11 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 8:4-21
• Daniel 12
• 2 Samuel 1
• Psalm 40

Observations:

In the Luke passage today, we have the parable of the sower. Daniel culminates the book with a hopeful end to the prophecy from the last chapter. Again, there is some discrepancy as to when the days numbered apply,  but Antiochus seems a good candidate for immediate fulfillment. In 2 Samuel, we see David receiving news of the death of Saul and his line. What is interesting, what sets David apart from most other rulers is he did not seize upon the crown as it was presented to him, or reward the news-bearer who struck Saul's final blow, but punished the man who killed Saul and had Israel mourn for him as befits a king. This mourning and grief for a king who tried to kill you, whom God abandoned at your own anointing, who sat on the throne when you could and should have been king speaks volumes about David's character and the qualities God desires. The psalm today is praising God for the fact that he listens. The psalmist practically boasts in God, while lavishing his attention and praise upon him as well.

Application:

Keeping in mind the psalm and the Luke passage, I see that it's important to remember the line of communication we have with God and that it's important to check my own life - to make sure I am growing in good soil and not choking myself out with the world's weeds. Even things that may seem praiseworthy - like carrying the message that you have killed off the previous king to the new king - can turn out to be destructive, because of how it may turn out to have acted against the will of God.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you that I can come to you in prayer at any time. Help me to depend greater upon you. Help build around me good soil ad help me to avoid various weeds that may interfere with my growth. 

God, I'll be honest here: I need you. I'm feeling pretty drained and empty this morning and I need you to fill me up and give me the energy to face today. I need that fire burning in my heart today that seeks to honour you.

Amen

10 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 7:36-8:3
• Daniel 11:2-45
• 1 Samuel 31
• Psalm 39

Observations:

In the Luke passage, we see Christ talking about forgiveness and love - how one who is forgiven much loves the forgiver much and one who is forgiven little loves little. He was saying this in response to a pharisee's attitude towards a woman who was serving Christ. In Daniel, we see the prediction of the rise of Alexander, the division of his empire, the wars between the Ptolemies and Seleucids, at some point along comes Rome into the mix, before allegories of the Antichrist and hypotheses of references to Antiochus begin to overlap, with a couple commentators suggesting Mohammed, the Arabs, the Turks, and a later antichrist after Mohammed. The general trend amongst commentators I read towards the end of the chapter, however, appears to be in reference to Antiochus. In 1 Samuel, we see the fall of the lineage of Saul, as prophesied.

To be honest, I don't quite follow the psalm. I can't quite pick out a continual theme. We see the psalmist trying to hold in the torrent inside him before gushing to God everything he is feeling, about the fleeting nature of man, about his own sin, about the Lord's punishment. It seems to be the gushing of a desperate man towards one whom he loves and whose affections are not present. After some research, it appears David was ill during the writing of this psalm.

Applications:

Well, we definitely see God's prophesies verified in history, point one for consistency and historical veracity of scripture. This was a dry day for me. I can definitely identify with the psalmist, wanting to just throw a thousand questions at God. I read the Luke passage and recognise my own gratitude to God, though it's diminished by my tiredness. If Medical School were a disease, I understand how David feels. Moving in medical school while your wife works two jobs, trying to plan a semblance of meals, manage finances and paperwork, and engage in ministry while trying to maximise study time, all is draining. Thanks be to God who provides strength to my wife and I to tackle what we can while mired in the craziness of life (she has one over on me - she's trying to get back to school on top of her full plate).

Prayer:

God, I thank you that I have the freedom to just come to you, that, in my most tired and exhausted state I can still come and lean on you. Give me the endurance I need and give my wife the endurance she needs so that we can not only manage life, but face it and grow in it.

Be with my parents, Lord. Give them the wisdom they need to make this upcoming decision.

Help me to complete the studying I need to catch up on in preparation for Monday's test.

Amen

9 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 7:1-35
• Daniel 10:1-11:1
• 1 Samuel 29-30
• Psalm 38

Observations:

• Luke 7:22

In Luke, we see Christ's encounter with a centurion, his encounter with a widow and her late son, and to some disciples of John the Baptist. What stands out to me, really is Jesus' response to the disciples, asking if he is the one prophesied to be coming after what he has just done. 

"Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them."

 I got chills reading that statement. Christ is basically saying (to my mind) "Miracles are happening. The impossible is occurring. Why are you even still wondering?"

In Daniel, we see Daniel waiting on word from God. When the word is delivered, we see the messenger apologising for the delay, as he was engaged in battle with a demon ruling over Persia. 

In 1 Samuel, we see the Philistines whom David was serving in exile dismiss him from the upcoming battle against the Israelites, so, upon returning to his temporary home and finding it sacked, he had and took the opportunity, at the Lord's assurance, to track down and destroy the Amalekite band who laid waste to the city of Ziklag (and stole David's two wives).

Lastly, in the psalm, we see the psalmist prostrating himself before God for his own sins, waiting on God for forgiveness.

Application:

We are living in the midst of spiritual warfare. If there were ever any doubt, the Daniel passage dispels that. Moreover, God is and has been doing amazing works on this earth; it is apparent where the true power is. This is the God we serve - the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead walk. How can we be anything other than radical, anything other than bold with this kind of realisation. Jesus himself stated it, and rather matter-of-factly, too. There is no other power. There is no-one else.

As for me, I'm relying on God. I'm standing on His side, when the battle lines are drawn.

Prayer:

God, you are powerful, amazingly so. Thank you so much for the reminder of what you can and do in the world around us. I ask that you would find me a fitting tool to use, that you might be shown to those around me. The sins and death that I still walk in, Lord, remove from me. Renew me with your righteous power, that I may be fully equipped to fight against the spiritual powers that seek to oppress this world you have created. Make me bold, confident in your power.

I pray for this same realisation in my wife, in my school, and in my church, that we would be unashamedly working towards your goals, standing for you amidst the society that tells us to assimilate and shut up.

Lord, let this display of power that you showed two thousand years ago be present and visible today, in our society of skeptics, that they may have no other option but to acknowledge you.

Amen

8 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 6:17-49
• Daniel 9
• 1 Samuel 28
• Psalm 37

Observations:

• Luke 6:30  

Reading from Luke, it looks to be a similar transcription of the sermon on the mount. What stood out to me were two things: firstly, the above verse, which says "Give to all who beg of you," (which every South African probably is convicted by) and that the passage as a whole really is talking about the quality of a Christian's life, what it looks like, and how it should be lived. The Daniel passage has him crying out to God, acknowledging the sins of his people against God and God sending an answer to him regarding the rebuilding and fall of the temple in Jerusalem and Jerusalem itself. This prophecy, some think, alludes to the first coming of Christ and the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans. The 1 Samuel passage is the oft-retold story of Saul and the medium at Endor, where Saul, abandoned by God and afraid of the Philistines, sought a medium to speak with the deceased Samuel, who proclaimed his death and the death of his sons in the upcoming battle. The Psalm speaks of the Lord's defense of those who rely on him.

To me, what really stood out off all of these passages was Luke 6:30. I know I'm usually guilty of turning aside those begging and asking something of me. I know I have become callous to those around me.

Application:

Really, It all flows. Live more like Christ - embody the lifestyle presented in Luke 6. In doing so, we find ourselves not needing to worry about the Lord's rejection, as Saul did and the psalmist didn't.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to embody you more in my life. Help me to better show faith, hope, and love in my life, that those who see me notice that, frankly, I am not acting like a typical person and see that it it truly you acting through me, your likeness dwelling within me that leads me to move accordingly.

Thank you for the smooth move and I ask that you would help my wife and I unpack quickly and get the small details all squared away, so that we can return to a more normal pattern of life. Give her strength to endure today, as she works through both jobs today. Help us both to display you to our new neighbours.

Amen