February 27, Reading Notes

A couple of notes before we begin today.

First, the wonderfulness of reading a One Year Bible (OYB). If you've been following from the beginning of the year, you have been building a great routine these two months. When I started reading like this I had always thought that I was pretty good about having my quiet times. As a pastor, I never have my QT as part of my workday. I thought I was pretty regular. Then I began with the OYB and I would sit down thinking I had missed, maybe a couple days, and found I was behind a week. I always mark my pages each day, so there was no mistake. I'd develop strategies to get caught up, slowly inching my way up to the current date, swearing (in a devout manner) that I wouldn't let that happen again. But it did. So I really concentrated on the time of the day and getting set up in the same spot, coffee prepared and ready to turn on. This was great for me. Now, after 17 years, I seldom, if ever, miss two days in a row, even on the road. As a result, my relationship with the Lord has never been stronger, even through very rough times.

Second, the joy of making your own observations and what this does for a discipleship group. So Laura comes into my office this morning with a smile. She found something in yesterday's reading. Now, to be fair, sometimes I don't mention stuff; but in that case, I'll make mention to look for something, repetitions of words, etc. I was not only happy for her, but it felt good to see something I had never noticed before. Yesterday (and today) in the OT reading, I never caught the repetition of, "I am the Lord," or "I am the Lord your God." How cool.

So, when you are discussing this with others in a group, there is that joy of seeing people finding stuff and getting into it. Then there is the application of that phrase for us as disciples. We are meant to help one another, strengthen and encourage one another as we follow Christ in the harvest, reaching out and making disciples who make disciples. We know who our Lord is, unlike everyone else. As our Lord, He lovingly guides and directs and protects us. As our God, He sustains us and makes our lives worth living on earth, and eternally, to live with Him in the future. And in a group, everyone would be adding to the encouragement and strength and security this phrase gives to us. Very cool.

Leviticus 20:22-22:16

Notice the repetition in this section. It isn't just "I am the Lord," but look at all the mentions of "holy." If I were to ask you at the end of Leviticus, what the point of the book was, these words would give you a very good idea.

Lev. 20:22-27

As you read and come to a section like this, that comes at the end of a chapter, you have to ask yourself what the purpose of this block is. It appears to be a summary. Summaries often contain purpose statements.

Notice again the mention of vomit. This is what would happen to the people in the land they were taking. Imagine, all the idolatry and sexual perversion we've just read about, was considered normal culture and everyday life in the land of Canaan.

So, why verse 27? How does it fit?

I'd suggest that the people were to be constantly coming to the Lord with questions. Answers could be found with the priest who carried the Urim and Thummim. Instead, they would be tempted to find answers closer to home. After all, Jerusalem was a long way away. Israel only had one God, one place to worship and one altar. Jerusalem was far away, but they had a God who would lead them and answer them. If the answer didn't come in prayer, it could be found in Jerusalem with the priest of God.

Where do you go? To a movie? Church? Chuck Swindoll? Mark Driscoll?  Charles Stanley?  John Piper?  Some blog? OR…..

http://www.growingchristians.org/mfgc/delivered/Wheredoi.html

Lev. 21:1-15

Look in this section and see if you can figure out where it is talking about a normal priest and about the high priest.

Notice that a priest can't have a Mohawk.

Verse 15 gets expanded upon in EZ. 44:22. A priest could marry the widow of a priest.

What observations do you have here? Do you think it is fair for God to have such high standards for the priests? Do you think that it is fair for God to have high standards of those who follow Christ? We are saved by grace, so why should there be any standards at all? Look at Eph. 4:1-6 and Phil 1:27-30.

Lev. 21:16-24

This portion seems hard. Unlike our situation as disciples, where some who have disabilities do a better job witnessing and representing God than those without disabilities, the priests had to be whole in every way.

I don't know, but I think it was God's way of saying that you offer the most healthy, the most robust, the sacrifice that costs you the most. In a sense, those with disabilities had been preselected by the Lord to not serve as priests, since God was responsible for the disability. With sacrifices, and this happened in Malachi's day, people thought that because times were tough it would be ok to offer a lamed animal in sacrifice. It wasn't good for anything anyway, so why not give it in sacrifice. I think the people eventually had the same thought toward the priests. They didn't really do anything all day except a couple of times. They really didn't bring anything to the table, so let anyone be a priest. Save the able bodied men to serve in the army, be movie stars, etc., and let the others be priests. I don't think they revered the priest like he was really important.

I've heard this said of people who have gone into full-time ministry who had very special talents and abilities or an amazing education. People say, "He became a missionary? What a waste."

Anyway, we can learn something about God in all of this, but we don't have to complain. In the grace of Christ, in our work in the harvest, all of us are used by the Lord. Some of the real heroes of faith, since Christ, have lived in mind-staggering poverty, been scarred or born with disability, and have had little or no education. They have defied death to share Christ. They have hidden with other Christians to entrust the truth and make disciples. They have died for Christ as martyrs, murdered without justice or discovery. And we won't even know their names until we meet them in heaven.

Lev. 22:1-16

There are lots of rules here that serve as "object" lessons. What do you see as the focus of this section? What are the key words?

For all of our rhetoric that our models should just be looked at like normal people and not held to a higher standard, we still want them to live to a higher standard. We subtly accept sin as normal by watching TV, but if a preacher or politician becomes guilty of it, we rightly draw the line. Those guys who represent people should live to a higher standard. I agree. God wanted the Priests of Israel to live to a higher standard, showing that it was possible to live completely for God, because they represented the people before God.

Mark 9:1-29

Mark 9:1-13

If you are ever on Millionaire and asked, "How many days was it, after Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, that Jesus was transfigured before them?" Mark gives you the answer.

Mark 9:14-29

We've seen this before in Matthew 17.

Note that when Jesus comes down the mountain, the disciples are in an argument with the Scribes, probably challenging their correctness and their authority. Paul tells Timothy, the disciple, to stay out of stupid, silly controversies. Arguments seldom settle anything, but you do walk away emotionally unsettled.

Notice that Jesus takes the boy by the hand. Very personal touch.

If you reread Matt. 17, Jesus says they failed to cast out the demon because of their lack of faith. Faith expressed how? In not praying. They were distracted by the crowd and the conflict with the Scribes, and didn't have the courage and presence of mind to huddle together, in front of all those people and detractors, and pray.

As disciples, if we become too "crowd" focused, we might lose the power and strength we have in the harvest, that only comes through faith and pounding on the door of heaven.

Psalm 43

There is no notation of who might have written this, but if you read yesterday's Psalm, you probably figured it out.

As a disciple, focusing on the hard work of following Christ in the harvest, your "enemies" often come more from inside the church than from outside…at least in the western world.

The cry for vindication is followed by the true desire to be close to God, sheltered and led by His light and truth, in His dwelling, before His altar. Nothing I've done gets closer to this than sitting before the Lord after someone has come to Christ. The bruises don't hurt as much; the voices of conflict and doubting become distant and without merit; the reality of the truth seems like a light; there is deep joy; and you're willing to offer even more.

So, I ask myself today, why are you cast down, oh my soul and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. Keep going, keep praying, keep working, keep trusting, hold to what the Lord tells you to do, and the Lord will bring you there again.

Proverbs 10:18

Amen.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.” 

I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.

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, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is 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.