Originally written 4/29/2009
I have often heard about God's plan of redemption for my life. I have also heard that God has a plan for my life, but I have never truly put the two together. It is not just that God has a plan for my life but that plan is a plan of redemption; nothing more, nothing less. God loves me and has redeemed me; His plan for me is that redemption. Now I admit that others have impacted my walk and I have impacted others, but that was not so much them or I partaking in the plan for another. Rather it was an area in my plan that intersected with someone else's plan.
When my plan does intersect with another's, my focus isn't to be on the other's plan. I shouldn't even worry or be concerned with their plan. That doesn't mean they are not important to me for I am to love them as Jesus loves me (John 13:34, 15:12, Gal 5:13, 1 Thes 3:12, 1 Peter 3:8, 1 John 3:23, 2 John 1:5). But that is not part of their plan, it is part of mine. I can't impact another's plan (nor can they impact mine), rather it is God that is using me as an instrument in their plan. It is God that intersects the plans; it is He that is at those intersections. We are not to be concerned with what others do to or for us or for what we do/for others. Wait!! That doesn't make sense does it? I am not saying that we are not responsible for how we act in those intersection points, quite the contrary. We are very responsible for our actions but our true insurrections are not toward those people at hose intersections but toward God whom we disobeyed. Our sin is not what we did toward others but in what we didn't do; obey the Lord. Our focus is on obeying the Lord. That also doesn't mean if we do something wrong to another we don't need to seek forgiveness because to not seek forgiveness would be to disobey. Jesus tells us "Therefore if you bring your gift to the alter, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the alter, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." (Mat 5:23-24)
This applies to those things that we do good in someone's life. We can't boast of these things, for we did not do these things, what we did was to obey the Lord.
It isn't quite that simple; some things that we think are good in someone's life may actually be bad and visa-versa. It isn't important that we do in regards to those whom we intersect with but that we obey the Lord.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Giving to the Lord when we are not called to
Originally written October 18th, 2007
It is always good to give to the Lord's work, right? I am sure we all feel sometimes that we aren't giving enough to the work of the Lord either in our time, our skills, or our money. I am not talking about the time we spend in the word but rather the time and money we spend doing the Lord's work. It doesn't matter if the Lord has called me to give or not, he will use whatever I choose to give to benefit His good work, right?
Exd 35:21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.
There are two groups of people that brought offering; those “whose heart was stirred” and those “whose spirit was willing”. The Hebrew word for “stirred” nasa' (naw-saw) means to lift up or to carry and is used to indicate done in one's own power. In contrast the word for “willing” nadab (naw-dab') indicates a willingness to follow the Lord. The “stirred” group was giving out of their own accord and not necessarily in the will of God where the “willing” group was follow the leading of the Lord.
This is a good thing, right? We have two groups of people giving freely to the Lord, does it matter if one of the groups wasn't explicilty called by the Lord to give? Aren't they still giving in the service of the Lord, and that is what is important isn't it?
To explore this we have to look a little forward and see the consequenced of their actions.
Exodus 36
2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. 4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, 5 and they spoke to Moses, saying, "The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do."
6 So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, "Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary." And the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done--indeed too much.
So what are the consequences? The first one that jumps out at me is that they had too much material. OK big deal, right? Who wouldn't want extra stuff, that's a blessing isn't it? If that were the only consequence then this wouldn't make much of a convincing argument would it. There is another consequence that is a big deal and we see that in vs 4. Then all the craftsmen who were doing the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing. In other words all the craftsman stopped what they were doing to tell Moses that they didn't need any material. These craftsmen were building the Tabernacle or more specifically they were doing the work of the Lord. This means that as a direct result of people giving when there weren't called to the work of the Lord had to cease in order to deal with it.
This makes me realize that every time I feel that I should give something to the work of the Lord, I need to do it in prayer and make sure it is really God who wants me to give. One never know how their generosity may affect the work of the Lord; only God knows and it is only through God that one can be sure of where and how the Lord wants them to give to his work.
It is always good to give to the Lord's work, right? I am sure we all feel sometimes that we aren't giving enough to the work of the Lord either in our time, our skills, or our money. I am not talking about the time we spend in the word but rather the time and money we spend doing the Lord's work. It doesn't matter if the Lord has called me to give or not, he will use whatever I choose to give to benefit His good work, right?
Exd 35:21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.
There are two groups of people that brought offering; those “whose heart was stirred” and those “whose spirit was willing”. The Hebrew word for “stirred” nasa' (naw-saw) means to lift up or to carry and is used to indicate done in one's own power. In contrast the word for “willing” nadab (naw-dab') indicates a willingness to follow the Lord. The “stirred” group was giving out of their own accord and not necessarily in the will of God where the “willing” group was follow the leading of the Lord.
This is a good thing, right? We have two groups of people giving freely to the Lord, does it matter if one of the groups wasn't explicilty called by the Lord to give? Aren't they still giving in the service of the Lord, and that is what is important isn't it?
To explore this we have to look a little forward and see the consequenced of their actions.
Exodus 36
2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. 4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, 5 and they spoke to Moses, saying, "The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do."
6 So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, "Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary." And the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done--indeed too much.
So what are the consequences? The first one that jumps out at me is that they had too much material. OK big deal, right? Who wouldn't want extra stuff, that's a blessing isn't it? If that were the only consequence then this wouldn't make much of a convincing argument would it. There is another consequence that is a big deal and we see that in vs 4. Then all the craftsmen who were doing the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing. In other words all the craftsman stopped what they were doing to tell Moses that they didn't need any material. These craftsmen were building the Tabernacle or more specifically they were doing the work of the Lord. This means that as a direct result of people giving when there weren't called to the work of the Lord had to cease in order to deal with it.
This makes me realize that every time I feel that I should give something to the work of the Lord, I need to do it in prayer and make sure it is really God who wants me to give. One never know how their generosity may affect the work of the Lord; only God knows and it is only through God that one can be sure of where and how the Lord wants them to give to his work.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Azazel
Originally written 09/09/2007
So how does this relate to me and my walk with the Lord? Lets take a look at:
Leviticus 16 shows me that the Lamb of God is more than just the passover lamb. As King David tells us As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12 NKJ) This is the purpose of Azazel. As the root azal indicates the goat disappeared from the sight of the nation and with it the sins of the nation disappeared from the Lord. Jesus Christ is our Azazel “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Lev 16:30 “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.
This is Yom Kipper, the day of atonement. Through a long and complex process atonement is made for the sins of the nation of Israel. The following is an excerpt about Yom Kippur from Tracey Rich's website Judaism 101.
The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. In Days of Awe, I mentioned the "books" in which G-d inscribes all of our names. On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends. http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm
The Days of Awe is the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipper; this is also referred to as the Days of Repentance. It is believed that sins that are not repented prior to Yom Kippur are forever held against you. In his article about the Days of Awe Tracey Rich states:One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that G-d has "books" that he writes our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year. These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe can alter G-d's decree. The actions that change the decree are ... repentance, prayer, good deeds (usually, charity). http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday3.htm
This troubles me in a number of respects but the most troubling is that our actions; repentance, prayer, and good deeds; are enough to get our name in the book of life. The problem is that it is impossible for us to know and repent every sin made every year for we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23 NKJV).
I would like to explore the biblical ceremony of Yom Kipper in a little more depth. I have chosen to the English Standard Version for a specific reason, which will be explained below. This is Leviticus 16 versus 7-10 and 21-22:
7Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting.8And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.9And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering,10but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
21And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.22The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
Azazel is a Hebrew word that the translators of the ESV chose not to translate. It is only used four times in the scripture; all in Leviticus 16 (vs 8, 10, and 26). It is formed from two Hebrew root words:- ez - female goat
- azal – to go away; disappear
So how does this relate to me and my walk with the Lord? Lets take a look at:
Jhn 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
When I think of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world I think of the passover lamb. In the first passover each household sacrificed a lamb and took its blood and put it above their doors and the angel of death would passover that house. This is a picture of Jesus Christ for through His blood death will pass over us for The wages of sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NKJV).Leviticus 16 shows me that the Lamb of God is more than just the passover lamb. As King David tells us As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12 NKJ) This is the purpose of Azazel. As the root azal indicates the goat disappeared from the sight of the nation and with it the sins of the nation disappeared from the Lord. Jesus Christ is our Azazel “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
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