by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Chronicles 19-21
“Satan stood up against Israel.”(21:1) This is one of the few times in the Old Testament history that Satan is mentioned. Until a man has the Spirit of God on the inside of him, he can’t understand the spiritual war we are in. Neither can he fight against the enemy. So until man was ready, God didn’t want His people focusing on the devil.
What temptation did the devil bring? He tempted David to count his people, and David did just that.
Joab immediately knew that this was wrong. In the II Samuel account (24:3), Joab says “Now may the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are.”
With God, a few are like many. If they are depending on the strength of God to protect them, the number isn’t important. So for David to count the men, he is turning his faith to his men, and not to God.
Remember that all of the natural wars we see in the Old Testament are pictures of the spiritual wars we are fighting now. Satan was behind the scenes always trying to tempt and destroy God’s people. He is still doing that today.
For some the present day war is in the persecution of Christians around the world. For others of us it is in trying to tempt us to give up on our walk with God. He tries to harrass and discourage us.
Yet we are to stay strong. We are to remember that it is the Lord who is with us, His Spirit inside of us, leading, guiding, and giving us the power ot overcome him.
Our strength is not in our own natural strength, but in the strength of God Himself. “Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.”(I John 4:4)
John 8: 1-27
“He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.”(V.7)
The woman who is caught in the very act of adultery is brought to Jesus. The Pharisees are testing Him, because the law of Moses says that she is to be stoned. (The law also says the man is to be stone; it’s interesting that they didn’t bring him also).
As Jesus seems to be breaking the law of Moses again and again, He is signaling a new Covenant on the horizon. The New Covenant is one of love and mercy. Forgiveneness is there for all who turn to Him.
For all of those years the Lord was leading the Jews, He could only deal with natural entities. He had to be very strict and even harsh to keep these people on the right track. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit resident within them yet, and they had to be treated differently just to keep them in His fold.
The New Covenant was about to emerge, and Jesus was letting us take a peek. He was showing God’s mercy toward the sinner.
Now one thing is important to note. After all of the Pharisees had wandered off, Jesus says to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more.”(V.11)
There are some erroneous teachings today which say that it’s okay to continue in sin because Jesus paid the price. No way is that what He is saying!
The grace of God is a remarkable gift He has bestowed upon us. He has forgiven us from our sins. However, the grace is the ability He puts within us not to sin. The grace is not to keep sinning, but to stop. In fact, when we continue to sin, we are denying that ability He put within – and in effect, denying Him.
He clearly says, “Sin no more.”
When we receive and appreciate the grace we’ve been given, our lives are transformed. The very ability of our God is put within us to overcome any sin which tempts us or any personal lack we my have. His empowerment and His favor are there for us to live our best life.
I want to honor this grace and partake of it in every area of my life. I know that you do, too.
This new dispensation
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Chronicles 7-9
The gatekeepers are important. Their names – along with their particular responsibilities – are listed in chapter 9.
Why are they important? They are the ones who are responsible to see who and what comes in and who goes out of the temple. They check the merchandise and they check the furnishings. They also check the people.
Today, we are all gatekeepers. We have our eye gates, our ear gates, and our thought gates, and we are responsible to take charge of what we let into our temples. We are now the temples of the living God.
All around us are evils which can contaminate the temple. Of course, on one level, there are drugs and alcohol; on another level there is pornography. On a third level there is all of the false information which would try to compromise God’s message. Then there is doubt and unbelief which tries to come in.
We are all gatekeepers, charged with the responsibility of protecting ourselves from the ravages of the enemy.
Then there is the other side. We also need to make sure that we let in the Word of God and all that He has for us. We don’t stand there empty, but full of His thoughts, His ideas, His leading to do what he desires.
As we keep ourselves from the contamination of evil forces, and fill ourselves with God’s purposes, we’ll be standing in His grace and His pleasure.
John 6: 22-45
John’s gospel really goes deeply into the spiritual truths, doesn’t it?
Yesterday we saw where the baskets of bread and fish were broken and spread out to the multitude of people present. Now we see that Jesus is proclaiming that He is the bread which has come out of heaven. He is the Bread of Life.
Jesus is the Bread which, not many days from now, will be broken for us and divided among us so that we can receive God’s zoe life.
The Pharisees have another fit. What in the world is He talking about? We know that His father and mother are Joseph and Mary, and He is saying that He came down from heaven?!
Jesus goes on to explain that only those whom the Father draws are His. He recites Isaiah 54:13 “They shall all be taught of God.”
At this point, Jesus is saying things that only born again believers will eventually understand, but those whose hearts are right will not reject Him for what He says. Even if they don’t truly understand, their hearts will be stirred to trust Him.
Not the Pharisees. They are very quick to reject Jesus over anything they can think of. They are jealous of Him because of His following. Not wanting to lose their power, they are happy to find any “gotcha” moments they can.
Jesus obliges the supposed scholars by throwing those “gotcha” moments often. He is exposing hearts as many are drawn to Him.
If we see passages of scripture which we don’t understand, rather than rejecting them outright, we must always allow the Holy Spirit to explain. As we ask for explanation, He will give it to us…when our hearts are right.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Chronicles 4-6
We see something here. As all of the names are listed, we stop at one: Jabez. Remember the book, The Prayer of Jabez? A few years ago, many were reading this little book – all based on two verses – I Chronicles 4:9-10.
Doesn’t it astound you as you are reading, that one man gets so much attention? I am reminded of the verse in II Chronicles 16:9 “Now the eyes of the Lord move to and from throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”
Jabez stands out from the crowd, because his heart is completely the Lord’s. He is a true believer in the midst of the crowd, “more honorable than his brothers.” (4:9)
When he calls upon the Lord, “Oh that Thy hand wouldst bless me indeed and enlarge my border. and that Thy hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from harm, that it may not pain me.” (4:10), the Lord grants his request.
That’s our Father. He doesn’t just look at the crowd; He looks at the individual. We may be in the middle of a crowd of scoundrels, but if our hearts are truly His – and if we have the nerve to believe Him, we will certainly see our prayers being answered.
It makes you want to dig in more to be closer to Him, doesn’t it? Do you want to be like Jabez – to have your borders enlarged and God’s hand with you?
I want that. I want to stand out from the crowd – not for men to see me, but for God to notice me. And He does indeed notice each person who is committed to Him.
John 6: 1-21
The supply is sufficient.
We see once more this story of multiplication. As the crowd of five thousand men (plus women and children) need food, Jesus takes the five loaves of bread and two fish and He divides them up for the crowd. Amazingly all are fed and there are twelve baskets left over.
Twelve baskets full remain – for the twelve disciples. I think He is saying something here.
Of course, we have the miracle of multiplication for the crowd, but there’s more. After their ministry of feeding the crowd, each disciple has a basketful left over.
He is saying that when we take His Word and break it to share with others, there is plenty left over for ourselves. As we meet the needs of others, our needs will be met. As we pray for others, our prayers will be answered. As we share the Word, our understanding will be increased.
It is a privilege to share with others whatever we have available – whether it is food, or prayer , or the Word – whatever we have. And as we share, we know that our needs will be met also. He is looking out for us.
“Give and it shall be given unto you – good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”(Luke 6:38)
That’s the Lord’s way of doing things. Makes me want to be a giver!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Chronicles 1-3
Name after name after name. It can seem boring, but these genealogical dissertations say something about our God. He is a covenant-keeping God. Names are important.
This should be encouraging to those of us who are praying for our children. When we are in covenant with our God, they have a benefit – even greater than the children in the Old Testament.
Under the old law, the people did not have the Holy Spirit living within them. He could only come after Jesus had paid the price for our sins and had sent the Holy Spirit back to live within us.
Now that He is here, living within us, we have an advocate who helps us to bring about God’s covenant in a more powerful way. We can pray and ask the Father to deal with our children. He can, and does, give them dreams and visions. As we pray he also leads the right people to come across their paths.
The Holy Spirit of God knows our children – young and old – better than we do, and He will fulfill this covenant if we continue to press forward in prayer and obedience.
When I say obedience, I mean that He will direct us as to how to pray and He will impress upon us certain actions we must take to get the job done. (For instance, if there is a grown child who is abusing drugs or alcohol, He may direct us to stop enabling and be more direct).
He will direct our steps if we listen, and He will fulfill our covenant in the lives of our children.
The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)
Our families are important to our God. Believe it and see it come to pass.
John 5:25-47
Jesus speaks in a way that only those who receive Him can understand. And why? Because the One who bears witness to Him is the Holy Spirit of God. Only those who have His Spirit can truly understand Him
He rebukes the Pharisees because they are supposedly keepers of the Word of God, and the Word speaks of Jesus coming to the earth throughout, but they don’t “get it.” Their hearts are not right.
Jesus says something which we should take to heart. How can you believe when you seek glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory which is from the One true God? (V.44)
When people during that time or during our time seek to be approved by men rather than God, they run into trouble. In doing this they remove the standard – the plumb line. Men can take the truths of God and change them to meet their own interests and selfish desires. So they cloud their vision and understanding.
If we truly want to be God’s people, we have to seek His approval, even if others disapprove. Integrity before Him is sometimes not easy, but it is so rewarding.
I would rather be found faithful by God than to be honored by other men. Ultimately, His assessment is the only one that matters.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
by Suellen Estes
II KIngs 24-25
Well, the end finally comes.
This is the nation which was started by God Himself, in covenant with Abraham. He had faithfully fulfilled all of the plan that He said He would.
God had supernaturally brought these people out of the land of Egypt- by mighty signs and wonders. Just think about the magnitude of having more than a million people, with all of their gear, walking out of a country? And having the giant Red Sea part so that they could walk through on dry ground. This was huge.
Then, even though the Jews didn’t believe Him so that they could immediately go into their new land, the Lord provided for them in the wilderness. Manna fell from the sky and covered the ground every morning. They would gather each day what was needed. During those years, their clothes didn’t wear out and neither did their shoes. What God did for those people was so extraordinary.
Then when it was time, the Lord took them into the land of promise, driving out nations before them. His hand was so strong for these believers.
It’s human nature, however, to take everything for granted. Several generations pass and the Jews forget their covenant. They begin to worship the gods of the surrounding lands, and are no longer faithful to their one true God. So sad. How could they forget?
Now all of Judah is taken into captivity by the Babylonians, the temple is destroyed, and the walls of Jerusalem are torn down – then the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and every great house Nebuchadnezzar’s captain burned with fire. Only a few poor people are left in the area.
The rest of the people go to Egypt because they are afraid of the Chaldeans. Israel has already gone to Assyria. Now Judah goes to Babylon.
Sad days, indeed, for those who have discounted the covenant of God.
Hopefully we will learn some lessons from this. Let’s not forget our covenant with Almighty God.
John 5:1-24
Jesus is such an aggravation to the Pharisees! He has the audacity to heal a man on the sabbath one more time.
Here comes “religion” again. They are holding to what they consider the law, but ignoring the spirit of the law. Any of these Pharisees should have known the nature of their God enough to understand that He would want this man healed at any time. He has been paralyzed for 38 years!
What an extraordinary moment for this man. Healed, finally!
So the Pharisees get our their magnifying glass to see what else Jesus does wrong. What’s this? He is calling Himself the Son of God? Another strike against Him.
They just don’t get it. They don’t recognize the day of their visitation. The very Son of God is walking among them, and they are offended. Even jealous.
In this gospel, the spiritual side of Jesus’ walk with his Father is amplified. “The Son of God can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner…Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He wishes.”(V.19-20).
Jesus is once again alluding to the zoe (life of God) which comes into man at the new birth. He is also introducing the concept of being led by the spirit of God. This is a new concept to these Jews, but He is getting the point across. They will understand it better later.
After He is resurrected and sends back His Holy Spirit, His disciples will understand what He is saying. Just as with us, we are able to understand when we receive Him. “Oh, that’s what He meant.”
More life, oh Lord. More zoe.
