4/24/12

Hidden, far beyond the rainbow


Some of us will remember that the rainbow was to be a sign, a promise that God would never flood the Earth again.  Great promise!!!  But, I wonder, what could a rainbow with a curtain of clouds mean?????  Perhaps its mere coincidence, or could it mean something more???  Humm, if a rainbow is a promise and the clouds look something like a curtain, then PERHAPS this could me something hidden beyond the promise that would reveal an even greater blessing than that given to Noah....

World English Bible: Ephesians Chapter 2

[1] You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, [2] in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience; [3] among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; [8] for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, that no one would boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.

[11] Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision,” (in the flesh, made by hands); [12] that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. [14] For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, [15] having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; [16] and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. [17] He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. [18] For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. [19] So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, [20] being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; [21] in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; [22] in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.

WEB: Ephesians Chapter 3

[1] For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, [2] if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you; [3] how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, [4] by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; [5] which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; [6] that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News, [7] of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. [8] To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, [9] and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ; [10] to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, [11] according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; [12] in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him. [13] Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.

Now, I know this is a long passage, but sometimes you just have to read more.  This all started with the focus on a mystery, which naturally led me to Ephesians chapter three (the emboldened verses).  And as I read, I realized that the rest of the chapter should be included as well.  About the third or fourth reading, I "saw" the first verse in the chapter and realized that the previous chapter needed to be included as well.  So, there you have it... probably the longest Bible passage I have put on the blog so far.  BUT, it was worth it!!!!

God had always intended to reach out to all mankind; to everyone, everywhere.  He began with the Jewish people and eventually included the non-Jews (or Gentiles, or uncircumsion, if you will).  The Jews were a chosen people, special in the sight of God, his "rainbow" of sorts.  From this select group of people came Jesus and through him came salvation through the means of faith.  Which is the mystery Paul is talking about.  A mystery straight from heaven that has been unfolded just for you.  Even though it has a couple of thousand years this is still exciting because it is new for every single generation; new for each of us as we begin to understand the world and seek out spiritual things.  Now, I don't really know if the rainbow with a "curtain" really does mean this, but I AM CERTAIN that Jesus who is called Christ came for everyone and that the curtain of mystery about God's will for us all has been lifted and the news is good, very good indeed!!!!!



Apr. 24 Deuteronomy 3, 4


Apr. 24
Deuteronomy 3, 4

Deu 3:1 Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
Deu 3:2 Yahweh said to me, Don't fear him; for I have delivered him, and all his people, and his land, into your hand; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.
Deu 3:3 So Yahweh our God delivered into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we struck him until none was left to him remaining.
Deu 3:4 We took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we didn't take from them; sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
Deu 3:5 All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides the unwalled towns a great many.
Deu 3:6 We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones.
Deu 3:7 But all the livestock, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.
Deu 3:8 We took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon;
Deu 3:9 (which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir;)
Deu 3:10 all the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, to Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
Deu 3:11 (For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; isn't it in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, after the cubit of a man.)
Deu 3:12 This land we took in possession at that time: from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead, and its cities, gave I to the Reubenites and to the Gadites:
Deu 3:13 and the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, gave I to the half-tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, even all Bashan. (The same is called the land of Rephaim.
Deu 3:14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them, even Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day.)
Deu 3:15 I gave Gilead to Machir.
Deu 3:16 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the valley of the Arnon, the middle of the valley, and the border of it, even to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;
Deu 3:17 the Arabah also, and the Jordan and the border of it, from Chinnereth even to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward.
Deu 3:18 I commanded you at that time, saying, Yahweh your God has given you this land to possess it: you shall pass over armed before your brothers the children of Israel, all the men of valor.
Deu 3:19 But your wives, and your little ones, and your livestock, (I know that you have much livestock), shall abide in your cities which I have given you,
Deu 3:20 until Yahweh gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also possess the land which Yahweh your God gives them beyond the Jordan: then you shall return every man to his possession, which I have given you.
Deu 3:21 I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings: so shall Yahweh do to all the kingdoms where you go over.
Deu 3:22 You shall not fear them; for Yahweh your God, he it is who fights for you.
Deu 3:23 I begged Yahweh at that time, saying,
Deu 3:24 Lord Yahweh, you have begun to show your servant your greatness, and your strong hand: for what god is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to your works, and according to your mighty acts?
Deu 3:25 Please let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.
Deu 3:26 But Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, and didn't listen to me; and Yahweh said to me, Let it suffice you; speak no more to me of this matter.
Deu 3:27 Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes: for you shall not go over this Jordan.
Deu 3:28 But commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.
Deu 3:29 So we abode in the valley over against Beth Peor.
Deu 4:1 Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that you may live, and go in and possess the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, gives you.
Deu 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.
Deu 4:3 Your eyes have seen what Yahweh did because of Baal Peor; for all the men who followed Baal Peor, Yahweh your God has destroyed them from the midst of you.
Deu 4:4 But you who did cling to Yahweh your God are all alive this day.
Deu 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Yahweh my God commanded me, that you should do so in the midst of the land where you go in to possess it.
Deu 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
Deu 4:7 For what great nation is there, that has a god so near to them, as Yahweh our God is whenever we call on him?
Deu 4:8 What great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Deu 4:9 Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children's children;
Deu 4:10 the day that you stood before Yahweh your God in Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, Assemble me the people, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.
Deu 4:11 You came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
Deu 4:12 Yahweh spoke to you out of the midst of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; only you heard a voice.
Deu 4:13 He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two tables of stone.
Deu 4:14 Yahweh commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it.
Deu 4:15 Take therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.
Deu 4:16 Lest you corrupt yourselves, and make yourself an engraved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
Deu 4:17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky,
Deu 4:18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth;
Deu 4:19 and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
Deu 4:20 But Yahweh has taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as at this day.
Deu 4:21 Furthermore Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land, which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance:
Deu 4:22 but I must die in this land, I must not go over the Jordan; but you shall go over, and possess that good land.
Deu 4:23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make you an engraved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you.
Deu 4:24 For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
Deu 4:25 When you shall father children, and children's children, and you shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make an engraved image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, to provoke him to anger;
Deu 4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto you go over the Jordan to possess it; you shall not prolong your days on it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
Deu 4:27 Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you shall be left few in number among the nations, where Yahweh shall lead you away.
Deu 4:28 There you shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
Deu 4:29 But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deu 4:30 When you are in oppression, and all these things are come on you, in the latter days you shall return to Yahweh your God, and listen to his voice:
Deu 4:31 for Yahweh your God is a merciful God; he will not fail you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.
Deu 4:32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from the one end of the sky to the other, whether there has been any such thing as this great thing is, or has been heard like it?
Deu 4:33 Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?
Deu 4:34 Or has God tried to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Deu 4:35 It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him.
Deu 4:36 Out of heaven he made you to hear his voice, that he might instruct you: and on earth he made you to see his great fire; and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire.
Deu 4:37 Because he loved your fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought you out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt;
Deu 4:38 to drive out nations from before you greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as at this day.
Deu 4:39 Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that Yahweh he is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is none else.
Deu 4:40 You shall keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land, which Yahweh your God gives you, forever.
Deu 4:41 Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise;
Deu 4:42 that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unawares, and didn't hate him in time past; and that fleeing to one of these cities he might live:
Deu 4:43 namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.
Deu 4:44 This is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:
Deu 4:45 these are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Moses spoke to the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt,
Deu 4:46 beyond the Jordan, in the valley over against Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel struck, when they came forth out of Egypt.
Deu 4:47 They took his land in possession, and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise;
Deu 4:48 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, even to Mount Sion (the same is Hermon),
Deu 4:49 and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

Apr. 24, 25 Luke 14


Apr. 24, 25
Luke 14

Luk 14:1 It happened, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him.
Luk 14:2 Behold, a certain man who had dropsy was in front of him.
Luk 14:3 Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
Luk 14:4 But they were silent. He took him, and healed him, and let him go.
Luk 14:5 He answered them, "Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn't immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?"
Luk 14:6 They couldn't answer him regarding these things.
Luk 14:7 He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them,
Luk 14:8 "When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, don't sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him,
Luk 14:9 and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, 'Make room for this person.' Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place.
Luk 14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.
Luk 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Luk 14:12 He also said to the one who had invited him, "When you make a dinner or a supper, don't call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back.
Luk 14:13 But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind;
Luk 14:14 and you will be blessed, because they don't have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous."
Luk 14:15 When one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, "Blessed is he who will feast in the Kingdom of God!"
Luk 14:16 But he said to him, "A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people.
Luk 14:17 He sent out his servant at supper time to tell those who were invited, 'Come, for everything is ready now.'
Luk 14:18 They all as one began to make excuses. "The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please have me excused.'
Luk 14:19 "Another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go try them out. Please have me excused.'
Luk 14:20 "Another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I can't come.'
Luk 14:21 "That servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.'
Luk 14:22 "The servant said, 'Lord, it is done as you commanded, and there is still room.'
Luk 14:23 "The lord said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luk 14:24 For I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper.' "
Luk 14:25 Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them,
Luk 14:26 "If anyone comes to me, and doesn't hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can't be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 Whoever doesn't bear his own cross, and come after me, can't be my disciple.
Luk 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn't first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?
Luk 14:29 Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him,
Luk 14:30 saying, 'This man began to build, and wasn't able to finish.'
Luk 14:31 Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace.
Luk 14:33 So therefore whoever of you who doesn't renounce all that he has, he can't be my disciple.
Luk 14:34 Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it?
Luk 14:35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW" Chapter Six by Mark Copeland

                        "THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

                              Chapter Six

The "Sermon On The Mount" continues as Jesus teaches the righteousness
of the kingdom expected in those who would be citizens of the kingdom.
He discusses righteousness with respect to man’s relation to God,
regarding charitable deeds (1-4), prayer (5-15), fasting (16-18),
materialism (19-24), and anxiety (25-33).

POINTS TO PONDER

   *  Performing acts of righteousness in ways that please God

   *  The danger of materialism and overcoming anxiety about such things

   *  Making the kingdom of God and His righteousness our number one
      priority

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What are the main points of this chapter?
   - Righteousness with respect to man’s relation to God - Mt 6:1-18
   - Overcoming materialism and anxiety - Mt 6:16-33

2) As we perform acts of righteousness, what should we avoid? (1-2,5,16)
   - Doing it for the purpose of being seen by men
   - Acting like the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets

3) How can we ensure that God will reward us for our righteous acts?
   (4,6,18)
   - By doing them in secret where only the Father sees

4) How else does Jesus teach us to give, pray, and fast? (3,7,17)
   - Do not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing as we
     give
   - Do not use vain repetition as we pray
   - Do not disfigure our faces as we fast

5) What is the likely purpose of "The Lord’s Prayer"? (9-13)
   - To serve as a model of prayer ("In this manner...")

6) Of things in "The Lord’s Prayer," on what does Jesus elaborate?
   (14-15)
   - The need for us to forgive others their trespasses against us

7) Where are we to lay up treasure?  Why?  How? (20,24; cf. Mt 19:21;
   1Ti 6:17-19)
   - In heaven; to serve God rather than mammon; by giving to the poor

8) What is the key to overcoming anxiety? (25-32)
   - Trusting in the providential care of God

9) How can we ensure that God will provide what we need? (33)
   - By seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness