#"What is the test of a prophet in Deuteronomy 18?"

[mindfulldsliving]

Does Joseph Smith Pass the Test of a Prophet? Understanding Deuteronomy 18:20-22 and Defending Prophecy

NOTE TO READERS: This post was an original response to a DVD titled: “The Bible vs. Joseph Smith” produced by Exploration Films and heavily promoted in 2010. AI was utilized in order to correct grammar, improve sentence structure, and present an updated version of the original content. What makes a true prophet? Critics often point to Deuteronomy 18:20-22, claiming Joseph Smith fails its test.…

[queertheology]

Building A Bible-Based Faith (that isn’t terrible!)

“Test everything; hold fast what is good.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:21

When I first started to realize that I was attracted to guys, a tiny crack appeared in my faith: how could a loving God knit me together in my mother’s womb then give me these desires for love, intimacy, and family with no righteous outlet to express them?

I’d been told that “homosexuality” was sinful, but I was never quite sure why. I needed to be sure, so I turned to the Bible. That was terrifying. Who was I to question what my church leaders acted like was common knowledge? And then I stumbled upon 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and I realized that questioning my beliefs wasn’t heresy, it was Biblical!

It took me YEARS to sort out that being LGBTQ was not only “ok” but an important part of the diversity of God’s creation. (If you want a peak at what I learned during the process, check this out)

Now that I know it’s ok to be queer — despite what some religious leaders say — I asked myself: what else were they wrong about?

Figuring out I was queer was an invitation to question my faith and to take a fresh look at “what the Bible” says about so many things.

Thank God I’m queer, because I have discovered in the Bible — and the community, experience, expertise, and traditions of Christians across millennia — a faith that is liberating and life-giving… and so much more alive than the evangelical faith of my childhood.

Conservatives talk a lot about being “Bible-believing” or having a “Bible-based” faith.

Too often that’s code for “My interpretation of Christianity is right and everyone who doesn’t measure up is sinful and going to hell.”

While I think it’s entirely possible to be an upstanding, moral person without ever turning to the Bible (or even believing in God!), I’m not ready to let go of this sacred text.

When I look at the Bible, here’s what I see.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. – Luke 4:18-19

Jesus begins his public ministry by quoting from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2, to be specific).

In doing so, he roots his ministry in his Jewish faith and, more specifically, in the Hebrew prophets.

If you’ve asked “What did Jesus come to do?” or “Why did God send Jesus?” … well Jesus answers that question himself in Luke:

to bring good news to poor people

to set prisoners free

to give sight to the blind

to liberate the oppressed

and to usher in God’s abundance

But Jesus doesn’t want to go at it alone. He begins calling disciples to join him in his ministry. Jesus isn’t looking for converts, though.

“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19)

He’s looking for doers to join him in the work of his ministry. And what is that ministry?

Throughout the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, we get a look at God’s priorities. When I look at the ministry of Jesus, I don’t see a departure from the Hebrew scriptures, I see a continuation of them.

In the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, there are 2,350 verses about money, 300 about social justice and the poor, and even 24 about immigration.

But it’s not really about plucking verses out of context or tallying up the number of verses about this subject vs that subject. To take the Bible seriously and faithfully, you need to know what to do with it. What are the central themes and what are the exceptions? What are commandments and what might be examples of humans messing up, despite their best intentions? What taps into the divine and what is just a reflection of a time-bound, cultural norm?

In Deuteronomy,

I have set life and death, blessing and curse before you. Now choose life.

In Amos,

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

In Luke, when asked what one must do to gain eternal life, Jesus shared a story that ended with the Samaritan taking care of the injured man and paying for his healthcare … “Go and do likewise” was Jesus’s answer.

In John,

I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.

In Acts,

All the believers were united and shared everything. …There were no needy persons among them

There’s a whole lot in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures: letters, commandments, poems, stories, parables, and even some visions.

What are we to make of all of these?

Genesis 1 ends with, “God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good” and Revelation ends with “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.” When you look at Scripture — from Genesis to Revelation — what you see is that God calls us to be faithful by loving ourselves and taking care of each other.

Jesus seems to agree. In Matthew 22, he says,

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.

If you aren’t drawing yourself and others closer to God, if you aren’t filled with love for God, for yourself, and for others, you’re not following Jesus’s commands.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 that “by their fruits you will recognize” whether a religious teaching is true or not.

The fruits of anti-LGBTQ theology reveal its falseness: depression, despair, suicide, fractured families, loss of faith, bullying, harassment. The fruits of affirming theology testify to its rightness: a return to faith, a healing of relationships, and a vibrance and resurgence in church life.

But it’s not just about being “LGBTQ affirming” or not.

Does your theology put you at odds with your mind, soul, heart, or body? Does your theology sow division in your family, community, nation, or world? Does your theology excuse or encourage violence? Does your theology exacerbate your mental health problems?

Or does it lead you to life and joy? Does it comfort you? Does it give you hope? Does it lead you to treat others well?

Judge your theology by its fruits.

How to figure out an integrated, Bible-based faith that is life-giving

It took me studying religion in college, being trained by religious and civil rights leaders, engaging in full-time activism across the country for months, reading and studying countless books by pastors, scholars, theologians, and activists; and studying under mentors. It took Fr. Shay going to seminary, continuing his education for a decade, working in churches for equally long, and pursuing independent study.

But it shouldn’t require that much of an investment just to read the Bible well and put it into practice. That’s why we are distilling all of our expertise and experience down into a 4-week course on how to read the Bible: Journey into the Bible. It starts on September 15. You can learn more and register here.

[dalyunministry]

Word Ministrarion

Topic: The test of God

By. Bro. Paul Moses Vincent

🔰

Greeting to you all in the precious name if our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

This is your brother Paul Moses Vincent for today's meditation of God's word to be shared for all of us.

I thank God for this opportunity given to me, an unworthy man. But I humble before the Almighty for enabling me to stand for His word.

May the Almighty fill us with His spirit while we meditate upon His word.

Before we go deep into the word of God, let's have a word of prayer for God's guidance.

Almighty God our wonderful Father, we thank you for this another day added in our lives. Lord, as we meditate upon your word, fill us with your Holy Spirit to understand it as you want us to, and not according to our own understanding. Guide us through your word so that when we come across such trials / troubled situations, we'd not escape but stick on to you and hold on to till our breath with a hope if eternity. Make us strong through your word which you are going to speak to us now. May I be used as your tool that brings glory and honour unto your Holy name! I ask this prayer in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

¶ Our today's topic for meditation is THE TEST OF GOD.

We all know that God's test is a spiritual assessment. God wants to test His children to see whether they stand strong while they confront spiritual challenges and sometimes our spirituality is tested through our physical sufferings. We all need to check ourselves whether we stand worthy to be tested. Our job as His children is to stand firm in our learned FAITH till the end of our lives and glorify God.

• Let's see whom God tests.

The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.Psalm 11:5. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. - Timothy 3:12. This makes it very clear that God doesn't test eveyone as we think. When we see Job's life, we see God giving a testimony of Job that He was a righteous man. Let's turn to the Book of Job chapter one beginning from verse one. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was PERFECT and UPRIGHT (Righteous), and one tha feared God and eschewed evil.

Verse 8 is where we find God giving witness about this pious man, Job. The LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that THERE IS NONE LIKE HIM IN THE EARTH, A PERFECT AND AN UPRIGHT MAN, ONE THAT FEARETH GOD AND ESCHEWTH EVIL? We find Satan challenging God about Job that he would curse God unto His face if God remove the hedge of protection on Job. God agreed to Satan's challenge saying, 'Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Verse 12.

• Now, we may be left with a question why God should put righteous people to test. OR Why does God allow this testing in a righteous man's life?

We have an answer from Bible. Let's turn to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5 and verse 10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. In Deuteronomy 13:3 we find further clarfication and also in a few following scriptures. Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Peter 1:7 - That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Job 23:10 - But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

• Do we have a desire to become like such precious gold which God wants to?

Then God knows that we should be put to test so that we can shine like His servant like Job. We also need to submit ourselves to God's test. God also wants to test us to see whether we love Him from within our hearts or not throughout our lives. Also, God wants to see we if are obedient. Or else, whether we learn obedience and exercise it with complete submission to God. Let's find the example of Jesus Christ as found in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 8 - 'Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;'

God has a different purpose too. Because He loves us, he chastens us. Chastisement is also TESTING itself. Hebrew chapter 12 verse 6 to 8 - vs.6. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Vs. 7. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Vs. 8. But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

• Are we God's sons / children, then we endure whatever sufferings we go through and glorify God by being humble all through those sufferings?. How should we confront such test of sufferings?

James 1:2-4 - Vs. 2. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Vs. 3. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. Vs. 4. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

• What will be the benefit of bearing with or enduring such sufferings or tests?

Timothy 2:12 - If we suffer, we shall also reign with him:

If we don't endure such sufferings?

The same scripture - Timothy 2:12 - '...if we deny him, he also will deny us:' Again, if we consider the question why we are tested, we get a response from Paul's quote. Corinthians 12:7-10. Vs. 7. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. Vs. 8. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. Vs. 9. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Vs. 10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. Romans 5:3-4 - Vs. 3. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Vs. 4. And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

• What kind of testing or sufferings may the righteous go through?

It can be from anything to anything like even death. Job 13:15 - Though he slay (kill) me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. This doesn't mean that God so cruel that He would want to kill His children whom He Himself created. We already know that God called Abraham to offer His son. But when Abraham lifted his hand to offer his son, God sent His Angel to stop Abhraham from killing Isaac. But Christian sufferings can be very horrible. They can be more than what we can imagine. Vs. 35 - Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were TORTURED, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: Vs. 36 - And others had trial of CRUEL MOCKINGS and SCOURGINGS , yea, moreover of BONDS and IMPRISONMENT: Vs. 37 - They were STONED, they were SAWN ASUNDER (very horrible), were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; Vs. 38 - (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

• How should we guard ourselves at the time of these trials, tests or temptations especially those which are from the enemy, Satan?

Ephesians 6:10-18 - Vs. 10 - Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Vs. 11 - Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Vs. 12 - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Vs. 13 - Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Vs. 14 - Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Vs. 15 - And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Vs. 16 - Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Vs. 17 - And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Vs. 18 - Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; - Ephesians 6:10-18.

• What should we avoid doing while experiencing these sufferings?

Corinthians 10:10 - Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Accordingly, let us not grumble when we have to suffer because we fall short of the glory God set for us if endure suffering. But, if we start grumbling, we will be destroyed.

• Why should we not grumble/complain while going through sufferings?

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Corinthians 10:13. God knows how much we can bear or endure. Only to that extent we will be tested. He will not test us beyond our capacity. Corinthians 4:16-18 - Vs. 16 - For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Vs. 17 - For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Vs. 18 - While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. Corinthians 15:58 - Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

So, finally what do you think and ideal man of God asks God for? He desires/wants God to test him. Psalm 139:23-24 - Vs. 23 - Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: Vs. 24 - And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

• What is the promise of CHRIST JESUS for those who endure suffering? How is a man who suffers benefitting?

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. What a glory! When we endure suffering, we are trained to help others also to learn patience and obtain glory at the end. Now that we have observed what testing of God is and who is tested and how each has to undergo God-given test, let us seek God's guidance to undergo all such testings and stand for God's glory till our end.

Our Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for using your servant to deliver your word without adding anything of his word but your word alone. May you word guide us as long as we live on this earth so that we would live for your glory and according to your will even at times of troubles and tribulations and without any complaint like our forefathers Job and Daniel your servant! Bless all the members in the group and all your beloved ones across the world. I do offer this prayer in hope in the matchless and mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, our Father in heaven, and fellowship of Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us and all His servants and children in the whole world, now and for evermore! Amen!

Praise the Lord dear members. We'll meet next week with next week's meditation topic according to His leading. Have a nice week ahead. May God bless us all!

[dailybiblelessons]

Monday: Reflection on the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Revised Common Lectionary Proper 16 Roman Catholic Proper 21

Complementary Hebrew Scripture from The Writings: Nehemiah 9:1-15

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. Then those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth part of the day, and for another fourth they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”

And Ezra said: “You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you.¹ You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham; and you found his heart faithful before you, and made with him a covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite; and you have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.

“And you saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea. You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted insolently against our ancestors. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. And you divided the sea before them, so that they passed through the sea on dry land, but you threw their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters. Moreover, you led them by day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the way in which they should go. You came down also upon Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known your holy sabbath to them and gave them commandments and statutes and a law through your servant Moses. For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven, and for their thirst you brought water for them out of the rock, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you swore to give them.”²

This sentence and the two before it are reflected in Revelation 10:5-6. ²This sentence is quoted in John 6:31.

Semi-continuous Hebrew Scripture Lesson from the Former Prophets: 1 Kings 5:13-18

King Solomon conscripted forced labor out of all Israel; the levy numbered thirty thousand men. He sent them to the Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they would be a month in the Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. Solomon also had seventy thousand laborers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country, besides Solomon's three thousand three hundred supervisors who were over the work, having charge of the people who did the work. At the king's command, they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites did the stonecutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.

Complementary Psalm 119:97-104

Oh, how I love your law!  It is my meditation all day long. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,  for it is always with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers,  for your decrees are my meditation. I understand more than the aged,  for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way,  in order to keep your word. I do not turn away from your ordinances,  for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste,  sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding;  therefore I hate every false way.

Semi-continuous Psalm 11

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me,  “Flee like a bird to the mountains; for look, the wicked bend the bow,  they have fitted their arrow to the string,  to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed,  what can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in his holy temple;  the Lord's throne is in heaven.  His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,  and his soul hates the lover of violence. On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulfur;  a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds;  the upright shall behold his face.

New Testament Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 5:21-6:9

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”¹ This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise: “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”²

And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free. And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.

¹This quotation is from Genesis 2:24. ²This quotation is from Deuteronomy 5:16.

Year B Ordinary 21, RCL Proper 16, Catholic Proper 21 Monday

Selections from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 1995 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Unless otherwise indicated, Bible text is from The New Revised Standard Version, (NRSV) copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All right reserved. Footnotes in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) that show where the passage is used in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) from Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) by David H. Stern, Copyright © 1998 and 2006 by David H. Stern, used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved worldwide. When text is taken from the CJB, the passage ends with (CJB) and the foregoing copyright notice applies. Parallel passages are as indicated in The Holy Bible Modern English Version (MEV), copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When text is taken from the MEV, the passage ends with (MEV) and the foregoing copyright notice applies. Footnotes in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) that show where a passage from the Hebrew Scripture (Old Testament) is used are from The Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®), copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. When text is taken from the NIV, the passage ends with (NIV) and the foregoing copyright notice applies. Image credit: African American family by Penn State, via flickr.com. This image is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution, No Derivatives, No Commercial Use license.

[numbersbythebook]

Repentance and the Trumpets of God

written by Will Schumaker

I recently posted about the “half hour” silence at the opening of the seventh seal.

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

I wondered in that post if the “half hour” which can mean ”half a period of time” referred to the 1260 days or last half of Daniel’s 70th week.

If you read that post my belief is that the 1260 days or time, times and half of Daniel and Revelation refer to the time period from the crucifiction and resurrection of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, which was the half way point of Daniel’s 70th week, to His second coming and completion of the church.

Daniel 9 prophesies of the midpoint of 70th week.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate

What that would mean then is that seals 1-6 were opened by the time the temple was destroyed.  Specifically the 6th seal refers to the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem.

I will talk about the seals in another post.  I want to talk about the trumpets in this post.

The 7 trumpets then begin after the destruction of Jerusalem and when the 7th trumpet is sounded the church is completed.

Revelation 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.            

Rev 11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,              

Rev 11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.            

Rev 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.      

Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

What would be fascinating about this if it is true is that the people sounding the trumpets  is the church.

A trumpet is an instrument that makes a noise when wind is blown through it by someone.  The same word for Spirit is the same word for wind.  When the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost it came as a mighty wind.

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

We are supposed to be God’s instruments.  When we are, He is blowing His Spirit through us and we become trumpets for Him sounding the alarm and calling to repent.

The goal of the trumpets is for repentance.

Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Rev 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Paul compares the sound of a trumpet to the voice of the church.

1 Corinthians 14:6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?

1Co 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

1Co 14:9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.

Strong’s G3341=repentance.  This verse about trumpets has a matching gematria of 3341.

Num 10:8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations

This is verse 3341.  Yes once we are saved we should love to obey God’s law.

Leveticus 20:22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

Jesus told the church of Laodicea He will spue them out of His mouth.

Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Numbers 10:8 with a gematria of 3341 is verse number 3997.

This verse has a gematria of 3997 and speaks of a watchman-which is the church-blowing a trumpet to warn the sinner to repent.

Ezekiel 33:4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

The trumpet that is being blown in Num 10:8 is one of the silver trumpets.  Silver is a picture of redemption.  The church has been redeemed.  We are a silver trumpet in God’s hand.

Strong’s H2689=trumpet

This familiar verse has a gematria of 2689.  Once God saves us, we should desire to follow His Law.

Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

This is verse 2689.  The high priest, a type of Christ, wore a robe with pomegranites on it.

Exo 39:24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet and twined linen.

In Jewish tradition, the pomegranate is said to have 613 seeds in it matching the 613 laws of God or written torah.

The bride has temples like a pomegranate.

Sol 4:3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

The temple is the side of the forehead.  We are to bind God’s laws to our foreheads.

Deu 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

In revelation the 144,000 are sealed on their foreheads with the Holy Spirit who teaches us God’s laws.

Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

So if we are the trumpets of God what are we saying.

The 5th and 6th trumpest are about the battle with “scorpions and serpents” which I have posted about a few times recently.  This is the spiritual war we face daily against our enemy.  We must be daily prepared for it and we must be edifying others to be prepared for it.  When we fall we must pick each other up.

In light of the war we are in as God’s people notice verse 3998.

Num 10:9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

This verse has a gematria of 3998.

Deu 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

When Jesus was tempted by the devil He quoted scripture and was strengthened by the Holy Spirit.  We are to fight the devil through reliance on God’s word and our prayer to God for strength through His Spirit.

The second trumpet is about a “mountain burning with fire”.

Rev 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

There is one mountain that burned with fire in the bible-Mt Sinai where God entered into a marriage covenant with His people and gave His laws.

Deuteronomy 4:11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.

The trumpet we are to sound is that once we are saved we should love God’s laws and obey  them, not cast them down and trample on them.   Jesus says if we love Him and are in covenant with Him we will obey His commandments.

The third trumpet is about a “great star from heaven, burning as a lamp”.

Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters

The first “burning lamp” is used in the covenant of Abraham.

Genesis 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

In the book of Revelation “stars from heaven” refers to the seed of Abraham.

Abraham’s promise from God was that his seed would be like the “stars of heaven”.

Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be

The star is called wormwood.

Rev 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Wormwood is used as a judgement for disobedience.

Jer 9:13 And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;

Jer 9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:

Jer 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

Bitter waters speak of the adultery test.

Num 5:24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.

The trumpet we are to sound is that as the children of Abraham we are to do the works of Abraham.  Abraham was the first person recorded to obey God’s laws.

Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Joh 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

The 4th trumpet is on the sun, moon, and stars.

Rev 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

The sun, moon and stars were created for “signs”and “seasons”.  “Signs” mean signals.  “Seasons” mean God’s feast days.

Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

God’s feast days point to Christ and His work.  They are considered God’s appointments with us.

God criticized Israel for the way they celebrated His feasts.  He did this in context of telling them that their heart was far from Him and he called them a “harlot”.

Isa 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

I am not 100% sure on this message.  I believe the trumpet we are to sound is that we should be on God’s calendar meeting with Him on His feast days, celebrating what God has done for us in the spring feasts and looking forward to what Christ will do for us in the fall feasts.  The gentile church is so removed from the feasts.  There are head pastors leading churches that know nothing about them.

The first trumpet is about “hail and fire and blood cast to the earth”.  When you understand what the other trumpets are about the first one is easier to understand.

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Hail and fire speaks of judgement.  It was the 7th plague on Egypt.  Revelation is all about the number 7.

“Blood cast to the earth” lands on trees and grass.  People are referred to as trees and grass throughout the bible.

2Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up

Psa 96:12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

So you could see this as blood cast or sprinkled on people.  The first time and I believe only time this happens in the bible is with Moses and the covenant.

Exo 24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

Trumpets 1-3 all refer back to the covenants He made with His people.  Trumpet 4 is about the feasts and trumpets 5-6 are about the enemies attempt to have us walk away from God.  They are all about repentance and walking with Him.

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Sunday (March 10): Jesus fasted forty days and was tempted by the devil

Gospel Reading:   Luke 4:1-13

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit 2 for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." 4 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone.'" 5 And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours." 8 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" 9 And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and  said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself  down from here; 10 for it is written, `He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,' 11 and `On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" 12 And Jesus answered him, "It is said, `You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10

4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, 5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression; 8 and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.' And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God

Meditation: Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus wherever he wishes to lead you? After Jesus' was baptized by John the Baptist at the River Jordan, he withdrew into the wilderness of Judea - a vast and mostly uninhabitable wilderness full of danger. Danger from scorching heat by day and extreme cold at night, danger from wild animals and scorpions, plus the deprivation of food and the scarcity of water.

Why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into such a lonely place - right after Jesus was anointed and confirmed by the Father for his mission as Messiah and Savior? Jesus was following the pattern which God had set for Moses and for Elijah - both were led on a forty day journey of prayer and fasting to meet with God on his holy mountain (Exodus 24:18 and 1 Kings 19:8). God tested Moses and Elijah to prepare them for a prophetic mission – to speak God's word (Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 18:15; 34:10) and to lead God's people into the way of holiness and righteousness, a way marked by love of God and love of neighbor. While Moses and Elijah each prayed and fasted in the desert wilderness of Sinai, God fed them with his life-giving word. Their time of solitude with God enabled them to be renewed in faith, hope, and love for the call God had given them. Jesus likewise went into the wilderness to prepare himself for the mission entrusted to him by spending forty days and nights in solitude and prayer to his Father in heaven.

Jesus tempted by the devil Luke tells us that at the end of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness one visitor came out to tempt him. Luke describes this tempter as the devil (Luke 4:1), who is also called the father of lies (John 8:44), Satan (Luke 10:18), and the spiritual ruler and god of this world (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4). He is the same deceiver who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise (Genesis 3). Why did Satan tempt Jesus at the end of his lengthy period of fasting? Satan knew that Jesus was embarking on an important spiritual mission for the kingdom of God. Perhaps Satan saw an opportunity to strike while Jesus appeared more vulnerable in his physically and emotionally weakened condition due to his prolonged fasting and inner struggle over his particular call and mission. Satan undoubtedly thought he could persuade Jesus to choose his own path rather than the path his Father had chosen – a path that required self-renunciation, humility, and obedience to his Father's will. Jesus had to struggle with temptation, especially the temptation to choose his own way and to push aside the way his Father wanted him to go. This is the fundamental temptation which confronts each one of us as well. My way or God's way, my will or God's will.

Satan's first temptation appealed to Jesus' physical desires and hunger. Jesus was very hungry and physically weak at the same time - he hadn't eaten anything for forty days. Did the Spirit lead him into the wilderness to die? When the people of Israel were led into the wilderness for forty years without any natural source of food, they complained to Moses that he was punishing them with starvation – a very painful way to suffer and die. Moses took the matter to God in prayer. And God intervened by sending them manna – bread from heaven – for their daily provision. Should not Jesus do the same to revive his weakened condition?

Satan tried to get Jesus to turn stones into bread, both to prove his supernatural power over nature and to satisfy his own personal hunger. Jesus knew that he had been anointed with extraordinary power for performing great signs and wonders, just as Moses and Elijah had performed great signs and miracles in the name of God. But Jesus had chosen to fast from food and to pray for a lengthy period in order to prepare himself for the mission his Father was entrusting to him. Jesus wanted to do his Father's will, even though it might cost him great sacrifice, suffering, and even the loss of his own life. He hungered for his Father's word and made his life dependent on what the Father wanted him to do, rather than what he might have preferred for himself. Jesus chose to use his power and gifts to serve his Father rather than to serve himself. Jesus defeated Satan's snare with the words of Scripture from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses warned the people of Israel to never forget God nor his word: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).

Jesus' second temptation Satan tempted Jesus a second time by presenting him with the best the world could offer - great riches, privileges, glory and fame, and the power to rule over all the kingdoms of the world - Jesus could claim title and possession to everything he desired. Jesus quickly saw through the trap of placing the world's glory, wealth, and power above the honor, glory, and service that is due to God alone. Jesus saw how easily one's heart can be swayed and even overpowered by what it most treasures. The heart cannot serve two masters - only one will prevail. Allowing fame, glory, and wealth to master one's heart is a form of idolatry - the worship of false gods. Jesus chose to honor his Father and to serve his Father's kingdom above all else. He chose to make his Father's will alone as his personal treasure and delight. Jesus again defeated Satan with the words of Scripture which Moses wrote in the Book of Deuteronomy: "It is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve'" (Deuteronomy 6:13).

Jesus' third temptation Satan's last temptation was to convince Jesus that he should position himself at the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, the holiest place on earth where God dwelt in a special way with his people, and there perform a spectacular sign that would prove beyond a doubt that he was the Messiah, God's anointed Son. Why would this be a real temptation for Jesus? It might be helpful to note that the devil is a Bible expert! He accurately quotes from Psalm 91:11-12, "He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you," and "on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone." This psalm is connected with the temple which was regarded as a place of refuge and protection for those who put their trust in God and his dwelling place. The devil wanted Jesus to perform a death-defying sign by throwing himself off the tallest point of the temple to prove that he was who he claimed to be, the divinely appointed Messiah and Son of God. The temple pinnacle which Satan was referring to was very likely the highest structural corner in the construction of Herod's great temple. This high corner of the temple served as the "king's porch" on the edge of a precipice which dropped some 700 feet into the valley below.

Jesus refused to perform any sign that might put God to the test. When the people of Israel almost died of thirst in the wilderness, they rebelled against Moses and they put God to the test by saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Exodus 17:7). Jesus refused Satan's test to prove his divine claim as the Messiah. Jesus quoted once again from the words of Scripture in the Book of Deuteronomy: "It is said, `You shall not put the Lord your God to the test'"(Deuteronomy 6:16). Jesus knew that he would first have to cleanse the temple (John 2:13-22; Luke 19:45-46) and then offer his body as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world (John 1:29; Hebrews 10:5-14). Only after he would be lifted up on the cross and be raised from the tomb on the third day, would people recognize that the Father had sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17).

Spiritual preparation in the forty days of lent What lesson can we learn from Jesus' temptation in the wilderness? How can we hope to fight temptation and overcome sin in our own personal lives? When Jesus went out into the wilderness to fight temptation by the devil, he was led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not rely on his own human strength and will-power for overcoming temptation. He relied on the Holy Spirit to give him strength, wisdom, courage, and self-control. The Lord Jesus knows that we cannot fight temptation on our own. We need the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit to help us. The Lord Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness (Romans 8:26) and to be our guide and strength in times of testing (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Lord gives grace to those who humbly acknowledge their dependence on him (James 4:6) and he helps us to stand firm against the attacks of Satan who seeks to destroy us  (1 Peter 5:8-10; Ephesians 6:10-18). The Lord Jesus is ever ready to pour out his Spirit upon us that we may have the courage we need to repent of our sins and to turn away from them, and to reject the lies and deceits of Satan. God wants us to “fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) with the strength and help which comes from the Holy Spirit. Do you seek God's wisdom and guidance for overcoming sin and avoiding the near occasions of sin?

The forty days of Lent is the annual retreat of the people of God in imitation of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. We are called to journey with the Lord in a special season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving,  repentance, and renewal as we prepare to celebrate the feast of Easter, the Christian Passover. The Lord gives us spiritual food and supernatural strength to seek his face and to prepare ourselves for spiritual combat and testing. We, too, must follow in the way of the cross in order to share in the victory of Christ's death and resurrection. As we begin this holy season of preparation and renewal, let's ask the Lord for a fresh outpouring of his Holy Spirit that we may grow in faith, hope, and love, and embrace his will more fully in our lives.

“Lord Jesus, your word is life and joy for me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may have the strength and courage to embrace your will in all things and to renounce whatever is contrary to it.”

Psalm 91:1-2,10-15

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, 2 will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." 10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. 11 For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 14 Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 15 When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him.

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Jesus defeats Satan with the word of God, by Ambrose of Milan (339-397 AD)

"So, look at the arms of Christ with which he conquered for you, not for himself. For he who showed that stones could, through his majesty, be changed into bread by the transformation into a different nature, teaches that you must do nothing at the devil’s behalf nor for the purpose of manifesting virtue. At the same time, learn from the temptation itself the ingenious cunning of the devil. The devil tempts that he may test. He tests that he may tempt. In contrast, the Lord deceives that he may conquer. He conquers that he may deceive. For if he had changed nature, he would have betrayed its Creator. Thus he responded neutrally, saying, 'It is written, 'That man lives not by bread alone, but by every word of God.' You see what kind of arms he wields, to defend humanity, surrounded and protected against the inducements of appetite, against the assault of spiritual wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). For he does not wield power as God - for what good would that be to me? So, as man, he summons common help for himself, so that eager for the food of the divine Word, he neglects the body’s hunger and obtains the nourishment of the heavenly Word. Eager for this, Moses did not desire bread (Exodus 24:18). Eager for this, Elijah did not feel the hunger of a long fast (1 Kings 19:4.) For he who follows the Word cannot desire earthly bread when he receives the essence of the heavenly Bread (John 6:32,50). There is no doubt that the divine surpasses the human, as the spiritual the physical. Therefore he who desires true life awaits that Bread which through its intangible substance strengthens human hearts (Psalm 103:17). At the same time, when he says, 'Man lives not by bread alone,' he shows that the man is tempted, that is, his acceptance of our flesh, not his divinity."

(excerpt from the EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 4.19–20)

Saturday (March 9): Jesus calls sinners to follow him

Gospel Reading:   Luke 5:27-32

7 After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." 28 And he left everything, and rose and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house; and there was a large company of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured against his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" 31 And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 58:9-14

9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am.  "If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. 11 And the LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong;  and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;  you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. 13 "If you turn back your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable;  if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;  I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Meditation: When your neighbor stumbles through sin or ignorance, do you point the finger to criticize or do you lend a helping hand to lift him or her up? The prophet Isaiah tells us that God repays each in kind. When we bless others, especially those who need spiritual as well as physical and material help, God in turn blesses us.

Who do you point the finger at? When Jesus called a despised tax collector to be his disciple he surprised everyone including Levi (also known as Matthew). The religious leaders were especially upset with Jesus' behavior towards public sinners like Levi. The Jewish  people were roughly divided into two groups: the orthodox Jews who rigidly kept the law and all its petty regulations, and the rest who didn't keep all the minute regulations. The orthodox treated the latter like second class citizens. They scrupulously avoided their company, refused to do business with them, refused to give or receive anything from them, refused to intermarry, and avoided any form of friendship with them, including table fellowship. Jesus' association with the latter, especially with tax collectors and public sinners, shocked the sensibilities of these orthodox Jews.

A true physician of body, mind, and soul When the Pharisees challenged Jesus unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus' defense was quite simple. A doctor doesn't need to treat healthy people - instead he goes to those who are sick. Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person - body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to wholeness of life.

The orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of religion that they neglected to help the very people who needed the greatest care. Their religion was selfish because they didn't want to have anything to do with people not like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal terms: I came  not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically the orthodox were as needy as those they despised. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Do you thank the Lord for the great mercy he has shown to you? And do you seek the good of all your neighbors and show them mercy and kindness?

Leave all and follow Christ What does it mean to "leave all and follow the Lord"? Bede the Venerable (673-735 AD), an Anglo-Saxon monk who wrote numerous commentaries on the Scriptures, explains what it meant for Matthew and for us to "follow" as disciples of the Lord Jesus:

"By 'follow' he meant not so much the movement of feet as of the heart, the carrying out of a way of life. For one who says that he lives in Christ ought himself to walk just as he walked, not to aim at earthly things, not to pursue perishable gains, but to flee base praise, to embrace willingly the contempt of all that is worldly for the sake of heavenly glory, to do good to all, to inflict injuries upon no one in bitterness, to suffer patiently those injuries that come to oneself, to ask God’s forgiveness for those who oppress, never to seek one's own glory but always God's, and to uphold whatever helps one love heavenly things. This is what is meant by following Christ. In this way, disregarding earthly gains, Matthew attached himself to the band of followers of One who had no riches. For the Lord himself, who outwardly called Matthew by a word, inwardly bestowed upon him the gift of an invisible impulse so that he was able to follow."

Are you ready to forsake all for the Lord Jesus Christ?

"Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself."  (Prayer of Augustine, 354-430)

Psalm 86:1-6

1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am Godly; save your servant who trusts in you.  You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. 6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; hearken to my cry of supplication.

A Daily Quote for Lent: Our All-powerful Physician, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD

"Our wound is serious, but the Physician is all-powerful. Does it seem to you so small a mercy that, while you were living in evil and sinning, he did not take away your life, but brought you to belief and forgave your sins? What I suffer is serious, but I trust the Almighty. I would despair of my mortal wound if I had not found so great a Physician." (excerpt from Sermon 352, 3)

Friday (March 8): Fasting for the kingdom of God

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 9:14-15

14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 15 And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is  taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9

1 "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet;  declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness  and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;  they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. 3 `Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?'  Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?  Is it to bow down his head like a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD? 6 "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house;  when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily;  your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. "If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness

Meditation: Are you hungry for God? Hungering for God and fasting for his kingdom go hand in hand. When asked why he and his disciples did not fast Jesus used the vivid picture of a wedding celebration. In Jesus' time the newly wed celebrated their honeymoon at home for a whole week with all the guests! This was a time of great feasting and celebrating. Jesus points to himself as the bridegroom and his disciples as the bridegroom's friends. He alludes to the fact that God takes delight in his people as a groom delights in his bride (Isaiah 62:5).

Humble yourself before the Lord your God To be in God's presence is pure delight and happiness. But Jesus also reminds his followers that there is a time for fasting and for humbling oneself in preparation for the coming of God's kingdom and for the return of the Messianic King. The Lord's disciples must also bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility, fasting, and mourning for sin. If we hunger for the Lord, he will not disappoint us. His grace draws us to his throne of mercy and favor. Do you seek the Lord with confident trust and allow his Holy Spirit to transform your life with his power and grace?

Fast and hunger for more of God and his righteousness What kind of fasting is pleasing to God? Fasting can be done for a variety of reasons - to gain freedom from some bad habit, addiction, or vice, to share in the suffering of those who go without, or to grow in our hunger for God and for the things of heaven. Basil the Great wrote: "Take heed that you do not make fasting to consists only in abstinence from meats. True fasting is to refrain from vice. Shred to pieces all your unjust contracts. Pardon your neighbors. Forgive them their trespasses." Do you hunger to know God more, to grow in his holiness, and to live the abundant life of grace he offers you?

"Come Lord, work upon us, set us on fire and clasp us close, be fragrant to us, draw us to your loveliness, let us love, let us run to you." (Prayer of St. Augustine)

Psalm 51:3-6,18-19

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;  then bulls will be offered on your altar.

A Daily Quote for Lent: True fasting, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD

"All the endeavors for fasting are concerned not about the rejection of various foods as unclean, but about the subjugation of inordinate desire and the maintenance of neighborly love. Charity especially is guarded - food is subservient to charity, speech to charity, customs to charity, and facial expressions to charity. Everything works together for charity alone." (excerpt from Letter 243, 11)

[seekfirstme]

The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager © 2020. Don's website is located at Dailyscripture.ServantsOfTheWord.org

Meditation: Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus and to go with him wherever he leads you? Jesus did not choose his own course or path in life, but followed the will of his Father in heaven. After Jesus' was baptized by John the Baptist at the River Jordan, he was led by the Spirit of God to withdrew into the wilderness of Judea - a vast desert wilderness that was mostly uninhabitable and full of danger. Danger from scorching heat by day and extreme cold at night, danger from wild animals and scorpions, plus the deprivation of food and scarcity of water.

Preparing mind, heart, and will to serve God

Why did Jesus choose such a barren, lonely place for a sustained period of prayer and fasting? Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us in their Gospel accounts that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. Mark states it most emphatically: "The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness" (Mark 1:12).

What compelled Jesus to seek solitude, away from his family and friends, for such a lengthy period? Was it simply a test to prepare him for his mission? Or did Satan want to lure him into a trap? The word tempt in English usually means to entice someone to do what is wrong or forbidden. The scriptural word used here also means test in the sense of proving and assessing someone to see if they are prepared and ready for the task at hand. We test flight pilots to see if they are fit to fly under all conditions, including times of adverse turbulence, storms, and poor visibility. In like manner God tests his people to see if they are ready to follow and serve him without reservation or compromise.

Keeping God's word and holding to his promises

On a number of occasions God tested Abraham to prove his faith and to strengthen his hope in the promises that God made to him. Abraham obeyed willingly even when God asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, the son of promise. When the Israelites were sorely tested in Egypt for more than 400 years of hard labor and persecution, they did not forget God. They kept God's word and remembered his promise to deliver them from oppression and bring them back into their promised homeland.

When God called Moses to free the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, God led them into the wilderness to his holy mountain at Sinai. There Moses ascended the mountain and met with God face to face for 40 days in prayer and fasting (Exodus 24:18). The prophet Elijah was also led on a 40 day journey to the holy mountain at Sinai (also called Horeb) to seek the face of God. God sustained Elijah for his journey with supernatural bread from heaven (1 Kings 19:8).

Jesus' forty days of testing and preparation

Jesus was no exception to this pattern of testing and preparation for the mission his Father gave him. He was led into the wilderness for 40 days without food and little shelter. He had nothing to sustain himself in this barren wilderness except what the Father would provide for him during his forty days of prayer and fasting. Jesus was left alone in this harsh and austere environment to wrestle with the temptation to seek an easy or comfortable course that would avoid pain and hardship,  humiliation and rejection, suffering and death on a cross.

Jesus' testing in the wilderness was similar to the test which Adam and Eve underwent when God made them stewards of his creation and sharers in his glory and power. When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise, he provided them with everything they needed to live and to fulfill the stewardship entrusted to them. In giving them the one command to not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, God tested their love and fidelity (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-6).

Why did they fail to obey this one command of God? They listened to the voice of a rebel angel, who disguised himself as a very subtle and clever figure of charm and persuasion.The Scriptures call this tempter by many names, the devil and Satan (Revelation 12:9), Beelzebub the prince of demons (Luke 11:15, Matthew 12:24), the evil one (Matthew 13:38) and the father of lies (John 8:44). Satan tempted Adam and Eve with pride and envy to claim equality with God. As a consequence of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cast out of Paradise and driven into the wilderness.

Jesus resisted the devil and obeyed the voice of his Father

Jesus now freely enters the wilderness in order to regain Paradise for the lost children of God. Jesus refuses food to show his dependence on the bread of heaven, the word of God, that would sustain him not only in his physical hunger, but in his hour of temptation as well. When Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus replied with the words of Scripture, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (quote from Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).

Where did Jesus find the strength to survive the desert's harsh conditions and the tempter's seduction? He fed on God's word and found strength in doing his Father's will. Satan will surely tempt us and he will try his best to get us to choose our will over God's will. If he can't make us renounce our faith or sin mortally, he will then try to get us to make choices that will lead us, little by little, away from what God wants for us.

Strength from God in resisting temptation

Jesus was tempted like us and he overcame sin not by his own human effort but by the grace and strength which his Father gave to him. He had to renounce his will for the will of his Father. He succeeded because he wanted to please his Father and he trusted that his Father would give him the strength to overcome the obstacles that stood in the way. Luke says that Jesus was "full of the Holy Spirit" (Luke 4:1). When tempted by the devil Jesus did not try to fight his adversary on his own human strength. He relied on the power which the Spirit gave him. Jesus came to overthrow the evil one who held us captive to sin and fear of death (Hebrews 2:14). His obedience to his Father's will and his willingness to embrace the cross reversed the curse of Adam's disobedience. His victory over sin and death won for us not only pardon for our sins but adoption as sons and daughters of God.

How can we overcome sin and gain freedom over our unruly desires and the lies of Satan and the world? The Lord Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness (Romans 8:26) and to be our guide and consoler in temptation and testing (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Lord gives grace to the humble who acknowledge their dependence on him (James 4:6) and he helps us to stand against the lies and attacks of our enemy, Satan, who seeks to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8-10; Ephesians 6:10-18). The Lord Jesus is ever ready to pour out his Spirit upon us that we may have the strength and courage we need to resist sin and to reject the lies and deceits of Satan. God wants us to "fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Timothy 6:12) with the power and strength which comes from the Holy Spirit. Do you rely on the Lord for your strength and help?

"Lord Jesus, your word is life and joy for me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may have the strength and courage to embrace your will in all things and to renounce whatever is contrary to it."

The following reflection is from One Bread, One Body courtesy of Presentation Ministries © 2020.

 

A SUNDAY TO REMEMBER

  "Then Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil." —Matthew 4:1  

I have wonderful memories of the graces of the first Sunday of Lent. I was also intrigued by Jesus being led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by Satan. I consider it a great insight that the first and fundamental temptation of Christ and Christians is the temptation to doubt the Spirit's proclamation of our being sons or daughters of God the Father (Mt 4:3). It is so glorious to hear Jesus boldly state His divinity at the beginning of the New Testament when He commands Satan: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" (Mt 4:7).

On the first Sunday of Lent, we probably have a fresh enthusiasm for Lent and a break in our weekday fasting. This Sunday is the worldwide rite of election where the millions who elect to join the Church by being baptized into Christ on Easter are accepted by the Church. If you've been to your cathedral for the rite of election, you probably can remember the Lord's presence through the bishop, successor of the apostles, and through the worshipping assembly of the elect, their sponsors, the families and parish of the elect, and other members of the body of Christ.

Today is a very "acceptable time" (2 Cor 6:2). "Now is the day of salvation!" (2 Cor 6:2) Rejoice in the First Sunday of Lent.

  Prayer: Father, thank You for days like today: days of hope, love, and joy. Promise: "If death began its reign through one man because of his offense, much more shall those who receive the overflowing grace and gift of justice live and reign through the one Man, Jesus Christ." —Rm 5:17 Praise: "The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ" (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 638). Praise the risen Jesus!    

  Rescript: In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from February 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020.

†Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 8, 2019.  

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements

[the-christian-walk]

LOVING IN THE RIGHT ORDER

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:34-40

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked Him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

And from then on no one dared ask Him any more questions.

Mark 12:28-34

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If there was one central emotion found through the scope of the scriptures, it would be love. If you don’t believe that, look in any bible concordance and see how many verses in God’s word contain the word.

It was at the heart of what is the most well known verse in the bible, John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Yes, we find grace and mercy and forgiveness in what God willingly did to save His beloved people but at the heart of the choice was love. It was the catalyst for everything else.

Turning toward Jesus, the one and only Son God gave to bring us salvation, here’s what He had to say about what His Father had sent Him to do:

“As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love. If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know His master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends.” John 15:9-15

Jesus had said that He was one with God, His Father, and as we see here, that applied to love. God so loved the world but He also loved His Son deeply. He proclaimed so at Jesus’ baptism which happened at the very start of His ministry:

As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17

God loved His Son and in turn His Son loved His Father and all those His Father loved. The depth of that love was so incredible that Jesus referred to the very people He would die in the place of as His friends. His willingness to be sacrificed to pay the price for the sins of mankind constituted the greatest love possible, a love known as “agape love”.

Now the title of this devotion is “Loving in the Right Order” which lends to the suggestion that love is orderly. In other words, it follows a certain pattern in order to be what it is.

This means that love needs to have a starting point, an origin, and that starting point is God. Consider these verses:

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us… We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:8-12, 19

Love didn’t originate with mankind. It started with God who expressed His passion for His people through His Son who in turn showed the Father’s love by willingly dying in the place of everyone, for all sinners and we all are.

People then, based on the love of God and Jesus, are to love one another, only knowing what love truly is because of the love they have received from the Father and His Son.

Love indeed follows a given order and this isn’t just a New Testament concept. For as we turn to our scripture passages for today, we find Jesus, fresh off teaching the Sadducees about resurrection, being questioned by a teacher of the law. Look again at these words from Mark’s Gospel:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked Him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

And from then on no one dared ask Him any more questions.

Here, a Jewish man with the reputation of being an expert in Mosaic law asks for Jesus’ opinion on what He viewed as the greatest commandment. Now, keep in mind that God has issued many, many commandments so there was a lot to choose from and the task was made even more difficult by the matter of ranking any one command as more important than all the others.

But as we see, Jesus was prepared with answers and those answers were not only grounded in Mosaic law but centered on the matter of love, orderly love.

First, Jesus quoted the Book of Deuteronomy while offering what He viewed as the greatest commandment:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5

The greatest commandment was anchored in loving God, not just in part but in whole. In other words, we are to give God all our love with all we have. We have to invest all that we are, physically and spiritually, for then and only then can we fulfill the second commandment, which Jesus draws from the Book of Leviticus:

“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18

When we love God first, with all our heart and soul and strength, then we can love as God loves because His love will become our own. This love pulls us away from Satan’s urgings to seek revenge or bear grudges, and points us to grace and mercy and forgiveness which are the byproducts of love. When we love God fully, then we will appreciate the fullness of the love He has for us, and then we can in turn extend that fullness of love to our neighbors, to all we come into contact with.

So how well are we doing when it comes to meeting these two commandments?

When we look at our world today and the divisiveness we see, my thought is that we have a long way to go to get to the place where God wants us to be.

What’s the way back?

I believe it’s pretty simple. It requires us getting back to basics and centering our attitudes on love, first realizing that we only know of love because God and Jesus showed us what it is, and then loving the Father and Son with all that we are and all that we have, just as they have loved us.

When we truly commit to this, then and only then, will we be able to love one another as God intended. And when we finally get that we need to love in the right order, then we will in turn find the world we live in become a more beautiful place, a place inhabited by people who treat one another lovingly and, in doing so, please the very Heavenly Father who loved them first.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

[ilovearticlesoffaith-blog]

Warning: Ministry Marriages are Different from Ordinary Marriages

Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and THE WICKEDNESS OF THEIR WIVES, and your own wickedness, and THE WICKEDNESS OF YOUR WIVES, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

Jeremiah 44:9

This book does not apply to you if you are not a pastor.

Do not continue to read this book if you are not a pastor.

If you are not a pastor please stop here!

If you are not a pastor and you continue reading you will criticize things you do not understand.

If you are not a pastor, please get another book on marriage. There are many good books on marriage that will help your life greatly. If you need information on how to get a good book on marriage, please ask at the nearest bookshop.

It is a blessing to have a good marriage and I am aware of many great and good marriages that are marvellous blessings. What are some of the blessings of a great marriage?

1. A good marriage is a blessing because two are better than one.There are many scriptures that attest to this fact.

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

2. A good marriage is a blessing because a married couple can do ten times as much as a single person.

How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?

Deuteronomy 32:30

3. A good marriage is a blessing because a married man has great favour with God.

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.

Proverbs 18:22

Even though a good marriage is a great blessing, there are many different types of marriages. Not all marriages end up achieving the aim of being a blessing to the couple.

“Counterfeit” marriages only exist because there are real and good marriages.

This book is about certain types of marriages that do exist. This is a book for pastors and their marriages and NOT for ordinary Christians or non-believers. A large part of this book will not apply to you if you are not a pastor or a pastor’s wife.

Many books on marriage make pastors feel that they are married to the wrong person because their marriages are not as nice sounding as the author’s.

Then they become shocked when they hear that pastors with such apparently fantastically good marriages are getting divorced.

This is not a book about normal marriages. This book is nota balanced two-sided discussion on marital issues. I could indeed write a book about both husbands and wives. I could also write a book about how to have a successful marriage. I could even write a book about how to overcome the various problems that couples face in marriage. However, I am not doing that in this volume. I have chosen to write a book on a topic that is not usually discussed.

This book is about the wickedness of wives. I am writing this book about the wickedness that is submerged beneath the beauty of many wives. If you are looking for a good book on marriage, please find another book, as this is not that book. This book is about the beauty, the beast that is in some pastors’ wives and the struggles that pastors have with them. Many pastors marry beauties! But many beauties are also beasts!

I am aware that most people would be afraid to suggest that kind and gentle-looking wives could have any wickedness in them. As I said, I am not intending to have a balanced, two-sided discussion on marriage. If you want a balanced discussion about the good and bad sides of men and the good and bad sides of women, please stop reading now. This is a book about the wickedness of wives, especially the wickedness of some Christian wives and some ministers’ wives.

The prophet Jeremiah lamented about the wickedness that wives had committed in Judah and in Jerusalem. These wives were not unbelieving wives but wives that belonged to the house of Israel. The wickedness of the wives that Jeremiah spoke of was the wickedness of idolatry and rebellion against God. The wickedness I am writing about is also about the rebellion of some ministers’ wives against God’s word.

This, indeed, is a book for ministers and their wives. This is a book that describes some of the experiences that devoted Christians and men of God experience in their marriages. This book is in fact about marital situations that ministers find themselves in, but are unable to talk about.

But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless SUCH SHALL HAVE TROUBLE in the flesh: but I spare you.

1 Corinthians 7:28

Paul prophesied that those who marry would have trouble in the flesh. Perhaps that is why he did not marry. And by the way, I have not written this book because I do not know any negative things about men. I do! Also, I have not written this book because I want to write negative things about women. I believe so much in the ministry, the anointing, the wisdom and the role of women that I have appointed and promoted many women in ministry. I do not know anyone who has identified and appointed more women as pastors than I have, although I am sure there are others.

As you read on, you may wonder why I do not balance the bad sides of women with the bad sides of men. The reason is simple; that is not the aim of this book! If I were to write about the terrible sins of men in marriage, I would completely miss the message God has given me. If I were to do that, this book would be far bigger than it is and people like you, who do not read much, would not even attempt to read it.

This book is intended to explain some of the mysterious roles women have played in the lives of ministers. We praise our women and are grateful for their role in marriage and ministry. Without the help of women, we would not achieve much in the work of God. I believe that one of the secrets of church growth is to work with women and give them prominence.

Women are praised but little is said about their negative ways, because every one is afraid to look bad or sound as though they have any difficulties in their marriage. But I would not like to keep back anything that may be profitable to you.

… I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,

Acts 20:20

The beauty is real but the beast is also real! Little is said about the destructive role of women in ministry. Our Book, the Bible, is not silent on the role of women in the destruction of this world. Through Eve, Adam’s life and ministry were destroyed. Through Eve, the whole human race has been sent into darkness and difficulty.

There are many pastors who are in distress, in darkness and in difficulty through their beautiful well made-up wives.

The reason for this book is to help give the real picture about what some people are experiencing.

Another reason for this book is to help those who are about to choose a “beauty”. It is important for them to know that their “beauty” can easily turn into a “beast”! Hopefully, this book will also help all beautiful women not to turn into beasts!

When John Wesley was still single, he fell ill and stayed with a lady who later became his wife. He described how beautiful, how pleasant and how nice she was. Her words were memorable! Her tone was soft! John Wesley was drawn uncontrollably to her comforting love! In his words, Molly, his future wife gave him all the assurances he ever needed. He described her kind of love as intense! He spoke about her “inviolable affection”. This English word (inviolable) goes even beyond my ability to interpret. Eiii!Inviolable affection! I wish to quote from John Wesley, when he first met his “beauty”, his “beloved” Molly (before he married her).

John Wesley said, “I HAD ALL THE ASSURANCES WHICH WORDS COULD GIVE, OF THE MOST INTENSE AND INVIOLABLE AFFECTION.”

But one day, after years of marriage he used completely different words to describe her. His beauty had become a beast. One day, his wife was leaving home and embarking on a journey. This is the woman he spoke of having intense inviolable affection for. He said to her as she went out of the door: “I HOPE I NEVER SEE YOUR WICKED FACE AGAIN.”

“I hope I never see your wicked face again” was the wish of John Wesley after he had experienced the “beast” in his “beauty”. This is a classic example of the pastor who marries a beauty who turns into a beast!

Indeed, this book is also intended to strengthen the arms of those who are deeply embedded in irreversible marriage situations. I hope that this book will help to prevent ministers from divorcing by giving them an understanding of what they are actually experiencing.

I am sure many people will identify things in this book that they can relate with. Use the knowledge, the understanding and the wisdom that you receive from these words to fight the good fight of faith. Marriage is one of the tests we face and we must succeed in it! For some people, marriage is the greatest comfort they will ever have! For some people, marriage is the greatest cross they will ever bear! Some people have excellent marriages. But not all ministers have a good experience or a good story to tell about marriage. Indeed, there are many ministers who would describe their marriage as a battle.

Many great men of God speak about their “excellent marriages” in such a way that intimidates and confuses other Christians and pastors. When other ministers hear their descriptions of their marriages, they shrink away. “Wow,” they say to themselves, “I dare not discuss my marriage situation with these blessed ones.” (This also happens when pastors attend pastors’ conferences and hear fantastic stories about mega churches that have thousands of members.) Most ordinary pastors feel intimidated because they do not have thousands of members attending their churches.

Pastors hear amazing statements from these picture-perfect marriages:

“My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“I owe my life and my ministry to my wife!”

“I don’t know where I would be without my wife!”

“There would be no ‘me’ without ‘you’!”

“There is none like you! No one else can touch my heart like you do!”

“I cannot go anywhere without my wife!”

My wife is my greatest assistant, partner and support!”

“I have never quarrelled with my wife before!’

“I tell my wife, ‘I love you’ ten times every day!”

“I cannot imagine living for even one day without my wife!”

“My wife and I sleep in each other’s arms every night!”

“My wife is my closest friend in this world!”

“Whenever I miss my wife, I kiss her picture. But when I see her, I kiss the real thing!”

“My wife is the most beautiful lady in the whole world, my soul mate, my life partner, my friend, my joy, my darling and my heartthrob!”

“If marks were being given for good marriages, I would get 99 per cent!’

Wow! These are wonderful statements! I wish everyone would be able to say all the things above. These are exactly the kinds of marriages we need if we are to succeed in the ministry.

But this is not the experience that all married ministers have! How do I know? I know because I have been in the ministry for many years and I know thousands of pastors. I also know this for a fact because of the rate of divorce amongst pastors. Many ministers have made the statements above, portraying pictures that depict the greatest love of all, only to announce later that they were getting divorced.

For some people, the opposite of all these statements may be more true. There are some pastors who would prefer to say things like:

“My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world, but it is not easy to live with her!’

“I wish I could be delivered from my wife!”

“My wife is the greatest opposer of my life and ministry.”

“My wife is the greatest accuser and tormentor of my life!”

“We have not had sex for several months!”

“My wife and I have not been speaking since last month!”

“I don’t tell my wife, ‘I love you’ because I do not want to lie!”

“I can’t wait for the day I will be without my wife!”

“My wife and I sleep at opposite ends of the bed every night!”

“I am not close to my wife any more!”

“I do not miss my wife. Whenever I see her picture, I weep for the sorrow in my heart!”

“My marriage is the greatest mistake of my life!”

“If I had a different wife, I would have achieved more in the ministry.”

Many of us behave like African herbalists when it comes to marriage. Why do I say so? An African herbalist usually has a single potion that is supposed to cure every ailment you could ever have. This herbalist’s potion can cure bad eyesight, piles, toothache, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, rashes, asthma, waist pains, erectile dysfunction, constipation, diarrhoea, general weakness, impotence, etc. You will hear the herbalist advertising his potions and convincing his audience with great zeal. It is only the ignorant who are taken in by claims that one drug can cure all these things. We all know that the same medicine cannot correct your eyesight, your hip pain, your diarrhoea, your skin rashes as well as your high blood pressure and your haemorrhoids.

Yet, when it comes to marriage, most people have one potion that they apply to all marriages. They assume that every marriage is the same and they therefore apply the same measures to every type of marriage. This is a serious mistake because there are different kinds of marriages.

In some cases, you have a very good “devoted husband” who does absolutely everything a husband should do. And sometimes the devoted husband has an equally good wife who does all the things a “devoted” wife could ever do. On the other hand, a devoted husband could have the worst kind of female as his wife. A “devoted” wife could have an evil husband who does not even deserve to have a wife.

Many situations are so varied that they have to be understood on a case-by-case basis. It is wrong to crucify both the good and the bad together on the same day. (Jesus Christ was crucified withthieves and it gave the impression that Jesus Christ was a common thief, simply because He was given the same treatment as a common criminal).

Every marriage gives rise to different experiences. Some people just have to follow the “Seven steps to a good marriage”and they will experiencegreat happiness. There are others who can follow “Seventy steps to a good marriage”, but will never have happiness.

Indeed, I have met several “unmarriageable” people. They cannot and probably should not marry because they are not suitable for marriage. They simply will never be happy in any marriage situation. Unfortunately, when an “unmarriageable” lady is very beautiful, she is quickly signed in to a marriage and ends up creating an intolerable situation for a pastor. The counselling given to an “unmarriageable” person must be very different from the counselling given to a normal person.

This book is written to give counsel to people who are in certain kinds of marriages. Be careful if you are in one of the good marriage situations because you may be tempted to criticize marriages you do not understand!

Throughout this book I will intentionally not make mention of the personal blessings I have enjoyed in my own marriage. I will also not mention any challenges in my own marriage. Why is that? If I do mention the blessings of my own marriage, you may feel intimidated and think that your marriage is not good. Indeed, if I speak of my own challenges, you may probably not understand them! So just be blessed and receive healing for your life and marriage through the words in these pages.

by Dag Heward-Mills

[tpanan]

My Sunday Daily Blessings

March 10, 2019

Be still quiet your heart and mind, the LORD is here, loving you talking to you...........

First Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 24

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 4-10

Moses spoke to the people, saying: "The priest shall receive the basket from you and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God. Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God, 'My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. But there he became a nation great, strong, and numerous.

When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits of the products of the soil which you, O LORD, have given me.'

And having set them before the Lord, your God,  you shall bow down in his presence."

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 91: 1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15

"Be with me, LORD, when I am in trouble."

Second Reading: Romans 10: 8-13

Brothers and sisters: What does Scripture say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart —that is, the word of faith that we preach—, for, 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 one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. For the Scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Verse before the Gospel: Matthew 4: 4b

"One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."

Gospel: Luke 4: 1-13

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.

He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, One does not live on bread alone."

Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, "I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me." Jesus said to him in reply, "It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve."

Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone."Jesus said to him in reply, "It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test."

When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

**Meditation:

Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus wherever he wishes to lead you? After Jesus' was baptized by John the Baptist at the River Jordan, he withdrew into the wilderness of Judea - a vast and mostly uninhabitable wilderness full of danger. Danger from scorching heat by day and extreme cold at night, danger from wild animals and scorpions, plus the deprivation of food and the scarcity of water.

Why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into such a lonely place - right after Jesus was anointed and confirmed by the Father for his mission as Messiah and Savior? Jesus was following the pattern which God had set for Moses and for Elijah - both were led on a forty day journey of prayer and fasting to meet with God on his holy mountain (Exodus 24:18 and 1 Kings 19:8). God tested Moses and Elijah to prepare them for a prophetic mission – to speak God's word (Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 18:15; 34:10) and to lead God's people into the way of holiness and righteousness, a way marked by love of God and love of neighbor. While Moses and Elijah each prayed and fasted in the desert wilderness of Sinai, God fed them with his life-giving word. Their time of solitude with God enabled them to be renewed in faith, hope, and love for the call God had given them. Jesus likewise went into the wilderness to prepare himself for the mission entrusted to him by spending forty days and nights in solitude and prayer to his Father in heaven.

Jesus tempted by the devil Luke tells us that at the end of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness one visitor came out to tempt him. Luke describes this tempter as the devil (Luke 4:1), who is also called the father of lies(John 8:44), Satan (Luke 10:18), and the spiritual ruler and god of this world (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4). He is the same deceiver who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise (Genesis 3). Why did Satan tempt Jesus at the end of his lengthy period of fasting? Satan knew that Jesus was embarking on an important spiritual mission for the kingdom of God. Perhaps Satan saw an opportunity to strike while Jesus appeared more vulnerable in his physically and emotionally weakened condition due to his prolonged fasting and inner struggle over his particular call and mission. Satan undoubtedly thought he could persuade Jesus to choose his own path rather than the path his Father had chosen – a path that required self-renunciation, humility, and obedience to his Father's will. Jesus had to struggle with temptation, especially the temptation to choose his own way and to push aside the way his Father wanted him to go. This is the fundamental temptation which confronts each one of us as well. My way or God's way, my will or God's will.

Satan's first temptation appealed to Jesus' physical desires and hunger. Jesus was very hungry and physically weak at the same time - he hadn't eaten anything for forty days. Did the Spirit lead him into the wilderness to die? When the people of Israel were led into the wilderness for forty years without any natural source of food, they complained to Moses that he was punishing them with starvation – a very painful way to suffer and die. Moses took the matter to God in prayer. And God intervened by sending them manna – bread from heaven – for their daily provision. Should not Jesus do the same to revive his weakened condition?

Satan tried to get Jesus to turn stones into bread, both to prove his supernatural power over nature and to satisfy his own personal hunger. Jesus knew that he had been anointed with extraordinary power for performing great signs and wonders, just as Moses and Elijah had performed great signs and miracles in the name of God. But Jesus had chosen to fast from food and to pray for a lengthy period in order to prepare himself for the mission his Father was entrusting to him. Jesus wanted to do his Father's will, even though it might cost him great sacrifice, suffering, and even the loss of his own life. He hungered for his Father's word and made his life dependent on what the Father wanted him to do, rather than what he might have preferred for himself. Jesus chose to use his power and gifts to serve his Father rather than to serve himself. Jesus defeated Satan's snare with the words of Scripture from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses warned the people of Israel to never forget God nor his word: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).

Jesus' second temptation Satan tempted Jesus a second time by presenting him with the best the world could offer - great riches, privileges, glory and fame, and the power to rule over all the kingdoms of the world - Jesus could claim title and possession to everything he desired. Jesus quickly saw through the trap of placing the world's glory, wealth, and power above the honor, glory, and service that is due to God alone. Jesus saw how easily one's heart can be swayed and even overpowered by what it most treasures. The heart cannot serve two masters - only one will prevail. Allowing fame, glory, and wealth to master one's heart is a form of idolatry - the worship of false gods. Jesus chose to honor his Father and to serve his Father's kingdom above all else. He chose to make his Father's will alone as his personal treasure and delight. Jesus again defeated Satan with the words of Scripture which Moses wrote in the Book of Deuteronomy: "It is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve'" (Deuteronomy 6:13).

Jesus' third temptation Satan's last temptation was to convince Jesus that he should position himself at the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, the holiest place on earth where God dwelt in a special way with his people, and there perform a spectacular sign that would prove beyond a doubt that he was the Messiah, God's anointed Son. Why would this be a real temptation for Jesus? It might be helpful to note that the devil is a Bible expert! He accurately quotes from Psalm 91:11-12, "He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you," and "on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone." This psalm is connected with the temple which was regarded as a place of refuge and protection for those who put their trust in God and his dwelling place. The devil wanted Jesus to perform a death-defying sign by throwing himself off the tallest point of the temple to prove that he was who he claimed to be, the divinely appointed Messiah and Son of God. The temple pinnacle which Satan was referring to was very likely the highest structural corner in the construction of Herod's great temple. This high corner of the temple served as the "king's porch" on the edge of a precipice which dropped some 700 feet into the valley below.

Jesus refused to perform any sign that might put God to the test. When the people of Israel almost died of thirst in the wilderness, they rebelled against Moses and they put God to the test by saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Exodus 17:7). Jesus refused Satan's test to prove his divine claim as the Messiah. Jesus quoted once again from the words of Scripture in the Book of Deuteronomy: "It is said, `You shall not put the Lord your God to the test'"(Deuteronomy 6:16). Jesus knew that he would first have to cleanse the temple (John 2:13-22; Luke 19:45-46) and then offer his body as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world (John 1:29; Hebrews 10:5-14). Only after he would be lifted up on the cross and be raised from the tomb on the third day, would people recognize that the Father had sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17).

Spiritual preparation in the forty days of lent What lesson can we learn from Jesus' temptation in the wilderness? How can we hope to fight temptation and overcome sin in our own personal lives? When Jesus went out into the wilderness to fight temptation by the devil, he was led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not rely on his own human strength and will-power for overcoming temptation. He relied on the Holy Spirit to give him strength, wisdom, courage, and self-control. The Lord Jesus knows that we cannot fight temptation on our own. We need the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit to help us. The Lord Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness (Romans 8:26) and to be our guide and strength in times of testing (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Lord gives grace to those who humbly acknowledge their dependence on him (James 4:6) and he helps us to stand firm against the attacks of Satan who seeks to destroy us  (1 Peter 5:8-10; Ephesians 6:10-18). The Lord Jesus is ever ready to pour out his Spirit upon us that we may have the courage we need to repent of our sins and to turn away from them, and to reject the lies and deceits of Satan. God wants us to “fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) with the strength and help which comes from the Holy Spirit. Do you seek God's wisdom and guidance for overcoming sin and avoiding the near occasions of sin?

The forty days of Lent is the annual retreat of the people of God in imitation of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. We are called to journey with the Lord in a special season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving,  repentance, and renewal as we prepare to celebrate the feast of Easter, the Christian Passover. The Lord gives us spiritual food and supernatural strength to seek his face and to prepare ourselves for spiritual combat and testing. We, too, must follow in the way of the cross in order to share in the victory of Christ's death and resurrection. As we begin this holy season of preparation and renewal, let's ask the Lord for a fresh outpouring of his Holy Spirit that we may grow in faith, hope, and love, and embrace his will more fully in our lives.

Sources:

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

**Meditations may be freely reprinted for non-commercial use. Cite copyright & source: www.dailyscripture.net author Don Schwager© 2015 Servants of the Word  

[ourmissionpath]

Ministry Story: Gloria’s Baby

Recently we had the joy of visiting the church of Pisambilla for a baby dedication.

Pisambilla is a Church of God located high up on Mt. Cayambe. The church is between buildings right now. We are currently meeting in a carve out in the hillside. If you would like to donate to their building project please click here! 

  Timothy was invited to dedicate Samara the daughter of Gloria, one of his seminary students. Gloria is also the daughter of Pastor Carlos.

It was an absolute honor to speak into the lives of Samara, Gloria, the family and the church!

Here is a short podcast about this wonderful experience.

https://ourmissionpath.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/ministry-story-baby-dedication-.m4a

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we read: “Listen, Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You must love  the LORD your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. Inscribe them on the door frames of your houses and gates.”

This scripture is very important especially as we think about how to raise a child in a manner dedicated to God.

We love our children! Naturally we want to raise them in a way that passes on our faith.

  Deuteronomy teaches us that God is unique, the only one worthy of worship! The scripture teaches us that our attitude toward God is to be one of love. Love through thought (intellect, creativity), Love through body and spirit (our whole being), and Love through work (strength).

This is a Quechua hymn called Cuya Tayta Diolla. We love hearing our brothers and sisters sing in this beautiful language!

The scripture then instructs us that this truth is to be taught to our children. We are to teach our children to love God as we sit in our house.  This means that our home must be a home focused on God’s truth. Both naturally and intentionally we raise our kids in an atmosphere of faith at home.

We see Pastor Carlos raising his children in a home filed with faith. We know that Gloria will raise Samara in the same atmosphere.

We are to instruct our children in the ways of faith as we walk along the road. Notice the contrast between the home and the road. At home we are supposed to be protected, safe, and free to be most ourself. The message of faith in the home is unified. The road is different. In the road we encounter the dangers of life, difficult people, and confusing thoughts. The road is where our faith is tested. The Scripture says that we are to teach our children in this challenging atmosphere as well. We are to guide them through the troubles in the life. We are to walk with them on the paths they choose to walk. We are to teach our children in the safety of our homes and also in the vulnerability of the road.

The road may be where our faith is proven but ideally the home is where our faith begins.

  This Scripture then goes on to speak of another instance in which we are to instruct our children in the way of faith. We are to remind our children as we lie down and as we get up. This means that our day is to be spent in a manner that brings our kids into a living relationship with God our Father. In every situation during the day we have a choice, we can either act and react in a way that brings our kids into a deeper relationship with God or in a way that drives our kids away from the loving arms of our Savior. A measured and Christ entered response to life’s daily issues teaches our children the way of faith. We must try to act and react in godly ways to all of life’s problems both extraordinary and mundane.

We often rise to the occasion when the extraordinary occurs but consistency in the mundane is what prepares us for the extraordinary.

This Scripture then goes on to tell us to make physical reminders of the truth. That’s because we are both a physical and spiritual creation. Sometimes we need to make physical reminders of spiritual truths. We should find a physical reminder of our faith. We should connect the spiritual truth that we teach our children with physical reminders of that truth. This is what Jesus did when he taught. 

This Scripture concludes with the instruction to write the truth on your door and gate. Door frames and gates are the part of the home that the community sees. What the Bible is teaching is that we are to be a witness to the community. As parents we have a lot of influence on our children the community we live in also shapes our children’s thoughts and actions. This is why we take every opportunity to share our faith with our neighbors. Our witness is to shine inside and outside of our homes, our witness should help shape the spiritual atmosphere in which our children will grow up.

What does your community see from the outside looking in?

Jesus quotes these verses and joins them with Leviticus 19:18 in Matthew 22:37-40.  

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  Jesus  said to him, “‘ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind .’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘ Love your neighbor as yourself .’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Loved ones, the same Jesus Christ who invited The children to come to him invites us to live in Divine love. Allow me to encourage you, love God, love others, live accordingly so that Our Children can see and believe. 

Our kids need to see so that they can believe!

With much love, The Downings

If you liked this ministry story we encourage you to click here and enjoy a recent visit we had with the Roldos Church!  

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[queertheology]

Building a Bible-Based Faith (That Isn’t Terrible)

“Test everything; hold fast what is good.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:21

When I first started to realize that I was attracted to guys, a tiny crack appeared in my faith: how could a loving God knit me together in my mother’s womb then give me these desires for love, intimacy, and family with no righteous outlet to express them?

I’d been told that “homosexuality” was sinful, but I was never quite sure why. I needed to be sure, so I turned to the Bible. That was terrifying. Who was I to question what my church leaders acted like was common knowledge? And then I stumbled upon 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and I realized that questioning my beliefs wasn’t heresy, it was Biblical!

It took me YEARS to sort out that being LGBTQ was not only “ok” but an important part of the diversity of God’s creation. (If you want a peak at what I learned during the process, check this out)

Now that I know it’s ok to be queer — despite what some religious leaders say — I asked myself: what else were they wrong about?

Figuring out I was queer was an invitation to question my faith and to take a fresh look at “what the Bible” says about so many things.

Thank God I’m queer, because I have discovered in the Bible — and the community, experience, expertise, and traditions of Christians across millennia — a faith that is liberating and life-giving… and so much more alive than the evangelical faith of my childhood.

Conservatives talk a lot about being “Bible-believing” or having a “Bible-based” faith.

Too often that’s code for “My interpretation of Christianity is right and everyone who doesn’t measure up is sinful and going to hell.”

While I think it’s entirely possible to be an upstanding, moral person without ever turning to the Bible (or even believing in God!), I’m not ready to let go of this sacred text.

When I look at the Bible, here’s what I see.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. – Luke 4:18-19

Jesus begins his public ministry by quoting from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2, to be specific).

In doing so, he roots his ministry in his Jewish faith and, more specifically, in the Hebrew prophets.

If you’ve asked “What did Jesus come to do?” or “Why did God send Jesus?” … well Jesus answers that question himself in Luke:

to bring good news to poor people

to set prisoners free

to give sight to the blind

to liberate the oppressed

and to usher in God’s abundance

But Jesus doesn’t want to go at it alone. He begins calling disciples to join him in his ministry. Jesus isn’t looking for converts, though.

“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19)

He’s looking for doers to join him in the work of his ministry. And what is that ministry?

Throughout the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, we get a look at God’s priorities. When I look at the ministry of Jesus, I don’t see a departure from the Hebrew scriptures, I see a continuation of them.

In the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, there are 2,350 verses about money, 300 about social justice and the poor, and even 24 about immigration.

But it’s not really about plucking verses out of context or tallying up the number of verses about this subject vs that subject. To take the Bible seriously and faithfully, you need to know what to do with it. What are the central themes and what are the exceptions? What are commandments and what might be examples of humans messing up, despite their best intentions? What taps into the divine and what is just a reflection of a time-bound, cultural norm?

In Deuteronomy,

I have set life and death, blessing and curse before you. Now choose life.

In Amos,

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

In Luke, when asked what one must do to gain eternal life, Jesus shared a story that ended with the Samaritan taking care of the injured man and paying for his healthcare … “Go and do likewise” was Jesus’s answer.

In John,

I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.

In Acts,

All the believers were united and shared everything. …There were no needy persons among them

There’s a whole lot in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures: letters, commandments, poems, stories, parables, and even some visions.

What are we to make of all of these?

Genesis 1 ends with, “God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good” and Revelation ends with “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.” When you look at Scripture — from Genesis to Revelation — what you see is that God calls us to be faithful by loving ourselves and taking care of each other.

Jesus seems to agree. In Matthew 22, he says,

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.

If you aren’t drawing yourself and others closer to God, if you aren’t filled with love for God, for yourself, and for others, you’re not following Jesus’s commands.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 that “by their fruits you will recognize” whether a religious teaching is true or not.

The fruits of anti-LGBTQ theology reveal its falseness: depression, despair, suicide, fractured families, loss of faith, bullying, harassment. The fruits of affirming theology testify to its rightness: a return to faith, a healing of relationships, and a vibrance and resurgence in church life.

But it’s not just about being “LGBTQ affirming” or not. Does your theology put you at odds with your mind, soul, heart, or body? Does your theology sow division in your family, community, nation, or world? Does your theology excuse or encourage violence? Does your theology exacerbate your mental health problems?

Or does it lead you to life and joy? Does it comfort you? Does it give you hope? Does it lead you to treat others well?

Judge your theology by its fruits.

We’re having a webinar to dive even deeper into the fundamentals of Christianity — and the fundamentals of being an LGBTQ Christian. Join us Thursday September 21 at 8pm eastern. Click here to register for free.

[dalyunministry]

God Who Speaks....Part 2

By. Bro. Paul Vincent Moses

💥

Dear brothers and sisters, greetings to you all once again. I thank God for keeping all of us safe and healthy. Some are not very healthy, still I thank God for they are able to breathe the God-given air just to experience God’s goodness and greatness.

I also thank God for another opportunity given unto me to share His word and I’m going to continue with the same topic: GOD WHO SPEAKS which was left last week. Something which is remaining is going to be covered today, the 6th September 2020, leaving the rest for the next week. Before we for the word meditation, let’s have a word of prayer for God’s guidance.

¶ PRAYER

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for another Sunday that you’ve given us in our lives to enjoy your word. Though we experience your goodness the remaining days, Sunday makes us feel that we are in spiritual union with you and we thank you for giving us such an experience. Lord as we meditate your word, we beseech you for your guidance and leading that brings us a better understanding of our spiritual condition and what we ought to be! Grant us your grace and mercy. Help us not to lean on to our own understanding but to depend on your power and strength that gives all peace and comfort and knowledge required. We offer this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen!

Dear ones, last week we saw that God Spoke Through the Nature and Only One God Has Spoken. In today’s meditation, we will observe God Speaking Through Prophets, God Spoke Prophets Like Moses and God Spoke Through His Writings. This communication from God gives us a better understanding about the various ways God tried to keep in touch with us because we are His people, His creation and His beloved ones. Though we knew Him not, He knew us and that He wanted us to know who He was and is. Let’s go ahead with our meditation.

¶ GOD SPOKE THROUGH PROPHETS

We have so far observed that king David’s Psalm speaks of nature’s message about God – and it also speaks of another message. We ‘see’ not only by the lights God placed in the heavens. We see also by another light, a spiritual light, ‘the commands of God’. To know God, man needs more light than nature alone gives.

¶ Nature Alone is not Enough

Nature has many valuable lessons for us. The amazing order in all things, living and nonliving, tells us of wisdom and power far, far higher than ours. Our hearts reach upward in praise. ‘Laws of nature’ are always so steady, so dependable, that we are led to believe that the great Law-Giver can also be trusted. Nature also raises many questions; for example, since God is so great does He care about us who are so small? Some have felt that He is too high and too distant to be bothered. Therefore, they have turned to things of this earth, or to other spirits, for help in times of need.

Others feel that God is against them. They say, ‘If plenty of food is a sign of God’s kindness then what does the lack of food mean? In our times of suffering and death, has God changed from His kind ways?’ Nature by itself does not give us important details about God’s character and thinking. It does not tell us how to approach Him. it raises the questions, but does not give answers we need.

¶ God Who Speaks

Why do some think it so strange that God speaks or communicates in some manner? Surely plain reason tells us that He should be able to speak. Humans speak. Is the great Creator of humans less able to speak? When people thought that God failed to notice their sins, the writer of Psalms reasoned with them. ‘Does He who implanted the ear no hear? Does He who formed the eye not see?’ Psalm 94:9. That logic can be continued, ‘Does He who made the tongue not speak? Can He who gave language no use it? If God chooses to use special messengers, can He not provide His messengers with clear speech?’ God wanted Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. When Moses had doubts God reasoned with him in this way: ‘Who gave man his mouth?... Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’ Exodus 4:11-12. Moses, of course, could speak. He worried that he couldn’t speak well – his words might not be clear and well-chosen. God assured him that He, the Creator of speaking ability, could do what was needed for a clear message. If we have worried that God’s message is poorly given or is unclear, we can stop worrying. God communicates very well.

¶ God Spoke by the Prophets

‘In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways.’ Hebrews 1:1. God’s love for people is such that He did not remain silent. He did not leave us alone and ignorant. ‘GOD SPOKE’. He could have communicated in any number of ways. ‘In the past,’ He chose to speak ‘through prophets’, who were God’s spokesmen, passing along God’s message to people. The writer of the book of Hebrews had no doubt who those prophets were. He quoted from the prophets like Moses (Hebrews 1:6; 8:5), David (Hebrews 1:5a, 8; 4:7), Nathan (Hebrews 1:5b), Isaiah (Hebrews 2:13), Jeremiah 8:8), Habakkuk (Hebrews 10:37), and Haggai (Hebrews 12:26). Chapter 11 of Hebrews also names many prophets. We call these the Old Testament prophets. The book of Hebrews shows that the words given through these prophets were not their own words, but God’s words. When Psalm 95 is used, David is recognized as its human writer. Yet look at how it is expressed: ‘God…spoke through David’ (Hebrews 4:7). In Hebrews 3:7 the same words by David are said to be from God’s Spirit: ‘So, as the Holy Spirit says…’ Similarly, through Jeremiah’s writing, ‘The Holy Spirit testifies to us…’ Hebrews 10:15.

Hebrews and other books of the Bible often speak like this. Nehemiah 9:20, 30 is an example from the Old Testament. It tells how God’s Spirit was in His prophets, teaching and warning His people for many years. In the Bible there is no doubt about it. God has spoken by His prophets so clearly that people long after can depend on their words. The books of Nehemiah and Hebrews were written hundreds of years after the old prophets died. Yet they still quoted and trusted those prophets’ words as true words of God.

¶ How were God’s True Prophets Recognized?

These days we find many people claiming to be prophets speaking for God. They may do this to get money or power or fame. All cannot be prophets though they claim to be so and we are all to be very careful about such people who claim alike for there are false prophets as the Bible says. However, there may be found some who do it sincerely but this was a problem in the past, and still remains the problem at present. Many who now claim to speak for God argue against each other. Their messages do not agree. After speaking about God’s true prophets of long ago, the apostle Peter warns: ‘But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.’ 2 Peter 2:1.

¶ God knew there would be false prophets.

He also knew that people might have trouble knowing which speaker was true and which was false. So God made it very clear which prophets were truly sent by Him. Look at the example of Moses when God made him a prophet to carry His message to Egypt. Moses had grown up in Egypt and had not been known as a prophet then. How could people possibly know that now God had made him a prophet? People might even think of him as a false prophet. Moses asked God, ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, “The Lord did not appear to you?’ Exodus 4:1.

In reply, God told Moses to throw his stick on the ground. By God’s power, the stick became a snake. Then He had Moses pick it up. By God’s power, it changed back into a stick. ‘This is so that they may believe that the Lord…has appeared to you,’ said the Lord. Exodus 4:5. God then gave Moses other miracles – just as amazing – to also prove that he was from God. God called these ‘signs’ as in Exodus 4:8, 30. For they were like signboards for the people pointing out God’s true prophet. We must be aware that God’s enemies also had some power. ‘By their secret arts’ Egypt’s sorcerers and magicians copied a few things done by Moses (Exodus 7:11. But God has all power, so His miracles were always far greater. He showed the kind of power that only the Creator has over His creation. The power in Moses was so great that all could see that Moses was God’s prophet.

¶ Tests for Prophets

Once God had proved the authority of Moses it was not always necessary for true prophets after him to do all the miracles he did. But through Moses, God gave tests for future prophets. At that time any ‘prophet’ failing these tests was put to death. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 has one of these tests: ‘But a prophet who presumes to speak in My name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to dath. You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord doesn’t take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.’ Yet God also knew that some dreamers and leaders might foretell events that actually happen. So, in Deuteronomy 13, God told how to test such cases: ‘If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “let us follow other gods”… you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all you soul.’ Deuteronomy 13:1-3. We find three tests –

¶ All true prophets after Moses were proved true by:

 ‘Signs’ – if they had any – clearly showing the Creator’s power over creation. (The weaker power of magicians was no proof).

 All that they foretold coming true. (God never lies or makes mistakes).

 Agreeing with what God has revealed about Himself through Moses. (God does not deny Himself or His own teachings).

¶ Learning From Prophets

False prophets did not have the power of God or the truth of God. At one point or another they all failed to pass these tests. In this way, through many centuries, God made clear who His true prophets were, and who were not. That is why the Bible not only says that ‘God spoke to our forefathers through prophets’ Hebrews 1:1, but it actually names those true prophets. Their writings, called ‘Scriptures,’ are God’s words through His proven prophets. If we really seek God and His way/s, we will go to Scripture.

What a great love God has shown us by choosing to speak to us! What great wisdom God showed when He chose to speak to people through people/prophets! For this means that He has spoken in human language – language we can understand! Here is a message much clearer than nature alone can give us. Above all, here are words from God that we can read for ourselves. For the message of the prophets has been passed on to us through reliable record called ‘Scripture’. It’s our duty to honor God by learning and following Scripture.

¶ GOD SPOKE THROUGH MOSES

‘The Lord said to Moses, “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put My words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I command Him.” Deuteronomy 18:17-18.

The whole chapter of 18 of the book of Deuteronomy gave a test for prophets, also gave this remarkable promise about another future Prophet. He would come from ‘among their brothers’. That is, He also would be an Israelite (also called Hebrew or Jew). Of greatest importance was that He would be like Moses – this is how He would stand out so that people could recognize Him.

¶ God’s Glory Too Great for Man

Why was it so important to have this special Prophet like Moses? The same passage explained: ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to Him. for this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb…when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” Deuteronomy 18:15-16. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. God met the Israelites at this mountain, after they had left Egypt. He came down in terrible fire and smoke on the mountain. The wholde mountain shook. Thunder boomed from mighty flashes of lightning. A trumpet call grew louder and louder, and then God Himself spoke! His glory was too great for them as described in Exodus 18 and Deuteronomy 5. The people trembled with fear. The fire and the voice of God were so awesome that the people thought they were going to die. They begged Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But don’t have God speak to us or we will die.’ Exodus 20:19. God replied, ‘What they said is good.’ Deuteronomy 18:17; also 5:28. For the people had seen that God was far too great for them to deal with Him directly. He ‘lives in unapproachable light’. 1 Timothy 6:16. They needed someone to represent them before God, someone as a mediator between them and God. The first such mediator was Moses. He went to people, talking to them God’s messages. But a mediator works to bring both sides together. So Moses also went to God. He took the needs of the people to God. In this way, Moses did much good for his people. Yet God knew that people in future also would need a mediator. So He promised in Deuteronomy 18 to end another Prophet from among the Israelites, a Prophet like Moses.

¶ We Need a Mediator, Not Mediums

Deuteronomy 18 shows another important reason for a mediator. God knows that people need answers for solving life’s many problems. They need to make the best choices about how to live. God also knows that people often look for answers in the wrong places. For example, many turn to spirit mediums who claim to speak for the dead or other spirits. Many also seek answers in witchcraft, spiritism, magic spells, omens and other sings such as the stars. In Deuteronomy 18:9-14, God commanded His people not to use these methods as also found in Leviticus 19:31, 1 Chronicles 10:13, Isaiah 8:19, Acts 19:19 & Revelation 21:8. Was He trying to keep them from finding spiritual answers? Actually, God was keeping them from these methods because they give false answers, which harm people. Isaiah 47:8-15 & Jeremiah 27:9-10. God’s love went even further. Rather than stopping the search for answers, He opened the way for all the answers needed. For immediately after speaking against mediums, God promised to send the Prophet like Moses. People do not need ‘mediums’ because God gives His mediator! God assured them, ‘I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.’ Deuteronomy 18:18. Unlike messages from mediums, this message would be true and trustworthy. For it would be God’s own words. ‘Everything’ from God would be faithfully passed along to people by the Prophet like Moses.

¶ No Prophet Like Moses

Weren’t all prophets “like Moses”? No. Even at the time of Moses there were other prophets, such as Miriam and Aaron. Yet God made it plain that Moses was quite different from them. God spoke to Moses in a far more open, direct and personal way. This is what God said: ‘When a prophet of the Lord is among you. I reveal Myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of My servant Moses…With him I speak fact to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.’ Numbers 12: 6-8.

Joshua came after Moses. Yet even in the passage which speaks of Joshua’s greatness, Deuteronomy ends with these words: ‘Sin then, no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all the miraculous sings and wonders…For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.’ Deuteronomy 34:10-12.

Clearly, the other prophets were not like Moses. God was more direct with Moses. God used him as His special agent and lawgiver. Because of His unique authority, all other Israelite prophets, from Joshua on, taught their people to follow ‘the law of Moses’. The coming Prophet would serve, like Moses, as God’s mediator with special authority to give God’s commandments to the people. And here is another important point: From Deuteronomy 34, we learn that being truly ‘like Moses’ had to include showing miracles of mighty power.

¶ Promises of the Messiah

After God’s promise in Deuteronomy 18, many years passed with no prophet arising who seemed to match with Moses. Yet God was not silent. He carefully guided history in the direction He had chosen. Along with way, God used prophets to give the meaning of His actions and to point ahead to what He planned. Again and again these prophets told of One to come. He would be a King from David’s family line (2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89; Isaiah 11). He would serve as “Priest forever” - Psalm 110. This same Psalm that said he would be a Priest also pictured Him as David’s ‘Lord’. He would rule from the highest place, at God’s right hand. Similar prophecies showed that this coming Prophet, the coming Priest, and the coming King would be the same person – the Messiah!

¶ Is Jesus That Messiah?

When an Israelite man was officially made a prophet or priest or king, oil was usually poured on his head. Such pouring was called ‘anointing’ and served as a sign of the authority to lead. The Hebrew word Messiah means “Anointed One”. Psalm 2. This same word from Greek language is Christ. Today mose people who know the word ‘Christ’ think immediately of Jesus Christ. This is because so many proofs point to Jesus as the One promised by God. Jesus fits the descriptions of the Messiah or Christ as foretold by the Old Testament prophets. Jesus also did the miracles of mighty power that we would expect of the Prophet like Moses. He healed the blind, deaf and lame. He stilled storms and walked on the water. He even gave life back to the dead! At the town of Nain Jesus met a funeral group going to bury the only son of a widow. When he saw the widow’s great sorrow, He went to the coffin. He touched it and called out, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Many were present. They saw the boy arise from death! Luke 7:16 reports, ‘They were all filled with awe and praised God. A great prophet has appeared among us, they said. God has come to help His people.’ The people knew what they had seen. Jesus lived among them. Many were present to see His great works. Here were miraculous ‘signs’ showing more clearly than ever the power that only the Creator has over His creation. Therefore Jesus really was ‘a great prophet’. The people who saw these things reasoned correctly, ‘When the Christ comes, will He do more miraculous signs than this man?’ John 7:31.

Here were the greatest teachings ever heard, and the greatest miracles ever seen. If Jesus was not the Christ, who could, possibly, do greater things? So even at that time many realized that He had to be the Prophet (John 7:40). If so, that also meant He was Christ. When Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem for the last time they welcomed Him as ‘the Son of David’, ‘the King’ and ‘the Prophet’. Matthew 21:8-11 & Luke 19:37-38.

¶ The Greatest Sign

Jesus often foretold that He would be killed by the Jewish and roman leaders (Matthew 16:4, 17:12, 23; 20:18-19; 26:2). His death, He said, would be by crucifixion, in which a person was nailed to a wooden cross and left to die in great pain. He explained that His death would allow people to be forgiven of their sins. (Matthew 20:28; 26:28). Yet, along with predictions of His death, Jesus promised that His greatest ‘sign’ would be to return from death in three days. (Matthew 12:38-40; 17:23; John 2:19-22). As is well recorded by history, Jesus went on to actually fulfill that promise (Matthew 28; John 20; & Acts 2). Not even the greatest prophet, priest or king had ever dared to make such a promise for himself. And certainly none had been able to raise himself from the grave. Jesus, by God’s power, both predicted it and accomplished it. Could there be any doubt that the Prophet foretold by Moses had finally arrived? Peter was one of the eyewitnesses of these things. He had once fled from the enemies who killed Jesus. But after Jesus had returned from death, Peter knew that death was not to be feared any longer. With the help of God’s Spirit, Peter stood before the same enemies and boldly declared,

‘Now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what He had foretold through all the prophets, saying that this Christ should suffer…For Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your people; you must listen to everything he tells you. anyone who does not listen to Him, will be completely cut off from among His people.” Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days.’ Acts 3:17-24.

Peter quoted from the very passage we have studied in Deuteronomy 18. That passage, he said, looked ahead to Jesus Christ. ‘Indeed, all the prophets’ had pointed forward to this one great Prophet! Since Jesus is the Prophet like Moses, He is now the Mediator between God and men. 1 Timothy 2:5. That is why we are told, ‘listen to everything He tells you.’ Acts 3:22.

¶ What if we fail to listen to Jesus?

We miss God’s most important message for life, and that has this terrible result:

‘Anyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among His people.’ Acts 3:23.

Such a person can do longer belong to God and His people! This is a serious matter. Our lives depend on listening carefully to the Prophet like Moses. God’s fiery presence is too great for us. We cannot bear to see and hear Him in a direct way. Therefore, God speaks to us through a mediator like Moses for the Jews at the Mount Sinai. At that time God promised Another to come, a Prophet like Moses. The New Testament proves that this new Mediator is Jesus Christ. His message must be treated with full respect if we are to have life with God and His people.

¶ GOD SPOKE THROUGH HIS WRITINGS

1 Peter 1:20-21, ‘Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture cam about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.’

One of the greatest works of the Holy Spirit has been the giving of God’s truth to people through the prophets. Notice that phrase, ‘prophecy of Scripture’. This simply means God’s prophetic message as written in Scripture. The prophets not only spoke from God, they also wrote from God! What they prophesied was not their own ‘interpretation’. It was not their personal opinion or guess about truth. True prophecy never came from human will. it came from God Himself as His Holy Spirit move them to tell just what He planned.

¶ All Scripture is Inspired

The Holy Spirit did not have to change the prophets into machines to do this. They still wrote in the language and manner of their time. This passage in 2 Peter is about the Old Testament prophets. They usually used the Hebrew language. (The New Testament used the Greek language). We can often see in the writing what kind of person the writer was. The Holy Spirit used all of this – the place and time, the language, and the person himself – to write exactly what God wanted. This is why Paul could be so confident in describing all Scripture in this way: ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ 2 Timothy 3:16-17. If you are looking for ‘teaching’ which you can fully as God’s truth, go to Scripture! If you have strayed and need ‘correcting’, go to Scripture! There God Himself gives guidance to you, so that you can return to Him. in fact, Scripture is so dependable in every part that all of it is useful. It completely prepares us for every good work. God gave the New Testament in much the same way as He had given the Old Testament. As we shall see later in this meditation, the Holy Spirit worked in the apostles and their fellow-prophets in the early church. Their writings are also called ‘Scripture’ as we find it in 2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:8. The statements of the Bible leave no doubt. God has spoken fully and clearly through Scripture! Many great thinkers have written their own books. But not one of their books is like the Bible. For the Bible is the LORD’s own book. Given over a period of 1500 years, this is the Book ‘breathed’ or ‘inspired’ by the one true God Himself!

¶ God’s Main Way of Speaking

‘In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son’. Hebrews 1:1-2. Previously we noted from Hebrews 1:1 that God spoke through the prophets. But the writer of Hebrews had an even more important lesson to teach. He wished to show how God has spoken to us today. He did not mean that the old prophets have nothing to say to us. Hebrews itself has many quotes and lessons from Old Testament prophets. So the writer clearly means that God’s main way of speaking to us today is ‘by His Son’. His son is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1-6).

¶ God Has Spoken in Two Parts

Hebrews 1:1-2 places God’s speaking into different parts as found in the following:

 Time has two parts:

‘in the past’ Hebrews 1:1. ‘in these last days’ Hebrews 1:2

 God’s people are in two groups:

‘God spoke to our forefathers Hebrews 1:1 ‘He has spoken to us’ Hebrews 1:2

 God has used two methods:

‘Through the prophets’ Hebrews 1:1 ‘by His Son’ 1:2

In the past, God used the prophets as His main method of speaking. He used them ‘at many times and in various ways’. Yet, all along, God planned to use a better method for the last part of history. ‘In these last days’ He has spoken ‘by His son’. The verses which come next in Hebrews show why the Son is far better. He is so much like God that He can represent God in the most clear and exact way. The old prophets give us much of the basic knowledge that we need. What they said is still true. yet God wants us to know more fully what He is like. God has much to say especially ‘to us’. That is why we should learn from God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible becomes much easier to understand when we realize that God has dealt with two major groups in two major ways. This is especially important when we try to obey the commands of the Bible. Should we have the priests of the Old Testament or the priests of the New Testament? Should we be circumcised or baptized? Should we keep the Sabbaths? Should we still worship in the ways given by the Law of Moses? Hebrews chapter sever helps us find the answer.

¶ There Has Been a Change of the Law

Hebrews 7 teaches us that Jesus has become that Priest to which Psalm 110 had pointed. It is well known that Jesus came from the family line of Judah and David. But the law of Moses was very strict about such matters. It said that its priests should come only from the family line of Levi and Aaron. How could Jesus have become our High Priest when He did not belong to the right family? Remember that it was God who planned and foretold that the Christ would come from Judah and David as in Genesis 49:10; Psalm 89. It was also God who said that this Christ would be ‘Priest forever’ as found Psalm 110. Therefore, God must have planned some change that would allow One from Judah to become Priest. This conclusion is exactly what we find in Hebrews 7:12, ‘For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law.’ Verse 18 goes on to say that the former regulation is set aside.

¶ Other Laws of Moses

God spoke through the great prophet Moses when He gave that old rule about priests coming only from Levi and Aaron. What about the other laws given through Moses? Are they also set aside? The very same words are used in Hebrews 10:9, ‘He sets aside the first to establish the second.’ This is about Christ’s new sacrifice taking the place of old sacrifices. The two kinds of sacrifice could not continue together. The book of Hebrews uses the word ‘better’ 13 times to show how Jesus’ way is greater than any other way. The new of Christ is so much better that there is no longer any need for the old way given through Moses. That is why we are clearly told that the laws about circumcision no longer rule us as in Acts 15. Further, Galatians 5:1-6 says that anyone trying to put us under those laws again will have serious consequences from God. We find in Colossians 2:16, that for the same reason, no one can judge us now about the special days and Sabbaths of Moses’ law. Colossians 2:16, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holiday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:” 2:17 – ‘Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ’. And Hebrews 8:5, ‘Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount’. Hebrews Chapter 10 and verse 1, ‘For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect’. These scriptures explain that such rules were just a shadow. Since this shadown went ahead, it helped to picture the coming reality – Christ. Even the Ten Commandments were a part of this shadow that had to move aside when Christ came. Romans 7:7 shows this because it quotes from ‘the law’, using words from the Ten Commandments. Yet this same law is ‘the law’ from which we have been released or set free. ‘So my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God…But now, by dying to what once bound us, We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.’ Romans 7:4-6.

¶ The Covenant With Israel

When God has chosen people to belong to Him, He has usually made a special covenant with them. A covenant is a binding agreement that ties one person to another. It is sometimes called a ‘contract’. It helps people to know where they stand with each other. They are either ‘in’ the covenant or ‘out’ of it. For example, a man and woman enter their marriage covenant at the time of their wedding. For those in the covenant there is greater assurance. They can be sure of their partnership and its terms. Knowing what each should give and receive, they can go forward in life with far more of a sense of direction and certainty. One of the most famous covenants God made was with Abraham in Genesis 17. When Abraham’s children, the Israelites, had grown large enough to become a nation, God sent Moses to them. When God brought them out of Egypt He made His special covenant with the whole nation as in 1 Kings 8:9,21. The Ten

¶ Commandments were an important part of this covenant.

‘Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel,” Moses…wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant – the Ten Commandments’. Exodus 34:27-28.

Many people have misunderstood this covenant. They have thought that it was meant for all people. But God Himself spoke of it as a contract between Him and the Israelites (Exodus 34:27; Leviticus 20:23-26; 26:46; Malachi 4:4). Many have thought that it would continue ever after Christ. Yet even the Old Testament pointed ahead to a great change. The old covenant would be replaced by a new covenant.

‘The time is coming, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead then out of Egypt…’ Jeremiah 31:31-32. Now, we’ve got to notice that the new covenant would be quite different. It would ‘not’ be like the covenant that God had made with them when they came from Egypt. Scripture is very clear on this point. The new covenant would not be the old one continued or repeated. The two covenants would be different in some important ways.

¶ The New Covenant Replacing the Old One

Hebrews 8 quotes from this same passage in Jeremiah 31, showing that what it foretold had come true. Christ is not the Mediator of the new and better covenant (Hebrews 8:6). And, according to 8:13, ‘By calling this covenant “new”, He has made the first on obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.’ “Obsolete” means “no longer in full use’ or “out of date”. We can still learn many important things from the old covenant. It is ‘obsolete’ in that it doesn’t rule over us as it once ruled over the Israelites. God’s people are no longer part of that covenant written on stone tablets at Sinai (2 Corinthians 3:6-11; Galatians 4:21-31).

May the Lord bless His word in our lives and help all of us through this word to give a better comprehension to others about the Living God!

Prayer: Lord God, how dark life would be for us if You had kept silent! We are grateful that You spoke thank You for caring enough to speak through fellow-humans and in human language, so that we can understand. May our today’s meditation bring a great blessing to all of us! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, our Father, and the sweet and unbreakable communion of the Holy Spirit, which has been since the creation of this universe according the will and purpose of God, rest and abide with all of us and our families, now and forevermore. Amen!

[dailybiblelessons]

Wednesday: Reflection on the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Revised Common Lectionary Proper 16 Roman Catholic Proper 21

Complementary Hebrew Scripture Lesson from the Latter Prophets: Isaiah 28:14-22

Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers  who rule this people in Jerusalem. Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,  and with Sheol we have an agreement; when the overwhelming scourge passes through  it will not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge,  and in falsehood we have taken shelter”; therefore thus says the Lord GOD, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone,  a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:  “One who trusts will not panic.”¹ And I will make justice the line,  and righteousness the plummet; hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,  and waters will overwhelm the shelter. Then your covenant with death will be annulled,  and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through  you will be beaten down by it. As often as it passes through, it will take you;  for morning by morning it will pass through,  by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it,  and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in it. For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim,  he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon; to do his deed—strange is his deed!  and to work his work—alien is his work! Now therefore do not scoff,  or your bonds will be made stronger; for I have heard a decree of destruction  from the Lord GOD of hosts upon the whole land.

¹This passage is quoted twice in the New Testament, first in Romans 9:30, part of a passage about Israel's unbelief and again in 1 Peter 2:6, part of a passage about the living stone and a chosen People.

Hebrew Scripture Torah Lesson: Exodus 2:15b-22

But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.

The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock. When they returned to their father Reuel,¹ he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?” They said, “An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread.” Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. She bore a son, and he named him Gershom; for he said, “I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.”

Complementary Psalm 18:1-3, 20-32

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,  my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,  my shield, and the horn of my salvation,  my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,  so I shall be saved from my enemies.

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;  according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord,  and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his ordinances were before me,  and his statutes I did not put away from me. I was blameless before him,  and I kept myself from guilt. Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,  according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

With the loyal you show yourself loyal;  with the blameless you show yourself blameless; with the pure you show yourself pure;  and with the crooked you show yourself perverse. For you deliver a humble people,  but the haughty eyes you bring down. It is you who light my lamp;  the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. By you I can crush a troop,  and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect;  the promise of the Lord proves true;  he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God except the Lord?  And who is a rock besides our God?— the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe.

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Sovereign,  how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,  to silence the enemy and the avenger.¹

When I look at your heavens,  the work of your fingers,  the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them,  mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,  and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion  over the works of your hands;  you have put all things under their feet,² all sheep and oxen,  and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,  whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,  how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Jesus quotes part of this verse in Matthew 21:16, when he is cleansing the temple. ²This entire passage is quoted in Hebrews 2:6-9, about Jesus' exaltation. The last part (You have given … under their feet) is quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:27, part of a passage about resurrection of the dead, and again in Ephesians 1:22, about God's action in Christ.

New Testament Gospel Lesson: Matthew 26:6-13

There are parallel passages at Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8.

Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you¹, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

¹Deuteronomy 15:11

Year A Ordinary 21, RCL Proper 16, Catholic Proper 21 Wednesday

Selections are from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 1995 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Unless otherwise indicated, Bible text is from New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV) copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Image Credit: The Feast of Simon the Pharisee by Peter Paul Rubens via Wikimedia Commons. This is a public domain image.

[numbersbythebook]

Spiritual Battle with Serpents & Scorpions

written by Will Schumaker

I watched a video on AlephBeta about the fiery serpents in the wilderness.

In Numbers 21 we read that God “sent” fiery serpents.

Numbers 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died

Aleph Beta quotes a Rabbi commenting on the Hebrew word for “sent”.  The rabbi says the way it is written in hebrew is special and should rather mean “let go” or “release” and not “send”.  So God released the fiery serpents. They were always there in the wilderness but God had beforehand protected the Israelites from them.

The video goes on to the connection to Deuteronomy 8 where God says there were serpents and scorpions in the wilderness where they traveled before they entered the promised land.

Deuteronomy 8:15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

In this same chapter God warns the people not to forget Him:

Deuteronomy 8:12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;          

Deuteronomy 8:13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;

Deuteronomy 8:14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

So the video says the serpents and scorpions were always there in the wilderness with Israel but God protected His people from the serpents and scorpions.  The people complained against God because they were forgetting Him and not seeing His protection.  It wasn’t about the food.   God saw the best way to show the people how much He was protecting them, was to take away His protection and release the serpents and scorpions and let them come near His people so they would realize His goodness.  God then provided a way of “salvation” for His people by looking at the serpent of brass raised up by Moses.

These 2 sections, Numbers 21 and Deut 8 are tied numerically also.

This is verse 5149 -

Deuteronomy 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

This verse has a gematria of 5149

Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

The story of the people of God back then is the story of His people today.

The serpents and scorpions were real physical creatures the Israelites faced in the physical wilderness before they entered the promised land which are types of the spiritual manifestations we face in this life which is a spiritual wilderness before we enter the promised land.

God allowed the famines, serpents, and scorpions to see what is in the Israelites heart and He allows them now to see what is in our heart.

Deuteronomy 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

Jesus calls the serpents and scorpions the enemy.

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

In my post on 666 recently I talked about seeing the number 23 x 23.

This was verse 23 x 23 x 40

Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

This was chapter and verse 23:23

Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

This verse on false prophets had a gematria of 5290 or 23 x 23 x 10.

Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

This verse from Deut 8 has a gematria of 5290 also (23 x 23 x 10).

Deuteronomy 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

4 verse later God points out the scorpions and the serpents in the wilderness and they are there to test your faith.

Deuteronomy 8:15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

23 x 23 = 529  Strong’s H529 = faith  

Deuteronomy 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

Numbers 21 and Deut 8 are also separated by 23 chapters.  Numbers 21 is chapter 138=6 x 23 and Deut 8 is chapter 161=7 x 23.

I am of the strong opinion that Revelation 9 which speaks of serpents and scorpions is speaking of the spiritual beast and spiritual false prophet of Revelation 13.

The sixth trumpet of Revelation has to do with serpents.

Revelation 9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto SERPENTS, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

But most importantly it emphasizes the mouth.

Revelation 9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their MOUTHS issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

Revelation 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their MOUTHS.  

Revelation 9:19 For their power is in their MOUTH, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

The false prophet speaks his lies with his mouth deceiving the people.

Deuteronomy 8 was chapter 161 of the bible.  161=7 x23  It spoke of the serpents in the wilderness.

Verse 161 of Revelation is in chapter 9 about the 6th trumpet of serpents.

Revelation 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

There seems to be another connection between the serpents and scorpions of the wilderness and the serpents and scorpions of revelation 9.

The rabbi that was referred to in the video I watched stated that God “released” the serpents.  Revelation 9 speaks of the serpents and scorpions bound and “released” also.

The locusts like scorpions were bound in the bottomless pit and released.

Revelation 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit

The four angels which become an army of horsemen like serpents were bound at the Euphrates and released.

Revelation 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates

There is another connection between the serpents and scorpions of the wilderness and Revelation 9.

Once you looked upon the serpent of brass in the wilderness you were healed from the bite of the serpent and it could no longer harm you.

Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Christ was the serpent of brass.

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

So if you looked upon Christ, or trusted in Him for your salvation, you were healed and the serpents could not hurt you anymore.  Serpents and scorpions are interchangeable definitions of the enemy of God.

The scorpion like figures in Revelation 9 who are released just like God released the serpents in Num 21 can not hurt the believer sealed by God just like the serpents in Num 21 can not hurt  the person who looked upon the serpent of brass lifted up-a picture of Christ taking on our sin on the cross.

Revelation 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Both the scorpions and serpents of Rev 9 are prepared for war.

Revelation 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men

Revelation 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

Revelation 9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

They both have breastplates on them in this war.

Revelation 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

Revelation 9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

God’s people are to have breastplates on them when they are fighting the spiritual war of this world.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places

Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

I believe God is telling us of the spiritual battle that awaits us every day.  These are frightening descriptions in revelation of the spiritual enemy.  Unfortunately, I find myself oblivious far too often. The devil seems to like to put us in a malaise where we think everything is good and we aren’t prepared for the battle that awaits us each day.  Oh that I would have my eyes opened each morning to the battle and put on the full armour of God

[fevie168]

Friday (April 28): The miraculous sign of Jesus

Scripture: John 6:1-15

1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" 6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as  they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!" 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Meditation: Can anything on this earth truly satisfy the deepest longing and hunger we experience for God? A great multitude had gathered to hear Jesus, no doubt because they were hungry for the word of life. Jesus' disciples wanted to send them away at the end of the day because they did not have the resources to feed them. They even complained how much money it would take to feed such a large crowd - at least six month's wages! Jesus, the Bread of Life, took the little they had - five loaves and two fish - and giving thanks to his heavenly Father, distributed to all until they were satisfied of their hunger.

Jesus is the true bread from heaven that gives us abundant life The people of Israel had been waiting for the prophet whom Moses had promised: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren - him shall you heed(Deuteronomy 18:15). The signs which Jesus did, including the miraculous feeding of the five thousand signified that God has indeed sent him as the anointed Prophet and King. Jesus' feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle that is repeated in all four Gospel accounts. What is the significance of this particular miracle? The miraculous feeding of such a great multitude pointed to God's provision of manna in the wilderness for the people of Israel under Moses' leadership (Exodus 16). This daily provision of food in the barren wilderness foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers.

The food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ Jesus makes a claim which only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. The sign of the multiplication of the loaves when the Lord says the blessing, breaks, and distributes through his disciples prefigures the superabundance of the unique bread of his Eucharist or Lord's Supper. When we receive from the Lord's table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.

When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist at the Lord's Table is an intimate union with Jesus Christ, our Divine Healer and Savior. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for the "bread of life"?

The Lord alone can satisfy the deepest longing of our heart The feeding of the five thousand shows the remarkable generosity of God and his great kindness towards us. When God gives, he gives abundantly. He gives more than we need for ourselves so that we may have something to share with others, especially those who lack what they need. God takes the little we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Do you trust in God's provision for you and do you share freely with others, especially those who are in need?

"Lord Jesus, you satisfy the deepest longing of our heart and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Psalm 81:16). Fill me with gratitude and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others what you have given to me."

Psalm 27:1-4, 11-14

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life;  of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me, my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall. 3 Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;  though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. 4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after;  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD; and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. 12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. 13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage;  yes, wait for the LORD!

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: God enables us, by Leo the Great, 400-461 A.D.

"In rendering service to the grace of God, we are not only made subject to our King through obedience but are even joined to him through the will. If we are of one mind with him (willing what he wills, disapproving of what he disapproves), he himself will bring us victory in all our battles. He who has given the 'will' will bestow also the ability. In this way can we 'cooperate' with his works, speaking that prophetic utterance in the exultation of faith: 'The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?'" (excerpt from Sermon 26,4,2)