Here is my catch up for yesterday.  I take passages such as this as descriptive of what did happen, not proscriptive of what should happen. Blessings, Jeff This whole marriage to his half-sister thing is pretty shocking.  In what universe is that a good idea?  And how does taking a 90 year old woman into his harem make sense to Abimelech?  Then God warns him in a dream. Revelation to a pagan king.  So why does God include thus episode in scripture?  How does it advance redemptive history?  Moses must have asked God "Are you sure you want this in the story of faithful Abraham?".     God does not need any help to preserve His saints. He prevents Abimelech from having sex with her and inhibits fertility of all his wives and slaves.  Really showing Abraham that deception is not a godly characteristic. Remember, I promised to make you father of nations. Do you think I would allow someone to kill you so they could have Sarah?  Solid ...

Good morning friends, Had a long day of AF preps and meetings, so managed to miss yesterday's devotional. I have benefitted greatly over the last 35 years from the Westminster Confession of Faith.  So I encourage you to either check it out on line or get a hard copy.  Also recommend Robert Shaw's An Exposition of the Confession of Faith.  The first chapter is "Of the Holy Scriptures".  This is the foundation of our faith.  Without this special revelation, we cannot come to a knowledge of God and of saving faith in Christ.   Today's passage is an Old Testament example of this truth.  Moral reformation without an understanding of God's self revelation is hopeless. Blessings, Jeff Revival linked to proclamation of the word. The desire to hear the word and the messenger who could read it are works of God. The needs of the people were aligned with what God was supplying. The word was seen as relevant to their lives. An appealing innovation was not what...

Good morning fellow workers, My first afternoon of AF '21pie making happens today.   Have you ever thought about how baking or any food preparation is like our walk as Christians?  If you follow the recipe, you will get good results.  Try to innovate and substitute baking soda for baking powder and you get a mess.  Paul goes back to scripture as his basis for everything he teaches.  No innovation or substitution to make it more appealing.  The gospel answers every other worldview.  There is only one foundation. Blessings, Jeff Instruction - while Paul goes to the synagogue, the Gentiles are the ones who respond.  Some Jews but a great many of devout Greeks. The message is the same.   Reasoned with them from the scriptures (old testament).  Without the Old testament prophecies about the Messiah, would Paul have been so effective?  These devout Greeks had been convinced that Jewish scriptures were true. Without this, identif...

Good afternoon faithful readers, A word of encouragement to use a bible with Strong's numbers and a Strong's dictionary.  You don't have to be a Hebrew or Greek scholar to pick up on the nuances of the original words that can be lost in the translation process.  Today's devotional give an example of this. Blessings, Jeff  God said...   âmar; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude): — answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, Same word as Genesis 1. When God speaks, what he says happens.  And same word for human speech.   A person speaks.  We share personhood with God. We speak because we are created in His image. But when we speak, what we say does not happen.    I tend to focus on what is said. What do the words mean. But who says the words is not to be forgotten or overlooked.   In this case, God spoke and Abraham laughed. The One who spoke creation into existence says Sarah...

Good afternoon friends, Looking back at the things I wrote a year ago, I must have still been working on Luther's four strands model and seriously lacking in the prayer book area.  Seems that there is really nothing new under the sun.  Some want us to believe that economic differences are new in our time.  Nehemiah knew otherwise. Blessings, Jeff Instruction - Within the people of God after almost 100 years back in the promised land, dramatic economic differences had become prevalent.  The flock left to itself is not a healthy place for anyone. There may have been shepherds, but they were not paying attention.  Building the walls of Jerusalem may have contributed to their plight.  It is really pretty depressing. Am I paying attention?   Thanksgiving  - You are the Great Good Shepherd. Lay down your life for the sheep. The Spirit who comes along side. Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light because of the Spirit. I am not doing this on...

Good afternoon my fellow workers, After a successful Dough Day, we take another step toward the routine of TCCS.  The Apple E-Festival last year just wasn't the same.  As you can tell, this was written on 9/11/20 and when we were doing a study in Matthew for men's group.  So much has changed since then. But I think these thoughts our still applicable. Blessings, Jeff God validates the covenant by passing through the divided animals by Himself.  Abram is soundly asleep (dead in a sense).  19th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, a day that from human perspective "changed history".  But the day of this covenant is remembered now while other "change history" events have been forgotten by all but a few historians.  This is kingdom of God coming to earth.  God's reign over God's people in God's place.  Insignificant in the minds of human historians who value the great empires of the ancient world.  Yet this event is more significant than the buildin...

Good morning fellow followers of Christ, Well its raining cats and dogs this morning.  I have heard that idioms like this are very hard for non-native English speakers to understand.  I think that this concept also applies for Jesus' parables.  His audience would easily pick up on things that mystify us.  However, we mustn't let things that are "over our heads" be an excuse not to make every effort to understand.  Jesus's disciples were often uncertain about the meaning of his parables.  Let us strive to increase in our knowledge of God. Blessings, Jeff Does "God's reign over God's people in God's place" fit this parable?  This is TGC working definition for Kingdom of God. Jesus tells me that the ideal, the true kingdom of heaven can be compared to something finite. He never says the kingdom is the field with wheat and tares. It is different, but some comparison can be made.  First question is Why is understanding the kingdom of heaven so imp...

Good morning friends, I think that the return from exile is a fascinating portion of Jewish history.  As you will see in thoughts for today, the return was not a single event and made me wonder about why it took so long and why some never returned.  I must admit that sometimes I stray from instruction as what does passage teach me about God.  This is one of those days.  But the Reformers held that salvation has always been by faith and the OT church was Israel, Blessings, Jeff Almost 100 years after the first group and 20 years after Ezra, Nehemiah is saddened by reports of the condition of  Jerusalem.  This is really very shocking to me. He describes it as the place of his father's graves. But it had been 170 years since deportation. A good number of generations of his family were buried in Babylon.  None of them had apparently expressed a desire to go back to Promised Land. Seems likely that a good number of Jews never went back. What is the lesson f...

Reminder MLJ is Martyn Lloyd Jones.  Instruction - Heroes of faith with feet of clay is such an encouragement. And feet of clay is not because they lived before the incarnation. It is twisting scripture to say that believers after first advent can achieve sinless perfection. As MLJ insists old personality in Adam is dead but the flesh, the body of sin, sin that dwells in our members still affects us. Yes the spirit indwells us in a different way, but presence of sin is not eliminated.  Restoration in the spirit of gentleness is required because any one can be caught in trespass.  Thanksgiving - life is better because Jesus physically ascended so that the Holy Spirit could be sent.  Confessional - quenching the Spirit. Pouring water on the purifying fire. Doesn't put the fire out, the Spirit is always present, but consequence for not listening. Being offended by other's perceived snubs. The root of pride of life runs deep.  Prayer Our Father - only You are eterna...

Good morning beloved brothers and sisters, Well somehow I got out of sync again and managed to miss yesterday.  As you can see, not all my devotional get all the way through the "4 strand model".  Just an encouragement to do as much as you can each day. Blessings, Jeff Instruction - what is the lesson of The very great assembly that gathered to Ezra as he wept and confessed and cast himself down?   Study bible notes point out that preceding description is in first person. Ezra recorded what he did and said. Starting here, it is third person, an observer reporting what was said and done. Also all this took place in public at the evening sacrifice. So the large crowd was already there for the sacrifice and were overwhelmed by Ezra 's acts of repentance.  They were doing the ritual when the new Levite breaks the mold.   While he was a Levite, he had only read about the morning and evening sacrifice of a lamb. He had never seen it.  Exodus 29 includes...

 The theme of the Gospel Project Sunday School material is that God is at center stage of all events in the Bible.  The people are just the supporting cast.  This passage is a good example. Blessings, Jeff Instruction - Ananias = "whom Jehovah has graciously given".  God does not tell us how Ananias came to be a disciple. Based on his name, We know he is a Jewish convert. Based on his knowledge of persecution in Jerusalem, there was an ongoing relationship believers in the two cities. But the point seems to be that God had planned all these events in advance. God is the main character in this story, just as He is the main character in all of scripture and history. God speaks to Ananias about a vision that He gave to Paul in response to Paul's enforced three days of prayer and fasting.  God sends one soldier into the headquarters of Jewish opposition.   The house of Judas must have been trying to make sense of what had happened to Paul. Then Ananias sho...

Good afternoon friends, Collapsed in bed last night without realizing I had not updated the blog.  Men's Devotion, work day and getting thinking about prayer for this morning ate up the day.  Excuses, excuses.  So I will do two for today. This morning was start of Sunday School for children and adults.  After missing last year due to Covid, it was good to resume.  I was thinking about my Sunday School experience many years ago.  Grew up in what turned out to be a liberal Presbyterian church.  No adult Christian Ed and children ended at 5th or 6th grade.  Like you learn everything you really need to know about God by then.  So we are blessed to have both adult and children/teenage classes through high school. Blessings Jeff Noah or Moses gets another insight into God's heart. This is the opposite of regret and grief.  T.he flood has not changed the condition of man's heart. But some how Noah's offering is a pleasing aroma.  The Lord ...

As you can tell,  I don't always succeed in following Luther's 4 strands.  But I am putting these in as I wrote them a year ago.  Making them into what I think today after the last year really isn't the goal. Blessings, Jeff Instruction - about 60 years pass before Ezra and second group return to Judah. Almost as long as the 70 year exile imposed by the Lord. Ezra has the Levitical pedigree, so why didn't his father or grandfather return in the first group which was heavily weighted toward priests and Levites?  What does his story teach me?  Physical lineage is not determinant in spiritual condition. Just as faith of parents isn't transferred to children. The point is, Ezra was a true Levitical priest. Individual response to individual call. The parable of workers called at various times of the day.   Always ask Who, not why.  Thanksgiving - sovereign over the whole return sequence. It happened the way You ordained it yet each generation acted fre...

I will be making reference to Genesis 3:15 through out these devotions.  Sinclair Ferguson is another gifted preacher.  He quoted somebody else as saying that the whole Bible is a footnote to Genesis 3:15 - the covenant promise of solution to man's sin problem. Blessings, Jeff Instruction - God regrets making man on the earth and is grieved in his heart   How did Moses understand this?  In his own experience, God had threatened to destroy Israel after they had left Egypt.  The sceptic objects to the "genocide" when Israel final takes possession of promised land.  God's holiness is the only explanation.  Out of all the people on earth, only one finds favor. All deserved death but one man and his family was preserved. The promise of 3:15 was for one man to save many.    But if God really knew the plan of salvation would involve wiping out all but 8 after several thousand years, how could he regret what He had done?  He did not hope th...

Good morning friends, Sorry for missing a couple of days.  I have been doing some short focused readings and trying to get in the habit or using Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotion.  Realized in the middle off the night that I have forgotten about updating the challenge devotionals. I will quote Martyn Lloyd Jones often in these devotions.  I highly recommend him.  He went to glory about 40 years ago, but many of his sermons were recorded.  The RefNet (Reformation Network) app has a weekly slot on Sundays at 6:30 AM and 7:00 PM.  About 50 minutes of great teaching.  Check it out. Blessings Jeff Instruction - Luther "thoughts and feelings converge on God".  So how does v 23 and following relate to intent behind "Do not murder"?  My brother having something against me or being guilty of not paying a debt don't seem to have much to do with my attitude or actions toward my brother.  I come to terms with my accuser by agreeing that I owe ...

Good morning fellow "living stones" I address you as living stones because Ephesians 2:21-22 says built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.  A note on how I selected passages for the daily devotional.  Because the plan takes us through the New Testament twice in the year, I tried to balance the overall number form each testament.  So we will see a New Testament passage every 8 days instead of every 4.  This helps our knowledge and appreciation of the OT. Today we see that there was external resistance to rebuilding the temple after the exile.   Blessings, Jeff Reminded of danger of "where am I in this story?" Method of Bible reading and study. When Luther starts meditation with instruction, it is not in the sense of learn...

Good afternoon friends, Spent part of the afternoon trying to reclaim some parts of the yard from the small curse of thorns and thistles.  I am always amazed at how hard farm work must have been without the machinery we have today.  I can't get a couple of tomato plants to grow and they could get 80 acres to produce with just animals.  It is amazing the man has made it this far.  But it is still dust to dust. Blessings, Jeff   God's curse of Adam.  The judgment on serpent and Adam includes the offense.  "because you ...".  Eve' s judgment does not include the offense.  God commanded Adam before He made Eve. He is accountable for teaching Eve about the commandment and ensuring her compliance.   The first command was be fruitful and multiply. Remains in place but now creation will resist. All that was to be a joy is now a constant struggle.  Instruct - the beauty of nature marred by Adam's disobedience. But redemption is pos...

Good afternoon friends, This is one of the things I like about the M'Cheyne plan.  Start in 4 different sections of the Bible, but they are all about a beginning.  You will see 4 more or less parallel streams in Moses, Judges, Samuel, Kings Chronicles, Post exile with the Wisdom books, Gospels and Acts through Revelation. Another note on format.  On top of the 'four strands" that I mentioned yesterday, Luther in Simple way to pray promotes praying the Ten Commandments, Lord's Prayer or Apostle's  Creed.  So this is an example of using the structure of the Lord's Prayer to pray through thoughts about this passage.  When I wrote this a year ago, we had been using John McArthur's study of Daniel. Blessings, Jeff Mordecai originally got my attention. The cross reference was to Esther.   So I thought this was the same man. But events of Esther happen after the first return.  The first return is within a year Persian conquest of Babylon. Xerxes is ...

Good morning friends, Welcome to the first month of the challenge that started on 9/1/20.  We didn't have the blog up and running then, but I thought it was appropriate to have the whole year's devotions available for anyone who wants to use the M'Cheyne plan in the future. A word on the format I started with.  I had given a sermon on the Lord's Prayer and had read Luther's "A simple way to pray".  He gave the 4 strands model.   Instructional or text book - what does God expect from me.  Thanksgiving or hymnal - what does passage teach me about God Confessional - where do I fall short of God's expectations.    Prayer book - using the passage as a guide to prayer in the 6 petitions of Lord's Prayer So I tried to use this model in devotionals and found it to be very helpful. Blessings, Jeff Two equally qualified men for 1 position. In a world guided by scripture,only one can be selected. Today, we would probably say take them both and either ig...

Dear saints in the Lord, Congratulations!  You made it.  We have been through much turmoil in the last year ('20-'21).  But God is faithful to His promises.  I trust that you have been blessed in your reading and have drawn closer to God.   Since we didn't get the blog up and running at the beginning of the challenge, I am going to go back and post entries to cover that first month or so.   Blessings, Jeff Nothing accursed in the city of God, the new Jerusalem.  The presence of sin will be gone.  I am working on memorizing Westminster Shorter Catechism and currently on question 82.  Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God but does daily break them in thought, word and deed. I think our passage today points to the truth of this question.  Do you notice how this answer is not exactly the same as the question. "Any man" bec...

Good morning fellow exiles and pilgrims, One more day of devotions.  We are indeed exiles and pilgrims in this world as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  The 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks can serve as a reminder that this world is not our home. Blessings, Jeff The lamentations for Josiah written by Jeremiah.  However, the book of Lamentations does not include any reference to Josiah as they are focused on the fall of Jerusalem.  While these lost lamentations were "made the rule" there are only 4 more kings and none of them were good like Josiah and none died in Jerusalem.  The phrase "to this day" generally refers to the time of the author (post exile).  Taken together, it may be that these laments were for the last good king and during the exile the people were longing for the next good king. Zerubbabel in a way was the next good king as temple and Jerusalem were rebuilt. But Jesus truly was the next king and He...

Good afternoon friends, As we draw to the end of the Old Testament, we see that Judah has rebuilt the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, but they are following in the footsteps of faithless fathers and not in the footsteps of Abraham and ultimately God.  The exile was a low point, but now a new low is about to happen.  The prophetic voice has once again become warning and not encouraging. Faithful reading and preaching of the word is all that keeps us from losing our way.  May we be faithful in our generation. Blessings, Jeff I am sure I have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.  The section summary, chapter and verse are not in the original language.  They are all rather modern inventions to help us.  For example, the section title here is "Judah profaned the Covenant".  That is OK as far as it goes, but which Covenant?  So let's take a look. Observations Starts with 3 questions but who is asking the questions and to whom are they addre...

Good morning faithful readers, The finish line is in sight!!!  One of the themes of scripture is that God is a covenant keeping God.  There are many between God and man. Adam, Noah, David are examples.  Covenants are more than promises.  They are made between a superior and inferior with conditions for each side and blessing and penalties based on keeping the conditions.  These are covenants of works which fallen man was unable to keep.  Thanks be to God that the Father made a covenant of grace with Christ, the second Adam, which he fully kept. Blessings, Jeff The promise in v8 was made to David when he had planned to build the temple and God promised to build him a house forever. (2 Sam 7:10).  Seems like there are only two possibilities about Manasseh's disobedience.  Either he knew of this covenant that God had made with his 13th great grandfather and chose to disregard it, or he didn't know of it and was unaware of the penalty.  Let's con...

Good afternoon fellow disciples, God's word really is sharper than a two edges sword.  Not that I have ever touched a two edged sword, but I have cut myself with a pocket knife.  Well this devotional took me be surprise.  I have about 8 years worth notes in my Quiet Time folder in my electronic Bible.  But not one on these 3 verses. And when I pondering "I have manifested your name" I was amazed. So finish well my friends. Blessings, Jeff Just as Paul's prayers are reminders of what is important and should not be forgotten, how much more is the High Priestly prayer what Jesus wants His disciples and us to remember. Each believer was given to the Son by the Father. - The foundation of assurance.   1) The Son repeating truth to the Father.  How then can I ignore this and pretend that it was my choice that saved me?  How can I not go looking for others who have been given to the Son but have not yet come into the kingdom? 2) This is really not petiti...

Good evening friends, As another Sabbath draws to a close, we continue to look at this difficult section of Zechariah.  I am generally a proponent of inductive study (going from specifics of what does it say to general or how does it apply0.  However, my late friend Martyn Lloyd Jones highlights the value of deductive study.  In this case, his view is more helpful.  Once we understand the purpose of whole Bible, it helps us to understand what the individual portions mean.  While we may not come up with an absolute correct understanding, if we try to see how it points to Christ, we can't be far off. Blessings, Jeff  That day" - And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10 So this is a very messiani...

Good morning fellow members of the household of God, After writing the devotional, I am thinking about the Passover as a household event.  In ancient Israel, the physical household of man was covered by the blood of the lamb.  Now, it is the spiritual household of God that is covered by the blood of the Lamb. Blessings, Jeff The account of the greatest celebration of Passover since time of Solomon (v 26).   Observations: One of the things that made this one great is participation of some of the tribes from the northern kingdom.  Israel was a united kingdom and Solomon and now toward the end of the northern kingdom, there is at least a semblance of being united. God allows some exemptions: Who offers the sacrifice:  The original Passover was a family by family sacrifice of a lamb.  However in  Deuteronomy 16:5-6 this changed to a centralized location once they entered the promised land.  (You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of ...

Good morning friends, I can't imagine how Zechariah responded to this message from the Lord.  How would I respond to being told to shepherd a flock doomed to slaughter?  As you will see, this is not an easy passage. Blessings,  Jeff I think I have mentioned that the post exile prophets generally have an encouraging message to the people with focus on rebuilding the temple.  So this chapter seems to be an exception.  Looking at a timeline, I found out that that the temple was completed during Zechariah's time.   From ESV Study Bible note: Zechariah's focus turns from the flock back to the shepherds. The fable of vv. 1–3 conveys impending destruction, but of what or whom? Interpreters differ on this question and on several details in the rest of this difficult section. I take comfort in knowing that I am not alone in struggling with this passage.   It is sad to think that after all Judah and Israel have been through in exile and dispersion, tha...

Good afternoon faithful readers, Writing this the morning after "rains of biblical proportions" from Ida last night.  Of course, these rains were a drop in the bucket to Noah's day.  But they do make man look very small and helpless.  For those who believe in scientism, this must be very depressing.  The natural world has very little concern for man.  Thanks be to God who knows the hairs on our head. Blessings, Jeff  Between the 7 trumpets and the 7 bowls. From ESV study Bible notes: Harvests of Earth and Vine. Two reapers appear in heaven, sharp sickles in hand. Angels emerge from the temple with God's directive, “Put in your sickle, and reap.” First “one like a son of man” gathers the grain of the earth, then an angel gathers grapes from the earth's vine, to be crushed in the “winepress of the wrath of God.” Although both harvests could signify either God's judgment on the wicked or Christ's gathering of his saints, probably the grain harvest shows the S...

Good morning friends, As I am in the "mature" stage of life, I pay special attention to examples from scripture of people who don't finish well.  It is sad that this continues to this day.  So if you ever see me doing something foolish, please tell me and remind me Don't be like Uzziah!!! Blessings, Jeff I think I see a pattern here. Another bad end for a good king.   There are many questions and not many answers in this story: Where did Uzziah get the idea that the king could perform priestly duties? God clearly established the Levites and the Aaronic priesthood as the only men who could minister to God.  Saul was condemned for sacrificing instead of waiting for Samuel.  Apparently Uzziah was not paying attention in school the day that these things were taught and he never read them for himself.  One of the reformation principles is that the Word preached and read is a means of our sanctification.  Any believer who ignores the Word puts himself i...