my daily walk

Week of 1 Christmas - Odd

This Bible Study was originally published at

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based on the Lutheran Book of Worship two-year Daily Lectionary for personal devotions* The daily readings are according to a Calendar based on the Church Year, which begins on the first Sunday of Advent, usually sometime at the end of November in the year preceding the secular calendar year.

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*Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary, p. 179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978.

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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.

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Podcast Download: Week of 1 Christmas - Odd
Sunday 1 Christmas - Odd
First posted 12/25/04;
Podcast: Sunday 1 Christmas - Odd

Isaiah 62:6-7,10-12 - Our coming salvation;

Hebrews 2:10-18 - The suffering of Jesus;
Matthew 1:18-25 - The Birth of Jesus;

Isaiah Paraphrase:

The Lord has set watchmen over Jerusalem to remind the people to remember the Lord and to watch and prepare for the coming salvation. We are exhorted to enter the gates, to prepare a way for the people, to build up the highway and clear it of obstacles. We are to lift up the ensign over the people. The Lord has promised that our salvation is coming, bringing our reward. We shall be the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, sought out, a city not forsaken.

Hebrews Paraphrase

It was God’s gracious will, in bringing us to salvation, to allow Jesus to fully experience our human suffering so that he could show us the way to spiritual maturity and salvation. Having been made holy by Jesus we share the same father, God, as the scriptures declare.

Since we are flesh and blood, Jesus came in flesh and blood, subject to physical death, so that through death he might destroy Satan, who has the power of death, and deliver us from lifelong fear of death which kept us enslaved. Jesus had to share fully in human nature so that he might be our merciful and faithful high priest in securing the forgiveness of our sins. He knows what human suffering and temptation are like, having experienced them himself.

Matthew Paraphrase:

Mary was betrothed to Joseph but while she was still a virgin she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a good man and didn’t want her to be put to shame, so he considered divorcing her quietly. As he considered this an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told Joseph to go ahead and marry Mary, because the child she was carrying was of the Holy Spirit.

The angel told Joseph that the child would be a boy, and that they were to name him Jesus (which means Savior) because he would save his people from their sins. This was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that a virgin would conceive and bear a son who would be called Emmanuel, meaning God with us. When Joseph awoke from the dream he went ahead and married Mary, but he didn’t have marital relations with her until after Jesus’ birth.

Commentary:

The Lord promised to send a Savior. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but God’s Word is eternal, and the promise remains to be fulfilled again at Jesus’ return. Jesus has promised to return. Each of us will receive judgment according to what we have done. Those who have received the Savior will receive salvation and eternal life with him; those who have rejected the Savior will receive eternal punishment (Matthew 25:31-46).

Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). In Jesus the fullness of God dwelt bodily in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9). Jesus shared completely in our human nature so that we might share in his divine nature through his indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus experienced physical death so that we might experience spiritual life eternally. Jesus became the blood sacrifice for our sins, so that he could be our merciful and faithful high priest.

Jesus was born in human flesh by the Holy Spirit, so that we could be born in the spirit by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8). Jesus’ name, in Hebrew and Aramaic, means “Savior.” Jesus is Emmanuel: the fulfillment of God’s promise to dwell among us, so that we could dwell with him in his eternal kingdom (Zechariah 2:10).

Is Jesus your Savior? 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)?

Monday December 29 - Odd
First posted 12/29/04;
Podcast: Monday December 29 - Odd

Isaiah 12:1-6 - Songs of deliverance and thanksgiving;
Revelation 1:1-8 - Alpha and Omega;
John 7:37-52 - Rivers of living water;

Isaiah Paraphrase:

In the Day of the Lord his people will give thanks that though the Lord was justifiably angry he turned away his anger and comforted us. God has become our salvation; we can trust in him and need not be afraid. He is our strength and our joy.

How wonderful it is to receive life-giving water from the well of salvation. Let us give thanks and call upon him. Let us make his deeds known among the nations; let us exalt his name. Praise the Lord for his glorious deeds; let them be known in all the earth. Let those who dwell in Zion (the Church; the people of God; the heavenly city) rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Revelation Paraphrase:

This Revelation is from God through Jesus, transmitted by an angel of the Lord to John, who testifies to God’s Word and the testimony of Christ. Those who proclaim this prophecy and those who keep and apply these words will be blessed.

John addressed the book to the churches of Asia Minor. Grace and peace (which are truly possible only in the Lord) from the eternal God (who is, who was, and who is to come), and from the fullness (seven representing completeness) of the (Holy) Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, “the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth” (Revelation 1:5; note the “trinity:” God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Eternal glory and dominion be to Jesus, who loves us eternally, and who died once for all as a blood-sacrifice to free us from our sins, and made us a kingdom and priests to his God and Father.

Watch; Jesus is coming with the clouds. Every eye will behold him, and we are all responsible for his death (because we have all sinned and made his sacrifice necessary; Romans 3:23). Every tribe on earth will mourn because of him. Nevertheless, let it be so. “I am (Exodus 3:14) the Alpha and Omega (first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; i.e., the beginning and end of all things), who is, who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

John Paraphrase:

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles* Jesus proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38; Zechariah 14:8; Isaiah 58:11). Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit, which those who believed in Jesus were going to receive after Jesus had been crucified, resurrected and ascended into heaven (John 16:7).

When the people heard this some were convinced that Jesus was the prophet (the “Elijah” who was to precede the Messiah; Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17:10-13). Others were convinced that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah). But others denied that Jesus could be the Christ because they believed he came from Galilee, and the scriptures indicated that the Messiah was a descendant of David (2 Samuel 7:12-13; Luke 2:4 ) and would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; not realizing that Bethlehem was Jesus’ birthplace; Luke 2:2-7; Matthew 2:1).

People were divided in their opinions of who Jesus was. Some wanted to arrest him, but no one did. Officers of the temple went to the religious leaders, who asked them why they hadn’t arrested Jesus, and the officers praised Jesus’ teaching. The religious leaders rebuked the officers, suggesting that they had been beguiled by Jesus’ teaching, and pointing out that the expert religious teachers had not believed Jesus. They suggested that the crowd who listened to Jesus were ignorant and thus accursed.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee (one of the religious leaders and teachers) who had gone to Jesus secretly (John 3:1-10) and was one of Jesus’ followers, pointed out to the leaders that they were violating religious law by judging Jesus without a fair hearing and trial. The leaders rebuked Nicodemus, asking sarcastically if Nicodemus was also from Galilee (implying that he was an ignorant provincial also). The leaders asserted that according to scripture no prophet would arise from Galilee.

Commentary:

Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. God has become our savior; the fullness of God dwelling bodily in Jesus (Colossians 2:8-9); Jesus Christ is Emmanuel (God with us; Matthew 1:23). He died once for all as a blood-sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. He provides living water from the well of salvation.

Jesus is the Son of God, and the son of David; the heir to the eternal throne of David and the eternal King of Kings. He died once for all as the blood-sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins (Hebrews 7:27).

Jesus has promised to return in glory to judge the earth; those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in Heaven, and those who have rejected Jesus will receive eternal death and destruction in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46). After his Resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven in the clouds, and he will return in the same way (Acts 1:10-11). Every eye will see him.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the symbolizm of the water ritual of the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus is the rock which provides the water of life in the midst of the wilderness of this world (1 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus came to provide the “well of salvation;” from which we might receive the “living water” of the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 4:10-11). Jesus is the “well;” those who recognize that they are spiritually thirsty and who trust and obey Jesus can come to him and drink and receive the life-giving, eternally life-sustaining water of his Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).

The indwelling Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that believers are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). Those who do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit do not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9b). The Lord gives his Holy Spirit only to those who trust and obey him (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17). It is possible for one to know with certainty whether one has received the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2). The gift of the Holy Spirit is a river flowing out from our hearts to the world around us.

What we believe about Jesus is eternally important to us individually. Each of us must come to his own decision. Have we given him a fair hearing?

Is Jesus your Savior and 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)?

*Feast of Tabernacles, or “Booths;” an eight-day harvest festival. For seven days, water was carried from the Pool of Siloam in a golden pitcher and poured on the altar in the Temple, as a symbol of God’s provision of water from the rock during the wilderness wandering (Numbers 20:2-13) and as a symbol of Messianic deliverance (Isaiah 12:3; 44:3; 55:1).

Tuesday December 30 - Odd
First posted 12/30/04;
Podcast: Tuesday December 30 - Odd

Isaiah 25:1-9 - Death is swallowed up forever;
Revelation 1:9-20 - Preparatory vision;
John 7:53-8:11 - Adulteress;

Isaiah Paraphrase:

The Lord our God is worthy to be exalted and praised, because he has done wonderful things; faithful and sure plans formed long ago. The Lord has brought the fortified city to ruin; the palace of aliens has been destroyed beyond rebuilding. Mighty peoples will glorify God, and the ruthless will fear God.

God is the refuge of the poor and needy, “a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat” (Isaiah 25:4c). God subdues the attacks of the strong and ruthless. On this mountain (Zion) God will prepare a rich feast for all people, and he will remove the veil which covers all people and nations. “He will swallow up death forever” (Isaiah 25:8), he will wipe away every tear, and he will take away the reproach of his people. On that day we will say, “This is our God, we have waited for him that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” Isaiah 25:9).

Revelation Paraphrase:

John is the brother of all believers who share the tribulation, kingdom and patient endurance which is their common circumstance. John had been exiled (by Roman Emperor Domitian) to the island of Patmos (a tiny island in the Aegean Sea, between Greece and Asia Minor) for proclaiming the Gospel. John was in the Spirit (in communion with the Lord by the Holy Spirit) on a Sunday when was told to write his visions in a book and send it to the seven churches of Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

John saw a vision of seven golden lampstands, representing these seven churches, and the glorified Christ stood in their midst. His appearance is described in symbols suggesting his majesty. The sharp two-edged sword represents God’s Word (Hebrews 4:12). His eyes were like burning fire and his face shone like the sun. John fainted at the sight, but Jesus told John not to be afraid.

Jesus declared himself the first and last, the living one who died and lives eternally, who possesses the keys to release the dead from Hades (the abode of the dead). Jesus explained that the seven stars in his hand represented the seven angels assigned to the seven churches represented by the seven lampstands.

John Paraphrase:

Early in the morning Jesus was in the temple teaching, and scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, The scribes and Pharisees told Jesus that according to Moses she should be stoned, and they asked Jesus what he had to say about her. They were looking for some charge to bring against Jesus.

Jesus continued what he was doing and ignored them, but when they persisted Jesus told them that whichever one of them was without sin should be first to throw a stone at her. Then Jesus continued what he was doing.

One by one the Pharisees and scribes left, from the eldest to the youngest, until only the woman remained. Jesus looked at her and asked where her accusers had gone. None was left to condemn her, and Jesus declared that he would not condemn her either. He told her to go and sin no more.

Commentary:

God has accomplished the wonderful thing, the faithful and sure plan he has had from long ago for our good, to bring us to salvation and eternal life with him. God has conquered our powerful and ruthless enemy, Satan. On Zion, the mountain of God, the Lord has prepared a rich feast which his disciples share now in the Eucharist (“the Lord’s Supper,” “Holy Communion”) which will climax in the feast with the Lord in the eternal kingdom.

Through faith in Jesus, the Lord lifts the veil which covers the minds of all people which keeps them from seeing the truth of the Gospel (Matthew 27:51; 2 Corinthians 3:13-18; Exodus 34:33-35). Death has been swallowed up in victory through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

John had a vision of the son of man (Daniel 7:13-14; Mark 2:10), the glorified Christ, who declares himself to be the beginning and end of all things (Revelation 1:17b; compare Revelation 1:8), who died and rose to eternal life, and who possesses the power to free us from death and the kingdom of the dead (Revelation 1:18).

We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus came to die on the cross as a blood-sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins so that we could be forgiven of our sins and would not have to die eternally for them ourselves (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home). He rose from the dead to eternal life, so that through him we could have the assurance of eternal life and be freed from lifelong bondage through the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Jesus didn’t come to condemn us; he came to forgive and save us (John 3:16-17). He didn’t come to destroy us but to give us eternal life. He came to give us victory over sin and evil. Jesus forgave the Adulteress and told her to go and sin no more. Through trust and obedience to Jesus she had forgiveness and victory over sin.

Have you received the gift of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life through 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)?

Wednesday December 31 - Odd
First posted 12/31/04;
Podcast: Wednesday December 31 - Odd

Isaiah 26:1-6 - Song of victory;
2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2 - The ministry of reconciliation;
John 8:12-19 - Jesus, the light of life;

Isaiah Paraphrase:

In that day (of salvation) God’s people will sing this song. We have a strong city (the eternal Jerusalem). God’s salvation is our bulwark and wall (our fortress). The gates open to allow the righteous, those who keep faith, to enter. “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

Always trust in the Lord because the Lord “is an everlasting rock” (security). He humbles the proud who dwell in the heights of the lofty city; he brings the proud city down to the ground. But the poor and the needy he will lift up and exalt.

2 Corinthinas Paraphrase:

“Born-again” believers (those who have received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit; James 1:22-25) should no longer see things from a worldly perspective. Though we once regarded even Jesus from a human perspective, we do so no longer. If anyone is in Christ (through the indwelling Holy Spirit; Romans 8:9), he is part of a new creation. He has passed from the old creation into the new. This is by God’s initiative, to reconcile us to God through Jesus Christ and to give us the ministry of reconciliation.

In Christ God offers reconciliation to the world, not holding us accountable for our sins, and giving us the message of reconciliation. So we are God’s ambassadors, proclaiming God’s offer of reconciliation to the world in Jesus Christ. Jesus, the sinless one, took on our sins so that we could take on his righteousness. So working in harmony with God's plan of reconciliation, we beg you to accept the free gift of salvation God offers in Jesus Christ, now, before Christ returns. God has seen our need for forgiveness and salvation, and has provided the perfect solution. Now is the time; now is the day of salvation.

John Paraphrase:

On the last day of the Feast (of Tabernacles,* or “Booths;” John 7:2, 37), Jesus had declared that he is the source of “living water” (see entry for December 29, Christmas, odd year). Again Jesus declared “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 7:12). The Pharisees said that Jesus was bearing witness to himself and therefore not credible.

Jesus replied that even if he testified to himself his testimony is true, because he knew his origin and destiny, whereas the Pharisees did not know Jesus’ origin or destiny. It is the Pharisees who are passing judgment, not Jesus; but Jesus’ judgment is true because it is in accord with God’s judgment. Jesus’ testimony is true, because Jesus attests to it and “the Father” who sent Jesus attests to Jesus (satisfying the requirement of Jewish Law for two witnesses).

The Pharisees asked where Jesus’ Father was, and Jesus replied that they know neither Jesus nor his Father. If they had known Jesus (that he was the Messiah, the Son of God) they would have known God (his Father) also. Jesus had been teaching in the treasury of the temple on the occasion when he spoke these words, but he wasn’t arrested, because it was not yet God’s timing.

Commentary:

Now is the Day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Now is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s word. We have a strong eternal city. The gate is open to all who trust and obey Jesus.

God has seen our need, and he has provided forgiveness and salvation as a gift to be received through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). If we trust Jesus, we will do what Jesus says, and if we do what he says we will receive what he promises. Now is the time to trust and obey Jesus; now is the time to receive the gift of salvation and reconciliation with God.

On the last day of the Harvest Festival, Jesus declared that he is the light of life; those who follow him will not walk in darkness. Jesus, through his indwelling Holy Spirit, is the “pillar of fire” that guides us through the darkness of the wilderness of this world, into the eternal city in the Promised Land of heaven. When we trust and obey Jesus we are “born-again,” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

The Pharisees thought they knew God, but they didn’t recognize Jesus as God’s Son. If they had known God they would have recognized that Jesus was God’s Son, who spoke God’s Word. We can know enough about God through his Word to recognize Jesus as God’s Son and Messiah, but only through faith (trust and obedience) in Jesus can we come to a personal knowledge of and fellowship with God.

The Pharisees wanted to arrest Jesus, but were unable until the time God allowed it to occur, in order for his plan for our reconciliation to be fulfilled. Today is the “last day of the harvest.” Today is the day that the Lord has appointed for our salvation.

Are you following 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)?

*Feast of Tabernacles, or “Booths;” an eight-day harvest festival. During this feast large lamps were lit in the temple courtyard, commemorating the leading of the pillar of fire during their wilderness wandering (Exodus 13:21).

Thursday January 1 - Odd
First posted : 01/01/2005
Podcast: Thursday January 1 - Odd

Genesis 17:1-12a, 15-16 - The covenant with Abraham;
Colossians 2:6-12 - Our circumcision in Christ;
John 16:23b-30 - Prayer in Jesus’ name;

Genesis Paraphrase:

When Abram was ninety years old, God appeared to him and established the covenant of circumcision. God promised that if Abram followed the Lord blamelessly God would honor the covenant relationship with Abram and would multiply his descendants. Abram “fell on his face” (in worship; Genesis 17:3) before the Lord.

God changed Abram’s name (Abram means “exalted father”) to Abraham (meaning “father of a multitude”), to reflect his new covenant relationship with God. God promised that the covenant would be an everlasting covenant between God and Abraham’s descendants forever. God promised to give the land of Canaan, in which the patriarchs were merely nomads, to Abraham’s descendants as an everlasting inheritance, and that the Lord would be their God.

As a sign of the covenant and to keep the covenant in force, every male member of the people was to be circumcised. God also changed the name of Abraham’s wife from Sarai to Sarah, and God promised to bless her and give Abraham a son by her. God promised that kings of peoples would come from her.

Colossians Paraphrase:

As we receive Christ we are to live in him, rooted and growing in him, keeping on believing and keeping his teaching (trusting and obeying him), with thankfulness. “See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:8-9).

Believers have been “born-again,” (John 3:3, 5-8) through the indwelling Holy Spirit, into what is truly life through Christ, who is the sovereign ruler above all authority. Believers have been “circumcised” in Christ by a “circumcision” (of the heart) not made by human hands in our flesh, but by putting off our fleshly nature. We have been “buried” with Christ in baptism so that we can share in Christ’s resurrection to eternal life through faith in God’s power.

John Paraphrase:

Jesus assured his disciples that God would give them whatever they prayed for in Jesus’ name (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right, home). Jesus promised his disciples that the time was coming when Jesus’ teachings would be made clear to them. He assured them that they could ask God directly in Jesus’ name for what they need because God loves Jesus’ disciples because they love Jesus and believe that he came from God.

Jesus told them he came into the world from God and that he was leaving the world to return to God. The disciples thought that they fully understood what Jesus was saying, and that they were fully convinced that Jesus was the Christ.

Commentary:

God initiated a covenant between himself and Abraham and Abraham’s descendants. Abraham and Sarah were beyond the age of childbearing, and had no children. God promised that, if Abraham and his descendants trusted and obeyed the Lord, the Lord would be their God. God promised to give them the Promised Land for an everlasting inheritance, and he promised that kings of people would come from among Abraham’s descendants. Abraham believed God’s promise, and he acted on it in faith.

God kept his promises to Abraham. Kings did come from among his descendants, climaxed by the coming of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, the Lord of the Universe, who is “the head of all rule and authority” (Colossians 2:10). Jesus is Emmanuel (“God with us;” Matthew 1:23), God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). Believers are to be “rooted” in Christ and growing in trust and obedience.

Jesus’ assurance that God would answer prayers in Jesus’ name was made to the disciples of Jesus. Merely adding Jesus’ name to the prayer does not obligate God to respond. God promised Abraham that if Abraham and his descendants walked in trust and obedience to the Lord, the Lord would be their God. The Lord is God, whether we obey him or not, but God has no obligation to bless us if we do not trust and obey him.

The disciples declared that they understood what Jesus was saying and that they knew that Jesus knew all things and that he was the Christ. They didn’t yet understand fully; they weren’t yet mature disciples, but they persevered through Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. They stayed rooted and growing in Jesus.

After the resurrection Jesus opened the minds of his disciples to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45) and he told them to stay in Jerusalem until they had been filled with the indwelling Holy Spirit [Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5. Christians should be “discipled” within the Church (the New Jerusalem) until they have received the indwelling Holy Spirit, before they are sent out into the world in ministry.] This is an illustration of the difference between “professing” Christians and “Born-Again” Christians.

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)?

Friday January 2 - Odd
First Posted: 01/02/05
Podcast: Friday January 2 - Odd

Genesis 12:1-7 -    God’s call of Abraham;
Hebrews 11:1-12    -    Examples of faith;
John 6:35-42, 48-51    -    The bread of life;

Genesis Parpahrase:

Abram, (later named Abraham by God), had gone with his father, Terah, and Abram’s nephew Lot, from Ur in Chaldea (Babylon; present-day Iraq) intending to go to Canaan, but they settled in Haran (in modern Syria). After his father’s death, Abram, Sarai (later, “Sarah”), Abram’s wife and Lot, his nephew, continued their journey to Canaan, by the call and guidance of God.

God told Abram that Abram was to go to a land God would show him, and God promised to make him the father of a great nation, and through Abram all the nations of earth would be blessed. God promised to bless those who blessed Abram’s dynasty, and curse those who cursed them.

Abram went as the Lord God commanded him, with his wife, his nephew, all the people of his household, and all his possessions. He passed through Canaan to Shechem (midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, and west of the Jordan River) to an oak tree at Moreh. There the Lord appeared to Abram and promised to give that land to Abram’s descendants, so Abram built an altar to the Lord there.

Hebrews Paraphrase:

Faith is being certain of the fulfillment of hope (in the promises of God’s Word); 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 diligently 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 Paraphrase:

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Jesus declared that not all who had seen him believed in him. God knows all who will come to Jesus, and Jesus will reject none who come to him.

Jesus came into this world, not to do his own will, but to accomplish God’s will. God’s will is that none who have trusted in Jesus Christ will be lost; they will be raised to eternal life on the last day. God’s will is that all who see that Jesus is the Son of God and believe (trust and obey) him will have eternal life, and Jesus will raise him to eternal life in the Day of Judgment.

The Jews criticized Jesus for claiming to be the “bread from heaven,” because they knew his earthly parentage. Jesus answered, saying that Jesus is the bread of life. The forefathers ate manna, but manna did not give them eternal life. Jesus is the true, living, bread from heaven which gives eternal life. If anyone accepts this bread, the fleshly body of Christ, he will live eternally.

Commentary:

God called Abraham to leave his home and go to a new land God promised to show him. God promised he would make Abraham the father of a great nation, and would bless Abraham so that Abraham would be a blessing to others.

Abraham heard God’s call and did as the Lord commanded him! As he was obedient to God’s Word, God revealed himself to Abraham. God promised to give the land to Abraham’s descendants. Abraham believed God was faithful and able to do what God promised, and Abraham built an altar to the Lord and worshiped God there.

Abraham is the physical father of Israel, but he is the spiritual father of the “New Israel,” the Christian Church (Romans 4:11-12).

God is still calling people to leave their old lives to follow God’s Word and to go to a new (spiritual) place which he will show us, and as we go in obedient trust in his Word, he will reveal himself to us.

God reveals himself to us only through Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word in human flesh (John 1:1-5; 14). Jesus is the only way (John 14:6) to have forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), salvation from eternal death, restoration to eternal life, and personal fellowship with God, beginning now in this temporal world (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home). That eternal life and personal fellowship with God is only possible by the gift 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, 21, 23).

Faith is not like “wishing on a star;” it’s not getting whatever we believe if we believe hard enough. Faith is not like an “opinion;” it’s not like believing it will rain tomorrow. Saving faith is obedient trust in God’s Word, revealed in Jesus Christ.

True faith is revealed by action (James 2:18b). Hope in anything other than God’s Word will ultimately and eternally fail. It seemed humanly impossible that Abraham and Sarah would conceive a child, whose descendants would be a vast innumerable nation, but God is able and faithful to do what he promises, and as they trusted and obeyed, Abraham and Sarah received what God promised.

Without a faith which trusts and obeys God, one cannot please God. Although Abraham did not live to see the fulfillment of the inheritance of the earthly Promised Land, he did, through faith, receive the inheritance of the eternal Promised Land.

God’s purpose has always been to create an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. The meaning and purpose of this temporal lifetime is to allow us to seek and come to a personal knowledge of, and fellowship with, God (Acts 17:26-27). In order to seek and find God we must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. As we trust and obey God’s Word he will manifest himself to us.

Jesus promised that he is the “bread of (eternal) life.” Jesus promises that he will satisfy the spiritual hunger and thirst and sustain life eternally for those who trust and obey Jesus’ word, which is God’s Word (John 14:24).

Jesus is the source of “living water,” the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, that sustains eternal life (John 7:38-39). 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).

Jesus will save with eternal life and resurrection from physical death all who come to him and believe in him. God’s will is that all who recognize that Jesus is the Son of God will be saved from eternal death. God loves us and doesn’t want anyone to perish eternally (John 3:16-17). But not everyone will be willing to acknowledge, trust and obey Jesus.

The Jews had God’s Word, the Bible scriptures and God’s promise of a Savior. They had the physical manifestation and ministry of Jesus Christ, and yet they rejected him, fulfilling God’s Word in Jesus Christ that not everyone who saw him would believe, trust and obey Jesus.

Saturday January 3 - Odd
First posted 01/03/05;
Podcast: Saturday January 3 - Odd

Genesis 28:10-22 - Jacob’s dream;
Hebrews 11:13-22 - Faith;
John 10:7-17 - The Good Shepherd;

Genesis Paraphrase:

Jacob, grandson of Abraham through Isaac, set out to Haran (in present-day Syria) to take a wife from among his Grandfather’s relatives (since he was not to marry a Canaanite (indigenous; native) woman; Genesis 28:1-2). He left Beersheba in Southern Canaan traveling north and he came to a place where he slept overnight out in the open, since it was uninhabited. He used a rock in the place for a pillow.

During the night he had a dream of a ladder from earth to heaven, and he saw angels of God ascending and descending on it. In the dream God spoke to Jacob, identifying himself as the God of Jacob’s father and grandfather.

God promised Jacob that he would protect Jacob and provide for him on his journey and would bring him back to this land, which God would give to Jacob and his descendants. God promised that Jacobs’s descendants would be numerous beyond counting. By Jacob and his descendants all the people on earth would be blessed.

Jacob awakened from the dream and he realized that God was in this place; that it was the house of God and the gate of heaven. Jacob took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it up as a pillar marking a sanctuary, and anointed it to consecrate it to God.

Jacob named the place Bethel, meaning “House of God” (although the Canaanites had called the place Luz). Jacob made a vow to God that if God provided for him as God had promised, Jacob would worship him as his God and would give God a tenth of all that God provided.

Hebrews Paraphrase:

All the Old Testament heroes of faith died believing but not having received what had been promised; they had only envisioned it from afar, having understood that they were aliens and exiles on this earth. The homeland for which they longed is not of this world; if it had been, they would have had opportunity to return, but they longed for a better one; a heavenly one. Because they longed for a better land than this world, God is not ashamed to be their God, and he has prepared a city (the heavenly Jerusalem) for them.

When Abraham was tested, he was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on whom God’s promise rested. He trusted that God was able even to raise the dead, and so he did, figuratively speaking, receive Isaac as back from the dead (through the substitution of the ram; Genesis 22:12-13). [Please Note: God will never ask you to do anything which will harm or endanger yourself or anyone!]

By faith Isaac blessed his sons Jacob & Esau, and by faith Jacob (Israel) blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, his grandsons by Joseph. Joseph died in Egypt in bondage, but by faith he trusted in God to bring the Israelites out of bondage and back to the Promised Land, and gave instructions for them to carry his bones with them for burial in the Promised Land (Genesis 50:24-25).

John Paraphrase:

Jesus declared that he is the door of the “sheep” (his followers), that allows them to enter the security of the sheep-fold (pen), and opens to allow them to find pasture. All who came before Jesus (messianic pretenders; anyone who offers salvation through any other means than by faith in Jesus Christ) are thieves and robbers. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; Jesus came to give life abundantly (beyond measure).

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep. He cares personally for each sheep as his own, not like a hired person who only cares about getting paid. The hired person abandons the sheep when he sees a wolf coming, because he cares about himself and not for the sheep. So the wolf is able to snatch and scatter the sheep. Jesus knows each of his sheep, and his sheep know Jesus, as intimately as God the Father knows Jesus and Jesus knows God his Father.

Jesus declared that he was going to lay down his life for his sheep. Jesus declared that he had other sheep (the Gentiles; not just the Jews). They will obey Jesus and Jesus will bring them together into one flock, with one shepherd, Jesus. That is the reason Jesus is going to lay down his life; and he will take it again (by rising from the dead, to eternal life), because God the Father loves Jesus for being willing to be obedient unto death.

Commentary:

Jacob had begun his journey by obeying the command of the God of his father. As he began to walk in obedience, God manifested himself to Jacob, out in the middle of “nowhere.”

Jacob had a vision of the angels of God ascending and descending on a ladder from earth to heaven. The Lord promised to protect Jacob on his journey and bring him safely to the Promised Land. God also promised that all the people would be blessed through Jacob’s descendants.

Jacob believed God’s promise, and he made a commitment to worship the Lord as his God, and to tithe (a tenth) of all that God provided. God was no longer the God of his father; he was now Jacob’s God. Jacob was amazed to realize that God was “bigger” than he imagined; God was not confined to one geographic location.

All of these Old Testament examples of faith were descendants of Abraham, through Jacob, and heirs of the promise of a land and God’s blessing. They believed God’s promise and acted upon it in obedience, and they died in faith, not having received the fulfillment of the promise.

God’s promises are faithful and true. God did protect Jacob and bring him back to Bethel (Genesis 35:1-15). Abraham trusted and obeyed God to the point of being willing to offer, as a blood-sacrifice, his son, Isaac, the son through whom God’s promise was to be fulfilled.

They passed their faith in God’s blessing on to their children. Joseph believed God’s promise of a land so that, even though he died in Egypt, he arranged to have his body embalmed to be carried throughout the wilderness wandering and to be eventually buried in the Promised Land.

Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through whom all people of Earth will be blessed. (Matthew 1:1-2, 16). Jesus is the fulfillment of Jacob’s vision of a ladder between heaven and earth, by whom the blessings of God descend, and by which we can ascend into the eternal kingdom (John 1:51).

Jesus is the door (the only door; John 14:6; Acts 4:12) through whom his followers go to find eternal security and spiritual sustenance: bread (John 6:35), water (John 7:37-38), and light of life (John 8:12). Jesus is the Good Shepherd! Jews and Gentiles have been united in one flock (1Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:28) in Jesus Christ.

God did give his beloved only begotten Son as a blood sacrifice for our forgiveness and salvation; God only asked but did not require Abraham to so do to Isaac, to test Abraham’s faith, and as an illustration of what God was going to do for us.

Jesus laid down his life for us, in trust and obedience to God his Father, believing that God was able to raise him from death to life. The Apostles, the Bible and all “born-again” Christians can attest to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection from death to eternal life.

In a sense Christians are all, like the Old Testament patriarchs, required to walk in trust and obedience without seeing the eternal fulfillment of the promise, but if we will trust and obey Jesus during our journey through life, he will use our trust and obedience to prove his power, faithfulness and love, so that we can be sure of the Promised Land, without having seen it this side of eternity.

If we will consecrate ourselves to God in Jesus Christ by trust and obedience, he will anoint us with his indwelling Holy Spirit (compare Genesis 28:18) which is the seal and guarantee that we are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16) and we can be “pillars” in God’s House.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Week of 1 Christmas - Odd - 12/28/2014 - 01/03/2015

Shepherdboy David

google translation

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