Leviticus - How to read Leviticus

Just about at the start of reading Leviticus.  Here is a link to a most useful and readable post.  I would go as far as to say for Leviticus novices this is a must-read.  I have copied the content which you can either read here or go straight to the original blog.

Ten Ways to Help You Read Leviticus

What is the Bible about?

Well, if you are reading through the Bible this year, during the month of February, the Bible is all about food laws, leprosy inspections, and instructions about bodily discharges.  Exciting stuff!

For twenty-first century readers, understanding the significance of Leviticus, the book of the Bible where these things are found, can be difficult.  In fact, I am sure the book of Leviticus has been the rocky coast on which many Bible-reading plans have crashed.  Nevertheless, the book plays an important role in the life of the Christian, even as it played an important role in the lives of Ancient Israelites.  Granted, we live in a different redemptive era (post-Incarnation/Crucifixion/Resurrection/Ascension/Pentecost), but the truth is, to understand any of these NT events requires a general familiarity with the Levitical laws.

So, with the aim of reading the Bible better, I want to suggest 10 things to keep in mind as you read Leviticus, 10 things that you may find helpful as you make your way through the Bible in 2010.

1. Pray.  Ask God to help you understand his Word.  The same Holy Spirit who dwells in you, if you are a believer, inspired these words.  He will guide you into all truth, just the Bible promises (John 16:13; 1 John 2:27).  He illumines our eyes and he bears witness to Christ and he will show you how Leviticus points to Jesus, if you will ask him (and then read).
2. Remember that this is God’s word.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful.  The truth about Leviticus is:  IT IS USEFUL.  You just have to sort out how.  While it is true that not all sections of the Bible carry the same kind of “devotional punch”"–compare Leviticus 1-7 with Isaiah 53–every word is inspired by God and necessary to complete his perfect revelation.  Moreover, every word carries precious truth that believers need, which leads to our next point.
3. Recall that all Scripture is inter-connected.  Thus, a passage like Isaiah 53 with it address of sin, its sacrificial imagery and intercessory prayer requires the background that Leviticus provides.  Without Leviticus, Isaiah 53 is almost unintelligible.  In the NT, Leviticus is sixth on the list of books quoted by NT authors.  Excise Leviticus from the Bible, or your Bible reading, and it is impossible to understand what Jesus is saying when the Greatest Commandment includes loving your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18).  See also Rom 10:5′s use of Lev. 18:5, and 1 Peter 1:16 quotation of Leviticus 19:2).  Practically speaking, if reading Leviticus fails to stir your soul, read a chapter or two and then turn to Hebrews to see the fulfillment of Leviticus in Christ. 
4. Recognize the symbolism.  The book of Leviticus is filled with symbolism.  God’s OT instructions are physical, tangible, and visible means of introducing himself to his people.  These sacrifices picture the kind of penalty sin requires, just as they demonstrate the kind of love that God has in providing a means of atonement and reconciliation.  In other words, read Leviticus typologically, looking for the types that find their antitype (i.e. fulfillment) in Jesus.
5. Read with Christ in view. Many if not most of these symbols prefigure the life and death of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, the law that Christ fulfills, the cross on which Jesus bleeds, and the Spirit that he pours out at Pentecost all find significant explanation in Leviticus.  If you want to know more about the gospel, the laws of Leviticus are a good instructor.
6. Look for themes.  There are tremendous gospel themes running through Leviticus.  Take out a pen or a colored pencil (if you are into that) and mark up the places where these themes irrupt.  Tomorrow I will list a number of helpful themes to pick up, but for now look for things ‘atonement,’ ‘blood,’ ‘holiness,’ the work of the ‘priest.’  By keeping your eyes open (figuratively) looking for themes, it will help you keep your eyes open (literally) when you read through this unfamiliar book.
7. Look for purpose statements.  For instance, Leviticus 15:31 concludes a long section on cleanliness laws saying, “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”  Here Moses records the YHWH’s reason for the meticulous laws about bodily discharges and other matters of cleanliness.  By noticing these purpose statements, you can discern why God requires Israel to do all these things.  (See also Leviticus 9:6, 22-24; 11:46-47).
8. Read with imagination.  As you read about the sacrifices, imagine what that must have looked like, sounded like, smelled like.  Our worship services today are very, very sanitary.  Even the food we eat at the Lord’s Supper is package so that we do not stain the carpets or our clothes.  This is entirely different from the OT>  In in the OT, without blood stains, the people would have perished.  So read with imagination as you encounter the elaborate descriptions. 
9. Read with others.  Talk about what you are reading with others in your church.  Ask your pastor or Sunday School teacher to teach through the Bible.  Look for ways to walk through the Bible together.  Reading the Bible is personal, but it should never be private.  Recruit others to read with you.
10. Invest in a Study Bible.  As you read Leviticus or any other book of the Bible, you will inevitably have questions.  Or at least, you should.  Is the leprosy described in Leviticus the same as today’s leprosy? (No).  Why is it always a male animal that is sacrificed?  My personal suggestion is the ESV Study Bible.   That is what I read, and it has many, many helps for discerning the historical and cultural significance of what I am reading.
11. Read in small doses and with other books of the Bible.  Okay, so I said ten, but here is one more.  Like the Big Ten which has eleven schools, so our list includes an extra idea for those who still struggle.  If all else fails, read Leviticus in small doses, maybe even in smaller doses than your Bible reading plan suggests.  If it takes 13 months to read the Bible, that’s okay.  The point is that you are enriched by God’s life-giving word.  Even if you have to treat Leviticus like eating vegetables–mixing it in with other foods or in small portions–the point is that you take God at his word and benefits from this book, because at the end of the day it will help you know and love Jesus Christ more for the high priest that he is and the sacrfice that he made.

These are just a few suggestions to aid your reading of this important book.  I hope you see that the gospel of Jesus Christ depends on our understanding of God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, the need of sacrifice and atonement, and the work of a life-giving high priest; and that no book is better to teach you about these things than Leviticus. 

If you have other suggestions on reading this book, please do share.

God's Presence - Bible Study over a few weeks with Rachel

Monday 24 February 2014 - with Rachel!
Ps 119:18  Open my eyes that I may see
    wonderful things in your law.


What is David’s hope and satisfaction in Psalm 17:15?
 Psalm 17:15  David’s hope is that the righteous  will see God’s face and find satisfaction there.

Who will see God’s face according to Psalm 11:7?
• Psalm 11:7 - only the upright will see God’s face.
What is our expectation in 1 John 3:2
•  1 John 3: 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

JESUS IS THE VERY IMAGE OF GOD.

Jesus is the very image of the Father, of the invisible God - anyone who has seen Jesus has seen God.

• Jesus is the very image of the Father.  John 10:30:  I and the Father are one.” 
• 2 Corinthians 4:4, 6 ….to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
• Colossians 1:15 “…. The Son is the image of the invisible God”. 
• John 14:9 Jesus replied, “Don’t you even yet know who I am, Philip, even after all this time I have been with you? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see him?
• 2 Corinthians 4:6: ‘….. the brightness of his glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 1:1-3 1 In the past God spoketo our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 

3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

How do these verses tie up with John 6:46
“Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.
and 1 Timothy 1:17; Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

SEEING BY FAITH: Seeing God by faith and endurance in suffering 

Moses refused the riches of Egypt as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter because “he endured as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27).

Job 42:5;  My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.

WHO ELSE HAS SEEN THE LORD  

1a) Eye-witnesses - 1 John 1 and John 1 and many many others

1) Saul/Paul
2) Isaiah 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. -
3) Stephen Acts 7: 55,56 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, 

“Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” - 

4) John

WHAT DOES JESUS LOOK LIKE
Revelation 1:  John’s Vision of Christ 9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, 

was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches…..
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 

13 and among the lampstandswas someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 

14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 

15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.17 When I saw him, 

I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on meand said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 

18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

GOD’S TABLE AND GOD’S HOUSE
Psalm 23:5,6
TO SIT AT GOD’S TABLE IN GOD’S HOUSE
Question:  what is wonderful about sitting around a table with friends or family?
Communion, fellowship, enjoying their hospitality, to be in God’s presence to have access to Him. to share our hearts with Him.

WHAT IS IT LIKE AROUND GOD’S TABLE AND IN GOD’S HOUSE?

The temple is a place of feasting on God’s abundance. liberal hospitality  (Psalm 36:7-8)
God’s table is where God’s people are treated with great honour and care (Psalm 23;5,6)
At God’s table, in Psalm 23:5,6  a spread or set table, anointed heads, overflowing cups, a divine welcoming host.
Psalm 23 -our Host lavishes on his guests honour, lovingkindness , abundant goodness and protective care.
Is dwelling in God’s House a short-lived joy?  Last verses of Psalm 23
Psalm 27:4: “One  thing I ask of the lORD this is what I seek that I may dwell in the House of the Lord  all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.”
Where Yahweh dwells there His light shines. and illuminates everything (Psalm 26:8)
In God’s house we can ask guidance of Him (Psalm 27:4)
Honor and majesty are [found] in His presence; strength and joy are [found] in His sanctuary. ~ 1 Chronicles 16: 27(AMP)
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16: 11

God shows Himself to be a fortress in Zion (Psalm 48:1-3)

Great is the Lord,and most worthy of praise,
    in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
    the city of the Great King.
3 God is in her citadels;
    he has shown himself to be her fortress.

Psalm 89:15 Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. 
They walk in the light of your presence o LORD.

WHAT DOES THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT MEAN?
 2 Corinthians 13:14

FALSE TEACHING ABOUT GOD’S PRESENCE

1) God’s presence in the Eucharist
2) The Practice of Centering Prayer

1a)  Choose a sacred word of one or two syllables which symbolizes your intention to open and to surrender to the presence of God within. (The word could be Jesus, Yahweh, Abba, Spirit, Peace, Silence, etc.).

b). Sit comfortably, with eyes closed. Silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to the pres­ence and action of God within. (You need not repeat it continually; it may fade out, become vague or disappear).

c)   If you are caught up in any thought, feeling or perception, very gently release it, and return to the sacred word.

d) At the end of the prayer time, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes, before resuming activity.You will probably be aware of a con­tinual stream of thoughts and images. 

This is not an obstacle to centering prayer. Make no attempt to repress them. Just keep letting them go, and rest in the presence of God, by returning ever so gently to the sacred word. 

Before you decide if centering prayer is working for you, commit yourself to do it for at least twenty minutes, twice a day, for a month. Contemplative grace is very subtle, 

and you may not perceive what is happening during the time of prayer.

OTHER FALSE TEACHINGS ABOUT THE PRESENCE OF GOD

1)Sometimes His Presence is like waves of warm electrical pulses moving up and down one’s body.  These can sweep over in gentle waves like soft tender kisses.  

Or they can strongly move in one strong download.  I have felt them most often during corporate worship where many people and angels are gathered together singing.  

My heart becomes so melted and open when He ministers to me with His waves. 

 

2) I have also experienced strong downloads of His Presence in prayer rooms where many are gathered and all praying in tongues at the same time.  It is an awesome experience, almost like walking into pure, raw power.

3)RADIANT HEAT Sometimes His Presence is felt in heat.  It is like having a hot flash over a particular part of one’s body, or whole body.  

 know of a fellow who whenever he worships, he feels heat against his face, as though he is standing in front of a radiant heater.  

Gifts of healing often manifest in heat waves or on the body part that is being healed.

4}TREMBLING I have often experienced the Presence of the Lord through trembling.  A sudden weakness hits my body and I begin to quiver.  If His Presence is stronger, I tremble.  

If it is strongest, I radically shake.  I can remember one time after a wonderful worship service, I saw a vision of a huge tuning fork.  

I felt my body gently pulsating in vibrations deep inside.  Immediately the pastor came to the pulpit and said he was feeling gentle vibrations inside of him.  Many experienced this.  

In our worship, we can become tuned, aligned and one with His beautiful Presence. 

http://www.thequickenedword.info/classes/WhereGodSpeaks/Touch/LessonTouchPresence.htm

GOD WANTS TO DWELL WITH HIS PEOPLE
Exodus 25 and 29 -
God could live amongst the galaxies but He chooses to live with His people in a tent - the best tent on the campsite.  (Tabernacle)
Here is God’s good news to us:  God wants to draw near to us and live amongst us.
• Exodus 25: 8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
• Exodus 29:44,45  “So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar …..45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
• Exodus 29:46 They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.”


3) GOD’S PRESENCE IN CHRISTIANS INDIVIDUALLY AND IN THE CHURCH:

 1 Corinthians 3:16 “16 Don’t you (plural) know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” • Do we think of our church as a place where we all are the dwelling place of God? 
• When we go to church do we expect to find God present among us all in a way we cannot experience by ourselves? 
• Where two or three gather together in Christ’s Name there is God with them! 
• Do I long  to experience God’s presence with His people? 


HOW PRIZED IS GOD’S PRESENCE BY US?
Ponder…

Do we draw near to God as if it’s no big deal?  Is Christ a yawn?
Do we realise God’s presence is indispensable? 
Is His indwelling  presence my heart’s biggest desire? 
Do I reckon I can make it without God and do I feel okay about being estranged from Him?
Is my sin hiding God’s face from me and do I miss His presence?
Do I love spending time with my God?
Maybe I don’t want to lose touch with God all together but at the same time, I don’t want Him too close. 

WHAT COULD BE OUR LOT IF WE KEEP OUR DISTANCE FROM GOD?

Who knows what may happen.  He may surprise us by His mercy and pursue us by His grace, giving His life to us while we are still ungodly.  

"Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." (1:3).

But…. let us not be too at ease - He has the freedom to decide not to go any further with us. 
The day God decided enough’s enough and He hands us over to the things we run after, that is a day of His judgment on earth.  (Romans 1)

WAS GOD’S PRESENCE A YAWN TO MOSES

What strikes you in these verses?
Exodus 33:1-3 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.
But..... I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

The most devastating words God’s child can hear God say: “I will not go with you”.  Will see Moses’ plea for God’s presence a bit later.

TO BE ABANDONED BY GOD IS THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO US.

To be thrust out of His presence - go away from me I never knew you.

This reminds us of Jesus on His cross.
Could we ever start to grasp what Jesus endured  when He cried out “My God, my God why have you abandoned me?”
What is hell going to be like without God?
To be God-forsaken has to be the worst position in which to find ourselves. 

WHY CAN GOD’S PRESENCE BE DANGEROUS - See Exodus 33:3 - and discuss

Revelation 6:16 “……and cried to the mountains to crush them. “Fall on us,” they pleaded, “and hide us from the face of the one sitting on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb….”

DO WE FEAR GOD/ RESPECT/REVERE/STAND IN AWE OF GOD AND HIS PRESENCE?  WHY SHOULD WE?

The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. ~ Psalm 97: 5
The earth shook; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. ~ Psalm 68: 8 (Poetic and historical)
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.

"And all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." (Ezekiel 38:20).~ 

 The Lord God asked them, "Why will you not fear Me? Why will you not tremble in My presence?” (Jeremiah 5:22)

Psalm 114: 7

GOD CANNOT DWELL WITH SIN - THE GOSPEL! Exodus 33:3

Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, 

opened to us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God 

with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22 (NIV).

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE IN CHRIST?

HOW NEAR CAN WE GET TO GOD?
LET’S LOOK AT JESUS’ PRAYER IN THE UPPER ROOM
John 17: 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Question:  How does God’s presence in us and our unity as His children hang together?
Question;  What level of unity in the church is Jesus praying for here?
Let’s read Verse 24 again and just marvel at such grace and welcome and desire.


HOW SERIOUS WAS MOSES ABOUT DESIRING GOD’S PRESENCE?
Exodus 33:15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

Outside of my God’s presence, I have no hope - in His presence I leap like a calf! 
And I have strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!

ASSURANCE ABOUT GOD’S PRESENCE
Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
IN HEAVEN
•  Revelation 22:3,4  “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” 

HOW DO WE ENTER GOD’S PRESENCE IN PRAYER

1)  Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, 

opened to us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God 

with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” 

Hebrews 10:19-22 (NIV).Psalm 100:4 and 5

2)  Psalm 100 4,5 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

2)  Ps 95:2-7
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand

WHAT ARE THE EVIDENCES OF GOD’S PRESENCE WITH US

1)  1 John - ABIDE AND LOVE

2)  How we worship in church.   1 Corinthians 14:23 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, 

will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, 

they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. 

So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

CORAM DEO - This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, 

under the authority of God, to the glory of God.

To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. 

There is no place so remote that we can escape His  gaze. To live all of life coram Deo is to live a life of integrity. Not compartmentalizied life. Coram Deo,  It is a life that is open before God. 

It is a life in which all that is done is done as to the Lord. It is a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility before God, not defiance. 

It is a life lived under the tutelage of conscience that is held captive by the Word of God.

Coram Deo … before the face of God. 

Psalm 89:15 Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. 
They walk in the light of your presence o LORD.

WHAT IS THE PROMISE OF ISAIAH 41:10?

Isaiah 41:10
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I hope Rachel will sing Isaiah 41:10 for us?

• How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

• “Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

• “When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

• “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

• “The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, 

and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 

to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
~ Jude 1: 24-25

Sochi Winter Olympics closed.

How inspiring to watch the Sochi Winter Olympics 2014.  Not that I'm inspired to cut the air with ski's, or fly over mountains for myself.  But how amazing to see the talent, commitment, achievement and of what humans and the human body are capable of!

Mind you it would be absolutely phenomenal to slice through the air, to land on my feet after an
amazing combination of high-skill manoeuvres,  of being elegance itself in the figure ice-skating and feeling as light as a feather.

Things most of us can only dream of.

But imagine......we can see God's face....  Moses asked to see God's face, but only get to see it after his death on the mountain, age 120.  Then he asked to see God's glory and God.....proclaimed His Name to Moses, along the lines of His characteristics of being full of compassion and slow to anger etc.

We get to see God's glory....in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ!  The reason I bring this in here is to
realise afresh how phenomenal it is to look into the face of Christians' Saviour, Jesus!  As wonderful
as the Olympics in far-away Russia was, even more wonderful is the Jesus who dwells in me by faith.

Here are some of those Sochi pictures:

Why God can be trusted - Psalm 146

For various reasons, I could not make it to our Charlotte Chapel's Women's Brunch in Edinburgh City.  Disappointing!  But.....Rachel Sloan has put her talk on line, the coffee is still hot in the cup, and while it's in solidarity instead of with the buzz of Christian Women friends around, I can now sit back, read and take in.  Not a selfish read, but with the expectation, to be touched by the truths, to retain, apply and as opportunity knocks, walk through the door and share something about God's trustworthiness.

So you can either read Rachel's talk right here on my page or click and travel to hers.

Trust in the Lord

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord, my soul.

I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.  

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.  He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever.  He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.  The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.  

The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.  Praise the Lord.

Trust is something we do every day. Some things we trust pretty much unconsciously.  If you are sitting down reading this, I don’t imagine many of you agonised over whether the chair would hold you before you sat down.  You just did it and trusted it would hold you.  While other things are harder to trust in and we spend time thinking about whether we can trust them.  As Christians trusting in God can sometimes seem hard.   If we are feeling tired or low we might not feel him close to us so we wonder if we can trust him.  Or sometimes bad things happen in our lives, illness, a loved one dying and we wonder if we can continue to trust in God.  We can base our trust on our feelings or circumstances.  
But the writer of Psalm 146 reminds us that we can have a sure & certain hope in God. One not based on our feelings or circumstances but one based firmly on who God is.  He lays out three reasons for trusting in the LORD.  He can trust God because he is infinitely powerful, eternally faithful, boundlessly compassionate.  Let’s look at each one of those reasons in turn.  

We can firstly trust in the Lord, because he is infinitely powerful.  The psalmist uses the evidence of creation to illustrate God’s awesome power.  He is the God who said “Let there be…” and the whole planet came into being.  I want you to stop and really think about that.  With a word God created all that we see around us; a universe that contains over 350 billion galaxies, a planet that contains over 1 million different species of insect, a human body in which there is a substance as strong as granite.  That’s real power!  And that is the power we can have access to once we’ve trusted in God.

Secondly we trust in the Lord because he is eternally faithful.  We are told that God “remains faithful forever.”  Many of us have experienced the joy of faithfulness through good friendships or a marriage.  And at their best these only give us a small glimpse of the faithfulness of God.  He is more faith than we can imagine and because of his great faithfulness we can be confident that what God has promised, God will bring to pass.  Every promise he has given to each one of us, from the promise that nothing can separate us from his love, to His promise of an eternal life will be perfectly and completely kept.  We have complete and utter confidence he will never let us down.

Thirdly we trust in the Lord because he is boundlessly compassionate.  Verses seven to nine paint a beautiful picture of the compassion of God.  Let me read them again, “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.  The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow.”

Throughout the Old Testament we can see the Lord’s overwhelming compassion.  He continually helps those who cannot help themselves.  The story of the Israelite nation from Genesis through to Exodus shows us clearly the LORD’s compassion.  In the New Testament we see the LORD’s compassion perfectly personified in Jesus.  He fed the hungry, he opened the eyes of the blind, he made the lame walk and he caused the deaf to hear.  But in Jesus we see the Lord’s kindness in its fullest form; we see he isn’t just compassionate in meeting our physical needs.  No, his greatest act of compassion was his death on the cross.  Through the cross he defeated death and Satan and saved his people from the slavery to sin.  When we could not deliver ourselves, he stepped in and rescued us.

So when our feelings or circumstances tempt us to doubt whether we can trust God, we need to look again at his word and remind ourselves of the reasons why we can trust him.  And what are the consequences of trusting in this powerful, faithful, compassionate God?  Well firstly the Psalmist tells us we will be blessed.  We will be content and satisfied with life and full of deep joy despite our external circumstances.  The way the Psalm is topped and tailed shows us the second consequences of a heart that has placed its trust completely in the Lord.  The Psalm starts and finishes with ‘Praise the LORD’.  Therefore, the natural reaction of trust will be to praise God for all he has done.  This is not a one off moment of praise or a polite platitude sung unthinkingly during a service on a Sunday.  Instead it is a life of praise.  In verse 2 the psalmist declares his intention to praise the Lord as long as breath fills his lungs.  He is furiously determined to praise because of the truths that he knows about the LORD.  Charles Spurgeon sums the psalmist’s determination so succinctly by saying, “I shall not live forever.  This mortal life will find a finish in death; but while it lasts I will laud the Lord my God.  I cannot tell how long or short my life may be; but every hour of it shall be given in praises of my God.”

As we reflect again on the reasons why we can firmly place our trust in the LORD our God, let us pause and ask for his help for live this life shaped by praise.  

The Mosaic Law and our dilemma

Exodus 34:11 1 Obey what I command you today.

Question 1: How are we to relate to the moral law given at Mount Sinai? 

Question 2: What do we learn about the law Moses received from God on the Mount of Sinai when we read Romans 7:8-13?

Romans 7:8-13
8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 

9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 

10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 

11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 

12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

Question 3: What is the dilemma of trying to find God by obedience to all Ten Commandments - according to Romans 7:8-13?

The commandments bring sin to life and I’m found guilty!  

When the Law comes in, the knowledge of sin explodes.

I thought the Law would give me new life, but it showed me I am guilty. 

And because I’m guilty I cannot have peace with God!

Question 4:  Does that mean the Law is sinful?

Each one of the laws are good and holy and righteous.

The commandments were intended to bring life, but sin spoilt it.

Question 5: How does the Law help me to recognise my sin?

Apart from the specific law I only felt vaguely guilty and uneasy.

I did not know what sin is and what wrong desires are.  I didn’t know what the Law said I had to do. 

The Law showed me what sin is that it is utterly sinful.

The Law showed me how much I was sinning.  

Through the Ten Commandments, I found I had been breaking the law and I knew I was a sinner.

 Romans 3:20  “Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

Question 6: What is the great danger for those who try to secure our claim on God for eternal life by using the Law of commandments?

It’s impossible!
The Commandments show how bad we really are.
The Commandments cannot secure our sure standing before God - because we cannot keep them!

Let’s celebrate!!! 

Celebrate that God gives us Jesus’s righteousness  by grace through our receiving faith in Christ.Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 

Question 7: But what about our behaviour in our lives, in our families and  in this world?There is only one basis on which we can be saved and have peace with God and that is God’s own righteousness given to us and received by faith.

Question 8: But surely genuine faith must be proved and demonstrated by glad obedience.  How would you answer this?

Question 9: What is James’ answer?
James 2: 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

This is the faith God is looking for:

Our basis for confidence and assurance is the righteousness of Jesus Christ - and this is credited to us through faith alone.Our glad obedience is the result of our confidence in Jesus’ righteousness and gives our lives a whole new direction.

Question 9 What is the fight of faith?

Let every one of our sins and failures send us straight back to the cross of Jesus.

At our Saviour’s Cross we find forgiveness, new hope and power to put to death sin and walk in newness of life. 

PRAYERS
Oh that each one of our children and grandchildren may be a descendant of Abraham!  

May each one of our children put their trust in God through Jesus - so they inherit eternal life.

That God’s righteousness will be credited to their account. 

That they will trust Christ to cover their sins and to be God’s righteousness to them.

Guess Who? World Class Violinist and Olympic Skier?

How wonderful to both be a world-class violinist (in the first place)  AND  participating in the Winter Olympics 2014!

Here is a You Tube Link to Vanessa's world class violin-playing.

She arrived at these Olympics as Vanessa Mae, a classical violinist invited to dine with Vladimir Putin at the gala dinner on the eve of these Games. On Tuesday, she finished them as Vanessa Vanakorn at the Winter Olympics 2014.

There she was for the Ladies’ Giant Slalom, skiing  the second - and final run - of her Olympic career with a gentle, carefully-plotted route between the flag poles denoting the course.  At  5ft 3in, she looked a diminutive doll-like figure compared to the athletic and muscular women for whom this sport is a profession.  


She crossed the line, her arms aloft, some 50 seconds behind the new Olympic Giant Slalom champion. The time was inconsequential to Miss Mae. What mattered was the date and location; and the memories assembled from being an Olympic athlete if only for one day.

As an accomplished musician, who has sold over 10 million albums, and is worth £30 million, Miss Mae is accustomed to sharing the company of world leaders and influential captains of industry.


The 35-year-old, who was brought up in Britain, and was the only woman representing Thailand, did not come here to play Tchaikovsky or Beethoven violin concertos; she came to fulfil a dream of skiing in an Olympic Games. 

Psalm 46 - Robust Faith

Psalm 46 - I feel strengthened in my faith and reminded to ensure my confidence is in my God and not in the “package”. Here I also see extreme turmoil, the deepest of upset and yet…the psalmist’s confidence is robust, because God is a strong and immediate help and protection.  God is all we need and He is what we need in time.  And this Lord Almighty is with me too!  I would like to find out more about what it means to be still and know God is God.

EXTREME PICTURES  of turmoil, chaos, threat and upheaval:

2 Though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quakewith their surging.

• These are not minor disturbances and setbacks.  Here the psalmist says that even if creation is reversed, even if all in creation collapse, there will not be reason to fear.
• The mountains may topple into the sea in verse 2, but the city of God, bolstered by His saving presence, will not fall.  
• Nations are in uproar.

GOD IS SOVEREIGN!

• Nations may raise in uproar, but kingdoms fall before the withering voice of Yahweh.

THE PSALMIST'S ROBUST FAITH

1. He has a radical trust and an assurance of Yahweh’s protective presence.
2. His is a radical trust that God is strong and that God protects.
3. God is there when we need him.  
4. It’s a radical confidence that results in an ability to stand without fear in the face of threat.
5. To have a confident trust even if the whole cosmos is destroyed.  The roar of rushing waters and toppling mountains - we come to a more peaceful description of the well-watered “city of God” (46:4)
6. The sense of threat and the sense of calm.
7. God is present and God is a fortress.
8. That is remarkable and can only be done with a robust confident in the after life.  
9. Even when we die, we can be sure of a new life after death. 
10. I can have this faith even in the ultimate threats of life. Life with God outlasts earthly life.  
11. The life God gives us is not threatened by the imperfections of our world or by death. 
12. Yahweh promises His presence is a source of confidence and renewed faith - even in the face of attacking enemies.  
13. “God is within her, she will not fall” - absolute confidence.

TRUSTING YAHWEH.

Psalm 46:10 - God is exalted! The primary refrain of the psalm is “ The LORD Almighty is with us.”  

God is the refuge, the strength and the fortress of the faithful.
We can be confident in His protective care. - even in the face of a crumbling world. Psalm 46:2,3.

FAITH IN GOD OR FAITH IN THE TEMPLE? 

• This is assurance coupled with God’s covenant loyalty.  
• This is not just a matter of relying on the temple.  
• The temple is not a magic place it is the place to humbly meet and worship God.  (see Psalms 74 and 137)

Jeremiah 2: This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:
“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what theLord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place.
4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”
5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,
6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm,
7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
9 “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known,
10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?
11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.
12 “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.
13 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer.
14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors.
15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’

Psalm 74:1-8

THE LORD ALMIGHTY IS WITH US and THE CITY OF GOD.

1. “The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
2. God is our safe place - He is our help when we are in trouble.  So we will not be afraid - even if the sea goes wild and the mountains sake.
3. God is in the centre and I will not be moved - God will help me.  He is the God of my strong place.
4. God the ever-present help will aid quickly.

1. Jerusalem is Yahweh’s special city:  he is expected to protect her and her inhabitants from attack.  God is the city’s ultimate place of security.
2. God allowed the Babylonian troops to overrun the temple and Jerusalem because of the sins of the covenant people.  The Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed.. We can hear the echo of loss in Psalm 137 and verses 5 and 6.
3. Jerusalem is destroyed - what about God’s promises?
4. The city is identified with God’s holy mountain.  Mount Zion  
5. Ezekiel saw a new city in chapters 37-48.
6. Jeremiah 3:17  7 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 
7. Zechariah  14:11 But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place. 11 It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.
8. Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 
9. The city of God - Jerusalem and the Holy place where God dwells - the Temple.  

WARS

He makes wars to cease- this is God’s ultimate goal to make wars cease to the end of the earth.  War is not part of God’s creation intention.

BE STILL 

• Here it means:  “cease”  “Stop”  As in break up a fight.  It doesn’t mean being quiet or calm, but it means to stop what you have been doing and be still.
• It means to cease our own frantic activity and start to experience God’s acting for us.  Only then can we know He is God.
• We will not fear though the earth give way.
• This is a confident stillness in the face of rampaging wars. 
• The reason for the calmness, is the place where God Himself dwells, the fortress God provides, the city of God that will not fall.