Thankful

I laughed, I cried, I was blessed as I read about God's way of changing lives.

Please share in my joy and read this short life story of the 2nd Chapter of Acts.

http://www.2ndchapterofacts.com/History.html

I'm what you need

Numbers 18:20 NLT

And the Lord said to Aaron, “You priests will receive no allotment of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your share and your allotment.

Numbers 27:5-7 NLT

So Moses brought their case before the Lord . And the Lord replied to Moses, “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father.

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Different people different lessons. God's word isn't monochrome. The priests taught us the promise land was first and foremost about the promise giver and His presence with God people. We ultimately don't have to be trapped by the greed of the name and claim it culture often invading Christianity. To be sure the priests were not going without, but thier self sufficiency - live off the land - American dream was severely limited by God. If the people obeyed God then the Tabernacle, sacrifices, and "taxes" would supply an abundance. The people would also have to trust God through the years of Jubilee and even the weekly Sabbath.

But don't think that God is unconcerned with justice in the distribution of land. In Numbers 27 we have a unique and just precident. Women had the same right as men to the ownership of property and this was for the insurance of carrying on the rights of the family. The purpose isn't too reinforce the rights of the individual but rather to insure the rights of the family were protected and that women had the right to claim the property continuance for the family.

This checks and balance system shows God's love for his people. A love that sets the focus of the people on trusting God and that recognised the importance of property but only in the context of family and trusting in God as our ultimate Father and provider.

Serious business

Hebrews 10:26-39 NLT

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.” It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

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Sometimes people think of Jesus as a placebo for the conscience. Many view the church as having some social benefits for society now but they don't really believe that God will judge the world. Everyone wants a heaven in the future for their dead loved ones and themselves eventually but nobody seems to want to believe in hell.

But Jesus is real.
God's judgement is sure.
And nothing is worth facing the wrath of God for.

I can honestly say that no other passage in the Bible is more disturbing to me than this one.

When I was young I used to hear a lot about the debate surrounding assurance of salvation. It's one of the oldest concerns in the church.
It really is no more complicated than, 'what must I do to be saved.' And actually Jesus didn't make it easy.

I should rephrase that. Salvation is through grace alone! There are no works that buy your way into the Kingdom. You can't purchase it, or walk on your bloody knees praying to prove your devotion. For by grace are you saved through faith and faith is a gift from God, there are no works of man involved so that man can't boast that he saved himself. Jesus is the only way. 

Acts 4:12 NLT

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

I've always said that when you are born again and are a child of God then nothing can change that fact. I was born a Bode. No matter what happens in my life the fact that Don and Bunny are my parents will not change. So as  salvation is a gift from God based on God's grace, secured by the work done by Jesus on the cross, nothing I can do will change what God has done freely for me. 

I'm not a universalist. 

But I've also known that to enjoy any real benefits of knowing I'm a Bode, I need to be on speaking terms with mum and dad. To really bask in the joy of their love and acceptance, I need to seek them out, invite them around and ask for all their wisdom and knowledge on so many of the areas of life they know so much more than me.

To feel the assurance of the salvation given freely by God I need to be in relationship with him. Hugs are best in close proximity. Laughs are best shared spontaneously in normal living.

God isn't about you just gold digging without the love relationship. Heaven isn't heaven at all without God. Jesus isn't the genie of the lamp. And you aren't going to pull a fast one over on God.

He isn't going to allow the very very serious death of Jesus on the cross be mocked by those saying they are family when in fact they are not.

You either love the Father and therefore his Son and all they stand for or you are not actually part of the family.

Don't  think you can say you know and love your Father because of what Jesus did for you and then completely ignore what Jesus did for you.

A few things you may have missed about Abraham

Genesis 25:1-18 ESV

1Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country. 

7These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years. 8Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

12These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son,whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa,15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17(These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.

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Did you know that Abraham had at least two wives and concubines and the liaison with Hagar?

Did you know Abraham sent all his concubines and sons away to the East with gifts?

Did you know Ishmael and Isaac together buried thier Father Abraham?
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God is not endorsing Abraham's choices.
Have we forgot already that this is a story about God?

A Sheffield Working Man's Hero

But let's learn some things through a little review. God spent a lot of time on the Abraham project.
(How long has God been on your radar?)
Abraham lived 175 years. God didn't even ask Abram to start the journey of the covenant till he was 75 years old! So all the story we know spans the last 100 years of God's life. Of that bit, Isaac is the centre piece of the promise and he doesn't show up for 25 years! Lots of stuff happens but until Isaac is born were all wondering if God might have forgot. Well not really forgot but not sure what's going on. Then there is the sacrifice incident about 37 years after the call and initial promise. And although Genesis 25 puts a pretty good light on Abraham's life, the facts and a bit of reality sure look like a different story.

Abram is a foreigner with designs on other people's land. This would not make you immediately popular. Delayed by his dad's plans in Haran. Then he's moved out by famine to Egypt (this becomes a theme right through to Jesus). He had a run in with Egyptian authority's over a woman and convenient truth. Then he has a full scale war and had to rescue Lot. They have more encounters with God along the way, a city destroyed by fire from heaven , a pillar of salt for a niece-in-law, and the Hagar situation which becomes a major domestic scene. Things look like they might be turning around, over the years business had been good, Sarah had Isaac, God provided a lamb in the faith test. And then Sarah dies. So although once a foreigner always a foreigner, when faced with funeral negotiations for his wife Sarah's resting place the locals appear to be cordial enough.
Then we read about more wives, concubines and family schisms. And after all this time, waiting, trusting, and often doing the wrong thing Abraham's two sons Isaac and Ishmael who represent the biggest family feud many times worse and longer than the Hatfields and the McCoys, come together and bury their Father.

Abraham is not the star,  nor the villain.

We are not to read the bible story making our own saints of men who have exemplary faith or moral character.

We are to marvel at what God is doing through and in spite of mankind. What God is doing is on their behalf to glorify himself through his promise. A promise always pointing to Jesus. Whether we look back or forward with an expectation of his return or we were Abraham wondering why I'm sending away Ishmael or binding Isaac we are trusting God to write the story for his glory. and that is the way it should be.

This should help you get past yourself, your timetables, your judgemental attitudes and ask yourself, "What does God want me to believe about himself?"
What promise fulfilled in Jesus am I trusting in?

How can I quit trying to get my name on the marquee of my life's story.

Most Christians these days would be too embarrassed to have the things written about Abraham written in their biography. Abraham could never have been a church leader in the contemporary Christian church.

We think we are better than Abraham. And come to think of it we'd not have done ministry like Jesus did either.

We know better.

Don't we?

Messy Families?

Sunday, December 23, 2012
And you think your family is messy....
I'm inviting you to read the family tree of Jesus recorded by the apostle Matthew. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector who became a disciple of Jesus. If you are at all familiar with the stories of the Bible, this list will remind you of many triumphant and tragic family stories. As you read the list, why not join me in trying to recall what you can remember from the true life dramas that are the lead up to the life of Jesus.

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This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon). After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

http://bible.us/Matt1.1.NLT

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Victims of rape,  notoriously evil world leaders, patriarchs of nations and faith,  foreigners and the icons of the ethnic identity,  prostitutes, and widows of murdered soldiers all share this list. If ever there was a list that could be described as "the good, the bad, and the ugly," this is it.
You would hardly expect any currently media-groomed political figure to be so honest about their family background. If you need any evidence of what people will do to your reputation based on your family background, have a look at the viciousness of the Americans opposed to Barack Obama. Rumours, accusations and runaway imaginations have filled volumes of conspiracy theories.

When the Bible tells us about the entrance of the Saviour-Messiah-Son of God, it offers the facts in all their messy, easily-misconstrued glory.
And glorious it is.

Jesus the Messiah came by the power of the Holy Spirit.

He came from us, to us,  and is one of us. Yet he is other. He comes from outside our world and experience and yet at once from an established family background, so rooted in our past and history.

As you consider Jesus can you accept he is at once a human just like you and at the same time completely unique and from God?

What do you see when you look at Jesus' family history?

Do you see the promise of God unfolding through the centuries, twisting and turning, waxing and waning, leading to this act 1 scene 1 of the life of our Savior?

How can this story ever become mundane?

“He’s out of his mind,”

Mark 3:21-22 NLT

When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said. But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”
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“I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven,  but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.”Mark 3:28-29

Does it scare you when you read about the unforgiveable sin?

It should! It's not murder, genocide, racism, paedophilia or rape that are unforgiveable. They'll be forgiven.

The unforgiveable sin is misrepresentation of the work of God. In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus' enemies claimed God's Son, Jesus, was actually controlled by Satan.

The Pharisees claimed to represent God. They claimed they knew what God was doing. And with that authority they declared that Jesus was not from God but was actually from Satan. Persisting along these lines would further blind them to the truth and harden their hearts.
Jesus was from God. The Holy Spirit of God was leading Jesus and empowering him. The best news God ever proclaimed was that Jesus, the Son of God, was the Saviour of the World who came from the Father to forgive sinners and welcome them into God’s kingdom.

The Pharisees, claiming to be speaking from a position of God’s authority, were saying God's Saviour Jesus was in fact from Satan.

Jesus says that's unforgiveable!

Interestingly, Jesus' family was also misrepresenting Jesus. They were saying he was crazy. Now we know  Jesus' mother was a believer, and we know at least one of Jesus' brothers is not only a believer but becomes the leader of the church in Jerusalem.
Jesus wasn't crazy. Just because he was healing people, missing meals and working hard proclaiming the Kingdom of God, was no reason to say he was "out of his mind".  Still Jesus isn't really rebuking his family with the same severity that he has the Pharisees.
Jesus is saying his family is God's family! And that included a lot of people.
Do you see why what the Pharisees were saying was so much worse? Jesus was welcoming people into God's family and He alone was the only way anyone would ever get in. Without Jesus no one would ever be saved. The Pharisees were, in effect, going to damn every one in the whole world to God's wrath and judgment by claiming the only rescue God sent was from Satan.

Jesus is not from Satan! 

He is not out of his mind either.

Jesus is God's much anticipated Messiah King who comes to welcome sinners into God's kingdom. Jesus calls the sinner to repent of his sin and to believe in Jesus and his way of life through the cross.
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Mark 3:20-35 NLT

One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said. But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.” Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked. “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.  Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.  And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive.  Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house. “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven,  but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.”  He told them this because they were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.” Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”  Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers.  Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Do you know what you are?

Matthew 9:13 NLT

Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

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I don't need any convincing. I know I'm a sinner. Do you?

Most people think they are righteous, but they'd be mistaken. I'm not a good man. You are not a good person. You would not achieve betterment of you had more education. No one would develop a greater love for God or a higher moral calibre if they were put in a better environment. Our problem isn't or parents or our income. We wouldn't become more saintly if we deny ourselves more by emptying our mind of desire. We can not give ourselves into the black and out of the red.

We are sinners. We love to sin. We hate to be told what to do. We want our own way. We do not want God ruling our hearts. We think we know best. We think that given the right circumstances we'll improve. We're not too bad actually, is a falsehood we cling to.

Oh and we want to be worshiped. We want to be noticed, thought of as wise, clever, beautiful, strong, good, or desirable.

We want to be God!

We are not God.

We, you and I are sinners.

We hate. We kill. We lust. We're selfish. We're lazy. We're proud. We're insatiable. We're greedy. I'm self obsessed. I want to be heard. God is the word of life. I want to be clever and thought of as clever. God knows everything. I know very little and much of what I claim to know is a lie.

Do you know what you are? Or do you deceive yourself?

You and I are sinners.

You can't not be a Christian if you don't know you are a sinner. You can not follow Jesus of you maintain your pride. You can not be saved of you continue to believe a lie.

Do you know what you are?

When you read the Bible or you hear the word of God it should strike a chord. The truth should be refreshing because if you agree with God, then you are free.
No more lies.

Read the Bible and you will see the truth you've tried so hard to hide. Tired of trying to be something you know in your heart of hearts you're never going to be left to your own devices?

The Bible says you are an enemy of God.

God loves his enemies.

The Bible says you are a moral failure because you care only for yourself.

Jesus becomes our righteousness.

The Bible says we are liars just like the Father of lies, Satan.

But we can be made new and have a new Father and be in the family of Jesus, who is truth personified.

Do you know who you are?

Do you know who God wants to make you?

Are you a delivery service?

Psalms 82:3-4 NLT

“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.

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Whose job is it to help the poor? Child of God it is yours! You are God's hands and feet. You are his eyes and the means he'll use to rescue the poor. God wants you to help the needy.

In what ways are you reducing the oppression of the poor? How are you making sure the courts are just? Have you helped the orphan or widow?

Often the rich are preferred over the poor.

The poor are made to feel shame for their situation. They are humiliated, looked down on because their clothes aren't nice enough, they don't have cars, nice homes, good gadgets or terrific holidays.

Don't make the poor feel shame.

Lift then up. Then you will be like God and show you are part of his family.