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A Lesson God’s Word to Moab

November 10, 2023 by Fritz

sevenloaves

Moab was a people group descended from Abraham’s nephew, Lot, the result of an incestuous relationship between Lot and his oldest daughter.

Becoming a clan who rejected God’s ways, lived wickedly, and made life difficult for Israel, they were sent the prophet Isaiah to tell them judgment was imminent.

It was a long list of devastating events, but in the middle of bad news, there is the telling verse of Isaiah 15:5

God laments:

“My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, and for the fugitives stretched out as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah. For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith; they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim.”

Our spiritual enemy portrays God as ruthless, punishing, angry, and uncaring to most of humanity.  He perpetrates the belief that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New; that God’s main job and delight is bopping people, sending tragedy on those he doesn’t like (and he doesn’t like many).

Isaiah portrays a different picture.  God says his heart cries out because of Moab’s plight and for the fugitives who’s lives are devastated.  And this is not the only place God says this.  For example, I point to another: Ezekiel 18:23:

“Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the Sovereign LORD? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?”

Compassion for the lost is why the God of the Old Testament sent Jesus, his eternal son, to become human, live a hard perfect life, and yield it up on the cross to remove the wall of sin between us and him.  It was love for people that the God of the Old Testament physically brought his son, Jesus, back to life and sent the Holy Spirit to live in us, empower us, and show us how to express His love and power daily.

Don’t buy into the lie that the God of the Old and New Testaments are different.  The God of the Old testament and the New is Jesus.

John 20:26-28

Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” Thomas replied to him, “My Lord and my God!”

-fritz

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Bible Applied

January 26, 2022 by Fritz

An open Bible

The bible, as a collection of various writings, is to be interpreted; what the Apostle Paul says, “Rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15).

There are different types of literature in the collection.  There are Historical narratives, Poetic verses, Laws and Prophecies, each with their own purposes and unique ways to understand. To read them all as the same muddles the meanings.

Historical narratives, like who did what to whom, are expected to be taken literally, as accounts of what really happened, but Poetic verses are NOT expected to be taken literally.

The scripture from Psalms 91:4 says God, “shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:4).  It is NOT telling us God has feathers and wings like a chicken.

Treating every passage with the same, literal, interpretation will lead to confused ideas.

Prophetic writings are difficult to determine what events come first and when because, from God’s perspective, all time is now.

Laws and Instructions are to be obeyed by those to whom they are given, but to others they are applied in different ways.

Example, The Law, Deuteronomy 25:4, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he is treading out the corn.”; is to be obeyed, but we have an application in 1st Corinthians 9:9:

Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest.” (1 Corinthians 9:9-10 NLB)

The application is to pay your preachers and support their families.

We read from 1st Corinthians 10:32 that there are three different people groups the scriptures apply: 1) The Jews; 2) The gentiles, called “The Nations’, and 3) the church of God. The bible has to be correctly applied to each group differently.

For example, the Bible commands circumcision.  The Apostles, however, concluded in Acts 15 the circumcision command was written to the Jews, not to the new gentile believers, and they wrote a letter to the Gentiles saying so.  They weren’t saying part of the Bible is no longer valid or that it was for a different time.  It was still in effect but did NOT apply to the different groups in the same way.  

This is why people who all say they believe the Bible, come to opposite conclusions.  It is essential to correctly apply scripture to daily life.

So how do I know I am applying the bible correctly?  

The first step is humility.  I could be wrong on some things.  Ask God to show you the truth in his word.  

Next, open the bible and just begin to read. Become familiar with it.  Determine the kind of literature you are reading, who it is written to or about, how similar/different they were to you and your needs?

Don’t throw away your beliefs just because someone tells you to, but search the scriptures,  read them in the context of what is being written about.  Let obscure passages go for the moment, trusting that they will open when the time is right for what you need.

Living with Jesus is a journey of discovery, surrender to Jesus and trust him to lead; you will be surprised at what you see and experience.

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Jumping for Joy

January 24, 2022 by Fritz

Our Joyful Monday scripture comes from the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:12.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:11-12 (KJV)

Jesus tells the crowd that when they are persecuted for his sake they are to “rejoice” and be exceedingly glad because they have a great reward waiting for them in heaven.

That word, “Rejoice” literally means “Jump for Joy”, like the winning team on the football field when the game has been won.

We jump for joy when something good happens, but Jesus said to jump for joy BEFORE something good happens.  That’s a big difference.

When our fourth child was born, we got bad news.  Something was wrong, they could’t figure it out.  Days in the hospital went by until finally they sent him home with no diagnosis but with a big bill which the insurance refused to pay.

It was oppressive. We were poor and constantly harassed for the moneyI We didn’t know what was wrong with our child or if he would survive.  Tension headaches were constant.

I heard a message on rejoicing in the midst of problems, so I decided to act.  When the pressure was unbearable I would find a private place to actually jump and praise God for the doctors, the bill collectors, the uncertainty and As I did this the pressure eased and I would go back to work.  This would happen several times a day as months went by.  Each time it was a matter of choice instead of feeling; intentional not reactive.

Through a miraculous series of events, the hospital bill was paid and we were free.  A friend said, “I bet you jumped for joy when that happened!”  “Friend”, I replied, the jumping for joy took place before the miracle.  

Are you in an oppressive situation?  Make the decision to intentionally rejoice (Jump for Joy), we have a great God who does miracles.

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