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Post by Pastor on Nov 20, 2019 15:22:57 GMT -6
As we begin reading through the Daily Lectionary together, you may be wondering, "Why are we starting in the book of Revelation?" Well the answer is really quite simple. December is the beginning of a new church year and the season of Advent. During Advent, churches have traditionally focused on the theme of hope and anticipation of Christ's arrival. The book of Revelation has strong themes of Christ's arrival, not in Bethlehem, but at His Second Coming.
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Post by abreiholz on Dec 3, 2019 8:24:29 GMT -6
ch 6-8, Ps. 2–The Lutheran Study Bible article in this section (The Kingdom, the Church, and Israel) makes the good point that this passage paints the picture of the Church of all times and places as the army of the Lion of Judah who has overcome Satan and who will at last crush all who oppose him. We do well to attach ourselves firmly to that army that, by His grace, we may be built up to endure the battle. Coincidentally, in the little book of meditations on the Psalms that I picked up in CPH’s sale, Luther makes the point that Ps. 2:1-2 paints a picture of the futility of the world’s battle against our victorious Lord and makes the point that we should “rather have compassion on those whom we see dashing themselves to their destruction against a majesty so great....”
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Post by Pastor on Dec 4, 2019 7:46:12 GMT -6
ch 6-8, Ps. 2–The Lutheran Study Bible article in this section (The Kingdom, the Church, and Israel) makes the good point that this passage paints the picture of the Church of all times and places as the army of the Lion of Judah who has overcome Satan and who will at last crush all who oppose him. We do well to attach ourselves firmly to that army that, by His grace, we may be built up to endure the battle. Coincidentally, in the little book of meditations on the Psalms that I picked up in CPH’s sale, Luther makes the point that Ps. 2:1-2 paints a picture of the futility of the world’s battle against our victorious Lord and makes the point that we should “rather have compassion on those whom we see dashing themselves to their destruction against a majesty so great....” Good points. It may be worth taking some time to think about who those people are that we should have compassion on. |
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Post by Karen Swanson on Dec 11, 2019 5:34:04 GMT -6
I am struck by the quote "... those whom we see dashing themselves to their destruction against a majesty so great." wow. aren't we all in one way or another? by our complacency, by our distraction, by our selfishness? thank you for sharing that, Arlen.
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Post by abreiholz on Dec 11, 2019 8:31:06 GMT -6
I’m afraid my reading of the texts is presently colored by my struggles with how to respond to a friend who rejects the very existence of God because an abusive childhood and intellectual pride. Today, I was taken by Is. 8:19-20. While the text clearly condemns consulting mediums, I think it can also apply to relying on human philosophy, whose authors are dead or will be, instead of the eternal word of God, the one source of truth.
Today’s Psalm also speaks to my friend’s issue (though not in a way he will accept), saying that God will ultimately defend the helpless, but not necessarily immediately. I find myself reflecting that one aspect of this situation is that God is giving us and other people the opportunity to be his instruments in bringing relief to the suffering.
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Post by Pastor on Dec 11, 2019 8:51:42 GMT -6
Karen and Arlen, Thanks for your recent posts. Karen - it is interesting that you mentioned "distractions", as we discussed in the Men's Bible Study this morning how distractions can keep us from our devotions. We also talked about how discipline and rituals can help us focus on what is important during difficult times. This may be something to think about as we read through Isaiah over the next few weeks.  Arlen - you said that your reading is colored by your struggles of how to interact with a friend. This reminds me of a talk I heard of the benefits of the Post-Modern era for the church, namely that we recognize that we all, as readers or hearers, approach the biblical text with a particular "lens" that we see it through. This forces us to ask, "Do we have the right lenses?" For what it's worth, I think you do when looking at this Psalm. In Psalm 9 we see that David is giving praise to God for his deliverance from earthly enemies (vv 3-6), but in 7-8) David is really looking forward to the final deliverance from Evil on the Last Day, which is being forshadowed by all of the other instances of God saving His people. |
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Post by Pastor on Dec 17, 2019 9:57:05 GMT -6
Reading through Isaiah can be....challenging . But as we near the half way point of the prophet's book, remember that God is still speaking to you through it! Not everything will be easily applicable for us today, but there is plenty to still make reading Isaiah worthwhile. Today 26:10 stuck out to me - " If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
and does not see the majesty of the LORD." The Lutheran Study Bible has a nice little note on this verse that reminded me God often allows people to suffer some of the consequences of their sin because He loves us! He wants us to learn righteousness. |
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Post by abreiholz on Dec 23, 2019 8:21:14 GMT -6
The Lutheran Study Bible makes a fine exhortation on the first part of Is. 45:
 “45: 1–13 The Lord rescues Israel through Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia. The Lord uses all creation—even Satan!—to accomplish His good purposes. If the devil and an idolater can come to such notable service, will the Lord not use you to great purpose? He has already purposed your salvation through the blood of Jesus, His Anointed. • Call me to service, O heavenly Potter. I am at Your disposal. Amen.”
Of course, this is not to say that this service will not be challenging. Verse 15 struck me particularly because of my discussion with my atheist friend. The very fact that God uses even the evil to accomplish His purposes (and that He, in his mercy allows evil men to live) is impossible to accept without faith worked by the Holy Spirit.
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Post by abreiholz on Dec 24, 2019 7:23:37 GMT -6
Psalm 22 reads differently on Christmas Eve than on Good Friday. Verses 9-10 just flow by on the latter, but at Christmas, they remind one that Christ’s whole purpose in being born was to suffer for our sin. The end of the Psalm, too, reflects an Advent theme that is perhaps washed over in the solemn reflections of Good Friday.
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Post by abreiholz on Dec 26, 2019 8:41:01 GMT -6
There were a couple of lovely verses in today’s reading (12/26) that never caught me attention before and which seem particularly appropriate to the season:
9 "This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. - Isaiah 54:9-10
God can only fail to be angry with us through Christ’s mediation.
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Post by abreiholz on Dec 30, 2019 8:32:28 GMT -6
Isaiah is so filled with condemnation of things God doesn’t want His people to do and things He was going to do or will do, that it is easy to miss the positive things He wants from us. The first two verses of the last chapter are such a nugget particularly appropriate for post-modern man:
1 Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. - Isaiah 66:1-2
The popular attitude toward science as the explainer of all things and cure of all ills seduces people away from the Creator and leads them to spurn His word as myth. Our challenge is to cling to his word and humbly confess that we can know only what He reveals to us in His word and through what our intellects can discover. And, we can gently remind our worldly friends that science can only hypothesize explanations and gather evidence but leaves fundamental questions unanswered.
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