Proverbs 7
This chapter is "another warning about immoral women," and I think one of the keys is in verses 4 and 5: "Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family. Let them hold you back from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of an adulterous woman." Interpreting loosely: Love Christ like a brother and get Him to infuse His Mind into yours, which will hold you back from an affair because you will see adultery as the deception and death that it really is.
Along these lines, I was reading Psalm 36 this morning and was struck by verse 1: "Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them." Thus, it is both our love and fear of the Lord that leads us to live Holy lives, enabled by His Grace.
John 2
Several things really stuck out to me. First, why does Jesus tell His mom, "My time has not yet come." and then immediately turn around and perform His first miracle? Also, Verse 11 indicates that the Disciples believed Jesus was the Messiah after His first miracle of turning water into wine. It also says in verse 22, "After he was raised from the dead, the disciples remembered that he had said ['Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.']. And they believed both Jesus and the Scriptures."
The second thing that bothers me is that John states twice that the disciples believed him, but then in Mark 6:52 (immediately after Christ walks on water) it states, "They still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves, for their hearts were hard and they did not believe." How can you believe when you see the first miracle of turning water into wine, but not believe after you see Jesus feed thousands of people and WALK ON WATER?! Then, after He was raised to life, they believed again. It is almost as if they believed, then questioned, then believed again. I suppose that is not so dissimilar from my Walk, after all.
Third, what strikes me as peculiar is that John spends the first 14 verses of chapter 1 explaining that Christ Jesus IS the Word. So why would he make a distinction in 2:22 between "Jesus and the Scriptures"?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for sanctifying me and continually giving me your Mind. Lord, please teach me to fear you and hide your Word in my heart so that I won't sin against you. Lord Jesus, please help me believe you; grow my Faith. Lord, reveal yourself to me through the Word that I may know you, the one, true, living God.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
stuff God hates
Proverbs 6
I don't like starting with negative stuff, but verses 16-19 detail a list of things that the LORD hates, and that sounds pretty serious to me:
Now, it appears as though 3 of the 7 hated things involve speech (lying, false witness, discord). To emphasize the significance, 42.8% of the things God HATES involve improper use of speech. This makes me think that I should be VERY CAREFUL about what I say. Furthermore, I think the imagery is interesting in the other 4 hated things: eyes, hands, heart, and feet. I'm getting a picture of a whole person who is prideful, deceptive, malicious, evil, eager to sin, filthy, and argumentative. Praise the Lord that He has called me to be one of His own children and is changing me from this man listed in Proverbs 6 into a man that reflects His Person (Rom. 8:28-29)! It is only by His Grace and Mercy (Ephesians 2:1-10, Titus 3:1-8)!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for rescuing me from a life of destruction and calling me to be a child of God. Please mold me into your image that I may glorify your name and bless you, by your own perfect Grace and Mercy!
I don't like starting with negative stuff, but verses 16-19 detail a list of things that the LORD hates, and that sounds pretty serious to me:
16 There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.
Now, it appears as though 3 of the 7 hated things involve speech (lying, false witness, discord). To emphasize the significance, 42.8% of the things God HATES involve improper use of speech. This makes me think that I should be VERY CAREFUL about what I say. Furthermore, I think the imagery is interesting in the other 4 hated things: eyes, hands, heart, and feet. I'm getting a picture of a whole person who is prideful, deceptive, malicious, evil, eager to sin, filthy, and argumentative. Praise the Lord that He has called me to be one of His own children and is changing me from this man listed in Proverbs 6 into a man that reflects His Person (Rom. 8:28-29)! It is only by His Grace and Mercy (Ephesians 2:1-10, Titus 3:1-8)!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for rescuing me from a life of destruction and calling me to be a child of God. Please mold me into your image that I may glorify your name and bless you, by your own perfect Grace and Mercy!
Monday, February 5, 2007
personal holiness
Proverbs 5
The whole chapter is devoted to the subject of sexual immorality. Basically, it is summarized by this sequence: sexual temptation is deceptive; it looks good, but it leads to death. On the other hand, verses 18-19 describe the Holy ideal:
This chapter begins with the Resurrection account, which is so exciting! How hopeful it is that He has conquered death! Christ is the firstborn of many brothers, and I am reminded of the passage:
Homepage Verse
Biblegateway.com's verse of the day really spoke to me:
Prayer
Lord Jesus, please help me love my wife and grow my relationship with her that I would not even be tempted by the lures of sexual immorality. Lord, please help me live in your resurrection power! Help me focus on Who you are: right, true, faithful, righteous, just, and loving.
The whole chapter is devoted to the subject of sexual immorality. Basically, it is summarized by this sequence: sexual temptation is deceptive; it looks good, but it leads to death. On the other hand, verses 18-19 describe the Holy ideal:
Luke 24"Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of
your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe... May you always be
captivated by her love."
This chapter begins with the Resurrection account, which is so exciting! How hopeful it is that He has conquered death! Christ is the firstborn of many brothers, and I am reminded of the passage:
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will
never die,
this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up
in victory. 55
O death, where is your victory? O death,
where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin
its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Homepage Verse
Biblegateway.com's verse of the day really spoke to me:
“For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing
love.”- Psalm 33:4-5
Prayer
Lord Jesus, please help me love my wife and grow my relationship with her that I would not even be tempted by the lures of sexual immorality. Lord, please help me live in your resurrection power! Help me focus on Who you are: right, true, faithful, righteous, just, and loving.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Wisdom is Christ
Proverbs 4
Wow, this is great stuff! Verses 4-9 are particularly amazing. In verse 4, I read "my father," as "my Father," which puts an interesting twist on the following verses. It is kind of like God the Father is pointing us to the Son. In verse 5, He encourages us to learn the Mind of Christ and never forget the Word of Life (i.e., Christ Himself, John 1:1-5, 1 John 1:1-3). Verse 6 promises that if you don't turn your back on Christ, He will protect and guard you (e.g., Philippians 4:6-7). As verse 7 instructs, having Faith in Christ and knowing Him is the most important thing in your life (John 14:6)! Verse 8 tells us that if you prize and embrace wisdom, wisdom will honor you (Matt. 10:32). And I love the promise in verse 9:
Wow, this is great stuff! Verses 4-9 are particularly amazing. In verse 4, I read "my father," as "my Father," which puts an interesting twist on the following verses. It is kind of like God the Father is pointing us to the Son. In verse 5, He encourages us to learn the Mind of Christ and never forget the Word of Life (i.e., Christ Himself, John 1:1-5, 1 John 1:1-3). Verse 6 promises that if you don't turn your back on Christ, He will protect and guard you (e.g., Philippians 4:6-7). As verse 7 instructs, having Faith in Christ and knowing Him is the most important thing in your life (John 14:6)! Verse 8 tells us that if you prize and embrace wisdom, wisdom will honor you (Matt. 10:32). And I love the promise in verse 9:
"[Wisdom] will place a lovely wreath on your head; [Wisdom] will present
you with a beautiful crown."
which reminds me of a couple of other verses (Psalm 149:4, 2 Timothy 4:8, James 1:12).
Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach me to seek you and love you with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength. Please reveal yourself to me that I may know you and abide in your love.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Christ is Life
Proverbs 3
My dad taught us verses 5-6 when we were children, and I have come to appreciate these verses very much:
Another verse that jumped out at me today was verse 18: "Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly." Now, I thought the Tree of Life was locked up in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but here it says that "Wisdom is a tree of life..." I think this is interesting considering that Christ Jesus is the Wisdom of God. Hence, if A=B, and C=B, then C=A so that Christ Jesus is our tree of life when we embrace Him. Indeed, Salvation belongs to our God, and Life is granted by Grace, through Faith in Christ Jesus's complete obedience to the Will of the Father. Praise the Lord!
Luke 22
A couple of interesting points occurred to me this morning. Verse 3 is an abrupt statement, "Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot..." I have wondered several times about this idea of Judas being possessed by Satan. The thing I struggle with is, did God choose Judas to be the betrayer, or did Judas do something to lend himself to Satan's control? I guess this gets back to the classic question of predestination versus free-will, just in regard to unbelievers.
In verse 31, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to "sift him like wheat." But Jesus prayed that his faith would not fall. This is an encouraging example of Christ interceding on our behalf. However, it is the next statement that really got me: "So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers." Jesus knew Peter was going to blow it! I try to think of this conversation from Peter's perspective. "Satan's going to attack me, but Jesus prayed for me, so I'm invincible!" I wonder if Peter really listened to the remainder of the statement, or if it came hammering back into his mind after he denied Christ in verses 54-62. It is so promising that Christ already had a plan for Peter in spite of his failure. He already knew how he was going to use Peter to build up the Church.
Prayer
Lord thank you for being our tree of Life; you are the source of Life - physically and spiritually. Lord I commit my life to you and ask you to lead me according to your will. Thank you that you intercede for me and have a plan for me in spite of my failures. Thank you for taking me back, again and again, and using me in your perfect and pleasing will. Please grow my relationship with you. Amen.
My dad taught us verses 5-6 when we were children, and I have come to appreciate these verses very much:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own
understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which
path to take.
Another verse that jumped out at me today was verse 18: "Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly." Now, I thought the Tree of Life was locked up in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but here it says that "Wisdom is a tree of life..." I think this is interesting considering that Christ Jesus is the Wisdom of God. Hence, if A=B, and C=B, then C=A so that Christ Jesus is our tree of life when we embrace Him. Indeed, Salvation belongs to our God, and Life is granted by Grace, through Faith in Christ Jesus's complete obedience to the Will of the Father. Praise the Lord!
Luke 22
A couple of interesting points occurred to me this morning. Verse 3 is an abrupt statement, "Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot..." I have wondered several times about this idea of Judas being possessed by Satan. The thing I struggle with is, did God choose Judas to be the betrayer, or did Judas do something to lend himself to Satan's control? I guess this gets back to the classic question of predestination versus free-will, just in regard to unbelievers.
In verse 31, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to "sift him like wheat." But Jesus prayed that his faith would not fall. This is an encouraging example of Christ interceding on our behalf. However, it is the next statement that really got me: "So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers." Jesus knew Peter was going to blow it! I try to think of this conversation from Peter's perspective. "Satan's going to attack me, but Jesus prayed for me, so I'm invincible!" I wonder if Peter really listened to the remainder of the statement, or if it came hammering back into his mind after he denied Christ in verses 54-62. It is so promising that Christ already had a plan for Peter in spite of his failure. He already knew how he was going to use Peter to build up the Church.
Prayer
Lord thank you for being our tree of Life; you are the source of Life - physically and spiritually. Lord I commit my life to you and ask you to lead me according to your will. Thank you that you intercede for me and have a plan for me in spite of my failures. Thank you for taking me back, again and again, and using me in your perfect and pleasing will. Please grow my relationship with you. Amen.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Wisdom is Christ
Proverbs 2
This is one of my favorite chapters in Proverbs because it extends the implications of Chapter 1. Verses 1-4 tell us how hard we should be searching for wisdom, and verses 5-8 explain what happens when we do. I think the key is in verse 5: "Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God." I believe the Christian life is characterized by an intimate/personal relationship with God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), and here Proverbs 2 explains that if you search diligently for wisdom (i.e., the Mind of Christ), you will humbly fear Him (because Has the right to nullify your existence because of your spiritual insurrection) and accept the Son's sacrificial atonement for your sin (i.e., the only way to know God). Then, the remainder of the chapter explains, consequently, how you will LIVE. Specifically, you will have good spiritual discernment, make wise choices and be safe, stay away from the ways of the wicked, and avoid sexual sin. You will "stay on the path of the righteous" and live in the land God has promised (i.e., you will live out his "good, pleasing, and perfect will").
Luke 21
The first few verses are about a widow who gives an offering at the temple worth only a few cents, but Christ compliments her gift because it was all she had. I speculate how many people gave very large gifts (and some of them may have even been a large proportion of their income), but Christ was not impressed with those people because of the condition of their heart. Christ was pleased with this widow's gift because she gave up herself entirely to the Lord's Salvation. She had Faith that God would provide her every need. You see, Christ is concerned with the totality of our existence, not just a tenth. He wants ALL of me.
The remainder of the chapter is about the end times. Christ gives several details about how it will look before/when it happens. As Christ instructs, I pray that I don't have to be here when everything goes nuts.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I know that you are the Wisdom of God, and your ways and thoughts are perfect. Please give me the desire to search earnestly for wisdom. Lord, please reveal yourself to me, because I know you will show yourself to me when I search for you with all my heart. Help me search for you with all my heart. Help me love you with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Lord, teach me to walk in your ways and avoid every hint of immorality. Lord, lead me to Faith to trust you with my whole life that I will give you my ALL. I pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
This is one of my favorite chapters in Proverbs because it extends the implications of Chapter 1. Verses 1-4 tell us how hard we should be searching for wisdom, and verses 5-8 explain what happens when we do. I think the key is in verse 5: "Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God." I believe the Christian life is characterized by an intimate/personal relationship with God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), and here Proverbs 2 explains that if you search diligently for wisdom (i.e., the Mind of Christ), you will humbly fear Him (because Has the right to nullify your existence because of your spiritual insurrection) and accept the Son's sacrificial atonement for your sin (i.e., the only way to know God). Then, the remainder of the chapter explains, consequently, how you will LIVE. Specifically, you will have good spiritual discernment, make wise choices and be safe, stay away from the ways of the wicked, and avoid sexual sin. You will "stay on the path of the righteous" and live in the land God has promised (i.e., you will live out his "good, pleasing, and perfect will").
Luke 21
The first few verses are about a widow who gives an offering at the temple worth only a few cents, but Christ compliments her gift because it was all she had. I speculate how many people gave very large gifts (and some of them may have even been a large proportion of their income), but Christ was not impressed with those people because of the condition of their heart. Christ was pleased with this widow's gift because she gave up herself entirely to the Lord's Salvation. She had Faith that God would provide her every need. You see, Christ is concerned with the totality of our existence, not just a tenth. He wants ALL of me.
The remainder of the chapter is about the end times. Christ gives several details about how it will look before/when it happens. As Christ instructs, I pray that I don't have to be here when everything goes nuts.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I know that you are the Wisdom of God, and your ways and thoughts are perfect. Please give me the desire to search earnestly for wisdom. Lord, please reveal yourself to me, because I know you will show yourself to me when I search for you with all my heart. Help me search for you with all my heart. Help me love you with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Lord, teach me to walk in your ways and avoid every hint of immorality. Lord, lead me to Faith to trust you with my whole life that I will give you my ALL. I pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Wisdom is Christ
Proverbs 1
The introduction of this chapter explains the purpose of these proverbs - that we become wise, fear the Lord, and obey Him. The second part of this chapter is a father encouraging his son (which I might also reflect on as The Father instructing me) to listen to wisdom and stay away from evil. The third part of this chapter is a personification of wisdom calling out to the general population to listen and obey. I recently made the connection of Wisdom to the Lord Jesus Christ, as explained in I Corinthians 1:18-31, particularly verse 24 which states:
You see, Christ Jesus is the wisdom of God, so remember that as you read Proverbs - Christ's mind is explained ALL OVER Proverbs!
Luke 20
The discussions in Luke 20 crack me up. The Pharisees and the Sadducees each come up with questions for Jesus trying to get Him to say something that they could use to bring charges against Him. As you know, there is NO ERROR in Christ, so they were dumbfounded by His PERFECT responses. Furthermore, He asks them a question that basically drives them to decide whether or not He is Who He says He is, and they bail out with the lame, "Duh, I don't know." response. Then, in verses 45-47, Jesus publicly humiliates the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. Another example that Jesus is less concerned about what you know, and more concerned about Who you Know and how you live your life to prove that you Know Him.
I was reminded of this analogy that Paul uses several times: reading your Bible and growing in knowledge of the Lord is like eating food, and doing good deeds and living out your faith is like exercising. So, make sure you are exercising, or you will get fat (the Pharisees were religiously fat).
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me Faith and calling me to follow you. Thank you for the privilege of knowing You. Please teach me your mind of Wisdom as I study Proverbs, and please teach me to live out my Faith with fear and trembling.
The introduction of this chapter explains the purpose of these proverbs - that we become wise, fear the Lord, and obey Him. The second part of this chapter is a father encouraging his son (which I might also reflect on as The Father instructing me) to listen to wisdom and stay away from evil. The third part of this chapter is a personification of wisdom calling out to the general population to listen and obey. I recently made the connection of Wisdom to the Lord Jesus Christ, as explained in I Corinthians 1:18-31, particularly verse 24 which states:
"But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the
power of God and the wisdom of God."
You see, Christ Jesus is the wisdom of God, so remember that as you read Proverbs - Christ's mind is explained ALL OVER Proverbs!
Luke 20
The discussions in Luke 20 crack me up. The Pharisees and the Sadducees each come up with questions for Jesus trying to get Him to say something that they could use to bring charges against Him. As you know, there is NO ERROR in Christ, so they were dumbfounded by His PERFECT responses. Furthermore, He asks them a question that basically drives them to decide whether or not He is Who He says He is, and they bail out with the lame, "Duh, I don't know." response. Then, in verses 45-47, Jesus publicly humiliates the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. Another example that Jesus is less concerned about what you know, and more concerned about Who you Know and how you live your life to prove that you Know Him.
I was reminded of this analogy that Paul uses several times: reading your Bible and growing in knowledge of the Lord is like eating food, and doing good deeds and living out your faith is like exercising. So, make sure you are exercising, or you will get fat (the Pharisees were religiously fat).
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me Faith and calling me to follow you. Thank you for the privilege of knowing You. Please teach me your mind of Wisdom as I study Proverbs, and please teach me to live out my Faith with fear and trembling.
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