365 Reflections

In Ezekiel 29, the prophet is in full force calling out the nations around Israel who disparaged or harmed them during their slide into abandoning God. Here, the target is Egypt.  Ezekiel 29:1–3 (ESV) In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’ Egypt had a long relationship with Israel. It was her captivity, her incubator as she grew, and eventually the first triumph upon her birth at the Red Sea. But there was always a forlorn desire in some to return or to trust this former captor when facing challenges from other nations. Some people can leave Egypt without letting Egypt leave them.  Many of Israel's pagan kin...

Sometimes you and your enemies need a reminder of who your God is. That is what happens for Hezekiah when Isaiah sends word that the threat posed by Sennecharib is nothing at all and he needn't fear. The language is poetic, grand, and devastating for the threatening potentate considered by many in the world to be the most powerful man on Earth.  God has a different perspective. 2 Kings 19:20–22 (ESV) Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me   about  Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him:       “She despises you, she scorns you— the virgin daughter of Zion;       she wags her head behind you— the daughter of Jerusalem.       22 “Whom have you mocked and reviled?       Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights?   ...

Ruth 2:8–10 (ESV)  Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” The incredible trouble brought upon Naomi and Ruth is about to be reversed and turned into an incredible fortune, but step by step. The second chapter of this book is intended to teach us about the grace of the Lord Jesus. Just like Boaz saw and then secured Ruth's provision and protection, Jesus does for His lost sheep, you and I. It is not we who found Him, it is He who found us. We can only respond with the same question as Ruth, "Why have I ...

The end of Samson's life looks like a terrible subscript written at the end of a movie which already seemed to end with tragedy. He is blinded bound and forced to work, grinding grain for the very people God called him to defeat. He has become physically what Israel is nationally - blind, bound and ground by their enemies. Now if you remember, the sequence of the famous Judges' cycle it is that Israel would sin, get enslaved and then cry out to God. God would respond with a judge and deliver them for a time until the cycle repeated once more. In the Samson cycle, there all the elements minus the people crying out to God for deliverance. Yet God raises up Samson and it seems clear Samson is not just a historical story but a picture of Israel's descent into the morbid slave-state vassal of Philistines. So I consider God is using this story not only to instigate the nation's deliverance but to awaken them to pray for His help EVEN when they seem to least deserve it! ...

Judges 13:1 (ESV) And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. This is the last time God will raise up a judge in Israel during the period known as the "Judges." Here we have a few striking components of what has become a sort of rhythm for Israel during this dark period. First we should be aware that this length of subjugation is twice as long as any other in the Judges period (before Deborah/Barak was 2nd longest at only 20 years!). Now forty years Israel is subjected to the Philistines. But the more stunning aspect of this passage is the lack of prayer from Israel to God for deliverance from their oppressors. Unlike any of the other times in Judges, Israel is handed over to their enemies and they do not cry out to God. This is intended to shock the reader of the book to pay attention. What is going on? Israel has become desensitized to their slavery which is a conse...

In the original creation order comes out of the midst of chaos. God speaks and light shines forth, the seas are divided and land appears. On the first three days of creation God has created the frames in which all life will be experienced. Now, in the middle of the second book of the Bible, those images are going to reappear in the establishment of Israel, God's chosen. Escaping into the wilderness was step one. The people are vast and numerous. And yet God first leads them into what appears to be more chaos. Notice: Exodus 14:1–3 (ESV)  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ The people look chaotic, first hastily running out of Egypt, then going the long hard route toward Canaan and now here God tells...

Exodus 13:17-18 (ESV)   When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”   18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Exodus 13:21–22 (ESV)   And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. God saves and God guides. Take that to the bank. As soon as Israel is free God steps in to lead them where they should go. Notice a few things about this passage. God leads them gently. The people will war in time but the Lord knows they are not ready for it now. Though...

Exodus 11:1 (ESV)   The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. Something different finally happens in the plague routine with God, Moses and Pharaoh. After several notifications from God that Pharaoh would not budge after the next plague, we come to the 10th and final plague and God has Good News for Moses. This is going to be the end. From this moment forward, there will not just be a total destruction of Egypt's power over you, Egypt will drive you away "completely". Did you also notice how God prophesies to Moses that this will be the end? That's revealing someone else Who will be prophesied throughout scripture. When Jesus came, it was truly the END of slavery to sin and death. The last plague is a picture of our salvation in Christ. As the firstborn Son of God, He bears the death of us all, He destroys the devil...

Exodus 7:10–13 (ESV)   So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. An interesting thing happens when Moses and Aaron start to do the works of god before Pharaoh. His magicians do the same things by their "secret" arts. We often don't think about this, but the Bible never denies the powers of evil to do the supernatural at times yet with limitation. For the magicians in Egypt will not get past the second plague (frogs) in their evil practices. Notice here, the snake of Aaron's rod swallows up the snake of the magicians.  ...

Psalm 140 was written by David when he was a member of Saul's staff. Under Saul's management, David was hated and reviled by his own King. Saul knew the Spirit had left him and God had plans to make David king in his place. In his vitriol he attacked David emotionally and physically. The attacks also played out on a national stage. I cannot imagine what David went through during those years. But I do know that our spiritual enemy attacks us just the same way. What do we do when we face such animosity? We pray! Psalm 140:4–5 (ESV)   Guard me, O Lord , from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet. 5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah David survived such hardship because David was a man of prayer. He depended upon God for protection and deliverance. He pleased God by turning to Him. That's the kind of faith God is looking ...

Psalm 114 is weird. It's weird because the Psalmist has a conversation with a Sea, a river and mountains. The Psalm recounts Israel's deliverance from Egypt in a unique way and asks questions of the Earthly elements that made way for God's people now saved. Psalm 114:3–6 (NLT) The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! The water of the Jordan River turned away. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs! 5 What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way? What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away? 6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams? Why, hills, like lambs? The Psalmist personifies these things to make a point: A sea hurries out of the way. The Jordan made a turn for them. What's the point? It's a reminder that when God does a work in someone's life, obstacles have to move! The opening verses give this away: Psalm 114:1–2 (NLT)   When the Israelites escaped from Egypt— when the family of Jacob l...

Sin is bigger than you. David makes this statement in Psalm 38: Psalm 38:4–6 (ESV) For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, 6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. A fundamental problem with 21st Century Christianity is a horrible misjudgment of sin. The Bible makes clear that our sin is enormous and grievous. And those who pridefully believe they haven't been as bad as others may very well be the worst of the lot (see Jesus' parable of the tax collector and Pharisee).  Modern Christianity has replaced the depth of our sin with such phrases as: - A God-shaped hole. - Something missing in my life. - Need for meaning. - A search for significance. - A purpose to live for. We may like these phrases as they lessen the reality of our natural standing before a holy and just God... but these phrases misdiagnose our malady and lea...

Psalm 18:1–3 (ESV) 1 I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. Psalm 18 was written after the death of Saul who had been chasing David for years seeking to kill him. David knew God to be his strength, his rock, and his shield. But it took being put in the weakest of situations for very long periods of time to see it first hand. He was anointed king at 17. He wasn't King in reality until 33. He testifies that he knows God as his rock from the experiences of being at the gates of death. But it was through the running and troubles, war and struggles of David's life where God's great preparation happened.  He writes: Psalm 18:32–34 (ESV) the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. 33 He made my feet like the feet o...

No matter who you are... there's no escaping the trap of sin. If there's one common theme throughout scripture other than the GOSPEL which saves us from sin... it is that sin, though starting small, eventually gives birth to death. Psalm 7:14–16 (NLT) The wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies. 15 They dig a deep pit to trap others, then fall into it themselves. 16 The trouble they make for others backfires on them. The violence they plan falls on their own heads. We are warned repeatedly in scripture of the almost human-like hunter nature of sin and it's ultimate catch-up effect on our lives. James 1:13–15 (ESV) Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings fort...

There's a lot of singing in Revelation. I never saw it before, but this long trek through this odd and confusion book seems to keep repeating a theme: Trouble for the saints, seeming domination by the powers of the world, God's swift unstoppable judgment, deliverance for God's people, and finally a song. In Revelation, God's people are at it again... Revelation 15:2–4 (ESV) And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses , the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Moses ha...

It continually astounds me how often the Bible, 2000 years old now, continues to be backed up by observable science. Observable, as in we can touch and see it. Not philosophical guesstimating as to how old the Earth is. Consider the following statement from Paul to a Church filled with sexually immoral people: 1 Corinthians 6:18 (ESV) 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body . Sexual sin is different. It just is. It hurts your body. Any cursory study of the STD epidemic in the world will prove this scripture 1000% reliable. The world has no problem flaunting sexual immorality and the Church needs to have no problem talking about it plainly! Today sex sells and sells and sells. Is it any wonder why? Who does Satan hate almost as much as he hates God? You and I. What will destroy us faster than any other sin? Sexual immorality. Nevermind the diseases physically, there are co...

Do not think that this saying of Jesus means that anyone could possibly be beyond help: Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:26 ESV) It was Mary Magdalene who possess this condition before Jesus found her, saved her and delivered her. Jesus said these things right after telling us to ask for the Holy Spirit, knowing with full confidence that God will give it to us. His Spirit is all the power we need to encounter all the demonic forces of hell. But Jesus makes sure to mention the fact that demons being cast out is a sure sign that the kingdom of God is here. The kingdom of God leads to a reversal of fortunes. That's the reality of the kingdom at its heart. The poor arbalest, those who mourn are comforted, and prostitutes or seven demons become the first evangelists of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The thief doesn't just stop stealing, h...

I'm reading Mark 7 tonight while this week I've been preparing to preach on the Miracle of Water to Wine in John 2.  So I might have to make a slight divergence to cover some depth to this passage below: Mark 7:1–3 (ESV) Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, Jesus and his disciples didn't need to wash their hands ceremonially any longer.  In the miracle at Cana in John 2 Jesus had the servants fill 6 waters jars used for such washing to the brim and THOSE jars carried the water turned to wine. John's Gospel covers the first year of Jesus' ministry while the Synoptics cover the last two.  So I can imagine the disciples snickering a little when the Pharisees and scribes got ...