A Name Not Known

This week we have met and journeyed with Moses, that hesitant man of God. Gentlemen, talk about avoiding responsibility! “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else!” (Ex. 4:13) Yet by a new name God revealed Himself to Moses. Unknown by Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, this new name of God is special to a covenant people (6:3). God is revealing Himself in a new way, as Yahweh/Jehovah – the “I AM.”

As slaves, God comes down (3:8) to meet and rescue Israel, who He will later reveal to be His Bride. And He gives them a special, more personal name. He is going to reveal Himself, through His working with Israel, in a new way. He is clarifying the covenant and illuminating the love He has for them.

God Almighty is taking His people’s cares upon Himself and is making things personal. He is declaring His choosing love for His Bride. And He will destroy their enemy Egypt one piece at a time.

Concerning this new name that Moses received, we also know a new name that God revealed to us, though not to Moses. So many longed to hear this coming name. His covenant and His love for us has become much more clear! But we will get there. We are privileged. God has shown Himself to Israel, and more so to us. Read on!

Job: Trusting God without Answers

If you are on pace, then the book of Job has been pushing poetic phrases concerning pain and confusion onto you like a divine salve. Consider:

“Whether for correction or for His land or for love, He causes it to happen.” (37:13)

“If you are righteous, what do you give to Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?” (35:7)

“If He should set His heart to it and gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust.” (34:14,15)

The arguments going back and forth are good hard truth for the soul as well. Job is a classic book to study on how to deal with pain and failure in a godly way. God cares about our pain and our response, thus Job. Hope you made it through! Now back to Genesis.

Job: We Begin in the Deep End

I have one primary goal with these messages. That would be to get you to read through the Bible in a year all the way, JOYFULLY. Most of the groups I have read with would push reading the Bible as duty, something that you are expected to do and you are a failure if you don’t. As Jesus uses failure to show us our need for Him, but uses joy and gratefulness to fuel our good deeds, I would like to opt for the latter. So that is what the messages are for: to motivate you to have a burning heart to read, not a guilty heart to read.

This week we began with the Beginning, and are now almost halfway through Job - a book that seems like it could be put anywhere and be unaffected. I have read much about creationism, that understanding that says the first 7 days are simply 7 days. So we could push into that because I really do love the subject. But I generally only write what I am impressed to write, so I have to write on Job.

“And behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the fours corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Job 1:19

Confrontations like this make the Bible the most valuable inanimate resource we have. The confrontation being between God doing as He pleases (the Bible not charging Him with wrong), and our response. How can a good God kill a man’s children - grown though they may be? Take your animals, steal your servants, sure. But kill your kids? Apparently our chronological reading starts in the deep end of the theological pool. What could God possibly be up to that was worth the life of Job’s children? I have two, soon to be three, children. If He took them, could I find a good reason? Would I respond like Job or would I put my fist immediately in God’s face?

The long argument between Job and his three friends is over how God acts. Does He always reward the “good” man with land and possessions? That is Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar’s argument. If you do good, you will not suffer [the prosperity gospel, not to mention religion, are definitely not new]. Job rebuttal is that he has done nothing wrong to merit this. He is not a “bad” man. He has cared for the poor and the weak. Yet Job sees his actions as not being the reason God blesses him. He has received good from God, and will he not now submissively receive “evil”? (2:10) Job’s case is that God gave freely, and He now takes away freely. A tough pill to swallow, huh? God gave me a stewardship of children, and at any time He may freely take them. And none can charge the Giver with wrong. Certainly not me. This is a quick comment on this particular truth, one that God often takes a long time to teach. Oh, how much prayer is needed to not grow frustrated with the wisdom of God when I see a moment and He sees forever!

In addition to the fact that God can do as He wills and does not become evil or mean by doing so, other lessons of great value are in this book. God has at least two more purposes, though one might be swallowed up in the other. The smaller one would be that Job would know God in a deeper, soul-cavern way. I’m moving ahead, but Job will say after all is done that before “I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (42:5). To know God is our life. Read again. To know God is our life. More valuable than my kids who are a song in my life, is the Ancient Singer and Lover (Zephaniah 3:17). He is to be known to Job as the most Valuable, and He is to be known to us as most Valuable.

The larger purpose that envelops the smaller is that God might be seen as Valuable, everywhere. Not just to Job or even to us who are reading, but also to angelic powers - both good and evil. God has a mission to overwhelm His whole creation with an awe. To stun everyone and everything everywhere and max out their understanding. If you thought that God was clever, you have only just begun to understand wisdom. If you thought He was a simpleton, you’ll learn otherwise. If you thought He was always soft, you’ll learn. If you thought He was good, you have only begun to understand. If you thought He was holy, be prepared to be overwhelmed in the Bible and in eternity. As has been said, “we know but the edges of His ways.” Let your appetite be whetted. The Bible is a feast, full of fear and love!

Read Year Bible '12

In 2012 a group of us are going to read through the Bible. Everyone is invited. We’re going to read through in chronological order using Coram Deo’s reading plan found here: http://cdomaha.com/resources.php under Gospel Formation “Yearly Bible Reading Plan.” This is primarily a Hanscom Park deal, but I could never in good conscience tell anyone ever that they should not read the Bible through in a year. So anyone is welcome to join. I already asked my mom. So you can too. (Chronological means we read in the order that things happened, not necessarily the order the 66 Bible books are in).

When I told Doug that I felt like I was reading my Bible all alone, he told me to lead a group through reading starting Jan 1, 2012. So that’s why I’m writing this, and not him.

Hosea commends us to "know, let us press on to know the Lord. For His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (lots of verses are similar, this is just one of my favorite.).

Reading the Bible is a unique way of getting to know our God. Nothing compares when it comes to understanding His ways and heart. Prayer helps us know, but in a different way (reading the Bible works best when knit with prayer). Creation tells us certain things, but only so much. Because of this, reading the Bible is essential to knowing Jesus well. And all of it talks about Him, so we ought not to leave anything out. So we are going to read it all through this year.

At The Last

I have two other goals in this email. First, I do not want to come across as though “this is just the beginning.” While that may be true, it also sounds like a bunch of baloney from some workout video. We are only beginning on our journey of knowing God—but that will always be true to some degree. There is always so much more to know of a never-ending God.
Second, I do not want to come across as though we have accomplished an impossible task and you are now a great Christian warrior and have “arrived.” It is a book the devil and all his minions hate that you have read, but it is a book. God did not intend to make it hard. We make it hard. How many of us have read lots of other books that combined have dwarfed the Bible in terms of volume? It is a simple book. A child can understand the basics of this book, despite the fact that the greatest human mind will forever be perplexed with its contents.
To not offend these paradoxes is an aim of this email.

At The Last

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

That’s not how we should end, right? I agree. We will not end with this. But we must not run from the truth. Jesus claims to be the Truth, and if we run from the hard parts of the truth, then we are really running away from the Son of God. And there are only two teams. One that loves Him and one that runs from Him and hates the truth. And yes, I do intend to be hard to listen to, even to the last. To be otherwise would be to be faithless. So for your sakes, and for my own, this is the verse that will start the final email. It is out of love for you, the truth, and for the Son, Father, and Spirit of Truth.

Notice just a few things in this verse.
First, the end—all of the types of persons who are mentioned here end up in the same place the devil and his angels do, the lake of fire. Being in perpetual burning asphalt is not my idea of a good time. So whatever group is going there, it is of utmost importance that we not be named in that group.
Second, the members of this group are all on the same playing field. Liars and murderers go to the same place cowards and sexually promiscuous people go. God is not partial in judgement. Just because America thinks something is acceptable has no bearing on whether or not God does.

Third, this is for the guys especially, cowards go to hell. If we are wimpy—we do not lead when it is useful for others, be they wives, children, or younger Christians who need us—we are probably not going to heaven. Do your neighbors need to hear the Gospel? Do you make it a pattern of your life not to tell them? If not, what makes you think you are on the narrow path to heaven? We have a fighting religion (cf. Matt. 11:12), and if we are not fighting the devil, we are fighting the Savior and His purposes. “Whoever does not gather with Me scatters” (Matt. 12:30). “Stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (I Cor. 16:13, 14). Loving in truth is a hard thing. And I do not claim to do it well. As a matter of fact, it causes me to doubt my own salvation from time to time. That is not a bad thing. I don’t doubt the Savior. But I am told to examine my faith (cf. II Cor. 13:5). Don’t be a coward, and keep me accountable too.

Fourth, liars. I believe this verse is addressing people who lie to others for their own gain. But do you suppose that it would be a far stretch to at least show the naiveté or rebelliousness of those that lie to themselves? Or for those stupid lies that we like to tell (e.g. “How are you doing?” “Fine.”)? Men in the world are big into overt sin. But men in the visible church are big into hypocrisy. Most men in the visible church are faking it. Check the stats. Immorality rates are nearly identical among unbelievers and those who profess to know Jesus. That makes those men liars. Women are not exempt by any means either. Are careers more important than godly children? Is physical beauty more important than a beautiful heart? Is it loving to lead the family when God has designed that role for the husband? If you answered yes to any one of these, then you have bought a lie and are lying to yourself. Women in our country spend most of their child-bearing years trying not to have children. One out of three babies die at the hand of their mother. Women live unmarried with men and provide for them, so they don’t have to grow up—and they think they are being loving. Check the magazines, and Hollywood, and high school. Women in our day love lies. And how many more are there that I either don’t know or haven’t mentioned? Jesus is the TRUTH. And He sets us free. I don’t really think that all who are deceived go to hell, but Eve was “deceived.” Something to seriously think about.

I am not going to go into all of the sins, for that would take a long, long time. And it is not the point of the Bible, Revelation, or this chapter.

If you have laid hold of Jesus by faith, yet have sinned, in these ways, in other ways, or ever. If you are sick and tired of your pride. If you are prone to condemning yourself for harsh words, or lustful thoughts, or insubmissive attitudes toward God and others in rightful authority. If you hate sin. If you love Jesus. If you are into what is right. Then know this one thing. It is a great promise.

From the unveiling/revelation to John, 21:5 “And He who was seated on the throne said,

‘BEHOLD, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW.’”

The world was deemed “very good” when God finished it. And the first two chapters of the Bible are about a perfect world. And so are the last two. If you hate sin, know that God will eliminate it entirely. If you love doing what’s right because He said so and you love Him and you want to do what’s right, know that “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.” You will be fat and happy in Jesus. Nothing good that you desire (and your desires will all be right) will be denied you. You will know Him fully as you are fully known. And you will never be done knowing Him who is otherly in all He does and is. You will search His wealth of kindness, and His stores of righteousness, and His vaults of beauty, and you will never, ever, ever, finish this search or be dissatisfied. If you are depressed, you will never feel meaningless again. All things will be made right by the One and Only God. Search for Him now. Love Him now. Know Him, serve Him, and press into Him until you die and forever. And then He will be all and we will marvel. To Him alone be glory!

Mandatory Hope

Hebrews 11:6 “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

I have read this verse many times in the past, but it was not too long ago that I first paid attention to the second half of this verse. I had, previous to that time, thought only that those who come to God must believe that He exists, and that that was good enough. Prayer required belief in God, seems simple and obvious. But on recent reading the Spirit of God pointed out that there was another requirement in the verse—believing that He is going to be gracious.

It seems that our Lord has no intention of us thinking little of His riches. He requires two things of those praying to Him, belief in Him and an expectation of good from Him. He would not have us thinking stingy thoughts of Him. If you are going to God, you are bound by this mandate—you must expect His generosity. If you do not, you do not have a place near His throne of grace. If we think of Him as an impersonal miser or a grumpy old man, we had rather stay silent than intrude on His majesty. He is not like us. That is the main meaning of the word “holy.” It means being different, even otherly.

He is not like us. When we would be gracious, He would be gracious. When we would be grumpy, He would be gracious. We will change our feelings and our likings, He will not change. There is not even a shadow of turning with Him. He flinches not in His rewardings. He is evermore the same. As Spurgeon would say, “You may look, and study, and weigh, but Jesus is a greater Savior than you think Him to be when your thoughts are at their greatest. My Lord is more ready to pardon than you are to sin, more able to forgive than you to transgress. My Master is more willing to supply your wants than you are to confess them. Never tolerate low thoughts of my Lord Jesus” (Aug 22 Evening Morning and Evening).

Now, I like that He is not fickle and that He is ever requiring me to think generous thoughts of Him. For me this week’s application came in the form of security. I have read in Romans that nothing can separate me from the love of God that is in Jesus (8:38,39). I have thought through a good many scenarios wherein that verse would hold, but I have had trouble with my intellect and experience on the point of insanity. What happens if I lose my mind?

This week provided a good illustration. I was at work performing work on two cars alternately. I left to turn in some paperwork on one of them, and returned. One of my service writers (tells me what to do) came back and asked me who was working on one of the cars. It was up in the air on a hoist and the plate was removed that exposed the oil pan. I turned to him and told him with no guile that I did not know. He said it was not the guy working next to me, so I hollered to one of my mechanic friends on the other side asking him if he was working on it. His reply was that he thought I was. I replied that I was not, and began to look at the other techs on that side, at which time it began to dawn on me that I was the one working on that car. I had raised it in the air; I had removed the skid plate. It appeared also that I had lost my mind.

Now my sleeping schedule had taken a severe beating that week (switching from school to work full-time), but I don’t remember that ever happening to me before—not that my memory is appearing to be the most reliable! I had a few other incidents this week that showed that my mind was somewhere else, but I will not retell them all.

Do you know how comforting it is to know, to really know, that God will not be separated from me? Are we aware that God invented the “no child left behind” policy? And His is effective! He will bring all of His children home to be with Him, no matter what obstacle may come into the way. His eternal reputation is on trial—do I think He would let it be marred?! It will never be. Perhaps you are exhausted, weary yet pursuing God. Do not think that He will forsake you, He will give you strength for the day until there are no more days. Bring all hell to bear, He laughs at the strength of men. Bring what may come, He is like the behemoth that the Jordan flows into its mouth yet he is not alarmed (Job 40:23). Shall anyone snatch us from the Father’s hand? Not even insanity can separate us!

In this manner, and only this manner, we may come to the Father. He is the Giver of all good gifts. As Christmas is here, do not forget that high thoughts of God’s generosity are mandatory for entering His presence. Does coming down from perfection to our messy place display His generosity is words louder than words? This generosity is in its clearest form in the person of Jesus. In His life and death God is proven to be the greatest Giver. Never attempt to pray with unexpectant hearts and minds.

Enjoy this time of remembering our only Hope and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Rich and Gentle King

“The poor use entreaties, but the rich answer roughly” (Prov. 18:23).

I got into an argument this week in which I got angry and became disrespectful to the older man involved. I struggled to figure out why I was mad, and this is the verse that God pointed me to. Now I know that Solomon is referring to men with and without money, but his principle can be applied to other areas.

I thought (and still do think, sadly) that I am rich in knowledge, and I thought that the other man was poor in knowledge. So when I addressed him, I did not humbly appeal, but rather answered in a rough manner. I inflated my own view of myself, which was displayed in disrespect and arrogant sin.

I do call my character into question from what we are reading. Am I humble? Do I know that I am poor? Am I sober-minded? (from Tim. and Titus)

I hope that as we are soon to finish, that we do not neglect this useful side of God’s words—correction. The Scriptures are first and foremost about God and His Son, for our knowledge of and relationship with Him. But besides having these words of life, it also contains words for living.

I think one of the strongest life-application verses is just two before this verse: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” That will take an entire life to swallow and apply. I hope that as the year draws to a close that you will not think that you are nearly done, but rather know just a taste of great things, and long for more.

This is my sincere prayer for you all. All praise and honor be to the King over all, who is rich beyond mention yet answers the humble with perfect gentleness.

Taking Care of Brothers

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”
Hebrews 3:12-14

Do we have any idea how dangerous and deceitful sin is? How often do you think of sin as “deceitful”? Not that it is just lying, but that its very nature is so successful in pulling off lies it seems to be very well know for bringing deception into fruition.

Next step from here: you are deceived. The question is not if, but when and how and in what ways. Do you live in such a way that people can see that they are going to hell if they do not repent? Can they see it in you? Or do they mistake you for a regular guy/girl? Do you think that being selfish is ok some of the time? How about a little “me” time? Ever thought that way? “I need a little time to sit down and focus on number one.” Oh, you think you’re number one? You are deceived. We worship Jesus because He is the best. Not you.

Guys, try this on for size. Do you think beauty is as important as being spiritual? Do you prize a good body and a pretty face more than a prayer life and kind acts? If you do (welcome to the club), you are deceived. Ladies, you are not exempt. You read those magazines that guys only look at. You think of all those ways in which you can look better. I have no problem with looking pretty. I am in the first group—of course I like it when women take care of their appearance. But the priority of it is the issue. Do you spend more time in front of the mirror than you do in front of your Bible? Or equal time?

I suppose the list of self-deceptions is not short. Sin is smart and thorough. It does not sleep. When you wake up, it never has a case of the Mondays. You are tired—sin is alert. Do you grumble in the morning? You must think that you deserve better than this. You are deceived.

With all this deception going around, something must be done. Paul exhorts Timothy to “always be sober-minded” (II Tim. 4:5). To be sober-minded is to not be inebriated with the things of this world, whatever they may be. But this is not enough for the writer of Hebrews. He gives us addition instruction: exhort one another.

There seem to be very few things those in the modern “church” hate more than correction. You want to speak truth in generalities? Fine and good. You want to get specific and speak truth in particular in my life. Get lost. But the writer says that there is a great danger if we don’t. He even speaks of how far we can be deceived—falling away.

There are some passages in Scripture that speak of people from God’s perspective. You know the ones about electing love, and all who hear His voice know Him and they follow Him—verses like that. But there are other verses that speak from man’s perspective. This is one of those. If a man or woman is truly born again they cannot fall away. But only God knows who is truly born again. And so we must live as though we were not absolutely sure about everyone. We must continually push others into the kingdom of God. We cannot act like it is a done deal. The exhortation from Hebrews is that we exhort every day, even “as long as it is called today.” This sends a sense of importance and urgency. As long as it is called today has the feel of “while there is still time.” We need one another if we are not going to be deceived. The question is not if we need exhortation, but when.

So ask someone for some correction today. If you don’t want correction, you are arrogant. Do not hesitate, but ask. For the real stuff. Not wimpy crap. Read the words of God and question yourself and ask others to evaluate you in light of it. “The psalm says blessed are those whose way is blameless. Am I blameless?” Nice question. Maybe too general. If we ask other believers who know their Bibles, how can we be ruined? Perhaps our self-esteem will be hurt, but our souls might be saved from falling away!

By the way, it has been a long time since I have asked this, but what can I do better? What bad patterns do you see in these emails? Do I tend to get lost in sin and forget about Jesus? Do I sound impersonal and academic? I would really like to know. Some days I feel like I don’t connect very well in my head. And some days I leave my heart on the shelf. I would appreciate observation and correction. From anyone. Do not hesitate Mary. Just because you are twelve does not make your opinion not count if you care for people and love the truth.

And for all the rest of you who are older, take heart. Be strong iron that sharpens iron. We are here to care about two things: the first is the truth, and the second is people. In this way we love God and show our love for Him.