TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 5th

We end this week's reading with Genesis 21-25, and the one story in this reading that I have to stop and look at is the story of Abraham's testing in Genesis 22.

As I look at this portion of scripture in light of what I know about God, the test here isn't for God's sake, he knew Abraham's heart, it is for Abraham and us. This scripture, especially in light of Hebrews 11, demonstrates the faith of Abraham. Abraham believed that God was going to raise the promised son from the dead.

We see in this chapter a picture of Jesus. The one and only son given as a sacrifice. We hear Abraham's words that God would provide Himself a sacrifice which was literally true, God himself died for us. We see a son not fighting the will of his father. We see a ram caught by its head in a thorn bush, a reminder of Jesus on whose head was placed a crown of thorns. We have an angel proclaiming the news that would of life and so did an angel proclaim the news of Jesus's life.  At the end we see the promise that through Abraham all the nations would be blessed, a promise fulfilled in Christ.

Jesus the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Truly, when we stop and look closely, the Bible is always pointing us to Jesus 

TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 4

Genesis 19

God told Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah in chapter 18 and now we see the drama unfold. We see Lot a man who before this seemed to be a man of prominence (sitting in the gates was a sign of this at the time). We see that in spite of this he has no ability to change the minds of the men of the city, nor to convince his future sons-in-law to come with him. In the end, he leaves with nothing. It is a sad tale which ends in his own daughters doing something unthinkable.

There is much to consider in this story, however, I want to look at what God had promised to destroy. He promised to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet we see in this story that Lot's wife is also destroyed. Over 30 years ago, I heard a preacher talk about this. His thought was that Lot's wife was destroyed not for looking back at Sodom with relief that they had escaped the city, but in longing for the city she loved. In a sense, she still carried Sodom inside her and because of the Sodom inside her, she was destroyed.

I can't say this theory is correct, but I do believe it carries much merit. You see the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah was not just sexual immorality, though that was prominent, it was also injustice and oppression (Ezekiel 16:49-50). A side note, people on both sides of the issue want to point to one or the other as the cause of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction but BOTH played a part.

However, the problem with Lot's wife was, she loved Sodom. Loving the wrong things is the problem Jesus said people struggle with. Whether it is money(Matt. 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:10), life, family (Matthew 10:38-39), lust, or the world's system (1 John 2:15-16); love for the wrong things always brings destruction.

How do you know what you love? Look at what you do. Remember our discussion on Noah two days ago? If you love God you are doing what he wants. If you aren't doing what God wants then your love might be weak or misplaced.

So what is the love of your heart?

TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 3

Genesis 11

(today's reading Genesis 11-15)

I have to thank my friend, Rev. Samuel Padget for today's thought. I had heard it before but after talking with him it settled deeply in my spirit. 

In the beginning of Genesis, God told mankind to fill the earth. The idea was for mankind to spread out and not just stay in one place. God repeated that command to Noah and his family in Genesis 9:1.
Yet here in Genesis 11 we see mankind deciding to try and stay in one place (verse 4). 

God solution was to confound the languages which caused the mankind to break apart and fill the earth as he commanded. 

God believed that man needed to move away from the secure and should I say safe and launch out on their own. He believed it so much that even when He created woman He said, "for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife." 

Yet today we see more and more people wanting to stay safe and secure. We have people who aren't facing economic challenges staying with mom and dad, grandma and grandpa and having an extended adolescence. 

We celebrate the idea of a safe and secure world where everything from food, housing, and a job are provided for us. We are adverse to risk, it seems to me, launching out. 

Thoughtful quote:

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." -- E.E. Cummings

However, when I look at history it is those who launch out who make a difference in the world. I have long argued that God wants to make us "all we can be" and how can we be that if we refuse to launch out. 

Now some may say this doesn't matter anymore since the world is full of people (I could point out there are other planets in this solar system, but I will save that for another time). However, when we get to the New Testament we see another command, Go into all the world (Matt 28:18; Acts 1:8). 

We see Jesus commanding his people to go, not to stay someplace safe but to go. He wants us to launch out and make a difference in the world. 

So are you willing to Go? Are you willing to take a risk and launch out into what God has called you too?  Then light the fuse and launch. 

TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 2nd

Genesis 6

Okay, the world was a bad place. I can get that. Can you imagine if someone like Stalin, Hitler, or your mother-in-law lived for 800 years? (Sorry mother-in-laws, I just couldn’t wouldn’t resist) This is the world of Noah, people lived a long time and that may have been part of the problem. Imagine the trouble a person could get into. I have seen what grudges do to people after 50 years, after 500 it’s amazing there were any people left. So, let's agree the world must have been a bad place. 

Now we see Noah. When he was born his father said, "He would bring us comfort" (see Genesis 5:29) but how Lamech expected Noah to accomplish this is unclear.

Yet was see something about Noah at the end of chapter 6 which does make him stand out, "He did everything just as God commanded."

Looking into Jesus words in John 14:15 we see something important here. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commands," or as other translations put it "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." How do we show God we love him?  Obedience.

Perhaps what we miss here in Genesis 6 is not just a man obeying a deity, but a man who loves God enough to do what he asked him to do.

Perhaps the story of Noah isn't a man building an ark to save himself from an angry God but something more.

Perhaps the story of Noah and the ark is more of a love story? A man's love for God. 


There is far more to find in today's readings (Genesis 6-10), but maybe this will cause you to ask yourself why are you obeying God? or maybe it's why you aren't?

TCN's Biblical Journey- Genesis 5

Genesis 5

I wonder about many of the stories behind the verses in this chapter. What was it like to live so long? What happened to Enoch when his child was born that caused him to start following God so closely that God took him away. Where did Enoch go? And if I could get away with what the ancient Israelites did and only put the important people in my family tree and leave out the rest (probably not, it’s not socially or intellectually acceptable today)? What was the deal with Methuselah’s name (man of the dart or judgment is coming) and why did he live so long? What was the deal with Noah bringing comfort concerning God’s curse? All good and interesting subjects but not what I am going to look at.

In the beginning of the chapter, we are reminded that God created male and female and called them Adam (Adam meaning earth, to be red, or to make). This showed an equality with men and women. It is also said that God made them (male and female) in his image. Could this be that even in a smaller form, a likeness, an image of God, that just one being could not contain what God truly is? I think maybe. However, the interesting thing is that the man and the woman were made in God’s image.

The problem comes later when Adam has children they are now in Adam’s image, not God’s. Something has happened, we know it as the fall, as sin entering into man. Sin changed Adam (and Eve) and now their children bear their fallen image not the image of God. Because of this image change, man doesn’t seek God naturally. The groundwork is laid for the next chapter.

The sad note is that our image is passed on to our children. Without a change, they will be just like us. However, that may not be a bad thing. Our children bearing our image may be a good thing if we reflect the image of God. We see Enoch changed and I can’t help but think the covenant God offers to Noah is a result of Enoch’s walk with God.  

Biblical Journey- Genesis 1

Genesis 1

And so, it begins, Tell City Nazarene Church's year-long reading challenge and my writing a commentary on every chapter in the Bible. The plan is to take three years to do the commentary, Why so long? It is a huge project and one that must be done at a steady pace. 

I could say it is what like  God is doing, taking his time to do the job right, especially since humanity is so difficult.  

So how does God begin, “In the beginning, God.” Yes, I have started my project like God started His work, saying here I am starting everything. By comparison, this four-year project is small.

This first chapter is done in a poetic style. Does this mean that the method of creation wasn’t completed in seven days? Not necessarily, what it does line out is that God created everything, it had an order and a purpose.

Scientists argue for and against young earth and old earth possibilities. Both sides have facts and statistics on their side. The old earth proponents many of which deny God’s existence are the loudest and carry the most votes. However, when you consider at the end of the ninetieth-century scientist mostly believed in spontaneous evolution (meaning gnats, flies, and rats sprang out of garbage without reproduction) a loud voice that holds the majority doesn’t mean it’s correct. Both sides yell and accuse the other of all kinds of nasty thing but that is not the focus of this chapter. This chapter isn’t about the science, it is about authorship and authority.

Looking at this chapter we see that God is the creator and author of all life. He made it and before it was messed up it was good. It also lays the ground for the facts that God has authority over all he made, and he gave some of that to authority

In another setting found later in scripture we know that something has happened in this chapter, Jesus was crucified. Revelation 13:8b says Jesus the Lamb was, “the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” Here in the last book of the Bible, we are reminded that Jesus was not an afterthought but was the plan from the beginning. I could talk about the creation of the space-time continuum and how from God’s perspective everything was completed at the beginning, but this confuses some people and others may doubt it, but whichever you believe, we cannot deny Jesus was not just here, but God’s plan for himself was set from the first words. I might even say the possible first words in a chronological Bible might be, “In the beginning, Jesus was slain.”

So now it’s your turn. What does this chapter say to you about how you should live?

Fruit Salad Pie? (the proper use of what you have)

The problem sometimes when you have several people buying groceries is that you get too much of one thing. Then you have to figure out what to do with them. For many this is where the freezer has come in handy, but some things just don't freeze well, like fruit.

I guess there is a way to prepare it for freezing, but I don’t know it and most of you I bet don’t either. Recently, due more to bad planning and the generosity of friends we ended up with a lot of fruit. Some of it, we are going to cut up and make a large fruit salad, the excess of apple I had another plan; a cobbler. If you don’t know what a cobbler is, at least my version, it’s like a pie but a lot bigger. This was going to fill a 9x13 baking pan. Once I was done, I had the cobbler and a deep dish apple pie. We had a lot of apples.

Once it was done the cobbler tasted great, there was only one problem: texture. Some of the apples were soft others were more crunchy. Mind you, it was good, and there was no way I was going to throw it out, but it wasn’t perfect. When I thought about it, I made what I could out of what I had and I was satisfied.

If I could throw together different apples why not throw all the different fruits into a pie? It would be making use of what we have, correct?

NO!

Fruit Salad Pie? I am not going to even begin to say how wrong that would be. A fruit bread, yes, but never a pie. Some things just won’t work together in making some things where they will in others. The conditions they have been prepared in changes everything.

This caused me to think about people. Sometimes especially in the church, we do what we can with whom we have. It sometimes you have the luxury of getting all the right people together. Sometimes, okay most of the time, it’s like my cobbler, it’s good but not perfect. Unfortunately, many churches are so set on cobbler that they put people and resources together that just doesn’t work. For a fruit salad, yes; cobbler or pie, no.

Does it mean that something is wrong? Yes and No.

No, there is nothing wrong with the people. They can be used of God and even with other individuals and resources.

Yes, it is wrong because some combinations don’t work. They may not be, bleach and ammonia (a deadly combination), but they end up creating something that is worthless.

Our problem in the church and even at work is we are determined to do something with people and resources that just won’t work. Afterward, we have wasted people’s time and our resources, and no one is helped. What is really scary is sometimes people congratulate themselves on producing the equivalent of mud pie then wonder why no one wants to eat it.

So what is the lesson here?

Be honest with yourself, be more concerned with the correct use of your people and resources rather than getting an individual product. For the church world, my arena, it means you might need to not have a youth program, a food pantry, a music program, or even a Sunday school class.  

If you’re more worried about getting a certain product no matter whom you have to do the work or what resources you have, then I hope you enjoy fruit salad pie.