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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Blood Required 

Ezekiel 3:15-27 - "When I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand."

Galatians 5:16-6:8 - Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these....

Jeremiah 31:27-37 - "But everyone will die for his own iniquity...."

Acts 4:32-5:11 - "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last....

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The Calling 

Ezekiel 2:1-3:14 - "And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not...."

Ephesians 4:1-16 - ...I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love....

Isaiah 52:1-10 - How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Acts 4:5-31 - "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

No Longer Strangers 

Isaiah 10:33-11:10 - And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.

Hebrews 13 - Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Ezekiel 47:1-12 - "By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."

Acts 3:1-4:4 - "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time."

Monday, May 28, 2007

Community 

Genesis 11:1-9 - "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."

Hebrews 12:14-29 - But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

Ezekiel 11:14-25 - "And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God."

Acts 2:38-47 - And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Why the Old Men Weep 

Joel 2:28-32 - "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions."

John 3:1-16 - "If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"

Genesis 2:7-10, 15-24 - Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.

Acts 2:14-24, 36-39 - "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified."

Saturday, May 26, 2007

"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." 

Deuteronomy 32:48-52, 34:1-12 - The LORD spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, "Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo.... Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people...."

It seems hard, and so cold, so abrupt.

Hebrews 12:1-13 - All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

But if you work from the context that life is not short but long, that death is a gateway from life to Life, that we are in fact placed askew and small in a vast universe for the sake of our own humility, then perhaps Moses receives an invitation, rather than a condemnation.

Isaiah 66:1-2, 13-23 - "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me?"

John 17 - "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

But by that same context, when Jesus speaks of eternal life, He is not using a metaphor.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Places to Be 

Deuteronomy 31:1-13, 24-26 - "Be strong and courageous.... The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

Hebrews 11:23-12:2 - And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

Isaiah 65:17-25 - "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind."

In some ways, this is very distressing: It's a beautiful place, if marred.

But all things considered, very possibly for the best.

John 16:12-33 - "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

Thursday, May 24, 2007

The Conviction of Things Not Seen 

Numbers 32:1-33 - "...be sure your sin will find you out."

Hebrews 10:35-11:22 - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.... By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

Isaiah 65:1-16 - "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me."

John 15:17-16:11 - "...an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God."

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Rend the Heavens 

Numbers 27:12-23 - Moses did just as the LORD commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him....

Hebrews 10:1-34 - It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Isaiah 63:17-64:12 - Why, O LORD, do You cause us to stray from Your ways And harden our heart from fearing You?

John 15:1-16 - "You are My friends if you do what I command you."

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Before and After 

Numbers 26:1-4, 52-56, 63-65 - But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.... except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Hebrews 9:11-28 - ...it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment....

In some cases (q.v.), it seems that judgment can come before AND after death.

Isaiah 63:7-16 - In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.

Hmm. "Holy Spirit?" You don't see that often in the Old Testament.

i looked it up and found that this phrase is used one other time in the Old Testament, in Psalm 51:11.

John 14:15-31 - "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."

You know, as frustrating as relying on the Holy Spirit can be sometimes ("now, let's see—was that the Holy Spirit nudging me? or just a stray voice in my head?"), is there any better way He could interact with us in this world without (a) turning us into automatons, or (b) us thinking we've turned into gods?

Monday, May 21, 2007

Something Better 

Numbers 23:27-24:25 - "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the command of the LORD, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the LORD speaks, that I will speak."

Hebrews 8:1-9:12 - But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation....

Sort of makes you think there might be more than one creation, doesn't it?

Isaiah 63:1-6 - "...from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath...."

John 14:1-14 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do...."

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Risen in Deed 

2 Kings 2:1-22 - "Thus says the LORD, 'I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.'"

Acts 1:1-14 - "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

Deuteronomy 34 - So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.

John 14:15-27 - "After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also."

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Intercession 

Numbers 22:36-23:26 - "Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"

Hebrews 7 - Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Isaiah 62 - You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Philippians 2:1-11 - Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Messengers 

Numbers 22:1-35 - But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you."

Hebrews 6 - Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity....

Isaiah 61 - He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners....

1 Peter 3:8-22 - ...sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence....

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Ascension 

2 Kings 2:1-15 - "Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."

Hebrews 4:14-5:10 - Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Daniel 7:9-14 - I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.

Luke 24:44-53 - While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Effective Prayer 

Jeremiah 14 - "When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them."

John 6:27-53 - "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Habakkuk 3:1-18 - O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.

James 5 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

"Lord, teach us to pray" 

Isaiah 64 - There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us....

Luke 11:1-13 - "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

1 Kings 8:22-40 - "...whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house; then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men...."

James 4 - Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Blessing 

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 - "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:"

And there follows a list of blessings that are pretty much unavoidable.

We don't know blessing these days. We don't traffic in it. If you were to "bless" your child, what exactly would you be doing? Sending pleasant thoughts her way? Giving her a good night kiss? Paying her way through college?

God seems to have in mind something deeper. All-encompassing.

And somehow we've gotten to the point that we wouldn't even recognize it if He smacked us with it.

Matthew 6:24-34 - "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"

Deuteronomy 8 - "He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD."

James 1:1-17 - Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Flesh and Bone 

Ezekiel 37:1-14 - "Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life."

Luke 24:36-49 - "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

Job 14:1-15 - "If a man dies, will he live again?"

Matthew 19:16-29 - "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?"

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Context 

Numbers 21:21-35 - But the LORD said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people and his land...."

This is the God that we fear and grow concerned over. But the truth is that we see this God very little in the Old Testament. Enough that we should be concerned, but not so much that we shouldn't at least find out more about the context in which He manifests.

Hebrews 4:1-13 - For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Isaiah 60 - For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you.

Revelation 21:1-7 - "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

Friday, May 11, 2007

for every complex problem, a solution simple, elegant, wrong 

Numbers 21:1-9 - And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

i've often wondered why God doesn't just remove the serpents from the presence of the Israelites, instead of using this roundabout resolution. In the end, the thing that the people have to do is simple, almost nothing.

There are questions that must wait until we can ask them to His face. This, however, is not one of them.

Hebrews 2:14-3:19 - ...that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

Isaiah 59 -We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us....

1 Corinthians 15:35-58 - ...flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed....

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Neglected Salvation 

Numbers 20:14-29 - "Aaron will be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah."

Hebrews 1:13-2:13 - ...how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

Isaiah 58 - "Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist."

Romans 8:1-17 - Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

An Eternal Weight of Glory 

Numbers 20:1-13 - "If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD!"

Hebrews 1:1-12 - God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son....

Isaiah 57:10-21 - "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."

2 Corinthians 4:6-5:1 - ...the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Life Sentences 

Numbers 17:12-18:24 - "Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, must die. Are we to perish completely?"

Ephesians 6:10-24 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Isaiah 56:1-57:2 - "Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed."

2 Corinthians 1:1-10 - For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Between the Dead and the Living 

Numbers 16:41-17:11 - He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked.

Ephesians 5:22-6:9 - With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

Isaiah 55 - "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy?"

Philippians 3:7-21 - ...I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ....

Sunday, May 06, 2007

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" 

John 11:17-39, 41-44 - "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Genesis 8:6-12, 15-16; 9:8-16 - "It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh."

Mark 12:18-27 - "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?"

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Empty Words 

Numbers 16:1-40 - "You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?"

Ephesians 5:1-21 - Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Isaiah 54 - "In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you," Says the LORD your Redeemer.

Romans 14:1-9 - For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;.... whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Hard Hearts, Old Lives 

Numbers 14:26-45 - "Here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised."

Ephesians 4:17-32 - ...in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart....

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 - He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Romans 6:1-13 - ...our old self was crucified with Him....

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Truth and Love 

Numbers 14:11-25 - "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?"

Ephesians 4:1-16 - ...we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ....

Isaiah 52:1-12 - How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Romans 1:1-12 - ...that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Unworthy 

Numbers 13:26-14:10 - "...we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

Ephesians 3 - ...to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think....

Isaiah 51:17-23 - Who will mourn for you?

2 Corinthians 5:5-21 - ...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them....

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Goes to Motive 

Numbers 13:1-3, 17-25 - "How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land."

Ephesians 2:4-22 - But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 51:9-16 - "Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass, That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth...?"

1 Corinthians 15:12-22 - ...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless....

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