Good evening brothers and sisters, Want to get this posted just in case we loose power in the wind.   Blessings Jeff Trying to understand the Romans 6:14 not under law but under grace transaction and chapter 7 explanation of being bound to Christ and not the law.  Listening to Martyn Lloyd Jones sermons on Romans on Sunday mornings.  Seems like having a good understanding of what it was like to be under the dominion of the law is necessary to allow me to more fully appreciate the blessings of being under the dominion of grace. Under the law of sin, a) the required animal sacrifice depended on the position of the person, not on the actual unintentional sin.  b) unintentionally doing any one of all the things that shouldn't be done.  The law requires obedience to every part.  Can never escape. c) the sacrifice had no righteousness of its own.  It took guilt in a way but did not bestow righteousness on the sinner. Under grace,  a) the one all su...

Good evening friends, Hope you enjoyed today's live stream service.  Where would we be without the incarnation? Finished the gospels today with the last chapter of John.  So we will start Psalms tomorrow. Blessings Jeff Why does God include Proverbs in general and these 3 verses in particular in scripture?  Let's think about these 3 verses first.   Does it take devine inspiration to assess the link between speech and a persons heart?  Could Solomon just observe someone saying outrageous things and then getting into a fight because of what he said.  Or someone mouthing off to some official (soldier, elder at the gate) and receiving a beating for disrespecting authority.   Just because people are fallen doesn't mean that they can't understand the patterns in life.  The Bible doesn't contain everything there is to know. God wants his children to be wise. Just reminds me of a segment in Pilgrim's Progress when Christian runs into Worldly Wis...

Good morning friends, An unusual Saturday morning without Men's D. Here we are in Leviticus.  It has been a long time since our offering was in the shape of an animal.  So we tend to overlook this book.  But the sacrificial system points to Jesus.  So we really do need to learn from ancient writings. Blessings Jeff Offering - qurbān: A masculine noun meaning an offering, a gift. This is the most general term, used eighty times in the Old Testament, for offerings and gifts of all kinds. Burnt offering -‘ōlâ; feminine active participle of 5927; a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke): — ascent, burnt offering (sacrifice), go up to. In English, we have noun(offering) and adjective (burnt).  But Hebrew has a word for offering and another for burnt offering. A visual term.  An offering that goes up in smoke.   The only permissible place to make this sacrifice is the door of the tent of meeting. ...

Good morning fellow travelers, Congratulations!!! You have reached the end of Exodus.  We have been through ups and downs in a relative short period of time with the children of Israel.  Our brother Moses has been up and down the mountain several times. Want to point out the benefit of electronic versions such as Olive Tree.  A Bible with Strong's numbers allows you to look at the Hebrew or Greek word and definitions.  If you have a Bible with Strong's numbers and Strong's Dictionary, you can do the same thing but it takes a while.  I have inserted some of the definitions of interest in today's passage. Blessings Jeff The Glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  kāḇōḏ: A masculine singular noun meaning honor, glory, majesty, wealth. This term is commonly used of God (Ex. 33:18; Ps. 72:19; Isa. 3:8; Ezek. 1:28); humans (Gen. 45:13; Job 19:9; Ps. 8:5[6]; 21:5[6]); and objects (1 Sam. 2:8; Esth. 1:4; Isa. 10:18), particularly of the ark of the covenant (1...

Dear brothers and sisters, Last one for the day, and back on schedule. I hope you are encouraged by reading these posts.  My goal is to help you see the value of the Word in your life.  Each believer needs to have a vibrant relationship with Jesus.  Listening to a 40 minute sermon once a week is helpful, but daily contact with God in the Word is another way we can highly exalt and honor the Lord of glory. Blessings Jeff Pilate goes out because The Jews refuse to come in.  They won't answer a simple question.  And all first thing in the morning. The person with authority of the great Roman Empire seems to be serving the religious leaders of an often conquered people.  How strange is  this?    Of course, even more strange is God incarnate being accused of doing evil by the physical sons of Abraham.  And all to fulfil the promise of Genesis 3:15.  Instruction - what does God expect from me?  Never judge by appearance.  Walk b...

Friends, Almost there.  Another "why is this here" passage.  From 11.25.20 Blessing Jeff A talent was about 75 pounds.  So 2,175 pounds of gold.  The interior of the tabernacle was very ornate. But only Aaron and his sons ever saw this. Not like the cathedrals of Europe. Just thinking about architecture of churches and how they reflect understanding of worship.  Cathedral was to visually impress.  Resulted in preaching becoming less significant.   The tabernacle was the only structure designed by God. The three versions of the temple in Jerusalem (Solomon, rebuild after exile, Herod) were based on tabernacle.  The grandeur was on the outside of these.  The tabernacle was glorious only on the inside and only seen by Aaronic priests.  The LORD is always interested in the internal reality and not the outward appearance. Do I really understand what the Church is?

Friends, As I write, I am smelling the wonderful smells of Thanksgiving lunch cooking in the oven.  This is from 11.24.20.  Prayer as a fragrant offering. Blessings Jeff Segment of Luke 6:35 was theme for Adoration in PrayerMate app. (See the link on Tools for Growth under Resources tab on church website) God is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.  This being Thanksgiving week and topic of sermon this week, ungrateful was the challenging word. As a secular world tries to give thanks to the inanimate universe, they are really ungrateful. God alone can be recipient of thanks. Yet Jesus tells us that God is kind to the ungrateful.  One of the ways He is kind to ungrateful Israel is the furniture of the tabernacle.  The altar of incense existed for one purpose. Smoke from burning incense could be seen outside the tabernacle. A visual reminder if thanksgiving ascending go the Lord.  A reminder of prayer as a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.  God did not lea...

Friends, The theme of "remember what you should not forget" shows up in New Testament, not just the Old.  I have not been diligent in prayer time recently.  I have all sorts of reminders during the day, but somehow the day ends without prayer.  So I am trying to Adore and Confess (AC of the ACTS model) prior to my quiet time/Bible reading.  So this is the result from 11/23. Blessings Jeff Instructive prayer time after creating note but before writing. Centered around "talking over" in conversation and shutting down communication. I hate it when it happens go me. Then I wondered how God feels when I do if go Him.  When I do all the talking, about what I need, think, want but don't listen to Him.  Ended with "speak lord for I am listening".  Then I read " look carefully then... " If this was what I normally do, You would not have to tell me.  Because You tell me to look carefully at how I walk, You see that I am not always doing this. You are t...

Did you ever get tired of having a parent gently remind you of what you need to do?  When God reminds us, it is because he knows we are prone to forgetting.  And none of us can argue that we are forgetful. From 11.22.20 Blessings  Jeff Repetition of Sabbath rule before construction of tabernacle begins.  What work were they working on in the wilderness? Tending livestock and gathering manna seems be about it. Now they have the tabernacle to build.  When manna was first given, the Sabbath rest is stated prior to the 10 commandments being given in chapter 20. Gathering twice as much in sixth day and preparing it for seventh so that they didn't have to build a fire. Preparing food was work. Intentional preparation was required. The routines of other days were not allowed on the Sabbath.  Martyn Lloyd Jone started on Romans 7.  Chapter 6 was on why justification by faith does not mean lawlessness. Chapter 7 is why sanctification is also by faith. The law i...

Happy Thanksgiving  Well I have a veritable cornucopia of readings for you.  Plan is to be all caught up by the end of the day. This if from 11.21.20 Blessings Jeff First commandment revisited. The LORD makes a second set of tablets and the covenant is renewed.  Idol worship and intermarriage are prohibited.  Just before heading off to the promised land for the first time. As it turns out, they don't have to worry about intermarriage for another 40 years. And it will be their children.   Breaking the first commandment is the prerequisite for breaking any other commandment.  A high view  of who God is makes keeping the other commandments the only appropriate response. And this is exactly where Solomon and all kings of Israel fall down.  Back to "did God really say..." Repetition as an emphasis. But also shows application. When you go into the land I am giving you, it will not be pure and uninhabited.   No other gods is not just those...

Last catch up for today.  Reading for 11.20.20 Short meditation on fear of the Lord.  Why do I fear the Lord?  Blessings Jeff The same book that tells me the value of the fear of the Lord (beginning of wisdom) and the knowledge of the Holy One (insight) also is the only place to learn how to fear and to know the Lord.  When we pray Hallowed  be Your name, we are saying make me fear, reverence, respect, be awe struck in His presence.  All these require knowledge of the one who calls for this response. It is more than words. I can be respectful in speech but still have a heart that doesn't fear. A traitor wears the uniform and took the oath but works for the enemy.  Hebrew can also mean the object that causes this response.

Another catch up.  This is reading for 11.19.20 Just a note on how I am selecting readings.  Since the two New Testament readings and Proverbs will be repeated in the second six months, I am doing 2 from OT history then one of the three, 2 more OT, then another one of the three and so on.   Blessings, Jeff How did Moses think the was going to make atonement for the great sin of the people? The sin was great. Moses was going up to God even though he had not been summoned.  He had already interceded for them before he came down the mountain. Some degree of retribution had been made by the Levites executing 3,000.  His proposal is just asking God to forgive them or let Moses be blotted out.  In a way, he is willing to he their substitute.  God doesn't take him up on the offer because he has another perfect substitute in mind.

Hello again brothers and sisters, Hope you had a blessed time at worship this morning.  Doing a little more catch up this afternoon. After thinking about Jesus and the Sabbath in the last reading from John, I was a bit surprised to find a repetition of Sabbath in Exodus 31. Reading for 11.18.20 Sabbath part 2. The last instruction from God before Moses goes back down the mountain with the two tablets written by the finger if God.  So I understand why Pharisees were so adamant about keeping the Sabbath. God himself makes it a capital offense to profane the Sabbath.  Putting up all sorts of barriers to prevent people from inadvertently profaning the Sabbath was an act of love.  But the reason to keep Sabbath is that it is holy. It is set apart, just like Israel is set apart. It is possible to not do any work out of fear of the penalty and never understand the set apart holy nature of the day.  It is not rule keeping but relationship that is important.  We don...

Last catch up for today This is reading for 11/17. Recently, I have been memorizing the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and the Westminster Catechism questions and answer for them.  All a result of Luther's "Simply Way to Pray" where he prays the 10 commandments.  If it was good for Luther, it is probably good for me.    Then I hit this passage about Jesus and the Sabbath.  See what you think. Blessings Jeff Why is Jesus so insistent on doing things to upset the Pharisees on the Sabbath?  Jesus has the correct understanding of the purpose and intent of the Sabbath. He is after all the co-author of the fourth commandment.  Just think about men accusing the second person of the Trinity of violating the Sabbath. It is the height of arrogance, not the deepest devotion. It isn't that Jesus has a higher view of the Sabbath. He has the correct view.  Instruction - what does God expect from me?  My understanding and practice of the Sabbath aligns wi...

Catching up continued This is reading from 11/16 Have you ever asked yourself "Why is this passage in the Bible?"  To find answer, we must interrogate the text.  While Bible is not a newspaper or magazine, journalists are taught to answer "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How" in what they write.  God has a purpose for every word of scripture.  Yes every word including ordination of Aaron.  Asking these questions with the help of the Holy Spirit is vital to understanding the Word. So I asked the questions and then let the text and the Spirit answer. I invite you to do the same. Blessings Jeff Why was it necessary for this detail of the ordination of Aaron to be recorded in scripture?  What does this add to the footnote to Genesis 3:15?    If there was never a legitimate priesthood, Jesus would not have not needed to come and fulfill it. The "religious gene" in man causes all  cultures to have an intermediary between god(s) and man. But it is o...

Good day friends, Doing a little catching up today.  This is reading from 11/13.   One of the great things about doing quiet time devotions electronically is that I can see the comments that I have made in the past.  When I used a notebook to record my thoughts, they were not easily retrievable.  I still have a box of notebooks in the basement that I never look at.  Using Olive Tree for over 6 years lets me see all the comments and sermon notes in that period of time.. This is an example.  The last time a wrote a note on this was 3/29/14.  What I wrote then was: Do I make the gospel acceptable to man and thus dilute it?  Do I thing I know how to better advance the Kingdom?  Better the the King? Last week I wrote: Much has changed since last time I wrote on this verse. At least in physical life. The physical change include our son deciding to go to Vet school, getting married,  moving to Wisconsin and now having twins.  Deaths o...

Good evening friends, This is for the passages read on day 73 of M'Cheyne plan.  Actually on day 76.  Sorry I have fallen behind on the blog, but my intent is to write on the passages I have missed instead of just leaving them out.   We are using McArthur study on Solomon - history and Proverbs and Ecclisiastes.  We have seen how he was on a downward spiral for much of his life.  So hitting Proverbs makes me wonder "How did he come to write this"  Let us meditate together. Blessings  Jeff There are a lot of questions about Solomon and his proverbs. How did Solomon come to know characters like these enticing his son?  Given Rehoboam's subsequent character, did he ever listen to what his father said? Or did Rehoboam see the inconsistency in Solomon's words and deeds?  why do we disregard so much that he says, especially about wisdom in general.  Take these six.  verses. If isn't only thieves and robbers that speak this way. I thi...

Good morning friends, I will be posting shorter comments until the end of the year as I am going to be working 3 days a week at Millstone.  I have become accustomed to spending an hour or so on the blog each day, but may not be able to keep that up on the days I work. Happy Veteran's Day.  Thank you for your service. Blessings  Jeff The Lord spoke the words of the 10 commandments in chapter 20. Gives the "hand written original" carved in stone sometime later.  This time Joshua goes with Moses,  Made me think of the "Did God really say …" in the temptation of Adam and Eve.  Despite the verbal acceptance of the covenant by the people, since their first parents chose to disobey at the first opportunity, their children were bound to do likewise.  With the letters carved in stone, all of Israel could know that God really said that.  If there was ever any question, just go read the tablets. Fast forward to Sermon on the Mount and the "You have heard tha...

Good morning saints, Almost to the end of Job.  But not to the end of wisdom or of God.   Blessings Jeff The Lord finishes His questioning with "Leviathan".  Exactly what this creature is is unknown.  Sounds like a cross between an alligator and a hippo to me.  As Jonathan spoke last Sunday about the reality of hell being far worse than the fires that symbolize it, so this may also be symbolic.  The most threatening sea creature you can imagine is nothing compared to the reality of the LORD. This is what makes wisdom literature different from historical narrative.  Take words as far as you can and then realize how poorly they describe what you are thinking of.  In mathematics, the concept of infinity comes close to this.  No matter how big a number you can think of, there is always another number that is one more.  Sand on the seashore is not infinite.  Given enough time, each grain could be counted.  It is a very large nu...

Dear fellow disciples, Enjoying the best day weatherwise until next April or so says the weatherman.  I have now caught up with the reading plan as far as the blog is concerned.  Thanks for hanging in there and persevering in daily readings. Blessings, Jeff Not only was it true when the Word came in the flesh, but it continues.  This morning,  I listened to a review of a short biography of Luther (Heroic Boldness of Luther)  Some thins I either didn't know or didn't remember, but the 95 theses were written before his conversion.  An unconverted man could see the problems with the visible Church.   His students took the theses down and gave them to this guy named Guttenberg. The plague ravaged Germany in the 1520s.  Yet the reformation burned bright. And we worry about Covid-19 Erasmus (a humanist and contemporary of Luther) went back to the Greek instead of relying on Latin.  His Greek New Testament was "the bullet in Luther's gun" ...

Dear Brothers and Sisters The legal profession has come to have a rather unsavory character in our time.  However, when the law is given and interpreted by God, we need to pay attention and understand.  So today is a bit technical, but sorting out rules, statutes, commandments, laws is valuable. Blessings Jeff Reformation Study Bible notes: The Lord sets forth the ordinances of His covenant. Civil and penal laws are presented at 21:1-22:15; laws controlling morality at Ex 22:16-27; Ex 23:1-9; laws of worship at Ex 20:22-26; Ex 22:28-30; Ex 23:10-19. Through 22:17 the statutes are in the form of case law ("If . . . then," with appropriate penalties); afterwards laws of the unconditionally imperative type ("you shall not") predominate. The purpose of these social codes was to regulate Israelite life in the Promised Land. Exodus 21:1  Rules. The Hebrew word here means "precedents," or guiding principles determined by case decisions. These laws apply the found...

Dear Friends, Seems like I have lost track of my posts.  Made some typos and correcting them put them out of order in the reading plan.  And then didn't get some posted for a day or two late. Blessings Jeff God "finally shows up" and starts asking difficult questions.  Just as Elihu had been a silent observer of debate between Job and his friends, God has been watching Elihu's commentary.  But the difference is that Job and his friends could see Elihu watching and listening.  None of them could see God even though He was present.  God makes His presence manifest or physically observable after his creatures have been unable to resolve Job's trials. Isn't this just like God?  He puts man into the creation (which declares His glory) and essentially challenges man to explain it.

Good morning fellow pilgrims,  I have recently started catechizing myself.  All started as a result of my last sermon.  Part of the answer to the question "What are the duties required in the first commandment?" is worshipping and glorifying the only true God by thinking, meditating and remembering.  So I did a little of that this morning. May you grow in grace as you read the passages and my attempts to encourage you. Blessings, Jeff Having just studied Esther in men's D, thought about the "life or death" for anyone seeking to see the king without being summoned and Moses being called to go up on Mt Sinai.  Esther was not summoned and only hope was the king would extend the golden scepter.  Moses was summoned but to a place that no other human was allowed to even approach.  Esther was going to petition the king on behalf of her people., Moses was going to hear from the Lord on behalf of His people.  Both were preceded by 3 days of consecration by...

Good morning friends, The day got away from me yesterday.  Which just emphasizes the point that Today is the acceptable time.  So double up for today. Blessings Jeff Now is the day of salvation. Spurgeon preached a great sermon on this verse. He is said to have put an unregenerate person in a spiritual vise in order show the absolute need for Christ as savior. One side of the vise was “you must be saved right now”.  The other side was “you can’t save yourself”. You have to but you can’t. But God has sent Jesus to save you. God can rescue you by putting a new heart in you so that you can respond in faith.  In fact, the desire to get out of the vise is a sign that God has already quickened you.  After all, a dead man would not feel the pressure.

Good evening friends, It has often been said that God has a sense of humor.  Manna means what is it.  So they went out to collect "what is it" Kind of like "who's on first?"   Hope this feeds your spirit. Blessings Jeff Provision of manna (physical bread of heaven) makes me wonder about Jesus (spiritual bread of heave).  It also makes me wonder about "our daily bread". Let us think of how they are alike. Both are gifts.  Israelites did nothing to produce or earn the manna. Likewise, we can do nothing to merit Christ. There are restrictions on receiving. Israelites had to gather manna early in the morning and were supposed to be obedient in amount gathered (a certain amount for each person).  Jesus must be accepted in this life and Today is the day of salvation.  No one should delay.  There was a time when it is too late.to gather manna and there will be a time when it is too late to accept Christ. Both are Sufficient - God provides more than ...

Good afternoon friends, Congratulations on completing first two months of M'Cheyne plan.   Just some thoughts about the last voice before God speaks.  Similar to a character in a play who doesn't show up until the final act.  Audience should wonder what is the significance of this character. Blessings, Jeff Elihu, the young bystander, weighs in.  After observing 3 rounds between Job and his friends, he is angry with both sides (32:2-5) and leads into his critique with a mixture of pride (answer me if you can) and humility (I too am made of clay). His name means "He is my God" of "Jehovah is God".  His father Barachel (Barack El or God blesses).  We are not told how he came to witness the debate between Job and his friends.  The three friends heard about Job and came from their homes.  So possibly Elihu was a neighbor and knew Job. So we can make at least two distinctions between the three friends and Elihu.  First, he critiques their arg...

Good evening fellow bondservants, Sorry for late posting.  Sundays seem to be a busy day, but in a good way.   Having been in Navy and then in nuclear power industry, rules and regulations are a very big deal.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) writes the regulations and then writes another document that gives a method of meeting the regulation.  Jesus gives us principles and then lives them out.  Such is the case in today's passage from Doctor Luke, Blessings Jeff  In four short verses Jesus gives universal warnings to  the disciples concerning the challenges of life within the group.   Jesus recognizes that the disciples will sin against each other and will tempt or cause each other to stumble.  Even though they follow a sinless master, the disciples will not reach sinless perfection.  So how are they to live with each other? They must never treat tempting others (or placing a stumbling block or trap) as a small matter ...