BibleVersity

"An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.  If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.  And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it." (Ex. 20:24-26, ESV)     Immediately after giving the Decalogue (ten commandments) to Moses and Israel, the Lord cites some instructions in regard to the building of altars. These rules were important considering the worship practices of the time. The Israelites were not the only people who used altars. To distinguish between the two the Bible often referred to these as "high places." Molech, Baal, Dagon, and other "gods" mentioned in the Bible demanded sacrifices from their worshipers. Some worship went so far as t

"Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them," (Ex. 14:19, ESV)    The Exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian captivity is both a well-known and powerful display of God's delivering power. As we play the event in our minds we usually see the mass of people standing at the edge of the Red Sea, with a cloud pillar behind them keeping Pharaoh at bay, and Moses (via God's power) parting the sea in front. Most of us have seen either a painting or some sort of depiction of this history-making event. However, there is one part that is usually missing from the image.    Chapter 14 records this event in great detail. When we get to verse 19 tells us that, we are informed that, In addition to the cloud pillar, the "angel of God" was present also. There has been a number of explanations of this phenomenon, but I believe the best explanation is t

"Then Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." - (Ex. 4:10, NASB)    As far as biblical folks go, Moses is my favorite, but Moses had a problem. We are not certain what "slow of speech and of tongue" means, possibly that he stuttered or had some other physical malady. What we do know is that this was a major hurdle, at least to Moses. During his original meeting with God, Moses gave several excuses for why God should choose someone else. The final one was his speaking issue. This stands out in most of our minds, for this is where God brings Aaron on board and gives him the task of speaking for Moses, leaving Moses to performing miracles and leading the people.  However, this is not the only time his speech problem is mentioned. Twice in chapter six (6:12, 6:30) we find his struggle mentioned as being "u

"He said, 'But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.'” - (Ex. 3:12, ESV)    Earlier in this chapter we are told that Moses had taken the flocks of his father-in-law to a location west of the wilderness and came to Mt. Horeb, where he met with God. It is here that the LORD tells Moses that he, Moses, will bring the Israelites out of Egypt (through God's power), and will return to the mountain. You are likely familiar with the rest of the story, for Moses does indeed lead them out, and they do return to Horeb.     There are two thoughts I want to share that we may not always connect with. First, Mt. Horeb and Mt. Sinai are two different names for the same mountain. I am aware that there are those who view them as two separate mountains. In that case, these would be two separate mountains in very close proximity of each other, possibly tou

" So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God".   (Rom. 10:17, NKJV)    Jesus told us that we only need faith the size of a mustard seed in order to cast the mountain into the sea. (see. Matt. 17:20) That's impressive, but was Jesus telling us that the size of our faith does not matter? I do not think so. Jesus was speaking of the power of faith in Himself. Even a small amount of faith in Jesus can do mighty things. But, what if we had a large faith? What might God be able to do? Well, faith is like a muscle, in a sense. The more we exercise our faith in Jesus, the greater our faith becomes. However, there is a danger. We can actually get to the place in our spiritual lives where we  trust in "faith", rather than trusting in Jesus, who is the the object of our faith. Faith in Jesus is always grounded in the Word of God. So, then, the real question becomes, "How can I strengthen my faith in Jesus?"     Paul's subject in

"For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord." - (Num. 15:15, ESV) Even a casual reading of the Apocrypha (Genesis - Deuteronomy, OT) will introduce the reader to the terms "the Stranger." The stranger refers to any outsider or non-Jew show chooses to dwell among the Israelites. We rarely hear of this as we are reading the OT works of God, but the Israelites were not the only ones enjoying the blessings and benefits of serving God. Anyone, regardless of their nationality or racial makeup could worship the God of the Jews, "...one statute for you and for the stranger." All were welcome.  The idea that God was only concerned with one group of people simply is not supported by Scripture. It was always the plan of God to offer salvation to the world, through the Israelites. We see it in the gospels,

*** Today's post is an updated repost from 2014, but was one that was on my heart this morning.  "...This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."      - Genesis 15:4 (NASB)    When God first told Abraham he was going to make him a great "nation", he was 75 years old. Abraham was directly promised a son by God. Not a bad source for a blessing. What Abraham did not know is precisely how the LORD was going to cause this to happen. After some time past, without a child,  he and Sarah (his wife) decided to "help" God by providing a physical means for His promise to arrive. (Gen. 16:1-4) The result was Ishmael's birth, Abraham was not age 86. (Gen. 16:16) Thirteen years later, after the birth of Ishmael, the LORD reaffirmed His covenant to Abraham. One year later, Sarah gave birth to her only child Isaac: She was 90, Abraham was 100. If you do the math, from the time the LORD thirst spo

"...And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." - (Matt. 6:4, ESV)    Jesus uses the phrase above three different times in this chapter of Matthew: in relation to giving (v.4),  prayer (v.6), and finally fasting (v.18). We understand that when things are repeated in the Bible the author is letting us know that we need to pay attention to something is important.    We must be clear that Jesus is not telling us that others cannot  see these deeds. Anyone who has ever fasted while sharing a home with others understands that this is impossible. In addition, sometimes giving anonymously is just not possible. The same holds true with prayer.  So the questions is, "What is Jesus telling us?" Jesus is telling us is that spiritual deeds should not be done for the purpose of displaying our "spirituality" in front of others. If you fast more than a meal or two chances are good that someone will notice. Does this mean that your fast was useless? O

"But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." - (Matt. 5:39, ESV)    Life is not always pleasant this side of Heaven, and it is not always easy to handle those difficult moments that find their way into our life. Someone yells at us and we want to yell back. Some anonymous driver cuts in front of us on the road and we fly past them with an angry glare. Someone accuses us, lies about us, otherwise mistreats us, and the list goes on. We know how the world reacts, because it is the way that we often want to react, and sometimes do. However, the Bible calls us to live in a way that is, shall we say, unnatural.     Jesus's words are piercing, even to the most faithful servant, "If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Is Jesus telling us that we need to allow ourselves to be mistreated and just take it? I do not thing that is the point that Jesus

"Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” - (Gen 12:13, ESV) It seemed like a good plan. They were married, but they also were related. Technically speaking, Abraham and Sarai were siblings, half-siblings, so pretending that they were not married as they settled in Egypt just might work. If Pharaoh were to take a liking to Sarai, then Abraham would not be killed. Perfect! Well, not really. Abraham encountered an age-old problem that we still struggle with today. We trust God to a certain point. Once that point is reached we take matters into our own hands. The LORD told Abraham to "Go...to a land I will show you..."(v.1) , and  "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse...”(v.3). A braham trusted God enough to guide Him, but not enough (yet) to protect him. He allowed his fear to override his faith. Eventually Abraham's plan was found out, but onl

"And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth." - (Gen. 7:10, ESV) As many times as I have heard the story and read it myself, I still am amazed at God's mercy and grace. If you are not familiar with the Biblical account of the flood you may say, "Where's the mercy? Among the destruction and lives that were lost, I missed the part about mercy." For 100 years Noah built that massive boat on dry land, in obedience to God's command, knowing that judgment was coming. Even after the boat was built and after all the animals came aboard, and after Noah and his family boarded, the ark sat in "dry dock." Until God himself closed the door( see v. 16), thus sealing them in, and locking everyone else out.  You may have a theory or two as to why God did this, but I will share mine with you: God is always working to show mercy and grace to those who will accept it. I believe that God would have allowed anyone to walk into the a

"...Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God." - (Gen. 6:9, ESV) Wow! What a testimony. Three simple qualities. First, Noah was righteous, meaning that he was in right standing before God. Second, he was blameless in his generation, meaning that he lived right before mankind. However,  that does not necessarily mean that Noah was accepted by those in his generation . Yet here is a man who was spiritually right before both heaven and earth.  How did Noah accomplish this? I believe that he accomplished this because of the third quality mentioned above: "Noah walked with God."  When we walk with God, we are made righteous by God. We cannot make ourselves righteous, only God can do that. And, when we walk with God, we find that we live differently before those in the world. A vibrant and continual walk with God will enable us to live like Noah: one who is known in heaven and earth for devotion to God.  In a day where a genuine pu

"In the beginning God....God created man..." - (Genesis 1:1, 27 ESV)      In a world where gods are promoted everywhere, and new ones "created" by the hour, it is helpful to remember exactly where we are in the hierarchy of creation. God is the center, not man. The center of what, you ask? Everything! It is no coincidence that the first four words of Scripture is, "in the beginning God." Before anything and everything that we can know, God was present. He has neither beginning nor ending. These are impossible concepts for us to grasp, and yet neither our ability to understand nor our unwillingness to believe limit Him. And, i t was this God, eternal in nature, that created man of His own design, not the other way around. We sometimes like to think that we are the superior being, but it is not even close. There is one God, and we are not Him.       As we enter a new year on the calendar, consider your own views of this God of the Bible. If He truly