Introduction to the Book of Acts – A History of the Early Church

The Book of Acts

A history of the Early Church

The book of Acts also called The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, the same author of the gospel of Luke. Both documents were adressed to a “most excellent Theophilus” who may have been a high ranking Roman government official. The book of Acts was written sometime between 61 and 64 AD. The book ends with Paul’s house arrest in Rome in 61AD. The book makes no mention of Paul’s death or Nero’s persecution nor of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This places the date of this book at least before 70 AD. Luke was a very accurate and detail oriented historian and would have included these events if they had happened at the time of writing. The book of Acts is a condesned history of the early Apostolic church, it is an eyewitnmess account of the spread fof the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. The recurring theme in the book is the empowerment of the early believers from the Holy Spirit and it is this same Holy Spirit that empowers believers yet today. While being a historical narrative it also is theologically profound. We as believers do not have “blind” faith, but a FAITH that rests on the facts of history. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus are historical facts recorded by Luke in the gospel that bears his name. The book of Acts gives believers the reassurance that our faith in Christ is based on and rests on historical facts.

1 Corinthians 15:17

New Living Translation (NLT)

17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.

Acts 1:1-5

New Living Translation (NLT)

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

1 In my first book[a] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with[b] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 24:36-53

New Living Translation (NLT)

36 And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 37 But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

38 “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? 39 Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” 40 As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.

41 Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he ate it as they watched.

44 Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations,[a] beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.

49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

The Ascension

50 Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. 52 So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. 53 And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

Footnotes:

1. Luke 24:47 Or all peoples.

2 Peter 1:16

New Living Translation (NLT)

16 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes

It is in the first cahpter of this book that is recorded Jesus ascedning into Heaven, Jesus is the prominent figure of this book. The central theme of the all the sermons, defenses, and the life of the church throughout this book is that of the Resurrected Christ. It is in this book that we meet Saul of Tarsus, and learn of his dramatic conversion experince and how he becomes the Apostle Paul, and of his missionary ecxperinces and influenc over the early church.

Outline of the Book of Acts

1. The apostle’s witness in Jerusalem

2. The Early Church’s Witness to All of Judea and Samaria

3. The Witness to the End of the Earth

Milk is Sweet but Meat is Better- Are You a Sinner?

Well, now Easter is over and we must move on, the crucifixion and the resurrection, sin and eternal life are the milk of the gospel, that is easy to understand if not accept. Sin, death, eternal life, salvation are all what is the milk of the gospel , we must drink the milk if we are to grow, we will not grow if we do not drink the milk, but our strenght comes from the meat of the gospel. Putting these things to work in how we live our lives. No, I am not talking about a salvation by works, but a salvation that leads to doing good works, not out of a compulsory command but out of heart felt desire to reflect the love of Christ through our actions and our words. We cannot do enough good works to outweigh the evil that lies within us all- the world says that mankind is bascially good but God says that the heart of man is continually evil. The sins of the heroes of the faith stick out like sore thumbs throughout the Bible. Paul was a persecutor and murderer, Abraham was a liar, Jacob was a con man and a thief, King David was an adulterer and murderer and possibly even a rapist(yet he was a man after God’s own heart), Noah was a drunk, Peter was a liar( denied he even knew Jesus, not once but three times as Jesus predicted he would), There are countless other examples, I mean no disrespect by pointing this out, these examples are stated to make the point- we are not good by any means, these men were all very close to God yet they fell into sin, like the rest of us, they tried to be good people yet they fell short or missed the mark. This is what is the common thread of humanity is sin.

Romans 3:23

New International Version (NIV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 

1John 1: 8, 10

 

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us

 

10f we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

 

Sin is what nailed Jesus to cross. This is the meat of the gospel, it was not the Romans that crucified Jesus, it was not the chief preists or elders, it was not Judas that betrayed Him, yet in a sense it was. It was and is the sins that we all have committed. Perhaps the hardest teaching of Christianity is that the first thing one has to do is to admit to being a sinner, an evil vile sinner, admit to being a bad person, that one has to confess to the crimes that they have committed to a wrathful vengeful but just God. When you stand in God’s court are you going to demand justice or plead for mercy?

1 Peter Chapter 3- Uh oh!! About marriage!! Uh Oh!

The first several verse in this chapter are about the relationship between husband and wive, that of the marital relationship. Before we get to the study of these verses , lets take a look at the history of marriage first.  I need to say this up front, I just wish that the many couples that plan to get married spent as much time and effort planning the marriage as they do planning the wedding. The wedding is just a few minutes out of one day that is supposed to be a the beautiful beginning of a life time together. The sad fact is the divorce rate is almost the same for those in the church as it is outside the church. Today most states have “no fault” divorce- you can simply hire a lawyer and tel the judge you want out of it- and you are.  The biblical standard is marriage  is for life except in the case of  one being unfaithful or one abandoning the other. Marriage is a holy institution ordained by God from the beginning, in the Garden of Eden.  Ok , enough of my ramblings – lets get to the history of marriage then a few verses from 1 Peter 3. 

“Marriage is defined as the formalization and sanctification of the union of man and woman for the procreation of children”.  ( NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible)  There are two Hebrew words to consider here, and they need to be seen in the context of being related – one is the Hebrew word, laqa- which means “to take in marriage” the other word is, ba al , which means, to be master, rule, or possess in marriage.    Now we have to remember that in biblical times,  marriages were arranged and the couple usually had no say in it. It was the fathers responsibility to find a suitable bride for his son. Isaac’s marriage was arranged between his father’s servant and his future wife’s brother. Only then was she consulted and that was probably only done because her father was no longer living.   This is just one example of how marriages were arranged and many scholars believe that Joseph and Mary were in an arranged marriage.  Which brings us to the betrothal , similar to, but much more binding than our cultures engagement period. The betrothal had a legal status attached to it that made it almost identical to marriage.  A one year betrothal period was the norm and it was considered a part of the permanent marriage relationship.  The groom was exempt from military service for one year after being married so the marriage could be established properly and on good solid ground. Perhaps we need to take a lesson in this!  The bride’s father already used the term “son-in-law”during the betrothal period. This enhance family solidarity. We could learn from this example too!  Normally in Jewish tradition there was a tendency to strongly discourage divorce and there even a fine of “divorce money” that was very substantial.  This was to serve a deterrent.  The status of the wife was not very high and the bill of divorce or what we would call a divorce decree could be a simple statement from the husband such as ” She is not my wife and I am not her husband”    But lets go now to the scriptures and see how Peter says to keep the marriage together!

1 Peter 3

Submission to Husbands

¹ Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, ² when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. ³ Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— ⁴ rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. ⁵ For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

A Word to Husbands

⁷ Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and asbeing heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

Apparently Peter believed in “Ladies First” since he addresses the wives first, He calls wives to be “submissive” to their husbands. Ladies, this does not mean to be a door mat for anyone. What Peter is talking about here is that wives should related to their husbands the same way that citizens relate to governing authorities, and the same way employees relate to employers, that is to place yourselves willingly under the guidance and control of  your husband and have  respect for your husband. That you should live in such a way that your husband is challenged to live in obedience God’s truth.  A godly wive does not preach to her husband with words but with the beauty of a Christlike life.    ( don’t  worry Peter has somethings to say to husbands in few verses!)   One of the goals here to see an unbelieving husband become a Christian. The word fear here refers to respect for God. Chaste conduct simply means living a moral life .

Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel

Peter is not condemning women who wear jewelry, but is making the point that a woman’s character is more important than outward beauty.  

We will finish up the passage next time.  In the meantime I would encourage everyone to read 1 Corinthians 13 and Ephesians 5:23-33 , Remember the relationship between a husband and wive is a picture of the relationship between Jesus and the Church. Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. 

Be sure to check out the radio broadcasts here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/universallifechurch

And these Facebook Pages – just click <like> !

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Universal-Life-Church/147869338562220

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Empty-Cross-Ministries/171930279510531

Have a safe and blessed week!

Change of Pace- We Might Be Slow but We Will Win the Race! Into to 1 Peter

1 Peter

Introduction:

This epistle or letter was most likely written by the apostle Peter as was 2 Peter. There is some modern criticism that Peter did not write the letters that bear his name. The evidence, both internal and external, indicate that indeed Peter is the author of both. It was written to the churches in Asia Minor ( modern Turkey). Peter wrote this letter to offer hope to the Christians that were suffering severe persecution under Nero. There are two different thoughts on where Peter was when he wrote this letter. One school of thought is that Peter was in Babylon based on the last verse of this epistle. 1 Peter 5:13 opens with these words,” She who is in Babylon…..” Babylon was located on the Euphrates where modern Iraq is located. The other school of thought is that Peter was using Babylon as a code word for Rome. The persecutions were severe enough that “codes” had to be developed so outsiders would not understand, but the churches would understand. Peter probably wrote this letter shortly after the execution of Paul and shortly before his own martyrdom, which would place the date of the writing around ad 67 or 68. The church as a whole would be about 35 years old at this time. This letter was to comfort Christians and to remind them that Christ did His work by suffering so not to think it strange that they had to suffer. This letter contains instructions how the Christian is to respond to the suffering and persecution in a Christ-like manner. The key element of this letter is the salvation that will be revealed at the last day.

There are five themes that come alive in this letter:

1. Christians can expect to suffer as a part of a life dedicated to Christ.

2. Christians are to live righteousness and holy lives even in the face of evil. Never returning evil for evil.

3. That no matter how much or how severe the suffering under

persecution became they did not deserve it. Their suffering was a part of their service to God and His kingdom.

4. Christians are to submit themselves to others for the sake of the gospel and for harmonious relationships with other peoples.

5. Finally, Peter stressed in this letter the central truth of the gospel, that Jesus endured the agony on the cross to save us from bondage to sin and that we are to follow Jesus example of quiet endurance of suffering, be committed to the Truth, and that the actions and attitudes of Jesus should be reflected in the way in which we handle the difficulties that we face.

Peter opens his letter with a salutation in which he identifies himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

An apostle is one that received a special commission from the Lord to act with official authority as a representative of God among believers in order to carry God’s message to them.

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: 

Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 

This letter is addressed to the “dispersion of pilgrims”

As Christians we not “of this world” but we are of a “heavenly world” The term dispersion conveys the idea of being scattered among strangers.

Sanctification is the process or result of being made holy. Holy means to be set apart for the use of God. We are to live out holy lives and we can only do that by the power that we have through the Holy Spirit. We are to be obedient to God in that of serving Him as that is one of the reasons that He chose to make us holy. The sprinkling of the blood bring to mind three time in the OT that the Israelites were sprinkled with the blood of animals:

1. Moses sprinkling blood on the Israelites on Mt Sinai as an intiation to the covenat with God.

2. The sprinkling of Aaron and his sons to be preists.

3. The preists sprinkling blood over healed lepers to symbolize their healing.

Peter could be thinking of any of these three cases here as he wrote this epistle.

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,5who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,7that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,8whom having not seenyou love. Though now you do not see Him,yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,9receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
10Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,11searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.12To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to usthey were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

Verse 3 “according to His abundant mercy”- Even though we are full of sin, God has compassion for us and our salvation is not of any works that we do, but is dependent upon God’s mercy granted through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross.

“Begotten us again” We , as believers have the capabiltiy to live a spiritual life that is far beyond what our fleshly bodies will allow. This is what Jesus meant we He said “you must be born again” He was talking about a spiritual birth.

“to a living hope” Hope is a gift of the Holy Spirit and is an essential characteristic of the Christian. Hope here is not mere expectation but includes confidence, trust, and safety. Hope is closely related to faith- A good defintion of both faith and hope would be “ the assurance of things not yet seen or revealed.” And this hope is not temporary but is eternal.

“Through the resurrection” The resurrection is the means of our salvation but not the means of our hope.

Verse 4- The word translated inheritance from the Greek indicates that this is both something in the present and in the future. God has already set aside an inheritance in heaven that is even now waiting for us.

Verse 5- We do fully realize or fully understand our salvation, but one day, we will fully understand this mystery.  

Don’t be Blue- It’s Revelation Twenty-two!

It is amazing to me how much comfort is found in this book of Revelation.  I have used passages from this book for  every funeral I have officiated.  And I find comfort and guidance in this book when I face my own personal challenges.  For the saved believer in Jesus Christ it is a book of promise and hope for the future. For the non-believer it is a book of the horrors of the coming judgment. I would like to make a point here, for the believer judgment has to do with reward, for the non believer it has to do with the wrath of God and His perfect justice. As we come to the sixth verse of this final chapter of the final book of the Holy Scriptures – bear in mind this whole book is a promise of great blessings for the believer and a very strong warning to those who refuse to come to Christ with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. 

⁶ Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy^[a] prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
⁷ “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
⁸ Now I, John, saw and heard^[b] these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
⁹ Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For^[c] I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” ¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. ¹¹ He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous^[d] still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

The visions of this book are meant it inform believers of what COULD take place very soon. “Blessed” begins the sixth of the seven beatitudes found in this book.  

This is the second time John makes the mistake of worshiping an angel.  The angel reminds John that he is a fellow servant of God and kind of scolds him that only God is to be worshiped.  

Earlier John was told to seal up and not reveal what the words were of  seven thunders.  Just as Daniel had been instructed not reveal certain things  this is found in Daniel 12:4,9.  

At first glance Verse 11 seems to predict that believers and non believers will live out their lives true to their nature until the final judgment.  But we look down to verse 17 and back to 14:6,7 there is an implied and indirect evangelistic appeal based on the continuing offer of the gospel found in those verses. 

The judgment seat of Christ can either render a time of great joy or it can be a time of the greatest regret.  The rewards that Christ offers are very strong incentives to live an obedient life to Him. Once Christ comes again, He will reward His own- We can count on this because He is in control of all of history and all of eternity.

 

 

Have a blessed and happy new year! Stay safe and stay in the word throughout the year!  

There is a daily bible reading plan on Empty Cross Ministries facebook page that will take you through the OT once and the NT twice in a years time.  Just click <like> and you are welcome to leave comments on the page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Empty-Cross-Ministries/17193 0279510531

And listen in on ULC Radio for great contemporary and traditional music and a variety of talk shows with subjects ranging from News to devotionals to Bible studies. 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/universallifechurch

 

Onward with Malachi

Treachery of Infidelity

¹⁰ Have we not all one Father?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?
¹¹ Judah has dealt treacherously,
And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,
For Judah has profaned
The LORD’s holy institution which He loves:
He has married the daughter of a foreign god.
¹² May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob
The man who does this, being awake and aware,^[b]
Yet who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts!
¹³ And this is the second thing you do:
You cover the altar of the LORD with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
¹⁴ Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because the LORD has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
¹⁵ But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
¹⁶ “ For the LORD God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

“ Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
¹⁷ You have wearied the LORD with your words;
Yet you say,

“ In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,

“ Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the LORD,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?”

This section could be considered a dispute over the peoples unfaithfulness.

 ¹⁰ Have we not all one Father? 
      Has not one God created us? 
      Why do we deal treacherously with one another 
      By profaning the covenant of the fathers? 

Has not one God created us? – This brings to mind the creation text of Gen 1:26-28-

Genesis 1:26-28

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all^[a] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

 Why do we deal treacherously with one another – God requires that we, humans treat each other equitably as He is the creator of all humanity and we are all made in His image. 

¹¹ Judah has dealt treacherously,
And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,
For Judah has profaned
The LORD’s holy institution which He loves:
He has married the daughter of a foreign god.

The term abomination is a strong word indicating that the people had done something awful as to make one  sick to the stomach. The text here presents the ideas of affection and revulsion which we usually think of in terms of the verbs to love and to hate.  Marriage is something God loves, divorce is something that God hates.  The Lord’s people had polluted something in which God takes great pleasure. The question of intermarriage in ancient Israel was not ethnic nor racial but spiritual.  A lack of faithfulness in God Himself.  We can see in Joshua 6:25 that Rahab the Canaanite prostitute became part of the Israelite community and Matthew 1:5 shows that she was a part of the genealogy of Jesus. The problem was not the intermarrying of foreign women but that the foreign women worshiped idols and led their husbands away from the worship of the Lord, the the only true and living God. 

 

¹² May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob 
      The man who does this, being awake and aware,^[b]
      Yet who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts! 

cut off-This phrase may may refer to either banishment or even death. 

being awake and aware- This is a difficult phrase but may mean a deliberate offense against the Lord. (see Lev 10:1-3).

 Many men of Israel has married foreign wives and tolerated their idolatry, yet they continued to bring offerings to the Lord, as if there was nothing wrong in their families. But God said their hypocritical offerings did not make them holy in His sight.  Do we have areas in our lives where we are ignoring God’s clear command?  Do we suppose the going to church, giving an offering, and saying a prayer will smooth over our actions? God calls us to give ourselves completely over to Him, to make Him the Lord over our entire lives and not to hold back in any area. 

 

¹³ And this is the second thing you do:
You cover the altar of the LORD with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.

the second thing – Prophets often spoke of the compounding of the people’s sins. 

tears-here seem to be judged as hypocritical acts of insincere repentance.  Crocodile tears do not fool God. 

So He does not regard the offering anymore- When the right things are done for the wrong reasons or with the wrong attitudes God does not accept them.

 

 goodwill -The Hebrew suggests God’s pleasure is in sacrifices offered with humility, faithfulness, and joy. 

¹⁴ Yet you say, “For what reason?” 
      Because the LORD has been witness 
      Between you and the wife of your youth, 
      With whom you have dealt treacherously; 
      Yet she is your companion 
      And your wife by covenant. 

For what reason?- The feigned surprise of the people fooled no one, certainly not the Lord!  

witness – There are some whose witness can be challenged but not the Lord’s!

wife of your youth- These men had not only married pagan wives but had divorced their first wives to make room for their new ones.  

companion- this describes a permanent partnership.

by covenant- The union of a marriage is formal,public,legal, and sacred, a binding contract. 

 

¹⁵ But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.

 

make them one- Here the prophet recalls the words of from Gen 2:24- “one flesh”.  

a remnant of the Spirit- This somewhat difficult phrase likely indicates the work of God’s Holy Spirit in the life of a married couple. God has joined them, and by His spirit He has worked on their behalf to strengthen them.

 godly offspring- God seeks godly children as He seeks true worshipers.  

Therefore take heed to your spirit- We must control our attitudes so that they will be in line with those of  God’s Spirit.

treacherously- To the Lord, attitudes of indifference to marriage vows and duties are the actions of a traitor. 

The above verses are God reaffirming what marriage is- a man and a woman becoming one.  God hates divorce. When we marry, we are to remain faithful to our spouse and are only released from our covenant in cases of sexual immorality( Matt 19:9) or abandonment (1 Cor 7:15).

¹⁶ “ For the LORD God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

Disobedience to God leads to broken relationships. For the Israelites, it lead to broken relationships with each other( marital divorce) and with God (spiritual divorce).  Ephesians 5:21-23 indicates that marriage is a picture of our relationship with God.  Good relationships must be guarded and nurtured with time, effort, and most of all, love.  

 

¹⁷ You have wearied the LORD with your words;
Yet you say,

“ In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,

“ Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the LORD,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?”

 

God is wearied by people who do not submit to Him but who argue their points against His revelations.  When justice comes they will be sorry. 

 

 

 

 

 

Why I Like Malachi and More from Malachi

We will finish up Revelation in a bit. I thought it important to study the Nativity accounts and see that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah and how those involved responded to God’s call for them to participate in that great event. The only one that responded to God’s call in a not quite appropriate way was Zacharias. We could say that his Christmas present was a lesson in faith and not to doubt God and not to doubt that God can use anyone for His purposes that He chooses- no matter what their personal circumstance might be. It this time of the year that we “get on fire” for the Lord and that is great but, how long does the fire burn? Does the flame begin to flicker and go out about mid January and not rekindle again until Lent and Easter come around again?  How is our faith between these two most important Church Holidays? I am not only speaking about our faith but what about our service for the Lord? Does it  wane and we become lackadaisical in our efforts to advance the kingdom or even in our prayer time and devotional and Scripture reading?  I know my prayer life and devtional time tend to become sporadic during the off times between Christmas and Easter.  I read through the entire Bible every year, and I have had to do, what I call, marathon reads to catch up with where I should be at times. We have been looking at the opening passages in the book of Malachi and he is warning the people and the religious leaders about the coming judgment because of their laxness in offering sacrifices and not giving the best animals that they had . Well, today, we do not sacrifice animals, but we do give money, time, our skills and abilities in service to the Lord, but are we not guilty of the same things when we give money that is left over? Do we just volunteer to do things that we have time for?  Do we tend to stay in our comfort zone and not take a risk?   Where is the sacrifice in doing our service when it is convenient for us, where is the sacrifice if we just give what we think we can afford, where it the sacrifice in doing the same things we have always done ? And this question are essentially what Malachi was speaking about - 

Malachi 1:9-10

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ “ But now entreat God’s favor,
That He may be gracious to us.
Whilethis is being done by your hands,
Will He accept you favorably?”
Says the LORD of hosts.
¹⁰ “ Who is there even among you who would shut the doors,
So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain?
I have no pleasure in you,”
Says the LORD of hosts,

“ Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.

V10- “shut the doors” In a choice between service without gratitude and no service at all, God chooses the SECOND.  The word ‘pleasure” here describes God’s desire to smile, even to laugh with joy, at true worship from a godly people.  

¹¹ For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,
My name shall be great among the Gentiles;
In every place incense shall be offered to My name,
And a pure offering;
For My name shall be great among the nations,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
¹² “ But you profane it,
In that you say,

‘ The table of the LORD^[b] is defiled;
And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’

v 11 “great among the Gentiles” God would one day receive praise from all nations, even the gentiles would be offer praise while God’s own people were profaning His Holy Name.  (Psalm 87, 117)

v12 “you profane it” The people were God with contempt by their careless attitudes concerning their offerings. 

¹³ You also say,

‘ Oh, what a weariness!’
And you sneer at it,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

“ And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick;
Thus you bring an offering!
Should I accept this from your hand?”

v13- The demands of God were neither understood or appreciated, they seemed to mere busywork.  ”Stolen… lame… sick..” The gifts of the priests were not presentable, some were stolen goods, and others were animals that were useless.  To sacrifice something of no value was not a sacrifice at all. 

¹⁴ “ But cursed be the deceiver
Who has in his flock a male,
And takes a vow,
But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished—
For I am a great King,”
Says the LORD of hosts,

“ And My name is to be feared among the nations.

v14- Can anyone really deceive God? The deception is only in the eyes of the deceiver.  ”I am a great KING” The reputation of the Lord among His people was to have been the means whereby all nations would be drawn to worship Him as well.

So as we move from Advent into Christmas, lets keep our worship sincere and honest.  Let us make sure that we are worshiping with the proper attitude and with an open mind and a receptive heart- and no matter what your gift to the Christ is – make sure it is the very best- He deserves nothing less from His people. 

Have a blessed and joyous celebration of Christ! 

Plans and Expectations

This time of year is one of high expectations, the problem is many times we set the bar way too high and then this results in failed expectations. We come from Christmas to the New Year- are you ready for Christmas? No, I am not ready for the shopping, the deadlines, the expenses, the gift wrapping, the cooking, the traveling, and why am I not ready? I did not prepare properly! Yet, I knew in January that Christmas was coming in December- that is eleven month to plan and prepare for all the things that need to be done! Ok- I admit it- one of shortcoming is I am an expert at procrastination and also am very skilled at rationalizing that procrastination- I will be in the stores on Christmas Eve doing the biggest part of my Christmas shopping- the good thing is I know what I am going to get for everyone and where it is at- does that count as planning? Anyway , save for the lines it won’t take me too long to shop. Ahh yes, those long lines…. patience is not one of my virtues either, I want to get in the store and get out of the store. But those lines are not really a problem- as with any problem is it actually an opportunity!  I have used the wait in that line to practice my Spanish with native speakers, and even the opportunity to witness the Gospel has presented itself- this time of the year is when more people are open to the gospel even more so than at Easter.  I used to let those opportunities go by and not speak, and that began to really bother me after several years of not saying anything- it took much soul searching to figure out why then one day, many years ago this verse from Romans jumped out of the page and tried and convicted me – it was because of shame or perhaps a better word would be embarrassment – why would anyone be embarrassed to be  a Christian to the point of not speaking out of that faith- anyway here is the verse:

Romans 1:16

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

And another passage with the same tought

2 Timothy 1:8

⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,

Perhaps the real reason for not daring to speak the Good News, was a lack of faith.  It took me awhile to realize that I am not responsible for the results just the effort- perhaps the best gift you could give to someone this year is to present the gospel to someone that you know and you know that they need to hear it- it could even be a stranger waiting in a long line at the cash register is being more patient than you! You might think you did not succeed to do think that you failed- all things are on God’s timetable, not ours- you may find out later that your conversation had a huge impact on this person and through that person many were brought to Christ, all in God’s plan as was the baby in the manger so long ago- that changed the world is so many dramatic ways!  Our failed expectations may the success of God’s ultimate plan.  

Romans 8:28

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according toHis purpose.

 

2 Timothy 4:5

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁵ But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Have Merry and Joyous  Celebration of Christ!

Who was there??? –

Welcome back to REVDavid’sBibleStudyBible Boot Camp! Grab a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate and sit back and relax and listen as we explore the Word of God. We have been studying the nativity accounts found in the gospels of Luke and Matthew. Tonight we are taking a look at the people involved in these accounts, a character study, if you will. The main character is, of course Jesus,but before we study Him, lets look at some of the other major players in this, one of the most significant events in all of history, the birth of Christ, the only other event in history that can claim any priority to this is the resurrection of Christ. The characters that we are going to delve into are Zecharias, remember him? He was John the Baptist daddy. And Elizabeth, John the Baptists, Mother, Mary, Jesus Mother and Joseph Jesus step father and the angel Gabriel. . Every good novel, and every good movie or TV show has a villain, the nativity is no exception and so we can save the good and best for last we will start by taking a look at the villain in this historic event, that villain would be King Herod. This would Herod the Great, procurator of Judea and the one who inquires about the birth of Jesus, and the one that slayed the infants of Bethlehem. He was procurator of Judea from 37 BC to 4 BC. Now, remember we placed the birth of Jesus at 5 or 6 BC. Herod the Greats father was Paternity, Herod also had several sons, Archelaus, Antipater, Antipas,and Phillip as well as others. He had at least two wives, Doris and Marianme. Herod is known for building many cities and it was he that remoldeled the temple in Jerusalem to gain the favor of the Jews. He was a destroyer of people. He was so afraid at someone was going to take his throne from him that he murdered many of his own sons, and was responsible for the death of his wife Marianme. Herod failed to gain any favor from the Jews because of his selfish superficiality. The Romans gave him the title king of the Jews, which was not a genuine title for him, His attempt to gain the loyalty of the Jews failed miserably, because he was self centered and motivated only by selfishness. Herods whole life is an example of self destructive behavior. Herods reaction when he heard from the wise men about a new king, is consistent with what history says about him. The second he heard about a new king he hatched his plan to locate this new king and destroy him before he could become a threat. The main thing we can learn from Herod and his life is that No one can prevent God’splan from being carried out. Another is that great power brings neither peace nor security, and superficial loyalty does not impress people of God.

Now lets take a look at Joseph, We can see that Joesph was a man of great intergrity, he was open to God’s guidance and willing to comply with God’s will. Joseph was descended from King David, and he was Jesus earthly and legal father. Joseph had the courage of his convictions. He wanted to do what was right, no matter the consequences, not only did Joseph want to do what is right but he wanted to do it in the right way. One thing I need to mention here about the Jewish betrothal, that was a binding marriage contract, and though they were not married yet, the only way out of a betrothal was through a divorce decree. The betrothal was similar to our engagement period, but as you can see much more binding, During the betrothal, the two did not live together nor would they have comsuamted the realtionship. Guys, think about what is going on in Josephs mind, as Mary breaks the ews to him that she is expeccting and he knows he has not been with her, and she tells the unbelievable tale to you- about God the being the father of the child. Would you believe her or not? Well, Joseph was going to break the engagement and he had legal grounds , and Mary could have been stoned to death for committing adultery. Now Joesph could have done the divorce one of two ways, but he was going to do it in a way that did not put Mary to shame, he was going to do this with both justice and love. This is at the point when the angel Gabriel appears to Joseph and confirms Mary’s story. And Joesph married Mary as God had commanded through the angel. And Joseph and Mary did not consumate the marriage unitl after Jesus was born. The main lesson, I think we can learn from Joesph is that God honors intergrity and that being obedient to God’s guidecance bring more guidance from God.

Revelation 21:5- Key Verse

The key verse of Revelation 21 would be I think verse 5. 

⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me,^[a] “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

Do you dislike your physical body? Do your emotions bother you and are something that you would rather be rid of? If your answer is “Yes” then you might make a good Gnostic but not a good Christian. Gnosticism is an ancient heresy that is still around today.  Gnosticism teaches that God does not care what we do with our bodies- that its all about the ethereal, the ideal, and the spirit. Contrary to these New Age notions God loves our bodies. After He created them, He announced that they, along with all creation, were excellent in every way. ( Gen 1:31).  

God is making the whole universe into something new(Romans 8:19-25)  and that includes you!  He has a plan not just for your interior but for your body as well. The difference between Christians and the rest of the universe is that we are in Christ. Since we are already in Christ, the new creation is has already begun inside of us.  This creation looks like an ordinary human on the outside, yet quietly and humbly contains the Gospel and the Holy Spirit. Inwardly, something is throbbing with a dynamic energy as a new being is created in the image of God’s glorified Son. 

God is making all things new and you are at the head of the line.  All creation stands on tiptoes to see the mighty work God is doing to those who are in Christ>