Good morning fellow exiles and pilgrims, For those of you who have never been in the Navy, I want to share an example of how the secular world just can't shake the reality of biblical history.  You see, a rope ladder was called a Jacob's ladder.  This handy device allow a sailor to climb up from a small boat to a main deck of the ship.  So you get the idea of "angels ascending and descending".  Of course Jacob's dream is more of a stair case than a vertical ladder, but the imagery is dramatic. Blessings, Jeff  God graciously reveals this aspect of His active involvement in the affairs of man.  A sign to confirm Jacob as the line of the promised line back to 3:15. So why this stairway to heaven?  Is the only reason so that the messiah could refer to this event?  Certainly angels don't really need a stairway to go back and forth between heaven and earth.  Calvin points to the ladder as a type  of Christ as mediator between God and ma...

 Here is my catch up post.  Jonathan has pointed out that one of the proofs of authenticity is inclusion of unnecessary details.  Today we have an example. Blessings, Jeff Why would anybody makeup a story like this?  Especially since it was so easy to disprove. If any one claim was false, the whole argument would fall apart. All the Jews had to do to silence Paul and put an end to Christianity was produce a witness to refute just one of his claims. Killing him is only reasonable if his claims are actually true.   Open statement of facts only works if the facts are true.  Why do we seek additional proof?  Use of personal testimony of what Jesus has done for me or others for example. Why is subjective unverifiable information used instead of objective unrefuted evidence?   Thanksgiving - a rational logical personal God creates a rational logical cosmos.

 Good morning friends, This was a very short devotional.  It was written on the day of the CareNet ('19) charity golf tournament last fall.  Pretty much consumed the day.   I hope that this will encourage you to write our your thoughts even if they are not very detailed.  I have found that asking questions of a passage can get me to think about the passage during the day. Blessings, Jeff Did wonder about the difference between trying to parade Vashti before the leering officials and losing virginity in try out to be the next queen. The only qualification to be queen is beauty and gratification of Ahasuerus lust. The year in the harem prior to a night with the king was surely training for sexual performance. How does this fit with '"His glory and our good"?

 Good morning friends Just a short reflection on 20 years of prayer as an encouragement to all of us to be constant in prayer. Blessings, Jeff Rebekah is barren for twenty years while Isaac prays for her.  The young woman from whom her family expected thousands of ten thousands. The daughter in law of the one who was promised descendants as numerous as the stars. Yet in all this, God was working His purpose.  Do you trust Me?  As Paul asks, who hopes for what he sees?  Do You know me?  Am I better to you than 7 sons?   Is this what " strengthened with all  power, according to Your glorious might for all endurance with joy" means?  Submitting to His will is what strengthens my faith, not getting my desires.

 Good morning friends, It has been an interesting experience re-reading thoughts from a year ago.  Surely Nehemiah went back and re-read this history in the light of the intervening years.  Maybe he too asked, "What has changed in the heart of the exiles who had returned since these events happened/"  So I ask What has changed in my heart since I wrote this?   Dear reader, God's word is sharper than a two edges sword.  It does expose the thoughts and inttents of the heart.  The form of asking what does this passage teach me about God must become personal as the Holy Spirit applies truth to our hearts. Blessings, Jeff Neglecting the house of the Lord is the fruit of an assortment of bad roots. Based on corrective actions, Failure to distribute portions to the Levites was a leadership issue. People brought their tithes when they saw them properly used.   While people are commanded to tithe, leadership is commanded to use the tithe properly...

 Good afternoon fellow hearers and doers of the Word As I look back on what I wrote over a year ago, I think I may not have been consistently using Luther's 4 strand analogy.  The instruction/text book strand is to focus on what we learn about God, not trying to find ourselves in the passage..  Not sure where I picked up the "thoughts converge on God" but it gets this concept across.   Second, we have heard how "pray moves the hand of God."  But my experience has been that by the time  a praise God for who He is and confess that I am not living the truth of who He is, my "daily need" petitions are not nearly so important as I thought they were.  In this passage, the servants don't get to ask the King why they are doing this, they just obey. Maybe this explains why I was uncertain after I wrote this last year. Blessings, Jeff Converge on God - if the invited guests were the Jews, then the guests who were invited in their place are we Gentiles. Indi...

 Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ, Remember, Moses is writing a history of God's chosen people before they were named Israel.  While this may have been based on oral history, the Holy Spirit was at work inspiring these words.  I am always amazed at the immediacy of obedience.  Abraham had the dream and then rose early in the morning to obey.  All about faith. Blessings, Jeff nâsâ; a primitive root; to test; by implication, to attempt: — adventure, assay, prove, tempt, try. šâḥâ; a primitive root; to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God): — bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship. Abraham says worship, not sacrifice.  Even though God had said burnt offering and Isaac asked about lamb for offering.  This is the work that completed Abraham's faith according to James.  If  he was still in Adam, he would have refused ...

 Good morning fellow saints in Christ, Just a reminder that Ezra and Nehemiah are the last historical books in the Old Testament and Genesis is the first historical book.  This can be a little confusing.  In this passage, the exiles are promising to obey the law and a festival that they know about but which we have not yet read about. Blessings, Jeff The upkeep of the house of the Lord is the highest priority. The firstfruits, the best of what the land produced.  As it is written in the Law.  Committed to do what their ancestors had failed to do. Obeying the Mosaic law was the key to not committing idolatry.  They apparently knew that idolatry was the downfall of their ancestors. Take positive steps, not renouncing the negative.  To avoid treasures on earth, lay up treasures in heaven.  Thanksgiving  -  100 years after initial return, there were people focused and committed to keeping the Law of Moses at least as it applied to firstfruit...

8 hours with the twins and small group and somehow I forgot to do my post. 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 practical theology keeps His saints stay out of complicated moral situ...

 Good morning friends, 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 they needed or wanted.  Attentive to the Book of the Law and nothing els...

 Good morning fellow workers, 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, identifying Jesus as the Messiah would be meaningless. Yet he doesn...

 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...

 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 o...

 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 b...

 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 im...

 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 le...

 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 ...

 Good morning beloved brothers and sisters, 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 this ongoing offering as part of consecration of priests. A twice d...

  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 sh...

 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...

 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 act...

 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 h...

 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 ...

 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 ...

 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 ...

 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. Xerx...

 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 eit...