“Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

 Malachi 3:13-15

“Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’” Malachi 3:13-15

I return to my study of the last four books of the Old Testament, having already covered Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and most of Malachi.  My study leans on the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series volume which covers these books. This morning I start a focus on a commentary-assisted review of Malachi 3:13-18. The commentary for this text provides two divisions as well as a main idea, an introduction and conclusion - today I focus on the main idea, introduction and the first division.

Excerpts from the commentary's main introduction and for the text's first division:

• Main Idea: "God’s commitment to His covenant demands a response from His people, and those who fear God are set apart as His treasured possession."
  
• Introduction - The Fear of God: Believers are reminded that God's promises always come true and these promises equip us to weather all trials and suffering.  We are also reminded that we belong to God, are sealed by Him with our salvation and this is the core promise to which we should remain anchored. We are referred to Luke 24:36 where after his death and resurrection Jesus appears to His disciples sharing "peace to you" encouraging the disciples (and us) to be free from fear and anxiety. We are commanded to live in reverent fear of God - this should be out of respect of who He is and how He reigns over all - we should certainly be obedient to Him.  This reverent fear should not however, drive us to be afraid of God Himself as He encourages us to approach Him confidently (Hebrews 4:16), knowing He wants us to be in relationship with Him.  
  
• The Wicked Respond in a Spirit of Legalism, Expecting Reward for Obedience (3:13-15): God sees a heart problem with His people and the commentary describes how God sees those who are following Him, and those who have wandered from Him.  V13 shares how those who have wandered see obedience as "vain" or useless.  However, God sees through this because their obedience was not a result of reverent fear of God but instead out of a feeling of obligation, and expecting something in return.  We should all remind ourselves that we deserve death for our sin (Romans 3:23, 6:23).  God wants us to treasure and love Him above all and it is out of this love where we week to please Him through our obedience.  Our heart condition and our motives are most important.  See Romans 12:1 where God does not want us to go through the motions, but He wants all of our lives to reflect a love and worship of Him. The commentary then defines both license and legalism - both of which reflect an inaccurate understanding of what God seeks from us. "License is the idea that, since we’ve been saved by grace through Christ, we are free in the Spirit to do as we please and indulge whatever we want, even if it opens the door for sin. These individuals see the promise of God’s forgiveness as justification to do whatever they want. The law seems useless....On the opposite swing of the pendulum from license is legalism—putting fences around the law to protect yourself from breaking it."  The commentary points us to scripture that warns us about both license and legalism: see Matthew 23:23-24, 5:17 then shares that "[t]he people of Israel in Malachi’s day did not understand this, and therefore they saw the law as burdensome."  We are encouraged to know God as deeply as we can (through spiritual disciplines) and as we deepen our knowledge of God we grow in relationship with Him and seek more and more to become more like Him, submitting our lives to Him.  This of course prevents us from wandering.   
  

Comment and discuss this post. 

My Prayer: Father God, what an incredible God You are that You free us from the law, give us Your Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Your Word so that we can know You, love You, and please You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings....my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me turn from such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Matthew 6:9

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 6:9

I continue my study of The Character of Jesus.  For this morning, I focus on chapter 24: The Reverence of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:

• "No analysis of the character of Jesus would be complete which failed to recognize his reverence."
• "We know what reverence is, and yet we stumble in trying to define it. It is respect, regard, esteem, and honor; yes, and it is more than these....The basis of reverence is respect or honor, but it is respect or honor working with unwonted energy. It is a deep movement of the soul. It is respect or honor squared and cubed. And then again there is an elevation in the word "reverence" which respect and esteem do not have. Reverence is respect and esteem moving at high altitudes. It is one of the loftiest of all the emotions of the soul, and that is why it eludes us when we try to capture it in the meshes of a definition. What is it ? It is homage and obeisance and devotion, yes, and something more. It is awe and fear and adoration; yes, but even these do not tell the full-rounded story. The fact is, reverence is a complex emotion, made up of mingled feelings of the soul. There is in it respect and also affection and also fear, and along with these an abiding consciousness of dependence."
• "The wise men of Israel were convinced that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Their effort was to make men conscious of the existence of a God of infinite power and wisdom and goodness. He was the High and Holy One who inhabits eternity, and is therefore not to be approached carelessly or thought of lightly."
• "God is majestic and holy and can be approached only by a humble and prostrate heart."
• "This fear of the Lord was mighty in Jesus. God was continually before his eyes. His soul was pervaded with the sense of His presence, and all that he said and did was bathed in an atmosphere created by this consciousness of the fellowship and favor of the Eternal. To illustrate this is not easy. Jesus' entire life is an illustration of it."
• "No matter what Jesus is saying or doing, we feel we are in the presence of a reverential man. Would you see illustrations of his reverence, read the Gospels! The earnestness with which he was always pleading for reverence in others is proof that in him reverence was a divine and indispensable possession."
• "Probably no other words in the Lord's prayer have been so frequently slurred and overlooked as "hallowed be thy name."
• "Jesus is careful to place this petition at the very forefront of all our praying. Unless this desire is uppermost in our heart we are not in the mood of prayer. If our first thought is of ourselves and not of God, then we are not praying after the fashion of Jesus. When he tells us to put this petition first it is because he always put it first himself. Any low or unworthy thought of God was to Jesus' mind abhorrent and degrading. Living always with an eye single to the glory of God, he urged men everywhere so to speak and act and live that others seeing their good works might glorify their Father in heaven."
• "His respect for men was due not to what men were in themselves but to what they were in the eyes of God. They were God's children and therefore no matter how poor or degraded, they were worthy of respect and honor. Any cruelty in word or inhumanity in action toward a human being caused the heart of Jesus to flash fire, because such treatment of God's children was in his mind an insult to God Himself."
• "His reverence for his Father made the whole world holy, and because of his adoration for the Creator he could not turn his back upon any created being. "Honor all men" was one of the earliest exhortations of the apostles. It had its roots running down into Jesus' immeasurable reverence for God."
• "[The temple] was the house of God. It was erected for God's worship. It was a shrine for the adoring heart. It was intended to be a solace for men's woes and troubles, the very gate of Heaven....Jesus believed in the worship of God....So long as the spirit of reverence lives the worship is meaningful and beautiful; but when the spirit disappears, then the worship becomes demoralizing and corrupting. The worship of the Pharisees had lost out of it the spirit of adoration. It was cut and dried, dead, mechanical, without a heart and without a soul, and therefore odious to God and all right-thinking men."
• "Reverence is beautiful and renders beautiful whatever form it chooses in which to express itself; but when reverence dies, then the forms of reverence become corpse-like and contaminate all who handle them."
• "The soul of Jesus was reverent. He found it easy to bend the knee. It was natural for him to look up. He looked into his Father's face, saying at every step, "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God!" Here, then, we have a virtue upon whose beauty we should often fix our eyes. We do not have as much reverence as we ought to have. We are not by nature or by training a reverent people. There are those who say we become less reverent as the years go on."
• "One finds this lack of reverence even in the church. In every community there are those who treat the house of God as they treat a street-car, entering it and leaving it when they please. Even habitual church attendants often surprise and shock one by their irreverent behavior in the house of prayer. Those persons are not ignoramuses or barbarians; they are simply undeveloped in the virtue of reverence."
• "Fear is one of the elements in reverence, and there is a popular impression that all fear is degrading. Fear is of two kinds, — there is a godly fear and a fear which is ungodly. The latter has terror in it and throws a shadow and brings a chill. But there is a fear which all unspoiled spirits feel in the presence of the high and holy."
• "If mortal man, stained and marred by sin, is not awed by the thought of a Holy God, it is because he has lost the power of feeling. If there is a fear which degrades and paralyzes, there is also a fear which cleanses and exalts. The fear of the Lord is not only a virtue to be coveted by men, it is a grace lacking which angels and archangels would be incomplete."
• "Reverence is the atmosphere of heaven. Let us come often then to the reverent Man of Nazareth who by his awe-struck obeisance to his Heavenly Father shames us out of our irreverence and makes it easier for the heart to kneel."

Indeed, the more one takes the time to read and earnestly study the Bible - not for academic purposes - but to search for Him and to hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6), there is no doubt that reverence for Him is the result.  The weeping prophet Jeremiah - speaking to disillusioned Israel in exile - delivers God's message sharing in Jeremiah 29:13 that "[y]ou will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." When you find God, You will inevitably drop to Your knees in worship in awe of Your creator, provider, and Savior.  Seek God.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are King of Kings and You do not need me.  Yet You loved me while still sinning and an enemy of You and You pulled me out of the pit, saving me from eternal damnation.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor any blessing You pour out for me.  My sin is great and it continues...every day.  Please forgive me.  Help me turn from, overcome, and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me live in reverent fear and awe of who You are.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.   

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

 ²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For,

   “All people are like grass,
   and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
 

 ²⁵ but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

   And this is the word that was preached to you.

In the New Testament, you don't read much about a God that is full of wrath but the truth is that we should still fear God.  As Peter writes here, God:

- judges each person's work impartially
- is mightier than all forces in live, including death

For these reasons - and of course other reasons - we are to, as Peter implores us, to fear God, and in so doing, live a life accordingly.  In other words, live a life that it is clear we are for God.   It should be so apparent that we appear as "foreigners".

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are mightier than all and I have seen Your might and ways work in my life and I am in awe.  I confess also that I need You in my life desperately because I am so full of sin, including laziness, unwholesome thoughts, and disobedience.  Thank You for all that You have done for me as I don't deserve it - please forgive me for my sin today and please rid me of my sin.  Purify and transform my heart and my life and help me live with reverent fear of You and in so doing live a life that it is clear I am not of this world but for You - Jesus Christ.

I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

Deuteronomy 32

I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. v3-4

As a follow up to yesterday's post, in Deuteronomy, Moses writes a song that chronicles the story of the Israelites as the Lord led them out of Egypt to the Promised Land and as the Israelites turned from the Lord on so many occassions.  

We must worship the one and only true God - for He holds us and everything else in His hands.  We should live in reverent fear of God.

See now that I myself am he!
    There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
    I have wounded and I will heal,
    and no one can deliver out of my hand.

I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear:
    As surely as I live forever,
when I sharpen my flashing sword
    and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
    and repay those who hate me.
I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
    while my sword devours flesh:
the blood of the slain and the captives,
    the heads of the enemy leaders.” v39-42

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.  1 Peter 1:17

Lord Jesus, please help me respect who You are and live my time in reverent fear and help me worship only You.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what a great God You are - creator of the heavens and earth and everything in them.  You hold the world in Your hands - yet because You loved me You came for me as a child, as a man, then suffered and died for me...even though You lived a perfect life.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love.  I fail to be all who You intend for me.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. v17

God is just...and His justice is perfect.

He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. Psalm 9:8

 

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Luke 8:17

 

"For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done." Matthew 16:27

 

As such, we should live our time on earth with reverent fear.  We are not citizens of earth so we should respect the host - our God the Father.  And we should respect our God the Father because our bodies are not our own...we live for the glory of God.  We have a God who is perfect in all ways, is all powerful, and all knowing.  He is Lord of Lords and He reigns over all.  He demands our love and is worthy of it.  He knows everything about us yet chose to adopt us, and suffer and die for us.  

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, no doubt You are a great God worthy of my praise, worship, love, and obedience.  Thank You for being my God.  You have done everything for me yet I know I am undeserving.  I am selfish, lazy, and I worry.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.

Psalms 2

Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. v11

We must acknowledge that God reigns (Colossians 1:16-17) and that we exist to glorify Him.  That should drive us to live in reverent fear of God - again not as an angry God but as a God who is slow to anger and abounding in love, and who is in control. 

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 1 Peter 1:17

Those who do not believe that Jesus is their Lord and Savior may see Jesus as either irrelevant or as in the way of serving our own interests.  Yet for me, I know that God loves me and that I find joy and freedom in serving the Lord for I know that is why exist.  

See also posts here on freedom.

In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. 1 John 5:4-5

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You reign with love.  Thank You Jesus - for all that You are and all that You do....that You are slow to anger and abounding in love.  That You give me life to the full.  I am not worth such blessings.  I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Please give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”

2 Kings 1

So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!” v13-14

Now that Ahab had died (just as prophesied), his son Ahaziah becomes King.  Ahaziah did evil, led Israel into evil, and worshiped Baal, just as his father did (1 Kings 22:52-53).   Ahaziah injures himself and desires to seek Baal's input (via messengers) whether he will recover from this injury. But the angel of the Lord directs Elijah to meet these messenger to deliver a stern warning to Ahaziah:


"Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” v3-4


Ahaziah seeks to capture (and likely kill) Elijah so he sends his men after Elijah.  However, God protects Elijah and each time men are sent after him "the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed" Ahaziah's men (v10, 12).

The third time this happens Ahaziah's men show display fear and beg to Elijah that they not be consumed as well.

We don't know what happened to these men but we can learn from them. 

We ought to demonstrate reverent fear of God.  We don't get what we deserve (Romans 6:23), yet we get what we don't deserve (Jesus came to rescue us while still sinners - Romans 5:8).

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.  1 Peter 1:17

 

My Prayer: Heavenly Father - Jesus, You are an awesome God who has created all things, is in all things, and is in control.  You know everything about my sin, yet You came to rescue me anyway, willingly laying down Your life for me.  Thank You Jesus.  I am not worth such love.  I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.”

Numbers 17:1-13

And the LORD said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” Numbers 17:10

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 17:1-13 - we see God's instructions to Moses to give to the people to settle the matter of Aaron's priesthood.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God clearly communicates through both symbols and actions His message.  In this case, He uses the symbol of staffs or rods which in the Old Testament represented authority and power.  V5 is where the LORD shares "the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout," and from that point forward the people will cease their grumbling against authority from Aaron.  Vv8 and 10 make it clear that because Aaron's staff sprouted, it will be preserved as a sign to end further rebellions.    
• What do we learn from the text about people?: Such a sign or any physical sign from God should cause one to be in reverent fear of God's power, as we should acknowledge that the entire universe is controlled by Him (Colossians 1:16-17), including all authorities.  Thus it is not surprising to see the people's reaction in vv12-13 of fear - yet it is unclear at this point that this causes repentant fear.  Repentant fear is what God seeks, and John Piper refers to this as "fear as preservative" such that we fear angering or disappointing God, so we avoid sin.   
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid rebellion against God's appointed leaders, including both church leaders and civil authorities. Claim the promise that God reigns over all details including authority He places above us.  Follow the example of Christ who rendered to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's (see also Romans 13:1-7).  Submit to God's appointed leaders. 

Comment and discuss this post

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that works in all things for good - including leaders in my church and civil authorities.  Thank You for how Your design is perfect.  I am not deserving of how You work and bless me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Proverbs 1

 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Acts 9:31

As part of my D-Group's study of Proverbs using the Knowing the Bible study series for this book, I continue with an examination of Proverbs 1:1-7 for week 2 - we meet tomorrow night and I wrap my review of week 2 today, focusing on Proverbs 1:7 where it says "fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."  My study defines fear of the Lord as "reverent awe and healthy fear of God's displeasure and discipline."  Believers should all know and understand that we exist to glorify God and we certainly don't do that when we displease and disappoint God.  Once we accept God as our Lord and Savior we set our hearts upon Him and develop a "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matthew 5:6) such that we spend time in Bible study (emphasizing rigor) and prayer daily.  The more we get to know God the more our sanctification process should drive us to please and glorify (vs disappoint and dishonor). A quick examination of "fear of the Lord" in the Bible reveals that this phrase appears 27 times in the Bible, including:

• 2 Chronicles (14:14, 17:10, 19:7, 19:9)
• Job 28:28
• Psalms (19:9, 34:11, 111:10)
• Proverbs (1:7, 1:29, 2:5, 8:13, 9:10, 10:27, 14:26-27, 15:16, 15:33, 19:23, 22:4, 23:17)
• Isaiah (11:2-3, 33:6)
  
• Acts 9:31
• 2 Corinthians 5:11

Acts 9:31 describes collective or "corporate" fear on the part of the church and how the early church grew as a result of such fear. Walking in the fear of the Lord implies how the church worked together to please God and avoid displeasing Him.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and worthy of praise, honor and glory - and You bless me...greatly, including my salvation - tshe greatest gift of all time.  I am not deserving of such blessings and gift.  My sin is great and it continues...please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message to me today and every day. 

 

Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.

Psalm 39

Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. v5

We are reminded this morning that God is in control, that our earthly security is a mere phantom, that every new day is a gift of grace from God (and we are not deserving of such a gift) and that we must live life with the end in mind.

David expands and clarifies this further:

Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be. v6 

In light of God's dominion over our life, Peter admonishes us to live a life of reverent fear:

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.  1 Peter 1:17

Living today with intention will provide us with hope for a secure future in Heaven: 

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.   

Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. 

 All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. Micah 4:1-5

My Prayer: Lord, You are our hope....our only hope.  We live on earth as foreigners assaulted from all sides...but You protect us and You rescue us...and through faith in You we receive not just forgiveness from sins but eternity in heaven - our true home.  What a great God You are!  Thank You for such gifts Jesus but I am not worth (Matthew 5:3) such a God and I am completely dependent on You.  Forgive me for my many sins of impatience, anger, etc.  Help me overcome and turn from such sins towards You and help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo and radiation. Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. v17

Three key points that I see here:
1. God WILL judge us
2. Our home is not an earthly one but in Heaven
3. We should live with the end in mind, knowing that God will judge us and we should be prepared

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a righteous judge, treating us fairly and often mercifully when we don't get what we deserve as we know the wages of sin is death.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such mercy as I am often lazy and passive in light what You ask me to do...please forgive me Jesus and help me turn from such sin and towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Help me live with the end in mind.  Give me strength. Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

Mark 9:1-13

And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” Mark 9:7

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on an unassisted review of Mark 9:1-13, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: Jesus is patient with Peter, James, and John, even dealing with their peculiarities (v6) as they - as do all the disciples - struggle to comprehend who Jesus is.  Jesus here - via special revelation - reveals more about Himself to three of the disciples.  Each have a special place in the Bible and church history and God seeks to build them up as leaders of His church by equipping them with what they need to know about Him and giving them confidence and encouragement to perform their roles. Peter will be the foundation of the church (as well as Paul).  Click here and here for how God selected James and John (together with Peter) and for how He equipped them.  The Transfiguration highlights one of Jesus' attributes as Holy and perfect - v3.
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Our experiences of Jesus often terrify us (v6) - by witnessing His awesome power.  We should live in reverent fear of who God is, and this should drive us into Jesus' arms.  See this post from John Piper who refers to this reverent fear as a "preservative" that keeps us close to Him and prevents us from falling away. 
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We must listen to Jesus - see v7. We must also suffer as Jesus shares He will (and does) - vv12-13.  Paul comforts us by sharing that to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). We are to become Holy because He is holy (see also text here).   

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, thank You for revealing Yourself to me through Your Word, creation, etc.  I am not deserving of how You save and reveal Yourself to me - softening my heart to be saved. Thank You Jesus. But I am not deserving of how You save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me turn from and overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

Nahum 1

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. v7-8

We must live in reverent fear of the Lord.  God is in control (Colossians 1:17), He is all powerful (Matthew 19:26) and all knowing (Hebrews 4:12-13).  We must accept Him as our Lord and Savior and obey Him and His commandments (Exodus 20, Matthew 22:37-40), otherwise we face eternal damnation...this is truth.

What does it mean to live in reverent fear of the Lord.  For starters, we must love Him, worship Him and come to Him daily.  We must also serve Him, His church and others.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God worthy of my love, my worship and my full attention.  You freely give Yourself away to me and You have blessed me beyond what I deserve - all that You ask for is a relationship with me. I am thankful for all the ways that You bless me...and it is impossible for me to fully recognize all that You do for me...all I know is that I am blessed beyond what I deserve...thank You Jesus.  Yet again I am not deserving...I am too easily distracted.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?

Genesis 37

When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now? v29-30

Reuben, perhaps because he was the oldest of Jacob's sons and possessed a level of maturity his other sons did not have, sought to avoid harsh treatment of Joseph.  Yet he was not able to stop what his other brothers wanted to do - to get rid of Joseph.  For sure this was sinful and even though he was not present when it happened, Reuben had a hand in Joseph being sold into slavery.

As well, the Macarthur Bible Commentary suggests that Jacob may have been punished now for sins committed earlier in his life - such as his trickery of his father and brother.

Regardless if this is indeed that case - there is no doubt that we are to live in reverent fear of God.  

He knows all - that nothing is hidden from Him.  We may believe that we can "get away" with sins but we pay a price one way or another.  Our belief that we can get away with sin is playing with fire.  Avoid sin...period!

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 1 Peter 1:17

See also posts here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who knows and sees all....including all of my sin.  You are full of grace, compassion, and patience.  Thank You Jesus.  I am not worth such love.  I am not You intend me to be.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

Numbers 4:16-20

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” Numbers 4:17-20

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today 4:16-20, where the Lord gives Moses and Aaron instructions for Eleazar to be in charge of the tabernacle and all that is in it, and guidance for treatment of the Kohathites in their role.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: Yes God is holy.  There should be no doubt about this.  The text today implies that there should be reverence for God - He is the Name Above Every Name and we should not take His name in vain (see also Exodus 20:7 from the 10 Commandments and this sermon) and we should certainly follow His instructions.  But once again, specifically and explicitly in the text today we are referring to ceremonial law and roles in this context.  The New Covenant based on Jesus' shed blood does away with the ceremonial law and while we should have reverent fear of God (see this post about fear as preservative), we should not fear approaching God is He is our personal Lord and Savior.  God loves us, wants to spend time with us, reveal Himself to us, etc.  He wants us to bring our cares and concerns to Him.  Hebrews 4:14-16 is key. 
• What do we learn from the text about people?: Each of us have a role to play in the mission He lays before us as individuals, the local church, and the global church.  Obedience to His mission is not burdensome as described in v19 - see also 1 John 5:3.
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid carelessly approaching God or misusing His name.  Claim the promise that we can approach God in confidence.  Follow the example of Jesus who did not see obedience to the Father as burdensome.  Fear God (as a preservative) because He is holy.  

Comment and discuss this post

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome Holy God that is approachable and accessible - You save!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love and save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

Psalm 51

The focus of this Psalm is David's repentance following his sin with Bathsheba.  Relevant for me right now is David's desire for a "pure heart" and to "renew a steadfast spirit".  Additionally verse 12 speaks to me.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 

I continue to have a troublesome attitude about working wholeheartedly as Peter exhorts us to:

¹⁸ Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.  (1 Peter 2:18).

Paul also echoes this same instruction:

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. (Ephesians 6:5-8)

My Prayer: Lord, Only You are pure and holy - for this and so much more You are worthy of my love, worship, and obedience.  Yet I continue to fail.  I know You love me and You have blessed me (and continue to) so thank so much as I am undeserving.  I come to You now as David has done to seek a pure heart and a renewed spirit - restore to me "the joy of Your salvation".  Please help me Lord so that I can obey my earthly masters as both Paul and Peter exhort me to.

  

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. v13-14

As Solomon concludes the book of Ecclesiastes, he leaves his son with two very important takeaways - to love and follow God, and to recognize that God will hold ALL of us to account for our lives.  We must admit that we all sin and need a Savior, and that Jesus Christ is that Savior.  We must also cultivate a personal and daily relationship with Jesus.  As we cultivate this relationship with Jesus, we are transformed by the renewing of the mind as Christ molds our hearts and lives to be His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5).  

We must live in reverent fear of God as well for He reigns and we will all face Jesus and be held to account.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has created knowledge and wisdom which has been used to serve others in so many positive ways - and Your Word and the study of Your Word has encouraged me and given me life...to the full!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and blessing...I stress and worry far too much.  Please forgive me.  Help shed me of such sin and help me turn from it and towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

Mark 6:14-29

Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. Mark 6:20

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on an unassisted review of Mark 6:14-29, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: God allows evil and sin in the world - albeit temporarily.  God will defeat Satan, evil and sin during the final days as written in the book of Revelation - no one knows the day or hour but we can take comfort that the victory is already assured. In the same way, we see people "carried away" by their sin as God allows sin to overcome and condemn them (see James 1:14-15).  Only God hardens - preventing salvation - and softens hearts - enabling salvation.  We see that God was softening the heart of Herod.  Although Herod ultimately has John the Baptist killed, Herod did fear God and God is worthy of our fear - reverent fear. 
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: People's passions and temptations for sin, as driven by Satan are strong and we must be able to recognize them before "giving way" to them as Herod allowed the influence of Herodias and her grudge against John the Baptist to play a role in his death (see v26 where Herod was exceedingly sorry but nonetheless at least somewhat beholden to someone else's sin).  Beware of these kinds of influences on your own life!  Satan is on the prowl - 1 Peter 5:8.    
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We should avoid sinful influences and becoming comfortable around such influences - as previously indicated they can drag us away into sin and eternal condemnation.  We should follow John's the Baptist's obedience to continue to share the Word and to repent - although of course this means death or some other harsh earthly consequence.  We can rest in how God saves.      

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are an awesome God who loves and who is full of incredible grace and compassion.  Thank You for softening my heart and saving me.  I am not deserving of my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

1 Peter 2

³ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ¹⁵ For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. ¹⁷ Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

¹⁸ Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹ For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰ But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

There is a good amount to "chew" on here but one key area where I know I need further refinement is in the area of respect, specifically with regard to "taming my tongue":

⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. James 3:6

Whether it  be my family, my workplace, my church, etc., I ask God to further refine me in the area of taming my tongue - to be less harsh and more encouraging and respectful.


My Prayer: Lord, You are love and Your words for me are FULL of love and respect.  On the contrary my words are often harsh and disrespectful.  I know You have cleansed me of my sin and You have blessed me beyond what I deserve - for this I am thankful.  Today Lord I ask that You please forgive me for the harshness of my tongue.  Please help me tame my tongue and to be respectful to everyone.

“Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”

Jeremiah 43

“Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.” v19-22

Just as Jeremiah prophesied, Babylonia sacked Jerusalem, took King Zedekiah captive (Jeremiah 39), left a remnant behind in Judah: "some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields" (Jeremiah 39:10).

In chapters 40-42, we see fear in the eyes of the remnant as Ishmael son of Nethaniah kills Gedaliah, the appointed governor over Judah.  Many begin to flee Judah to Egypt (Jeremiah 41) and in chapter 42 we see Jeremiah deliver a message from the Lord warning the remnant not to flee to Egypt.  This warning goes from verse 7-22.

In chapter 43 we see Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah accuse Jeremiah of lying to them regarding the Lord's message (see v1-7) and in direct disobedience to God lead the remnant to Egypt.

The question in my mind is when fear strikes do we trust in the Lord or in man?  

For the leaders of the remnant here it seems a bit more clear cut in that Jeremiah was clear in his words from the Lord that going to Egypt was a bad idea - and Jeremiah has a track record of being on the up and up.   

For the rest of us, we must a reverent fear of God.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who leads me when times are good and when times are bad - thank You for carrying me through valleys of darkness.  You are truly a great God.  Yet I am undeserving of such love.  I often fall down in my faith and trust in myself, others or in idols.  Please forgive me Jesus!  Help me overcome and turn from my faith.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Please help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to accept Jesus as their Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.