Week of 1 Lent C -02/21-27/2010

Week of 1 Lent C

This is a Three-Year Lectionary based on the Lutheran Book of Worship 3-year Lectionary (for public worship), "Prayers of the Day..." (Propers), p. 13-41, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978. It is based, with only minor variations, on the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches:

http://www.commontexts.org/

and:

http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/usage.html

The daily readings are the Propers (Lections) for the following Sunday, so that the daily devotions can prepare us for worship. Additional Lections are from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, "Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers," United Lutheran Church of America, General Rubrics VIII. Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.

The previous 2- year Bible Study based on the Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary for personal devotions p.179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978, is available at:

http://shepboy.snow.prohosting.com(Please bookmark this link)

Journalspace.com, my former 'blog host is being reorganized under new ownership. I no longer publish there. I have also lost mypodcast.com, my podcast host. This 'blog is mirrored at:

http://shepboy.multiply.com/

.mp3 Podcasts via Linux Festival Text-to-speech are available at:

Daily Walk 2: 3-Year C Weekly Lectionary

Please Note: I will post weekly by Saturday, noon, (God willing), Pacific time (UTC-8:00) for the week of the Church Season which begins on Sunday. Please scroll down for the desired day, or save the week to your desktop/hard drive.


Podcast: Week of 1 Lent C

1 Lent - Sunday C
First Posted February 21, 2010
Podcast: 1 Lent Sunday C

Deuteronomy 26:5-10 – Offering of First Fruits;
Psalm 91 – The Lord, Our Refuge;
Romans 10:8b-13 – Justified and Saved;
Luke 4:1-13 – Jesus' Temptation;

Deuteronomy:

The people of Israel were descendants of Abraham (Abram), his son Isaac and grandson Jacob (Israel). Abraham had originally come from Aram (present-day Syria). The patriarchs had been promised the land of Canaan, but lived in it as nomads. Jacob's family fled to Egypt because of a famine, and eventually became enslaved to the Egyptians. During their sojourn, they became a populous group. The Israelites prayed to God and he heard their prayers and saw their affliction and oppression. God led them out of Egypt with great power and terrifying signs and wonders. God gave them the Promised Land, which seemed to be lush, “flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:9b) in comparison to the wilderness.

Pentecost, meaning “fifty days,” is the Greek name for the Festival of Weeks, which was also known as the festival of the “first fruits” of the spring barley harvest, seven weeks after Passover. They were to present a tithe (ten percent) of the first fruits of the ground in worship to the Lord, and to recall the great deliverance from slavery to sin and death in Egypt.

Psalm:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust'” (Psalm 91:1-2). The Lord will deliver us from the traps that have been set for us by our spiritual enemy, and from deadly plague. He will cover us with his wings and will provide us with refuge. His faithfulness will be our shield and armor. We will not fear ambush and destruction by day or terror and pestilence by night.

“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked” (Psalm 91:7-8)

No evil will come upon us nor affliction enter our tent, because we have made the Lord Most High our refuge and dwelling.

“For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12). We will prevail over lions and poisonous snakes, and trample them under our feet.

The Lord will deliver those who cling to him in love. Because we know the name of the Lord he will protect us. He will hear and answer when we call to him. He will be with us in times of trial; he will rescue and give us honor. He will give us long life and reveal to us his salvation.

Romans:

The Word of faith (the Gospel) is near to us, on our lips and in our hearts. If we confess with our voices and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, whom God raised from the dead, we will be saved (from eternal condemnation). Those who believe in their hearts will be justified (judged not guilty; the opposite of condemned), and confess with their voices will be saved (delivered from punishment). God's Word declares that no one who believes in him will be put to shame. The same Lord is Lord of all, and all who call upon him (in faith, i.e., obedient trust) will receive his abundant blessings, because he makes no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile). For “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Luke:

After being baptized by John the baptizer, Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. Jesus ate nothing during that time, and at the end of forty days he was hungry. Satan tempted him saying that if Jesus were the Son of God, he should command a stone to become bread. Jesus answered, “It is written (in God's Word, the Bible) 'Man shall not live by bread alone” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of earth in a vision, and told him that if Jesus would worship Satan he would give all the power and glory of those kingdoms to Jesus, because they were under Satan's control. Jesus replied that “it is written 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Luke 4:8).

Satan took Jesus to the roof of the temple in Jerusalem and told him that if Jesus was the Son of God he should jump off the roof, because God's Word promised, “He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Luke 4:10-11; Psalm 91:11-12). Jesus replied that it is said (in God's Word), “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Luke 4:12; Deuteronomy 6:16).

Commentary:

God has always, from the very beginning of Creation, intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God's Word. This world is a temporary Creation designed to allow us the opportunity to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word and to learn by trial-and-error that God's way is good, possible, and our very best interest (Romans 12:2).

Sin is disobedience of God's Word, (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8-10) and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God has designed the one and only provision for our forgiveness of sin and our salvation from eternal destruction, Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). God has designed this temporary Creation with Jesus “built in” (John 1:1-5, 14; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

The history of God's dealing with Israel is also intended to be a parable, a metaphor, for life in this world. In a sense, we are all born into bondage to sin and death in the “Egypt” of the present world government, and Satan is “Pharaoh.” Jesus is the “New Moses” who frees us from slavery, leads us out of Egypt through the “Sea” of baptism into Jesus Christ, through the wilderness of this lifetime, by the Holy Spirit who is the “pillar of cloud and fire” (Exodus 13:21-22). Jesus is the “New Joshua” who leads us through the “river” of physical death and into the eternal “Promised Land” of God's eternal kingdom in heaven.

Under the Old Covenant (Testament) of Law, God was teaching Israel about God's standard of righteousness, and that we can't accomplish that in our own strength (“good deeds;” Galatians 2:16). He was teaching that sin can only be cleansed by blood sacrifice. God was preparing us for the New Covenant of grace (unmerited favor), when Jesus became the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for all time and all people, to be received by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), for the forgiveness of sin and restoration to fellowship with God which was broken by sin.

The Feast of Passover originally was observed in Egypt on the eve of the Exodus, when the final plague of the death of the firstborn was carried out by God's command. The blood of the sacrificial lamb marked the doorposts of the Israelites' houses to spare them from the destroying angel (Exodus 12:11-13).

Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples on the night of his betrayal and arrest, and initiated the New Covenant (Testament) of God with his people (Matthew 26:26-28 RSV note “g;” Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 12:24). Jesus became the sacrificial lamb of Passover, who marks and spares believers from the plague of eternal destruction. Holy Communion (the Eucharist; the Lord's Supper) is the “New Passover” feast (Matthew 26:2, 26-29).

Pentecost became the “birthday” of the Christian Church. It provided the gift (baptism; anointing) of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the “first fruits” of the spiritual harvest of eternal life (Acts 2:1-13). The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is our spiritual birthday; We are all born into this world physically alive but spiritually “unborn.” This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. Jesus warns that one must be “born-again” to see the kingdom of God, all around us now, and to see and enter it in eternity.

Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Lent is a period of forty days (not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter. It is a period of self-examination, penitence and spiritual fasting, to prepare believers for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We must receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to prepare for us before going into the world (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8) with the Gospel and carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ of forgiveness and reconciliation (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus is the revelation of God to the world in human form (Colossians 2:8-9; John 14:9). God has revealed his salvation and eternally long life to us in Jesus' resurrection from physical death. Every truly “born-again” believer personally experiences and testifies that Jesus is risen and eternally alive.

God's salvation is freely available to everyone who is willing to accept Jesus as Lord by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. But Jesus' name is not a magical incantation. One cannot be saved by calling his name at the last moment. Jesus warns that if we claim him as Lord we must be willing and do what he teaches (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).

Following Jesus means going through the “wilderness” of temptations where we are led by the Holy Spirit and learn to trust and obey the Lord. The way to resist temptation is to apply God's Word. Satan knows God's Word and will use it to deceive us, if possible (Matthew 24:24). We need to have read the entire Bible in order for the Holy Spirit to recall the appropriate passage when we need it. We need to know God's Word at least as well as Satan. We can't claim the promises of God if we don't know God's Word.

When I began to seek the Lord in mid-life, I began by reading the entire Bible. Because the Old Testament is about twice as long as the New Testament, and because I wanted a balanced reading of law and grace I read ten chapters of OT and 5 chapters of NT each day. By the time I finished I was convinced that Jesus is the way, truth and life, as he has said (John 14:6), and I asked him to be my Lord and Savior.

As I began a daily practice of Bible-reading with prayer and meditation, the Lord began to “disciple” me. See my Personal Testimonies, sidebar, top right, particularly “Spiritual Growth,” when the Lord gave me Psalm 91 as a promise.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

1 Lent - Monday C
First Posted February 22, 2010
Podcast: 1 Lent Monday C

Psalm 42:1-7 – My Soul Thirsts;

As the deer thirsts for flowing streams of water, my soul thirsts for the Lord, the living God. When shall I be able to see him face to face? My tears have become my daily fare both day and night, while worldly people taunt me, saying “Where is your God” (Psalm 42:3c)?

While I pour out my soul to the Lord, I remember how I led the procession of people to the house of the Lord with loud shouts and songs of thanksgiving, celebrating the festival with the multitude. Why is my soul downcast and disquieted within me? I will hope in the Lord, my help and my God; I will again have cause to praise him.

When I am sorrowful in my soul I remember the Lord from the land of Jordan (principle river of Israel), the land of Hermon (highest peak of northern Mt. Lebanon) and Mt. Mizar (lesser peak of Mt. Lebanon). “Deep calls to deep at the thunder of thy cataracts; all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me” (Psalm 42:7).

Commentary:

The psalmist feels overwhelmed with trouble, as one caught in the flood of a mighty river. He thirsts for the presence of the Lord as a deer pursued by a hunter longs for rest and gentle thirst-quenching streams of water.

Christians will experience troubles in this world, and worldly people will taunt them. Wealth and success are not necessarily signs of God's favor (Luke 16:20-25).

When we are going through trials, it is helpful for Christians to remember times of blessings, when we have felt the presence of the Lord. We can be sure that we will again be blessed and comforted by the Lord's presence!

I personally testify that when we are going through hard times, let us count our blessings, and let us wait three days! Jesus was crucified, and it seemed that the promise of the Gospel had been lost, but on the third day Jesus arose from physical death to eternal life. Every authentic “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple of Jesus Christ personally testifies that Jesus is risen and eternally alive.

God knows that when we're in trouble we have a problem remembering times of blessing and assurance. God instituted festivals in Judaism to help his people remember (Exodus 12:14).

I've found it useful to keep a journal of blessings, to remind me, in times of trouble, of the Lord's help and deliverance. I keep a log of the Lord's blessings each year, to remember on Thanksgiving Day.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

1 Lent - Tuesday C
First Posted February 23, 2010
Podcast: 1 Lent Tuesday C

Jeremiah 26:8-15 – Jeremiah's Trial;

Jeremiah was tried for capital crime, for his prophecy against the Southern Kingdom, Judah, of the divided monarchy. Shiloh was a city of Ephraim ten miles north of Bethel. It was the original site of the tabernacle after the conquest (Joshua 18:1-10). Jeremiah referred to it, a shapeless ruin, 500 years after its destruction. Its location is uncertain to this day.

The princes were civic leaders. They assembled and heard the charges of the priests and prophets against Jeremiah, for prophesying against the city of Jerusalem, a capital crime. Jeremiah responded, saying that the Lord had sent him to prophesy against the temple and city. His hearers must change their ways and doings, and return to obedience of God's Word. Then the Lord will change his mind and not carry out his judgment against them.

But as for Jeremiah, the authorities had power over him. Let them do as they thought right and good. But if they killed Jeremiah they would be calling judgment upon themselves for spilling innocent blood, since Jeremiah had been sent by God to prophesy to them.

Commentary:

Those who prophesy against the status quo risk their physical lives, but ensure their eternal lives. The powerful and elite don't appreciate the Word of truth against them. But their only hope of healing and salvation is to hear and repent.

The Lord has a Word of judgment and condemnation against the rich and powerful of the American society and the American Church! The prophets' message is not intended to destroy them but to heal them.

Every truly “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian disciple of Jesus Christ testifies that Jesus is the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness (of sin; disobedience of God's Word) and salvation (from eternal condemnation and destruction).

The Gospel of forgiveness and salvation through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ is “good news” (gospel means “good news”) to those who are being saved, but bad news to the spiritually “lost” who are perishing eternally.

The worldly are no different today than they were in Jeremiah's time. They hate God's Word in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. Killing the messenger because they hate the message won't save them from God's condemnation, nor will it prevent the messenger from entering paradise in God's eternal kingdom.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

1 Lent - Wednesday C
First Posted February 24, 2010
Podcast: 1 Lent Wednesday C

Philippians 3:17-4:1 – Christian Lifestyle;

Paul exhorted the Christians at Philppi to follow the example of Paul and other disciples of Jesus Christ. Many, perhaps professing Christians as well as unbelievers, live as enemies of the cross of Christ, causing Paul and all disciples to mourn. Those peoples' minds are set on earthly things and their appetite is their “god.” But Christians are citizens of the eternal heavenly kingdom, and we await a Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. He will transform our earthly bodies to be like his glorious eternal body, by his power to subjugate all things to himself. So Paul pleads for the Philippian brethren, whom Paul loves, rejoices and longs for, his crown, to stand firm in the Lord.

Commentary:

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is the prototype of a modern, post-resurrection, “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ, as we can become. He was confronted on the road to Damascus by the risen and ascended Jesus, as Paul was intending to persecute Christians. Paul repented (Acts 9:9), accepted Jesus as his Lord (Acts 9:35a) and became obedient to Jesus (Acts 9:5b-6). He was discipled by a “born-again” disciple named Ananias (Acts 9:10-12), until Paul received the gift (anointing; baptism) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17-18), and then Paul immediately began to fulfill the Great Commission given by Jesus to his disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), to proclaim the gospel and make “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ, after they had received the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8).

Paul had been led by the Holy Spirit to change his travel plans and go across to Macedonia in Europe instead of further in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey; Acts 16:6-15). There he founded the congregation at Philippi, the first church on the European continent. Paul was continuing to “disciple” the congregation at Philippi by letter, urging them to follow the sound example of Paul and the other Apostles.

Christians are by definition disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26c), who have been “born-again” by the “baptism” (anointing; gift) of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Discipleship involves spiritual growth to Christian maturity. It takes “born-again” disciples to make “born-again” disciples. New believers are to stay within the Church (the New Jerusalem) until they have been anointed with the Holy Spirit, before going into the community and world with the Gospel.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not the end but the beginning of spiritual growth. The Lord won't baptize anyone with the Holy Spirit unless they are seriously committed to trust and obey Jesus. Then there must be a period of time when the new Christian learns to listen, hear and obey “the still, small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12). As one begins to trust and obey Jesus he will learn from personal experience that what the Lord says is true and that Jesus is absolutely faithful and reliable.

Paul's conversion was remarkable for its quickness, but remember that Paul was already formally trained in Judaism and the Bible and loved God. He just needed to be pointed to Jesus. The original Twelve disciples were with Jesus night and day for three years, and still were not ready to carry out the Great Commission, until they had been filled with the Holy Spirit. The mission of Christ can only be carried out by the Holy Spirit working through born-again disciples.

Jesus' resurrection and his miracles of resurrection demonstrate that there is existence after physical death. Every truly born-again disciple has a personal daily relationship with Jesus and God the Father through the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). Jesus has promised to reveal himself to his disciples (John 14:21). Because we know that Jesus has risen to eternal life, we can be sure that he will raise us also from physical death to eternal life (Romans 8:10-11; Hebrews 2:14-15).

Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) , with the creative power of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41; compare Genesis 1:3, 9). Right now we are free to choose whether to trust and obey Jesus or not, but there is a Day of Judgment, within our individual lifetimes, when Jesus will return to judge the living (quickened) and dead in both the physical and spiritual senses (1 Peter 4:5). In that day everyone will bow before him and confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). In that day it will be too late to change our eternal destinies.

Jesus will command and we will have no choice but to obey. Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord now, and have learned to trust and obey him, in our physical lifetimes, will have been spiritually reborn now and will enter eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom. Those who have rejected Jesus and have refused or failed to trust and obey him will be condemned to eternal destruction in hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

1 Lent - Thursday C
First Posted February 25, 2010
Podcast: 1 Lent Thursday C

Luke 13:31-35 – The End of the Age;

Jesus was traveling through Galilee (the northern Roman province of Israel, and Perea (the province east of the Jordan river, south of the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, governed by Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great). Some Pharisees came to Jesus and told him to leave the area because Herod was seeking to kill him. Jesus had a message for those Pharisees to convey to Herod. Herod was cunningly shrewd, but was unable to keep Jesus from exorcising demons and perform healing miracles “today and tomorrow” (Luke 13:32) and finishing his course on the third day (a short while; also a reference to his resurrection on the third day). Besides that, Jesus would complete his ministry because it was so unlikely as to be impossible to perish any place other than Jerusalem. Jerusalem was where the religious leaders were, and the leaders of Israel had a long history of killing the prophets God sent to them.

Jesus mourned for Jerusalem; he longed to gather them together, like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings (compare Psalm 91:1-4), but they refused. Jesus declared that the house of Israel would be forsaken. “And I tell you, you will not see me again until you say 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'” (Luke 13:35).

Commentary:

No one had power over Jesus except in God's will and timing, to accomplish God's purpose. Jesus knew that he would be crucified in Jerusalem, but no one would take his life from him except as Jesus laid it down in God's will and timing (John 10:17-18).

Jesus only had a short time to continue his ministry of physical and spiritual healing (demonic possession is a spiritual illness). Jesus' miracles of physical healing, feeding, and resurrection were intended to show that he can also heal, feed, and resurrect spiritually.

Israel had a long history (recorded in the Old Testament) of ignoring and mistreating God's prophets. They had killed the prophets from Abel (Genesis 4:3-8) to Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-23; compare Matthew 23:35); from “A to Z”.

Jeremiah is the ultimate example. Jeremiah was a prophet of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, of the two tribes, the remnant of Israel. Jeremiah was persecuted because of his prophecies against Judah. Jeremiah warned that if Judah did not repent and return to obedient trust in God's Word they would be exiled in Babylon for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12). The princes (leaders) of Judah imprisoned Jeremiah until the Chaldeans (of Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar) took Jerusalem in 588~587. Then the Chaldeans generously allowed Jeremiah to choose where to reside. The prophecy of seventy years of exile was fulfilled with the return of the exiles and re-dedication of the temple in Jerusalem in 517 B.C..

Zechariah, grandson of Jehoiada , was prophet of Judah around 840 B.C.. After the death of Jehoiada, Zechariah condemned the king and the people for rebellion against God (2 Chronicles 24:20), and so much resentment was stirred up against Zechariah that they stoned him in the court of the house of the Lord (2 Chronicles 24:21; compare Matthew 23:35).

Jesus mourned for Jerusalem (the Jews) because they refused to receive him as their Messiah. Paul (Saul of Tarsus), the prototype and example of a “modern, post-resurrection, born-again (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ,” was following Jesus' example, and Paul also genuinely mourned for his fellow Jews, because he knew that they were the rightful heirs of the Messiah (Romans 9:1-5). All genuine “born-again” Christians feel the same way. The Gentiles have received salvation from the Jews. If the Jews' rejection of their Messiah has allowed our inclusion, how much more will the Jews' inclusion be (Romans 11:1-12)?

I believe that the Jews are not irrevocably lost spiritually and eternally, but that they will have to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah before they can be saved (Luke 13:35; Philippians 2:10-11).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

1 Lent - Friday C
First Posted February 26, 2010
Podcast: 1 Lent Friday C

1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 – Sanctification;

Paul besought the Thessalonians and all new Christians to follow the example of Paul and other spiritually mature Christians, learning to live and to please God. We are to remember the teachings of Paul and the other Apostles. It is God's will for us to be sanctified (purified; consecrated; set apart entirely for God's use), that we abstain from all immorality. Our marriages should be maintained in holiness and honor, rather than in passion and lust as do the heathen, who do not know God. Let us be careful not to sin against our brethren thus, damaging the holiness and honor of marriage, because the Lord will avenge these sins, as we have been forewarned. The call of God is for holiness (purity; blamelessness in God's judgment), not uncleanness.

Commentary:

A Christian is by definition a disciple of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26c) who has been spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the “baptism” (gift; anointing) of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives the baptism of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The “baptism” of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) is a personally discernible ongoing event (Acts 19:2).

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was specifically intended by God to be the prototype and illustration of a “modern,” “post-resurrection,” “born-again” disciple (student) and and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, as we can and should be. Paul was carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) which Jesus gave his disciples, to make “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:2, after they themselves had been spiritually “born-again” (2 Timothy 1:6; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8).

Christian discipleship is not an optional category of “super-Christian.” “Born-again” disciples are the only genuine Christians there are. Jesus declared that one MUST be born-again (John 3:7) to see the kingdom of God all around us now, and to see and enter it ultimately in eternity. Jesus asked Nicodemus how anyone could presume to be a teacher of God's people (John 3:10) without knowing spiritual rebirth by personal experience. What a great a question!

New Christians must be “discipled” by “born-again,” spiritually mature Christian disciples, until the new Christians have been spiritually reborn, before being sent out into the world to carry on Christ's mission of forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and salvation (from eternal destruction, which is the consequence of sin; Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

There are a lot of false teachers in the world today. God's Word is eternal and unchanging, and the standard by which all spiritual teaching must be judged. Several false teachings were present in the first century Church, and are refuted in the New Testament of the Bible.

One false teaching in the “nominal” Church (any congregation of people who call themselves a “Christian” church) is “Works Righteousness:” “Legalism;” the “Circumcision Party;” the “Judaizers;” i.e., “earning” salvation by doing good deeds; see Galatians 2:12, 16, 21-3:14; 5:1-5, Ephesians 2:8-10.

Another is “Cheap Grace:” “Libertinism;” “Nicolaitanism;” false freedom from self-discipline; i.e., licentiousness; see Ephesians 4:17-24; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 6:9-20 (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right).

The New Testament is the record of the scriptural (recorded in the Bible) apostolic (as taught by the original Apostles, as received directly from Jesus) doctrine taught in the first century Church. The antidote to false teaching is the New Testament standard.

As I write this, homosexuals and lesbians attempt to legalize same-sex marriages. This has already been legalized in California, and the state constitution must be altered by Proposition 8, on the November 4, 2008 ballot to prevent it from prevailing. God's Word is eternal and unchanging. God opposed same-sex practices in the Bible (Genesis 18:16-21; 19:1-11), and opposes them today. If California were able to obtain God's permission to legalize same-sex marriage, God would owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology!

God's eternal kingdom is not a democracy, but a theocracy! God rules! No majority of people can overrule God's Word! Homosexuality is a perversion of marriage. Adult consent doesn't change anything; there are lots of things consenting adults may agree upon which do not conform to God's Word.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

1 Lent - Saturday C
First Posted February 27, 2010
Podcast: 1 Lent Saturday C

Matthew 15:21-28 – The Canaanite Mother;

Jesus and his disciples went from Gennesaret (a town near Capernaum on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee) to the region of Tyre and Sidon (Phoenician cities northwest of the provinces of Syria and Galilee, on the Mediterranean coast). As Jesus was passing, a Canaanite woman living in that region (a Gentile) came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David” (Matthew 15:22; heir to the throne of Israel), saying that her daughter was possessed by a demon; but Jesus ignored her. Jesus' disciples wanted him to send her away because she was following and shouting for Jesus to hear her. Jesus said that he “was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). But the woman came to Jesus and knelt, begging, “Lord, help me” (Matthew 15:25). Jesus told her that it wasn't fair to give the children's bread to dogs, but she replied that dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall from their master's table. Jesus told the woman that she had great faith, and that her request had been granted, and immediately her daughter was healed.

Commentary:

Everywhere Jesus went in Israel people thronged to him for healing and the Pharisees and scribes (teachers of scripture) pestered him with criticism (Matthew 15:1). Jesus was going to the Phoenician region to spend some time away from the crowds. Canaanites were the original inhabitants of the land, who were driven out as Israel took possession of their “Promised Land.”

During his physical lifetime, Jesus' mission was to call the Jews to return to obedient trust in God. The Jews had gone astray, making religious tradition more important than God's Word. They kept the “letter” of the Law, but not its “spirit.”

Jesus called the religious authorities “blind guides” (Matthew 15:14). The religious leaders had forgotten their responsibility as stewards of God's people, and had turned Judaism into a “religion,” mankind's attempt to manipulate God's favor to their advantage. They were running Judaism as their personal “empire,” with the people serving their leaders, instead of God.

Isn't that what has happened in many instances in the nominal Church today? Aren't many Church people “members” rather than disciples, following human tradition, rather than God's Word? Isn't ministry in many instances a “career choice,” and the congregation a “personal empire” for the leaders (Matthew 21:13)?

The Jewish religious leaders regarded Jesus as a rival for their power and position with the people. This Gentile (heathen) woman recognized that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, although the Jews did not. The Jewish people were hindered from accepting Jesus as the Messiah by their leaders (John 7:51-52; Mark 15:9-11).

Jesus' answer to her plea seems quite harsh. Would she get mad and go away? She accepted Jesus' assessment of herself, but persisted in faith, believing that Jesus was the only one who could and would heal her daughter.

People today aren't willing to accept a frank assessment of their “lostness” apart from Jesus. They don't want to hear that they are sinners and are going to hell for eternity unless they accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. They want to hear messages that make them feel good (2 Timothy 4:3-4). They want to be entertained and served, rather than sacrificing their will to serve the Lord (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right).

The Jews had an overflowing banquet of rich spiritual “food” in Jesus Christ, but declined partaking, while Gentiles gladly settled for crumbs. I have personally experienced that it is harder to proclaim the Gospel to church “members” than the “unchurched.” In many instances members feel secure in their “tradition” and are unwilling to receive rebuke.

Demonic possession is a metaphor for spiritual illness. The Jewish people sought Jesus to heal and feed them physically, but didn't recognize him as their Messiah, did not acknowledge their spiritual illness, and failed to receive the spiritual healing that only Jesus provides.

Jesus' crucifixion is the center-point of history. The call of Abraham was about two thousand years before, and we are now about two thousand years past Christ's first coming. I believe that in many instances the nominal Church is in the same situation as Judaism at the time of Christ's first coming (Luke 18:8).

At the time of Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus was the last faithful Jew. Christians are the New Israel, the New People of God. The true Church is the New Jerusalem, the New City of God on earth.

Jesus had told his disciples that they would take the Gospel to the Gentiles after they had been “baptized” with the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). That promise was fulfilled (Acts 2:1-13; 8:1b).

Jesus will return to judge the living ("quick;" “quickened”) and the dead (1 Peter 4:5) in both physical and spiritual senses. Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord, and have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) and will enter eternal life in God's kingdom in heaven. Those who have rejected Jesus as Lord, or have refused or neglected to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to eternal destruction in hell with all evil. (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Transfiguration - Lent C 02/14 - 20/2010

Transfiguration - Lent C

This is a Three-Year Lectionary based on the Lutheran Book of Worship 3-year Lectionary (for public worship), "Prayers of the Day..." (Propers), p. 13-41, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978. It is based, with only minor variations, on the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches:

http://www.commontexts.org/

and:

http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/usage.html

The daily readings are the Propers (Lections) for the following Sunday, so that the daily devotions can prepare us for worship. Additional Lections are from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, "Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers," United Lutheran Church of America, General Rubrics VIII. Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.

The previous 2- year Bible Study based on the Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary for personal devotions p.179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978, is available at:

http://shepboy.snow.prohosting.com(Please bookmark this link)

Journalspace.com, my former 'blog host is being reorganized under new ownership. I no longer publish there. I have also lost mypodcast.com, my podcast host. This 'blog is mirrored at:

http://shepboy.multiply.com/

.mp3 Podcasts via Linux Festival Text-to-speech are available at:

Daily Walk 2 Year C Weekly Lectionary

Please Note: I will post weekly by Saturday, noon, (God willing), Pacific time (UTC-8:00) for the week of the Church Season which begins on Sunday. Please scroll down for the desired day, or save the week to your desktop/hard drive.


Podcast: Transfiguration_Ash_Wed_C

Transfiguration Sunday C
First Posted February 14, 2010
Podcast: Transfiguration Sun C

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 – Moses' Death;
Psalm 99:1-5 – Worthy of Worship;
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 – Unveiled Gospel;
Luke 9:28-36 – The Transfiguration;

Deuteronomy:

Israel was poised on the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho, ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses went up to the top of Pisgah, a peak of the Nebo mountain range, and the Lord showed him the Promised Land. From the mountaintop Moses could see north, all Gilead (the land east of the Jordan) to Dan and Napthali (south of Mt. Lebanon, and the Sea of Galilee), the land of Ephraim and Manasseh (middle Palestine between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea), all Judah as far as the western sea (the Mediterranean), the Negeb (the southern wilderness of Judah) and the Jordan valley as far south as Zoar (south of the Dead Sea).

The Lord told Moses that this was the land he had promised his forefathers to give to their descendants. God had allowed Moses to see it, but not to enter. Moses died in Moab, as the Lord had said, and was buried there opposite Beth-peor, but the location of his grave is unknown. Moses was one hundred and twenty years, and had no infirmities of age, such as impaired vision or physical frailty. The people mourned for thirty days in the plains of Moab.

Joshua, the son of Nun had been filled with the Spirit of wisdom, by the laying on of Moses' hands, so the people of Israel obeyed Joshua, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Moses was the greatest of the prophets in Israel, because of his face-to-face relationship with the Lord, the great signs and wonders that Moses had done in the sight of Pharaoh and all his people, and the many great and terrible deeds he did in the in the presence of the Israelites in the wilderness.

Psalm:

Let all people tremble, knowing and acknowledging that the Lord reigns (above all). He sits upon the cherubim (half human, half animal creatures; comprising the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant; the throne of God); let the earth be shaken. The Lord is mighty in Zion (the people of God; the Church); he is exalted above all peoples. Let all people praise his great and fearful name, for it is holy (sacred; undefiled; worthy of reverence).

The Lord is Almighty; he also loves justice. He has established equity and administers justice and righteousness in Jacob (the patriarch, whom God named “Israel;” the namesake of God's people; Genesis 32:25-30). Let us extol the Lord our God; let us worship at his footstool, for he is holy (morally pure; worthy of worship).

2 Corinthians:

Some may have suggested that Paul's preaching of the Gospel was not clear. Paul replied that the Gospel was only “veiled” to those who were perishing. Satan has blinded the eyes of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the glory of Christ, the likeness of God, in the Gospel.

Luke Background:

Jesus had asked his disciples who other people and they themselves thought Jesus to be. Peter declared that he believed Jesus was the Christ. Then Jesus began to prepare his disciples for his crucifixion and resurrection (Luke 9:18-27).

Luke:

About a week later Jesus took Peter, James and John to a mountaintop to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of Jesus' face was altered and his clothing became dazzlingly bright. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glory and talked with Jesus about his departure (physical death) which would be accomplished in Jerusalem. The three disciples present were sleepy, but were not dreaming this, and they witnessed Jesus' glory and the two prophets with him.

As the two prophets were departing, Peter, not knowing what to say, suggested to Jesus that the disciples should make three “booths” (memorials) for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. As he was speaking, a cloud overshadowed them, and the disciples were afraid. A voice from the cloud declared Jesus to be his Son, his Chosen (beloved), and told them to listen to (heed) Jesus! When the voice finished speaking, Jesus was alone with the three disciples. These disciples kept silence about this experience and told no one at that time.

Commentary:

Moses is regarded as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets for the reasons stated in today's text. The editors of the Oxford Annotated Bible* suggest that the Lord himself buried Moses (Deuteronomy 34:6 n), which is why no human knows where Moses' grave is to this day.

Moses was not allowed to enter the earthly Promised Land, but he was allowed to see it. He apparently entered God's eternal Promised Land in heaven, because of his presence with Elijah at Jesus' transfiguration.

Elijah (Elias) is the other great prophet of Israel. Elijah was transported into heaven by a whirlwind and his physical body was never found (2 Kings 2:1-12), so Moses and Elijah shared similar circumstances at the end of their physical lives. One other character in the Old Testament, Enoch, is recorded to have gone to heaven directly without having died physically (Genesis 5:22-24; Hebrews 11:5).

Because Elijah had been carried into heaven it was conceivable that he could return in the way that he had been carried off. The Jewish teachers were expecting and teaching that Elijah would return to herald the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6). According to Matthew's account of the transfiguration the three disciples asked Jesus about Elijah's return, and Jesus declared that John the Baptizer was the fulfillment of that prophecy (Matthew 17:10-13). The three disciples were also witnessing the return of Elijah (and Moses) at Jesus' transfiguration before Jesus' role of Messiah was to be fulfilled by his crucifixion and resurrection.

After his resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples over forty days (Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8), before he ascended into heaven. His ascension was witnessed by his disciples, who were told that Jesus would return on the Day of Judgment in the same way they had seen him ascend (Acts 1:9-11).

The Ark of the Covenant was a box with the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments which Moses received from God. On the top of the box were two Cherubim facing each other. Their wings formed the seat of God's throne, and the box was God's footstool.

God's Word, recorded in the Bible, and fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified in Jesus Christ, the “living Word” (John 1:1-5, 14) are the standard of God's equity, righteousness and justice which God has established and by which all will be judged.

Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who have trusted and obeyed Jesus, will have been spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, during this lifetime, and will enter eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom, the eternal “Promised Land.” Those who have rejected Jesus, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to spiritual eternal death and destruction in hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Only Jesus gives the “baptism” (gift; anointing) with the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

This lifetime is intended by God to be our opportunity to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27) and to learn to know, trust and obey God's Word. These goals are only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) with the creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41; Genesis 1:3, 9).

Jesus could command and we would have no choice but to obey. But Jesus doesn't want to force anyone to believe God's Word. Jesus taught in parables for that very reason, so that his hearers were free to not understand if they chose. For the same reason he told his disciples not to tell anyone who Jesus is (Luke 9:21).

The same is true today; one cannot be “saved” by believing the testimony of their pastor or some other believer. The believer's testimony may induce others to consider the Gospel for themselves, but saving faith is only by trusting and obeying Jesus' teachings personally. One needs to read the Bible for oneself. One who is seeking to know God's will for oneself personally is to seek God's Word in the Bible, one day at a time (Matthew 6:11, 34), with prayer and meditation. One must remember that God's will never contradicts God's Word and will never tell us to harm ourselves or others.

The Gospel seems veiled to unbelievers because the “veil” cannot be removed except through faith in Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). By the Holy Spirit, Jesus opens the minds of his disciples to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).

Who do you say Jesus is? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

---

*The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Deuteronomy 34:6 n, p. 262, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.

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Transfiguration - Monday C
First Posted February 15, 2010
Podcast: Transfiguration Mon C

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 – Ministry of Reconciliation;

Believers are to be ambassadors for Christ, transmitting God's appeal for reconciliation through us. We urge you on Christ's behalf to accept reconciliation with God. God made him (Jesus) to bear our sin, although he was sinless, so that we could receive the righteousness of God. So working with Christ, we urge you not to receive the grace (unmerited favor; the free gift) of God in vain. This is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, that God has heard our need at the right time, and has helped us on the day of salvation (Isaiah 49:8). This is
the right time; this is the Day of Salvation.

Commentary:

Christians are believers of the Gospel who have trusted and obeyed Jesus, and have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing, daily experience (Acts 19:2). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Believers have personally experienced the reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ by the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we have personal knowledge of and fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. We have believed and have come to know with certainty that the Gospel of Jesus is the word of eternal life (John 6:68-69 RSV). The only people who don't know where they will spend eternity are the “lost;” unbelievers, the spiritually “unborn.”

Since we have experienced our own reconciliation we are to carry on Christ's mission of reconciliation to the spiritually lost and dying world. Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission to go into the world and make disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them to trust and obey Jesus Matthew 28:19-20), but only after his disciples had been “born-again” (Luke 24:9; Acts 1:4-5, 8).

God has designed this Creation for his own purpose, which has always been to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. This world is intended to be God's “garden” to grow his obedient trusting people. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to know and have fellowship with God (Acts 17:26-27). This lifetime is our opportunity to be “reborn” spiritually to eternal life.

Sin is disobedience of God's Word. In order to have the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word he has created this world to allow the possibility of sin. But God is not willing to tolerate rebellion and disobedience forever, or at all in his eternal kingdom. So this world and we ourselves are limited by time.

God knew that in giving us freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God, we would all choose to do our will rather than his. So we have all sinned and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). So God is able to provide forgiveness and reconciliation as a gift, to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus is not God's “Plan B” after man sinned. Jesus was designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). At the right time in history Jesus came in human flesh and died on the cross as the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sin and our salvation from eternal condemnation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). These are the “Last Days” before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Day of Judgment.

That day is not far off. It will come for each one who has ever lived, at the moment of physical death. At that moment time will cease for us individually and the next moment we will be at the judgment throne in eternity. At the moment of our physical death our eternal destiny will be fixed and unchangeable.

Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may not come. Today is the only day we can be certain of to seek the Lord and secure eternal life.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Transfiguration - Tuesday C
First Posted February 16, 2010
Podcast: Transfiguration Tuesday C

Deuteronomy 26:5-10 – Offering of First Fruits;

Background:

Pentecost, meaning “fifty days” is the Greek name for the Festival of Weeks, which was also known as the festival of the “first fruits” of the spring barley harvest, seven weeks after Passover. Today's text is a liturgy (a rite; a formalized form for public worship) for this festival, when the worshiper gives thanks to the Lord for the land and harvest.

Worshipers were to take the basket of first fruits to the temple and present it to the priest at the altar.

Deuteronomy:

The worshiper was then to recite the origin of the people of Israel, how the patriarchs, had been Aramean nomads (who had come from Aram: present-day Syria and Iraq). The family went to Egypt and settled there temporarily. They multiplied and became a large nation. The Egyptians enslaved them and treated them harshly. The Lord saw their oppression and bondage, and led them out of Egypt (the Exodus; mass departure) with great signs and wonders. The Lord brought them to the land of Canaan, which “flowed with milk and honey” as the Lord had said. So now the worshiper was presenting the first fruit of the ground, which the Lord had given, in worship to the Lord.

Commentary:

God's purpose for Creation is to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God's Word. God has been progressively revealing himself and his purpose, first through the goodness and complexity of Creation. Then he revealed himself to Abraham (Abram) and began a personal relationship with him, calling him to go to a new land and become the “father” of a great nation (Genesis 12:1-7). The Old Testament is the history of God's dealing with the nation of his people, teaching them to trust and obey God's Word. Jesus is the fullest revelation of God to the world. The Holy Spirit is the fullest revelation of God to his disciples individually and personally.

The history of God's relationship with Israel is also deliberately intended by God to be a “parable;” a metaphor for life in this world. God's people were enslaved in the “Egypt” of this present world order, of which Satan is “Pharaoh.” Jesus is the new “Moses” who frees us from bondage to sin and death in “Egypt,” through the “sea” of water baptism into Jesus, through the wilderness of this lifetime, where we learn to trust and obey him and be led by his Spirit (the “pillar” of cloud and fire; Exodus 13:21-22). Jesus is the new Joshua (Jesus is the Greek form of “Joshua” or “Jeshua”), who will lead us through the “river” of physical death and into the eternal Promised Land of God's eternal kingdom in heaven.

Moses had been directed and empowered by God to invoke a series of ten plagues on Egypt to induce the Egyptians to release their Israelite slaves. The final plague was the death of the first-born of the Egyptians, including their animals (Exodus 11:4-7).

The Passover feast originally was celebrated in Egypt on the eve of the Exodus. A perfect unblemished one-year-old male lamb was to be killed to provide the meat for the feast, and the blood of the lamb was to mark the doors of the houses of the Israelites as a sign that the destroying angel was to “pass over” them (Exodus 12:1-13). The Passover feast was observed annually in commemoration of the central saving act of God for his people.

After their release from Egypt God initiated a Covenant between God and his people, based on Law, God's Word given through Moses. God used the Law to teach God's people the meaning of sacrifice; that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). The sacrificial statutes and ordinances were to be followed until the New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor) could be established at the coming of Jesus.

Jesus celebrated the Passover feast in Jerusalem on the night of his betrayal and arrest, and at that celebration he initiated the New Covenant (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus is the New Passover Lamb (John 1:29; Revelation 5:12), whose blood marks his disciples to be “passed over” in the Final Judgment. Passover became the Christian Easter.

Pentecost, 50 days after Easter, became the festival of “first fruits” of the spiritual harvest. Jesus' disciples receive the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is the “first fruit” of eternal life and fellowship with God and Jesus Christ. Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection was the outpouring of the promised indwelling Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian Church (Acts 2:1-13).

The “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the spiritual “birthday” of each Christian. We are all born into this world physically alive but spiritually “unborn.” This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8). Only Jesus “baptizes” with the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34); only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Ash Wednesday C
First Posted February 17, 2010
Podcast: Ash Wednesday C

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21-- Sincere Devotion;

Don't try to appear devout outwardly to others; you will have no reward from God the Father in heaven. When giving to the poor, do so without fanfare or public attention, which hypocrites seek, to be seen and praised by people. People who seek public acclaim will have only that, as their reward. When giving to the poor, give so privately that it is as if your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing. Give privately; then your Father who knows what is done in private will see and reward you.

When praying, don't do as the hypocrites do, who love to pray in church and on street corners to be seen by others. Instead, go into your room and shut your door, and pray to your Father privately; and your Father who hears what you say in private will hear and reward you.

When fasting, don't attract attention to your fasting with a dismal expression or any other outward sign, to be noticed by others. The hypocrites who do so have only public notice as their reward. Instead, when fasting, continue your normal outward appearance and behavior, so that your fasting will not be noticed by other people, but only by your Father, who knows what is done privately; and the Father will reward you.

Commentary:

God is not impressed with outward appearances. He knows our innermost thoughts and motives. God is Spirit and Truth, and those who want to serve and please him must do so in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).

The public today is a lot less impressed with public displays of religious devotion than church-goers might imagine. Praying aloud at Mac Donald's before eating a “Happy Meal” is not particularly effective “evangelism.”

Many Americans believe that God hears and answers prayer. Many Americans consider themselves Christians, although they may not attend weekly Church services or read the Bible daily.

There are conditions for answered prayer (see sidebar, top right). God is under no obligation to hear and answer prayer if we haven't read and begun to apply his Word in our daily lives (Jeremiah 7:23; Ezekiel 11:20; Leviticus 26:3, 12; see also Jeremiah 11:4c-5).

Saving faith is not getting whatever one believes, if one believes “hard enough.” Saving faith is believing (trusting and obeying) Jesus Christ, who alone is God's only appointed (“anointed;” Christ and Messiah each mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively) eternal savior and eternal king of God's eternal kingdom.

How can one call Jesus “Lord” and not do what he teaches ( Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46)?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Lent - Thursday C
First Posted February 18, 2010
Podcast: Lent Thursday C

Psalm 91-- The Lord, Our Refuge;

The Lord God Almighty is a refuge and shelter from every peril. Those who trust in him need fear nothing. He will deliver us from traps set for us by our enemy, and even from fatal illness. His truth will be our shield and protection.

We need fear no terror at night, nor peril of day; no sickness of darkness, nor destruction in daylight. Thousands may fall beside us, tens of thousands next to us, but not we ourselves. We will see the recompense of the wicked with our own eyes.

Because we have made the Lord our refuge and dwelling, no evil will happen to us, nor scourge come near. “For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12).

We will overcome poisonous and vicious beasts. Those who cling to the Lord in love will be protected. The Lord will answer and deliver those who call upon his name. The Lord will be with them in times of trouble and will rescue and honor them “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91:16).

Commentary:

The Lord gave me this Word when I was a new believer, thirty years ago. He asked me to meet with a person I regarded as my personal enemy. I responded like Ananias in Paul's (Saul of Tarsus') conversion (Acts 9:13-14). I did as the Lord directed, and had the promised shelter and protection.

Jesus came and died the most excruciating (meaning literally "from the cross") physical death imaginable. His physical death and resurrection was deliberately intended by God to free us from lifelong bondage to sin and the fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

God has always intended, from the beginning of Creation, to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God's Word. God's Word is recorded in the Bible, and lived in human flesh in this world in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” God's Word fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified.

In order to provide the freedom to allow us to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word, God designed this Creation to allow for the possibility of sin (disobedience of God's Word).

Humans fear physical death. It seems to be the end of existence. Physical death is not “nothingness,” nor “reincarnation.” God has created a temporal world; humans die once and then comes divine judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus' resurrection from physical death demonstrates that there is existence after physical death. Every “born-again” Christian personally testifies that Jesus is risen and eternally alive!

Satan knows scripture! Christians must read the entire Bible, and must read it daily, with prayer and meditation, seeking the Lord's guidance one day at a time (Matthew 6:11, 34).

Satan tempted Jesus, the “living Word,” with scripture (Matthew 4:6). Jesus defeated temptation by quoting the scriptural context (Matthew 4:7).

Jesus has promised to hear and answer those who call upon his name. But Jesus warns us that those who call upon his name must trust and obey him (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Lent - Friday C
First Posted February 19, 2010
Podcast: Lent Friday C

Romans 10:8b-13 – Saving Faith;

The Word (the Word of faith; the Gospel of salvation) is near you, on your lips and in your hearts; “because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (from eternal condemnation and destruction; Romans 10:9). A person who believes in his heart is “justified” (a legal judgment of pardon for sin; the opposite of condemnation) and who confesses with his voice is “saved.”

The author of this letter, the Apostle Paul, quotes Isaiah 28:16, which says that no one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame (stumble). There is no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile); Jesus is Lord of all and gives his rich spiritual blessings to all who call upon him. “For 'everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved'” (compare Joel 2:32a).

Commentary:

God has always intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God's Word, in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14).

The meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek and find fellowship with God our Creator which was broken by our sin. We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with God (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). The Lord is not far off (Acts 17:26-27). He will reveal himself to us when we seek him with our whole heart (John 14:21, 23).

We are all born physically alive into this world, but we are “unborn” spiritually. This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life by the “baptism” (“anointing;” “gift”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus baptizes with the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing, daily event (Acts 19:2), not automatically conferred by some church rite, like water baptism.

But just naming the name of Jesus isn't going to save us from eternal condemnation. Jesus asks why people call him their Lord and call themselves “Christian” but not do what he teaches (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46). Faith is not getting whatever we believe if we believe “hard enough.” Saving faith is obedient trust in Jesus Christ.

There is a Day of Judgment coming when everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to the Lord for what we have done in this lifetime. That day is not far off; it will come for each of us at the moment of physical death, or sooner, when Christ returns. No one know when that will be, or how long we will live physically (Matthew 24:34-44).

Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been spiritually reborn in their lifetime. They have had personal fellowship with the Lord by the indwelling Holy Spirit. They will enter God's eternal kingdom in heaven. Those who have rejected Jesus, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to eternal destruction in hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Lent - Saturday C
First Posted February 20, 2010
Podcast: Transfiguration Saturday C

Luke 4:1-13 – Forty Days in the Wilderness;

After Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River by John the baptizer, Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit,” (Luke 4:1a; Acts 2:4) and was led by the Holy Spirit for forty days in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan. Jesus ate nothing in the wilderness, and at the end of forty days of fasting, he was hungry. Satan tempted Jesus, saying that, if Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus could command a stone and it would become bread. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3c, saying “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'”

Satan showed Jesus a vision of all the kingdoms of earth, for it all had been given to Satan. Satan said that he would give Jesus all their authority and glory, if Jesus would worship Satan. Jesus again replied that it was written (in the Old Testament Scriptures), “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Deuteronomy 6:13; 1 John 5:19 RSV).

Satan took Jesus to the roof of the temple in Jerusalem and said again, that if Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus should jump off the roof, because it is written, “He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you (Psalm 91:11),” and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone (Psalm 91:12). Jesus replied that it says (in the Bible), “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16). When Satan had ended all his temptations, he withdrew until another more favorable opportunity.

Commentary:

“Full of the Holy Spirit” is a Christian expression used throughout the book of Acts. Authentic “born-again” Christians experience the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them as they are led and empowered by the Spirit. Jesus promised to send his indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples as they trusted and obeyed Jesus (John 14:15-17). Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would give them what they were to say at the moment needed; that it was Holy Spirit who would speak through them (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11-12).

Moses was on Mt. Sinai (Horeb) forty days receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28). Elijah traveled forty days and nights from the Northern Kingdom from Mt Carmel to Mt Sinai at the southern border of the Southern Kingdom on a cake of flour and a container of water supplied supernaturally by an angel (1 Kings 19:7-8). The Israelites were tested in the wilderness for forty years of wandering (Numbers 14:26-35; 32:13; Deuteronomy 8:2; 29:5), because they had not obeyed God's command to enter and possess Canaan, the Promised Land.

Jesus was tempted for forty days of fasting in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry. Satan tempted Jesus in three areas of human vulnerability: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and human pride. Correspondingly Jesus was hungry, he was tempted to possess the glory and authority of the world, and to demonstrate that he was the Son of God.

Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden with the same three basic temptations: the forbidden fruit was “good for food, ...a delight to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise” and "like God" (Genesis 3:5-6).

Jesus responded to each temptation with scripture to refute it. To tempt him, Satan even quoted scripture to the Son of God, the “living Word,” the fulfillment embodiment and example of God's Word, lived in this world, in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Every believer should read the entire Bible, so that the Holy Spirit can recall it to our minds when needed so that we can escape temptation. If we resist his temptation Satan will flee from us (James 4:7b).

Esau traded his birthright, as the first-born son, of a double share in his father's estate, for a single meal (Hebrews 12:16-17; Genesis 25:29-34; 27:30-40).

Through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ we have an inheritance in our heavenly Father's estate in his eternal kingdom, paradise restored. Let us not give it away for a single meal, or even for all the power and glory on earth. The most important goal in this lifetime is for us to seek first God's kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:31-33; 16:26).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?