Week Three – Wash, rinse, repeat . . .

Our study passage today was Exodus 32:1-35.  It is especially familiar to those of us who have been on this journey through the first few books of the Old Testament.  (Hopefully we will get through these books in the Old Testament in less time than the Israelites wandered in the desert.  But I digress.) 

This passage contains a few brief words that make me laugh every time I read them.  Aaron tries to explain to Moses how the golden calf came to be. 

Aaron says, “Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”  

Give me a break!  Come on Aaron.  That calf didn’t create itself.  You made it for them. 

The Israelites wanted a god they could see and touch. We do to. So they melted their valuables and fashioned a golden calf.  The calf wasn’t just a convenient image to worship; it was reminiscent of the cow and the bull that were a part of Egyptian worship rituals. The bull was also part of the Baal worship of the Canaanite culture. (this culture would continue to haunt the Israelites for hundreds of years). The Israelites watered down their faith by including pagan elements from pagan practices.  And the consequences of this act would follow them for years and generations to come.

They allowed elements of their old lifestyles, previous experiences and bad habits to continue to shape and define who they were.  They still were not grasping what it was to be the children of a Holy God. 

Why did the Israelites make such a tragic mistake? In a word, fear. They were afraid. Now let’s be clear on something here.  Being afraid is not an offense to God. But how we respond in our fear can be a big problem. When the Israelites were afraid they reverted back to the familiar past. Even though they were slaves in Egypt, life back in Egypt was predictable. And like the Israelites, when we are scared, we often seek out the familiar and stable . . . even if that stability is negative.  

The end of this part of the story of the golden calf is more tragic than its beginning. The people were permanently affected by their decisions to turn their backs on God. According to verse 35, the people were plagued because of what they did.  [Remember last week? -- Connecting the dots?] 

The Israelites probably had a series of “if only” moments. If only they had remained faithful to God. If only they had resisted the urge to worship the golden calf. If only they had waited patiently for the Lord. If only they were willing to break the cycle of disobedience to God and live a life of holiness. 

As we discussed last week, the bad news is that we often have to live with the consequences of our sins. The good news is that God is the God of forgiveness and restoration. We can be in a right relationship with God even after we have let Him down. We can be restored, we can move forward. We can leave the mistakes of the past behind us, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can walk in Holiness and not repeat them over and over. 

We can break the cycle of sin, repent, sin, repent, sin, repent . . .  

Read the back of your shampoo bottle.  It says, wash, rinse and repeat.  No one in their right mind expects us to live in the shower and continually wash, rinse and repeat.  I think it is reasonable at some point to get out of the shower.  Dry off.  Get dressed and go to work! 

We are not supposed to live in the shower.  And I guess that is where the shampoo analogy breaks down a little bit.  But the analogy does work when it comes to Holiness.  God calls us to live a life of holiness.  Like the Israelites, we, who are Christians, are His children.  And He has given us His Son to die for our sins so that we might be forgiven.  And he has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us to live that life of holiness that He calls us to.

 

Week Two – Connecting the Dots

Sometimes, despite all our intelligence and experience, we find ourselves in a similar situation as those that we looked at this morning in Bible Study.  We don’t seem to be able to connect the dots between our actions and the consequences of our actions.

Our passage was found in the 40th chapter of Isaiah.  This section of Scripture begins a longer section where Isaiah directs some prophetic words for the Israelites as they are in the early period of the Babylonian captivity. The glory years of David and Solomon were a distant memory and now the Israelites lamented their situation. Why they were there is a long story filled with persistent rebellion and abandoning authentic worship for idols. Or maybe they got mad at God because He didn’t deliver what they wanted according to their schedules. Sound familiar?

Have you ever asked God, “Why me?” or “Why now?” Sometimes we aren’t very good at connecting our actions with the consequences that we experience. We repeatedly disobey and then question God when we find ourselves slap dab in the middle of the consequences of our disobedience.

Do you see the dots? Disobedience . . . . . Consequences.

Isaiah asks his audience to identify anything that was comparable to God. He specifically asks them if they can be compared to an idol made by a craftsman, covered in gold, and adorned with silver.

I don’t have any idols in my house.  But idolatry is just a symptom of the real problem.  The real problem is that the Israelites had lost focus on who God was.  And, as such, they began to wander from God.  Then the natural outcome of that began to show itself.  They became more and more disobedient to God and to the prophet who God raised up during that time.

Maybe some of the Israelites thought God had forgotten them. We can relate to that feeling can’t we? When life is turned upside down by sickness, death, job loss or something like that we must be reminded that God indeed is in control and that He cares for us.

In Isaiah 40:18-31 God was disrespected by his chosen people. They ignored the obvious and chose to worship inanimate objects rather than the living God. In this passage, God seems appalled that the Israelites could experience all they had been through and yet turn to idols rather than the Creator. They knew the stories of the Exodus, the Red Sea, and David and Goliath. Yet they ignored him. And now they are whining because they are suffering the consequences of their actions.

Be honest . . . When was the last time you whined to God? What was going on and how did whining work for you? My guess is that it didn’t work so well for you.

He words of John echo through our deepest valleys . . . “For God so loved!” We can hear it on the mountain peaks and there is nowhere that we can go where we can escape this undeniable truth.

There really is no one like God. Scripture is one of the ways that He reveals himself. Nature is another. Evidence is all around us to prove that God is alive and well. And because He exists , we can be sure He is in control.

What is one situation that you need to give to God right now?

How is that situation affecting your life?

How long will you hold on to it and try to work it according to your own understanding? 

What is keeping you from seeing God at work in your life?

Are you able to connect the dots between your own obedience and your current circumstances?

When we look at some of the writers of the Bible we see that they wrote more from experience than education. The Psalms reflect David’s ups and downs. The Apostle Paul wrote of his struggles with the old man and the new man. That is why we have the entire Bible. It is to be our source of wisdom and guidance in dealing with everyday life. God loves us that much and more!

Life appears to fall to pieces at times. It seems to be irreparable. But God is in control. He is working all things according to His plan for those who are His children.

How can you know?

Because God so loved the world.  Because God so loved You.  Because God so loved Me.

 

Hope to see you tomorrow

We are off to a great start for our summer series based on Max Lucado’s book, 3:16 The Numbers of Hope.  I hope to see you tomorrow as we look at this verse in light of a passage from Isaiah chapter 40. 

Pray for our time together and pray that God would speak to us through His word.

 

Week One – Broad Daylight Christians

This is week one of our study of Max Lucado’s book, “3:16”.  Thanks to each of you who were able to be a part of this new study.

The focus passage was John 3:1-12. 

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

Many things spoke to me out of such a common passage. 

Nicodemus came to visit Jesus in secret. Remember, he was a very prominent Jewish leader of his day. He was a “big shot.”  He was a Pharisee. He was a part of the same group that had investigated John the Baptist and they were now preparing a case against Jesus. But Nicodemus stepped away from his official investigative role and went looking for some personal answers. Nicodemus knew enough to wonder if Jesus might really be the one that was prophesied. His colleagues were not convinced, but Nicodemus was curious or intrigued enough to seek answers directly from the source. 

And Jesus did not disappoint Nicodemus in terms of proving insight and information about the nature of a relationship with Himself.  But Jesus spoke in spiritual terms and Nicodemus was hearing things in physical terms.  He couldn’t get his mind around the concept of a faith based relationship.  He was more in to doing all the right things.  He was in to being in the right groups.  He was in to religion.  And Jesus was inviting him into a relationship.

Some of us would make good Pharisees because we tend to overlook the spiritual significance of biblical instruction, choosing instead to nitpick the minutia. Like a defense attorney on your favorite crime show, we badger the prosecution’s witness, hoping to poke holes in the testimony. We misdirect the conversation.  If we can just find one loophole, then the instructions won’t apply to us.

Now contrast that with this passage later in John.  John 19:38-42 says:

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Nicodemus goes to the same fellows that he was once a part of to ask for the body of Jesus christ who had just been humiliated publicly and crucified.  And he does not go this time under cover of darkness.  This time he goes in broad daylight.  Both Joseph and Nicodemus had reason to fear the Jews.  But they came anyway.

.

Why?  What was different this time?

.
Nicodemus began with an interview or encounter with Jesus Christ.  But that encounter changed him dramatically.  He changed because he began a relationship with Jesus Christ.  He came to Jesus Christ for information.  And, at some point, he came to Jesus Christ in faith and became a disciple and follower.  And that change was so dramatic in his life that he came to request the body of Jesus in broad daylight.  He came in faith and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Nicodemus couldn’t understand this relationship at first.  Born again?  He thought it was impossible.  But then he experienced it.  And although he may not have been eloquent in describing what had happened.  There is no doubt that something happened.

So, I have a question…

When it comes to a faith-based relationship with Jesus Christ, are you studying it?  Or are you experiencing it?

See you next week.

 

Is this the first blog you have ever looked at?

I am curious.  Is this the first blog that you have ever looked at? 

For me, I began blogging several years ago.  It is a great way for me to express my thoughts and have a more well thought out dialog than I sometimes am able to have in a Bible study session.  Sometimes it takes me a while to think things through and be able to have a clearer thought.  So I, like many others, blog…  Plus, it is a great way to meet new people of similar interests and experience other points of view on a particular topic. 

So, join me in blogging and posting our way through Max Lucado’s book “3:16 The Numbers of Hope”.  So just click on the little link above this post that says “No Comments” and be the first one.  If you are not the first, it will tell you how many comments have already been made.  Click on that link, read what others are saying and leave a comment yourself.

 

 

Some words from Max Lucado

As we embark on this summer of examining this most famous Scripture, let’s hear from Max himself as he describes the book and its message.