Happy Reformation Day!!! Just a short thought for today.  Hope you have a blessed time of worship tomorrow. Blessings, Jeff You have probably heard of God being sovereign.  This truth is summarized in phrase "God does all things for His glory and our good".  In this passage, we see that God's leading Israel on a long path through the wilderness was for the good of Israel.  God didn't consult with Moses about which way he thought would be best.  The people were not asked what they thought about the path.  God leads and Israel must learn to follow.  The same process applies to me and every believer.  When faced with a challenging path, I often ask "God, why do you want me to go that way when their is a quicker, easier path over here?"  When we pray, "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil", the path He chose before the foundation of the world is the path that avoids temptation and delivers us from evil.  In this case, Israel ...

Good (snowy) morning.   As I write this, the reality of the beginning of winter is upon us.  There is much to be concerned about.  But I want you to be encouraged by God's faithfulness and steadfast love for His saints.   Blessings, Jeff Doors and blessings.  The Egyptians carved blessings on the frame of temple doors in a very interesting way.  Starting in the middle of lintel, the blessing was written forwards and backwards. For example, doGruositaergwoHHowgreatisourGod.  The idea was a continuous double blessing on the person going through the door.  I learned that from a Great Courses lecture on Egypt.  At Passover, God tells the Hebrews to do the same thing only with the blood of the lamb.    Later, in Deuteronomy 6:9, God tells the Hebrews, You shall write them (the words of the Law) on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  He graciously gave them a constant reminder as they left house or town of their...

Good afternoon brothers and sisters, Job is summarizing his case before his three friends.  This picture of Job at the gates of his town is out of this world in many ways.  Pray that you will ponder wisdom with me. Blessings, Jeff What an interesting political process!  Wisdom was recognized in Job before his calamity by townsfolk and even the elders sitting at the gate.  And in a pre-Mosaic law culture.  No opposing political parties, no campaigning and no elections.  I spent much of the day thinking about this.  Wouldn't it be nice if our world operated this way?  So why doesn't it?   Instruction - what does this passage teach about what God expects from me?  Seems that only a culture that values wisdom can operate with "elders at the gate".  The world says that the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and pride of life are what matter.  1 John 2:16   The world is all about practical matters done with ...

Good morning friends, What a loving Father we have!!  Paul's concern for the church in Corinth is not a product of his intellect or emotion.  They play a role, but "pursue love" is a devine imperitive.  Only God can issue this mandate.  It is not just Paul's idea on how to improve the social atmosphere. Pray with me that each and every member of the body here in Salem will pursue love. Blessings, Jeff The Corinthians were having problems using their spiritual gifts, specifically tongues and prophecy. Whatever you believe about the sign gifts and their operation today, Paul is addressing a symptom of lack of love.  He starts with  "pursue love".  Chapter 13 is the "love chapter".   Editor to Calvin's commentary gives this insight to "pursue" The word διώκετε," says Doddridge, "properly signifies ― to pursue with an eagerness like that with which hunters follow their game. And it may be intended to intimate, how hard it is to...

Good evening weary traveler, Maybe you have heard about God delivering His people from physical slavery in Egypt.  Maybe you feel like you are enslaved to any number of problems such as addiction, self-righteousness or fear of death.  I pray that you will hear God speak to you through this passage. Blessings Jeff  Let my people go, that they may serve me.  Serve is ‘âḇaḏ; a primitive root; to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve, till, (causatively) enslave, etc.: — x be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, So God was delivering children of Israel from bondage to Egyptians so that they would be in bondage to God.  I think we often hear "Let my people go" without the "that they may serve me".   The unregenerate person wants "freedom" so that he can do what he pleases.   2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that t...

Good morning fellow soldiers (sailors, airmen and marines)  I recently had a flash back to my Navy days.  "Standing orders" were the like the 10 commandments.  Whatever you were doing, these orders always applied.  You were expected to know and obey just as if the captain verbally gave you an order.  If you ever found yourself in a situation where you wondered if the standing orders applied, the answer was Yes they apply.  Not know the standing orders was not an excuse for non-compliance.  When I was being examined for qualification as Officer of the Deck (officer in charge of ensuring that standing orders were being applied), I was asked questions that exposed my lack of knowledge.  Why am I telling you this?  I hope you see that God has given us his standing orders. Blessings Jeff Job finishes his response to the second round and then Bildad starts the third and final round of comments.  At least he keeps it brief, just 6 verses. ...

Good evening brothers and sisters, Just a brief devotion for the day.  I hope you had a blessed Sabbath. Jeff This group of readings is one of those happy parallels between OT and NT.  Aaron and Moses sent to Pharaoh to perform the miracle of Aaron's rod becoming a snake to prove the validity of the One who sent them.  In the Luke passage, the 72 are sent out to preach and heal to prove the validity of the One who sent them.  Sceptics say that the Bible is just a bunch of unrelated stories.  Just a bunch of trees as it were that do not even make a forest.  But seeing these parallels shows that these 66 books are not unrelated. Would you agree that all myth based cultures make gods in their image to explain the world? And that in revelation based religion, God makes man in His image and explains the world to his creature.  Therefore, the atheistic world hates to be shown up by the messengers of the only true God.

Good afternoon fellow disciples, This passage got my attention for the harsh words "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you?"  Luke 9:41.  I hope you will be encouraged by thinking through this passage with me.   May you be blessed as you prepare for public worship tomorrow. Jeff Synoptic gospels all have Jesus saying what seem to be rather harsh words.  Here is a man who comes to the disciples for aid and they are unable to cast out the demon.  The 9 (Peter James and John) had been on the mountain) had been able to heal when sent out by Jesus at the beginning of the chapter.  When Jesus shows up, he calls those who come to him a faithless and twisted generation.  Seems like the father has a lot of faith as he believes that the disciples should be able to help him and now turns to Jesus.  Twisted is perverse, morally corrupt.  What is morally corrupt about asking for deliverance of his son? Comm...

Good morning fellow saints, Pharaoh may have been  a pretty smart guy, but why didn't he "know the LORD"?  I think this is very applicable  to our witness today. Blessings Jeff Worldviews in conflict.  Pharaoh has his understanding of how the world works.  The numerous Egyptian gods had their various domains. Not surprisingly, the Nile was at the center of what the gods did.  The annual flooding was the source of prosperity.  It was Pharaoh's job to keep the gods happy so that this would happen.  So when these two Hebrews show up and tell him what the LORD says, it is no surprise that he proclaims his ignorance of this "new God".  Since Egypt was a premier world power, their gods must be superior to anything that their slaves claim as their God.  The Egyptians could explain the world with their gods.  The Hebrews could explain the world with their God.  Obviously, they both can't be true.  The political, social and economi...

Good afternoon fellow exiles, Rejoice, again I say rejoice.  God is on the throne.  Job can be a very depressing book, but there is great hope.  We skipped the "I know my redeemer lives" chapter.  While Job struggles, he never gives up on God.  Be strong and of good courage. Blessings, Jeff  Job's response to Zophar's second speech.  Concludes the second round. In part, he appeals to "the man on the street" evidence to refute the black and white theory of only good happens to the good and only bad happens to the bad.  The man on the street will tell you examples of when nothing bad happens to the wicked.  When he dies, many come to mourn him (watch is kept over his grave).  His death is painless (the clods of the valley are sweet to him).  There is no retribution in this life for the evil he has done (who repays him for what he has done).   I think this is the problem with the secular viewpoint.  If all there is is th...

Good afternoon fellow sojourners, Here we are in Exodus for the next 38 days.  Many familiar stories and events, but it is not the people of Israel or Moses that is at center stage.  It is the LORD.  Praying that you will grow in your relationship with Him as we walk with Moses to the edge of Jordan. Blessings Jeff  Just wondering what prompted Moses to lead his father-in-law's flocks out of Midian and into the Wilderness of Sin?  Map shows that Sinai was claimed by Egypt at the time.  Wilderness doesn't sound like it would be a great place for flocks.  The eastern branch of Red Sea separates Sinai from much of Midian.  So he would have to go north in order to go south. So an 80 year old shepherd goes on a difficult journey to the place where he would receive the 10 commandments and Israel would camp for about a year.  And while he is there God is manifest in the burning bush and calls him to go back to Egypt. Moses knew the history of God sp...

Good evening saints, Running a little behind today.  Today is my grocery shopping day and then I had a meeting this afternoon and just got off the phone with our grandsons. Encourage you to think about the Matthew 18 passage on church discipline.  We often use the "where two or three are gathered in my name" in relation to prayer, but it really is discipline. Blessings  Jeff How were the saints in Corinth supposed to know that saints will judge the earth and angels?  Reference to Daniel 7:22 (Ancient of Days), Matthew 19:28 (judging 12 tribes of Israel) and Rev 20:4 (thrones for those given authority at beginning of millennial kingdom). So my answer to Paul's rhetorical question is "yes, I don't know that!" Seems that Paul is referring to saints being part of the final judgment of the unbelieving world and fallen angels. But in a way this will be easy, they are each guilty as charged. There will be no difficult cases. God is the plaintiff.  There are no plea...

Good morning fellow pilgrims,  Do you have the "sense of awe" that Mel Sharp spoke of yesterday.  I don't know why God should love me, but He does.  This "love from a foreign country."  One day in Your house is better than a thousand elsewhere. Blessings Jeff Bildad's second speech.  Continues to insist on "bad things happen to the wicked, bad things have happened to you, therefore, you must be wicked"  I do have to admire the picture he paints.  Physical darkness used to symbolize moral darkness and death.  How many of us have a light on a timer when we go on vacation?  Supposed to make a burglar think that somebody is home.  Bildad's image is that if the normal sources of light (lamp, fire) are put out, the person is dead.  Putting on my "engineer hat" for a moment, a scientific theory is supposed to explain the way something works.  Early atomic theory said electrons orbit the nucleus just like planets orbit the sun.  T...

Good evening brothers and sisters, Hope you had a blessed Sabbath.  Encourage you to reflect with me about some lessons from Genesis. Blessings Jeff  Well here we are at the end of Genesis already!!!  50 days for 50 chapters.  Adam to Abram (12 chapters for many generations).  Abram to son of Israel (38 chapters for 4 generations). Looking forward to Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers.  4 books for 40 years, with not much said about the 400 years in Egypt which fulfils prophecy to Abraham in Gen 15.   All the empires and civilizations that start and take root in this time are not even mentioned.  The story of the Bible is about God and his chosen people.  Redemptive history is all that God is concerned with.  I may have mentioned the Sinclair Ferguson quote that the whole Bible is a footnote to Genesis 3:15, the promise of a son who would crush the serpent's head.  That is the story line that impacts eternity. So taking...

Good afternoon sisters and brothers, As we prepare for public worship tomorrow, let us remember that private worship every day is important as well.  As important as gathering together is, a reminder about Calvin and prayer. Prayer is  the chief exercise of faith and by which we daily receive God’s benefits. Operative word is daily.   So I encourage those who have not yet joined the read through the Bible.  We must know truth so that we can pray truth. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow if you are able. Jeff  Second round of counsel from his friends.  While neither Job nor his friends knew about the events in Heaven before disaster struck, these events are the reality behind the events. Eliphaz accuses Job of not fearing God.  This is in conflict with God’s assessment of Job in chapters 1 & 2. Eliphaz would not have said this if he knew what God said about Job in chapter 1. Isn’t the lesson that we are like Eliphaz when we deal with someo...

Good afternoon brothers and sisters, I spent time interrogating these 2 verses this morning.  While there are a many hypotheticals, what became apparent was Mary's obedience which revealed my lack of obedience. I encourage you as you pray through the directory by name to think of Paul's prayers as requests, but also as commmands.  For example, it is God's will that our love abound more and more.  This is not a suggestion or request.  Will I obey? In the Beloved, Jeff  Let me get this straight.  A teenaged girl who who has just been told by an angel that she will conceive by the Holy Spirit leaves home "with haste" to go visit Elizabeth.  Did her parents know about this?  Would you let your teenage daughter walk about 60 miles by herself through a bad neighborhood (Samaria) to visit a distant relative?  Mary's parents: Tell us Mary, why do you want to go there?   Mary: O I just fell like it or An angel told me that she is pregnant....

Good morning brothers and sisters, Today's reading started a new gospel (Luke) and a new letter (1 Corinthians).  Approaching the end of Genesis.   This is the 6th time in the last 7 years  that I have used M'Cheyne plan.  The other year, I did a chronological plan.  But this is first time I have highlighted this passage.  There are always new treasures to be discovered in God's Word. Hopefully you are seeing the value of Luther's four strand meditation process. Blessings, Jeff  It just so happened that Egypt had this river that started in the mountains far to the south which the Egyptians never saw.   It was the source of Egypt's bounty due to annual floods.  It was also a highway. But the delta was not navigable, so not very valuable. It just so happened that Egyptians really don't like shepherds and they are sent off to Goshen.  The Nile delta, the best of the land.  Seems like an odd thing to send detested individuals ...

Good afternoon, A snippet from a Simple Way to Pray.  The letter was to his barber, so the barbering allusions make a lot of sense. So, a good and attentive barber keeps his thoughts, attention, and eyes on the razor and hair and does not forget how far he has gotten with his shaving or cutting. If he wants to engage in too much conversation or let his mind wander or look somewhere else he is likely to cut his customer's mouth, nose, or even his throat. Thus if anything is to be done well, it requires the full attention of all one's senses and members, as the proverb says, "Pluribus intentus, minor est ad singula sensus"-"He who thinks of many things, thinks of nothing and does nothing right." How much more does prayer call for concentration and singleness of heart if it is to be a good prayer!  Blessings, Jeff  This is Job's response to Zophar, the third of the three friends.  Job restates his defense of God's character from chapter 9.  (With him ar...

Dear brothers and sisters, I am again overwhelmed by the steadfast love of the Lord in revealing Himself in the seemingly inconsequential decisions of life.  I pray that what I have written makes sense and leads you into His presence. Format is Luther's four strands. Blessings, Jeff Instruction - Started by thinking about why God brought about the move of Israel to Egypt.  What does this teach me about the LORD and my duty to Him? Calvin quote for Prayer chapter in Institutes. "Let us therefore realize that the only persons who duly and properly gird themselves to pray are those who are so moved by God’s majesty that, freed from earthly cares and affections, they come to prayer”.   What is there about this passage that displays God's majesty and so moves me to prayer? Answer: The unsearchable ways of God.   God sends Israel to Egypt so that Hosea would later describe the Exodus in Hosea 11:1. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called ...

Good morning brothers and sisters, During sermon yesterday I mentioned Martin Luther's approach to prayer in the letter to Master Peter.  I still have much to learn, but hope that we can learn and grow together. In the Beloved Jeff  Using Luther's "wreath of four strands" from A Simple way to Pray  Instruction, thanksgiving, confession, petition.  Goal is a heart warmed and inclined to prayer. Instruction - textbook - what do these 4 verses teach me about what God expects of me? Not to pass judgment on one another any longer by deciding not to hinder the way of a brother.  Paul gives an example of food.  I think of "pass judgment" as a mental or verbal activity, but "not hindering" is a physical activity.  What I think or say about a brother or sister will show up in the way I treat them.  God is extremely interested in how we live with each other. Note of reminder - Faith and practice.  Paul develops theological argument and then the practic...

Good evening my fellow saints in Christ, Sorrow for the late post today.  Hope you all had a blessed Sabbath. Selected Job 9:2-4 for comment today. Jeff  In the face of troubles and the explanation for them from Bildad, Job remains humble.  As we go through the rest of Job, try to compare and contrast Job's statements with those of his friends.  Trying to make a judgment on every statement can prove to be a challenge.  Let us see if we can discern patterns in how each views God and man. Here at least, Job recognizes that God is "wise in heart and mighty in strength".  He maintains the character of God.  He may not understand His actions, but He doesn't doubt His character.  In light of this, he also recognizes that is is foolish to attempt to resist Him. So how did Job come to have this understanding?  Several years ago, I did a chronological read through the Bible.  It wasn't chronological as to when the book was written, but when the e...

 The brothers repeat their story that one of their brothers is "no more."  But they do know what they did  They don't know that he is dead, but they do know what they did to him.  He was alive when then sold him about 17 years before.  Joseph knows that they are not telling the whole truth and so do they.  And they know that they have been lying to their father all these years.  . Dear Friends, Looking at Genesis 42:12-17 from today's reading.  Let us reflect as we prepare for worship tomorrow. Jeff Then Joseph tells his brothers that 9 of them will stay and 1 will go back and retrieve Benjamin. If the 1 does not come back with Benjamin, the 9 will be treated as spies. And then locks them up together for 3 days. 10 desperate men in a room for 3 days.  We are not told what they did or thought.  But they were told to "send one".  You choose the one you are willing to trust with your lives.  Maybe it was which one is to be trusted...

Good afternoon brothers and sisters, In case you were wondering if there is any pattern to the verses I put into the blog, I hope you will not be surprised that there is.  Since we will read through New Testament twice, I am looking at 3 Old Testament passages between every New Testament passage.    Sometimes I wonder if God put the Wisdom books in the Bible to make us struggle with the difficult times of life and to keep us humble.   In v1-6, Job is pouring out his anguish in vivid terms.  How would I respond in a similar circumstance.  Mankind proudly strives to fix all kinds of problems.  For example, Job’s friends want to fix his situation by explaining why he has suffered. Unfortunately, they only make things worse.  I think of development of medicine.  We truly have come a long way.  But the Nobel prize for chemistry was just awarded to two women who are working on "editing" the human genome. Can we really think manipulating t...

Today's gospel reading is Mark 10. On the road to Jerusalem, James and John have lost the bubble.   Fascinated by "we want you to do for us whatever we ask".   In light of "Lord's prayer" third petition (Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven), they have obviously missed the point.   After watching Jesus for three years, they ask Him to do their will.   I start to wonder why they could be so wrong. But then I look at the things I want God to do for me.  Not asking to sit beside Him in the kingdom, but still treat Him as my errand boy. O God, I repent A - our Father, You are the one who prepares the honors of Your kingdom.  Even the Son does not presume to act outside your will C - there is still too much "James and John" in me. Convinced that my wants define Your will.  Abuse of the blessing of prayer. T -  firm but gentle correction for them and for me.  Mercy. S - let me see my wants through the lens of Your will....

Good morning brothers and sisters, Be encouraged that God is with you as you read His word.  None of this works without Him.  My highlighted passage today is Genesis 39:1-6.  I asked myself the question below and started pondering what the answer might be. Jeff Joseph's story never ceases to amaze me. How did Potiphar come to recognize that Joseph was successful because the LORD was with him?  Moses uses YHWH here even though that is the personal name of God that is revealed at the burning bush. The name that is not revealed for another 400 years.  In fact Moses uses this name throughout Genesis. Once "the source of being" reveals this name at a point in history, it is entirely appropriate to use the name to give glory to Him as Moses writes the history of creation. Therefore when we read the Bible, we must never forget that the LORD is the main character in every page of scripture. Joseph didn't know this name, but he did know God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob....

  Batting lead off for the Friends of Job is Eliphaz from Teman.  The first of Job's friends to speak after seven days of silence. His name means "my God is fine gold". He claims a spirit gave him an explanation for Job's troubles.  This points to the danger of spiritual experiences without discernment.   Contrast Eliphaz with true prophets and how God shows up at the end of the book. Yet he does not question the source of his experience.  A demonic encounter gives him confidence that he has the truth about why Job is suffering.  Of course he may have just added that part to discount what Job says. Sounds more impressive if it is not just his opinion. Of course the interesting thing about the three friends is that their erroneous explanations are in the Bible.  The writer could have left all this out and gone straight to the encounter with God.   Oh the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. We may not fully understand why...

 And it just so happened that a caravan was passing by.   And they happened to be descendents of Ishmael, their grandfather's half brother. You know the son of Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian slave.  This apparent coincidence was God's rescue plan to keep Joseph from being killed.  And it just so happened that Judah is the one who comes up with the idea to sell his brother for 20 pieces of silver. Yes, that Judah whose line leads to Jesus who is betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.   That is God's rescue plan for us.  A - the One who works all things together for good for those called according to His purpose.  C - misreading events as an "open door" so as to affirm what I want and ignore the violation of moral code.  T - all scripture is for our benefit.  S - enable us to see Your hand in all of life.

 Can I get an Amen to Jonathan's sermon this morning?  Regeneration. All grace, we contribute nothing. Faith is response to being made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit.  I usually have several verses as a theme. But Romans is one of those books where a single verse is enough. I have been listening to Martin Lloyd Jones "famous series" on Romans. Friday night sermon for about 13 years.  Currently in this chapter.   I listen on the RefNet app at 6:30 AM and 7:00 P.M. Every Sunday. Check it out.  We were born spiritually dead.  Our old nature was "in Adam".   The new nature we are given at regeneration is "in Christ" so that we are alive spiritually.  Union with Christ is our position. We are done forever with that old nature.   It has been crucified, dead and buried.   Sin is no longer our master.   This is not sinless perfection. We can and do commit acts of sin, but we are not ruled by it.  The "...

 Today, we transition from history to wisdom. Before thinking specifically about this passage, I encourage you to use a bible dictionary such as Strong;s.  I use an ESV Strong's e-Bible.  So the words that are in the dictionary show up and all I have to do is click to see the word in Hebrew or Greek and its definition. Today, I noted Satan and here is what Strong's said  śâṭân; from 7853; an opponent; especially (with the article prefixed) Satan, the arch-enemy of good: — adversary, Satan, withstand. I guess I didn't know or didn't remember that "satan" is actually a Hebrew word.  So names are important especially in the OT.  For example, Isaac means laughter.  Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when they were told they were going to have a son, so they named their son Laughter.  God has many names even though He is only One God.  Anyway, the particular aspect of Satan's nature here in Job is as The Accuser or Adversary.   The LORD ...

Good morning brothers and sisters, My practice is to select one of the four readings and meditate about it.  One of the readings for today is Genesis 33.  Verse 8-11 is what impressed me this morning. May you grow in grace today. Jeff Jacob wants to find favor in Esau's sight despite the fact that Esau had ran to him and wept on his neck. Esau had already accepted Jacob.  But Jacob insists on trying to buy his favor. He couldn't really add anything to Esau. Just like the Arminian that thinks his good works can tip God's scales in his favor. Reflect on how much greater God is than Esau.  If we think we can impress God, we are actually insulting Him.   A- The Son who is preeminent in all things (Col 1:15-20). C - I can add nothing to You Lord, but I still try. Let me find my rest in the finished work of the cross. T - including the complex relationship been Esau (the older brother) and Jacob (the younger brother) in scripture.  Jesus is the better elder b...

  Greetings brothers and sisters,  This is Jeff, one the Elders at TCCS. I will be blogging through the readings.  At the moment, I am totally new to this blogging thing. So this is more a "get your feet wet" post.  One of the things I really like about the M"Cheyne (pronounce McChain) reading plan that we are using is that it starts with 4 beginnings. Creation (Genesis), Return from the exile (Ezra), Jesus' life and ministry (Matthew), Foundation of the church (Acts).  After a month, we are reading about Jacob going back home to his loving brother Esau, Esther and Mordecai turning the tables on wicked Haman, Jesus calling the 12 in Mark and finding out that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God in Romans 3.  If you are lagging behind, hang in there. If you have finished a previous reading plan in the last month, feel free to join us. Please let me know how you are doing and if there is anything I can do to encourage you. I would tell you how t...