Isaiah 60

 

The last verse  of Isaiah 60 says a lot, "In its time I will do this swiftly." There are often times in our lives now that we wish God would hurry it up. However, it does seem that God takes his time. The promise here is when the time is right God will do it quickly. This causes me to think of my grandmother's Peanut butter fudge recipe. Mix two cups of sugar and one cup of milk over medium heat until it reaches the soft-ball stage. Once mixed you don't stir it again until after it reaches soft-ball and it takes what feels like forever. You have to watch it because if the heat is too hot the mist will boil over and it is a mess to clean up. Once it reaches soft-ball the waiting is over. Don't take it off the heat early or late even by 1 degree. However, once it reaches the right stage you remove it from heat and quickly add one cup of peanut butter until fully mixed in then pour it into a pie plate. The reason this reminds me of this Scripture is because after waiting and waiting and waiting sometimes over 30 minutes you need to have it mixed and in the pan in less than a minute and then you're done (do wait for it to cool, before eating). I see God doing this is why it's so important not to wait to respond to God because the wrap-up phase will happen quickly. 

Photo by Tetiana Bykovets on Unsplash

Numbers 15

 In the previous chapter, God told the people they would not be allowed to enter the promised land. At least not for another 40 years. The people tried and it ended badly but here at the beginning of this chapter, God is giving a command for what they are to do when they enter the promised land. This seems to me to be a reminder that though they cannot enter the land now there is coming a time when they will be able to. These commands give the people hope after a great defeat.

What do you do with a sabbath breaker? The commands were pretty clear yet it seems the people were not quite ready to do what God had commanded. From what we have just read right before this about sinning in ignorance and defiantly, I have to think this person was doing it defiantly. Yet the people aren't ready to kill a person for breaking the Sabbath. God, however, makes it clear, he must die. This isn't a judgment carried out by one person but by everyone.  Everyone was to see what happened and everyone had to take part. There was no hiding from what was taking place. For me, this method both reminded everyone of the consequences of sin and would keep them from ignoring injustice. 

 

Mark 9

 This is just a reminder that these are my rough sermon notes.

Mark 9:14-29

When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were filled with awe and ran to greet Him.

“What are you disputing with them?” He asked.

Someone in the crowd replied, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

“O unbelieving generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.”

So they brought him, and seeing Jesus, the spirit immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been with him?”

“From childhood,” he said. “It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”

After shrieking and convulsing him violently, the spirit came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

Jesus answered, “This kind cannot come out, except by prayer.”

 

Help My Unbelief

Chapter 9 of Mark begins with a promise that some of those gathered would not see death until they had seen the Kingdom of God in power.

 

6 days later they saw transfiguration of Christ.

 

An interesting note that it came 6 days later. The sixth day of creation was when God created man and now God is showing the disciples what he plans to do in the restoration of man.

 

Jesus becomes something more. His clothes become whiter than any bleaching agent in this world the fulfilment of Daniel 7.

 

1 Corinthians 15:20 “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

 

In this story it says that Peter didn’t know what to say so said something – how human.

 

Jesus had been trying to teach them that his ministry was going to lead to the cross and here Peter is trying to set up a place where Jesus, Elijah, and Moses could meet with people.

 

Why Moses and Elijah? One because the represented the Law and the Prophets but also it could be they too lead ministries where people did a bad job at listening.

 

God tells them what they should have already know, Listen to Jesus.

 

They focused on Elijah from the prophecies but Jesus wants them to also see the prophecies speak of the Messiah suffering.

 

And now, we come to the scripture reading, Jesus comes down from the mountain with Peter, James, and John and there is an argument.

The disciples, the crowd, and the teachers of the Law.

 

We aren’t told what each was saying but we learn that everything is about a father who brought his demon possessed son to Jesus.

 

Jesus isn’t there and the disciples are unsuccessful.

 

Jesus says what the problem is: Unbelief.

 

Before this time they had been able to do this. Something seems to have changed in the disciples we aren’t told exactly but unbelief had settled into their hearts.

 

They no longer had the faith they did.

 

So how does faith come?

 

Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

 

From all that we are seeing it seems the disciples weren’t listening. There are times in our lives when it seems that our faith is weak

 

So, Jesus addresses the father.

 

The Father sees a mute spirit seeking to kill him. This has been going on since childhood. It is possible that the father has been trying to keep his son alive for years.

 

Then comes one of my favorite exchanges in the Bible:

But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

 

The father is desperate for any help.

 

Jesus responds, “If you can?”  It’s like Jesus is saying do you know who you’re talking to?

 

Then he points out that faith/belief can make all things possible.

 

This isn’t a carte blanche statement that you can get anything you want but it is a promise that if your faith is in God that God can work in you life in ways that are impossible any other way.

 

The father says the truth: “I do believe; help my unbelief!”- I need help

 

Jesus doesn’t send him away he intervenes.

 

Jesus cast out a Deaf and Mute Spirit.

 

The father thought the problem was that the boy couldn’t speak, the problem was far deeper he couldn’t hear.

 

Side note: This is also the problem of the disciples they didn’t hear. Their problem was as you can see in 30-33 is that when they didn’t understand and they didn’t ask for help.

 

The father here asks and if we need answers we too need to ask. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

If you lack faith, pray and I would also add, do what God instructed, get into the Word.

 

However something interesting happens when Jesus intervenes. The child falls down and looks like a corpse.  It seems Jesus has killed the boy.

 

We aren’t told how the father responds but how would you respond if you go to someone for help and they kill your child?

 

Jesus goes over and raises the boy up and he is well.

 

There are times if we are going to have life or see a miracle we have to go through death and loss.

 

This is the way of the cross. This is in some way teach the disciples what Jesus was telling them earlier and preparing them for what is to come.

 

The sad thing is they at least they don’t yet, get that message.

 

They want to know why it didn’t work.

Jesus said that these come out by prayer.

 

But didn’t Jesus kind of say it was unbelief in verse 19?

Yes, but St. Augustine explains it well  in his New Testament Lessons, “Where faith fails, prayer perishes. For who prays for that in which he does not believe?... So then in order that we may pray let us believe, and let us pray that in this same faith by which we pray may not falter.”

 

If you aren’t praying then maybe you need to look at your faith?

Are you faithfully engaging the Word of God?  

Are you willing to die?

Psalm 90

 This psalm was one written by Moses and there are many times it could have been written because too often Israel disobeyed God and faced his anger. Yet, I have to wonder if this took place not long after God promised that the older generation would not enter the promised land. Moses speaks of the length of men's ages and that they swiftly pass. It speaks of being taught to number our days so that we might gain wisdom. It speaks of God establishing the work of their hands and God would eventually. No matter when it was written it speaks of God's judgment and his faithfulness.  

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

Numbers 14

 

I am amazed how I can read a scripture many times and not see something that is clearly there. This was true when I reread this passage and read that the ten spies were killed in a plague before God. These guys saw God's vengeance quickly. One might wonder, why? My thought is that these men were not just spies but were to be advisors to the people. They were leaders to tell the people all about the land God promised them. God always holds leaders accountable. In today's world, we may not see anything this extreme and immediate but the Bible is clear, leaders are responsible for where they lead others. 

Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

Numbers 13

 

The two who chose rightly about the ability to take the land were Hoshea (Joshua) from the tribe of Ephriam and Caleb from the tribe of Judah. The interesting fact about these two is that their families will carry the names of two nations that will develop after the reign of Solomon. Ephriam will often refer to the ten northern tribes by many of the prophets. Judah will be the two tribes in the South who will remain faithful to the family of David. 

The second thing I notice is Caleb is ready to go up immediately to take the land. The people don't. I wonder how often we like Israel talk themselves out of a blessing because we take time to reflect on what God says rather than just doing it. Yes, the Bible in Proverbs says taking counsel is good, but only when the counsel is good or maybe I should say, faithful to God. At the end of the day, if God says do it (if it's in the Bible) then do it. Don't wait to get talked out of it. 

Isaiah 59

 As I looked at the beginning of this chapter I concluded that the problem was the people. The solution however is not the people. In verse 16, we see that God says there is no one to intercede, no one to intervene so God will do it. God will do what is needed. This was true in ancient Israel and it is ultimately true in the person of Jesus, God in the flesh. 

Jesus brings salvation and He will one day bring justice to the entire world. Jesus will do it all; Justice and Mercy, forgiveness and retribution. Jesus will bring both because there is no justice without retribution. The question of course is whether the retribution going to be paid by Jesus or ourselves.