Posts Tagged ‘ Ark ’

Tweets & Rants 15 February 2013: Matthew 16:1-12; Acts 22; Psalm 37:1-22; Exodus 35-37

needs to have pity on those who may be materially prosperous and yet underneath are spiritually bankrupt. Psa 37:1 @WeeManWest

Matthew 16:3 I believe it was very clear to the Pharisees and Sadducees at this point exactly whom Jesus was. They now seek a heavenly sign as though the works Jesus was doing and the words He was teaching were not enough.

We are so apt at interpreting things in this physical world, yet we neglect the spiritual world. We neglect the spiritual things going on in our midst that God wants to use to speak to us. We don’t want to do the hard work involved in building a relationship with God through daily investigation and time. We want the easy way. We want a sign from heaven.

They would receive only this sign of Jonah, just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish and came out, so also would Jesus be in the belly of the earth and come out.

Matthew 16:7 The disciples thought Jesus’ was questioning them about their lack of bread when instead He is pointing out the corrupt nature of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Jesus’ focus with the disciples was on their spiritual discipline. He was pointing them away from the spiritually dead and dangerous teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

He had provided bread for thousands on two separate occasions. He was well capable of providing for their physical provision. He knew that the more important issue for them would be spiritual provision and that only comes with seeking.

Acts 22:22 What a terrible response by the Jews?! Paul was giving his testimony and yet because he had been sent among the Gentiles to preach the Gospel he was worthy of death!

Religion is again clouding the minds of the people of Jerusalem. The Law doesn’t perpetually forbid the Gentiles from the people of God. Yet these Jews wanted nothing more than to see Paul slain for trying to reach the Gentiles.

Psalm 37:1 Admittedly it is very challenging to not be envious of evildoers. When we are honest about it we must admit that generally wrongdoers tend to prosper materially in this world.

Yet, we know their end. Rather than our envy they should have our pity and compassion. Though they may be materially prosperous they are spiritually bankrupt.

Psalm 37:4 I believe that so many people miss the very plain and simple truth of this verse. We must consider that just before it contextually David precedes this statement with challenges for us to trust in the Lord, do good, dwell, and befriend faithfulness. He then begins this statement with delight in the Lord.

What we can’t miss is that God’s greatest desire for us is not material prosperity but instead spritual prosperity. God wants the desires of our hearts to be God centered. If in our hearts, we desire His will, He will give us His will.

This verse doesn’t mean that if you desire a new car or house that you will get a new car or house.

Psalm 37:7 Patience is definitely a virtue. God so desires to bring His best into our lives. Unfortunately we see someone plotting and prospering and then we begin to plot so that maybe we can prosper.

Sometimes the only answer is to be still before God and wait patiently for Him. Just as the Israelites were told to be still at the banks of the Red Sea and wait for God’s deliverance. They weren’t to build boats and rafts, they weren’t to begin swimming lessons…they were to wait!

We don’t like to wait. We believe that we’ve been given a particular skill set so that we can make our own way. So often we do so and miss God’s best for our lives.

Psalm 37:13 The wicked have this world for their own plots. Yet, no matter how cleverly devised their plans are the Lord will hold final judgment. He knows their end and so should we.

Exodus 35:3 I believe that if one is going to “keep” the Sabbath and condemn everyone else for not “keeping” the Sabbath then I would expect that one to not even start their automobile on the Sabbath…or their oven…or turn on a light switch for that matter!

Exodus 36:6 I can’t help but wonder on the principle herein. God motivated the people to give in accord with His will. Do we ever stop to ask about our unfunded ventures if maybe God hasn’t put that into the hearts of the people to be done? Maybe God is setting the principle in place, maybe not.

I think our federal, state, and local governments would be wise to heed such a matter. Only do the public works that the public is willing to fund. I think this would balance the budget and would eliminate debt.

2013
02/15
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Tweets & Rants 10 February 2013: Matthew 13:44-58; Acts 19:23-41; Psalm 32; Exodus 24-26

Matthew 13:44 I may be way off here, but I don’t see where we buy anything in regard to the kingdom but instead I do see that we are purchased at a blood price by Christ. If Christ sees His kingdom as so valuable that He was willing to die for it just how much value should we place on it?

His kingdom is hidden in this world and only in His selling all He had (dying on the cross) was He able to purchase the world so He could have His hidden kingdom out of it.

Matthew 13:46 I believe in same manner as the parable of the treasure hidden in the field, Jesus finds His kingdom as the pearl of great price for which He died to purchase.

Jesus’ dominion/ownership of the earth is established in the parable of the hidden treasure whereas His dominion/ownership of His kingdom is established in the parable of the pearl of great price.

We should be humbled that the perfect God of the universe who suffered death at our hands still places so much value upon us.

Matthew 13:47 Christ’s kingdom is indiscriminate, until the judgment day, then God will separate the good from the bad. We too should be indiscriminate in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We should be plowing until Matthew 24:14 comes to pass. Until then we still have work to do.

Matthew 13:57 What a sad testament, that among those closest to Jesus during His formative years He found the greatest unbelief during His ministry. He couldn’t do much there because of the unbelief.

They were offended. Why? Because they knew Jesus and had watched him grow up from a boy. They knew His family, His roots. They considered Him disqualified as a holy man because His father was only a carpenter.

We must take care not to judge people by appearances. God knows the heart of every man. We must honor those to whom God is honoring.

Acts 19:25 One of the more difficult battles for the Gospel to fight is the economic battle because so many people worship money. Their desire is in making more and more profit. The Gospel could actually end an industry in Ephesus.

We must realize that when we preach the Gospel we will encounter many dangers simply because the Gospel is a threat to a worldly way of life. People do not want to lay down their worldliness. They see the Gospel as an end to their party.

Psalm 32:1 We are so blessed to know that God has forgiven us in Christ and not only that He has clothed us with Christ. Adam and Eve sought to cover their sins with fig leaves and God clothed them with animal skins from the first sacrifice on earth. The animal in the garden was God’s first sacrifice for man.

Jesus on the cross was God’s final sacrifice for man. Just as Adam and Eve in the garden were clothed with the animal skins, so also are we clothed with Christ Jesus our sacrifice.

Psalm 32:5 Unlike Adam and Eve in the Garden, we are to keep our iniquity uncovered by our own means. We should come to God and confess and acknowledge our sins to Him and receive His covering of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 32:10 I don’t believe this is stating that the wicked will have more sorrow placed upon them than the righteous. I believe the Scriptures teach differently. What I do believe is that David is lamenting the fact that while the righteous can take their sorrows to God and find peace that the wicked have no conduit for their sorrows. They bear their own sorrows and pile sorrow upon sorrow upon themselves because they do not seek God for peace in their sorrows.

Exodus 24:8 Israel was sealed in this blood oath, that they would keep the words of God’s law in obedience. It was their oath and affirmation that sealed them up under not only the blessings of the law, but also its curses.

Exodus 24:11 The leaders of Israel feasted with God. He desires intimate fellowship with mankind yet sadly we chose to ignore Him.

Exodus 25:2 Note here that God is not asking for a tithe, but for voluntary contributions from the people of Israel. We will see why this is important.

Exodus 25:8 God wanted them to build a sanctuary place for Him to dwell among them. He desires fellowship with His people. The voluntary contribution was a marker of whether they desired that God would dwell with them.

God desires to dwell with us and He asks us to build a sanctuary for His dwelling place. Yet in our day, He isn’t asking for a physical place to be built but instead He is asking for us to give Him the voluntary contribution of our hearts.

We build His temple within us and then we build His temple by convincing others to allow Him to be king of their lives as well.

Exodus 25:9 Israel was to construct the tabernacle and its furniture exactly as Moses was shown. Was Moses given a glimpse of the heavenly holy place? I believe so…and so Moses was given the task and duty of reconstructing what he was shown by God.

Exodus 25:11 The ark was to be built of wood and overlaid with gold. Picturing Christ who was fully God (gold) and fully man (wood).

Exodus 25:15 The poles were to remain always inserted in the rings of the ark. They were never to be removed. This was the design so that no man need to touch the ark.

Exodus 25:16 The testimony was to be placed in the ark. Within the ark is the Law of God. Within Christ is the Law of God.

Exodus 25:17 The mercy seat was to be made of pure gold. Such was the place that God was to meet with the people. Mercy is divine.

Exodus 25:22 God would meet with Israel above the cherubim. This reminds me of the garden of Eden where the angel was left to guard the way in. Was Eden the earthly holy place?

Exodus 25:30 The bread of the Presence was to be on the table of showbread. The presence of God among His people is the picture of the table.

Exodus 25:31 The lampstand is pure gold. It is to be one piece. It is to light the tabernacle. Jesus is the light, the glorious presence of God in this world. His light illuminates eternity.

Exodus 26:1 The blue, purple and scarlet would become the colors of the temple. Which is why I find it so important an identifier that we see in Revelation 17:4 as the whore Babylon is described.

Exodus 26:33 The veil was to divide the Holy Place from the Most Holy place. I’l delve more into this detail later. The veil is a picture for us of our existence.

Exodus 26:34 The only thing within the veil is the ark and the mercy seat. Only Christ can move through the veil and remove it.

2013
02/10
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Rants 5 January 2013 Matthew 3:1-12; Acts 3, Psalm 5; Genesis 6-8

is curious as to how often we miss the message because we reject the appearance of the messenger? Mat 3:4 @WeeManWest

Matthew 3:4 In our age of the well-dressed, high-profile, nice-looking messenger I can’t help but wonder how do we respond when God’s messenger to us stinks, hasn’t shaved in ages, is wearing cheap and nasty clothes, and probably looks like he/she is starving?

Acts 3:6 We have made caring for the poor and sick as though it is a payment we make rather than an act we perform. We give our money to our government, churches and charities and we neglect actually going ourselves and ministering to those who need our ministry. We create the disconnect. We allow the dependence to be about money rather than about the Person, Jesus Christ.

Acts 3:23 Peter again points to the fact that the age of Israel and the Law were coming to an abrupt ending. Within 40 years these words of Peter would be very true. The Roman armies would sack and burn Jerusalem slaying most of the population. I believe that every “people” is judged by God for their response to Christ as the Psalmist wrote, “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth….Kis the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.” Psalm 2:10-12

Psalm 5:9-12 We are a pack of liars and flatterers. We bear our guilt. Our only hope is in taking refuge in the abundance of God’s steadfast love (Psalm 5:7) in Christ Jesus.

Genesis 6:5 In case you were wondering…yes, we are still the same way. Only God’s grace makes any of us different.

Genesis 6:9 & Genesis 6:22 Noah is a picture to us of Jesus Christ, who in the midst of a corrupted human race was righteous before God and was blameless and walked with God and did all that God commanded Him. Such cannot be said for any of the rest of us. We are pictured in the ones who have filled the earth with violence and corruption, whose thoughts and motives are continually evil before God. This chapter gives us a true glimpse at the holiness of God in comparison to the corruption of His creation. Even the angels are impure before God.

Genesis 7:3-4 I believe that there is a connection between the 7 couples of birds of the air and the fact that this judgment is coming from the air, the abode of the birds. Just throwing out the possibility.

Genesis 7:17 One day, as God closed the door of the ark, so also will He close the door to heaven. We do not know what day such will be. However, we should live in light of the knowledge that one day, God will bring all things to an end. When the Lord shuts, no man can open what He has shut.

Genesis 8:1 Here for a second time already in Scripture we see the picture of the wind blowing over the earth to recede the waters. We have the wind of the Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:2 and now we have the wind again. The wind often accompanies the work of the Holy Spirit on this earth.

Genesis 8:8-12 Raven and dove, raven doesn’t return but the dove does. 7 days later the dove returns with the olive branch. 7 days later the dover remains. Maybe this pictures the ages of God’s movement. In the beginning, the age from Creation to the Flood both Satan and the Holy Spirit worked in the earth. Satan found a place in the earth and corrupted all flesh and remained in the earth, the Spirit returned (the ark). Seven days (an age) later the dove is sent back out and returns with an olive branch which is a picture of the remnant of Israel…however, Satan still held much sway over the inhabitants of the earth in that age, from the Flood to Christ’s advent. Seven days (an age) later the dove is sent back out and remains in the earth. This may picture the current gospel era in which the gospel is to go to the nations and fill the earth. Just throwing out some thoughts, not saying definitively that such is what this text teaches. Just more a rumination drawn from the picture.

2013
01/06
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