January 5

Genesis 5; Matthew 5

Genesis 5

Ready:
I recall that in Genesis 4 I learned from Cain’s sin in the tragic death of Abel and from Lamech and Adam and Eve as well.  The chapter ended looking forward to the lineage of Seth as people began to call upon the lord again in his day.  Lord please reveal to me more of your story of redemption and our need for your rescue in these pages and let me see the message of the coming Messiah to save us.  May I recognize the lessons and encouragements that you intend for me here.

Reading thoughts:
Knowing who Noah is and what is to come I see here that we are being guided to the patriarch who will preserve humanity and therefore all human lineage again narrows through Noah and his wife in the story to come.  Something jumps out at me that there is another introduction speaking of the generations and the creation that tells me Moses is again beginning some significant section of history here.  Again, knowing that the next chapter brings an increasing corruption on the earth it seems this chapter describes the line of Seth that remained God-fearing and trusting of the lord. 

I see the theme as- Another offspring calls upon the lord and here is preserved a remnant of people who have faith in God and through whom the curse will be relieved.

Key Verses:

“22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.” (Genesis 5:22–23, ESV)

“28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”” (Genesis 5:28–29, ESV)

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-2.  Here is the intro that revisits creation and sets us off into a new chapter of history.
    v3-5.  The language like what was used to describe how God created man in his own image is here assigned to how Seth was fathered in the likeness and image of Adam.  Later in Paul’s letter to the Romans we will learn how death reigned through Adam and it was passed down to all his offspring in a way that we all inherit the sin nature of Adam and can be said to be “in Adam”.  Here now there is no mention of other specific children and their descendants because the concern here seems to be the lineage to Noah.  This can be because they are a righteous line and also because the others will fall off the map due to the coming flood.  Certainly people lived a long time back in this time and there are debates over why that I will not take the time now to consider.
    v6-21.  There is a repeating pattern here of living - fathering a specific son - living longer - and having other children.  Looking forward to the end of the chapter and adding up the years between each man fathering the specific son mentioned it appears that there was 2,612 years from Adam’s creation through ten generations to the birth of Noah’s sons Shem , Ham, and Japheth (assuming that everyone was mentioned in this list).  Since Adam lived 930 years that means he lived though almost half of this period!
    v22-24.  Here the repeating pattern is interrupted to announce something very special as I learn of Enoch.  There is very little disclosed here and much is speculated but what is clear is that Enoch had a special relationship with God.  Unlike anyone else, Moses announces that Enoch “walked with God” and that “God took him”.  Enoch did not have a record of death but instead he appears to have simply been taken up by God!  This makes Enoch a Biblical character to remember although not much else is known of him.
    v25-28.  The pattern resumes.
    v29.  Again an interruption to announce the naming of Noah.  Noah is the patriarch here who will extend the human race beyond God’s judgement of the flood.  Lamech named him this and declared that Noah would bring relief from the work and from the “painful toil of their hands”.  It seems like a reference to the curse of chapter 3 and I see here a reference to redemption.  Lamech seems to know that God is going to do an act of mercy through this son of his! 
    v30-32.  Pattern resumes and we conclude at the birth of Noah’s three sons having covered more than 2,000 years in one chapter.  This chapter is a bit of a time warp compared to the previous ones (other than maybe the eons that transpired in eternity before God created anything).

Response:
Lord I see you weaving together a history to show us that we are not descended from some unknown source or from many different races, but ultimately we come from Adam and through Noah.  We are made of the same sinful fiber as those who came before us and it seems that you save a remnant who fear you.  May my family be part of your remnant Lord who fears you and walks with you as Enoch did.  I see that you slow down to note when someone walks with you and when someone trusts and hopes in you.

Reaction:
Lord let me trust in your plans and hope in the future that you hold for me and let me leave a legacy to my children that they might be known as one who walked with you. 

Matthew 5

Ready:
I left off in Matthew with Jesus calling disciples and healing many people after being tempted in the desert while fasting for 40 days.  Jesus has just begun his public ministry and is now officially “on the scene” there in area of Galilee.  This is far ahead now of where I was just reading in Genesis as this is now the Messiah who came through that line of Seth as “God with us”.  Help me to hear and do what you instruct in your Word Lord and let me see what I should see here.

Reading thoughts:
There are a number of lessons here and I probably will not be able to give deep thought on all of them Lord.  This chapter begins the Sermon on the Mount. Beginning with the beatitudes Jesus addressed a crowd up on a hill where he sat and was joined by “his disciples”.  I take this to be the broad term, not simply referring to the 12 disciples, which had not even been entirely assembled yet.  The beatitudes give us an understanding that blessedness and the favor of God does not look like prosperity and health and an easy life.  He explains that we are to be salty and our lives are to be a message of hope to those around us.  He proceeds to give a number of lessons about life concluding with the statement that “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  A seemingly impossible task is handed to the one who would call himself a follower of Christ.

Key verses:

“17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17, ESV)

“20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20, ESV) 

“29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29, ESV)

“44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44, ESV)

The theme here is-  That mankind misunderstands absolutely everything.  We have been interpreting reality and even the law completely wrong.  Jesus proclaims that he is here to grant understanding and to reveal to us the reality that we have clouded in our unrighteousness.  He is here to tune our hearts and minds to God on his way to die in our place.

Rumination thoughts:
      v1-12.  The beatitudes basically teach me that God is the one who meets all needs and who makes all things right and who is to be trusted with all that we are.  There is no fixing of all our problems in this life apart from God.  I do not see this as a list of traits that we must develop in order to get to heaven.  I see this as a reality that Jesus presents that will be us because he is our all in all.  We need not drum up mourning or persecution or the like but we will indeed identify with these things in life and we can trust that there will be a day when our bodies will be redeemed and when all sin and suffering will be destroyed forever.  The first three teach me about how I see my relationship with you God.  The next four speak about me and how I relate to others. There is certainly no teaching here that God’s blessing brings health and wealth…not quite.
       v13-16.  I am to be salt and light.  I am to have the flavor of godliness and joy and a be a message of hope to the lost.  I do not seek attention but it should be plain to all that I trust in the Lord and that I am not destroyed when trouble comes and when duty calls.  The message of my life is not to be my satisfaction with the world but my trust in God and devotion to God despite my circumstances.
       v17-20.  Christ did not come to give me license to sin.  Christ came to fulfill the law…to keep it perfectly and to fulfill the righteous requirements revealed by God (Rom. 8:4).  Paul says in Romans that he did this for us and that Christ is the end (or fulfillment) of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom 10:4).  The law is still good and it teaches us to love God and to love others.  It teaches us righteousness and justice.  We are to live in this way despite the fact that the law cannot and does not save us.  The law’s purpose is not to measure our righteousness but to measure our sinfulness and the pharisees had that mixed up (1 Tim 1:8-11). Here Jesus declares that we must have a righteousness that exceeds that of the pharisees and this would have been a huge statement to these people since the pharisees were the most “righteous” people you could find, it would seem.  Clearly Jesus is calling out a different righteousness that is not our own and that is deeper than the surface or the outside of the cup (Matt. 23:25-28).
       v21-32.  Here Jesus picks up three of the ten commandments and exposes our misunderstanding of the law.  Like Paul clarifies in Romans 7, the law is spiritual.  The law cannot possibly be achieved in the flesh.  Jesus exposes the level at which the law functions is deeper than actions.  It is heart level.  With this in mind he admonishes us with a gospel message in the midst of the story about the man being dragged to court. He seems to allude to the fact that we too are being dragged to court for our breaking of this law and we will surely be found guilty if we do not settle with the accuser (the law) before we are before the judge (God) and then cast into hell forever.  We must settle this debt and this is exactly what Jesus is here to do for us.  Here the idea that the fine is not paid until paid to the last penny tells me something of the payment Jesus made on that cross.  There is also a message right on the surface that we need to deal with our broken relationships and we must mend wrongs that we have responsibility for.  The radical way in which Jesus expects me to deal with my sin is clear in verses 29-30.  It would seem plain here that I am not to settle for sin in my life but I am to hate it and to kill it if I would consider myself a member of God’s family.  Clearly I should not interpret this as a command to cut off limbs or gouge out eyes since the Apostles all kept their bodies in tact.  This is an example of exaggeration, which Jesus uses often to make a point.
       v33-37.  Jesus here teaches us not to make promises or take oaths based on things over which we have no control or authority.  We can only control ourselves and we must rely on our word as enough to validate our ability to come through.  This issue is a little tough however, because there are places in the New Testament where oaths are seemingly given by Apostles so this will come up later.
       v38-42.  Here Jesus teaches that I am not to fight for my rights in retaliation and that I am to be content with suffering wrongly.  I am to bless those that curse me and I am to overcome evil with good (Rom 12:14 & 21).  Some will force me and some will simply ask me.  Either way we are not to decide our actions based on what is best for us or on self preservation of my rights.  The idea is that I cannot live protecting myself from all harm or from anyone taking advantage of me…to do so is to be ruled by the enemy.  I am to be free to risk abuse and free to love without protecting myself.
       v43-48.  If I am to be like my Father then I am to be merciful and I am to love those who are not “worthy" of it.  Verse 45 explains what is known as “common grace” where God actually shows grace and mercy to all mankind and even this kindness is founded on the cross of Christ (Rom. 3:25-26).  For this reason Jesus truly did bring blessing to all mankind, not just believers.  God treats man in light of the sacrifice of his Son and always has (Psalm 103:10).

Response:
Lord turn this lesson into much more than information for my mind.  Pour into my soul what you would have me understand and how you would have it impact me. The end of the chapter brings me back to the beginning.  I am to be perfect as you are perfect.  I am to rely on you in all my weakness and in all my trouble.  I am not to live with license but in gratitude and hope.

Reaction:
Let me not hope in what the world hopes in Lord but let me find my rest in you alone. Let me love with a love that does not protect myself.  Let me walk uprightly not to earn my place but because I am a child of yours and I want to be like you O God.  Help me Lord to interpret my day and my thoughts and my desires according to your Word and let me love you and love others as you call me to here in this chapter. 

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 4

Genesis 4; Matthew 4

Genesis 4

Ready:
I recall the story of the fall Lord and Adam’s failure and how it was such a dramatic shift in the story of creation and blessing.  The serpent came and did his damage and now on to the next generation.

Reading Thoughts:
So here is the story of Cain and Abel and the 2nd chapter of man’s fall.  I see Lord that Adam taught his boys to fear you and to make offerings to you in thankfulness and this aligns with his repentance in naming Eve in the last chapter.  There seems to be something different about the two sons and only one receives your approval.  Let me learn from this picture Lord.  Cain kills his brother in envy and bitterness and he receives punishment at you hand Lord but not very severe in the sense that he lived and bore children.  You had not yet given any explicit law regarding murder but clearly it was already wrong and sinful. Cain has a great great great grandson named Lamech and he seems arrogant and cruel and he is a murderer like Cain, not to mention a polygamist.  I also see a third son coming and Moses writes about this son and how people began to call upon the Lord again in those days.

The theme is- That God wants our hearts and devotion and we must choose against the sinful reactions that will well up within us in opposition to God’s authority.  We are to trust in God always and do what is right in his eyes.

Rumination Thoughts:
    v3-5.  Here is the account of the offering made to God by both brothers.  For some reason Cain’s offering does not please the Lord and Abel’s does.  This probably has to do with the heart of each man and the resulting offering.  Verse 4 says that Abel brought the firstborn of the flock and their fat portions. I take this to mean he did not hold back and bring the runt or something he was flippant about handing over to God.  Cain’s offering is not indicated by Moses to have been of the “first fruits” but simply an offering of the fruit of the ground.  Later in Deuteronomy 26 the Lord gives instruction on giving offering from the first of the fruit of the ground and it includes much thanks and praise and worship of God. From the attitude in verse 5 where Cain becomes very angry it is clear that he was probably not worshiping God with this offering and giving thanks.  I think the state of the heart as the critical thing here though the offering itself should also match the thankful heart.  This is probably a picture of vain worship as Jesus speaks of in Matthew 15:8-9 where he says “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me.”  Hebrews 11:4 says that Abel, though he died, still speaks through his faith.
     v6-7.  Here Cain and God have some dialogue regarding his reaction to God not delighting in his offering.  God explains to Cain that sin is ready to pounce on him like a lion if he opens to door to let it in.  God uses the same phrase here as he did when he told Adam and Eve that her “desire shall be for your husband”.  Here sin’s “desire is for you” he says to Cain.  This refers to being against or challenging him.  In the same way as God says that Adam will “rule over” Eve here God tells Cain to “rule over” sin.  In the case of Eve Adam is (due to the curse) wrongfully ruling harshly over Eve in response to her sin of challenging his leadership.  In the case of Cain’s sinful desires we see that he is supposed to remain in control and not give in to the temptation to hand over his reaction to sin.  Cain is to rule his own emotion and responses as Adam is to stand up and lead even when leading is not easy and it means putting down personal desires or instinctively sinful reactions.  Man now has a corrupt heart but God makes it clear that he is yet responsible to control it.  Psalm 4:2-5 seems to be a direct teaching of how Cain should have handled this scenario.
     v8-16.  Here Cain kills his brother seemingly out of envy and bitterness.  Then God punishes him by sending him further away and making life even harder on him.  God takes away the thing Cain seemed to love more than God- growing fruit trees.  God actually declares that he will protect the life of Cain from others by threatening to take vengeance sevenfold for whomever would kill him.  This is the first mention of God’s vengeance on behalf of another in the Bible.  It closes with Cain going away from the presence of the Lord.  This verse is interesting because it indicates that Adam and his family were still enjoying some type of presence with the Lord in spite of their expulsion from Eden.      v17-24.  Cain has children and after five generations Lamech takes two wives and then becomes an arrogant murderer.  He even writes a song about his conquest of polygamy and murderous revenge!  In his song he refers to the story that must have been passed down from Cain about God’s promise to take vengeance sevenfold on anyone who would kill Cain.  Lamech, however, does not leave vengeance to the Lord and he even kicks it up to seventy-seven fold in his arrogance and anger.  This picture of revenge and Godless abandon that led to the idea of multiplying the threat to the one who was owed vengeance comes up again from the opposite angle in the gospels.  Jesus is questioned how many times one should forgive an offending brother and the suggestion to Jesus is seven times. Jesus, likely with Lamech in mind, responds with a need to forgive seventy-seven times.  I think his point was that asking at what point to stop forgiving is like asking how much to multiply vengeance.  Jesus was rebuking them for thinking that not forgiving is even an option…ever.  Because vengeance belongs to the Lord…not to Lamech and not to me.
     v25-26.  Here is the beginning of the blood line of redemption.  Seth is born to Adam and Eve and Seth’s line will eventually lead to Jesus!  Seth is the route from the first Adam to the second Adam.  Remember that Adam named his wife Eve for "mother of all the living”.  Note that 1 Tim 2:14-15 says that though Eve was deceived and became a transgressor, she will be saved through child bearing- if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self control.  Interesting that Adam did not strike down Cain and that they did not give up on having children based on this tragic experience. No…they had faith and love and holiness…they had self control and she gave birth to Seth!  Through whom would come the salvation not only of Adam and Eve but for all who would ever trust in his distant descendant Jesus!  Keep in mind, however, that the human bloodline to Jesus only comes through Mary since Joseph was not the physical father of Jesus (the Holy Spirit begot Jesus in the womb of Mary).  This is important because Jesus was born without being under the curse and without the corrupt nature that Adam passed to all his offspring. Corruption of original sin and the curse of God from the last chapter is therefore passed down to a child in the man’s seed and not by the mother.

Response:
Thank you Lord for this message of faith and devotion and thanksgiving and the lesson from Abel that we are to come to you with our best and that lesson from Adam and Eve to keep hope in God and to trust you in the worst of times.  Thank you for the lesson from Cain and Lamech that I have a sinful nature that wants to come forth and that wants revenge and that has an inclination to self rather than for God and others.

Reaction:
Let me, like Adam and Eve, continue in faith and love and holiness, with self control even in the hard times.  Please give me a thankful heart that does not hold back my best and that does not get bitter if I don’t get something I expect and let me not be envious of what others accomplish or the blessing that you pour on them.  Let me be thankful aways and constantly aware of my sin nature that desires to rule over me.

Matthew 4

Ready:
Yesterday was the scene at the Jordan where Jesus was baptized and this indicated the beginning of his ministry and his expressed acceptance of the mission before him.  We know that Jesus, Son of God, had accepted the mission as revealed by the incarnation but here we see that the begotten Son in the flesh, his human nature now united with his divine nature is also is submission to the will of the Father.  Jesus, though having two natures (very foreign to our experience), is one person and he is united in his purpose and his devotion.  Looking again to the outline in the introduction of the book in the study bible I am reminded that this chapter falls under a heading "Jesus the Messiah Begins to Advance the Messianic Kingdom”. 

Reading Thoughts:
The scene here shifts dramatically from the water of the Jordan to the dry desert where Jesus immediately is led into suffering by the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes you lead us here too O Lord.  The first act of ministry for Jesus is to suffer willfully in fasting and in temptation by his enemy, the devil. Satan came along, by the will of God, as indicated by Matthew’s narrative, and Jesus faces three temptations of the devil.  He resists and puts the devil in his place by quoting scripture and relying on the truth of God’s Word.  Here Jesus is prepared for what lies before him in the coming three years. Then a big shift again and Jesus is now back in town and he is impacted in some way by the arrest of John the Baptist.  He begins to preach the same message John had.  Jesus then calls disciples and starts to minister in synagogues and to crowds of people proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God and healing the sick and lame.

The theme in the chapter is this- Jesus stands resolute as he begins his ministry with suffering and then moves into proclamation of the truth and evidencing his power and authority to change lives and to bring wholeness to a broken people.

Rumination Thoughts:
     v1-11.  In Genesis I saw that Adam and Eve handed the keys to earth over to the devil and it is now fitting that Jesus walks straight into the devil’s playground and says "give me your best!”  There is a proclamation to the enemy here that the Kingdom of God has come down to earth and will not be ruled like mankind is ruled through the devil’s lies.  Jesus makes plain to the enemy his devotion and his resolve.  Like Israel's 40 years of wandering in the desert being purified and tested by God so Jesus enters the desert with 40 days of fasting and dependence upon God.  There are amazing parallels here with Deuteronomy 8:2-3 and the remainder of the chapter really (check it out).  Satan tries in three ways to thwart the plan of the cross in this scenario.  This serpent, “the craftiest of the beasts of the field”, knows Jesus from long ago when Jesus created him but Jesus is now in human flesh and Satan knows a thing or two about human nature.  Satan attacks this human nature in the same manner in which he tempts us.  All of the temptations are about bringing Jesus to rely and trust in himself and therefore to disobey the Father and abandon the purpose of his coming.
     He first challenges Jesus’ identity and power to perhaps entice Jesus by his obvious state of hunger to perform a miracle to convince himself of his identity.  This would have been doubting what God had plainly announced at the Jordan and it would have been breaking the fast that apparently was not over yet.  It is similar to what Satan said in the garden “Did God really say that?  Is that really true?” Compare with "Did God really announce that you are his Son?  Why has he left you hungry in this desert?  You gave manna to the Jews while they were in the desert and you gave them water from a rock too.  Why not do that now also? Just eat!” In this Satan tempts Jesus to rely on his deity to end his suffering but you see, Jesus came to suffer and die…and he knows it.  Jesus responds with a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3 and declares that his hunger is meant to focus him to rely on God, not food. He also indicates that he trusts the Words of God for life and he need not doubt what God has plainly stated.  Better to be sustained by God in obedience to his Word than to find supposed comfort and relief through disobedience.
     The second temptation was that Jesus would display himself to the Jews dramatically as arriving at the temple to rule and deliver them as Messiah.  This was not the plan that Jesus had come to subject himself to, and this would have been testing God to see if he would protect and support Jesus even in the breaking of his will.  Jesus rejects this and essentially says “nope- it is wrong to test God and it is right to obey him.”  Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 which was God telling his people not to test him again like they did in the desert when they demanded that Moses produce water in order to prove that God was still providing for them because they doubted this fact in light of their circumstances.
     The final temptation was to hand over the rule of the nations that Satan was given by Adam and Eve.  Of course Jesus bowing to Satan would not have accomplished this (the lie) but it would have extended Satan’s rule into the Kingdom of God (theoretically).  Of greatest importance, this would have been a perceived shortcut to gain the inheritance that God has promised to the Son with no need to suffer on the cross for the sins of his people. Not distracted by the lie of an easy way out and not fooled by the deception of what the result would be, Jesus plainly rests on the simple fact that God has declared that we are not to worship any but him alone.  In all cases here Jesus turns to the revealed will of God in his Word rather than to any secret knowledge or general principle observed in nature. Jesus does not rationalize based on the guy next to him or based on what will be most acceptable to others.  He does not rely on man’s definition whatsoever and he turns each time to the Word of his heavenly Father.  Jesus knows where truth comes from and he knows what is real and what is a shadow.  He has come to reveal this very thing to us!  “Be gone, Satan!” Jesus proclaims…and the enemy in all his fierceness obeys the command of the creator.  I presume this was an omnipotent command that effected his immediate removal rather than a mere request by the Son of God.  Jesus not only declares to the enemy and to us that he is resolute in his purpose and in his devotion to God but that he wields not a power of deception and coercion but an omnipotent rule of all things whereby his command is in the moment necessarily obeyed by whomever or whatever receives it. Wind, water, beasts, demons, dice, dead fish, live fish, and even human hearts.  There is no distinction…all things hear his voice and obey when he gives such command.  This is a power that the enemy fears and knows not.
     v12-25.  Briefly over the remainder of the chapter Jesus seems to honor John and to show the unity in their purpose by declaring the same message.  “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus calls his first disciples and they respond with what appears to be a surrender of their profession and a leaving of their family and they are given a mission to become fishers of men.  There is more to this story that will be revealed by another gospel later.  Matthew says in verse 23 that Jesus went about to the synagogues and among the people proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and healing every disease and affliction.  Thinking on the whole picture of redemptive history and placing these events along the timeline it seems that the healing of the people is a clear message.  It has been said that the miracles were to establish his deity and the truth of his message.  Jesus himself clearly alluded to the fact that he healed to prove his power and authority that extended to forgiving sins. This clue helps with the big problem he came to take care of. He came to save us from our sins just like the angel told Joseph in the dream that convinced him to stick with Mary.  I take the healings as supporting that goal and end of saving us from our sins… and not primarily about taking away suffering or hardship or anything like that. I think he was showing mankind that he indeed has the power to heal us inside and out. He has the power to make us holy and whole.  He has all authority in our lives and he can do anything he claims to be able to do.

Response:
Thank you God for the work your Son came to do and for letting us see into the history of this earthly life of our King.  May you cause me to respond to temptation with the same resolve and dependence upon you and with the use of your Word and with a devotion to you that is unwavering O Lord.  Let me not forget the authority that you hold over the enemy even in this age where he rules the world and controls culture and brings such deception and distraction.  Let me trust you to have the ability to create holiness in me by my union with Christ.

Reaction:
Lord please strengthen my resolve to memorize scripture and bless my efforts in this.  Give me focus of thought and let me be wise in avoiding the devil’s traps and let me not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of scoffers as you warn in Psalm 1.  Give me sober thinking and let me be ever aware of the power of my King who lives in me by his Spirit. 

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 3

Genesis 3; Matthew 3

Genesis 3

Ready:
Lord in Genesis 2 you have setup roles and responsibilities clearly for mankind and it is under and by your authority that you set us out to rule this earth.  You delegated this to us and you have given us marriage and you have provided wonderfully.

Reading Thoughts:
As I read Lord I see your plan unfold even in the midst of our failure and the wickedness of the adversary.  I see a scene where your people that you gave authority to subdue and rule the earth and all that is on it defect and they place themselves under another authority, a false authority.  They surrender their role to Satan and they delegate to him the very role that you delegated to our first parents.  I see here how Satan became the ruler of this world and the prince of the power of the air. We were tasked as the rulers of the world but we gave it away in treasonous distrust and disobedience.  I see Adam’s miserable failure, just like mine would have been.  I see Adam fail to name his wife and to lead her and to protect her and I see him failing to subdue and rule the crafty beast who would come with a message counter to what Adam knows as truth.  I see the apathy and selfishness of Adam and his failure as a husband and a man. I see this crafty beast manipulating both Adam and Eve and in so doing he offers temptation through the very command that you gave.  He attacks Eve by causing her to question what God had commanded Adam prior to her arrival and she then seems to inform Adam of what she now believes based upon the wisdom of the world.  She buys the wisdom of the creation over the wisdom of the creator.  I see Lord that you placed a guard in the garden after their fall to ensure that they did not become permanently separated from you in order to make for the plan of redemption that you had purposed before this scene began.  Clearly Lord you could have placed the guard to begin with but you had purpose in our fall.  You had purpose in the wickedness that you knew was to beset us.  Let us be sorrowful yet always rejoicing O Lord for you have purpose in suffering!

The key verses are these-

“7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” (Genesis 3:7, ESV)

“9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”” (Genesis 3:9, ESV)

The theme is this- 
The tragic transfer of authority from man to Satan and the corruption of humanity in enmity toward God leading to expulsion from the place of communion with God…all for the very purpose of God to redeem a people who would know God in the riches of his glory!

Rumination Thoughts:
     v1-5.  Here Lord is the beginning of the corruption of humanity and our fall from innocence.  The enemy goes to the woman.  Eve had not received the command directly but through the advice of her husband she was told of this command (it seems).  So we see that Adam took to heart the command of God from the beginning.  We know that Eve received it from Adam because the command came prior to her creation.  Satan exploits this and goes to her to ask if God really said that.  He attacks both authorities over her at once in this.  He offers to her in that moment ad chance to rule over herself and to make her own determination of good.  I see plainly that she is the first to sin but is she?  Where was Adam?  Why did he not name her yet?  Why no child yet?  Why was he allowing the serpent to converse with his bride?  Why was the serpent not beheaded immediately. These responsibilities of Adam should have been clear but were not laid down like the law regarding the tree.  Eve was responsible to keep the law but it was Adam who bore the burden in this.  Adam was responsible for Eve.  Her sin is his sin by his failure to keep her safe.  Did he fear her opinion of him if her were to suggest that she not speak to the serpent?  What went through his mind?  Is it like what goes through mine when I see danger and I am too weak to take it head on?  The deceptive benefits of sin were shining and glowing and it would have taken a submission to the authority of God and a trust in his perfect provision to resist and to flee from the devil.  Satan bids us to believe his version of reality rather than God’s.  His is based on our supposed freedom but is really bondage to him.  We are a slave to the one whom we serve (Rom. 6:16).
     v6.  Appropriate verse number.  Here is the culmination of the fall of mankind.  Eve, deceived and believing in the benefits of the forbidden fruit in spite of the promise and warning from God through her husband, takes and eats.  Adam is right there with her watching and doing nothing.  He follows her lead and he eats as well, full knowing that this is wrong.  So they have surrendered their will to the enemy and they have thus dethroned God from their lives and now serve sin.  Man became self absorbed and broken and separated from God in that moment.  Yes their eyes were opened…
     v7.  This part was no lie.  They now understood what evil was…it was them.  They know that they are guilty and they are ashamed.  They are also aware of themselves like never before.  They no longer see the beauty in the other because they are too busy looking upon themselves in shame and uncertainty. They cover themselves and they are self absorbed.  I can picture the serpent slinking into the distance a bit and relishing the moment.  He owns the pinnacle of God’s creation and thus he rules the earth.  Satan had no chance until the command was given to Adam.  It was the command that allowed Satan opportunity to deceive.  No command means no challenge to obedience means no failure…and no knowledge of the riches of the glory of God.  This will be developed when we come to Romans.  This was no surprise to God.  He was not an absentee God unknowingly dethroned by a crafty beast that somehow operated outside of his awareness.
     v8-11.  The picture here is of guilt, and shame, and fear rather than trust.  The two had enjoyed fellowship with God but now feel a threat and know that they are responsible for something terrible. Rightly so…recall that God warned him that he would die the day he ate of the fruit.  God highlights our separation by calling for Adam as if he does not know where to find him.  He further makes it clear that it is Adam who bears responsibility in this mess.  God called to the man.  God knocks on the door of my home to inquire of the state of affairs and whomever answers is given the reply “where is Jeff?  I need to speak to him.” O Lord let me know this responsibility to the core of my being.  Let me bear this burden with resolve and with your power.  Let me understand whom it is I report to and that I have duty and responsibility.  Lord let me not be slack and let me not fear my wife or children and let me not fail.  I need more than what Adam had O God.  I need your indwelling Spirit to guide me and empower me and inform me and I need to meditate on your Word and be informed by truth.  Grant me strength to lead and to love sacrificially and let me take up arms against the enemy at first sight.  The enemy is a pitiful scoundrel God, it is you who bear the sword and have the power to kill my soul.  Let me not extend to the enemy the fear that is due to you.
     v12-13.  The pitiful excuses and the shunning of responsibility and the throwing of the bride under the bus!  The blaming of God himself!  Notice that no longer is there talk of the goodness of the fruit and the logical argument that convinced them.  All this is gone.  The lie was a lie.  The benefit disintegrates in their hands and the truth is now standing physically before them in the light of day.  There is darkness in their hearts plainly exposed.
     v14-19.  The curse upon the earth and mankind and the enemy is pronounced.  Living the design that God had graciously given us will now be a challenge and we will labor not in joy but in toil.
     v20-21.  Its about time.  Now Adam give his wife a personal name.  God then clothed them by killing an animal for a covering.  Note that God did not kill them as he had promised when the command was given.  “In the day you eat of it you shall surely die”. Nope- he killed a substitute.  From this moment the righteous God of creation has a problem.  Where is his justice?  How is it right to kill the animal instead of the guilty party and how does that help? Why does he not leave the plant as a covering?  What is he saying?  This was likely the first thing on earth to die.  Sacrificed to remove the shame of mankind.  Is there a reason that the record inserts Adam naming Eve right here the moment before God sacrifices an animal to cover them?  It seems awkwardly placed.  Is Adam repenting?  Is he expressing faith?  Is there hope that God has a perfect plan for all of this?  Did Adam appreciate his role and understand the implications before the fall? Can he see plainly that God has spared them and does he now repent and step up?
     v22-24.  Here God again converses within the trinity and gives us a window into heaven. It is plain Lord that the enemy was not lying about becoming like God in the knowledge of good and evil. You plainly affirm that this happened.  The enemy used truth and twisted it into deception by supposing that it would be good for them to distrust God.  To the contrary, you now take arms to ensure that man does not remain in this state of brokenness and corruption.  It seems necessary that man fell in order to know of evil and the meaning of righteousness and so your plan of redemption is better O God than a garden of Eden with no serpent.  Better that we know you than that we be ignorant O God but it is our own failure and sin that you have used to bring us unto yourself.  Our worst and the enemies worst is used by your omnipotent goodness to bring us to yourself more fully. You display your authority and power and you protect us in our plight and you ensure that we will now be on the road of redemption if we will but trust and obey with the faith that you have given Adam in his repentance.  Our first parents are expelled from the Garden but they take with them the gift of faith and repentance and provision.

Response:
Lord you setup our understanding of the world and the way sin and truth work.  I know that the world is under the authority of the devil and that it works to deceive me and to get me to remain under his rule.  I know that you call me out from the world and you bid me to repent and to trust you rather than myself.  You offer me a loincloth of skin and you give me a promise of hope.  You call me unto the responsibility for my family and you charge me to keep them safe and to teach them in your way. You teach me that this life will not be a pleasure cruise but that I can have peace and joy and redemption when I trust you.  I am on a long road to a place better than the garden O God and you are leading me by the hand.

Reaction:
Let me not look back and let me not listen to the lies.  Give me boldness and love and let me lead as a servant leader in my home.  Let me interpret the world according to the truth and let me see through the lies of the fruit before me all over the place and let me hunger not for food that feeds only my body but let me hunger for thee O God.  Your curse is my teacher and let me hear plainly the message to rely on you and to seek you and to know you.

Matthew 3

Ready:
In Matthew 2 Lord you work all circumstances and you ensure that your plan comes to fruition and you make it clear that there is an important mission that this child is on and it is on our behalf. 

Reading Thoughts:
The story here seems to have a number of characters.  There is John the Baptist, the crowds coming to be baptized, the pharisees and sadducees, and then Jesus (with an appearance of the rest of the trinity).  John is fulfilling his prophetic role of announcing the arrival of the Kingdom and according to Isaiah 40 he is making the path for Jesus to come and give the answer to the dilemma John presents.  John is announcing that we are sinners and that we are like grass that fades but that God is mighty and eternal.  We are not like him and he is coming and we have a problem!  We need to change our ways! There is a group that is mostly investigating what he is saying and John calls them out as unrepentant phonies who rely on their earthly heritage for their supposed righteousness. Jesus then busts onto the scene and there is a dramatic presentation of the Father and the Spirit participating with this baptism.

The key verses are here-

“8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” (Matthew 3:8–9, ESV)

“14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.” (Matthew 3:14–15, ESV)

“16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:16–17, ESV)

The theme is this-
The preparation and the initiation of the ministry of Jesus Christ, savior of his people.

Rumination Thoughts:
     v1-2.  This message of the Kingdom of Heaven being at hand must have been something odd. Wouldn’t people expect something more grand than a weird guy in the wilderness yelling at people? The message becomes clearer as we move along since he ultimately settles on it being the announcement of the arrival of a person- Jesus.  John is calling them to repent.  Presumably they would be repenting of sins according to the Jewish law of Moses and this would make sense if there was an imminent arrival of God in their midst and they have been in a wandering from his law.
     v3-6.  Matthew narrates here and gives us the insider information that John was prophesied about in Isaiah and the chapter there tells us about the fleeting nature of the creation and of all flesh and the enduring nature of God and how he will bring good news with his mighty hand.  It sounds like lots of people were hearing and listening and being baptized by John.  People were confessing sins and wanting to be free of their guilt.
     v7-10.  Here John deals with the religious establishment.  These two groups (pharisees and sadducees) were Jews that held to the Mosaic law and they are the spiritual leaders of the day.  John calling them a brood of vipers would have been dramatic because these were the men of God that the people would go to on Sabbath to learn from and to worship with.  These were the pastors and the evangelists of their time.  Yet John calls them vipers and tells them that they are unrepentant.  Jesus will use these same words in his encounters with them later.  There is a big clue that John gives here when he suggests that they will lean on being descendants of Abraham.  This would be a reference to the covenant that God made with Abraham and his offspring to bless them and to give them an everlasting kingdom.  This became license to the religious of that time and they considered that they had no responsibility in this covenant other than to follow some customs and rules (when people were looking).  The huge statement here is regarding the rocks being made into children of Abraham.  This is us!  We are the stones that the Holy Spirit exchanges for flesh and give us life and circumcises our hearts and makes us children of God by his work and not by the law.  This is made clear in Romans 2:29, Jeremiah 31:31-33, Ezekiel 36:26-27 and elsewhere.
     v11-12.  John’s baptism is different than what the Apostles will do.  John’s baptism precedes the resurrection and is therefore only symbolic of the washing of sin as in the purification that happens in the sacrifice at the tabernacle.  John is helping people to acknowledge their sin and seek cleansing. He says that Jesus will come and he will do something much greater.  Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Interesting though that Jesus does not baptize anyone.  He instructs baptism but until Jesus dies and rises- there is no true baptism to take place!  Jesus will bring a baptism that represents the judgement of God killing the flesh in a union with the death of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit granting new life in the believer who is born anew into the Kingdom of God as his child by promise, not by earthly heritage.  This is a union in death and in resurrection unto life.  This is the baptism that he instructs his apostles to perform after his resurrection.
     v13-17.  This is the amazing scene where the Son of God acknowledges why he is here on earth among his creation.  Jesus here submits to the Father and agrees to take on the sin of his sheep as he wades into the water of the Jordan and prepares to be symbolically killed by his creation.  Jesus never sinned.  He is the holy and righteous Son of the most high God and yet he asks John to baptize him. John is baptizing sinners needing to repent and be cleaned!  Why is Jesus doing this??  John recognizes the problem and refuses initially.  But Jesus, like he will later do with Peter, lets John know that this must be so. Jesus is asking that John submit to his role and symbolically slay Jesus with the judgement of God as if he were guilty of the crimes that his people were responsibly for. Jesus received a baptism of death in the river and when he come up we are told of a scene that foreshadows the most amazing truth of this universe.  The Son has been obedient unto death and the Father reveals his identity by raising him from the water and resurrecting him unto life.  Jesus comes up and the Father expresses his great joy and approval in his Son who has committed now to go to the cross.  The Holy Spirit comes upon him and we know that this Jesus comes with the authority and power of God and that he will die and rise and that he pleases his Father.  We know that we must listen to every Word he says like it is treasure from heaven.  Tying this into the ascension- the Spirit did not come until Jesus died (was plunged into the water) and rose and the sky opened to receive him in the ascension (though he did not leave this first time).  This will be the case later in the story. His identity is not made sure by the declaration of the Father until he is raised from the water.  This will be the case again later.  This baptism in the Jordan is the cross of Calvary 3 years early.  Jesus has set his face to Jerusalem and he will march to his death in obedience and love.

Response:
Thank you Lord for the sweetness of this passage and the joy that it brings my soul.  Thank you that you came to seek and to save the lost.  Thank you Jesus that you gave up your rights and you took on my sin and you died the death that would have killed me forever. Thank you for this foreshadow and for the way it clues me into the ministry you are beginning.  You are not here to teach good ways of living or to provide self help tips.  You came to die for your people in order to reconcile them to God! Everything in your ministry was to support that alone.  I cannot attain righteousness just as the pharisees could not Lord.  I need your righteousness and I need the new life that you gave me by your grace when I surrendered myself to you and trusted you.  Please continue to teach me in this story of the life of Jesus told by Matthew.

Reaction:
Lord you have raised my affections and given me a song.  I have a picture of this baptism scene in my mind that really happened in a real place where I can stand today if I had the resources to get there.  I can imagine watching this unfold and knowing what I know it would have been a tearful and absolutely unbelievable thing to see.  I don’t know if anyone saw or heard the dove or your voice O God that day but we have heard the testimony from Matthew and I am thankful.  Let me not trust in a label or in my obedience Lord but let me trust in the death and resurrection of your Son that has taken this heart of stone and made me new!

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 2

Genesis 2; Matthew 2

Genesis 2

Ready:
The epic story has begun and the main characters have been described.  I know the most critical thing I can know about mankind- we are created. 

Reading Thoughts:
Here God reveals a physical kingdom over which he rules and directs.  He elaborates on what he previously stated very simply about the creation of man and woman.  Perhaps here he is expressing more deeply the concept of headship and role.  He establishes his own role as the lawgiver who reigns and leads and provides and protects his people. 

The theme seems to be this- As creator, God has role of King, provider, protector, and law-giver.  God assigns roles to us as well (as subjects in his Kingdom).  Man has a role in marriage of namer (leader), worker (provider), keeper (protector), and cherisher (lover).  Woman has a role of helper (supporter), and companion (intimate partner).  Motherhood is not mentioned yet.

The key verses are here-

“15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,” (Genesis 2:15–16, ESV)

“18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”” (Genesis 2:18, ESV)

“24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:24–25, ESV)

Rumination Thoughts:
     v1-3. There is an important beginning here where God announces that the pinnacle of the creative process is rest.  Holiness is first presented here and is expressed in separation from effort and labor.  Holiness is resting in the goodness and completeness and perfection of the work of God.  This is the fitting conclusion and a picture of “sabbath rest” and holiness that we hope for in our bodily redemption.
     v4. Here is a phrase that repeats in this book in stages as he describes significant portions of history.  From reviewing the study bible intro I see that here you are introducing the pre-Abraham history of the world.
     v5-9.  Here Lord I see that you describe that there is something missing in that there is nobody to work the land and that you first created the Kingdom and established your rule and then introduced the subject or the next character in this drama.  You change the description from speaking to forming here with man.  Though later you mention forming beasts of the field it is here at man that you make the change.  And as was determined in Genesis 1, you made man in your image.  This seems to be a clarification or expansion on the briefly stated creation account in the previous chapter.  You mention the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and it seems that these trees (at least the knowledge tree) were only meant as a delight to the eyes, and not for food.  The remainder of the trees were good for food and at this point there is no command given to the man except that he has been introduced to this setting.
     v10-14.  Here you describe the location of the garden where you placed the man.  The land seems to be rich.
     v15-17.  This is a big shift here in the story Lord because here in this passage you give charge to the man in your role as King and law-giver and protector.  You chose where the man would be placed in your creation and you tasked him to work the ground for survival. He was to work and keep this garden and all that was in it.  You gave him great responsibility at this point.  You then immediately followed this with a command.  The command was to enjoy all of the fruit except for the one that would hurt the man.  You gave warning and you made clear the penalty of disobedience.  You have issued a mostly horizontal command to take care of the creation and a very vertical command that the man obey you with respect to his conduct for his own good.  I see the introduction of the rule of faith here.  Hidden in this is the understanding that it is Adam’s trust in your faithfulness to do precisely what you say and to be truthful in your words.  Adam is charged to have an obedience of faith as Paul will describe much later in Romans. 
     v18-20.  I see in this section Lord that you setup for the introduction of woman.  You surprisingly announce that something about the creation is “not good”.  There had been nothing but good until this point Lord and now the question comes up of why this is not good and why you did not recognize it or announce it immediately.  I suppose O God that in your omniscience you knew very well from before you began that man needed a woman to complete this picture of humanity but the delay must have been for Adam's own understanding. You may be presenting a picture here to us of how you reveal truth.  You chose to show this man his need before meeting it.  You chose to give him clear example and indication of the lack and what failure to have a companion like himself would be like. You gave him experiential knowledge of what a lack of provision would be like.  I believe this concept can be important and serves to help understand why you allow sin and suffering O God.  I am thankful that you allow us to know what a benefit we have in you and that we are not completely blind to the amazing blessings that you bestow upon us.
     v21-25.  Here you do something entirely different again.  The creation of woman is not by speaking and it is not from the earth.  You create now from the man and we know that woman is of the same nature and therefore also in the image of God and of equal value, though not the firstborn. Adam rejoices and finds that this as the way in which you were going to meet his determined need. He gives a general name to her as he had named the other creatures but he does not give her a personal name.  So far he does not do much different in so far as headship than he did with the animals.  The phraseology is the same in how you “brought them to the man” for naming.  You “brought her to the man” the same way and you establish the authority of this man in the marriage relationship.  The man will leave the safety and provision and guidance of his home and he will hold fast to a woman and become one flesh with her.  The man here steps away from the protection and feeding and guidance of his father and he takes on this role in his own family now.  Interesting here that you describe this although they had no physical parents.  You here make a statement of principle and you declare that you want us to see in this story that you are establishing something for all time. You have created marriage O God.  It is between a man and a woman and you have done it.  You made them and you presented her to him.  Finally I see that they are without shame although they are completely naked and vulnerable before one another.  It seems that there was no stain of sin yet and no knowledge of guilt or shame. Naked and unashamed is a picture here of a wonderful healthy marriage where the two are trusting in God and are busy looking upon and seeking to bless the other and where they do not question or challenge the roles and responsibilities and the design that they have been given my God.  Shame I take for a sense of negative impact from self exposure.  This being embarrassment or disappointment or other realization of a weakness or failure or evil that is now known to others and quite plainly a reality.  They have no shame Lord because they are obedient and they are under your authority.  This can be one way that you announce that this couple was without sin.

Response:
Lord I am thankful that you give us such insight into yourself and into what it is that we are “made of”.  I thank you that you chose to make us and that you reveal yourself and that you give us such instruction and that you setup a system of relationship with a specific design and that you describe it as beautiful and as fulfilling and as selfless.  I thank you for the category or model of exposure to lack or to an opposite in order to sweeten the understanding of what provision looks like Lord.  May this serve me well and may you be glorified for all time in all your purposes.  I thank you for the clear statements of responsibility and role that guide and direct.

Reaction:
May you cause me to walk in my marriage as you intend Lord that I would not be ashamed of my attitudes or thoughts or words or actions but that I would surrender to you and would honor you and would bless my wife in all I do and that I would not be looking out for Jeff in this marriage or family. Let me be mindful Lord that I follow your direction and that I keep within the design that you have for this life and for my marriage and how the relationship I enjoy with Nicole is far different than with anything or anyone else.  Let me honor this relationship above all other human relationships.  Let me today see you as a speaking and revealing and giving God who cares and provides and who guides and protects.  Let me not see circumstances as out of your control but as perfectly under your control and let me find the ways that I am to submit to you in all things to the glory of your name.

Matthew 2

Ready:
The story of Jesus began, in Matthew’s telling, with both a divinely royal and humanly royal line that is unspoiled by the seed of Adam.  The God-man is announced and has invaded humanity to save us from our sin.

Reading Thoughts:
This chapter tells the story of how three wise men (or Kings) from a far land came to worship the Messiah (the King of the Jews).  These men saw the sign of the star and recognized it since they were familiar with Balaam’s oracle in the book of Numbers.  They showed up in Jerusalem and inquired with Herod.  Herod was clueless and when he learned of the prophecy that a ruler would be born in Bethlehem and he determined that the wise men saw the sign something less than two years earlier, he determined to find and kill the Christ child.  The wise men found Jesus and Mary in a home in Bethlehem and Jesus was probably at least 40 days old but less then two years old.  They did not help Herod and Joseph was warned to take Jesus to Egypt quickly to avoid Herod’s search.  Herod killed all the young toddlers in the region in effort to do away with this Messiah.  Once Herod was dead Joseph was led to return to Israel but he took Jesus to Nazareth (where Mary and Joseph lived previously) for safety and there Jesus grew up a Nazarene.  Multiple prophesies are fulfilled in this chapter.

The theme seems to be this- The sovereign God of the universe works his mighty counsel and guides the events of history precisely as he has previously determined and declared so that his Son will perfectly fulfill the work he came to do.

Rumination Thoughts:
    v1-2.  Here we learn that a prophecy concerning a star coming from Jacob (Israel) would mark the arrival of the Messiah.  These wise men came from the east somewhere and wanted to worship the newborn King of the Jews.
     v3-8.  Here we learn that the Jews were aware of the prophecy in Micah that located the birthplace of the Messiah in Bethlehem…only 6 miles from Jerusalem.   Curious that the wise men knew the oracle of Balaam but were unfamiliar with the prophecy of Micah about Bethlehem.  I also see that Herod had malicious intent from the beginning as he didn’t want any part of some new King taking over.  The Romans were rather tolerant of the Jews but if they were to become a political threat this would be a problem.  Herod was a ruthless and violent ruler who had even killed members of his own family.  Interesting that the chief priest and scribes did not go with the wise men to worship.
     v9-12.  The wise men find the Christ child with Mary in a home (presumably in Bethlehem still) and they are overjoyed.  They worship the child and gave gifts to him.  
     v13-23.  The wise men account is brief and mostly serves to create the whole storyline of sending Jesus to Egypt and then back to Nazareth.  It appears that God has a specific plan for where and when and how this Jesus will live and and it appears that God’s purpose in him will not falter. The remaining narrative seems to support this idea and I see the faithfulness and trust of Jospeh as he leads his family and protects his legal child and how God delivers them from harm.

Response:
Lord I see your sovereign hand here and I note that you do not stop the wickedness from happening in this case but that your purposes work even through wicked actions and that you are unstoppable in your ways.  You determined that your Son would glorify your name in a life of submission and suffering and that he would make it to the cross of Calvary and you would ensure that this is exactly what happened.  Jesus was the God-man but as every other man, was helpless except for the provision of his parents during his youth.  We have a savior O God who knows weakness and knows human nature and knows what it is to be helpless.  You control the stars in the sky and the desires of wicked hearts and the actions of your people and the intentions of men from afar.  You work all things according to the counsel of your will (Eph. 1:11) O God and I thank you that you put your omnipotence to work for the good of your people every day (Eph. 1:19, Jer. 32:41, Psalm 31:19).

Lord I also see some categories presented in this story.  I see believers (wise men), I see unbelievers/scoffers (Herod) and I see those who know about you but do not know you or trust you or surrender to you (Chief priests and scribes).  These people behave differently and teach different lessons.

Reaction:
Let me trust that you will do what you say at all times and let me not fear when things look out of alignment or when the perfect circumstances don’t seem to be occurring.  Let me recall what you have done here in the life of Jesus and how you remain the omnipotent ruler of the universe.  Let me learn O God to rely on your Word and to search it and to know well what you have revealed and that I would be blessed in the journey and that I would be like a tree planted by streams of water as I send roots deep into your Word.  Let me be one who knows the truth and who takes action upon it and is therefore a doer and not merely a hearer like the religious leaders who knew about the Christ but did not watch for his coming or even investigate the report of it.  Let me also not be like Herod who looks out for his own good and who is willing to do violence against anything that would threaten the way of life he wants.  Let me surrender to the King O God and let me go and do whatever you call me to do.

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 1

Genesis 1; Matthew 1

Let's do this men!  Each morning you will find a post here on the day's reading.  Some will be longer and some shorter.  I do not intend that you read these every day but that you might reference them if you have a hard time or if you want to dialogue with one another by commenting on the post.

Thank you Lord for this year and this pilgrimage that you have brought us into together.  May you bless us and draw us in to delight in your Word this year and forevermore!

Genesis 1

  
Ready:
Day one.  Genesis and Matthew are the start of the Old and New Testament and the beginning of this two-year plan. 

Genesis was written by Moses and it reads as a narrative story.  After reading the introduction I see that the theme is creation, sin, and re-creation. This is the beginning of the grand story of God revealing himself to a people that he has made for his glory.  He creates with knowledge that it will take the death of his Son to reconcile this creation that will fall into sin.  It was written around the time Moses brought Israel out of Egypt around 1440 B.C.

Reading Thoughts:
Here God creates all that is and he culminates the work of creation in man. He does this over 6 days and he acts freely and does most of the creating by his spoken Word.  Lord I see that you have order and you created a kingdom with a people residing under your reign.  You give authority and you give responsibility.  You clearly give man all that you created and there is nothing on earth over which man is not to have dominion in this creation.  You have made nothing that is bad or evil in any way.  Your creation was good. Man has a clear role and there is a female counterpart mentioned here that is explained more later.  You blessed them and gave them all the earth!

Rumination Thoughts:     
    v1.  In the first verse is huge revelation of yourself O God.  You come against humanism and any effort of man to assert his power and his self existence.  You declare here in this first verse that we had a beginning and it came precisely when you determined that it be so. Here we see that you were before and that you would have no beginning and in time we learn also that you have no end.  All that is exists due to your good pleasure in making it. You are creator and you are the source of all things.
     v2-25. Here is a repeating pattern of God speaking and God declaring good.  He makes in an orderly fashion and he creates everything in its kind.  Here is not a picture of one kind begetting another kind as in the theory of evolution but a holy and intelligent and purposeful God willing the existence of each creature that he so desires.
    v26.  Here is a break in the patter of God speaking into existence as he now speaks not into the void but he speaks unto himself.  This is a massive shift and here again much about God is revealed.  God is not lonely or sad.  He is a God of community and he enjoys within himself relationship and joy and love and we see in the first chapter of this grand storyline a God who cares and who is in communion.  The trinity is exposed here and there is a conversation in heaven and a consulting between the Father and the Son, perhaps. Remembering that Revelation speaks of a book of the Lamb that was Slain being in existence before the creation of the world (Rev. 13:8) I would say that at this point the Son needed to concede to the Father his joyful willingness to continue with the creation of man knowing all-well that it would put him first humbled in the form of man and then on the cross at the hands of this mankind that is considered here.  Here I see the picture of the Son counting the cost and the Father looking joyfully and proudly at his Son who takes the mission with joy in his heart (Heb. 12:2) and for the sake of the glory of his father.  God creates freely and there cannot be here an external requirement that he create at all.  God could have been happy to let the animals reign upon the earth but he chose rather to give up his Son in order to have a people who would know his glory.
    v26-27.  In the image of God and as man and woman God made them.  God made us like himself in some way that differs from the animals and other living creatures.  He also made man and woman different.  There is a poetic nature to this description in verse 27, by the way the translator sets the type, and the first thing that jumps at me is that the parallelism that is there.  Take the first line as the basic statement and follow it with two clarifiers or call this an action-manner relationship (manner describes the action in more detail).  God created man in his image and this is how he did that.  The second line says that he created him in a singular description and is clearly referring to Adam.  Adam came first and has responsibility.  Then he made woman and they are different and yet something about this relationship between the two relates plainly to the image of God.  The creation of man and the distinctive creation of two beings that are meant to be in intimate relationship with one another tells us of the image of God. God sees Adam as the federal head of mankind (representative).  God’s Son shares this headship role (the second Adam) and will assume it on Christmas day.  God exists in community and enjoys loving relationship.  He give us this as well.  Much study can go into the image of God but community and headship are obvious here.
    v28-31.  Here God gives Adam and Eve responsibility.  Together we were to rule and subdue the earth.  We were to exercise authority over the creation as a good steward and care for what God gave us as a parent expects a child to care for a pet or a valuable toy. God announces that he has made provision for them.  They did nothing and can do nothing to provide for themselves except that God saw it good to make them dependent upon the rest of creation and therefore upon himself for existence.  He chose to give us bodies that require food and sleep and light.  He gave us reminders that we depend upon him clear as day.

Response:
Lord I am thankful that you are a speaking God who not only created us but you revealed yourself to us even here as early as Adam and Eve.  You created from a benevolent love that desired to share yourself O God and not from need of anything whatsoever.  You did not hide yourself and create them in a void but you knew them and you spoke to them and you gave them charge and authority.  You did not make us autonomous but reliant upon you as our provider and our all.  You interact and you have expectations of us Lord.  You blessed us and made us to be happy and fulfilled and useful and you gave us all we have.  I know that this creation you made was done with a view ahead to the New Jerusalem and the glorified bodies that we would have and that you knew the fall was coming before you even made us.  You had in mind the slaughtering of your Son in order to show us the riches of your glory in the power of your grace (Eph. 2:7, Rom 9:23).  You made us with a capacity to chose against you Lord so that we would know all of you and that we would understand and that we would be image bearers with a freedom that would serve your glory (Rom 8:21).

Reaction:
Let me be certain never to put you into a "cosmic power" role within my head but clearly here you are a personal God who gives and who expects.  Let me feel and value this truth that you create in your image and you share your identity with us and you do not leave us like beasts but you grant us understanding and responsibility.  Let me not trivialize the fact that you chose to reveal the full spectrum of your glory in wrath and love and everything between O God.  Let me always be awed by the fact that you slowed and pondered the implications of making mankind and it was your good pleasure to do so even with the cross of Christ in full view (John 10:17-18, Acts 2:23, 4:27-28).

Matthew 1

Ready:
Matthew was written by the former tax-collector who followed Jesus and became one of the 12 disciples.  After reading an introduction I see the it was written between the 50s-60s A.D. The theme is- the story of Jesus, the long-anticipated Messiah who ushers in the Kingdom of God with promise of peace and deliverance for both Jew and Gentile.  The gospels read as a narrative biography.

Reading thoughts:
Initially Lord I see a few things here in chapter 1.  I see a genealogy that should have a message for me.  I see an announcement of a virgin birth and Joseph accepting his role and keeping his betrothed.  I see that their child is to be the Messiah and God himself.  This seems to be the bedrock of the whole account of Jesus and it establishes his divine and human identity, his authority, and his purpose on earth.

Rumination thoughts:
Interesting Lord that in verse 5 you reveal that there are two gentile women called out as carrying the lineage of the Jewish King forward in Rahab and Ruth.  These are the only women mentioned in the lineage.  Mary is mentioned at the end but only by marriage so this is clearly the lineage of Joseph.
    I think the genealogy serves to let me understand that Jesus fulfills the prophecy of the Messiah and he comes to rule on the throne as the God-man, the true King of the Jews. The genealogy can be confusing when I compare it to Luke’s version but I learn of this divine/human reign in comparing the lineage to Jesus from the perspective of Joseph (representative of his kingship as God since Joseph was only his father in a legal sense) with the genealogy in Luke, where you express his kingship as a human in the lineage of Mary. 

Response:
Lord thank you that indeed you are the God-man who came to take upon yourself the role of prophet, priest, and King.  Here in this chapter I see the prophet role in that he is referred to as “God with us” or Immanuel and this tells me that Jesus is going to reveal to us who God is.  God is coming and making himself “with us”.  I see the priestly role where the angel tells Joseph that this child will save his people from their sins.  Joseph would have understood the high priest to accomplish this for him in the ceremonial atonement process each year.  I see the Kingly role in the genealogy being tied clearly to King David. The reference to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also makes it clear that this Kingship precedes the authority of the first King of Israel as well as King David.  The first verse ties Jesus to Abraham and David.  Abraham was the recipient of a promise and David the recipient of a throne in partial fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.  Jesus has come and established a promised Kingdom that was declared and announced by his cousin John the Baptist!

Reaction:
Help me Lord as I read Matthew in the coming days to see the beauty of my King in the pages of this Gospel!

Soli Deo Gloria!

A Thanksgiving Reflection on Idolatry

BURN THE OTHER HALF!

This is a brief reflection on Isaiah 44:9-20. 

In my prescribed reading for the day I came to this passage about the folly of idolatry and I thought it very appropriate to reflect upon this idea as we approach Thanksgiving.

For what shall we give thanks?

I would imagine that we all intend to be thankful to God for his bountiful provision in our lives and that we rejoice in the salvation that he has given us by his lavish grace.  We receive his mercies anew each day as we wake and we have breath and life and faith.  He is the giver of every good gift according to James 1:17.  We receive an income, we enjoy relationships with those we love, we have convenience in transportation and technology, we can express our intimate love with our spouse (sorry Joshua!), we might have children that bless us in a myriad of ways, and the list of his good gifts go on and on.

But what do we do with the gift and what do we actually value?

The random and unnamed idolator in this passage from Isaiah receives the blessing and provision of God in the form of rain, trees, growth of a particular tree that he desires, fire that warms him and cooks his food to sustain him.  And do you see what his response to this is?  If you have not done so yet, stop here and read the passage.

The fool has attached himself to the gift rather than the giver.  The fool has burned half of the tree and then worships the other half as a god.  This may sound like some random bible story but is this not what we do?  Do I not have a heart that is inclined to receive from God and receive from God and my response is to love the thing he is giving me more than him?  Do I not construct and idol from the abundance of God's provision and serve it rather than serving God?

Do I do this with my work?  Do I do this with everything on the list of things I say I want to give thanks for on this special day of Thanksgiving?

Resolve to burn the other half

Heavenly Father, giver of all good gifts in my life, keeper of my soul and my King- Give me a heart that loves you above every gift you could ever give and a mind that focuses on you and surrenders to you in all things.  Grant me the grace to recognize that you alone are my God and that your provision is meant to bring me to you and not to drive me from you.  Let me be faithful to burn the other half of the log and to share what you have given me with others and to offer up to you sacrifice and love offerings.  Let me not gather up but let me be poured out and help me to receive with true thanksgiving every day and let me seek you first every day.  Let me set down the gift and run to your arms O God with all joy and peace in believing that you are the giver of all good gifts and the keeper of my soul.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Fix My Heart O God, and Then My Situation.

A brief reflection on Psalm 86- a prayer of David.

A number of lessons can be seen in this Psalm regarding how to pray and how to make a case before our creator when we are troubled and needy.  I will cut to the chase on the main observation I took from this psalm...

Read the psalm with this consideration: David's life is in danger.  Ruthless men who do not fear the Lord are after him.  Yet, what is his prayer?  Does David open with a plea for deliverance from his circumstances?  Nope.

Notice that David comes to God acknowledging his need and his poverty in spirit.  He is confessing his weak and troubled heart.  He is first asking that God "gladden" his soul.  He asks God to teach him before he asks God to deliver him from the enemy.  He confesses that his heart is not united in fear of God but that he must be divided in some way and valuing something else...like security and safety and comfort maybe.

David's plea to God if for his heart to be made right and to be joyful and reliant on God.  Then in verse 12 we see that David, in the course of his worship and adoration of God and his pleading for is heart, receives an answer.  God lifts his spirit and David rejoices and thanks God and only then does he move on to ask for deliverance from his circumstances.  Only then does he lay out the troubles he is facing.

Let us be like King David, a man after God's own heart, and let us hunger for God when we are in trouble.  Let us seek to connect with our King and to have a right heart before him when we face difficulty.  Let us come to him seeking to know him and to be known by him before we ask for deliverance from a situation.  The situation will look entirely different when we are right with our God.

Teach us this O Lord and be praised in our hearts and minds-

Soli Deo Gloria!

Find the Knowledge of God!

A Reflection on Proverbs 2

This proverb gives clear instruction on how to find the knowledge of God.  Proverb 1:7 tells us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge...

“7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, ESV)

Proverbs 2 tells us how to understand the fear of the Lord and therefore find the knowledge of God...

“1 My son, if you ... 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1a, 5, ESV)

So this is amazing- Fearing the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and we suffer always from a difficulty understanding this fear of the Lord.  Well, here is the solution!  He gives us directions regarding how to understand this fear that will result in knowledge.  I also suggest that knowledge of God is different than knowledge about God.

Let's look at it in the raw and then we can put it in a simpler list of bullets...

“1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1–5, ESV)

So ponder the words above and see if you agree with this list of instructions...

1. Read the Word of God (the bible) [verse 1a]
2. Memorize (or at least remember in some fashion) the Word of God [verse 1b]
1. Especially his precepts (commands or instructions)
3. Listen carefully to what it says (make careful observation) [verse 2a]
4. Desire to understand it (heart level thing here and a huge key) [verse 2b]
5. Ask God to teach you the meaning [verse 3a]
1. Do this with persistence [verse 3b]
6. Do steps 1-4 regularly and aggressively like you are on a treasure hunt (or like you need this to pay rent and to feed your family) [verse 4]
7. Now enjoy the payoff and you will understand! [verse 5]

Go back to the passage and consider the list above and decide for yourself if you see this same thing.  I can attest that reading the bible is one thing...but studying the bible is another.  Let us make a daily habit of studying the Word of God and seeking to find the knowledge of God.

Fearing the Lord and knowing God (I see this as the difference in knowledge about something and knowledge of someone) is the prize in this process.  We can come into deeper relationship and know God's heart and we can daily have a qualitatively different experience with Him.

Now read the rest of the chapter and see what this knowledge of God leads to.  Verses 6-8 alone read like this...

   “6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.” (Proverbs 2:6–8, ESV)

Let us consider how we spend our time and make this list of instructions a part of our every day life.  Let us seek first the kingdom of God and entrust him with meeting our needs!

“31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31–33, ESV)

Will you join me in daily surrender of your time to chase after this treasure of knowing your creator and the redeemer of your soul?

Soli Deo Gloria!

Grace Reigns 4

A continuing study of Romans 5:20-21

See the original post for all the questions we are looking at regarding this passage.

   “20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20–21, ESV)

1.  Why (or how) does sin reign in and grace reigns through?

Looking at how sin reigned in death we see that death was produced in us by sin and this is in our nature by birth.  Nothing must enter in...nothing new is introduced for it was the sin already in us that killed us.

   “8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.” (Romans 7:8–13, ESV)

So sin was already in me (in Adam) and it came to life and killed me (Adam).  Since the fall sin has been a part of my nature and reigned through the death that it produced.  My deadness kept me slave to this sin.

   “1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1–3, ESV)  

Now the righteousness that grace reigns through is not a righteousness of my own.  The righteousness of God is His and only comes to me by His Son and my union with Him.  So the righteousness by which grace reigns is not something naturally in me like the death that sin brought to Adam and handed down to me.  There is no righteousness handed down to me.  The free gift of grace is not like the trespass- it does not give me an inheritance but instead I must receive the righteousness of God for myself by his grace.

   “16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:16–17, ESV)  

My sin is part of the many and when I receive the abundant grace of God- note that this is more than the common grace to all man whereby he shows mercy and love to all, but now he speaks of abundant grace that actually frees me from death- then I will see that grace will reign in me through the righteousness of Christ.  It is this foreign righteousness that I do not earn or add to that causes the grace of God to reign in my life.  By this righteousness that is counted to me thanks to the faith that has been awakened in me I find new life and new ability to be free from the sin and death that once was my identity.  Now I am a new creation and I now know that there is more to me than meets the eye.  I can see the battle within and I can rejoice that I am freed to begin the fight!

   “22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 4:22–24, ESV)

“2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2, ESV)

   “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

So sin reigned in death because I was born dead and it is part of me, but grace reigns through righteousness because this is a foreign righteousness that resides within me and is counted to me.  Since I am a new creation, however, my true identity is the one that is subject to Christ and I can now starve that old dog of the flesh in freedom!  The bible also tells me that I have become the righteousness of God just as Jesus became sin so there is a powerful and precious bond between Him who resides within me and my soul.


2.  What does the reigning of sin in death tell us about the reigning of grace through righteousness?

Looking at how sin reigned in death we see that sin constantly flowed from within me due to the deadness in me.  Similarly grace works in my life through the righteousness (of Christ) that is in me.  Sin reigned due to this deadness, but I now have life because of the righteousness of Christ in me...

   “10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:10–11, ESV)

So the righteousness of God is life and it is the opposite of the death that ruled in me before I was born again.  Now God works out of me an entirely new life of love that comes from his work within me by His Spirit.  So now just as I was yielding to the death in me before, now I can yield to the life in me and the grace of God reigns in power.  Remember grace is a free gift, not earned.  Grace is also the power of God given to us to accomplish what we cannot otherwise do.

   “19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.” (Romans 6:19, ESV)

Conclusions:
Far from needing to grasp at righteousness I need to rest in the power of reigning grace that God has put in my by the righteousness of His Son.  Far from needing to white knuckle myself into better behavior I need to ask God to keep heaping his grace upon me and I need to yield to this new life that is in me.  I can see the power of God at work in me life if I will choose, in freedom, to set my mind on the Spirit that is now living in me.  This grace is not license to sin, far from it, but it is freedom to love like I could not love before.  "Grace" that causes me to sin because of the perception of forgiveness is nothing but slavery to deception and death in me.  See Chapter 6 of Romans for this.

Thank God that he give us the righteousness of Christ and that we have freedom to live by grace and not according to the old nature of sin and death!

Soli Deo Gloria!