Week of 4 Epiphany – Even – 02/02 – 02/08/2014

Week of 4 Epiphany - Even 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://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/ (Please bookmark this link). This 'blog is mirrored at: http://shepherdboy-mydailywalk.blogspot.com/ Shepherdboysmydailywalk’s Blog .mp3 Podcasts via Linux Festival text-to-speech and Panopreter Basic text-to-speech are available at: http://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/dw_bible2/a_year/Wklx_a.html http://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/dw_bible2/b_year/wklx_b.html http://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/dw_bible2/c_year/wklx_c.html Please Note: This ‘blog is now available in mobile-optimized format: http://winksite.mobi/shepherdboy/MyDailyWalk Free to distribute; for personal use, Bible Study Groups, and Adult Christian Education. Disk Image and/or .zip file to burn the complete Bible Study to CD are available at: http://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/#Burn_Site_to_CD To get the most from these studies, it is suggested that you first read the scripture texts for the entry, and then the paraphrase and commentary. It is also recommended that you look up the scripture references, unless you recognize and recall them from memory. 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 Download: 4 Epiphany - Even 4 Epiphany - Sunday - Even (Variable) First posted 01/31/04; Podcast: 4 Epiphany - Sunday - Even Genesis 18:16-33   -   Abraham intercedes for Sodom; Galatians 5:13-25   -  Walking by the Spirit; Mark 8:22-30     -  Healing a blind man; Genesis Summary:   On his way to judge Sodom and Gomorrah the Lord had visited Abraham. Abraham had accompanied him on toward Sodom, and the Lord had revealed to Abraham what he intended to do. He revealed this to Abraham because he had chosen Abraham to instruct his descendants to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that they might receive the Lord’s promises. The Lord had heard a great outcry against the deeds of Sodom and Gomorrah, and he had come to see if they were true. Abraham interceded with the Lord not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there were fifty righteous people among them. The Lord said that he would spare the cities if there were fifty righteous among them. Then Abraham negotiated this number downward until the Lord finally agreed to spare the cities if there were ten righteous people within them, and Abraham returned to his place. Galatians Summary: Paul urges his hearers not to use their freedom as an opportunity to indulge in unrighteousness. Rather than indulging ourselves, we should seek the interests of others in love. Those who bite and devour one another should expect the same for themselves.  We are to walk by leading of the Spirit instead of following the urges of our bodies. The Spirit opposes the desires of the flesh, to restrain us from following our animal urges.  If we are obedient to the Spirit, the restraints of the Law are no longer necessary for us. The works of the flesh are “immorality, impurity, licentiousness (lawlessness), idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit (KJV: seditions, heresies; i.e. factionalism), envy, drunkenness and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21a). Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23); no law is required, to regulate such behavior. Those who belong to Christ have crucified their fleshly passions and desires. If we have been made alive by the Spirit, let us walk by the guidance of the Spirit, doing away with self-conceit and annoyance and envy of one another. Mark Summary: Jesus came to Bethsaida (east of the Jordan River, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee) with his disciples, and a blind man was brought to him. Jesus led the blind man out of the village. In the manner of healers of his day, Jesus spit on the eyes of the blind man and laid his hands upon him and asked if the man saw anything. The man replied that he could see people but that they looked like trees. Jesus laid his hands on the man’s eyes again and the man’s eyes were restored and saw everything clearly. Jesus sent the man home, commanding him not to enter the village. Jesus went to Caesarea Philippi (perhaps 25 miles north of Bethsaida, near the border of Syria), and on the way he asked his disciples who people thought Jesus to be. They replied that some thought he was John the Baptizer; some Elijah; and others one of the prophets. Then Jesus asked who his disciples believed him to be, and Peter declared, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29). Jesus told his disciples to tell no one about him. Commentary: The Lord had called Abraham to raise up a nation of people who would follow the Lord’s ways of righteousness and justice. Sodom and Gomorrah were to be an example of how the Lord judges wickedness and sin. The Lord’s judges justly; he doesn’t act on unfounded accusations and he doesn’t punish the righteous along with the wicked. The Lord has not kept his rules secret. Those who do what is right need not fear the Lord’s judgment; what we do indicates what we believe and who we serve. Those who have been truly made alive through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will be led by the Spirit; the Holy Spirit will not remain in one who does not follow the leading of the Spirit (Isaiah 42:5e). The Lord wants us to know his will and his commands. He wants us to see clearly. He will lead us and tell us what he wants us to do, but he leaves it up to us to do it. He doesn’t force us to do his will. He told the man he had healed not to return to the village, and he told his disciples not to reveal who he was. He wanted people to decide for themselves who Jesus is, and he didn’t want his ministry of spiritual healing obscured and hindered by sensationalism as a result of his physical healings. Sometimes these instructions were ignored (as in Matthew 9:27-31; Luke 5:12-16). As a result it became more difficult for Jesus to carry out his mission. Those who were physically healed but disregarded his command to tell no one gained physical healing but missed the spiritual healing which Jesus offered. If we will follow his leading, he will give us the Holy Spirit to guide us and to help us be obedient and resist temptation to sin. If we refuse to follow his word, we will be held accountable for our actions. We will not be able to claim that we didn’t know his rules. Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?

4 Epiphany - Monday - Even (Variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany. First posted 02/01/04; Podcast: 4 Epiphany - Monday - Even

Genesis 19:1-17 (18-23) 24-29    -  Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; Hebrews 11:1-12    -  Examples of faith; John 6:27-40    -  Jesus is the bread of life; Genesis Summary: Two angels (men; see Genesis 18:2), who Abraham had not at first recognized as divine beings, arrived in Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting in the city gate, and when Lot saw them coming, he rose to meet them and invited them to stay at his home for the night. They were planning to stay in the street, but Lot advised them against it. Lot prepared them a feast. Before bedtime, the men of Sodom surrounded the house and demanded that Lot send his guests out into the street so that they could have homosexual sex with them. Since the angels were Lot’s guests, Lot was obligated according to the custom of hospitality of the time to protect them, so he offered his unmarried daughters to appease the mob. The mob rejected the daughters in favor of the angels, and prepared to break in and take them by force. The angels struck the mob with blindness so that they were ineffective in breaking in. The angels told Lot to take his household and leave the city immediately, because they intended to destroy it. Lot’s sons-in-law didn’t take the warning seriously. At dawn the angels hurried Lot, his wife, and his two daughters out of the city, instructing them to flee, without looking back, to a nearby village called Zoar. Then the Lord rained down fire and brimstone and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the entire valley and the inhabitants. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he worshiped the Lord, and he saw the smoke of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God had remembered Abraham, and saved Lot from the midst of the destruction. Hebrews Summary: Faith is being certain of the fulfillment of hope; being convinced about things which cannot be seen. Scripture records that people receive God’s approval through faith. The material things of this world which seem so substantial have been created by the Word of God out of “nothing.” Abel’s sacrifice was more pleasing to God, and through it he gained God’s approval. Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24) was taken up by God without tasting death, because he had pleased God. “Without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Abraham was obedient to God’s leading through faith. He left his home to go to a strange land; he and his sons lived in tents as visitors in the land he had been promised. Abraham looked forward to the eternal city of God in Heaven. Through faith Sarah conceive when she was past the age of childbearing, and Abraham, in old age, became the father of a nation of innumerable descendants. John Summary: Jesus told people not to labor for physical food, which perishes, but for spiritual food which gives eternal life. Jesus is the only source of that spiritual sustenance. They asked him what they should do to be doing the work of God, and he replied that the work of God is that they should believe in Jesus. The people asked him for a “sign”, a “work”, so that they might believe in him, saying that Moses had provided them with manna,” bread from heaven,” in the wilderness. Jesus replied that it was not Moses who gave them bread from heaven. God gives the true bread from heaven, which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Jesus declared that he is that “bread” of life. Those who come to Jesus and believe in him will never hunger or thirst. But they had seen Jesus and yet did not believe. Jesus will reject no one who comes to him. Jesus came to do God’s will, and it is God’s will that none who come to Jesus in faith should be lost, but instead raised to eternal life. Commentary: Lot offered his daughters as a sacrifice to save those who had come into his household, and to turn the city of Sodom from its sin, but the people rejected Lot’s gracious offer, and as a result they were destroyed. It should be a warning to all, of the consequences of refusing the Lord’s gracious offer of his Son, Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed to save the people of God’s household and to turn the world from sin. The Lord made an example of Sodom and Gomorrah, for all time, of how he punishes wickedness. The Lord’s promises are absolutely reliable; he does what he says he is going to do. God remembered his promise to Abraham and spared the righteous from destruction (Genesis 19:29; see 18:32). Lot’s sons-in-law didn’t take God’s warning seriously and were destroyed. Lot’s wife disobeyed God’s command and was destroyed. Faith in Jesus is the eternal life–or-death issue for each of us. We will either trust and obey Jesus as our Lord and Savior, or we will be condemned to eternal destruction (Matthew 25:31-46). Faith is not some great act of righteousness; it is merely saying “yes” to Jesus. If we will say “yes” to Jesus, God will cause that tiny “mustard seed” of faith to grow into spiritual maturity (Matthew 13:31-32; 17:20). God has given us free will. We can say “no.” He doesn’t force us to believe him, but he rewards faith! Faith and obedience are inseparable; Faith without action is dead (James 2:17). One who believes in Jesus will obey what Jesus says (Luke 6:46; see also Matthew 7:21-23). Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?

4 Epiphany - Tuesday - Even (Variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany. First posted 02/02/04;

Podcast: 4 Epiphany - Tuesday - Even

Genesis 21:1-21   -   Isaac and Ishmael; Hebrews 11:13-22   -   Examples of faith; John 6:41-51    -  Living bread from Heaven; Genesis Summary: The Lord fulfilled his promise to Abraham and Sarah, and Sarah gave birth to a son at the time the Lord had said. They named him Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day as the Lord had commanded. Abraham was a hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. Sarah said that the Lord had given her laughter; that people would laugh when they hear that Sarah had given birth in old age. When the child was weaned, Abraham held a great feast, but Sarah was jealous for her son Isaac; she didn’t want his half-brother Ishmael to share Isaac’s inheritance so she had Abraham send Ishmael and his mother Hagar, Sarah’s maid, away. Abraham didn’t want to, but the Lord told him to follow Sarah’s wishes, and that the Lord would also make a great nation of Ishmael on Abraham’s account. Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness until their provisions ran out, and Hagar put the child down under a bush and prepared to die. But the Lord called to Hagar and reassured her and opened her eyes and she saw a well, where she was able to replenish her water supply. Ishmael grew up in the wilderness and became strong. His mother took a wife for him from Egypt. Hebrews Summary: When God tested Abraham, Abraham offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, although Isaac was the child through whom Abraham was to receive God’s promise of great posterity. Abraham believed that God was able to raise the dead, and thus, figuratively, he did receive Isaac back from the dead. Isaac carried on that faith in the blessing of Jacob and Esau, as did Jacob in blessing the sons of Joseph at the end of his life. John Summary: The Jews had asked for proof of Jesus’ claims. They had said that Moses had provided manna, “bread from heaven,” in the wilderness, and they expected Jesus to do some miracle to substantiate his claim (John 6:27-34). When Jesus said that he was the true bread which came down from heaven, the Jews considered that impossible, since they knew his mother and father and therefore thought they knew where Jesus had come from. Jesus replied that no one can come to Jesus unless he is drawn (“wooed;” “courted”) by God. Commentary: God wants to draw us to him, but we must be receptive to his drawing. Those who are drawn will be resurrected to eternal life. Those who have learned to know God through the scriptures will recognize Jesus and be drawn to him. He who believes in Jesus has eternal life. Jesus is the bread of life. The people ate manna in the wilderness but manna didn’t give them eternal life. Jesus is the living bread from heaven. Jesus is the bread which gives eternal life, and the bread that he gives for the life of the world is his flesh. God’s Word is one hundred percent reliable. God kept his promises to Abraham and Sarah. When they tried to achieve their own fulfillment through Sarah’s maid, Hagar (Genesis Ch. 16), the Lord was faithful and gracious to extend his promise to Ishmael as well. The Lord provided for Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness. Abraham trusted and obeyed God’s commands and he received God’s promises. Abraham didn’t want to send Ishmael into the wilderness, but he followed God’s guidance (Genesis 21:12). When the Lord told him to offer Isaac, the son through whom Abraham was to receive God’s promises, Abraham, in faith, did what God told him. God was faithful; Abraham received Isaac back, and God’s promise was fulfilled through Isaac. The promise and spiritual inheritance passed on through Isaac to Jacob and through Jacob to Joseph. In the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the people of Israel were the heirs and the evidence of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Jesus was their inheritance, the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah (Christ), but many of the Israelites were more interested in physical than spiritual bread. They worshiped tradition more than they worshiped God. They boasted of their human ancestry, but lost their spiritual inheritance.   Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?

4 Epiphany - Wednesday - Even (Variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany. First posted 02/03/04;

Podcast: 4 Epiphany - Wednesday - Even

Genesis 22:1-18    -  Abraham sacrifices Isaac; Hebrews 11:23-31   -   The faith of Moses; John 6:52-59    -  Jesus’ body and blood; Genesis Summary: God tested Abraham. He told Abraham to take Isaac, the son of the promise, and offer him as a burnt offering at a place the Lord would show him. So Abraham got up early and gathered the wood, the fire and the knife and the provisions for the trip and headed out with his servants and his son Isaac. On the third day Abraham saw the place afar off, and he left the servants with the donkey there and he and Isaac went on alone, with Isaac carrying the wood for the sacrifice. Isaac noticed that the lamb for the offering was missing and asked Abraham about it. Abraham replied that God would “provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). When they arrived at the place God had told him, Abraham built an altar, laid out the wood, and then bound Isaac and placed him on the wood. Abraham took the knife and was about to slay his son, when the Lord spoke to Abraham and told him to stop. The Lord said that he now knew that Abraham feared (had the proper awe and respect for God) and was obedient to God, not withholding his beloved only son. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by his horns in a thicket, so Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it to the Lord. The Lord renewed his promise to Abraham to bless him and make of him a great nation, because Abraham was obedient to the Lord. Hebrews Summary: By faith, Moses’ parents hid Moses for three months. Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s house, but he “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to share instead ill-treatment with the people of God rather than the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24b-25). He considered the abuse suffered for Christ greater than the wealth and treasure of Egypt, because he considered the final result. By faith, Moses left Egypt, defying the anger of Pharaoh, because he had a personal relationship with the Lord. By faith he was obedient to God’s commands concerning the keeping of the Passover. He sprinkled the blood according to the Lord’s instructions, so that they might escape the destroyer of the first-born. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea, but Pharaoh’s forces were drowned trying to do the same. By faith the people followed the Lord’s command concerning the siege of Jericho, and the walls fell down. By faith, Rahab was saved because she gave aid to the Israelite spies.  John Summary: The people could not understand what Jesus was saying about being the bread of life. Jesus had said that the bread of life that he would give the world was his flesh (John 6:51). The people thought that was physically impossible. Jesus told them that unless they ate of his flesh and drank his blood they did not have eternal life within them. Jesus promises that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood will be raised to eternal life. Jesus therefore is the true bread from heaven, which gives eternal life.  Commentary: Abraham believed God and did what God commanded. Abraham had grown in faith as he obeyed. When the promise of a son was delayed he and Sarah had tried to find their own solution. But now Abraham was so confident of God’s power and faithfulness that he was willing to sacrifice the son through whom God’s promises depended. Abraham now knew the Lord well enough to be convinced that God could raise Isaac from the dead, and that God would not ask him to do anything he couldn’t or shouldn’t do. (But notice that Abraham had been walking in obedience to the Lord for a considerable time, and he had learned to know and recognize the voice of the Lord. We also need to know God’s Word, the Bible, and spend time in fellowship and obedience to the Lord, so that we can learn to recognize the voice and the will of the Lord. Also note that the time of sacrifice is past, since Jesus’ crucifixion -see Hebrews 10:12-14.) The examples of faith cited by the author of Hebrews put their trust in the Lord and were obedient to his leading. Jesus is God’s son of the promise, whom God the Father offered on the “altar” of a Roman cross for the once-for-all sacrifice for our sins. God tested Abraham to see if he was willing to be truly obedient, but God did not require Abraham to make the ultimate sacrifice. God did it himself, and in a sense God offered himself (Genesis 22:8). God became the “lamb” of the sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus became the lamb of the Passover, which is sacrificed and eaten at the Passover meal. On the night before Jesus was crucified, it was the Passover feast that he and his disciples celebrated in the upper room, where Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion (the Eucharist, The Lord’s Supper), taking bread and wine and declaring them to be his body and blood, sacrificed for the sin of the world (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus was God in the flesh, but it was human flesh. Jesus had free will, but he chose to be obedient unto death on the cross. The Lord doesn’t ask us to do anything he wouldn’t do and hasn’t already done. If we want to receive the promise we must trust and obey Jesus. Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?

4 Epiphany - Thursday - Even (Variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany. First posted 02/04/04;

Podcast: 4 Epiphany - Thursday - Even

Genesis 23:1-20  -  The death of Sarah; Hebrews 11:32-12-2  -  A cloud of witnesses;   John 6:60-71  -  The words of eternal life; Genesis Summary: Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years. When she died, Abraham didn’t own any land to bury her in. Abraham met with the Hittites, who were the residents of the land at that time, in the city gate, where legal matters were conducted. They offered Abraham burial space in their tombs, but Abraham asked to buy the cave of Machpelah. Ephron, the owner of the cave was present, and offered to give the cave to Abraham, but Abraham insisted on paying for the field it was in. So Ephron named a price, and Abraham paid four hundred shekels in silver (Genesis 23:16) for the cave and obtained title to the field. Hebrews Summary: The Bible has numerous examples of people who accomplished great things and endured great trials through faith. Although their faith is well documented, they did not receive the fulfillment of the promise, because God has something better for us, and they share in our fulfillment. Using the metaphor of a race, the author urges us to heed the testimony of these numerous witnesses and follow their example, setting aside every encumbrance and sin, and run the race with perseverance. Let us follow the example of Jesus who endured the cross and its shame in order to receive the joy which was promised, and is now seated at the Throne of God John Summary: Jesus had said that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood abides in Jesus. This saying disturbed many of his disciples. Jesus told them that they would be even more disturbed by his ascension into heaven. Jesus was going to be leaving his flesh and becoming a spirit. Flesh does not live forever; it is the spirit which lives forever. His saying about eating his flesh and drinking his blood was not meant literally, but accurately described a spiritual reality which can only be understood through faith. Many of his disciples no longer followed him because of this. Jesus asked the Twelve if they would also go away, and Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy one of God” (John 6:68-69). Jesus pointed out that he had chosen the Twelve, and that he knew that one of them, Judas Iscariot, was going to reject Jesus.   Commentary: Abraham was mourning the death of his wife. He wanted her grave to be permanent. He had to own the land it was on, or he would have no control over its future. Right then, the Hittites were pleased to offer him a tomb for the burial, but that relationship was at their pleasure, and subject to change. Abraham went to the trouble and paid the price to obtain legal title to the land, which he could pass on to his descendants. [It became the tomb of Abraham (Genesis 25:9-10), Isaac (Genesis 35:29), Rebekah (Genesis 49:31), Jacob (Genesis 50:13) and Leah (Genesis 49:31). Today a stone fortress-like enclosure built by Herod the Great stands around the field, and a Moslem Mosque sits on top of the cave.] That’s the way it is if we go along with the present world system. There is no eternal security apart from Jesus. To have eternal security we must choose Jesus and be willing to pay whatever is required. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews enumerates a list of descendents of Abraham who persevered in faith through great trials and accomplished great things. They were willing to pay the price to obtain an eternal reward. Judas betrayed Jesus and gave up his eternal reward for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). Faith is a gift of God. We can choose whether to believe, and receive that gift of faith; or we can choose not to believe, and reject the gift of faith. Jesus described faith as a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32; 17:20). Our tiny “yes” to Jesus becomes the full grown tree of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Peter’s testimony (John 6:68-69) illustrates this. Those who choose to trust Jesus become fully convinced beyond doubt in the truth and reality of Jesus, as they grow in Christian maturity. What begins as faith becomes certain knowledge. That is why Christian Martyrs were willing and able to endure the terrible things to which they were subjected. They did not receive their reward in this world; their hope and expectation was not based on this world. Jesus was willing to pay the price to secure an eternal reward for us in heaven with him. Are we willing to pay the price to follow him?  Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?

4 Epiphany - Friday - Even (Variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany. First posted 02/05/04;

Podcast: 4 Epiphany - Friday - Even

Genesis 24:1-27 -   Abraham gets a wife for Isaac; Hebrews 12:3-11  -  God’s discipline; John 7:1-13  -  The feast of Tabernacles; Genesis Summary: Abraham commissioned his chief servant to travel to Abraham’s homeland to obtain a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s relatives. Isaac was not to marry a local Canaanite woman, nor was he to leave the Promised Land to return to the land of his ancestors. The servant went to Nahor (near Haran, in present day Syria). He waited at the well outside the city at the time of the evening when the women came to draw water, and he prayed for God’s guidance in finding the woman God wanted for Isaac. As soon as he finished praying a beautiful young woman came, who met the conditions the servant had prayed to God. The young woman, Rebekah, was the daughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor. When she had given the servant a drink and had watered his camels, he gave her a gold ring and gold bracelets and asked her whose daughter she was and where he could lodge. She invited him to stay in her father’s house, and the servant rejoiced that God had blessed him in the accomplishment of his mission. Hebrews Summary: We should consider the abuse that Jesus endured from sinners, so that we will not become discouraged. Most of us have not resisted sin to the point of having shed our own blood. We should not become discouraged when the Lord disciplines us, because every good father disciplines his children. Our earthly fathers disciplined us as it suited them, and yet we respected them; but God disciplines us for our good. During the disciplining the experience is painful, but later it brings forth the harvest of righteousness to those who have learned from it. John Summary: Jesus continued his ministry in Galilee, and avoided Judea because the Jewish religious leaders were seeking to kill him. The feast of Tabernacles (a harvest festival, held in September-October) was at hand. Jesus’ brothers said that Jesus should go to Jerusalem in order to gain public support for his teachings among the pilgrims from all over the world who would be there. They said that if Jesus was going to do these things he should do so openly and publicly. They themselves did not believe in Jesus. Jesus said that he was not going to go to that feast, because his time for self-revealing had not yet come. Jesus’ brothers could go openly to the feast because they had not challenged the existing world order. Jesus remained in Galilee and his brothers left for Jerusalem, but later Jesus went to Jerusalem anonymously. The people were looking for Jesus at the feast. They had divided opinions about Jesus, but they didn’t dare to speak openly about him, for fear of the religious leaders. Commentary: Abraham’s servant was faithful to carry out his master’s instructions. His master’s instructions were in accordance with God’s will, and the servant did his best and trusted in God to help him accomplish his mission. Jesus’ brothers were not at risk in going to Jerusalem for the feast, because they had not taken a stand in opposition to the ways and views of the world. Jesus did not deserve the hatred of the world, but he received it because he revealed that the works of the world were sinful. Jesus didn’t hide out in Galilee to avoid suffering for the Gospel, but in order to fulfill God’s commission. Jesus’ works were motivated by obedience to God’s will, not by a desire to be popular or to avoid conflict. Jesus demonstrated discipline in his obedience his Father. Jesus knew that he was going to be crucified, and he knew the suffering that would involve. He would have been happy if that could have been avoided, but he knew that it had to be done to fulfill God’s plan. He put his will aside in order to do his Father’s will, and he trusted in God that it would work out for good (Matthew 26:39). Are we, as believers, willing to be unpopular for the sake of the Gospel, or are we afraid to express our beliefs about Jesus for fear of the leaders of society? Are we willing to endure suffering for Jesus’ sake, or do we expect God to make everything easy and pleasant. Do we blame God when problems arise? Are we willing to give up what we want in order to do what God wants? Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?

4 Epiphany - Saturday - Even (Variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany. First posted 02/06/04;

Podcast: 4 Epiphany - Saturday - Even

Genesis 24:28-38, 49-51  -  Rebekah betrothed; Hebrews 12:12-29  -  Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion contrasted; John 7:14-36 -   Jesus at the Feast; Genesis Summary:     Abraham had sent his servant to his homeland to get a wife for his son Isaac from among his people. His servant had encountered Rebekah at the well. The servant offered her precious gifts as a guarantee of his sincerity. Rebekah went to her home and told her family about the man at the well, and her brother Laban got up and went to Abraham’s servant and welcomed him and took care of the servant, his camels, and his men, and fed them. The servant refused to eat until he had told them his mission. He told them that his master had become wealthy and that the son, Isaac, was his master's heir. When the servant explained that he had come to seek a bride for the son and how the Lord had lead and prospered his mission, they agreed to give Rebekah to be the wife of Isaac.  Hebrews Summary: Believers are encouraged to show courage and commitment in their discipline, so that it may be healing rather than devastating. Strive to live peaceably and in holiness, which is necessary for fellowship with the Lord. Don’t fail to obtain the grace of God. The community of believers is to guard against heresy and apostasy. Those who turn to immorality or away from faith are warned that there may be no further opportunity to repent and be restored. Essau is cited as an example of one who sold his birthright for a single meal, and later was unable to recover what he had lost, although he sought it fervently. Our inheritance is not something to be feared and dreaded, like that of Israel’s encounter with God at Mount Sinai. The inheritance we have is the wonderful prospect of Mount Zion in heaven, and the holy city of the heavenly Jerusalem. All are gathered as to a festival; an assembly of angels and saints in the presence of God who is perfectly righteous, and Jesus who is our High Priest, who has purified us by his blood. Jesus had come to the feast of Tabernacles anonymously because the Jewish religious leaders were seeking to have him killed. But during the feast he went up to the temple and taught. The people marveled at his teaching. Jesus replied that the teaching was not his, but God’s. Jesus said that if any person truly desires to do God’s will, he will be able to recognize that Jesus’ teaching is from God, and not merely the teaching of men. Jesus’ only intention was to glorify God, and therefore his testimony was trustworthy. He pointed out that they had received the Law through Moses, but that they didn’t obey it. They criticized Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, although circumcision on the Sabbath was perfectly legal. John Summary: Jesus’ teaching stirred up controversy among the people. They were afraid to speak openly about Jesus (John 7:13) but Jesus was speaking boldly in the Temple (John 7:25-26) under the very noses of the authorities who were seeking to kill him. But they doubted that Jesus could be the Messiah because they thought they knew Jesus’ origin, and they believed that Messiah’s origin would be a mystery. Jesus told them that they only thought that they knew his origin; they really knew neither Jesus, nor God who sent him.   Abraham sent his servant to obtain a bride for Isaac, the “son of the promise.” He went to Abraham’s homeland, to the town and house of Abraham’s brother, Nahor. He found the woman that God wanted for Isaac’s bride, and Abraham’s people welcomed him in the best middle eastern hospitality. They washed his feet, cared for his animals and his men, invited him into their home and fed him. When they heard his mission, they recognized and remembered his Master, and they acknowledged and accepted God’s will and providence. When Jesus came to Jerusalem (his Father’s “home town”, where his Father’s house, the Temple, was located), his Father’s people did not receive him graciously (see John 1:10-12). The leaders wanted to kill him because he claimed to be his Father’s son. The people heard his message, but they didn’t recognize his Father through what he said. Jesus told them that if they had known his Father they would have recognized that what he said was from his Father. They didn’t recognize where he had come from. He claimed to be from heaven, but the people thought he was a local boy. The inheritance of those who reject Jesus is “a blazing fire, and darkness and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given…” (Hebrews 12:18-20) Jesus came to invite us to be his “bride.” Jesus is the Son through whom God’s promise will be fulfilled. Jesus is the faithful servant whose Master has become incredibly wealthy; and he’s the Son who will inherit all of his Father’s wealth. We’ve been invited to share his wealth and receive his inheritance. There’s a wedding celebration prepared in heaven, and we’re invited to be the “bride” (Hebrews 12:22-24). Those who have welcomed Jesus into their lives here on earth will be welcomed into God the Father’s house with the best heavenly hospitality. Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?