The Bethany Bullet-August 26, 2008

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

Paul gives us three things from the beginning of Romans 12:

• We are to offer bodily dedication
• We are to avoid worldly contamination
• We experience Godly transformation

First of all a bodily dedication; Paul says to present our bodies as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God. This is worship talk.

In the Old Testament, animal sacrifice was the center of worship life. The temple in Jerusalem was where sacrifices were made and forgiveness gained. Old Testament sacrifices surrounded the death of a substitute so that mercy could be given through the blood of the sacrifice.

When Jesus took on flesh and walked the earth he became the ultimate sacrifice as he went to the cross, shed his own blood and died a horrible death so that all could experience the mercy of God. Because of Jesus we are all made holy.

Now we are asked to be a sacrifice. But this is a bit different. Because of Christ, we offer living sacrifices in our daily lives. As the priests in the Old Testament offered sacrifices, as our High Priest Jesus offered his own body as a sacrifice, we too as a royal priesthood redeemed by God now can offer our own bodies as living sacrifices.

Second, we need to avoid worldly contamination. This world, this age, is filled with sin. Sin is what separates us from God, it brings about death, it springs to life at opportune moments, and it is a reality for every human being. We all need to live our lives in view of God’s mercy instead of in view of our own actions.

Third, because of Christ we experience Godly transformation. As Paul urges the Romans to be transformed we could also translate it as “keep on being transformed”. It is a continual process that we find ourselves in because of the reality of sin in this world. Paul uses the Greek word, metamorphosis, to describe this transformation. A metamorphosis is a complete change from the inside out. It is the same word both Matthew and Mark used to describe our Lord on the mountain of transfiguration. When Jesus was transfigured, transformed, “metamorphosized”, as Mark describes it: His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. Or as Matthew writes: His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light.

When we look for the transformation that comes we can only look to one place. That is Jesus, who transformed himself in humility as he came to earth to perform the great transformation of all of his people so that we would be white as snow forgiven and ready to receive an eternal reward prepared for us from the foundation of the world. As Paul told the Corinthians: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17)

Only with God’s mercy in view can we

• Offer a bodily dedication
• Avoid worldly contamination
• And experience Godly transformation

God’s mercies are always before us but perhaps what we should remind ourselves each morning, “Is God’s mercy in view?”

The One Year Bible- August 25th

When I was in fourth grade I was in a school musical called “Esther and the King of Persia”. Now I was only in the chorus, but I had a ball. It was my first time on stage and the first time I remember hearing about the story of Esther. I remember an eighth grader named Johnny, who played to part of the king was awesome and I was scared of the guy who played Hamen. Since that day I have loved the story of Esther. I can still recall many of the songs we sang and some of the hand motions too. It was great to read an entire book in just a few days this week. This will happen again when we get into some of the smaller books of the Old and New Testaments. On to the study...

Vicar Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament
Like I mentioned last week, the events in the book of Esther take place before Nehemiah. This book was hotly contested when it was time to determine what books were in and out of the scriptures. In about 200 BC, Esther was almost taken out of the scriptures by Jewish theologians. There is no mention of YAHWEH or overt mention of God at all. Many believed it to be a secular historical account of the beginnings of the festival of Purim. One of the big things in the book of Esther for me is the idea that God is moving in history. By His guidance, both Esther and Mordecai were in the right place at the right time. They were used by God to bring about the deliverance of the chosen people and made for sure that the remnant would return. This took place so that prophecy about the Messiah would be fulfilled. Esther gives us insight into how God continues to act in this world for His will to be done. A lasting event from the story of Esther is the celebration of Purim. I found this on Wikipedia:

Purim (Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm "Lots", from Akkadian pūru) is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, giving mutual gifts of food and drink, giving charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal (Esther 9:22); other customs include drinking alcohol, wearing of masks and costumes, and public celebration.

Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar. (In cities that were walled in the time of Joshua, including Jerusalem, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of the month, known as Shushan Purim). As with all Jewish holidays, Purim begins at sundown on the previous secular day.

For more information of Purim, click here.

We started the book of Job this week as well. I will spend more time in the coming weeks on this book. The one thing I want you to watch out for is you need to know who is speaking. At times it is Job but other times it is his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar or others. Make sure you know who is speaking while you read. We did read about why Job is the way he is. He was a rich man with a big family and a good life. In one day all of that is taken away. This was not by chance, but by a character named Satan (the accuser). Satan talks with God and gets the O.K. to test Job. In Job 9:33-35, I wonder if Job is thinking of Jesus. Read it and let me know what you think. I don’t want to give away too much today but pay attention to how Job reacts at the beginning and how he reacts towards the end of the book.

The New Testament
In our readings from 1 Corinthians, Paul addressed some big issues. Paul warns the church about the divisions that are in it. He mentions that the meal that they share together (called the Lord Supper here) is causing divisions. It is unclear if this was a full-blown meal that the believers shared or if it was just communion. It seems as if Paul thinks it is a full meal. Paul tries to set them straight by reminding them what the Lord’s Supper is all about. He tells of its importance and it is not something to be done lightly. Paul then continues on answering the questions that the church has brought to him. Paul then spends a lot of time talking about spiritual gifts. I think the key comes in when Paul writes, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV). That is indeed what they are for. They are not to show that one believer is better than another. They are all useful. To show his point, Paul uses the analogy of the human body. This would have worked well for the Greek thinkers in the Church. Like the parts of the body, we all have our place, our unique function within the whole. But most importantly, we need to have love. 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most famous passages in the New Testament because of its content. Love is the key to how we live our lives. It was what drove Jesus to the cross, and what motivates us today. Two more things Paul addresses: speaking in tongues and the resurrection of the dead. It seems like the Corinthians had some sort of obsession with the gift of tongues (some in the church today to as well). In one of the best one-liners in the New Testament, Paul lays out his belief on the subject, “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” (1 Corinthians 14:19 NIV). Way to go Paul!! I can’t agree more. On to the resurrection of the dead; it seems that there was some influence from either the Sadducees or some Greek thinkers who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Paul tackles this issue with some good logic. “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-15 NIV). Good point Paul.

Bits and Pieces

The New Testament
We will finish off the book of 1 Corinthians and move on the 2 Corinthians. Here are the vital stats for the book:

PURPOSE: To affirm Paul’s ministry, defend his authority as an apostle, and refute the false teachers in Corinth.

AUTHOR: Paul

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The church in Corinth, and Christians everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: About A.D. 55-57, from Macedonia

SETTING: Paul had already written three letters to the Corinthians (two are now lost). In 1 Corinthians (the second of these letters), he used strong words to correct and teach. Most of the church had responded in the right spirit; there were, however, those who were denying Paul’s authority and questioning his motives.

KEY VERSE: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20)

KEY PEOPLE: Paul, Timothy, Titus, false teachers

KEY PLACES: Corinth, Jerusalem

SPECIAL FEATURES: This is an intensely personal and autobiographical letter.

The One Year Bible- August 18th

With the thermometer reading near 90, it is hard to think that fall is right around the corner. I am looking forward to fall. I love the cooler evenings, and the regular pace of life that begins once school is in session. Fall brings a new school year, new pencils, new challenges and in our Old Testament readings we will be getting into some new territory. The main narrative story of God’s people is over. We will see some more narrative in the prophets but for a while we will have new things, like the books of Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. We will get into the prophets by the second week of September, but for now, enjoy the change of pace and see what God will reveal to you through His word. On to the study…

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

We finished up the book of Ezra and began the book of Nehemiah this past week. Ezra was a book about a priest and served as a theological perspective to the return of the Exiles. Nehemiah is more of a political book. Nehemiah was in the service of King Artaxerxes as a cupbearer. This was no small job; it was very important. Nehemiah was one of God’s people in exile. He had heard of the return of some of his own people back to the land to rebuild the temple and now he too desired to go. He asked for and received permission from the king and he went back with the purpose of rebuilding the walls of the city so it would be safe from foreign enemies. This was not popular with the governors of the area and they tried to stop the rebuilding of the walls many times. But God’s plan was for the wall and the city to be rebuilt because of his ultimate plan of sending the Messiah to fulfill prophecy. It took just 52 days to finish the wall and after it was completed, the Law (remember Law = writings of Moses) was read to the people and they all rededicated themselves to the LORD. Nehemiah gives us a good history lesson along the way as he reminded the people of the grace of God and his love for the people in spite of their disobedience. For as important as the ministry of Ezra was to the spiritual lives of the people, Nehemiah was to the political life of Jerusalem. The stage was set, the pieces have been put in place, everything was ready for the events to come to pass just as the prophets had foretold. All that was needed was for the fullness of time and the promised Messiah would come.

The New Testament

In our readings in 1 Corinthians we finished up Paul’s introduction with a message on legal matters. His advice is to stay out of the courts when you have a disagreement with another Christian. It just makes you look bad and is a very poor witness to Jesus. In fact it does not honor God when, in the public eye, Christians can’t get along. Paul then moves on to the questions that the church asked him. We do not have a copy of their letter to Paul but we do know how he answered some of their questions. Paul spends a lot of time dealing with marriage. He does not condemn marriage, but he does give some warning about how the desires of the flesh can get us off track spiritually as well as in our relationships. Paul then spends quite a bit of time on the issue of food. Food is something very important to a person of the Old Testament. Food laws were abundant and issues regarding food came up often in the early church. The root of the problem stems from the fact that the early church was multicultural. There were Jews and Gentiles together who had vastly different ideas about food. What was clean and unclean according the groups differed. God had made it perfectly clear that what ever He made clean was clean. This did not mean the people could go “hog wild” (no pun intended). In fact the church needed to be very careful about what it ate. Some people had a hard time with eating foods sacrificed to idols. They wanted to know if they ate the food were they honoring that idol. Then there was the whole problem of what would people think if they saw a believer eating that food. This is a complex issue. Paul tries to break it down, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” (1 Cor. 8:13 NIV). And in the next chapter he says, “We put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.” (1 Cor. 9:12b NIV). The bottom line is, if it causes someone to stumble or struggle in his or her faith we should try to avoid it at all costs. This has implications for us today. Do we have freedom in Christ? Yes! Can we do whatever we want? Yes, but not everything is beneficial. We must be careful of what we do and how that reflects Christ to the world.

Bits and Pieces

The Old Testament

We will read the entire book of Esther next week. We will also get into the book of Job. Here are the vital stats for Esther:

PURPOSE: To demonstrate God’s sovereignty and his loving care for his people

AUTHOR: Unknown, possible Mordecai. Some have suggested Ezra or Nehemiah because of the similarity of the writing style.

DATE WRITTEN: Approx. 483-471 B.C.

SETTING: Although Esther follows Nehemiah in the Bible, its events are about 30 years prior to those recorded in Nehemiah. The story is set in the Persian empire, and most of the action takes place in the king’s palace in Susa, the Persian capital.

KEY VERSE: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such as time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NIV)

KEY PEOPLE: Esther, Mordecai, King Xerxes I, Haman

KEY PLACE: The king’s palace

SPECIAL FEATURES: Esther is one of only two books named for women (Ruth is the other). The book is unusual in that in the original version, no name, title, or pronoun for God appears in it. This caused some church fathers to question its inclusion in the canon. But God’s presence is clear throughout the book.

Here are the vital stats for Job:

PURPOSE: To demonstrate God’s sovereignty and the meaning of true faith. It addresses the question, “Why do the righteous suffer?”

AUTHOR: Unknown, possible Job. Some have suggested Moses or Solomon.

DATE WRITTEN: Unknown. Records events that probably occurred during the time of the patriarchs, approx. 2000-1800 BC.

SETTING: The land of UZ, probably located in northeast Palestine, near desert land between Damascus and the Euphrates River.

KEY VERSE: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25 NIV)

KEY PEOPLE: Job, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, Elihu the Buzite.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Job is the first of the poetic books in the Hebrew Bible. Some believe this was the first book of the Bible to be written. This book gives us insights into the work of Satan. Ezekiel 14:14 and James 5:11 mention Job as a historical character.

The One Year Bible

The One Year Bible Study is moving from Fridays to Mondays starting this week. If you are looking for the newest study in this series, check back Monday morning. Thanks!!

The Bethany Bullet-August 12, 2008

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good
news.” Romans 10:15

I was in my fourth month of vicarage when I was blessed to open a card that was waiting for me on my desk. It had the above passage written on the card cover. I hadn’t even had time to open said card when a $100 bill fell out and softly wafted onto my desk. Immediately it was a good day. I gazed at the words from Romans and the image of a pair of feet walking through a meadow of flowers only to open the card and read, “Your feet are not beautiful. Everyone knows pastors should wear black shoes when serving in God’s house.” Before I explain my footwear let me take a brief aside for a moment.

(This is the first time I have ever told this story outside of a sermon. With the possibility that web browsing may lead the giver of the letter to see or hear this let me take a minute to say: First, thanks for the $100! Second, thank you for the wonderful story, it has been shared in a few parishes, a church-worker conference and a synodical youth evangelism event called, “Beautiful Feet” and has always been well received! Finally, thank you for remaining anonymous—as it may be the only way I could continue to tell it with such joy.)

Now back to the story. “ . . .Everyone knows pastors should wear black shoes when serving God’s house.” Now let me state for the record that the shoes I had been wearing were twice as expensive as the gift! They were two-tone brown leather deck loafers – very stylish to this So Cal. boy but to the So Ill. folk I was serving apparently they lacked in proper decorum. The first thing I thought when I read the note was, “Hey, I got a pair of black shoes in my closet. Now I’ve got $100 bucks too.”

I wasn’t offended but probably should have been. Not at the critique of my clothing choice, I get that all the time, nor at the suggestion of a different style, that too I receive frequently. Rather at the exegesis and the application of the text. Paul quotes Isaiah when he pens the words, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” In the ancient Near East messengers would be shod in sandals at best, they would walk or run over rugged ground that was dusty, rocky, and muddy. By the end of the journey they would certainly be covered in dirt and grim and perhaps even a bloodstain here or there. Yet, their feet were beautiful, because of the message that they had worked so hard to bring.

You have the most beautiful message to share and you have been sent on the most important delivery notice in history – to communicate the Good News of God in Christ. Paul asks, “How can people hear unless someone speaks?” God has sent you to speak the good news, the message of life in Christ.

However, scrolling down a thought on a card is easier. Capitalizing on an opportunity or bringing up the subject is often difficult, even for us who have an easy time talking about politics or culture, sports or entertainment, the weather or the daily grind. What to do? Find a way to use a story to connect to His Story.

Take the following examples given over a 24-hour period of Olympic viewing. Three great stories people are sure to love:

1. Many of us recall the “lost boys of the Sudan.” Persecuted for their faith, orphaned by horrific crimes, they were refugees who fled to America and found a new home. As the American delegation walked into the “bird’s nest” in Beijing the athlete carrying the Stars and Stripes was a member of the track team, who was also a member of the lost boys of the Sudan. No longer a refugee he was an ambassador of his new country.
2. An 18-year-old Korean man readied himself to jump into the pool and swim the 400 free. He had been in that position as a 14 year old in Athens. Unfortunately, when they called for the swimmers to get ready he launched into the pool and was immediately disqualified. Humiliated, he exited the pool, went straight into a bathroom and hid in a stall. Four years later when he exited the pool he would go straight onto the podium and be honored with a gold medal.
3. My favorite story thus far was when Yao Ming, the 7’6” center of the Houston Rockets and Chinese national, carried his countries flag into the opening ceremonies accompanied by a 9-year-old boy. You can picture the disparity in size. This boy was a survivor of the horrific earthquakes in China back in May. He was one of only a handful of his class to make it out of the rubble alive. He managed to dig himself out and then before rescue crews could grab him he climbed back into the carnage and didn’t return until he had led two classmates out alive. When asked why he went back into the pile of rock and debris he said, “I am the hall-monitor it was my duty.”
   

How great are these stories!

You know they share something with yours right? You too were once lost—a refugee. But you have been found. Now you are a citizen of a new country, a heavenly one, and by grace you’ve become an ambassador of Christ and a banner carrier of God. Your God, who has taken away your shame in Christ, crowned you with love and compassion and declared you to be more than victorious in Jesus. This God daily renews you and daily gives you a new opportunity to display the wonder of His working. For He took on our responsibility, lived a perfect life and suffered on account of our sin. He climbed into the rubble of our guilt and death, a laid therein three days. No rescue was forthcoming, no deliverance on its way. Yet, three days later, restored again he pushed aside the rocks and debris and emerged alive bringing with him not merely a pair of rescued victims but countless throngs of those set free. That is a message that makes any messengers ‘feet’ beautiful.

The One Year Bible- August 8th

**NOTE** Because of my new schedule the One Year Bible Studies will move from Fridays to Mondays starting August 18^th. There will not be a new study on August 15^th.

Time sure is flying. It is hard to believe that the school year is right around the corner. I have seen the “Back to School” mailers in my house and the stores are filled with pens, pencils, and paper just waiting to get used. Summer is winding down. School will be in session soon and before you know it, it will be Christmas time. The narrative story of God’s people in the Old Testament is winding down as well. We are almost done with the story. It doesn’t seem possible does it? We have made it over seven months now and all I can say is that it has gone by quickly. Before it goes by too fast, let’s stop and spend some time studying and meditating on this weeks readings.

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament
We finished up the book of 2 Chronicles and like I said last week, we miss a big part of the story. We miss about 70 years while the people are in exile in Babylon. We will catch some of this story when we read through Daniel a bit later this year. For now, we see that the LORD is working to set up the people so that a “remnant” will return and be ready for the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah was prophesied to return to the Promised Land. He was to be born in Bethlehem, of the house of David (the prophets will tell us this). Therefore there must be a plan to bring the people back. To get the people ready, God uses Josiah. Josiah gets the people back on the right path and during his reign, the book of the law was found. This was no small thing. The book of the Law was the foundation for the entire society. Without the book of the law it is no wonder that the people kept going their own way. Under Josiah, the people renewed their covenant with the LORD and promised to remain faithful. The people also celebrated the Passover again. But the people fell away under the leadership of some more bad kings and eventually the people were taken into captivity in Babylon. This should have not come as a surprise to the people, both Isaiah and Jeremiah had warned them. But God used King Cyrus of Persia to bring a remnant back to the land. That is where the book of Ezra begins. Jeremiah has prophesied that a remnant would return and it was so. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel and others, the first wave of exiles returned home to rebuild the temple as well as the city of Jerusalem. The people that were living in the area tried to stop it but they were unsuccessful. Did you catch that this was the time of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah? Make sure you remember this context when we get to these books. Ezra led the second wave of people back to the land. Ezra was a scribe and a teacher of the law. He was given the job to make sure the law was taught to the people who returned. In chapter seven the writing changes from third person (he, she, they) to first person (I, me, we). This is now the story of Ezra. The first bit was the history of the first wave of exiles to return. Ezra brings with him more people and more gold, silver and other riches from the King of Babylon. God sure was blessing the people in their return. But, Ezra soon learns that not all is well back home. The people have started to intermarry with the locals (again!!). This causes him great distress. He prays to God for mercy and forgiveness and is ashamed that even in the midst of grace, the people sin. Sounds like today. We live in the midst of grace every day, yet we seem to fall victim of the grip of sin.

The New Testament
We finished up the book of Romans with a long list of names. We don’t know too much about these people in the list. One name has been seen before in the New Testament. Mark mentions a Rufus who was the son of Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross for Jesus. Is this the same guy? We don’t know for sure, but it would be a compelling story or conversion. Paul ends this letter with a wonderful phrase of praise to God, “To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” (Romans 16:27 NIV)

To understand Paul’s letters to the church in Corinth we need to get some background information. The Christians in Corinth were struggling with their environment. Surrounded by corruption and every conceivable sin, they felt the pressure to adapt. They knew they were free in Christ, but what did this freedom mean? How should they view idols or sexuality? What should they do about marriage, women in the church, and the gifts of the Spirit? These were more than just theoretical questions; the church was being undermined by immorality and spiritual immaturity. Living as a Christian in Corinth was difficult and some of them were failing the test. This is the situation and the reason for the first letter to the Corinthians. Paul is concerned with this church and he wants to try to help them through the difficult times. Paul confronts them (and us) with sin and the need for corrective action. Paul talks a lot about the foolishness of being a follower of Jesus. This is not meant as being a slam on those who believe, but as a way to help those understand why those who believe do so. It does not make sense to believe in Jesus from the world’s point of view. Grace does not make sense to our rational brains. Why would God do such a thing as send his only son to die for us? It makes no sense.

I especially like Paul’s analogy in chapter 3, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-8 NIV). At times in our lives, God has called us to sow the seeds of salvation. At other times we are called to water those seeds. It is rare that we get to see the fruit from beginning to end. When I worked at Arrowhead Lutheran Camp I sowed a lot of seed. At times it was frustrating. I didn’t get to seem much fruit. A few years after leaving camp, I received a letter from a camper who said that because of camp and the Bible studies she was a part of, she know has a close walk with Christ. She thanked me for all my work and says she still prays for the camp and me every day. This letter brought tears to my eyes. I know that it seems that at times we are just spinning our wheels, but let me tell you, the Holy Spirit is doing more than you know.

Bits and Pieces

The Old Testament
We will finish up Ezra and move onto Nehemiah next. Here are the vital stats for
Nehemiah:

PURPOSE: Nehemiah is the last of the Old Testament historical books. It records the history of the third return to Jerusalem after captivity, telling how the walls were rebuilt and the people were renewed in their faith.

AUTHOR: Much of the book is written in the first person, suggesting Nehemiah as the author. Nehemiah probably wrote the book with Ezra serving as editor.

DATE WRITTEN: Approx. 445-432 B.C.

SETTING: Zerubbabel led the first return to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. In 458, Ezra led the second return. Finally, in 445, Nehemiah returned with the third group of exiles to rebuild the city walls.

KEY VERSES: “So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” Nehemiah 6:15-16

KEY PEOPLE: Nehemiah, Ezra, Sanballat, Tobiah

KEY PLACE: Jerusalem

SPECIAL FEATURES: The book shows the fulfillment of the prophecies of Zechariah and Daniel concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls.

The One Year Bible- August 1st

Can you believe that it is August already? Where has the summer gone? I hope the busy summer had not got the best of you and your time with God’s Word. Don’t worry if it has. Like I have said before, when you get behind (and you will get behind) just try to read two days worth each day until you catch up, or if you would like you can just pick up the readings on the day you begin again and try to catch the readings you missed next time. Either way, it is important not to beat yourself up over missing the readings or to get so frustrated that you give up. Keep up the hard work and let me know how I can help. On to the study…

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament
This section of 2 Chronicles spent a lot of time listing the various kings, how long they reigned, what they did, etc.. Some kings were good and some were bad. One character that is important in this section is Isaiah. We will be spending quite a bit of time with Isaiah a bit later in the year but try to remember that this is his context: near the end of the kingdom of Judah. We will see some of these stories again when we are in Isaiah. One king to focus on is Hezekiah. He was only 25 when he started his reign and he immediately went to work. The first thing he did was to reopen the Temple. The Temple had become a place for various idols and the worship of false God’s. By reading this section, it is obvious that the Temple was a mess. It took 7 guys 16 days to clean it. If it takes me more than two days to clean my garage, I get a bit upset. At least there was some good motivation for getting the job done. After the job of restoring the Temple was done, it was time to celebrate. For the first time in a while, the people celebrated Passover. Hezekiah did a good job of getting the people back on track. Some Bible scholars think that God was getting his people ready for the exile that was to come soon. With the work of Hezekiah, the remnant would be prepared to return and rebuild the temple. I hate to say this and jinx myself but I am a bit ahead in my readings and there was one great story of grace and mercy that seemed to be new to me from the readings from Saturday August 2nd. In that reading we heard that king Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the LORD. God even audibly spoke to him but he did not listen. The Assyrian army took Manasseh prisoner, pierced his nose (to mark him as a slave), bound him in chains, and took him to Babylon. While in Babylon, Manasseh realized that he was in trouble and he prayed to YAHWEH, who was moved by his prayer and had mercy on him. Manasseh was brought back to Jerusalem because of God’s mercy. “Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.” (2 Chronicles 33:13b NIV). God’s mercy sure is awesome!

The New Testament
In our readings from Romans we read these wonderful words from Paul, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15b NIV) Paul continues a few verses later by saying that “Faith comes from hearing”. It is not any action that we do, or any magic pill. Faith is a gift of God. It comes in hearing the message of Salvation from Jesus Christ. I had a seminary professor who told us that when his kids were born, the first thing he did was to whisper into their ears that Jesus loved them. I had never though of doing this before. We also read about one of the great analogies about being in the family of faith. Paul says that the Gentiles (which includes me) have been grafted into the family and now receive all the benefits of being part of the whole. We are now full partners in the blessings of Abraham as we live connected to God’s special olive tree. Paul then moves on to talk about being living sacrifices. This seems contradictory but in view of God’s mercy we offer everything we have to God as an offering to him. This becomes a part of our worship life. Paul then moves to the body analogy. It is not the only place Paul uses this but the point is that we are all part of one body. We are all connected in Christ. There is plenty more to talk about but I want to keep this post manageable. If you have other questions, please feel free to contact me.

Psalms
One quick thing here; Psalm 22 is known as a Messianic Psalm. Jesus quotes from this Psalm when he is on the cross. Go back and read verses 14 to 18 and think about the story of Jesus on the cross.

Bits and Pieces

The Old Testament
We will finish the book of 2 Chronicles this week and start the book of Ezra. A lot of time will have passed between these two books. We will see the downfall of Judah and their exile to Babylon. If you are dying to know what happens there you can read the book of Daniel. Ezra begins the story of the return of the exiles back to the promised land. This promised “remnant” will provide the opportunity for the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy with the birth of Jesus. Here are the vital stats for the book of Ezra:

PURPOSE: To show God’s faithfulness and the way he kept his promise to restore his people to their land
AUTHOR: Not stated but probably Ezra
DATE WRITTEN: Around 450 B.C. recording events from about 538-450 B.C.
SETTING: Ezra follows 2 Chronicles as a history of the Jewish people, recording their return to the land after the captivity.
KEY VERSES: “So the Israelites who had returned from exile ate it [the Passover], together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. For seven days they celebrated with joy, the feast of unleavened bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.” Ezra 6:21-22
KEY PEOPLE: Cyrus, Zerubbabel, Haggai, Zechariah, Darius, Artaxerxes I, Ezra
KEY PLACES: Babylon, Jerusalem
SPECIAL FEATURES: Ezra and Nehemiah were one book in the Hebrew Bible, and, with Esther, they comprise the post-captivity historical books. The post-captivity prophetic books are Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Haggai and Zechariah both prophesy during the period of the reconstruction.

The New Testament
The book of Romans comes to a close this week with some greetings to some people in Rome. Our journey with Paul will continue with the letters to the Corinthians. Along with Romans, these letters give a good taste of Paul’s theology. Paul wrote these letters to a church that was having some problems. We will spend time with these issues because many are the same that we face today. Here are the vital stats for the book:
PURPOSE: To identify problems in the Corinthian church, to offer solutions, and to teach the believers how to live for Christ in a corrupt society.
AUTHOR: Paul
TO WHOM WRITTEN: The church in Corinth and Christians everywhere
DATE WRITTEN: About A.D. 55, near the end of Paul’s three year ministry in Ephesus, during his third missionary journey.
KEY VERSE: “ I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Corinthians 1:10
KEY PEOPLE: Paul, Timothy, members of Chloe’s household.
KEY PLACES: Worship meetings in Corinth
SPECIAL FEATURES: This is a strong, straightforward letter.