Life can’t be wonderful all the time. We live in a world of sin and so there are going to be problems. Sometimes it does seem like we are surrounded by nations and that we are surrounded on every side. The picture of being surrounded by bees reminds me of a time when I was out camping and out looking for firewood. Why pay for firewood when you are in the woods and can find it for free? I saw a dead tree snapped off about four feet up and was going to use the ax in my hand to cut it the rest of the way down. Well, the bees that had made a nest at the foot of the tree had other ideas and swarmed me and bit me good. That was not a good day.
But, despite being surrounded, the author still can write, “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” That is faith. That is strong, strong faith. The last verse is optimistic as well, “The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.” We think we have it bad on occasion. Yet, this verse puts everything in perspective. We still have our life and that’s what counts. Even more, we still have our salvation and that’s what counts. They can take our life, but we are going to be in heaven. That’s what counts.
The Lord is all about trust and reliance on Him. He was with Israel, but He wanted the people of Israel to trust in Him. How do you get them to do that? Go to war with just 300 men when the enemy has more camels that dust. There is some good military strategy in the Bible. But, still, the key is reliance on the Lord. That’s the lesson from Gideon. Israel had fallen away from God and now God was trying to teach the whole nation and the surrounding nations to trust in God. Well, going into war with 300 people will do it.
It think it’s interesting that as we proceed through Acts, that we are suddenly taking a few minutes to read through Galatians. Especially this first chapter where we have Paul give his own account of his conversion and his early background in the church. He feels it is very important that the source of his information about the Gospel did not come from man, but came from Jesus Himself. Jesus is the one who revealed to Paul the news of His death and resurrection. So, in condemning this “other gospel,” Paul makes clear that the Gospel he is preaching is from Jesus Christ. It is the true Gospel. The true Word of God.
Good morning everyone! What a beautiful morning. I went outside this morning on my deck to check my tomatos and zuchini and cucumbers and there was the robin standing on the arm of a lawn chair. I opened the door carefully, and it didn’t fly away. I walked toward the chair and it didn’t fly away. I walked past the chair to check some flowers and it didn’t fly away. I went back in the house to get my camera and it didn’t fly away. It was only after I took a couple pictures that it finally flew away. It was pretty weird.
Anyway, our Psalm for today affirms that our Lord is marvelous. He is our refuge. He is our rock. I wonder if the idea of the pet rocks came from Scripture. I’ve never been a big fan of rocks, but I understand the picture language. A large rock is unmoveable and solid and before the modern days with huge equipment to move things, large rocks would have been a pain to deal with for farmers.
I think of a Clint Eastwood movie (I think it was Pale Rider) where this pan handler looking for gold kept working on this big huge rock to try to break it so he could look for gold under it.
Our Lord is a rock. Our Lord is so almighty that He can create a rock so big that He can’t move it. Think about that for a while.
The short meaning behind it all is that God is strong, almighty, all powerful and amazing and He will watch over us.
We have in Judges the beginning of a historical story we all know. Samson’s partents weren’t able to have children. That was a big problem in the day. They looked at children as a blessing from God and if you didn’t have children, it was a sign that God didn’t like you. But God hears the prayers of Manoah and his wife and they are told that she should not eat anything unclean or drink any alcohol and that their son should do the same, plus they are never to cut his hair and God is going to use this boy, this man, to defend Israel. So we will watch and read and see how God is going to work amazing feats through Samson.
We read about some controversy in Acts over circumcision. Now we get to read about it again in Galatians. I think it cool when you can read about something from two seperate sources and two different authors (Acts was written by Luke and Galatians by Paul). In both places the whole thing comes down to grace. God forgives us because of His undeserved love and not because of anything we have done. As Paul says, “by works of the law no one will be justified.” If they require circumcision, that would be a work. But we are saved by grace through Jesus death and resurrection. That’s why the whole problem is so important. If they are saved or if circumcision helps salvation at all, it takes away from the death and resurrection of Jesus. Salvation is all a result of what God has done for us and not what we have done for ourselves. Salvation is all up to God.
How do we receive God’s blessings? How do we make God happy? What can we do to please God? Our Psalm for today tells us. “Walk in the law of the Lord.” “Keep His testimonies.” “Seek Him with their whole heart.” “Walk in His ways.” Many blessings come from walking with God and keeping His commands. But there is a fine line. We are NOT doing it to earn salvation. We are NOT doing it because we have to.
I’m going to jump to the Galatians text and deal with Judges last. Paul goes on and on about the relationship between the Law and the Gospel for a good reason. While proper distinction of Law and Gospel seems so simple to us, for the people of Paul’s day, it was an entirely new concept. For them, it was all Law, Law, Law. They loved the Lord. They knew the promise of the Messiah and trusted in that promise. But they had no clue about how salvation really worked. They were focused on the Law and the sacrificial system. So Paul has to lay it out and define it and explain every point so that they could understand. It seems old hat for us, but it was a new concept for them and Paul was the perfect person to explain all the fine details for them. He was trained in that old system and knew it well. Having seen the Light on the road to Damascus, he also found a new way to heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, back to Judges … I like Samson. I can relate to Samson. Nothing ever seems to go right for him. He means well. He tries his hardest. But he always seems to get in trouble. Take our lesson for today. The poor guy just wants to get married. He sees this girl, “for she is right in my eyes” and tells his parents about her. Now, they notice that she is a Philistine and questions him about someone who is Israelite. Normally, the Lord required the people of Israel to marry among the Israelites. That’s why the text is clear about stating, “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord.”
They did do arranged marriages back then. His parents and her parents would have to agree and we assume they did since we suddenly find ourselves at the marriage feast. Back in Jesus’ day and it seems here too, that the situation is different from ours. We have relatively private and person engagements and big lavish weddings. Back then, the engagement was a ritual that involved the family and a religious figure like a priest. The wedding then consisted in the groom and his family and friends parading over to the brides’ home and then the wedding feast began. If the family was wealthy, the wedding feast could last a week (which would explain the situation at the wedding at Cana and running out of wine). And Samson’s wedding feast ran for a week.
The whole situation is messed up. His wife gets the information out of him that his parents didn’t even know and he ends up killing 30 people so he can pay his debt and while she was “right for his eyes” his best man ends up married to her because he was betrayed by her. Like I said, I feel sorry for Samson.
VBS is going on here at church this week. Its fun to have kids running around the building again. But it will be nice to get back to quiet again next week. Have a great day.
Now this is a picture we need to keep in our heads more and more during the course of our lives. In the Psalm, God is pictured as sitting on a throne in heaven looking down of EVERYONE. He knows the hearts and minds of all people and He is looking down on us, not in judgment, but in order to protect us. The greatest army in the world will not save our soul. The strongest army in the world cannot protect from an earthquake. It is our Lord who is our hope and our salvation. Our God is the one who really and truly does protect us. “He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” It is our God who does all this and so “our soul waits for the Lord … we trust in his holy name.”
So, I think we are seeing the situation. Samson would be in good shape if it were not for women. After his wedding, he leaves and does not live with her so her father gives her to his Best Man. Well, Samson gets the itch and goes to her home to sleep with her and finds out that she had been given to his Best Man. See what lust will do? So, he catches 300 foxes. Who can catch 1 fox? Samson catches 300. Not only that, but he ties their tails together. Again, who can tie two fox tails together with a torch between them? Who would even think of such a thing? But he does and again, it just gets him in trouble. He ends up killing another 1000 men with a donkey jaw bone. Amazing.
Next: Samson and Delilah!
Paul continues to show that through Jesus Christ, even Gentiles have an established relationship with God. They are heirs, legal heirs of salvation. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” It amazes me how many people put on their Packers shirts and clothing even in the off season and wear them to church. I am sure that when I preach in Chicago in a few weeks, I won’t see one Chicago Bears shirt. We have been baptized and we have put on Christ. If we wore Jesus shirts as much as we wear Packer shirts, we’d be making an amazing witness. The fact is, that we have been baptized into Christ and because of that, we are offspring of Abraham and heirs of the promise. In short, we have eternal life just because of our faith and baptism.
Yet, Paul continues to build the relationship between his readers and God. “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son.” Abba here, does not refer to the band from the 70’s. Abba is a very personal name for your father. It’s probably best translated as “Daddy.” Father is more formal. Daddy is very personal and close. And that’s how our God is. He is a personal God who loves us and sacrificed His Son for us. Our God is our Daddy.
Our Psalm is all wonderful, and brilliant and upbeat for today. But who says that I am? The Psalm paints a pretty picture and seems to project that all is right with the world. But we know better don’t we. Life isn’t always fine. I don’t always have rich blessings. We don’t always get to live a long life. However, our Lord has promised us salvation and we have it. And that really is the key, “His glory is great through salvation.” What does St. Paul say in Phil 3:8-9, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
I feel sorry for Samson. That’s what you get for dating or marrying a Philistine. He tries to love and all they care about is his strength. He is working for the Lord and indeed, the Lord seems to have given him instructions to be with these Philistine women, but it ends up harming him in the end. True, he kills more Philistine men in his death than during his life, but there must have been a better way. However, the Lord knows what He is doing and uses this situation to help the Israelite cause. Still, I feel sorry for Samson.
Paul continues to show that the Gospel is the way to go. Certainly the Law has it’s place in our lives. The Law shows us our sin and shows us that we need a Savior. But keeping the Law will not get us into heaven. Only faith in the Gospel and trust in the Lord will win salvation for us. God is responsible for our salvation, not us. We can take absolutely no credit for our salvation. It’s all on God’s shoulders. God is the reason for our salvation.
And so, Paul lays out this allegory about the Law and Hagar and the Promise and Sarah. One of the first sermons I ever had to write was on this text. It was not an easy task. It is hard to make this text personal for the person sitting in the pew. They can’t grab it and wrap their teeth around it and make it their own. So that was one difficult sermon and I’m sure it was not a good one.
But the message Paul is trying to get through to the people in Galatia, “Follow Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Who is your enemy? I can’t really say I have a lot of enemies. I’m sure that we just a few people who don’t like me, but do they count me as an enemy? I hope not. For the most part, I’m probably my own worst enemy. Anyway, even that enemy within ourselves will be destroyed before we get to heaven. Not only will those non-Christians who oppose us meet their end, but the bad side of us, the Old Adam will be destroyed and has been destroyed. Our Lord is victorious over it all. He is the King. He lives and reigns and rules. “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” I’ve never been to Lebanon so I will just have to take the Psalmists word on that. But, through our Lord, we will be full of sap and green. Not a pretty picture, but I know what he means. We have life eternal.
Samuel is a fun book. I’m looking forward to reading it. It is in Samuel where we begin to see the people of Israel begging God for a King. They didn’t want to be a Theocracy. They wanted a King just like every other nation. I’m sure if the other nations had a big screen tv, they would want one too. See, nothing is new under the sun.
So today we read about Samuel’s origins. What a wonderful mother Hannah is. She just wants a child. She wants to know the Lord’s favor. And eventually, she gets it. But she promises that she will give the child to the Lord. And eventually she does.
Today, Paul talks about freedom. Jesus has set us free. We were slaves to the Law. We had to follow the law but we couldn’t keep the law. No one can. So it’s a Catch 22. But Christ died and has set us free and so we are free from the law. We are free to follow the law out of thanksgiving, not out of obligation. We keep the law to show Jesus that we appreciate His death and resurrection.
What we do or don’t do, is of no value for salvation. Circumcision, no circumcision, what counts is what God does for us not what we do. Christ died. We are baptized. We receive the Word and the Lord ’s Supper. There are all things that God does for us in giving us forgiveness and salvation. It’s not what we do. It’s what God does for us.
Even when we walk in the Spirit and avoid the flesh and all those things listed in verses 19 -21, it’s not us avoiding them, it’s our Lord’s strength evident in us. And when we walk in the Spirit and enjoy the fruits of faith listed in verses 22 to 24, it’s not us, but it is the Spirit in us.
It’s all a gift from God. And what a wonderful gift it is.
Saturday morning I was with my parents in Detroit, so I didn’t get a chance to read the Treasury and I didn’t have access to the internet, so I couldn’t post. It was a nice morning with a mom-made omelet and coffee (then a six hour drive home). So, I’m catching up today.
I always struggle with weddings. What do you say to a couple as they are standing up there to be married? Unfortunately, my advice is not proper. The only advice in a sermon one should give is from Scripture. And most of what one ends up saying turns out to be law oriented, “do this, do that, and you will have a successful marriage.” But that’s law.
Well, Psalm 20 seems like a wonderful passage to share with a couple starting their life together. It would be nice to be able to present them with a plaque with this Psalm on it to remind them that their strength, their life, their relationship together lays in the Lord. The more and more I read this Psalm, I think it’s perfect for weddings.
In 1 Samuel, we see a stark contrast. We see the blessed Hannah and her faithfulness in giving her son, Samuel, to the Lord. She was blessed to have a son and so she gave that son to the Lord. And then we have her song exulting the Lord and praising the Lord. On the other hand, we have Eli’s sons. What exactly they are doing wrong with the offerings, I don’t know. What I do know is that, “they did not know the Lord.” How can you serve as a priest and not know the Lord? Back then, you became a priest because you were from the house of Aaron and if you didn’t believe, you still became a priest because you were of the house of Aaron. Eli seems to have been too busy to train his sons up in the way of the Lord and eventually we will see they are punished for it.
One thing they seem to be guilty of is believing that the sacrifices and offerings were intended for them rather than for the Lord. And it is true, part of the sacrifice was designated for the priest and his family so they could live. But primarily, it was intended for the Lord. The boys didn’t have that in mind. So, they die.
How should the people of God behave? “Keep watch on yourself; lest you too be tempted … bear one another’s burdens.” Don’t be judgmental of your brother. But help him bear his burden. We are all sinful. We all make mistakes. We all suffer the same temptations. We need to keep watch on ourselves or we will end up in the same place as those who we see sinning. “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” That’s the whole point of the Treasury and the blog. We are trying to stay in the Word and so to the Spirit and reap eternal life.
“See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.” Scholars look at this and wonder if this is connected to Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” Some say his eyesight was going. That would cause trouble traveling and doing everyday tasks. It certainly would make writing difficult. Paper was expensive and you would try to write as small as possible to save space. Other scholars thing he had Parkinson’s disease (don’t ever have a disease named after you). It would be very difficult to write with a shaky hand. No white out back then. Anyway, Paul wanted to make an impression on the people so he wrote in his own hand this final word and blessing.
His final word? It’s not about works, it’s about faith and trust in our Lord Jesus. Circumcision is a work. Repentance is a work. We are not saved by works. We are saved by faith. We will talk more about this later.
SUNDAY, JULY 12, 2009
PSALM 118:10-18
JUDGES 7:1-23
GALATIANS 1:1-24
Life can’t be wonderful all the time. We live in a world of sin and so there are going to be problems. Sometimes it does seem like we are surrounded by nations and that we are surrounded on every side. The picture of being surrounded by bees reminds me of a time when I was out camping and out looking for firewood. Why pay for firewood when you are in the woods and can find it for free? I saw a dead tree snapped off about four feet up and was going to use the ax in my hand to cut it the rest of the way down. Well, the bees that had made a nest at the foot of the tree had other ideas and swarmed me and bit me good. That was not a good day.
But, despite being surrounded, the author still can write, “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” That is faith. That is strong, strong faith. The last verse is optimistic as well, “The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.” We think we have it bad on occasion. Yet, this verse puts everything in perspective. We still have our life and that’s what counts. Even more, we still have our salvation and that’s what counts. They can take our life, but we are going to be in heaven. That’s what counts.
The Lord is all about trust and reliance on Him. He was with Israel, but He wanted the people of Israel to trust in Him. How do you get them to do that? Go to war with just 300 men when the enemy has more camels that dust. There is some good military strategy in the Bible. But, still, the key is reliance on the Lord. That’s the lesson from Gideon. Israel had fallen away from God and now God was trying to teach the whole nation and the surrounding nations to trust in God. Well, going into war with 300 people will do it.
It think it’s interesting that as we proceed through Acts, that we are suddenly taking a few minutes to read through Galatians. Especially this first chapter where we have Paul give his own account of his conversion and his early background in the church. He feels it is very important that the source of his information about the Gospel did not come from man, but came from Jesus Himself. Jesus is the one who revealed to Paul the news of His death and resurrection. So, in condemning this “other gospel,” Paul makes clear that the Gospel he is preaching is from Jesus Christ. It is the true Gospel. The true Word of God.
MONDAY, JULY 13, 2009
PSALM 71:1-8
JUDGES 13:1-25
GALATIANS 2:1-21
Good morning everyone! What a beautiful morning. I went outside this morning on my deck to check my tomatos and zuchini and cucumbers and there was the robin standing on the arm of a lawn chair. I opened the door carefully, and it didn’t fly away. I walked toward the chair and it didn’t fly away. I walked past the chair to check some flowers and it didn’t fly away. I went back in the house to get my camera and it didn’t fly away. It was only after I took a couple pictures that it finally flew away. It was pretty weird.
Anyway, our Psalm for today affirms that our Lord is marvelous. He is our refuge. He is our rock. I wonder if the idea of the pet rocks came from Scripture. I’ve never been a big fan of rocks, but I understand the picture language. A large rock is unmoveable and solid and before the modern days with huge equipment to move things, large rocks would have been a pain to deal with for farmers.
I think of a Clint Eastwood movie (I think it was Pale Rider) where this pan handler looking for gold kept working on this big huge rock to try to break it so he could look for gold under it.
Our Lord is a rock. Our Lord is so almighty that He can create a rock so big that He can’t move it. Think about that for a while.
The short meaning behind it all is that God is strong, almighty, all powerful and amazing and He will watch over us.
We have in Judges the beginning of a historical story we all know. Samson’s partents weren’t able to have children. That was a big problem in the day. They looked at children as a blessing from God and if you didn’t have children, it was a sign that God didn’t like you. But God hears the prayers of Manoah and his wife and they are told that she should not eat anything unclean or drink any alcohol and that their son should do the same, plus they are never to cut his hair and God is going to use this boy, this man, to defend Israel. So we will watch and read and see how God is going to work amazing feats through Samson.
We read about some controversy in Acts over circumcision. Now we get to read about it again in Galatians. I think it cool when you can read about something from two seperate sources and two different authors (Acts was written by Luke and Galatians by Paul). In both places the whole thing comes down to grace. God forgives us because of His undeserved love and not because of anything we have done. As Paul says, “by works of the law no one will be justified.” If they require circumcision, that would be a work. But we are saved by grace through Jesus death and resurrection. That’s why the whole problem is so important. If they are saved or if circumcision helps salvation at all, it takes away from the death and resurrection of Jesus. Salvation is all a result of what God has done for us and not what we have done for ourselves. Salvation is all up to God.
Thank you Jesus for our salvation. Amen.
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2009
PSALM 119:1-8
JUDGES 14:1-20
GALATIANS 3:1-22
How do we receive God’s blessings? How do we make God happy? What can we do to please God? Our Psalm for today tells us. “Walk in the law of the Lord.” “Keep His testimonies.” “Seek Him with their whole heart.” “Walk in His ways.” Many blessings come from walking with God and keeping His commands. But there is a fine line. We are NOT doing it to earn salvation. We are NOT doing it because we have to.
I’m going to jump to the Galatians text and deal with Judges last. Paul goes on and on about the relationship between the Law and the Gospel for a good reason. While proper distinction of Law and Gospel seems so simple to us, for the people of Paul’s day, it was an entirely new concept. For them, it was all Law, Law, Law. They loved the Lord. They knew the promise of the Messiah and trusted in that promise. But they had no clue about how salvation really worked. They were focused on the Law and the sacrificial system. So Paul has to lay it out and define it and explain every point so that they could understand. It seems old hat for us, but it was a new concept for them and Paul was the perfect person to explain all the fine details for them. He was trained in that old system and knew it well. Having seen the Light on the road to Damascus, he also found a new way to heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, back to Judges … I like Samson. I can relate to Samson. Nothing ever seems to go right for him. He means well. He tries his hardest. But he always seems to get in trouble. Take our lesson for today. The poor guy just wants to get married. He sees this girl, “for she is right in my eyes” and tells his parents about her. Now, they notice that she is a Philistine and questions him about someone who is Israelite. Normally, the Lord required the people of Israel to marry among the Israelites. That’s why the text is clear about stating, “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord.”
They did do arranged marriages back then. His parents and her parents would have to agree and we assume they did since we suddenly find ourselves at the marriage feast. Back in Jesus’ day and it seems here too, that the situation is different from ours. We have relatively private and person engagements and big lavish weddings. Back then, the engagement was a ritual that involved the family and a religious figure like a priest. The wedding then consisted in the groom and his family and friends parading over to the brides’ home and then the wedding feast began. If the family was wealthy, the wedding feast could last a week (which would explain the situation at the wedding at Cana and running out of wine). And Samson’s wedding feast ran for a week.
The whole situation is messed up. His wife gets the information out of him that his parents didn’t even know and he ends up killing 30 people so he can pay his debt and while she was “right for his eyes” his best man ends up married to her because he was betrayed by her. Like I said, I feel sorry for Samson.
VBS is going on here at church this week. Its fun to have kids running around the building again. But it will be nice to get back to quiet again next week. Have a great day.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2009
PSALM 33:13-22
JUDGES 15:1-16:3
GALATIANS 3:23-4:11
Now this is a picture we need to keep in our heads more and more during the course of our lives. In the Psalm, God is pictured as sitting on a throne in heaven looking down of EVERYONE. He knows the hearts and minds of all people and He is looking down on us, not in judgment, but in order to protect us. The greatest army in the world will not save our soul. The strongest army in the world cannot protect from an earthquake. It is our Lord who is our hope and our salvation. Our God is the one who really and truly does protect us. “He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” It is our God who does all this and so “our soul waits for the Lord … we trust in his holy name.”
So, I think we are seeing the situation. Samson would be in good shape if it were not for women. After his wedding, he leaves and does not live with her so her father gives her to his Best Man. Well, Samson gets the itch and goes to her home to sleep with her and finds out that she had been given to his Best Man. See what lust will do? So, he catches 300 foxes. Who can catch 1 fox? Samson catches 300. Not only that, but he ties their tails together. Again, who can tie two fox tails together with a torch between them? Who would even think of such a thing? But he does and again, it just gets him in trouble. He ends up killing another 1000 men with a donkey jaw bone. Amazing.
Next: Samson and Delilah!
Paul continues to show that through Jesus Christ, even Gentiles have an established relationship with God. They are heirs, legal heirs of salvation. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” It amazes me how many people put on their Packers shirts and clothing even in the off season and wear them to church. I am sure that when I preach in Chicago in a few weeks, I won’t see one Chicago Bears shirt. We have been baptized and we have put on Christ. If we wore Jesus shirts as much as we wear Packer shirts, we’d be making an amazing witness. The fact is, that we have been baptized into Christ and because of that, we are offspring of Abraham and heirs of the promise. In short, we have eternal life just because of our faith and baptism.
Yet, Paul continues to build the relationship between his readers and God. “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son.” Abba here, does not refer to the band from the 70’s. Abba is a very personal name for your father. It’s probably best translated as “Daddy.” Father is more formal. Daddy is very personal and close. And that’s how our God is. He is a personal God who loves us and sacrificed His Son for us. Our God is our Daddy.
THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2009
PSALM 21:1-7
JUDGES 16:4-30
GALATIANS 4:12-31
Our Psalm is all wonderful, and brilliant and upbeat for today. But who says that I am? The Psalm paints a pretty picture and seems to project that all is right with the world. But we know better don’t we. Life isn’t always fine. I don’t always have rich blessings. We don’t always get to live a long life. However, our Lord has promised us salvation and we have it. And that really is the key, “His glory is great through salvation.” What does St. Paul say in Phil 3:8-9, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
I feel sorry for Samson. That’s what you get for dating or marrying a Philistine. He tries to love and all they care about is his strength. He is working for the Lord and indeed, the Lord seems to have given him instructions to be with these Philistine women, but it ends up harming him in the end. True, he kills more Philistine men in his death than during his life, but there must have been a better way. However, the Lord knows what He is doing and uses this situation to help the Israelite cause. Still, I feel sorry for Samson.
Paul continues to show that the Gospel is the way to go. Certainly the Law has it’s place in our lives. The Law shows us our sin and shows us that we need a Savior. But keeping the Law will not get us into heaven. Only faith in the Gospel and trust in the Lord will win salvation for us. God is responsible for our salvation, not us. We can take absolutely no credit for our salvation. It’s all on God’s shoulders. God is the reason for our salvation.
And so, Paul lays out this allegory about the Law and Hagar and the Promise and Sarah. One of the first sermons I ever had to write was on this text. It was not an easy task. It is hard to make this text personal for the person sitting in the pew. They can’t grab it and wrap their teeth around it and make it their own. So that was one difficult sermon and I’m sure it was not a good one.
But the message Paul is trying to get through to the people in Galatia, “Follow Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2009
PSALM 92:8-15
1 SAMUEL 1:1-20
GALATIANS 5-1-26
Who is your enemy? I can’t really say I have a lot of enemies. I’m sure that we just a few people who don’t like me, but do they count me as an enemy? I hope not. For the most part, I’m probably my own worst enemy. Anyway, even that enemy within ourselves will be destroyed before we get to heaven. Not only will those non-Christians who oppose us meet their end, but the bad side of us, the Old Adam will be destroyed and has been destroyed. Our Lord is victorious over it all. He is the King. He lives and reigns and rules. “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” I’ve never been to Lebanon so I will just have to take the Psalmists word on that. But, through our Lord, we will be full of sap and green. Not a pretty picture, but I know what he means. We have life eternal.
Samuel is a fun book. I’m looking forward to reading it. It is in Samuel where we begin to see the people of Israel begging God for a King. They didn’t want to be a Theocracy. They wanted a King just like every other nation. I’m sure if the other nations had a big screen tv, they would want one too. See, nothing is new under the sun.
So today we read about Samuel’s origins. What a wonderful mother Hannah is. She just wants a child. She wants to know the Lord’s favor. And eventually, she gets it. But she promises that she will give the child to the Lord. And eventually she does.
Today, Paul talks about freedom. Jesus has set us free. We were slaves to the Law. We had to follow the law but we couldn’t keep the law. No one can. So it’s a Catch 22. But Christ died and has set us free and so we are free from the law. We are free to follow the law out of thanksgiving, not out of obligation. We keep the law to show Jesus that we appreciate His death and resurrection.
What we do or don’t do, is of no value for salvation. Circumcision, no circumcision, what counts is what God does for us not what we do. Christ died. We are baptized. We receive the Word and the Lord ’s Supper. There are all things that God does for us in giving us forgiveness and salvation. It’s not what we do. It’s what God does for us.
Even when we walk in the Spirit and avoid the flesh and all those things listed in verses 19 -21, it’s not us avoiding them, it’s our Lord’s strength evident in us. And when we walk in the Spirit and enjoy the fruits of faith listed in verses 22 to 24, it’s not us, but it is the Spirit in us.
It’s all a gift from God. And what a wonderful gift it is.
Saturday, JULY 18, 2009
PSALM 20
1 SAMUEL 1:21-2:17
Galatians 6:1-18
Saturday morning I was with my parents in Detroit, so I didn’t get a chance to read the Treasury and I didn’t have access to the internet, so I couldn’t post. It was a nice morning with a mom-made omelet and coffee (then a six hour drive home). So, I’m catching up today.
I always struggle with weddings. What do you say to a couple as they are standing up there to be married? Unfortunately, my advice is not proper. The only advice in a sermon one should give is from Scripture. And most of what one ends up saying turns out to be law oriented, “do this, do that, and you will have a successful marriage.” But that’s law.
Well, Psalm 20 seems like a wonderful passage to share with a couple starting their life together. It would be nice to be able to present them with a plaque with this Psalm on it to remind them that their strength, their life, their relationship together lays in the Lord. The more and more I read this Psalm, I think it’s perfect for weddings.
In 1 Samuel, we see a stark contrast. We see the blessed Hannah and her faithfulness in giving her son, Samuel, to the Lord. She was blessed to have a son and so she gave that son to the Lord. And then we have her song exulting the Lord and praising the Lord. On the other hand, we have Eli’s sons. What exactly they are doing wrong with the offerings, I don’t know. What I do know is that, “they did not know the Lord.” How can you serve as a priest and not know the Lord? Back then, you became a priest because you were from the house of Aaron and if you didn’t believe, you still became a priest because you were of the house of Aaron. Eli seems to have been too busy to train his sons up in the way of the Lord and eventually we will see they are punished for it.
One thing they seem to be guilty of is believing that the sacrifices and offerings were intended for them rather than for the Lord. And it is true, part of the sacrifice was designated for the priest and his family so they could live. But primarily, it was intended for the Lord. The boys didn’t have that in mind. So, they die.
How should the people of God behave? “Keep watch on yourself; lest you too be tempted … bear one another’s burdens.” Don’t be judgmental of your brother. But help him bear his burden. We are all sinful. We all make mistakes. We all suffer the same temptations. We need to keep watch on ourselves or we will end up in the same place as those who we see sinning. “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” That’s the whole point of the Treasury and the blog. We are trying to stay in the Word and so to the Spirit and reap eternal life.
“See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.” Scholars look at this and wonder if this is connected to Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” Some say his eyesight was going. That would cause trouble traveling and doing everyday tasks. It certainly would make writing difficult. Paper was expensive and you would try to write as small as possible to save space. Other scholars thing he had Parkinson’s disease (don’t ever have a disease named after you). It would be very difficult to write with a shaky hand. No white out back then. Anyway, Paul wanted to make an impression on the people so he wrote in his own hand this final word and blessing.
His final word? It’s not about works, it’s about faith and trust in our Lord Jesus. Circumcision is a work. Repentance is a work. We are not saved by works. We are saved by faith. We will talk more about this later.