by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Road trip today! We’re taking a trip to Calvary.
It’s Good Friday, and Christians around the world are celebrating the three days of death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. I thought it would be a good time to take a break from our reading schedule and delve into the subject of the cross. Why the cross? And what in the world happened there that made us call it “Good” Friday.
So let’s go to the prophecy which explains it.
Isaiah 53
There are some mysteries here for sure, but this is what we know. When God created the world and gave Adam delegated authority over it, to represent God in managing the earth, Adam blew it! He turned around and sold out to Satan, so that he lost his authority, lost his relationship with God, and set all of mankind on a path to perdition.
For some reason (and this is one of the mysteries), there had to be a second Adam to take back the authority. This man, since the world had been sold out to Satan, had to be a perfect man and had to go into Satan’s very headquarters just as Satan demanded, to pay the price for the sin of the world.
There was a dilemma, however, since there was no perfect man. Satan thought he had everything tied up forever – until Jesus appeared on the scene. He was obviously the Son of God and the son of man. He was born to a woman, but by the Holy seed of God.
Satan was nervous as he saw Jesus represent God on the earth, but he thought, “If I can just kill Him, then, I’ll win.” Little did he know that he was playing into God’s hands. It was God’s plan to have His Son crucified and go into hell. From there, God’s resurrection power would catapult Him out of hell, out of the grave, back to earth, and eventually up to Heaven.
So Satan took the bait, and God’s plan – the plan that was made before the foundation of the world – came into effect.
When we look at the cross, death, burial, and resurrection, all of the chapters we have been reading take on more clarity. God had to raise up a group of people who could bring His Son into the world. (And sometimes this took extreme measures).
He had to teach these people that He was a Mighty God and that He could be trusted. God had to teach them that He was a covenant keeping God, so that eventually we could understand the covenant we have with Him through Jesus.
He had to teach these people about the necessary sacrifice of a perfect lamb. Only then could they – and we – understand the sacrifice of His perfect Lamb, Jesus. He had to teach them that they would not be able to keep the law; only through Jesus would we have the empowerment to obey God.
Lesson after lesson, year after year, our Father led these covenant people to the culmination of all things.
As we read Isaiah 53, we see the prophecy foretelling the cross. (Especially notice verses 4-6). He took our griefs and our sorrows. He took our sin, our pain, our sickness. Oh, this is much more far-reaching than we can imagine!
Jesus paid the price not only for our sin nature, but He made the way for us to escape the result of sin. Sickness, poverty, and pain are all part of the curse which came on the earth when Adam sinned. We have been redeemed from all of that.
We’ve been talking about taking the Promised Land, and this is that! These are promises, but they don’t fall on us like the manna did in the wilderness. These promises are taken through “faith and patience.”(Hebrews 6:12)
To take the Promised Land provided by Jesus, we have to follow the rules of Joshua. “Ever place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given you.”(Joshua 1:3) We have to put our foot down to receive the abundance.
We still have an enemy who tries to trick us and rob us, but we have a Savior now. Our Savior has paid the price for an abundant life, but we do have to take it.
I am confident that when we get to heaven, we will be amazed to see what He paid for. It’s so easy to get distracted and settle for “whatever comes.” But there is more. Much, much more. If we will reach out for it.
My prayer today is that you and I will meditate on Isaiah 53 until we see beyond what we have before seen. He paid the price for us to go to heaven, and much more here on earth.
“What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.” Psalm 116:12-13.
I want my life to be a witness to the goodness of God, don’t you?
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible, Uncategorized
Joshua 13-15
When I come across passages like this – listing the territories which God gave to His people, I can’t help but think about Acts 17:26. “God made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation.”
Today we still have certain boundaries. There are people appointed to each nation, territory, city, and family. Those people are responsible for their own habitation, but they can’t be responsible for all the others. Even in pastoring a church, my husband has the charge of praying for the people and teaching them the truth, but he can’t live their lives for them.
He can’t go into their homes and make the decisions which will affect the lives of that family. That would be overstepping his bounds. Each person is responsible for his own habitation.
In the same way, we are responsible for our civic duties as citizens of a country, but we have nothing to say about another country. We can pray for the people there, but we can’t vote, or in any way determine the culture of another country.
In thinking along these lines, though, it makes me truly aware of God’s placement of my life. I want to fulfill every purpose He has for me in the area of His choosing. I want to do everything I can to manifest God’s Kingdom around me.
Then we come to Caleb. What an inspiration he is! In 14:6-15 Caleb reminds Joshua of Moses’s promise to him 45 years before. When the spies came into the Promised Land, only Joshua and Caleb believed that God would bring them in. At the time, the entire nation had to stay in the wilderness because of their unbelief. Yet Moses promised Caleb that eventually he would have the land on which his foot had trodden – the hill country.
Caleb remembers. “I am eighty-five years old today. I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now give me this hill country …with the Anakim.”(14:10-12)
Not only does he remember, but Caleb is as strong at eighty-five as he was at forty. He is ready to take on the giants!
Caleb is my role model in that respect. I want to continue to have great strength for fulfilling God’s purpose all the days of my life. No retirement. Never “too old,” just divine strength all the days of my life.
Luke 1:57-80
All the relatives were blown away by John’s birth and its circumstances. In the first place, Elizabeth was too old to have this child … but she did. And there was this strange thing about Zacharias not being able to speak.
Yet there was even more to come. According to Jewish tradition, the child should be named for his father. So when the eighth day came – the time for the circumcision and naming of the child – all of the relatives were going to call him Zacharias. Elizabeth again shocked everyone by saying his name was John. (The name God had ordained).
Still unable to speak, Zacharias had to write his agreement, “His name is John. And they were all astonished.” (1:63)
So Zacharias regained his ability to speak and prophecy began to come forth. “God is accomplishing redemption for His people.” “Salvation from our enemies.” “to remember His Holy covenant.” And this child shall be “called the prophet of the Most High.” “Prepare the way of the Lord.” “Sunrise on High shall visit us.” “To shine upon those who sit in darkness.”
The town was abuzz with gossip and speculation. Every bit of this was out of the ordinary. Something big was going on here!
We have to remember that about 400 years had gone by without any major words from God. Things had become very quiet, and all of the prophetic words of old could have seemed to have passed away.
Yet they hadn’t. There were still a few people around who studied the Word and prayed and believed that there would be fulfillment. Yet I’m sure that even when the words were fulfilled it seemed surreal. Way out of the ordinary.
We live in a similar day. There are some who may have read the Bible in days gone by, but they don’t pay much attention any more. They may think that the Words of God will never come to fruition.
I have news for those people. Every Word of God will be fulfilled. Every one! It does us good to read and study and pray for discernment on these things.
Just as in those days, one day there will be a “suddenly.” There will be a manifestation of the things we have been praying and believing for.
There’s much excitement ahead. I want to be ready for it and in on it. Don’t you?
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Joshua 10-12
Now things get really bloody. Yet if you look beyond the history, you will see some very important lessons for us today.
We are not fighting against flesh and blood to take our land, but we are fighting. It’s just that our enemy is unseen. We are fighting against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness,and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. In other words, we are fighting Satan and his kingdom.
Now these people who fought the kings were really fighting Satan, but they weren’t prepared to know it, so they had to fight the individuals to protect their nation. Now we are able to deal with the devil and his bunch, so we are more enlightened on our mission.
My husband and I have a saying that we are going to “take the head of the king,” or “put our foot on the neck of the king.”
In chapter 10, if you look at these kings, you can see why this is important. Let’s look at their names.
1. Adoni-zedek, which means “Lord of Righteousness.” He is a counterfeit for our true Lord. He could be the head of other religions or a spirit of religion that perverts or weakens the gospel.
2. Hoham, which means “Voice of a Multitude.” Usually if we listen to what the crowd is saying, we will not believe God.
3. Piram which means “Wild Ass.” This denotes instability. When we are darting here and there, up one day and down the next, we will never complete the mission God has for us.
4. Japhia, which means “Dazzling To The Eyes.” There is always a shiny object out there attempting to take your eyes off Jesus. Sometimes false preachers can be so full of hype that they pull people to them, but there is no fruit there. They are “clouds without water.”
5. Debir, which means “Oracle.” This is the false prophecy that can draw you away from what God is saying, if you listen.
So what am I saying? I’m saying that these kings, False Religion, Voice of a Crowd, Instability, Shiny Objects, and False Prophecy can lead you astray and keep you from fulfilling what God has for you. You and I need to make sure we have our foot on their necks.
If we listen to any of these kings, we will go astray – even if it is just in our thinking. These kings will keep us from taking the land. They will nullify God’s purpose in our lives.
No way. I am going to see to it that if I encounter one of these voices coming from another, or even one of these voices coming from my own mind, I will not listen.
I will see to it that those kings are rendered ineffective in their endeavor to lead me astray.
I only want God’s best for my life, and that’s all that I will allow myself to hear. What about you?
Luke 1:39-56
Elizabeth and Mary rejoice over their supernatural babies. One is pregnant after her childbearing years, and one as a virgin, so both of these babies are impossible to have. However, as spoken to Mary, “nothing will be impossible with God.”(v.38)
Can’t you hear the joy in these women as they meet? First, John leaps inside Elizabeth’s womb and she begins to prophesy. Then Mary herself prophesies.
Mary’s prophecy foretells the mighty mission of her son. To show mercy on God’s people,to scatter the rich and the proud, to feed the poor and the hungry, and to fulfill the word spoken to Abraham and his offspring.
There is one word which Mary speaks which has prodded me many times. “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”(v.4)
Not “blessed is she who heard a word.” but “blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment.”
When you hear words, either through Bible reading or through direct prophecy, do you believe that there will be a fulfillment? That’s where the blessing is. Not just the word itself, but the believing that it will happen.
Same principle we’ve seen over and over. How many ways can God say it? Blessed are those who believe.
Yes, Lord. I am a believer!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 32-34
There is a verse is Deuteronomy 29 which we didn’t cover yesterday, but I think it is really important in understanding the Bible. Deuteronomy 29:29 says “the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of the law.”
We have seen how God has tried to protect His people from Satan before they were ready to understand their foe. He couldn’t reveal all that we know now about the devil, because they were not prepared to deal with him. They didn’t have Holy Spirit living on the inside of them like we do today.
So in the same way, over the years God has revealed more and more of His Word to his people. If we will keep ears to hear and eyes to see, we will understand more and more. Yet there are still some things which are secret from us until the time He wishes to reveal them.
That’s one reason that doctrinal error gets started. People reading the Bible try to understand with their minds – and not their spirits – what God has said. We need to wait for Him to reveal it.
Now back to Moses. Moses prophesies through song about the days ahead. God is showing him that eventually the nation will turn from God and worship idols, and their blessings will dry up. (I hope that our nation will wake up before it’s too late for us). As he says, “This is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life.”(32:47)
Moses is allowed to go up to the mountain and look over the Promised land, but he can’t enter. He tried to strike the rock (representing Jesus) twice, instead of speaking to it the second time. He didn’t regard God’s Word as Holy.
Remember, we need to learn from this. We have to regard the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as Holy. Once and for all time God’s only Son was sacrificed for our sins on the cross. He paid the price for us to enter the land of our promises from God.
We don’t try to strike Him again for our answers. We receive what He has done, we pray for wisdom, and confess the Word concerning our issues. Jesus paid the price for much more than we are receiving.
I pray that all of us enter into a new, greater revelation of His Word and what it means. We must contend for the Word; we must contend for the faith. Faith reaches out and receives our answers.
We have to have those faith hands.
Mark 15: 24-47
We see over and over how Satan’s plans work for God. I Corinthians 2:8 says that “none of the rulers of this age understood God’s wisdom, for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.” So Satan and his demons thought they were defeating God’s plan. Instead they were fulfilling it.
God’s Lamb – His Son who would be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins – was sacrificed on Passover by the High Priest – just as he was supposed to be. Isn’t it amazing to see how God works?
Then the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. God Himself tore the veil to signify that now all men can go into His presence. No longer is this reserved for the High Priest once a year. It’s for all of us.
Now we have the ability, not only to have forgiveness, but to live our lives in communion with our heavenly Father. He has adopted us as sons and wants to spend time with us.
The ball is in our court now. He has made the way and now beckons us to Him. We are the ones who have to make the decision to receive what he has done.
Easter season is near. I pray that all of us will make a decision to walk and live in a deeper revelation of what he has done for us.
There’s always more to learn and more to receive. When we spend time with our heavenly Father and His Word, we have at our hand new realms of understanding and empowerment.
I pray that his will be the year we decide to do it!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 30-31
If anyone doesn’t understand the importance of honoring Israel, let that person read Deuteronomy 30. Just as God had spoken to Abraham and told him that his descendents would go into another country and after 400 years be brought out by signs and wonders, God now speaks through Moses that the nation will eventually follow after other gods and be cast into many corners of the earth.
But at the right time, God will restore them. He will “gather them again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered them. ..If their outcasts are at the end of the earth, from there the Lord their God will gather them, and from there he will bring them back.” (V. 3-4).He will bring them back to their land and “they shall possess it”.(v.5).
In 1948, Israel was restored as a nation. (That’s what some of the ruckus is about over there. The Muslims don’t like them being there). Since that time, it has been a miracle what has happened.
Jews from all over the globe have moved to Israel – just like God promised in these verses. Without any good explanation, these people have had a desire to move to the land of Abraham, their father. Sometimes without even knowing it, they were being drawn by God Himself.
God will perform His Word. He knows the end from the beginning and when He says something will happen, rest assured, it will happen.
There are many more declarations which God has made, and they too will come to pass..
In the end, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:10). The blessed ones will say it this side of the grave.
Mark 15: 1-23
The crowds, the crowds. We love to be acclaimed by the crowds, don’t we?
That’s the nature of unregenerate man. He always wants to be highly esteemed.
So the leaders of the Jews fight for their place of honor, and deliver Jesus to the Romans. Now Pilate takes up his fight and pleases the crowd also.
He knows that the chief priests deliver Him because of envy, and that they stir up the crowds to want Barabbas, the thief, released instead of Jesus. But Pilate also wants to please the crowd, so he goes right along, in spite of his knowledge.
That desire for fame and reputation can be dangerous for any of us. Oh, I know that we won’t be called upon to kill Jesus. That day has come and gone. But when it isn’t popular, are we willing to stand up for Him?
Do we keep quiet when we should be holding Him up? Or is popularity more important?
In our day and in our culture boldness for Jesus may not be the norm. Yet there are many of our friends and acquaintances who have never met Him, and even may have a false idea of just who He is.
Are we willing to take the risk? If we get prompted by Holy Spirit to share with an individual at work, whom do we go with: God or man?
True disciples have to look foolish sometimes.
Lord, help me to be obedient, regardless of the cost. I’m Yours when its popular, and I’m Yours when it isn’t.
