February 26th readings

~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Leviticus 19:1-20:21 ~ Mark 8:11-38
Psalm 42:1-11 ~ Proverbs 10:17

Old Testament - Today in Leviticus chapter 19 we read about holiness!  What a tiny but powerful little word - holy.  This chapter is of interest to me in that I continue to struggle with the call to holiness in my life.  I understand grace.  I get grace.  I'm good at receiving grace...  :)  But holiness?  Well, that's a bit trickier for me personally.  I guess where I am at these days in my walk with the Lord is really trying to balance grace and holiness.  I know we are saved through grace, not works - but, I also believe there is a call to holiness in our lives once we have received that gift of grace.   You know I love Bob Deffinbaugh's writings over at bible.org.  I think Bob's writings on Leviticus chapter 19 titled "How to Spell Holy" at this link is up there with some of his best stuff.  Please check out this link, and make sure you scroll down to read about Bob's take on "perversions of holiness" - 1. stained glass holiness 2. positional holiness 3. equating holiness with the miraculous 4. isolational holiness 5. holiness by redefinition.  Great stuff!

You'll notice lately that I've been punting over to Bob on many of the Leviticus chapters.   I'm honestly not finding as much time as I'd like to spend on study & prep as I'd like lately. But, I also think Bob's writings on Leviticus are powerful - and so here he is on Leviticus chapter 20 at this link.  Actually, one quick cool note on Leviticus 19:18 - "Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."  Jesus quoted the underlined portion of this Leviticus verse as we see in Matthew 22:36-40 - ""Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" Jesus replied, " `You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

New Testament - The last few verses in Mark's readings today are some of the most powerful verses that each of us should really reflect upon in our lives today.  I wish I reflected on these verses more often.  Check out chapter 8 verses 34 through 38 and spend a few moments really reflecting on these verses and on how they speak to how you are living your life today - "Then Jesus called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. "If any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, "you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul? If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels."

These are incredible verses above!  I think the first obvious question these verses open up to us is simply this - do you want to be a follower of Jesus?   If the answer is yes, then the instructions that follow are simple and yet not always so easy in our fallen world:  1.  give up your own selfish ambition.  2. shoulder your cross.  3.  follow Jesus.  How are you doing on these 3 points in your life today?   And what a profound truth there is in that we will find true life if we give up our life for Jesus - the Good News.  I actually have been thinking about this point quite a bit lately.  And my thoughts have revolved around "my identity" - and where I get my identity from.  I think so often I get my identity from my work or my ministry or my friends or my social life - the problem in all of this is that you'll keep seeing the word "my" in my identity.  And I'm realizing more and more that my identity should be in Jesus alone.  Jesus should be the identity.  The reality.  I think that I am really searching for true life in all the wrong places - in my work, in my friends, etc.  And true true life is really only found in one place - Jesus.  How about you?  What is providing your identity in your life today?  Do you think it is possible that your identity could simply be found in Jesus?  Do you want this to be the case?   I think each of us will do well to not be ashamed of Jesus and the Good News in these adulterous and sinful days...  Below is an interesting diagram showing Christian levels of commitment, suggesting that verses Mark 8:34-38 are the "conviction" stage highlighted below.  Which stage of commitment do you think you are at today?

Psalms - Today we read Psalm 42 verse 1, which is one of my favorite verses in the Bible! "As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God."  That is so right on.  Lately these days I have been longing for God more than ever - and I love that.  I am thankful for that.  There have been seasons in my life - which can certainly be called "dry" seasons - where I have not longed for God.  Where I have not longed for the true Living Water.  I just love the picture this Psalm verse paints in my mind - a deer in the wilderness is fleeing from hunters.  It is literally dying of thirst as it runs.  It is tired.  It is weary.  It is running from death.  And it needs water.  It pants for streams of water.  Like this deer, I pray that I long for God in the same way.  As I flee from sin.  As I am tired.  As I am weary.  As I run from death.  I need God.  I long for God.   How about you?  Do you long for God these days as a deer longs for water?  Are you consistently drinking from the true Living Water?

Proverbs - Proverbs 10 verse 17 is a wonderful reminder to allow God to change us, transform us and correct us along the Way - "People who accept correction are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore it will lead others astray."  The second part of that Proverb is powerful too - if we don't accept correction, we'll not only be off the pathway, but we will be leading others astray too...  that's a scary thought.  If you don't accept correction, you'll be bringing others down with you!  (image below courtesy of and copyright held by Heartlight Magazine - heartlight.org)

Comments from You & Question of the Day - Based on Proverbs 10:17 today, do you accept correction in your life?  Do you accept correction from God?  Do you accept correction from others in your life?  Do you think that if you don't accept correction in your life that you will lead others astray?  Can you think of an instance in your life where you ignored correction and it ended up being bad for not only you, but others around you?  Can you think of an instance in your life where you heeded correction and it ended up being good for not only you, but others around you?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

Grace,
Mike

Comments

[Luciano Del Monte (Luch)]

I loved Leviticus 19:32 "Show your fear of God by standing up in the presence of elderly people and showing respect for the aged. I am the LORD." The point is that a mark of genuine holiness beyond just the 'practices/disciplines' of holiness is to respect the elderly, to treat them in a 'godly' way. To not see them as an interruption to our lives but to see them as people who really matter to God. One of my sons works in a home for 'seniors' and he gets to be "Jesus" to these people who sometime think the world has forgotten them.
Two of the best books on HOliness that i have read are The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges (Navpress) and R.C. sproul's The Holiness of God. These two very helpful 'classics' are readable to every generation.

[John]

Satan

Since Satan is mentioned in Mark 8:33 I thought I would bring up a few things.

From the "Barna Group"
"Six out of ten Americans (59%) reject the existence of Satan, indicating that the devil, or Satan, is merely a symbol of evil. Catholics are much more likely than Protestants to hold this view - 75% compared to 55% - although a majority of both groups concur that Satan is symbolic."
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=122

In Mark 8:33 I will grant that it can be argued that Satan is a real entity or that the concept is one of a "nebulous evil force". I will also grant that nationally I am in the minority in my view of Satan as a "real entity". It always seems strange to me when a person believes in God, and angels, yet Satan isn't real.

As an unbeliever, I tried to prove the Bible wrong, and after quite a bit of time, I couldn't prove my hypothesis. I understand that people have different views of the Bible and that some will spiritualize, allegorize, metaphorize, etc. the Bible. I believe the Bible is straightforward, and when I disagree with such a person mentioned above: The only point I want to make is that while we may disagree about interpretation, let us be real clear on what the Bible "says" on the issue.

So what does the bible say on "Satan".

Old Testament

Satan is mentioned in Genesis, Job, and Zechariah. There is controversy over Genesis and I admit that different views on Satan can be argued in Genesis. So for now I would like to mention Job and Zechariah.

In Chapter of Job:

Let us play the analogy game -
"God is real", "Job is real", and "Satan is "______".

"Classical Torah scholarship has not doubted Job's existence."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_(person)

Christians that believe Job is real cite:
Ezek 14:14, 14:20 and James 5:11.

In Zech 3:

"the angel of the Lord is real", "Joshua is real", "Satan is "______".

As stated before, I believe references in O.T. to THE angel of the Lord represent Christ. I would submit vs.4 as proof (at least in this instance).

Zech 3:4
"...Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you."

Joshua here in Zech. has been referring to the High Priest in place in Jerusalem after the return from Babylonian Captivity. A real person.

Even if the chapter is a "good vs. evil" story, and I think it is such a story. Where Angel represents Good, Joshua represents Israel, and Satan represents Evil. IMO the characters that represent these roles are all "real".

Enough for now, I will tackle some New Testament passages later today.

If this is interesting to you, or you have been struggling with your understanding of Satan, I would suggest perusing through these two links.

http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/109

http://www.apologeticspress.org/modules.php?name=Read&cat=1&itemid=112

[chilipepperkaren]

Not many comments today! I would just emphasize that He said, 'I am the Lord, I am God.' I think we would do well to listen to Him.

[John]

Satan

New Testament

While there are quite a few places in N.T. that Satan can be regarded as an "entity" or as evil that is just a "nebulous force", the important thing is that it could be considered either one.

So where does it seem clear that it can only be one of those choices.

"...consider the emphasis on Satan within the whole of the Sacred Text, the importance placed on the fact of his existence by both biblical writers and the Son of God Himself, and the critical role he has played in the necessity of God’s great plan of salvation for mankind."
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/109

Matt 12:26
"If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?"

How does a nebulous force cast out a nebulous force? Notice himself (Gk. Heautou)is a personal pronoun - not "itself".

Luke 22:31
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat."

How does a nebulous force ask or better translated "demand" anything?

1John 3:8
"He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning..."

How does a nebulous force sin? It is evil and just IS. Sinning is an action taken by an entity, not some passive state of being in the wrong.

Matt 13:39
"and the enemy who sows them is the devil...."

Jesus is explaining the parable. He is explaining what the symbolism represents - the real person or thing.

Good place to stop. With a clear example by our Savior.

I realize that these examples and many others will not change the minds of those who believe Evil is a nebulous force. But for those of you who haven't made up your mind, are not sure, or are new to Chrisitianity; I implore you, do not believe me,nor an article I post, nor a liberal theologian, nor spiritual books. Instead:

Go to the primary source. Go to the "Word" and do a word study on Satan, Devil, evil one, tempter, etc. Pray about what you read, reflect on it, and make up your own minds.

What does the Bible say, not how it applies in your life or based on pre-conceived notions.

John, if you present all these arguments about satan and in the end you say, "I implore you, do not believe me..." sounds so contradictory isn't it?
Reading your postings obvivously looks that you're trying to convince people but thought you weren't convincing anyway?

[John]

Anonymous,

I have no idea if I was convincing or not regarding my post on Satan :).

I am thouroughly convinced that Satan is a "REAL ENTITY", but in the end it does not matter what I think.

The purpose of the post was to get people to think, and explore the issue on their own.

I think too many times Christians get enamored with a book, an article, or a persuasive person's argument on a theological point (issue, doctrine, etc.). They subsequently just adopt that point without really thinking about it, praying about it, or consulting the "Word" about it. That is the same as the "house built on sand" from Matthew's gospel.

What I was imploring was not to believe written or spoken versions on either side of the issue: "real entity" vs. nebulous force". Conservative or Liberal.

By extension, the imploring continues down to:
"Go to the primary source. Go to the "Word" and do a word study on Satan, Devil, evil one, tempter, etc. Pray about what you read, reflect on it, and make up your own minds."

I listed four verses in the New Testament, there are many more to look at and consider.

Build your "house on a bedrock" of study, prayer , and reflection - that ONE does on his or her own.

[BTW think of this decision matrix:
"If you beleive the Devil is a "real entity" and you are right, you can be prepeared for spiritual warfare."

"If you are wrong, it ends up being a non-event."

If you believe Satan just represents a "nebulous force", and you are right - then you can just go thru life knowing that evil just "is", and it may or may not touch you.

If you are wrong, you will be woefully unprepared for spiritual warfare and the resultant attacks on your faith. Your testimony will be a shambles, and real harm may come to you, yours, and your church.]