Monday, July 11, 2016

Luke 4:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

Note:  The word for "power" is the root word for "dynamite", but I don't think that the power of the Holy Spirit is always demonstrated in an explosive manner.  Also, note that it remains the "power of the Holy Spirit".  We can yearn for power, but it is not our power to control.  That is to seek witchcraft.  The Holy Spirit controls the power.  According to 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, we should be glad when we are weak.  That is when we are strong.  Consider also Colossian 1:11, in which we are told that we are strengthened with power in order to patiently endure longsuffering with joy.  I suspect the joy is when the power can be discerned by others.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹  And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
¹⁰  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Colossians 1:9-12 (NKJV)
⁹  For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
¹⁰  that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
¹¹  strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
¹²  giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

Jesus and the Fall from the Pinnacle of the Temple

June 29, 2016

What's my default response to situations in which I'm feeling the pressure and it seems that the Lord is nowhere near?

Luke 4:9-12 (NKJV)

⁹Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.

¹⁰For it is written:

     ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you, and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

¹²And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

Note:  This temptation, notable because Satan quotes Scripture, is an appeal to the pride of life.  I think I'm still working on what "pride of life" as a sin actually means, but I think it has something to do with the idea that "I want to live the Christian life, but I want to do it on my terms, my way."  When Satan quotes Scripture to Jesus, he speaks of Psalm 91:11-12.  It involves the promise of God to those who make the Lord their refuge, and I guess that holds true especially for the Messiah.  The implication seems to be that Jesus could leap off the temple, and survive without injury to the fall to the pavement below.  The resulting spectacle would add tremendous credence to His claim that His is Messiah.  It probably would have worked, but Jesus will not go for it.  He responds by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.

Deuteronomy 6:16 "You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah.  This refers to a specific place and event.  Exodus 17:1-7 records a water crisis in Horeb, near Mount Sinai deep in the Negev in which the people threatened to stone Moses for leading them out into the desert to die.  Moses called out to the Lord, who instructed him to strike the rock (which rock?) in Horeb in the presence of the elders in Israel and water would flow out and keep the people from dying of  thirst.  Moses interpreted their contention and complaints (verse 2) as "tempting the Lord", and, indeed, the event has a bad reputation.  On one side, the people apparently complained a lot, and seemed to ignore that their refusal to go to battle for the promised land is what put them into the Negev in the first place.  On the other side, how long would I be able to refrain from complaining if I was out in the desert and I didn't know how to get any water?  That's a recurring theme when I read the Scripture, I read of the people of God acting badly and I try to imagine myself in their situation and I don't see myself acting better.  If I was out in the desert with no water, I think I would complain as well, and not do any better than the children of Israel in that situation.  God wouldn't be any happier with my lack of faith than He was with theirs.  What am I to do?    

Psalm 95:6-11 gives commentary and a corrective to this failure.

Psalm 95:6-11 (NKJV) ⁶  Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. ⁷  For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: ⁸  "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, ⁹  When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. ¹⁰  For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.' ¹¹  So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' "

My take on this is that praise and worship prepares one to stand strong in the "day of trial", which I imagine comes for us all in one form or another.  Can I train myself to enter into prayer as worship-prayer that honors the Lord for who He is rather than asking for anything-instead of bitterness and complaining when it appears that God has abandoned me?   

Here's some more notes and some reflections about the temptation of Jesus.  Hope they are helpful.

Luke 4:6 (NKJV)

⁶And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

και ειπεν αυτω ο διαβολος σοι δωσω την εξουσιαν ταυτην απασαν και την δοξαν αυτων οτι εμοι παραδεδοται και ω εαν θελω διδωμι αυτην

Luke 4:7 (NKJV)

⁷Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

συ ουν εαν προσκυνησης ενωπιον μου εσται σου παντα

προσκυνέω  From G4314 (these notations are from Strong's Concordance) and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) -prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.

G4314 is the prefix the means "before", G2965 is the Greek word for "dog."

We find in this word a rather unflattering view of ourselves as worshippers.  We lower and humble ourselves before the one who is worshipped as a dog who licks the hand of his master.  It's an affront to my pride and self-respect.  Satan dares to ask this of Jesus who is infinitely his master, but what of us when we worship God in the name of Jesus Christ?  The only other time this particular word for "worship" is used is in a parallel account if the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:9, so apparently it is not used to describe Christians worshipping God.  But while I suspect the Father has no interest in debasing or humiliating worshippers the point is probably still that it is appropriate that we humble ourselves in worship; that we recognize how infinitely superior our God is compared to us, that is, if we consider ourselves at all.

Luke 4:8 (NKJV)

⁸And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

A quote of Deuteronomy 6:13

Tuesday, May 31, 2016-I find the audacity of this amazing.  Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He will worship Satan.  Satan gained these kingdoms from Adam and Eve by means of temptation.  That dominion was delegated to them by the Lord in the first place.   (Genesis 1-2, particularly 1:28-29)

            There's was a movie that made me curious because it involved a family of devout pilgrims in New England of 1630.  I didn't want to pay for it so I looked up the synopsis on wikipedia.org and then watched some film clips as I could find on youtube.  I do not recommend this film.  While instructive as I reflected on this passage, about worship and temptation, it is not edifying or encouraging. but rather very dark and disturbing.  It apparently has been endorsed by the Church of Satan, though I doubt the film's producers sought that endorsement.  If you didn't like "Rosemary's Baby" you're going to hate this film.  The family leaves the village to start a new farm near the edge of a forest, not knowing that a witch is nearby.  The witch is as vicious a creature as the early New Englanders envisioned her to be, and the family suffers one terrible disaster after another, the last one being the worst of all.  The only value I found from looking  at this was that it showed me that all temptation is dangerous, for even the seemingly innocuous ones lead eventually to the same terrible result.  It shows how dark and terrible is this temptation that Satan dares to present to Jesus. 

It also shows me that worship is a far more serious business that we humans consider it to be, though that is something people have known for a long time.

Here's some more thoughts about Luke 4-the temptations of Jesus

Luke 4:5 (NKJV)

⁵Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Question-How many kingdoms were around at that time? 

Pulpit Commentary-This temptation was something more than "offering to One who had lived as a village carpenter the throne of the world." It appealed to his ambition certainly, but in Jesus’ case it was a high, pure, sinless ambition. This much he certainly knew already, that he was destined to rule over men from pole to pole. It was for him a righteous longing, this desire to have the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as his possession. No false ambition was this in Jesus, this desire to realize the glorious Messianic hope. Again, how typical a temptation! All ranks and orders are often soon tempted here. A noble end as they think, and in the beauty of the goal they forget that the road leading to it is paved with evil and wrong.

Cf. the destiny of the Christian, 1 Corinthians 2:9 & 6:2-3

Does Satan try to sell Christians their destiny after he has stolen it from them?  We are, obviously, not the Lord Jesus but I suspect the enemy uses the same tactics over and again. 

1 Corinthians 2:9 (quoting Isaiah 64:4 & 65:17)  But as it is written; "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered in to the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  Though Paul continues that the Spirit reveals these things, having searched the deep things of God. 

1 Corinthians 6:2-3  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?  And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?  Do you not know that we shall judge angels?  How much more, things that pertain to this life?

            Note:  Both these verses, that mention the amazing destiny in store for the follower of Christ, are set in the context of a call for humility and a call against strife and "one-upsmanship".  Are we always trying to get what Mark Twain called "mean little advantages over one another" and selling out for much less than what was offered Jesus?  I could live and act and speak as an inheritor of the earth (the meek shall inherit the earth), but instead are there not times when I sell that out for some "mean advantage" over another person and make myself look at the expense of another?

Mark Twain’s Thoughts On Man

Mark Twain shortly before his death wrote, “A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;…they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; …those they love are taken from them, and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. It (the release) comes at last—the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them—and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence,…a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever.”

Source Unknown  https://bible.org/illustration/mark-twain%E2%80%99s-thoughts-man

Hi, everyone.  It's been a long time since I've written on this blog.  I hope all of you have been well in the meantime.  I'm still slowly working my way through the Gospel of Luke and am now in chapter four.  The Lord Jesus has been baptized and at this juncture is tempted by Satan during(?) or after an extended fast in the desert.  From what I understand, the traditional site of this is the top of a barren mountain overlooking the city of Jericho, with the Jordan River in the distance.  Jerusalem is several miles west and much higher in elevation.  On the side of the traditional Mount of Temptation is a Greek Orthodox Monastery,  which has been there for many centuries.  Here are some thoughts from my Bible study notes: 

Luke 4:4 (NKJV)

⁴But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”  A quote from Deuteronomy 8.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV)
³  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

Question:  Do I hunger after God more than I hunger for my daily food?  Do I realize the extent of my dependency upon the Lord?  The dependency of the children of Israel out in the wilderness was obvious to them.  They had never seen manna.  A large group should not be able to survive in someplace as inhospitable as the Sinai Peninsula.  The lesson in Deuteronomy 8 is that once they have established homes, and farms, and a means of living and they have a life, they can fool themselves into believing that they are no longer dependent.  It was a lie.  It still is a lie.  I am just as dependent upon the Lord sitting comfortably on the back deck of my house, with air conditioning, a full refrigerator and two cars in the driveway with plenty of gas as they were out in that miserable desert.  I'm just more comfortable.  I must not forget that we are just a dependent upon the Lord now as they were then. 

I've finished with the Book of Ezekiel and its detailed vision of a new temple and a new nation.  Sadly, it was a vision that I would imagine was precious to the prophet, since he was a priest himself and this was a hope presented to him that would not be fulfilled in his lifetime.  As far as I know, Ezekiel remained in exile for the rest of his life.  Some maintain that the vision at the end of this book is symbolic, through detailed.  Others maintain that it is for a time yet to come.  We shall see.  Perhaps one think I can take away from this is that there should be elements of Scripture that are "not yet" and "for a time yet to come".  We are an incomplete work and our world is fallen and not yet what it shall be.  Perhaps that should be reflected in Scripture.

I've just started working on the Book of Luke, a wonderful Gospel prepared, so I'm taught, by a level-headed Greek physician.  I stopped short after reading just the first two verses...

1  Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,

2  just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,

Note:  Luke seems here to claim that he has eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus among his sources.  That seems different from the theory that Luke had a variety of traditions that he had modified to fit together into a good story.

The Apostle Paul, in his brief recitation of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-6, mentions those who were eye-witnesses to the risen Christ.  

Could both of these books be examples of fiction pretending to be researched presentations of actual events?  

If so, what does mean to the value of the Gospel?  

What if they, as I suspect, were actually based on interviews with eye witnesses? 

 

Ezekiel 43:1-27 (NKJV)

¹  Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. 

²  And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.

Ezekiel 11:22-23 “So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.”

Note: In this vision, which includes a very detailed description of a temple that has yet to be built, is the reverse of the terrible vision Ezekiel experienced when he saw God leave the temple in Jerusalem and go to rest on the Mount of Olives before leaving entirely. Here is the point that intersects my life; not whether this temple will every actually be built or whether it is purely symbolic but whether the Spirit of God shows up when the church meets. Nothing that the church does in worship rises above empty ritual if the Holy Spirit is not involved and God is not present. I once heard a fellow who was a bishop in the Orthodox Church Outside of India speak. He said that the foremost concern of the American church was whether they were friendly and relevant. He said that the foremost concern should be whether the Holy Spirit shows up. Perhaps one of the frightening lessons of Ezekiel is that if the Lord can leave the temple, He can leave a church as well. When was the last time I prayed and asked the Lord if His Holy Spirit was comfortable being present in the Sunday worship of our congregation?