypt, "To show [them His] power, so that [His] name [would] be proclaimed in all the earth (Exodus 9:16). (ESV)" It seems brutal, but that is really what was going on behind it all.

We see the fruit of this in that, " Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses (Exodus 14:31). (ESV)" Also, "Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy (Exodus 15:6). (ESV)"

These passages kick off the theme of God's power that cannot be missed. I'll try to build up to a surprising event that I didn't remember from the last time I read these books culminating in Leviticus 9.

Israel at Sinai began a new period of time (Exodus 19), of God relating to His people, a time under God's laws given through Moses. They received laws about many things [the ten commandments (20:1-21), altars (20:22-26), slaves (21:1-32), restitution (21:33-22:15), social justice (22:16-23:9), sabbath and festivals (23:10-19), etc.]. They also received instructions on making the ark of the covenant (25:10-23), the table for bread (25:23-30), the golden lampstand (25:31-40), the tabernacle (26:1-37)...and on and on it goes through chapter 30 and then again from Exodus 35-40.

Exodus 40:34-38 is a testimony to the Lord's faithfulness in that the Glory of the Lord was dwelling among Israel.

Then in Leviticus the first 7 chapters outline how Israel was to offer offerings for atonement of sin. It is clear through the demand for having to cyclically make atonement all year every year that this substitutionary atonement was not a full atonement for all sins that we see in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We see all the different procedures for offering sacrifices to the Lord in these first 7 chapters of Leviticus. God is very detailed in what He expects for atonement, the tabernacle, priests clothes, etc. It's like all of this tension is building from Exodus 19-Leviticus 7. Tension of all these standards that Israel must meet in order to please God. In my mind I'm thinking, "this is all impossible," and, "to what end are all of these things being done?"

So in Leviticus 8 God, through Moses, consecrates the priests, Aaron and his sons. He basically ordains them and follows a very specific ritual in order to do this. Then in Leviticus 9 the priests do their first offering!

A bull! It's interesting that this is the first real mention of Aaron since he led Israel in idolatry of the golden calf...and he is sacrificing a bull. So they do it...all according to God's design and then this happens in Leviticus 9:22-24:

"And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people [my emphasis]. (ESV)"

What a reward to the people who obediently followed God's very particular instructions. And then this...

"And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces [my emphasis]. (ESV)"

How humbling would that have been...

Of course Israel stumbled right after this, but what an amazing experience to come out of Egypt; to sin against God numerous times and be forgiven; to be given, out of God's grace, a law would point to our sin; to be given an understanding of atonement in a shadow of what was to come in Christ being seen in glory on the cross and resurrected; and then to see God's glory in this consuming of the offering.

I don't spend enough time on my face in reverence of God's power and glory!

Sobering yet Encouraging Words of Christ

(1)  Sheep in the midst of wolves...

"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.  When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.  For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. [Matt 10:16-22, ESV]"

(2)  Do not fear those who can kill the body and not the soul...

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell...  So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. [Matt 10:28, 32-33, ESV]" 

(3)  Jesus did not come to bring peace, but a sword...

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.  And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.  Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [Matthew 10:34-39, ESV]"

(4)  Rewards...you can't lose it if you have received the promise of it... and fruit through actions can give assurance to the faith that the promise is rooted in...

"[for the context read Matt 10:40-41]  And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. [Matthew 10:42, ESV]"

12 apostles/disciples

Matthew 10:2-4 [Further Devotions]

(1)  Simon who is called Peter

(2)  Andrew, his brother

(3)  James son of Zebedee

(4)  John, his brother

(5)  Philip

(6)  Bartholomew

(7)  Thomas

(8)  Matthew the tax collector

(9)  James, the son of Alphaeus

(10)  Thaddaeus

(11)  Simon the Cananaean

(12)  Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ.

Devotions - Matthew 7:15-23

Here's another pretty shocking statement by our Lord.

Matthew 7:15-23

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. [KJV, my emphasis]" 

First, salvation is by grace through faith not by human works[Ephesians 2:8-9]...yet the works/fruit that we bear is an indication of our faith, because faith without works is dead [James 2:17, 26]. 

Second, faith in what??  Jesus Christ [Romans 3:22; Galatians 2:20; Revelation 14:12] who is God the Son in the Trinity [Mark 11:22; Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 44:6; John 8:58; etc.]! 

"Lord, let my faith bear fruit, for your name's sake."

Devotions - Matthew 5:33-37

Well, these days I'm reading Matthew for devotions...and every time I read the gospels I am always amazed at how Jesus always says stuff...and it seems as though I've never read it before [even though I've read it a lot]. Anyhow...this hit me right between the eyes...

Matthew 5:33-37
"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. [ESV, my emphasis]"

So the next time you hear yourself say, "Yes, but...," stop...and remember these words!

"Growth In Sovereign Grace"

This week our Adult Bible Fellowship [ABF] at Valley E-Free Church in West Des Moines started a new series that we'll be doing for the next several weeks on 2 Peter.

We're taking the name of the series from the following:

"2 Peter 3:18: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. [ESV]"

Join us as we dive into God's holy, inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative soul-filling Word. Pray that we would handle it carefully, and that we as a group might be able to be changed by the power that is in it.

I'll be posting throughout the series some things that pop out...notes from our lessons, and any other things that God in His providence pops into my view:)

Have a great week everyone! More to come [not too much though, I have some large assignments to read:)]

My Heart Faints Within Me: Seeing God's Face

I came accross this in devotions this week... (Right now I'm studying the book of Job)

Job 19:25-27: "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!" (ESV)

I have a question for you if you are a born again Christian. Does the mere thought of seeing God face to face cause your heart to faint within you? You might ask, "what does that mean?" I think it is an excellent descriptor for the following...

Psalm 73:25-26: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

God is the strength of my heart, and yet my heart faints within me when I think of seeing His face.

He has said to me, "Seek My face." My heart says to Him, "Your face, LORD, do I seek." Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! (Psalm 27:8-9)

We see the fulfillment of the outcome of our salvation in the following:

Revelation 22:3-4: "No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."

The human race in Adam hides from God, but in the end His children will see Him face to face. Honestly, this reality causes my heart to faint within me. Let's live today with this in mind! We will see our savior's face!~

In Christ
Noah

Everyone Who Calls on the Name of the Lord will be Saved

Romans 10:5-13

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) or “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

(ESV)

[Emphasis is mine]

No Other Name

Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (ESV)

1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."(ESV)


[This was my first post back in February. I'll post this every once in a while to refocus myself back on the gospel!]

Psalm 5:1-3, 11-12: "Boast in the Cross"

Psalm 5:1-3, 11-12
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David

1-3 "Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch."

11-12 "But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a sheild."

Oh how I love the Psalms!

I have to say something about the "for the flutes." I went to a bunch of "flute choir" concerts and flute recitals when I was in college. Oh man, the flute choir stuff just put me to sleep...seriously! This passage certainly doesn't have that effect on me though!

I love the phrase in the morning you hear my voice. There is a sweetness to that phrase. Also, this phrase spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. Is this not what God has done in His Son! By dying He spread his protection/blood over us, that those who love His name or confess Jesus as LORD may exult or boast in Him. It reminds me of:

1 Corinthians 1:31 "...Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord,"

and

Galatians 6:14, "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

Boast in the cross!

The last phrase in verse 12 For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a sheild is also very encouraging to me. Assurance that our Lord is covering us with favor as a sheild.

I also see Christ's blood as the sheild because He shed it for the people for whom He has favor, not because they have merit, but because He loves them/us!~

Boast in the cross today!

Psalm 4:1, 3-5, and 8: “The LORD has set apart the godly for himself”

Psalm 4:1, 3-5, and 8

Verse 1 – Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

Verse 3 – But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

Verse 4 – Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Verse 5 – Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.

Verse 8 – In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

This is my heart’s desire to the Lord for Lindsey and I, my family, and our ABF. The Lord hears when I and we call to Him! It’s a command to be angry and yet not sin in verse 4.

This next verse stuck out because when we were reading this we were in bed ready to go to sleep, “ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah.” How often have we just pondered on this fact…“know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him,” set your mind on this today, ponder this in your bed and be silent...wow. I know God has called me to be in His family; therefore, the LORD hears when I call to Him. This gives me great comfort!

I want to offer right sacrifices to God in verse 5…but what are right sacrifices to God? Here’s one answer, “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)” so as I am broken and hurting, and this is my sacrifice to God. In my brokenness I am trusting in the Lord. And verse 8 is the expression of my trust, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” I trust that God is my security, not where I work, not a house, not money, not my parents or other relationships, my health…rather God is my only trust, and security!

God is putting these things to the test in Lindsey and my life right now. God is giving us a heavy hand. It is a good thing yet it hurts, but it is also a sweet savor of goodness to know that our only trust is the trust we have in the Lord!

“Lord continue to refine our hearts, we know that for those who love You all things work together for good, for those who are called according to Your purpose (Romans 8:28). Jesus, help us to see the good and help us to enjoy it!”

The LORD has set apart the godly for himself! Therefore, trust Him!

Psalms 2:7-12: Kiss the Son!

Lindsey and I are currently doing devotions on the Psalms...I'll probably post some things that pop out from time to time. The Psalms are rich!

This week Psalm 2:7-12 stood out to me.

"I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begottn you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."

There is a dual meaning in this. The psalmist is talking about God speaking toward him, and yet this is a prophecy of Jesus Christ. "You are my Son; today I have begotten you." These words were written 1000-965 years before Christ's birth (the New Testament fulfillment of this is in Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5; and some translations of Luke 3:22).

It's glorious to think of the phrase David said above. "Kiss the son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled." He knew that unless we embrace the Son that we would truly perish in our sin. God is clearly slow to anger in the rest of the Psalms (Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 145:8) yet His anger can be quickly kindled against us (Deuteronomy 7:4; 11:17; Joshua 23:16) to the point that His wrath is quickly kindled against us, unless we "Kiss the Son." God is slow to anger, and yet when His justice comes it will be sweeping...like at thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2; Matthew 24:36-51). So is anger and wrath work fast in one sense and slow in another, but it works nonetheless.

So embrace the Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and your God. He loved you and died for you (John 3:16). It's amazing that in a way David said John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'," almost 1000 before Christ.

"Kiss the Son!"

What does the leaven/yeast represent? (Mark 8:15)

Leaven is an ingredient (yeast is a kind of leaven) in cooking that is often used to represent an influence of something in our lives spiritually or in general. The leaven causes dough to rise by fermentation (the process by which sugar is converted to carbon dioxide and alcohol...I know too much information:-). Leaven is also an element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten, enliven, or modify a whole (from dictionary.com).

It is usually used as an illustration in regards to either a good influence:

Matthew 13:33: He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

or bad influence

Matthew 16:6 : Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Basically in Mark 8:15 the leaven of Herod and of the Pharisees might be an example of what Quintin was preaching about from Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ,” last Sunday.

A philosophy that takes captive or empty deceit is the opposite of what Colossians 2:7 says, “established in the faith, just as you were taught.” So cling to Christ and faith, which we are taught in the Bible, in order that the leaven of erroneous philosophies, that take captive, and empty deceitfulness won’t rule us.

A few verses come to mind:

Romans 8:15: For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Galatians 4:7 : So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Galatians 5:1: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

In Christ we have a Spirit of adoption as sons of the living God, we are not slaves to sin, Christ has set us free from the slavery of these things. Let us fall in praise of God for His grace given through God the Son, Jesus Christ.

Ask yourself, "What is the leaven in my life?" I pray it's the kingdom of heaven and God's word!

Men's Bible Study on Mark 8

Here are a few questions (from Zach) to think about for the Bible study tonight:

(1) verses 11-13: How does ones faith play in this verse? Where were the hearts of the Pharisees?
(2) verses 14-16: What does the leaven/yeast mean?
(3) verses 17-32: Why would Peter confess that Jesus is Christ in verse 29 and then argue with Jesus’ plan?
(4) verse 33: Does Satan have to be present with you to affect your thinking? Or if you let him into your life, can he affect your focus in life?
(5) verses 34-35 What must take place for somebody to save their life by losing it?

I’ll write a little later regarding (2) What does the leaven/yeast mean, (4) Does Satan have to be present with you to affect your thinking, or if you let him into your life can he affect your focus in life?, and (5) What must take place for somebody to save their life by losing it?

In Christ
Noah

(UPDATE: I didn't have enough time this week to answer question 4 and 5. I tried, but my mind went down too many tangents to bring into a short/cohesive post to put on the blog, if your curious ask me sometime:)

Men’s Bible Study on Mark 7

I took this picture last week in Colorado, after studying this passage a bit it has new meaning to me:) Through Christ Dogs (Gentiles) are welcome in Le Grand Hotel (the kingdom of heaven).

Here’s something to think about in preparation for Mark 7 this week. There are a few difficulties in understanding the following passage. Below I’ve written a summary of William Barclay’s commentary that might shed some light on this a little. It certainly helped me.

Mark 7:24-30
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.
But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.
Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter."
And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. (ESV)

(Pp. 181-182 Barclay, William. 1956. The Gospel of Mark: Daily Study Bible. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Westminster Press.)

Summary of what William Barclay's commentary (on the passage) had to say:

(1) Dog is a derogatory word for non-Jews. (Isaiah 56:11; Matthew 7:6; Philippians 3:2; and Revelation 22:15) (KJV)
(2) Jesus used a diminutive word (affectionate Greek word). Jesus took the sting out of the word (but it was still a derogatory comment).
(3) By using a diminutive word he took a “deadly insult” and made it an affectionate address. (Again, He took the sting out of the word).
(4) People in those days wiped their soiled hands on bread and “flung” the bread away and the house-dogs ate it. Symbolically Jesus (the soiled, disregarded bread) was thrown to the Dogs (Gentiles) from the Jews. In Barclay’s words, “Symbolically she strands for the Gentile world which so eagerly seized on the bread of heaven which the Jews had rejected and thrown away.

What I saw in the passage after reading the commentary

The main thing that I can see from this is that Jesus was in fact using a derogatory address to the woman (not to mention all Gentiles). Even though some of the sting was taken out of the phrase it was still a derogatory comment. This is a description that, no doubt, many Gentiles warranted (and in many respects still do…starting with me). However, the real derogatory descriptor is the way Christ describes Himself. If calling people dogs was an insult; how much more of an insult was it to call Himself the filthy bread that the dogs ate? Our Lord always amazes me how He always brings Himself low, to His glory, so that we might be able to savour Him, the bread of life. Let us meditate on this as another aspect of the Lord’s supper. When we partake of the supper let us think of this: (1) we are dogs and (2) a holy, perfect, beautiful, triune God made His Son the filthy scraps of bread that we might take part in communion with Him. Through this "bread of life" we can enjoy Him, to His glory, for eternity. Hope this helps guys, I know it helped me.

Feel free to share any thoughts or corrections that you might have.