We're taking a trip chronologically through the Bible this year.
has come to us from heaven.
He came because of God’s tender mercy toward us.
He came to shine on us –
He came to guide our feet onto the path of peace.
The question for us today is –
Are we walking in the light of the Rising Sun?
Are we listening?
Are we obeying?
Are we following the paths of peace as we live out the truth and grace Jesus brought with him from heaven?
Please help us, dear Father.
The darkness can seem overwhelming.
Just when we think we’ve ‘heard it all’, another atrocity comes to light.
It’s nothing new.
The darkness has been a part of this life on earth ever since sin entered the garden.
But the darkness appears to be growing….
Is that because we are so ‘in touch’ that we know all of the bad things going on in the world? And the media is always looking for something shocking and riveting to talk about so we hear the horrible details over and over?
Thank you, Abba Father, that we know the one who is the Light that shines in this darkness.
And the darkness will not overcome it.
We are witnesses to that Light.
We believe in the Light.
We have experienced the Light that has come into our lives. Into our hearts.
Because of the love and grace of Jesus Christ, we have the Light.
We belong to the Light.
Thank you, Abba Father.
It’s significant, as we read the Chronological Bible, that we don’t reach the New Testament until the middle of October.
Three-quarters of our year is spent reading, studying, and meditating on the Old Testament.
This is HIS Story. And the Old Testament is a very big part of HIS Story.
God wants us know him. He is the same as he was 2000+ years ago. He will always be the same.
His love.
His provision.
His grace – even before he sent his son, Jesus.
His direction and guidance.
His righteousness.
His promises.
We know our Father God more intimately when we know and understand the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is vital to our ‘knowing’ God – that’s why we just spent 9 months reading and meditating on it.
9 months! How appropriate!
With a smile on our faces, we now turn the page to the New Testament.
The most important event in human history is about to take place.
“For God so loved the world…”
Thank you, Abba Father!
We humans don’t know how to really love each other. We love each other if the other person is being lovable. We love each other when the other person looks right, acts right and smells good. Our love quickly fades – proven by our divorce rates. Our love quickly gives up when the going gets tough – proven by the number of one-parent families in our culture.
It’s too little, too late, too conditional.
Even at the best of times, our love is just a tiny drop of moisture compared to the ocean of love that God has for us.
We can never understand the depth and the width and the height of God’s love.
But we can believe.
And when we believe, we find the most important love relationship of our lives.
Here is an excerpt from the Experiencing God bible study that I’m going through with my small group right now. Understanding and believing this truth forever changed how I look at God’s commands. How I read his Word to me. It blew up my previous perception of God’s love and changed how I lived my life from that day on:
“God loves you deeply and profoundly. Because he loves you, He has given you guidelines for living so you will not miss the full dimensions of the love relationship. Life also has some land mines that can destroy you or harm your life. God does not want to see you miss His best, and He does not want your life destroyed by foolish choices.
Suppose you had to cross a field full of land mines and a person who knew exactly where each one was buried offered to take you through it. Would you say to him, “I don’t want you to tell me what to do. I have free will! I don’t want you to impose your ways on me”?
I don’t know about you, but I would stay as close to that person as I could. I certainly would not wander off. His directions to me would preserve my life. He would say, ‘Don’t go that way, because that way will kill you. Go this way, and you will live.’
That is the purpose of God’s commands. He wants you to receive life and have it abundantly. When the Lord gives you a command, He is trying to protect and preserve the best He has for you. He does not want you to lose it. When God gives a command, He is not restricting you. He is freeing you.”
Thank you, Abba Father!
Great job! We are memorizing Proverbs 3 together and we’re seeing God’s faithfulness as he writes his words on our hearts and minds.”
My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all of your might and lean not on your own undertanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and shun evil.”
Here are the next couple of verses:
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruit of all of your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
God has an abundance of blessings waiting for us when we are wise with our wealth.
We just read in Malachi God’s epic promise to open the floodgates of heaven’s blessings when we bring our entire tithe into his house.
What does it look like when our barns are filled to overflowing? Have you been there? Do you want to be there? I’m there and it’s worth the struggle and adjustements and recommittments.
What does it feel like to have our vats brim over with new wine? I have to smile at this one because I love a good glass of wine :). And I know how it feels to have my life overflowing with new blessings from God. I’ve been there….I’m not always there.
Please guide us to this place where you are overflowing our lives, Abba Father.
When we want something to happen,
when it’s going to be good,
when today isn’t that great.
But we have to wait.
The Old Testament ended on a high point of the Israelites turning back to God, listening to his Word and trying to obey.
Then came a 400-year break in God’s Word to us.
We know the Israelites continued on with their lives during that time.
They were waiting….
expecting the Messiah to show up.
How long were they going to have to wait?
The historical record of the Old Testament ends but there are many other historical documents written during these 400 years. Several of these have been grouped together in the Apocrypha. I’m especially interested in the book of Judith ( I wonder why?). It reads a lot like the book of Esther without the awesome “for such a time as this” part.
400 years of waiting.
That’s a long time.
A very long time of anticipating the coming of the Messiah who will save them from their enemies.
A glorious time was coming……
But when?
We are under constant attack.
Satan and his army are always on the offense – looking for any weakness in our armor.
Plotting against us.
We read about Nehemiah’s strategy for dealing with the attacks of those who were opposed to rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall and we see how this strategy can work for us today as well.
While half of the men worked on the rebuilding the wall, the other half guarded the workers with shields, spears and armor. Those who carried the materials worked with one hand and held their weapon ready in the other.
They protected each other.
They provided a shield for those doing the main work – those who were working with 2 hands.
They carried their weapons with them while they worked.
This same strategy will work for us today. God has given us his armor of truth and righteousness. He has given us the mighty sword of his Word. He gives us the awesome privilege of interceding for others through prayer.
All of these weapons are available to us as we battle Satan’s evil attacks on us and other workers of God.
Providing a shield for others.
Strengthening each other’s armor.
Joining together in battle.
And diligently carrying our own sword. Maintaining our own armor.
So Satan doesn’t get a toehold.
We know Satan is already defeated. He has lost the war.
It’s time that we all help him realize that 🙂
In your name and by your power, Abba Father.
We’re being blessed as we memorize Proverbs 3 together:
“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all of your might and lean not on your own undertanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”
As we add this next verse, its interesting to me to see how it relates to last week’s verse:
“Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and shun evil.”
If I had to tell you one thing that I’ve learned as I’m memorizing God’s word is that my past thinking and judgement had some big holes in it. Not all of it, but enough that taking this verse literally is very wise for me. I needed to realize that my thinking was not always in line with God and that I should depend more on God for my wisdom. Not myself.
As God is etching his Word on my mind, he writing over some old, incorrect thinking and renewing my mind. Adding his wisdom.
It’s changing me.
Preparing me for the next season of my life.
It’s growing my respect for God’s wisdom and increasing my awareness of evil so I can avoid it.
Thank you, Abba Father.
Audio file of my memorization of Proverbs 3 so far:
“Test me in this.”
God only says this once in his Word to us.
He tells us to bring the whole tithe into his house. When we do this, he promises to “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10).
Wow! Such a great promise!
Don’t we want that to be true in all of our lives?
Those of us who have tested God in this have experienced these blessings. When we are faithful with our wealth, God truly does throw open the floodgate of blessings upon our lives.
Sometimes these blessings take the shape of actual money with raises, promotions or even unexpected checks showing up in the mail. (This just happened again to me).
But the greatest blessings God pours abundantly upon our lives are from the things that money can’t buy. Like joy. Purpose.
Peace.
Oh, the peace that comes from knowing that God is providing exactly what I need is priceless. The peace that comes from knowing that God is in charge of our bank account is supernatural. The prosperity that comes from God is perfect – the right kind, the right time.
God wants us to be faithful with our wealth…
because it’s good for us. It’s right for us.
And he will open the floodgates.
He has promised.
Thank you, Abba Father.
We wonder….
we get confused….
we worry……
we stumble down the wrong path and end up somewhere we don’t want to be.
Meanwhile, God has it all figured out. He has promised that his master plan is to prosper us and give us a purpose. He wants to shower us with his blessings.
If we ask.
If we seek his wisdom and insight for our lives.
If we listen and obey.
Queen Esther faced the possibility of being killed if she stood up for her people, the Jews. Mordecai, her uncle, told her, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (vs 4:14)
I believe that we all have many moments every day where God has planned for us to intersect each other’s lives ‘for such a time as this”. He has something specific he wants me to say when I go to lunch with a certain person. He has something he wants me to do when I’m going through the check-out at the grocery store. He has something else he wants me to text to a friend – right now.
He has a purpose for my day today.
He has a purpose for your day today.
To know that purpose, we need to be in line with him. We need to be listening,
and ready,
and willing.
For such a time as this.
We love you, Abba Father.
Come with me on a Journey through the Bible 