A Blind Dog Prays

We're praying deeply these days that God would do what only God can do. I guess this is something like Moses crying out to God in Exodus 33:18, "I pray thee, show me thy glory."

I remember doing an anniversary program for a church. I remember how the Lord got me to change the tone of what I was writing to a very positive message. It was a skit and slide show with multiple projectors and I even made a cloud above the screen so when the angel (narrator) spoke, the cloud glowed. It was cool and came off like Hollywood, but something happened in the middle. I worked it out so that while the angel and people on stage were talking, I could change the slide tray. I had plenty of time, but it stuck. I couldn't get it off. If I had had a screwdriver or hammer I would have been wreaking havoc. But there I was jiggling and wiggling the carousel, praying and sweating great drops of sweat, and (I'm not kidding) in the last possible second it came loose and I put the tray in and pressed "advance slide" and we were exactly on target.

Needless to say, I not only thanked God then, but afterward when people were telling me how great the program was, I thanked God again. And very sincerely, because He kindly showed me, He was in charge. I'll always remember thinking how cool God was to free me from any pride. He did what only He could do.

In the past year I have taken a couple of church planter evaluations, the last one recently. I came out bad on both evaluations. I'm not a church planter for a pioneer work. I'm not that "overly strong, risk taking" personality. I know that about me. For someone planting a church, that doesn't bode well. I know. I know my gifts and my passions, and I'm more of a teacher and preacher. I need a group. I need to be teaching stuff. I do ok evangelistically, but I'm not an evangelist. I lash myself mercilessly to jump over my own shadow. I've had to force myself to memorize gospel presentations. I lead people to Christ, but I'll bet it takes a year off my life each time. It's ok, I know where I'm going when I die.

So, in my present state of the "dumps" and questioning God's next steps for us, I really want to see God do something that only He can do. I don't want a formula or purchase or inserting 2 batteries and pressing a button. I want to see God moving something so that He gets all the glory; and we say, "there is no way that was us. It was totally the Lord." I refuse to live totally by rational law. Somewhere here there is a very present invisible God who is far more concerned with the lives of the lost than we are, who has the power to make windows in heaven, make a stream flow out of solid rock and who can feed 2 million people in the desert. And I don't want anything showy or awesome, I just want Him.

I was thinking about the church I planted in Germany. Mind you, according to all tests, I am not a church planter. So what happened? As I think it over, it's simple. God did stuff. One day after a sermon this woman comes up to me and says, "I want to become a new creation." I didn't even give an invitation. This pastor in the area sends a disenchanted teen to our service. She gets baptized. Her disenchanted brother wants to talk to me. I say ok. I lead him to Christ. Next week he brings his friend to my house and asks me to talk to him. He comes to Christ. Suddenly we have a youth group. I talk to a Lutheran pastor about my dilemma and he tells me I can use his huge youth room, complete with stage and lights and sound and sofas and a pool table…for nothing. Whatever!

Church planter? No way. "Blind dog" is more like it, and God just kept pushing doggy treats up to my nose. But you know what, I'm totally cool with that. I never, never had the temptation, as hard as I worked and as hard as all of this was on me, to say, "Look what I did." Even as it was happening, I knew it was the Lord and I was an exhausted, witless bystander, watching His glory.

Pray with me. I am not cool doing ministry without seeing His working, His glory, seeing Him do stuff that only He can do. I don't understand crying out to Him and "not seeing" His working. Even in dismal church situations I saw His working.

Ministry is not what we do, it is what He does through broken, inadequate people. If it can all be explained and quantified, it belongs to us. I understand persistence and faith, but I like what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:8-9, "But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." God did stuff. His presence was there. His Glory was evident. Paul's job was just to help those who God was leading to Himself.

Exodus 33:15 And he (Moses) said to him, "If thy presence will not go with me, do not carry us up from here."

Lord, show us your will and do the “stuff” that only You can do.

February 19, Reading Notes

Leviticus 7:28-9:6

Lev. 7:28-38

The thing that stands out to me here is that God built in a kind of tithe into the sacrificial system to provide for the service of the priests. Later, other tithes will be taken out to support the service of the Levites.

If the people realized God’s love, their need and sin, and God’s provision, they would sacrifice gladly. They could only sacrifice if the priests made offering for them. The system was perfect if everyone kept their eyes on God and His love and mercy. If they put their focus anywhere else, it became a system of drudgery and complaining. Why should they have to go to Jerusalem? Why should they have to offer up their best animals? Why should they support the priests who seemed to have easy jobs with lots of help?

In Nehemiah, after he went back to Persia, the people stopped sacrificing and giving, and the priests and Levites had to stop serving Israel and go back to their land to make a living. The city began going to ruin again, this time, spiritually.

In Malachi, you have the priests allowing the people to be godless and bring anything to sacrifice. God judges the priests because of the motive behind their tolerance. If they stopped the people from bringing bad sacrifices, what would they eat? God had no tolerance for that. Also, Eli the priest was guilty of this, too. If you wonder why he wouldn’t stop his sons from desecrating the offerings, note what it says about Eli at his death. Apparently, he had quite an appetite.

I see two things here for us as disciples.

First, after we exercise responsible wisdom and seek the Lord’s leading, if we can, we are to give for the ministry.

Second, money or provision should never motivate our service. God doesn’t ask us to work without provision, but there is a legitimate challenge to us when Jesus says, “seek ye first…and all these things will be yours as well.” Along with that, we should never “milk” the system.

Lev. 8:1-4

Note here that the Tabernacle is now being called the “tent of the meeting.” It is no longer the meeting between Moses and God only, but now it is God and Israel.

So, as a disciple, where do you “meet” with God? Yeah, I know we now have the Spirit, but I mean, where do you meet regularly with God to read His Word and pray? I actually have a “corner of the meeting.” Sometimes just having the same time and same place can give you a lot of help in having a daily meeting with the Lord.

If you need some inspiration for having a daily time with the Lord, you might like this.

 

Lev. 8:5-13

In clothing Aaron and his sons, I’m always amazed at the Urim and the Thummim. To think that if the leaders asked the priest, he could give them any answer. I mean, they could have bet on horses and won. They could have told the people the weather or when a caravan would arrive. Sadly, except for David, you don’t see anyone relying much on this amazing provision.

Lev. 8:14-36

There is a lot of detail here on consecrating Aaron and his sons. What stands out to you, and if you were guiding younger disciples through this section, what would you find here, to apply to them?

I have a couple of things for you.

First, the blood on Aaron's right ear lobe, thumb and big toe. I think every discipleship kit at your local Christian bookstore should have a small vial of blood for this purpose. JUST KIDDING! The blood was to symbolize that all of Aaron’s life and ministry was to help the people stand before their God. As disciples in the harvest, bearing the blood of Jesus has to be our mindset also. We are to be reminded by the blood we bear, that all we think and do should be directed to helping people connect with God through the grace and forgiveness in Christ.

Second, this wasn’t a quick ceremony. They had to live in the tent for 7 days. I think for us as disciples, staying consecrated to the Lord and His harvest requires that we, at times, need to lock ourselves in somewhere and refocus ourselves in prayer and seeking God.

Third, they did all that the Lord asked them to do. That might seem like a lame point, but wait until tomorrow. Regardless of the honor the Lord shows us one day, He still expects us to try to obey. He shows us grace upon grace even in our disobedience, but sometimes there is a very short fuse. It is good, as examples to other disciples, to fear the Lord, that is, to be afraid of Him in a healthy way.

Lev. 9:1-6

How would you describe what is happening here? It looks to me that now that Aaron and his sons are consecrated before the Lord privately, they will now be consecrated publicly. I like the part about seeing the Glory of the Lord.

Mark 3:31-4:25

Mark 3:31-35

Doesn’t it seem like we just covered this in Matthew? So what application can you make from this story regarding being a disciple?

Mark 4:1-25

As a disciple making disciples, or even talking to an unbeliever over this section (which is also part of the disciple-making process), how would you explain the purpose of parables?

Also, how would you explain the different seeds to a new, growing disciple? If you hang around long enough, you will meet all of these, even in church.

How do verses 21-25 complement verse 20? What is Jesus’ argument here? How did Jesus define fruit?

Psalm 37:12-29

There are lots of good verses here. Which of these strikes a chord with you?

It's probably good for us to understand that these promises are the norm, but there are exceptions. Think of verse 25. Is this true, always? I remember hearing of a US city boy having his faith turned upside down by a girl from a third world country. He held to the absolute nature of the promise, but she had seen Christians oppressed and Christian children having to beg for bread. God allows for deviation from the norm. There are God-designed exceptions. Daniel becomes overwhelmed when he is told how God will allow His saints to suffer. In Revelation, God allows the slaughter of those who believe. Paul quotes the OT saying, "for thy sake we are being killed all the day long…" The promise is true, but God allows, for His own purposes, the exception.

Following as a disciple might mean only being given a promise or guidance for a day, not a year. Our job is to follow Christ in the harvest, not to have Him guarantee our earthy security or plans.

Proverbs 10:5

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 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.

February 18, Reading Notes

Leviticus 6:1-7:27

Lev. 6:1-7 probably belongs to the previous section. Note the reoccurring words, “realizes his guilt,” etc…

Notice that this is not “unintentional” but when the person’s conscience gets the better of him, he voluntarily seeks to make restitution. Notice also, it is restitution to the neighbor, plus the cleansing for his own sin.

In David’s sin against Uriah, I don’t see restitution to his neighbor. I wonder if that is why Ahithophel hated him.

Lev. 6:8-7:21

If we were just doing broad strokes, this section seems held together by the words, “this is the law…” All the main sacrifices are described, and certain rights and stipulations are added to them. Notice the difference in the sacrifices and who can eat them. Notice also that a couple of them have are given to Aaron and his sons forever. Try to see what you can observe.

Lev. 7:22-27

This again is the very strong, life or death, prohibition of eating (raw?) fat or blood. Anyway, I understand the part about the blood, but I’ll have to ask Him about the fat when I get to heaven.

Mark 3:7-30

To this point, Mark has blazed through 12-16 months of Jesus’ ministry.

There are three major things in this section.

First, Jesus’ popularity has skyrocketed. Vast multitudes followed Him. It shows that His ability to heal was the first attraction. It think God was OK with this, but only as a means to confront people with the truth. In John 6, after the feeding of the 5000, Jesus will confront the crowds about using Him as a mobile food service and healing station.

Second, Jesus selects twelve disciples and calls them apostles. I love the description of this in verse 14, and the part that really hits me is where it says, “to be with him.” I think this is why a lot of discipleship doesn’t work. You can’t become a disciple via a large class. Jesus brought them to Him. He spent time with them. He involved them in all His ministry and they learned on the job. This slower, more personal, investment doesn’t fit our model of ministry by overburdened, multi-tasking, leaders.

Third, as mentioned in Matthew, the Jews finally figured out how to “explain” Jesus’ power. Of course, He was possessed by Satan. Seeing His power first hand, and attributing it to Satan, thus blaspheming the Holy Spirit, was unforgivable. As I said in Matthew, my take on this is that the unforgivable sin could have only occurred back then, witnessing Jesus’ power first hand.

Psalm 37:1-11

This Psalm looks like the companion to Psalm 36. There are some great, great memory verses in this Psalm that speak to humbly waiting on the Lord and trusting Him.

What verses would you encourage others to memorize?

If I said that Jesus apparently knew this Psalm well and quoted it, what verse would it be?

I think that for a disciple, working in the harvest, meditating on some of these verses is like having a quiet cup of coffee with the Lord, just soaking in His love.

Proverbs 10:3-4

Ok, lets try this again.

The Lord gives the righteous a diligent hand , and so, does not let him go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked with a slack hand that causes poverty.

Again, this is just a suggestion, looking for a connection in thought.

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 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.

February 17, Reading Notes

For new readers joining the journey, check out the notes at the end, especially the link to the on-line ESV One Year Bible.

Leviticus 4-5

Now, these chapters are a good exercise in Bible study. Look for words or phrases that repeat. These will go through both chapters. Also, look for “or if…”.

One of the things that hit me this year was “realize their guilt.” Realizing their guilt would be the ministry of the Spirit, but to really "realize" it, would cost them something.

The other thing that occurred to me was that it would be burned into the minds of these people that when they sinned, even if it was unintentional, a life would be lost. That’s pretty heavy. I wonder, as disciples, if we truly appreciate the deep repercussions of sin. I know it’s true of me, that I take both sin, and the Lord’s death for granted. In Leviticus, God is making the people, and nation, appreciate the meaning of sin. He will also make them value their responsibility toward each other to be holy before the Lord.

Mark 2:13-3:6

Mark 2:13-17

Levi, the rich, socially rejected man, felt comfortable to accept Jesus’ offer, because Jesus dared to face off against the religious right on the issue of “shunning” sinners. You cannot attract the lost with the message of the love of Christ, by not loving the lost. Distance of values does not mean you have to be distant from the person. You don’t find a greater separation of values than Holy God and sinful man, but still, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

Mark 2:18-22

We saw this in Matthew. Not all of John’s disciples followed Jesus. Totally ironic, but Jesus reserves His first use of parables for them and His answer is compassionate.

Mark 2:23-27

To put this in perspective, insert John 5 right before this event. This is why the Pharisees were now following Him so closely. In John 5 Jesus calls Himself both, Son of God and Son of Man. The way He uses these titles is really interesting. It made the Pharisees hate Him because it was so clear.

Matthew/Mark/Luke have this event and the one that follows, together, meaning that’s exactly how it happened chronologically. That all three Gospels have it means it was a very significant event.

Mark 3:1-6

Some believe this man was put there on purpose. Doctor Luke mentions that it was the man’s “right” hand. The Pharisee’s reaction is intense.

As disciples, if we are doing our job, walking closely with Christ in the harvest, this kind of opposition will be ours, and not just from the “unbelieving” community. Following Christ and making disciples in the harvest has to be our true reward and passion.

Psalm 36

There are two things I’ve never seen here before.

First, the description of the man in verses 1-4 is dark. What defense do you have if this sort of secret, black-ops deceitfulness is aimed at you?

Second, notice the repetition of “your steadfast Love.” This is our true hope and refuge. Only God can know all of the things aimed at us as we serve Him in this dark time of harvest. But knowing He knows is not the comfort and strength we have. Our hope and joy and strength is in the steadfast love of the Lord. That’s got to be enough. Lord, teach me this.

Proverbs 10:1-2

One of the things that always interests me is the connection between verses, if there is one. Doesn’t it seem completely random? So, is verse 2 the reason for the responses in verse 1? That would kind of be like -

A wise son, whose righteousness delivers him from death, makes his father glad,

But a foolish son, who gains things by pursuit of ungodliness, finds no lasting value in his life and brings sorrow to his mother.

Just a suggestion.

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 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.

February 16, Reading Notes, addition

Back in seminary I knew this guy who took a class called “Effective Pulpit Delivery.”  It was a class on giving dramatic sermons.  Eventually he had to write one.  So one evening he and his wife were sitting together at FBC, and as she did her thing, he was reading our passage in Mark 2 and a “dramatic sermon” just sort of tumbled onto his paper.

He’s got it online at the link below

It gives a bit of a different perspective on the story.  He gets a little emotional at the end, but I think that is because of his Greek blood. 

February 16, Reading Notes

Some congratulations are in order. If you’ve been keeping up, you’ve now read 3 books of the Bible and you’ve probably read more Psalms than you did last year, and you’re making good headway into Proverbs. The point of all of this is connection with God. Like in any relationship, you learn over time and through constant contact and time together in different situations. As we seek to follow Christ in the harvest and in all the changing circumstances of our lives, we need the Word to be constantly flowing through us, to give the Spirit the ability to apply God’s thoughts and wisdom to our hearts. Reading the Bible is not a onetime deal, and it is not about learning content and remembering stories. We are seeking God and wanting to know His heart and hear His Word.

Leviticus 1-3

Before I came to Christ, my uncle suggested one time that I should read the Bible. I told him I had tried but I died in the third book. He told me to start in the Gospels. That helped. I relate that story only to say that Leviticus is where a lot of well meaning people “bite the dust” in their effort to read the Bible through.

Hang in there. We’ll get through it together. If you want to make it more fun, try finding repeated words or phrases to look for and underline, for example, “pleasing aroma to the Lord.”

Lev. 1:1-17

So read this and try to note things that seem interesting. Here are some of mine.

First, these offerings could only be males (picking on males?)

Second, they could only be at the Tabernacle. This meant if you lived far away, you had to travel, which meant devotion and commitment.

Third, it was a pleasing aroma….if done in sincerity for heartfelt forgiveness.

Fourth, the very poorest of people could offer turtledoves or pigeons. You know what famous couple offered this offering right? (Lk. 2:24) Also, Jesus was kind to the pigeons. (Jn 2:14-16)

Fifth, the entire animal was consumed in fire, meaning that nothing went to the priest for supper.

Burnt offerings had to do with the atoning for sin and for personal cleansing.

Lev. 2:1-15

Grain offerings seem to have to do with cleansing and thankfulness.

The priests seem to have been able to have some of this sacrifice for supper.

These couldn’t have yeast, but they all had to have salt. A covenant of salt meant “perpetual obligation.” I don’t get all of what this means, but it is interesting to have Jesus say we are the salt of the earth. As disciples, our thankfulness for our salvation needs to be offered with salt.

Lev. 3:1-17

So, a peace offering was given in thankfulness, asking for God’s continued blessing. It was also a sort of tithe in that the priest could have some of this for supper.

This could be a male or female.

I don’t get all of the detail here. Maybe some parts of the animal were delicacies. It’s interesting that the people couldn’t eat the fat. I get not eating raw blood, but apparently they couldn’t eat fat that was not on the cooked meat. Apparently God wanted them to stay healthy.

Mark 1:29-2:12

Mark 1:29-31

I always smile when I read this. I’m sure the image I have in my mind isn’t how it happened; but I can see Jesus entering into the house, a little bit worn out and hungry, and He says, “Peter, do you have anything to eat?” Peter says, “Sure, but my mother-in-law is sick, so I’ll have to cook, but don’t worry.” Jesus looks at Peter rolling up his sleeves and says, “Right. Where’s your mother-in-law?”

Mark 1:32-39

This first flurry of activity in Capernaum ends with Jesus, basically, escaping. Note that as exhausted as He was the night before, He got up early to pray and to avoid the crowds looking for Him.

Mark 1:40-45

Interestingly, in Leviticus, we are about to read the requirements for the cleansing of a leper. In all the history of Israel since Leviticus, this is the first Israelite who we know of who was ever cleansed. And he disobeyed Jesus. This publicity, humanly speaking, hurt Jesus’ ministry of preaching in the towns and cities He was sent to, mentioned in v. 39.

Mark 2:1-12

This is the first of the public conflicts that Jesus had with the Jewish leaders.

As already noted, Jesus' use of the title "Son of Man," gave this conflict great intensity, because Jesus was calling Himself the Messiah and eternal king from Daniel 7.

Psalm 35:17-28

When you think of what David went through, that drove him to write this, you realize how deeply and desperately he needed the Lord. And, the Lord led him to write this.

Proverbs 9:13-18

Well, we managed to go a few days without this warning, but here it is again. As the Lord describes the real event here, it doesn't sound too inviting if you mix the hell scenario into it. But digitally, it's just as deadly. I guess the Lord knew we'd need these warnings in the digital age.

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 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.

February 15, Reading Notes

If you’ve just started reading with us, especially if you’re a Greek, welcome. We are reading through a One Year Bible and I’m adding some comments to keep us focused on growing in and following our Lord, as His disciples in the harvest. At the end of this entry you’ll find a link to an online One Year ESV Bible. If you’re really curious, in the archives of this blog, you’ll find all sorts of interesting stuff, including a 25 chapter story written for teen guys.

Exodus 39-40

Ex. 39:1-31

Now we learn that God is into fashion. The thing that stands out to me here is the ephod, or bib apron that Aaron wore. It had the names of the tribes of Israel on it in the rows of stones, reminding him that he always represented them before God.

The big thing about the ephod was that there were two….dice-like thingies in it, the Urim and the Thummim. These were used for determining God’s will or judgment.

When Gideon later makes his own ephod, it was probably in rebellion to using the corrupt priest and levitical system. His bad. This way he could seek God’s will without consulting priest or Tabernacle. You never rebel against God’s order. You can work to reform it, but God wanted them to submit to Him and His way. Gideon led the nation into idolizing his ephod.

Even later, when David is on the run, “Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.” The importance wasn’t the ephod, it was what was in it, the Urim and Thummim. David made use of these on several occasions to find God’s will and it saved him more than once.

What made David a real model for us as disciples, was that during his younger years, he constantly sought the Lord. The priest was to constantly seek the Lord on behalf of the people. He was not to do what he thought, but was to follow what the Lord said and so lead the people before God. For us as disciples, our prayer life and our reading, our life closely following our Savior in the harvest, is the true measure of our ability to lead others into deeper discipleship.

Ex. 39:32-40:38

A couple things stand out to me in this section.

First, the time notation in 40:1 is important. It gives you an idea of how long this took. It was definitely a major community project. The people left Egypt a year earlier in the first month.

Second, in v. 34 you have the glory of the Lord filling the Tabernacle. It was the same cloud that went before them and became a pillar of fire in the night. It gives you an idea of how remarkable that cloud was if it represented the physical presence of the Lord. God was pleased with the work.

Just like the people of Israel, we are prone to see manifestations of God’s glory and see them as common place. So what kind of daily manifestations are you prone to forget or take for granted?

Mark 1:1-28

I love this gospel for a couple of reasons. Mark was the Kaffeine King of disciples. His short, quick account of the Gospel of Christ was the first Gospel, written to get the believers in Rome up to speed with some accurate information.

The second thing I love is that this Gospel depicts Jesus as the “Suffering Servant,” written by John Mark, the failed servant. What a discipleship lesson in itself. Mark, the well-to-do, true-blue-Jew, city boy went with Uncle Barnabas and Paul on the first missionary journey and washed out in the first month. Defeated and broken, Barnabas nurtured him back into service, but Paul wouldn’t have it and Barnabas and Paul split. This “failure” became our first Gospel writer and, when Paul was about to die, Paul tells Timothy to bring Mark into this very dangerous spot to help him.

So, notice how selective Mark is. Mark hits all the big events. John the Baptist fulfilling the OT promise, the baptism (anointing of Christ) of Jesus, the duel with the devil, the selection of His big 3, His skyrocketing to ministry and fame. And all of this in 28 verses.

Psalm 35:1-16

Verses 11-14 remind me of Job. When he was down, those whom he helped scorned him. Sometimes it takes the opposition of men and of friends, to push us to the place of understanding that only the Lord can truly help us and lift us up.

Proverbs 9:11-12

Verse 11 is easy to understand. I think the first part of 12 means that if you are wise, it brings benefit to your own life; but if you are a scoffer, it will be something that you add to your life that weighs you down.

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 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.