Yesterday at church we heard our last “Quest” Series message. The final sermon, and Stage, is called “The Land of Love” – the place where God provides a mate. Despite the whimsical-sounding title, the theme of the message is that the “Land of Love” that so many of us pray to reach is actually the Land of Conflict, and couples must learn to deal with conflict in a healthy way.
We discussed that how we approach conflict outside marriage is how we will deal with it in marriage. We addressed the often unhealthy ways we respond to conflict. For example, some of us attack others in conflict, while others retreat, disengaging from communication. Poor ways of dealing with conflict only intensify in marriage.
We talked about the solution to conquering conflict in marriage being the willingness to fight for love. The fighting “tools” were presented as Ephesians 6:10-18, which talks about putting on the full armor of God in order to withstand the devil’s schemes – including marital conflict. Relevant to my recent entries on God’s Word, verse 17 calls us to put on the “Sword of the Spirit,” which is the Word of God. We are to study it, individually and corporately, and apply it to our lives.
I really benefited from the message. It was such a good reminder that preparation for marriage, if that is what God has for us, begins not at engagement but during singleness. It’s is a time to work on changing the negative aspects of our characters that threaten the ability to have God-honoring marriages. In the context of God’s Word, as Hebrews 4:12 points out, God’s Word judges even our deepest thoughts and intentions. When we are responsive to God revealing even our most painful shortcomings through His Word and other means – we see our characters improve, and we become more like Him. In turn, we are able to do a better job of loving not only our mates, but also others.
Despite a world where marriages often do not last, I believe that God deeply desires for many of His people to enter marriages that buck current trends and make bold statements for Him. He’s looking for those of us who don’t see marriage as a key to personal happiness, but chance to bring Him glory. And those servants have to be fighters.
Here’s a link to the message -- it is truly worth the listen (also available for free with iTunes: Search Podcasts for “the bridge podcast,” click “The Bridge DC,” and download “The Land of Love”)!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Interlude: The Quest
I know right now I’m talking about God’s Word, but I want to pause for a moment to pass on this great series we’ve been doing at church called “The Quest: The Five Stages on The Road to Romance.”
The Quest is a look at the different romantic interactions – or lack of them – that we have before marriage, if that is what God ultimately has for us. I’m passing it on because I think it’s part of living purity as a single person that often is not addressed much in church, yet what we do in these stages is vital to living our calling in Christ, married or single.
The main series passage is Deuteronomy 2, which occurs shortly before the Israelites are about to enter The Promised Land after leaving Egypt and wandering in the desert for almost 40 years. In order for them to enter the Land, they had to follow God’s instructions carefully despite their anxiousness to just reach it. The messages that we’ve had so far:
Message 1 - The Mountain of Acceptance
Message 2 - Relational Compromise (Pit Stop)
Message 3 - The Plateau of Comfort/The Desert of Spectatorship
Message 4 - The Valley of One
Message 5 - Coming the Week of 3/20
Here’s a link to the messages online. Or, if you have iTunes, you can search Podcasts for “the bridge podcast,” click “The Bridge DC,” and download the “Quest” Messages. All are free.
Wherever we are in life – including in our singleness, we are to use every moment for Him. Ephesians 5: 15-16 says,
Happy listening!
The Quest is a look at the different romantic interactions – or lack of them – that we have before marriage, if that is what God ultimately has for us. I’m passing it on because I think it’s part of living purity as a single person that often is not addressed much in church, yet what we do in these stages is vital to living our calling in Christ, married or single.
The main series passage is Deuteronomy 2, which occurs shortly before the Israelites are about to enter The Promised Land after leaving Egypt and wandering in the desert for almost 40 years. In order for them to enter the Land, they had to follow God’s instructions carefully despite their anxiousness to just reach it. The messages that we’ve had so far:
Message 1 - The Mountain of Acceptance
Message 2 - Relational Compromise (Pit Stop)
Message 3 - The Plateau of Comfort/The Desert of Spectatorship
Message 4 - The Valley of One
Message 5 - Coming the Week of 3/20
Here’s a link to the messages online. Or, if you have iTunes, you can search Podcasts for “the bridge podcast,” click “The Bridge DC,” and download the “Quest” Messages. All are free.
Wherever we are in life – including in our singleness, we are to use every moment for Him. Ephesians 5: 15-16 says,
“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”If we seek His face at every point in our journey, we learn to live the abundant life that Jesus died to give us. As we walk as He did, we gain something valuable each day to navigate life right where we are.
Happy listening!
Our God (The Word, Part 5)
I’ve begun my read through the Old Testament. Right now I’m in Numbers and have been so blessed by reading each Book so far.
As I mentioned last entry, when I tried to read through the Bible growing up I always got stuck on Leviticus or Numbers – it was hard for me to digest all the laws that seemed to have no relevance to me. But this time, reading through parts of Exodus, Leviticus and now Numbers has really made me meditate on God’s greatness.
Laws
The Leviticus I once dreaded actually has had the most impact on me so far. In it God gave the Israelites laws to follow. He explains how they were to present offerings of all kinds, such as for sin, fellowship and food. They also were given laws about topics such as hygiene, diseases and childbirth.
One area that stood out was the laws for presenting a sin offering. For example, God gave the following directions to the Israelites on making restitution when the whole community sinned:
Another area that struck me was punishments God gave people for breaking His laws. There are accounts of Moses and other leaders in the community taking lawbreakers into custody to ask God what the punishment should be. One story in Leviticus 24 is about the punishment that God prescribed for someone who had cursed His name, against the law:
The sacrifices – and examples of the sins for which they atoned – were a reminder to me of just how detestable sin is to God. Before He sent His Son, in order for us to be in a right place with Him, He had to institute some kind of payment for wrongdoing to cover the sin. For whatever reason God, in His omniscience, chose blood as that payment. In the Old Testament, that blood was shed by an animal in the form of a sin offering. And sometimes, people had to die on the spot for their sins. Either way, the wages for sin was death. But when Jesus came to earth and gave His own life -- His blood – as a payment, we were now able to be reconciled with Him without presenting our own sacrifice; through receiving Him, we are forgiven! (See Hebrews 9: 22 -26)
Splendor
Another lesson I’ve learned from reading the Old Testament so far is the fact that God is just so beyond us – His glory incomparable.
There’s a passage in Exodus where Moses asks God to show him His glory as a way of giving Moses credibility with the people as God’s chosen leader of Israel. (Exodus 33:15-16). God, stating that He was pleased with Moses, agreed to show Moses His glory. He said: “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.” (v. 19). Yet God said there was a limit:
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (v. 20)
He also gave Moses further instructions for the encounter:
Reading this account this time really reminded me of just how above our understanding God is. Moses, in his human innocence, could not fathom how great even being in God’s presence is. Today we use the phrase “you can’t see me” as a way of often good-naturedly pointing out that someone else is not on our level. But God said to Moses, literally, “you cannot see ME” and still live. Even at our best, none of our presences are beyond anyone’s sight. But that’s how great God Is!
His Word
Considering Exodus and Leviticus, I’m reminded of just how important it is to study God’s Word as a way of understanding His character, rather than allowing our perceptions of Him to be shaped by others’ opinions that may not square with Scripture. Today even as Christians at times we have a hard time reconciling the “God of the Old Testament” with the God that we have a relationship with today. But the Word of God says He is the same yesterday, today –Forever. He may not always choose to treat us as our sins deserve, but everything He does is within the character He has always had.
From His Word we learn that He is loving – He gave His Son as a payment for our sins – but He also is a holy God that cannot even be seen by us in His glorious form. That also means that there is no way He can perceive things just as we do, or condone or love everything we do. When we read His Word, we are able to know what He asks of us, and, in turn, make the choice to live more like Him despite direction we may get from others that is contrary to His ways.
More
I cannot get over the fact that every time we open up The Word, The God of The Universe speaks directly to us. We don’t need to wait for writing on a wall, a ball of fire from heaven, or even a message from someone else about what He said to them. He’s given us His very words in one amazing book that we can read freely, by ourselves. That’s pretty awesome.
As I mentioned last entry, when I tried to read through the Bible growing up I always got stuck on Leviticus or Numbers – it was hard for me to digest all the laws that seemed to have no relevance to me. But this time, reading through parts of Exodus, Leviticus and now Numbers has really made me meditate on God’s greatness.
Laws
The Leviticus I once dreaded actually has had the most impact on me so far. In it God gave the Israelites laws to follow. He explains how they were to present offerings of all kinds, such as for sin, fellowship and food. They also were given laws about topics such as hygiene, diseases and childbirth.
One area that stood out was the laws for presenting a sin offering. For example, God gave the following directions to the Israelites on making restitution when the whole community sinned:
13 “‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty. 14 When they become aware of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting. 15 The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD. 16 Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood into the Tent of Meeting. 17 He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the LORD seven times in front of the curtain. 18 He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 19 He shall remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar, 20 and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. 21 Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.As the passage points out, blood was the key to an acceptable sacrifice.
Another area that struck me was punishments God gave people for breaking His laws. There are accounts of Moses and other leaders in the community taking lawbreakers into custody to ask God what the punishment should be. One story in Leviticus 24 is about the punishment that God prescribed for someone who had cursed His name, against the law:
A Blasphemer Stoned
10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.
13 Then the LORD said to Moses: 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. 15 Say to the Israelites: ‘If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; 16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death. (v. 10-17)
The sacrifices – and examples of the sins for which they atoned – were a reminder to me of just how detestable sin is to God. Before He sent His Son, in order for us to be in a right place with Him, He had to institute some kind of payment for wrongdoing to cover the sin. For whatever reason God, in His omniscience, chose blood as that payment. In the Old Testament, that blood was shed by an animal in the form of a sin offering. And sometimes, people had to die on the spot for their sins. Either way, the wages for sin was death. But when Jesus came to earth and gave His own life -- His blood – as a payment, we were now able to be reconciled with Him without presenting our own sacrifice; through receiving Him, we are forgiven! (See Hebrews 9: 22 -26)
Splendor
Another lesson I’ve learned from reading the Old Testament so far is the fact that God is just so beyond us – His glory incomparable.
There’s a passage in Exodus where Moses asks God to show him His glory as a way of giving Moses credibility with the people as God’s chosen leader of Israel. (Exodus 33:15-16). God, stating that He was pleased with Moses, agreed to show Moses His glory. He said: “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.” (v. 19). Yet God said there was a limit:
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (v. 20)
He also gave Moses further instructions for the encounter:
21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”The Bible also says that after speaking with God on another occasion Moses’ face was so radiant that when he went back to the Israelites, they were afraid of him. The Bible also says that Moses was “unaware” of how radiant his face was. (Exodus 34: 29). He even had to put a veil over it that he took off only when he went back to speak with God (v. 33-35).
Reading this account this time really reminded me of just how above our understanding God is. Moses, in his human innocence, could not fathom how great even being in God’s presence is. Today we use the phrase “you can’t see me” as a way of often good-naturedly pointing out that someone else is not on our level. But God said to Moses, literally, “you cannot see ME” and still live. Even at our best, none of our presences are beyond anyone’s sight. But that’s how great God Is!
His Word
Considering Exodus and Leviticus, I’m reminded of just how important it is to study God’s Word as a way of understanding His character, rather than allowing our perceptions of Him to be shaped by others’ opinions that may not square with Scripture. Today even as Christians at times we have a hard time reconciling the “God of the Old Testament” with the God that we have a relationship with today. But the Word of God says He is the same yesterday, today –Forever. He may not always choose to treat us as our sins deserve, but everything He does is within the character He has always had.
From His Word we learn that He is loving – He gave His Son as a payment for our sins – but He also is a holy God that cannot even be seen by us in His glorious form. That also means that there is no way He can perceive things just as we do, or condone or love everything we do. When we read His Word, we are able to know what He asks of us, and, in turn, make the choice to live more like Him despite direction we may get from others that is contrary to His ways.
More
I cannot get over the fact that every time we open up The Word, The God of The Universe speaks directly to us. We don’t need to wait for writing on a wall, a ball of fire from heaven, or even a message from someone else about what He said to them. He’s given us His very words in one amazing book that we can read freely, by ourselves. That’s pretty awesome.
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