August 20 - Habakkuk

What a fantastic lesson I learned from Habakkuk. This overview video is well worth a watch. See what God is teaching us through this Old Testament book.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

18 Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

19 The Lord God is my strength,

And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,

And makes me walk on my high places.

 

August 6 - Zephaniah

 

August 4, 2021 - Nahum

 

July 14, 2021 - Micah

 

Isaiah 1-4, July 9

 

2 Chronicles 13-16, 1 Kings 15 – June 25, 2021

We get such a powerful message in these passages, that can be summarized in two verses:

2 Chronicles 15:2 … the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him …

and

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

 

Abijah was ambushed and surrounded – Asa was outnumbered by the Ethiopians, but when God is trusted and honored, God delivers.

That is still a great lesson for us today. It still holds just as true as it always has.

 

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

 

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Kings 12-14 – June 23, 2021

1 Kings 14:24b They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

They eventually became just like the people who defied God. This is why God warned them to be careful about associating with them.

1 Kings 11:2  “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.”

 Paul makes a very similar warning.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 We, as Christians, must remain vigilant in our efforts to follow God. What the world deems allowable or moral, may not be.

 We must be certain that what we believe comes from God and not from man – even a religious man - as we see tragically ended the life of the “old prophet from Bethel”.

June 22 – Proverbs 30-31

Proverbs 30:7-8a: “Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me,”

 

Me: Oh, this is a prayer I should probably learn to pray every day.

 

Proverbs 30:8b “Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,”

 

Me: Waaaiiiitt 

Proverbs 25-26 – June 17, 2021

26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him.

 Modern day translation should probably read this way: 

Do not type a response to a foolish post on Facebook, it only makes you foolish.

1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 8 – June 16, Wed.

As we have been reading about Solomon building and dedicating the temple, I have found myself making comparisons to Gods modern day temple, me and you.

 

“1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

 

That causes me to get excited about a verse like 1 Kings 9:3, “The Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”

 

Wow, we must be a pretty big deal!

Psalm 134, 146-150 – June 15, 2021

Where is your value? Is it in your strength at a certain talent? Or your success in a certain business? Your likeability because of a certain characteristic? How you are perceived by others?

 

None of those things are necessarily bad; however, “(God) does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness,” Psalm 147:10-11.

Sometimes, I need to remind myself where my true value really comes from.

 

1 John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.

 

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

June 11, 2021 – 1 Kings 5-6

I am highlighting what the Lord says to Solomon in 6:11-13, “11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, 12 “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. 13 I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”

 

It seems that on occasion, Christians tend to forget the covenantal aspect of our relationship with God. “If you keep your part of the covenant, I’ll keep my part.”

 

Salvation, thankfully is very free, but Christianity may cost us. Jesus is very clear about this and does not portray Christianity as a “seeker friendly” religion – loving, yes, but accountable.

 

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

 

Luke 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Proverbs 1-3 – June 3

Here is another great video explaining the book of Proverbs. Notice the point that Proverbs does not equate to promises but more like possibilities. Also, our relationship with God is not a formula – it cannot be summed up with simple “do’s” and “don’ts”. It is a gaining of knowledge from a lifetime of commitment, experience, obedience, and relationship.

Overview: Proverbs - YouTube

  

1 Kings 3-4 – May 31, 2021

I am amazed to see the humility of the beginnings of such a great man and example in the Bible.

3:7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

 

Solomon’s humility gained him even more blessings than he asked for.

It will be interesting also, to see how fame and fortune encouraged self-reliance, which is the opposite of humility.  When we can trust in our own abilities to provide, we may lose the need to trust in God for provisions.

 

Matthew 18:4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Matthew 23:12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Psalm 139 – Wednesday, May 26

Just this last Sunday, one of my biggest desires was to convince someone that their prayers were taken very personal. It is often too easy to view God as a distant Diety rather than an intimate Father. This causes our prayers to be more like a task rather than relational. There is value in the confidence of God’s desire for personal relationship.

 

That is why I love passages like Psalm 139. Apply these phrases to yourself and your Father God.

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me - You understand my thought from afar - And are intimately acquainted with all my ways - If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me”

 

Bonus result:

When I am convinced of God’s proximity, I then expect Him to take advantage of momentary encounters with those around me.

1 Chronicles 23-25 – Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Well, as expected, I love seeing the importance of musicians in the temple worship of God. Not only that, but the fact that they were “trained” and “skillful” (1 Chronicles 25:7). (I use this scripture when somebody wants to play tambourine in the audience but doesn’t want to come to rehearsal, haha!)

 

But what I really want to bring attention to is this verse: 25:3 …six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising the Lord.

 

The phrase “prophesied in giving thanks” gave me pause.

 

Definition and translation for “prophesied”:

Naba - speak or sing by inspiration (e-Sword)

Naba - to flow, pour out, gush forth, spring, bubble up, emit, belch forth (Bible Study Tools Lexicon)

 

This is how “naba” is used in other scriptures in the Old Testament:

 

Psalm 119:171 Let my lips utter (naba) praise, For You teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 59:7 Behold, they belch forth (naba) with their mouth; Swords are in their lips…

Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

      But the mouth of the wicked pours out (naba) evil things.

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

    The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling (naba) brook.

 

It seems that many Christians (myself included) had, at some point, a misconstrued understanding of the word “prophecy”. Because according to Proverbs 15:28, even the wicked prophecy (naba).

 

But it does seem to be an almost uncontrollable urge to proclaim something from our depths that can only originate from the supernatural.

 

I like how Vine’s Expository explains prophecy from the New Testament word “propheteia”: “Though much of Old Testament prophecy was purely predictive, … prophecy is not necessarily, nor even primarily fore-telling. It is the declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means, Matthew 26:68, it is the forth-telling of the will of God, whether that be past, present or future”.

 

Now let’s reapply that word in this verse 1 Chronicle 25:3.

Their musicians prophesied with thanks and praise to the Lord!

So, the next time you are in your praise and worship service, recognize when your musicians begin to prophesy the wonders of our God and join them and the angels of heaven in unified worship.

2 Samuel 16-18 – May 17, Monday

2 Samuel 18:7-8 The people of Israel were defeated there before the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, 20,000 men. 8 For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

 What a story this has been of lives in our history. But this phrase really stops me, “the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured”. I am a very visual person and after reading this phrase, I immediately think of the tree people in “Lord of the Rings”.

Maybe God AND the forest trees were so upset with the Israelites who not only turned on God, but warred once again within itself. Okay, that maybe a stretch, but this is another reason I am hoping for a true live action video of our history when I get to heaven.

Psalms 32, 51, 86, 122 – May 14

In chapter 32, isn’t it interesting to hear David’s thoughts about his sin, keeping it secret, and then being freed from it?

:1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!

 And remember, when David speaks of his sin being covered, he is talking about a much more involved process than we have today. He had to go to the high priest, confess, bring a sacrifice, etc.

 We also have a sacrifice of life and blood made for us, but it was done so perfectly that (thankfully) we have a much easier and greater way to achieve forgiveness and reconciliation. What an awesome, loving Father we have!

 

2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Chronicles 20 – May 13

2 Samuel 12:24-25 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him 25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah for the Lord’s sake.

 

What still amazes me about our Father is that even through our bad decisions, God works things out for good, if we’ll let Him. Bad decisions may come with a cost, but when we turn to God, like David did, He just may raise up a Solomon from it.

 

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

Psalm 65-67, 69-70 – May 12

 Psalm 67:2 That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.

 

I have seen this phrase a few times now in our readings, especially in Psalms – “Your way”. (ie. “Teach me Your way, O Lord” - Psalm 86:11)

“Way” comes from the Hebrew word “derek”. When used figuratively, it means “a course of life or mode of action”.

 

I remember reading that Moses prayed this prayer.

Exodus 33:13 Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight.“

And now I am seeing it often in Psalms.

 

For some reason, I am finding it more interesting than before. It’s not simply wanting to know what to do right now and specifically, but it’s more about wanting to know God’s methodology – His process. It is what a great follower does in order to become a great leader. Don’t just teach me what to do each time, but teach me why You make that decision. Teach the “why’s” and I will be better at partnering with You to accomplish bigger things. Teach me Your ways, God.

 

I had to find other instances where this phrase was used to understand it better. Here are just a few.

 

Deuteronomy 10:12 “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him,

 

1 Kings 2:3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways,

 

2 Chronicles 6:31 that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live

 

Psalm 25:4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.

 

Psalm 27:11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,

 

Psalm 77:13 Your way, O God, is holy;

 

Psalm 86:11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.

 

Psalm 119:33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, And I shall observe it to the end.

 

It actually seems like a huge responsibility and request! It’s like God training you for a leadership position! If God said, “We’re expanding our business and I need for YOU to be a store manager. Let Me teach you how We do this.”

Gulp! Hang on and pray this dangerous prayer with me today!

 “Teach me Your ways, God.” – Jeff Donaldson