In the end it comes down to faith!

Hebrews 10:38(NKJV)

    Now the just  shall live by faith;     But if anyone draws back,      My soul has no pleasure in him.” 

I have spent a lot of time over the years studying Scripture.  It seems that many times as I get questions answered, new questions pop up.  What that has helped me realize is the truth of the highlighted sentence above. 

It comes down to faith.  You either have faith and believe or you don't.  I choose to have faith.  How about you?

It takes faith and courage to follow God.

It takes courage to follow God.  I don't mean it takes courage to go to church each week and to read the Bible. 

What I am talking about is really following God.  Here is a great example from Genesis.

Genesis 12:1-3(NKJV)

Now the Lord had said to Abram:      “Get out of your country,     From your family     And from your father’s house,     To a land that I will show you.

    I will make you a great nation;     I will bless you     And make your name great;     And you shall be a blessing.

    I will bless those who bless you,     And I will curse him who curses you;      And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Think about that.  Could you do that?  If God told you to take everything that you have and move away from everyone you know, could you do that?  Especially if God doesn't even tell you where you are going at first?

That takes a lot of two things.  Faith and courage!  Faith to fully believe that it truly is God talking to you and courage to go do what God is telling you to do. 

Don't worry if you don't think you have the faith and courage to start.  It can be developed.  Faith and courage are like muscles.  The more you use them the stronger they get.  So if you have to, start small. 

Have a little faith and a little courage.  If you do that, I guarantee that both your faith and your courage will grow. 

Do your eyes glaze over? :)

Here is one of the things I think to myself, "Why is this even in the Bible"?  What could I possibly learn from this?  When I hit chapters like this that simply list genealogies; I have to admit that my eyes do tend to glaze over.  :)

Genesis 10:1-7(NKJV)

Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood.

The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 

The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 

The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 

From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 

The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

Be fruitful and multiply!

I find it interesting that one of the first commands God gave to Noah and his family after the flood was the following verse. 

Genesis 9:7(NKJV)

    And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;     Bring forth abundantly in the earth      And multiply in it.”

Now was God just talking about more people or was there more to this command?  I think it is much broader than that. 

I think the command "be fruitful" could be restated "be productive" and still be true to its meaning.  God gives each of us 24 hours in a day.  Being productive with those hours allows us to "bring forth abundantly" many things from our efforts. 

The one thing I don't see is any sort of qualifier like be fruitful and multiply until we reach a certain point such as a certain population.  I think God wants us to make this a basis for conducting our whole lives for as long as we live. 

Wednesday, December 04, 2019

7:43 AM

I find it interesting that one of the first commands God gave to Noah and his family after the flood was the following verse. 

Genesis 9:7(NKJV)

    And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;     Bring forth abundantly in the earth      And multiply in it.”

Now was God just talking about more people or was there more to this command?  I think it is much broader than that. 

I think the command "be fruitful" could be restated "be productive" and still be true to its meaning.  God gives each of us 24 hours in a day.  Being productive with those hours allows us to "bring forth abundantly" many things from our efforts. 

The one thing I don't see is any sort of qualifier like be fruitful and multiply until we reach a certain point such as a certain population.  I think God wants us to make this a basis for conducting our whole lives for as long as we live. 

Why does God allow suffering?

It’s a question that people have been asking for centuries.  I ran across this answer today.

Hebrews 5:8(NKJV)

though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 

This passage is about Jesus.  I've said many times in the past that there are just certain life lessons that you can only learn through adversity, suffering.  Here we have Jesus Himself bearing witness to that belief. 

Don't you think that if there was any other way that God could have taught Jesus this lesson without Jesus suffering, God would have done so? 

I also find this interesting.  God could have just said that suffering helps us learn life lessons and keep it generic.  But God didn't do that.  He was very specific.  He said that Jesus learned obedience through suffering. 

Hmm.  Something to ponder!

How should we approach the Throne of Grace?

Boldly! 

Hebrews 4:16(NKJV)

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We are heirs with Christ.  We don't need to be timid.  We are told to come BOLDLY to the throne!

Beauty is only skin deep but…..

Back in the beginning when men and women first started to connect, what was it that attracted the men to the women?  Was it their brains?  Their ability to manage affairs?  Mothering skills?

Nope.

Genesis 6:1-2(NKJV)

Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 

that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

It was their beauty.  Society today can try and train men to look for and value all sorts of other traits but men will always resort back to their true nature, and there is nothing wrong with that!  :)

Interesting how subtle things can make a difference.

I'm reading the book of Hebrews right now.  It seems to me that I had been taught that Hebrews was written by Paul.  As I was reading it though, something just didn't seem right.  It had a lot of long, run on sentences like Paul's writings, but it just didn't "feel" like Paul's writings.

Does that make sense?

So I decided to look it up.  Turns out that while originally attributed to Paul, since the 3rd century, the consensus seems to be that the author is unknown.  I would have to agree.  While the style is similar to Paul, I just find the subtle differences enough to believe that it was written by someone other than Paul. 

Good and Profitable

Titus 3:8(NKJV)

This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

There are many in our society who think profit is an evil word.  In fact they believe that to be a Christian you need to be a Socialist.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here we can plainly see that Scripture tells us that maintaining good works is good and profitable to men. 

So who you going to believe?  Socialist Christians…or…Scripture?

In the beginning…….

Sometimes it is good to just go back and start at the beginning. 

Genesis 1:1-2(NKJV)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:28(NKJV)

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

So one of the first lessons I am reminded of when I read Genesis is that God told us to go forth and subdue the earth.  Not to worship it like many people do today.  The earth was put here for our benefit. 

Is this more than a difference in ministry style?

This passage comes from Paul's second letter to Timothy. 

2 Timothy 4:2(NKJV)

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 

The part that I have highlighted is the part I wonder about.  It seems to be saying do whatever you have to do to convince people to believe in Jesus.  Jesus style on the other hand was to lay it out there and if they believed, great, if they didn't, oh well, in either case Jesus was moving on.  He didn't spend time trying to talk people in to believing in Him.

Now is this simply a matter of differences of style or is there more to it than that.  I'm not sure.  My opinion is that you probably get a more solid conversion with the way Jesus does it.  On the other hand maybe there is something to be said for getting people started with even a "talked into it" conversion. 

I guess in the end, use what works for you. 

What is the purpose of Scripture?

I love when Scripture makes things simple. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17(NKJV)

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 

that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

There is a meme on FB that says something like "if you are using your religion to hurt people, you are using it wrong" or something like that. 

That is one of those clever phrases that sounds religious until you examine it in light of the Scripture above.  It is clever in that it tries to deflect guilt and criticism.  Pointing out that someone is acting in an immoral way is equated with "hurting them" and therefore according to their trite little saying, you shouldn't criticize immoral behavior. 

Now compare that to the Scripture above.  One of the purposes of Scripture is for correction.  Will correcting someone hurt their feelings?  Quite probably so.  Do you see any clause there that says "for correction unless it hurts them"?  Nope. 

Scripture says the truth will set you free.  The purpose of the meme is to hide the truth and keep people enslaved by their behavior. 

Does that make sense?   

Does that mean not everyone should get a trophy?

Look what I found. 

2 Timothy 2:4-6(NKJV)

No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 

And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 

The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. 

Apparently not everyone should get a trophy.  :)

Here is a verse you should read every day!

What a great affirmational verse to start the day with!

2 Timothy 1:7(NKJV)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Is God advocating rape, pillage, and plunder?

Isaiah 13:15-16(NKJV)

    Everyone who is found will be thrust through,     And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.

    Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;     Their houses will be plundered     And their wives ravished.

Wow, this is what God says will happen to Babylon as punishment for taking Judah captive.  Kids will be killed and wives will be raped, and houses will be plundered. 

Now is God advocating it or just allowing it to happen? 

Human Nature

I find it interesting how well the Bible knows human behavior.  Take a look at this. 

1 Timothy 5:11-16(NKJV)

But refuse the younger widows; for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, 

having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith. 

And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. 

Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. 

For some have already turned aside after Satan. 

If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.

This Scripture warns against idleness.  It says young widows "learn" to be idle.  That tells me that being idle is not a natural state.  God designed us to be fruitful.  Not to be lazy.  God made us to set goals and accomplish them. 

Pretty cool!

The Spirit

One of the things about studying the prophets is all of the symbolism.  I find it hard to understand.  Take this verse for example. 

Isaiah 11:2(NKJV)

    The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,     The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,     The Spirit of counsel and might,     The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

It talks about The Spirit of the Lord which we are used to.  What I find interesting is that it also describes wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, and knowledge as Spirit.  I'm not sure what the significance is.  Something to watch for in future studies. 

Requirements for Bishops and Deacons

I don't know why but this made me chuckle.  The difference in requirements between Bishop and Deacon.

1 Timothy 3:1-13(NKJV)

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 

not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 

one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 

(for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 

not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 

Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, 

holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. 

But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. 

Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 

Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 

For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Bishops can't drink wine at all but Deacons can drink wine a little bit.  Kind of odd when you consider that the first miracle Jesus did was turn water into wine at the wedding. 

But it also has a certain amount of logic to it and I think that is the point of the Scripture.  The higher the office and responsibilities you seek, the more strict the requirements of the person.  To me that makes perfect sense.

"Prince of Peace"

I've always found this juxtaposition interesting. 

Isaiah 9:6(NKJV)

    For unto us a Child is born,      Unto us a Son is given;     And the government will be upon His shoulder.     And His name will be called     Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah said that Jesus would be called the Prince of Peace.  But look what Jesus Himself said.

Matthew 10:34(NKJV)

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 

How to reconcile these two verses.

Maybe the peace that Isaiah was talking about is a different peace.  Not peace between people but inner peace.  That peace that surpasses all understanding.   

"there is no light in them"

As you know, I like to find confirmation of Biblical principals in both the Old and New Testaments.  I found another one today!

Isaiah 8:19-20(NKJV)

And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? 

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

I believe this matches what we are told in the New Testament that Jesus is the light.  If we preach anything other than Jesus then there is no light in us.

Pretty cool!

The Destruction of Judah

I'm reading Micah and Isaiah side by side.  What I find most interesting about that is that God sent not 1, but 2 prophets at essentially the same time to warn Judah.  How bad do you have to be that God feels the need to send two prophets?

The warnings from both prophets have things in common.  For example, they both warn of the threat coming from Syria.  They both talk about the people being carried off and those who are left will have to survive off of the land.

And they were both correct.  Judah ended up being taken in to captivity just like Israel before her.  

If you can only remember 3 things…..

I like to keep things simple.  Now of course first and foremost is believing in Jesus.  But after that here are three simple things to keep in mind. 

Micah 6:8(NKJV)

    He has shown you, O man, what is good;      And what does the Lord require of you     But to do justly,     To love mercy,     And to walk humbly with your God?

I can't think of a better verse to describe the age we are in.

Isaiah 5:20(NKJV)

    Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;      Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;     Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

It is sad.  Especially in light of these verses.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-10(NKJV)

since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 

and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 

in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 

when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.

AS I have written before, those who think that God takes a live and let live attitude to this are going to be surprised according to Scripture.  The fact that the word vengeance is used tells me that God takes this personally!

Test All Things

Now this is some great advice right here.  Test all things. 

1 Thessalonians 5:21(NKJV)

Test all things; hold fast what is good. 

You will hear and read many things that "sound Christian".  Always check Scripture to make sure it is really in there!

Once again Scripture reminds us we will be held accountable for who we listen to.

Micah 3:9-12(NKJV)

    Now hear this,     You heads of the house of Jacob     And rulers of the house of Israel,     Who abhor justice     And pervert all equity,

    Who build up Zion with bloodshed     And Jerusalem with iniquity:

    Her heads judge for a bribe,     Her priests teach for pay,     And her prophets divine for money.     Yet they lean on the Lord, and say,     “Is not the Lord among us?     No harm can come upon us.”

    Therefore because of you     Zion shall be plowed like a field,     Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,     And the mountain of the temple      Like the bare hills of the forest.

Those in Judah, like Israel before them allowed themselves to be led astray.  And they were held accountable for that by being taken into captivity. 

Isaiah and Micah

Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries.  Both sent to prophesy to Judah.  Isaiah came on the scene 3 years before Micah and Micah prophesied about 10 after Isaiah. 

I am reading them both together.  One chapter each day.  So far the message of both is pretty much the same.  God isn't pleased and is warning Judah that they are about to go the way of Israel.  By that I mean they are being warned that they are about to go into captivity just like Israel did. 

God is extremely patient but His patience do run out.  For those who think that ultimately God won't send anyone to hell I would offer this as an example that yes God punish even those He loves. 

Always be willing to share!

I've mentioned this before but I had an experience the other day that prompts me to talk about it again.

I had a passenger the other day who was going to Battle Creek.  We started out just having a normal chat but somehow one thing led to another and we were talking about God.

Now that one thing that led to another was me simply sharing and being transparent.  I don't really even know how it progressed.  It was just a natural progression of the conversation. 

Anyway I was able to give a little comfort to a somewhat troubled soul.  I asked if I could pray for her when I dropped her off and she said yes.  I prayed for her, we said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways.

Never underestimate the impact you can on others for Christ!

A simple credo to live by!

Colossians 3:17(NKJV)

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Can't really think of anything to add!  :)

Does God hate?

There are some who believe that God is love and therefore God doesn't hate anyone. 

Unfortunately as is often the case, Scripture says differently.  This passage is God speaking in the first person through His prophet Hosea.

Hosea 9:15(NKJV)

    “All their wickedness is in Gilgal,      For there I hated them.     Because of the evil of their deeds     I will drive them from My house;     I will love them no more.     All their princes are rebellious.

God clearly says that He hated these people.  God tells why he hated them.  And then God reinforces the notion by clearly stating that He will love them no more. 

That must come as a surprise to those who seem to think that God will love them and take them back no matter what they do, even if they don't repent, because God is love. 

What does Paul have against dogs?

There is some good stuff in Philippians 3.  One of my favorites is the "press towards the goal" quote.

Philippians 3:13-14(NKJV)

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

What caught my eye today though is this one.

Philippians 3:2(NKJV)

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 

What does Paul have against dogs?  :)

I've always found this a bit puzzling

Philippians 2:12-13(NKJV)

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Not sure what Paul means by that.  Work out my own Salvation?  How does that work exactly?  I thought the only way to Heaven (salvation) is through Jesus?  At least that is what Scripture says.  So instead of working out my own salvation I think I will do it the way Jesus says.  :)

As Christians, are we required to be accepting of everyone?

Often times when a Christian disagrees with someone who isn't a Christian we are accused of not being very accepting.  So that prompted my question.  Are we required to be accepting of everyone and their behavior? 

I believe Scripture gives us the answer and it is definitely no.  What makes me so sure?  Because Scripture tells us that God doesn't accept everyone in to Heaven. 

Therefore it makes sense to me that we as Christians don't need to accept those who have declared themselves enemies of God.  I'm not talking about judging others.  I'm talking about those who by word and action have made it clear that they have rejected Jesus. 

Now should those who rejected Jesus accept Him at a later day then I believe they should be received into fellowship with open arms.  But while they are in open rebellion against God, I don't believe we have to be accepting of that.  And I don't believe we should feel any guilt at all for not accepting evil in others. 

Every now and then you run across something that makes you go, hmm.

Every now and then you run across something that makes you go, hmm.  I've read it many times but never noticed this part.  Take a look. 

Ephesians 4:9-10(NKJV)

(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 

He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

For some reason I have always thought of Heaven as the ceiling.  I had never thought of anything "beyond that".  But here we have Paul telling us that Jesus ascended above all the Heavens.  So the fact that there is something beyond Heave was a new concept to me.  The other thing of note is Heavens as in plural, more than one. 

I vaguely remember seeing other references to multiple Heavens but I'll have to look into that one some more. 

Exceedingly Abundantly! I've always loved that phrase.

Ephesians 3:20-21(NKJV)

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 

to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I love the word picture that brings to mind.  Exceedingly abundantly!  God can meet out expectations, not just minimally.  Not just averagely.  God can meet our needs exceedingly abundantly! 

Listen to God-it shouldn't take two prophets!

As I read both Amos and Hosea together I am struck by a thought.

Just to refresh your memories, Amos and Hosea were both prophets to Israel in around 760BC.  I reading them together I find the message from both is pretty similar.  Israel had become really sinful and God was getting tired of it.  He was warning them that they had gone too far. 

The thought that struck me was how bad do you have to be screwing up that God needs to send two prophets at the same time to try and get you attention?  Listen to God!  It shouldn't take two prophets to get his message across!  :)

Amos vs Hosea

They were both prophesying in 760 BC.  The chart says they were both prophets to Israel.  I find the style of writing a bit hard to understand in the prophets.  But the thing that I do notice is that the prophecies of Amos seem to be more general and the prophecies of Hosea are aimed squarely  at Israel. 

In both cases God is ticked off at the people.  In Amos the grievances include many different nations including Israel and Judah.  In Hosea the focus is entirely on Israel. 

Did you know there were time when Israel had more than on prophet at a time?

I don't then why this surprises me, but it does.  I think maybe it is because you have the books of the prophets and they are all separate books.  You just don't think of them being around at the same time;at least I didn't.  But check this out.

In 760BC Amos and Hosea were prophesying to Israel at the same time.  Now Amos only did it for one year while Hosea did it for 30 years.

Then for a 10 year period Hosea was prophesying to Israel at the same time that Isaiah was prophesying to Judah.  And then for 37 years Isaiah and Micah were prophesying to Judah at the same time.   

You can see the rest of them for yourself in the chart above.  The other thing I find interesting here is that in a little over 300 years God sent 16 prophets to talk to His people.  But then after 433BC God stopped sending prophets. 

So for over 400 years before Jesus God stopped communicating with His people through His prophets.

As I read the prophets this time I am going to try and read the prophets who were alive at the same time together.  It will be interesting to see if I gain any additional insight that way. 

Paul contradicts himself.

Here is what Paul says.

Galatians 2:6(NKJV)

But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. 

And here also is something that Paul said one chapter later.

Galatians 3:26-29(NKJV)

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

So through our faithful belief in Jesus we are heirs to the promise of Abraham.  And if we are heirs that means we will be treated differently than those who are not heirs does it not?  Therefore God does show favoritism to some men over others doesn't He? 

Does God ever come after us?

There are some in the church who say that God will never move directly against us.  That he will let Satan attack us like He allowed Satan to attack Job, but that God will not move against us directly.

For those who believe that I offer these Scriptures.

Jonah 1:1-12(NKJV)

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.

Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 

Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”

So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.

And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”

Here is an example where Jonah didn't want to do as God had told him to do.  Did God sit around waiting for Satan to take notice and do something to Jonah to change his mind?  Nope.  God took care of it Himself! 

I don't see this as being any different than any other father.  Sometimes you have to take action to bring the kids back in line.  Simple as that in my opinion.

A new study adventure

While I continue my readings in the New Testament I am starting something new in the Old Testament.  I'm going to read the prophets in the order in which they appeared in history.  As you may or may not know, the order of the prophets in the Bible is not the order in which they appeared in history.  Take a look.

Here is the order in the Bible.

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

But here is the order in history as well as who they were prophesying to.

It will be interesting to see if this brings me any new insights.

Feeling a bit adrift

My walk with God has been feeling a bit stagnant lately.  I've got a couple of ideas for new areas of study and I am just waiting for God to guide me on where to go next.  Stay tuned!  :)

Personality Types

It is interesting how personality types influence our walk with God.  I am reading a book right now about God's favor.  In the book the author gives examples of how he prays.  He goes into great detail and is continually saying things like I claim this based on this promise that you made.

I just find that an odd way to talk to God.  Now bear in mind that I am coming at this from my personality type.  I love brevity.  The fewer the words the better.  I also don't like to bug people.  So to begin with, God has a better memory than me so I don't need to keep reminding Him.  He got it the first time.  Move on. 

The thing is, I can point you to Scripture where God says ask and keep asking, so apparently He doesn't mind.  It's just that it bugs me. 

Weird!

Revelation Knowledge can sometimes be like a kick to the head.

I love that throughout life God lays revelation knowledge on us.  I call those the Ah ha moments.  Those times when all of  a sudden seemingly random things click into place.  Unfortunately sometimes revelation knowledge can be like a kick to the head. 

Imagine my surprise recently when God revealed to me that the struggles I face today are a result of me, in my arrogance, rejecting God's favor without realizing it.  I'm not going to share the details right now other than to say that when God showed me how He saw things from His point of view I was surprised.  I had never thought of it that way. 

Now the great thing with God is that we always get a new chance as long as we are still above ground.  Moving forward I have a better understanding of God's favor, how to recognize it, how to sow it, how to receive it, how to enjoy it, and most importantly how to recognize that it is from God!

Another reason not to believe that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

1 Corinthians 14:33(NKJV)

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

God is not the author of confusions.  The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Son of God.  The Koran teaches that Jesus was just a prophet.  If we worshipped the same God it would be a God of confusions; telling the two sides a different story. 

Scripture tells us definitively that God is not the God of confusion.  Therefore can't be the "same God". 

Again I find myself comparing what Paul said to what Jesus said.

Matthew 9:10-13(NKJV)

Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Compare that to what Paul says.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17(NKJV)

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 

And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:      “I will dwell in them     And walk among them.     I will be their God,     And they shall be My people.” 

Therefore      “Come out from among them     And be separate, says the Lord.     Do not touch what is unclean,     And I will receive you.” 

Is Paul telling us to shun those who don't believe?  It sure could be interpreted that way.  I think there is a distinction here that Paul fails to make.

In the case of Jesus I think he is demonstrating that you have to go to where the unsaved are in order to have a chance of saving them.

In the case of Paul I think he is referring more to who you spend your time with when you aren't trying to save people.  I think he is saying don't hang out with unbelievers in your everyday life because what do you have in common with them.

Notice that Paul refers to the unsaved as the unclean.  Isn't that judgmental?  :)

"…be reconciled to God."

2 Corinthians 5:20-21(NKJV)

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

What does that mean exactly?  Be reconciled to god.  Well let's look at the word reconciled.

reconcile

verb (used with object), rec·on·ciled, rec·on·cil·ing.

to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired: He was reconciled to his fate.

to win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable: to reconcile hostile persons.

to compose or settle (a quarrel, dispute, etc.).

to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent: to reconcile differing statements; to reconcile accounts.

to reconsecrate (a desecrated church, cemetery, etc.).

to restore (an excommunicate or penitent) to communion in a church.

From <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/reconcile>

I think for our purposes "to bring into agreement or harmony" is the best choice.  So being reconciled to God means being in agreement or harmony with God.  Now do you think that means God aligning His views with us or is it us aligning our views with God? 

Obvious answer isn't it.  And yet many today think that they get to dictate the terms of the relationship with God.  We'll see how well that works out!  :)

"If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed." How do you square this with love your enemies?

Paul said the following.  My question is how is this loving your enemies?  I'll give you my take in a second.

1 Corinthians 16:22(NKJV)

If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!

I don't see any problem here.  I believe we should follow God's example.  God wants our enemies to accept Jesus and have eternal life.  That is loving His enemies.  God doesn't want it so bad that He becomes an unjust God and gives those people eternal life without them believing in Jesus.  In other words God finds them accursed as well when they don't believe.  Want proof?  They have chosen to go to hell and God will honor their choice.  But right up until the end He is wishing that they would change their mind. 

So while God loves His enemies, he continues to treat them as enemies as long as they choose to remain his enemy.