Always Reforming

    Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’ ?” Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Fa

This is the lesson I'm going to be presenting in church this morning.  Hope it keeps you in the spirit. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it wi

    I say this often, I'm sure, but today I truly am going to depart from my regular formula. I want to discuss a topic today, instead of a passage. I do want to discuss it from a Biblical standpoint, however.  This past week I saw many statuses and comments chronicling the passing of a beloved wife and mother. I did not personally know her or the family, but I emotionally connected with the story as this Sunday will mark the eighth year since my own mother went to be with her Creator. Deaths around holidays are always more difficult. They are harder to ignore. The mutual family members are gathered all around you. Holiday traditions you shared evoke his/her memory. So I know how they're feeling. I remember what they're experiencing.         To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what the intent of today's post actually is. I guess it's on my mind and I needed something to say until my Christmas post. At any rate, eight years...wow! Just saying it blows my mind

For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live; but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.” Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel.     I have so little free time these days, which usually means no time for blogging, which sucks.  But here's a thought or two from my personal time in the word.     In these three verses we can see basically the theme of the Bible.  Yahweh says, "Seek me and live."  This is the underlying theme that spans the entirety of God's revelation to man.  Why did God give man revelation?  To tell us this message: If you follow me, you will live.  If you reject me, you will die.      The Bible is a book of two covenants, but these two covenants can basically be summed up accordingly: "Seek me and live."  Everything

"The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk an

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you wi

T he LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.     A well-known passage, and rightly so.  This is a beautiful picture of God's care for and relationship with his people.  The analogy utilized here is one that would have been fresh and accessible to the audience, which was largely agricultural, and in which sheep played a large role economically and religiously.  Notice one thing before we begin exegesis.  Yahweh, the actor portrayed in this Psalm, is often see

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”   Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."    This passage demonstrates the denseness of the book of Romans.  In just the greeting of this letter you could do at least a couple of sermons.  I, however, will quickly glean a few major thoughts.  Firstly, we see, once again, the truth that the Gospel (the Good News about

"Then the word of Yahweh came to me: “Thus says Yahweh: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares Yahweh, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen."     The first seven verses of this chapter relate the story of how Yahweh tells Jeremiah to buy a loincloth and wear it and then bury it in a hillside.  Jeremiah is then instructed to retrieve it and, as expected, it is ruined.  It's good for nothing.  This is yet another picture that Yahweh gives to demonstrate the filth and putrition of Israel/Judah, and what was about to happen to them.      I think

 " I, I am the LORD , and besides me there is no savior.   I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord , “and I am God. Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?”     As a first order of business, let's be done with this LORD crap.  6,283 (or something like that...I know it's at least 6,000) times in the Old Testament the tetragrammaton "YHWH" is seen.  Now in ancient Hebrew the vowels were never written.  The reader supplied them.  At any rate, the probable pronunciation is Yahweh.  That is the generally accepted rendering.  To cut this little rabbit trail short, Lord is a title, but Yahweh is a name--a personal name, just like Bob or Ted (but way better).  The Bible does use the generic term Lord to refer to God, and when you see it written Lord, that is what you're reading.  But when you see LORD, you're s

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord ! And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers and against the helpers of those who work iniquity. The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together."     Unfortunately, many of us often act like practical atheists.  We talk a good talk, but when it comes time to trust in God, we trust in man.  The American dream is the great humanistic victory in our unfortunate history.  We have believed in the good inside of man, ignoring the Bible, and reaping our just consequences.      We all have our favorite Egyp

2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children a have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord , they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. 5 Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. 7 Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left like

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.    This passage is pretty self-explanatory.  These commands are pretty straight-forward, but we'll check it out a little nonetheless.      Our author (Paul, Luke, Apollos, Clement?) tells them to let brotherly love continue.  He assumes

" In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Thanksgiving and Prayer For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the sain