Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Old Testament’

Knowing God (His loving is amazing Part 2)

Posted in Bible, God, Knowing God, Love, Old Testament, Relationship with God, worship, tagged , , , , , , on November 23, 2010| 2 Comments »

In part 1 of this series, we looked at the amazing love of God as we see it in the New Testament.  In this post, we will consider how God speaks of His love for us in the Old Testament.

  • God’s love for us is individual and designed to help me – – I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32:8  Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
  • God’s love for us is protective –  For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:5   The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2
  • God’s love for us is comforting – Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
  • God’s love for us is sympathetic and compassionate – You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? Psalm 56:8
  • God’s love for us is one of abundant provision – They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.  For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. Psalm 36:8-9
  • God’s love for us gives us hope – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
  • God’s love for us is everlasting (eternal) – The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.  Jeremiah 31:3

So much remains to be said about God’s love.  It is truly amazing.  It is His love for us that draws us to Him.  Read of Him in the pages of your Bible, the One who loved you, loves you and will love you!

In our next post, we will consider some of the word pictures and stories that the Bible provides of God’s love.

Read Full Post »

Knowing God

Posted in Bible, God, Knowing God, Old Testament, Relationship with God, Walking with God, worship, tagged , , , , , on October 30, 2010|

In the words of Julie Andrews, “let’s start at the very beginning . . . it’s a very good place to start.”

In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” That is where God begins His story.  It is not the beginning of God, since He is mentioned as already being present in the verse.  It is, however, the beginning for the heavens and the earth.

The attribute of God most evident in this verse for me is His power.  God simply created everything that we can see, feel, sense or hear.  Even more amazing is that He created it out of nothing (ex nihilo).  He is the all-powerful creator God.  “Elohim” is His name.  Elohim is the traditional Hebrew name for thecreator God and it mean, “The Strong One.”

Part of knowing God is knowing His power.  The most obvious evidence of His great power is the creation.  Many other scriptures refer to His role as creator and they lend some additional insights:

  • Completed in six days – Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
  • Creation reveals God’s genuineness – Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.
  • God created the heavens and earth to be inhabited – Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
  • God knows all the details of creation – Job 38-41.

May you continue to meditate on the creator God.  May you worship Him, for He alone is worthy of praise.  There is none like Him, like our God.  He is the King of Glory!

Note: According to John MacArthur,  Bible teacher and commentator, the original Hebrew language here supports a recent creation (thousands, not millions of years ago).

Read Full Post »

Lessons from the Book of Job (Part 2)

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, God, Job, Old Testament, tagged , , , on August 16, 2010|

As I read the book of Job each year, Job reminds me about my God, why He is worthy, oh so worthy to be served.

  • Everything under heaven is His.  He even sets limits for Satan.
  • He controls all of nature – that which is above and that which is below.
  • None came before Him, and He has no end, so it is not possible that any will come after Him.
  • Whatever He wills – that shall be done.  None can resist or successfully oppose Him.  None of His purposes can be thwarted.
  • In His presence, I see the wretch that I am, hopelessly self-focused and self-seeking, lacking in power and sufficiency, totally dependent on my God.

Although He might despise me for my inadequacies, my frailties, my pathetic efforts to be independent, He doesn’t. Instead He extends His loving arms to hold and comfort me.  He washes me in His blood, and I am clean.

Read Full Post »

Lessons from the Book of Job

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, Devotional, God, Job, Old Testament, tagged , , , , on August 13, 2010|

The benefit of reading through the Bible each year from cover to cover is that every year, you must read the book of Job.  It is 37 chapters of men’s wisdom followed by 5 chapters of God’s.

When I read Job, I learn things about myself:

  • I am like Job’s friends, spending too much time trying to figure why another person faces severe or repeated suffering and trials.  I look for hidden sin in their lives.  I usually fail to consider the universal truth that God’s ways are far past my finding out or understanding.  How can finite man understand infinite God?
  • I am like Job.  I tend to think God is dealing unjustly with me.  I accuse God of being far from me, not remembering me, or forsaking me.  I am prone to think of God as a mere man, like me, capable of error, neglect, thoughtlessness.  I imagine He might need my insight, my vision, or my plans.
  • I am so relieved to hear from God.  After 37 chapters of the ramblings of those not much brighter than me, when I read the words, “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind,” it makes my heart quicken.  His truth washes over me, verse after verse confronting me with my impotency and my insignificance in stark contrast to His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence.

Like Job, my only response to the awesome power and knowledge of God is to mumble with my face in dirt, “I am vile . . . I have nothing to say.”

More on Job tomorrow . . .

Read Full Post »

As the Deer Panteth

Posted in Bible, Devotional, Exhortation, Psalms, tagged , , , , , on August 2, 2010| 2 Comments »

Have you sung that song “As the Deer Panteth for the waters so my soul longeth after thee . . ?”   I was thinking about that line today, about the thirsty deer.  Does the deer drink and then go away for a week before returning to drink again?  Does the deer drink because it thinks the other deer are watching it?   Does the deer fill its cantine and walk away from the stream for a time in the desert only returning when it is near death from thirst?  No.  The deer comes daily and throughout the day and drinks when it experiences genuine thirst.  It stays near the stream and doesn’t wander so far as to not be able to get back when it experiences thirst.  It does not try to take care of future thirst or worry from where the next drink will come.  The deer relies on its heavenly Father to tell it when it thirsts and to provide a means to satisfy that thirst.

So what spiritual lessons is the Psalmist teaching me in describing this thirst like the deer?

  • It is a thirst that longs for and can be satisfied by the water. I should thirst for the living water, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and seek to be satisfied by the Word and the Holy Spirit.  It is a natural law that appetite is developed by eating.  Thirst, too can be developed by drinking.  I should drink of the living water and thereby develop a thirst which it alone can quench.
  • It is a thirst that seeks quenching daily, hourly and as the need arises. I should seek to slake (ally or reduce by satisfying) my thirst daily and hourly, if need be, by coming to the font of living water, to Jesus who promises to satisfy my thirst.  I should stay close to the source of living water.
  • It is a thirst that has no other motive than to satisfy the basic need. When I come to the water to drink, my motive should be to quench my thirst, not to fulfill some man-made obligation or ritual or the expectations of others.
  • It is a thirst that trusts in the creator to provide a means of satisfying it. I must come to quench my thirst to the one who created it.  I must trust God to provide the means for satisfying my thirst and not seek to have that need filled somewhere else.

May you be like the deer who pants for the water brooks.  May your genuine thirst for God be quenched by the living water of the Word and fellowship with the One who promises to bring forth rivers of living water from the lives of those who believe in Him.

Read Full Post »

Proverbs on the Tongue

Posted in Bible, Deceit, lying, Old Testament, Tongue, tagged , , , , , , on July 22, 2010|

Having just finished a great study in the book of James, the blessings and problems of the tongue are fresh in my mind.  In addition to the verses in James 3 regarding the tongue, many other books of the Bible have something to say on this subject:

In Proverbs 12, I found some interesting wisdom about the tongue:

  • Your mouth will get you into trouble – “The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble.”  verse 13
  • What you say can bring a blessing back to you – – “A man will be satisfied with the good by the  fruit of his mouth.”  verse 14
  • He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit. verse 17
  • Some people’s words stab and others bring healing – “There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health.”  verse 18
  • Truth lasts (lies fade) – “The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.”  verse19.
  • God hates liars, but delights in the truthful – “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.”  verse 22

May you bless others with your words.  May God bless you through His word.

Read Full Post »

Study of Ruth – Join Us Online

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, History, Old Testament, Ruth, Ruth, tagged , , , , , on July 13, 2010|

Attached is the first worksheet for our study of the book of Ruth.  Feel free to join us in the virtual Bible study as we go through the Book of Ruth chapter by chapter and verse by verse.  The remaining worksheet pages along with study notes from our teaching will be available by password, so contact me to get your password, so you can follow along.

Take time now to be rooted and grounded in the Word of God.

Book of Ruth – Worksheet 1

Read Full Post »

Isaiah 41:10 – A Closer Look

Posted in Bible, Devotional, Exhortation, Fear, Isaiah, Old Testament, tagged , , , , , on July 12, 2010| 3 Comments »

Isaiah 41:10 reads as follows:  “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

  • Fear Not – He only says this because He knows I will be filled with fear.
  • For I am with you – He understands my  frame – that I don’t want to be alone, that when He is with me, I feel less afraid, and I can go a little further.
  • Be not dismayed – The definition of dismayed is “to be filled with dread or apprehension, to be anxious or afraid, to lose confidence or courage in the face of trouble or danger.”  That pretty well describes me.  I am am confident and courageous until the trouble comes.
  • For I am your God – When I fully grasp the meaning and implication of this concept – the God of creation, the Almighty God, the One who parted the Red Sea and held back the flooded Jordon, the One who raised Jesus from the dead – He says of me, “I am your God.”  What more could I need?
  • I will strengthen you – He knows I am left weak from the fear.
  • Yes, I will help you – He is reassuring me.  He alone is my help and my deliverer.
  • I will uphold you with my righteous right hand – In the end, I will stand because He is holding me up.  It is His justice, His righteousness that will allow me to stay the course.

Beloved, do not be afraid.  Our God will supply all your needs through Christ Jesus.  He is with you.  He will never leave or forsake you.

Read Full Post »

Bible Basics – Quiz 1 (Key)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Books of the Bible, Old Testament, tagged , , , , on June 29, 2010|

If you were brave enough to take the Bible Basics – Quiz 1 yesterday, here is the key:

1.  Old Testament & New Testament

2.  Law, History, Wisdom & Poetry, Major Prophets, & Minor Prophets

3.  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy

4.  66

5.  39

6.  It has one coherent message of God’s plan for salvation.

7.  Hebrew

8.  2/3

9.  Numbers

10.  Proverbs

Read Full Post »

Bible Basics – Quiz 1

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Books of the Bible, Old Testament, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on June 28, 2010|

You probably saw it coming.  Teachers have a deep-seated need to give quizzes and tests.  Here is your first quiz on Bible basics.  You don’t have to send me your score, but try to take the test first without looking at the earlier blog posts just to see how you can do.  I will post answers tomorrow, so you can get that reinforcement you need.

1.  What are the two major divisions of the Bible?

2.  What are the divisions of the Old Testament?

3.  What are the books of the Law?

4.  How many books are there in the Bible?

5.  How many books are in the Old Testament?

6.  What is true of the Bible despite its many different books written by different authors at different times?

7.  In what language was the Old Testament written?

8.  What fractional part of the Bible does the Old Testament make up?

9.  What book in the Old Testament talks about the wanderings of the Israelites?

10.  What book in the Old Testament is sometimes called the book of wisdom?

Answers will be in tomorrow’s post.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »