10 December 2009
Psalm 37:1-18; Amos 9:1-10; Rev. 2:8-17; Matt. 23:13-26
This is a fearsome vision of the destruction of the people of God. In it are images familiar from Psalm 139 where David speaks of not being able to escape from God, ultimately finding it to be a source of comfort. Here, however, there is no comfort to be found in any place. The judgment of God is complete and his anger unabated against them. The judgment is against the sinful, it is not utter destruction, a righteous remnant will remain. God’s judgment is never unjust, it falls on those who have rejected Him and His ways, and now, His Son.
Jesus speaks directly to those who bear responsibility for the law, the scribes and Pharisees. They have taken this responsibility upon themselves and have received public acclaim for their work. Jesus says that they have mis-interpreted and mis-applied the law. Their logic is not good in their teaching and that teaching reveals their own values. They value gold and offerings above the temple itself and thus the God of the temple. His words concerning the tithe are in line with the words the prophets have spoken time and again, calling them to true righteousness which has to do with justice and mercy first and other things later. The final admonition is the reminder that God sees the heart and the heart is the source of sin and of righteousness, the source of desires.
These two letters mince no words and speak directly to the two churches. The first speaks of a coming persecution of the church in Smyrna and an admonition to persevere in the faith and witness in order to receive life. The second speaks of the sin of holding to the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolatians. Jewish teaching concerning Balaam is that he instructed the king of Moab that the way to destroy Israel was not militarily but rather by sending the beautiful women of Moab to tempt the Israelites, become their wives and then entice them to follow their gods. In all these things, sex was more important than the Lord. It isn’t just our modern world that was sexually obsessed. Righteousness matters to God and we, as forgiven sinners, are called to a greater righteousness made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. The cross isn’t a get out of jail free card, it is the way to the life God wants us to live.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
9 December 2009
Psalm 38; Amos 8:1-14; Rev. 1:17-2:7; Matt. 23:1-12
Amos continues to call for justice in the land. The accusation against them is that they are driven entirely by commercial interests, desiring not to worship God but instead only to do business and, if that weren’t enough, desiring to do so dishonestly. The great punishment of God in all this is that there will be a famine in the land of hearing the word of God. Along with the other judgments this one will cut them off from hope. When they need to hear from God, He will be silent.
Jesus is doing away with the organization chart. They are accustomed to a second hand relationship with God, mediated through priests and scribes, professional religious people. The sacrificial system actually required all this. Sacrifices must be done at the temple and the only ones authorized to offer them were the priests. The law needed to be interpreted in order to be applied, so you needed someone to interpret it, thus the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. The problem was the motives of the leaders were as wrong as the people of Amos’ day. Jesus’ sacrifice would open the way to a more direct relationship with God, no priests offered that sacrifice, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit means that the law is written on our hearts, we don’t need another to interpret. It isn’t that there is no need for anyone to preach or interpret the Word, we can always learn from one another, but it does mean that we can seek the Lord on our own and receive wisdom and knowledge.
The letter to the church at Ephesus is similar in some ways to much of the prophetic books of the Bible but remarkably dissimilar in one important way. The similarity is the accusation of abandoning the love they had at first. They have made secondary things primary things and in the process lost the one primary thing. The dissimilarity comes in the encouragement they receive in this brief letter. We are always tempted to make secondary things primary but we must constantly resist that temptation and keep the love of God primary. Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 6 was to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will be added remains true. We allow other things to take precedence, sometimes good things, but the love of God must always be primary.
Do not forsake me, O LORD!
O my God, be not far from me!
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
Psalm 38; Amos 8:1-14; Rev. 1:17-2:7; Matt. 23:1-12
Amos continues to call for justice in the land. The accusation against them is that they are driven entirely by commercial interests, desiring not to worship God but instead only to do business and, if that weren’t enough, desiring to do so dishonestly. The great punishment of God in all this is that there will be a famine in the land of hearing the word of God. Along with the other judgments this one will cut them off from hope. When they need to hear from God, He will be silent.
Jesus is doing away with the organization chart. They are accustomed to a second hand relationship with God, mediated through priests and scribes, professional religious people. The sacrificial system actually required all this. Sacrifices must be done at the temple and the only ones authorized to offer them were the priests. The law needed to be interpreted in order to be applied, so you needed someone to interpret it, thus the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. The problem was the motives of the leaders were as wrong as the people of Amos’ day. Jesus’ sacrifice would open the way to a more direct relationship with God, no priests offered that sacrifice, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit means that the law is written on our hearts, we don’t need another to interpret. It isn’t that there is no need for anyone to preach or interpret the Word, we can always learn from one another, but it does mean that we can seek the Lord on our own and receive wisdom and knowledge.
The letter to the church at Ephesus is similar in some ways to much of the prophetic books of the Bible but remarkably dissimilar in one important way. The similarity is the accusation of abandoning the love they had at first. They have made secondary things primary things and in the process lost the one primary thing. The dissimilarity comes in the encouragement they receive in this brief letter. We are always tempted to make secondary things primary but we must constantly resist that temptation and keep the love of God primary. Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 6 was to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will be added remains true. We allow other things to take precedence, sometimes good things, but the love of God must always be primary.
Do not forsake me, O LORD!
O my God, be not far from me!
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
December 8, 2009
8 December 2009
Psalm 26, 28; Amos 7:10-17; Rev. 1:9-16; Matt. 22:34-46
Not surprisingly, the prophet’s words are not warmly received in Israel by either priest or king. Bethel is the site of the temple of the northern kingdom of Israel, the word meaning “house of God.” It was the oldest worship site in the land, dating to the time of Jacob. It is the place where Jacob saw the vision of heaven standing open, angels ascending and descending on the ladder. Jerusalem, however, seems clearly to have been the site God chose for the worship of the nation. The kingdom was divided into two sections, with Israel being the northern kingdom and Judah being the southern, during the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Israel was made up of 10 tribes and Judah, two, Judah and Benjamin. At that time Bethel was re-established as the site of worship for the northerners. Amos states that he isn’t a prophet for hire, that he was called from his day job with the word of God.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day prove themselves as unreceptive to prophets than the leaders of Amos’ day. Attempting to establish a pecking order among the commandments, the Pharisees send a lawyer (expert in the law) to ask Jesus a question. Jesus’ answer distills the commandments to two, love God, love your neighbor. The question is one that occupied the minds of the legal scholars, trying to summarize the law more succinctly. Since it seems that this one is an expert, Jesus returns the favor by asking a question of the expert concerning the Messiah. Jesus proves more adept at Bible games than the expert in proving that the Messiah is greater than David and therefore cannot be David’s son but his superior.
The imagery John sees here relates to Daniel’s prophetic vision. It should not be surprising that the two should correspond so closely as they are both revelations of and by the same God. John’s revelation is more complete as he is able to identify this Son of Man who remained an enigma to Daniel and those who do not know Jesus. John’s book here is prophecy in the same sense as the Old Testament prophets. It will be written to the people of God in seven particular churches in the form of letters of both commendation and condemnation, a warning of what will happen if correction is not made. We need to be able to hear from the Lord that we are not getting it right in some of what we do, we should always be open to correction as we continue to struggle to follow the Lord. Our humanness still carries weight in all we do and we tend to need course correction.
Blessed be the LORD!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
Psalm 26, 28; Amos 7:10-17; Rev. 1:9-16; Matt. 22:34-46
Not surprisingly, the prophet’s words are not warmly received in Israel by either priest or king. Bethel is the site of the temple of the northern kingdom of Israel, the word meaning “house of God.” It was the oldest worship site in the land, dating to the time of Jacob. It is the place where Jacob saw the vision of heaven standing open, angels ascending and descending on the ladder. Jerusalem, however, seems clearly to have been the site God chose for the worship of the nation. The kingdom was divided into two sections, with Israel being the northern kingdom and Judah being the southern, during the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Israel was made up of 10 tribes and Judah, two, Judah and Benjamin. At that time Bethel was re-established as the site of worship for the northerners. Amos states that he isn’t a prophet for hire, that he was called from his day job with the word of God.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day prove themselves as unreceptive to prophets than the leaders of Amos’ day. Attempting to establish a pecking order among the commandments, the Pharisees send a lawyer (expert in the law) to ask Jesus a question. Jesus’ answer distills the commandments to two, love God, love your neighbor. The question is one that occupied the minds of the legal scholars, trying to summarize the law more succinctly. Since it seems that this one is an expert, Jesus returns the favor by asking a question of the expert concerning the Messiah. Jesus proves more adept at Bible games than the expert in proving that the Messiah is greater than David and therefore cannot be David’s son but his superior.
The imagery John sees here relates to Daniel’s prophetic vision. It should not be surprising that the two should correspond so closely as they are both revelations of and by the same God. John’s revelation is more complete as he is able to identify this Son of Man who remained an enigma to Daniel and those who do not know Jesus. John’s book here is prophecy in the same sense as the Old Testament prophets. It will be written to the people of God in seven particular churches in the form of letters of both commendation and condemnation, a warning of what will happen if correction is not made. We need to be able to hear from the Lord that we are not getting it right in some of what we do, we should always be open to correction as we continue to struggle to follow the Lord. Our humanness still carries weight in all we do and we tend to need course correction.
Blessed be the LORD!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
December 7, 2009
Psalm 25; Amos 7:1-9; Rev. 1:1-8; Matt. 22:23-33
Amos successfully intercedes for the nation on two occasions. The first two judgments shown, locusts and fire, caused him to plead with God not to bring them as they will destroy the nation. The third part of the vision involves the plumb-line, that which measures whether a vertical plane is truly vertical. The law served as the plumb for the nation. The prophecy of Amos concerning Judah in the second chapter is different from the judgment of God on other nations (Gentiles) in that the transgressions of the nations are specified while in the case of Judah it is said, “because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.” The nation has a unique responsibility for the law and it serves as the plumb-line against which they will be measured. The judgment of God is not arbitrary or capricious.
The Pharisees have tried to trick Jesus and now it is the Sadducees turn. Their ridiculous parable fails to achieve its goal in that Jesus simply tells them they are denying Scripture to believe there is no resurrection of the dead. His answer begins with that flat statement that they don’t know Scripture nor do they know the “power of God.” They have made everything logically work, no miracles allowed, God is defined out of the picture. In essence they are early materialists who believe in a closed system, what we see is what is and nothing comes into the system or intervenes in it from outside. Jesus, standing among them, is proof that their logical system doesn’t work, but they have refused to believe He is indeed the incarnate God. His answer is also judgment. He is holding them accountable to the revelation they have received as the people of God, and finds them wanting.
Jesus has become the plumb-line. The testimony of Jesus is that by which everyone will be judged, on answering the question He posed to the disciples at Caesarea Philippi, “Who do you say that I am?” We will be judged first on that answer and then on the witness of our lives to the truth of our answer. Life lived according to His commands to love God and love your neighbor, walking in His ways, is the testament He is looking for. Our lives testify to what we truly believe. As the song says, “When it's all been said and done, There is just one thing that matters. Did I do my best to live for truth? Did I live my life for you?”
Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Psalm 25; Amos 7:1-9; Rev. 1:1-8; Matt. 22:23-33
Amos successfully intercedes for the nation on two occasions. The first two judgments shown, locusts and fire, caused him to plead with God not to bring them as they will destroy the nation. The third part of the vision involves the plumb-line, that which measures whether a vertical plane is truly vertical. The law served as the plumb for the nation. The prophecy of Amos concerning Judah in the second chapter is different from the judgment of God on other nations (Gentiles) in that the transgressions of the nations are specified while in the case of Judah it is said, “because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.” The nation has a unique responsibility for the law and it serves as the plumb-line against which they will be measured. The judgment of God is not arbitrary or capricious.
The Pharisees have tried to trick Jesus and now it is the Sadducees turn. Their ridiculous parable fails to achieve its goal in that Jesus simply tells them they are denying Scripture to believe there is no resurrection of the dead. His answer begins with that flat statement that they don’t know Scripture nor do they know the “power of God.” They have made everything logically work, no miracles allowed, God is defined out of the picture. In essence they are early materialists who believe in a closed system, what we see is what is and nothing comes into the system or intervenes in it from outside. Jesus, standing among them, is proof that their logical system doesn’t work, but they have refused to believe He is indeed the incarnate God. His answer is also judgment. He is holding them accountable to the revelation they have received as the people of God, and finds them wanting.
Jesus has become the plumb-line. The testimony of Jesus is that by which everyone will be judged, on answering the question He posed to the disciples at Caesarea Philippi, “Who do you say that I am?” We will be judged first on that answer and then on the witness of our lives to the truth of our answer. Life lived according to His commands to love God and love your neighbor, walking in His ways, is the testament He is looking for. Our lives testify to what we truly believe. As the song says, “When it's all been said and done, There is just one thing that matters. Did I do my best to live for truth? Did I live my life for you?”
Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
December 6, 2009
December 6, 2009
Psalm 148, 149, 150; Amos 6:1-14; 2 Thess. 1:5-12; Luke 1:57-68
Amos’ prophecy is more concerned with justice than any other. His words are spoken to those who are at ease in their wealth and who care nothing for those who suffer. The covenant with the nation was built on social justice and the welfare of all. The nation was to model God’s loving concern for all the people. Just as God had chosen Israel out of all the nations on earth for His loving-kindness and mercy, so were those in Israel who had much to show loving-kindness and mercy to those who did not. In so doing, they were showing themselves to be godly. The nation was the family of God and they were to care for one another by providing for one another as the Lord had provided for them a land when they were slaves. Amos’ call is to remind them of this obligation.
A child is born to the barren! Elizabeth and Zechariah, in their advanced age, give birth to a son who, in obedience to the word of the Lord, is to be called John in spite of the fact that no precedent existed within the family for this name. Zechariah’s doubts have turned to faith in obedience and his mouth is now opened in praise, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has looked favourably on His people and redeemed them.” The old priest sees this birth as God’s movement on behalf of His people, not just the answer to the prayers long uttered on his own behalf for a son. The circumstances of this child’s birth tell Zechariah that something is happening, justice is being established in Israel.
Paul speaks to the Thessalonians of the judgment of God to come, the establishment of true justice, when the guilty are punished and the afflicted are comforted. It is easy to be discouraged in this life when it seems that justice is not done, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Paul promises that all this will be reversed in the day of the Lord, that there is judgment in the end. When we are in the midst of the struggle, it seems unfair, but when we consider eternity we can begin to see how brief this struggle truly is. We are called to establish the kingdom now, in our places, just as the Israelites were in their day. How do we care for and provide for one another in the body of Christ in such a way as to show the world what true sacrifice and justice are?
Praise the LORD!Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Psalm 148, 149, 150; Amos 6:1-14; 2 Thess. 1:5-12; Luke 1:57-68
Amos’ prophecy is more concerned with justice than any other. His words are spoken to those who are at ease in their wealth and who care nothing for those who suffer. The covenant with the nation was built on social justice and the welfare of all. The nation was to model God’s loving concern for all the people. Just as God had chosen Israel out of all the nations on earth for His loving-kindness and mercy, so were those in Israel who had much to show loving-kindness and mercy to those who did not. In so doing, they were showing themselves to be godly. The nation was the family of God and they were to care for one another by providing for one another as the Lord had provided for them a land when they were slaves. Amos’ call is to remind them of this obligation.
A child is born to the barren! Elizabeth and Zechariah, in their advanced age, give birth to a son who, in obedience to the word of the Lord, is to be called John in spite of the fact that no precedent existed within the family for this name. Zechariah’s doubts have turned to faith in obedience and his mouth is now opened in praise, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has looked favourably on His people and redeemed them.” The old priest sees this birth as God’s movement on behalf of His people, not just the answer to the prayers long uttered on his own behalf for a son. The circumstances of this child’s birth tell Zechariah that something is happening, justice is being established in Israel.
Paul speaks to the Thessalonians of the judgment of God to come, the establishment of true justice, when the guilty are punished and the afflicted are comforted. It is easy to be discouraged in this life when it seems that justice is not done, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Paul promises that all this will be reversed in the day of the Lord, that there is judgment in the end. When we are in the midst of the struggle, it seems unfair, but when we consider eternity we can begin to see how brief this struggle truly is. We are called to establish the kingdom now, in our places, just as the Israelites were in their day. How do we care for and provide for one another in the body of Christ in such a way as to show the world what true sacrifice and justice are?
Praise the LORD!Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
December 5, 2009
December 5, 2009
Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14); Amos 5:18-27; Jude 17-25; Matt. 22:15-22
Often my prayer is, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” This prophetic word reminds me that the prayer is not without content. The day of the Lord is for judgment on the earth and the destruction of all things in order that the new creation can come into being. It is, quite literally, a purgation of all that is sinful. This passage contains a quote familiar to many Americans of a certain age, Martin Luther King spoke the words, “let justice roll down like waters” in the speech where he laid out his dream of a new America. This is a call to action, the establishment of what we would pray for, “your kingdom come.” It is a call to establish justice and righteousness and peace.
Flattery didn’t work any better for the Pharisees with Jesus than innumerable sacrifices did with God in the time of Amos. What a ridiculous preface to their little test, you are since, speak the truth, show deference to no one, you don’t regard anyone with partiality. His answer leaves them speechless. Can you imagine being one of the disciples and watching this exchange? Do you think the Pharisees caught the analogy using the word image? What belongs to God is that which bears His image. We worry more about the tithe of money than we do the whole of life.
Jude warns against worldliness, living in accord with the lusts of the flesh rather than living by the Spirit. Divisions in the church rarely have to do with spiritual things it seems and nothing has changed. We can spiritualize anything though and therefore justify our desires on spiritual grounds. The antidote is to keep our focus on Jesus, to seek the Lord and to do His will and other things will generally lose their import.
Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14); Amos 5:18-27; Jude 17-25; Matt. 22:15-22
Often my prayer is, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” This prophetic word reminds me that the prayer is not without content. The day of the Lord is for judgment on the earth and the destruction of all things in order that the new creation can come into being. It is, quite literally, a purgation of all that is sinful. This passage contains a quote familiar to many Americans of a certain age, Martin Luther King spoke the words, “let justice roll down like waters” in the speech where he laid out his dream of a new America. This is a call to action, the establishment of what we would pray for, “your kingdom come.” It is a call to establish justice and righteousness and peace.
Flattery didn’t work any better for the Pharisees with Jesus than innumerable sacrifices did with God in the time of Amos. What a ridiculous preface to their little test, you are since, speak the truth, show deference to no one, you don’t regard anyone with partiality. His answer leaves them speechless. Can you imagine being one of the disciples and watching this exchange? Do you think the Pharisees caught the analogy using the word image? What belongs to God is that which bears His image. We worry more about the tithe of money than we do the whole of life.
Jude warns against worldliness, living in accord with the lusts of the flesh rather than living by the Spirit. Divisions in the church rarely have to do with spiritual things it seems and nothing has changed. We can spiritualize anything though and therefore justify our desires on spiritual grounds. The antidote is to keep our focus on Jesus, to seek the Lord and to do His will and other things will generally lose their import.
Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
Friday, December 4, 2009
December 4, 2009
December 4, 2009
Psalm 16, 17; Amos 5:1-17; Jude 1-16; Matt. 22:1-14
The Lord promises the destruction of the nation. They have perverted justice and have accumulated wealth and not cared for the poor among them. Worse still, they have not sought the Lord. Fat and happy is usually our downfall. When Jesus said it was more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle He was revealing keen insight into human nature. Rare is the person who can have the things of earth and not lose things eternal. The prophet sees that their religious observances are not the problem but the condition of their hearts. This isn’t about religion, it’s about relationship, it is about loving God and loving your neighbor. This passage implores them to both.
Jesus speaks of losing your place at the table from disrespect. The king had invited them long in advance but when the day came they couldn’t be bothered to come to the wedding feast of the son. The king executed judgment against those who treated him with disdain and compelled others to come to fill the banquet. The one who is singled out here could have worn the wedding garment but apparently refused it when offered and came anyway. The “scandal of particularity” in theology says that there is but one way to the Father and that is Jesus. We must accept the offer of being clothed with Christ in order to enter the kingdom.
Jude says that what was promised in the prophets has now been accomplished. The Lord did as He said He would. Jude also speaks of the ones like the character in Jesus’ parable who would not wear the wedding robe, those among them who refuse the truth and so Jude calls his readers to contend for the faith once for all entrusted to the saints. It is our role to present a pure, spotless bride. We contend for the faith because it is the only way and it is our desire that no one be left out or cast out of the banquet. Truth matters and it matters ultimately to everyone, it is out of love for all that we contend for the faith, lest no one be deceived to eternal judgment. In that way, we have the role of prophet, warning the world of what is to come and that truth matters.
Psalm 16, 17; Amos 5:1-17; Jude 1-16; Matt. 22:1-14
The Lord promises the destruction of the nation. They have perverted justice and have accumulated wealth and not cared for the poor among them. Worse still, they have not sought the Lord. Fat and happy is usually our downfall. When Jesus said it was more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle He was revealing keen insight into human nature. Rare is the person who can have the things of earth and not lose things eternal. The prophet sees that their religious observances are not the problem but the condition of their hearts. This isn’t about religion, it’s about relationship, it is about loving God and loving your neighbor. This passage implores them to both.
Jesus speaks of losing your place at the table from disrespect. The king had invited them long in advance but when the day came they couldn’t be bothered to come to the wedding feast of the son. The king executed judgment against those who treated him with disdain and compelled others to come to fill the banquet. The one who is singled out here could have worn the wedding garment but apparently refused it when offered and came anyway. The “scandal of particularity” in theology says that there is but one way to the Father and that is Jesus. We must accept the offer of being clothed with Christ in order to enter the kingdom.
Jude says that what was promised in the prophets has now been accomplished. The Lord did as He said He would. Jude also speaks of the ones like the character in Jesus’ parable who would not wear the wedding robe, those among them who refuse the truth and so Jude calls his readers to contend for the faith once for all entrusted to the saints. It is our role to present a pure, spotless bride. We contend for the faith because it is the only way and it is our desire that no one be left out or cast out of the banquet. Truth matters and it matters ultimately to everyone, it is out of love for all that we contend for the faith, lest no one be deceived to eternal judgment. In that way, we have the role of prophet, warning the world of what is to come and that truth matters.
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