Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
Exo 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Exo 12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Exo 12:46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
Deu 16:2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there.
Deu 16:5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:
Deu 16:6 But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
Deu 16:7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
2Ch 35:1 Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
The Passover was designed to point to Christ. This time of year brought a remembrance of delivery and the promise of the coming Messiah. I have recently been thinking about this religious rite of Jewish history and what it teaches, not about Christ, but about the Father and the sacrifice He made in sending Christ to die upon the cross.
Imagine the life of the typical Israeli man during the Old Testament and how his life was tied to his religion and its sacrificial rites. He would understand the need of providing a perfect lamb for the Passover so that the sacrifice would be accepted and thus prove that he, and his family, was accepted by God. He undoubtedly prayed for such an animal to born within his flocks. He was trusting God to provide what he could not render, a perfect lamb. He would examine his lambs and see if one was proper and right for the task of dying for him and his families' sins. When he found this lamb he might need to care for it for nearly a year making sure that on the 14th of Nissan the lamb would be accepted. Over this time he would keep it close and guarded, caring for it as his most prized possession. As an animal lover I can see him falling in love with this animal. The lamb coming to him and staying very near him would cause the man’s love to deepen. He would have joy in seeing the lamb in its perfect state but still some sorrow as the day appointed approached. There would come a time when he would travel to Jerusalem and there turn the lamb over to the priests. They would subject the lamb to four days of testing to ensure that the lamb was without spot or blemish, that it had been protected so that not one bone was broken, and then if accepted its blood would be shed and its body burned so that the man and his family might live. They would then make the lamb’s sacrifice a very personal part of their life and a part of them through eating the lamb. I can hardly imagine turning over one of my cats or my dog in such a way. The pain would be excruciating. I would not be able to watch their death but would have to leave the scene.
Now, remember how the lamb represented Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father. Imagine your child as the lamb. Do we really understand the cost to God and the cost of sacrifice when we have no great visual reminder of how greatly sin affects our lives? Have you seen The Passion of the Christ recently? We weep over the pain our sin caused Christ to go through but do we ever stop to think of the pain God felt? He turned over his perfect Son to be examined and killed by the people so that they might live. Hear again the words of Christ: “this is my blood shed for you” and “this is my body given for you”, and understand the cost of sacrifice that God made. Now turn to Him and thank Him with insurmountable gratitude and thanksgiving. Let not this sacrifice be in vain but make Jesus your life as the lamb become in a very real sense the life of the family.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Helping the Pastor
Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
The word obey in this verse carries the idea of trust being persuaded by an authority, and to make friends with that authority. Hence when we are told obey them we are in essence being asked to trust them explicitly and to rely on their judgment in matters of the soul.
The phrase rule over is the idea of leadership. The idea is not of a boss and employee relationships especially when coupled with the idea of obey. It is in reality an expression of two very close friends traveling together to a place one of them has already been or across a terrain that one of them is more skilled to transverse. Hence, one of them will take the lead.
You in this instance is not a singular you. The you of this verse is a you of plurality meaning not just one person but all who might fall under that person. Here is the indication that it is a family matter.
Submit yourself is the idea of yielding. I watched a movie once where the police were tracking a fugitive with dogs. One officer was ahead of the dogs and began slipping on the muddy terrain. The dog handler asked him to move back so that he did not spoil the scent. The dog handler wanted the dogs to be able to smell clearly the path they should take. Likewise, when we yield to the leadership of those best equipped and gifted we do not “spoil the scent” that leads to God’s glory.
Why are we to do this? We are to do all that has been mentioned because they watch for our souls. In the original language of scripture this means they spent countless nights in a state of sleeplessness in earnest concern and prayer for your entire life and its eternal state of reward. As a pastor I know this to be true and many nights when sleep does come it comes in intermittent spurts and never really sinks to the deep level of rest.
The reason for this sleeplessness is because they understand that they must give an account for how they tried to persuade you, influence you, guide you, to the truth of how they could best glorify God. Sometimes this means begging God for the special revelation of dormant gifts or the wisdom of how to tweak of gift without discouraging you.
The more yielded you are to this way of leadership the easier it will be for your leaders. Remember our dog handler? I wonder how frustrated he would be if that officer never yielded to those best equipped to track the fugitive. How frustrated would you be if you were the dog handler? That frustration is exactly what is meant with the phrase grievous. It is to sigh in exasperation over a situation. I wonder how many people realize that when only a handful of people heed the sermon of the pastor and the majority do not that they are frustrating and spoiling the scent of their entire church to get to God’s glory.
So, the next time you see a pastor tired, run down, care worn, and doing their best to be upbeat and their for everyone do not criticize them. Instead pray and ask God if you are the one who is in a state of spoiling the scent. If you are not, then would you pray for those who are to realize this important point? If you are…then God says could you move aside and let my guys do their job?
The word obey in this verse carries the idea of trust being persuaded by an authority, and to make friends with that authority. Hence when we are told obey them we are in essence being asked to trust them explicitly and to rely on their judgment in matters of the soul.
The phrase rule over is the idea of leadership. The idea is not of a boss and employee relationships especially when coupled with the idea of obey. It is in reality an expression of two very close friends traveling together to a place one of them has already been or across a terrain that one of them is more skilled to transverse. Hence, one of them will take the lead.
You in this instance is not a singular you. The you of this verse is a you of plurality meaning not just one person but all who might fall under that person. Here is the indication that it is a family matter.
Submit yourself is the idea of yielding. I watched a movie once where the police were tracking a fugitive with dogs. One officer was ahead of the dogs and began slipping on the muddy terrain. The dog handler asked him to move back so that he did not spoil the scent. The dog handler wanted the dogs to be able to smell clearly the path they should take. Likewise, when we yield to the leadership of those best equipped and gifted we do not “spoil the scent” that leads to God’s glory.
Why are we to do this? We are to do all that has been mentioned because they watch for our souls. In the original language of scripture this means they spent countless nights in a state of sleeplessness in earnest concern and prayer for your entire life and its eternal state of reward. As a pastor I know this to be true and many nights when sleep does come it comes in intermittent spurts and never really sinks to the deep level of rest.
The reason for this sleeplessness is because they understand that they must give an account for how they tried to persuade you, influence you, guide you, to the truth of how they could best glorify God. Sometimes this means begging God for the special revelation of dormant gifts or the wisdom of how to tweak of gift without discouraging you.
The more yielded you are to this way of leadership the easier it will be for your leaders. Remember our dog handler? I wonder how frustrated he would be if that officer never yielded to those best equipped to track the fugitive. How frustrated would you be if you were the dog handler? That frustration is exactly what is meant with the phrase grievous. It is to sigh in exasperation over a situation. I wonder how many people realize that when only a handful of people heed the sermon of the pastor and the majority do not that they are frustrating and spoiling the scent of their entire church to get to God’s glory.
So, the next time you see a pastor tired, run down, care worn, and doing their best to be upbeat and their for everyone do not criticize them. Instead pray and ask God if you are the one who is in a state of spoiling the scent. If you are not, then would you pray for those who are to realize this important point? If you are…then God says could you move aside and let my guys do their job?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Gossip
Lev 19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the LORD.
Pro 11:13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
Pro 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Pro 20:19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
Pro 26:20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Today most people have lost the real concept of what gossip is in the biblical sense. We have adopted the idea that gossip is a shadow of the truth or an outright lie, but this not the case at all. God’s word reveals to us what gossip is and how it affects the lives of people. His word also tells us how to deal with a gossip.
A gossip according to Proverbs 11:13 is a person who reveals secrets. This person is not trustworthy. Notice the contrasting junction within the verse and how it then indicates that talebearer/gossip is the opposite of the person who is classified as a faithful spirit. Therefore, any divulgence of a secret to anyone and any discussion of that secret with anyone, other than the personal source, is considered gossip by God. When I say personal source I am indicating not the person who told you but whom the secret concerns. It would not do well for me to discuss a secret that John Doe told me about Jane Smith with John Doe. The reason this not well is because I had no business in the original matter. Even if I had part in the original matter I can only confide my personal involvement with whom I choose and discuss the matter in full length with anyone except those who are either involved, witnesses, or authorities. Otherwise I become a talebearer myself.
We have some other strong characteristics of this person the gossip revealed to us by God. This person is usually a seemingly sincere and well meaning person who for the life of them cannot keep out of others lives. With flattering speech and with intentions that appear helpful that gain your trust and you confide in them. This is how the extract information from various sources and become a hub of information rather than a safe that stores information. This person will also generally go up and down looking for someone to either extract information from or someone to share information with despite God’s commands in Leviticus 19:16. This person cannot live their lives without the need know things about other people or what is going on around them, though it does not involve them.
Now, when the person whose confidence has been broken a fire is ignited and they are deeply wounded by one who they thought they could trust. Therefore, God gives us the best advice on how to handle this person. He tells us to have nothing to do with them. Here is the time when God says avoid a person, not be rude to them, but to not invest your time with them.
With this in mind be careful who you confide your secrets. Do not confide them with someone who has shared others secrets with you for they will go looking for someone they can share your secret. The only way to stop this destructive behavior in our churches is to stop the gossips from having information. Where there is no wood there is no fire. So let each of us take care to cease being the wood that fuels their fires and stand strong in obedience to God. If we all do this then maybe they will repent and let God change their nature.
Pro 11:13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
Pro 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Pro 20:19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
Pro 26:20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Today most people have lost the real concept of what gossip is in the biblical sense. We have adopted the idea that gossip is a shadow of the truth or an outright lie, but this not the case at all. God’s word reveals to us what gossip is and how it affects the lives of people. His word also tells us how to deal with a gossip.
A gossip according to Proverbs 11:13 is a person who reveals secrets. This person is not trustworthy. Notice the contrasting junction within the verse and how it then indicates that talebearer/gossip is the opposite of the person who is classified as a faithful spirit. Therefore, any divulgence of a secret to anyone and any discussion of that secret with anyone, other than the personal source, is considered gossip by God. When I say personal source I am indicating not the person who told you but whom the secret concerns. It would not do well for me to discuss a secret that John Doe told me about Jane Smith with John Doe. The reason this not well is because I had no business in the original matter. Even if I had part in the original matter I can only confide my personal involvement with whom I choose and discuss the matter in full length with anyone except those who are either involved, witnesses, or authorities. Otherwise I become a talebearer myself.
We have some other strong characteristics of this person the gossip revealed to us by God. This person is usually a seemingly sincere and well meaning person who for the life of them cannot keep out of others lives. With flattering speech and with intentions that appear helpful that gain your trust and you confide in them. This is how the extract information from various sources and become a hub of information rather than a safe that stores information. This person will also generally go up and down looking for someone to either extract information from or someone to share information with despite God’s commands in Leviticus 19:16. This person cannot live their lives without the need know things about other people or what is going on around them, though it does not involve them.
Now, when the person whose confidence has been broken a fire is ignited and they are deeply wounded by one who they thought they could trust. Therefore, God gives us the best advice on how to handle this person. He tells us to have nothing to do with them. Here is the time when God says avoid a person, not be rude to them, but to not invest your time with them.
With this in mind be careful who you confide your secrets. Do not confide them with someone who has shared others secrets with you for they will go looking for someone they can share your secret. The only way to stop this destructive behavior in our churches is to stop the gossips from having information. Where there is no wood there is no fire. So let each of us take care to cease being the wood that fuels their fires and stand strong in obedience to God. If we all do this then maybe they will repent and let God change their nature.
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