A WHOLE MAN

Rise up, God, judge the earth, for all the nations belong to You.  Psalm 82:8  What are the Oracle psalms and what can we learn from them? Let’s start first with a definition of what this type of psalm is. They are songs which report a decree from God and the content of them often are about divine judgement. They also usually conclude with a prayer for God to carry out His decree. An example of this psalm can be found in the 82nd Psalm. This psalm is a very interesting one and one that is referenced by Jesus (John 10:34-36). It begins by reminding us that God is the one who is sovereign over all. This is both a declaration and a warning to those who judge unjustly against those who lord themselves over the people as though they were God. They have abused their God-given authority by judging with partiality, promoting wickedness, and neglecting those in need. The call to God in this prayer is for Him to rescue the poor and oppressed from the power of those who have negl...

5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless you fail the test. 2 Corinthians 13:5 You will recall from our intro to Second Corinthians that one of the major struggles of the Corinthian church was unity. They were divided on doctrine, leadership, and the ministry of Paul. These “super-apostles had sowed the seeds for this division and, to Paul’s disappointment, many of the Corinthians had accepted their critiques and were too challenging Paul. Some may have boldly demanded Paul to provide proof that Christ indeed was speaking through him. You can imagine emotions of betrayal and annoyance that he must feel needing to come for a third time to demonstrate the validity of his apostleship and ministry. This third visit, however, he warns will not be one marked with gentleness but of power (13:2-3). It could be that his leniency and mercy in dealing with wrongdoers were misinterprete...

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:14-15 Similar to how the book of Acts links the four Gospels and the Pauline Epistles, the book of Joshua helps the reader transition from the books of Moses (Also known as the Torah or the Pentateuch) with the Historical Books of the Old Testament. It carries us on in the story as the people of God not only enter into the promised land, but begin to conquer it. But this book is so much more than battles; such as the walls coming down at Jericho or the sun and the moon standing still when the Israelites fought against the Amorite k...

This is the seventh post in the “Types of Psalms” series where I will be highlighting the various types of Psalms that you will encounter in the book of Psalm. This is by no means the ultimate and final arrangement of the Psalms, but it is one that I have found to be very helpful. 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;  2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  Psalm 1:1-2  So far, the psalms we have looked at could be summarized as expressions of our heart in our approach to God. Whether we are praising God for His works or attributes, lifting up a complaint or lament, or just giving Him thanks, they primarily deal with a pouring out of our hearts. The last half on the list of psalm genres we will consider focus on how it is that the people of God should live. Although it is true that the first half of the list displ...

3 For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, 4 since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 The tenth-thirteenth chapters of 2 Corinthians details Paul’s defense of his apostleship, which is quite interesting given that, today, very few who would question the authenticity of Paul’s apostleship. But that was not necessarily the case in the first century for Paul, also known as Saul (He did not have a name change like Abram->Abraham or Jacob->Israel, Saul is his Hebrew name and Paul is his Roman name), was a persecutor and killer of Christians. With that in mind we might understand some would question his apostleship. Unfortunately, the challenge that we find in these chapters are posed by from false apostles w...

26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.” 27 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in My Father’s kingdom with you.” 30 After singing psalms, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  Matthew 26:26-30  If you are reading this post at the time of its publishing, it will be Good Friday 2019. It is a day that confuses some people because they wonder why it is that Christians celebrate the day when their Lord and Savior dies. Yes, we can point to the resurrection as a reason for why we rejoice on Good Friday, but truly that is not what makes Good Friday good. Before I get to why we rejoice on Goo...

This is the sixth post in the “Types of Psalms” series where I will be highlighting the various types of Psalms that you will encounter in the book of Psalm. This is by no means the ultimate and final arrangement of the Psalms, but it is one that I have found to be very helpful. ******************************************************* 26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’  27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.  28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.  29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.  Psalm 89:26-29  Most of the genre of psalms that we have considered so far deal with how we express ourselves and prepare ourselves when coming to the Lord. And ultimately, they come from a heart that has complete confidence in what the Lord is accomplishing in the world, humbled...

7 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.  2 Corinthians 7:1  At the time of this post, it would be the beginning of the 1st day of Holy Week 2019. It not only initiates the final week of Lent, but is a poignant reminder to the world of the real event of Christ’s death and resurrection. Resurrection Sunday, (Or Easter Sunday as many call it…Read here for details on the Origin of Easter ) is the oldest Christian holiday and the most venerable. The reason for this is quite simple for a few reasons. Firstly, it is the gospel message that we proclaim to the world and the only message which is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16). Or as Paul put it, “3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance ...

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” Deuteronomy 6:4-7  The Shema generally limited to Deuteronomy 6:4-9, is one of the most important pieces of Scripture for a Jew. It is so influential in the Jewish life and is commonly the first memorization passage for children. It is recited every morning and evening and is often the very last phrase on the lips of a Jew before their death. The reason for this is not that they like the way that it sounds or tha...

This is the fifth post in the “Types of Psalms” series where I will be highlighting the various types of Psalms that you will encounter in the book of Psalm. This is by no means the ultimate and final arrangement of the Psalms, but it is one that I have found to be very helpful. ******************************************************* 17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving  and call on the name of the Lord.  18 I will pay my vows to the Lord  in the presence of all his people,  19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,  in your midst, O Jerusalem.  Praise the Lord! Psalm 116: 17-19  I want you to take a moment and, in a non-judgmental manner, think about the very first 5 words you start your prayers with. If you are like the majority it probably goes something like this, “Father God, thank you for…”. Again, and not necessarily focusing on the repetitive nature in which we approach God, but I want us to think more a...

21 I fear that when I come my God will again humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented of the moral impurity, sexual immorality, and promiscuity they practiced.  2 Corinthians 12:21  May 23rd, 1618 marked the beginning of a period in history known as the Thirty Year’s War. It all began when Roman-Catholic officials in Bohemia prevented and stopped construction of Protestant chapels in violation of the Letter Majesty (1608 document by Emperor Rudolf II granting religious liberty to Catholics and Protestants). In response to this violation, the Protestant lords and the congregations who were affected gathered together in unity against the religious suppression. They were even willing to even lose their own lives in order to secure the liberty granted by the Letter of Majesty in order to assemble and worship God. Interestingly enough, it is from a letter read aloud in this assembly that we get the phrase, Unus pro om...

5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since that is one and the same as having her head shaved. 1 Corinthians 11:5 I cannot remember where I read this, but one of the benefits from learning under a Pastor that teaches expositionally vs topically is that you have greater growth as a believer. Why? Generally speaking, it is because pastors who preach topically will cherry pick Bible verses for a specific topic that they are already very comfortable with. The end result is a congregation that is shallow in certain Biblical books and doctrines and usually never surpass their own pastor’s knowledge. However, a pastor who preaches expositionally must wrestle with the text and will have his own biases and long-held beliefs challenged; he must be thoroughly consistent and wholly Biblically. The result is that you will have a congregation that grows with the pastor and is semper reformanda ( forever reforming ). In addition to the above poi...

This is an unpaid, honest review by Alex Galvez Sight and Sound Theaters is well known in the Christian Community for putting on amazing productions that bring to life several of the Biblical Stories that we have learned as children. They began more than 40 years ago and have draw an audience of over 1.5 million members every year! This is quite impressive when you consider that the stage shows they produce are Biblical. In April, they will make available in theaters a revised production of their landmark production of Noah. It is quite an impressive production with the historic ark being built before your eyes and being filled with live animals! The production follows along in Genesis 6 where God warns Noah of an impending flood due to the wickedness of mankind. We know that Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) and for 120 years he built the ark faithfully heeding the command from God. When the flood came, Noah and his family alone were spared, along ...