THE ONE YEAR BIBLE CLUB

  THE song that Frank Sinatra may very well be most remembered for may just be, "I did it my way". Not so much because it was such a wonderful song (although it was pretty good) but more so due to the irony of the song and how it's meaning played out in his life. Frank Sinatra did not leave behind a legacy anyone would want to follow in. It was certainly a life of failure, misery and destruction. He was an alcoholic, divorced, scattered children, scattered relationships and involvement with the mob. He died a broken, miserable and lonely man, but yet today, the radio stations will still play one of Frank's greatest hits, "I did it my way". So what does this have to do with today's reading....well we read that the children of Israel are offering sacrifices in the open fields and God commands them to stop doing this or be cut off from His people. God is telling Moses, "you tell these people they are not to make sacrifices in the open field but are to ...

It's always pretty amazing when the Old Testament reading coincides with the New Testament reading. In the Old Testament we have Jehovah giving all the requirements for the cleansing and forgiveness of uncleanness; then in the New Testament we have Jehovah, incarnate, giving us the deeper issues of uncleanness. Jesus explains to us uncleanness comes from what's inside the heart of a man/woman. We know that before Jesus ever spoke to the disciples about uncleanness being stored in the heart, He warned us through the inspired Word in Proverbs that we "should guard our hearts with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life." God gives us insight into the heart; that it is more than a muscle that pumps oxygen and blood through our bodies, but is actually a container that holds both evil and good. Psychologists try to deal with the mind when attempting to heal and help a patient. However, they are ignorant that therapy for the mind; pis not therapy for the hea...

   Have you had a long day for Jesus? Has he spent you for all the energy that you had? If He has, then He will say to you, “I have not asked of you what I myself have not given”. Jesus had such a large crowd of people around him that He and his disciples cannot even sit down to eat. And so they endure, they get through and finally Jesus suggests that they climb into the boat and get to a place where they can get some food in their stomachs and get some well over due rest. We know that when we are being exhausted physically and deprived of food at the same time, it’s a bad combination. It can make the most pleasant among us to be quite mean, moody and ill tempered. Well, at least we can say, there’s an end to the madness, they will get to their remote location, eat and maybe laugh about the whole, crazy event. However that’s not the case, our text says, they crowd saw them in the boat and ran along the shoreline to “meet them” on the other side. Can you imagine the anger ...

   How interesting...or perhaps uninteresting this reading on boils, leprosy and every other manner of disease. What's the point?! Well, there's a very practical application especially considering they did not have doctors back then, I'm sure the Israelites' loved this instruction, it would save many lives. Hmmmm, the saving of many lives...by separating the clean people from the unclean people, lives could be saved. The clean people would not be infected and the unclean people could be healed. Yes this instruction from God was very practical but it was also very spiritual. Notice it was the Priest who "pronounced" if you were unclean. This was not left to the individual to determine for obvious reasons. "Pronounce" is a big word, it describes a definitive statement, it is judgmental in a sense. So let's put all this together now, we have a God who separates the clean from the unclean, he pronounces those that are unclean and commands them to be ...

   Our text says as she went and spent a great deal on the Dr.'s not only did she not get better, she grew worse. It's hard to believe that that was written a couple of thousand years ago and not just last week. "Spending more and more money at the Dr.s, but yet getting worse". I guess that's been happening for quite a long time. I can relate to this, can you? And this is not a slam against Dr.s either. I am very glad for Doctors, where would we be without Doctors. We know even one of Jesus' disciples was a Doctor, Dr. Luke. Yes doctors have their place, but as believers in Christ, surely Jesus has His place too; when it comes to healing. Where do we find the balance? We know that good hearted, but misguided people have died, refusing professional, medical treatment. However this woman has not only, not refused, but she has paid large sums of money to be healed and still no healing; but yet in one simple act of faith and touch of Jesus she is healed instantane...

    Moses, as directed by God of course, instructs Aaron to bring his sin offering too! " Oh yeah, that's right, I have sin also....I almost forgot!"  It's easy as a Priest/Pastor to become focused on other people's sins, as that is what we often have to deal with. The danger is we become focused on other people's sins and can forget that we also have sin. This can create two problems. The first problem is it can create a frustration in us and lack of empathy towards those that are sinning. Secondly it can cause us to be out of touch with our own sin. The more we concentrate on other people's sins, the less we are aware of our own sins. Moses, wisely instructs Aaron to bring an offering for his own sins. Aaron is the Leader, he is the Priest, he is the Holy one being used by God, but he must also be reminded that he too has sin. This is not just an issue that can cause the demise of leaders, but also that of a churches, marriages and ministries. The more w...

  This is a transition stage for the Israelite's as it is for a congregation that is transitioning to support it's Priest/Pastor. Moses is trying to explain to the Israelites that "The Lord" wants them to make a sacrifice. A sacrifice that will cost them financially. "Well, I guess if it's for The Lord". Imagine their response when Moses says, "well it's for The Lord, but The Lord told me to give the breast and the thigh to Aaron and his sons". "Oh I see what's going on here, this is a scam, you say, The Lord, wants....but then coincidentally the offering goes straight to your brother, how convenient! We give and he and his sons just feed off of our sacrificial giving, why he might as well not even work!" That's when Moses has to break the news to them..."ughhhh, actually, that's the plan, that your offerings support Aaron and his sons, they are going to be Priests". We can read over this quickly and not thin...

   We can get very deep an analytic about all the requirements of the altar and rightly so, or we can completely ignore them, BUT there is even one that I can figure out, that speaks loud and clear and that is... "The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out." God ignited the fire and it was up to the people to now tend to that fire and it was their responsibility to keep the fire going and NEVER to let it go out? I wonder what would have happened if they had? This is obviously a foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit being born in us, Jesus said, "John has come to baptize with water but I will baptize in the Holy Ghost and FIRE! God will ignite the life of Christ in us by the Holy Spirit and we must keep the fire burning and never let it go out. The priests were to tend to the fire daily, add wood as needed and maintain the fire. God could have made it not only that he would supernaturally ignite the fire but also that it would be self perpetuat...

    God makes sure to tell Moses, "make sure for the offering, they give a Ram without defect and of proper value".  We want to be quite spiritual about our giving, "I will give as the Lord leads" but it's interesting how The Lord so often leads us to give such skimpy amounts".  I can't tell you what "The Lord is leading you to give" in your deceitful, I mean, pure heart, but I can tell you what His written Word tells us to give and it is never just "whatever".  God, who knows people, makes it a point to warn Moses about what people will try to do in their offering, and that is, they will try to give something in the offering that will not cost them and God tells Moses, "don't accept it!".  It needs to be a Ram without defect and it ALSO needs to be the right value. Practically speaking, it would be a good idea to bring a defected Ram, after all, the Ram is just going to get sacrificed, why bring a healthy one? However,...

   AS A RESULT, "Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places". Imagine, this man's disobedience actually put an an end to what Jesus had previously been able to do; not only that but it forced Jesus to remain outside in lonely places. I wonder what is the result of our disobedience? What have we stopped Jesus from doing? What have we hindered? Often we can get caught on the idea that God is sovereign therefore I can do whatever I want and God will make it work out. Of course this releases me of all responsibility of having to "listen" and puts everything on God. We like this false theology....BUT read this passage, Jesus gave this man specific instructions for a reason, AS A RESULT of this man not listening, no longer could Jesus enter a city, "way to go dufus", we might say, but how often have we done the same? What will you say today, what will you do, where will you go, how will you react, even after the Holy Spirit...

     WOW, imagine having to live like this??? I'm so glad we don't have to live like this anymore....imagine having to wait on God to move.  In our text we read that  "...in all the travels of the Israelite s whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out-until the day if lifted" .  I mean, how restrictive is that?  Well that was the Old Testament and now we are in the New Testament and I can come and go as I please, I can go here and there and God will just follow me around like a lost puppy dog, so glad "I am free in Christ" and not under oppressive legalism of the Old Testament. Of course that was all just facetious talk...The principles of God are forever enduring.  Jesus himself reiterated in the Gospels, "do not say tomorrow I will go here and do thus....". This principle is very, very applicable to the Christian life today. Wait on God, do...

    It's in interesting that Jesus first appears, as the resurrected Jesus, to ladies. Jesus always had a unique place and purpose for women in His ministry; just one more aspect of the uniqueness of Jesus' movement, ie: Christianity. They were 2nd class citizens and still are, in the Middle East. Yet He came accepting them, ministering to them, even Samaritan women. Jesus saw the unique qualities of women that He had put in them when He created them. The greatest event that ever happened for the rights of women, was Christianity. Nobody understood the value of women more than Jesus and no movement has fought for woman's rights more than Christianity. No, not supreme rights over her own body, ie: Abortion, but neither man or woman has supreme rights over their own body. My question is, when we see that Christianity was and is and has always been at the forefront of Woman's Rights and Liberation; why is it that today's Feminist would not be caught dead in a CHRISTIAN...

   Jesus refuses to drink the cup of Vinegar, mixed with Gall (Bitterness). He tastes it, but refuses to drink it, when later on he is presented again, with a drink (vs. 47) now the Gall has been left out and he drinks. Jesus has defeated immorality, he has conquered the temptation of revenge, power, greed and even the temptation to lash back out and kill. But he most importantly must be triumphant over Gall. Jesus chose the bird He created, the Dove as His representation of the Spirit that would descend upon Him when he is being baptized by John. The Dove, a bird with no Gall, no desire to retaliate, a peaceful bird that no matter how much the Dove is provoked, does not retaliate. Jesus is 99.9% victorious, He is near death, but He must win this final quest before He can die. "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do", and he refuses to drink the cup of bitterness that is being offered to him, even at The Cross and now He is 100% victorious over sin. "It is f...

    A lot of the focus up until this point has been on Aaron and his total screw up, while Moses was on top of the mount with God. God says, "Chisel out two more stone tablets like the first ones......THAT YOU SMASHED." God could have so easily left that last part out, but He decides not to and throws it in right at the end of the sentence. Moses at this point must have taken a big gulp and said, " oh yeah, I did do that didn't I....would you believe me if I told you they slipped out of my hand? " No I guess you wouldn't cause you already told me I smashed them".  "That's right Moses, you smashed the stones that I, God, carved out with my very own finger!" I like the way God doesn't beleaguer the point, but He does address it to let Moses know, "that wasn't a good thing, just to let you know, but you're forgiven even though you have never even said sorry or asked for forgiveness".  Now this is not some new doctrine he...

    For 3 days we have been reading on wisdom.  The conclusion in today's reading is ..."whoever fails to find me   harms himself ;   all who hate me love death".   Wisdom here is a metaphor, but this statement is literal. Those who hate wisdom will end up dead quicker than most of us, but what about those of us that don't necessarily "hate" wisdom, but just kind of in the middle? We may end up being the most miserable. We don't love or cherish it enough for it (wisdom) to   benefit us, we don't hate it enough to where we will probably die for lack of it, so we just remain in this quagmire....of ...of misery. I am currently in a a very complex situation concerning my taxes, having lived, resided, worked and been a citizen of two countries in one year makes is very difficult to file tax returns.  The complication of doing my taxes far exceeds any financial benefit to me (as I have had to hire a CPA in each country), to the point...

     We like to encourage each other by often saying, "God always answers prayer", is that true?  It's comforting, but is it true?  Jesus says, "don't you think I can call on God now and he will send twelve legions of angels..... BUT,  how then would the scriptures be fulfilled that say,  it must happen this way?" .   Our answer to this question would be, "ughhh....Lord I didn't think all that through, all I know is this is a bad situation and I want it to end...NOW!".  And God's reply would be, "okay, but if I intervene here, things will take a different course than I had planned".  There will be times where the Father will not intervene even though we ask.  Are you going to the cross? It could possibly be and it could possibly be that every day you pray, "hey, I'm not Jesus, so why don't you go a head and send those 12 Legions of Angels, if Jesus won't take them, then I will!!!"  Unfortunately, the Father...

    Aside from Judas' satanic inspiration, many believe that alongside with that disposition was also a great disappointment Judas had with Jesus, yes Jesus, can you imagine?!!  In Judas' eyes, Jesus did not deliver as he could and should have and Judas finds himself not just grieved at what he is about to do (betray Jesus), but grieved over Jesus' failure do deliver the goods, so to speak. I love the flow of the reading today, it transpires from Judas (one of the twelve) negotiating the betrayal of Jesus right to the disciples (the other 11) asking Jesus what they can do to prepare for the Passover.  Don't miss this!  They're ALL "the disciples" the "chosen 12" and while one is off disappointed and betraying Jesus for his failure to live up to his expectations, the other 11 are marching along appreciating Jesus for ALL He is and ALL He is doing.  Is this not the same Jesus ALL 12 have had a relationship with for the past 3 1/2 year...

   This may end up being one of the greater indictments against The Church of Jesus Christ at our judgement; that we abandoned our brothers and sisters in their most dire time of need. In our reading today, the Psalmist eludes to a time of great anguish in his life and because of this his strength is failing; he then goes on to say concerning his friends, "I am a dread to my friends....I am forgotten by them". Unfortunately, it is when we are not at our best that our brothers and sisters in Christ seem to get turned off by us and often abandon us when we need them the most! Why is that? Is it because of selfish reasons, after all, who doesn't want to hang around upbeat people full of joy and victory, but are there not times that we need to also grieve with those that are grieving?! Another reason is their weakness probably turns us off, "why are you even struggling with this ....what's wrong with you!!?" Thence, we're turned off and leave them to struggl...

   As with everything about God, there is a Paradox.  Jesus' delay in his coming will add many to the Kingdom and also true, is Jesus' delay in coming will take many out. These virgins have enough oil for a quick appearance, but definitely don't have enough should the bridegroom delay.  We can call them "flash in the pan" Christians.  We see them come with much excitement and enthusiasm for the Lord, but their Oil, their light quickly begins to dim and go out, after a few months. Unfortunately, it's not just the "flash in the pan" Christians that I have seen this happen too. Christians that have been around for 20 + years are now beginning to loose their oil. Had Jesus come back when they thought, the '70's or 80's, they'd be in Heaven with Jesus today, however the Bridegroom has delayed in his coming. The longer you serve God, the more brothers and sisters we see falling by the wayside. Is it not our duty to keep the "fire alive...

   What a promise God makes to the children of Israel. I will be an enemy to your enemy and oppose those that oppose you. But doesn't God love everyone, how could he take sides? Aren't we all God's children? We may all be God's creation, ie: human beings, but we are not all his sons and daughters. We are not all His children. " but all who did receive him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His Name".  It is clear in The Bible that God does make a clear distinction between those that serve him and those that don't. What a promise this is to us, God's children; that our enemies will be His enemies and He will oppose those that oppose us! The only thing is, is that still relevant for us today? And if the answer is yes. Then why are so many of us, beat up and losing? It could be, that one of the most difficult aspects of Pastoring, is watching the members of your congregation get beat up and surrendering the white flag t...

    I've been saved since 1991 and have never really had a problem with wanton women trying to hit on and/or seduce me. HOWEVER, I've heard stories from other Christians that have often experienced this and I, have often thought, "odd that it never happens to me" (Thank God!!).      I've never been in a situation where I've had to run for my life and "all the better for me", I would say. Sometimes I have thought, "well, I must not be a stud muffin and that's why I don't have these problems that other men/women do. Could it be, perhaps, that there is more to this, than meets the eye?! In our reading today (Proverbs) we get a little insight into the matter. Our text gives us two insights into the situations of people who are approached by someone, into an immoral temptation. #1. That women (or men) can discern those that are open to be seduced, they can discern when a man (or woman) might be open to fowl play and they are the ones they go ...

    Have you ever met the Christian, who tells you, with that glaze in their eyes, "I don't fear The Lord, I just love Him". Fear is negative, Love is Positive.  It's interesting though, that the Christians I have met that spout this non-sense always find themselves involved in the most egregious sins. In our reading today we are clearly told by God Himself, to the people "..so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."  I really don't care what you think or what you feel, it's irrelevant. The Word of God, the Wisdom of God, tells us, "fear will keep you" when nothing else will.  Love is great, my children love me to death. I come home and their arms are outstretched towards me, "daddy, daddy, you're home, I love you!"  However, with all their love they have towards me, there are days, when the only reason they don't sin, misbehave, talk back to my wife or pull and tear at each others hair and limbs, ...

 One might think that all the different names for God in the Bible were made up by Pastors and Theologians, to make them sound smart in front of their classes and congregations. However, we know that not to be true and the fact is, that The Lord himself is the one who identifies himself by these different names because there is more to God, than just one aspect of himself, ie: The Lord Saves. In our text he reveals himself to Moses and Joshua, as Jehovah Nissi, translated in English, The Lord is my banner. So what does that mean? It means, "The Lord who fights for you!" A more modern word for Banner would be Standard and a more modern word for Standard would be Flag.This coincides with Isaiah's Prophecy, "when the enemy comes in like a flood, I will raise up a Standard....". When the Israelites fought in war, they would have a pole with a Standard, a flag on it and where ever the fighting was fiercest, they would raise up The Standard and the fighting men would ...

    If you were a neutral bystander listening to the ranting rages of the unrepentant sinner, you would hear something like this, " I have a hard time believing in a God who just wants to send everyone to hell; poor, helpless people, loving people, just trying their best with the lot they have been given in life and yet, all this God wants to do is send them to hell". Pretty convincing eh! You might think after that, "yeah, that is pretty harsh, what is wrong with this God anyway". However, best advice we can ever take heed to, is to listen to both sides of the story before we make a judgement. AND here in our text today (Feb 2) Jesus (God) gives his side of the story. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a King who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ......but they refused to come". Wow! That is completely different side of the story than what I've heard...what I've heard is people want to go to heaven but there is this mean and unjust God that just...

         Verse 31  "And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."     Faith by Necessity ,  they were forced to either believe or die .  How often in our walk with God will be be forced into situations that we would never have engineered (as long as we were in our right mind) and come to a place where either I believe here or I die. The faith that came, came by a situation that was forced on the Israelite s. Verse 31 is a longgggggg way from the beatings, the..."Moses why don't you leave us alone"....things are only getting worse, why don't you and your God leave us alone...".   Sometimes it's a long journey from..." God you're not helping..."   to  " and then I saw the hand of God and put my trust and faith in him".   As a matter of a fact, it's such a long journey, sometimes people ...