will of God – Seek Grow Love

Today’s reading has a number of gems in it, that not only teach us about God’s character but also the character of His son. In our Deuteronomy readings today we see a number of statutes; take a moment to read them all carefully and consider them as a group (note that we could spend a lot of time here, but there is a huge, critical, overwhelmingly important theological revelation in Mark 14 that we will spend a lot of our time on ). God is holy (Deut 23: 9-14,17-18,21-24), and will be treated as such when in His presence. God will judge each of us individually (Deut 24:16), we won’t be held responsible for the sins of another. God wants us to treat each other with mercy and love (Deut 23:15-16, 25, and chapter 24 in it’s entirety). The equity (or, ultimate fairness) of God is something that always amazes me. God’s will for His people is that they honor and revere God, and treat each other with love and respect.

We humans have a will too, but since we are human beings and not God, we have limited perceptions and because of this we tend to make poor decisions at times. Think of it this way: as human beings walking along the road of time we can see moderately clearly where we are standing, looking backwards we can see a narrow view of where we have been (but even so it grows fainter in the distance), and looking ahead we are essentially just guessing how the path will go based on the path we’ve walked so far. This doesn’t really highlight how limited our perceptions are, so now let’s imagine that this road is almost completely dark, and as we walk we are holding a candle that faintly illumines a tiny area around us as we walk; but there are vast worlds and other paths aside from the one that we walk that we can’t see which others are walking. That’s what it’s like to be human.

My whole point is this: our perceptions are very, very limited. Our tiny human brains can only perceive so much, the limitation of the human eyeball only accepts a very specific very tiny range of light frequencies, the human ear only hears a very specific very small range of sound frequencies, and all of our senses have limitations built into them. God, on the other hand, our Creator, is not limited in this fashion. He sees the thousands upon thousands of potential paths that we all walk on, fully illumined, and from the beginning of the trail of our birth to the end of the trail at our demise. The God who made us does not suffer from our inherent limitations, and as such, has a much clearer macroscopic picture. It is only logical that His will is superior to ours, since He has a much clearer perception of not only us, but our neighbor, and the world (all of which He created). The God who made your heart knows it better than you do yourself.

This is why the wise person submits himself to the will of God, because God has better information and therefore can make better decisions with better outcomes (Hillary Scott has a great song out called “Thy will” which I recommend). We tend to be very limited and narrow in our vision, and tend to make poor decisions with poor outcomes when we rely on our own will because of our inherent limitations. The more you rely upon your own will, the poorer the decisions and the worse the outcomes (and trust me, I’m speaking from painful experience on this one).

When we come to our reading in Mark 14 today, our savior Yeshua (Jesus), our future king, is having a crisis of faith. You see, having been born a man; a nice Jewish boy from the line of David (Matt 1,), even though God both knit (Luke 1:35) and sent Jesus (according to Jesus, 32 times in the book of John), even though he was the prophesied and anointed Messiah (the son of David, the son of God, the king who will rule forever: 2 Sam 7), Jesus still self-identified as a son of man (a human, about 72 times in the gospels). So even though God had knit and sent this man to be the savior of Israel (and the world), and even though Jesus was given a portion of the holy spirit that allowed him to perform signs and wonders in the name of the Most High God, he was in fact (by his own words, John 8:40) still a man.

Every human, when they are faced with their own mortality, has some serious thinking to do, even if you have been given a large portion of the holy spirit. We know that God had revealed to Jesus that he was about to die because we can see from the passage here in Mark 14:32-42 that he is agonizing over his upcoming gruelling death. I believe that one of the main reasons that our God revealed this to Jesus is that our God is, overwhelmingly, fair and equitable. He wanted to allow a choice to His chosen Messiah; a final act of complete trust and obedience (reminiscent of the one he offered Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his only son from Sarah to determine his faith).

“…Abba! Father! All things are possible for you; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” ( Mark 14:36 LSB). Jesus knows that God can do all things, and hopes there is another way and asks God to provide it, but he also completes that request with an obedient submission to the will of the Most High God, YHVH. If you have accepted some of the later traditions of men in understanding of the nature of God, this will create some serious questions for you; because we see clearly that Jesus is subordinate to the Father and one of the primary tenets of many groups is to insist on their equality, but that’s just not what the scriptures say.

Jesus has his own will and it’s to not die, just as Abraham’s will was not to sacrifice his son, but he obediently complies and submits to the will of God, just like his ancestor Abraham. This is not the act of an equal, but a loyal subordinate. If you acknowledge this clear scriptural understanding then you are going against a lot of “traditional” requirements in many churches and you might just get kicked out of band camp if you bring it up, because that conflicts with some of the other later ‘developed’ traditions of men that have come to be traditional requirements. Please remember though: you are the one that will stand before God to account for yourself, not your church group or pastor, but you. Trust God.

So what do you do if scripture doesn’t agree with your doctrinal theology? Change your doctrinal theology, of course; we are under the scriptures and not above them. Scripture is our guideline, the word of God transmitted in written form, and if we are going to be obedient children of God, like our Messiah, King Jesus, then we must submit to God’s authority. When God speaks, we listen, period. Is a servant greater than his master? “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” (John 13:16 KJV). In the book of John alone, Jesus explicitly states that the Father has sent him over 30 times, and also states “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21 LSB). The Christ is under the authority of God, the Father, and we are under the authority of the Christ. It’s a pretty straightforward corporate organizational chart, if you believe scripture and hold to it as authoritative.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Why do we often follow our own will and not God’s?
Have you ever changed something you believed because scripture indicated something different?
God sent Jesus, Jesus sent us: are you being a good representative and can you improve?

PRAYER

Abba! Father! Not my will, but Yours be done. Show me Your will, Father, and grant me the perseverence and humility to submit to it. Help me to be a servant who pleases you, Father. All things belong to You, and all of the blessings that I’ve received have come from You, even my life. Lead me and teach me, please. Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen.

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Is Paul Disobedient to God???

Acts 20:4-23:35

The next few days we are going to read the record of Paul’s journey to Jerusalem and then in the end to Rome and imprisonment. The story is one of great believing but also a cautionary story to us about listening to the voice of God in every situation. The apostle Paul is most responsible for the revelation of the mystery of the church of the body of Christ being given by God to us. He proclaims in Galatians:

Galatians 1:11-12(NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. ¹² I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul is the person chosen by God and equipped to do the ministry to the Gentiles and the formation of churches all over the known world at that time. There are no other so central to this ministry and growth of the body of Christ. Try to read the book of Acts records with this perspective in mind. Also that most of the Gentile church looks to Paul as their father in the Word.

Is the apostle Paul really susceptible to disobeying God???

Acts 20:22-24(NKJV) And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. ²⁴ But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Bold speech Paul. I go bound in the spirit and don’t count the cost of my decision. Is this the best that Paul can do in this situation? I appreciate his desire to go back to Jerusalem and to try to convince his countrymen of the same truth of the Word of God he has preached all over the known world. But early Christianity in Jerusalem has many persons that have accepted Jesus as Messiah but continue to promote the doing of the whole law of the scribes and Pharisees also. These persons are not doing the will of God as God has revealed to Paul in his letters. Read Galatians in concert with Acts for more perspective on both. Then even revelation is given to other believers to warn Paul of the consequences of going to Jerusalem.

Acts 21:10-13(NKJV) And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
¹² Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Paul is not moved by anyone’s advice. He is determined to do what he has decided to do.

How are we like Paul in our lives?

Acts 21:27-30(NKJV) Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
³⁰ And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.

Acts 23:11(NKJV) But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

God goes with Paul’s decision but then shows him what will happen. Going to Rome ad imprisonment is not part of Paul’s plan but God will give it help to make it the best outcome for Paul and also for the church.

Acts 23:31-35(NLT) So that night, as ordered, the soldiers took Paul as far as Antipatris. ³² They returned to the fortress the next morning, while the mounted troops took him on to Caesarea. ³³ When they arrived in Caesarea, they presented Paul and the letter to Governor Felix. ³⁴ He read it and then asked Paul what province he was from. “Cilicia,” Paul answered.
³⁵ “I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive,” the governor told him. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod’s headquarters.

Stay tuned for the next episode of the Adventures of Paul Going to Rome tomorrow.

Love in Christ, Tom Siderius

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Exhortation

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 34 & 35

POETRY: Song of Songs 7

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 13

The end of the book of Hebrews gives an exhortation to them to listen to what was likely just read. Exhortation is a pleading with someone to act. I hope they did. I’ve been persuaded to.

What they, and by extension we, should have understood by the end of this portion of the letter was that Jesus is a better high priest than the Levitical priests because his sacrifice was perfect. We learned that he was chosen by God. We learned that to be chosen means that you choose God back. Jesus chose God back by being faithful to his part in God’s plan of salvation, which was to shed his sinless blood on the cross to save us. This inaugurated the New Covenant through him, with better promises so that we can all partake in the Kingdom of God.

What he saved us from was being slaves to sin that kills. We learned that we are saved from sin because his sinless sacrifice takes away sins (makes people perfect). We learned that the Old Covenant sacrifices of animal blood couldn’t take away sins, but they did remind the people of God of their sin (to help them stop sinning and live well).

The Old Covenant sacrifices could never take away sins because those animal sacrifices, and the priests offering them, were not perfect. They could cleanse the body of sin, but not the conscience. But God’s plan of salvation through Jesus included those under the Old Covenant who were people of faith. Being a person of faith means you believe that God will do what he promised he’d do, compelling you to act according to his promises. Those under the Old Covenant who finished their race faithfully and had faith that God was faithful to make them perfect one day, will be saved (they are saved)

God is perfect because he is always faithful to do what he says he’ll do according to his promises, which are always for our good. Jesus was made perfect as a result of his faith, causing him to always do what his father asked of him, for his good, and for the good of the world. We were made perfect when we entered into the New Covenant with God through Jesus.

Remaining perfect happens by being faithful to do what we said we’d do until our race is finished, just like the people of old were required to do whatever was required of them under their covenant. What God required of them, of Jesus, and of us, is to do his will; to be faithful.

The will of God for us is to love as Jesus loved, which is the new commandment in the New Covenant. The way Jesus loved was through self-sacrifice to save the world. Self-sacrifice saves because it demonstrates one’s love for others. Those who love others are those who will be in God’s Kingdom for all eternity. Self-sacrifice for us is doing whatever it takes (according to God’s will) to save someone; to bring them into the covenant so that they too can be made perfect. If we are doing this, we are freed from sin. We are freed from sin because we chose to do the will of God.

We read however that we can get sluggish in doing God’s will. We can even get entangled back in sin. We heard that to get out of being sluggish, sinning, and to get back to doing God’s will, that we need endurance. We learned that endurance comes through discipline.

The last chapter in Hebrews gives us a few more practical examples of how to be disciplined. We were taught that being disciplined by our father who loves us is for our good. Being disciplined helps us to adhere to our part in God’s plan of salvation. It helps us to be faithful, with endurance to the end of our race.

The Hebrews were given a grand letter reminding them of how awe-inspiring Jesus is, how much better God’s work is through him than any work he’s done before, and that it’s available to everyone who comes through Jesus. They tasted of it, but they got sluggish, and were in need of some exhortation to finish their race faithfully.

The children of God, including us, have a high calling. We’re being exhorted to endure this life race with faith all the way to the end through discipline. The stakes are high, we can’t faint back into our old ways. Said more with the desire written on my heart, we’re being exhorted to be Jesus to the world to save it.

-Juliet Taylor

Reflection Questions

1. If this exhortation has persuaded you to act, what are you going to do (how will you discipline yourself)? You can find many examples in the chapter.

2. God is pleased with what 3 sacrifices according to Hebrews chapter 13?

3. The Hebrews were exhorted to imitate the faith of the ones who taught them the word. What action stands out the most that you’d like to imitate from someone who taught you?

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The Great Debate

Matthew 12:22-50 and Luke 11

Do you know who I would love to see debate in a globally televised event? Jesus and the Pharisees. Sure, Jesus could take on the whole crew of them. For people who had so much in common, they sure were polar opposites.

What did Jesus and the Pharisees have in common? They were from the same family. They could trace their ancestry back to Abraham. They were Jews born at the same time in history. Both Jesus and the Pharisees knew well and deeply appreciated the Old Testament scriptures. They both knew the importance of the coming Messiah the Jews anticipated. They both spoke of how to please God and urged people to follow the way they laid out in order to be saved in the life to come. They had so much in common. Imagine what they could have done together for God’s work – if only the Pharisees hadn’t been so pharisaical.

The Pharisees loved the law of Moses so much (as well as the additions they added to the Law to make themselves look even more saintly) that they were blinded to the true Messiah in front of them. In the end they were much more interested in making themselves look good (and pointing out others’ shortcomings) than in doing what God actually desired – and that is a dangerous place to be.

In today’s reading we come across a few topics that would surely come up in our much anticipated debate between the Pharisees and Jesus.

The Pharisees felt threatened by Jesus’ growing popularity and his displays of God’s power. But, rather than accepting him for who he was showing himself to be – they preferred creating lies and rumors for something they didn’t fully understand. So, when the crowd was amazed at Jesus’ healing of a demon possessed man, the Pharisees tried to explain it away by saying Jesus must be working with Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24 & Luke 11:15). I don’t think I would take that very well, but Jesus calmly rebuttals that if indeed Satan were working at driving out Satan, his house wouldn’t be standing for long. He goes on to say that from evil you can expect evil, but from good you can expect good – for what is stored up in a man overflows for all to see and hear. And, he reminds them that there is a day coming when all will be judged for “every careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36)

But, they fail to realize the wisdom and truth and warnings Jesus spoke. So, the debate topics continue. They notice Jesus didn’t wash his hands before he ate (this definitely sounds like a debate topic that could be used today against a political opponent – times never change). Jesus counters with a truth stinger – the Pharisees spend so much time making sure they look good on the outside, but they neglect the more important work of cleaning up their own greed and wickedness on the inside. They are so busy harping on the itty-bitty showing-off, do-good outside acts (like tithing on the produce from their herb garden) and expecting praise for their goodness – but they completely overlook the weighty matters of justice and God’s love. In trying to make themselves look holy, they have neglected to care for others. And Jesus was telling them that is a dangerous place to be. Judgment will also be coming for today’s Pharisees.

Thankfully, there is another option. Jesus laid it out. Be his family – accept who Jesus is – do the will and work of his Father in heaven – not your own selfish agenda, or what will make you look good in the eyes of today’s twisted Pharisees who try to tell us how to be godly but have totally missed the boat themselves. Draw closer to Jesus than you ever have been before so you can tell the difference between the truth that he offers and the lies of the Pharisees. Your life depends on it – as well as the lives of those who are watching you.

There will be a time coming when the whole world will see and know who is the clear winner of this debate.

-Marcia Railton

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at BibleGateway – Matthew 12:22-50 and Luke 11

Tomorrow we will read Matthew 13 and Luke 8 as we continue on our…

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What’s in a Name?

matthew 2 13

MATTHEW 2

In the Bible, there is be a great deal of naming done for the sake of conveying a purpose or message. It could tell the story of a birth (Samuel: God has Heard), a unique physical trait (Esau: Covered- with hair), to make a theological point (Abraham: Father of Many), or a prophecy (Yeshua: Saving One); nonetheless, these men and women (Ruth; Companion) are born-to or given to testify of the the glorious God we serve.

In the first two chapters of Matthew, a name that appears in equal amounts to the name of Jesus is Joseph. As discussed yesterday, Matthew 1 is the genealogy of the line of Joseph, but equally important to note is Joseph’s role in the early part of Christ’s story – the announcement, advent, and escape. This man entrusted with the care of Jesus was named, whether coincidentally or purposefully, for his famous great (great, great, great…) uncle Joseph, who was the famous dreamer and interpreter. It is then fitting that Joseph is given the word of God, not by messengers or a family member as we see with Mary (Luke 1), but in a dream.

Between Matthew 1:18 and Matthew 2:23, or a span of a couple of years, Joseph is recorded as spoken to by God in a dream on four different occasions. He is told not to be afraid to take Mary as a wife (1:20), move to Egypt (2:13), move to Israel (2:19-20), and finally, specific guidance to stay away from Judea, and go to Nazareth (2:22). Joseph, who may have initially been filled with doubt, becomes incredibly faithful to the will of God. Just like his liked-name predecessor, He goes hither and yon to follow the will of God. At times, he looks incredibly foolish. He goes from the comforts of home to the foreign land of Egypt, yet ultimately, he brings glory to his father, for OT Joseph, Jacob, and for NT Joseph, YHWH. In so doing this, he lives up to his name – not Joseph – but the one carried by his Son he so carefully protected.

While our name is not Joseph, (well, most of us), each one of us also have a calling on our name too (Rom 8:28). We are not all named for the same reason – some have the name of a biblical figure (like me), and others are named for a special relative, and even a few are named for a Fleetwood Mac song, but God has purposed and fashioned us all (Psalm 139:13-17) to be faithful to him. Joseph played his part in making sure there is one name that supersedes them all. We might seem foolish to some, we may be called to go hither and yon, leaving behind the comforts of this life, but ultimately we are bringing glory, not to our name, but to our Father in heaven. Does it matter what others call us? Or even what we think of ourselves? In the words of Shakespeare, “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” How much more does your Father in heaven know this? He has a plan for you. He wants a relationship with you, and truly, it began long before you were ever named. No matter the expectation, or lack thereof, attached to our name, there is truly only one name that matters under heaven: The name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:10-12) because it is the only name by which we are saved. Like Joseph, it is now our time to play our part, hold onto Jesus, and carry the Son wherever we’re called to go.

-Aaron Winner

Aaron Winner is a worship leader and a middle school teacher in Upstate South Carolina. He has been married to his wife Jennifer for 13 years today – yay! Aaron is also a songwriter, currently working on his fourth album, “Wonderful”. Additionally, he hosts his own blog at elattruthfillintheblank.weebly.com, which combines thoughts from his work at school and church; however, he is happy to write for us this week at the start of our 2019 Bible study!

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Mark 14-16

mark16.15

Friday, May 12

As we started our journey through the book of Mark on Monday we saw that Jesus was all about the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Now as we come to the end of Mark we see Jesus is still about the same work. He is seated with his disciples and tells them in 14:25, “Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

We see later in chapter 14 that he was “deeply grieved” and asked that God would “remove this cup.” Death was not what he wanted even in this situation, knowing what was coming, he still said, “not what I will, but what you will.” Jesus knew the prophesies, he knew the suffering he was about to face, yet still he sought the Kingdom of God. Jesus, along with his passion for the Kingdom to be fulfilled, is our inspiration to follow the will of God. We must “seek first the Kingdom of God”(Matt 6:33). It is of utmost importance.

Even after Jesus was crucified and was raised from the dead He still focused on the Kingdom. He told his disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”(Mark 16:15) We are to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to all around us no matter how popular the message is or isn’t.

-Bill Dunn

(Photo Credit: http://dailybiblememe.com/tag/mark-1615/)

Tag: will of God