The One Year Bible- March 31st

When I was in second grade our class was scheduled to sing in church.  The song we sang was called “Everywhere I Go.”  Why do I remember such a thing?  Well, this song had a big impact on my life.  It has a catchy tune and great words and I latched on to this song and sang it everywhere I went.  I started singing this song every time I was scared or though I was in trouble.  I sang it a lot while riding my bike.  This song gave me comfort and security because even as I child I knew that God was there with me.  This song came to my mind this week while reading the story of God’s people as they entered the Promised Land.  I am sure many of them were scared and fearful of the future.  But Moses and Joshua reminded the people that God was with them everywhere they would go, and to be strong and courageous.  As we begin today, don’t forget that the same God is with you as well.  We begin with the words of that song:

Everywhere I go the Lord is near me

If I call upon Him He will hear me

Never will I fear, for the Lord is near

Everywhere I go.

Everywhere God is there

Tending all in loving care

He is with me everywhere I go

On to the study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

Let me set the stage for you once again.  The people are on the edge of the Promised Land.  Moses has gathered the people together to give them a pep talk and remind them of the promises of God and his continued faithfulness.  Moses will not be joining the people because of his own disobedience but he is still God’s prophet.  At the end of the pep talk he breaks out into song.  This last bit of instruction for the people served as a reminder and a comfort for them.  Just before Moses gets a glimpse of the Promised Land, he introduces Joshua as the new leader.  We see in just a few short verses the phrase, “Be strong and courageous”.  This is an important phrase, as the people will be doing some difficult things in the next few years.  Moses as well as the Lord tells Joshua and the people to, “Be strong and courageous”  at least six times.  Indeed the Lord will be with them; and indeed he was.  The Lord caused the Jordan river to stop as the people crossed it. 

In the next few days we will see that the Lord delivered the fortified city of Jericho into their hands.  The Lord blessed them, but true to form the people disobey.  After Jericho was destroyed someone took some of the plunder that was to be devoted to the Lord.  This caused a military defeat of the people and doubt started to creep in.  It was just one small action that had big consequences.  It seems that is what happens in our lives as well.  Just one seemingly small sin causes us big problems.  Even after the pep talk from Moses, the people disobey.  This will be a theme we will see over and over again.  When we look at the world today we see the same theme.  We have heard what we should do, we know the right things be we find ourselves doing the opposite or not even listening to God.  For the people of Israel this caused problems.  Later we will see how sin begins to spiral out of control and eventually the people will be lead off to exile.  We are in the exile of sin as well and we are in need of rescue.  God sent his son Jesus to rescue us from our sin.  Because we could not do it, Jesus did it all for us.  Jesus fulfills the requirements of God and we get all the benefits.  The Old Testament once again points us to Christ the author and perfector of our faith. 

The New Testament

A few things jumped out at me as I read through the readings from Luke this week. After our readings in the Old Testament about washings, the section at the end of chapter 11 (readings for April 6th) where Jesus really blasts the Pharisees makes more sense to me. Jesus really lets them have it for only worrying about the outside things. He tells them in no uncertain terms that God looks at the inside as well and they need to get their act straight. In Luke 7 Jesus says some hard things. Jesus tells us that if we want to be his disciple we need to hate other things. I have always struggled with this statement. In one of my seminary classes we talked about the word “hate” and how it is used in the New Testament. This is another word that we translate the Greek literally but it has some Hebrew meaning. In Hebrew the word we translate as “hate” means that we prefer one thing over the other but not necessarily at the expense of the other. In the Old Testament we read that Jacob “hated” his wife Leah, but he still cared for her, he had children with her and he provided for her. This does not sound like the “hate” we think of. Now it is true that Jacob preferred Rebekah, but he did not “hate” Leah as we see it. I hope this sheds some light on this passage for you. We are to prefer following Jesus over all others. We will still need to carry our cross and count the cost and that will only be possible with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Psalms
One quick comment from one of our readings this week: In Psalm 78:41 (April 7th) a reference to the “Holy One of Israel” is found. We will see this term often when we get into Isaiah and some of the other prophets. This term refers to the promised Messiah and when you see it you can be certain that this is talking about the coming of Christ.

Have a great week and remember that God is with you everywhere you go!!

Bethany Bullet - March 25, 2014

The Fellowship Project

Paul wraps up his explanation of life in the body of Christ, The Fellowship Project, as we’ve dubbed it with the heart of Christian stewardship. 

V  We give to God because He gave His Son to make us His own;

V  We give to God because our true identity is found in Him having us;

V  We give to God because everything that is ours is naturally His because we are His! 

These truths are part and parcel to his declaration that “All things belong to you, you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.” 

The following Vimeo segment from our Bethany Blueprint Formation Group Series explains the Biblical details and Christian responsibility of Proportionate Giving is just under 7 minutes. 

Click HERE to watch Vimeo video.

*If unable to open link, copy/paste this into your browser to watch video:  http://vimeo.com/62291532.

-Pastor Kevin Kritzer

The One Year Bible- March 24th

As I have been driving around this past week I have noticed that many of the trees are starting to leaf out. It is an exciting time of the year when we see blossoms on plants, the days getting longer and the temperatures climbing. Spring is in the air and I think it is kinda neat that during this season we celebrate Easter. Now, I know I am getting ahead of myself since we are still a few weeks away and Lent is still in full swing, but as we look to the changes that are taking place on the earth, new life and new growth, I can’t help but think about the new life that has been given to all of us because of Jesus’ victory over death. When you see the new life springing from the ground, think about Jesus and the new life granted to us and guaranteed by what he did on the cross and his “springing” from the ground in his wonderful resurrection. On to the study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

Numbers is a strange book. It combines the narrative with some rules and regulations and then the “numbers” of counting and census taking. It can be hard to keep track of the story. I found myself turning back the pages a few times to remember what we read (this is not such a bad idea to do once in a while). A few things stuck out for me this week. The name of Baalam comes up again in the New Testament book of Revelation. I don’t know how much you know about the book of Revelation (and we don’t have time here to discuss in detail) but at the beginning of the book, Jesus gives John a message for seven churches. One of the letters warns of holding to the teaching of Baalam. This is the only place in the New Testament that makes reference to this story. Baalam knew about Yahweh but he took money from king Balak to give a curse against the people of Israel. Baalam gave in to the money and compromised his faith for the sake of material gain. I think that many in our world have compromised their faith or their beliefs for monetary gain as well. We outwardly worship the Lord but our hearts lust after wealth. This is the main message of the story. This lesson is important enough for John to mention it in the book of Revelation. Baalam ends up dying at the hands of the Israelites a few chapters later (31:8).

Another amazing event takes place in chapter 31. As the Lord commands the people to take revenge on the Midianites, they completely destroy them with the Lord’s help. This is amazing in and of itself but what really got to me was the fact that when the generals and captains gave a report to Moses they said, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.” (31:49 NIV) How amazing is that!!! They go to battle and no one is killed?? No friendly fire, no accidents, not even one lost battle. This should have been a sign to the people to trust in God, but as we shall see, the people will start to trust in themselves and not in God and things go wrong. In chapter 33 we have a very important task and warning from God. As the people are on the edge of the Promised Land, they get a command from God, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it... if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.” We will see that this is one of the main problems for the Israelites in the Promised Land. God told them what to do and they didn’t quite get the job done.

As we begin the book of Deuteronomy this week, don’t be puzzled by the fact that Moses retells almost the entire story of the history of God’s chosen people. I will have more to say about that next week, but I like to think of this book as Moses’ pre-game speech to the team led by Joshua. They were about to engage the enemy in battle and standing on the eastern bank of the Jordan, Moses encourages and motivates the people to do what God has been preparing for a long time. They were on the verge of taking possession of the promise that was given so long ago to Abraham. It is an exciting time, and time filled with some fear and expectation as well.

The New Testament

Luke is a great storyteller. He weaves a wonderful story together. Luke tells of three “songs” in the beginning of the book; Mary’s song, Zechariah’s song and Simeon’s song. All three of them are wonderful examples of praising God. Mary gives glory to God for the gift she has been given, Zechariah praises God for his mercy, and Simeon thanks God for the fulfillment of his promises through the Christ Child. These “songs” give a depth of emotion not found in the other Gospel accounts. If you grew up in a Lutheran Church that used the old 1941 hymnal you probably know Simeon’s song by heart (by the way it has made a comeback in the new Lutheran Service Book p.p. 199-200). I love that song. I will admit as a child I liked that song because that meant the service was almost over, but as I grew older that song and the words had an impact on me. Those of you who know the tune can sing along:

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, For mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation: which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end AMEN.

After his baptism and a list of his earthly ancestors, Jesus’ ministry begins in earnest. He first is tempted in the desert and rejected in Nazareth. I could just imagine the scene in the synagogue where Jesus gets up to read for the service and at the end hearing him say “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” I think that would be one of the most exciting times for those who believed that the Messiah was coming soon. Was this guy the one that was promised? Could he be the Messiah that we have been waiting for? Can we like Simeon, now die in peace? For some this guy was a blasphemer and a troublemaker. I hope I would know that this is the Christ the son of the living God. Soon we see that the Pharisees start looking for ways to get rid of Jesus. They see him forgiving sins, and healing on the Sabbath.

One other interesting point Luke makes is that he sets the story in a historical context. One of the knocks on the Bible is that it is just some fanciful story that was made up by the writers. One way Luke gives some credibility to his book is that he places it within the frame of history. This makes the document have more legitimacy outside of religious circles because of the verifiable evidence of history. At the beginning of Chapter 3 Luke writes, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,...” All of these people can be verified to have existed using extra-biblical sources. Luke wants to let his readers know that he is not just making this stuff up. This was a very important point in the third century when the formation of the New Testament was happening. The inclusion of this information (as well as other factors) gave Luke a solid historical footing for inclusion in the New Testament.

Bits and Pieces

Here are the vital stats for the book of Deuteronomy:

PURPOSE: To remind the people of what God had done and encourage them to rededicate their lives to him

AUTHOR: Moses (except for the final summary which may have been written by Joshua)

TO WHOM WRITTEN: Israel (the new generation entering the promised land)

LAW THEMES: Devoted to destruction, hard-hearted, laws of the covenant, snare of idolatry, cursing

GOSPEL THEMES: Redemption- “I am the Lord, your God”, inheritance, righteousness by God’s Word, promises of the covenant, God’s love and calling, atonement, faithfulness, blessing

SETTING: The east side of the Jordan River, in view of Canaan

KEY VERSE: “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (7:9)

KEY PEOPLE: Moses and Joshua

Bethany Bullet - March 18, 2014

The Fellowship Project

“Always Watching”

·         From Roz in Disney’s Monsters, Inc. …

·         To “the Eye” in The Lord of the Rings …

·         To George Orwell’s Big Brother … 

The thought of having someone always watching can be rather disturbing. 

Then we hear the Psalmist say that as he looked to the hills he discovered that God was already watching him. 

Psalm 121

¹ I look up toward the mountains.
    Where can I find help?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the maker of heaven and earth.
³ He will not let you fall.
    Your guardian will not fall asleep.
⁴ Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.
⁵ The Lord is your guardian.
    The Lord is the shade over your right hand.
⁶ The sun will not beat down on you during the day,
    nor will the moon at night.
⁷ The Lord guards you from every evil.
    He guards your life.
⁸ The Lord guards you as you come and go,
    now and forever.

Our God is always watching and thus He knows when we’ve viewed ourselves more highly than we ought and when we’ve looked down on others.  He is aware of when we’ve turned a blind eye to one in need and when we’ve failed to see Him at work in our lives.  He recognizes when we’ve looked past opportunities to see or share His goodness and when we’ve focused on things we ought to have averted our gaze from.  Yet, He does not give us the evil eye but rather always holds us as the apple of His eye, He does not turn His back…but His cheek, He did not GIVE UP on us but rather GAVE UP His only begotten Son for us, Who instead of rolling His eyes back rolled the stone away. 

Where is your help to come? From the Lord who watches over you…lift up your eyes to Him.

-Pastor Kevin Kritzer

The One Year Bible- March 17th

With Lent in full swing and our calendars filling up quickly, it may be time to reevaluate your reading plan.  About every three months or so it is good to do a little check-up.  Have you been able to keep up with your daily readings?  If not, do you know why?  What can be done to tweak your routine to find time to read?  I settled into a routine about a two years ago and it has worked for me.  My weekends are quite busy so I have been doing two readings a day on Monday through Thursday and taking a break Friday through Sunday.  This plan gives me one day of wiggle room in case I really get bogged down with other things.  The important thing is to find a time that works and stick to it.  Soon it will become habit.  Please let me know if I can help out in any way!  On to the study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

As we have said before, the book of Numbers has a general them of grumbling and complaining by the people.  Time and time again God tries to show the people his love but the people don’t seem to get it.  The phrase that God uses over and over to show is Grace is, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.” (Numbers 15:41 NIV).  This is almost the same phrase God uses when he gives the law with the Ten Words (Ten Commandments).  God reminds the people that the relationship he has with them is based on Grace.  That being said, God is still a jealous God, who is Holy (meaning without sin and hating sin), therefore he cannot just turn a blind eye to the grumbling and disobedience of the people.  A few examples to illustrate my point:

Their first complaint resulted in God sending a fire to destroy the people. Moses prayed to God and the fire left. One verse later the people start complaining again! Now they want meat. They were sick of this manna stuff and they longed to be back in Egypt. Moses even gets agitated with the people. But God, in his mercy, gives them meat to eat. So much meat that they get sick of it. Moses then selects 12 men to go into the Promised Land to check it out and when they return, 10 of the men say that Israel should not go in because the people are giants. Only Joshua and Caleb give a true account. They trust in God’s promises. So the people started complaining again. They even wanted to kill Caleb and Joshua. God gets fed up with this group and tells them that none of them will even enter the Promised Land.

Chapter 16 tells the story of the rebellion of Korah. This story serves as a lesson to all those who do not trust God. All those who followed Korah were either killed by fire or swallowed up by the earth. Then God wants to destroy all the people, but God in his mercy hears the cry of his people and spares them. (Do you see a theme here?) Surely this will put an end to the complaining. But as soon as they run out of water they rebel again. But God in his mercy hears the cry of his people and provides for them.

Then Moses gets into trouble by not giving credit to God for providing the water from the rock and he finds out that he will not enter the Promised Land. So the people start complaining again in Chapter 21. So God sends snakes to kill the people. But God in his mercy hears their cries for help. He tells Moses to put a snake on a pole and those who look at it will live. This is a foreshadowing of Christ, because those who look upon Jesus (on a pole a.k.a. the cross) will be saved (“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” –John 3:14). Our readings for this week ended with the people looking for safe passage through some of the lands near Canaan. They get themselves into trouble by trying to fight when God said not to.

Next up is the story of Baalam. This is a story that tells about the power of God. Baalam knows the true God, but Baalam was not always faithful. King Balak wants Baalam to curse the people but Baalam will not because the Lord (Yahweh) is with them. God also shows his power by making Baalam’s donkey talk. God will use any means necessary to get his message across.

I hope you can see that our God is a God of mercy.  He showed that mercy ultimately in the person of his son Jesus Christ who was the ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. 

The New Testament

We will finish up Mark’s Gospel and it was a quick journey. It is believed that Mark was the first account of Jesus that was written. And it ends just as it begins, with action. In quick succession we have the Last Supper, the time in the garden, the trial, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and Mark’s version of the Great Commission. Like Matthew, Mark mentions the Temple curtain being torn in two. This was very significant. Remember from our readings in the Old Testament that there was a curtain that separated the holy place from the most holy place and that only the high priest could enter it and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement. When that curtain tore, it showed that we no longer need a human person to go to God for us. Jesus has restored our relationship with the father and now we can approach him because of Christ. The book of Hebrews really drives this point home. It is also interesting that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all say that it tore from top to bottom. Thus signifying this was from God.  There is an interesting bit of text at the beginning and end of the book that serve as bookends for Mark.  In Chapter 1 he writes, “The beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God”.  Then in Chapter 15 verse 39 we read this that came from the mouth of the Roman centurion, “Surely this man was the Son of God”.  Everything in between these two verses tells us all about the ministry of Jesus.  Now of course the resurrection was coming but that was just more proof as to who Jesus is.  One other textual note, I am sure that you noticed that at the end of Marks Gospel there was some note saying something like “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20”.  That is not to say that they are not Biblical.  The translators want the reader to know that there are some textual problems with these verses.  For the most part the problems do not go so far as to place a great deal of doubt in these verses but theologians do not generally use these verses as proof texts for doctrine. 

As we begin the book of Luke I want you to notice the different style that Luke uses as compared to Mark.  Luke seems to take more time in the story telling and uses “songs” to show some of the emotion behind the stories.  Many have said that Mark is the Gospel for guys and Luke is for the ladies.  I know that is stereotyping but I hope that helps you see the difference in the books. 

Have a great week!!

Bethany Bullet - March 11, 2014

Here’s to the crazy ones…the misfits…the rebels…the trouble makers.

The round pegs in the square holes…The ones who see things differently.

They’re not fond of rules…and they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only think you can’t do is ignore them…because they change things…they push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

It is the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. 

It was in 1997 that those words, voiced by the incomparable Richard Dreyfuss, accompanied black and white images of Albert Einstein, Bob Dillon, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lennon, Muhammad Ali, Mahatma Gandhi, Emilia Earhart, Martha Graham, Jim Henson, Pablo Picasso and others in a 30 second television commercial for Apple Computers that sparked one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of corporate America.  As the images fade to black, all that is left is the phrase, “Think Different” and then the iconic logo of Apple.  Click HERE to watch the YouTube video. *If unable to open the copy/paste this into your browser: http://youtu.be/nmwXdGm89Tk.

With the innovative thinking and leadership of CEO Steve Jobs, and the introduction of new technology that has fundamentally changed the way we interact with each other and the world, Apple computer continued to find ways to “Think Different” and their products pushed us forward to think different.

With new innovations such as the iPod, iPhone, iTunes, and iPad; Apple computer turned their fortunes around and have influenced the entire field of technology.

All too often the church has refused to think different.  The church has ignored how the world is wired at times to its detriment.  Now, I’m not saying we abandon centuries of traditions, or change the unchangeable Word of God, but you have to admit that the church does not do a good job at thinking differently…at changing the world.

Having said that, all too often we, in the church, think different—in other words—our thoughts are not HIS thoughts, and hence our ways are not HIS ways.

There was one couple that did change the world—they were misfits, rebels, troublemakers and we can’t ignore them because they changed things, they pushed the human race forward, out of the garden, and backward out of God’s grace.

It is a story of another epic turnaround.  You can find the particulars in Genesis 2 and Genesis 3.  Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman gave in to temptation, rebelled against their creator.  Turns out they were not fond of the rules and they had no respect for the status quo. 

“You must not eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden…or you will die.” (Genesis 3:3)

They took the fruit of the tree and they ate.  In that moment sin sprang to life on earth and as our New Testament lesson tells us, “Sin came into the world through one person, and death came through sin. So death spread to everyone, because everyone sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

Adam and Eve thought different; they thought they knew best, they thought they could ignore their Creator and their God. This is not the act of someone who might be called a genius. Whether an apple was involved in this turnaround is lost to history but from that point forward, things were different.  Sin has stained the human race.

Hunger, thirst, morning, poverty, war, murder, adultery, revenge, these have all been a regular part of life since that day.  The difference between the Garden of Eden and life in this world was stark. 

An “eye for eye” mentality has reigned and humanity has been enemies with one another, fighting and feuding endlessly. 

You have experienced the effects of sin, I know you have, because you are like me, chief of sinners.  Paul said it this way in Romans 7, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate... For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:15, 18-19)

This different thinking puts us at odds with God, but God had a plan.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son…” (John 3:16)

You see Jesus was one who could think differently. 

Listen to His words,

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Never murder. Whoever murders will answer for it in court.’  But I can guarantee that whoever is angry with another believe will answer for it in court.” (Matthew 5:21-22a)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Never commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I can guarantee that whoever looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I tell you not to oppose an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn your other cheek to him as well. If someone wants to sue you in order to take your shirt, let him have your coat too. If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to everyone who asks you for something. Don’t turn anyone away who wants to borrow something from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:38-45a)

This is from a Genius who could think different.

Many considered Him a crazy one, a misfit, a rebel, a trouble maker.  To the religious elite He was a round peg in a square hole, but He saw things differently.

He was not fond of the rules imposed by man and had no respect for their search for earthly status.

He has been quoted, disagreed with, glorified and vilified, and He can’t be ignored, because He changed things, He pushed the human race forward.

Some still see Him as crazy…we see the Savior.

He is the only one who truly changed the world.

Listen to Paul’s words from our New Testament lesson, “…through one person’s disobedience humanity became sinful, and through one person’s obedience humanity will receive God’s approval.” (Romans 5:19)

Jesus obediently went to the cross for us.  He is responsible for the greatest turnaround in all of history.  Not with innovative technology but with His very body and blood, shed on the cross.  His sacrifice turns us around, which is the very definition of repentance. His resurrection gives us the power to repent and turn from sin.

In Christ, we are called to think differently; to turn from sin, to change one’s mind by repentance and contrition.

It is one of the hallmarks of the season of Lent; to spend some time of introspection, and self-examination, to repent, and experience a changed mind, to think different and then change our ways. 

Now our ways can be His ways, our thoughts can be His thoughts and we too can think different.

As we continue the journey of Lent, I challenge you to be that round peg in the square hole of life and think different and in so doing help others to see the savior and to think different as well.  Let us pray…

-Pastor Seth Moorman