The One Year Bible- July 20th
There have been times in my life where
I can just feel the presence of God. At
times I can hear his call and he seems close.
But there are also times when God seems distant and far removed from my
daily life. Have you ever felt this
way? Remember that it is all just a
matter of perspective. In reality in our
sinfulness we are the ones that drift away.
Sin takes us far from God and in our own minds we try to blame God for
leaving us. Some times I would like God
to give me a big sign in the sky to tell me his plan or that he is right
there. The people of the Old Testament
got a visual show. When God’s presence
came to earth, the people would see it in the form of a thick cloud. God revealed himself to his people visually
so they could believe. He did the same
when he sent his son Jesus. Jesus became
the walking temple for all of us to see.
Today we can see him every time we partake in the Lord’s Supper, every
time we read His Word, and every time he calls another child his own in
baptism. When you think that God is
distant, remember that he is right here, closer than you think. On to the study…
Seth’s Thoughts
The Old Testament
Some good stories this week in the Old
Testament. Most of the counting and lists are done with and the narrative picks
up in earnest. You may not have even been aware that we started 2 Chronicles
this week. Solomon continues to build the Temple for the LORD. It was an
impressive structure! There was so much gold used it could not be counted.
Silver meant nothing and bronze was almost worthless. It is interesting to note
that the curtain of the temple is mentioned. It is what separated the Holy
Place from the Most Holy Place. This is the curtain that tore in two (in a
different temple mind you) when Jesus died. Jesus’ death brings Holy God and
sinful man back into a relationship again. It must have been an awesome sight
to see the thick cloud of YAHWEH filling the temple. This was the first time in
a while that there had been a physical manifestation of God on earth. Solomon’s
prayer was a good one and got the people back on track. God’s response to
Solomon was also quite amazing. All was good during the life of Solomon but
soon he would be buried with his fathers and his son Rehoboam would become
king. Rehoboam did not fare to well. He did not listen to his father’s advisors
and soon the kingdom was split. Civil war then raged and the Northern Kingdom
went on a road to destruction as they worshiped idols and bowed down to other
Gods. King Asa tried to get things right with God but it did not last.
Jehoshaphat tried to do what was right but we will soon find out that he has
troubles as well. Here are the vital stats for the book of 2 Chronicles:
PURPOSE: To unify the nation around
true worship of God by showing his standard for judging kings. The righteous
kings of Judah and the religious revivals under their rule are highlighted, and
the sins of the evil kings are exposed.
AUTHOR: Ezra, according to Jewish
tradition
TO WHOM WRITTEN: All Israel
DATE WRITTEN: Approximately 430 B.C.,
recording the events for the beginning of Solomon’s reign (970 B.C.) to the
beginning of the Babylonian captivity (586 B.C.)
SETTING: Second Chronicles parallels 1
and 2 Kings and serves as their commentary. Originally 1 and 2 Chronicles were
one book. It was written after the exile from a priestly perspective,
highlighting the importance of the temple and the religious revivals in Judah.
The northern kingdom, Israel, is virtually ignored in this history.
KEY VERSE: “If my people who are called
by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from
their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and
will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).
KEY PEOPLE: Solomon, the queen of
Sheba, Rehoboam, Asa, Jehoshephat, Jehoram, Joash, Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah,
Manasseh, Josiah
KEY PLACES: Jerusalem, the temple
SPECIAL FEATURES: Includes a detailed
record of the temple’s construction
The New Testament
Paul really gets on a roll in this weeks
readings. If you were not convinced you were a sinner before, I bet you are
now. Romans six deals with the idea that those who have been united with Christ
have been united with him in his death and more importantly in his
resurrection. This is great news because now those who are “in Christ” (one of Paul’s favorite phrases) will receive all the
benefits of God. Those who are in Christ are dead to sin and alive in Christ.
We do not have the freedom to just continue sinning. We are no longer slaves to
sin. But then Paul brings up a good point. This is a confusing passage
(especially in the NIV) but the NLT (New Living Translation) is a bit clearer
for me. “I don’t really understand
myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead I do what I
hate...I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but
I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what
I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me
that does it” (Romans 7:15,18b-20 NLT). Paul realizes that in this world,
we are so interwoven with sin that it is impossible to extract ourselves. We
are in dire straights! We cry with Paul. “What a wretched man I am! Who will
rescue me from this body of death?”
(Romans 7:24 NIV). In the end it is all about Jesus. He is the only one that
can free us from this problem. His death and resurrection make it possible for
us to leave the sin of this world behind and live for Him in all we do. We now
live our lives by the Spirit of God and we have been adopted into his family.
And we can call him Daddy (Abba, Father). This relationship cannot be broken.
It holds firm even when sin attacks. Therefore do not worry about your status
in the world. The important thing is that we are part of the family of God. On
the 27th we will read that being a member of this family is easy, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 ESV). Good news indeed!!! Now this verse has been used by many
Christians to support a view that human beings must do something in order to
become a Christian. This is not a new
idea. Now days we call it “decision
theology” but this has been with the Faith for a long time. To use a $2 word it is called
syncretism. This means that in some way
we have to cooperate with God in some way shape or form for our salvation. When we make some sort of an effort towards
God then he will have mercy on us. The
point of view goes something like this:
We encounter the message of salvation and then we need to make a
decision to accept this good news. The
power of God does not begin in our lives until we make a conscious choice to
follow him. Until then we are lost. This point of view is prevalent in many
Christian circles. Those who hold this
view are big believers in altar calls and praying the “sinners prayer” in order
to become a believer in Jesus. There
are two passages that help me understand that this is not how God
operates. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, “Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the
Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say,
"Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3 NIV)
Paul also says in Romans 8, “The sinful mind is hostile
to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by
the sinful nature cannot please God.” (Romans
8:7-8 NIV) When we confess with our
mouths that Jesus is Lord, is cannot be an act of a sinful person, because this
pleases God. There must be something
that was working in us before we could even do this. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. He works in us before we even know who Jesus
is. He comes to us in the waters of
baptism before we can even talk. He
starts working on our sinfulness even before we know. There is no way we can cooperate with
God. Salvation is his action and his
action alone. I could go on and on with
this one but I think you get the idea.
Please let me know if you have any more questions about this.
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