January 15, Reading Notes

Genesis 31:17-32:12

31:1-55

This is an interesting story, but it was all unnecessary. Jacob had been told by God to return to Canaan and he knew of the promise to Abe, but being afraid and "helping God along" was just something Jacob did.

The "house gods" had two purposes. First, they reminded you of a deity, like the old St. Christopher statues everyone used to have in their cars. This, of course, means they had idols. Jacob's kids will have them later.

Second, these statues were investments. Rather than putting your extra savings in certificates or bonds, you made a statue of gold and put it up on the shelf for a rainy day. This is the real reason Laban was upset. Rachel's action was motivated by what she and Leah said yesterday, that their father had taken everything from them. This theft was "payback."

Rachel's little trick to hide the thing in the saddlebag was a nice touch and she showed she was just like the "old man." If Laban had found out, he would have been proud.

After Jacob's tirade in 36-42, Laban answers in v. 43 with, "whatever." Notice that there are no apologies here of any kind.

As disciples, there is certainly a place to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves," but the level of dishonesty and fear in this family has nothing to do with closely following Christ.

This narrative proves God's faithfulness to His own plan, to our redemption, in spite of the weakness and sin of the people He uses. Jacob's life was damaged by his own choices and distance from God. His lack of trust and distance from God would still produce damage in his life and family.

Solomon/God says that the "fear of the Lord" is the beginning of wisdom. Reading this "life of Jacob" should make us understand that regardless of our sense of our life, our pedigree, our accomplishments for the Lord, He will not shield us if we ignore Him.

For us, if fear is the beginning of wisdom, Christ, His love, His resurrection, His mission and His closeness, becomes the middle and end of our wisdom. Disciples have it made if they abide in Jesus and this always means hearing, doing and being involved in the harvest.

32:1-12

Jacob's next ulcer has to do with Esau.

God confirms Jacob with the angels, but it takes the news that Esau is on his way with 400 men, to make Jacob religious. He appeals to God's promise, which is a very notable, good thing.

If you had had the history with Esau that Jacob did, what message would you have sent to Esau? I love the surprise that is coming.

As disciples, it is easy to "cry out" when disaster threatens us. God encourages us to see that our need is always desperate and to always be crying out, to always be knocking, asking and seeking. There is nothing that keeps the reality of this world and the sense of desperation in focus like working to reach lost people. Our mission keeps our "eye sound" and it keeps us at our savior's feet. You learn to take very little for granted, which also gives you more joy in appreciating the smallest of blessings the Lord grants us.

Matthew 10:26-11:6

10:26-33

So what does the Lord want you, as a disciple to learn from this? What gives you confidence or courage? The very fact that Jesus is saying this, means He knows He is going to send us into some tough, sometimes, dangerous situations. The hard part for us is realizing He might choose to use us and graduate us to heaven in the same instance we are speaking for Him, like He did with Stephen in Acts. Stephen died, but what we don't see, is that a minute later he was getting "high fives" in heaven and was totally fulfilled and ok and finally on vacation from this mess.

Verse 33 is a challenge. Since I don't believe the Bible teaches you can lose your salvation, and since Jesus has already mentioned there will be "false" workers and followers, I believe He is saying that a true disciple will find in Him, in the mission, the peace necessary to endure to the end and give testimony.

Richard Wurmbrand tells a story in “Tortured for Christ,” about Russian soldiers who burst into a Romanian church during a Wednesday evening prayer meeting. They brought their rifles to bear on the small crowd and said, "Anyone who is a follower of Christ will be killed. If you are not, leave now." Many people stood and left. One of the soldiers locked the door after they left and returned to his comrade, guarding the few frightened people who had dared to remain. They both put down their guns and said, "Good. We wanted to pray with some fellow believers, but we needed to know who was really a follower of Jesus."

10:34-39

How important is Jesus and our mission here? Can you imagine hanging these verses over the entrance to your church? But, this is reality and what we are called to.

I was leading a discipleship class once where someone suggested that we shouldn't use verses like these with new Christians. Jesus didn't hide truth. It seems that if you hide truth, you have believers who hide, for whom also, the real power and greatness of God is also hidden.

10:40-42

As we carry His message to lost people, Jesus uses us to expose their hearts. Their acceptance or rejection of the message isn't our job or dependent on how well we did it. In fact, the only thing Jesus might be using us for is to show the state of their heart. It seems that Jesus and Paul were on the same page.

2 Cor 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient [1] for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

As disciples, we hear His word and do it.

11:1-6

John spent more time in jail than he did in ministry. His disciples told him everything and it appears that John was suffering in the waiting. Not only this, John was, most likely, being fed misinformation. In those dark days in the dungeon, I'm sure some temptation to doubt was present, to be embarrassed or offended at what he "heard" Jesus had done.

Jesus' answer was sufficient for John. These were things foretold that the Messiah would do. The final words were clearly a warning to John to hold on in faith.

One interesting thing about what Jesus says to John, is that, as disciples, we can get down regarding our church or the lack of fruit we are seeing. Nothing cheers the heart like babies….I mean new believers. Get out and find a place where life is happening. If you can't drive or fly, get online and find out where it's happening and what the stories are. God is working and lives are being saved and changed, so look beyond your church or dungeon, and keep focused on our mission as disciples of Jesus. Personally, draw close to Him, keep on making every effort He'll let you make, and don't give up.

Psalm 13:1-6

And having said that, isn't this a great psalm. Now, imagine that the thing you are totally longing for is to see Jesus' name lifted up and people saved and made disciples, and you want Him to do it through you. You are somehow very involved and connected to the process. If you can desire all this, with the kind of longing expressed in this psalm, God will answer, and the forces working against you, spiritual and human, will be defeated.

Proverbs 3:16-18

Great expression of what it means to seek and hold on to wisdom. So practically, as disciples, where do we seek this wisdom?

1 Corinthians 1:30 He (God) is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made (that is, God made Jesus to be) our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; (parenthetical notes are mine)

Disciples seek, follow and abide in Christ.

I'm writing these comments to and for those at New Song who are following a One Year Bible and involved in a discipleship cell. We're meeting weekly and discussing the texts, not necessarily my comments. We're growing together, learning to become and make disciples who make disciples. We will all be leading others in this process and training them to do likewise.

The comments I'm writing are in no way exhaustive, but meant to give some leading thoughts on how the text applies to us as disciples and to encourage and stimulate our growth in reading the Bible, with the effect that we will grow as disciples and encourage the growth of others as disciples growing in the word. If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible, in fact, no one in our church reads the version I do, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.