Thursday, December 14th: Joel 1-3; Revelation 5 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Joel 1-3; Revelation 5

Joel 1:3 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

Telling our children the good news, teaching them the gospel, teaching them to study the Bible for themselves, training them in the way they should go - this is so important! Our primary mission field is first in our homes. It is easy to forget this. It is easy to think our kids learn by osmosis, and that they'll just catch on. But we need to remember to be proactive about speaking Truth to them, and learning and growing in our faith alongside them.

This is vital, not just for our children, but for their children and their children after them. What a legacy we can leave behind!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our NT passage teaches us very clearly that Jesus is the only One who is worthy.  The description of heaven we see here is just a glimpse into the glory that He willingly left to come to earth as a baby born to die for our sins.  Amazing!  And this is what we celebrate this Christmastime - hallelujah, what a Saviour!


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Amos 1-3; Revelation 6

Thursday, October 6 2016: Joel 1-3 ~Cameron

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Joel 1-3

As with all imagery in writing, its impact is diminished over time and across cultures. And with much of prophesy written using metaphors or other symbolic language, we lose something in the translation. While the Truth of the scriptures is preserved, I wish I could more deeply appreciate the layers of meaning laid down in these verses.

For instance, anyone living in an ancient agricultural society would be deeply moved by Joel 1:4. Multiple swarms of locusts cutting a swath through the countryside leaving devastation behind. I read it and understand the writer is communicating a bleak period but the emotional impact is lost on me.

So here is a quick video of a locust catastrophe a few years ago in Madagascar. The video includes footage of a 15km long swarm of locusts that destroyed more than half of the island's crops!

Verses like this were written to invoke a visceral response from those hearing or reading them.
How can we read these passages and appreciate them as more than just words on a page?
Should we bother trying to do so?
Have you tried to do this and how has it worked out?

I have a men's bible study and we have often discussed how to do this. It all started with this verse:
"Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" - Luke 9:62
We plan to take a field trip in spring and experience using a plowshare firsthand in order to better appreciate this verse.

I look forward to reading your answers in the comments below.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Malachi 1-4

Friday 26 June Joel 1-3; Philippians 4 ~ Elizabeth

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Joel 1-3; Philippians 4

The assigned scripture reading for today is misleading. Yes, it’s Joel 1-3 but it also happens to be the whole book of Joel! Not only is it rather daunting it would also probably be an entire book of a post for today. Therefore I will gladly defer to Dr. Martin Luther words from Lectures on Joel:

Joel was a kindly and gentle man. He does not denounce and rebuke as do the other prophets, but pleads and laments; he tried with kind and friendly words to make the people righteous and to protect them from harm and misfortune. But it happened to him as to the other prophets: the people did not believe his words and held him to be a fool.

Nevertheless Joel is highly praised in the New Testament, for in Acts 2 St. Peter quotes him. Thus Joel had to provide the first sermon ever preached in the Christian Church, the one glorious use of the saying, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” [Rom. 10:13], which is also in Joel 2[:32].

In the first chapter he prophesies the punishment which is to come upon the people of Israel. They are to be destroyed and carried away by the Assyrians; and he calls the Assyrians cutting, swarming, hopping, and destroying locusts [1:4]. For the Assyrians devoured the kingdom of Israel bit by bit until they had completely destroyed it. In the end, however, King Sennacherib had to suffer defeat before Jerusalem; Joel touches on that in chapter 2[:20] when he says, “I will remove the northerner far from you.”

In the second place, at the end of the second chapter and from that point on [2:28-3:21] he prophesies of the kingdom of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, and speaks of the everlasting Jerusalem.

He speaks of the valley of Jehoshaphat [3:12] and says that the Lord will summon all the nations thither for judgment. The ancient fathers understand that to refer to the Last Judgment. I do not condemn this interpretation, but hold, nevertheless, that this is really Joe’s meaning: even as he calls the Christian Church the everlasting Jerusalem, so he calls it also the valley of Jehoshaphat. He does so because through the word all the world is summoned to the Christian church and is there judged, and by the preaching is reproved as being all together sinners in the sight of God, as Christ says, “The Spirit of truth will reprove the world of sin” [John 16:8]. For valley of Jehoshaphat means valley of judgment. Thus also does Hosea call the Christian Church the valley of Achor. (AE 35:318-19)

In our New Testament reading today, as Paul concludes this Letter, he uses imperative language to urge the reader to adopt practices of living that are in harmony with the Creator’s will. The strength and clarity of this exhortation reminds us that we often set our minds on those things that are contrary to God’s will. Paul’s exhortations are always followed by promises of God’s blessing on our behalf. Paul cannot end this Letter without a vibrant expression of gratitude toward God and the service of the Philippians. Paul’s outpouring of appreciation contrasts sharply with feelings of neglect, resentfulness, and even anger that can arise when we lack the privileges and comforts we expect. Paul invites us to see the blessings and fullness of God that are present in every situation. Christ multiplies those blessings by His grace. Paul’s last words in the Letter are greetings and blessings. Contrast Paul’s concern for greeting all and extending grace with our unwillingness to greet people in our own church communities. The grace of the Lord Jesus is so abundant that it flows over from Paul to us through this very Word and has the power to overflow from our lives into the lives of others, so that we genuinely greet and then extend God’s grace.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage:Deuteronomy 1-3; Acts 1

Monday, September 5 - Jody

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is 2 Chronicles 23, Joel 2-3, 2 Corinthians 10

Happy Monday Everyone!

Since Tammy blogged about 2 Corinthians 10 yesterday, I'm going to choose a section from chapter 9 today! ;)

Scripture:
2 Corinthians 9:6-9
 ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written:
   “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”^[a]

Observation:
I like what these verses have to say on a couple of levels. My mom always told me "what you give is what you get". And here we see the same message as it pertains to giving to the church. I love the use of the word "generously" here. The second part of this message that I love is "... so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work".

Application:
This is where it gets hard... God does not give us abundantly just so we can drive new cars and buy a new fall wardrobe. He gives abundantly so that no matter what the situation, we will have what we need so that we will "abound in every good work". This is one that really resonates with me. I don't have a weekly/monthly budget. I spend more on myself and material things than I really "need" to and reading this today make me realize that maybe I'm reducing the effect of good work that could be produced in me and in my church if I sacrificed more wants and stuck more to the needs in my life.
 
Prayer:
Father God. Open my eyes to the needs in my life. Reveal the ways I can give more generously to you. Whether it be in my time, money or prayer. God, remind me that the generous gifts you give are purposed for your good works. Amen
 
Tomorrow's passage: 2 Chronicles 24-26, 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

September 23rd

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Malachi 2:10-4:6, Joel 1-3

Commentaries on Malachi passage
Let None by Faithless to the Wife of His Youth by John Piper (Malachi 2:10-16)
He is Like a Refiner's Fire by John Piper (Malachi 2:17-3:6)
You Will Be a Land of Delight by John Piper (Malachi 3:7-12)
I Will Spare Them as a Man Spares His Son by John Piper (Malachi 3:13-18)
The Sun of Righteousness Will Rise by John Piper (Malachi 4:1-3)
He Will Turn the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children (Malachi 4:4-6)
Commentaries on Malachi on Bible.org
Sermons on Malachi by David Legge

Commentaries on Joel
Sermons on Joel by John Piper

I love how my Life Application Bible sums up the book of Malachi....
Malachi gives us practical guidelines about commitment to God. God deserves the best we have to offer (1:7-10). We must be willing to change our wrong ways of living (2:1,2). We should make family a lifelong priority (2:13-16). We should welcome God's refining process in our lives (3:3). We should tithe our income (3:8-12). There is no room for pride (3:13-15).

There are so many different things that we could focus on in these passages, but the one that jumped out at me was this one.....
"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse - the whole nation of you - because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Malachi 3:8-10 (emphasis mine)

Now that is an incredible word picture for an incredible promise.

Money is a pretty sensitive topic. But I'm gonna tackle it anyway! ;)

As a whole, I think that Christians have taken advantage of the freedom we have in Christ to avoid giving back to God what is His to begin with.

In Malachi, God was telling the people that they were robbing Him by refusing to tithe - and their excuse at least, was that they were experiencing hardship and couldn't afford to tithe. Now that is still wrong.

But we in America, have the opposite "problem". We are refusing to tithe - and we have, if anything, too much! We are a wealthy people. Of course, some of wealthier than others, but the statistics show that the more money we have made, the less we have tithed.

Why is that?

I think there are 3 main reasons.

1) Because we love our money and we love our stuff and we love to spend our money on ourselves. Harsh, but true.

2) Because we view our money as our money and not God's money. A wrong perspective results in wrong action every time.

3) We do not believe God. If the reason we are not giving is because we are tight for cash, our actions say that we do not trust God and we do not believe God.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Contrary to popular belief, the NT has not abolished tithing per se. No, tithing is not specifically commanded. But it is assumed.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." Matthew 23:23 (emphasis mine)

Jesus was not telling them that their tithing was wrong, in fact He states that they shouldn't be neglecting it. He was telling them that they were neglecting the spirit of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. They were to practice EVERYTHING.


In fact, not only is at assumed, MORE is commanded. We are commanded to give, not 10%, but sacrificially! We are commanded to give cheerfully. We are commanded to store up treasure in heaven, not on earth (the only way to do that with our money is to invest it in things that will impact eternity - like church, missions, etc).

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Giving our 10% because we feel we have to, will not be blessed. Paul is emphasizing willingness!

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 2 Corinthians 8:1-8 (emphasis mine)

Poverty resulting in generosity. Sacrificial giving. Giving in love. Giving out of joy.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6

In his sermon You Will be a Land of Delight, John Piper says of this verse....
In other words the issue isn't meeting a minimum limit. The issue for Paul is how to unleash the maximum liberality. The command to tithe just doesn't suit this approach. (emphasis mine)

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Ephesians 4:28 (emphasis mine)
The opposite of stealing, is not working to earn a living, but working in order to be able to give!!

In his sermon on this Malachi passage, David Legge says....
William MacDonald has made this very piercing statement regarding the lack of stewardship in the church of Jesus Christ today: 'We rob God in this sense: often times the Lord's own money is not available to Him'. Imagine and contemplate the possibility that God's own money is not available to Him, because the Christians of Malachi's and today's day are so tight-fisted that they won't let go of it and allow Him to use it! This is the principle of stewardship. (emphasis mine)

Our view on money should not be.... "What is the minimum amount of my money I can give to God and still receive His blessing?" We should acknowledge everything we have as God's, and seek to find out how He wants us to use everything we have to bless others.

I think that it is easy for me to be legalistic, and it's actually easy to become legalistic in the area of generosity too. In other words, does that mean that we all have to live in little shacks and literally give everything away? I don't think so.

I believe this is where the Spirit comes in. We are to give as we are led. If you hear of a need, and you feel the Lord tug at your spirit to give - give! If you don't, and you not just looking for an excuse not to give, but truly don't feel led to give to that particular ministry - don't! Maybe God is waiting for a different opportunity for you. If we sincerely pray and ask God to direct our giving, He will.

And don't just give of your money. Give of your time! If every member of our church used their gifts to serve, even in only one area, imagine what we could accomplish for God!!

And in Malachi - God issues a challenge. A dare, if I may. He challenges us to outgive Him.
"Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Are you up for the challenge?

Tomorrow we're taking our first steps into the NT! I am especially looking forward to reading the gospel's chronologically - to really see the different perspectives of these 4 men.

Tomorrow's passage: Mark 1:1, Luke 1:1-4, John 1:1-18, Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38, Luke 1:5-38