~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Zechariah 2:1-3:10 ~ Revelation 12:18-13:18
Psalm 141:1-10 ~ Proverbs 30:18-20
I'm a bit short on time this week... images will be back next week! :)
Old Testament - Today in Zechariah we read about the future prosperity of Jerusalem, the Exiles being called home, and cleansing for the high priest. Chapter 2, verses 4 & 5 stood out to me in today's readings - ""Hurry, and say to that young man, `Jerusalem will someday be so full of people that it won't have room enough for everyone! Many will live outside the city walls, with all their livestock--and yet they will be safe. For I, myself, will be a wall of fire around Jerusalem, says the LORD. And I will be the glory inside the city!'" My mind took me to the thought of the holy heavenly Jerusalem being chocked full of people who love God! And a wall of fire - holy protection - surrounding everyone in a heavenly Jerusalem and providing safety. And God's glory reigning eternally... I don't think this is quite proper exegesis on this passage... :) but I like the thought!
Chapter 1 verse 13 also jumped out at me during this Christmas season - "Be silent before the LORD, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling."" I think sometimes we get so busy during the Christmas season that we forget to be silent and to be still. We can just go, go, go - rush, rush rush - and maybe miss the true meaning of Christmas? Don't forget the song, "Silent Night, Holy Night...." Can you find time and space to be silent before the Lord this Christmas? And time and space to reflect upon what the coming of the baby in the manger means to you?
Chapter 3 verses 8 & 9 were also beautiful for me today in this Christmas season as we think about the birth of Jesus - "Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of the good things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the LORD Almighty, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day." Are you looking forward to the coming of the Branch? What does the Branch symbolize to you? Verse 9 above also looks beyond Christmas and toward Good Friday - How were our sins removed in a single day? Do you believe that your sins were removed by Jesus on the cross on that single day?
And chapter 3 verse 10 also works well in this Christmas season! :) "And on that day, says the LORD Almighty, each of you will invite your neighbor into your home to share your peace and prosperity." Will you have an opportunity over this next couple of weeks to invite someone into your home to share in your peace and prosperity? Or, if not, can you find an opportunity to go out and share your peace and prosperity with others? Maybe volunteer at a place that has neighbors that really need your peace and prosperity this Christmas season?
New Testament - Okay, I know I'm doing some serious hermeneutics stretching above today in the Zechariah readings... I'll try to get back to some exegesis here in Revelation chapter 13! Today we read about the beast that comes out of the sea and the beast that comes out of the earth. This is a pretty intense chapter that ends in the infamous number of the beast, 666. One thing I learned from reading Tyndale's One Year Bible Companion book today is that the 3 sixes could represent the unholy trinity of Satan - which is comprised of Satan, the first beast, and the false prophet coming up in Revelation chapter 13. Also, the number 666 was probably applied to the emperor Nero, whose Greek letters in his name represent numbers that total 666, by John's 1st century readers. The other way to look at this number is that each of the numbers fall short of the holy numbering of 777 - which represents complete perfection.
In verse 1 we read - "And written on each head were names that blasphemed God." Back in the Roman empire many emperors assumed titles of deity and require worship of them, which would obviously be blasphemous to God. An example was the emperor Domitian (AD 51-96) required people to address him as Dominus et Deus, which means "our lord and our god".
Verses 13 - 15 should be warning to us to not fall for false signs and wonders that do not come from God... as we read about the beast from the earth - "He did astounding miracles, such as making fire flash down to earth from heaven while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people of the world to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die."
The danger of these above verses can best be demonstrated by Deuteronomy chapter 13 verses 1 through 4 - "If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him."
How do these 2 sets of verses - from Revelation and Deuteronomy - speak to you? Are there possibly even false signs and wonders and false idols in our world today which draw our attention away from loving God with all of our heart and soul? Will you hold fast to God?
Psalms - Psalm 141 is a beautiful prayer of David's - praying for deliverance from the wicked and their ways. Verse 4 is powerful - "Don't let me lust for evil things; don't let me participate in acts of wickedness. Don't let me share in the delicacies of those who do evil." Is this a prayer you could incorporate into your prayer life? What might be some examples of "delicacies of those who do evil"? Will you pray to God to avoid these "delicacies"?
Proverbs 30 verse 19 - "how an eagle glides through the sky," is a great reminder of God's creativity and how it is exhibited in nature!
What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up in the Comments section below!
Grace,
Mike
Psalm 141:5 "Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; It is oil upon the head; Do not let my head refuse it"
I was thinking about the life church. Do we want people to lovingly correct us like David did? David wanted others to help him. He didn't avoid help, or even merely accept it, he wanted it and invited it. Is our relationship with Jesus so important to us that we're prepared to make ourselves vulnerable to others?
http://www.madetopraisehim.com/item/256
Posted by: Mark | December 22, 2005 at 01:12 AM
Psalm 141 (NKJV)
2
Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4
Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5
Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it.
~~~
Today, I am thinking of HOW TO DO WHAT THESE VERSES SAY – OBEY from the heart and in action. HOW TO DO IT relates directly to the CHRIST-mas message.
Hebrews 2 (Amplified)
14
Since, therefore, [these His] children share in flesh and blood [in the physical nature of human beings], He [Himself] in a similar manner partook of the same [nature], that by [going through] death He might bring to nought and make of no effect him who had the power of death--that is, the devil--
15
And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the [haunting] fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives.
16
For, as we all know, He [Christ] did not take hold of angels [the fallen angels, to give them a helping and delivering hand], but He did take hold of [the fallen] descendants of Abraham [to reach out to them a helping and delivering hand].
17
So it is evident that it was essential that He be made like His brethren in every respect, in order that He might become a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful High Priest in the things related to God, to make atonement and propitiation for the people's sins.
18
For because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering].
Romans 8 (Amplified)
2
For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.
3
For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],
MY NOTE:
Jesus was not born through Joseph having sex with Mary resulting his sperm impregnating her. Rather, the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, and Jesus was born the Son of God.
Thus, in Mary’s womb, He was able to take on true humanity (humanity originally created without sin).
The flow God’s Wisdom and Logic never ceases to amaze me from this point on:
1. Jesus is fully human (yet without sin) while retaining His identity as being fully God. Mary’s womb was the, as it were, “holding area” of the body of Jesus as it was formed inside of her.
2. Because Jesus was fully human, through fierce determination of His will and dependence on the Father, Jesus “condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power]”. Thus, Jesus overcame sin and the devil through His daily life.
3. At Jesus’ death—because He was without sin—His body was the vehicle used to bear my sin.
4. When Jesus rose from the dead, He had totally sin, every consequence of sin, death, and the grave. His body now becomes the vehicle for His life to be transmitted to me.
Of course, I have to understand the following basic ideas and receive Jesus as Lord by faith.
A. identification and incarnation (Jesus identified with me by becoming human
B. Substitution (Jesus, in His body, took on God’s wrath for my sin)
C. Replacement (Jesus, in His body, gives me God’s love to replace my sin
Isn’t that amazing?
Vance
Posted by: Vance Brown | December 22, 2005 at 06:42 AM
Trivia question:
Any significance or relationship to "Mary had a little lamb, His fleece was white as snow"?
Thought just came to mind yesterday.
Posted by: Adrien Landry | December 22, 2005 at 06:58 AM
Luke 2:9-12 NIV
9. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, 10. but the angel reassured them. Don't be afraid! he said. I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! 11. The Savior-yes the Messiah, the Lord-has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12. And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manager wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!
My thoughts:
I prefer the King James version best when reading the Christmas story, it is as follows:
9. And, lo the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10. And the angel said uont them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clohtes lying in a manger.
My thoughts: Which ever translation you prefer just remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. I would like to wish all my fellow bloggers, and especially Mike our Blog host, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and blessed New Year
Posted by: Laura Jones | December 22, 2005 at 12:55 PM
To Adrien,
Interesting thought, especially when you read the final verse about love.
But, from below apparently there was no religious meaning intended:
Mary had a little lamb
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Mary had a little lamb is a popular nursery rhyme. Here it is in its entirety:
Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day
school one day, school one day,
It followed her to school one day, which was against the rules.
It made the children laugh and play,
laugh and play, laugh and play,
it made the children laugh and play to see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher turned it out,
turned it out, turned it out,
And so the teacher turned it out, but still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
patiently about, patiently about,
And waited patiently about till Mary did appear.
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
Love Mary so? Love Mary so?
"Why does the lamb love Mary so," the eager children cry.
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
The lamb, you know, the lamb, you know,
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know," the teacher did reply.
It was first published as a poem by Sarah Hale on May 24, 1830, prompted by the incident described below.
As a girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mrs. Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb, which she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother. A commotion naturally ensued. Mary recalled:
"Visiting school that morning was a young man by the name of John Roulstone, a nephew of the Reverend Lemuel Capen, who was then settled in Sterling. It was the custom then for students to prepare for college with ministers, and for this purpose Mr. Roulstone was studying with his uncle. The young man was very much pleased with the incident of the lamb; and the next day he rode across the fields on horseback to the little old schoolhouse and handed me a slip of paper which had written upon it the three original stanzas of the poem…" (The Story of Mary’s Little Lamb, Dearborn, 1928, p. 8).
There are two competing theories on the origin of this poem. One holds that Roulstone wrote the first twelve lines and that the final twelve lines, more moralistic and much less childlike than the first, were composed by Sarah Hale; the other is that Hale was responsible for the entire poem.
Thomas Edison recited the first stanza of this poem in testing his invention of the phonograph in 1877, making this the first audio recording to be successfully made and played back. In 1923, Henry Ford moved a building to the grounds of the Wayside Inn from Sterling, Massachusetts, which he believed was the original schoolhouse mentioned in this poem. Paul McCartney and Wings released a version of the song, with a new melody by McCartney, as a single in 1972. Nu-Metal band KoRn also included a part of this rhyme in their song Shoots and Ladders. In their live shows, they often attach the part of the song which contains this rhyme with Metallica's One's crescendo.
The rhyme has gained a rather darker meaning in recent science fiction as an archetypal mantra against telepathy, featured in at least Babylon 5 and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri— focusing on it helps shield other thoughts from intrusion.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_had_a_little_lamb"
Posted by: Jeff | December 23, 2005 at 05:16 AM