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REAL OR FAKE? TESTING THE SPIRITS ON REBIRTHS
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 28, 2021 – There is a curious trend developing on online forums. Perhaps you’ve seen it yourselves: Someone will post a comment claiming to have been recently reborn, and the comment will be copied and pasted (spammed, actually) across multiple webpages by the initial person or account.
Like Jesus’ early followers who were understandably wary of Saul/Paul when he claimed to be converted to their cause, we should also be wary of anyone who makes such an announcement to strangers on public forums.
When people are genuinely born-again, they always start preaching the Word. They can’t help themselves: the Spirit is moving in them and moving them to do it. After regaining his sight, Paul immediately took to the streets and started preaching Jesus as the Messiah. He didn’t announce to strangers that he was reborn; he started preaching Jesus as the Messiah. The same with the disciples when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost – they immediately went to the streets and started preaching Jesus as the Messiah to strangers in different languages (tongues). Foreigners in Jerusalem heard the Gospel being preached to them by the disciples, who had never learned foreign languages. But again, the disciples didn’t stand on the streets proclaiming their rebirth; they stood on the streets proclaiming the Word.
When I was born-again from atheism 22 years ago, I also didn’t run around proclaiming my rebirth to strangers. Instead, I called my grandmother thousands of miles away (I was in Australia, she was in Canada) to tell her I believed in Jesus, as I knew my grandmother was the only one of my family and friends who would understand what had happened to me. As for strangers, I offered them love and kindness and some passages from scripture (I had only started reading the Bible for the first time on the day I was reborn), but I didn’t feel moved to publicly proclaim my rebirth. I knew it would have no positive affect on anyone except those who already knew God.
Newly-reborn believers are bursting with the newly-infused presence of God’s Holy Spirit on their souls. This makes them overwhelmingly loving and merciful. They are also prescient in a way they’ve never been before, as scripture tells us that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” New reborns who have a background in scripture see God’s Word in a whole new light (like when an optometrist testing different magnifications finds the one that is exactly right) and so are able to deliver God’s Word with force and conviction based on their new clarity of vision. Meanwhile, those who are newly reborn but don’t yet know scripture well enough to preach it spread the Good News in a different way – through acts of love and kindness. But no ego is involved. Newly reborn people are the most humble souls on Earth.
In the New Testament, the only people who ran around drawing attention to themselves by making out-of-place impromptu announcements were people possessed by demons. Scripture tells us that in the last days God will pour out his Spirit. However, what I’m seeing now in these public announcements of spiritual rebirth is not an outpouring of God’s Spirit, but rather an attempt to deceive, knowing that many Christians will accept professions of faith (especially new conversions) at face value.
Paul says we are to test the spirits, and Jesus says “by their fruits shall ye know them”. There was a flurry of highly publicized alleged rebirths by celebrities a few years ago, but these celebrities have since, by their words and actions, walked back their professions of faith.
Be very wary of people who spam comment sections with news of their rebirth. Be cautious in following them to their website or elsewhere. “Test the spirits”, and if through discernment you find their rebirth to be genuine, celebrate with them and God and the whole host of Heaven, as “there is more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 who need no repentance”. But if you suspect something other than the Holy Spirit has entered these people, pray for them and let them be.
BIBLE READ-THROUGH: DAY 6 REFLECTION (NUMBERS 11-36:13)
“40 Days and 40 Nights of God’s Word”
DAY 6: JULY 28
NUMBERS 11 – NUMBERS 36:13
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 28, 2021 – God lays it all on the line in today’s reading. He holds nothing back. He tells the children of Israel exactly what’s going to happen to them over the next nearly 40 years and why it’s going to happen. And he lets them know that they have no-one but themselves to blame.
- Years ago, I heard someone preach on this part of scripture. She said that the Israelites were prevented from entering the Promised Land because they complained. At the time, I thought that was rather frivolous of God to lock people out of the Promised Land just for grumbling. I mean, everyone complains every now and then; even Jesus complained. So clearly, there was more to it than that.
- Yes, as this reading shows us, there was much more to it. The Israelites weren’t punished for complaining; they were punished for saying that they would rather be slaves of demons in Egypt than servants of God in the wilderness. In other words, they were saying that they’d rather GO BACK TO LIVING IN THE WORLD under the authority of demons and the demon-inspired Pharaoh, if that meant they could eat and drink their fill. They preferred slavery under Satan to freedom under God. In so choosing, they were rejecting God’s offer of the Promised Land: They were rejecting God.
- I was born-again from atheism in 1999. I can’t imagine even for one millisecond wanting to go back to that horrendous state of being under the authority of Satan and his demons, separated from God. As I’ve said on multiple occasions on this blog – the worst day I’ve had as a born-again believer is still infinitely better than the best day I had as an unbeliever. And I’ve had some bad days these past 22 years (all the result of my own stupidity). Even so, the presence of God’s Spirit made the bad days not only bearable, but enabled me able to step back even while they were happening and view them as teachable moments. It never occurred to me during any of those self-inflicted “teachable moments” to want to be an atheist again, that is, to go back into the world under the authority of Satan, separated from God.
- God keeps his promises, but he also follows through on his warnings. Shortly after springing them from Egypt, God had promised the Israelites that if they were obedient to him, they would be rewarded with the Promised Land. At the same time, he warned them that if they were disobedient, they would lose the Promised Land. God’s punishments NEVER come out of the blue. He warns and warns and warns and warns and warns, and then time is up.
- We have to understand as we read through the Bible that these are not just words written long ago about people long dead. They are living promises and living warnings that are as equally applicable to us today as they were three thousand years ago. That is the purpose of scripture. That is why we read it and learn from it. God wasn’t just warning the ancient Hebrews what would happen to them if they were disobedient; he’s warning us.
- Where do you see yourself in the children of Israel? Who do you identify with? Are you one of the millions who were grumbling and complaining and wishing they were back in Egypt where they had plenty to eat and drink and a comfortable place to live? Or do you see yourself as Moses or Aaron, who were doing their best to shepherd their people but feeling it was mostly a lost cause? Or perhaps you identify as Joshua or Caleb, the only two over the age of 20 when they left Egypt who remained obedient to God for the 40 years of wandering?
- I don’t know who you identify with, but it had better be with Moses or Aaron or Joshua or Caleb, because otherwise you’re going to get thrown to the wolves in the form of plagues, fire from heaven, the ground opening up underneath your feet, etc. None of the ~600,000 men who were of fighting age (20+) when they left Egypt made it into the Promised Land except Joshua and Caleb, and neither did any of the men older than fighting age, or any of the women 20 or older. Only the children who were under 20 the day they left Egypt made it into the Promised Land, along with Joshua and Caleb. The rest perished in the wilderness.
- Love the story of Balaam’s talking ass! It serves as a reminder that: 1) animals are always obedient to God (science calls it “instinct”, but we know better) and are able to see things we can’t, and 2) God will use whatever resource he has at hand to get his message across and carry out his plan of salvation. If all he’s got at hand is an ass, then he’ll use an ass. 😀
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It doesn’t get any more high stakes or serious than this. If you’re born-again, you’re wandering through the wilderness of the world led by God’s Spirit. He’s guiding and protecting you. You are no longer under the authority of Satan; you are under the authority of God. You move when he tells you to move, you sit tight when he tells you to sit tight, and you make do with what he provides. This is your lot for the rest of your days if you’re born-again, and it’s a blessed, blessed, blessed state to be in. There’s nothing better on Earth.
But if you don’t move when he tells you to, and don’t sit tight when he tells you to, and aren’t satisfied with what he provides, and keep looking back over your shoulder longing for the days before you were born-again – God help you, because no-one on Earth can.
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The schedule for the BIBLE READ-THROUGH on PDF is directly below.
BIBLE READ-THROUGH: DAY 5 REFLECTION (LEVITICUS 18 – NUMBERS 10:36)
“40 Days and 40 Nights of God’s Word”
DAY 5: JULY 27
LEVITICUS 18 – NUMBERS 10:36
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 27, 2021 – WHAT A GLORIOUS THING IT IS TO SERVE GOD AND TO HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF READING HIS WORD! Thank God for all those who received his Word and wrote it down, and for all those who copied and recopied it over the centuries, and for all those who print and publish it today, and for all those who sell and buy it, and for all those who distribute it free of charge online, and for all those who read and teach it. So many hands have gone into the making of the Bible we hold in our hands today, but none of them would have bore any fruit without God moving in and through them. All people, whether believers or not, serve God, AND WHAT A GLORIOUS THING IT IS!
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- In Revelation, God warns us that lukewarm believers will be spewed out of his mouth. It’s a compelling image that sticks with you, as warnings should. In today’s reading, we see that the very land itself will VOMIT out those who commit abominations, will purge the ungodly for their moral filth. God warns the Israelites that the abominations committed by the people of the nations they will conquer are the very reason why those people will lose their land, and that they, the Israelites, will likewise lose their land if they commit the same abominations.
- I don’t know about you, but the first thing that came to my mind when reading this passage were the former Christian nations (like Canada) whose people are now being spewed off their land. It’s being bought up by foreigners and rented out from underneath them. This loss of land should not be surprising to us, since the abominations proscribed by God in this reading are an everyday reality in the Western world and have been enshrined into Western law; some abominations are even supported by so-called Christian churches. It should be no wonder, then, that the very same punishments meted out to those who committed abominations millennia ago are being meted out again today.
- God never changes. He warns, and if you don’t heed the warning, he punishes, and if you don’t heed either the warning or the punishment, he destroys. This is how the Israelites inherited the Promised Land – through the overspread of abominations and unrepentant sin of those who once lived in the land. The Great Displacement and Replacement of former Christians on former Christian lands is not only well-deserved but has Biblical precedent. Far from fighting it, we should acknowledge it as just.
- There are some very famous passages in this reading, including Aaron’s beautiful benediction (“The Lord bless thee and keep thee…”) and the final verse for today that includes a line later adapted by David as the opening for his 68th Psalm. I read somewhere that that line scares the you-know-what out of unholy beings. They are terrified of God, and they know that that line is a powerful prayer that opens the door to God’s intervention.
- I admit to some skip-through in today’s reading, but not as much as yesterday’s. You have to watch out when you skip through, because some important nuggets are hidden within the lists of names and numbers, like the warning not to put any marks on you (I’m speaking to a tattooed Jesus-homie out there). When God says not to put any marks on you, you don’t put any marks on you. You don’t negotiate a mark; you just don’t do it. And if you’ve done it, you get rid of it. It’s an abomination in God’s eyes, even a tattoo of a heart or a fish or a cross or whatever. The only mark that should be on you is God’s invisible mark that claims you as his spiritual property.
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So what jumped out at you in today’s reading? Do you agree with God’s reasoning for booting the abominators off their land, or do you think God was being a Hebrew supremacist colonialist? ;D
God’s justice is perfect. Anything he permits, he permits for the ultimate good of his people. You want to eat the fat of the land flowing with milk and honey, get right with God. Love God, serve God, follow Jesus, and believe and teach the Gospel. Those who do the good get the good. I don’t see anything wrong with that. God doesn’t tolerate the sin of abominations, and neither should we.
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The schedule for the BIBLE READ-THROUGH on PDF is directly below:
BIBLE READ-THROUGH: DAY 4 REFLECTION (EXODUS 32 – LEVITICUS 17:16)
“40 Days and 40 Nights of God’s Word”
DAY 4: JULY 26
EXODUS 32 – LEVITICUS 17:16
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 26, 2021 – Hands up if you skipped through parts of this reading!
Be honest, now. (Don’t be shy!)
My hand is up. In fact, both of my hands are up (lots of skipping going on here!). To make up for it, though, I read through the non-skipped parts twice, which I’m glad I did. As I’ve mentioned previously, no matter how many times I read the Bible, something always pops up that I hadn’t noticed before. I love those parts. That’s God highlighting things for me in invisible yellow ink, and saying: “Take note of this. It’s going to be useful for you.”
- Still can’t get a handle on Moses’ brother, Aaron, and why he caved so quickly to the pressure to make a golden calf. I’m guessing he was a bit of an honest politician in his role as go-between and spokesperson for Moses. But dang, he sure gave in double-time to the people’s demands. Maybe he just wanted to keep the peace and avoid a riot. Whatever the reason, it didn’t take long for the people involved in the golden calf worship to forget everything God had done for them in getting them out of Egypt, though they did pay the ultimate price in the end. Aaron’s own sons later fell for the same temptation and were immediately killed. God didn’t mess around in those days.
- I like how Moses was able to prevent God from destroying the Israelites for their sin by reminding him of his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You kinda have the feeling that God wasn’t actually going to destroy them, but he needed to hear the plea from Moses. It was a test; God had told Moses that if he destroyed the children of Israel, he would then make Moses’ lineage great, but Moses turned down the offer. He pleaded instead for all the children of Israel and for God to keep his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (which, by the way, God has done to this very day).
- As a reward for Moses’ selflessness, God promised Moses that his (that is, God’s) presence would remain with his people throughout their journey and for all time, and that in fact his presence would be the sign that separated them from the rest of the world. God’s promise to Moses, like the ones he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, also continues to this day. We are God’s people, if we’re born-again followers of Jesus, and God’s presence is still with us. It’s what differentiates us from the rest of the world.
- The description of the tabernacle (the actual first temple, when you think about it) and all the beautiful things that were made for it was a little bit skip-over territory for me, as were the laws on sin offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings, etc. I read these sections enough to get a general idea of them, but I didn’t focus too closely on the details. How about you? Some believers who are more artistically inclined may have found the description of the tabernacle fascinating. The details were obviously important to God at the time and the people were expected to follow them to the letter, but that tabernacle is long gone now, replaced by the temples of the bodies of true believers. We are the tabernacles of God’s Spirit, if we’re born again.
- The sin offerings and burnt offerings and peace offerings, etc., I also mostly skipped over, as I mentioned above. Even so, I read them enough to see which ones are referred to by Jesus later on. This is good background material and we should have a general idea of the rituals, but they’re no longer required of God’s people. Jesus was the final sacrifice once for all. No more are needed.
- There’s a little bit more skip-over territory coming up in the next days, and then we’re back into the meat of things. But maybe you’re more diligent in your Bible reading than I am and you don’t skip over. I have to admit that I was much more interested in the details about the tabernacle this time around than in previous read-throughs. Like I said before, every time you read through the Bible, God draws your attention to something else.
- I was particularly struck this time by how only the people who felt called to contribute to the materials for building the tabernacle were tasked with doing it. They were, of their own free will, asked to provide the gold, silver, wood, fabric, labour, skills, and so on. There were no pressure sales tactics; only those who felt drawn to do it and called to do it were tasked with doing it.
- This is a stark contrast to today’s church obligations, where people are expected to “volunteer” to help with this or that activity or are pressured to donate, even if they don’t want to. A completely different project emerges from a group effort where all the people involved wholeheartedly want to do it compared to a group effort where only a few or even none want to do it, but are only going through the motions out of a sense of obligation. Jesus says that God is looking for people to worship him in Spirit and in Truth, not out of obligation. This proto-temple group effort showed what God meant by that. Scripture calls these people who willingly stepped forward “wise”. We would be wise to take note of that.
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So what jumped out at you in this reading? Did you skip over anything, or did you put me to shame and read every last word?
God loves it when his kids read his Word, especially when they read it together like we’re doing now. He wants us to respect his Word (obviously), but he doesn’t want us to worship it and to feel that we have to speak in hushed tones and walk on eggshells around it. He wants us to come to his Word exactly as we come to him – face bared, soul bared, and with no pretenses. He knows what’s in our hearts, anyway, so we might as well be open about it.
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The BIBLE READ-THROUGH SCHEDULE on PDF is directly below:
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INTO THE REALM OF MIRACLES
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 25, 2021 – The raising of Lazarus from the dead was a pivotal moment in Jesus’ ministry. It not only foreshadowed Jesus’ own rising from the dead a short time later, but also pushed the faith of Jesus’ followers to the limit.
As Lazarus lay dying, Jesus got his hair and nails done.
As Lazarus lay newly dead, Jesus played another round of pool at the pub.
When Jesus finally made his way towards Bethany and Lazarus’s grieving family, all of his followers were certain that Lazarus was dead. Some of them even blamed Jesus for not showing up sooner to save him.
But God had a plan.
(God always has a plan.)
And God’s plan is always better than everyone else’s. It just doesn’t always look that way.
Jesus knew God’s plan for raising Lazarus from the dead because God told him. But God also told him not to tell anyone else for a time.
He wanted people to believe what they wanted to believe.
It was a test of sorts: A test of faith.
In fact, Jesus said he was glad for our sake that he wasn’t there to heal Lazarus from his illness. He also said that the purpose of Lazarus’s death was to instruct our belief. Imagine the disciples’ confusion when Jesus said that. What kind of lesson required a friend to die?
God always has a plan, and God’s plan is always better than ours. God is never missing in action, even though it may seem that way at times. We think in human terms through our human limitations, but God operates in a realm where the dead can be brought back to life with a simple command. The belief that Jesus wanted us to expand into was the realm of miracles.
Are you still operating in the realm of appearances, trusting only in what you can see and understand? Or have you entered into the realm of miracles, fully convinced that God always has a plan and that nothing is impossible for him?
If you’re born-again, you live in the Kingdom, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve entered into the realm of miracles. Many believers are still like doubting Thomas, wanting to touch Jesus’ open wounds, or they’re like little kids wanting to learn how to ride a bike but screeching every time their father tries to take off their training wheels. And so they wobble along on four wheels, leaning way over to one side, certain they’ve got the hang of riding a two-wheeler.
Pushing into the realm of miracles and finding your faith is like shedding your training wheels and finding your “bike balance”. I still remember the day my father took off my training wheels and ran behind me, holding onto the back of my bike seat. At some point he let go, and without knowing it I was floating along the sidewalk on two wheels all by myself… straight into a neighbour’s front doorsteps. But for the first time in my life, I’d felt the feel of what it felt like to float along on two wheels, and I never went back to training wheels. I’d found my balance on a bike, and that’s something I will never unfind.
Entering into the realm of miracles is similarly definitive. Once you realize that God can do anything at any time, you stop relying on your own limited senses and instead put your trust in God. You just let go and float. That’s the best way I can describe it: You move over a threshold and never want to go back. Trusting means not knowing and not understanding, yet fully believing. I cannot possibly know how God performs miracles, but I know that he does perform them, and that’s enough. Jesus likely didn’t know how God was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, but he believed that God could do it, and that was enough. God worked through Jesus’ belief, and he can work through ours, too, if we let him.
If you haven’t yet pushed into the realm of miracles, you need to get there. You need, as the saying goes, to “let go and let God”. You don’t have to know God’s plan or to understand how miracles work; you just have to believe that God does have a plan and that miracles do work. Or you can keep wobbling down the spiritual sidewalk with your spiritual training wheels on, leaning way over to one side and thinking you’ve mastered the faith thing.
God wants to take off your training wheels so he can share more with you and work through you like he worked through Jesus. Will you let him?
BIBLE READ-THROUGH: DAY 3 REFLECTION (EXODUS 5 – 31:18)
“40 Days and 40 Nights of God’s Word”
DAY 3: JULY 25
EXODUS 5 – EXODUS 31:18
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 25, 2021 – This reading is the meat and bones of the Old Testament. It’s so rich, you could read it every day for the rest of your life and still find something new, something that impresses on you in a way it hadn’t before.
- It’s good that God told Moses in advance that his efforts to persuade Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go would fail multiple times before finally succeeding. Otherwise, Moses might have given up after the fifth or sixth try. God talks to all his children, to guide and encourage them. This spiritual fact has mostly been lost on Christians today. They think prayer is a one-way channel to God, but the communication flows both ways, as we see throughout the entire Bible. God is a very present God and Father for those who love him and serve him and heed his advice.
- Interesting that the Egyptian magicians (demon-summoners) could turn a rod into a serpent and back, and turn water into blood, but they couldn’t turn dust into lice, or call forth the frogs, or any of the other miracle plagues that God struck the Egyptians with. Even today, some people who claim to be Christians can perform miracles in Jesus’ name, but they’re actually summoning demons to do the task. Jesus warned us about those people. Just because someone performs a miracle in Jesus’ name doesn’t mean the miracle is from God.
- Note that the plagues didn’t affect the Hebrews, just the Egyptians. The Hebrews were protected by God. Note also that later in the reading, when the Hebrews are in the wilderness, God tells them they won’t get sick (“I will take sickness away from the midst of thee”). These are the protections promised to those who obey God’s Commandments and other directives. We are not of the world; we are in the world, not of it. Remember that.
- “SPOIL THE EGYPTIANS!” After 430 years of slavery, the Hebrews were only too happy to take whatever they could get from the Egyptians, and God made sure the Egyptians gave generously. But why on Earth did God direct the Hebrews to take gold jewelry and fabric on their wilderness journey? Would they not have been better off taking food and water? We find out later in the reading that the gold and fabrics are for the building of the Ark of the Covenant and everything that went with it (candlesticks, basins, etc.). God’s directions to you initially may seem odd and even nonsensical, but they always have a purpose, as you eventually find out.
- The Egyptians thought they had the Hebrews trapped when they heard they were camped on the shores of the Red Sea. The Hebrews, when they saw Pharaoh’s army coming for them, thought the same. But God’s whole purpose in bringing the Hebrews to the shores of the Red Sea was to trap the Egyptians, not the Hebrews. The Hebrews he safely led through the sea on dry land by miraculously parting the waters, whereas the Egyptians who followed after them he drowned. God ALWAYS makes a way for his people. No matter how hopeless and impossible it may look, GOD ALWAYS MAKES A WORKAROUND. We need to remember this for what is coming. You don’t have to give into evil because you don’t see a way around it. God will get you through it HIS way (that is, in a way that you cannot conceive at the time), if you trust him and follow his advice.
- THE TEN COMMANDMENTS! These are the core of scripture. None of them have changed, and they are all as equally valid today as they were thousands of years ago when God first gave them to Moses. Remember that, at the time, the Commandments were to apply to Hebrews only, so killing a non-Hebrew was not considered a sin. Jesus later expanded the jurisdiction of the Commandments to include everyone, whether believer or not, and God then wrote his Commandments on everyone’s heart, believer or not. So none of us now has any excuse not to follow them. No-one can claim they don’t know the Commandments, and no-one can claim they don’t apply to them. The Commandments now apply to everyone.
- Do you keep all of them? Your answer had better be “YES!” without thinking twice, or you have some repenting and restorative work to do.
- Fascinating directive about the altar – you’re not supposed to go up steps to get to it, and if it’s stone, it’s not supposed to be hewn. Strange, but nearly every altar I’ve seen in every alleged Christian church I’ve been to has steps leading up to it and is made of polished marble or some other manufactured stone, wood, iron, or artificial material. I don’t recall one altar in an alleged Christian church that was simply unhewn stone. Anyone know of any? How about graven images of people that are prayed to, decorated, or have lit candles around them – seen any of those in alleged Christian churches? “By their fruits shall ye know them.”
- I LOVE THE SABBATH! Obviously, God does, too, since he made it a Commandment and stressed that we need to keep it to “refresh” ourselves (his term). The Sabbath was made for our refreshing, so that we can rest physically and mentally and have plenty of time to get another hit of God’s Word without feeling obligated to perform other duties. It is the one day a week to be Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus rather than Martha running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off. There’s nothing better on Earth than spending the whole day with God and reviving yourself through scripture. If you don’t do that, you don’t have the refreshing you need to get through the next week. As Jesus said: “The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath”. God wants us to refresh ourselves in mind, body and spirit one day out of every seven because he knows we need it. He made us that way.
What were your impressions of this blockbuster reading? Did anything jump out at you that you hadn’t noticed before? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts. Happy Sabbath, everyone!
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The BIBLE READ-THROUGH SCHEDULE on PDF is directly below:
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BIBLE READ-THROUGH: DAY 2 REFLECTION (GENESIS 29-EXODUS 4:31)
“40 Days and 40 Nights of God’s Word”
DAY 2: JULY 24
GENESIS 29 – EXODUS 4:31
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 24, 2021 – The primary themes of moving/leaving to survive, obedience to God, and having a personal relationship with God continue in this reading. Another theme has also blossomed here, which is the God-given right to deceive, if the deception means the godly survival of the one doing the deceiving. We saw this seed planted already in Day 1’s reading with Abraham passing off his wife Sarah as his sister to ensure their survival among the non-Hebrews, but it really takes off in the reading today. Deception abounds, though not all of it is blessed and encouraged by God.
- When learning the 10 Commandments after I was born-again, I was intrigued that God commands us not to bear false witness; he doesn’t command us not to lie, although many people misconstrue the Commandment as being not to lie. So lying, in and of itself, is not a sin if it’s used for godly purposes. God gives his children leeway to lie if lying saves their butt and furthers his plan. We’ll see more of this as the readings proceed.
- I love the story of Joseph! How he had to cheerfully endure injustice after injustice (that is, test after test) in order to end up in a position of authority that would ultimately enable him to save what would later become the 12 tribes of Israel is classic God (as in “the Lord moves in mysterious way, his wonders to perform”). It’s also a good lesson for us on how to deal with adversity (patient endurance), knowing that God is always in control and his plan is on track, even though it may not look that way while you’re in the midst of it.
- Joseph’s love for his brothers brings me to tears every time. I cry when he cries. Joseph weeping over his brothers reminds me of Jesus weeping with Martha and Mary over the death of their brother Lazarus, even though Jesus secretly knows that Lazarus will be brought back to life shortly. The depth of Joseph’s love and compassion for his brothers’ suffering is intensely moving. He knows he has to make them suffer for what they did to him, but it hurts him to do it. He isn’t punishing them out of hatred or revenge; he is just doing what has to be done, all the while loving them.
- As with many of the main Bible figures (our spiritual forefathers), most of the offspring of Jacob (Israel) were problem children. They were not like their father. In fact, in their younger years, some of them were downright nasty. Nonetheless, we can see during their interchanges with Joseph in Egypt that they had become godlier with age. But their father’s final blessing of them before his death reveals their core characters, and not all of them are admirable.
- Note in particular Israel’s blessing of Judah, Jesus’ tribe. This is one of the early messianic prophecies.
- Even so, warts and all, the twelve sons of Jacobs are the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel and remain so to this day.
- I like that scripture shows the warts and weaknesses as well as the strengths. It humanizes the people being portrayed. It gives them an immediacy that overcomes the thousands of years and different cultures that separate us. These people are our spiritual kinfolk. They served the same God we now serve. They spoke with the same God we now speak with. And they love the same God we love. This makes them our spiritual brethren, and it’s good that we get to know them through scripture. If and when we make it to Heaven, we’ll get to know them in person.
- Really looking forward to getting deeper into the Exodus in tomorrow’s reading! Love the “rod of God” that became symbolic of Moses and is still used out of context today for other far less godly purposes.
- Never a dull moment in the Bible!
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By the way, you’re welcome to post your own reflections of the day’s reading in the comment section. If you’ve posted it elsewhere, just copy and paste it here. One of the glories of God’s Word is that we all see different things in it at different times, depending on what’s going in our own lives and what we need to learn.
What jumped out at you in this reading? What did you see this time that you hadn’t noticed before?
Feel free to let us know! Share it with us below.
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BIBLE READ-THROUGH SCHEDULE ON PDF:
THE WORLD IS UNDER SATAN, AND THAT’S OK
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 24, 2021 – Scripture is very clear that the world is under Satan.
At the same time, we are told by Paul not to resist worldly authorities, as all authorities have been designated by God.
Does this mean we are to put ourselves under the authority of Satan?
Of course not. We live in the Kingdom and are under the authority of God as followers of Jesus. When Paul tells us not to resist worldly authorities, he means not to protest them and their laws or try to remove them from power. In other words, we are to just let them be. The world is under Satan, but Satan is under the authority of God (all things are ultimately under the authority of God) and so can do nothing that is not permitted by God. If we protest the authorities put in place by God, we are protesting against God.
God’s justice is perfect and plays out every day in every way, including in how worldly authorities govern us. At the same time, as followers of Jesus, we are to be in the world but not of the world.
Jesus set the ideal example of how to live in a world that is under the authority of Satan. He never protested the Roman occupation; he let the Roman authorities be. He also never protested against the many arrest warrants that were issued for him; he just went somewhere else. And when his time came, he permitted himself to be arrested without resisting, and he refused to defend himself in court (that is, he refused to oppose the authorities that had him arrested). This is how you live in the world: you don’t get involved in it, and if it tries to get involved in you, you find workarounds (like Jesus did by leaving places where he was under threat of arrest). God will always make a workaround for you so that you don’t have to submit to worldly authorities until it’s your time.
And you’ll know when it’s your time; God will tell you.
The world is under Satan because it is the realm of death and decay. The Kingdom, on the other hand, is indestructible. Satan has no jurisdiction there. So physically, we move through the realm of time and space, death and decay, which is the temporary jurisdiction of Satan, while spiritually we dwell in the realm of the Kingdom, which is eternal realm of God where no death and decay can enter in.
The world is the way it is because of the people in it. If people made better choices, we would have a better world with better leaders. The way the world is today is the end result of all the choices people have made since the dawn of free will (that is, knowledge of good and evil). As well as being very clear in stating that the world is under Satan, Jesus is also very clear in stating that the measure we mete out is the measure we receive in return, mitigated by God’s mercy. In this way, we create our own lives, choice by choice. Make good choices, have a good life; make bad choices, have a bad life. This concept is so simple that even a young child can grasp it, and yet billions of miserable souls that have come and gone on Earth were unable (or unwilling) to make the connection between their lousy lives and their lousy choices.
Taking personal responsibility for our bad choices can be hard. It means humbling ourselves, and most people don’t want to do that. They would rather blame someone else for their mistakes. Pride prevents them from accepting their own culpability in their self-made misery.
Pride is also the major obstacle separating people from God. Pride is a position of obstinacy and rebellion that is directly opposed to Truth, which is why it is elevated to the worst of sins. Satan fell through pride. He is still proud. He did not repent of his pride before his fall and now never can.
Opposing worldly authorities because they institute ungodly laws is a position of pride for those who know better than to oppose such laws. All Christians should know scripture and therefore should know better than to oppose worldly authorities, even when those authorities pass ungodly laws. If, though knowing they’re not to oppose worldly authorities they yet take it upon themselves to do just that, Christians are no better than Satan: They are standing in opposition to God. They are standing in a position of pride.
The world is under Satan, but Satan is under God. If God’s justice is perfect, then the way the world is must be. It cannot be any other way. It is, as a philosopher once put it, “the best of all possible worlds”.
We need to let the world be, regardless of the ungodly laws it institutes. If born-again, we are citizens of the Kingdom, not of the world, so the world is not our concern. The world is under Satan, who himself is under the authority of God. You mess with the world, you mess with God.
Don’t do that.
Follow Jesus’ example instead: The only tables he overturned were those that had no place in God’s house. He let the rest be.
BIBLE READ-THROUGH: DAY 1 REFLECTION (GENESIS 1-28:22)
“40 Days and 40 Nights of God’s Word”
DAY 1: JULY 23
GENESIS 1 – GENESIS 28:22
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 23, 2021 – Three main themes emerge from today’s reading that remain constant throughout the Bible. These themes are established in the early chapters of the Old Testament and continue all the way to the end of the New Testament. The three main themes are: 1) moving is survival; 2) good rewards for obedience to God, bad rewards for disobedience to God; and 3) establishing a personal relationship with God.
- MOVING IS SURVIVAL
As can be seen in the first reading already, moving equates with survival. Adam and Eve move from the Garden of Eden and survive; Noah moves from his home onto the Ark and survives; Abraham moves from his home in Ur and survives; Lot moves from his home in Sodom and survives, and so on. In every case, God prods his people to move, even if they don’t want to go. They move, they survive; they don’t move, they don’t survive. There is a constant motion of leaving behind the old (like a shedding) and moving towards the new.
Again, this theme of moving to survive permeates the Bible, as you’ll see over the next 39 readings.
- GOOD/BAD REWARDS FOR OBEDIENCE/DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD
Another constant theme throughout the Bible that’s established in the first reading is rewards – good rewards for obedience to God, and bad rewards for disobedience to him. Noah, Abraham, and Lot are all rewarded with good outcomes for their obedience, while Adam and Eve are rewarded with the bad outcome of expulsion and loss of personal relationship with God. This theme of good rewards for obedience and bad rewards for disobedience is a primary theme throughout scripture and in in fact one of the driving forces that motivates God’s people.
- ESTABLISHING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
All of the major figures in the first reading knew God personally. He wasn’t somewhere “up there”, he was walking side-by-side with them in the Garden (Adam and Eve) or having conversations with them about their next steps (Noah, Abraham, and Isaac). Having a personal relationship with God is, in fact, one of the rewards for obedience, and we see it being removed after a certain degree of disobedience (Adam and Eve).
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Other themes are also established in this reading, such as the God’s unswerving protection of his people (his people being those who are loyal to him). What themes did you notice? How do those themes and the ones listed above personally affect you in your everyday life and your relationship with God? And how do you think they might serve as a tool for you in the dark days to come?
BIBLE READ-THROUGH: DAY 1: JULY 23
“40 Days and 40 Nights of God’s Word”
DAY 1: JULY 23
GENESIS 1 – GENESIS 28:22
SUMMARY:
GREENVILLE STATION, Nova Scotia, July 22-23, 2021 – This is probably the densest, most action-packed section of the Bible. As you can see from the Highlights below, the early chapters of Genesis cover all the major events that have become the foundational bedrock of Christianity. You don’t have to know much about the Bible to know the story of Adam and Eve or Noah or Sodom, but today you have the chance to learn about these people and events in detail and in chronological order. If you’re a born-again Christian, this is a history of your people. These are your spiritual kinfolk. Get to know them!
HIGHLIGHTS:
- The creation
- The temptation and fall of Adam and Eve
- Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
- Cain’s murder of Abel
- Noah’s lineage from Adam
- The ark and the flood
- God’s covenant with Noah
- Abram becomes Abraham
- God’s covenant with Abraham
- The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
- The birth of Isaac
- Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac
- Jacob and Esau
- Jacob tricks Isaac
POINTS TO PONDER:
- What reasons did God give for expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden? And who is God talking to in Genesis 3:22?
- Why do you think God decided to destroy his creation with a flood instead of some other means?
- What does the rainbow signify to God?
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Bible Read-Through full schedule (July 23-August 31) on PDF:
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 