BibleJournal.net

Hebrews Chapter 4

Just 2 weeks ago I was reflecting on Moses coming down the mountain after a harsh discussion with God about the people asking for new gods.  Because of their behavior and unwillingness to share the faith of those that actually did listen to God, they were denied the ‘rest’ that was promised them.

For those of us today, God’s promise of rest is still very much on the table.  What we need to do, though, is figure out if we are really taking it seriously.  We can all HEAR the message but are we LISTENING??  Do we BELIEVE the words that we are listening to??  Our faith has to connect with the message for it to do anything.

Let’s think about this….God finished His work at creation and rested on the 7^th day.  This rest wasn’t just for Him, it was always meant for us as well.  If Joshua had fully delivered on that rest when he led Israel into the Promised Land, God wouldn’t still be talking about “a day called Today.”  But He is.  Which means the rest is still out there where we stop striving to earn everything and simply rest in what He’s already done.  BUT, don’t just simply coast along on this.  We still must make every effort to actually enter that rest.  We cannot follow the same pattern of stubborn unbelief that tripped up those before us.

Let us also never fall numb to the Word of God just being text on a page.  It’s alive, active, sharper than any blade ever made.  It cuts through all the noise, past our emotions, our rationalizations, right to the core of who we actually are.  Sometimes we may really despise this truth but we know deep down it exposes our real thoughts and motives.  Nothing is ever hidden.

Now,  that all might sound like a little bit of bad news, and it is, but here is the good news….there is someone in all of our lives who sits at the top, the Son of God!  He knows exactly what it feels like to be us.  He was tempted in every way we are, the full human life experience, and He never broke.

So don’t let yourself fade in the shadows.  We must continue to walk straight into God’s presence with confidence, the kind of confidence of someone who knows they are welcomed.  What you will find is NOT a judge waiting to lower the hammer, but instead the grace and mercy when you need it most!

I believe this chapter is essentially saying, stop white-knuckling life by trying to earn your way.  The rest God offers isn’t laziness, it is trust.  We all have a Savior that has been in those trenches, and we have all been given the roadmap to our spot on the bench right next to Him.

It is a privilege to write about one of the most popular and packed chapters in the Bible, often referred to as “the great 8.”  For those of us in the DC area who are Capitals fans, this is a better “great 8!”

Ironically, there are eight great lessons from Romans 8.

1. No condemnation in Christ
   For those who belong to Jesus, guilt no longer has the final word. Believers live under grace, not under condemnation. No matter how bad you have been, no matter how much we have sinned, belief in Jesus and His resurrection will free you from all of your guilt and pain.
2. Life in the Spirit versus life in the flesh
   Romans 8 contrasts living by sinful desires with living under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit produces life, peace, and obedience to God. Peace. Contentment. Thankfulness. A place in our lives where we all seek to be.
3. We are God’s children
   Through the Spirit, believers are adopted into God’s family. We are not slaves living in fear, but sons and daughters who can call God our Father.
4. Present suffering is real, but not ultimate
   Paul is honest that suffering is part of life, yet he says it is not worth comparing to the glory God will reveal. Pain is temporary; God’s promises are greater. This is hard, to say the least. Pain of loss, hurt, tragedy, can test our faith to extreme and sometime unimaginable limits.
5. Creation and believers are longing for renewal
   All creation is affected by brokenness and waits for redemption. Christians also groan, longing for the full restoration God will bring.
6. The Spirit helps us in weakness
   When we do not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. We are not left alone in our weakness. Pray for strength. Pray for discernment. Pray for the wisdom to know how to listen and how to take action, when it’s the right time.
7. God works through all things for His purpose
   This does not mean all things are good, but that God can work through every circumstance for the good of those who love Him. This to me, is the hardest part of faith. Why did that happen? Why did that not happen? It is the single greatest mystery and challenge to our faith.
8. Nothing can separate us from God’s love
   The chapter ends with one of Scripture’s strongest assurances: hardship, suffering, loss, or even death cannot separate believers from the love of God in Christ. We don’t have the words sometimes to say to someone who is enduring incredible challenges and tragedy. We continue to point to scripture that God never forsakes us. He always loves us. He always wants what’s best for us, no matter how horrible our circumstances.

Romans 8 is ultimately about assurance, identity, suffering, hope, and victory in Christ.

Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I pray wherever you are at today, in your life and in your faith, this reading brings you reflection and hopefully peace.

Jonah 4

I remember one summer my mom signed me up for vacation bible school at our small country church on the top of the mountain. We had water balloon fights, we ate pita and hummus, and one 100 degree day we did a smelly object lesson… Our bible teacher turned the back corner of the basement into the “belly of a whale”. I mean canned tuna in a small country church in the middle of the summer with no A.C. The devotion was real.

What I don’t remember from that VBS was getting to chapter 4 in the story of Jonah. This is where we really see Jonah’s heart towards the Ninevites. This is where we see the reason for Jonah running when God called him. Jonah knew that God was a merciful, loving, gracious God. Good. But him knowing that God would relent of the destruction of the city in response to their repentance is what caused Jonah to flee to Tarshish.

You see Moses and Jonah had completely opposite worries when God called them to be prophets. Moses didn’t feel adequate. He was worried that he wasn’t going to be effective because of his speech impediment. Jonah was worried that he was going to be too effective and God would relent of the judgment he would bring on the people.

Jonah wanted justice at whatever the cost! He hated the Assyrians for what they had done to Israel and wanted God to judge them, not to spare them. Don’t get me wrong, we need justice in our society. The common adage is true, “Evil prevails when good men do nothing.” We need men and women who do what is right even if it isn’t popular in our culture or society. Just as importantly, though, we should be praying and sharing the mercy, grace, and lovingkindness of Jesus Christ. If there is one person that knows a thing about injustice He is Jesus Christ, who took all the sin of humanity without doing anything to deserve the punishment.

Did Jonah want God to be just when dealing with him or just with Nineveh? Do you want God to be just when dealing with you or just with your enemies? I think the answer would be just with my enemies. We all want God to be forgiving when dealing with us. We constantly seek justice when we are wronged without realizing the infinite mercy God has for us. Our society wants justice so bad we don’t even let umpires call balls and strikes anymore because it is an injustice. We ought to be just people while acting with love and forgiveness even for those who are the hardest to love and forgive.

Today’s reading : Jonah 2

I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,  and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried and you heard my voice.
3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;   all your breakers and your waves passed over me.
5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head.
7 When my life was fainting away  I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you  into your holy temple.
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving  will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.  – Jonah 2: 1-10

Germination  is the process where a stored life through metamorphosis forms into a living being.

As we are entering the Spring season and entering the season of Easter we can see the growth that is happening around us. A lot of the growth that we see is due to the revitalization of the plants that we have.

But there is a part of the spring cycle where seedlings have been planted and start sprout. This is the mysterious process of germination.

In Jonah Chapter 2,  Jonah is currently in the big fish. He has just been thrown overboard and swallowed by the fish.  Jonah had been in the fish for 3 days and this starts the connection  to the mystery of Easter, we see that both Jonah and Jesus go through a germination process. 

The stories of Jonah and Jesus are parallel and are intended to show the mysterious power of God.  In both of their stories, Jesus and Jonah are in the dark for three days and then they begin a new ministry.  In Jonah, the germination process is in the belly of the great fish.  In Jesus, the germination process is in the borrowed tomb of Joseph from Sundown of Friday to the Dawn of Sunday.  In this germination process, both of them are separated and isolated from everything else. While they’re going through the germination process, they do not know that they are being transformed. It’s something different.

Jonah has sacrificed himself on behalf of the ship that was going down in the middle of the sea. He sees that he is the answer to salvation of his fellow shipmates. Jonah sees that the only way that the chaos and the strife of that moment can be cured is by him sacrifice in his life.

Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. – Jonah 1:14-16

Jesus sees the chaos and the strife that was happening in the world. Jesus saw the absence of love and compassion and peace. Jesus came to sacrifice his life so that we similar to the shipmates would have peace.

The peace and  relief was not long coming for the shipmates. Once they knew what was happening, they tried not to sacrifice Jonah. The shipmates tried everything that they could do on their own terms to stop sacrificing himself. But in the end, Jonah knew he had to be sacrifice.

In the passage it shows us that as soon as Jonah was thrown into the sea, the Tempest and the hurricane stopped instantaneously.

Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. – Jonah 1:14-16

When Christ came and sacrificed himself on Good Friday, the Tempest ceased. The chaos and death stopped. There are still things that try to distract us from the peace and joy that the resurrection has given us, but we have to understand that it was already taken care of.

No matter what you’re going through. The victory has already been one.

Once Christ died on Good Friday, and the resurrection was happening on Easter Sunday, that victory has already been given to us. Let us reflect on how amazing that the mystery of the germination process that transformed Jonah and Jesus has given us peace in the middle of the chaos.

Be Blessed

Exodus 34

A rich kid does not fear poverty, he mocks it.  He is shaped by wealth. It influences his decisions, behaviors, and attitudes. You might say a rich kid will never truly understand poverty.

In a similar way, I don’t know God without Jesus. For us, Jesus has always been God. He is about love and second chances, right?  Just as the rich kid cannot comprehend poverty, you and I cannot comprehend God without Jesus. But what if we try?

Exodus 34 is far from a comprehensive picture of God, but it’s a start. When I read it, I realize how little I’ve had to follow “the rules.” I eat what I want—bacon and lobster, for example. I work on Sundays. I say God’s name out loud when I stub my toe.

But freedom from the rules isn’t the only benefit.

Because of Jesus, we don’t have to slit the throat of a young goat or twist the neck of a calf so that our sins might be forgiven. I’ve never been kept from entering the Holy of Holies—the most sacred place, where God dwells.

You might say we are spoiled.

Spoiled people forget. They forget the cost and the sacrifice—the blood, sweat, and tears required to make this access possible. Maybe that’s why we have Good Friday—because there was a cost. A cost far greater than I can fully understand.

God made it clear that “no one may appear before me without an offering” (Exodus 34:20).

That offering was—and is—Jesus.

To be unspoiled is to be grateful. But we cannot be truly grateful without understanding the cost that made it possible.

Exodus 32

I would be lying if I said I couldn’t relate.  All the Israelites that had been saved from bondage in Egypt, endured months of hard travel, boring food and uncertainty about where they were going, had on this night decided to rave like party animals.  They asked Aaron what was taking Moses so long on top of the mountain and they were getting a bit anxious.

So Aaron thought it was best to play into all their foolishness.  They asked him to make new gods for them to follow.  He knew that was wrong and tricked them into bringing all their gold to him instead.  So they did.  Then he just threw it all in a fire.  And a golden calf ‘came out of it’.  Then the crowd grew out of control.  Guess who saw this….yea, God.  He was pretty stinking upset.  He basically tells Moses how these people no longer need to exist.

Moses pleads to God to let them be and that he will handle this.  So, he heads back down the mountain to alert them of their insane behavior.  Mind you, he is also carrying two stone tablets with commandments written on them from God himself.  Ten to be exact.  Moses gets to the bottom and now HE is pretty stinking upset.  He throws the tablets smashing to the ground. After getting the ‘facts’ from Aaron, Moses gathers those who believe in God and sends to rest to kill their friends and families.  He certainly thinned the herd but the next day God told Moses how he will take care of the rest who had sinned against him via a plague.

Like I said at the beginning, I can relate, to some of their actions.  It was a long road.  We have all been there.  Then we start to look for a good steak instead of all the bologna and hotdogs we had been eating.  We are looking for a place to call home instead of all the traveling and renting we had been doing.  Then we get a little anxious and loose and decide to party a little hard one night and make all these silly demands.  I mean, what is one night going to hurt, right?  Wrong!

When we are at our weakest, pushed to our limits, we let our guard down and become fools.  Sometimes we may forget why we are all here.  Sometimes we forget the purpose of our existence.  Often this is when we are given a test.  Sometimes it is as simple as a pass or fail.  Thank God that today when we FAIL those tests we don’t get the plague put on us the next day.  Maybe, though, that is how we need to live our lives and remind ourselves of our purpose.

Takeaways –

Impatience leads to substitutes – The people didn’t stop believing in God, they just wanted a version of God they could see and control.

Aaron is a cautionary tale – He had authority, he had access to God, and he folded under social pressure in about five minutes.  The “it just came out of the fire” excuse may almost be funny, but the consequences were deadly.

Moses is a picture of intercession – He stepped between God’s wrath and guilty people, willing to sacrifice himself.

God holds individuals accountable – His answer to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out” established a clear principle.  Personal responsibility, not collective punishment by proxy.