BibleTrekToday.com

Year: 2010

  • Melchizedek and Jesus

    Scripture reading for January 6th: Genesis 12-14

    Abram and his nephew Lot were prosperous in the new land God had taken them to. Abram had built an altar to the Lord in Bethel  and began to call upon the Lord. (Genesis 13:3-4) Lot and his herdsmen began to quarrel with Abram’s herdsmen. Abram was a peacemaker and decided they should separate. He gave Lot the choice of where he would settle. Lot had his eyes on the fertile plain and the city of Sodom. Sodom was a wicked city and the men there were sinning greatly in the sight of the Lord. (Genesis 13:13)

    After Lot had moved, the Lord spoke to Abram, telling him to lift up his eyes and look in each direction. All that he could see would be given to him and his descendants forever! God reaffirmed that He would make Abram’s offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth. God encouraged Abram to walk through the land and survey it. Abram moved his tent near Hebron and built an altar to the Lord there. (Genesis 13:18) God blessed Abram for his faith and willingness to let God lead him to where he was supposed to be. This is a helpful hint for us in our walk. We can be selfish and reach out to take, or we can more wisely worship the Lord and follow Him!

    Some time later, we find some kings attacking Sodom and carrying off Lot and his family, as well as the goods of Sodom.  Abram took his men and went in pursuit.  He recovered all the people plus the goods.  (Genesis 14:16)  As he returned, both the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, king of Salem (Jerusalem), came to meet Abram.  Melchizedek, a priest of the Most High God, met Abram with bread and wine and blessed him.  Abram responded by giving a tithe of everything to this mysterious priest and king.  (Genesis 14:20)

    Jesus Christ is said to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek, having the power of an endless life!  (Hebrews 7:15-17)  As a priest, Jesus intercedes for us before the throne.   (Romans 8:34)  He served His disciples bread and wine at the Last Supper and told them to do it often in remembrance of Him.  (Matthew 26:26-29)  He is also King of Kings and will reign in the Jerusalem during the millennium!  (Revelation 20:4-5)  Jesus alone is worthy of our worship, tithes, and dedication!

  • Babel Went Up. God Came Down

    Scripture reading for January 5th: Genesis 10-11

    I love to build things and organize.  God designed us that way! In the days following the flood, the descendants of Noah had a fresh opportunity to obey God by being fruitful, multiplying and repopulating the earth. Shem, Ham, and Japheth had a whole new world that needed care and tending. They each had a wife and could begin again to obey God’s simple command. (Genesis 9:7)

    Genesis 10 records the genealogy of these three descendants of Noah. Note that one of Ham’s descendants, Nimrod is given particular attention. He was a mighty warrior and hunter before the Lord. He built the cities of Babylon and Nineveh. (Genesis 10:8-10) His brother Canaan was the father of the Canaanite tribes that inhabited Israel in the time of Abraham and beyond. Note also that Shem was the father of Eber. (Genesis 10:21) Eber’s descendants included Abram and the “Hebrew” people derive their name from him! (Genesis 11:27)

    Nimrod and his family group decided to settle on the plains of Shinar, which is modern day Iraq. There they organized all or most of the family to build a tower to heaven and make a name for themselves. They particularly did not like the idea of being scattered over the whole earth. (Genesis 11:2-4) There is some implication that Nimrod forcibly organized this rebellion and hunted down those who would not comply. He also organized a humanistic religion that worshiped the work of man’s hands and the creation, but not the Creator!

    God came down to see this city and stated that nothing would be impossible with this kind of unity. They had unified in opposing the plans and purpose of God. He took action and confounded their one language so that they couldn’t understand one another. In the days of Peleg he scattered them across the earth and then divided the earth. (Genesis 10:25) He created the nations from these three families.

    God wants to dwell with His people and desires fellowship with them. He longs to have a people willing to be under His rule and protective covering. We can learn from these records of God’s dealing with those after the flood. He is merciful, but demands obedience. Take a few minutes today and thank Him for His mercy and His plan of reaching all with the Gospel. God came down in Jesus Christ and is here now in His church!

  • “Noah Found Favor in the Eyes of the Lord”

    Scripture reading for January 4rd: Genesis 6-9

    Oh how dependent we are on God’s grace!  We are all bound up in sin’s grip and the wrath of God is being released against all ungodliness daily.  (Romans 1:18) It is only by His grace that we are saved.  The people of Noah’s day were caught up in continual wickedness and sin.  God was grieved that He had made man and was preparing judgment.  It was by grace that Noah and his household found favor in God’s eyes.  (Genesis 6:8)

    Sin always brings judgment.  God has decreed that sin brings death.  But man, in his blindness to God’s truth, thinks that life is going on just fine.  Everything is like it has always been.  People seem to get by and all die eventually.  Why not live as you please and do what feels good before you are dead too? Those with no fear of God block out the knowledge of God and suppress the truth in unrighteousness.   God’s mercy and patience are ignored and the sin piles up to heaven and tips the scales of judgment suddenly on a day no one expects! (Revelation 16:15)

    This happened in Noah’s day.  Because he found favor, God warned Noah of the coming judgment.  Noah was instructed to build an ark and took 120 years in this saving endeavor.  Noah’s faith was tested by the building process and the long wait.  When the ark was finished, God told him to gather the animals and get his family and himself inside.  God shut the door and Noah and the animals waited seven days.  Noah obeyed.  (Genesis 7:1-5)  Then the rains came down and the flood broke upwards as the fountains of the deep opened up.  It was in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life in the second month and on the 19th day that this happened.

    What do we learn from this story? First, sin brings judgment and God doesn’t forgive unless there is repentance.  He may delay the judgment and offer more time, but those who sin will be held accountable. God spoke to Noah and he in turned warned that generation.  At the appointed time, the judgment fell suddenly.  Those who were obedient and prepared were saved.  Those who delayed or did nothing died!

    Prayer: Lord, open my eyes to your timetable for me and our nation.  May I find favor in your eyes today!

  • Sunday Rest and Reflection

    Dear Friends,

    Greetings on this first day of rest of 2010!  We are beginning a new year and a new decade.  Time is ever marching on and it shows no partiality to anyone! Be sure to take time to rest and reflect on what you have read from God’s word and what you heard preached at church.  If you are not taking time to gather with God’s people, think about your priorities today.  You are missing out on a blessing and are also disobedient to the Lord!  (Hebrews 10:25)

    Our theme for this year is the promise of Jesus Christ that He will return soon!  This is an event related to time and our understanding of time.  What does ’soon’ mean to you?  Does that mean in the next few minutes?  Could it be yet today?  Will it be in the first month of this new year?  Will 2010 be the year that Jesus comes?  The important thing is not exactly when He is coming, but being ready when He does come.

    Do you have an assurance based on God’s word that you are ready for Christ’s coming?   Do you know what is required to be ready?  Are you using your talents and resources to serve the Lord?  Do you have a dream from the Lord or a desire in your heart to accomplish something great for the Lord that you have not yet attempted or started?  Are you holding on to some besetting sin that has a grip on your life and is holding you back from your purpose?  Please know that I’m not asking these questions to make you feel guilty, but rather to stimulate your thinking.

    If we knew for sure that Jesus would come back by the end of 2010, what things would you do to prepare?  This is the kind of thinking that should help us to have the power to change and attempt great things for God.  It should help us get rid of bad habits and sins that hinder.  It should cause us to launch out in attempting to fulfill dreams and visions.

    Take some time today and write down some dreams that you have, and needed preparations for the coming of Jesus Christ.  Begin to think about this year as if it were the last year you had on earth before the rapture.  Ask the Lord to lead you in changing attitudes and actions to reflect your new priority!

    In His Love, Pastor John

  • Forbidden fruit!

    Scripture reading for January 2nd: Genesis 3-5

    I love fruit!  There’s nothing like a crisp, tart apple to make me smack my lips!  When I see a tree with ripe apricots, I have sweet thoughts of one of my favorite fruits!  Fresh cherries, juicy and sweet or tart pie cherries draw my attention quickly!  We always had fruit trees on the farm where we lived and have planted them everywhere we lived. The times of ripe fruit are always anticipated with joy and delight!

    Adam and Eve were placed in a beautiful garden planted for them by God.  They were given responsibilities to tend and keep the garden.  They could eat any of the fruit that they wanted, except the fruit of one tree–the tree of the knowledge of good and evil!  (Genesis 2:15-17)  They enjoyed their work and freely ate the delicious fruit.

    One day, the serpent came and tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit.  He drew her attention to it.  It looked good for food and was pleasing to her eyes. (Genesis 3:6)  He implied that God was withholding something that would be good for her and that God had not spoken the truth.  The woman was deceived and took the fruit and ate it, hoping to become wise and satisfied!  She gave some to Adam who also ate in spite of knowing God’s command!  And so the deception brought death as God had spoken.  Man was plunged into darkness with the knowledge of sin and evicted from the Garden of Eden.  (Genesis 3:22-23)

    Forbidden fruit still temps all of mankind.  We have in us a desire to rebel against the word of God and to experience what is forbidden.  We think it looks good and pleasant and will satisfy us.  The very fact that God has said “no” drives us to desire and partake.  We find that what is forbidden actually may initially taste and feel good.  Afterward, it leads to slavery, bondage, and ultimately to death.

    But God provided a remedy for those who ate the forbidden fruit and for us today as well.  He took an animal and clothed Adam and Eve with the bloody skins.   He covered their shame and nakedness so they could stand before Him.  (Genesis 3:21)  For us He provided something better!  The “seed of woman” that God spoke of is none other than Jesus Christ! (Genesis 3:15)  He provides our covering and makes it possible for us to stand before God as forgiven children!  Praise His Name forever!

  • Rest and be blessed!

    Scripture reading for January 2nd: Matthew 2, Psalms 2, Proverbs1:8-15

    Dear Friends,

    Greetings on this second day of the new year and first celebration of resurrection!  Please join the people of God in worship at the church of your choice!  Your presence is needed and God’s presence will greet you!  By the way, Psalm 2 is tied for the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament with Psalm 110.  Read God’s word and worship!  God bless you!  Pastor John