Comments: bible - RecentComments
kjv@Psalms:50 @ @ RandyP comments: It is truly inspiring to hear the psalmist describe our God, to consider His ways even for as little as we can comprehend. It is addictive! There is literally nothing that is not His making nor possession. Along with the excitement and trust there is also a fear and a urgency for us to pay our vows.
kjv@Acts:27:26-44 @ @ RandyP comments: Through a series of successful prophecies Paul has earned the trust of these foreign men. A counter intuitive decision is made as to the course because of this that saves the entire crew and passenger hold. We must note by it's absence that Paul did not pray to God that the ship would be saved or that shipwreck would be averted as many would, he was open to and receiving divine directions which he passed on to those in charge. Maybe that should be our prayer.
kjv@Psalms:62 @ @ RandyP comments: Salvation is not only a word for the future day of judgement, it is a word for the day here and now. Too much surrounds us in a day not to be aware of and in need of His salvation. He is strength. He is refuge. Mischief, inward cursing, oppression, lies, vanity, robbery are but a few of the things that either do or could affect us each and every hour. He is our defense, salvation, and our rock. We shall not be moved.
kjv@Romans:1:5 @ @ RandyP comments: Why have we received grace? For obedience. Why have we received apostleship? For obedience. Obedience to what? The faith! Many would associate "the faith" with whatever they are willing to believe. Paul gives the impression that "the faith" is fixed and set by Jesus for us all to obey. Where do we obey? Among all nations. Why do we obey? For His name!
kjv@Romans:2 @ @ RandyP comments: No one is above judgement. Our only salvation in judgment is in Jesus Christ. In the previous chapter we've read of the ways of the reprobate. It would be natural for us to be judgmental of others given this impressive list. The problem with that is in the many things for which we ourselves will be judged, things perhaps more hidden than for example overt homosexuality. Persons on both sides of the line draw their own conclusions and judgements. A wall builds up between us with sinners on both sides. God's long suffering and forbearance has been shown to us all. It is time for us on both sides to think in terms of the spirit verses the letter of the law. Let us set aside any sin that would so easily beset us.
kjv@Psalms:84 @ @ RandyP comments: It is often calculated that a compassionate God is not a God of judgement. Here we see a soul longing/fainting for the courts of the Lord. What is it that makes His courts desirable? Judgement is what is most needed in order for true compassion to stand out and take hold. It is because judgement is missing that our position is as it is. We have delegated judgment to ourselves but fail to pursue it. We do what is right in our own eyes and the world becomes a hateful desperate place because of it. Better is a day in His courts than a thousand with the wicked indeed!
kjv@Psalms:84 @ @ RandyP comments: Judgment/Compassion. Have you ever worked for a company that was failing miserably? The employees/customers were pulling it apart at the seems? When a new manager comes in the first thing for him/her to do is to right the ship, and to do this he/she must pronounce judgment. The judgment is even handed; "it is my way or the highway". As hard as these transformations are, I cannot tell you the relief these judgments have especially to the loyal and invested and badly abused workers. To see a company go from a delinquent detention center to a fully functioning productive enterprise is perhaps the best compassion available. This is more like God's judgments; they are only harsh to those who deserve them.
kjv@Romans:15:21-33 @ @ RandyP comments: Finally Paul will make a visit to Rome on a trip that will eventually take him into Spain. His work never ends. He mentions that the saints in Jerusalem have provided spiritual blessing to the Gentiles in Macedonia and Achaia and in response these Gentiles are contributing to the saints physical needs in Jerusalem which at this time were dire. By going into Judea to perform this gift Paul is placing himself in great danger in several ways. In that day before money wires and bank transfers I imagine a great deal of care and secrecy/diversion was required to safely do transfers like this. Having a well known and greatly despised envoy do this was even more risky.
kjv@Psalms:115 @ @ RandyP comments: They that make these idols are like unto them and so are those that would trust in them. So what idols have we made today? What idols have we trusted in today? What preconceptions? What false notions? What religious forms and identities have we taken on that are similarly vacant? Where have we imagined a vain thing? Where have we placed anything other above our God? The people of Israel had done it; even after their tremendous experiences with God. Time and time again it was their down fall. What is it that makes us think that today this is no longer a factor in our lives? That we've gotten it all figured out? That we are somehow different from them? Perhaps this false illusion is one of our many idols.
kjv@1Corinthians:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Notice here that Paul has not yet concluded his discussion of the Church's division. This is not him getting side tracked. He is using the explanation of worldly knowledge verses spiritual knowledge as part of a larger address of what ails the church.
kjv@1Corinthians:3 @ @ RandyP comments: Paul continues to address the divisions in Corinth. He could have just said to stop it, but, instead used the opportunity to teach important doctrines. The carnal mind has not been escaped to this point as there are envying and strife. Thinking oneself to be wise, glorying in certain men over others when all are doing their work for the Lord are caused by spiritual immaturity. We are taught to look at a much larger picture of what God is doing and how other men and ourselves fit into that.
kjv@Psalms:131 @ @ RandyP comments: When the heart is haughty and the eyes lofty the soul takes upon itself a great deal, increasingly large matters it really has no business in. I think of the political campaigns we are suffering these months ahead of elections. Presented are entire shopping lists of big and grandiose ideas/programs that each and everyone of us knows will never once be addressed. So why are we making concern over them, why to the near exclusion of the things that we would be able to address? This same type issue is true in our individual hearts as well. Oh yes, grand dreams and visions, miraculous intentions, marvelous causes, big and frequent squawks and chatter. It hardly ever results in any more than that. For some though, a new found calm and quietness, a weaning from the demanding tantrums of a suckling child, a trust and obedience to a more modest constantly maturing godly nature.
kjv@Psalms:136 @ @ RandyP comments: In each and everything His mercy is a constant. Even when He is slaying a king our smiting a people He is kind. How could that be? Field of vision! We are also told that in God mercy and truth have met together. In establishing Israel He established the microscope for us of all ages to clearly view all human nature and established the bloodline for our redeemer to come through. We are told of the wickedness of these kings and the hardness of the heart of this pharaoh and the blood guilt of Canaan to the extent that the land was spitting them out. We are told of a people that were not a people becoming God's chosen, established for the good of all mankind and through which His greatest gift/mercy/grace would come.
kjv@1Corinthians:9 @ @ RandyP comments: Seems that there is always a fuss over money, be it tithes or church salaries or building funds or pastor's portions etc. It comes to the point where the gospel is hindered by all the fuss. Some concern is rightly placed. Most concern is nothing more than serving the master of mammon more than the master of grace. Paul was well within his rights to eat of the grain he had milled, but, made a personal decision as an apostle not to partake of his portion simply because it would surely become an offense to weaker less mature believers. Not all ministers are in that same position nor should they be expected to be either.
kjv@1Corinthians:11:3 @ @ RandyP comments: Our attention gets caught up in the controversial roles of man and woman and by this misses the inclusion of Christ being subject to God.
kjv@1Corinthians:11:1-15 @ @ RandyP comments: There will always be a tension between the sexes that the mischievousness can manipulate into near frenzy. The fact is that Paul could have said anything about male female relations, gone any direction with it and still have been sharply criticized. In the culture to which Paul was specifically addressing certain customs took on profound spiritual meaning. Their assembly was being torn on both sides by the debate over these roles as related to public worship. The debate inflamed them to the point that meaningful worship and assembly ceased. Our culture is plagued by much the same debate and sadly to much the same end. What then is the principal to follow? Subjection for the sake of worship. Do not let your liberty inflame the conscience of a weaker believer or your worship get in the way of everyone else's. And remember if allowed into worship that God is not the author of chaos.
kjv@Psalms:149 @ @ RandyP comments: In the new covenant we think of the two-edged sword as God's written word and the bringing forth of His agape to all peoples as our mission. We Gentiles might not have this honor today had it not been for the establishment early on of Israel and it's place in the history of our ancestors who often received it's vengeance and punishments. This tiny nation inflamed us. By standing allied against it yet being strongly defeated we saw it's God Jehovah. It's Jehovah eventually led us to His Son our Lord. Now we reach back to Israel with His agape and His word to complete the circle.
kjv@1Corinthians:11:16-34 @ @ RandyP comments: Interesting tid bits that should not be overlooked. There are divisions today just as there were back then. We are to look at divisions as a means to observe who is approved, they will stand out all the more. Also, the churches are judged within so that they will not be judged without; if so what happens when they are unwilling to accept judgment? Also, there seems to be a connection between the misuse of the Holy Communion and sickness even fatal sickness.
kjv@Proverbs:12:13 @ @ RandyP comments: Again it doesn't say that he wont see trouble, it says that he will come out of. Trouble here is associated with transgression. It could be that he will come out of his own transgressions by willingly repenting or it could be that the wicked man's transgression will cause him trouble that he will emerge from safely.
kjv@Proverbs:14:4 @ @ RandyP comments: Perhaps we should examine ourselves and ask what is my strong oxen and how do I take better care of it. Is it my education? Is it my field knowledge? Is it my professional acquaintances and associations? Is it my car? My tools? My skill? My courage?
kjv@1Corinthians:16:3 @ @ RandyP comments: I may have mentioned before that the long distance transfer of monies was dangerous business back in this day. Not only did the actual envoy have to be fully trusted, I assume that diversions and disguises and stealth's had to be planned to avoid being robbed. Larger volumes of money may have to be sent out by multiple and less obvious means. A charitable Christian church was no doubt a target for thieves and a good place for them to plant conspiring informants. Paul's public announcement may itself be a ruse. This is my hunch and not a revelation. Would it be wrong if he did?
kjv@Proverbs:22:7 @ @ RandyP comments: This is not to say that it shouldn't be this way. The majority of the poor are poor for the reasons explained here in the proverbs. They do not rule themselves so how should it be expected to rule well over others. The borrower rightfully owes the lender all that he has agreed to return else he would be a thief. It could be said that much of our nation's problem is not that we are overly compassionate but, that we are ruled by the poor and by debt that we have no intention of paying back. Debt and severe covetness have become our vision of entitlement and we blame the rich and the lender for our deepening woes.
kjv@2Corinthians:6 @ @ RandyP comments: The unequal yoke in context seems to apply to the burden of Christian work and ministry not so much marriage. While unequal marriages might hinder the work, so too might other gods, so might cultural/political/ecumenical alliances and causes etc..; I think of the Lutheran and Roman Catholic Churches' yoke to the Nazi and Fascist party's in WWII. Paul speaks of marriages elsewhere to unbelievers and does not make so definite a conclusion. This context would also change our perception of the 'temple of the living God' phrase as well.
kjv@2Corinthians:13 @ @ RandyP comments: There is a fine line between edification and destruction when addressing situations like this. The sense that Paul has is that his accusers are attempting to rattle him, make him say something or do something that would turn out to their advantage. By challenging him to prove himself as an Apostle their hope is to make him over react or be over bearing enough to push people away, show that he is operating from his own pride and sense of possession. There is also the chance that he may shy away and underplay the situation as well. We, much like Paul, must be prayerful, direct and and Spirit led in these situations too.
kjv@Galatians:1 @ @ RandyP comments: The opposition in Corinth seemed to focus their attack directly on Paul. The difference here in Galatia seems to be the infiltration of another form of doctrine which seems to center itself against the doctrine of grace. One seemed to be rooted in a very liberal grace outwardly that allowed for perversions and divisions, this one seems to be inward toward the vehicle of salvation.
kjv@Galatians:1 @ @ RandyP comments: This account of Paul's conversion fills in a 3 year hole between kjv@Acts:9:26 and kjv@Acts:9:27
kjv@Isaiah:3 @ @ RandyP comments: These prophecies do not seem to be in chronological order. The day of the LORD in the previous chapter appears to me to be an end time prophecy and this a dispersion era.
kjv@Isaiah:5 @ @ RandyP comments: From Israel the Lord expected judgment. He found the opposite oppression. Right was wrong and wrong right, dark light, evil good. Reward was given for wickedness and house joined to house making large estates for certain well to do individuals. They were drunkards and wise/prudent in their own eyes, harps and pipes playing a much different song, the works of the Lord forgotten. We see that there was a hedge around them once, protection from the pest, the briers, the heat of the sun. The hedge was brought down to flush out the nation's wickedness.
kjv@Galatians:4 @ @ RandyP comments: Notice the passion with which Paul speaks of/to the Galatians as he extols the difference between the two covenants, how they are not to be inter-mingled.
kjv@Galatians:6:11 @ @ RandyP comments: I have heard theories that Paul may have been crippled or have a deformity in arm or hand. We have already summized that he could well have problems with his eye sight. We also know that he was beaten and stoned near to death on several occasions and therefore be severely damaged. The Galatians here would have been deeply moved by whatever this sentence points to; he does bear the marks of Christ.
kjv@Isaiah:22 @ @ RandyP comments: The Lord does not do anything this serious without serious reason. He does not do without first making known the consequence and the transgression. There is a iniquity deep at heart. It is an iniquity that is of the type that cannot be purged even with this serious action except by death. Notice that they will be purged however. God has not given them up.
kjv@Isaiah:29 @ @ RandyP comments: The Lord does not just do these things without purpose and results. The path of men digs itself into deep ruts unaware. As if those ruts become their treasured possession, they are not about to give them up. They have rationalized, fully justified, become comfortable in their rebellion. Hearts harden, the foreign becomes normal and nothing by God short of this seems to penetrate and steer the peoples where God intends. As far as they are concerned they are doing everything right. It is sad for them that they have to go through this but, informative to us; this is after all our sin nature as well.
kjv@Ephesians:6:1-9 @ @ RandyP comments: Do as unto the Lord, unto Christ, knowing that your master.... no matter what profession/station of life.
kjv@Ephesians:6 @ @ RandyP comments: The amour of the Lord is not occasional attire; it is not 'Parade Dress'. Each item points to spiritual necessity not option. Spiritual warfare does not stop on those days that we wish not to play. These are the days which we need it most.
kjv@Philippians:2:12 @ @ RandyP comments: There is the eternal salvation direct from our confession and repentance acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord, the salvation that because of His sacrifice was purchased and imputed to us. There is also the salvation having the knowledge of Jesus Christ that we are fruitful with as applied toward our daily circumstances and situations; this is the type of salvation that we work out. One can be saved in the one sense but yet be a poor worker of the salvation that effects daily life, even by the things in this same chapter Paul speaks to, contention and strife and isolation from the broader body etc..
kjv@Philippians:2 @ @ RandyP comments: Paul has returned Epaphroditus to the brethren in Philippi to cheer this congregation up. Paul is also about to send Timothy his prize student to strengthen them. In his letters Paul seems to make everything even general matters as a teaching opportunity. We also see that Paul could only trust certain people for certain types of missions. Paul not only thought of who needed help but who it was that he was sending.
kjv@Isaiah:41:26 @ @ RandyP comments: The Lord is righteous. A large measure of that righteousness can be found in the fact that He announces what will be before it happens. It is not to show off, though it is impressive, it is to warn and instruct. It is righteous for instance for the highway department to put a warning sign before a sharp curve or steep decline. Whether there is good ahead or danger it is right of the Lord to show it in advance. It also shows that He is a Lord like no other with vision and capability to perform it.
kjv@Isaiah:48 @ @ RandyP comments: Knowing the heart of man and His servant Israel, the Lord knew how we would bend the truth of this thing, that we would claim we knew it, that our own hands or our own gods brought this thing to pass. The Lord therefore declared it long before it happened, declared a new thing that could not be known any other way and performed it with intricate precision. This is how He has to operate given our blind and corrupted nature. It may seem terrible that Judah must suffer the furnace of affliction in double measure. It seems odd that this would be the only way left to refine them and prove His love/covenant. But, it seems odd that we would refuse to see things in the light of truth, follow His commandments and directions, not pollute His name with our rebellious and self serving whims.
kjv@Colossians:4:16 @ @ RandyP comments: There are other epistles that Paul wrote. Perhaps several. Perhaps daily. Paul was not attempting to write for inclusion into some soon to be published New Testament collection. He was not seeking to dominate the other writers with his massive content. He was addressing the needs of the people and congregations that he was placed directly over (Romans possibly being the exception - perhaps planted by acquaintances that he had discipled). His letters were treasured enough that people kept hold of them. By the time the Testament was canonized several years after his death there were enough of these verifiable copies still circulated for them to be included into what we hold today as scripture. Many of these other letters, though I am sure were treasured have either been lost or cannot be accurately verified as there were many plagiarizers of his name and authority even yet today.
kjv@Isaiah:53 @ @ RandyP comments: Again we read of the 'Servant' as being the 'Arm of the Lord'. His visage so marred beyond any other; a tender plant wounded for our transgressions. He has poured out His soul unto death. The details here are exquisite. Can there be any doubt as to who Isaiah is talking about? The Father sees the travail of this particular soul and shall be satisfied. He bares their iniquities and justifies many.
kjv@2Thessalonians:2 @ @ RandyP comments: For those who say that the Bible does not teach about Hell and a Satan, one would have to remove 2Thessalonians from the Bible to make that conclusion. While they were at it they would have to remove the very words of Jesus Christ and the remainder of the Old and New testaments as well.
kjv@Jeremiah:3 @ @ RandyP comments: Signs of sin of the nation Israel here are refusing to be ashamed, adulterous idolatry, dealing treacherously, seeking salvation from hills and mountains, perverting ways, not obeying voice of Lord. In their division with Judah, which may have been rightful in and of its self, they had moved the their center of worship from Jerusalem to the two high places within their own borders to avoid having to go into Judah to worship. Which was a massive transgression. They were also fighting apparently over the possession of the Ark of the Covenant. The cure? Return from backsliding, acknowledge your transgression against the Lord and the scattering of your ways to strangers.
kjv@Jeremiah:6 @ @ RandyP comments: The Word of the Lord to them is a reproach and their ears will hear nothing of it. How then should this be dealt with by Yahweh? Does the people's 'god of unconditional compassion' have to just sit back and take it? Many today continue this notion of God's unconditional compassion not knowing what compassion even is nor knowing what an extremely compromised position a righteous God is placed under by such faulty/selfish definition. Rather, God's unconditional compassion is in that no matter what one has done/no matter how badly one may have sinned and acted, Jesus Christ died and raised for the purchase providing means for your return. Should you choose to return/repent/compromise yourself and thus receive this unconditional grace He will unconditionally pardon and accept you into His everlasting kingdom. God's great compromise is in the giving of His Son. If you are unwilling to accept that alone for your salvation, what more can/would He do?
kjv@2Thessalonians:3 @ @ RandyP comments: Who is it disrupting this church? Men who do not work but that are expecting to eat, to be fed from other's labor. How many are there of these men in our church today? How have we responded to them? Have we admonished them? Have we set them out? We think of our modern church as an open invitation to the Gospel not realizing that to them we have presented an open invitation for us to feed and shelter them and allow them to cause divisions amongst us playing upon our compassionate (but blind) intentions. This is true in a physical daily living sense as well as in a spiritual ministerial/evangelical sense. One must work to eat and eat of his own hands.
kjv@1Timothy:1 @ @ RandyP comments: This letter is a interesting change of focus from Paul's previous. Those letters were written church congregations and regions of churches. This is personal letter to one of Paul's dearest team members, a man that he has taken on somewhat as his protégé. We are afforded a look into a much more personal and professional part of the Apostle's outlook. Much like two artisans/composers comparing insights/notes, the elder to the younger.
kjv@1Timothy:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Matters of the Law today as in their day have stirred divisions and confusion in the Church. The Law is of course good when understood in it's rightful/lawful context. The Law brings us to the knowledge of Christ. It is a hired nanny who brings us by the hand from distances where we were to the very doorsteps of the master. It is not the master, the Lord is the master and His grace is the primary curriculum. Paul himself testifies to this fact. The Law is a yoke, a bond, a sentence, the sting of death. We would not have know sin except for the Law. It shows us how we are, how futile our situation is against our sin, the need for the Christ and His complete redemption. (see kjv@Romans:5-6)
kjv@1Timothy:2 @ @ RandyP comments: Hard as it is to understand, Paul's restrictions upon women teaching were not because of some hatred or prejudice he had upon women. We see from his letters that many women loved him and that they held important positions in his ministry team. Paul honestly expresses his reasoning, a fact that cannot be denied, Eve was the one deceived not Adam. How that further plays out in the daughters of Eve is not so clear but, it must be considered. To inflame one's self, to jump hastily to the womans defense can be just as much a proof of what Paul is cautious of as it is proof against. One must also consider the types of women drawn to a woman pastor, who might see her position for something she does not intend, and what the make up of the church then becomes. The verse actually does not forbid women from teaching per se, it forbids a teaching that gives an feminist impression or that could be percieved to be in conjunction/tainted with usurping authority over men.
kjv@Jeremiah:11:3-5 @ @ RandyP comments: It all sounded well and fine at the time. God promises all of this and all they had to do is simply obey. They did not though in that day nor did they in Jeremiah's. No where along the way did they, they could not. This is the nature of sin. Despite all the good intentions from both parties the sin nature will not do that which is in the best interest. It always works against that thinking that it alone is in the right/has it's best interest at heart. It may not always be a conscious decision as well but, more as an impulse of the flesh that is intellectually justified after the fact. The purpose of God's dealings are to prove to us this nature so that the necessity and redemption of His Son's blood may be depended upon.
kjv@Jeremiah:11 @ @ RandyP comments: The chief complaint seem to be of the worship of false gods. From that branch out a multitude of other whoredoms and transgressions. As God has amplified Israel/Judah that all the nations of all the times might watch and hear of His dealings, such a nation as this called by His name and home of His tabernacle hear on Earth cannot be allowed to much leeway. Double measure blessings. Double measure curse and reproof. Today, we should know well the Lord's feeling towards other gods and false worship, but instead we seem to glory in it.
kjv@Jeremiah:13 @ @ RandyP comments: The antidote for national pride is national shame. In shame the false reasonings and consequences cannot be ignored. The base of wicked's power is broken up and the people are forced into a moment of thinking for themselves. People will reflect upon the words of these many prophets. How can transgression be explained away when the case against them is so well presented beforehand?
kjv@1Timothy:5 @ @ RandyP comments: The full time charge of the church is for those with absolutely no other means. They are to be given shelter and provision and daily tasks to do for the church as is proper. The church produces outreach to others as well in attempting to connect them to the resources of their own families, the community, redevelopment or retraining, fostering marriage/match making within the fellowship. There are many to take advantage of the church and few wise enough to commingle compassion with prudence. The church is forced off task and those most needy are neglected. If the church is to act this way then so should we as individuals as well.
kjv@1Timothy:6 @ @ RandyP comments: This epistle has been written to encourage and develop a younger pastor on Paul's team. It is interesting how the letter dives into the more daily essentials of being a pastor and an example of Christs to the fellowship and community as a whole. The functions of a church, the how to's of keeping the church activities focused and not distracted, it's investment in the truly needy, it's absence from vain arguments and partiality, the qualifications of elders and deacons, what to look for in people that may intend to take advantage of the church's compassion, etc... all these things good for us to know as well; pastor's or not.
kjv@Jeremiah:20 @ @ RandyP comments: Jeremiah is imprisoned for message at the east gate by the chief priest Pashur. He imprisons himself at the same time in a fit of depression. Every word that he had spoken in this prophecy is later proved to be right but, that is not of console to the prophet. I would imagine that even in these times the Lord brings people alongside to comfort, but, what really can be said? It is a tough time for all of Judah especially those in the right. The name given Pashur - Magormissabib suggests moved by fear all around.
kjv@Jeremiah:24 @ @ RandyP comments: This is a powerful vision we are allowed to see into of the good and evil that can be purposed in the same decisive action. The same fearful action upon two different types of figs causes the utter shame of the one and the future establishment of the other. This should give the depressed and afflicted prophet hope as it should the true figs amongst us as well.
kjv@Jeremiah:25 @ @ RandyP comments: Many would place the first world war in the early nineteenth century A.D., a major reshuffling of the power structures of the world. What is described here is perhaps the first world shift in the fifth B.C.. What had begun in a smaller scale in the 6th included Israel but, not Judah nor Eygypt etc... No nation now was allowed by the Lord not to drink from this cup. It was not a war of powerful alliances but of fracturing splits and singular domination. We see here God's greater vision, we have been focused too narrowly on Israel/Judah (false prophets, kings,etc..) and not on the entirety of mankind. The cup is prepared and filled in Jerusalem, but, is shared on all the nations. Babylon is used to begin the drunken slug-fest but, it too fractures soon after and is forced to drink as well by the much inferior Medes. The void is later filled by the Persians and then the Greeks.
kjv@Titus:3 @ @ RandyP comments: The necessity of maintaining good works; all of us. It is not just having an intention to do them, it is not just us studying to know how they might be done, it is us stepping forward into them and adapting within them to get them done. It is not just beginning them, it is us maintaining them for the long run. Notice how many people Paul has involved in his good works. They are part of his, he is part of theirs, we are part of the Lord's; small works, large works, works we don't even know are being done we are striving to be fruitful in. Peter shared a similar vision of being fruitful in the knowledge of Christ kjv@2Peter:1. See also kjv@Romans:12. In fuller context, these works are to be done yet with an eye on reasonable subjection to the civic and legal principalities that govern all.
kjv@Jeremiah:36 @ @ RandyP comments: One might ask "why does the Word of God need to be written"? "Can't He just speak it into our hearts"? Jehoiakim knew the things written in Baruch's scroll. It testified against him recording a long history of the king's rebellion and transgression. The king's advisers knew well how he would react for they had the scribe and prophet to hide away. The Lord undoubtedly knew as well, just as He knows today. The heart hears what the heart wants to hear, it reasons as would serve it's own desires the best. Nothing is beyond the scope of the deceitful heart. The written word is as much to testify against the fleshly heart as it is to convince it. Today we have the testimony of several thousands of years and several other Jeremiahs in written form. Is the heart then any different today?
kjv@Jeremiah:38 @ @ RandyP comments: We can sense how others perceived Jeremiah. He was a traitor bent on the surrender of Jerusalem to the Chaldeans. He was causing division within the ranks and was using religious sounding speech to dishearten the masses. Left at liberty, he would use highly visual grandstanding techniques such as wooden yokes and ancient vessels to invoke dissent. The word was out on him. Imprisoned, Jeremiah would of course not be stopped, but, at least perhaps contained; his where-abouts known.
kjv@Jeremiah:52 @ @ RandyP comments: What does this completion of judgment mean in the grand scheme of spiritual things? Does it mean the the experiment is over? Israel is finished and we move on to plan B? Does it mean that God has learned from His mistakes and will start up in a different fashion again? Or does it mean that there is something vital for all of mankind to understand? Something of our depraved sinful nature that even with promises, even with miraculous deliverance and provision, even with tremendous blessing and tremendous cursing and every sort of intention revival and effort, none of this has any effect upon the true core nature of man's deceptive heart. The heart does not obey because it cannot. The heart cannot be spiritual because it is not. All that we intend and invent and contrive is but utter vanity. What is blind cannot see. In this unfamiliar light we sense that only by His grace and by His election are we separated from this wretchedness.
kjv@Lamentations:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Harsh as this captivity sounds, we have to remember that it had been foretold long before even by Moses. It was part of a covenant promising good if they had kept His command and evil if they did not. They did chose repeatedly to do not. God warned and reminded them of the covenant repeatedly; they still did not. He showed them occasional glimpses of both blessing and curse; they did not. Jerusalem appears now as a broken harlot. Where are her many lovers now?
kjv@Lamentations:2:14 @ @ RandyP comments: tsk@Lamentations:2:14 Here are numerous reminders that the Lord had exposed the false prophets to them on several occasions and yet they still listened to the others. False prophets did not end during this captivity nor did they end in the time of the early church. They remain and flourish today. They are exposed over and over and yet do we listen to them. It is in part because the true prophet discovers our inequity, in part because we are self justified and vain, in part because our image of God does not allow for Him to do this.
kjv@Hebrews:9 @ @ RandyP comments: The pattern is complete. What was done for the remission of sins in the Mosaic Law through the sprinkling of blood was a shadow we would latter recognize when Christ came to actually fulfill the greater covenant. His sacrifice is once and for all however.
kjv@Hebrews:10:1-23 @ @ RandyP comments: Nowadays, minus the temple, there is no way for Jews to perform their sacrifices. I am sure that they have used some of these same scriptural quotes to justify their position, that the sacrifices weren't really needed in the first place. The problem for them still would be that there is no remission of sins without the sprinkling of blood. The Christian followers have not ceased from the sprinkling of blood, it is that the blood now is the blood of God's chosen one, the sacrifice He Himself provided as with Abraham, Jesus Christ. His sacrifice is once and for all and complete.
kjv@Hebrews:10:24-39 @ @ RandyP comments: There are times in all Christians lives where they miss the mark, where they become drowsy or sloppy or unfruitful even counter productive. There are times even when we shake our fist and blame God (as in the death of our young child). We have all encountered times when we wondered if this draw back passage wasn't written for us. Self condemnation can be a tremendously discouraging thing. I would imagine however, if it is still in your heart to get back to the things of God, if there is still the will to repent and rejoin the body in fully restored standing, if the love of God is still wanted and sought after, then you definitely have not crossed this final point yet. This is written for the man where there is none of crushing sorrow, confussion and desire that remains, he has completely given himself over to his own condemnation, forever sealed in the hardness of his own heart.
kjv@Ezekiel:8 @ @ RandyP comments: Imagine this seeing this vision as the elders of Judah sat there in the parlor before you. It wouldn't surprise me if they were there to tell him how things were going to be if he didn't stop with all the rhetoric. Before the vision you might be thinking 'well these guys know what they are doing', 'intelligent people can see things different ways', 'how could all of them be wrong and only me right', 'hmmm...maybe some compromise is called for'. Then with the vision seeing these men the way God sees them? This is such a curious passage!
kjv@Ezekiel:14 @ @ RandyP comments: Three righteous men of the ages are given as repeated examples. The righteousness of these men can only save themselves; not even their immediate sons and daughters can be saved unless by their own individual righteousness. So too, only you yourself is saved if so be, your family and friends will have to be saved themselves by their own righteousness. Any righteousness any of us would have is found solely in the righteousness of Christ Jesus and on the personal confession of that alone will any individual be delivered.
kjv@Ezekiel:18 @ @ RandyP comments: He hath no pleasure in the death.. Several times here it is illustrated what the righteous man would be doing and what the wicked do as well. These are not new things, they have been known all along. Yet so many choose the wrong path. There appears to be a decision, one can make themselves a knew person by choosing to do right. So why then do people not choose? Elsewhere we learn that this answer has to do with the sinful nature of man, a nature only curable by the sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ; imposing moral law upon this nature only illustrates its depravity all the more. Did great numbers turn to the living God by in the time of this prophecy? Certainly not.
kjv@Hebrews:12 @ @ RandyP comments: Those of us in the American church body should be concerned about the lack of chastisement. Where is it? We face certain opposition and the opposition seems to be growing. Opposition is not chastisement. In other places our missionaries face difficulty and persecution. Persecution is not necessarily chastisement either. Chastisement involves correction. Is it that we have nothing to be corrected of? Is it that we have been corrected and so now remain? Or could it be that our hearts have become hardened, that the accomplishments of the past have sent us sideways into pride, unawares or worse unconcerned, unable to discern where our needed chastisement might be found? Has our ear to it become deaf?
kjv@James:5 @ @ RandyP comments: The prayer and anointing of the sick is matched with the confession of faults one to another. It is one thing to believe in the power of healing, another thing to allow ourselves collectively to be honest and open to one another. It does not say directly that the illness is caused by fault, it says that the healing is assisted by its confession. And then the strength of faith has broader reach. Initiating and sustaining such a group openness is the difficulty.
kjv@1Peter:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Peter is rarely quoted by the prosperity preachers as much as the others because these earthly things were of little importance to him. This coming from a productive business man. Of the many things more likely important to him tops would be unfeigned love toward God and brethren, the testing and trying of faith to its precious purification, the furtherance of the commission of the spreading of the Gospel to the vast world beyond. The prosperity message more times than not is a direct hindrance to these types of things.
kjv@1Peter:2 @ @ RandyP comments: Peter sketches out what it looks like to live outwardly in faith. Essentially it is to live as Christ who had committed Himself entirely to Him (The Father) that judges righteously, not reviling nor threatening, baring the sins of others. Having then this picture of Christ's submission to the Father, we likewise behave in all of our outward dealings not reviling nor threatening, baring the sins of others. Listed are some examples of that kind of living.
kjv@Ezekiel:40 @ @ RandyP comments: The chapter reads much faster than the vision would have played out. Imagine the time involved making these measurements 6 cubits at a time. In order to remember all this detail, Ezekiel must have been writing it down as each transpired.
kjv@Ezekiel:42 @ @ RandyP comments: It may be that having seen the original temple that Ezekiel's contemporaries would have known how this Temple would have differed from the first. Perhaps they are following along in their mind right and left and forward as Ezekiel's vision goes. Many men today would be able to study comparisons of the two even the third yet to come, but it would be interpretive, their best guess. index:WEBLINKS temple has some videos and maps of the Temples in the bible search - images and bible - video sections.
kjv@Ezekiel:43 @ @ RandyP comments: The Law and ritual return in this temple as do the sacrifices. If this is in the Millennium or later salvation and the remission of sins have already been achieved once and for all by the blood of Jesus and the order of high priest is now after Melchizedek and not Levi. These offerings then would either be symbolic and memorial or else a covering for sins that the sacrifice of Jesus does not atone for. The former makes greater sense to me.
kjv@Ezekiel:44 @ @ RandyP comments: I find this an extremely challenging section of prophecy. The consequences of interpretation shape deep doctrinal foundations. The reader must study and ponder this deeply and come to their own conclusions; which is a very good thing. We are challenged by scripture every day. We are stirred. We are unsettled. We are encouraged to examine and re-examine. Nothing but Christ at times seem fully settled. This is what makes faith in the Bible real and living and dynamic; the constant challenge. Thereby we grow, we are shaped, we are moved. Some seek the answers that are readily available and figure if it is not readily there it is not there at all. Others however seek deeper into the broad context and the doctrinal consequence to shed light upon that which is not readily answered. Just because I am presently confused over this passage does not mean that the answer is not there, it means that I am being challenged. My curiosity is thus thrilled to explore it much further.
kjv@Ezekiel:46 @ @ RandyP comments: Concerning the prince, burnt and peace offerings are being prepared for him therefore he is not a priest. He is required to make offerings and sacrifices, he must not be covered by the blood of Christ. He is gifting possessions to sons born to him and servants that work for him as inheritances. Who then could this be? My guess as of now... it is most likely that this prince would be David. That is if this temple is the final temple.
kjv@Ezekiel:46 @ @ RandyP comments: Are we seeing that there will be possessions exchanged and given and inherited in the future? Are we seeing that there will be class distinctions between royalty and servants? We have seen mention previously of money and measurements of commerce.
kjv@1John:1 @ @ RandyP comments: The core doctrines of the gospel are simply put to the reader by John in terms anyone even child can understand. From these core points we can expand the doctrine outward. The over arching truth is that any notion contrary to these points is either a lie by us or else a lie by Him; there is no middle ground. Light, fellowship with the Light, fellowship with each other, sin, confession of sin, forgiveness of sin and the cleansing of sin from unrighteousness are all a one way or no way proposition. Who shall be the liar here; man or Christ?
kjv@Daniel:3 @ @ RandyP comments: What is it about the appearance of the fourth figure that made even such a godless man come to the conclusion that it was the Son of Man? Apparently the Son of Man is not such a foreign concept to other religions and cultures. Apparently there is something universally identifiable about Him. We are not told what physical features were evident. We are not told whether others drew the same conclusion. We do know that such a conclusion would be humbling to man that sought for the masses to worship himself. It must have convincing enough at least for a time for him to make the second decree. Could he have spun this to his own political advantage?
kjv@1John:3 @ @ RandyP comments: There is so much said here that entire books can be (and have been) written. For the moment it should be enough to consider that these things are all expansions of the core doctrine that John presented in kjv@1John:1 , namely that God is light and in Him is no darkness. If we are in God, so too there can be no darkness in us. Knowing the 'how' this is possible is knowing the 'what' Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection and the 'who' He is. The working of this knowledge produces unfeigned love in us for the brethren, which is the proof positive of possessing this knowledge. It can be produced in no other way.
kjv@1John:3 @ @ RandyP comments: Cain is purposely used as the counter example. This key information steers the understanding of this passage a direction it otherwise would not go. The context becomes the inseparable fusion of love and righteousness, it's perceived source/manner and the resultant actions occurring from. Two men make the same effort to worship the living God, the means of which produce two opposite ends. The same can be said of two men that worship, one finding the ability to love unfeigned, the other finding the ability to hate and inflict judgment.
kjv@Daniel:7 @ @ RandyP comments: There is not a mention of rapture in this vision that I can see. These saints appear to be on earth the entire time. For a measured time they are worn down and overcome by the fourth beast. With an eye toward harmony with other scriptures we must find a way to explain these saints with the saints that are raptured. One way would be to say that these saints became believers because of or after the rapture. Include these with the Messianic Jews who will have their veil lifted and you have quite a number.
kjv@Daniel:7 @ @ RandyP comments: Such a vision is troubling for all of us but yet we must keep the matter in heart. It is a terrifying time for the people of this world. The turmoil and suffering of the past world wars are pale in comparison. It is not just the exhibition of the wickedness of man but, the brutal demonic nature of spiritual principalities in full view. For Daniel, having the big picture brought down to human perspective through the use of descriptive symbols and characters is astonishing. Though difficult to know exactly who each character is and what the details mean, we all sense the general motion.
kjv@Daniel:9 @ @ RandyP comments: The math if we understand one day to be one year correctly is exact, 490 years from the year of this vision to Christ's baptism, 434 from Ezra's rebuilding of the temple. Christ the Messiah is in Jerusalem but is cut off (not for himself but for our sins) and then shortly (AD70) the city and temple are destroyed. There is an unrevealed number of years of desolation (current) followed by a confirmation (or tribulation) of seven years. I am told that many Jews of the time by this prophecy expected the Messiah on this same schedule and by some Jews expectation even today He is nearly 2000 years late. When the veil is lifted they will understand their confusion as to Jesus (1 Messiah appearing twice lamb and ruler instead of 2 at once).
kjv@Daniel:10:21 @ @ RandyP comments: Many have interpreted Michael as being the protecting angel over Israel. Michael was commander of the angelic forces that cast out the dragon from heaven kjv@Revelation:12:7 . We believe Michael to be present in the end times defeating the terrible invasion from the north. Michael is firmly holding with the Lord.
kjv@Jude:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Contending for the faith once delivered begins with praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping oneself in God's love, looking for His mercy unto eternity, having compassion for some, making the difference, saving some with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. The fact that we would have to contend with others supposedly within our own faith means that it is not an easy list of things to do. We are warned that these apostates have crept in unaware and that there is a certain advantage and admiration inherent for them to do so. They are defined as dreamers defiling the flesh, despising dominion, speaking evil of dignities. They preach out of what they know naturally.
kjv@Hosea:11 @ @ RandyP comments: Hosea has spoken almost exclusively about judgments on Israel as a whole and namely the component areas of Ephraim/Samaria with little mention of Judah which for now remains mostly faithful. He is a prophet for this region. Comprised of 10 of the tribes, Ephraim itself being 3, their first and foremost transgression is that their worship of Jehovah was moved to two unsanctioned high towers in their own land so that they wouldn't have to cross into Judah to get to Jerusalem. Worship of Jehovah quickly morphed into worship of Baalim. Their jealousy toward the seat of David (corrupt as many descendant kings were) and resultant hatred was the beginning of the end for themselves.
kjv@Hosea:13:2 @ @ RandyP comments: There is something to be said about the heart of men wanting to worship something tangible that he can touch. Real or not it is there to fix his eyes upon and place his hands around. By the skill of craftsmen, these idols can be intricate and artistic. They can depict stories and triumphs and passionate emotions. What does that say about our heart though? And what does it say about our God who forbids such images to be made of Him?
kjv@Revelation:4 @ @ RandyP comments: If you have ever been blessed with revelation you know that your attention to detail is un-human. The things that you remember are remembered because there is divine meaning planted in each and every little thing, they are sealed in your memory because they are meant to be sealed. There is no doubt coming out that you are granted occasion to be a part of something foreign and miraculous and you want to go back into it without letting the moment get away from you. You try to get back into it for days, but, eventually realize that it has ended. It may be the only revelation you ever again receive or it may be years until another. Part of you however searches for it again in your dreams, in strange little occurrences, in voices you think that you might of heard. John here receives perhaps the greatest and most complete revelations ever recorded. The imagery and symbolism and threads tied to other bible prophets and covenant history that God uses is utterly mind blowing. John must have been exhausted afterward beyond human strength.
kjv@Amos:2 @ @ RandyP comments: With all of these external reasons given we finally get to Israel and Judah, all the more reason for judgment. Judah for despising the Law, not carrying out the commandments, and walking in the lies of their fathers. Israel for their callous treatment of the righteous/poor/meek, their sexual perversion and spiritual profanity. Both have witnessed God's work against other nations but disregarded that fact that their puffiness as 'the chosen' against God is all the worse.
kjv@Amos:5 @ @ RandyP comments: Many today think of their sins as personal things that have little or no effect on others such as the just, the poor, the oppressed, the needy. This passage speaks of such transgressions causing a nation's judgment as a whole to become as soft porous wormwood and it's righteousness to be left off. The stark evidences can be found in how the just are more and more rebuked, abhorred and afflicted (to the point the just are better off personally to keep silent). The results are a form of personal prosperity and social suave that comes quickly to an end having no bases of support (earlier described as being lead away by fish hooks). The nation as a whole is judged not only by it's failed condition, but, by God. Doesn't sound all that personal to me.
kjv@Revelation:6 @ @ RandyP comments: From our limited perspective it would be quiet logical to wonder why anyone would want to become worthy in order to open up such judgments upon mankind. Our perspective limits the nature and effects of our sin. Becoming worthy meant dying to take these natures and effects away. Our perspective limits the fact that for ions these judgments have been held off to one seven year period. Till now we have tasted enough judgment to see the need to repent but, little of the judgment that sin actually deserves. If God's mercy is not enough to turn us, if His occasional and limited judgments upon us are not enough, if His word and testimony are not enough, if His grace and provision is not enough, if the love shown in the giving of His own Son is not enough, even for having the threat of these predetermined judgments opened, what then is there that would be enough? At some point can it not be said that the remainder of mankind will not turn? Thus is the truest nature of sin exposed; it will not let go and it limits everything down to it's own justifications. Why not then this judgment? If seen from the perspective of the heavenly host looking down on this, one would have to ask why hasn't this judgment come already.
kjv@Amos:7 @ @ RandyP comments: The Lord repenting does not mean the same as believers repenting from sin. The suggestion would be then that the Lord somehow was going to do something evil and was talked out of it. The truth is simply that the Lord changed His mind. It may for instance not have been His plan to begin with and that He was using this discussion as a teachable moment (what if I). I remember as a father proposing different forms of discipline with my children to get them to think about their wrong (what if I take away television privileges for a week?). Another way of thinking it is that the Lord had options, out of these options he was going to do this (and would have been within His rights to do so) but, chose rather to do that.
kjv@Amos:7 @ @ RandyP comments: The land could not bear words of Amos' mouth. He was being blamed for everything that was going on. No, it wasn't the idolatry or the thievery or the oppression or deceit, it was the words of one minor herdsman prophet near Bethel. The well meaning friend is just as off by trying to talk Amos into moving to Judah for his own safety. When it is God's words one better hold true.
kjv@Micah:2 @ @ RandyP comments: You may recall that property was divided amongst the early Hebrews by blood line and passed by inheritance. By the Law, property was a spiritually/morally a civic right. Even when a family member got into debt or trouble and the property was taken from him, 49 year Sabbaths existed for him/his descendent's to be restored back to it. Property according to Micah now is being stolen by violence and oppression. Because of the drunkenness of idolatry, little is being done against this violence and oppression, institutions are far too corrupted. People have taken to listening to the prophets of falsehood. How similar this sounds to today!
kjv@Revelation:11:18 @ @ RandyP comments: It is a time for judgment and reward. How do the nations respond? They are angry. It doesn't say repentant notice, doesn't say sorry, doesn't say softening or contemplative. Such horrific events they have witnessed, so many catastrophes. Yet they see these matters in the opposite. To them it is not their anger and hatred and transgression that destroys the earth, it is God's.
kjv@Revelation:12 @ @ RandyP comments: The perception of time seems to warp in this passage as the child is caught up and placed on the throne (a definite reference to the ascension of Christ nearly two millennium ago) and Satan coming after the woman with floods of water. Somewhere between there and here Satan his minions are overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, tossed from heaven by Michael. The woman is hidden in the wilderness for three and a half years.
kjv@Micah:7 @ @ RandyP comments: What God will do for those who will bear His indignation: 1. plead my cause 2. execute judgment for me 3. bring me forth to the light 4. pardon iniquity 5. pass by the transgression 6. retain not his anger 7. turn again 8. have compassion 9. subdue our iniquities 10.cast all sins into the depths 11. perform the truth to Jacob 12. mercy to Abraham
kjv@Zephaniah:2 @ @ RandyP comments: There are many nations involved here. Their transgression namely having reproached the chosen for the sake of magnifying themselves. The chosen certainly were not blameless and deserving of reproach, but, it was for the Lord to reproach not them. Reproach in order to magnify is a different thing however. We see people practice it in our lives all the time. I know of men who speak of the Church in the same way. It is not that they have any desire for the Church to correct itself, it is that by moving the church out of the way they themselves look all the better. This is done even by Christians to the greater Church at large.
kjv@Revelation:16:15 @ @ RandyP comments: This is not the first time the Lord has described Himself as such. It should be taken literally that to these people at least He will be believed and perceived to be a thief stealing away all that they have left and hold dear. Coming suddenly from nowhere and without warning as some interpret it cannot be scripturally supported when it has taken this many years to develop, judgment has so precisely and frequently measured out, and men know that it is such but will not repent. No their decision was made and their fate sealed when they took the mark of the beast to begin with. This is a matter of their utter shame and His absolute Glory.
kjv@Revelation:19:6 @ @ RandyP comments: It is not that the Lord has just become omnipotent and reigns, it is that He always has and always will. Remember that this present vanity we've been subjected to comes out of a hope kjv@Romans:8:20, what better hope than to come to know Him for who/what He truly is. One can say the Lord is omnipotent but, what does that mean until all involved have experienced that? One can say the Lord is full of compassion in the same sense, what does that mean until all involved have experienced it? This then is a time when all of us have experienced the experience and we can conclude with knowledge and eternal confidence that this Lord God reigns omnipotent. These are not now just words!
kjv@Malachi:1 @ @ RandyP comments: The love and hate of the Lord for the two brothers and their seed may have nothing to do with their personalities or what they might be able to do, but, who He has chosen to be incarnate amongst. His love for Jacob certainly has not been any easier of a road for Him. His greater love is for all people, He seeks all of their hearts, He has died for all of them - Jacob, Esau, and Gentile alike. His particular love for either of these two has more to do with the division of pathway He chose to pursue His greater plan.
kjv@Malachi:2 @ @ RandyP comments: One can almost sense what religion has become to them; an alter to shed their tears upon. I suppose that tears are well and fine but, what about the wholesomeness of their offering? If all one does is cry and complain and petition and yet goes about their lives in the same sinful way, making dirty offerings with dirty hearts and hands, what good is this religion? The two parts make one whole. It is not just emoting your fears about what concerns come against you, it is how the strength of the Lord is always sufficient. It is not just this sacrifice you made or that offering you gave, it is about the sacrifice that He made and you wholehearted submission and faithfulness to living in it. One without the other is a means of dealing treacherously with self and master. When religion is only a crying alter, the alter becomes more and more a place where everyones evil is declared as good. This treacherous form of religion wearies the Lord. The fear is best placed in His judgment and not just His pity.
kjv@Genesis:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Of the many details about creation given in this first chapter, perhaps the most peculiar is the division between verse strkjv@Genesis:1:1 'in the beginning' and verse strkjv@Genesis:1:2 'and the earth was'. To me the key word is 'was' which I suggest more properly should be translated 'became' as used in other text. Notice Heaven and Earth created in the beginning strkjv@Genesis:1:1. Notice Heaven and Earth not being divided till strkjv@Genesis:1:9. What happened that they were in the beginning but not divided until the third day? Many would say that they were created without form and void, the native language can just as easily say they became uninhabitable being a place suffering judgment.
kjv@Genesis:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Another peculiarity we should not let escape our attention is that while there is a division between light and dark strkjv@Genesis:1:3-5 called Night and Day, the actual objects visually determining those observances for earth were not until kjv@Genesis:1:14-19 after even vegetation. Light and darkness till then were from a different source and that source was sufficient for massive plant life. In kjv@Revelation:21:23 we see a similar occurrence in the new earth.
kjv@Matthew:1:1-17 @ @ RandyP comments: The human ancestry of Jesus is not as dry a reading as one might expect. It flies by in 16 quick verses, but, the personal histories of these individual lives cover an amazing 42 generations. You can imagine someone someday reading over your descendent's genealogy and skipping over your name as dry and inconsequential. What is important here is the lives, the lifetimes, passions and interests and occurrences, successes and set backs, wishes and desires, health and sickness, riches and poverty, sin and righteousness, freedom and captivity. Much like our lives, these people had the hope that despite everything that this life or at least the lives of our offspring was leading to something good. In these peoples case it lead from a promise to a patriarch to a fulfillment of that promise the living Messiah.
kjv@Genesis:3:1-5 @ @ RandyP comments: The deception is a subtle twist of words over the meaning/extent of death. If the serpent had said that she'd die spiritually first, be exiled from the garden, live her and her generations in toil and turmoil, suffer famine and war and horrid transgressions from one another, and die a slow degenerating sometimes cancerous death, the deception would not have been as inviting. What is at question here is whether God would stand behind what He said and follow through; if so why? The why gets us into areas far beyond the thoughts of man.
kjv@Genesis:3 @ @ RandyP comments: Many liberal interpretations have been made of this story as to what the forbidden fruit might have been. The fruit however is not the import object here however, it is the transgression. The fruit could have been anything, the fact is that they were told not to do it, the transgression that they did it anyway. Some see the freedom of choice given Adam/Eve as broad as their own, and hold the freedom of choice as essential to sin. The fact is that because of the sin of these two all of mankind has been cursed and quarantined, the choice not to sin removed, not one man escaped. This is why the prophecy of a particular seed of Eve against the seed of the serpent.
kjv@Genesis:5 @ @ RandyP comments: We see proof immediately that God is being selective about who is being recorded in these genealogies, not everyone is being listed, only those important to the progression of the particular history being told. We have seven generations lined up already just in the people He wants us to know meaning that there can be plenty of people on the earth by the time of Noah.
kjv@Genesis:9 @ @ RandyP comments: The faith of a righteous man can help to deliver his children, but, those same children still have to make the decision to receive salvation each one themselves. We see too often the case where the righteous are followed by rebellious even evil sons, some for a spell, just as many continue to their own ruin. It is not the fault typically of the righteous (though there are always things that could have been parented better) it is rather a frequent tendency of one's self image to take a completely opposite course than the parent. We see it with the rich and successful, the powerful, the popular, the learned, the influential, the benevolent, why not then the righteous?
kjv@Genesis:17 @ @ RandyP comments: The token of the remembrance of this everlasting covenant was quite simple, male circumcision. Even Ishmael, who would later leave and become his own great people received this token in his flesh. The covenant itself is based entirely upon God's grace, the token is secondary and a fleshly symbol of a remembrance towards His grace. Mankind would still yet require a circumcision of heart to receive their savior/salvation; again entirely by God's grace. The descendent's of Ishmael should be made aware of this as well.
kjv@Matthew:3:16 @ @ RandyP comments: Who is 'he' that saw this? Jesus or John? The reflexive pronoun suggest he himself; Jesus. John may have known his cousin's mission, may have known his role in preparing the way, may have known the prophecies surrounding, but, later he will ask for confirmation whether Jesus is the the 'Promised One'. Did he not see this divine confirmation? Perhaps not!
kjv@Genesis:21 @ @ RandyP comments: I know that everything works according to God's purpose in the end here, but, I find it interesting that Sarah's poor decision of giving her servant Hagar to Abraham in the first place and then her poor (perhaps jealous/threatened/guilty) reaction afterwards is driving the story forward. The Lord needs to place a separation between the two lads (covenants) and uses this humanness as the vehicle. In a spiritual sense we need to keep the covenant of grace separated from our own efforts to force by our own hand the same covenant to happen. It may take the Lord working through some our humanness to get us to see this as well.
kjv@Genesis:24:17 @ @ RandyP comments: This may be the same servant Eliezer that would have inherited Abraham's possessions had not Ishmael and Isaac been born so late in the couple's life.
kjv@Genesis:28 @ @ RandyP comments: It may seem that the Lord is talking and revealing things directly to these patriarchs every day. You think about it though in terms of a 100 to 120 year lifetime there are just a few notable occasions, and those moments set the course for the remainder of years. The Lord's direction seems to occur almost despite the decisions and reactions of the involved parties. These are good people no dout, don't get me wrong, but, they end up doing some odd even at times deceptive things. No wonder the outsiders are fearful. Is there someone you know that you are somewhat fearful of because they are a loose cannon, but, somehow they seem doubly blessed?
kjv@Genesis:29:31 @ @ RandyP comments: Having children wasn't going to change Leah's situation with Jacob. She may of thought so, may have wished so, may have prayed for it to be so; for one reason or another it was just this way. Though the Lord had granted her children, they may have been more for her own good than for her marriage; that is one way to look at it. Perhaps the Lord wanted Jacob to change his heart, but, the decision was still all his; that is another take. Maybe this growing conflict between sisters is a sign of the internal tension amongst the tribes latter on. Either way, the Lord was moving on to begin his establishment of the twelve tribes starting with Leah's four sons. There may be design and will for each of us individually, but, there is also the overall plan/will as well. She may have come to this honest and sober conclusion by the time she had Judah. To have children in order to save a marriage is a huge burden for children to have to bare.
kjv@Genesis:30 @ @ RandyP comments: Some fun at the Jacob household huh? In the context of a single chapter I am sure our lives would sound pretty crazy as well. This home however? This is reality television material here! Seriously, life is what it is. God has to work in it and on it and through it and around it and somehow by the end make it work to His purposes. I am just glad it is Him that does it. I'm just saying!
kjv@Matthew:5:31-32 @ @ RandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:5:31-32 BUT I SAY UNTO - The common understanding again falls short. The purpose of a writ of divorce isn't only to protect the wife, it is to curb the effectual adultery that would result. If either spouse is unchaste then adultery is made. If both spouses are being chaste but have grown tired and loveless therewith adultery will be made should either take a new partner. We are not released from an eternal vow just because we want it to be unless the defilement of the vow by the one has forced the God fearing decision of the other. We are seeing the weakness of the Law in that it is interpreted and implemented by the human heart that is already deeply influenced by sin. The human heart at it's sincere best is searching from the inside out to see what God may have meant by the commandment. The faith of Jesus is looking from the outside in, knowing as the Father would know, looking in on the injured and entrapped heart knowing it's faulty logic and reprobate reasoning.
kjv@Genesis:44 @ @ RandyP comments: The truth is now pouring out from Judah's mouth. He is expressing concern for his dad, concern for his youngest brother, and a willingness to take the place of Benjamin for any wrong the brothers may have done. Nearly everything is here except an outright confession of the past treatment of Joseph.
kjv@Genesis:47 @ @ RandyP comments: We should be mindful as to just how serious famines can be. Within the first year the people of Egypt had sold Joseph their cattle and by the second year had sold all but the priest' land. This is a sanitized way of saying that they were absolutely desperate. The dust bowels of Great Depression are the closest thing we Americans have seen to this, not nearly as devastating but requiring a buy back program from the government for many as well, some had to walk away from everything.
kjv@Exodus:5:2 @ @ RandyP comments: They are testing the waters of Pharaoh's with a much smaller thing, a three day prayer fest in the wilderness. Pharaoh's decision is not only based upon the request of the Hebrews, but, his image and perception of their God. In a sense he is absolutely right to ask who is this god and why should I obey him.
kjv@Exodus:7 @ @ RandyP comments: Pharaoh's heart was going to harden more and more. Most would consider that a hard heart would cause this mission to fail, but, in this case God is using it to make a bigger statement. A hard heart in other words can serve the Lord's purposes. Is the Lord making his heart hard directly? Or, is the heart reacting as it wills?
kjv@Exodus:8:19 @ @ RandyP comments: The same may be true in our own witnessing. A hardened heart is rarely convinced by rational conclusions. If signs and wonders are not enough, if the heart has given it's word and then turned on it, it now has much more than it's own image to rescue and maintain, it now must bend the situation developing by it's own will. His own magicians he must feel are weak and deserters, under the spell of others. Everyone else is wrong but him. Have you seen it?
kjv@Exodus:9 @ @ RandyP comments: It concerns me how we might perceive how that the Lord hardens Pharaoh's heart. Is the condition of the heart caused by the Lord or was it known that he would react in this way? Was Pharaoh created or coerced to be so? One almost gets the impression that with each plague that the heart relaxes and then hardens again. How much harder successively can the heart get? Other than the bricks and straw Pharaoh has not really lashed out, he simply has resolved not to let them go. I do believe that the choice of heart has been Pharaohs all along. The Lord knows his heart well enough to know how he will react and knows just how far He will be able to go in showing the rest of the world mighty works without immediately tipping Pharaoh's hardness over. It is a testament to just how hard and oblivious the human heart can be.
kjv@Exodus:14:15 @ @ RandyP comments: I am sure that the Lord is always encouraging of prayer and communication. Crying out may not always be appropriate however. David for instance often cries out in his Psalms but, his desperation often leads him to the conclusion that God is truly great and a mighty deliverer in times of need. How often do we cry out however with desperation alone, seeking for answers that we are not prepared to follow, directions we are not observant to go, pleading for self strength without having established ourselves within His. We can not be too hard on these Israelites for they are experiencing God many of them for the first time. We should be harder on ourselves for having had their experience plus our own plus that of others and still yet crying out for the sake of crying out. Is there not reason to be communicating with God on a totally different level?
kjv@Matthew:13:22 @ @ RandyP comments: A believer that overcomes the first two elements must also contend with the cares of this world. It may not matter what others believe or think or behave, the believer is settled and assured in this part of his faith. However, the real issues of life and family and citizen present a constant drain on his time and energies causing anxiety and fatigue and over extension. The productive fruit of his life gets chocked out without him barely realizing it. I speak from experience.
kjv@Matthew:16:28 @ @ RandyP comments: Could this be referring to John and the visions of the Book of Revelations?
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