January 12, 2013 Bible Study — God Loves Sinners

January 11, 2013 AttilaDimedici

I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Genesis 26:17-27:46

     Isaac moved away from the Philistines as Abimelech had asked. Isaac’s servants dug several wells, but the Philistine’s claimed them. Rather than fight, Isaac moved on until the Philistines did not dispute him over a well. There Isaac stopped and worshiped God. That night God appeared to him and affirmed His blessing on Isaac and his descendants. Meanwhile Abimelech came to Isaac with several of his advisers. Abimelech wished to enter into a treaty with Isaac that neither side would harm the other.
     The passage mentions that Esau married two Hittite women who were a source of grief for Isaac and Rebekah. The passage foes on to tell us that when Isaac got old his eyesight failed him. At one point Isaac called Esau to him. Isaac asked Esau to go hunting and prepare him some tasty food to eat. Isaac told Esau that when he returned he would give him his blessing. Rebekah overheard this conversation and told Jacob to bring her two goats so that she could prepare a dish for Isaac and Jacob would get the blessing. Jacob responded that would never work because he was not as hairy as Esau. Rebekah tells him to do it anyway, so he gets the goats. Rebekah prepares the meal and takes the goatskins and places them on the back of Jacob’s hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Isaac was suspicious but Jacob convinced him that he was Esau and Isaac blessed him. Shortly after Jacob left Isaac, Esau returned and came into Isaac’s presence. When Esau asks for his blessing Isaac tells him that he has already given it to Jacob. Esau begs Isaac for any blessing he can give him. Isaac after much thought blesses Esau that he will not always be subordinate to Jacob. Esau was furious with Jacob and plotted that when Isaac had died he would kill Jacob. When Rebekah heard of Esau’s plans she convinces Jacob to go to her brother, Laban, until Esau calms down. She then goes to Isaac and convinces him to send Jacob to her brother so that he does not marry one (or more) of the local women as Esau had done.
     Whenever I read this story my heart goes out to Esau. His mother and his brother conspired to steal the blessing that his father intended to give him. Of course, Isaac gave a blessing to Jacob (the one he intended to give Esau) that left no room to give his other son much of a blessing, so if things had gone as Isaac planned it would have been Jacob left out in the cold. Talk about a dysfunctional family. Yet these were the ones through whom God planned to bring His blessing to the whole earth.

Matthew 9:1-17

Some people brought a paralyzed man to Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of the man’s friends, he encouraged him and told him that his sins were forgiven. The teachers of the law who witnessed this immediately whispered to each other that what Jesus had just said was blasphemy. Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked them whether it was easier to tell the man that his sins were forgiven or to get up and walk? Then He told the man to get up and go home which the man promptly did. Jesus met both the spiritual needs (forgiveness) and the physical needs (healing) of this man. We are called to behave in the same manner.
Shortly after this, Jesus was walking along when He saw Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth (as a tax collector). Jesus told Matthew to follow Him and Matthew immediately got up and followed Him. Jesus ate dinner at Matthew’s house along with many tax collectors and other sinners. When some of the Pharisees saw this they asked His disciples why He ate with tax collectors and sinners? When He heard this Jesus told them that it isn’t the healthy that need a doctor, rather it is the sick. Jesus then references a passage from Hosea where the prophet said that God desired us to be merciful more than he desired us to offer sacrifices. Finally He tells them that He came to call sinners, not the righteous (or those who thought they were righteous). I think this passage is an important one for Christians. How are we supposed to call sinners to Christ if we never spend any time with them? Jesus spent a large amount of His time on this earth at places many Christians will never go, at the wild parties and at the equivalent of the modern bar. Jesus spent a lot of time where people went to drink and hang out.

Psalm 10:16-18

God hears the cry of the afflicted and answers it. He defends the fatherless and the oppressed, He will repay those who treat them with injustice.

Proverbs 3:9-10

The proverb writer tells us that if we honor God with our wealth, we will never want. If we put God first, we will manage what wealth God blesses us with in a way that does not squander it. By making sure we honor God with our wealth, we will ensure that we have our priorities straight.

Daily Bible Study

January 11, 2013 Bible Study — Faith That God Is Master Of The Storm

January 10, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 24:52-26:16

     After the death of Sarah, Abraham took another wife and had several sons by her. Before he died Abraham gave these other sons gifts from his wealth and sent them away from where Isaac lived. Abraham died when he was 175 years old and left his possessions to Isaac. Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham in the cave he had purchased to bury Sarah. The account then gives a list of Ishmael’s sons and tells us that they lived in hostility towards all of the tribes related to them.
     The passage tells us that Rebekah had trouble conceiving children and that Isaac pleaded with God on her behalf. In due time God answered Isaac’s prayer and Rebekah bore twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau emerged first and Jacob came out clutching at Esau’s heal. Jacob means “he grasps the heal”. It is interesting that the phrase “he grasps the heel” was Hebrew idiom for “he deceives”. As the boys grew up, Esau became an avid hunter and an outdoors-man. Jacob on the other hand was more of a homebody. Isaac loved Esau because Isaac enjoyed the taste of wild game. On the other hand, Rebekah favored Jacob.
     One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came back from the wilds hungry. Esau asked Jacob for some of the stew. Jacob told Esau that he could have some stew if he would give Jacob his birthright as firstborn. Esau tells Isaac that he is starving and his birthright is of no value to him now. Jacob insists that Esau swear an oath transferring his birthright to Jacob. Esau complies and Jacob feeds him. The passage tells us that Esau showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. This story is a great example of someone sacrificing their long-term best interest in exchange for short-term pleasure.
     At some point there is another famine in the land. Instead of going to Egypt as Abraham had done when he experienced famine in Canaan, Isaac goes to Gerar and lived among the Philistines. While there he does the same thing that his father had done under similar circumstances, he tells people that his wife is his sister. Isaac was afraid that the people would kill him to take Rebekah as their wife since she was so beautiful. When Isaac had been there some time, the king Abimelech saw Isaac caressing Rebekah and realized that she was really his wife. It is unlikely that this was the same Abimelech who took Sarah as his wife when Abraham did the same thing before Isaac was born. However, it might be his son who heard stories of that event. Abimelech is horrified by Isaac’s deception and issues an edict that no one is to touch him or his wife on pain of death. Isaac continued to gather wealth so that the Philistines became jealous of him and filled in some of the wells that Abraham’s servants had dug. Abimelech finally tells Isaac to go somewhere else since he has become too powerful to live as a nomad among them.

Matthew 8:18-34

When the crowds following Him became too large and He needed a break, Jesus instructed His disciples to cross over to the other side of the lake. A teacher of the law approached Jesus and said that he would follow Him. Jesus replied by telling the teacher of the law that He had no place to lay His head. This is followed by an account of another disciple asked Jesus for permission to first go and bury his father. This is not a case of where the man’s father had just died and he wanted to have the funeral before he started following Jesus around. The man was saying, “I will come follow you after my father dies.” Jesus tells him that he should choose to follow now. These two stories tell us that we should be prepared for hardship when we choose to follow Jesus and the time to act is now.
Following this, Jesus got in the boat and started across the lake with His disciples. Jesus went to sleep in the boat. While Jesus was sleeping a storm came up suddenly and started to swamp the boat. The disciples woke Jesus up crying that they were going to drown. Jesus asked them why they were afraid, suggesting that their fear was evidence of lack of faith. He then commanded the wind and waves to calm and they did. A storm when you are out on a lake in a boat is not something to be taken lightly, many people have died in such situations. Do we cry out to God in fear when the storms of life surround us? How often do we suffer from fear when we experience difficulties that are a much less imminent danger than this storm was to the disciples? This story is a reminder to us that if we have faith in God, we do not need to fear.

Psalm 10:1-15

It may seem like the wicked will continue to prosper, that those who are too proud to seek God will find great reward, but in His time God will hold them to account. The wicked are mistaken when they think that nothing bad will ever happen to them. God will not ignore the cries of the helpless who put their trust in Him. God defends the orphan.

Proverbs 3:7-8

Oh Lord do not let me become convinced that I am wise and cunning, rather let me fear You and seek to follow your path in all of my actions.

Daily Bible Study

January 10, 2013 Bible Study –Seeking to Know God’s Will

January 9, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 23-24:51

     Sarah died when she was 127 years old near what was later called Hebron. Abraham approached the elders of the local town and negotiated to buy a plot of land that included a burial cave where he buried Sarah’s body. Shortly after this, Abraham called in his senior servant, who was in charge of all that Abraham had. He asked this servant to take an oath not to find a wife for Isaac among the people of Canaan, but rather to return to the land of Abraham’s birth and get a wife for Isaac there. The servant took ten camels loaded with goods from Abraham’s possessions and went to the region where Abraham was from. When he arrived at his destination and stopped near the town well he prayed to God for guidance. He laid before God what we often call a fleece (from the actions of Gideon who lived long after the time we are now discussing). The servant asked God that when he asked a young woman for a drink that if she was the one that God had chosen for Isaac, she would not only give him a drink but offer to water his camels as well.
     No sooner had he prayed for this sign then Rebekah came to draw water from the well. Abraham’s servant approached her and asked her for a drink of water. She quickly lowered her water jar and gave him a drink of water. As soon as he had finished drinking, Rebekah told him that she would draw water for his camels. She emptied her water jar into the trough and quickly returned to the well and drew enough water to water all of the camels. The servant did not say anything until the camels had finished drinking. He then took out three pieces of jewelry that had a gold value of about $7200 on today’s gold market. He then asked her whose daughter she was and whether there was room in her father’s house for himself and those with him to spend the night. Rebekah responded that she was the granddaughter of Nahor (who was Abraham’s brother) and that they had straw and fodder to feed his camels as well as space for him to spend the night. The servant immediately Gave praise to God, telling Rebekah that she was related to his master Abraham. Rebekah ran home and told her family what Abraham;s servant had told her. When Rebekah’s brother Laban saw the jewelry and heard her story, he rushed out and invited Abraham’s servant to come and stay with them (notice that the story-teller indicates that Laban’s primary interest was the jewelry). When the man came into the house they put food before him. He told them that he would not eat until he had told them his story. He then explained the mission he was on for Abraham and the sign he asked from God. He then explained how Rebekah fulfilled that sign. When Bethuel, Rebekah’s father, and Laban heard his story, they immediately told him that this was from the Lord and they were not willing to stand in the way of what the Lord so clearly supported. They told him to take Rebekah to be the wife of his master’s son.
     This is a great story. We can learn some lessons about seeking God’s will and about how God reveals His will. When Abraham’s servant got to his destination he prayed to God for guidance. He asked for a specific event to show him God’s will. When he got that event, he acted immediately. He did not second guess the sign. Then we see God follow-up by giving him further confirmation that Rebekah was the woman God intended for Isaac, he discovered that Rebekah was Abraham’s great-niece. Also, notice how the sign that Abraham’s servant asked for was indicative of a woman who would make a good wife for Isaac (Rebekah showed a hospitable spirit by on her own initiative watering his camels). God’s follow-up sign fulfilled one of the wishes for a wife for Isaac (she was from the household of Abraham’s relatives).

Matthew 8:1-17

When Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount and came down from the mountainside a man with leprosy approached Him and knelt. The leper declared to Jesus, “If you are willing, you can heal me.” Jesus reached out and touched him. Leprosy was a scary disease and somewhat contagious (and generally viewed as disgusting), but Jesus was willing to touch this man. Jesus told the leper that He was indeed willing to heal him. Jesus told the man not to tell anyone about the healing until he had gone to a priest and been examined according to the Law so that the evidence of his healing could be properly noted (for the man’s sake, not Jesus’).
When Jesus entered Capernaum a centurion approached Him and asked Him to heal his servant. Jesus asked the centurion if He should come with him to heal his servant. The centurion replied that he was unworthy to have Jesus in his house. The centurion was confident that if Jesus said that his servant would be healed, the servant would be healed. Jesus commended the man for his faith and told him to go, his servant would be healed. We are told that the servant was healed at that moment. I wish that I had the faith of that centurion. I believe that God will do such things, but I have trouble believing that He will do them through me. Dear Lord, give me the faith of the centurion in this story.

Psalm 9:13-20

O Lord have mercy on me because I do not deserve to be treated well, yet as long as You have mercy on me and leave me on this earth, I will praise Your name. I will not make the mistake of thinking that I can work my way out of my problems. I know that on my own I will merely be trapped by the wickedness of my acts. If I plot to trap others, those traps will spring on me and entrap me. I will deal honestly and strive to help the poor and needy. I know that you will bring them aid, do not let me be the one they need aid against.

The Fencers' Dance Continues — The Fencers’ Dance Continues

Proverbs 3:1-6

The writer tells the reader to remember what he has taught then summarizes his teaching. The first lesson is to always be loyal and kind. If we do this, people will think well of us and we will find favor with God. The second lesson is to trust God with all of our being, seek to do His will in everything we do. Rather than rely on our own understanding, let us follow the path that God shows us.

Daily Bible Study

January 9, 2013 Bible Study — Have I Built My Life On the Bedrock Or the Sand?

January 8, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 20-22:24

     Once again Abraham moves into an area where he is afraid of the rulers, so he agrees with Sarah to tell the people that she is his sister. Once again, the local ruler (named Abimelech in this case) takes Sarah as his wife and once again God intervenes and warns the ruler against actually sleeping with her. Abimelech confronts Abraham about his deception and Abraham tells Abimelech that he was afraid that they would kill him in order to take his wife Sarah. Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham along with a large amount of wealth and offered Abraham his choice of land to live on. It is interesting that for a second time Abraham misled a ruler about his wife and for second time he received a large amount of wealth for doing so.
     Shortly after this Isaac was born. Abraham was 100 years old at the time and Sarah was 90. When Isaac was weaned, Sarah saw Ishmael mocking him and demanded that Abraham send Ishmael and his mother Hagar away. Abraham did as Sarah requested and sent Hagar and Ishmael away. When the food and water that Abraham provided ran out, Hagar thought that they were going to die. However, God reassured her that He was with her and Ishmael and revealed to her a nearby well.
     About this time Abimelech came to Abraham and made a treaty with him. As part of the treaty, Abraham requests recognition that a well that Abimelech’s men had taken from him actually belonged to Abraham. There are two possible translations of the name “Abimelech”. The first is “My father is king.” The second is “My father is Moloch” (later prophets condemned the act of sacrificing children to Moloch). This is significant because the next part of the passage is about Abraham taking Isaac to sacrifice him. If Abimelech means “My father is Moloch” it suggests that Abraham was living among a people who sacrificed some of their children to Moloch. Which in turn explains why Abraham felt obligated to sacrifice Isaac to God, it was the way that those around him expected a godly man to behave. Abraham took Isaac and the wood to offer a sacrifice and went to the mountain that he had been told was the place to offer the sacrifice. As he approached the place with Isaac, Isaac asked his father where the sacrifice was. What were they going to sacrifice when they got there? They had the wood and fire, but no animal to sacrifice. Abraham replied that God would provide a sacrifice. Now there are different ways to interpret this, but I believe that Abraham was looking for God to provide a way out. Abraham believed that he should be willing to sacrifice his son to God and he was willing to perform this sacrifice, but he felt that that probably did not represent God’s will. The people he was living among kept saying to him, “How can you claim that you are truly dedicated to this God you claim to serve when you won’t even offer Him your son? Look we sacrifice from our children to our god.” When Abraham got to the mountain he bound Isaac on the altar and prepared to perform the sacrifice. At the last moment God spoke to him and told him to not sacrifice Isaac, showing Abraham a ram caught in the thicket. God did provide. Abraham was able to return and tell the people of the land that he lived in that his God did not desire him to kill his children. Rather Abraham’s God provides alternate sacrifices. God desires that we raise our children to serve Him.

Matthew 7:15-29

In today’s passage Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with three final teachings. In the first He tells us to be wary of teachers who come with wonderful sounding teachings who are teaching in order to benefit themselves. He tells us that we can judge the value of their teachings by evaluating their actions. Just as we would judge a fruit tree by the quality of its fruit, so we should judge those who claim to teach righteousness by the quality of their actions. You can judge how much someone cares about people in general by looking at how they treat people in particular. Does someone speak eloquently about how important it is to do things to assist those who are less fortunate, yet never seems to have time for anyone who cannot offer them something? Or does someone speak coldly about facts and figures, yet repeatedly interrupts their own pursuits to help those in distress? We are to judge a person’s words by their actions, not judge their actions by their words.
Jesus goes on to say that it is not enough to say that we are doing things to glorify God. It is not enough to do mighty works in Jesus name, we have to actually do the will of God. Finally, Jesus says that it is not enough to hear His words, we have to actually follow them. If we put Jesus’ words into practice we will be building our lives on solid footing and we will be able to withstand all of the storms that come upon us. On the other hand, if we do not follow Jesus’ teachings, we will be washed away when the storm winds of life come upon us.

Psalm 9:1-12

I will tell of God’s wondrous deeds. I will praise His name. He will provide a shelter in times of trouble. I can trust in Him because He has never forsaken those who seek Him. He avenges murder and cares for the helpless. God answers the cries of those who suffer, let me never be the cause of their cries.

Proverbs 2:16-22

Wisdom teaches that putting sexual gratification ahead of right behavior leads to misery and death. Rather follow the path of righteous living to a stable and contented old age.

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January 8, 2013 Bible Study — Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God

January 7, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 18:16-19:38

     As the Lord and the men who had come with Him got up to leave after telling Abraham that he would have a son by Sarah by that time the following year, the Lord decided to tell Abraham that He was going to Sodom to see if it was as bad as He had heard. Abraham asks Him if He will still destroy Sodom if He finds 50 righteous people there. The Lord tells Abraham that He will not destroy Sodom if He finds 50 righteous people there. Abraham then asks Him, “what if there are only 45 righteous people?” and the Lord tells him that He won’t destroy Sodom if there are 45. This continues until the Lord tells Abraham that He will not destroy Sodom if He finds 10 righteous people there. We don’t know how many people lived in Sodom at the time, but 10 was almost certainly less than 1% of the population. This passage fits in with yesterday’s passage where Jesus compared us to salt or a light set on a high point. It does not take very much salt relative to the rest of the dish to make the whole dish taste salty. It does not take very much light to penetrate the darkness and make it possible for someone to find their way. In the same way, a few righteous people in Sodom would have lit the way for the rest of the population to find their way to God’s path. Are we providing the salt or light in our culture today that is necessary to keep it from going the way of Sodom and Gomorrah?
     When the two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening, Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city and invited them to his home. The two angels said that they would be happy to spend the night in the city square, but Lot insisted that they come home with him. Lot fed them a good meal, including fresh-baked unleavened bread. However, before Lot’s guests went to bed for the night, the men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that Lot bring them out so that they could have sex with them. Lot attempts to reason with the men of Sodom, asking them to leave the men alone, since they are his guests and under his protection. The men of Sodom condemned Lot for being intolerant of their behavior (“he’s acting like our judge.”) and attempted to force their way past him. The visitors pulled Lot into the house and shut the door. They then struck the men of Sodom blind so that they could not find the door to Lot’s house. The two men then told Lot to gather all of those who were dear to him in the city (sons-in-law, daughters, etc) and leave the city because God had sent them to destroy the city. Lot told the men betrothed to his daughters that God was going to destroy the city, but they did not take him seriously. At dawn the angels urged Lot to hurry out of the city before he got caught in the destruction along with everyone else. When he still hesitated, they grabbed his hands and those of his wife and daughters and led them out of the city.
     There has been debate about what the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. Was it sexual sin? Was it a lack of hospitality? I think we can see it more clearly in two things. The first is that Lot insisted that the men not spend the night in the city square, rather he wished for them to come under his protection. So, the first thing we have is that strangers were not safe in the city. The second thing happened when Lot tried to convince the men of Sodom to leave the strangers, who had come under his protection, alone. The men of Sodom accused Lot of being judgmental for not joining in their sin and attempting to protect others from them. Who was he to interfere with their pursuit of pleasure, even when it involved mistreating others? Who was he to judge them for their actions?

Matthew 6:25-7:14

Don’t worry. Jesus points out that God provides food for birds and asks are not people more important to God than birds? Not only that, but can we actually change anything important by worrying about it? Can we extend our lives by worrying? The answers to these questions (for anyone who is not sure) are “Yes”, “No” and “No”. Jesus goes on to point out that we should not worry about our clothes. After all, wild flowers are beautiful, yet they do not put forth any effort in order to dress that way. We should not spend out time worrying about we are going to eat, or drink, or wear. Non-believers spend their time worrying about that sort of thing and God knows that we need them. If we focus on seeking to do God’s will and being part of His kingdom, He will provide for all of our other needs as well.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

     We are judged by the same standard that we judge others. Can we live up to the standard we hold others to? We often use this passage to condemn hypocrisy, but even there we are not paying attention to what Jesus is saying. He is saying that we should put our own lives under a greater scrutiny for wrongdoing than we put others, even when it comes to hypocrisy. I am not responsible for what you do, I am responsible for what I do.
     If we ask for what is good for us, it will be given to us. If we seek that which will make us happy, we will find it. If we knock, the door will open for us. Jesus gives us a good example to understand the “limits” on these things. If a child asks his father for food, his father will not give the child rocks. However, if a child asks for food that will harm him, a good father will not give the child that. In the same way, if we ask God for things that are good for us, He will give those things to us, but He will not give us things that will bring us harm (there may be special case exceptions to this, but I don’t want to go into that here).
     Today’s passage ends with Jesus telling us not to follow the crowd and not to take the easy way. There is another path that we should be looking for. Its entrance is narrow and it is hard to find, but the reward of following it is life eternal.

Psalm 8:1-9

When I read this psalm it brings to mind the song “How Great Thou Art”.

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:
This psalm makes me think of when I go out at night and look up at the night sky and the chorus of this song just saturates my soul: Then sings my soul, my Saviour God; to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God; to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Or when I go somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of urban life (sort of like where I live right now…away from urban life). When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;
All of this humbles me and makes me wonder how God could care for me, a mere man, and not just a man, but a sinful man. I will praise God for how wonderful He is. I do not deserve all that He has done for me and so often I respond to the call to serve Him with, “But I’m tired.”

Proverbs 2:6-15

God will grant us wisdom, if we but ask Him for it. When we understand what is right, just and fair, and we do those things, then wisdom will enter our hearts and fill us with joy. As we make wise choices they will keep us safe. All too often we mistake the cunning way for the wise way. Our society admires the cunning more than it admires the wise. People mistake wisdom for dullness, what they do not understand that wisdom only looks dull because it does not give the adrenalin rush that comes with the risk of things going wrong. When you do what is wise, things do not go wrong (or at least, not disastrously so).

Daily Bible Study

January 7, 2013 Bible Study — It’s Never Too Late to Serve the Lord

January 6, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 13:5-15:21

     Sarai realized that she was getting old and had been unable to give Abram a son. In order to give him a son, Sarai encouraged Abram to take her servant Hagar as his wife. Abram did as Sarai suggested and Hagar became pregnant. When Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to treat Sarai with contempt. Sarai went to Abram and demanded that he do something about it. Abram responded that Hagar was Sarai’s servant and Sarai should do to Hagar whatever she thought necessary. Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that Hagar ran away. An angel of God came to Hagar as she was by a spring near the desert and told her to return to Sarai and to submit to her. The angel told Hagar that she would have a son and that her son would have many descendants, but that he would live in hostility to all of his relatives. So Hagar returned and bore Abram a son who Abram named Ishmael.
     We have two lessons here (perhaps three). The first is that Sarai knew that Abram wanted a son that she had been unable to bear. She tried to solve the problem by giving him her servant as his second wife. Rather than being satisfied with her marriage and trusting in God to work things out for the best, she tried to make her husband happy by allowing him to have another woman as wife. Then we have the second mistake. This one was by Hagar. Because she was able to get pregnant and Sarai had never been able to do so, she thought her position had become elevated so that she could mistreat Sarai. Hagar thought that she now had an in with Abram over his wife of many years. It turns out she was wrong, Abram loved Sarai very much and wanted her to be happy. But this is where we see what is perhaps the third lesson here. Abram failing to deal with things as he ought to have. When Sarai offered him Hagar, he should have told her no, she (Sarai) was enough for him even if she did not give him a son. Then he compounded this by telling Sarai to deal with the problem of Hagar rather than dealing with it himself.
     When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him again and told him that He, God, would give him, Abram, countless descendants. Further God made a covenant with Abram that He would give Abram’s descendants the land of Canaan and it would be their possession forever. On the other side of the covenant, Abram and his male descendants obligation in the covenant is to be circumcised. God then changes Abram’s and Sarai’s name. Abram becomes Abraham. Sarai becomes Sarah. God then tells Abraham that Sarah will give him a son. Abraham thinking of his, and Sarah’s advanced age (he was almost 100, Sarah was almost 90) asked God to grant the blessing through Ishmael. God replied that he would bless Ishmael and make him the father of a great nation, but that the covenant would be through a son to be born to Sarah, whom Abraham was to name Isaac. Abraham followed through on the covenant by taking Ishmael and all of the men of his household and having them all circumcised.
     An unspecified time after this (although it could not have been long), Abraham saw sitting in the entrance to his tent when he saw three men standing nearby. He immediately went to them and offered them hospitality (food and refreshment from their journey). When the food was prepared, Abraham served it to the men. While they were eating, the men asked Abraham where his wife Sarah was. Abraham told him that she was inside the tent. One of the men replied that he would return about that time next year and by then Sarah would have a son. Sarah was eavesdropping (not hard to do when all you have between you and the conversation is a tent wall) and laughed silently to herself, thinking that there was no way a woman of her advanced age could have a child to a man as old as Abraham. Then the Lord asked Abraham why Sarah laughed did the two of them not believe that with God anything is possible.
     Both Abraham and Sarah believed that their days of being productive were over. It was time to relax, rest on their laurels and live out their days. God responded that no, all things were possible for Him and that if He decided that a 100-year-old man with a 90-year-old wife were the people for the responsibility of raising a child to walk in His paths, then that would come to pass. We are never too old (nor too young) to accomplish the tasks to which God calls us. If God is calling you to something, do not think that the time is past for you to do whatever it is, even if it is something that is normally the province of the young.

Matthew 6:1-24

Jesus continued His Sermon on the Mount by talking about doing things to look righteous. When we give to those in need, we should do it in order to help them, not to make ourselves look good. In fact, in order to keep our motivations honest, we should not tell anyone what we are doing. The same is true of prayer and fasting. We should pray and fast in order to become closer to God. In order to prevent ourselves from doing acts of righteousness for the purpose of appearing righteous, we should perform those acts privately. Jesus is not teaching that we should hide the fact that we fast and pray, rather we should avoid being ostentatious about it. A good example is found in Daniel. Daniel went into his upstairs room and prayed three times a day. Everybody knew he did it, but he did not do it out in the public square to make sure that everyone knew how righteous he was. We should behave the same way. Don’t act righteous, be righteous.
Jesus goes on to say that rather than attempting to gather material possessions we should serve God and acquire spiritual capital. If we focus our attention on acquiring material possessions we will make the material world the focus of our lives. If, on the other hand, we make pleasing God the focus of our attention we will receive the fulfillment of acquiring eternal riches. We cannot serve both God and the material world. We have to choose where we will seek to focus our attention. I constantly struggle with turning my focus away from physical desires and pleasures and turning it to doing the will of God.

Psalm 7:1-17

Like the psalmist I will turn to the Lord for protection. So many of the problems in this world would be solved if more of us would be willing to trust God to provide our protection. Of course, this means be willing to recognize that sometimes we will suffer consequences for our bad decisions, or that we have to give up things we want in order to serve God. What we fail to recognize is that we will suffer the negative consequences of our bad decisions, when we attempt to avoid those consequences we only make matters worse. God is just and I will praise His name. I will turn from my sins and take the punishment He metes out for my past failures. I will throw myself on His mercy and rely on His love to avoid the suffering that I surely deserve.

Proverbs 2:1-5

The last two days we have read of the consequences of ignoring common sense. Today the writer advises us to go beyond common sense and seek for wisdom and understanding. Let us strive to expand our knowledge and understanding so that we know what to do in order to please God. All too often I settle for what comes easy to me, rather than seeking even greater knowledge and understanding.

Daily Bible Study

January 6, 2013 Bibe Study — Go The Extra Mile

January 5, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 13:5-15:21

After Abram returned to Canaan, disputes began to break out between his herdsmen and those tending Lot’s flocks. Abram realizes that their herds are too big for them to stay together so he suggests they separate. Abram offers Lot the first choice of areas. Lot chose the plain of the Jordan valley near Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram moved his camp to Hebron. Shortly after this war broke out in the region and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were on the losing side. The victors plundered the area around Sodom and took captives. Among the captives were Lot and his household. One of Lot’s servants escaped and took news to Abram. Abram gathered his men and his allies and went in pursuit of those who had captured his nephew. Abram overtook them and attacked them at night. He drove off the enemy forces and recovered all of the plundered goods and the captives. Upon his return he was met by the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, the king of Salem. We are told that Melchizedek was a priest to God. Melchizedek blessed Abram and Abram gave him a tenth of the plunder. The king of Sodom asked Abram only to return his people, offering to let Abram keep the plunder. Abram rejected the goods returning all of the goods he had taken, excepting only those that his men had already consumed and a share for his allies.
Some time after this God appeared to Abram in a vision and told him that He would continue to protect Abram and reward him. Abram asks what is the point in all of these blessings since he has no sons and his servant would inherit his wealth. God tells Abram that he will indeed have a son to inherit his wealth. Despite his advanced years (Abram was around 80 years old at this point), Abram believed God. The passage tells us that God counted Abram as righteous because of his faith.

Matthew 5:27-48

Following up what I said yesterday about Jesus saying we should follow the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law, Jesus gave some specific applications. He said that if you even looked at a woman other than your wife and thought about having sex with her, you were committing adultery. He said that if your eye or your hand caused you to sin, remove them. In other words, you cannot blame something outside of yourself for causing you to sin. If you feel that something presents to you a temptation that you cannot resist, remove it from your life, even if it is something that is otherwise invaluable to you. After telling us that we should cut off our hand if it causes us to sin, Jesus says that if you divorce your wife, you cause her to commit adultery (unless you are divorcing her because she has already committed adultery).
Jesus goes on to say that we should not take vows. When we say that we will do something, that should be sufficient for people to know that we will do it. The same should be true when we say that we will not do something. When we say something it should be “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” From there Jesus talks about how we should respond to those who wrong us. He tells us that we should go beyond what is forced upon us, even when what is forced upon us is unjust. He tells us that if we are forced to go one mile, we should go a second mile. All too often, when we talk about “going the second mile” we are actually talking about going the first mile. The “first mile” that Jesus talked about put people out and inconvenienced them, very likely it cost them money. But Jesus tells us that if someone demands we go that “first mile”, not only should we willingly do that, we should go beyond that and go a second mile. The “first mile” is something that most people will only do begrudgingly, we should not only not begrudge the first mile, we should go above and beyond that. Not only should we love those who love us and treat us well, we are to love those who hate us and treat us badly. God sends the rain on both those who love and obey Him and those who hate Him and reject His commands. We are to extend our good will, love and resources in the same manner.

Psalm 6:1-10
“O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage.”

I deserve to be punished by God. I have sinned against Him and against my fellow-man. It often makes me sick to think how callously I treat God’s commands and those around me. I cry out to God to change my heart and make me always desire to do His will. I know that He will answer my prayer.

Proverbs 1:29-33

If we reject wisdom and do not fear the Lord, we will suffer the consequences. Going our own way and ignoring wise advice will lead us to our own destruction. On the other hand, if we follow wise advice and listen to the Lord’s commands, we will live in peace and have no need to fear.

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2013 Bible Study — The Spirit of the Law

January 4, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 11-13:4

     We start with the story of the Tower of Babel. The descendants of Noah still spoke the same language when this story takes place. They decided to build a city with a tower that reached to great heights. The purpose of building this city was to keep themselves from being scattered throughout the earth. This was the exact opposite of God’s mandate to Adam and Eve, which He repeated to Noah, to fill the whole earth. In addition, they did not take any care for whether God approved of their plan. What they did is very much what James said was evil boasting. As a result of their boasting and arrogance, God caused their language to become confused and for them to become divided. This was not God “getting even” with them for not giving Him the worship He desired. Rather this was a result of the way God made us, when we set goals and set our minds to tasks without making God and His will the focus of our efforts, we will become divided and fight among ourselves. Each person looking to be the center in God’s place.
     We then come to the story of Abram. The story begins with Abram’s father, Terah. Terah had three sons, Nahor, Abram and Haran. Both sons got married, but Abram’s wife was unable to bear children. After Haran died, Terah decided to leave his homeland of Ur and move to Canaan. He took his son Abram, Abram’s wife Sarai, and Haran’s son Lot with him. However, he never got to Canaan. He stopped in Haran (we are not told if Haran is named after his son, or if this is just a coincidence). When his father, Terah, died God told Abram to move on. Abram was 75 when he left Haran with his household and his nephew Lot. When Abram arrived in the land of Canaan, God told him that He would give that land to Abram’s descendants.
     Abram did not stay in one place in Canaan, but continued to move south little by little. Then there was a famine in the land and Abram went to Egypt to escape it. However, as he entered Egypt he was afraid that the rulers there would kill him to take his wife Sarai because of her beauty. So, he conspired with Sarai to tell people that she was his sister. I find it interesting that we rarely, if ever, see anyone discuss Sarai’s beauty. This was a woman who was over 65 years old, yet Abram was afraid that he would be killed so that someone else could take her as his wife. Not only that, but his fear proved to be founded because the Pharaoh gave Abram a small fortune in order to take Abram’s “sister” as his wife. However, God brought plagues on Pharaoh and his household for doing this. When Pharaoh realized why these plagues had come upon him he gave Sarai back to Abram and expelled him from the land of Egypt. God had a plan and despite Abram’s failure to seek God’s guidance before acting, God moved so as to move His plan forward.
     When Abram got back to the land of Canaan he settled a little north of what is now Jerusalem, setting the stage for what happens in tomorrow’s passage.

Matthew 5:1-26

     This is the start of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus started this sermon with the beatitudes. These are a series of sayings that set the stage for the rest of the sermon. Right off the bat Jesus wanted His audience to know that this message was something different from the way the world looks at things. Jesus tells us that those who have the spirit of the poor will inherit the Kingdom of God, that those who mourn will be comforted, that the meek will inherit the earth. This is contrary to the way we normally view things. We think that if you want something you need to grab it, that you need to put yourself forward in order to get what you want, that those who mourn are weak. He goes on to extol those who seek righteousness as a basic need comparable to food and water, those who are merciful when they have power, those who strive to make peace between those who are in conflict. He tells us to rejoice when people insult us, slander us and persecute us because this is how the world has always treated those who strive to please God.
     We need to like salt or like light. When you put salt on food it permeates the whole dish and effects the flavor of everything in it. When you put a light source on a high point it can be seen from a long way away. We need to act so that people know what we believe, not just those close to us, but everyone who is exposed to us in any way.
     Jesus told His listeners that He had not come to abolish the Law, rather He had come to fulfill the Law. However, unless you are more righteous than those who hold themselves up as exemplars of righteousness you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not enough to follow the letter of the Law, we need to follow the spirit of the Law.

Psalm 5:1-12

I wish to echo the psalmist and lift my requests to God each morning. But not only that I will wait expectantly for Him to reveal His reply, knowing that it will be what is best for me. I will pray to no one but Him. I will take refuge in God and rejoice. He has surrounded me with His shield of love.

Proverbs 1:24-28

Wisdom is there for the taking, if we but seek it. However, it is too late to seek wisdom once we are already in trouble. We must seek wisdom as we make ready to act, once we have made a decision and put it into practice it is too late to seek what the wise thing to do is.

Daily Bible Study

January 4, 2012 Bible Study — Jesus Called and the Disciples Followed

January 3, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 8-10:32

Today’s passage tells us that Noah and his family were in the ark for a little over a year (along with the animals). Once the flood waters had receded and the land dried sufficiently, Noah left the ark and released the animals. He kept a selection of animals that were appropriate for sacrifice and offered them to God as a burnt offering. Upon receiving this offering God vowed to Himself that as long as the earth endures He would never again destroy every living thing on the face of the earth as He had just done. God then blessed Noah and his sons, telling them that everything that lives and breathes is there for them to eat. However, they were not to eat meat that still had its blood in it. I believe that this passage is where the Jerusalem Council in Acts 16 based their instruction to the Gentile believers that they should not consume blood or animals that were strangled (I had always wondered where that dietary prohibition came from).
Further God tells them that He will require an accounting of any person and any creature for the taking of lifeblood. God decreed that anyone who takes a human life should be killed. Noah and his sons are instructed to be fruitful and multiply. They are to fill the earth with mankind. God made a covenant with Noah and his descendants (which includes us) that He would never again destroy all life on the face of the earth with a flood. God pointed to rainbows as a sign of His covenant that never again would flood waters destroy all living creatures.

Matthew 4:12-25

After the forty days in the wilderness fasting, Jesus remained in Judea until He heard that John the Baptist had been arrested. We do not know why He stayed, or what He did during this time. However, when He left Judea He returned to Galilee. Once there, He went down by the Sea of Galilee and saw Andrew and Peter fishing from their boat. Jesus called out to them for them to follow Him. They immediately left their nets and did so. A little further on He saw James and John repairing their nets with their father. Jesus called out to them as well. They, also, immediately left their boat and their father and followed Him. This was an amazing act of faith. They just up and left their families and their livelihood to follow Jesus. Now we know from the Gospel of John that Andrew and Peter had previously encountered Jesus when He was in Judea while John the Baptist was preaching and it is likely that He met James and John around the same time (some readings of the Gospel of John understand John to have met Jesus at the same time as Andrew). Even with that previous exposure, they had returned to their lives and were settling back in when Jesus called them. They did this before He started teaching and healing people. Do we have the faith to step out when God calls, even before anybody else sees where it is leading?
As Jesus began His ministry word spread. People began bringing the sick and injured to Him for healing. Not just those with physical sicknesses, but also those with other afflictions and Jesus healed them all. They brought those who were demon possessed, had epilepsy, were paralyzed. It did not matter, Jesus healed them all. Why does the Church today fail to offer such healing? I believe that those we call mentally ill are the same as those the Scripture calls demon-possessed. I am not saying that the mentally ill are demon-possessed (although some may well be), but they often behave in a way that certainly looks from the outside like something has taken control of them. In Jesus’ day, contemporary society could offer little hope for the demon-possessed. In the modern age, our society offers little more hope for the mentally ill. Jesus offered healing to all. He still does. We as the Church need to be offering Jesus’ healing to those suffering around us. We need to believe. I need to believe. When Jesus calls to me today, am I willing to leave my “nets” and my life to follow Him?

Psalm 4:1-8

The psalmist calls on us to not let anger lead us to sin. Do not act in anger, but take time to think about what has angered you and only act after you have had time to meditate on what is right. Trust the Lord and make sure that your actions will bring glory to His name before you act. Everyone is looking for who will bring them benefit, but let I will look to God and take joy in doing what He says is right. I can sleep peacefully because I can know that He will keep me safe. I pray that God will help me follow the first part of this when something angers me because that is something that I struggle with. I pray that He help me to bring glory to His name with all of my actions.

Proverbs 1:20-23

Today’s proverb tells us that wisdom is calling to us. Wisdom is available to anyone who seeks it. No one needs to remain a simpleton and a fool. If you desire wisdom, seek it. People lack wisdom because they choose to continue in their foolishness. We remain fools only so long as we insist on doing so. We have no excuse for being foolish, wisdom is there for the taking for anyone who is willing to leave foolishness behind.

Daily Bible Study

January 3, 2013 Bible Study — Responding To God’s Call

January 2, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Genesis 5-7:24

     Today’s passage begins with an account of the line of descent from Adam to Noah. The passage then tells us that mankind multiplied on the earth and “the sons of God” saw that human women were beautiful and took some of them as wives. The meaning of the term translated as “sons of God” is not clear, but from context and similar phrases in other texts it means some sort of heavenly or divine being. The result of these relationships was giants and other mighty men of renown. The account tells us that human wickedness became so prevalent that God regretted that He has made mankind. However, God was pleased with Noah.
     God informs Noah that He is going to destroy all living creatures because they have filled the earth with violence. God instructs Noah to build a large boat and to take on board with him a pair of every kind of animal plus enough food to feed himself, his family and the animals. We are told that Noah followed these instructions. He went onto the boat with his wife, his sons and their wives and a pair of every kind of animal and bird (seven pairs of every kind of animal that was good to eat and of every kind of bird). It rained for forty days and forty nights. The account tells us that the waters rose to more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks. The flood waters covered the earth for 150 days.
     The important phrase from this passage is this, “So Noah did…” Over the last few weeks I have been coming across passages where God speaks to someone and then we are told that they did what God had told them. When God speaks to us we are to listen and then we are to act. God asked Noah to do something that had to be out of his comfort zone. God will often ask us to do things that are outside of our comfort zone. However, there is an important lesson here. God asked Noah to do something outside of his comfort zone, but when he did it God used it to save Noah from the terrible destruction that came upon all of those around him. The same is true of us, God will ask us to act outside of our comfort zone, but if we are faithful and do as He asks He will use those actions to protect us from difficulty that is coming our way.

Matthew 3:7-4:11

     When John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing many of the “righteous” came out to be baptized by him. John the Baptist referred to them as a brood of vipers. He asked them who had warned them to flee God’s coming wrath, then he told them that it is not enough to show up at the events that people go to to get right with God. It is not enough to go to Creation Festival every year (or whatever the current “godly” get-together is). Your actions day-to-day need to reflect that you regret your sins and have turned away from them. You need to act every day in a way that gives glory to God. You cannot rely on your background or what credentials you have or who you are. None of those things obligates God to you, God can create someone who meets all of those criteria any time He wants. If you do not produce good fruits, you will be thrown into the fire.
     Sometime after this, Jesus comes to John to be baptized. John’s response is that he should be baptized by Jesus. Jesus tells John that it is important that John baptize Him. These two pieces go together. John told the Pharisees, the “righteous” people, that following the forms is not enough. Jesus tells John that nevertheless we should follow the forms. The message here is that being baptized, going to church, doing all the things that people see as religious will not save you from God’s judgment. Nevertheless we should still do those things so that people will know that we are trying to serve God. Doing the things that people perceive as what “righteous” people do does not save us, but that does not mean that they are worthless. They can serve to tell others that we expect to be held accountable for our actions.
     Matthew then tells us that Jesus went out into the wilderness and fasted for forty days and forty nights. During this time He faced several temptations. The first temptation was to turn rocks into food. Jesus’ response is that meeting our spiritual needs is more important than meeting our physical needs. The second temptation is to throw Himself off of the top of the Temple in order to show that God will miraculously rescue Him. Jesus’ response is that we should not attempt to force God’s hand. The third temptation is to do whatever it takes to gain political power. Jesus’ response is that we are to worship and serve only God. These three temptations represent the three ways we are tempted to take shortcuts to make the world a better place. If we meet people’s physical needs they will follow us and give us power, but that comes at the price of getting the people to take care of themselves and look out for those less fortunate than themselves. The second temptation is to claim God’s favor and demand people’s allegiance based on being God’s elect. That comes at the price of showing people how to think for themselves and turns God into our servant rather than we being God’s servants. The final temptation is to acquire political power by whatever means necessary in order to do good once we have it. This comes at the price of making what we think is right more important than doing what God says is right. The summation of these three temptations is that it is not enough to be seeking God’s ends, we must use God’s means to get there. The ends does NOT justify the means. Or to put it another way, you cannot achieve good ends using evil tools.

Psalm 3:1-8

Today’s psalm continues the theme I have seen so far in today’s passages. From the story of Noah, we learned that when God calls us to action, we should take action. From the story of Jesus’ temptations we learned that we should not try to take shortcuts to do what God asks us to do. Now in this psalm we learn that no matter how many people oppose us in doing what God has asked us to do we can have faith that God will make it happen. If we follow the path that God directs us on, He will give us the victory.

Proverbs 1:10-19

Today’s proverbs warn us against being enticed by those who tell us that easy riches can be had by doing evil. It may seem easy, but in the end those whose greed drives them to do wrong end up suffering for it.

Fact and Fantasy

Monthly Archives: January 2013

January 12, 2013 Bible Study — God Loves Sinners

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January 11, 2013 Bible Study — Faith That God Is Master Of The Storm

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January 10, 2013 Bible Study –Seeking to Know God’s Will

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January 9, 2013 Bible Study — Have I Built My Life On the Bedrock Or the Sand?

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January 8, 2013 Bible Study — Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God

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January 7, 2013 Bible Study — It’s Never Too Late to Serve the Lord

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January 6, 2013 Bibe Study — Go The Extra Mile

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January 5, 2013 Bible Study — The Spirit of the Law

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January 4, 2012 Bible Study — Jesus Called and the Disciples Followed

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January 3, 2013 Bible Study — Responding To God’s Call

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