Points of Contention

There are a number of objections that God makes here with respect of His People.

Ezekiel 23:37
“That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.”
– this was totally the opposite to ‘children being an inheritance’.
– are we sacrificing investment in our childrens lives because of our involvement in worldly activities?

Ezekiel 23:40
“And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,”
– a reminder that sin can be very attractive. Ultimately though, regardless of how much glamour our lives are marked by if the attractiveness is not attractive to God then it is all in vain

Ezekiel 23:38
“Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.”
– Two further exceptions here
1.relating to The House of God
2.relating to The Day of God

December 6, 2010

Ezekiel 20:10
Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

Are we to judge by this that the wilderness experience with its start/stop behaviour was deliberate whereas we may have thought it was just par for the course given the task of getting nearly 2 million Jews from Egypt to Canaan. Indeed it is seems very clear from these verses that God made their journey longer than necessary in order to weed out those truly living by faith and those living by sight; a deliberate process then based on what God knew existed in the hearts of many of the apparently redeemed, idolatry and apostasy!

Might it be true that despite being truly redeemed we in a similar way spend so much time in the wilderness before entering in on the promised land. Not perhaps that God deliberately withholds ‘the land’ from us, that would be forcing the application. But that we spend much time in the dry places by our own failure to realise the truth of our inheritance.

November 23, 2010

And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.

This record of the removal of the temple structures comes at the end of Jeremiahs somewhat depressing book. Just for a moment he stops sorrowing, though of course he was right to do so. Times were bad. But the record here is intruiging. Why the detail of these structures? Jeremiah doesn’t need to tell us about the dimensions and scale of these things, we know already. Just tells us what’s happening Jeremiah, the detail is superfluous. Jeremiah under the hand of The Holy Spirit begs to differ.

Perhaps if we imagine for a moment the sorrow that fills this mans heart. And as if Nebuzaradan is dealing the final blow to the Jewish nation, he takes down, piece by piece, the very thing that stood for all they held dear. These were great structures but they were not beyond being dissasembled by the powerful invader. In fact these structures were simply that – structures – they may have filled the Jew with awe and passion but it was just metal and timber and they were useful materials that would benefit the Babylon economy. It didn’t matter that they were so colossal. Big they might be, as long as Jewish religion was tied up in physical things it was hopelessly fragile and dispensable.

How wonderful that our blessings are in heaven and our security is in Christ. Our faith cannot be disassembled. Our salvation cannot be pulled down. What a wonderful Saviour, what a Great Salvation!

November 3rd, 2010

Been experimenting with the many hundreds of exciting apps for the new iPhone I took possession of on Monday! note to self to install funambol, the free satnav software I came across and explore the various options for bible apps.

September 30, 2010

2 Chronicles 15

A reading of this chapter provides real encouragement that despite less than perfect spiritual conditions, God will still bless.

Asa knew peace and quietness, victory in battle and a significant spiritual awakening. He led the way. His heart was “wholly true” – that must be the key. Since God knows our motives, reads our hearts, He only knows whether we are sincere in our walk before Him. He only knows whether our big ideas and big talk match up with a big heart for God and His purposes. In Asa’s case, his heart was set on God.

Notwithstanding revival was only partial, Judah, and indeed fragments of other tribes also knew blessing in his days.

God doesn’t ask for much it seems. And let not the dark, bleak surroundings make us think God will not bless should our hearts be “wholly true”.

Proverbs 27:2

In our current times it is generally acceptable to big-up yourself. Unsurprisingly, Scripture does not encourage us in this.

The Facebook generation in particular have taken to annoucing their achievements and other things they are proud of in ways which are cringeworthy. This is done in the form of a general broadcast, all unsundry, rather than those that are near and dear to us who, if it ever was appropriate for us to share these things, it would be with that group only. Sharing with everyone else tends to attract the worst in people including jealousy, coveting and criticism.

Scripture goes further however. ‘Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.’ What wise counsel.

Christ of course is our example when it comes to humility. But just on this verse alone we should reign in the inclines we have to self-promotion. If we are grieved by the realisation that people don’t take kindly to us praising ourselves, ‘why can’t people be happy for me’, this verse puts the ball firmly back in our court. True, their jealousy is wrong. But your praising of yourself is also wrong. And since you caused their jealousy you are doubly responsible.

Let other people do the praising. Even better when people who have no attachment with you praise you. Parents for example often have ulterior motives. A parent praising a child could be a parent indirectly praising themselves! But when strangers praise you it is genuine praise and un-biased. Jealous onlookers should be ashamed of themselves that they can’t bring themselves ‘to be happy’ for you.

September 23, 2010

Proverbs 27:23
The wisdom expressed here makes obvious application to spiritual shepherds as well as professional ones.
Happy the assembly where elders make frequent enquiry about the well being of their sheep, spiritual or otherwise. And like most good shepherds, this enquiry will not be limited only to when it is convenient for the shepherd. Assembly gatherings will give the Shepherd a fairly contrived picture of one’s well being since it doesn’t provide the level of intimacy necessary for full disclosure and honest, open conversation. At best, the pasture of the local assembly will allow for everyone to be on their best form.
Diligent enquiry, as the writer suggests here, will take place regularly and involve careful inspection. This Shepherd will identify negative patterns before they escalate, and diagnose and prescribe where the Sheep needs treatment. Over time the Shepherd earns the trust of the sheep and this regular contact means that when things go wrong a relationship exists to limit the damage and recover more quickly.

Sheep will be sheep – but oh that Shepherds would be Shepherds.

September 3, 2010

Psalm 119
It’s interesting to observe that the psalmists mention of ‘salvation’ is this Psalm seems to be in terms of ‘hoping’, ‘longing’ and very much in relation to how at the same time he is keeping His law.
How different for us. Our Salvation is possessed without any such ambiguity.

the first job each morning:

The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals.?

But we must respond in kind: ?The first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.?

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (SanFrancisco, CA: Harper, 2001), 198.