“A presumption becomes a self-refuting assertion". ~R. Alan Woods
After hordes of flies of various types hit just the Egyptians, Pharoah paid more attention. God had separated the Hebrews from the Egyptians. Oops! What was it God had said? Oh, yeah, it was something about letting His people go and worship and sacrifice in the land. O.K. Moses, you can take the people into the land and sacrifice. This assertion by Pharoah looked as if he has seen the light. But really it revealed that he had not taken the commands of God seriously. The commands were " that they be allowed to go THREE days hence from the place of burden to worship the God of the HEBREWS where they would hold a feast unto God in the WILDERNESS." No, Pharoah, your presumption about God was wrong. He does not "settle." His priorities remain constant. His people will not worship Him as part of the world. One cannot presume that the Lord no longer cares about His commands. He watches and waits for obedience and the reckoning continues.
Our God speaks of blessing and curses being set before people. To help avoid the curses, He gives commands, exhortations and admonitions. His word is full of them and when we hear or read of one that condemns we must accept these precepts as well as His grace-filled promises. Yesterday, our preacher made the comment that he does not talk about Hell much, but that surely Hell is living outside the parameters of His total provision. Yes, we have the promise of grace, but we cannot presume upon it. He still calls for wise living based on His commands. The house will fall that is built upon the sand when the floods come. Today would be a good day to make sure our presumptions are based upon the Rock. Hearing Him and striving to do what we hear can insure that our presumptions will not reflect negatively upon us.
"With love and strength for each new day,
He will make a way.
He will make a way."
From the song, God Will Make a Way
Monday, September 28, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Bibledoorajar: Family Stories
"My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.....HE SENT SWARMS OF FLIES THAT DEVOURED THEM."
Psalm 78
I spent the last few days with family following the death of a dear aunt. As the family gathered together the stories started. Most of them I had heard before and known about because they had been told to me at previous gatherings. Some of them were very praiseworthy, others not so much, but all were familiar because they had been told over and over. What people were trying to do through telling these stories with illustrations was to keep the family dynamic alive and specifically keep the memory of the aunt's praiseworthy deeds alive. Perhaps the stories were even meant to be instructive giving us lofty traits to which to aspire.
In Psalm 78 Asaph is speaking to Israel of an earlier time when God delivered His people. He mentions the fourth plague---He sent swarms of flies that devoured them. Most scholars feel the Hebrew indicates that many types of flies descended by swarms and actually preyed on the bodies of the Egyptians (from this plague on the Israelites were excluded from the judgements). And beginning with this plague, we find the magicians conspicuously absent and no longer copycatting God's actions through Moses and Aaron. Too busy getting "devoured" I guess. It is said that these flies were very large and very venomous. God's people were spared this but I am sure the lessons were instructive. In the end, any who continue on in their evil ways will be seriously judged.
Hell is a place of serious judgement. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 50, 22:13, 24:51). The torment will be so great that people will grind and bear down on their teeth to try to deal with the pain and torment. Like the fourth plague, hell will be terrible. However, God has made a way for people to escape the torment just as he made a way for the Israelites. Are you familiar with His wonderful plan? Read John 3:16. It does not get any better than that. People, hear the teaching our ancestors have been sharing for years. Is it time to pay attention?
listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.....HE SENT SWARMS OF FLIES THAT DEVOURED THEM."
Psalm 78
I spent the last few days with family following the death of a dear aunt. As the family gathered together the stories started. Most of them I had heard before and known about because they had been told to me at previous gatherings. Some of them were very praiseworthy, others not so much, but all were familiar because they had been told over and over. What people were trying to do through telling these stories with illustrations was to keep the family dynamic alive and specifically keep the memory of the aunt's praiseworthy deeds alive. Perhaps the stories were even meant to be instructive giving us lofty traits to which to aspire.
In Psalm 78 Asaph is speaking to Israel of an earlier time when God delivered His people. He mentions the fourth plague---He sent swarms of flies that devoured them. Most scholars feel the Hebrew indicates that many types of flies descended by swarms and actually preyed on the bodies of the Egyptians (from this plague on the Israelites were excluded from the judgements). And beginning with this plague, we find the magicians conspicuously absent and no longer copycatting God's actions through Moses and Aaron. Too busy getting "devoured" I guess. It is said that these flies were very large and very venomous. God's people were spared this but I am sure the lessons were instructive. In the end, any who continue on in their evil ways will be seriously judged.
Hell is a place of serious judgement. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 50, 22:13, 24:51). The torment will be so great that people will grind and bear down on their teeth to try to deal with the pain and torment. Like the fourth plague, hell will be terrible. However, God has made a way for people to escape the torment just as he made a way for the Israelites. Are you familiar with His wonderful plan? Read John 3:16. It does not get any better than that. People, hear the teaching our ancestors have been sharing for years. Is it time to pay attention?
Monday, September 14, 2015
Bibledoorajar: Failure to Worship
"Out, damned spot! out, I say!-"
Lady MacBeth"Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality,
uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;"
Colossians 3:5
God had disrupted the comfort of the Egyptians glorious world by changing their water and sending frogs. The third plague, however, will not only disrupt their comfort but also their worship. It affected them in this way: No one could approach the altars of Egypt contaminated by filthy lice and their priests were not allowed to serve in a contaminated state. They religiously shaved their bodies and heads every third day and wore the purest linen garments to avoid any taint of uncleanness. Now, with the third plague, God has shown this advancing world system that they are all unclean and unworthy to worship their gods. This plague that assaulted their very ability to approach their gods really impressed Pharoah's magicians. They said, " this is the finger of God."
It strikes me as odd how the magicians of Egypt could recognize the existence of a true and living God who could so easily disrupt not only their comfort but also their worship and not call on the Egyptians to bow down to Him. But that is still the way it is today, is it not? The lusts of the flesh which places mankind in the unclean category as with the Egyptians is still attacking our persons.
In the passage above, Paul speaks of how Christians must put to death uncleanness which is by another name idolatry. The verse makes Commandments number one (no other gods before me) and two (don't make for yourself idols) more clear for the Christian. We enter the Holy of Holies to worship our God made clean by the blood of Jesus our High Priest who was without contamination. We daily crucify any uncleanness in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. We examine ourselves a lot always seeking out the contamination which is so bothersome to our worship. Thank you Father for making a way for us to worship you.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Bibledoorajar: Understanding Frogs
"And Smiley says-----it's only a frog.' And the feller took it, and looked at it careful, and turned it around this way and that, and says, 'H'm___so 'tis. Well, what's he good for?'
"Well, Smiley says----'he's good enough for one thing, I should judge---he can out jump any frog in Calaveras County.'
-----'Well, he says, 'I don't see no p'ints about that frog that's any better'n any other frog.'
The Celebrated Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
It is said that Mark Twain would collect tall tales and retell them with his own panache. They were so captivating that he delighted audiences with the telling. The lead character in this story thought he had a lucky frog, but when time came for him to be tested in a betting competition, he would not even jump!
The Egyptians forgot to honor their Creator and went on to celebrate parts of His creation. One of the things they celebrated was the frog. For God, the frog became a symbol of uncleanness. And so, the second plague was a reminder to them of their uncleanness. Frogs went everywhere, in their food and even to bed with them. And when the magicians tried to prove their point all they could do was make MORE FROGS. Just what folks needed. More uncleanness.
In the book of Revelation (chapter 16) John says he saw demon spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon. This is what Satan, the old dragon does; he spews uncleanness. When his followers try to mimic him they spew even more. And just as in the Twain story, there is not one frog that is better than any other frog. They are all unclean.
Jesus said He understood all about frogs for He was tempted by them all but succumbed to none. He gave Himself so that any of God's creation who believed in His gift of love could celebrate much more than "frogs". That's a remarkable story we can all be retelling.
"Well, Smiley says----'he's good enough for one thing, I should judge---he can out jump any frog in Calaveras County.'
-----'Well, he says, 'I don't see no p'ints about that frog that's any better'n any other frog.'
The Celebrated Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
It is said that Mark Twain would collect tall tales and retell them with his own panache. They were so captivating that he delighted audiences with the telling. The lead character in this story thought he had a lucky frog, but when time came for him to be tested in a betting competition, he would not even jump!
The Egyptians forgot to honor their Creator and went on to celebrate parts of His creation. One of the things they celebrated was the frog. For God, the frog became a symbol of uncleanness. And so, the second plague was a reminder to them of their uncleanness. Frogs went everywhere, in their food and even to bed with them. And when the magicians tried to prove their point all they could do was make MORE FROGS. Just what folks needed. More uncleanness.
In the book of Revelation (chapter 16) John says he saw demon spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon. This is what Satan, the old dragon does; he spews uncleanness. When his followers try to mimic him they spew even more. And just as in the Twain story, there is not one frog that is better than any other frog. They are all unclean.
Jesus said He understood all about frogs for He was tempted by them all but succumbed to none. He gave Himself so that any of God's creation who believed in His gift of love could celebrate much more than "frogs". That's a remarkable story we can all be retelling.
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